Greetings again from the darkness. “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” It’s a familiar pitch we hear every year at grocery stores, our front doors, and even at the office as co-workers spread the word on behalf of their scouting daughters. With an annual hankering for Thin Mints, we gladly exchange our cash for a box … or two or three. Documentarian Alysa Nahmias takes an unusual approach to this ritual of local Girl Scouts selling sweets. For historical perspective, the film opens with archival footage covering decades of boxed goodie transactions initiated by girls in the familiar vests.
Should anyone doubt the size of this venture, we are informed that Girl Scouts sell $800 million in cookies over the six-week period each year. The $6.00 per box is divided up into shares for the cookie bakers, the Girl Scout corporate offices, the Girl Scout councils, and $1.10 goes to the Girl Scout troops, and yes, the individual Girl Scouts (through prizes). Nahmias makes this a personal story by following four girls of varying ages as they work their way through cookie season.
Olive lives in North Carolina. She’s twelve years old and holds the record by selling more than 8000 boxes. We hear her teaching younger scouts about ‘upselling’, and then Olive answers a customer’s question by stating she wants to become a Supreme Court justice. She’s remarkably well-spoken and media savvy. Her dad video records her personal pleas for cookie sales and then uploads the videos to her dedicated website.
Chino, California is where we find nine-year-old Nikki, who desperately wants a trophy like the one her older sisters, Nyah and Nala, won for being top cookie sellers in the area. A trip to Europe is now on the line, and it’s interesting to watch as the older scouts position ‘cute’ Nikki to draw in customers, many who think the older girls are too old for scouting.
Shannon Elizabeth is eight years old and has a goal of selling 2750 boxes in El Paso so that she can attend this year’s summer camp. It’s in this house where we see the burden carried by parents becomes crystal clear. Lastly, we have five-year-old Ara in San Diego. She struggles with diabetes and is whip-smart, although her tiny frame struggles to pull her red wagon loaded with cookies. Ara’s original goal is 45 boxes, but that shifts to 55 as the weeks go by.
Rather than ooh and ahh at the girls giggling their way through group activities, we are left feeling the weight of cookie selling – both on the girls and their families. There is definitely an upside to the life lessons of setting goals, possessing the self-confidence to talk to adults, and developing a work ethic and commitment to individual and team objectives. But according to the film, families must now financially commit to a certain number of cookie boxes, and then those are either sold by the girls or the parents are on the hook. This is a change from the old days when it was common for friends and family to place orders ahead of time, and the troop would order extra product for the public booth sales. It’s a bit nerve-racking to see what these parents and kids go through, whether they are selling thousands of boxes or a few dozen. The interactions between the parents and girls is quite something to behold.
One of the benefits of Girl Scouts is the push for being a well-rounded person, and we see young Ara as she does Pilates and plays the piano. By the end of the film, Olive’s activism has her leading the charge for a bigger share of proceeds going to the girls at the troop level … this after her own emotional crisis and battle with her mother over whose goals they have set. There is a lot going on in this film and I recommend a crunchy Do-Si-Dos to calm your nerves while watching.
Opening in theaters on August 7, 2026
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Olmo is like most fourteen-year-old boys. His visual fantasizing about the girl of his dreams requires nothing more than a toy car and a glimpse of her walking outside. Yet, Olmo is also different than most his age because he shares caregiving responsibilities for his disabled dad, who is stricken with Multiple Sclerosis. It’s been more than a decade since he last directed a feature film, and writer-director Fernando Eimbcke delivers one of his best. He and co-writer Vanesa Garnica also collaborated on this year’s FLIES, which is currently making the festival rounds (including Cannes).
Greetings again from the darkness. Movie weddings are fertile grounds for romantic-comedies. Folks get dressed up and meet at a fancy venue, while possibly drinking a bit too much and almost certainly dealing with an abundance of family drama. Emotions and stress levels skyrocket, and some handle this better than others. Writer-director Reed Arnold (his directorial debut) sees this as the perfect opportunity for the groom’s ex (best friend/wannabe lover) to crash the wedding, igniting chaos and guilt and pent-up feelings … and laughs.
Greetings again from the darkness. In 2004, we had a film based on dodgeball, so it only makes sense that the hottest game going these days, Pickleball, gets its shot on the big screen. Josh Greenbaum (WILL & HARPER, 2024) directs a screenplay from Sean Clements (“Workaholics”), and the result is a comedy in the realm of films like HAPPY GILMORE (1996), KICKING & SCREAMING (2005), and yes, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004). The film tries (too) hard to generate laughs, and its best moments seem to be in the sincere intergenerational bond between two otherwise mismatched characters.
Greetings again from the darkness. Most of us would do just about anything for a grieving loved one. Kepsuke (Daigo Yamamoto) proves this when he accompanies his wife Otone (Haruka Ayase) to a presentation at ReBirth, a company specializing in humanoids meant to replace a lost child. An accident two years ago cost this couple their 7-year-old son Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki), and the husband, though skeptical of the whole thing, hopes this is what his wife needs to move on.
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s such a treat when a film sneaks up and surprises you with such emotional depth that you not only feel like you know the characters, but you also want to stick around and see how they do over the next few years. The first feature film from writer-director A.R. Ephraim does just that, leaving me so touched by what I’d just watched, yet saddened that my connection with Jolene was over.
Greetings again from the darkness. What makes a movie “epic”? Most cinephiles would agree the list of epic movies includes LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), BEN-HUR (1959), and APOCALYPSE NOW (1979). Of course, arguments can be made for many other films, and it really comes down to how you define ‘epic’ and how you perceive a specific film. Regardless of your definition or perception, there is no doubt that this latest from Oscar winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan is an epic film and an epic movie-watching experience. Yes, it’s the first film to be filmed entirely with IMAX 70mm cameras, and it’s based on the Homer’s “Odyssey”, itself a piece of epic Greek literature … but it also is a piece of filmmaking unlike anything we’ve previously seen.
Greetings again from the darkness. For those who are itching to re-live the glory days of 1984 high school, writer-director Michael Walker and co-writer Susan Gomes are here for you. The surprising part is that even for non-Gen X viewers, the film is so well crafted and acted, that it flows beautifully as a time capsule for the era. As if that’s not enough, it’s also based on a true story.
Greetings again from the darkness. I usually try to avoid using the word ‘endearing’ to describe a film that strikes an emotional chord, but for this film from writer-director Lauren Meyering and co-writer Mackenzie Breeden, the word fits perfectly. Much of the reason for this is the screen presence of Lillian Carrier, who was diagnosed with autism at age 16. Here she portrays twenty-two-year-old Margarita in a way that allows us to understand her real life challenges.
Greetings again from the d arkness. While I certainly value the importance of fiction and creativity, I choose to watch so many documentaries because I’m also a fan of real life and the truth. However, the truth is often anything but uplifting and such is the case with this film from Jessica Earnshaw as she tells the story of Gail Ritchey and the “Geauga’s Child” case.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 