Movie: Roofman (2026)

 I was kind of excited for this movie because I listened to an episode of the Criminal podcast and heard about this story. It was funny, and tragic, and interesting. This movie doesn’t live up to that story. 

Roofman is supposed to be a comedy based in a great story . There’s an amazing cast attached. There is great potential, but it was wasted on the final product. 

This movie was bland. It happened. There was little emotion. Even the coloring (it has a tungsten tint) contributed to its dull feel. 

It was quite disappointing seeing the waste of Lakeith Standield and Juno Temple. And were they trying to make Peter Dinklage look average-sized?! Awkward.

I think with better editing the emotion and comedy could have been helped and the relationships wouldn’t have felt so rushed. They also missed out on the potential to expand about Roofman’s military skills. 

This was done by the same director that did Blue Valentine, which explains the sad, dull feeling. 

I watched this on a DVD checked out from my local public library in June 2026

Theatre: Phantom of the Opera 2026

 

Phantom of the Opera 2026 North American Tour

I bought tickets for me and my best friend to see this show as soon as it was announced in spring 2025 and I had a phone in my hand. That was a good decision. 

I love Phantom of the Opera. It is my favorite musical. My faulty memory says this is might be the third or fourth time I’ve seen it live on stage and I’ve only seen it at The Pantages. 

In this fantastic production the entire cast gave amazing performances. The Phantom was played by Isaiah Bailey who has a great voice and brought every ounce of emotion out of his role. Christine Daae was played by Jordan Lee Gilbert who sang the role beautifully. Even Raoul, played by Daniel Lopez, was notable and great. 

After seeing the stage production multiple times and three versions of the story on screen, I really took some time to question the story, notably who took advantage of whom. My bestie thinks Christine is the user, taking advantage of the Phantom’s guidance and tutoring, then when she gets successful, she leaves him in the dust for the handsome vicomte. But as I see it, the Phantom tricked her, taking advantage of Christine’s grief from the loss of her father and loneliness, he comes to her as a musically saavy ghost voice tutor. After her talents are discovered everything converges: She suddenly finds herself a star, the Phantom reveals himself as flesh and blood and the person who’s also been terrorizing everyone in the theater where she works. While riding that emotional roller coaster,  a man from her past shows up and showers her with affection and rich attention: Why not fall for this guy?

All Christine has known is being “guided” by one person or another. It doesn’t seem like she’s had to decide too much for herself so ghosting the non-ghost Phantom and choosing the rich guy Raoul makes perfect sense, especially considering the choices women had in that time period. But she’s a compassionate person, and although he misrepresented himself, in the end, she’s grateful to the Phantom for his guidance. Once you have that, everything else makes sense. 

Theatre: The Piano Lesson

A Noise Within
I remember seeing The Piano Lesson as a Saturday afternoon TV movie during my childhood. I usually didn’t watch Saturday TV after it switched from cartoon to live-action, but this must have snagged my attention or maybe I tuned in at an especially engaging point. I remember there was something paranormal in the movie and that in at least one scene the piano was possessed. I don’t think I ever saw the movie again. 

Fast forward to the present: I’ve been following the August Wilson Cycle that A Noise Within has been producing and this year’s selection was The Piano Lesson!
The first half was great. ANW always has amazingly complex and authentic set deign. The actors, some familiar from the previous August Wilson plays, some not, were excellent and so comfortable in their characters, I felt like I knew them. And though it followed Wilson’s standard trope - a Black man rushing his way to prosperity only to blame something or someone for standing in his way - The rest of the story was quite interesting and intriguing. I couldn’t wait for the Piano possession!
Act 2 was such a disappointment! It was like the actors were rushing through (Which might have been the case. During the intermission, we overheard a stage hand saying they were running behind). Only some of the same intensity and depth of the characters came through. Then, in the end when the house shakes and the piano is supposed to become possessed by the ancestors or Mr. Sutter’s ghost, it was so anti-climactic. They could have done a better job of bringing that to life without much special effects expense. They didn’t even flicker the lights, which is ghost-on-stage 101! If I could do this over, I’d have another actor playing the ghost showing up in deep background at key points throughout the play. For the climax scene, I would have had the lights flicker and shake, the piano playing by itself, and the ghost flash their way through the scene.
Then it ended and all was well. Hmph.
I still love ANW as a venue and Greg Daniels’ productions of August Wilson plays. But I recognize that this particular night wasn’t anybody’s peak performance.

Off Beat Romance Double Feature

I managed to pick two quirky, romantic comedies that are really fun and worth watching multiple times. I highly recommend these for a fun Hulu + chill night.

Dinner in America (2020)
Hulu
An awesome movie about a low-level criminal punk rocker stumbles upon a punk groupie of whom not much has been expected. Shenanigans and punk music ensue. Overall a fun and well-made movie. Nothing extraneous perfect acting, good writing.

Palm Springs (2020)
Hulu
This is a sort-of-sci-fi romantic comedy about a time loop starring Andy Samberg. Kind of like Groundhog Day but in Palm Springs. I really liked it. Light and fun, good comedic banter, fun side characters.

Black History Month 2025 Shorts Series

I celebrated Black History Month this year by being a couch potato. Also, since none of the Oscar nominated shorts were available online, I decided to make my own shorts series. Want to hear about it? Here it goes…

Shaka Inkosi YamaKhosi (2021) 15 mins Netflix

This is an animated short about Shaka Zulu. It was okay. 

Cops & Robbers (2020) 7 mins Netflix 

Partially animated by different animation teams. That’s was the most interesting thing about this film, which is a poem about police brutality. 

Heart Shot (2022) 19 min Netflix 

Excellent short film about a mysterious bad girl. The action was surprisingly good.

The Weathering (2023) 20 min Netflix 
A black woman deals with the pain and prejudice of the maternal health system. Another well done short.

Makayla’s Voice A letter to the world (2024) 24 min Netflix
A really beautiful documentary short about a non-verbal (but learning) autistic girl who learns to communicate using a letter board and has a lot to say.

Sad Day (2020) 8min Hulu
A Crouching tigger inspired ramen shop dream. Music by FKA twigs. Very fun to watch!

Starkeisha (2022) 33 min Hulu
A sci/fi fantasy about code switching and self-acceptance. A bit too long, too much flashiness that gets in the way of the story, but worth seeing. Reminded me of Lovecraft Country episode 7, I Am, about Hippolyta’s adventures through different dimensions.