Jazz vs. Pelicans

Last night I went to my first Utah Jazz game of 2026 with my friend Angela (she has season tickets and very graciously allows me to pick several games to attend with her) and it was a lot of fun despite the final score.  The Jazz, who were without Jaren Jackson, Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Jusuf Nurkic, and Vince Williams, Jr. because of injuries, played the New Orleans Pelicans and lost to them for the second time this week in a very sloppy game.  They didn't even score until the middle of the first quarter when Ace Bailey hit two free throws (I joked at the beginning of the game that he was our only hope).  That seemed to give the team a bit of a spark and they went on a 14-6 run to end the quarter 27-22.  The Pelicans hit two quick shots to increase their lead to 10 in the first few minutes of the second and the Jazz couldn't seem to get anything going offensively or defensively and ended the first half down by 25.  Keyonte George, who was back after missing 10 games with an ankle injury, scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a really pretty three-pointer and several free throws, and Elijah Harkless hit back-to-back three-pointers to spur a 13-0 run (and to spur the crowd at the Delta Center back into the game) to get the Jazz within 16 points at the end of the third quarter.  I got really excited when the Jazz went on a 9-0 run to begin the fourth quarter but the Pelicans answered back with a 8-2 run.  Isaiah Collier got 12 points (he led the Jazz with 21) and Brice Sensabaugh got an exciting three-pointer at the end of the quarter but it wasn't enough and New Orleans won 115-105.  It is a bit frustrating to be a Jazz fan (I've only seen them win once in two years) but I always have a good time at the games with Angela!

Scream 7

Despite the controversy surrounding Scream 7, I thought the trailer was really intriguing so I decided to see a Thursday preview with my nephew last night.  I am only a casual fan of the franchise but I was incredibly disappointed with this installment (I am 0 for 3 with movies this week).  When Ghostface sets fire to the Macher house in Woodsboro, California after killing a couple spending the night there as part of the "Macher Experience," there is speculation that Stu (Matthew Lillard) is still alive.  Sidney Prescott-Evans (Neve Campbell) now lives with her husband Mark (Joel McHale) and daughter Tatum (Isabel May) in quiet Pine Grove, Indiana.  When she receives a video call from Ghostface threatening Tatum, she is unnerved when the killer unmasks and it is Stu.  However, when her family is attacked, Ghostface is revealed to be a mentally ill serial killer.  She suspects that the call was AI and begins investigating with Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) but soon all of Tatum's friends, including Hannah (McKenna Grace), Lucas (Asa Germann), Chloe (Celeste O'Connor), and Ben (Sam Rechner), are brutally killed.  Eventually, Tatum must confront Ghostface in a scene that mirrors what happened to Sidney 30 years ago.  I did not mind the nostalgia that some have taken issue with because I think the dynamic between Sidney and Tatum, and her fear of passing on generational trauma to her daughter, is very compelling.  I also liked the subplot with Gale as she passes the torch of reporting on Ghostface to the Meeks-Martin twins (Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding).  There are even some really grisly kills and I did enjoy the opening sequence.  In fact, I liked the first two acts well enough despite the fact that the meta-commentary about horror tropes that makes these movies so much fun is largely missing.  What is most disappointing is the absolutely ridiculous Ghostface reveal because the motivation is convoluted and makes no sense (it also makes one of the kills truly diabolical).  What I also found incredibly frustrating is that, in my opinion, the perfect ending (to the movie and to the franchise if this is actually the final one) was right there.  Ugh!  Definitely avoid this!

Midwinter Break

The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Midwinter Break and, based on the trailer, this looked like the kind of slow-burn drama that I usually enjoy.  However, I found it even more disappointing than the first movie we saw.  Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciaran Hinds) are an older couple who seem companionable but have grown apart so Stella surprises him with a trip to Amsterdam for Christmas.  They excitedly pack, gush about their hotel room, and begin seeing all of the usual sights.  However, as they visit churches for her and pubs for him, flashbacks slowly reveal that Stella was the victim of an attack forty years ago during the troubles in Northern Ireland.  She views her survival as a miracle and, as a result, she is extremely devout but he views what happened as a failure to protect her and buries his pain in alcohol.  Tensions, which appear after he mocks her piety and she criticizes his drinking, eventually force them to address their long-buried trauma.  There are way too many tedious scenes in which Stella and Gerry do everything but talk about what is wrong (she tries to pretend that everything is fine and he is completely oblivious) and I spent most of the runtime waiting for some kind of catharsis which, when it does happen, is incredibly rushed and anticlimactic.  The ambiguous resolution also left me feeling very frustrated and made me wonder what the point was.  Manville and Hinds are brilliant actors but not even they can elevate this dull material into something compelling.  I did enjoy the beautiful cinematography featuring the city of Amsterdam (and my nephew loved the soundtrack) but I recommend giving this a miss.

How to Make a Killing

Last night my nephew and I had a double feature and we started with How to Make a Killing.  I was really looking forward to this because the trailer reminded me of the hilarious stage musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (both are inspired by the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets) but, unfortunately, it was very disappointing.  Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) is visited by a priest (Adrian Lukas) hours before his scheduled execution for murder.  He recounts the events that led him to his fate beginning with when his mother Mary Redfellow (Nell Williams) was disinherited by her wealthy father Whitelaw Redfellow (Ed Harris) for becoming pregnant with him.  His mother tells him that, even though there are seven people ahead of him, he is still in line to inherit the vast Redfellow fortune and, when he reconnects with his childhood crush Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley), she gives him the idea to kill all of them to get the money.  Party boy Taylor Redfellow (Raff Law), photographer Noah Redfellow (Zach Woods), megachurch leader Steven Redfellow (Topher Grace), philanthropist Cassandra Redfellow (Bianca Amato), and pilot McArthur Redfellow (Alexander Hanson) all die under unusual circumstances but suspicious FBI Agents Brad Matthews (Stevel Marc) and Megan Pinfield (Phumi Tau) are unable to prove Becket was involved.  He eventually inherits the fortune when stock broker Warren Redfellow (Bill Camp) dies from a heart attack and when he shoots the patriarch of the family, Whitelaw Redfellow, in self-defense but complications ensue when he begins a relationship with Noah's ex-girlfriend Ruth (Jessica Henwick) and when Julia wants in on the fortune.  What I love most about the musical, which is one of my favorites, is the manic energy as each member of the family is dispatched in an absurd and completely over the top sequence.  This version is strangely inert because it plays it straight with an eat the rich message that becomes muddled in the third act and the family members have little more than cameos in scenes without any bite.  Powell's charisma is wasted, in my opinion, as a character that is surprisingly bland and Qualley does not do much beyond displaying her long legs for the camera.  I wanted this to be funny, or at the very least satirical, but I found it boring and I recommend giving it a miss.

Pillion

Last night I went to see Pillion at the Broadway and I was surprised by how much I loved it!  Colin (Harry Melling) is a timid young gay man who lives with his parents Pete (Douglas Hodge) and Peggy (Lesley Sharp), works a menial job as a parking lot attendant, and spends his free time singing with a barbershop quartet.  When a blind date arranged by his mother proves disappointing, he catches the eye of a handsome and enigmatic leader of a biker gang named Ray (Alexander Skarsgard) which leads to an awkward sexual encounter.  Colin is very inexperienced but Ray quickly initiates him into the world of BDSM as his submissive and he soon proves his aptitude for devotion.  Colin is so desperate for a connection that he allows Ray to have complete control but, as their relationship progresses, he demands more autonomy which Ray initially refuses.  However, Ray eventually begins to allow more and more intimacy but his feelings for Colin overwhelm him and he suddenly disappears from his life.  Colin emerges from the relationship devastated but with more confidence and a greater understanding of his own boundaries which ultimately leads to a new partner.  This is explicit (although, in my opinion, it is not shockingly so) but it is also a very tender love story where both men are transformed by being together even if they cannot stay together.  There are powerful turning points for each of them, including when Colin steals Ray's motorcycle and feels the freedom of actually controlling the bike rather than riding pillion and when Ray kisses Colin for the first time and realizes that he loves him (Ray's moment of truth is more subtle than Colin's but it is no less compelling).  This is also features a lot more humor than I was expecting, especially the scene in which Colin meets up with Ray for the first time with his family's long-haired dachshund only to see that Ray has a rottweiler (it perfectly telegraphs their eventual relationship without saying a word).  Finally, both Skarsgard and Melling give brilliant performances.  I have to admit that my motivation for seeing this movie was Skarsgard, and he is both sexy and vulnerable as Ray, but I was especially impressed by Melling because his portrayal of Colin's journey to self-discovery is incredibly dynamic and I was particularly struck by the difference in his demeanor in the two scenes with his barbershop quartet.  I highly recommend this with the proviso that some of the sex scenes might make some people uncomfortable.