‘DEEP COVER’ ON AMAZON PRIME
   
Should you be in the mood for a goofy comedy mixed with some action, then Amazon Prime’s “Deep Cover” is a pleasing little film fixed upon three unlikely characters finding themselves embroiled in what could be an ill-fated caper.
   
Quoting the author of “The Improv Guide,” the film’s opening title says “Improv Comedy is like going into battle. If you want to kill, you have to be willing to die.” That might prove prophetic. 
   
The opening scene on the streets of London results in a high-speed chase when one criminal on a motorbike is chased by gun-toting Albanians, who are then pursued by police officers unable to keep up with the hunt.
   
Toiling away in a boring IT job is Hugh (Nick Mohammed), a socially awkward tech nerd who fails to ingratiate himself with a bunch of obnoxious day traders, only to be told by his boss to stay in his lane and stop trying to be part of the team. 
   
Meanwhile, Orlando Bloom’s Marlon wants to be a method actor but job offers go not much further than working in commercials, where he succeeded with a bit of recognition as the “Pizza Knight” in television ads.
   
After work, Hugh wanders by The Comedy Store, taking notice of the posted notice that he could find his voice and build confidence by joining a comedy improv class, which is run by aspiring actress and American expat Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard).
  
Hugh is hoping that getting experience on stage would help him garner self-esteem to hold his own at the office, rather than breaking into a questionable career move of stand-up comedy.
   
While the acting career is not really working out for Kat, whose circle of snobbish friends fret about her prospects, a new path converges for her by teaming up with Hugh and Marlon.
   
The trio is recruited by Detective Billings (Sean Bean) for undercover work going after drug pushers. The theory is that real undercover cops would be quickly exposed but not these guys. 
   
In short order, the acting team’s flair for the melodramatic doesn’t help much when they get in too deep with drug dealer Fly (Paddy Considine), and hapless Hugh does lines of coke to recklessly establish his street cred. 
   
The situation gets even more chancy when the actors get access to Metcalfe (Ian McShane), the boss of the criminal underworld that is the true target for the undercover operation.
   
“Deep Cover” benefits from the comic chops of likable yet frivolous main characters going for laughs in what is undeniably an entertainment fully committed to absurdist escapism. 

‘MUBI’ STREAMING PLATFORM
   
The ad-supported streaming service Tubi now appears to be well-established in providing users the opportunity to watch sports, along with vintage as well as more recent television programs and movies, for free.
   
On the other hand, not to be confused with Tubi is the streaming service MUBI, a global streaming platform that views itself as a kind of highbrow outlet for arthouse films and the like.
   
MUBI describes itself as a production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema by creating, curating, and acquiring and championing visionary films from iconic directors and emerging auteurs.
   
As part of its mission statement, MUBI believes “cinema should be viewed on screens of all shapes and sizes. Our curators scour film festivals for the most exciting and original new films, which we bring to the big screen with the same care and attention we give to our curated platform.”
   
For a taste of MUBI, some previous and upcoming releases include Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance;” Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer;” Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End;” Magnus von Horn’s “The Girl with the Needle;” and Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane’s “Grand Theft Hamlet.”
   
Other works include Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla;” Ira Sachs; “Passages;” Pedro Almodovar’s “Strange Way of Life;” Molly Manning Walker’s “How to Have Sex;” and Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves.” The names of directors Coppola and Almodovar are familiar; the others much less so.
   
Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” sounds intriguing. Just who could it be? Are we talking about the entire history of the world with awful tyrants like Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung (or Mao Zedong), Adolf Hitler, and Pol Pot? 
   
MUBI co-productions include Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother” starring a stellar cast of Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat.
   
Then there’s Karim Ainouz’s “Rosebush Pruning” starring Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Lettes, Elle Fanning and Pamela Anderson, and Michel Franco’s “Memory” starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.
   
MUBI considers itself the biggest community of film lovers anywhere, with members across 190 different countries. The streamer is headquartered in London, with 15 offices around the world and over 400 employees.
   
Joining this community comes with a monthly or annual price tag, and it is available on the web, Roku devices, Apple Vision Pro, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, PlayStation, Samsung Smart TV, as well as mobile devices including iPhone, iPad and Android.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

MENDOCINO, Calif. — The Highlight Gallery announced it is hosting an exhibition in July of beautiful pastel paintings by Lake County artist Judy Magoon.

Magoon prefers to work with pastels to render her Northern California landscapes.  

They allow her to produce the softness and brilliance of watercolors as well as the strength and intensity of oils.   

Magoon believes that artists have no choice but to find a vehicle of expression for their creative energy.  

The Highland Gallery is located at 10480 Kasten St. in Mendocino.

The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 .m. daily.

For more information, call 707-937-3132 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

SANTA ROSA, Calif. –  Country Summer presented by Bud Light, Northern California’s favorite country music festival, will return next weekend, Friday, June 27 to Sunday, June 29, for three days of music, sunshine and country music. 

The festival, which takes place annually at the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, will include new VIP experiences, sponsor activations, gourmet food options, festival camping and a stellar lineup of 24 nationally-recognized performers.

The 2025 schedule of performers for the Chevrolet Silverado Main Stage and the Redwood Credit Union Community Stage include:  

• Sam Hunt headlining on Friday, June 27. Gabby Barrett, LANCO, Lily Rose, Clay Street Unit, Dry Creek Station.
• Kane Brown headlining on Saturday, June 28. Mitchell Tenpenny, Eli Young Band, Canaan Smith, Mackenzie Carpenter, Jerrod Niemann, Adrien Nunez, Lauren Watkins, Clayton Mullen, Township.
• Dustin Lynch headlining on Sunday, June 29. Ian Munsick, Hailey Whitters, Elvie Shane, Travis Denning, Avery Anna, Annie Bosko, The Kruse Brothers.

Country Summer, which was recently named to Newsweek’s Reader’s Choice Top 10 Best Outdoor Music Festivals, will kick off at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 27. The festival is welcoming new wine sponsor, Rodney Strong Vineyards, for wine tasting and by-the-glass sales as well as line dancing lessons at the Rodney Strong Wine Garden. 

Also new this year is a cooling tent with seating and a bar, hosted by Sonoma Clean Power; a new Kaiser Permanente Viewing Deck, accessible with upgraded ticket purchase and featuring an elevated view of the stage, access to private restroom trailers and bars, and small snacks throughout the day. 

The festival will also offer new options for guests to store belongings, charge cell phones and rent lawn chairs for the day.

“As successful as County Summer has been, we are always looking for ways to improve the experience for our guests,” Drew Jacoby, an executive producer for Country Summer, said. “We can’t wait to open the gates for this year’s festival and thrill fans with an incredible line up, an expanded selection of craft food and beverage options, and games and activities for all to enjoy. We have a feeling this year will be one for the record books!”

This year Country Summer takes place on the last weekend in June, a departure from past festivals, which were historically held on Father’s Day weekend. “We wanted to appeal to fans who have been unable to attend due to Father’s Day obligations. We’ve had a great reaction to the date change,” said Jacoby. 

Three-day passes to the festival are still available, starting at $225 for general admission. Single-day tickets start at $100 for general admission. Upgraded ticket options, including reserved seating, access to the “pit,” and preferred parking are also available. 

Limited tickets remain for The Country Club, an exclusive area in Saralee and Richard’s Barn with a private cash bar, indoor restrooms and a fully catered dinner offered daily. 

All available tickets, VIP upgrades, and parking passes can be purchased by visiting countrysummer.com. Listed ticket prices are inclusive of fees.

For those hoping to stay on festival grounds, Country Summer has limited tent and RV camping options. To purchase passes or learn more about tent and RV camping, visit countrysummer.com or contact the Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV Park directly. 

Country Summer Music Festival presented by Bud Light is a destination music festival held annually at the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. 

‘YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS’ ON APPLE TV+

Best known for playing Madison Avenue advertising agency shark Don Draper in the “Mad Men” series, Jon Hamm is the perfect fit for the role of hedge fund manager Andrew Cooper in the “Your Friends and Neighbors” series on Apple TV+.
   
Coop, as known by friends and colleagues, finds his life in a downward spiral. It helps little that we first see him on a floor covered in blood next to a dead man presumably killed by gunshot. 
   
There’s a flashback to four months earlier at a bar where alluring Olivia (Kitty Hawthorne), her shirt halfway unbuttoned, approaches Coop after ignoring a pair of obnoxious patrons she refers to as Patrick Bateman fanboys.
   
No longer married after 18 years, Coop claims to be old for someone who turns out to be 28 years old. It should come as no surprise that a consensual relationship would soon to follow.
  
A little introspection dawns when Coop recalls falling madly in love at a young age, moving quickly up the ladder at work and taking on greater financial burdens as he and his wife Mel (Amanda Peet) take on bigger mortgages for larger homes. T
   
Then one day he comes home early from work to find his wife in flagrante delicto with his best friend Nick (Mark Tallman), a former NBA champion who lives in the neighborhood in his own mansion with trophies and artifacts of his career on prominent display.
   
Coop’s circle of friends and colleagues all seem to live in the exclusive fictional New York suburb of Westmont Village, an ultra-wealthy enclave where many residents belong to a country club and dress formally for cocktail parties.
   
Less than 15 minutes into the first episode Coop is sitting casually in the spa of a high-end gym with his slimy boss Jack Bailey (Corbin Bernsen), only to find out he’s being fired for having sex with Olivia, a subordinate at the firm.
   
Protesting that his tryst with Olivia was a weekend fling, Coop claims to not knowing of her position in the company, and then Jack drops the absurd notion that the young woman is on track to be a vice president.
   
Appearing to be vindictive, Jack arranged the visit to the gym so that the computer and proprietary information in Coop’s office could be seized, along with his capital account that is his only source of savings.
   
Sacked from his corporate perch, Coop loses his client list based upon a non-compete clause that is in effect for two years. Making the rounds to other hedge fund firms goes nowhere for the now unemployable former managing director.
   
Living in a rented home and without job prospects, Coop is still paying to support his ex-wife and two children, Ivy League college-bound Tori (Isabel Gravitt), a top-rated tennis player, and high school drummer enthusiast Hunter (Donovan Colan).
   
Meanwhile, Coop has a volatile sexual relationship with Samantha (Olivia Munn), whose husband Paul (Jordan Gelber) has left her for a younger model. It’s Paul who was found dead when Coop woke up in a pool of his blood.
   
There’s now a mystery going on about who killed Paul, or did he commit suicide. The twists and turns on the probe into his death won’t be revealed here for fear of spoiling the eventual denouement.
  
Adding to his distress, Coop finds that his sister Ali (Lena Hall) is struggling with mental illness, and needs to move in with him to avoid an ongoing toxic relationship with their mother.
   
Things get interesting when Coop, knowing a lot about his wealthy neighbors, turns into a cat burglar with his first score of a wad of cash and a priceless watch that leads him to deal with an illicit pawnbroker in the Bronx. 
 
A life of crime ensues because it’s the only way Coop can keep up mortgage payments on the mansion his ex-wife acquired in the divorce, along with buying a drum set for his son and ponying up college tuition money.
   
What does a hedge fund guy know about breaking into homes? He acquires an accomplice in Elena (Aimee Carrero), a housekeeper he encounters during a break-in who then hooks him up with some real criminal talent.
   
“Your Friends and Neighbors,” focused as it is on a bunch of privileged folks often whining about a lifestyle out of reach for most people, allows a voyeuristic audience to indulge either in a resignation to guilty pleasure or revulsion at some unlikable characters.
   
This series satiates a fascination with obnoxious buffoons and distasteful situations, and considering that odious persons populated popular TV shows like the ad men in “Mad Men” and the sleazy lawyers in “Suits” it is no wonder than the talented Jon Hamm is perfectly cast.
   
Controversy over the show has arisen as the result of the advocacy group CatholicVote and other Catholics expressing outrage at the scene where Coop and his ex-wife break into a church and commit gratuitously sacrilegious acts. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

'BALLERINA’ RATED R

Summer season for the movies arrived on Memorial Day weekend when the eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise delivered the action thrills that come with Tom Cruise’s over-the-top action stunts.

But if anyone ponders whether the seasonal expectations of action cinema have yet to fully materialize, then the unwieldy-titled “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” arriving with a surfeit of violent action and chaos, should remove any reservations.

Under the direction of action maestro Len Wiseman (“Live Free or Die Hard”), “Ballerina,” with a new spin, taps into the ethos of the “John Wick” franchise not just in name, but for the hallmark elements of its adrenaline-fueled action.

Set oddly for a timeline during and after “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” the only connection that makes sense is the ballet training school run by Anjelica Huston’s mysterious The Director.

Arguably, in some ways this thriller takes the action to a higher level with propulsive set pieces, intricate fight choreography, and an arsenal of inventive weaponry, from ice skates and samurai swords, to ice axes and flamethrowers.

Previews have already revealed that Keanu Reeves’ John Wick will be in the film, but the titular character is Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro, whom we first see as a child (Victoria Comte) fascinated with a music box that has a mechanical dancing ballerina.

She is soon robbed of childhood innocence when a band of killers come looking for her father at their home, resulting in a daring escape through secret passageways that only Eve survives.

Orphaned and scared, Eve is recruited by Winston (Ian McShane), manager of the infamous Continental New York hotel that is a safe harbor for assassins, to join the ballet school that is a gateway to the Ruska Roma criminal organization.

As the ruthless head of Ruska Roma, The Director runs her school like a military boot camp and the ballet training results in Eve acquiring a killer instinct inspired by rigorous physical feats far beyond working off a balance barre.

The training program is run by Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) who wisely tells Eve to “fight like a girl.” Karate kicks and gunplay level the playing field for a female assassin overmatched by the brutal strength of male opponents.

Besides a career path of a female assassin, Eve is consumed with exacting revenge for the party responsible for the murder of her father, though The Director warns against such action as it would upset a centuries-old truce in the underworld.

A trip to the Continental Prague has Eve on Ruska Roma business in pursuit of Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus) who happens to be part of the assassin cult run by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne).

After checking into the room next to Pine’s, Eve discovers that the assassin is looking to get out from under the thumb of The Chancellor’s cult because he has a young daughter he wants to protect from a life of crime.

Meanwhile, Eve has also learned that someone who tried to kill her had the same “X” tattoo on his wrist as that of the person who murdered her father, and this distinctive marking points to The Chancellor as the one behind his death.

The plot may be relatively thin, as it relies on relentless action scenes with Eve plowing her way through one ambush after another, but all roads end up leading to a snowy Alpine village run by The Chancellor.

Stopping at the town’s restaurant for a cup of coffee, Eve ends up in a death match with an assassin followed by a fight with the cook where dinner plates and other utensils become the weapons of choice.

The quaint Austrian village turns out to be entirely populated by members of The Chancellor’s cult, and this is when the action really kicks into high gear, with Eve resorting to using grenades, swords, and guns in fighting relentless foes.

Action scenes seem obviously inspired by the “John Wick” franchise, but Eve gets to ratch up the stakes with an awesome flamethrower battle that literally lights up an onslaught of thugs, and then hand grenades also prove effective in the mix.

With the timeline of “Ballerina” falling somewhere between the third and fourth chapters of “John Wick,” we get not only the benefit of Ian McShane’s urbane manager running the Continental, but also the return of fan favorite Lance Reddick as Charon, the stoic hotel concierge.

Reflecting on the last moment in the film, it seems almost like a sure bet that Ana de Armas will return for a sequel, if for no other reason than we have been left hanging with the idea that her battle with the underworld has no quick end in sight.

If there is a “Ballerina 2,” the legion of fans for the “John Wick” franchise will be anticipating the return of the female John Wick. The only question might be whether Keanu Reeves is still up for another cameo turn.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

‘NONNAS’: RATED PG-13 on NETFLIX

The most interesting aspect of the Netflix movie “Nonnas” is that its heartfelt celebration of family, food and culinary delights is based on the true story of Joe Scaravella paying tribute to his beloved mother by gambling on opening an Italian restaurant on Staten Island.

While Vince Vaughn’s Joe grieves the passing of his mother, he recalls his childhood in Brooklyn when his mom and grandmother would cook family dinners. Nostalgia guides his decision to honor their memory with a dining establishment.

Joe’s best friend Bruno (Joe Manganiello) and his wife Stella (Drea de Matteo), worried about his dicey dream, think he should use his inheritance from his mother’s life insurance to do something more practical than buying a restaurant that has seen better days.

Bruno, a contractor, gets pressed into service to refurbish the old place into an inviting location in classic Italian style. He goes so far as to sell his prized vintage automobile to cover escalating costs.

Nothing deters Joe from taking a huge risk with his creation of Enoteca Maria, a restaurant that has grandmother chefs, portrayed by Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire, Lorraine Bracco and Susan Sarandon, preparing their delicious family recipes from different regions in Italy.

Nonna is Italian for grandmother, and the four women may bicker and tease with a degree of affection and yet evince an unyielding loyalty to Joe’s vision even when missteps and setbacks threaten to derail the venture.

The opening night goes horribly wrong, due in part to a thunderstorm, with the only guests being Bruno and Stella. After a spell of no business, Joe decides to host a last hurrah dinner for friends and colleagues.

While Joe’s campaign to get restaurant critics to review his establishment falls on deaf ears, a stealth critic manages to sample the fare and a glowing review rescues Joe’s joint, turning it into a thriving business to this day.

“Nonnas” warms the heart with its true-to-life feel-good story of not just triumph over adversity, but mainly for its message that great food with friends and family has an unmistakable healing power.

FOX NETWORK SUMMER PROGRAMS

Ordinarily around this time of year the major television networks start touting the fall season offerings, and while the FOX network is no different, it does use the summer to launch new seasons of current programs.

Beyond new episodes of “Lego Masters, “The Quiz with Balls,” “The 1% Club,” “and “MasterChef,” along with all new episodes of animation favorites that include “Bob’s Burgers,” “Grimsburg,” “Family Guy” and “The Great North,” there are two new unscripted series.

Already out of the gate is “Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service,” where the famed culinary titan trades his signature chef knives for a state-of-the-art surveillance vehicle and cutting-edge spyware that targets the Washington, D.C. Greek restaurant “Parthenon.”

The premise of the new series is that Chef Ramsay will venture into a struggling restaurant under the cover of night, with the help of a secret source on the inside, to gather raw, unfiltered evidence of major issues plaguing the dining establishment.

During the course of the one-hour episode, Ramsay first starts by breaking into the Parthenon after hours to document such horrors as the basement crawling with rats, ovens that haven’t been cleaned in forever, and a filthy band saw harboring excessive amounts of bacteria.

Parthenon is a family-owned business with Pete as the stubborn owner holding the old-school attitude that he’s the boss who knows better and insists nothing is going to change as long as he’s in charge.

Pete’s wife, Susie, acts as hostess, and is worried that the restaurant will shut down because her husband doesn’t listen. She also knows that their son Mikey, acting as manager, is not being given the chance by Pete to step up and take over the business.

You can probably guess that chances are the business will turn around due to Ramsay’s intervention. A lot of the dialogue has the feel of being a bit too convenient for an unfolding drama. And then there is Ramsay getting bleeped fairly often.

Arriving on June 10 is the all-new, wholly-owned “social survival of the fittest” competition series “The Snake,” hosted by comedian Jim Jeffries, that thrives on an unmatched battle of plotting, scheming and strategy.

Fifteen masters of manipulation from various persuasive professions with unique skill sets are assembled to compete in an outrageous array of challenges and twists — all of which help contestants slither toward becoming the week’s Snake.

The top reptile takes the most powerful position in the game and becomes the ultimate decider of who stays and who goes. Each contestant must leverage their unique skills, training and powers of persuasion as they face a multitude of challenges.

“The Snake,” with its chain reaction elimination where it’s not about who wants you gone, but who is willing to save you, seemingly results in a contest that will be best understood when we see how only one contender gets within striking distance of the $100,000 grand prize.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.