‘By Any Means,’ ‘Buddy’ and ‘Ernie & Emma’ Hit Screens

By Any Means opens in theaters this weekend. Director Elegance Bratton’s new historical crime drama stars Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Inspired by a wild true story, the film takes us to Mississippi in the 1960s, where FBI agent Wayne Strider (Abdul-Mateen) is investigating the murder of a local NAACP leader. His unlikely partner is Gregory Scarpa, played by Wahlberg, a notorious New York mobster who also worked as an FBI informant.

Yes, you read that correctly. The FBI sends a mob hitman to Mississippi to help investigate the Ku Klux Klan.

Scarpa and Strider could not be more different. Strider believes in justice and working within the system. Scarpa’s approach is considerably more… baseball bat adjacent.

That tension drives the movie as the two men confront racism, violence and some uncomfortable questions about how far someone should go in the name of justice. Wahlberg gets a major transformation for the role, complete with ’60s clothes, flashy sunglasses, a very noticeable prosthetic nose and a hairstyle that deserves its own billing.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II provides the more grounded counterweight as an FBI agent trying to navigate an institution and a part of the country where he knows being a Black man puts him in danger.

‘Buddy’ turns kids’ TV into a nightmare

If you grew up watching relentlessly cheerful children’s television, Buddy may permanently change the way you look at oversized mascots.

The horror comedy from Too Many Cooks creator Casper Kelly centers on It’s Buddy!, a seemingly wholesome children’s TV show hosted by a giant orange unicorn named Buddy. There’s singing. There’s dancing. There are life lessons. Everything is colorful and happy until one of the kids stops playing along.

Buddy does not take rejection well.

Keegan-Michael Key voices the increasingly terrifying unicorn, while Cristin Milioti plays Grace, a mother pulled into the mystery surrounding the bizarre children’s program. Topher Grace also stars, with Michael Shannon and Patton Oswalt lending their voices to characters in Buddy’s deeply unsettling TV universe.

The movie premiered in the Midnight section at Sundance and comes from a filmmaker who clearly understands that there is something inherently creepy about an adult-sized mascot demanding that children smile, sing and have fun.

Think Barney meets a slasher movie, with a little Pee-wee’s Playhouse weirdness thrown in for good measure.

Bruce Campbell gets personal with ‘Ernie & Emma’

Then there’s Ernie & Emma, which shows a completely different side of Bruce Campbell.

Campbell wrote, directed, produced and stars in the bittersweet comedy-drama as Ernie Tyler, a widowed pear salesman trying to figure out what comes next after losing his wife, Emma.

Before her death, Emma left Ernie very specific instructions about where she wanted her ashes scattered. So he hits the road to carry out her wishes. Each stop brings back memories of their marriage and forces Ernie to confront his grief, his past and what he wants to do with the life he has left.

For audiences who primarily know Campbell from The Evil Dead and his decades of battling Deadites as Ash Williams, this is not that Bruce Campbell. There’s no chainsaw hand. No boomstick. No demonic book ruining everybody’s weekend.

Instead, Campbell is telling a much smaller and more personal story about love, loss and moving forward while still finding room for his wonderfully offbeat sense of humor. The cast also includes Cerina Vincent, Robin McAlpine and longtime Campbell collaborator Ted Raimi.

And Campbell isn't just releasing the movie and moving on. He’s taking Ernie & Emma on the road, turning screenings into a chance to meet fans and talk about a project very different from the horror roles that made him a cult icon.

And speaking of unexpected situations…

Apparently my tiny bit of body art was enough to cause a problem, and I have thoughts. Many thoughts.

I’ll explain exactly what happened and why I got in trouble with my mom, along with more on By Any Means, Buddy and Ernie & Emma on this week’s entertainment report on Gary and Shannon. Catch it every Friday only on KFI AM 640.

Come for Mark Wahlberg taking on the Klan. Stay for the tattoo scandal I definitely did not see coming.