The Social Reckoning (2026) * * *

 

Directed by:  Aaron Sorkin

Starring:  Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr, Betty Gilpin, Wunmi Mosaku

The Social Reckoning kept my interest while failing to emotionally engage me.  Writer-director Aaron Sorkin (who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for 2010's The Social Network) continues his mastery of verbal volleyball between characters while making the argument that Facebook's willful use of algorithms radicalized people with constant exposure to hate groups and hate speech that led directly (or indirectly) to the riots on January 6, 2021.  Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg made it clear that Facebook policing its content is not its job, and I can't say I disagree with the position.  More on that later.

The Social Reckoning stars Oscar-winner Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen, a dedicated Facebook employee who finds herself willing to turn over evidence of Facebook wrongdoing once a friend of hers posts anti-DEI rhetoric in a confrontation with police, which is shown in an effective prologue.  Frances wants to know how her friend, who was mostly apolitical and happy, suddenly transformed into an angry, drunken, and argumentative influencer.  Frances works with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (White), who finds Frances is the only Facebook employee willing to talk to him and break her non-disclosure agreement.  

As played by Madison, Frances is intelligent and socially awkward, which are two reasons she is reluctant to trust Jeff.  However, she is blown away in both of those departments by Jeremy Strong's Zuckerberg, who raises Jesse Eisenberg's cold and socially awkward Zuckerberg to the tenth power here.  Strong doesn't play Zuckerberg to be even remotely likable and Sorkin is content to make him the arrogant villain who asks for advice and ignores it anyway.  The man advising him not to be such a prick is Charlie, played by Bill Burr in an engaging performance as someone trying to stop Zuckerberg from driving the company straight off a cliff in the court of public opinion.  Zuckerberg abandons the company's initial mission statement to be one where people connect and instead opts for a version which tears people apart and ends friendships and familial relationships.  Why?  Mostly because leaning towards Republicans, who favor deregulation in business, would be a financial win for the company.  It's a practical decision and one can argue it was best for shareholders who want to see a monster return on their investments.

I admired the performances in the movie while understanding The Social Reckoning is an invitation to thought.  I'm of the belief that it isn't a platform's job to fact check anything, of which Facebook agrees.  I'm reminded of Bill Maher's editorial from a few years back stating that protecting someone from the world is a mother's job, not a social media platform's.  With the advent of AI, some posts all over Facebook and other sites are clearly lies, but it's up to the user to determine what's true.  It's ironic that in a world with so much information at its fingertips, some people are more misinformed than ever. 

American Hostage (2026) * * * (series on MGM Plus)

 

Starring:  Jon Hamm, Giovanni Ribisi, Mireille Enos, Kristoffer Polaha, Adam Arkin, Jonathan Tucker, William Jackson Harper

Maybe Tony Kiritsis saw Dog Day Afternoon and was inspired to involve the media in his kidnapping of mortgage banker Dick Hall.  Tony (Ribisi) is a frustrated Indianapolis Korean War veteran who feels his mortgage company is up to shenanigans as it forecloses on his business.  He takes Hall (Polaha) hostage at the bank with a shotgun tied to his neck and walks him from the bank to his apartment.  Tony demands to be interviewed by the local news station's Fred Heckman (Hamm), who Tony believes will give him a fair shake and allow him to voice his pent-up anger at Hall and the world in general.

Fred is an old-school reporter who wants to get back to covering the news instead of just reporting it.  He has a pending offer from a large New York station that promises grand things to Fred, but he's not sure he wants to leave Indy.   However, the Tony/Dick Hall saga places Fred into the middle of the story, and in some ways he becomes the story.  Fred Heckman differs from other Jon Hamm characters because, at least through the first four episodes, he is shown to be a loving family man with no trace of Don Draper or Special Agent Adam Frawley (from The Town) anywhere to be found.  Hamm is quite good here playing an honest and decent man (unless the next episodes throw a curveball).  

Ribisi gives us a kidnapper who may be crazy or may be someone pushed to his limits.  Ribisi provides depth to someone who we think we know, but we find he isn't showing us all the cards.  What throws a monkey wrench into the story is how a growing number of locals sympathize or side with Tony.  Mortgage bankers or corporate types tend to elicit little sympathy from the public, even if the man is a husband and father.  Just watch the Luigi Mangione saga unfold and you'll see all the evidence you need that the previous statement is true. 

American Hostage mostly moves along although I'm sure the episode is upcoming in which the series reverts to the past to tell us more in-depth about Tony and Fred.  Both have their own sad stories to tell, and American Hostage captures a sense of time and place which allows them room to breathe.  There is humor in the shameless actions of Tony's and the station's attorneys who are actually thinking about granting Tony immunity since the bank's actions may be more criminal.  If this isn't an allusion to the Mangione case, then nothing is.  

Verity (2026) * *

 

Directed by:  Michael Showalter

Starring:  Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, Brady Wagner

We know a movie like Verity lives and dies by its pending Big Reveal.  It's coming because Nothing Is What It Seems in the Verity Crawford household in rural Vermont.  Verity Crawford (Hathaway) is a famed best-selling author with a loving husband named Jeremy (Hartnett) and an adorable young son Crew (Wagner).  One day following a lackluster book reading attended by three disinterested spectators, published but not famous author Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) is approached by Jeremy and her agent (after a not-so-meet cute between Jeremy and Lowen) to ghost write Verity's new book.  Why?  We learn once Jeremy invites Lowen to stay at the Crawford home that Verity was involved in a near-fatal car accident which left her paralyzed and catatonic.  The publisher is expecting a new Verity Crawford book and we're treading dangerously on Milli Vanilli ground here.  

I'll tread lightly to not introduce spoilers, but Verity keeps our interest long enough so we can learn what secrets the Crawford house reveals.  Lowen swears Verity turns her head to look at her while her nurse has her outside.  Lowen also stumbles upon Verity's autobiography in which she confesses that she hates her children because they've stolen Jeremy's attention and she may or may not have killed Crew's sister in what was ruled a canoeing accident.  It's not wise to leave a confessional autobiography lying around indicating that you killed your daughter.  Just saying.  

Predictable things happen between Lowen and Jeremy, and we question other characters' motives once the surprises are unleashed on us.  The reasons provided for what is happening are silly and any tragedies could've been avoided with one character giving another a heads up as to what they're doing and why, or maybe not following another's advice to the letter.  Such things will get you in hot water.  I know I'm being vague, but if you see Verity, you'll see what I mean.  

Knight and Day (2010) * * *

 

Directed by:  James Mangold

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Jordi Molla

Knight and Day is fun enough to survive its sometimes elongated action scenes made as CGI was coming into its own.  It is made with wit and humor, with Hitchcock's famed Maguffin taking center stage.  The Maguffin is the object everyone is after.  The heroes want to keep it out of the villains' hands, and in this case, it is an everlasting battery which will negate the use of chargers.  The bad guys want to sell it on the black market and kill its creator (Dano), a brilliant young man, while secret agent Roy Miller (Cruise) wants to protect the kid and the battery.  

June (Diaz) is dragged into this international intrigue by being on the wrong plane at the wrong time.  Roy is a fellow passenger on the rather empty plane who dispatches a group of assassins aboard hired to kill him.  Soon, June is whisked away to deserted islands, trains riding through the Alps, and scenic cities around the globe with the charming Roy, who seems to enjoy having a companion along as he dodges numerous attempts on his life.  Roy works for a super secret agency which apparently handles tasks the CIA and FBI won't touch.  He is now persona non grata with the agency due to being set up by his fellow agent (Sarsgaard) who wants to sell the battery on the black market.  

The material isn't as important as the style.  Cruise and Diaz are clearly having a ball with the absurd plot, and there is an emotional tug which pulls Roy Miller along and leads to a startling discovery which is both cruel to his loved ones and sad.  However, it is the life he chose.  

Digger (2026) * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Alejandro G. Inarritu

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Huller, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg

Digger's marketing campaign did its box-office performance no favors, but maybe that was necessary in order to protect its Big Reveal.  However, the reveal itself doesn't add much depth or interest to the film.  What we have are superior actors spewing lots of dialogue and yelling at each other.  Digger's art direction and set decoration may wind up nabbing some awards, but the rest can sleep in when the Golden Globes, Actor Awards, and Oscar nominations are announced. 

The scenery in some cases draws attention away from the characters, and that may be just as well, since there isn't one we care about in the whole movie.  Digger Rockwell (Cruise) is an oil zillionaire who wakes up one morning to find his beloved cat has hours to live and one of his oil rigs in Greenland exploded and caused a massive glacier to separate from the mainland and drift towards continental Europe.  Once it crashes into Europe, we'll see tsunamis and floods like none the continent has ever experienced, or so says Dr. Ganesh (Ahmed) who works for U.S. President Compson (Goodman), who is dying of anal cancer.  

It's now up to Digger to save the day, until the plot twist reveals itself about thirty minutes into a movie which already is trying its mightiest to be Different.  It is different indeed, but not a positive different.  Inarritu and Cruise want to make larger statements about impending environmental doom which Inarritu himself discussed in his Oscar speech for directing The Revenant.  He stated how he was unable to film certain scenes in the snow because snow was scarce even in the mountains.  Now we have Digger, which is a full extension of that idea which apparently wasn't made with entertaining the audience in mind.  

Digger is an unpleasant experience with characters we don't care about mouthing lots of words which add up to soliloquies and speeches that drone on endlessly.  I'm not going to be mean and give away any spoilers, because by the time they arrive, Digger is pretty much already spoiled.  During the many years in which Tom Cruise played one action hero after another, I lamented that he could be using his talents for other projects which present us with his vast acting range.  He's a superb actor, but with Digger I suppose I should've been careful what I wished for.  

Heart of the Beast (2026) * * *

Directed by: David Ayer

Starring:  Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons

Heart of the Beast is a beautifully photographed adventure in which its heroes, retired soldier James Belmont (Pitt) and his canine pal Odin who served with him in combat, battle through the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness trying to survive long enough to make it to a desolate road where they could be rescued.   The opening of Heart of the Beast has James landing his Cessna on a peaceful lake and later he and Odin are lakeside with James drinking beer and fly fishing.  

However, at night, both James and Odin deal with PTSD from the horrors of war.  This is the first movie I've seen in which we witness a dog endure the same PTSD effects as their human counterparts.  James has to talk him down from his nightmares in a moving scene.  A lonesome stranger (Simmons) happens upon James and Odin and spends time by the campfire, which is pretty much the most dialogue you'll find in the movie.  The rest is James talking to Odin (and by extension us).  While flying the Cessna in an attempt to flee before a bad storm, James suffers a heart attack and crashes the plane into a lake.  The plane sinks, and James and Odin manage to survive but not without wounds.  James nurses Odin back to health and the two work from a map to determine they must hike 58 miles over one week to reach the road to rescue.  

James and Odin encounter ravenous wolves, rampaging rivers, and other obstacles which test their mettle and their physical well-being past the threshold most others couldn't tolerate.  The Alaskan wilderness is seen as both beautiful and treacherous sometimes in the same scene.  Pitt is completely convincing as the former soldier who relies on his survival skills to make it as far as he does.  But Odin is not simply a dog, but one we view with love and compassion just as he does for James.  He's the co-star of Heart of the Beast and in many ways its soul.  

Primetime (2026) * *

 

Directed by:  Lance Oppenheim

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Sklyer Gisondo, Merritt Wever, Anna Faris    

One of the many puzzling issues with Primetime is why it is painting its protagonist Dateline NBC's Chris Hansen (Pattinson) as a villain.  He was the host of the 2000's ratings hit To Catch a Predator, in which the Dateline team snags would-be pedophiles who show up at a decoy home to meet with kids they are grooming online.  Hansen confronts the creeps and conducts quasi interviews while toying with their guilt before having the police come and arrest them.  The show ended in 2007 and was subject to lawsuits for years after, including by the family of a Texas DA who committed suicide when he was to be arrested on camera for propositioning who he thought was a teenage boy.  This is depicted in the movie, but by then, Hansen is depicted as a soulless egomaniac only in search of higher ratings and nothing more.

The movie focuses on the wrong things.  We meet a 23-year-old struggling actor (Gisondo), who is hired by Dateline to portray a 13-year-old boy to lure in pedophiles.  He has a boyish look and a high-pitched voice which makes him perfect for the job, but he's not as potentially interesting as Hansen.  The movie ends not with what happened to Hansen, but with what happens to the actor.  It's a way to tack on a happy ending which isn't one we care about anyway.  I guess we're happy for him, but what happens to the star of the show?

Despite the repetitive nature of the show itself, it remained a ratings smash, but Primetime doesn't explore that.  The movie just ends without resolving anything and without explanations.  There isn't even an epilogue detailing what happened to the show, Chris Hansen, or anything else.  It has one point of view: Chris Hansen is just as much a monster as the predators he catches in the act, and that my friends is simply bunk.