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We’ve reached June and a couple highly anticipated releases. I have my reviews of the films I saw this week below!

It Ain’t Over (Theaters, Limited)
Synopsis: Yogi Berra was a talented ball player and a larger-than-life figure in the game of baseball. This new documentary, from director Sean Mullin, tells Berra’s story through interviews with family, friends and fans, stock footage and even interviews Berra gave throughout his life. The film helps paint a portrait of the player and the man, even chronicling the feud with George Steinbrenner that marked the later years of his life. I knew about Berra before watching this, but the documentary gave me a better picture of him as a player and a person. It’s an interesting slice of life timed for baseball season. It’s not an incredible documentary but it was entertaining and engaging. For fans, it’s worth seeking out.
Rating: Rated PG for smoking, some drug references, language and brief war images.
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five

Reality (HBO Max)
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Marchant Davis, and Josh Hamilton
Synopsis: The latest docudrama from HBO centers on Reality Leigh Winner, the whistleblower who was arrested and later convicted of releasing classified documents surrounding the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. The film features dialogue taken solely from the recorded interrogation between Reality (Sweeney) and two FBI Agents (Davis and Hamilton) in June 2017. It’s a novel approach to the material and creates a tense and moving look at the case and the woman. Sweeney, known for her work on series like Euphoria, gives a solid performance here as Reality. Davis and Hamilton do a nice job as the investigators, too. I thought the film—written and directed by Tina Satter—does a nice job of dropping into this world and telling a compelling story through this somewhat casual interview. It is a crisp 82 minutes, and I was hooked by the film in large part thanks to Sweeney, who draws you in and holds your attention throughout the unique film. This is one that’s worth checking out.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Three and a half stars out of five

Shooting Stars (Peacock)
Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Wood Harris, Caleb McLaughlin, Avery Serell Willis, Jr., Marquis Mookie Cook, and Khalil Everage
Synopsis: Even casual fans have heard the name LeBron James. For two decades, the superstar has been tearing it up on the basketball court, in commercials and on the big and small screen. He’s a charismatic player and one of the best to ever play the game. But how did he get his start? In a new film debuting on Peacock Friday, we explore the high school years—and the bond of friendship—that came to define James’ rise. We know the story of his professional life, but Shooting Stars takes us back to the days when it was him, his friends and a dream. We pick up with a young group of kids under the direction of Dru Joyce (Harris), who recruited a group of players to play alongside his son, Lil Dru. Little did he realize they’d become a family. Flash forward four years, and the quartet of friends is preparing for high school. Lil Dru (McLaughlin) seems to be relegated to JV until he approaches Coach Dambrot (Mulroney) at St. Mary-St. Vincent. Finding a place, they can all play together, Lil Dru recruits his friends Sian (Everage), Willie McGee (Wills) and LeBron James (Cook). Together they form one of the best high school teams ever and forge a legacy that leads LeBron straight to NBA glory. The film chronicles those high school years, the challenges and victories on the court and the friendship that has spanned a lifetime. It gives viewers a window into LeBron’s formative years and the relationships that he holds dear. The film is based on the book from Buzz Bissinger and tells the story of these four friends—whose youth basketball team was dubbed the Shooting Stars. It’s an interesting tale that features some strong performances. I enjoyed Cook as LeBron and I enjoyed the story of these friends and their competition on the court. However, it felt like this story was somewhat generic. We know who LeBron is and that creates some of the intrigue, but if this was an original story. The intrigue comes from learning more about LeBron’s story. And this is a better take than some of the origin stories we’ve seen for other players, even contemporary NBA stars. But it still feels like it plays along the typical tropes of the genre. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was. It’s an interesting story that’s worth checking out and feels like another solid addition for Peacock.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for strong language, some suggestive references and teen drinking
Verdict: Three stars out of five

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Theaters)
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry, Issa Rae, and Jason Schwartzman
Synopsis: We’ve seen the Spider-Man narrative told and re-told a number of times since 2002. Three different actors have played the role in live-action franchises during the last 21 years. But in 2018, we got a completely different vision for Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The animated feature dropped and introduced the world to Miles Morales (Moore) and a whole lot of other Spider people. The film was a revelation, unlike anything I’d seen before. It won the Academy Award for best animated feature and created legions of fans. Now, five years later, we get a follow up. In this sequel, we return to the Spider-Verse. We begin with Gwen Stacy (Steinfeld), seeing her world and her story. We get an introduction that lets us know this won’t be a happy story. Soon, she’s flung into a new adventure. We return to Miles, and his version of Brooklyn. He’s more than a year into his new life and struggling to strike a balance. When he encounters a new villain (Schwartzman) his life and his world is thrown into flux. After a return visit from Gwen, Miles is pulled into a deeper world and forced to make a choice. Can he change history? Originally, this film was billed as Across the Spider-Verse Part 1. That Part 1 dropped, but much like Avengers: Infinity War this isn’t a complete tale. It’s an expansion of the world. It’s a deeper exploration of the characters—particularly Miles, Gwen and Peter B. Parker (Johnson) and their families. We also get plenty of new characters and some big stakes. But we don’t get a resolution. That will come later, in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is due to drop in 2024. But the story we get here is personal, emotional and engaging. The animated style and the use of music remains strong here. The film also mixes in a lot of bold new worlds, including Legos and some live-action pieces. It draws parallels to the larger world of Spider-Man, showing connection to other film franchises. That’s a neat expansion of the multi-verse concept here. We even get references to events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But at the heart, this is about Miles and Gwen. Moore is great in the role, and you feel the conflict as he tries to find a way to relate to his parents—voiced by Henry and Luna Lauren Velez—while navigating his secret life. The same is true for Gwen, who carries the burden of being hunted by her police captain father (Shea Wigham). The family dynamics carry some of the most emotional weight of this sequel, as does the rich relationship between Gwen, Peter B. Parker and Miles. The film isn’t perfect. I didn’t think it found quite the same balance between emotional, story, action, and humor as the original. But it’s still engaging and compelling. It’s one of my favorite films of the year so far and a great animated adventure. I can’t wait to see how it all concludes.
Rating: Rated PG for sequences of animated action violence, some language and thematic elements
Verdict: Four stars out of five