Tina's November 2025 Movies and More

As we wind down the year and amp up for the holidays, I found a dozen movies & more to watch. Numbering picks up from the previous month. Shows marked with an asterisk were new to me, and everything is rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 being the highest rating. How many of these things have you seen, and did you like them?
127. Selling Sunset, Season 9* (2025, Netflix) – The stiletto squad is back! The high-end realtors of the Oppenheim Group in Los Angeles return for season 9 to sell expensive real estate and squabble over who said what to whom. We know they do the latter very well, but if I had a house to sell or to buy, I wouldn’t want these women and their sky-high heels tramping all over my floors (that verb was carefully chosen). I cannot imagine that any of the outrageous outfits they wear are suitable for work (or for anything). The firm is led by twins Brett and Jason O, whose biggest role this year seems to be a disagreement about planting really tall hedges around the front of their building so passersby cannot gawk at them. No plot summary is needed for the women beyond a general summary – they came, they saw, they fought. I binged all of the episodes and then waited for the Reunion show, where they explained their hurt feelings and hurt each other again. Why do I watch this nonsense? Guilty pleasure. 3½ cans.
128. All Her Fault* (2025, Peacock) – But WAS it all her fault? Hmmm. Successful business woman Marissa (Sarah Snook) goes to pick up her adorable five-year-old, Milo, from a play date, but she has the wrong house. OK, that can happen. But then she can’t figure out why the other mom gave her the wrong address. And Milo is not at school, so where is he? That question sets off a chain of events that implicates Mar’s family and friends in a kidnapping. This 8-part series starts out with real promise, but then crams so many events and twists into the mix that the engrossing story becomes convoluted and frustrating. Saying more would give away too much of the plot. I liked it but couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed with the way it veered off track. 3½ cans.
129. Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost* (2025, Apple TV) – Actor, writer, director Ben Stiller takes a melancholy look at the lives of his parents, comedians and actors Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara. Despite taking serious roles, both were renowned for their comedy, both performing together and independently as comic actors (Stiller, notably, as George Costanza’s manic father in “Seinfeld.” Ben Stiller and his sister spend much of this rather maudlin film sorting out their parents’ possessions, a challenge made tougher by the extensive collection of photos and videos recorded by Jerry. In going through the mountain of materials, Ben comes to the realization that his disappointment in his father’s absences while he was growing up are reflected in his own relationship with his wife and children. Both men prioritized work over family, much to the dismay of their kids. The treasure here is seeing Stiller & Meara perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and many other places. Their 60+ years as a married couple helped the act, but they also appreciated individual opportunities to act. I’m not sure what Ben’s objective is here, other than to address his own issues with his parents and as a parent – something that might better be reserved for his therapist rather than an audience. 3 cans.
130. Being Eddie* (2025, Netflix) – Eddie Murphy took off like a rocket when the then 19-year-old debuted on “Saturday Night Live” back in 1980. The original “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players" had departed, and the burden for the success of the show went on the cast that replaced them. The star of the show was clearly Murphy, the new, young comedian/chameleon. He stayed on SNL until 1984, and by then he was starring in classic comedies like “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Trading Spaces.” Here he recounts his career, the problems of fame, and why he stopped performing his stand-up act even after huge acclaim. His SNL characters were legendary and his movie hits inspired the next generation of Black comedians just as Murphy had been inspired by Richard Pryor. This was an interesting look at his 50-year career as seen by Murphy himself and other comic superstars. 3½ cans.
131. Beverly Hills Cop (1983) – This action-comedy is one of Eddie Murphy’s first films and it shows his amazing talent at its best. Murphy plays Axel Foley, a Detroit cop constantly in trouble for his unconventional style. When a good buddy is killed by bad guys from Beverly Hills, Foley invades their jurisdiction to track down the culprit. His interaction with traditional BH cops is comedic gold. The plot gets a little convoluted, but just seeing Murphy in action is all you need. 4 cans.
132. Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things* (2025, Netflix) – The popular comedian Leanne Morgan mines familiar territory here, milking her role as wife, a mother and an aging woman, but it is all still very funny in her latest stand-up special. I laughed out loud more than once. If you can take her Southern accent and style, this is for you. 3½ cans.
133. A Man on the Inside, Season 2* (2025, Netflix) – Somehow I knew that handsome retired professor Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) would be back in the private investigator game after the success of Season 1. This year he is returns with his boss to figure out the dirty dealings behind a business tycoon’s massive donation to local Wheeler College. Somebody is blackmailing the smarmy college president and Charles, who is always nattily attired with perfectly coiffed white hair, is determined to identify the culprit. He gets involved in the drama and with one of the faculty (his real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen) as he tries to unravel the mystery. Also along for the ride are his buddies from last season’s senior living community, including feisty Sally Struthers. Danson is charming, the rest of the cast does excellent work, and with a few new twists and the same premise, there is plenty of entertainment here. I wonder where the PI will turn up next. 3½ cans.
134. Sebastian Maniscalco: It Ain’t Right* (2025, Hulu) – Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco makes me laugh out loud. He riffs on this family, annoying strangers and the issues that life makes us face in his new stand-up special. Like him or not, the man is funny! 3 cans.
135. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987, on demand) – It’s Thanksgiving, so I couldn’t resist replaying this John Hughes classic comedy. Del Griffith (John Candy) is a well-meaning, jovial salesman who is trying to get to Chicago for the holiday. Neal Page (Steve Martin), an uptight marketing guy who is Del’s opposite, is leaving New York and also trying to get home to Chicago. A series of issues disrupt their transportation plans and they end up traveling together, not exactly a match made in heaven, as they attempt practically every form of transportation you can imagine short of a gondola to get to Chicago in a snowstorm. There are so many great laughs here but to recount them all would spoil them. There are tons of movies that feature Christmas, but few movies that focus on Thanksgiving, and this one shines! 4 cans and a barrel of laughs.
136. Bernie* (2011???, Netflix) – Jack Black is amiable assistant funeral director Bernie, a beloved and trusted helper always there to assist people grieve the loss of their loved ones, good with make-up and dressing of the bodies and equally good at persuading people to pay for a more expensive coffin. When Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine) loses her husband, she doesn’t get a lot of sympathy from the neighbors in her small, southern town because of her justifiable reputation as a difficult and surly woman. But Bernie is as sweet as apple pie and somehow finds the irascible woman’s somewhat good side, becoming her confidant, travel companion, financial advisor and general factotum. But the more he does, the more he is asked to do, and the demands never seem to end. This movie is not to be mistaken for “Weekend at Bernie’s,” though in the end, they have more in common than you would anticipate. 3½ cans.
137. Mr. Rogers: It’s You I Like* (2018, Prime Video) – For someone who missed the entirety of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood series (I was a young adult by the time Mr. Rogers showed up), I find it fascinating that such a gentle, unassuming TV host could have such a big impact on American culture. Mr. Rogers had some quiet little songs, with “It’s You I Like” leading the way to encourage children to understand their worth. His lessons brought subtle messages into the homes of children, and his imagination didn’t need AI or dazzling graphics to get his point across. We could use an influx of more Fred Rogers in today’s world. 3½ cans.
138. Erin Brockovich (2000, Prime Video) – It is hard to believe that 25 years have passed since brazen and beleaguered Erin Brockovich debuted in the movies and earned Julia Roberts an Oscar for the title role. Erin is a divorcee with three kids, plenty of debt, inconsistent employment and child care and a “don’t f*** with me” attitude. She has an accident but her lawyer Ed (Albert Finney) fails to win her case, so she somehow talks him into giving her a job in his law office. She stumbles upon a potentially large lawsuit involving the local power company and the sick people in Hinckley, California, whose health issues appear to stem from contamination of the community by the plant. Erin has no formal background in the law or medicine, but she is full of determination and empathy and can memorize more phone numbers than the Manhattan directory (does that still exist?). She goes after the bad guys with vengeance, using everything she can muster to succeed on behalf of her clients. This movie is based on a true story and it is a meaty one. 4 cans.