The Whisper Man 2026 * * Stars

MAN DOWN

"Then how is he killing again?" That's a good question. And another quip made in another vehicle about serial killers. Welcome to this year's The Whisper Man, a crime pic where the regular po-po don't give a rat's butt and private dicks can just come out of retirement like it ain't no thang but a chicken wing. 

Anyway watching "Whisper" you realize it might just be a made-for-TV version of Silence of the Lambs that could be shown on cable anytime after 1 AM. Starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, and Michael Keaton, The Whisper Man literally borrows "Lambs" pseudo ending and then wants you to know that it did it too. Keaton (as Frank Carter) is Dr. Lector, De Niro (as Detective Pete Willis) is Jack Crawford, and Michelle Monaghan (as Amanda Beck) is well, Clarice Starling. "It places the lotion in the basket." Apparently so boss. Apparently so. 

Made on a $50 mil budget (really??) with an unseasoned director in James Ashcroft (isn't that the lead singer of The Verve?), "Whisper" is a slow burn thriller with a few tense moments and some laughable ones too (watching 83-year-old De Niro beat someone up like in The Irishman was indeed laughable). Getting back to The Silence of the Lambs comparisons, uh The Whisper Man is almost like a wiki version of "Lambs", a "Lambs" lite rendition, and/or possibly a steaming pile of "Lambs" leftovers that seem wholly reheated. "I never thought it was gonna start again." Oh absotively boss. Ab...so...tively. 

That's not to say "Whisper" is a total disaster because it's not. I mean helmer Ashcroft actually lends to a decent amount of pacing and continuity to the 114-minute proceedings. The problem is that there's a lack of suspense, a lack of apprehension, and weird performances to boot (Robert De Niro sleepwalks, Adam Scott overacts, and Michael Keaton seems to have a goofy stutter). I mean instead of watching something novel and/or fresh, The Whisper Man gashes its way into cinematic deja vu. It's 2026's Suspect Zero. "Hoarse whisper."

Written by Jesse Burleson

By Any Means 2026 * * Stars

WHACK JOB

"Time for you to leave my shop." Uh, don't say stuff like that to Marky Mark's Gregory Scarpa. He'll bust you up bro. Believe that.

So OK, an FBI agent and a hit man join forces to solve some civil rights killings in counterculture era Mississippi. That's the gist of By Any Means, a crime thriller that tries to be so tough yet it has a little too much bark and not quite enough bite. "We'll be working together." Um, true dat boss. True dat.

Anyway "Means" is like 48 Hrs. meets 2018's Green Book, a sort of buddy/buddy cop movie where there's an excursion, a slight rode trip, some racial implications, and plenty of intense tiffing along the way. By Any Means, yeah it stars Mark Wahlberg (mentioned earlier), Yahya Abdul-Mateen, and Nicole Beharie. Wahlberg, well he's always been a solid actor but here seems to be playing a dude that's mobbed up to the nth degree. I mean it almost feels like he's parodying and/or sending-up the notion of nasty hoods as opposed to giving an actual performance. "I knock some heads around and I crack the case." Easy there Sergeant Sean Dignam. Easy there big guy.

Eddie Murphy vehicles and syndicates aside, By Any Means is tight, full of payoffs, and well-paced, a rather terse pic that's based on a true story (and said true story might be a little skewed). The downfall of "Means" however is what it represents, a rinse, repeat of interrogations, beatings, and combative fight sequences that seem to echo early Quentin Tarantino ("you hear that?" hint, hint). It also doesn't help that By Any Means has that aesthetic that makes it feel like it's made-for-TV fodder, not the type of swipe you'd see at a multiplex. "A means to a little end." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

"Untold" The Testimony of Vince Young 2026 * * * Stars

FOREVER YOUNG

"Vince was a freaking animal man." Yup, they're talking about Vincent Paul Young Jr., a BCS national football champion, Madden cover boy, and now special assistant for those Texas Longhorns ("hook 'em"). Hey Arch Manning, Jonah Williams, and "Sark" are the future while this dude Vince was the past.

Anyway "Untold" The Testimony of Vince Young is a yardstick Netflix documentary, at times whimsical and fancy-free and two-sided while other times dark and totally mano a mano. "Untold", well it rounds out to 78 minutes as director John Henion invites strife while chronicling Young's career as a QB via college and the pros. Vince, yeah he was a rather racked soul and defensive cat (pun intended), acting as the so-called protagonist in this docu while his defunct NFL coach Jeff Fisher (of the Tennessee Titans) acts as the so-called antagonist (and rather spiteful one at that). "Who wants it more." Yeah you tell 'em Young. Rock on mister 6'5" with two fingers in the air.

So OK, "Untold" The Testimony of Vince Young features Vince being interviewed as if to say we haven't seen him forever, he's a little rattled, and maybe he needs the dough from these proceedings (the guy filed for bankruptcy after making $34 mil during his career plus endorsements). A recent archive here, a sighting of Matthew McConaughey (fellow Longhorns monger), some obscure sportswriter putting their two cents in, Mack Brown praising Vince Young while Fish lights him up like an LED party favor. Yes "Untold" can't help but leave the viewer with a bad taste in their mouths over the second chapter of Young's double-hearted vocation. I suppose that makes it more effective than most accounts about star athletes who can fling the rock, change an audible, and/or mow down a defensive front. "Testify that." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Tony 2026 * * * Stars

TONE LOCO

"You know I can cook too." Yeah you can big dog. You're Anthony freaking Bourdain, bad boy host with the most. And until this movie about your life circa 1975, I've only known you as the dude from TV's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and some other Travel Channel swipe. Yup, "Reservations" is that show where you visit various places around the world as you explore local culture and cuisine while hobnobbing with well-known foodies and denizens. Natch. 

Anyway 2026's Tony does involve food and the Tony in question is of course Bourdain, a down-to-earth guy who committed suicide by way of hanging just 8 years ago. In Tony you have a soil-like sense of time and place (mid 70s), a raw and unflinching performance by Dominic Sessa (he plays the title character mind you), and a mini snapshot of someone's being, a stumbling into chef's lore when all you wanted to be was a fellowship writer. "Are you a good guy or a bad guy." Oh absotively boss. Absotively. 

So yeah, as a flick about Bourdain's fantastic summer where he chain-smoked and drank, learned about the world of restaurants, clam shucked, and educated himself on how to become a full-fledged, culinary artist, Tony is akin to stuff like The Tender Bar and Hot Summer Nights and 2018's Summer Days, Summer Nights, vehicles where coming-of-age, female crushes, and Aestival lovin get their veritable rage on. 

Keep in mind however that Tony is biographical, not some farcical farce about horndog teens, jamming to Mungo Jerry, and/or chronicling turbulent, fictional personas. No this pic is stronger than most memoir mantras because it steers clear of many wiki tropes and tired motifs (are you listening Peter Landesman?). Tony co-stars Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, and Leo Woodall and they all lend adequate support. "Tony twist."

Written by Jesse Burleson