Christy opens with a prologue that provides the audience of a brief glimpse of Christy Martin fighting another female boxer during boxing match with the song "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears playing over the soundtrack before flashing back to 1989 when she's now living with her conservative mother, Joyce (Merritt Wever), and father, John (Ethan Embry). She has a girlfriend, Rosie (Jess Gabor), whom she's romantically involved with despite the disapproval of her parents. James (Ben Foster), a boxing coach, convinces her to let him train her and to enter her in boxing competitions. He convinces her to marry him, but, eventually, he physically abuses her, and she discovers that he's been financially abusing her as well.
Writer/director David Michôd and his co-writer, Mirrah Foulkes, have made a captivating, gritty and heartfelt biopic. It's more than just the story of a boxer's rise-to-fame; it's about how she stood up for herself, followed her dreams, followed her heart, and conquered her adversities. As Pablo Neruda once wisely observed, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." Christy goes through a lot emotionally, psychologically and physically, but she chooses not to give up. In one of the film's most heartbreaking scenes, Christy's mother invalidates her feelings and sides with her husband when she confides in her that he's abusing her. Christy is very strong for putting up with her narcissistic mother, although she should've cut off contact with her completely. She's lucky to have a girlfriend who cares about her, and even Lisa (Katy O'Brian), her boxing opponent, turns out to be kind, empathetic and compassionate toward her after all.
Sydney Sweeney gives one of the best performances of her career as Christy. Her performance is imbued with raw energy and genuine poignancy as she sinks her teeth into the role with conviction. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, Christy is a total knockout. It opens nationwide on November 7th, 2025 in theaters nationwide via Black Bear Pictures. It would be a great double feature with Queen of the Ring, an empowering sports drama about Mildred Burke, a professional wrestler who's kindred spirits with Christy Martin.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
After Ben (Corey Fogelmanis), a teenager, comes out as non-binary to his parents (Amy Landecker and Judson Mills), they kick him out of the house and he moves in with his estranged older sister, Hannah (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband, Thomas (Cole Sprouse), in and I Wish You All the Best. The screenplay by writer/director Tommy Dorfman, based on the novel by Mason Deaver, doesn't chart new territory nor delve too deeply into its coming-of-age themes. However, it brims with warmth, wisdom and a breakthrough performance by Corey Fogelmanis. It's also sweet, tender, light and occasionally funny. The third act has important messages about freeing oneself from the responsibility of fixing a broken relationship with a toxic parents, learning to love and show empathy toward oneself, and not allowing oneself hoovered back into a relationship with them when you can sense that they haven't changed. Ben gradually understands the wisdom behind the poem by Pablo Neruda: "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." His character arc and the emotional maturity that he attained through his journey of self discovery feel honest, real and inspirational. At a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, I Wish You All the Best opens nationwide on November 7th, 2025 via Lionsgate.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Princess Shaira (voice of Shabana Azeez) goes on an adventure through space to search for her ex-girlfriend, Kiki (voice of Bernie Van Tiel). who's been kidnapped by Straight White Maliens in Lesbian Space Princess. Co-writers/directors Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs have made an unconventional, offbeat, campy, witty and delightfully bonkers slice of animated sci-fi satire. To be fair, it does take a while to get used to its quirky tone, fast pace and being bombarded with lots of tongue-in-cheek, zany humor and gag that are reminiscent of the humor found in South Park. Moreover, its consistently offbeat tone and zaniness get slightly repetitive and exhausting, but those are minor flaws. If you're sick of conventional, uninspired and bland animated films, then Lesbian Space Princess will be right up your alley. It would pair well with Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same and Boys Go to Jupiter in a double feature. At 1 hour and 27 minutes, Lesbian Space Princess opens on October 31st, 2025 in select theaters nationwide via Cineverse.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Zombies attack the partygoers at a Brooklyn club that hosts a drag show organized by Dre (Katy O'Brian) in Queens of the Dead, Writer/director Tina Romero and co-writer Erin Judge have made a tedious, lazy, witless and unscary horror comedy. The screenplay takes too long to get to the mayhem as it introduces the audience to boring characters. The costume and makeup designs are among the film's few highlights. None of the ensemble cast gets the chance to stand out and to let their comedic talents shine, not even Margaret Cho who plays Pops. Perhaps Queens of the Dead would've worked better as a short because as a feature length film it stretches its concept too thinly and pales when compared to Shaun of the Dead. In terms of quality, it's pretty much on par with Zombie Strippers. At 1 hour and 39 minutes, Queens of the Dead opens on October 24th, 2025 in select theaters nationwide via Independent Film Company and Shudder.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
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