- Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson Are Just Alright, Alright, Alright in Apple TV’s “Brothers” (September 23, 2026)
If you were to ask A-list movie stars (and “True Detective” co-stars) Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, they’re close enough to be brothers. So close, in fact, that they’ve long stoked a theory that they might be biological siblings in real life; after all, McConaughey’s mother has alleged to be intimate with Harrelson’s dad around the time baby Matthew was conceived. This kind of tall tale is the stuff of pop culture mythmaking, stoked, of course, by the sort of fan who simply likes the symmetry of Hollywood’s favorite sons of the South being as close in real life as they are on screen. But that kind of rumor doesn’t always translate into sizzling television, as the Apple TV vanity project “Brothers” bears out.
Created by “Schitt’s Creek” writer David West Read (and taken over by comedy vet Lee Eisenberg halfway through production; always a good sign), “Brothers” plops the two Oscar-caliber movie stars (though McConaughey teases Woody that he’s never won one) into a sunny, “Grace and Frankie”-style streaming sitcom format in which the two play fictionalized versions of themselves. The broad strokes seem to fit, at least insofar as we know the Hollywoodized myths of the men: McConaughey is an enigmatic, wily philosopher-king who pontificates just like he does in those Lincoln ads, while Harrelson is a self-described anarchist who prides himself on his laid-back, weed-and-sandals way of life.
Despite this, the two are lifelong best friends, to the point where, when Woody’s oldest daughter Olive (Highdee Kuan) calls off her engagement, he decides to pack the whole fam—including Olive, wife Joy (Brittany Ishibashi), and adoptive kids Kai (Oona Yaffe) and Clara (Ella Grace Helton)—into their converted RV and pull up at the McConaughey’s palatial Hollywood estate for an extended spell. Just in time, too, to help stoke Mac’s ambitions of running for governor of Texas, just as he’s mourning the recent loss of his father.
It’s there, though, that Ma Mac (Holland Taylor), Matthew’s stylish, ornery grandma, lets slip to Woody the factoid that kicked off this whole show in the first place: He and Mac might be brothers. (Each episode kicks off with the ever-so-clever tagline “Based on a True Rumor.”)
From there, though, “Brothers” plays out largely like a big-budget streaming edition of “Full House,” with a few splashes of Hollywood metacommentary bubbling in there. To their credit, McConaughey and Harrelson’s real-life chemistry translates nicely here to the show’s conceit: Put the two of them in a scene together, and they can make the tritest sitcom concept sing. Problem is, much of the show involves throwing them into the hokiest scenarios a million sitcoms have trod before. Oh no, they forgot to get their wives something on Valentine’s Day! Gee, how will Mac help his sensitive, therapized son Wyatt (Nolan Almeida) through his first high school dance?
It doesn’t help, of course, that the rest of the family struggles to make much of an impression. The youngest kids, Clara and Mac’s son River (Noah Carganilla), get little to do besides say the occasional darndest thing, and the older kids get wrapped up in samey sitcom drama (including a budding romance between Kai and Wyatt, whose relationship throws a wrinkle into the series’ yearning to put Woody and Mac under the same family tree). Taylor, though, is always a delight to watch, even if she only gets one note to play for much of the show. The real standouts, though, come from guest players like Lisa Gilroy (“Super Troopers 3“) who plays Mac’s bizarre, shark-like campaign manager, or Skyler Gisondo as a late-in-show addition who, like his character in “The Righteous Gemstones,” is an outsider desperate to make inroads with the Harrelson family.
Watching “Brothers” can be a frustrating experience, as this obviously overqualified cast pinballs from one hokey scenario to the next. It’s hard not to watch scenes where McConaughey and Harrelson step in dog poop and think, “Aren’t these guys movie stars?” And yet, scenes are leavened by the occasional solid dig at these two guys’ inflated egos, like Harrelson’s militant veganism or McConaughey’s faux-folksy demeanor running into the real questions of an ordinary person. But as the series progresses, the mileage starts to run out on these self-effacing prods, especially once we start trotting out the Wooderson haircut and the literal car from “Dazed and Confused.” (I’m honestly shocked we get no “Cheers” references, considering this is Harrelson’s return to sitcoms.)
Eisenberg is old hat in this kind of comic series, and it shows in some of “its “Brothers”‘ more entertaining moments. But it feels like West Read had something more “Schitt”-y in mind before he was replaced: caustic, bittersweet, something that deflated the sky-high personas of two of Hollywood’s most reliable stars. Here, that’s been softened to something fuzzier and more palatable, a lack of edge that feels antithetical to the kinds of projects both actors tend to take. Time may be a flat circle, but “Brothers” is just flat.
Full season screened for review. New episodes air weekly on Apple TV.
- Fantastic Fest 2026: Into the Sky, Play House, Posthumous (September 22, 2026)
There’s an amazing bit of trivia about how there are so many possible shuffles of a deck of cards that it’s almost certain that every single one ever shuffled has been as distinct as a snowflake. I thought of this when considering the panoply of meet-cutes in cinema history: There’s always a new one for some writer to devise. The meet-cute in writer/director duo Evan Buxbaum & Drew Mylrea’s “Into the Sky” is certainly not one I’ve seen before: A man meets the woman living in his house after being returned from his abduction by aliens. Sci-fi-rom-com “Into the Sky” is a quirky, funny movie, one that’s buoyed greatly by a likable cast. Fantastic Fest was full of doom and gloom this year that reflected the general anxiety of the world in 2026; this was a wonderful reprieve from all the terror.
The naked man covered in blue goop who falls back into his life after being away long enough that his divorcing wife rented out their house? It’s poor Bobby (Sam Richardson), a guy who apparently has become the favorite target of some experimenting interstellar visitors. We slowly learn that his alleged abductions actually led to hospitalization, and there’s an interesting mystery for a bit as to whether or not Bobby should be taken seriously at all. Is he really being taken into the sky or is he mentally falling apart under the weight of a broken relationship?
Helping him answer these questions are his tenant Nico (Sofia Black-D’Elia) and another alien abductee named Jaden (David Cross). Nico agrees to help Bobby find his ex-wife if he helps her through helping plan and execute her brother’s wedding. One of the reasons that “Into the Sky” works is that Buxbaum & Mylrea also worked from a traditional rom-com formula: New guy helps woman find her confidence by being the decent dude by her side. It just happens to possibly be about the end of the world.
The whimsy of “Into the Sky” can sometimes feel a little forced and the set-ups a tad sitcomish, but Buxbaum & Mylrea are assisted greatly by their excellent cast. Richardson makes for a great everyman, Black-D’Elia is effortlessly charming, and Cross is having a blast as the obvious comic relief. In the end, it’s not a perfect comedy, but a nice reminder that a fest like Fantastic doesn’t always have to be about body horror and the end of the world.
The very existence of Nicolas Curcio’s “Play House” is one of the coolest things about Fantastic Fest 2026. The film is the result of a new annual project called “Fantastic Pitches,” wherein ambitious creators use an event on the fest weekend to pitch their films, and a winner is chosen for production, with the requirement that it’s done and ready to premiere the next year. 2025’s winner was this clever ghost story that centers lost media, and the contest was so successful that two of the runner-ups are also currently in production. The idea that a fest that’s built its reputation on the work of indie filmmakers could be the launchpad to create indie movies itself? Very cool.
And it helps that Curcio’s debut is quite good, even great for about an hour. Curcio understands the pull of found footage as message boards have been flooded with people looking for some curiosity they remember from their childhood or stumbling upon some old recording that looks downright haunted. That’s what happens to Elliot (Will Harrison), who finds a bag of VHS tapes in the basement of a house that’s he just bought for renovation, kinda hoping that the “grown-up” decision will bring his ex Cath (Jessica Sula) back to their relationship. When he pops in a tape with his buddy Alden (Jordan Gonzalez), he sees grainy footage of an old children’s TV show hosted by Mr. Morton (James Urbaniak). The only person on screen, Morton interacts with puppets that look like monsters who are being voiced by what sounds like terrified, possibly crying children. It’s a chilling creation, the kind of stuff that actually gets under your skin while watching it.
Elliot and Alden scour the internet for information about Mr. Morton, but no one remembers the show, which leads them to the terrifying, inevitable conclusion: These were home movies. While Alden suggests they go to the authorities, Elliot insists that they don’t actually have any footage of a crime yet, and there’s an interesting subtext in how he ignores what actually might literally be buried in his new basement as the situation with Cath improves. He’s willing to repress to “play house” with his girlfriend.
The first hour of “Play House” is so strong that the ways in which it kinda falls apart in the third act are all the more disappointing. It’s one of those classic projects wherein the questions or the mysteries are always more interesting than the resolutions, but there’s still so much to admire here, especially given the film’s unique origins. Strong production design, incredibly believable lo-fi VHS cinematography, and even a few impressive ghost story beats work alongside uniformly solid performances. That none of this existed without a pitch contest in an Austin bar is remarkable, and indicative of the heights to which this new pipeline could rise.
VHS tapes are also centered in Josh Tanner’s “Posthumous,” a movie that feels deeply inspired by the “Insidious” franchise and how it details how ordinary households can become portals to supernatural worlds. This Aussie flick ultimately feels too reliant on manufactured emotion and flat dialogue to strike the emotional chords it intends to hit, leaving viewers more curious about how it’s going to end than truly engaged in its storytelling. It’s too slow and too devoid of cinematic personality (other than a fantastic bit of haunted creature design) to stand out in a crowded Fantastic Fest lineup.
Sophie Lowe plays Zoe, who has come home for her 30th birthday, which happens to be the same age her mother was when she died in childbirth. Zoe’s mom was dying while she was pregnant, and so she made VHS tapes for her unborn child to watch on every birthday. This will be the last, and it will open doors to what really happened to mom and how the evil that took her might still be around today.
So much of “Posthumous” works on Zoe finding the right tape or having the right conversation with her distant dad or spooky neighbor at just the right time that it drains its protagonist of too much agency. Lowe is fine at the big emotional beats, but they feel shoehorned into a cluttered bit of supernatural mystery-solving as to the Lovecraftian threat in this corner of Australia. There’s also just not enough effective atmosphere here to bring us into Zoe’s story. We always feel like we’re watching and not feeling or dreading.
Worst of all, “Posthumous” runs close to two hours, which leads to a film that drags instead of building to its action-packed, almost sci-fi conclusion. There are interesting themes, ideas, and bits of filmmaking here, but they’re buried in so much that doesn’t connect that it feels like work to unpack them.
- The Heart at the Center Of It: Domhnall Gleeson on “The Incomer” (September 22, 2026)
“The Incomer” is first-time writer/director Louis Paxton’s film about a brother and sister who are the only residents of an isolated island, the only home they have ever known. Domhnall Gleeson plays Daniel, the shy, awkward bureaucrat sent to evict them.
In an interview with RogerEbert.com, Gleeson talked about finding the right tone for the story, creating one of the movie’s best scenes, an energetic enactment of “Lord of the Rings” fan fiction, and being directed by Taylor Swift in the “Opalite” video. “The Incomer” opens in theaters on September 25.
As I watched this movie, I couldn’t help thinking that you could make this setup work as a broad comedy, a horror movie, an adventure, or a satire. It has some elements of all of them but retains a remarkably consistent, if unusual and very singular, tone. How did you maintain that?
It’s such a really interesting combination of things that could feel disparate and messy. But the person leading the charge did know exactly what they were doing. Louis is a very unusual filmmaker, never mind a first-time filmmaker, in that he was able to bring all those things together, and the tone was never in question. That’s what I loved about it, the way it brought all those things together in the script. The reason I hopped on to do the film was that, tonally, it knew itself so well in the script.
How would you define the tone?
It is really funny. It’s very heartfelt. There are moments in it that are almost horror-like, “The Wicker Man” scary stuff. And then there were bits of pretty broad comedy. But to me, it’s the heart at the center of it that matters most. And that’s the thing that comes through the most. If you ask me to describe it in one sentence, rather than a paragraph, I would really struggle. It’s itself, and that’s what I like about it is itself.
You have demonstrated a remarkable facility with accents in your career. How did you work on the Scottish accent for this character?
There are few things scarier than turning up to set in Scotland with an almost completely Scottish crew, Scottish filmmakers, Scottish cast. The moment you break out your Scottish accent on set is a very scary moment. But thank God it seems to have gone well. The feedback has been pretty good. I worked very hard on it with a wonderful dialect coach. I based it on a couple of people, including our second AD. He had a wonderful voice, and when I met him, I was like, “Oh, I might steal some of him for the accent as well.”
Do you have a phrase that you use to get yourself into it?
Oh, I did, and I can’t say it. It had a couple of curse words in it, but it got me back pretty quickly. It was one of those great curse words that have a lot of vowels in it.
One of the highlights of the movie for me was the Lord Of The Rings-infused story you told the other characters. It’s really a turning point for your character. I had the impression, watching it, that your character hadn’t really talked to anybody in a long time, and we really see him open up.
He’s so buttoned up. He’s so much on the back foot. He’s so interior, and you can see that he wants to connect with people, but he struggles. We see that he believes, and I think he’s right, that people consider him a bit of a weirdo on the mainland. And this is the first time he lets all of it out. And it’s through storytelling.
That’s what we all do as actors, as directors, as everything. Storytelling is what we’re there for. Daniel just gets to go into his imagination. I imagined that’s who he was when he was five years old, before the world taught him to be embarrassed about himself or to hide pieces of himself away. So I just went back to my five-year-old self and how exciting it is when a kid is trying to tell you a story. I thought of my nephews and the way they tell stories.
The physicality of it was something we hadn’t seen from Daniel before. I just love the way he threw himself into it as though he’d been holding on to that moment for his whole life and was so excited to finally have an audience.
He finally has an audience. That’s exactly it. People are actively listening to him, and he has them hanging on his every word. And I remember having the conversation with Louis—“How tight is the frame going to be?”—because I had a feeling it was going to go big. And I was like, “Maybe we back up a little bit for at least one of them.” So there is room for Daniel to hop all over the place. I really enjoyed that day on set.
I also enjoyed the interaction at the beginning of the film with Roz, Daniel’s boss, because it would be hard to listen to that performance without laughing.
Michelle Gomez is so good. She brought so much to Roz. This was clearly a woman who was very into herself. And she looked down on Daniel so much. Again, a lot of it was in the script, but Michelle brought some of her own stuff. Daniel very much just wants to please her. That scene just depended on how much he was trying to make her like him and how much he knew she didn’t like him.
That pivotal moment when you tell the story to Isla and Sandy has a nice echo at the end with an almost-meta point about what stories mean to us. What will the audience learn about the importance of stories?
A well-told story brings everybody together, from when you’re a kid and you’re around the campfire, to when you’re up late at night and somebody tells you a story from their childhood for the first time, and you see a different part of them, to everybody sitting in a cinema together and experiencing the same story. There is nothing like it. Humans have done it forever. This story felt so specific, and it cared about the value of stories to people. A well-told story is hard to come by, and I just think this is supremely well told. Louis puts you in safe hands from the very beginning.
You’ve worked in some of the biggest franchises of all time with huge budgets and special effects. What is the best thing about working on a little independent film from a first-time filmmaker like this one?
I found it incredibly invigorating. It reinvigorated my love for independent films, for watching them, for being a part of them. We were all away from home. We were up at the very tippy top of Scotland. There were loads of people who were up a level from where they’d been working before. Everyone was trying their hardest. We were all in it together, and they were tough days, but we had super producers. We had super heads of department across the board. Everybody who was on it was bringing their A game because they cared about it. No one was there for the money; no one was there for a paycheck. They were all there because they loved this thing, and they wanted to make it good. There’s nothing else like it.
I have to ask you: was it hard to learn the dancing in Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” video?
[Laughs] Yes, it was embarrassingly hard. I keep on forgetting the phrase, I think it was “full send“ was what Taylor used, Which was that the doing of it is what makes it good, that you have to believe totally in it.
I had a concerned look as we were doing it because I was trying to remember the moves, and she was like, “Forget all that; we go for it now.” That’s why she’s one of the best entertainers in the world, as well as a great artist. It reminded me what it means to be a good actor. I am by no means a good dancer, but it only works if you believe in it 100%. I did not know those moves as well as I wanted to, but I went for it. And I think you can see that in the video. I’m very proud of it.
- Fantastic Fest 2026: In a Violent Nature Part 2, The Glorious Dead, Godmother (September 21, 2026)
The first surprise screening at this year’s Fantastic Fest was, refreshingly, an honest surprise. The secret screenings over the last few years have run from the confusing (“Saturday Night”) to films that most critics had already seen (“One Battle After Another”), but Friday’s secret screening in Austin maintained its anonymity for an incredibly long time, as people guessed titles like “Whalefall,” “The Other Mommy,” “Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo,” and even “You Can See Everything.” In retrospect, we should have seen it coming given the long relationship between IFC/Shudder and the fest, and the rumors that “In a Violent Nature Part 2” was done and getting ready to unleash itself on the world. Unleash it did in a WIP cut on Friday to a receptive audience of horrorheads ready for more unique slasher gore.
The first “In a Violent Nature” was one of 2024’s more divisive horror films—a fact driven by home by how many people walked out when this year’s sequel screening was revealed. Some people simply didn’t go with Chris Nash’s vision of an arthouse slasher pic, a movie that I’ve taken to calling “Jason ASMR” for the way it mingles crunchy, strange sound design with long shots of a hooded figure trudging through the woods. “IAVN” was also remarkably gory, especially in one memorable kill scene involving a poor woman whose head was pulled through her body. It was so intense that viewers reportedly vomited and passed out.
The worst parts of “In a Violent Nature Part 2” seek to one-up that unforgettable kill. There are four or five scenes in which hapless victims are torn into pieces to such an intense degree that it starts to feel inspired by the “Terrifier” movies more than ‘80s slasher classics. Director Nate Wilson and writer Chris Nash (who took both credits on the original) have lost some of what made the first movie special, sacrificing the original’s unique atmosphere for creative kills. Gorehounds will love the chaotic places this movie goes but it doesn’t feel quite as special.
However, enough quality craftsmanship remains to elevate this sequel above the average knockoff fare. Most remarkably, Wilson seems to have taken a very unexpected inspiration: Jumping a few Jason Voorhees sequels to tell his own riff on “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” (the fourth film that featured Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis). Like that movie, we’re introduced to a young protagonist at this film’s version of Crystal Lake: Camp Puddingstone. Alex (Lucas Nguyen) has heard all the rumors, including the one about summoning Johnny by blowing a whistle three times. After Alex blows the whistle, he’s bullied to such an intense degree that he misses the bus home, stranding him with the partying counselors celebrating the end of the season, one of whom happens to be his sister. And then Johnny answers the call.
As Alex pines for one of the pretty counselors and watches his sister make out with her boyfriend, Johnny basically trudges from the first movie to the second one and starts the disemboweling. Alex has an interesting arc wherein he seems almost as captivated by Johnny as he is terrified of him, but he’s mostly just a throughline to connect the mutilations. With very few exceptions re framing, this is a significantly more traditional slasher pic than the first, which will be music to the ears of anyone who was there for the kills and not the mood, but it feels to me like the latter is what really made it stand out. To its credit, “In a Violent Nature Part 2” does keep one notable asset: Remarkably fluid editing from Alex Jacobs, who finds just the right rhythms for this gore-a-palooza.
A bit of sound design tweaks that are likely to come might enhance the final product, but this version of “In a Violent Nature Part 2” is clearly done enough to guess how people will respond to it. While no one wants a sequel that just retreads the first film, making this one gorier and more traditional was a surprising choice. Nash and Wilson are clearly talented enough to keep this going for years, but I truly hope they don’t just try to get more vomit-inducing with each installment. My stomach can’t take it.
Two other films premiered in Austin over the weekend, independent films that made their way to Texas to play alongside more highly-buzzed flicks like “Primetime,” “Wild Horse Nine,” and “Resident Evil.” One of them came courtesy of a movie-making family that I truly adore. Known as the Adams Family, this collective of related geniuses have been honing their craft for years, delivering standouts like “The Deeper You Dig,” “Hellbender,” “Mother of Flies,” and more. They do almost everything on set, including writing, directing, starring, and scoring. And their ambition seems to be growing with each project. Their latest, “The Glorious Dead,” may not be my favorite of theirs, but it’s undeniably one of their most ambitious.
“The Glorious Dead” falls into a category of horror of the 2020s that could be called Unexpected Chaos. Many of these films were inspired by COVID, a world event that turned everything upside down. From the forced confinement of something like “The Last House” to the science vs. religion debates of the upcoming “A Prayer Before Dying,” horror creators are clearly repurposing the anxiety and distrust that took new shape in the wake of the pandemic.
Into this subgenre drops a story about an ordinary day when the impossible happened to Sheriff Deb (Toby Poser) and her community. In this snow-covered burgh, Deb and her deputy Mikey (Zelda Adams) keep getting reports of the impossible. There’s the blood coming out of the faucets, the holes appearing in backyards that look like piles of meat and even disappearing (and reappearing from the dead) residents. “The Glorious Dead” takes a micro approach to the end of the world. What would it look like in a town where everyone knows each other’s name when the gates of Hell opened up?
“The Glorious Dead” is one of the strangest movies that the Adams clan has yet made, from its jerky editing to its creatures in the woods who look like they’re made of the skin from human faces. There are times when it doesn’t cast a spell as much as feel like a curiosity, and some of the themes regarding how the town responds with violence feel rushed or underdeveloped, but the core of the movie is strong: An ordinary woman being confronted by the extraordinary. Who can’t relate to the idea that something out there in the heartland just isn’t right? And even if it’s not top-tier Adams, that’s mostly just because of how strong their output has been to date.
Finally, there’s the frustrating “Godmother,” a movie with some interesting ideas that just haven’t been wed to the right tone, craft, or even consistency of vision. It’s a movie that never quite figured out what story it wanted to tell, pulling a twist halfway through that works well enough, but then never figuring out how to build on that to an engaging climax. The final scenes are remarkably clunky as the movie races to an unengaging conclusion. Fantastic Fest is a wonderful opportunity to find new voices in the genre, but that means that you’re also guaranteed to hear a few that are just out of tune.
John Vernon’s debut unfolds in the New Mexico desert at a lavish AirBnB owned by the Martinsons (Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison). They welcome Colby (Cameron Cuffe), his girlfriend Theo (Paige Evans), and her sister Katie (movie MVP Riley Dandy). The third wheel wasn’t a part of Colby’s plan to propose to Theo this weekend, but the bigger problem may be the oddball Martinsons, who seem to be lurking around the property to an unhealthy degree.
What starts out feeling like a “Barbarian” riff becomes something very different after the twist, but Vernon never quite has a confident grip on the story he’s trying to tell. Influences like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Omen” are notable, but the craft just isn’t as strong as it needs to be to make those comparisons beneficial. A movie that tells as strange as a story as “Godmother” needs to be moody, but too much of this project lacks nuance and tone. It’s a blunt instrument with only one real important lesson to take away: Never trust anyone who loves Yacht Rock.
- NBC’s “Line of Fire” Puts a Family of Law Enforcement in Each Other’s Crosshairs (September 21, 2026)
Nothing sets up the new NBC/Peacock series “Line of Fire” better than the tagline, Every Case Hits Home. Except, of course, for one quote from the first episode: “a family full of people who will stop at nothing to protect literal strangers but are unable to stop hurting each other.”
From creator Joshua Safran, known for “Quantico” and “Gossip Girl,” and executive producers Jenna Bush Hager and Ben Spector, “Line of Fire” draws on work and life experiences both on screen and behind the scenes. With shows like “Blue Bloods” and “Matlock” already serving up the hard knocks and winking humor of working alongside family, it took some clever genre blending to create a new series that feels both familiar and fresh. But they’ve done it.
The Hollingsworth Family has law enforcement in their DNA: The matriarch, Jane (Hope Davis), is a high-ranking U.S. Marshal, while the patriarch, Mike (Peter Krause), is retiring from the Secret Service. Meanwhile, their eldest daughter, Clare (Kat Cunning), is a sharp-eyed FBI agent, and the middle son, Mike Jr. (Tommy O’Brien), serves as a rule-breaking Secret Service agent like his dad. Then there’s the youngest son and family fixer, Russ (Taylor Bloom), who’s trying to forge his own path at the DOJ.
That’s right—the firstborn is missing from the roll call. We can’t reveal anything about him, but let’s just say Charlie Barnett is the mystery character to blame.
The Hollingsworths are the best at their jobs. They see things no one else does, and they get personal in ways no one should. But this isn’t a typical case-of-the-week procedural where the crimes set the stage for the dysfunction. Nope, the Hollingsworths are the central mystery, and solving the case will either bring them together or crack open the fissures in their relationships. They’re dealing with a serial killer wrapped up in a conspiracy that spans civilian lives and political intrigue, and enough family bickering to make audiences grin while the family members suffer through it.
Breaking protocol? Check. Hiding the silver origami cranes that keep popping up at crime scenes? Check. Messy love lives? Oh yes. Family gatherings that play out like comedies of manners and wars of words? Another yes. While watching, you must pay attention to even the most innocuous bits of conversation. Everything matters, and for the super sleuths out there, the clues keep piling up, allowing us to play along at home.
Another character who brings the procedural elements into sharp focus is Antoinette Crowe-Legacy as Homeland Security Agent Nia Wallace. With her eye for detail and instincts, she could be a Hollingsworth. After two episodes, I’m hoping their survival will depend on working together.
The cast list is another clue that these actors deliver. It’s easy to believe they are family. The banter and bickering are snappy, and the tactile performances make it hard to tell who to love and who to dropkick. Arrogance is a Hollingsworth family trait, but when it’s paired with their genuine love for justice and each other, it makes the thrills and drama even more enthralling.
The parents have relationship drama. The kids have classic mommy/daddy issues. The sons are trying to shake their dad off their backs, and the daughter is dealing with a mother she doesn’t think respects her. Silly girl.
Then there are the supporting characters, who hold as much interest as the leading family. Interestingly, we see Hager’s influence when we meet the First Daughter of the United States and get a peek into her daily dilemmas. Cheers, too, to the creatives who made the President’s daughter (Savannah Lee Smith’s Sydney) a senior at Howard University, highlighting that storied DC institution that’s close to my heart.
“Line of Fire” is a multigenerational family drama, a procedural, and a law enforcement thriller all in one. Honestly, that sounds like an extended family dinner, fraught with secrets, resentment, and competition, but with an infusion of high-stakes crime. Paired with incisive, witty insights into family dynamics, the mysteries are sharp as blades and prickly as barbed wire. I cannot wait to see how this family gets tangled up, bruised, and bloodied, but hopefully takes more wins than losses this season. It’ll be watchworthy either way.
First two episodes screened for review. “Line of Fire” premieres tonight, September 21 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
- Official Trailer for Polish Doc 'Closure' - Searching for Missing Teens (September 23, 2026)
"He's wandering somewhere out there." 1-2 Special revealed the official trailer for Closure, an acclaimed documentary film from Poland made by filmmaker Michal Marczak. This premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It also played at many other doc fests: True/False, Thessaloniki, Docs Against Gravity, and at Sheffield. Closure is "a visceral film that defies the true-crime genre." After his teenage son goes missing, Daniel scours the depths of the Vistula River, torn between the dread of a fatal leap and the hope that his son may still be alive. The film is a documentary, but plays like a haunting mystery thriller. It's all about how so many young people go missing in Poland & how they can never find them yet the adults keep looking and looking. I've seen this film at Sundance and it's very good, but also depressing, obviously. Reviews state: "Marczak’s film becomes not just a document of a hunt but a psychological portrait of loss and a family’s attempts to come to terms with that." One of the year's unique docs even if it is a heavy watch. // Continue Reading ›
- Epic Art Heist Movie 'Masterplan' Official Trailer Starring Stanley Tucci (September 23, 2026)
"I would like to offer you the job of a lifetime." Prime Video and Gaumont launched their full official trailer for an epic art heist comedy called Masterplan, arriving to watch for streaming on PV starting in October this fall. This looks fun! The French-Italian Prime Original film follows a legendary thief who recruits two young strangers to help him steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris, before revealing that he is their father. Thrown into a chaotic reunion they never asked for, this new family must learn to work together—and try not to kill each other—if they want any chance at pulling off the heist of the century. The heist? The Mona Lisa, though perhaps there's more trickery going on. Stanley Tucci stars as the art thief Roger, along with Simona Tabasco as Chiara and Victor Belmondo and Jay. Filmed around France & Italy, of course. This is skipping theaters and heading directly to streaming next month, which seems like perhaps the best plan for this one. It looks like tons of fun, but could anyone truly steal the Mona Lisa? Then what happens? // Continue Reading ›
- John Malkovich & Sam Rockwell in Terrific 'Wild Horse Nine' Trailer #2 (September 23, 2026)
"Do you ever get paranoid you're not being paranoid enough?" Searchlight Pictures unveiled an excellent second trailer for Wild Horse Nine, also listed as Wild Horse 9, a hilarious 1970s dark comedy made by filmmaker Martin McDonagh. This premiered at the 2026 Venice & Telluride Film Festivals and picked up tons of great reviews – critics are saying it's of the best films of the year packed with a few best of the year performances as well (I wouldn't be surprised if Malkovich takes home the Oscar next year). Wild Horse 9 is McDonagh's fifth movie so far, following up The Banshees of Inisherin a few years ago. Set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup (in which they helped take out their socialist president), CIA agents Chris and Lee embark upon a trust-testing mission from Santiago to Easter Island. Amongst the Island's iconic statues, as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways. The ensemble cast features John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, with Tom Waits & Parker Posey. I also loved this film - my review. It's witty and smart and entertaining. // Continue Reading ›
- Must Watch Full Trailer for Nathan Fielder's 'You Can See Everything' (September 23, 2026)
"What would she have to gain from me?" "Well, isn't your family rich?" A24 has revealed the full official trailer for the surprise new documentary film titled You Can See Everything, which was made entirely in secret and is ready to hit theaters next month. Made by brilliant comedy genius Nathan Fielder (directing his first feature) and the acclaimed filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (whose film Primetime opens this week), this is a documentary unlike anything we've ever seen before. Just before she heads to prison for 11 years, Elizabeth Holmes (yes, her, of Theranos) invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move at her home to try and show them they're just "regular people". This just premiered as a complete surprise screening at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival earlier this month, where the insanely positive reviews call it one of the best docs ever made. From these two "boundary-pushing directors" featuring Elizabeth Holmes in a doc that will you will never forget after watching. I think Fielder realized he could make a film about one of modern times greatest liars & manipulators – and captured it all on camera. This is going to be so good. // Continue Reading ›
- Stunning First Trailer for Brad Bird's 'Ray Gunn' Sci-Fi Animated Movie (September 23, 2026)
"Nobody's pure. We all get played!" "It's hard being the only honest players in a crooked game." Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for the new animated sci-fi movie titled Ray Gunn, the latest creation from acclaimed sci-fi filmmaker Brad Bird. Made by Skydance Animation, Bird's latest animated movie is being released by Netflix directly - streaming in December with a theatrical run as well, including in 70mm in select locations. This will premiere at the 2026 London Film Festival in October. The neo-noir mystery thriller film follows Ray Gunn, the last human private detective, in a futuristic world inhabited by humans & aliens. Starring the voices of Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Alan Tudyk, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Chernus, Kether Donohue, Michelle Rodriguez, Aasif Mandvi, Matt Jones, Kathryn Hunter, John Ratzenberger, Justin Peck, Patton Oswalt, Tom Waits. Featuring a score composed by Michael Giacchino. Well this looks extraordinary! I'm even more impressed and more excited than I thought I would be after this trailer. Brad Bird may be ready to drop an animation masterpiece on us! Keep an eye out for this movie later this year. I can't wait to watch - now one of my most anticipated left in 2026. // Continue Reading ›
