All-Star Comics (1976) #72

Paul Levitz (script)

Joe Staton (pencils)

Bob Layton (inks)

Adrienne Roy (colors)

Ben Oda (letters)

Joe Orlando (editor)

This issue is another strong one for All-Star. Very strong. It gets there a tad cheaply—Golden Age Flash villain Thorn is now aggressively lethal, bumping off Keystone City randos for kicks. She’s also no dummy, knowing the Justice Society’s weaknesses (mostly the normie heroes and Green Lantern’s wood allergy); her wooden poison thorns make short work of the team on the initial confrontation, with the rest of the issue the heroes’ (attempted) response.

We also get one of the team talking about how no Justice Society hero has ever died in action before. Maybe the character in this issue will be the first, which is at least the second time a character’s made that observation in dialogue since Levitz took over, and the third actual team member who’s almost been killed during a mission. It’s strange how little anyone’s invested in this comic book.

But thanks to the downed Justice Society hero of the month, the issue plays a lot better than usual. Huntress is officially a member (Star-Spangled Kid, finally interesting, is out), and Power Girl’s back, so there are two responsible people on the mission. Flash and Green Lantern (no confirmation—either way—of their implied thruple status) are basically useless. They talk about how they wish they’d taken care of their supervillains (it’ll turn out Thorn’s got a secret partner) back in the forties, and someone then reminds them it’s been thirty years and to chill. Then they chill too much and don’t help Power Girl and Huntress fight Thorn’s gang.

The Justice Society is supposed to be the premier superhero team on Earth-Two, but the team’s always mooning and moping. Two of the members—Dr. Fate and Hawkman (who have subplots cooking)—don’t show up for the emergency call. Last issue, no one showed up for it. These are not responsible superheroes, even before we get to Flash screwing up the plan because he forgot Power Girl is a super-girl. Levitz pours the characterization for Huntress and Power Girl (albeit P.G. to a lesser extent), but he’s got no time for Flash and Green Lantern. Outside their occasional lines of dialogue, remembering their old battles with the villains, there’s no character development for them. And, frighteningly, there needs to be some.

Suddenly, Levitz has too much going on in All-Star for its own good, not a problem the book knows much about. The middle-aged heroes versus middle-aged villains could be its own thing; the young heroes having to handhold the middle-aged heroes could be its own thing. Instead, it’s a mishmash. Levitz does make time for “the women are getting things done” vibe. Making his Huntress story arc—which has her emotionally debilitated about her injured comrade—is way too dismissive. She gets lots of page time (and the cliffhanger), but it’s not good material. Especially after we open with her doing her detective thing again, which would’ve come in handy because Flash and G.L. are clearly dopey, but, of course, no.

Still, it’s an okay enough Bronze Age comic. It’s probably Staton and Layton’s best work on the comic to date, with Staton doing more with the visual pacing between panels, and Layton finding something to focus on in them. The constant threat to human life, the ticking clocks, and—credit is due—the tense visuals… It’s all right. A banner All-Star.

Again, big thanks to that particular team member who’s unconsciously almost the entire issue.

The Spirit (April 13, 1941) “Croaky Andrews’ Perfect Crime”

Croaky‘s tale is Spirit at its most didactic: crime does not pay. It’s also the strip stretching to center other characters, in this case Croaky and his best gal, Poison Mag. The Perfect Crime title is a tad misleading; Croaky’s crime is robbing some guy of a hundred thousand dollars and killing the poor sap. More appropriate would be Perfect Getaway, but that one spoils a bit.

Because the crime is not perfect–the dying man tells Croaky the Spirit will avenge his death, cursing Croaky thanks to the dying words curse. Mag’s well-aware of the dying words curse, too, so it must be true.

The Spirit, however, will never be aware of the curse. It’s not even clear he ever knows he’s chasing Croaky Andrews for the murder. He’s chasing the bad guy, which leads to a solid autoplane action sequence (Ebony pilots, Spirit waterskis), but it’s nothing personal. Except for how bad Spirit feels about Croaky escaping.

So now let’s spoil a bit about Croaky’s Getaway, which involves a five-year plan: Croaky has purchased a Caribbean island and outfitted it with automatic machine guns, an elaborate security system with booby traps—the whole bit–and built a submarine capable of escaping a flying car.

It’s incredibly impressive, so it’s strange Croaky’s kind of a dope. It’s also weird he was waiting until this particular crime to cut out. Perhaps there’s something in the absent first act, which Eisner and studio wisely avoid.

Instead, we’re straight into the action, then the chase and escape. There are great visuals of Croaky and Mag getting out of Central City, but their adventures in a green hell are much more striking. While still keeping the Spirit involved (mostly immaterially), Crime‘s all about Croaky and Mag suffering for their sins — the strip’s relentless and vicious in its punishment. Crime doesn’t pay, after all, even if the Spirit’s losing sleep over things not his fault.

It’s a moody, tough strip. The Spirit’s bouts of self-depreciation over his failings–to an unusually silent Commissioner Dolan–succeed in softening some of the despair, but at a significant cost. Perfect Crime introduces this previously unknown practice of the Central City citizenry—siccing the Spirit on their killers. A “vengeful” Spirit just seems out of character, but so does the whiny one they went with.

Crime‘s a really good strip. Heavy-handedness included. Additionally, the strip’s a very graphically violent and visually disturbing tragedy. It’s practically a horror comic. And the characters earn their keep and the portent of the narrative–Croaky for his accomplished planning, and Mag for her personal tragedies.

Of course, no answer to the greatest question–what does Croaky need with a hundred grand in cash when living in self-sustaining luxury exile?

They are a superstitious, cowardly lot, I suppose… but, only the Spirit knows.

The Spirit (April 6, 1941) “Introducing Scarlett Brown”

Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)

Joe Kubert (colors)

Sam Rosen (letters)

If you want to explore the peculiarities of Spirit’s characterization and visualization of Ebony White, Introducing Scarlett Brown is probably the most fodder the strip’s seen to date.

Ebony, of course, is the Spirit’s only confidant, best friend, assistant investigator, and occasional savior. Ebony’s single-handedly saved Spirit’s bacon at least two times, probably three. Eisner and studio just happen to draw him Sambo-style and write his dialogue like it’s Amos ‘n’ Andy. Save his second (or third) strip, Ebony has been the only Black character in The Spirit. And that other time it was about the lodge hall (in a visual Amos ’n’ Andy style).

As the book says, yikes on bikes.

This strip introduces Ebony’s love interest, Scarlett, a Black girl who’s dressed like she’s a tween. Spirit met Ebony when Ebony was a cabbie. Now, the strip took place in New York City at that time, and, at that time in 1940, the driving age was eighteen in New York City–sixteen or seventeen with a learner’s permit. Even assuming Ebony’s fourteen…

Not great stuff. Also not great is Scarlett and Ebony’s rival for her affections, the imposingly named Throckmorton, who is also in Sampo style. But then, inexplicably and welcome, Mr. Brown is, you know, just a guy. Like, he’s not the best rendered character in his one medium shot before he’s narrating a flashback, but he’s just a Black dad guy. It’s fine.

Also, his dialogue is fine, no minstrel dialect. And racism doesn’t appear to exist in The Spirit. The strip has been racist—Black people, Mexican people—but none of the characters have ever exhibited any prejudice towards those characters. The creatives are mocking them for the readership.

And that part is actually the worst. Maybe. Because other than the racist caricature and dialect, Ebony’s a great character. As long as he’s twelve because he wins Scarlett in a “game o’ marbles.” Spirit’s surprised about the marble thing—after observing his lovestruck friend with sincere happiness–which also has some vibes. Though without the visuals, the strip would be a lot closer to it being tweenage folly.

Post acquisition, Ebony goes to see Scarlett and finds Throckmorton already there. Mr. Brown wants to meet both boys (the marbles go unmentioned). Except it turns out Scarlett really wants Ebony to talk to her dad about work stuff: spies have been snooping at his munitions factory. And Ebony’s been over-hyping himself—he’s told Scarlett and Throckmorton he’s the great detective and Spirit’s his assistant.

So while Throckmorton takes Scarlett for an ice cream, Ebony gets the lowdown on the case. It’s simple enough work, especially for the Spirit, but Spirit decides to make Ebony do all the work himself because of the lying.

Until things get violent, Ebony’s doing a great job on his solo mission (not his first; he’s saved the day in multiple strips). He investigates the crime scene, finds additional clues, pursues those leads; he’s got a moral purpose (though his courage is from Scarlett’s renewed affection at his acceptance of the case). It’s a great strip for Ebony.

Despite the visuals and dialect. The dialogue’s probably great if cleaned up. It’s infuriating.

Spirit maintains a presence, which works out (and also lends to the niceness). There are some excellent panels, if not full pages. Some fine action beats. Some of them even manage to be racist in how they visualize Ebony fighting in a darkened room. If it weren’t being racist, it’d be a fine strip.

Swell.

But then it’s even worse when you remember Spirit’s a weekly newspaper strip. And it’s so messed up to make a role model character into a racist insult directed at the audience the character should be representing.

So long as when the strip retconned from New York City to Central City, Ebony de-aged to twelve or so. Because if he didn’t, it’s an even bigger layer of f**ked up.

The Spirit (March 30, 1941) “Captured by the Underworld”

Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)

Joe Kubert (colors)

Sam Rosen (letters)

The title gives everything away in this strip: the Central City underworld teams up (principally three gangsters) and successfully captures the Spirit. Not a particularly difficult feat, it turns out. They give Spirit some bad intel, and he walks right into a trap. Art-wise, it’s a beautiful sequence, lots of inky blacks and a fantastic establishing shot of the ominous waterfront. Glorious stuff.

Narratively? Well, given it happens on the second page of the story, another shoe drop seems inevitable. Especially once the gangsters reveal they’re waiting until every criminal in Central City who wants to stop by and see the captured Spirit before they kill him off. They don’t even think to unmask him.

Now, Spirit will eventually take advantage of the delay, but the story focuses on his friends deciding what to do about his capture. The gangsters don’t have a complicated communication system — they just have crooks telling other crooks they’ve grabbed Spirit and to head over for one last look. So the cops hear about it, too, with Commissioner Dolan unable to intercede because the Spirit’s apparently still considered a violent criminal.

I could’ve sworn he was at least not wanted for murder anymore (and has made more friends on the police force than just Dolan). But, no, the cops are thrilled they’ll be rid of the Spirit, and things can go back to them not getting shown up by Spirit solving the cases they ignore. Dolan’s staff sure seems to make his job even more miserable.

Dolan then heads home to find Ellen in tears, Ebony just having informed her about Spirit’s capture and impending execution. She pleads with her father to help; he explains the official position of the Central City Police Department is they’re going to let wanted criminals murder internationally beloved (and wartime government contractor) Spirit.

Ebony hadn’t just been visiting for Ellen’s emotional support; he assumed he and Dolan were going to save the day together. With Dolan out of the picture, Ebony takes it upon himself to get the job done.

Meanwhile, Spirit’s doing social engineering to save himself. Central City’s criminal types aren’t too bright.

It’s an okay enough strip, though, without any narrative weight. Ebony’s rescue attempt is good—and possibly the most inventive story element (Ebony wouldn’t have fallen for a fake tip)—but it’s resolved in a couple of pages, even though it could’ve been the whole thing. Because, instead, Eisner lightens the mood some more. Unfortunately, it’s not straight comedy, which would’ve helped.

The art’s great–good fight scenes (even when Spirit inexplicably disappears from a panel)–and fine (brief) talking heads. The story’s just a little uneven.

All-Star Comics (1976) #71

Paul Levitz (script)

Joe Staton (pencils)

Bob Layton (inks)

Adrienne Roy (colors)

Ben Oda (letters)

Joe Orlando (editor)

Even leaving aside the delightful implication Green Lantern and the Flash are sharing a bedroom as part of GL’s rehabilitation (Joan does not appear, wink wink), this issue of All-Star once again succeeds thanks to the absence of the Justice Society.

The issue opens with Huntress, Star-Spangled Kid, and Wildcat fighting the Strike Force at Gotham Stadium. We’ll get a little about Earth-2 Gotham City’s political shenanigans and—apparently—continued crime problems in the exposition, but writer Paul Levitz is just filling out the text boxes before the big reveal about the Strike Force. They’re financed by a large private family fortune, with a familiar name attached to it, and it’s going to change All-Star Comics forever.

Presumably.

Before that character’s declaration of a new dawn at the end of the comic, Levitz has to get us through Huntress’s unmasking and Star-Spangled Kid’s rescue. Huntress and Wildcat leave Kid to go off and get more help from the Justice Society. Too bad literally all of them are too busy to answer the call. The comic checks in on the aforementioned Green Lantern and Flash, as well as Superman, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Power Girl, Dr. Fate, and Dr. Mid-Nite. Levitz acknowledges there are, like, ten other heroes they could be checking in on, too, who are also too busy to save the world.

Because even without Psycho Pirate brainwashing them all into being jerks, the Justice Society all still feel like they aren’t responsible for the safety of the planet they’re sworn to protect. With great power comes little responsibility.

Anyway.

Wildcat and Huntress will try to get a rescue squad together and fail. Along the way, Wildcat will notice—it takes a while because he’s a blockhead—Huntress knows way too much about Justice Society policies and procedures to just be a random superhero. She reveals her secret identity to him, along with some implications about her backstory rather than information, and they get back to the task at hand.

Huntress is going to figure out the solution to their problems thanks to good old-fashioned comic book detective work—meaning noticing something amiss and it turning out to be the singular clue—but it’s a nice change from the normal bickering fifty-somethings. Don’t worry—despite over a dozen issues working with Power Girl, Wildcat still doesn’t like headstrong young women, so the issue retains some of that series flavor.

Outside of him being a lacking (but far from the worst, actually) sidekick, the Huntress and Wildcat Hour is fine. Penciller Joe Staton, somewhat assisted by inker Bob Layton, has a handful of decent action panels. The artists put the work in on the emphasis panels and hurry through the medium- or long-shots (they’ll go from the issue’s art highlight immediately to a proportionally challenged splash page). But, again, it’s relatively fine superhero comics. Levitz is engaged with the Huntress, and the artists are flexing (as much as they can).

The Strike Force is still embarrassingly silly for all involved, of course, between their origin and their gadgets (laser tanks and such). It’s an okay comic, which isn’t bad for All-Star.

The Spirit (March 23, 1941) “Dipsy Dooble”

Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)

Joe Kubert (colors)

Sam Rosen (letters)

The Dolans—both Commissioner and Ellen—are back this strip after a few weeks off. The Commissioner’s sick of Ellen just going to teas or dances; it’s high time she settles down with a husband or gets herself a job. Ellen’s already ahead of Dolan (a theme this strip)—she’s got a new job as a boxer’s manager. She’s found a poet palooka named Winthrop Boombershlag (because Eisner was in a fun mood). The Commissioner doesn’t approve but is interrupted by the Spirit’s call.

Spirit’s calling to report information about a plot to kill Winthrop Boombershlag in the ring. The reader already knows about it because the opening scene features the bad guys (including the evil scientist, who appears to be a racial caricature of some kind, but they lost their nerve to put the finishing touches on). Then the reader knows about the danger in the second scene with Ellen and the Commissioner, and goes into the Spirit’s briefing scene knowing more than anyone. Except Ebony, who’s overheard the bad guys (presumably some time after the opening scene).

Commissioner Dolan’s not interested—and Ebony doesn’t have information about the other boxer, though the reader knows the mad scientist has deadened all Dipsy Dooble’s nerves to make him a more lethal opponent–so it’s a good thing Spirit pisses off Winthrop. Without the delightful page of Winthrop’s feats of strength and their eventual payoff, Commissioner Dolan may never have listened to Spirit’s plan, which would have narrative repercussions.

The resolution’s a lot of fun, with Eisner and studio keeping things moving once we’re in the ring, but Ellen and Spirit don’t get to catch up at all. It’s an interesting narrative actuality of the comic strip—sometimes you’ve got characters to use without much reason to use them, so they fit another function. Here, it’s Ellen’s boxing manager career, which gets no resolution. Her character development had veered towards romance with Spirit, but she’s all business—especially since her star (and only) client Winthrop Boombershlag is very protective.

The result’s a good strip, but not one with anything particularly standout. They’ve never really done a character like Winthrop as comic relief, and it’s interesting to see Eisner lean heavier on comedy beats. The finale’s got some excellent visuals, the fights have some excellent visuals. It’s all very well-executed comics.

Commissioner Dolan and the Spirit doing bickering bits, however, need a little more work. They get into it over Ebony’s reliability as a witness, and it gets personal for both of them rather quickly. It resolves on a comedy beat, and they do get to bond a little at the very end, but the strip’s seemingly satisfied with contriving whatever type of friendship they need (or don’t need) for the plot.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1978) #235

Paul Levitz (1), Gerry Conway (2) (script)

Mike Grell (1), George Tuska (2) (pencils)

Vince Colletta (inks)

Jerry Serpe (colors)

Milt Snapinn (1), Ben Oda (2) (letters)

Al Milgrom (editor)

Joe Orlando (managing editor)

Hang on, it’s Vince Colletta inking both stories? I knew he was on the strange backup from Gerry Conway and George Tuska (Tuska on Legion is fun). But Colletta also inks Grell on the feature. And I think it’s been my favorite Grell art on Superboy… probably ever? So, sometimes, stars align.

While it’s still not great art, and lots of the costume designs seem to be geared towards silliness over function, Grell takes advantage of the story to really showcase Superboy, which doesn’t happen often. The opportunity arises here because of the plot—the Legion is doing their annual brainwashing of the Boy of Steel when an alert comes in, and because Brainiac 5 doesn’t know how to keep circuits separate, the brainwashing gets interrupted. They have to go save a research station with Superboy, who is susceptible to dangerous future information because of that interruption.

The research station is the most important in the Federation, called “Life Sciences,” and all the scientists are very surprised Superboy has never heard of it. Writer Paul Levitz will pepper the story with Superboy’s suspicions based on (literal) intergalactic eavesdropping and good old twentieth-century critical thinking, but there’s not a mystery here. The reveal isn’t anything the reader could’ve really guessed (other than Superboy’s guess being suspiciously insipid). And the way Levitz writes around the reveal—potentially the most fascinating insight into the (at best) sociopathic Legion of Super-Heroes ever—needs a reread just to parse all the connotations. It retcons almost the entire series, but everyone’s blasé about it.

Despite all the accouterments—and not just the subplot about revolutionaries who want the Federation’s secrets (the ones Superboy also can’t know)—it’s got a very Silver Age vibe, just in terms of character development. Grell’s pencils don’t clash with that vibe, either. Maybe his ability to tell these Silver Age-y stories with Bronze Age futuristics is what Grell brings to Legion.

Contrasting the feature’s Silver Age story in Bronze Age fashion is the backup, which has Conway doing a complicated flashback-based trial story. The Legion’s in trouble for not helping some politician’s son. Both the politician and the Legion needed to get the magic blood of an alien beast; it brings you back from the… You know, I was going to contrast the backup with the Tuska pencils as the more “Bronze Age,” but no, these are both really very Silver Age-y takes. Conway brings a bit more confusion to it, which gives Tuska a lot of fodder, but the core story’s Silvery.

And it’s awesome to see Tuska do the Bronze Age costume designs for some of the Legion. The flashback stuff with the monster isn’t great—not bad, just not great—but the eventual Legion theatrics are a lot of fun, visually.

The issue’s got a big reveal in the feature and the protracted setup in the backup, but neither requires any Legion foreknowledge. Just general awareness. It’s a great onboarding issue, though maybe not the best art the book’s ever had or the best writing, but if readers are into the modern (and retro) takes, this issue’ll let them know Legion’s for them.

Briefly, TV (10 December 2025)

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e05 “Slow Dying” D: Sam Donovan. S: Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson, Darren Boyd, Adeel Akhtar, Adam Godley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sinead Matthews. Sometimes bewildering (the quirky walking theme amid disintegrating flesh and child murder), sometimes bad (Wilson’s maybe, maybe not trigger warning backstory somehow equivalent to actual years of torture). Thompson’s great. Show’s terrible at suspense when someone isn’t in imminent danger, which presumably happens next episode at the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Not disappointing so much as dejecting. Humbug.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e06 “Neglected Waters” D: Börkur Sigthorsson. S: Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson, Adeel Akhtar, Darren Boyd. The show might just be bad is this episode’s thesis statement. It’s some ginned up suspense without any pay-off (just misanthropy and, maybe soon, an ingrained misogyny, which will be a flex and a half considering the assignment). Wilson finally gets a better episode than Thompson, but mostly because Thompson’s episode’s atrocious. Cheap thriller narrative devices abound.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e07 “Lights Go Out” D: Börkur Sigthorsson. S: Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson, Adeel Akhtar, Darren Boyd. Assuming the novel doesn’t rely on Black British men in black hooded jackets looking the same with “artful” lightning. We do finally get the explanation of the title (not worth the wait), and lots of deck chairs get moved for the finale. There may be a good 104-minute movie if you cut out the fluff. Also, maybe not.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e08 “What Will Survive” D: Börkur Sigthorsson. S: Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson. So, no, not a good show. One hopes the novel leans more into the hard-boiled detective stuff for the finish, too. Thompson and Wilson get squat this episode, which opens with another reset of the stakes. Maybe with some smart cutting (of whole subplots and characters) you could get an okay movie out of it. But probably not.

Pluribus (2025) s01e01 “We Is Us” D: Vince Gilligan. S: Rhea Seehorn, Miriam Shor. Great hour of entertainment but there’s no indication of the show. The first act is about a signal from outer space, then lead Seehorn takes over. We get a little about her life as a successful but artistically bereft fantasy pirate romance author (which may be filler). Until she’s in a nightmare, just trying to get safe. We’ll see.

Pluribus (2025) s01e02 “Pirate Lady” D: Vince Gilligan. S: Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra. Possibly over-full (and rushed) episode establishes Seehorn’s place in the new world, including why she’s the normie who gets the TV show. The utopian hive mind stuff would work better if there weren’t the beyond ostentatious “wealth porn” angle, which seems anti-environmental. The episode’s third act and jingoism is a little off, too. Big questions, TV answers.

Pluribus (2025) s01e03 “Grenade” D: Gordon Smith. S: Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra. Will any of the happy people ever need to act with more depth than a customer service representative training video? Might not be worth watching the show, which continues to be competently executed basic television. But making Seehorn the whole show and not giving her anything more than a movie trailer’s worth of emotional content is getting tedious.

Briefly, Movies (10 December 2025)

Ben-Hur (1959) D: William Wyler. S: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott, Cathy O’Donnell. Most of the three and a half hours is an excellent historical adventure epic about Judean Heston trying to avenge himself upon former best friend Boyd, now a Roman thug. Along the way, there’s shoehorned references to the contemporary Jesus’s adventures. Then the third act is a hilarious deus ex machina, literally washing away all the stakes. Epic bummer.

The Cat Creeps (1946) D: Erle C. Kenton. S: Noah Beery Jr., Lois Collier, Paul Kelly, Frederick Brady, Douglass Dumbrille, Rose Hobart, Iris Lancaster. Fun enough thriller about an assortment of suspects getting knocked off while reporter Brady tries to make nice with his girl, Collier, who’s also a suspect. They’re on an isolated island with an old dark house and everyone’s got the motive. Brady’s performance is at eleven and delightful, and the rest of the cast is solid. Especially mysterious Lancaster.

Fast Workers (1933) D: Tod Browning. S: John Gilbert, Robert Armstrong, Mae Clarke, Muriel Kirkland, Vince Barnett, Virginia Cherrill, Sterling Holloway. High steel worker besties Gilbert and Armstrong have an arrangement when it comes to ladies–lothario Gilbert’s always happy to show sap Armstrong his squeeze is a loose gal. It goes haywire when Armstrong falls for Clarke, a semi-pro who Gilbert’s actually smitten with. Cool skyscraper sequences and dripping misogyny. Clarke and Gilbert do better than Armstrong.

Isle of Fury (1936) D: Frank McDonald. S: Humphrey Bogart, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, E. E. Clive, Paul Graetz, Gordon Hart, George Regas. Soggy South Seas melodrama about mysterious Woods shipwrecking on Bogart’s island. Woods immediately falls for Lindsay (who starts the movie marrying Bogart), and they have a Code-friendly pseudo-daliance. But the actual story is something else, which we find out at the last minute. The lengthy “scheming natives” subplot is gross. No good performances (Clive’s the closest). Based on W. Somerset Maugham’s THE NARROW CORNER.

Possession (1981) D: Andrzej Żuławski. S: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer, Carl Duering, Shaun Lawton. Affected (and icky) in the extremis horror movie about maybe spy Neill’s marriage falling apart. Wife Adjani is done with him all of a sudden; it turns out there’s a lot more going on. Adjani’s got her moments, while Neill’s doing a schtick the whole time. Intentionally but so what. The end’s laughably obvious and the random misogyny’s gross.

Rogue of the Rio Grande (1930) D: Spencer Gordon Bennet. S: Myrna Loy, Walter Miller, Carmelita Geraghty, Gene Morgan, Raymond Hatton, William P. Burt, José Bohr. Cheap, bad border Western about Robin Hood-esque bandit Bohr (a German guy in brown face doing an accent) romancing singer Loy (not in brown face physically, just spiritually–she’s got the Speedy Gonzales accent), while contending with the silly gringos not being able to catch him. It’s atrocious stuff.

She-Wolf of London (1946) D: Jean Yarbrough. S: Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Jan Wiley, Lloyd Corrigan, Dennis Hoey, Martin Kosleck. Very cheap Gothic horror pretending to be a monster movie about heiress Lockhart thinking she’s a killer werewolf. Corrigan’s the tenacious inspector who also believes in werewolves. Wiley’s good as the supportive cousin, Porter’s fine as the love interest. But Lockhart doesn’t get anything to do. And Haden’s ineffective as the overprotective aunt. It just gets across the finish.

TRON: Ares (2025) D: Joachim Rønning. S: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeff Bridges. Audiovisual feast–except during the surprisingly lackluster fisticuffs–has charisma-free Leto playing a likable Disney-fied Terminator who starts questioning tech billionaire boss Peters’s orders. Turner-Smith is good as Leto’s true believer lieutenant. Peters and Anderson’s villains disappoint. Lee’s only okay as the human lead. The script’s often quite bad; the looks and sounds are the point.

Briefly, TV (19 November 2025)

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e05 “Fixes” [2025] D: Andy Hay. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Callum Woodhouse. Excellent episode for Woodhouse, West, and Ralph. Madeley gets a couple good scenes but the spotlight is on the boys. Particularly since the show didn’t follow Rachel Shenton and Imogen Clawson to London. Instead, Ralph’s working a shady racetrack, Woodhouse is psychoanalyzing a parrot, and West’s just found out he’s a shellfish. Full–overfull, really–but also achingly earnest.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e06 “Our Hearts Are Full” [2025] D: Andy Hay. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Callum Woodhouse. Lovely season finale finishes up one of the outstanding plot lines–or at least, finishes a major part of it–and gives Woodhouse a phenomenal acting episode. West gets a little, too, along with Ralph, but not with the considerable weight Woodhouse takes on. The vet cases are fantastic, especially how they integrate. Just an excellent, emotionally rending episode.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e01 “Almost True” D: Natalie Bailey. S: Emma Thompson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Ruth Wilson, Darren Boyd, Adeel Akhtar, Adam Godley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Beautifully acted but incredibly tedious premiere about normal person Wilson getting involved in a conspiracy. Thompson’s the P.I. who will figure in at some point. Lots of setup, strained thrills. At least until the finish (it’s clear for a while it’s going to be all about the cliffhanger). Riley’s already a liability as Wilson’s husband. The finish saves it.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e02 “A Kind of Grief” D: Natalie Bailey. S: Emma Thompson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Ruth Wilson, Darren Boyd, Adeel Akhtar, Adam Godley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Why is Wilson stuck in a barely middling, super predictable (once they give away the first twist) conspiracy thriller, while Thompson’s in this awesome, grieving P.I. bit? When a man’s partner is murdered, that’s got to mean something, and all that. The music’s awful. At least the acting’s good, even when the writing disappoints. Maybe next time it’ll stabilize.

Down Cemetery Road (2025) s01e03 “Filthy Work” D: Sam Donovan. S: Emma Thompson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Ruth Wilson, Darren Boyd, Adeel Akhtar, Adam Godley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Once again, Thompson gets a great episode while Wilson gets a not great episode. Still well acted, but somewhat inert as a thriller. The laughably bad music doesn’t help. However, the real problem seems to be the pedestrian tying of a private eye story to a conspiracy thriller. Punting on the backstory reveal is also a bad choice.

The Game (2025) s01e01 “Episode 1” D: . S: Jason Watkins, Sunetra Sarker, Indy Lewis. Newly retired copper Watkins is getting bored hanging around the house when a mystery presents itself on the block, soon followed by the arrival of new neighbor Green. Is Green the infamous serial killer who escaped Watkins’s grasp years before and drove him to a breakdown? Will we find out before episode four? Green’s good, Watkins’s okay. It’s fine.

The Game (2025) s01e02 “Episode 2” D: . S: Robson Green, Jason Watkins, Sunetra Sarker, Indy Lewis. The show’s either getting much better or it’s going to be very unaware. Watkins is much better as a selfish dude in the middle of a crisis. Not sympathetic but better. And Green sails through. But the most kudos belong to the supporting cast, who get very little reward for holding up the show. The cliffhanger’s potentially something.

The Game (2025) s01e03 “Episode 3” D: . S: Robson Green, Jason Watkins, Sunetra Sarker, Indy Lewis, Lewis Ian Bray. Major narrative cop outs cut into the potential–not to mention the disposable nature of the supporting players–though there are some rather solid scenes. Green’s reviling in the potential villainy, which is fun to watch, but not necessarily good television. Watkins ranges in quality without ever getting good but never being too bad. Amber James remains unsung.

The Game (2025) s01e04 “Episode 4” D: . S: Robson Green, Jason Watkins, Sunetra Sarker, Indy Lewis. Middling finish reveals hints of the show it could’ve been–the concerned neighbors looking out for one another, echoes of tragedies on the block, and so on. Instead, it’s a bunch of folks experiencing surprisingly little trauma while living in a slasher movie. Albeit one with a cast against type slasher. Watkins really hasn’t got the lead vibe down.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e10 “The House Always…” [2025] D: Jamie Babbit. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jackie Hoffman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind. Season–not series (good thing)–finale pulls out a twist killer, then just catalogs the red herrings from throughout. They get away with it (the show, not the killer) thanks to the right balance of guest-star antics and the leads’ chemistry. Martin gets a nice showcase, and Creighton again gets to be the glue. Finer side of good.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e06 “Scars” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, James Callis. Solid finale has lots of tension at the beginning, then gets lost in all its resolutions. Oldman gets a couple good scenes, but none of the season character arcs for the HORSES perturb. The finale just wraps up the season danger, some outstanding season business, and some guest star resolution. The show also needs Lowden to start delivering. Soon.