The popular “Morning Show” is back, while an East Bay native scores a TD with “HIM,” thanks in part to executive producer Jordan Peele.
Here is our roundup.
“The Morning Show Season 4”: We can look forward to what might well turn out to be the most consistent season of the star-studded Apple TV+ soap opera, the cast of which features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Greta Lee, Karen Pittman and many more. And yes, it is a soap opera, just a very intelligent one, in which each of the main characters’ storylines work. But there remains a niggling problem: There’s too much of a good thing here. When you have a cast this deep and talented, no matter how you move the pieces on the chessboard, some are going to go sorely absent for an episode or two. Yes, it’s a good sign that we want to see these characters again, and that applies not only to Aniston’s Alex Levy, one of the richest and most complex characters on an ongoing series. But she’s hardly the only game in town. There are two other standout characters this season: Nicole Beharie’s Christina Stewart, who is hammered with questions about her sports past as she preps to cover the Olympics, and Boyd Holbrook as Brodie, a Joe Rogan-like podcaster who’s a hit with guys but is also a shrewd and ambitious entrepreneur and negotiator. Their storylines elevate the show.
The 10-episode season (the final episode wasn’t made available), again tackles relevant topics — deep fakes, AI, mergers, and a distrust in the media. There’s an overabundance to chew on in “The Morning Show,” but even though it is overstuffed, it consistently and intelligently weighs in on hot-button issues and avoids traditional black-and-white commenting or resolutions. Still I wish that Aaron Pierre’s character — husband of cunning new CEO Celine Dumont (Marion Cotillard) — had meatier scenes given how good of an actor he is, and that Jeremy Irons had a little bit more to do as Alex’s dad. We can forgive “The Morning Show” for those transgressions, since overall the show bristles with sharp writing and acting; Aniston anchors the entire production and gives a career-high performance this season. And, yes, Jon Hamm is back. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; first episode drops Sept. 17 followed by an episode weekly until Nov. 19.
“HIM”: Justin Tipping’s eye-catching 2016 feature debut “Kicks” promised that great things were in store for the El Cerrito native. Now Tipping is more than delivering on that promise with executive producer Jordan Peele’s brainy, raw-nerved sports/horror think piece.
“HIM” works as disturbing scary movie and as a guttural commentary about professional sports. It takes to task alarming National Football League practices while critiquing the mistreatment of up-and-coming athletes. It even calls out our obsession with the game and how veteran athletes’ accrual of glory and celebrity can domino into an outright American horror story. A lot of turf gets covered, and “HIM” never fumbles the ball.
The sharp, pared-down script (the film clocks in at just over 90 minutes) bundles numerous button-pushing themes and allegories, and delivers them with a perfect spiral. Tipping lures us into a visually seductive Dantesque sports hell where players get it drummed into their heads that the only way to get ahead is to develop “killer instincts.”
Tyriq Withers stakes his claim here as a force of nature, cast well not just for his acting chops (he certainly has them) but his gazelle-like athleticism and a doe-eyed earnestness that coves a more complex person inside.
He’s up-and-coming QB Cameron Cade, a ready-made NFL poster boy whose athletic prowess and chiseled looks could easily be packaged by team bigwigs and exclamatory journalists into a “hero.” Ever since he and his dad and the rest of the family attended the Church of Football (the religious and mythological allusions here are none too subtle) every Sunday in front of the TV set, he has dreamt about becoming that GOAT (Greatest of All Time), like his football idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), who’s exhibiting some serious career-twilight demons.
Cam’s path to glory gets eclipsed after being assaulted by a fan (a scene that echoes the weird and sinister style Peele utilized in “Us”). Depressed, Cam accepts a special invite from Isaiah to heal and train at the veteran player’s isolated Southwest desert compound, hoping to get back on track for a profitable NFL career. From there, it gets freakier and freakier, leading to a gutsy finale that’s bloody and, like the entirety of the film, jacked up on imagery that shakes you up and spits you out.
“HIM” is an extra shrewd and pointed takedown of organized sports — specifically football, in all its savage glory – as well as the parasites who feed off players’ success. Every part of it — the killer soundtrack, surreal cinematography, gladiator-esque production design, carefully curated outfits and training gear selected by costume designer Dominique Dawson, a Vallejo native – elevates Tipping’s Grand Guignol vision. Welcome to the big time, Tipping. You’ve just made one of the best films of 2025. Details: 4 stars; opens Sept. 19.
“The History of Sound”: Two men (Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor) who are as in love with folk music as they are with each other find themselves longing for something more in Oliver Hermanus’ somber early-20th-century American gay romance. Hermanus’ gorgeous film, which bears similarities to Ang Lee’s masterpiece “Brokeback Mountain,” is in no rush to relate its love story and steeps itself in quiet, soulful interactions the lovers have with nature, music and, of course, each other. Hermanus cements his reputation as one of our most meticulous filmmakers — his films “Moffie” and “Living” can attest to that — and he takes great pains in painting the world these men inhabit and the life-changing journey they take. Kentucky farm boy Lionel Worthing (Mescal) is a sensitive soul who feels every chord and has a beautiful voice as well. He teams with the wealthier David White (O’Connor) to collect recordings of folk songs in rural Maine. Mescal and O’Connor each have a natural ease and awkwardness that fits with the plight of their characters. Based on two stories in Ben Shattuck’s same-titled story collection (he also wrote the screenplay), “Sound” reminds us of the toll that’s taken when you can’t fully embrace your desires and loves. Details: 3½ stars; opens Sept. 19 in select theaters.
“Swiped”: Just how repellent can tech bro culture get? Director/co-screenwriter Rachel Lee Goldenberg gives us a good idea in 20th Century Studio’s outrage-inducing take on the career journey of entrepreneur Whitney Wolfe Herd (Lily James of “Cinderella”), one of the rare female innovators to take over a tech company and become a billionaire in the process. As Goldenberg’s compelling dramatization illustrates, it took years of being overlooked, sexually harassed and intimidated. Yet, Herd Whitney — who signed an NDA after leaving Tinder, an online dating app and a company she helped create — didn’t help or advocate for female colleagues along the way, as he film illustrates.
“Swiped” draws you in from the start and paints Wolfe as a real person who makes mistakes and that makes it a more human, relatable story. James is magnetic in the lead while Jackson White and Ben Schnetzer are the epitome of tech bros — playing the other founders of Tinder. A nearly unrecognizable Dan Stevens steals the film, though, as Andrey Andreev, who offers to pump money into Herd’s massively successful enterprise that became the hugely popular female-directed online dating app Bumble. As in real life, “Swiped” gives its main character a happy ending, but it’s realistic about what it took to get there. And she remains one of the very, very few women in a male-dominated landscape. Details: 3 stars; available Sept. 19 on Hulu.
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle”: Cutting-edge 3D animation and classic story arcs dealing with honor, sibling rivalries and even bullying distinguish this first in a trilogy of epic “farewell”l films based on the popular manga and streaming series. Obviously, there’s a lot of worldbuilding that’s preceded the events that transpire here so diehard fans already deeply entrenched and well-versed on the backgrounds of these characters might have a different reaction than newbies to this dynamite film. Regardless, there’s a lot for everyone to enjoy – even first-timers. That’s true of its final 30 minutes in this 2 hour 30-plus action epic – an emotional gutter.
“Demon Slayer” is built around Titan-like clashes between a corps of well-trained heroic demon slayers and fearsome demons. Director Haruo Sotozaki never lets your attention, nor the action lag. Neither do the screenwriters as they tuck in flashbacks to help contextualize storylines and give them extra depth. It’s a smart move to integrate the exciting action sequences with those, even if it might annoy those who already know the backgrounds.
Set almost entirely in a massive Rubik’s cube-eseque mansion that’s teeming with demon entities, it finds Tanjiro and corps members infiltrating this exceedingly hostile territory and engaging in showdown battles. The goal is to find and bring down archenemy Muzan. To get at him, there are numerous martial arts fights/acrobatics and an abundance of beheadings and gougings, staged and choreographed with precision.
The best showdown gets saved to the end and it provides that aforementioned gutting experience, and it’s one that flips the switch on how we feel about one character. Expect more of that emotion in Parts II and, in particular, Part III.
Even for the uninitiated this is well worth a trip to the movie theater to see and marvel at on a big screen, especially if it’s in IMAX. You might find yourself dipping into the start of the Crunchyroll series. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.
“Megadoc”: There’s little doubt that the few who saw Francis Ford Coppola’s watchable but bonkers $120 million passion project “Megalopolis” will best appreciate Mike Figgis’ fascinating documentary on the making of this decades-in-the-making curiosity. But even if you didn’t wade into the impressive excess that Coppola created, Figgis’ insider documentary serves as a textbook of the making of a box-office flop. Figgis directed Coppola’s nephew Nicolas Cage to an Oscar for “Leaving Las Vegas and gratefully doesn’t take a gotcha approach to the behind-the-scenes documentation of what turned out to be one long shoot. Flareups between Coppola and star Shia LaBeouf, along with Aubrey Plaza just being Aubrey Plaza, make Figgis’ fly-on-the-wall study entertaining. But it is Coppola’s “Impossible Dream”-like quest to turn a long-gestating dream in a coherent production makes you admire his moxie to pull it off. Details: 3 stars, opens in select theaters Sept. 19.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.