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Greetings again from the darkness. The 1972 are remembered for a few highlights. Swimmer Mark Spitz set seven world records on his way to seven gold medals. Belarusian gymnast Olga Korbut won three gold medals (although not in the all-around). The United States and Russia played one of the strangest and most controversial games in Olympics history. And most importantly, the 1972 Munich Olympics are remembered for the tragedy surrounding 10 members of Israel's team being taken hostage by a masked Palestinian militant group.

Writer-director Tim Fehlbaum and co-writers Moritz Binder and Alex David recreate the events from the perspective of the ABC television production crew. For some historical perspective, this was the first OIympics with widespread and comprehensive live television coverage. It was also the first Olympics held in Germany since 1936 (the Jesse Owens' games). These games were merely 27 years after the end of WWII. Quick math tells us that 27 years ago from this film's release was 1997, the year Princess Diana died. To put it plainly, physical and emotional wounds had not completely healed, and Germany was striving to put the past out of mind.

Renowned ABC sports producer Roone Arledge (played here by Peter Sarsgaard) is the man running the Olympics coverage. Newbie broadcast producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro, PAST LIVES, 2023) is brought in to run the "off hours", while Arledge rests. Mason's experience includes covering minor league baseball, so this is his first shot at the big time. His supervisor, Marvin Bader (played by Ben Chaplin, THE THIN RED LINE, 1998) has confidence in his young protégé, but things go sideways quickly when gunfire is heard.

The genius of the film stems from Director Fehlbaum and Cinematographer Marcus Forderer (I ORIGINS, 2014) choosing to shoot everything inside the ABC control room. This heightens the claustrophobia and pressure as the crew struggles with how best to handle this developing and obviously historic moment. It's no longer about swimming and sprinting, but now it's ABC Sports versus ABC News ... and since possession is the proverbial 9/10 of the law, Arledge fights to keep the story with his team who is in close proximity. Anchor Jim McKay is seen in archival footage, while reporter Peter Jennings is on the grounds. Translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch, who was amazing in THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE, 2023) is the only one who speaks German and she is vital in her reporting of what's being broadcast via local radio.

It's difficult to convey just how much tension runs through this film for both the television crew and the viewers. Ten members of Israel's Olympic team was taken hostage inside the Olympic Village by the masked Palestinian militant group Black September. We know how history played out over those hours and it's chilling to revisit from this perspective. The geopolitical aspects are touched upon (Bader was Jewish), but this isn't about that. Journalism may be heavily criticized these days, but it's historic moments like this when we depend on competent trained professionals to tell (and show the stories the world needs to know. The haunting archival clips used here add to the quasi-documentary feel.

Opening in select theaters on December 13, 2024 and wide on January 10, 2025.

Greetings again from the darkness. We are probably fortunate that there are people who research, investigate, and write about the reprehensible world of white supremacists. While most of us would prefer to imagine that such folks don't exist, or at least have little impact, the 1989 book "The Silent Brotherhood" by Gary Gerhardt and Kevin Flynn detail why ignoring is not a feasible option. Zach Baylin (KING RICHARD, 2021) has now adapted the book into a screenplay directed by Aussie Justin Kurzel (THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, 2019, and the excellent NITRAM, 2021). The book and the film are based on the facts of the case that is now 40 years old, yet still relevant today.

Jude Law stars as Terry Husk, a weathered FBI Agent assigned to a long-forgotten field office in Idaho. Husk is described as "slowing down" and it becomes clear he has had some health issues and is estranged from his wife and daughter. It's 1983 and we are in the studio as Denver radio DJ Alan Berg (Marc Maron, TO LESLIE, 2022). Berg was Jewish and liberal and we hear his verbal sparring with call-in white supremacists. If you recognize Berg's name, you likely know his story, and his inclusion reinforces the courage required to confront such hate.

After a violent bank robbery, Agent Husk is drawn into the spectrum of radical Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult continues his big year, NOSFERATU, JUROR #2), a white supremacist cult leader whose faction has broken off from the Aryan Nation run by a local pastor. As Mathews recruits, and teaches youngsters to shoot, he proclaims the group is "at war" and it's a race war against the government (as a reminder, Ronald Reagan was President at the time). Husk partners with a sharp youngster from the local Sheriff's office named Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan, THE TENDER BAR, 2021). The game of chase exposes Husk's preternatural instincts that sometimes go against the case lead, Agent Joanne Carney (the talented Jurnee Smollett, THE BURIAL, 2023).

The entire story takes place from 1983 to 1984 and includes robberies, murder, counterfeiting, and the understanding that leaders like Mathews believe what they read in "The Turner Diaries", and that they are somehow the chosen ones. Jude Law is especially good in this role and his scenes with Hoult are standouts. Although I'm not a fan of the climactic standoff, it seems to follow the history pretty closely ... taking place in Whidbey Island in Washington State. On the other hand, the buildup is especially well done, and the film looks spot on for the era.

Opened in theaters on December 6, 2024.

Greetings again from the darkness. I'll give you the set-up and you tell me how it ends. A workaholic real estate developer drives his yellow Porsche from Chicago to a middle-of-nowhere Ohio farm after his sister and brother-in-law die in a car crash. He's there to sign paperwork for a foster family to take the four brothers left behind. However, there's a glitch, and the stressed-out uncle is forced to extend his time with the four boys. Since, we can all guess how this story ends, the determining factor on whether it's worth watching is what happens in-between.

Director David Gordon Green has had quite a strange and diverse string of projects, going back to PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (2008), his recent horror reboots with HALLOWEEN (2018) and THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (2023), and numerous TV series, including "Eastbound & Down". The screenplay comes from Leland Douglas, and the film draws Ben Stiller out of leading man semi-retirement (he's been directing episodes of "Succession").

Michael (Stiller) is shown zipping through the countryside conducting important business on his cell phone as he drives. When he arrives on the farm, he immediately steps his expensive loafers into animal excrement. The social worker (a criminally underutilized Linda Cardellini, "Mad Men") informs him that the foster family backed out and he's now responsible for his four nephews, until a new foster family can be found. The boys have been home-schooled and living off the grid (pigs in the house, etc). They obviously have trust issues with an uncle who obviously doesn't want to be there.

For this story to work, we have to believe two things: that the boys connect with Mike and that Mike learns what really matters in life and is willing to drastically change. The four Kicklighter boys are played by real life Hanson brothers Atlas, Ulysses, Arlo, and Homer. They are truly the highlight of the movie, and it's a shame the story doesn't better utilize the dynamic of their transformation. Instead, there are a couple of side stories involving the town's rich man (played by Toby Huss, The Wiz from that "Seinfeld" episode), and a greedy professional foster home mother (Edi Patterson, KNIVES OUT, 2019). These stories should have been better explored or ignored completely to concentrate on Michael and the boys, Some comedy elements are introduced - Michael paddleboarding in the pond and Captain Bebop's Ice Cream truck, but the attempt at a sentimental ending is never earned and feels out of place, based on what we've watched. This has the look and feel of a Hallmark Christmas movie, yet it's missing charm and seasonal spirit. Perhaps UNCLE BUCK (1989) is the closest comparison, but this one never really comes close to matching that one.

Releases on Hulu on November 29, 2024.