The Bikeriders review
Motorcycle clubs get some attention this week on Movies Merica with the new Jeff Nichols movie “The Bikeriders.” You may know Jeff Nichols from his previous movies “Mud” and “Midnight Special.” This movie stars Tom Hardy as Johnny, the founder of the Vandals bike riding club and Austin Butler as Benny, another member. Butler is like a younger “rebel without a cause” member to Hardy’s older, settled but still rough founder. Enter Jodie Comer as Austin Butler’s wife Kathy, who is scared of the club, yet intrigued and awed by it. As you might expect, this bike riding club doesn’t just stay a bunch of guys and their old ladies riding around, having a great time. These are roughnecks who just don’t care, so that gets them in trouble with people who hate bike riders, the law and other clubs. The heat gets turned up on the club and life gets bloody real fast and this causes tension between Johnny, Kathy and Benny. The club also has to deal with increasing danger as the club expands to other cities and they find they now have some scarier members that don’t take orders from anybody, not even Johnny. The fuse has been lit, when will it explode? “The Bikeriders” also stars Michael Shannon, Damon Herriman, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, Beau Knapp, Emory Cohen, Karl Glusman, Toby Wallace, Happy Anderson, Paul Sparks and Will Oldham.
Dune Part Two review
The Dune books by Frank Herbert are widely said to be impossible to make into movies or shows. However, a few have tried and the latest is director Denis Villeneuve with, first, his Dune Part One film in 2021 and now Dune Part Two. Overwhelmingly, the consensus is that Villeneuve succeeded beautifully with his first Dune film in introducing movie audiences to the world of Dune. Now we get his Part Two which continues the story of Paul Atreides, who is royalty, but also could be the most powerful being in the entire universe someday. What will he do with this power? Will he engage in good to help out the people of the universe or will his power end up killing billions of people? Dune is also about Paul’s alliance with the people of the planet Arrakis, known as the Fremen. We also see his battle against his enemies, the Harkonnens and the Emperor. Is Dune Part Two entertaining as it tells this complex, twisted tale? Check out this show to find out. Dune Part Two stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgard and Charlotte Rampling.
Elvis review
Elvis has entered the building! Baz Luhrmann, from Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby fame, has directed this latest Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler as The King and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. If you know any of Luhrmann's prior work, you know this isn't going to be some drab, dull telling of the life of Elvis Presley. Is it worth you putting down the peanut butter and banana sandwich and going to see it? Listen to my spoiler-free review to find out!