TV REVIEW: PARADISE - Season 2

3.5/5

Paradise Lost

8 Episodes. Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Krys Marshall, Charlie Evans, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Enuka Okuma, Thomas Doherty, Cameron Britton, Shailene Woodley & James Marsden. Created By: Dan Fogelman. On: Hulu & Disney +.

Ready for another season in 'Paradise' on Hulu and Disney Plus? This eight-episode wonder of a second series, from the 'This Is Us' creator/actor team of Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown, will leave you thinking it's some sort of 'Lost' and 'Wayward Pines' hybrid. Or 'Prison Break' in reverse. And if you thought you heard that cover of the classic Phil Collins (there's even a President that looks like him, here, now the Cyclops of James Marsden has stepped down) song too many times, wait until 'The Final Countdown' of an epic, 'Exodus' end. Under the dome of the first season, we got to see the divide between the haves and the have nots, reflected back to the turbulent times we live in right now, like a mirror to the future. But this season, those locked below decks in the Titanic are coming up from the bowels of the ship for air.

Cliff-hangers rarely literally throw you out of a plane, but that's where Sterling K. Brown ('The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story', 'American Fiction', 'Black Panther') left us, out of 'Paradise', to end the first season. Now, the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner has to leave his kids (great performances from Aliyah Mastin and Percy Daggs IV) as he looks for their mother and his beloved, Enuka Okuma. The great Brown, knows how to bring 'Waves' of lump in the throat emotion, even to more straight-forward scripts, and it's this nuance that helps propel a narrative that's anything but linear. Meanwhile, there's a power struggle inside the bunker, now the great Marsden is reduced to a recurring role. His son, Charlie Evans, isn't, mind you, maturing before us. Julianne Nicholson's Sinatra wants things done her way, but Sarah Shahi is determined to make her think about what she's done and the consequences of her actions. Meanwhile, agents Krys Marshall and a livewire Nicole Brydon Bloom, could give Eva Longoria in 'The Sentinel' or Taye Diggs in 'The West Wing' a run for their guns.

Flashbacks and more back story than the notebooks of 'Wonder Man', for a show sandwiched between the marvels of that and the second helping of the Disney 'Daredevil' from Hell's Kitchen, 'Born Again', help with depth and the introduction to some welcome guest stars. All whilst seemingly setting up more in a stepping stone of a second season, which takes tricks and tips from 'Prison Break' in extending its sentence. 'Mindhunter' and 'The Umbrella Academy' star Cameron Britton ('A Man Called Otto', 'Mickey 17') can bring a mix of sweet and sinister, like no other, and here he plays a postman that compels like Costner. Whilst Thomas Doherty's (a 'Descendant' of many a Disney movie) Dylan gives more life to the outside in this post-apocalypse that looks like ides this March. That's where he meets superstar Shailene Woodley ('The Fault In Our Stars', 'Divergent', 'Big Little Lies') on horseback, holed up at Graceland as an Elvis tour guide. The scene-stealing best in show has barely been better, too. 'Paradise' find even more, with another way to turn trouble into television drama of the highest third season order. Ready to go deeper underground? TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Lost', 'Wayward Pines', 'Prison Break'.

DUAL REVIEW: BTS - THE COMEBACK - LIVE/THE RETURN - A DOCUMENTARY

4/5 (The Comeback)

4/5 (The Return)

Back To Seoul

62 Mins (The Comeback) / 93 Mins (The Return). Starring: RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook & V. Directors: Hamish Hamilton & Cameron Whitelaw (The Comeback) / Bao Nyguen (The Return). On: Netflix.

Switcheroo. Last week, Flea, candid and compelling, offered moving stories about his late, great guitarist bandmate in the Netflix documentary 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel'. The same time RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook and V of South Korea's very own leading K-Pop act BTS made their long-awaited after their mandatory military service. All for 'Arirang', their highly-anticipated, brilliant, brand-new album, featuring the streaming single 'Swim' and the 'Body To Body' opening dancefloor number. Giving us 'The Comeback' live on Netflix in the same weekend. Much like how fellow boy band phenomenon Harry Styles gave the streaming service 'One Night In Manchester' to coincide with his solo release, 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally'. This New Music Friday, Flea blew the trumpet on his first ever solo album, 'Honora', in honour of the bassist's family. All on the same day we got ready for 'The Return' of BTS again, in their new Netflix documentary film. Don't call it a comeback...that was so last week.

Netflix may have lost out to Paramount when it came to the acquisition of Warner Bros. (thanks a lot, Trump), but look what else they've picked up. Most recently, not only being the only streaming provider to televise this year's World Baseball Classic, they also gave us the MLB opening night between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. But it's the N x BTS deal that may just get an ARMY of new subscribers following. Disney used to be the Kingdom of BTS. From the 'Monuments: Beyond A Star' series detailing their hiatus, alongside the 'Permission To Dance' swan song live in LA, to all the documentaries about the solo work of J-Hope ('J-Hope In The Box') and Suga ('Road To D-Day'). Not to mention the hugely popular 'Are You Sure?!' travel series by Jimin and Jung Kook, which just sky-dived its second season in Switzerland. Yet that was the past and the best to come that was promised. And kept, as we see the future now, live on everybody's favourite streaming service that belongs to their best friend.

Now, what better way to debut their return record than with a homecoming in Seoul, South Korea, like no other...live? How about in the heart of the city, live from Gwanghwamun Square? The iconic temple that feels like a gate to the city featuring brushstrokes of projection mapping, added on to it for the effect at night, similar to what the digitally iconic TeamLab Borderless did to Kanazawa Castle and more, here in Japan. Classic, like the traditional dress of women singing the album title name's folk song as they sway in love, sorrow and endurance. Yet when the silhouettes of the magnificent seven appear on the map of the heart of Seoul, you just know it's on, like one of their biggest hits. Performing powerhouse records like 'Mic Dop', 'Dynamite', and other smooth like 'Butter' numbers, to go along with instant classic choice cuts off the new album. "Swim...swim." All as RM coolly took a seat, like this was a 'Yet To Come' performance, thanks to his going hard in rehearsals leaving him down on one knee, in matrimony with the Boyz II Men ballad seat.

In the engaging 'The Return', a documentary directed by Boa Nguyen ('Live From New York!', 'Be Water', 'The Greatest Night In Pop'), BTS debate whether they are using too long a sample of 'Arirang' in their album lead off track 'Body'. But as they sing, "my beloved/Who leaves me behind and departs/Your feet will tire/Before mine ever do," it's clear to hear that in-yun in 8,000 past lives, these boys would still be together. Most break...not this bulletproof squad. Candour and conviction are matched with a camaraderie that shows even the military couldn't tear apart what was already an army. And when they reunite on a beach, live online for their legions of fans, BTS behind the scenes like when Jimin asked Jung Kook if he was sure, you just know this one is more than just seven strong. Sealed with viral moments and a labour of love and trust of the process in a studio setting in Los Angeles, California. All the way back home across the shore and a live, studio plugged version of 'Swim'. A new lap for a group that has already taken its victory one and is about to run, run, run together again. The return has come all the way back. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'BTS - Monuments: Beyond The Star', 'BTS - Permission To Dance: On Stage - LA', 'Are You Sure?!'

REVIEW: MERCY

3/5

The Mercy Seat 

100 Mins. Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers & Kenneth Choi. Screenplay: Marco van Belle. Director: Timur Bekmambetov. On: Amazon Prime Video.

Just mercy. That's all that 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', 'Jurassic World' and 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' franchise face, Chris Pratt wants in this A.I. sci-fi movie (I promise this review wasn't composed by Chat GPT...it wouldn't have this many errors) that speaks to the changing, terrifying times we live in. 'Project Hail Mary', the new Phil Lord and Christopher Miller space movie, based on 'The Martian' novelist Andy Weir's book, starring Ryan Gosling, just gave Amazon MGM Studios it's biggest opening ever. See it in all its big-screen, IMAX glory, as Gosling tells us it's their (moviemakers) and not our (the audience) jobs to get us back in theatres. I must admit, if I knew it was a Prime movie going in, I may have waited for streaming (we see you...or wait to see you, Chris Hemsworth's 'Crime 101'), because I sympathize with his bicycle riding (not for health) teacher. But I'm glad I didn't. On the other hand, Chris Pratt's 'Mercy' is worth the home viewing seat wait.

Not quite, the 'War Of The Worlds' Ice Cube franchise melting bad, 'Mercy' is a pretty decent movie. Captured with that 'Searching' screenlife genre that doesn't completely sap the life out of storytelling when done correctly. Pratt's ('Passengers', 'The Tomorrow War', 'The LEGO Movie') cop character has been accused of murdering his wife ('Peaky Blinders' star Annabelle Wallis...'The Immortal Man', Cillian Murphy, may have something to say about all this), and now he is literally at the mercy of 'Mission: Impossible' franchise star Rebecca Ferguson's (who actually is in 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', on Prime Video's Netflix rival, this week) A.I. judge. He's got 90 minutes, or around this film time, to get his guilt level below 90%. Otherwise that digital courtroom chair he's sitting in will turn into an electric chair. With shades of 'Minority Report' and all those Philip K. Dick science-fiction stories that came before, Timur Bekmambetov's movie (off a slick, Marco van Belle script) has something to show and tell. Even if it comes at you more like the algorithms of modern-day pop-ups you just want to block.

Accept these cookies though, Bekmambetov ('Night Watch', 'Wanted', 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter') is the master of his screenlife domain ('Unfriended', 'Searching', 'Profile') no matter what you think of last year's 'War Of The Worlds' ("it's you...IT'S YOU!"). At least there isn't much Amazon product placement here, even if there are cool drone bikes, although it feels like they're resisting temptation as best they can. The real stroke though is the theatre between the charismatic Chris and Ferguson, serving looks and intelligence that is anything but artificial as she excels in playing a non-human in this art with smarts. Staring straight at you and boring holes in us at a thousand yards. There's also great support from 'True Detective: Night Country' partner Kali Reis, the Taserface of 'This Is Us' star Chris Sullivan, and the generations of Marvel Morita's, Kenneth Choi. Yet it's 'The Whispers' of young star Kylie Rogers ('Miracles From Heaven', 'Collateral Beauty', 'Beau Is Afraid') who offers more heart for this digital age. But what about the questions of how dependent we are on artificial intelligence these days, and how this assist could end up stealing our personal information if we don't take care of our privacy settings? The 'Mercy' seat is waiting for us. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Minority Report', 'Searching', 'War Of The Worlds'

REVIEW: PROJECT HAIL MARY

4/5

The Rocky/Grace Picture Show

156 Mins. Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz & Lionel Boyce. Screenplay: Drew Goddard. Directed By: Phil Lord & Chistopher Miller. In: Theatres & On: Prime Video.

Come with me for the best Hail Mary play since a football pass, or 2Pac song. We already knew mainstream, but nuanced, novelist Andy Weir is right with the teen dreams of Ernest Cline to be today's Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov when it comes to science-fiction writing. Making movies with Ridley Scott and Matt Damon's 'The Martian', surviving life on Mars by harvesting food from farm fertilizing farts. That big blockbuster, is met with this beautiful one, 'Project Hail Mary', as Weir brings more realism to a potential extinction level event, like he did maintaining meal prep on the red planet. Yet this Drew Goddard ('Cloverfield', 'World War Z', 'Daredevil' (see you tomorrow)) adapted screenplay is a lot more fun than the real-world implications of our end of days. Thanks to the lovable directing duo of 'The LEGO Movie', '21 (and 22) Jump Street' and the 'Spider-Verse' chronicles, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. And their kaleidoscope of versed images.

Cloudy, with a chance of asteroids, this project follows the legendary likes of the inspired 'Interstellar' and the cerebral 'Ad Astra' in its, "in space no one can hear you scream...because they've become a 90-year-old in what for you, was nine minutes", ideas. Yet it shares more in common with Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey', or Denis Villeneuve's 'Arrival'...but we will get to all that. The ninth highest-grossing film of 2026, so far, it's just been out a weekend, and it's only March, is also the best Amazon MGM Studios movie since the 'Air' of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck recruiting Michael Jordan to Nike really took off. Come fly with this, mind you, on the biggest interstellar IMAX screen of space before it goes to Prime Video streaming war with Netflix and Disney Plus. With Paramount out the bag Netflix was about to offer it, it's anyone's game now and, Amazon has already come prime with Chris Pratt's 'Mercy' and Chris Hemsworth's 'Crime 101'. Forget about the 'War Of The Worlds' product placement debacle.

Yet this is not a Chris (although he has a Lebowski cardigan to rival the cable knit of another Marvel man, Chris Evans in 'Knives Out'), but Ryan Gosling ('La La Land', 'Drive', 'Barbie'). A handsome Hollywood heartthrob playing way too good looking everymen (or Ken), like 'The Fall Guy' stunt, now he's happy and settled down with actress Eva Mendes (meeting on their best movie, 'The Place Beyond The Pines') and their family. Here, 'The Notebook' and 'Blue Valentine' star is a teacher like 'Half Nelson', wearing a yellow slicker that's a drain away from being grabbed by Pennywise. But he's already had 'First Man' astronaut experience. Let alone, science-fiction pedigree, with the brilliant 'Blade Runner 2049' sequel before his very own Star Wars vehicle. He'll need it, as he wakes up alone, like Chris Pratt on 'Passengers', with no memory of who he is, how he got here, or why? Looking like Jesus, and all set to be a saviour. He could pull a Pratt 'Passenger' move and rudely wake the rest of his crew up, but they now belong with the stars.

Heart-breaking, healing and hilarious, 'Project' will leave you crying with longing, and then so, with laughter. And the great Gosling plays it all perfectly, with heart, and the new trademark family movie fury, a la, Tom Hanks. There is a cast and crew, to go with the hot topics from his space storage closet, however. 'Anatomy Of A Fall' and 'The Zone Of Interest' star Sandra Hüller is just incredible after her own year, three years ago, in 2023. Best karaoke since Bill Murray in Tokyo. Whilst there's a buddy Costco comedy brewing with the always great Lionel Boyce, of 'The Bear' and Odd Future fame. But the real scene-stealing star of the show doesn't even have a face (hey, it worked for that dog (was it?) in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'). All credit to the puppet mastery and voice work of James Ortiz (soon to be the Andy Serkis of his collective craft) as the cute character creation Rocky, and a performance that will have you jumping for joy with your hands in the air at the top of the theatre steps. These two won't only try to save the world together, they'll also remake 'La La Land' promotional posters, with a dance just as iconic. Now, that's a sequel I want to see. Make that another 'Hail Mary' that lands. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Martian', 'First Man', 'Interstellar'.

REVIEW: PEAKY BLINDERS - THE IMMORTAL MAN

4/5

The Fallen Son

112 Mins. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan & Stephen Graham. Screenplay: Steven Knight. Director: Tom Harper. On: Netflix.

Blood is blind, as the sins of the father are visited on the son for 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', in cinemas and on Netflix. The Steven Knight classic creation (directed by Tom Harper), that has inspired more barbershop crewcuts and flat caps than an old man's pub, getting the BBC Films treatment, much like Idris Elba's 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' in 2023. And akin to that tweed coat and red tie, the suited and booted in the face crime drama feels more like the series it is and always will be, but is great to be shown on the big-screen. 'Peaky Blinders' left our screens about the same time we stopped wearing masks, after six seasons and just over a decade. The last we saw of '28 Days Later' franchise face, Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby, he was an MP for the Labour Party. Since then Murphy's law ('Batman Begins', 'Inception', 'Dunkirk') saw his win a Best Actor Oscar for Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer', by order of the Oscar Academy. An immortal man, indeed.

Yet Cillian returns to the character we know him best for, the Birmingham city gangster, taking out the trash. Albeit looking a little salt and pepper different under that cap (like I can talk). Tooling around his home like Christian Bale's Batman in 'The Dark Knight Rises', writing his memoirs, dressed to the pistol like Daniel Craig, or a Bond audition he swears he's busy for. Crafting character confliction like no other (that used to be his 'Inception' co-star Leonardo's art), haunted to those old blue eyes by the crimes he's committed and the mistakes he's made. The Howard Hughes exile won't last long, mind you, as he's brought back into the fray. And what an entrance to the bar top, as The Garrison is back open for business. Stick a pin in this explosive scene being one of the most epic entrance's in the franchises formidable fire and brimstone run. But what would bring the iconic Tommy Shelby back? How about a dynamite Barry Keoghan? Who is he? The trailer already tells you, but if you're saving it, I'm mum, like the late, great Helen McCrory.

Polly, Arthur and all the Shelby's before are more than missing in action in this big-screen bluster. Yet Keoghan ('The Killing Of A Sacred Deer', 'The Banshees Of Inisherin', 'Saltburn') makes up for all of that like the actor of the moment that he is. A wowzah of a wild-card shooting from the hip, and a big-name who has already shown he's about to hold all the cards as The Joker in 'The Batman' sequel. But this livewire is just like the 'Eternals' star joining Thor and Hulk (AKA Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo) as a blonde bike bomber in 'Crime 101'. Barry looks born to don the cap, and his chemistry with Cillian was already set with what they shared on a boat to 'Dunkirk'. Thick as thieves, or thick as pig s###? As these two get down on the mud before Murphy's Shelby rides through the city on the back of a horse, caked in it, and covered with the reaching palms of his constituents. Now, that's how you look like the legend that you are. Barry may bring it, but Cillian has cultivated it for a decade now. And when he dons the military fatigues you know he's bringing a war with him. Armed or not.

Brutal and beautifully shot and slow burning, yet life learning, 'The Immortal Man' plays a blinder for 'Peaky' lore and disorder. 'Dune' and 'Mission: Impossible' series star Rebecca Ferguson ('The Greatest Showman', 'Life', 'Doctor Sleep') is as underused as she is underrated, yet undeniable. Bringing it recently with Netflix's 'A House Of Dynamite and Amazon MGM Studio 'Mercy'. And most of the Shelby clan may be floating down a canal, but Sophie Rundle is still here and leaving her mark. Elsewhere 'Adolescence' Emmy winner Stephen Graham steps in for a recurring big name, similar to Tom Hardy. Giving us a glimpse of the old Liverpool docks in this great British drama of decades gone that also pays tribute to BSA munitions factory female workforce, who refused to go home when bombs were being dropped all around them. 'Peaky Blinders' has always brought the big names and guns. Sam Neill and Claflin, a brutalist Adrien Brody, and Anya Taylor-Joy. The great Tim Roth is no exception either, shooting it out with Shelby. All for an epic end that will live on in the bleak midwinter of immortality like Nick Cave's red right hand. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Peaky Blinders', 'Oppenheimer', 'Luther: The Fallen Sun'.

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: THE RISE OF THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - OUR BROTHER HILLEL

4/5

He Was Red Hot

95 Mins. Starring: Anthony Kiedis, Flea & John Frusciante. Director: Ben Feldman. On: Netflix.

Dave Navarro, Josh Klinghoffer, Will Ferrell? California's band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, have had more legendary former members than there are Lakers jerseys in the Los Angeles' rafters. Such is the nature of line-up changes in rock music, that feels like a sport in itself, the Grammy museum being just across the road from the purple and gold home in Figueroa. No past member, mind you, save the returning John Frusciante, was more of an iconic influence than late, great guitarist Hillel Slovak. The man that the great Frusciante based his own freaky styles on. He's here, on record, to tell you as such. One of the great guitar Gods we lost tragically in 1988, when he was just 26-years-young.

Next New Music Friday, Flea will finally give you his own solo project, 'Honora', that we just have to honour and trumpet. Set to be an instant classic like its iconic album artwork of record dedication love in black and white. The first RHCP release we've been peppered with since 2022's double-delight return of 'Love Unlimited' and the 'Return Of The Dream Canteen'. And this documentary, 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel', directed definitively by Ben Feldman, is the perfect precursor to this. Even though the band's official Instagram confirmed that this doc was actually unofficial, despite testimonials from Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante...this was before the great Chad Smith's time to shine on the skins. Streaming on Netflix, for their own big weekend, after hitting a home run with the World Baseball Classic, following their strike-out on the Warner Bros. deal. Giving us not only their long-awaited 'Peaky Blinders' movie, 'The Immortal Man', but 'The Comeback' of South Korean pop juggernaut BTS for 'Arirang'.

Slovak was a sweet, sensitive soul, who was taken far too soon by the influence of drugs. In those LA times he was a rider of the storm, without a shirt, like the murals of the legendary Jim Morrison that open the doors to Venice Beach...wide. Hillel would journal like a beat poet and even scrawl sublime sketches that will remind you of the art of John Lennon...all in his own style, mind you. He had such an inspired impact on others. Especially Anthony and Michael...just wait until you hear the story of how he became "Flea". And why for this rise of the Red Hots is this film the perfect set-up for Balzary's solo set, next week? Because Hillel was the one who told Flea he should pick up a bass and slap it, like Este or Ami. Seeing Flea get emotional will break your heart in an utterly moving and sad story as Kiedis gets candid and compelling, too. Hillel Slovak appeared on four Chili Peppers albums, appearing on one track of the magnificent 'Mother's Milk', and the crosswalk with their sock of c###s out, 'The Abbey Road E.P.', but his memory and impression is still on the strings, punctuating their percussion to this day. The Red Hot Chili Peppers don't rise without their brother. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Devo', 'Keith Richards-Under The Influence', 'Red Hot Chili Peppers: Woodstock '99'.

REVIEW: BLUE MOON

4/5

Born To Be Blue

100 Mins. Starring: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Jonah Lees, Patrick Kennedy, Bobby Cannavale & Andrew Scott. Screenplay: Robert Kaplow. Director: Richard Linklater. In: Theatres.

Rodgers and Hart's 'Blue Moon', a standard of the great American songbook, sung by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Billie Holiday and others, contains words that will leave an indelible impression on your heart. With lines like, "You knew just what I was there for/You heard me sayin' a prayer for/Someone I really could care for." And that's the yearning that burns the back of the lump in your throat, like the bourbon that should have stayed in the bottle, for the barstool counsel of this beautiful and bracing biopic of the same song name. All as the ever-versatile, like 'Hit Man', Richard Linklater ('Dazed and Confused', 'School Of Rock', 'A Scanner Darkly'), off a screenplay from 'Me and Orson Welles' novelist Robert Kaplow, reunites with his 'Boyhood' and 'Before' trilogy frequent collaborator and renaissance man Ethan Hawke ('Dead Poets Society', 'Training Day', 'Moonlight'). Tackling the life of lyricist Lorenz Hart. Straight from the sleeved heart perspective of Hart's own reflections on the night his former colleague Richard Rodgers' and his new partner, Oscar Hammerstein II, became the toast of the town, on Broadway, following the success of their musical 'Oklahoma!' with exclamation.

Ethan Hawke knows when he's beat. At The SAG...excuse me, The Actor Awards last week, you should have seen presenter Viola Davis and then Michael B. Jordan's reaction to him winning the Best Actor award for his dual defining performance in the perfect horror blockbuster 'Sinners'. As Jordan approached the stage humbly, Hawke, in a waistcoat for the ages, just had to stop him after his own loving reaction, as the two men clapped hands and embraced in respect. Ethan nudging him towards his podium like a proud parent so happy to see his contemporary take what is rightfully his. And that's kind of how the Academy Awards should play out with Hawke, and Kaplow, nominated. With all due respect to Leonardo DiCaprio ('One Battle After Another'), Wagner Moura ('The Secret Agent') and Timothée Chalamet ('Marty Supreme'), who may have just derailed his own campaign with those ballet and opera comments, but deserved it more for playing Dylan as 'A Complete Unknown'. The closest to Michael, is Hawke, however, in a perfect performance that is more than just a physical transformation, for an actor who really has been bringing it to his cinematic craft. Especially over the last decade.

From 'Born To Be Blue' to 'Blue Moon', Chet Baker to Lorenz Hart, Hawke now has a knack for playing troubled troubadours in brutal biopics that defy the Hollywood paint by numbers conventions. His conviction has also compelled us to some of his finest work like 'Taxi Driver' writer Paul Schrader's 'First Reformed'. He remade 'The Magnificent Seven', reuniting with Denzel Washington and 'Michael' director Antoine Fuqua. Directed a movie about 'Blaze' Foley. Hunted Billy 'The Kid' as Pat Garrett. Played an electric 'Tesla'. And even left the world behind with Netflix, Julia Roberts and others. But 2025, may have been his, and his 'Stranger Things' starring daughter, Maya's, best year yet. With the one for me, one for you of this and 'The Black Phone 2' Halloween sequel, as a new iconic villain. Not to mention 'The Lowdown' the Emmy's should have got for his "truthstorian." But here, with a barman to client counsel with the great Bobby Cannavale on fine form, he regales us with stories much like the compelling beginning of 'Predestination' when he had the bar towel. Breaking our heart and then touching our funny bone at a turn in equal measure.

Based on the letters between Elizabeth Weiland and Hart's heart, 'Blue Moon' is a lonely night spotlight portrait of a man's charismatic solidarity. You can see it from the lines that shake the beginning of this true story in quotes. Literally making it a Sony Pictures Classic. This comedy and tragedy garnering a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. The Elizabethan muse in question, played with punch by rising star of our moment Margaret Qualley ('Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood', 'Drive-Away Dolls', 'The Substance' and a couple of Yorgos Lanthimos pictures) in a blonde look set to drop bombshells like her vivid vulnerability. There are big, Hammerstein and Sondheim, names all over the show, but it's Jonah Lees' Morty Rifkin who deserves his introduction for playing piano throughout. Not to mention Patrick Kennedy's 'Stuart Little' writer E.B. White, mostly keeping himself to himself and playing the background. Yet the 75th Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear goes to a sublime Andrew Scott ('Fleabag', 'Ripley', 'All Of Us Strangers') fresh off waking up the dead man, with 'Knives Out'. Now, isn't that just life imitating its art? Still, Hawke, and Hart, will still have their time again, to shine under the bluest of moons. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Maestro', 'A Complete Unknown', 'Born To Be Blue'.