Hopedale‘s Hometown News Site

There’s a certain kind of movie that doesn’t try to grab your attention—it slowly pulls you into its characters until you’re trapped in its perspective. THE OLDEST PROFESSION fits that mold perfectly. Marketed under a label associated with erotica, this 1974 entry is anything but ordinary. It takes the studio-mandated requirements—frequent sex scenes, provocative settings—and flips them into something bolder, more unsettling. The result is less about desire and more about survival, with a story that digs into exploitation and social abandonment systems with a sharp, unflinching eye.

ONE DAY THIS KID doesn’t just tell a story—it gives you the sense that you’ve been allowed to overhear something rarely said out loud. There’s an unassuming boldness in how it moves, scene by scene, not trying to strike but instead asking you to reflect, to remember, and maybe even to see yourself differently. It’s not concerned with checking boxes or fitting into the usual dramatics—it’s focused on truth, the quiet kind often ignored in favor of something more polished. And that truth hits hard.

Few Hollywood stories capture as much heart, grit, and glamour as the life of Liza Minnelli, and Bruce David Klein’s documentary LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY does an impressive job balancing the spectacle with personal sincerity. Rather than just another celebrity documentary ticking off career highlights, this one offers a fresh perspective on what makes Minnelli an unforgettable entertainer and an intriguing human being. Klein carefully crafts a narrative that feels like discovering the person behind the performer, rather than merely a chronological account of her celebrity status.

DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS opens with a clever sleight-of-hand. Right from the opening scene—a child's gentle humming twisted into something quietly menacing—there’s a promise that the film intends to keep you with that uneasy feeling. This supernatural horror outing is ambitious in its attempt to fuse familiar scary-movie tropes with an unnerving, closed-in atmosphere, though it stumbles more often than succeeds.

Slipping comfortably into the latest season of ABBOTT ELEMENTARY: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON is like revisiting a classic favorite: It is instantly familiar but peppered with delightful new twists that keep the experience fresh. The show’s blend of comedy, well-developed characters, and pointed commentary about the realities of American education continues to charm. This third season expands on previous storylines, adding refreshing depth to well-known faces without losing sight of the warmth that initially drew audiences to its quirky Philadelphia classrooms.

Romantic comedies often promise a charming escape but rarely deliver something genuinely memorable. Too often, they're predictable, serving familiar scenarios without depth. Yet, a film surprises us now and then—not by reinventing the genre but by genuinely investing in its characters, creating authentic and relatable connections. Roshan Sethi’s A NICE INDIAN BOY is a delightful surprise, blending humor and genuine emotion within a vibrant exploration of culture, identity, and the modern dating experience.

The kind of project that only gets made when two directors cash in on their blockbuster cred and decide to get weird, FREAKY TALES is the right kind of chaos. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, this multi-genre anthology doesn’t just look back at 1987 Oakland—it energizes it. It’s messy, loud, and a little all over the place. But it’s also bursting with creative vision, cultural specificity, and a refreshing willingness to take wild swings. It’s the kind that doesn’t always hit center field, but the crowd still jumps out of their seats.

SHIP OF DREAMS: TITANIC MOVIE DIARIES doesn’t overreach or try to amplify drama. It’s a heartfelt backstage pass that thrives on memory, emotion, and on-set stories. The surprise here is how engaging it is to see a project reclaim overlooked perspectives and find beauty in the margins of movie history.

Historical dramas rarely walk the tightrope like this one. AN AMOROUS WOMAN OF TANG DYNASTY refuses to settle into a single identity—it balances romance, tragedy, rebellion, and visual grandeur with the energy of a filmmaker trying to push genre boundaries. While the storytelling isn’t without its stumbles, this film crafts an atmosphere so rich that even its narrative gaps become part of the experience.

There’s something undeniably fascinating about a villain whose presence lingers long after their death. That’s the hook behind MABUSE LIVES!, a six-film box set from Eureka Entertainment and MVD Entertainment that taps into the persistent shadow of Dr. Mabuse—a criminal icon whose influence transcends time, place, and even physical form. Across these films, shot between 1960 and 1964, Mabuse becomes more than a person. He’s an idea—malleable, intangible, and always waiting in the wings to strike again. And while the quality of these entries varies, the set captures something deeply compelling about the evolution of genre storytelling, the nature of evil, and the shifting cultural fears of the mid-20th century.

Nothing about this movie was supposed to work—until it did. An after-hours shoot, a workplace transformed into a horror set, no formal script, and a cast and crew working in secret? Sounds like a recipe for chaos. But MEGA BLOOD MOON: THE FREELANCER thrives on that chaos. What starts like an improvised experiment winds up somewhere more layered, channeling raw creativity into a hybrid of horror, comedy, and surreal existential panic.

The mid-70s fascination with anti-establishment adrenaline hit another checkpoint with Mark L. Lester’s BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW. Equal parts road trip mayhem and outlaw-fantasy fever dream speeds past the usual character arcs and lands squarely in the corner of genre cinema. While the storytelling never quite hits the brakes for nuance, it delivers enough havoc to make the ride memorable.

It’s always interesting when a film puts down the megaphone and leans into a whisper instead. EX-HUSBANDS doesn’t announce itself with spectacle or shocking twists—it operates in the quiet space where uncertainty, disappointment, and self-reflection sit side by side. Instead of trying to impress through chaos, it focuses on something more elusive: the emotional disarray of ordinary lives at a standstill.

It’s not every day that a story about grief, betrayal, and awkward reunions can crack a smile while shattering your expectations—but this one pulls it off with a sting. Mixing dry wit with genuine tension, the film captures the uncomfortable chaos of family drama in an unflinching and unexpectedly entertaining way.

Two lesser-known directorial works from Ismail Merchant are paired together in this Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber and Cohen Media Group, and while they may seem like an unlikely duo at first glance, there’s a shared sensitivity in both that makes the collection worth watching. These aren’t showy prestige pieces and don’t lean on big twists or dramatic flair. Instead, they gently examine cultural displacement, memory, and creative identity themes with patience, care, and just enough sophistication to keep them from feeling too static. It’s a blend of modest storytelling and reflective filmmaking that invites viewers to lean in.