'The Bikeriders': Hectic, Tragic, Yet Electric

One of the posters for The Bikeriders. Photo courtesy of William Beavers.

Austin Butler and Tom Hardy did a great job acting in Focus Features' The Bikeriders. There was occasional Johnny Cash and June Carter Walk the Line-esque chemistry between Jodie Comer and Butler's characters, enjoyable humor watching Butler act like Patrick Swayze and Hardy act like Robert De Niro, and amazing blues and rock and roll music depicted in the film. The Bikeriders was also a great combination of tragedy and togetherness when it told the tales of humanity and inhumanity in members of a biker gang in the 1960s American Midwest.

Based on a book by real-life photographer Danny Lyon, played by Mike Faist from Challengers, The Bikeriders tells the story of the Chicago chapter of the Vandals motorcycle club, led by Johnny, played by Hardy. One of his members and closest friends, Benny, played by Butler, is caught between enjoying the life of a dangerous biker or freeing himself and settling down with his love interest, Kathy, played by Comer, from Free Guy. As all three quarrel with their individual lives, questions of loyalty and change follow them.

Boyd Holdbrook, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy in The Bikeriders. Courtesy of Focus Features.

In the beginning, Butler's character of Benny reminded me of Patrick Swayze, with the whole tough-guy act and the crazy Road House-style action. Then it got funny and tender watching him and Comer as Kathy riding with a nice expressway skylight and "Out in the Streets" by The Shangri-Las. As I said earlier, it reminded me of Johnny Cash and his future second wife June Carter in Walk the Line. But, later, it seemed that the relationship was one-sided given that Benny was willing to get in more fights and break himself rather than just be a great man for Kathy, similar to Bradley Cooper's A Star is Born.

Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in The Bikeriders. Courtesy of Focus Features.

Despite his occasional rowdiness, I did like Butler being a cool troublemaker. Going to Hardy, I couldn't tell which type of accent he used as Johnny. It seemed like a Jersey or New York accent, or a hint of Sylvester Stallone, but, still, it was amusing watching him be a mellow and tough cat when it came to protecting the Vandals. He's a little removed from Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, then goes back to Bane with fights reminiscent of West Side Story.

Other than Butler and Hardy, you may enjoy the crazy hair (like mullets or bobs that could remind you of Priscilla Presley) and costumes from the 1960s, songs from artists such as Muddy Waters, Cream, or the Sonics. Though I got them all wrong, I saw some Vandals club performers who looked like Christopher Walken, Daryl Sabara (Juni Cortez from Spy Kids), Evan Peters from X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Andy Serkis.

One note is that they should've given more screen time to Comer.

All in all, I enjoyed watching The Bikeriders. Maybe a 7.5/10. I hope you enjoy it, too, if you watch it. Only in theaters. Rated R.

Superman-Great Past and New Hero Magic

Superman (2025) poster. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. James Gunn's iteration of Superman was a well-thought-out film. I give it a 9.4/10 for both the occasional references to the Christopher Reeve film from the late 1970s and for standing out with different presentations of the iconic Man of Steel and his colorful supporting characters. This was my first time seeing David Corenswet, but he was great acting out the drama and heroism in the lives of Clark Kent and Superman. It was also great to see Rachel Brosnahan bring some gumption and humor to her role of Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, and it was great to see former X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult bring some vigor to his role of Superman's ruthless archenemy, Lex Luthor. In this Superman, it stood out by skipping the intro of Kal-El leaving Krypton as a baby and instead showing Superman, played by Corenswet, in his third year of protecting Metropolis and the world. In his quest to prove Superman a threat to humani...

'Roofman': Channing Tatum Played a Lovable Thief

Poster for 'Roofman.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Miramax. Channing Tatum played Jeffrey Manchester, an ex-Army Reserve soldier and divorced dad who had a penchant for details and thieving. He was known as "The Roofman" for breaking into his targets by drilling into their roofs. It was like Tatum channeled Sam Dawson and Scott Lang into one as his character managed to find a way to sneak out of prison underneath a truck with skills from prison shop, then make a home in a corner in a 2004 Toys 'R Us. It was pretty funny and amusing how Jeffrey sort of took control of the store after closing. How he snacked on M and M's, skated around on Heely-like shoes, he acted like a grown man with a kid's bedroom with inflatables and Spider-Man merchandise, and he kept security with baby monitors. It was also kind of funny how he made money out of stealing and pawning a bunch of video games. While trying to get out of the country after fleeing to the store, Jeff...

'Sarah's Oil': A Sharp-Willed, Inspirational Tale

Poster for 'Sarah's Oil.' Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. Naya Desir-Johnson triumphed as the eponymous character of Sarah's Oil . She channeled intelligence, comic relief, and proud spirit in her role as child oil baron Sarah Rector. I also enjoyed Zachary Levi's role as Sarah's business partner Bert Smith with his Southwestern charm and protectiveness over Sarah. You'll also appreciate the performance of Sonequa Martin-Green as Sarah's mother, the costume designing by Michael T. Boyd, the scoring by Kathryn Bostic, and the filming in Oklahoma where the story took place. In the early 1900s, Sarah Rector, played by Desir-Johnson, was granted land that, unbeknownst to people of power at the time, had crude oil gushing underneath the infertile land. With help wildcatter from Bert Smith, played by Levi, and her family, and eventually others in Oklahoma, Sarah shows certain racist people that she will stop at nothing to drill for that oil and make a great l...

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