Keep up with Sean Means and movies over at The Movie Cricket, and of course, you can always read him over at the Salt Lake Tribune where he is the Culture Editor.
Movies this week:
Karate Kid: Legends • Legacy sequel of martial-arts movie • theaters • ★★
Karate Kid: Legends is a new chapter in the Karate Kid saga, blending the original trilogy, the 2010 reboot, and the Cobra Kai series into one unified story. Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, the film stars Ben Wang as Li Fong, a kung fu prodigy who moves from Beijing to New York City after a family tragedy.
Li struggles to adjust to his new life and soon clashes with Conor Day, a local karate champ. With guidance from his great-uncle Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Li combines kung fu and Miyagi-Do karate to prepare for the Five Boroughs Tournament. Along the way, he builds friendships, overcomes personal trauma, and rediscovers his passion for martial arts.
The film also stars Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, and Ming-Na Wen. Critics have praised its heartfelt performances and cross-generational appeal, though some say it leans too much on nostalgia (The Guardian, Vulture).
Karate Kid: Legends was released in theaters on May 30, 2025, and is expected to stream on Netflix later this year, according to Decider.
Cast: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life • French/English rom-com • Broadway • ★★★
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, directed by Laura Piani, is a charmingly meta rom-com with a title as dramatic as its heroine. Agathe Robinson (Camille Rutherford) is a Parisian bookseller and wannabe author who’s stuck in a creative rut. She’s also stuck working at Shakespeare and Company, surrounded by literary greatness while silently loathing her half-finished manuscript. Enter Félix (Pablo Pauly), her chaotic best friend, who sends said manuscript off—without asking—to the ultra-prestigious Jane Austen Residency in England. She gets in. Cue the panic (Wikipedia, 2024).
In the English countryside, Agathe meets Oliver (Charlie Anson), a grumpy Austen descendant who thinks Austen fans are a bit much—cue enemies-to-lovers tension, obviously (Vulture, 2024). While trading barbs and dodging writer’s block, Agathe stumbles through grief, self-doubt, and the ghosts of Austen’s legacy (and her own parents). It’s all very Pride and Prejudice, with just the right amount of modern awkwardness and emotional growth.
The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Critics have called it witty, warm, and quietly brilliant—basically, everything Agathe hoped her book would be (AP News, 2024).
Cast: Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Annabelle Lengronne, Alan Fairbairn, Alice Butaud
Director: Laura Piani
Bring Her Back • Disturbing horror with Sally Hawkins • theaters • ★★★ 1/2
Bring Her Back is the latest twisted gift from Danny and Michael Philippou, the Australian duo behind Talk to Me. This time, they ditch haunted hands for haunted foster homes—and yes, it’s just as disturbing. The film follows teenage Andy (Billy Barratt) and his blind younger sister Piper (Sora Wong), who are sent to live with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a sweet-on-the-surface foster mom with some very not sweet coping mechanisms. Laura’s been grieving her daughter’s death for years… and let’s just say her attempts to “bring her back” aren’t exactly therapeutic (Reddit, 2025).
As Andy uncovers Laura’s eerie rituals—think homemade resurrection ceremonies and seriously cursed taxidermy—he realizes they’re trapped in more than just a sad household. What follows is a tension-filled descent into grief-fueled horror that’s both emotionally unsettling and genuinely terrifying. Sally Hawkins delivers a performance that’s as heartbreaking as it is bone-chilling (The Guardian, 2025).
Keep your eyes on Max, where it’s expected to land post-theatrical release (Decider, 2025).
Bring Her Back is creepy, heartbreaking, and oddly beautiful—like a horror film with a hug… and then a knife.
Cast: Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, Mischa Heywood, Jonah Wren Phillips
Director: Michael Phhilippou, Danny Philippou
Mountainhead • Tech bros isolated in Park City • HBO on Saturday, then Max • ★★★ 1/2
Mountainhead is Jesse Armstrong’s biting, brilliant HBO debut that asks: What happens when four tech billionaires, armed with way too much money and zero self-awareness, hole up in a snowy Utah mansion while the world burns? Spoiler: nothing good. Think Succession meets Black Mirror, but with more molly and fewer morals.
Jason Schwartzman plays Hugo (a.k.a. “Souper”), the semi-broke host of this retreat—he’s only worth $521 million. Steve Carell is Randall, a dying venture capitalist chasing transhumanist immortality. Ramy Youssef plays Jeff, the group’s conflicted AI ethics guy. And Cory Michael Smith absolutely owns the screen as Venis, the smug architect of Traam—a deepfake-heavy social media platform that’s actively dismantling democracy (AP News).
What starts as a bro-cation quickly devolves into a morality meltdown as the group debates whether they should “coup out the U.S.” over poker, whiskey, and massive egos. Armstrong’s signature wit turns what could’ve been bleak into a disturbingly fun takedown of tech’s god complex (Vanity Fair).
Mountainhead premieres May 31 on HBO and Max, and it’s already getting buzz as a must-watch for fans of dark satire and dystopian tech doomscrolling (Wired).
Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef, Hadley Robinson
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Movies next week:
• The Phoenician Scheme – Benicio del Toro plays Zsa-Zsa Korda, an eccentric industrialist who tries to make his estranged, nun-in-training daughter (Mia Threapleton) his heir. Set in 1950s Phoenicia, Wes Anderson’s latest blends stylized whimsy with sharp satire about legacy, ambition, and redemption.
• Ballerina – Ana de Armas stars as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-assassin trained by the Ruska Roma, who embarks on a mission of vengeance for her family’s murder. Set between John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, the film features appearances by Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Anjelica Huston, and is scheduled for release on June 6, 2025.
• The Life of Chuck – directed by Mike Flanagan and based on Stephen King’s novella, is a poignant exploration of an ordinary man’s life told in reverse. As the world seemingly unravels, mysterious tributes to Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) appear everywhere, prompting a journey backward through his life—from his death, to a spontaneous dance in the street, to a childhood marked by love, loss, and a locked attic harboring a secret. The film weaves themes of memory, mortality, and the extraordinary within the ordinary, culminating in a celebration of life’s fleeting beauty.
• Dangerous Animals – surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is abducted by Tucker (Jai Courtney), a shark-obsessed serial killer who feeds his victims to the ocean’s predators. Trapped on his boat, she must outwit him before becoming his next offering. Directed by Sean Byrne, the film blends slasher suspense with creature-feature thrills, delivering a tense, blood-soaked battle between woman, man, and nature.
