May 2025 - AutoMatters & More

Review of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

By Jan Wagner | May 20, 2025 |

Tom Cruise hangs from the wing of a yellow biplane in midair for the "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" movie poster, with IMAX release date details shown.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, the second of a two-part story in the Mission: Impossible franchise, is a non-stop action scene-filled, epic, geographically global adventure — filmed everywhere from urban to the most extreme of environments, and on land, in water and in the air. It is arguably the best, and certainly the most…

Knott’s Berry Farm—authentic, interactive & affordable SoCal fun

By Jan Wagner | May 13, 2025 |

A horse-drawn stagecoach with two drivers sits on a wooden bridge surrounded by greenery on a sunny day.

The more I visit, the more I absolutely love Knott’s Berry Farm, and I believe that you will too! From its humble beginnings as a family farm, for over 100 years Knott’s Berry Farm — and its signature Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken dinners… … boysenberries… … and its 1880’s-themed Old West Ghost Town named Calico……

Tonies — fun, facts, songs, stories & an audio player for kids

By Jan Wagner | May 6, 2025 |

A green audio speaker cube with Kermit the Frog on top, surrounded by six toy figures including Snow White, Ariel, and other cartoon characters.

Tonie figurines, when combined with the Toniebox speaker, are a fun, easy-to-use, educational, screen-free, high quality audio entertainment system of stories and songs for young children — at home and on-the-go. Shortly before CES 2025 (the Consumer Electronics Show), I received a press release telling me that they were about to sell their 100 millionth…