REEL IMPRESSIONS - September 2026

Welcome to the next volume of 'Reel Impressions', for those curious what my opinions are on recent movies or television series that I have laid my eyes on and if they are worthy of your time.  This is my top recommendations for the month of September:

The Whisper Man (Netflix):  This serial-killer thriller based on the best-selling novel by Alex North serves as a 'cut above' the typical streaming strife of films that never make it to theatrical release, thanks in large part to a very high pedigree cast of Adam Scott (Severance), Michelle Monaghan (The White Lotus), along with legendary players Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice) and Robert De Niro (Heat).  Scott plays a father of a young son that disappears in the same circumstances of a decades-old case of 'The Whisper Man' that his estranged detective father (De Niro) had a hand in a long time ago.

Is this the original killer, or perhaps something else?  The Whisper Man does a fairly commendable job of keeping the mystery intriguing and amusing throughout, although there are times the film seems a little disjointed in narrative focus and pulling all the pieces together coherently from the source material of the novel.  Still, the cast and their efforts make this a worthwhile watch on a dark and stormy evening this fall season.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽/of 5

Lanterns (Crave/HBO):  Although not much of anything so far to come out of James Gunn's revamped DCU superhero world has been all that impressive recently (i.e. Superman, Creature Commandos, Supergirl), the exception might actually be this very grounded and interesting approach to tell the mythology of the Green Lanterns and introduce two of the most iconic members of that galactic force; Hal Jordan (Bloodline's Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Rebel Ridge's Aaron Pierce).

Lanterns takes a very 'True Detective'-type of narrative, spanning across multiple decade timelines to explore Hal and John's unique relationship, the state of alien affairs on Earth and leading to a murder-mystery plot point to drive to the focus of the story.  This is a far cry from the cringy, CGI-heavy 2011 film that starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal and with writer Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Lost, Watchmen) behind the scripts, this story is not only well layered but has solid performances and character embodiment.  

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽/of 5

Lioness (Paramount+): Taylor Sheridan's third season of the covert military drama is firing on all cylinders out-of-the-gate as narratively we bounce back-and-forth in time to see the events which led to and then the catalyst to Joe's (Avatar's Zoe Saldana) kidnapping from her team, and their subsequent hunt to track her down before she can spill the highly-classified secrets of the Lioness program to her captors.  

Lioness is continuing to prove why this might be the best show Sheridan has ever produced with life-and-death high-stakes constantly in play and an ensemble cast that is impeccable in all the roles.  It's gritty, raw, amazingly written and massively palpable with the drama and the emotion to make this a must-see week-to-week as we breathlessly anticipate Joe's ultimate fate for the showing moving forward.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽📽/of 5