October was a busy month for movies. Following the death of Diane Keaton, I decided to revisit several of her movies. I also eagerly awaited the opening of the Bruce Springsteen movie and I was not disappointed. I'm sure you will find something here to inspire you to watch. 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.
111. Eleanor the Great* (2025, Montgomery Cinema) – June Squibb, the 94-year-old lead in this film, is Eleanor, and she IS great! Eleanor has lived in Florida with her dear friend Bessie for many years. The woman, a Holocaust survivor, shares her heart-wrenching stories with Eleanor, who listens intently to the brutality and pain Bessie suffered before escaping from Poland and arriving in the US. When Bessie passes away, Eleanor moves back to New York to stay with her daughter, but she is lonely. At her daughter’s behest she joins a group at the local Jewish Community Center, not realizing it is a group of Holocaust survivors. The result is a poignant story of grief and loss and intergenerational friendship that sustains Eleanor. This is a moving story and Squibb is highly capable of delivering in her star turn. 4 cans.
112. I Like Me* (2025, Prime Video) – John Candy was a unique talent. The comic actor from Canada went through comedy troupes in both Canada and Chicago before landing movie roles in such hits as “Uncle Buck, “Stripes,” and my personal favorite, “Planes, Trains & Automobiles,” a movie I make sure to watch around Thanksgiving every year. He is described in this documentary by his friends and colleagues – including Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Mel Brooks and Catherine O’Hara – as a generous, wonderful guy, but he also had his demons, especially from a childhood spent mostly without his father, who died on Candy’s 5th birthday. He was a people- pleaser who overindulged in food and who wanted everyone to be happy and satisfied at all times. I had forgotten how many movies Candy starred in, and one of my favorites, “Only the Lonely,” a bittersweet story co-starring Maureen O’Hara, wasn’t even included. It is worth rewatching the classics that starred Candy, a sweet and lovable guy gone too soon. 3½ cans.
113. The Woman in Cabin 10* (2025, Netflix) – This suspense story reminds you of its genre by using music befitting the plot. Keira Knightly is a journalist who takes on what sounds like an easy assignment to write about a woman suffering from cancer whose mega-rich husband starts a foundation to raise money for victims of the disease. All Lo (Knightly) has to do is join members of the Foundation Board and other friends of the sick woman on the husband’s yacht as they set sail to bring attention to the organization. But then someone disappears from cabin 10 – which the crew and husband insist was never occupied. Will Lo get the story? Will she survive the ship or will she remain trapped in a giant fish tank? And who did she see fall or get pushed overboard? The other passengers and the yacht crew don’t believe her, and it seems someone is getting away with murder. Very mysterious. 3 cans.
114. The Substance* (2025, HBO Max) – I don’t like horror movies and haven’t watched one for decades, but Demi Moore’s performance in this bizarre tale received so many accolades that I decided to give it a shot. And shots are the theme here, as exercise guru Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) seizes the opportunity to inject a substance guaranteed to make her younger after her boss declares that she is getting too old to strut her stuff for viewers. I won’t try to summarize the plot, but I will say that the movie budget for fake blood here must have been enormous. Moore was nominated for an Oscar for her brave and unyielding performance in this film, and, although she didn’t win, the acclaim she got must have been very rewarding. Not my kind of movie but well done, with a bravura performance by Demi Moore. 3½ cans.
115. Ghost (PBS) – I went for a Demi doubleheader with the viewing of this ethereal, suspenseful story of Molly (Demi Moore), a potter, and the love of her life, banker Sam (Patrick Swayze). When Sam is gunned down randomly on the street in New York, Molly is grief-stricken, but is Sam really gone? He is now a ghost that no one (except other ghosts) can see, but he can be heard by a phony fortune teller Oda Mae, played with humor and exasperation by Oscar-winning Whoopi Goldberg. Sam realizes his death was a murder and he needs to warn Molly of the danger around her, some of which comes from a friendly source. Swayze has to act mostly by using facial expressions except for his dialog with Oda Mae. And who can forget that scene with the potter’s wheel? 4 cans.
116. Annie Hall (1977, Cable TV) – Diane Keaton died today, shocking news for her many fans. She brought parts of her iconoclastic self to every movie she made, and this Woody Allen film melded the real Diane Keaton so well with the on-screen version. Dressed in her trademark menswear and sporting a hat, Keaton’s style was her own and admired by women who are independent, free and portraying themselves. In what I consider his best movie, Woody Allen works much of their personal relationship and Keaton’s style into the story of a neurotic NY-based Jewish comic and the white bread girl he fell for. I cannot imagine anyone else in the role of Annie, and Keaton won the Oscar for the part. The world became a little less bright and quirky today, but at least we have a large repository of Keaton’s work to enjoy. La dee dah, La dee dah. 4½ cans.
117. First Wives Club (1996, Rented) – This is a silly little comedy about the revenge of wealthy, jilted wives that stars Diane Keaton, Better Midler and Goldie Hawn. The college friends go their separate ways until one of their friends kills herself over a failed marriage. Realizing that they are largely responsible for the success of their cheating husbands, the remaining trio form the First Wives Club to recover their finances and teach the men a lesson. The movie is amusing enough, with all three actresses in top form. The one memorable scene is when they sing “You Don’t Own Me.” 3 cans.
118. And So It Goes (2024, On Demand) – This movie is my least favorite of the many Diane Keaton rom-coms. Here she is a woman who has to contend with her cantankerous neighbor (Michael Douglas), who suddenly has the responsibility of caring for a 10-year-old granddaughter he didn’t know he had. Keaton has the child thrust upon her, but she is up to the task. It takes Douglas much longer. The romance is inevitable. 2½ cans.
119. Father of the Bride (1991, On Demand) – Diane Keaton is the Mother of the Bride in this remake of the old Elizabeth Taylor-Spencer Tracy story about a man coming to terms with his daughter growing up. Steve Martin is the beleaguered father, stuck with a bill for a wedding that includes swans in the front yard and a guest list that is more people that can fit in the family home. Kimberly Williams is the young bride. The scenes of her facing off on the basketball court with dear old dad are touching, as he realizes that things will never be the same between them. Martin is the dominant figure in the film and comes through with shining colors. Keaton is wonderful at giving him space and simultaneously keeping the Father of the Bride in line. Charming. 3½ cans.
120. Something’s Gotta Give (2003, rented) – Director Nancy Meyers crafts a wonderful rom-com with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s 63-year-old Harry is dating the 30-something daughter of playwright Erica (Keaton) despite the age gap between them. When he suffers a heart attack at her mother’s gorgeous Hamptons home, Harry has to stay there and rest under the care of a very reluctant Erica. The message here is that you can be older and never have been in love, or you can be older and experience real love. Keaton gives a top-rate performance as a woman leaning into her sexuality and loving love, although Harry is the poster-boy for staying unattached. Nicholson is his best rascally self and raises the game for the rest of the cast. Keanu Reeves plays a young doctor who also falls for Erica, despite their age gap. Good story, well done by all. 4 cans.
121. The Parent Trap* (1998, Rental) – The last time I saw “The Parent Trap” was when Hayley Mills starred in it. In this remake, a young Lindsay Lohan plays twins who don’t know about each other’s existence because they were split up as babies when their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) divorced. They discover each other in summer camp and plot to get their parents back together. This is a lightweight movie whose best asset, besides the cast, is the flawless technology that makes the twins appear on the same screen together. Suitable for children, not 75-year-olds. 3 cans.
122. Bad Shabbos* (2025, Netflix) – A prospective bride (not Jewish) and groom (Jewish) plan a Shabbat dinner at his parents’ NYC apartment to meet her parents, and everything goes awry when the sister’s boyfriend dies in the bathroom unexpectedly. They don’t want the youngest brother blamed for the death and they scramble, with the help of the doorman, to get the body out of the house before the prospective in-laws show up. Neither Plan A, B or C is going to get them out of this mess. Clever movie with good performances. 3 cans.
123. Midnight Run (1988, Cable TV) – If you have never seen this clever caper movie, go out and find it. Robert DeNiro is Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter who takes on the job of capturing “The Duke” (Charles Grodin), a quirky accountant who has absconded with money from a mobster. But the FBI, the Mob and another bounty hunter are hot on their heels, and contending with The Duke and his personality is enough to drive Jack crazy. This movie uses planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, helicopters and I think boats to transport the Duke across country to meet a deadline so Jack will get his money. It is a cops-and-robbers story and a buddy movie where the two principals aren’t exactly buddies. Great movie. 4 cans.
124. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003, Hulu) – If living well is the best revenge, author Frances (Diane Lane) is doing a great job. Jolted by an unexpected divorce from her husband, she takes off on a trip to Italy. Riding a bus and seeing the sites won’t do it, so she leaves the tour and visits a small town where she impulsively buys a rundown Tuscan villa. Although the place is quite grand, it is old and needs lots of renovation. As she builds her home, Frances builds a new family with the colorful locals and her construction crew. And, along the way, she encounters the handsome Marcello and starts to believe in love again. Sandra Oh plays her American best friend. 3½ cans.
125. Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere* (2025, Manville Cinema) – If you go to this movie expecting a Springsteen concert, you will be disappointed. Though Jeremy Allen White does a great job of portraying Bruce and singing several of his songs (he actually had to learn to play guitar for the role), most of the movie is about Bruce’s inner turmoil, stemming from his fractious relationship with this father and trying to express his creativity in a decidedly un-stadium rock way. Thus was born “Nebraska,” a somber album reflective of Bruce’s state of mind. He wasn’t able to truly commit or connect with an erstwhile girlfriend because he couldn’t connect with himself during this period in the early 80s, following his explosion onto the music scene. As we know now, he survived the period but experienced the mental anguish that plagues much of society. Right after Nebraska, which was recorded not at a studio but on a cassette in a rented house in Colts Neck, NJ, Bruce released my favorite of his albums, “Born in the USA,” a raucous collection of hit after hit. The movie portrays an exceptionally self-reflective Bruce during a difficult period and handles the material with care and respect. 4 cans.
126. An Old-Fashioned Family Murder* (2025, George Street Playhouse) – This play was a clever comedy-murder mystery that starred Sally Struthers, a comedy veteran with great timing, in a role she could sink her teeth into. She was terrific, as was the rest of the cast, the direction and the set. The show takes place on a dark and stormy night and somebody – as we know – is going to die. But whodunit? If you aren’t taking advantage of this venue and its wonderful productions, you are missing some excellent entertainment. 3½ cans.
