My late summer movie viewing has been eclectic, to say the least. Here are a couple of interesting films I’ve seen in the theater recently along with my latest video game foray. We’ll come back to this topic in a week or so to talk about books and music.
Coyote vs. Acme, 2026, currently in theaters (maybe…)
If you haven’t seen it yet, get out to your local theater today or tomorrow to see the brilliant live action/animated hybrid satire/social commentary/all-around-fun movie Coyote vs. Acme. Seriously, do it now as the is under-promoted film will not say long at your local multiplex. Based on a New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs humor piece by Ian Frazier from 1990, it imagines if the Warner Brothers cartoon character Wile E. Coyote took cartoon industrial giant Acme Corp. to court for its endless stream of defective and-or inherently dangerous products that the hapless canine uses to chase after the eternally cheerful Roadrunner.
The film almost didn’t get released. Warner Bros. completed it back in 2023, and had planned on burying it with no release either in the theaters or on streaming in order to realize a $30 million tax break. But it ended up getting released when the tiny distributor Ketchup Entertainment persuaded the studio to sell them the rights. As Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, the movie has brought in more than $38 million domestically and $7 million internationally for a total of more than $45 million in roughly two weeks of release. (It was #3 in the box office last weekend.)
The film has been well received critically, with a 96 percent “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score, but attendance at screenings hasn’t been all that it might have been, in large part because Ketchup doesn’t have the promotion budget required to really bring attention to it.
But go see it now before it gets pushed out of the theater for some end of the summer discard. It’s great fun!
Union County brings a human, realistic look at the opioid crisis
Union County is a small scale drama/documentary film that tells a thoughtful and moving story about how the opioid epidemic has hit rural Ohio and how the justice system might use mercy and concern rather than retribution to help its victims. The movie tells a realistic story about a court-supervised rehab program with real people playing most of the addicts along with the judge and social worker supervising them. The lead characters in the film are played by professional actors (including Will Poulter, Noah Centineo, Elise Kibler and Emily Meade), and while their stories are fictionalized, they still ring true. This is a film that is neither overdramatized nor heavily sentimental. While the subject is somewhat different, it reminds the viewer of 2020’s Nomadland, the Oscar-winning small film starring Frances McDormand and David Strathairn with a similar mix of actors, real people, and a story of folks that wider society has passed by.
I went to see Union Country somewhat reluctantly at my local community theater because they needed a volunteer for the Sunday matinee, but I ended up being really impressed. With only a limited release, it will be a challenge to see it on the big screen, but I still recommend tracking it down, even if it is only on your home television.
Playing retro games on a semi-legal portable system
The RF40H is one of many semi-legit portable video game systems that come with a collection of thousands of retro video games from both the arcade and early consoles. Click on image to go to Amazon for the system.
So I broke down and bought one of those 20,000-game retro video game systems so I can play the Activision and arcade classics of my youth.
It takes a little work to get figured out. With open source software and game ROMs of questionable providence, it isn’t as slick as the latest Nintendo Switch, but there’s a lot potential here.
Most importantly, it’s the only way I know of to get access to the the Atari 2600 Activision games of my youth. (Pro-tip: They are hiding as an anthology game in the Gameboy Advance section.)
So far I’ve had fun knocking around with Activision’s classic Chopper Command, as well as finding other oldies such as Mortal Kombat, Moon Patrol, Robotron, Berserk, and Joust.
Will give a followup when I’ve had more time to play.
What have you been watching / reading / listening to / playing this summer? Let is know in the comments.