The Stop Button

Adventure in Sahara (1938) D: D. Ross Lederman. S: Paul Kelly, C. Henry Gordon, Lorna Gray, Robert Fiske, Marc Lawrence, Dick Curtis, Stanley Brown. Solid enough quickie about American Kelly who up joins the French Legion. Abusive captain Gordon is terrorizing his troops–sometimes worse–and Kelly’s kid brother’s in his crosshairs. Nice production values, even if Lederman doesn’t bring much directing-wise. Kelly’s a sturdy lead, Gordon’s a great bastard; Gray’s good as the (unlikely) girlfriend. Way too short ending, though.

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986) D: Gary Nelson. S: Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, James Earl Jones, Henry Silva, Robert Donner, Martin Rabbett, Aileen Marson. Better looking sequel has Chamberlain and Stone teaming up with Jones (who skillfully avoids embarrassing himself) and Hopper (a New Jersey white man in brown face as an Indian con artist holy man) to find long lost brother Rabbett. And a LOST CITY OF GOLD. Layers and layers of racism and sexism. Including Stone disappearing for the third act.

Conan the Barbarian (1982) D: John Milius. S: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, Cassandra Gava, Gerry Lopez, Mako. Overlong but well-mounted adaptation of the Robert E. Howard character. Jones kills Schwarzenegger’s parents, setting him on a lifelong revenge arc. Along the way he makes friends and enemies, with warrior woman Bergman his love interest. Milius’s direction quickly finds its limits and not having a lead who can deliver dialogue regularly hurts. Very good special effects, though.

Conan the Destroyer (1984) D: Richard Fleischer. S: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Mako, Tracey Walter, Sarah Douglas, Olivia d’Abo. Unnecessarily problematic sequel has Arnold escorting (yes, intentionally) Lolita princess d’Abo on a quest. Way too cartoony, with director Fleischer indifferent to the performances. The action has its moments, but the special effects disappoint. Jones and Mako give solid performances. No one else, though Arnold’s at least game. It’s just a silly production. Oh, and Walter’s godawful.

The Congress (2013) D: Ari Folman. S: Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Jon Hamm, Danny Huston, Paul Giamatti, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sami Gayle. Despite some strong sequences and a fantastic performance from Wright (playing an alternate, Penn-less version of herself), this adaptation of a Stanislaw Lem novel sputters. Mainly because more than half the movie is (albeit nicely) animated, and Wright’s not a particularly distinct voice actor. Plus, it consistently and uncritically positions the ostensible protagonist, Wright, in the male gaze.

Cool Breeze (1972) D: Barry Pollack. S: Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Sam Laws, Margaret Avery, Pam Grier, Paula Kelly. Blaxploitation (scripted and directed by white guy Pollack) adaptation of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE keeps the “criminals are scum” messaging and proceeds to make all the Black characters… criminals. And the racist cops are heroes. Despite those big yikes (and the rampant misogyny), there’s some excellent acting, and Andrew Davis’s photography is often strong. Bad directing and editing don’t help.

Fight or Flight (2025) D: James Madigan. S: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, JuJu Chan, Julian Kostov, Sanjeev Kohli, Katee Sackhoff. Perfectly serviceable ultra-violent action picture about disgraced Secret Service agent and certified badass Hartnett trying to apprehend an infamous global terrorist on a plane full of his enemies. Certain aspects (production and narrative) are a little cheap, but some great action. Hartnett and his flight attendant sidekick Chandran are solid; shadowy spy boss Sackhoff not so much.

Heist (2001) D: David Mamet. S: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, Patti LuPone. Mamet overdoes Mamet with Hackman as a master thief, Lindo as his right-hand, Jay as the funny man, and Pidgeon as the wife. He’s got to do one last job for DeVito, who throws nephew Rockwell into the mix. Far from the most original caper (or plot twists), but beautifully acted and produced. Hackman, Rockwell, and Lindo excel.

Hercules (1983) D: Luigi Cozzi. S: Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Brad Harris, Rossana Podestà, Ingrid Anderson, Mirella D’Angelo, William Berger. Cannon production of an Italian sword, sandals, and sorcery has dubbed Ferrigno as the mythical demigod, trying to save humanity from the gods. Bewilderingly imaginative in its combination of rip-offs and elaborate (and bad) special effects. The dubbing acting is mostly bad, but Ferrigno looks right and does well with his dialogue delivery faces. Danning’s especially trying, however.

Homefront (2013) D: Gary Fleder. S: Jason Statham, James Franco, Izabela Vidovic, Winona Ryder, Rachelle Lefevre, Kate Bosworth, Clancy Brown. Widower and ex-DEA badass Statham just wants to settle down in rural but scenic Louisiana and ride horses with daughter Vidovic. Except then she gets into it at school, pissing off meth head mamma bear Bosworth, who sics meth dealer brother Franco on Statham. Good Statham lead, righteous action, and some (manipulative) thrills. Ryder’s comically atrocious.

King Solomon’s Mines (1985) D: J. Lee Thompson. S: Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom, John Rhys-Davies, Ken Gampu, June Buthelezi, Sam Williams. Terrible colonizers’ adventure in Africa (yes, they still call it “darkest” in 1985) is packed with action but none of it’s good. Chamberlain’s version of camp is mostly just being a jackass. Stone’s his client; they’re trying to find her dad, but not her impressively consistently disappearing shorts. Rhys-Davies and Lom are the baddies. Embarrassing Jerry Goldsmith score.

KPop Demon Hunters (2025) D: Maggie Kang. S: Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Yunjin Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun. Beautifully animated supernatural action comedy musical about a K-pop group who are also hunting demons. The leader, Cho, has some secrets, which threaten the group and the fate of the known universe. Some solid laughs, great action, good songs, and likable performances. Ahn is particularly good as the bad boy (demon) who vexes Cho. Delightful stuff.

Mechanic: Resurrection (2016) D: Dennis Gansel. S: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Hazeldine, John Cenatiempo, Toby Eddington. Ostensible sequel has Statham doing a James Bond, John Wick, MACGYVER, HITMAN video game adaptation. He’s trying to stay out of the assassinating life but childhood enemy Hazeldine. Alba’s appealing as the love interest, Yeoh’s fun in a quick part. Jones is not. Okay for a violent but not bloody programmer, though the finale misfires.

Mickey 17 (2025) D: Bong Joon Ho. S: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Anamaria Vartolomei, Patsy Ferran. Supremely human sci-fi black comedy epic about “Expendable” Pattinson, who gets reprinted (cloned) with memories after he dies in one various dangerous situation (or experiment). He’s on a colony ship run by evangelical numbskull grifter Ruffalo and his devoted, psychotic wife Collette. Ackie’s Pattinson’s girl, but also the film’s action lead. Great performances. More singular work from Bong.

Minority Report (2002) D: Steven Spielberg. S: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Lois Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, Peter Stormare. Frankly embarrassing Spielberg near future sci-fi outing has Cruise on the run for a murder he hasn’t (yet) committed. Spielberg bellyflops as a cyberpunk Hitchcock, somehow directing live action CGI composite stuff worse than pure CGI. Cruise’s barely okay, Farrell’s bad (but eventually gets a little traction). Lois Smith’s got an awesome cameo; Morton’s (as ever) phenomenal. Adapted from a Philip K. Dick short story and originally intended to be a TOTAL RECALL sequel, which would’ve been preferable.

Night Alarm (1934) D: Spencer Gordon Bennet. S: Bruce Cabot, Judith Allen, H.B. Warner, Sam Hardy, Betty Blythe, Tom Hanlon, Harry Holman. Low budget, occasionally amateurish quickie about reporter Cabot being stuck on the gardening beat when he really wants to track an arsonist. Allen’s the girl with a secret who wants his job. Hardy (reuniting with Cabot from KONG) is the editor; he’s great. Warner’s good as the pissy businessman, too. The fire fighting sequences are the highlights.

Poison for the Fairies (1986) D: Carlos Enrique Taboada. S: Ana Patricia Rojo, Elsa Maria Gutierrez. New girl Gutiérrez starts hanging out with troubled orphan Rojo, who’s decided she’d really like to be a witch. And if she’s got to bully Gutiérrez into helping her under threat of violence… well, we don’t know because writer-director Taboada avoids character development. Great performances, and Taboada has some moments, but the affected stylizing is too much.

Scarecrow (1973) D: Jerry Schatzberg. S: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Lynch, Eileen Brennan, Penelope Allen. Beautifully done character study of drifters (with a purpose) Hackman and Pacino. Hackman’s an ex-con with a dream, Pacino’s just out of the Navy with a kid he’s never met. They start in California and head east, running into various misadventures (usually caused by Hackman’s temper). Great performances, wondrous Vilmos Zsigmond photography. It’s a slow, rending burn.

Superman (2025) D: James Gunn. S: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Skyler Gisondo, Pruitt Taylor Vince. Successfully crowd-pleasing start to writer-director Gunn’s DC movie universe hinges entirely on Corenswet’s winning performance as the Man of Steel. Gathegi’s also essential to hold up the non-Superman stuff, with Brosnahan just scrapping by as Lois. Hoult (eventually) does okay as Lex. Surprisingly good special effects, terrible flat characterization (though Gunn weaponizes against ladies). Awful music.

Trouble Man (1972) D: Ivan Dixon. S: Robert Hooks, William Smithers, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, Paula Kelly, Jeannie Bell, Julius Harris. Cool, tough, good guy (and master pool player) Hooks deals with racists, cops, and crooks as he tries to suss out his latest job gone wrong. Beautiful L.A. location shooting, a truly delightful supporting cast, and a nice hard-boiled plot–all surrounding Hooks’s confident, charismatic lead–helps TROUBLE deliver. Lots of great 1970s supporting actors show up throughout.