I know we’ve been here before. The Florida Panthers looked unbeatable going 3-0 on the Edmonton Oilers last year before McDavid and Draisaitl went wild and willed their team to a Game 7. So, this year’s rematch is definitely not over … but it’s not looking good.

The difference is that the Oilers looked shell shocked out the gate in 2024. They started this series so well that they were an overtime goal away from going up 2-0 heading to Sunrise. Now? The wheels are falling off.

Stuart “Mr. Game 4” Skinner (coined last night by Henrik Lundqvist) was pulled after a great period despite letting in three goals. And Jeff “Healthy Scratch” Skinner drawing in for his third game of the playoffs (on a two-game scoring streak no less) to shake things up hasn’t done enough.

We’ll see if the heroics repeat themselves to force another Game 7 next Friday, but a champion looks to be crowned this weekend.

At least, that’s what I thought and wrote after an abysmal twenty minutes.

Then: Signs of life.

Four straight goals for a miraculous comeback countered only by a game-tying score with twenty seconds left. From blowout to yet another overtime.

Then the inevitable: Leon with his fourth OT winner. Pickard with his seventh win.

I said it still wasn’t over when I thought it was and now it’s a series once more.

What I Watched:

ANDOR: Season Two

(streaming on Disney+)

If "Andor" Season One was the birth of a rebel via Cassian Andor's (Diego Luna) gradual awakening, Season Two reveals the birth of the rebellion. Sure, said rebellion was already underway. It needed to be in order for someone to choose to be amongst its ranks. But there's a difference between isolated moments of insurrection with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) operating as puppet master and a full-fledged enterprise consisting of regiments and chain of command. The missions he set Cass, Vel (Faye Marsay), and Wilmon (Muhannad Ben Amor) on were seeds being planted across the galaxy. The words of Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther) became a manifesto inspiring others to seek freedom. And now, Tony Gilroy and company have put it all together.

The show probably would have gone five seasons if it had begun production around the time of Rogue One (the story upon whose back it serves as a prequel). Between the COVID shutdown, industry strikes, and a bursting streaming bubble, however, we should be grateful we even received two. Gilroy makes it work by devoting this latest run of twelve episodes into four equal chapters spanning a truncated period of real-ish-time events labeled by their year in relation to A New Hope: BBY 4 (Before the Battle of Yavin) through BBY 1.

First come the effects of the previous season via a three-pronged narrative showing Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) sending her daughter into marriage, Cass trying to survive the end of a mission to steal an Imperial spacecraft, and Bix (Adria Arjona) hoping to evade an Empire audit in the fields where she, Wil, and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) work as undocumented laborers. Next are the consequences of an expanding rebellion causing there to be too many plates spinning at once for both Luthan and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), their inevitable collision course coming into greater focus while Cass questions his desire to keep pressing his luck by sacrificing his life for the cause.

BBY 2 is the coup de grâce culminating in two of the best episodes of television this century courtesy of "Who Are You?" and "Welcome to the Rebellion". The former is named after a line channeling the "Mad Men" meme exchange between Don Draper and Michael Ginsberg with all the withering heat of "I don't think about you at all" as well as the revelation that, despite his many attempts at the contrary, Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) is nothing more than a cog in the machine. Its epic faux "first strike" turning into massacre (the parallels to Stephen Miller fabricating a reason to put federal law enforcement on the ground in Los Angeles right now are uncanny) leads to a powerful, galvanizing moment for the rebellion that can only be rivaled by Mon and Senator Organa's (now played by Benjamin Bratt) sacrifices within a tense exfiltration during the latter episode.

And the final block serves as the connective tissue to Rogue One—a beautifully orchestrated last hurrah for those who don't make it into that film and a rousing ramp up to the drama ahead for those who do. Yes, even K-2SO (Alan Tudyk). I'll admit to being worried that it didn't seem like there would be enough time to do it justice considering all that occurred during BBY 2, but the cast and crew get it done with elegant precision and high-octane suspense courtesy of both Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) and Cass knowing what is at stake once they realize they might have finally compressed the information gap separating their efforts from those of Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn).

Their ability to advance so much plot in so little time with these densely packed trios only works by giving audiences the respect they deserve as far as knowing we understand the connections without needing them spelled out (sorry, Netflix, not everyone wants "second screen" content with dialogue meant to keep us informed so we don't actually need to watch anything). It's a testament to their love for these characters and their handle on the politics of both sides of a civil conflict caused by fascistic oppression (heck, we do too considering all that's happening on American soil and beyond today). That they do so while also finding time to focus on smaller representations of that scenario (namely Kathryn Hunter's unforgettable, totalitarian mother) is our gain on an entertainment and educational level considering sympathizers must never be let off the hook.

Beyond the easy heroes and villains, however, "Andor" also gets to the heart of a person like Syril—someone who might prove most intriguing due to his delusion about his place in the dichotomy. Because there's a difference between him and ISB members like Dedra and Partagaz (Anton Lesser). He might be on the side of evil, but he exists there as an idealist earnestly pursuing a warped ideal fed to him since youth. They operate on ego and ambition, willingly trading their souls for a piece of the pie. Syril operates on righteousness, presuming his pursuit of justice is pure because he hasn't awoken to the fact that his justice is actually a means to bolster his superiors' injustice. It's why Dedra and Partagaz's ends feel satisfying in their anguish and Syril's feels heartbreaking by contrast. Sadly, too many refuse to open their eyes until it's already too late.

- 9/10

ECHO VALLEY

(streaming on AppleTV+)

It's easy to vilify a parent for giving up on their child because blah, blah, blah. But sometimes people truly don't deserve a second chance. Or a third. Or a tenth. Richard Garretson (Kyle MacLachlan) sees that. Sure, he's obviously a bastard and thus warrants our instant hate for everything he says and does (including giving his ex-wife the money he swore he wouldn't right after chastising her for doing the same with their daughter over and over again), but those things mustn't be mutually exclusive. He can be a jerk. Kate (Julianne Moore) can be a pushover. And Claire (Sydney Sweeney) can be troubled beyond help. Maybe their combined volatility created that truth. Maybe that truth created the volatility.

Whichever the reason, director Michael Pearce and writer Brad Ingelsby rely on our prejudices (and their exploitation of them) to quickly empathize with Kate's plight. Because Echo Valley isn't just about her roller coaster of emotions where it comes to her daughter's drug habit and instability. It's also about the grief of having lost her wife nine months prior. Kate has been taking care of their farm by herself all that time—wishing she could stay in bed, but knowing she must feed the horses. In a perfect world, Claire would be there to help. To support her mother in her time of need. But she's instead become a drain on Kate's savings for rehab stints she never even finishes.

So, it's difficult to sympathize with Claire. No matter how much we understand Kate's instincts to love her unconditionally, we, as outsiders, can only grant so much room for authentic change before wishing this widowed mother would cut her loose. Ending the story early can become a better outcome than enduring the constant examples of why she should have done so before it ever got to this point. Add an extremely violent altercation between Kate and Claire early on and we receive front row seats to the evidence that proves it. Thankfully that incident does finally break the blind maternal hold. Kate tries to move on knowing her daughter will probably end up dead and we accept it's probably for the best.

That's when the plot kicks in. Right when we assume Claire and her boyfriend Ryan (Edmund Donovan) will turn up as cadavers in the morgue courtesy of psychopath Jackie Lawson (Domhnall Gleeson), she turns up on Kate's doorstep with blood-soaked clothes and a body in her car. It's a wild scenario, but one that can be excused due to the circumstances set forth. Claire is an addict and thus highly erratic. Kate is an open heart who always chooses the people she loves above herself when forced to make a quick decision. Yes, it's funny that Claire decides wrapping the person she accidentally killed in a sheet and duct tape was smarter than calling the police and feigning self-defense, but she hasn't done anything for us to believe smarts would ever trump impulse.

So, the narrative shifts away from a mother coping with loss and attempting to stay strong enough for another. Now it's a quasi-suspense thriller surrounding a crime Kate has implicated herself in to save Claire. We know there's no way it won't backfire because Claire is destined to screw it up and we still have an hour-plus of runtime to go, but how it backfires might surprise you. I applaud Pearce and Ingelsby for the twist because everything was going rather straightforwardly until that rug pull—even if it proves obvious in hindsight. From there it's an uncomplicated journey towards watching Kate try to save herself. There's something empowering in it because the only way to succeed is by finally letting herself leave her wife and daughter behind.

It's why I didn't necessary love the ending (I'd have given the film an extra star if it finished with a door slam instead of a more ambiguous cut to black that all but ensures the door stays open). It's one thing to forgive, but it's another to move on. While Kate might still do the latter, nothing we've seen prevents us from assuming the former was a foregone conclusion regardless of whether she'd have the self-control to not provide it as freely as in the past. Echo Valley seems so intent on exposing the complexity of this mother-daughter relationship that a more cynical end game seemed the point. Chickening out doesn't undercut the action, but it does render it somewhat anticlimactic.

So too does the inevitable rewind to show us what "really happened" despite the result already explaining it without further handholding. As soon as the police officer (Albert Jones) explains details we didn't know would be found by his investigation, everything clicks into place. And the why is always more important than the how. Give us a glimpse of horses running free and another Fiona Shaw wink and we'll put two and two together. We don't need a lengthy runback to prove what we already know. For a film that took pains to be more show than tell, this moment does undercut the potency of what occurred because it shows the filmmakers didn't quite trust their own work.

The film is still worth watching, though. Moore and Shaw are great. Sweeney is intentionally annoying with a nice ability to garner sympathy even as we know Claire holds all the blame. And Gleeson is having fun chewing scenery with a huge grin. It doesn't reach the heights of Pearce's debut Beast, but it is a step-up from his previous work, Encounter. He's an intriguing filmmaker who's always bolstered by great casts, but it's hard not to wonder if there's a reason Amazon and Apple have been his last two homes. That's not to say they don't or haven't bankrolled quality art. It's just that they also often bankroll scripts other studios wouldn't for content purposes alone. Echo Valley has its moments, but I mostly kept thinking about The Deep End and God's Creatures instead.

- 6/10

SINNERS

(VOD/Digital HD)

World War I veterans Smoke and Stack Moore (Michael B. Jordan) left Mississippi behind to find greener pastures up north in Chicago. It worked for a while, but, despite leaving Jim Crow, they still weren't free. So, as they soon explain, the twins chose the "devil they knew" and returned home with stolen money and liquor to open a juke joint at the old sawmill down by the plantations where they grew up. This would be their tiny patch of land to live their dream of being beholden to no one but themselves. A haven for the Black community surrounding them to escape the fields and the danger of trying to exist amongst white people who are one lie away from destroying their lives.

That question of freedom remains, however. The brothers understand the tenuous nature of their entrepreneurship. They even threaten the racist landowner selling them the land that none of his Klan brethren better step one toe over the property line lest they get a bullet in the head. They take the chance, though, because they have each other's backs. And they have a slew of friends ready to help and share in the profits of what could be their sanctuary from having to constantly look over their shoulders before every sip of their drink. Because this can be their church of the soul away from the oppressive nature of God and the twisted temptations of the Devil. Away from the false safety of laws and faith so they might simply exist solely for themselves.

Premised on the idea that evil seeks out genius as a means to possess it, Ryan Coogler's Sinners introduces a proverbial pig to the slaughter via young Sammie (Miles Caton), Smoke and Stack's cousin. Spending every free second he has on playing the guitar when not working the fields or assisting his pastor father (Saul Williams), music has become his God. It's what he worships and proselytizes—a fact that has he dad worrying about the Devil taking his boy's soul (because everything that isn't what he preaches as salvation must therefore be corrupt). But Sammie doesn't care. It's his passion and his cousins are giving him his big break that night to christen their new club. So, he'll play his heart out. He'll inspire and move all in attendance. And he'll inevitably bring that evil to their door.

Beyond the metaphor of art (the music played by Sammie and Delroy Lindo's Slim and sung by Jayme Lawson's Pearline) and love (whether Wunmi Mosaku's Annie as the mother of Smoke's lost child or Hailee Steinfeld's Mary as the woman Stack wants to protect by pushing her away) as freedom, is also the allure of power. That's what Smoke and Stack crave and see money as an avenue towards achieving it. Because, while all the people they recruit are friends (rounded out by Chinese grocers Bo and Grace Chow, played by Yao and Li Jun Li, and their bouncer in Omar Benson Miller's Cornbread), it's the cash that gets them all to push aside their current means of compensation. Money has sway. It allows them to collect those necessary to make dream into reality.

But there's also the power of privilege. Mary passing as white while still being family with this Black community. The Klan putting on smiles during the day to put their would-be victims in place for slaughter at night. The twins' gangster reputation keeping strangers in line. And, off-screen, the mostly rich and white executive suite types bankrolling musicians and athletes as property to the point where their songs and stats are no longer their own. This very country was built on stolen land upon the backs of the people most persecuted by its justice system even as the number of so-called minorities living here almost equal the number of white citizens who somehow believe "equality" means maintaining the same exclusive "ol' boys" club ... just without the hoods. Even those offering a helping hand demand a pound of flesh for the trouble.

Therein lies the beauty of Remmick (Jack O'Connell). Here is an Irish immigrant vampire who has lived long enough to have seen the cycle of prejudice and hate revolve. He was its victim at one point too. He's seen how the world refuses to change as much as move the compass point elsewhere for a spell in order to grant reprieves that last just as long as is necessary before spinning back around. What he offers isn't money, but time. Time to see the chains passed onto another because the idea that they can actually be broken is futile. Remmick is temptation, but also yet another figure seeking control. Because he doesn't give everyone a choice. And, while his memories will be transferred to those he turns, it's their memories that matter most to him. He doesn't want their bodies. He wants the beauty within. A Generative AI looking to consume humanity whole.

Is it better that he was a victim too? Should Smoke, Stack, and the others embrace what he's offering because it might grant them the longevity to see their would-be assailants burn? It might be to some ... if they were allowed the room to consider it rather than merely get seduced into volunteering their vulnerability for the promise of a distraction they're helpless to combat. Not Slim, though. Not Pearline. They understand their worth (even if the world doesn't and they've suffered as a result). The music sings within them and they will not give that away freely. Slim talks about surviving demons before—not supernatural ones like Remmick either, so the sentiment hits deep. Sammie is a different story. He's still young. Impressionable. Lorded over by his father and Smoke—men who believe they know better. The fear might still win out to let his guitar go.

That's the central fight here. Not an exciting and emotional last stand via a microcosmic civil war pitting undead friends and family against the living. Not the resonant allusions to emancipation and civil rights. Not even God versus muse. Those things all play their role, but they're different examples of the battlefields that pit free will against nihilism. And it's about choosing how you die just as much as choosing how you live too. Look no further than Smoke and Annie to witness devotion to a truth they might not always be brave enough to speak aloud, but one they've held onto ever since they buried their child. Because it's the specter of death that often provides us the meaning we need to survive. Not as something to reject, but something to embrace.

Isn't that a form of immortality too? To believe in an afterlife? Of course it is. So too is legacy—leaving this world with the evidence of your life through your art. Coogler gives them all an equal piece to this puzzle as a means to portray that there isn't just one way to life. You can turn your pain into a creative outlet. You can turn it into purpose through love. And you can do the same through hate. The shepherd, the flock, and the monster: we must all choose which we're to become and, chances are, we still will be at the mercy of someone else anyway. But as Stack and Sammie reminisce, there will be a moment upon each path that makes it all worth the struggle. An eternity for those who've died too soon. A brief few hours for those who cannot die. Or a, simply put, life well lived.

So, do yourself a favor and stay through the credits for an epilogue that truly hits on the ideas Coogler puts on-screen via the excellent gore-filled genre trappings of a vampire horror. Stay until the very end for a nice little musical sendoff too. Because no matter how good Sinners is on the surface (the marriage of music with Ludwig Göransson's score, visuals with Autumn Durald Arkapaw's cinematography, and performance with an impressive cast expressing themselves through movement as much as words), its power lies deeper. Not as a means to manipulate through cinematic tricks or soap-box declarations, but to inspire and grant us permission to set ourselves free from society, expectations, and doubts. After all, the only person who should control your life is you.

- 10/10

TATAMI

(limited theaters)

It only seems right that an Israeli and Iranian would collaborate on a film about the political violence wrought by both countries upon their citizens in relation to the other. Director and co-writer (with Elham Erfani) Guy Nattiv originally approached Zar Amir Ebrahimi about acting in his latest film Tatami. Soon, however, she found herself giving more to the production as both a casting director and producer helping to lend the script another authentic Iranian voice (alongside Erfani). The more she and Nattiv discovered their shared cinematic sensibilities, he asked if she would be interested in co-directing. And so, the Israeli living in America and the Iranian exile in France joined forces to lift the veil on the heroism of artists and athletes who dare oppose an oppressive regime.

The story centers on Iran's judoka champion Leila Hosseini (Arienne Mandi) as she continues her quest for a World Championship gold medal in Tbilisi, Georgia. Everyone is excited for the opportunity—her family, her coach (Ebrahimi's Maryam Ghanbari), and her home government considering they've allowed her the ability to travel to the tournament under their flag. Leila feels good. Determined. Maryam is giving her all too to steward her best competitor towards an honor she never achieved herself due to a career-ending injury. And with two quick and decisive victories in the early rounds, this Cinderella tale is poised to play out just as they've imagined. That's when the phone begins to ring to remind both women how little autonomy they actually possess.

Because winning isn't the Islamic Republic of Iran's goal. Sure, it would be a nice bragging-rights-feather in their cap, but their participation is nothing if not a strategic cog in their propaganda machine. It's meant to soften their image as far as the baked in misogyny of their laws (Leila's husband, Ash Goldeh's Nader, must sign her passport granting his permission for her to leave). To show the world that they let women out of the house to pursue their dreams ... as long as those dreams service the nation's reputation. And while one might assume this message is targeting the international community, it is in fact reflecting back upon the Iranian people as a false sense of hope and possibility. As such, Leila's experience in Georgia must fully adhere to the Supreme Leader's indoctrination.

Therein lies the issue. It's one thing for Leila to win the tournament. It's another to wittingly acknowledge the sovereignty of Israel's Zionist regime in the process. If Shani Lavi (Lir Katz) had lost early, there wouldn't have been a problem. Since she is cutting through her opponents at a similar speed as Leila, however, the potential of them meeting on the mat becomes too realistic a chance to take. You can't have her withdraw right before this possible match either as that would look suspicious. So, it would be better for all involved if she were to get "injured" now and fight another (hopefully Israeli-less) day. It falls on Maryam to relay the message as an extension of their government. The longer it takes to convince Leila, the more brazenly violent Iran will become to scare her into submission.

What begins as a sports drama rapidly turns into a tense thriller as a result. Because it's not just about the judo matches anymore (which provide riveting suspense themselves in Leila's underdog pursuit of a championship). Now it's about survival as Iranian police start targeting families back home with phone calls providing blackmail proof. "Diplomats" begin to make their way behind the scenes of the tournament to turn the screws right under the noses of the WJC representatives tasked to ensure the event is fair and safe for all its athletes (Jaime Ray Newman's Stacey Travis and Nadine Marshall's Jean Claire Abriel). And that institution must commence its own protocols to ready for a potential defection should they be approached to provide one.

Unlike the real-life story of Alexander Mogilny's defection from the Soviet Union—something a Buffalo native like me knows well as a Sabres fan—Nattiv and Ebrahimi are ratcheting up our apprehension by confining everything to a single locale. There's no opportunity to play a shell game with cars or to utilize embassies as safe havens. And with the advent of telephones and internet, there's nowhere that someone with nefarious plans cannot go to get at their target. So, there arrives a lot of confusion as these women are forced to make impossible decisions in very little time while plainly visible to their oppressors. It's one thing for Maryam to slow walk telling Leila in the hopes Lavi loses, but another to risk her own safety by lending support once the cat is out of the bag.

The same goes for Leila. Giving Iran the middle finger when you're on a hot streak becomes a much more difficult decision when you're calling your husband to flee the country and receiving proof-of-life videos of your parents begging you to withdraw. And what power does Stacey and Jean Claire truly hold in the grand scheme of things? Iran doesn't care about threats of being banned from international competitions (it's done nothing to stop Russia from continuing its invasion of Ukraine and no one has been moral enough to even threaten Israel with the same while their ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people continues unchecked). They can tell Leila that they'll protect her, but only she knows what Iran is capable of if it turns out they can't.

Nattiv and Erfani's script handles this rock and hard place conundrum effectively if for no other reason than their conscious effort to keep things rooted in authenticity. This isn't Leila against the world without reservations. It isn't Maryam taking a stand to protect her competitor when no one else will. Those things might eventually happen, but giving them an unwavering, steely resolve to pretend the stakes aren't life or death would ultimately undercut the potency of them standing up. Don't expect the grand contrivance of Iran being pitted against Israel for gold to be exploited as an easy dramatic out either. We learn very early on that winning on the mat is meaningless compared to surviving the political and physical violence of daring to get on the mat at all.

Mandi and Ebrahimi are fantastic in their portrayals with every decision holding a betrayal in one hand and possible execution in the other. Add the grittiness of its full frame black and white putting us into the action with tons of close-ups alongside the voyeur paranoia of spies staring down from the bleachers and Nattiv returns to the intensity of his feature debut Skin (the one starring Jamie Bell, not the divisive Oscar-winning short film of the same name) after his more recent, generic effort with Golda. It really does feel like anything can happen on-screen here. That the danger could be stronger if the filmmakers allow it to defeat their characters rather than be defeated by them. Tatami's message is one that's always better absorbed when the stakes never go away.

- 8/10

Cinematic F-Bombs:

This week saw Barely Lethal (2015), Boys State (2020), The Circle (2017), Life as We Know It (2010), More American Graffiti (1979), Nothing But Trouble (1991), O'Dessa (2025), Radio Flyer (1992), The Soloist (2009), and The Tomorrow War (2021) added to the archive (cinematicfbombs.com).

Christopher Nathan Miller dropping a shocked f-bomb in Barely Lethal.

New Releases This Week:

(Review links where applicable)

Opening Buffalo-area theaters 6/13/25 -

• Dakuaan Da Munda 3 at Regal Elmwood
• How to Train Your Dragon at Dipson Flix, Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge, Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria, Quaker
• Materialists at Dipson Amherst, Flix, Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge, Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria, Quaker
• Pind Peya Sara Jombieland Baneya at Regal Elmwood
• The Unholy Trinity at Regal Transit, Quaker

Streaming from 6/13/25 -

• Absolution – Hulu on 6/13

• Best Wishes to All – Shudder on 6/13

• Cleaner – Max on 6/13

  “The filmmakers might as well have just delivered their Die Hard retread without jumping through hoops they so readily erase whenever finding themselves flirting with taking an actual stand.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.

• Echo Valley – AppleTV+ on 6/13

  Thoughts are above.

• Love Me – Paramount+ on 6/16

• Sally – Disney+/Hulu on 6/17

• Surviving Ohio State – Max on 6/17

• Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem – Netflix on 6/17

• The Quiet Ones – Hulu on 6/19

  “I give August's script a ton of credit because a lot needs to be made known during preparations for what occurs to make sense. The fact none of it feels forced is no small feat. It helps that Hviid shoots the heist with urgency.” – Full thoughts at The Film Stage.

Now on VOD/Digital HD -

• 11 Rebels (6/10)

• The Amateur (6/10)

• Clown in a Cornfield (6/10)

  “[There's] a disingenuous undercurrent of older allies playacting today's youth's authentic rage. I'm sure Craig and Blanchard mean well, but this property needed filmmakers in their twenties or thirties behind the wheel rather than fifties and above.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.

• Franklin (6/10)

• G20 (6/10)

• Lily (6/10)

• Misericordia (6/10)

• When Fall is Coming (6/10)

• Bonjour Tristesse (6/13)

• Diablo (6/13)

• Killing Mary Sue (6/13)

• Savoring Paris (6/13)

• Sew Torn (6/13)

• Words of War (6/13)

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