Sean P. Means

a close up of a person 's face with feathers on it ALT: a close up of a person 's face with feathers on it

I'll be talking movies on "Radio From Hell" (@radiofromhell.bsky.social), Friday at 7 a.m. Mountain time, on X96.

We are one week away from James Cameron's "Avatar: Fire and Ash." Are you ready to go back to Pandora? Are you ready to put on your 3-D glasses?
3/3

Review: 'The Secret Agent,' a paranoid thriller for a new era, puts Wagner Moura in a perfect role — a man thinking his way out of deadly trouble — The Movie Cricket I’m going to keep my synopsis for “The Secret Agent” as brief as I can manage, because it’s best not to know too much going into writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s a slow burn of a thriller —&nbs...

"The Secret Agent," which won awards at Cannes for star Wagner Moura and director Kleber Mendonça Filho, is steeped in the language of '70s paranoid thrillers. But its story of a man on a mission during Brazil's military junta is uniquely gripping.
2/3
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Review: 'Ella McCay,' occasionally funny and earnest to a fault, falls to director James L. Brooks' habit of being too nice to his characters — The Movie Cricket The thing about James L. Brooks, as a writer and as a director, is that he likes all his characters — sometimes to a fault, as seen in his shaggy, sloppy, overstuffed new comedy, “Ella McCay.” The ma...

I wanted to like "Ella McCay," writer-director James L. Brooks' comedy about an idealistic politician (Emma Mackey) caught up in family strife and backroom pressures. Unfortunately, it's too crowded with characters for any one or two to make a splash.
1/3
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Sundance celebs A-Z: All the stars you may be able to spot at Utah’s last festival The Sundance Film Festival promises some big names, from Arquette to Zeta-Jones, for its final run in Utah.

Want to do some celebrity spotting at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival? Here's a starter guide, a list of the famous faces who will be onscreen — and could be in Park City and Salt Lake City in person. (Spoiler: Expect to see a lot of Charli xcx.)
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Sundance 2026 list: Here’s all the movies that will screen at the festival’s last Utah run — including 54 you can stream at home The newly announced list of 90 movies features big stars, returning and new Sundance directors and timely documentary subjects.

We're weeks away from the last Sundance Film Festival to be held in Utah. What's going to play there? We have the list of the 90 feature films selected.
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Christmas lights over my desk. With an odd assortment of ornaments.

a woman is standing in front of a yellow truck and looking at the camera ALT: a woman is standing in front of a yellow truck and looking at the camera

I'll be talking movies on "Radio From Hell" (@radiofromhell.bsky.social), Friday at 7 a.m. on X96.

Also this weekend: "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair," a compilation of both parts of Quentin Tarantino's blood-drenched martial arts spectacle, starring Uma Thurman as a killer out for revenge.
4/4

Review: 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' is fan service at its worst, a horror thriller that will bore all but the die-hards — The Movie Cricket Two years ago, director Emma Tammi had it both ways with her cinematic take on Scott Cawthon’s video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s” — delivering the characters and jump-scare shocks the game’s fans de...

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" is a sequel only the die-hard fans of Steve Cawthon's jump-scare video game could love. The rest of us, enduring another tale of animatronic beasts turning evil, may succumb to boredom before the five nights are up.
3/4
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Review: 'Merrily We Roll Along' captures the joys of the Broadway revival — including Jonathan Groff's impossibly good looks and Daniel Radcliffe's neuroses — The Movie Cricket Since most of us don’t have the ready cash or proximity to New York to experience the magic of a Broadway musical, the next best thing is a movie like “Merrily We Roll Along,” which nicely captures th...

"Merrily We Roll Along" is a filmed archive of the Tony-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical about three friends — Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, all amazing — going through ups and downs, on a reverse timeline.
2/4
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Review: 'Hamnet,' a tale of William Shakespeare and his wife, beautifully captures how nature and grief are lived and translated into art — The Movie Cricket Director Chloe Zhao opens “Hamnet” in a forest, the sort of magical place where William Shakespeare could have set one of his lighter comedies, like “As You Like It” or “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — w...

"Hamnet" is a beautiful movie, a meditation on grief transforming into art, using the story of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes, or Anne, Hathaway (Jessie Buckley). Buckley's performance will have you sobbing, particuarly in the final scene.
1/4
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a cartoon of charlie brown holding an apple next to a tree ALT: a cartoon of charlie brown holding an apple next to a tree

Or, early in the film, a teen character says “Everything I touch gets ruined” — channeling his inner Charlie Brown.

My mother’s rule was that if you could still see the tree, you needed more ornaments.

And vegan pumpkin pie.

My family’s vegan Thanksgiving dinner, all made at home:
• Tofurky with wild rice stuffing.
• Mashed potatoes with garlic.
• Roasted vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onion).
• Dressing with apples and Impossible sausage.
• Marinated green beans.
• Texas rolls.

‘Don’t know where else to turn’: A popular Salt Lake City restaurant asked its fans for help. Hundreds chipped in. The Thai restaurant on 900 South launched a crowdfunding campaign after the owners’ patriarch suffered a medical crisis.

The Thai restaurant on 900 South launched a crowdfunding campaign after the owners’ patriarch suffered a medical crisis.

Review: 'Wake Up Dead Man,' the third 'Knives Out' whodunnit, has Daniel Craig solving a murder and pondering the mysteries of faith — The Movie Cricket Benoit Blanc — the dapper, drawling detective that Daniel Craig plays for the third time in the delicious “Knives Out” sequel “Wake Up Dead Man” — has a great “impossible murder” on his hands, further...

"Wake Up Dead Man" is a solid addition to Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" series. Daniel Craig's detective, Benoit Blanc, helps a young priest (Josh O'Connor) who may be a murder suspect. The mysteries of faith are as interesting here as the whodunnit.
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a man in a suit stands in front of a stained glass window with the word kepler below him ALT: a man in a suit stands in front of a stained glass window with the word kepler below him

I'll be talking movies on "Radio From Hell" (@radiofromhell.bsky.social), at a special time — Tuesday at 7 a.m. Mountain, on X96.

I didn't get to see "Wake Up, Dead Man," the latest "Knives Out" mystery starring Daniel Craig. I hope to catch up with it soon.
3/3

Review: 'Eternity' presents a comic afterlife you wouldn't want to visit, with people you wouldn't want to hang out with forever — The Movie Cricket If, as the makers of the comedy-drama “Eternity” imagine it, I will get to choose one place to go after I die, I would not choose to spend my afterlife in the scenario depicted in this emotionally unb...

"Eternity" centers on a recently dead woman (Elizabeth Olsen) who must choose to spend forever with her husband of 65 years (Miles Teller) or her first husband (Callum Turner) who died decades ago. Some good humor, but the characters are thinly drawn.
2/3
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Review: 'Zootopia 2' delivers more sharp humor and plot twists than the original, and flies the messages under the radar — The Movie Cricket It’s been nine years since Disney debuted “Zootopia,” a clever and good-hearted animated tale about a rabbit cop and a con-artist fox who team up, in a parable about fear, prejudice and acceptance tha...

I was happily surprised that "Zootopia 2," the sequel to Disney's saga of a rabbit cop and her fox partner fighting crime in a city of animals. Sharp humor, great voice acting (Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan) and a sly and timely message.
1/3
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The Salt Lake Tribune and its employees’ union sign their first labor contract The Salt Lake Tribune's management and the union that represents its employees have negotiated a two-year collective bargaining agreement — a first in the newspaper's 155-year history.

So this happened in my office today: The Salt Lake Tribune and the union representing its employees, the Salt Lake News Guild, signed a two-year collective bargaining agreement — the first labor contract in the paper's 155-year history.
www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11...

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past, Charlie Brown.

Also old enough to remember when the team won more often than they lost.

Old enough to remember when it was weird that the Jazz would play a regular-season home game on a Sunday.

A movie that takes place where you’re from.

Here’s why Jen Shah is now expected to be out of prison by Christmas The ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ alum was originally sentenced in 2023 to nearly seven years in prison.

Jen Shah, from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," who's been in prison for less than 3 years, may be getting out before Christmas.
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Can Robert Jr.’s addiction battle on ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ help others? On 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,' the reopening of Mary's church comes with the sad news of Robert Jr.'s continued addiction battle. Can his struggle help people watching the show?

One of the most serious subplots of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" has been the continued substance abuse struggle of Robert Cosby Jr., son of Mary Cosby. Can watching Robert's troubles help inspire other addicts seek help? We asked an expert.
www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2...

nick wilde is a fox from zootopia wearing a tie and a shirt . ALT: nick wilde is a fox from zootopia wearing a tie and a shirt .

I'll be talking movies on "Radio From Hell" (@radiofromhell.bsky.social), Friday at 7 a.m. Mountain time.

Next week: "Zootopia 2," the latest Disney animated movie.
5/5

Review: 'Rental Family,' with Brendan Fraser as an American actor in Tokyo, doesn't dig deep enough to overcome its sentimental streak — The Movie Cricket Somewhere buried in the fish-out-of-water comedy-drama “Rental Family” is a solid character study about an American actor in Tokyo that Brendan Fraser could really grabbed with both hands. Alas, that...

"Rental Family" could have been one of the greats, if the director Hikari had told one story of an American actor (Brendan Fraser) in Tokyo, who finds a side gig playing roles in real people's lives. The movie has too many plot threads interweaving.
4/5
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Review: 'Jay Kelly' is a surprisingly thoughtful road trip, where George Clooney shows the sad side of being, well, George Clooney — The Movie Cricket Have you ever wondered how much it would suck to be George Clooney? Me neither, but director Noah Baumbach devotes much time considering that question in a surprisingly moving comedy-drama, “Jay Kelly...

Being George Clooney isn't as easy as it looks, according to "Jay Kelly," in which Clooney plays a movie star who's rethinking the priorities that made him famous but alienated his daughters. Clooney and Adam Sandler, as Jay's manager, have good chemistry.
3/5
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Review: 'Sentimental Value' puts two great actors, Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve, in a wrenching tale of love, loss and art — The Movie Cricket The Norwegian-set drama “Sentimental Value” raises two questions that movie critics ask at this time of year, as the award-season talk overrides all other thought: Is Stellan Skarsgard one of the grea...

The best new movie this week is Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value," an emotionally raw story of a movie director (Stellan Skarsgard) and his two daughters — one (Renate Reinsve) an actress, the other (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) a homemaker.
2/5
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