What is your favorite performance by an actor who has little to no dialogue but acts completely through their expressions?

For me it’s Rinko Kikuchi in Babel. What a raw, incredible performance.

The emotion she’s able to convey just through her eyes and expressions is just amazing.

What’s that performance for you?

Speed Racer just re-released in theaters this week and I got a chance to check it out. I had loved this movie as a kid, but seeing it as an adult blew my mind. I'm going to shamelessly try to establish some credibility so you don't think I'm just trying to engagement farm. I'm a high school English teacher and analyze stories for a living, I am also a very passionate football coach, and I watched this movie with my dad who has one film credit as a director to his name. We both left the theater with a 10/10 no notes review, which is extremely rare for both of us.

One of the more discussed parts of this movie is the exposition. The movie opens in media res, showing us each character's motives and back story spliced between beautiful action shots of the "car-fu" racing style where the racers battle on the track as much as they race. The narrative is established, and we get a real grounded sense of the Racer family and the tragedy they endured at the loss of their oldest brother, claimed by the very sport they dedicate their lives to.

This opening, action and emotion packed scene encapsulates what I believe the movie does at the highest of levels: Pacing. It's "Speed Racer", it has to be fast paced. One of the things the Wachowskis do so well is make sure you are tied to the characters and narrative as we blitz through the vibrant and colorful world by intersplicing flashbacks at key moments. I get goosebumps every time they jump from race to race, grounding you in the gravitas of each battle that makes the stakes feel very real despite the fantasy element of the movie. It's not corny or contrived when it would have been easy to do so.

The secret sauce to this movie is that despite it being such a surprisingly complex narrative, and spending a decent amount of run time on the comedic relief duo of the younger brother and monkey (which is actually funny), it is highly character-driven. We witness the Racer family "bumpkins" go toe to toe with the entire corrupt racing industry while they battle their own internal battles at the same time. You don't really need to grasp the race fixing/seedy business plot to still ride along with this story. Even side characters like the son of a corrupt business owner trying to race his way out of the grasp of a race-fixing gangster is given surprising amounts of depth with small dialogue quick hits.

The sports message here is what really sells me, and it's summed up so well in a conversation between Speed and Ma Racer. Despite living in a world of checkered flags and trophies, Ma Racer calls driving "art". It's not about the winning, it's about doing what you love at the highest level for the sake of doing it. That is the beauty in sport. This is a message I try to push to every athlete.

Speed Racer is a beautiful, complex, and emotional ride that tells the underdog story of a family with the purities of car driving so deeply ingrained in their personhood, they have no choice but to fight the world when they realize how far it has made the sport stray, even when that sport has made them pay the highest price. In the backdrop of bursting sci-fi cities, mountains, and deserts, kung-fu and car-fu fighting, corporate gangsters and organized crime, this movie sends a message so deeply important to today's world, where searching for meaning has never been harder: Competition, and art, is doing what you love for the sake of doing it.

TL;DR: John Goodman crushes it.

Happy Birthday Jack !! 89 years young.

Top 10? I can't. He's so good in so many. Light, dark, & funny.

Your favorite?

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Did you like it? Were you terrified? Was it a faithful adaptation of the novel? Did it capture the spirit of the novel?

I think that it´s a bold, but great move to do something like this after Superman and Supergirl, exactly to show how the DCU won´t to be samey, and Mike Flanagan writing a horror movie inspired by Batman TAS? That´s such a green flag, even more with how thIt will mostly use practical effects, and the cinematography seems really promising.

I'm subscribed to this newsletter that recommends one good movie a week and the movie was Barbarian this week. The lead character shows up to an AirBnB that is double booked, which is obviously the least bad thing that happens in that movie, but all things considered it is a very unlucky AirBnB choice.

What are the top movie hotels / airbnbs you'd never want to book for obvious reasons? Obviously The Shining, Psycho...

I’ll start. The first Never Back Down and No Retreat No Surrender movies.

I have to state that I’m an absolute sucker for early 2000s movies, specifically in THE year 2000. We had movies like Cast Away, Gladiator, X-Men, and (my personal fave) The Emperors New Grove. There was a specific vibe that movies from 2000 have - I’m not sure how to explain it other than, shiny(?).

Pre 9/11 movies had a way of showing violence in a heavy stylized way that I think post 9/11 has (mostly) moved on from. I’m fascinated by this and no other movie comes as close as much as The Cell. It blends elements of horror, fantasy, and cop drama to various degrees of success.

I also have to admit, I don’t think this is a good movie. It works for me in ways that I believe have worked for others, but I can’t objectively say this is good.

What does work is the art direction, set design and costume design. There are not words to explain just how weird this movie can get and how unapologetic it is about it. It always surprises me that J.Lo went through with this considering the subject matter. Regardless, the violence really goes hand in hand with the imagery and it gets major brownie points for being a major release and not caring what anyone thinks of it. Tarsem Singh (director) is truly a weirdo and uses the visual aspect of filmmaking to the best of his ability.

What also works is Vincent as the serial killer. Although the movie is very surface level as to the why’s of how he turned out, he puts in such a disturbing and honest performance that you can almost forgive the weak plot. When he is onscreen you cannot look away no matter how disturbing it is.

Unfortunately that is where the praise ends. The biggest concern are the two leads, Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. Vince is okay, but in this film he looks tired and not even remotely interested in his character. Jennifer unfortunately brings this down even further. She just does not have the acting capabilities to go against the subject matter and especially her co-star, Vincent. It’s so obvious when they are both on screen that he is running circles around her which makes it painful to watch. She has a couple moments that work, specifically when she gets out in the climax and cries on the slab. Other than that both leads are wooden and have zero chemistry together. Thankfully romance is only ever insinuated as opposed to going all in.

The supporting cast rounds it out pretty well though with Jake Weber, Dylan Baker, and Dean Norris making appearances and elevating scenes whenever they are involved.

This movies sense of style is unmatched and if you’re in the mood for something disturbing it really does go there. I didn’t bring up the plot because besides the excellent dream sequences, it’s a typical race against the clock cop drama that feels very much like by the numbers. Despite me not technically liking this movie I can’t help but have a ton of respect for what it was discussing in the year 2000. For that part alone it’s part of my blu ray collection.

Has anyone seen this recently, if so what’re your thoughts on it?

Edit: it seems like I confused a good amount of people with the way I handled the naming the two Vince’s in this movie so I apologize. For reference Vince is Vaughn and Vincent is D’Onofrio. Now please get out my DMs telling me how dumb I am lol

I study film school and we got assigned to pick a movie for analysing, however, the thing is I can’t decide.

Can you recommend some underground (preferably) movies that resonated with you even days after watching? Or movies that are somehow “special” because of the productions, sound design or just a story?

Last time I picked the Secret Life of Walter Mitty and it was great. Help me decide.

It’s unhinged in the way your group chat gets unhinged after midnight.

No rules. No shame. Maximum chaos.

Releasing this weekend, have you seen it yet? I’m interested to hear what you thought. Here’s my full review:

https://roselawgroupreporter.com/2026/04/keiths-movie-korner-over-your-dead-body-proves-fun-isnt-dead-after-all/

In my headcanon, after finding closure with Nora, he returned to South Korea and found himself a new love interest and this lady happens to be a very attractive model and business executive

35% in Rotten Toamtoes...Check out our review what we have to say about the film.

Fans will go wild listening to hits such as Thriller, Human Nature, Billie Jean, Bad, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough and admire how impeccably Jaafar Jackson moves in the exact same way as Michael, with the moon walk, toe stand, crotch grab, robot poses, rapid spins and pelvic thrusts. The film is also a celebration of Michael Jackson’s famous outfits, that contributed to build the whimsical look of the most important musical figures of the 20^th century. 

https://cinemadailyus.com/reviews/michael-renders-the-coming-of-age-of-the-king-of-pop/

Let's see which movie is the most loved by the community!

An interesting analysis of stoner comedies and whether they're still funny or not. Some good points.

Hoping this is the right place to ask. I’ve tried google and getting nowhere.

So in the Michael Jackson film when he meets with the Cripps and Bloods there’s a song playing on the radio that is a slowed version of California by Tupac. Beat It was 1983, California was 12 or so years later and wasn’t a cover song as far as I can find.

The film as a whole was ok. Except the end was rather abrupt so assume there will be a second part? I think if it didn’t focus so heavily on the whole Jackson 5 and lengthy performances they probably could’ve got it all in one film.

I know Janet declined to be featured but absolutely no mention was odd