Tessera

If you want to laugh a lot, check out "Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom," which puts Aardman Animation's ovine hero up against a hairy beast. It's a great dialogue-free comedy that's perfect for all ages ahead of Halloween. 1/4 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/9/...

Review: 'Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom' delivers Aardman's clay-animated wackiness in an efficiently hilarious package — The Movie Cricket

If you’re familiar with the clay-animated works of Aardman Animation — the folks behind Wallace & Gromit — you know that the studio’s latest, “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” is going ...

moviecricket.net

The nonprofit that owns the Tower Theatre has kicked off an $8.5 million capital fundraising campaign to renovate the old movie house, and reopen in 2028 for its centennial. Here's what the renovation will look like. www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

Got $8.5 million? Tower Theatre kicks off fund-raising campaign to renovate century-old movie house.

The Tower Theatre aims to reopen in time for its centennial in 2028. First, its nonprofit owners aim to raise $8.45 million for a massive renovation.

sltrib.com

Tonight's the Season 7 premiere of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." Get a head start by reading my interview with Ashley Quai, the newest "friend" on the Bravo reality show. www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

Who is Ashley Quai? 5 things to know about the newest ‘friend’ of ‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’

sltrib.com

We didn't need a sequel to "Practical Magic" 28 years later, but we've got "Practical Magic 2" and it's not bad. Credit the loose chemistry of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sister witches, and good tone management by director Susanne Bier. 1/3 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/9/...

Review: 'Practical Magic 2' isn't a sequel we needed, 28 years later, but Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman make some sisterly magic — The Movie Cricket

I had utterly forgotten about “Practical Magic,” the 1998 darkish comedy with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters who were witches and living under a curse that killed any man who fell in love...

moviecricket.net

Labor Day weekend is often a bust for movie releases. Not in Utah, where the made-in-SLC teen comedy "Edie Arnold Is a Loser" is at the Broadway. It's a lovably goofy story of a Catholic school teen (Adi Madden Cabrera) who discovers punk rock. 1/4 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/9/...

Review: 'Edie Arnold Is a Loser' is a goofy Utah-made teen comedy with a punk-rock sentiment, a 'Napoleon Dynamite' vibe and a generous heart — The Movie Cricket

Like many movie critics, I tend to be wary of scrappy low-budget movies made locally — for the same reason restaurant reviewers may not trash a substandard mom-and-pop restaurant, and save their criti...

moviecricket.net

A teen comedy with a "Napoleon Dynamite" vibe about Catholic school girls who form a punk rock band? Here's the story, from directors Megan Rico and Kade Atwood, about the making of "Edie Arnold Is a Loser," filmed in Utah and opening here Friday. www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

The next ‘Napoleon Dynamite’? This punk-rock teen comedy filmed in Utah is premiering in Salt Lake City.

The directors of “Edie Arnold Is a Loser” hope their tiny-budget indie about Catholic schoolgirls who form a punk band resonates like the nerdy cult classic made decades ago by BYU grads. It opens in ...

sltrib.com

At 15, I first saw "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." I had never seen a movie that gloriously weird. I've seen it more than 100 times since. Tim Curry was the heart of it — a mad scientist you wanted to succeed. Now, like Frank, he can say, "I'm going home." Don't dream it, be it.

Tim Curry's Dr. Frank-N-Furter Iconic Smirk

ALT: Tim Curry's Dr. Frank-N-Furter Iconic Smirk

static.klipy.com

Forget Hollywood's August product. Jane Schoenbrun's "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma" is great. A filmmaker (Hannah Einbinder) visits the star (Gillian Anderson) of an '80s horror movie she wants to remake. A combustible mix of fear and desire. 1/4 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/8/...

Review: 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma' analyzes the sexual tension of horror movies, then dives into that fear and desire with gusto — The Movie Cricket

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun starts “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” as a scholarly dissertation on the cultural power of the American slasher film — and that’s not nearly as dry as you might...

moviecricket.net

ZZ Top was scheduled to perform tonight at Sandy Amphitheater, but the show has been canceled in Frank's memory. (Frank was in hospice care, and had not toured with the band the last couple of years.) www.cbsnews.com/news/frank-b...

Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, dies at age 77

"Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons said in a stateme...

cbsnews.com

The Salt Lake Tribune@sltrib.com · 2mo ago

I had fun checking out the stuff Utah Opera is selling tomorrow.

Planning your Halloween costume? The opera company is throwing a one-day sale, with bags of items going as low as $5.

What has this movie season been missing? Dinosaurs! "The End of Oak Street" fixes that, an engaging thriller where a neighborhood is transported to a dinosaur-filled jungle, and a family (led by Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor) must fight to survive. 1/4 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/8/...

Review: 'The End of Oak Street' pits a suburban family against monsters, in a satisfying mix of Spielberg's America and 'Twilight Zone' menace — The Movie Cricket

The suburban horror-thriller “The End of Oak Street” is an efficient machine for delivering shocks with classic storytelling and modern movie technology — and gives a solid cast, led by Anne Hathaway ...

moviecricket.net

Nothing will keep "Spider-Man" from the top of the box office podium for a second weekend. Not "One Night Only," a rancid rom-com with a premise that should have been stopped at the script stage. Monica Barbero is charming, but she can't save this. 1/5 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/8/...

Review: 'One Night Only' serves up a rancid rom-com premise that not even Monica Barbero's abundant charms can save — The Movie Cricket

It’s strange for a movie with a premise as idiotically off-track as the one in the rom-com “One Night Only” to get made. Usually, someone at the studio or among the producers would strangle a bad idea...

moviecricket.net

It's back: "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" is set to premiere its seventh season on Sept. 16. Watch the trailer, and read up to learn who's coming back and who's new to the group. www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ is back for Season 7. Watch the trailer here.

Season 7 of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" is coming this fall. Watch the trailer and see who's coming back — and who's new to the show.

sltrib.com

Julie Cohen ❌👑@filmmakerjulie.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" shows Tom Holland growing up along with Peter Parker, who's fighting crime alone after making MJ (Zendaya) and the world forget him. The action and callbacks are good, mostly. Sadie Sink steals the show as [redacted]. 1/3 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/7/...

Review: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' freshens up the Marvel formula, with Sadie Sink as [REDACTED] stealing the show — The Movie Cricket

The title “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” gives a hint that Kevin Feige and his Marvel Studios minions understand that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs a refresh — and Peter Parker, the kid who became ...

moviecricket.net

"Raise your hopeful voice. You have a choice." RIP Glen Hansard www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8mt...

Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly (Official Video)

YouTube video by GlenHansardVEVO

youtube.com

Terrible news. Hansard's gifts as a songwriter and musician were unparalleled. In January 2007, Sundance showed Utah critics an advance screening of "Once." I loved it so much I went back to the office and ordered The Swell Season's album, which had all the songs. 1/2 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Glen Hansard: Oscar-winning songwriter killed in crash

Hansard, who was 56, won the best song Oscar for the 2007 low-budget musical film Once.

bbc.com

Here's my review of #SpiderManBrandNewDay, which shows Tom Holland's Peter Parker growing up and his spider powers and the franchise evolving. Sadie Sink is the MVP, playing [redacted]. A good refresh for the MCU, mixing familiar faces and new ones. moviecricket.net/blog/2026/7/...

Review: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' freshens up the Marvel formula, with Sadie Sink as [REDACTED] stealing the show — The Movie Cricket

moviecricket.net

Yes, I've seen "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." My review posts at 7 a.m. Mountain time on MovieCricket.net/blog. First reaction: Director Destin Daniel Cretton gives Tom Holland room to let Peter Parker grow up, and mixes familiar and new in the MCU casting. Sadie Sink as [redacted] is a powerhouse.

The Movie Cricket

moviecricket.net

There's only one significant movie opening this weekend: "The Odyssey," Christopher Nolan's grand, and surprisingly intimate, telling of Homer's 3,000-year-old epic poem. Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway lead a strong cast. See it in a big theater. 1/2 moviecricket.net/blog/2026/7/...

Review: 'The Odyssey' is an up-close-and-personal epic, as director Christopher Nolan makes a classic both timely and eternal — The Movie Cricket

Since Christopher Nolan has established that he is perhaps the greatest movie storyteller of our era, it seems fitting that he would tackle what should be considered the most influential story of any ...

moviecricket.net

I got busy over the July 4th holiday, and neglected to note that my movie-review site, The Movie Cricket — moviecricket.net — turned 8 years old. In that time, I've posted more than 1,400 movie reviews, and I have no plans to stop.

The Movie Cricket — The Movie Cricket

Personal writing site for Sean P. Means, reporter/critic for The Salt Lake Tribune. Current movie reviews, and arts writing with a Utah connection.

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