Movies

The Book Club (2018) D: Tobias LaMontagne. S: Ray LaMontagne, Sarah Sousa. After accomplished women of a certain age Keaton, Fonda, Steenburgen, and Bergen select 50 SHADES OF GREY for their BOOK CLUB, they start to examine their romantic pursuits (or lack thereof). The script’s entirely platitudes and tropes, but there are a handful of strong moments and occasional honest ones. And an often excellent soundtrack (also of a certain age).

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) D: Bill Holderman. S: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Andy Garcia, Mary Steenburgen. The gang goes to Italy to celebrate a surprise engagement, but also the end of COVID travel restrictions. Like before, the performances and genial (and less overtly vulgar) mood carry the scenic outing. Unlike before, the BOOK doesn’t matter much (it’s seemingly THE ALCHEMIST this time, but they skip discussion other than dropping quotes). Bergen’s particularly funny this time.

Paddington 2 (2017) D: Paul King. S: Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson. Delightful sequel sends PADDINGTON (Whishaw) to prison. He’s been framed for the theft of a valuable pop-up book. While he tries to bond with fellow inmates like Gleeson (who’s fantastic), his family tries to clear his name. And how will new neighbor Hugh Grant figure in? Besides absolutely devouring the scenery, of course. So much sincerely pure heart.

Samson and Delilah (2009) D: Warwick Thornton. S: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Noreen Robertson Nampijinpa, David Page. Rending tale of two Aboriginal teens who leave their hostile rural community after a series of events. They travel into white Australia, finding abject despair. Writer-director Thornton weaves the narrative through colorism, institutional and direct racism, patriarchy, and so on. He does not, however, let the audience in on the teens’ interiorities, which limits their otherwise excellent performances.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (2026) D: Steve Cox. S: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Nina Sosanya, Paul Whitehouse, Andy Nyman. After a Farmer-shaped disaster ruins the sheeps’ pumpkin patch a few days before Halloween, SHAUN decides to do a little mad science to make sure Timmy can have a Jack O’Lantern. Dialogue-free but full of banter, including romantic, one-liners, and recurring bits. A delight start to finish, with a phenomenal sense of timing and gorgeous animation.

Spartan (2004) D: David Mamet. S: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Kristen Bell, Mark Pellegrino. Writer-director Mamet tests the limits of euphemistic Mamet-speak as everyone narrates their actions in this taut conspiracy thriller. It’s practically parody, but the filmmaking’s strong and the performances are good and better. The actors run with the theatricality, lead Kilmer chewing with his mouth closed. Some exquisitely executed sequences, with Mamet and crew finding places to excel.

Steel Magnolias (1989) D: Herbert Ross. S: Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah. Elegantly produced–albeit atrociously directed, superficial, and didactic–Southern tearjerker about Field and daughter Roberts coming to terms, but in the background so Field’s friends can steal the show. Maclaine’s hilarious, Dukakis is real good, ditto Roberts. Parton’s very likable as the lynchpin. Hannah can’t overcome the worst part. The script does Field no favors; the direction even fewer.

The Uprising (2026) D: Paul Greengrass. S: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Katherine Waterston. Mostly middling account of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt centers on broody farmer Garfield and his experience. Writer-director Greengrass does it in digital video verité, except the whole thing’s a hodgepodge of CGI and bad sound design. In addition to being boring and only barely adequately acted (Garfield’s fine, Bell’s terrible). The quizzically atrocious, tacked-on epilogue stinks it.

Comics

Legion of Super-Heroes (1980) #290 [1982] W: Paul Levitz. A: Frank Giacoia, Larry Mahlstedt. “The Great Darkness Saga” kicks off with unstoppable mystery villains, a foreboding mystery Big Bad, and lots of LEGION drama. There’s bureaucratic drama with elections and treason trials, relationship drama, and then just plain interpersonal dramatics. Writer Levitz and penciller and co-plotter Giffen pack the issue with content; it’s a masterclass in narrative balance. Really nice art, too.

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual (1982) #1 W: Keith Giffen, Paul Levitz. A: Bruce Patterson, Dick Giordano, Keith Giffen. Precisely executed annual (the LEGION’s first, twenty years in) has Brainiac 5’s hubris ruining the life of a sick child–don’t worry, he doesn’t learn from it–and bringing back a fearsome villain who almost kills the LEGION in “real time.” Levitz and Giffen utilize a specific panel layout for most of it, bringing a beautiful, tense pace.

Comics

Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) #1 WA: Jim Starlin. Creator Jim Starlin gives CAPTAIN MARVEL a singular superhero send-off. After his superpowers reveal he has terminal cancer, Marvel determines he’ll go out alone, without any help. His friends and loved ones disagree with that approach. Mostly somber and serious, Starlin finds time for pin-up splash pages and a couple of arguably unnecessary action sequences. Outstanding work.

The Spirit (July 6, 1941) “Agent 24.” WA: Will Eisner. Ellen is heading to England to drive ambulances and Spirit ends up on her ship (on a spy mission). They get in trouble pretty quickly, but the strip’s got even more in store for them. A few firsts as supporting players finally meet and the strip identifies the previously just European villains as Germans. More notable historically than artistically.

The Spirit (July 13, 1941) “Stolen Squad Cars.” WA: Will Eisner. Tightly packed strip combines SPIRIT making gadgets, a recurring villain finally getting punished, and wartime intrigue (the strip takes place after Central City’s first blackout drill). Despite some strangeness (Spirit ignores suspicious activity because otherwise there wouldn’t be a story), it’s an all right strip. Good humor and plentiful ideas–albeit ones Eisner and studio discard immediately after introducing.

The Spirit (July 20, 1941) “The Jewel of Death.” WA: Will Eisner. Banal Orientalist outing has Spirit heading to Syria (Eisner and studio ignore it being in WWII at the time), trying to convince a disgraced doctor to save Central City from an outbreak; he’s got the only cure. A fortune teller’s prophecy, smuggler, and black widow bride figure into it. Far less cohesive than usual, with even the fisticuffs disappointing.

The Spirit (July 27, 1941) “Pink Perkins.” WA: Will Eisner. The Tidewater kids are back (they were unnamed in their previous appearance). This time they get the last name; the mob’s shaking down their dad, so they go to one guy who’ll help them for sure. PINK PERKINS, creator of their favorite tough detective comic strip. Too bad Perkins’s a scaredy-cat. Eventually, Spirit and Dolan appear. Mostly works.

The Spirit (August 3, 1941) “Wanted Dead or Alive: The Spirit.” WA: Will Eisner. From the splash, *Wanted* promises a lot and delivers very little. Spirit is indeed on the run, but the cops never give him any trouble. Not even after kidnapping Dolan and the Mayor. Lots of ideas–Ellen, Nazis, frame-ups, European royalty, crime scene reenactments, torture; none go anywhere. Solid fisticuffs and Spirit’s affable patriotic swagger keep it together.

The Spirit (August 10, 1941) “The Element of Time.” WA: Will Eisner. After an engaging mad scientist cracks it opening, ELEMENT turns into another “crook of the week” strip. Tommy Moran’s on his way to off a snitch when the scientist talks him into a shot of liquid TIME. It leads to stylized potential future sequence where Tommy tries to escape the Spirit. The visuals work, but the narrative’s too thin.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #244 [1978] W: Paul Levitz. A: James Sherman, Joe Giella, Joe Rubinstein, Joe Staton. Levitz’s script rushes the penultimate “Earthwar!” chapter, even skipping the cliffhanger resolve. Obviously he can’t rely on Staton and Giella’s art for much detail, but he’s overcorrecting. Instead of exploring the interesting plot threads, he showcases Legionnaires behaving obnoxiously. There’s still some momentum (multiple reveals in the last few pages gin it back up); hopefully, the finish isn’t embarrassing.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #245 [1978] W: Paul Levitz. A: Joe Staton, Murphy Anderson. Despite writer Paul Levitz taking a reductive approach to the “Earthwar!” saga–all the intergalactic intrigue gets put aside once previously unseen mastermind Modru shows up, and the finish is just a big fight–it does the job. Levitz strips it down enough for Joe Staton, who does his best composition work here. Murphy Anderson’s inks help. Successful bunk.

Movies

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don’t Come Back!) (1980) D: Bill Melendez. S: Arrin Skelley, Daniel Anderson, Laura Planting, Bill Melendez, Scott Beach. Episodic PEANUTS feature has Charlie Brown heading to Europe to a mysterious French villa for an unexpected student exchange program. The opening act at home is sluggish, but things pick up in England and for the strange French adventure. Lots of long, solid comedy bits (Charles M. Schulz scripted). Excellent stuff for Marcie, too. The music’s a disaster, however.

Crossing (2024) D: Levan Akin. S: Mzia Arabuli, Luke Kankava, Deniz Dumanlı, Ziya Sudançıkmaz, Bergüzar Mercan. Superb character study (in triplicate) about retired schoolteacher Arabuli traveling to Istanbul to find her missing niece, who the family ran out for being trans. Floundering young man Kankava tags along as de facto guide. Meanwhile, İstanbullu trans woman Dumanlı is about to get her law license. Breathtaking performances, beautiful filmmaking; phenomenal, patient, deliberate work from writer-director Akin.

Dark Mountain (1944) D: William Berke. S: Robert Lowery, Ellen Drew, Regis Toomey, Elisha Cook Jr., Byron Foulger. Gangster Toomey has been keeping wife Drew in the dark, but then they’ve got to go on the lam. She runs off to her forest ranger ex, Lowery, but then Toomey comes along after saying he wouldn’t. Engaging enough B picture, mostly because Toomey’s great, but there are nice moments throughout. Lots of trained animal stuff, including the finale.

Phantom of the Opera (1943) D: Arthur Lubin. S: Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, Hume Cronyn. Thin Technicolor musical-esque adaptation reveals the PHANTOM’s origin: violinist Rains loses his job, jeopardizing his anonymous patronage of ingenue Foster. The wrong guy makes him angry; there just happens to be acid involved. Mostly a grating love triangle with Foster, baritone Eddy, and cop Barrier. Foster and Eddy have charm; Barrier does not. Reprehensively underuses the gorgeous sets.

Slap Shot (1977) D: George Roy Hill. S: Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean, Lindsay Crouse, Paul Dooley. Hilarious, vulgar tale of a losing hockey team, a city on the skids, and an over-the-hill player-coach (Newman) who thinks he might have an idea to save it all. Along the way, he bonds with his star player’s miserable wife (Crouse), while pining after his own ex (Warren). Sublime character development, great production; Nancy Dowd scripted.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) D: Destin Daniel Cretton. S: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink. SPIDER-MAN Holland’s latest adventure requires he team up with guest stars Bernthal and Ruffalo, just as best friends who forgot him Zendaya and Batalon return to town. Good performances, fun comedy beats, and solid action make up for the jumbled, non-committal narrative about outsiders. They also punt on giving any resolutions, instead setting up for next time.

The Ugly Stepsister (2025) D: Emilie Blichfeldt. S: Lea Myren, Ane Dahl Torp, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Agnieszka Żulewska, Malte Gårdinger. Beautifully done, heady body horror retelling CINDERELLA from stepsister Myren’s perspective. Elegantly, gruesomely weaves with objectification, patriarchy, and misogyny. Myren’s outstanding, mom Torp and sister Fagerli are real good, too, but Cinderella Næss isn’t. Director Blichfeldt’s script just doesn’t make time to give her–and eventually everyone else–a real character arc. Outstanding production, with standout music and photography.

Movies

Double Danger (1938) D: Lew Landers. S: Preston Foster, Whitney Bourne, Donald Meek, Cecil Kellaway, Samuel S. Hinds. Inoffensive but mostly charmless B picture about police commissioner Hinds inviting his two prime suspects for “The Gentleman,” a renowned jewel thief, to his suburban estate for the weekend. Foster and Bourne are the suspects and ostensible romantic leads. Simultaneously too busy and not busy enough during its hour-long runtime. The opening social engineering heist is the highlight.

Lost in America (1985) D: Albert Brooks. S: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Michael Greene, Donald Gibb, Garry Marshall. Dissatisfied yuppie couple Brooks and Hagerty decide to leave L.A. in a Winnebago, dropping out like in *Easy Rider* (which they may have misunderstood), only to discover life’s not so easy on the road. Some fantastic, funny sequences and outstanding cameos (Marshall’s best performance ever and Donald Gibb’s a hoot). They just run out of story too early.

Radio Patrol (1932) D: Edward L. Cahn. S: Robert Armstrong, Russell Hopton, Lila Lee, Andy Devine, Sidney Toler. Peculiar mix of early talkie, stock footage extravaganza, toxic masculinity primer, B copaganda picture following the latest (integrated) police academy class in an unnamed city. By the finish, only forty percent survive, done in by dopers and dirty cops. Director Cahn doesn’t believe in second takes; his cast needs them, especially thanks to the mawkish melodrama. Hopton’s exceptionally sturdy.

The Saint In Palm Springs (1941) D: Jack Hively. S: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Paul Guilfoyle, Jonathan Hale, Harry Shannon. Lackluster outing survives thanks to Sanders, who’s actually more bored than everyone else. He’s in PALM SPRINGS to deliver some valuables to Barrie (who’s returning but as a different love interest) and runs into old pal Guilfoyle, now the resort detective. Not predictable only on a technicality. The script requires Sanders to be dim; he obliges, the picture suffers.

Sea Fog (2014) D: Shim Sung-bo. S: Kim Yun-seok, Park Yoo-chun, Han Ye-ri, Lee Hee-jun, Yeom Hye-ran. Portentous “based on a true story” (well, adapted from the play based on the true story) about a desperate fishing boat captain (Kim Yun-seok) who takes a job trafficking people from China. Unfortunately, his boat’s a deathtrap and his crew’s mostly misogynistic sociopaths. Solid production, some strong acting; also, a bewilderingly ill-advised romance subplot and shallow finish.

Waltzes from Vienna (1934) D: Alfred Hitchcock. S: Edmund Gwenn, Esmond Knight, Jessie Matthews, Fay Compton, Charles Heslop. Histrionically acted, stagy play adaptation about Johan Strauss II (Knight) getting the chance to be his own composer thanks to rich lady Compton liking the cut of his jib, musically and physically. Shame she’s got a husband (Vosper), and he’s got a girlfriend (Matthews). Plus angry dad Gwenn figures in. Boring, though director Hitchcock does try to stay amused.

Comics

Watson’s Sketchbook, Vol. 2 (2025) OGN WA: Lee Knox Ostertag. Ostertag covers a lot in Volume 2, concluding with the Reichenbach Falls affair, but it’s a windy road to that point. Holmes and Watson get their tenderest moments–and, as Ostertag observed previously, all reads naturally. It’s more of a comic this time around, too, less sketching, more fully formed narrative. With fantastic characterizations and lovely relationships. Fantastic work.

Movies

Attack Force Z (1982) D: Tim Burstall. S: Mel Gibson, John Phillip Law, Sam Neill, Ko Chun-Hsiung, Sylvia Chang. Bewildering and boring WWII picture about elite Aussie ATTACK FORCE Z who are sent in to a Chinese island, occupied by the Japanese, to rescue mysterious plane crash survivors. Everything goes wrong because the Z team isn’t very elite when not shooting people in the back. Way too much involves psychopath Law (who’s comically bad) romancing seeming teenager Chang.

Enigma (1982) D: Jeannot Szwarc. S: Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, Sam Neill, Kevin McNally, Derek Jacobi. Boring, entirely unsuccessful spy “thriller” about Russian-American Soviet defector and master of disguise Sheen doing one more job for the CIA. He’s got to get the Soviet version of the ENIGMA decoder from East Berlin. There’s a cop (Jacobi) and a KGB wunderkind (Neill) after him. Fossey’s the love interest. Szwarc’s direction disappoints. Also, no accents on anyone.

The In-Laws (1979) D: Arthur Hiller. S: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, James Hong, Ed Begley Jr.. Superb buddy comedy about soon-to-be in-laws Falk and Arkin. It’s days before their kids get married, and they’ve only just met. Turns out Falk’s a CIA agent who needs mild-mannered dentist Arkin to do a little job for him. It becomes increasingly complicated, culminating in Libertini’s peerless appearance. Great direction from Hiller, Andrew Bergman script.

Little Evil (2017) D: Eli Craig. S: Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Owen Atlas, Clancy Brown, Sally Field. Often quite funny (forty years removed) OMEN homage about new step-dad Scott finding out kid Atlas is the Antichrist. For real. Probably. Scott’s willing to try thanks to wife Lilly. Great support from Everett (who runs the movie start to finish) and Brown; Scott’s solid in the lead, Atlas is fine, Lilly’s lacking. Rather successful “adult” kids comedy.

Comics

Babs (2024) TPB W: Garth Ennis. A: Jacen Burrows. Excellent “light” comedy from Ennis and Burrows about barbarian warrior BABS, a self-aware badass, and the time she had to fight a bunch of murderous con artists masquerading as racist religious zealots. Ennis makes one wry observation after another about the genre, while also doing a lot of commentary about twenty-first-century male “culture.” Fun, good read.

Hulk Grand Design: Madness (2022) #1 WA: Jim Rugg. Slightly better issue has more detail–except when creator Rugg skips five years here and there–but at least the storyline recaps are better. Until they’re not. There’s almost nothing to it in the end, with thin recaps of the biggest story arcs. Hulk deserved another issue (at least) except there’s no reason to think it’s be any good.

Hulk Grand Design: Monster (2022) #1 WA: Jim Rugg. The Hulk gets his GRAND DESIGN but creator Rugg’s more interested in the visual presentation than any kind of narrative. There’s very little detail in the recaps, with villains dying and resurrecting from panel-to-panel, and no personality for Banner at all. There’s some nice art and some decent humor, but it’s all distressingly thin. Rugg like HULK?

Movies

The Death of Robin Hood (2026) D: Michael Sarnoski. S: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Noah Jupe, Murray Bartlett. Beautifully directed, revisionist old-man ROBIN HOOD picture asks… what if he was actually a murderous brigand? Jackman’s fantastic in the lead, but director Sarnoski’s script doesn’t have much for him (or anyone) to do. No deep (or even interested) observations on Robin Hood, and Sarnoski wimps out on the patriarchal violence discussion. Instead, it’s all moderately successful mood.

Dirty Deeds (2002) D: David Caesar. S: Bryan Brown, Toni Collette, John Goodman, Sam Neill, Sam Worthington. Quirky, violent, and cruel crime comedy set in 1960s Australia. Boss Brown runs the slot machines in town, taking on just home from Vietnam nephew Worthington. Collette’s Brown’s wife, Morassi’s his mistress. Goodman and Williamson are mobsters from the U.S. trying to muscle in. Some middling, some okay performances, barely middling script, bad direction, good period production values.

The Hunter (2011) D: Daniel Nettheim. S: Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill, Morgan Davies, Callan Mulvey. Great white hunter for-hire (really) Dafoe heads to rural Australia on a job for Big Pharma. He’s hunting a presumed-extinct but rumored-extant beastie. Or he would if it weren’t for landlady O’Connor’s adorable family. It’s ostensibly a character study but Dafoe’s got no character development. Beautiful scenery and good (nature) photography; bad direction, and worse plotting.

The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) D: Jon Favreau. S: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Sigourney Weaver, Martin Scorsese, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Big screen version of the TV show plays like four or five (bad) episodes strung together. Only really engaging when it’s GROGU and other puppets, as all of humans phone it in. No one worse than Weaver, who won’t even lean too hard. Awful Ludwig Göransson score. Favreau’s direction is often bad, though sometimes reaches pedestrian. No more please.

Rams (2020) D: Jeremy Sims. S: Sam Neill, Michael Caton, Miranda Richardson, Asher Keddie, Leon Ford. Relentlessly uninteresting tale of estranged brother sheep farmers Neill and Caton who live next to each other and haven’t talked in forty years. Given its two-hour runtime and entire focus on the two leads, it’s impressive how Jules Duncan’s script has absolutely no character development. Middling direction doesn’t help. No movie with adorable sheep should be this boring.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) D: Chloé Zhao. S: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Eléonore Hendricks, Derrick Janis. Uneven but accomplished story of graduating high school senior Reddy and his little sister, St. John, growing up on a South Dakota reservation. Writer-director Zhao toggles between Reddy’s secret planning to move to L.A. and St. John navigating tweenage years with only him and their alcoholic mom (Bedard). St. John gets less, but it’s much stronger material.

Comics

Copra: Round One (2014) TPB WA: Michel Fiffe. Ultraviolet anti-superhero superhero epic about a “suicide squad” of super assassins who survive a lethal double cross. They need to reassemble, recruiting old members, while avoiding the bounty hunters after them. Lots of characters, but creator Fiffe keeps them delineated well enough. Absolutely phenomenal art, both in the design and the glorious, glorious movement. It’s a stupendous comic book.

Watson’s Sketchbook, Vol. 1 (2024) OGN WA: Lee Knox Ostertag. After some exploratory sketches, Knox Ostertag explores the relationship between Holmes and Watson, specifically the romantic one. Often with lots of implications from the original text, while also weaving in the social realities at the time. Lovely art, too. The SKETCHBOOK quality gives it an intimate, dreamlike feel. There’s a strong overarching narrative, too. Really cool, well-done stuff.

Movies

Barbie (2023) D: Greta Gerwig. S: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, John Cena, Michael Cera. Director and co-writer Gerwig takes a doll Barbie (Robbie) into the real world to find her owner, whose sadness is spreading to Barbieland. Robbie’s disappointed how feminism and equality are going, but Ken (Gosling) is geeked for patriarchy. Always fun, usually smart, beautifully executed, with some outstanding musical numbers. Good to excellent performances abound. It’s a great time.

The Commuter (2018) D: Jaume Collet-Serra. S: Liam Neeson, Patrick Wilson, Sam Neill, Florence Pugh, Jonathan Banks. Predictable smorgasbord of cop movie and thriller tropes has “regular” COMMUTER (and ex-cop) Neeson on a train, in a desperate situation, fighting unknown enemies and unable to trust anyone. Lots of familiar faces in the poorly written bit parts. Director Collet-Serra’s tiresome CGI-Hitchcock bit always remains competent. Not enough to get the film successfully home, however.

The Lighthouse (2019) D: Robert Eggers. S: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Kyla Nicolle, Shaun Clarke. Affected moody horror picture about nineteenth-century LIGHTHOUSE keepers Dafoe and Pattinson. Dafoe’s the boss with a secret, Pattinson’s the newbie with a secret. Some beautiful direction and precise performances, but director and co-writer Eggers uses those successes to avoid having to have an actual story. The disappointing ending’s just one predictable trope after another, albeit competently executed.

People Will Talk (1951) D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. S: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Finlay Currie, Hume Cronyn, Sidney Blackmer. Delightful, masterful romantic comedy (with drama) about beloved, compassionate doctor and professor Grant, who runs afoul of a jealous colleague (a singular Cronyn), just as he meets a damsel in real-life distress (Crain). And how does Grant’s peculiar sidekick (Currie) figure in? Phenomenal comic and dramatic timing, great character development and depth, fascinating masculinity observations, too. Outstanding stuff.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952) D: Stanley Donen. S: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Rita Moreno, Jean Hagen. Beautifully choreographed, often transfixing musical about silent film star Kelly, who uses his stage background to transition to talkies. His onscreen partner Hagen doesn’t have those talents; her story is just being super jealous of Kelly’s interest in non-movie-star Reynolds. Some solid laughs, excellent filmmaking; Reynolds’s fantastic. The narrative’s finale fizzles after a great final musical number.

Sleeping Dogs (1977) D: Roger Donaldson. S: Sam Neill, Warren Oates, Ian Mune, Roger Oakley, Bernard Kearns. As New Zealand descends into a fascist state (one so fascist they eventually need U.S. military aid), newly cuckolded Neill runs off to be left alone. Except now everyone’s either fascist or freedom fighter. He can’t stay out of it forever. Some good moments and Neill’s not unsuccessful. Donaldson just doesn’t hack it, directing-wise; story’s too big.

Comics

Her Frankenstein (1986) OGN WA: Kawashima Norikazu. A Japanese man–lost following the death of his boss–starts seeing the ghost of a childhood friend. Thanks to therapy, he remembers how he and the friend used to bully and terrorize; he wore a FRANKENSTEIN monster mask, she ordered him who and when to attack. Iffy art and profoundly misogynistic. It does read pretty fast, at least.

The Rocketeer: Thrills, Spills, and Chills (2026) TPB WA: Dave Stevens. Collection of the original ROCKETEER stories and the later ADVENTURES homage series shows how the series was really gaining steam when original creator Stevens ended it on a cliffhanger and how subsequent attempts rarely tap the potential. Some highlights in the twenty-four ADVENTURES strips, but mostly disappointments; modern creators lack interest in developing characters, instead just objectifying Betty.

Movies

Fall Guy (1947) D: Reginald Le Borg. S: Leo Penn, Robert Armstrong, Teala Loring, Elisha Cook Jr., John Harmon. Mildly engaging B picture has vet Penn waking up covered in blood, a dead girl nearby, and no memory of it. If only he hadn’t supplemented his binge drinking with “narcotic” (cocaine), that infamous hallucinogenic depressant. Half the movie is Penn piecing it together with cop uncle Armstrong (who’s great). The other half is moralizing and a disappointing finish.

Grand Exit (1935) D: Erle C. Kenton. S: Edmund Lowe, Ann Sothern, Onslow Stevens, Selmer Jackson, Wyrley Birch. Breezy procedural (with a lot of comedy beats) about fire insurance inspectors Lowe and Stevens trying to solve a string of fires while falling (to differing levels) for suspicious but fetching fire-watcher Sothern. Decent enough mystery (with plot holes) and Lowe’s got charm to spare. Lots of uncredited bit players to spot (Edward Van Sloan’s probably the standout).

The Martian (2015) Extended Edition D: Ridley Scott. S: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis. A NASA mission to Mars goes wrong and leaves astronaut Damon stranded. Thank goodness he knows all the science. Meanwhile, Earth doesn’t know he’s alive; when they do, they can’t get him home. Damon’s bland but sympathetic. Drew Goddard’s insipid video game screenplay doesn’t help, nor does director Scott’s disinterest in performances. Chastain and Daniels stink. Ejiofor somehow succeeds.

One Battle After Another (2025) D: Paul Thomas Anderson. S: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Jena Malone, Benicio del Toro. Beautifully paced prestige action picture about an alternate, explicitly fascist white Christian nationalist police state United States. Penn’s the top immigration military commander who has history with in-hiding ex-revolutionary, now pothead, DiCaprio, and his daughter, Infiniti. Penn, Infiniti, and some others are great. DiCaprio’s fine. Next level car chase. The loud, weaponized misogynoir drags it down significantly.

The Witness Vanishes (1939) D: Otis Garrett. S: Edmund Lowe, Wendy Barrie, Bruce Lester, J.M. Kerrigan, Leyland Hodgson. On the same day, Barrie meets the man of her dreams (Lester), finds out her long-thought-dead father (Borland) is still alive, and Borland sets out to avenge himself on his former partners, who stole his newspaper from him. Lowe plays the ringleader. Lazy, bad script, unimaginatively directed. Lowe still manages to have fun, and Barrie’s solid enough.

The Wrong Road (1937) D: James Cruze. S: Richard Cromwell, Helen Mack, Lionel Atwill, Marjorie Main, Billy Bevan. Quickie morality picture about young lovers Cromwell and Mack. The Depression wiped out their families’ wealth. Instead of working hard, they’re going to rob Cromwell’s bank, hide the money, serve the time, then be on easy street when they’re out. Atwill’s the kindly insurance investigator. Only interesting when Mack shows agency, which isn’t often. She’s okay. Cromwell’s bland, boring.

You Can’t Buy Luck (1937) D: Lew Landers. S: Onslow Stevens, Helen Mack, Vinton Hayworth, Barbara Pepper, Paul Guilfoyle. Professional gambler Stevens tips or bribes everyone he knows to keep his LUCK good, but his hubris leads him to gloat about ruining schoolchildren’s fun. He learns from it–and meets fetching teacher Mack, whose company convinces him there’s more to life. Except then he’s framed for murder. Solid, quirky little picture; Landers’s got some particularly good direction, too.

Comics

The Bat-Man: First Knight (2024) TPB W: Dan Jurgens. A: Mike Perkins. What if when Batman first appeared in 1939 there was lots of cursing, explicitly corrupt cops, and Bats cared (somewhat) about social justice? Writer Jurgens is more interested in those aspects than the actual story, which goes nowhere. Perkins’s period art is beautiful, but he doesn’t have a particularly good handle on Batman and the action’s a little boring.

Orla (2025) TPB W: John Lees. A: Sally Cantirino. ORLA is a single woman in her thirties who turns into a giant monster with bloodlust. To be responsible, she only consumes awful guys she meets on the apps. Then she finally falls in love, just as there’s best friend drama and secret agents on her trail. Good art and likable characters. Very readable; slighter than it should be.

Movies

Akira (1988) D: Katsuhiro Otomo. S: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Takeshi Kusao, Tessyo Genda. Misanthropic cyberpunk anime epic about a teenage biker gang who coincidentally figure into an ongoing military plot to exploit post-nuclear mutant kids. The gang’s beta becomes the world’s most powerful mutant, and the alpha has feelings about it. Exceptionally thin characterizations and a meandering first half don’t help. The frequently impressive animation gets it to a fizzling finale.

The Crime Doctor’s Diary (1949) D: Seymour Friedman. S: Warner Baxter, Stephen Dunne, Lois Maxwell, Whit Bissell, Robert Armstrong. Disappointing finish to Baxter’s CRIME DOCTOR series suffers a weak script and worse direction. Also Dunne’s a charisma vacuum as a potentially wrongly convicted arsonist. The script’s very busy, giving Baxter almost nothing to do. The supporting cast’s full of recognizable faces (most uncredited) suffering Friedman’s direction. The reveal’s genuinely surprising, but doesn’t matter. Ditto the moody lighting effects.

The Crime Doctor’s Gamble (1947) D: William Castle. S: Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, Roger Dann, Eduardo Ciannelli, Steven Geray. Baxter heads to post-war Paris and gets wrapped up in proving black sheep Dann either didn’t kill his wealthy father or wasn’t insane while doing so. Or something of that nature. The script’s a mess, and the Parisian “setting” doesn’t bring much but accented English (from a mostly French cast). Baxter gets to flashlight and fisticuff this outing. Followed by THE CRIME DOCTOR’S DIARY.

Dinner in America (2020) D: Adam Rehmeier. S: Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs, Pat Healy, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Griffin Gluck. Generally okay (minus the constant misogyny and homophobia) picture about early twenty somethings Gallner and Skeggs. He’s a lambing punk rocker who has to crash with secretly punk af Skeggs. Gallner looks his 33, Skeggs looks her 20 year old part. Comes off very peculiar, never creepy. The frequent anachronisms and lazy characterizations don’t help. Skeggs is great, though.

The Millerson Case (1947) D: George Archainbaud. S: Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders, Clem Bevans, Addison Richards, James Bell. Peculiar entry mixes some proto-hicksploitation into the CRIME DOCTOR formula, with Baxter on vacation in an anti-science rural village. He butts heads with the local doctor, Barnett (not good but technically one of the better performances), over a typhoid epidemic before having to tap in on a murder investigation. Plodding, meandering, repetitive. Baxter’s eternally buoyant, of course. Followed by THE CRIME DOCTOR’S GAMBLE.

She (1935) D: Irving Pichel. S: Helen Gahagan, Randolph Scott, Helen Mack, Samuel S. Hinds, Lumsden Hare. Plodding, melodramatic “adventure” about a hidden civilization run by immortal Gahagan. Explorer Scott’s the likeness of an ancestor who SHE romanced. Mack’s the third side of the triangle. Bruce is around to look embarrassed. Gahagan, Scott, and von Seyffertitz are “oh, no, they’re serious” bad. Mack tries her best. Big, poorly produced, directed, and written. Maybe one good shot.

Strange Alibi (1941) D: D. Ross Lederman. S: Arthur Kennedy, Joan Perry, Jonathan Hale, William Hopper, Howard Da Silva. Following the murder of a witness, police chief Hale concocts an incredibly convoluted plan to unmask the city’s Mr. Big. Things go wrong multiple times, with cop-turned-crook Kennedy at the center of it. Performance wise, Kennedy’s okay, Hale’s real good, and–in a small part–Bates’s the best. A plodding, inoffensive sixty minutes. One good chase, though.

Comics

Grommets (2025) TPB W: Brian Posehn, Rick Remender. A: Brett Parson. Delightful, incredibly specific, eighties-nostalgic piece about eighth-grade skaters in 1985 Sacramento, U.S.A. The protagonists have the same names as the writers, which never ends up raising any questions. The collected series has a phenomenal pace, with enough callbacks the plotting’s clearly the thing. Really nice art, rather thoughtful balance of nostalgia and objectivity; outstanding book.