 To keep it real, I wanted to see Dog Day Afternoon because Jon Bernthal is in it. I became a huge fan after watching him as The Punisher on Netflix. Frankly, he could have been doing a one-man show about a paper bag and I still would have wanted to go. During a lovely conversation over champagne, someone offered me free tickets. BOOM. I was in. Dog Day Afternoon is adapted by Stephen Adly Guirgis from Sidney Lumet's 1975 Oscar-winning film starring Al Pacino. Confession: I didn't remember much about the movie beyond Pacino walking around a lot and robbing a bank. Here's the tea: the play brings the real-life 1972 Brooklyn bank heist to the Broadway stage. Sonny Wortzik (Jon Bernthal) and Sal Naturile (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are wildly unprepared criminals, and everything that can go wrong absolutely does. The police arrive, the FBI gets involved, the media descends, and chaos takes center stage. As the story unfolds, Sonny's true motivations for the robbery are revealed, adding emotional depth to what initially appears to be a straightforward crime story. The critics have been tough on this production, but I suspect many are comparing it too closely to the film. The cast is strong across the board, and Bernthal absolutely delivers. He brings vulnerability, tension, humor, and humanity to Sonny in a way that kept me fully invested. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say this: I'm proud to live in a city where a story like this can be told on a Broadway stage. Representation matters. Stories like this matter. Critics aside, the audience gave it a standing ovation the night I attended. The show closes July 12. If you've been thinking about going, go. ⭐⭐⭐½/5 Get discounted Broadway tickets on Today Tix 
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 At the Table:✨ Sydney Sweeney (Millie — watching, waiting, learning the rules) ✨ Amanda Seyfried (Nina Winchester — control dressed as chaos) ✨ Brandon Sklenar (Andrew Winchester — charm with something to hide) The Verdict, 💋💋💋💋 (4/5 — Slow burn, but worth the wait) The Vibe: Polished domestic drama with a perfectly timed psychological snap There’s a very specific expectation when you see a film like The Housemaid. A girl needs a job. A wealthy family opens the door.We’ve seen this before—and usually, it ends with someone unhinged, obsessed, or quietly plotting revenge in designer silence. Very Lifetime. Very predictable. And yet… this isn’t that.The film takes its time. Maybe a little too much time. So much so that Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) starts to feel less intriguing and more… irritating. The kind of character that makes you question your own patience. And then—the twist.This is High Priestess energy wrapped in domestic perfection. Everything looks calm. Composed. Controlled. But beneath it? Information is being withheld. Power is sitting quietly, waiting to be revealed.Sydney Sweeney’s character (Millie) moves through this world like someone who understands that observation is power. She’s not just reacting—she’s absorbing. Watching. Waiting.Nina isn’t meant to be immediately likable—she’s meant to be read slowly. The tension you feel isn’t a flaw. It’s the setup.Because in true High Priestess fashion, the truth isn’t given. It’s uncovered—when you’re finally ready to see it.  🖤 The Real Take: What makes The Housemaid work is restraint.It asks you to sit in the discomfort. To question what you’re seeing. To wonder if the tension is intentional—or if the film is simply dragging its feet.And then it reminds you: Control is part of the performance.Amanda Seyfried is the anchor here. If you don’t believe her, the entire film collapses. But she understands the assignment. Every glance, every shift in tone—it’s all doing something, even when it feels like nothing is happening.By the time the film reveals its hand, you realize you weren’t waiting for the story to begin. You were already in it. 🖤 The Last Word, DarlingThis isn’t a loud film. It doesn’t beg for your attention.It earns it—slowly, deliberately, and with just enough precision to make you question when exactly you got pulled in.Stay patient. Watch closely. And don’t assume you understand the dynamics too early.Some performances aren’t meant to be likable. They’re meant to be believed. XO, Shosh 🖤 Read The Housemaid by Freida McFadden   At the Table (Main Cast)✨ Samara Weaving — Grace (your final girl turned strategist) ✨ Kathryn Newton — Faith (the sister twist) ✨ Sarah Michelle Gellar — Ursula Danforth ✨ Elijah Wood — The Lawyer ✨ Shawn Hatosy — Titus Danforth ✨ David Cronenberg — Chester Danforth The Verdict: 💋💋💋½ (3½/5 — Indulgent, and yes, the critics are sleeping) The Vibe: Survivalist Chic meets High-Society Horror meets Throne Ascension There is a specific kind of delicious irony in watching a film about the deadly rituals of the 1% while tucked into a velvet chair at a members-only club. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come doesn’t just return to the world of the Le Domas family—it sharpens the blade and points it at a new target. While the first film was about surviving the night, this one is about dismantling the legacy. And then? Claiming it. Less panic. All performance. And this time, she knows she’s on stage. The energy here is pure Queen of Swords—with a twist the first film never dared. Grace isn’t alone this time. She’s protecting her estranged sister, and that’s where the real game lives. Because the ritual has expanded: it’s no longer one family’s bloodline on the line—it’s a seat of ultimate power, contested by multiple elite families who’ve been playing this game far longer than she has. She’s moved past the shock of the Ten of Swords—the betrayal, the bodies, the burning manor. Now she’s operating with surgical precision. She’s not just running through the corridors anymore. She’s mapping them. And deciding who gets to come with her. The sister dynamic is the card no one saw coming. It asks the question the whole film is built around: When bloodline has failed you, what do you owe it?  🖤 The Real Take: Critics are lukewarm. Ignore them. And that question? It’s the whole film. What makes Ready or Not 2 work is the shift in power dynamics—from reactive survival to intentional strategy to outright ascension. Grace isn’t the frightened bride anymore. She’s the woman who has seen behind the velvet rope, realized the people holding it are just as terrified as she is, and decided: Fine. I’ll hold it myself. The sister thread keeps it from becoming pure revenge fantasy. It asks Grace—and by extension, us—whether power is worth anything if you burn every complicated relationship to get there. The film doesn’t fully answer that. Which is exactly why it stays with you. 💋 The Last Word:: This isn’t just a sequel. It’s a refinement. It’s for the woman who has realized that luck is just a lack of a better plan—and that the families who’ve been lucky for generations are about to find out what happens when someone finally shows up prepared. Stay for the credits. Don’t trust anyone at the table. And never, ever assume you know who’s really being hunted. XO, Shosh 🖤 Rent ot buy: Ready or Not  |