Tina's October 2026 Movies and More

This month provided a bunch of interesting programs which received ratings ranging from no cans to 4½ cans. The MUST-SEE in this batch is the documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, "You Can See Everything." There are also two stage shows, several other documentaries and two of my favorite sports movies. Movies and shows I had not seen previously are indicated with an asterisk and all entries are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish. Numbering picks up from previous months.

111. The Unabomber* (2026, Netflix) – This dramatization of the real-life case of Ted Kaszinski runs on parallel tracks. There is young Ted (Jacob Temblay), an underage student at Harvard undergoing a battery of tests to see if he can be broken by his haughty professor (Russell Crow). And there are the FBI agents who worked on the case of the Unabomber for 18 years as Kaszinski shipped his homemade bombs to schools and business where he felt the people responsible for pushing an agenda that disagreed with his own worked. His efforts resulted in 23 bombings, many injuries and three deaths. Rejected by society for his views and antisocial actions, Ted retreats to a windowless cabin in the Montana woods with no heat or running water, where he can assemble his bombs and do research without scrutiny. His manifesto of what ails the world was ultimately published by The New York Times in hopes of smoking him out, and it did just that, as his brother recognized some of his writings. One agent in particular (Shailene Woodley) is a linguistics expert and matches Ted’s syntax and language to identify him. It took authorities 18 years to bring the case to a close. Fascinating and scary. 3½ cans.
112. Slap Shot (1977, Cable TV) – Paul Newman (sigh) is Reg Dunlap, a washed-up hockey player and coach of the hapless minor league Charleston Chiefs, a failing franchise that is about to go under permanently unless someone agrees to buy them. What could make the team desirable to a new buyer? Not better hockey; just more violence and brawling. Enter the Hanson Brothers, three bespectacled young players who like nothing more than throwing off their gloves and fighting the opponent. This movie gives a great view of the life of the low-level professional athlete, enduring long, boring bus rides, chasing women and wondering if their careers are over. Compared to Newman’s more stellar work, this movie is minor league indeed, but it is strangely endearing. And that Maxine Nightengale song hits just the right notes. Not a great movie but a personal favorite of mine. 3½ cans.
113. Animals* (2026, Netflix) – When a movie with a big star launches on a streaming service rather than in the movie theater, I can’t help but wonder if the producers knew it was not destined for a big box office take. Maybe that’s what happened with this Ben Affleck-Kerry Washington movie. In any case, I’m glad I didn’t spend money to see this one in the movie theater. Affleck, who also co-wrote and produced the movie, plays Mark, an independent running for Mayor of Los Angeles. He is married to Washington and they have one young son. What his wife doesn’t know is that he has financed much of the campaign out of their own money, and when he wins (or so he thinks), he plans to reimburse their accounts. He is courting the Latino vote to put him over the top. But just before the election, his son and the son of their Latino housekeeper are out trick-or-treating together when Mark gets a call saying his son has been kidnapped and he should not contact the police but must pay a huge ransom (which he doesn’t have because of his investment in his campaign). He and his wife and political advisor are forced to bring in help to get the money, but who is behind the kidnapping? That’s one of many questions that go unanswered in his drama. There are secrets and betrayals and a few stunts that seemed impossible. Overall, a letdown. 2½ cans.
114. Verity* (2026, Manville Cinema) – My book club read this Colleen Hoover suspense novel and liked it. It translates well into a movie. Verity (Anne Hathaway) is a very successful novelist whose terrible accident has left her unable to move or speak or continue writing successful books. Her husband (Josh Hartnett, in dire need of a haircut), hires Lowan (Dakota Johnson), young writer whose work he thinks could carry on in Verity’s voice. She accepts a lucrative deal from Verity’s publisher and moves into their house to review Verity’s notes and plans for the next book in the series. If it were only that simple. Verity also lives in the house, cared for by a full-time nurse, while the husband takes care of their little boy. As Lowan explores Verity’s notes and mindset, she begins to doubt the verity of the situation. The movie held my interest, even though I kind of remembered the plot as it unfolded. You can appreciate this movie without having read the book. A taut thriller with plenty of suspense and a few gasps along the way. 3½ cans.
115. The Widower* (2026, Netflix) – A man marries six different women and four of them die, mostly out of unusual circumstances. Coincidence? In this true-crime drama, the man in question makes his living conning women into marrying him, and when they die, he lives off the proceeds of the insurance policies he has taken out on their lives. This guy looked and acted like a real creep, but no one could either stop him or get women to stop marrying him. A strange tale indeed. 3½ cans.
116. The Breadwinner* (2026, Netflix) – Comedian Nate Bargatze co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a father who finds himself in charge of the house and family when his wife’s invention gets investors from “Shark Tank” to help it launch. All of a sudden, Katie (Mandy Moore in a role that is beneath her talent) is off and running, leaving her incredibly inept husband in charge of the family. She is the soul of efficiency, with her color-coded, detailed calendar and system to make sure the kids get dropped off and picked up from school, get ferried to practices and other extracurricular activities. He, on the other hand, barely knows the children’s names, doesn’t know where they go to school, who their friends are or anything about how to run their life, and he approaches these new responsibilities with a look of shock on his face. He’d rather be selling cars than worrying about his children. This premise was much more amusingly presented in the Michael Keaton-Teri Garr movie, “Mr. Mom.” I watched up until the point where a seemingly-dead horse came back to life and crashed into the house, destroying everything in its wake. The horse should have destroyed the script, because this is one awful movie. I like Bargatze as a stand-up comic, but does he really think that a wife should bear all of the responsibility of caring for the home and family while letting the husband be an incompetent fool? Stick to stand-up Nate. 0 cans.
117. The Trial* (2010, Peacock) – Matthew Modine plays Mac, an experienced lawyer grieving over the loss of his wife and children in a car accident three years ago. He is so despondent that he is about to commit suicide when he gets a call from the town judge, telling him that he needs to represent Pete Thomason, a young man charged for the murder of his girlfriend. Pete remembers nothing of the tragic incident and he is certain that he didn’t do it. Mac thinks he and the girl may have been drugged by a third party, but how can he prove who did it and how. Considering how much of the story takes place in the courtroom, the tone of this movie is too low key. Of course you want to see whodunit, but is it worth an hour and forty-one minutes? Not really. 2 cans.
118. The Unexpected 3rd (2026, George Street Playhouse) – Kathryn Groder wrote and stars in this one-woman play, capturing the issues associated with aging, life, and where do we go from here as a woman approaching 80. It is a clever look at a woman who has been through plenty in life but is still searching, curious and capable. She moves around the eclectic stage set, tossing aside papers from what looks like a manuscript, but one without end. Grody does a great job of bringing the character to life sans script, prompters or breaks. I couldn’t help but notice how many heads of gray and white hair were on hand to see the play, which is entirely appropriate. 3 cans.
119. The Post (2017, HBO Max) – This story seemed especially timely in light of the continuing acrimony between the current White House and the media. The film is set in 1971 and revolves around the question of whether The Washington Post should publish the classified Pentagon Papers, which condemn the government for its lengthy cover-up of issues regarding the Vietnam War. The sitting President, Richard Nixon, and his henchmen could potentially drive the paper and its publisher, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), out of business. But executive editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) pushes forward to obtain and print the secret report and not allow its arch-rival, The New York Times, to be the exclusive source on this red-hot information. It is not only the reputation and the business of the Washington Post that is in jeopardy. It is also freedom of the press that is at stake. Several years later, the Post would come under more fire when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein worked doggedly on the story of Watergate. Just the presence of Streep and Hanks adds gravitas to the movie, as they win their case in court and proceed with publishing the Pentagon Papers. Good story. 3½ cans. 
120. You Can See Everything* (2026, Manville Cinema) – I thought I knew everything about Elizabeth Holmes, but after seeing this fascinating 3-hour documentary, I don’t think anyone does. Holmes, the once wunderkind whose drug testing company Theranos promised to revolutionize lab testing by delivering scores of results from a single drop of blood, is currently serving time in prison for committing investor fraud. Here, host and writer Nathan Fielder moves into the house Holmes shares with her partner Billy Evans, a tech entrepreneur who is rife with red flags from the start of the film, and their two children in the weeks before her sentence is about to begin. Using extreme close-ups and asking probing questions, Nate and the camera seem like they are looking into Elizabeth’s soul – if you believe she has one. He has unfettered access and tries valiantly to explore Holmes’ motivations and actions that led to her evolution from the young, self-made billionaire to a convicted felon. This movie prompts plenty of questions and if you see it, you will need to discuss it later – so don’t go alone! I can see this movie getting an Oscar for Best Picture. Or at least Most Provocative film of the year, if that category existed. 4½ cans.
121. A Man Called Otto (2022, Amazon Prime) -- I have seen this Tom Hanks movie several times and have to admit that it has become a favorite. Hanks is just right as the grumpy widower, whose life revolves around his “rounds” and routines in his small housing community. He is despondent over the loss of his dear wife and is ready to end it all, so when a pregnant new neighbor and her family move in, developing a friendship with this crew seems to be the last thing he can imagine. 3½ cans.
122. Tow* (2026, Prime Video) – Rose Byrne delivers a top-notch performance as a homeless woman who cannot get a break. While applying for a job, her car (where she has been living for month), is stolen. When it is located in a tow yard, getting it back is the beginning of yet more troubles as she is forced to deal with bureaucracy and corruption. 3½ cans.
123. The One About Matthew Perry* (2026, Netflix) – When our “friend” Matthew Perry died in 2024, it was hardly a surprise. His problems with addiction were well documented, even by Perry himself in his memoir. But watching this three-part documentary was sad, sobering and confounding. Perry was a brilliant comedic talent, a young actor who just wanted to be famous when he started out. His lifechanging fame came when he was cast as the sardonic and witty Chandler Bing on the then-new TV show “Friends,” in a part that he was born to play. Fame came quickly and explosively, and Perry had demons stemming from his family life that he couldn’t manage. He was in and out of rehab many times but he just could not stick to sobriety. In this series, his sister provides insight into Matthew and his life, along with interviews with some of his best buddies as well as several women he dated. No one from the cast of friends appears in the series. We know how this story ends, yet we can’t help but feel the heartbreak. 4 cans.
124. Schmigadoon* (2026, Broadway show) – If you are looking for an entertaining escape from your routine days and the troubles of the world, pay a visit to Schmigadoon, where everything is colorful and the people are relentlessly cheery. This fantasy musical pays homage to many of the classic Broadway shows, such as Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and The King and it delivers plenty of campy characters, singing, dancing and lots of fun. The acting, sets and staging were perfect and the show was a delightful way to spend my birthday. 4 cans.
125. Rudy (1993, Cable TV) – If you can get through this classic tale of “underdog-beats-the-odds) without choking up, we need to check your pulse. Sean Astin plays the real-life Rudy Ruttinger, a lifelong fan of Notre Dame football, whose dream in life is to play for the Irish. The fact that he isn’t academically gifted enough and that he is way too small won’t discourage him. He works his way into Notre Dame and onto the practice squad for the team, showing determination and more heart than many of the players. He is not content to work at the mill in his hometown, like his father and brother. Watching him work so hard to fulfill his dream is gratifying, especially when he is hoisted up by his teammates and carried off the field triumphantly after his one and only appearance in uniform. If I ruined it for you, too bad, because you should have seen this movie by now! 4 cans and a couple of tissues.