This month was full of mystery and murder, comedy and sports, and a few of my all-time favorites, along with an outstanding two-part documentary on one of my favorite artists. Those items marked with an asterisk were new to me. Numbering picks up from previous months, and all entries are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 as the top rating. If you leave a comment, feel free to include your name at the end so I'll know who you are. Or not.
71. Cast Away (Cable TV) – Poor Chuck Nolan (Tom Hanks), dedicated FedEx employee, tells his girlfriend (Helen Hunt) that he’ll be right back – and then his plane crashes in the South Pacific and he spends the next 4 years using his wits to survive on a deserted island. At first, he can’t figure out how to start a fire or feed himself, but he somehow manages to endure the brutal conditions and loneliness with no other people around. I have seen this movie many times and I always marvel how a movie with so little dialog (except for Chuck’s “conversations” with the volleyball he calls Wilson) can still be so captivating. I won’t ruin it for you, but Helen Hunt has a line at the end that ALWAYS makes me tear up. This is bravura filmmaking! 4½ cans.
72. Steel Magnolias (1988, Cable TV) – No actress can portray utter anguish and determination better than Sally Field, which is why we really, really like her (think “Norma Rae” and “Places in the Heart,” her two Oscar-winning performances). Here she is Southern mother MiLynn, and we meet her and her besties as everyone prepares for the wedding of her precious daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts). The bond between these women is unbreakable and the actresses who play them bring plenty of moxie and humor to the game (Shirley Maclaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis and Darryl Hannah). The movie has plenty of memorable lines, lots of good-hearted humor and pathos. It’s a classic for women of a certain age (that would be me)! 4 cans.
73. Quarterback, Season 2* (2025, Netflix) – For someone who loves behind the scenes stuff AND sports, this 7-part series hits the sweet spot. This time around, the focus is on QBs Gerald Goff of the Detroit Lions, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons. These players are fierce competitors, pushing themselves on and off the field to excel physically and to lead their teams to victory. All are smart, gifted and handsome. Being a pro football player is not an easy job for the player or his family. Both Cousins and Goff have played in multiple cities, which means uprooting the family. Burrow has had to fight his way back from severe injuries. The documentary traces the 2024-2025 season, where, despite thrills and chills, none of these teams made it to the Super Bowl. Better luck next year! 3½ cans.
74. One Night in Idaho* (2025, Prime Video) – This 4-part documentary is the sobering tale of four fun-loving college students who were murdered in their small college town of Moscow, Idaho. Were these random murders or did the killer target these particular students? Why did two other people in the house escape unharmed? This series spends most of its time talking to friends and families of the victims, showing their profound loss of loved ones and the rippling effect of actions by both the law enforcement authorities and amateur sleuthing by people on social media who were fascinated with the case. The murderer was arrested in Pennsylvania, had a few ties to the campus as a grad student attending nearby Washington State University and a deep interest in criminal behavior. My heart broke for the families who lost their children and equally for the close-knit friends whose lives with never be the same as they all lost their innocence and ability to trust on that fateful November, 2022, night. 4 cans.
75. Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel* (2025, Netflix) – This Netflix series likes to capture the hot topics, which are so current in some cases that even people who pay attention to our society’s craziness have never heard of them. Sure, I remember the American Apparel stores, but they were geared to people a generation younger than me. Chain founder Dov Charney built the brand by brute force, intimidating his employees and forcing them to work long hours, hiring and promoting on a whim, and firing just as fast. He was also sexually exploiting them for his own pleasure under threats that they would lose their jobs. Great guy, huh? You know that anything that rises as fast and furiously as this company is inevitably headed for a fall, so when the AA world comes crashing down, no one should be surprised. 3½ cans.
76. Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit* (2025, Hulu) – Jodi Huisentruit was an attractive young woman working for a TV news station in small-market Mason City, Iowa, when she left for work very early one morning – and vanished. This 3-part documentary series rehashes the events from 30 years ago, as authorities checked out a few clues left behind, but to no avail. Was her abduction at the hands of a man who wanted a relationship with her? The husband of a woman in the area? This examination gets bogged down in the details (especially in the 3rd part), and, although the dedicated law enforcement people have relentlessly investigated this case for 30 years, there is still no answer to what happened. 3 cans
77. Sullivan’s Crossing* (2023-2025, CW and Netflix) – If you liked Virgin River, this is the series for you. Maggie (Morgan Kohan) is a neurosurgeon in Boston whose estranged father Sully runs a campground in bucolic Nova Scotia. When Maggie’s medical practice comes under fire, she returns to her home there to get away from everything and make peace with her crusty but kind-hearted father (Scott Patterson, who played Luke on Gilmour Girls). Brooding but handsome Cal (Chad Michael Murray) is around as the mystery man who becomes her love interest, even though she intends to go back to her fiancée in Boston. There are plenty of predictable plots here – natural disasters, money problems, medical emergencies – but you know that in the end, everyone will survive. Morgan Kohan plays Maggie, and the town around her includes former wives, friends, siblings – all kinds of people pop up as the story moves along. I can’t say I loved it, but I know Season 3 (which aired on the CW Network) will be streaming soon, and I’ll watch it to see if Sully survives the fire. My guess is yes! 3½ cans.
78. Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott* (2025, ESPN) – September 4, 1993, was a hot and humid day at Yankee Stadium as the Bronx Bombers faced the visiting Cleveland Indians with lefty Jim Abbott on the mound. I remember it well because I was there, unknowingly on hand to witness history. Until around the 7th inning, my friend Bill and I did not notice that Abbott was pitching a no-hitter. Finally, we caught on, held our breath and watched Abbott get that final out. The remarkable achievement that day was Abbott on the mound at all. Born without a right hand, Abbott became a successful pitcher at every level and that day he joined a small contingent of Yankee pitchers who had held the opposing team hitless. This E60 documentary traces Abbott’s life and career and how he inspired others to achieve their dreams – which might be as simple as tying their shoes with just one hand. This was a very moving film and for Yankee fans and others, a must-see. PS – I still have a picture I took of the scoreboard showing all those zeros and my ticket stub from the game. 4 cans.
78. Amy Bradley Is Missing* (2025, Netflix) – How can someone disappear from a cruise ship? In March of 1998, young college graduate Amy Bradley was on vacation, sharing a room with her parents and brother, and catching some fresh air on the balcony in the middle of the night when she simply vanished. Was she abducted? Was she out trying to score drugs or did she become trafficked? Did she slip and fall off that balcony? Did she commit suicide? Her family has searched, all kinds of people – official or true crime fans – have offered their opinions, but 27 years later, Amy is still missing. I wish we knew. 3½ cans.
79. Terms of Endearment (1983, cable TV) – 42 years after its release, this movie remains on my list of favorite movies of all time. The unbreakable bond between mother Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and daughter Emma (Debra Winger) produces lots of laughter and tears. When Emma moves away with a husband Flap (Jeff Daniels), whom Aurora feels is beneath her, their bond is tested but endures through constant phone calls and occasional visits. Meanwhile, haughty Aurora takes up with her neighbor, astronaut Garrett (perfectly cast Jack Nicholson), whom she knows will disappoint her in the end. The tears start when Emma is stricken with an incurable case of cancer. This is the story of love, friendship, and strong bonds that bend but don’t break. 4½ cans.
80. Trainwreck: Bubble Boy* (2025, Netflix) – The next time you question whether truth really is stranger than fiction, just watch any of the documentaries in this “Trainwreck” series and you will understand that you CANNOT make this stuff up. When a quirky family in Colorado launches a homemade UFO, it appears that their young son sneaked on board before liftoff. There is no way to control the helium-filled balloon and no way to either communicate with the young boy or save him. But was he on board? And was this whole thing done as a publicity stunt to gain attention to the erstwhile inventor? It’s only an hour long, so check it out for yourself and then wonder why you just wasted an hour of your life, like I did. 3 cans.
81. Six by Sondheim* (2025) – Brilliant composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim discusses in detail some of his most meaningful songs in a series of interviews. If you love “Company” and “Follies” and “Sunday in the Park with George,” tune in and get the full backstory as well as the memorable performances of great songs. 3½ cans.
82. And So It Goes – Billy Joel* (2025, HBO) – This 2-part, 5-hour documentary takes a comprehensive look at Billy Joel, the songwriter, lyricist, singer, performer, husband, father and man whose music has been around for more than 50 years. I’ve always been a fan and have seen him live several times, but I never completely appreciated his extraordinary skills until this intense look at his background and the things that inspired his memorable music. He paints a picture through his work, and he touches on the moving and difficult things that have been or still are affecting his life. If you love Billy Joel, watch this documentary. If you don’t, watch it anyway. It’s that good. 5 cans, and I could really give it an entire case of tuna.
83. Trophy Wife* (Hulu, 2025) – Larry Rudolph is a dentist who amassed such a fortune (sometimes unethically, doing work that wasn’t needed), that he had big homes, showy cars, and indulged his habit for big-game hunting. And women. Although he purported to love his wife, he had a long-time girlfriend. When he would set off for a hunting expedition in Africa, his wife – herself an accomplished hunter – would sometimes accompany him. But the girlfriend grew tired of this arrangement and allegedly gave him the ultimatum to get rid of her. On a hunting trip, she was shot at close range. Accident or suicide? That’s what plays put in court. What a guy – even his friends have nothing good to say about Dr. Larry. 3½ cans.
84. Somebody Somewhere* (2025, HBO/Max) – This comedy-drama ran for 3 seasons but I had never heard of it until my sister enthusiastically recommended it. The people here are quirky to be sure, but they are also endearing. It is semi-autographical, inspired by its star, Bridget Everett, playing Sam, a woman who is dealing with family issues and looking for connections, which she finds in a family of friends. She also can sing, belting out classics or Janis Joplin. Her BFF is Joel, a conflicted gay man looking for love, though it is clear that Everett’s Sam is his real soulmate. Her sister is a drama queen, her mother has lost her mind, and the rest of the cast completes the eccentric picture. After binging all 21 episodes (30 mins each) of the three seasons, I was disappointed to learn that the show is not coming back – just as I had found a place in my heart for these people. I will miss my new friends. 4 cans.
85. Sunday Best* (2025, Netflix) – The Ed Sullivan Show was a fixture in American homes on Sunday nights, airing in the 50s until 1971. Ed came across as stiff and was easily mocked, but he had an eye for talent and personally selected the acts for his show, which highlighted Black artists such as Nina Simone, Pearl Bailey, Mahalia Jackson, Jackie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and Sammy Davis Jr. Sullivan felt these gifted artists should receive exposure, despite the fact that some people in the South boycotted his show and advertisers to protest his inclusion of Black people. He also brought Elvis into our living rooms and introduced The Beatles to the American public. This show is a great reminder that talent knows no race or gender, and that Sullivan helped move American entertainment to a new level. 3½ cans.
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