Monthly Archives: December 2025

Movie Review: Nuremburg

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The atrocities of World War II, perpetrated on humanity, are some of the worst in the entire history of the world. The millions of murders, mostly of Jews in Europe, were so extreme that once the war ended, all governments in the world realized that something had to be done to punish the Nazi animals responsible, if for no other reason, to try and prevent something like this from ever happening again. The problem was that the world had never put war criminals on trial, with the United States, Russia, England, and Ireland all interested in bringing this group of Nazi war criminals to justice.

Then the problem became hiring a psychologist, Major Douglas M. Kelley, to determine whether these Nazi war criminals were mentally fit to stand trial, which is the major part of the new movie “Nuremberg”, starring Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring and Rami Malek as Douglas Kelly. The many conversation scenes between Crowe and Malik in this movie were very well acted, with Crowe giving one of his best acting performances in decades.

The lead prosecutor for the Nuremberg trial, Robert H. Jackson, played very well by Michael Shannon, provides some of the best scenes in this film, as he interviews Göring, with the help of the prosecutor from England, getting Göringto admit that after he testified that he knew nothing about the mass murders, that given what he knows now, he still would not go against Adolf Hitler.

The aftermath of the trial included the righteous hanging of all the Nazi War criminals, with Göring committing suicide with a long-hidden cyanide capsule, minutes before he was scheduled to be hanged. The life of Douglass Kelly took a very negative turn for years after the Nuremberg trials, where he suffered from extreme depression and took his own life in 1958.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for this film are way too low 72%, as this movie was also snubbed for Golden Globe nominations, where Crowe, Malik, and Shannon all should have been nominated for best actor awards. None of this makes any sense for a movie about an extremely important part of world history and such standout acting. My rating is an 85% and a solid recommendation to see this well-acted and important movie.

Movie Review: Ella McCay

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James L. Brooks is arguably one of the greatest screenwriters of all time. Starting with “Terms of Endearment” (1983) and followed by “Broadcast News” (1987) and then with “As Good as it Gets” (1997) his movies – the combination of great comedy and drama, have set a standard of excellence that have made films like these in a category all on their own, a “James L. Brooks type” movie. Due to Brook’s dedication and hard work, it takes years to write a new screenplay, painstakingly rewriting and improving it over time.

Unfortunately, there is no better example of how difficult it is to write a great screenplay than the career of James L. Brooks. With his huge high high-quality hits ending in 1997, there was a glitch in 1994 with “I’ll Do Anything”, and starting in 2004, with the below-average “Spanglish”, his screenplays ever since the outstanding As Good as it Gets, have declined, ending with the bad new movie “Ella McCay”. One would think that, waiting 15 years since “How Do You Know,” this new movie would have returned to the quality that Brooks achieved with As Good as it Gets.

The critics are at their worst with their reviews of this film. Joshua Mbonu: “With constant misses in the film’s attempts at comedy and performances that are as absent as the film itself, Ella McCay, at the very least, sticks out as one of the more baffling films you’ll watch unfold this year.” Brian Orndorf: “Sadly, brightness of spirit is buried in a mess of a movie, watching Brooks build a maze of characters and motivations he ultimately can’t find his way out of.” Jim Schembri: “A surprisingly spiritless and flustered stumblebum of a comedy.” Marshall Shaffer: “But the screenplay is an otherwise calamitous creation that demonstrates more than just a lack of Brooks’ previous genius. It stands in complete disregard for the most basic principles of screenwriting.” For someone as talented as Brooks, now 88 years old, to see reviews this bad at this late stage in his career has to hurt. This is the life of anyone in Hollywood who places years of work in front of the eyes of critics, who at times can be overly cruel.

The most hard to understand aspect of this film is why there were no checks and balances, and numerous eyes from other directors, producers, and screenwriters who said to Brooks, “This needs about 10 more rewrites.” There is nothing wrong with writing a bad screenplay; the problem is when you have so much fame, money, and clout that you can put out a bad movie like this one, without making sure that it is actually good enough to release.

Ella McCay stars Emma Mackey as Ella McCay, Woody Harrelson as Ella’s father, Eddie McCay, who is a serial cheater, Rebecca Hall as Ella’s mother, Jamie Lee Curtis as Ella’s aunt Hellen, and Spike Fearn as Ella’s younger brother, Casey. Kumail Nanjiani has a strange part as a State Trooper in a role that makes very little sense, with very few lines. Ayo Edebiri has a small part in this movie as the former girlfriend of Casey, with scenes that seem to be nothing more than making the running time over two hours. Julie Kavner has an acting/narration role that also makes very little sense, because there seems to be no reason for this movie to have any narration. Albert Brooks is also in this movie as the Governor of an unknown State, and once he decides to take a cabinet position, Ella takes over as the Governor, in her early 30s. Of course, none of this makes any sense. Given that Ella is so young as Lieutenant Governor, it is unlikely that a Governor of a State would leave his job under these conditions. There is a scene at the end of this movie with Ella and her aunt Helen standing and screaming out their frustrations to each other, which gives an ironic twist, because this is exactly what any fan of James L. Brooks wants to do after sitting through this waste of two hours.

This movie is a series of mostly disconnected stories that try to be funny or interesting, but when thrown together, do not seem to have any direct point or overall message. The plot is very difficult to fully describe because there is no definable plot that you would expect within a major movie release.

In terms of the actors and the great screenwriter involved, this huge miss is one of the biggest surprises I have seen since last year’s complete disaster “Megalopolis”, which redefined the definition of what a bad movie is. The Rotten Tomatoes ratings of 20% for this amazingly bad film are correct. This one should be missed at all costs.

The Grid below is a list of all the great, average, and bad James L. Brooks movies since his massive hit in 1983 with Terms of Endearment, which won for best picture, best director, best actress Shirley Maclaine, Jack Nicholson for best supporting actor, and best adapted screenplay.

YearFilmRT TomatometerOscar NominationsOscar Wins
1983Terms of Endearment81%115
1987Broadcast News98%70
1994I’ll Do Anything65%00
1997As Good as It Gets86%72
2004Spanglish54%00
2010How Do You Know31%00
2025Ella McCay20%00

Golden Globe Award Nominations: 2025

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Best Motion Picture — Drama

Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Blue Moon
Bugonia
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
One Battle After Another

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab

Best Motion Picture — Animated

Arco
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
KPop Demon Hunters
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
Zootopia 2

Best Director — Motion Picture

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

One Battle After Another
Marty Supreme
Sinners
It Was Just an Accident
Sentimental Value
Hamnet

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Oscar Isaac, Frankenstein
Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Jeremy Allen White, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
Tessa Thompson, Hedda
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
George Clooney, Jay Kelly
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Lee Byung-Hun, No Other Choice
Jesse Plemons, Bugonia

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Paul Mescal, Hamnet
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Emily Blunt, The Smashing Machine
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

Frankenstein
Sinners
One Battle After Another
Sirat
Hamnet
F1

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

Avatar: Fire and Ash
KPop Demon Hunters
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
Wicked: For Good
Train Dreams

2026 Golden Globes nominations — TV categories

Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy

Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
The Studio

Best Television Series — Drama

The Diplomat
The Pitt
Pluribus
Severance
Slow Horses
The White Lotus

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
Diego Luna, Andor
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo, Task
Adam Scott, Severance
Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama

Kathy Bates, Matlock
Britt Lower, Severance
Helen Mirren, 1923
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture:

Adolescence
All Her Fault
The Beast In Me
Black Mirror
Dying for Sex
The Girlfriend

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Glen Powell, Chad Powers
Seth Rogen, The Studio
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Jenna Ortega, Wednesday
Jean Smart, Hacks

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Television Series

Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus
Tramell Tillman, Severance
Ashley Walters, Adolescence

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Television Series

Carrie Coon, The White Lotus
Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jacob Elordi, The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Paul Giamatti, Black Mirror
Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Jude Law, Black Rabbit
Matthew Rhys, The Beast In Me

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Claire Danes, The Beast In Me
Rashida Jones, Black Mirror
Amanda Seyfried, Long Bright River
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex
Robing Wright, The Girlfriend

Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television

Bill Maher: Is Anyone Seeing This?
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life
Kevin Hart: Acting My Age
Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts
Ricky Gervais: Mortality
Sarah Silverman: Postmortem