STORYLINE: Amziah King, beekeeper, musician, and anchor of his community, reunites with former foster daughter Kateri after many years apart, and fends off threats to his honey business. (IMDb)

   One of the best films I have seen this year is the independent movie, Blue Heron.  Indie films, such as Blue Heron, inject a unique alternative, into theaters, to the big blockbusters. In the past few years, I have found room, for such indie films as Hamnet (2025) and National

 Anthem (2024) on my yearly top ten lists of the year. There is a new indie feature circulating through movie theaters titled The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey.  

    What I like about indie films is they tend to cover a wider variety of topics, and can go deeper into that subject matter. This year alone,  indie films such as Blue Heron, discuses mental illness in children.  On the other end of the spectrum, The Christophers talks about aging, and in another storyline art forgery. The Jessica Chastain feature, Dreams, is about immigration and the American dream,  

     The Rivals of Amziah King has themes of family reunification, business corruption, and personal retribution.  It’s a lot. Each topic gets its due attention through the course of the motion picture, so it felt like nothing got left out. 

    There are three clearly defined acts, in The Rivals of Amziah King.  Each act is its own genre of movie. The audience starts watching a family drama, then the movie transitions into a heist, film, before finally becoming in pseudo legal thriller. 

   All this tied together with a story of a beekeeper and his daughter, in small town USA. Throughout the film, there is also a soundtrack of folk music.  Yes, Matthew McConaughey sings.

    The Rivals of Amziah King was a decent enough movie. I passed a pleasant 131 minutes, snacking on a popcorn, as omwstvhed the movie.  Will I watch the movie again?  Sure, one day, but I am in no rush to do so.

   The Rivals of Amziah King is a film, that changes style film, that it is, with each of its three acts.  It covers a lot of different themes, and is an entertaining feature.

    Until next time, I will see you at the movies!