Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e01 “Episode 1” D: Aaron Moorhead. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Nikki M. James, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer. After making some big cast changes and punting some other decisions down the line, the show gets going with D’Onofrio returning to New York to run for mayor. A more battle-scarred than usual Cox isn’t thrilled at the news and tries to suss out D’Onofrio’s true intentions. Some season setup, some series setup, and some good acting. Nice.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e02 “Episode 2” D: Michael Cuesta. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Nikki M. James, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer. For its first “normal” episode, BORN AGAIN immediately introduces a trial-of-the-week format… only to reveal a conspiracy, which will need multiple parts. Well played. While Cox is lawyering, Fisk is busy trying to play nice with the cops and estranged wife Zurer. Some surprises, some contrivances, and some lovely acting. Cox and D’Onofrio are real good.

Paradise (2025) s01e01 “Wildcat Is Down” D: John Requa. S: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, James Marsden, Jon Beavers. Brown’s the Secret Service Agent in Charge (or whatever) of ex-president Marsden. The episode opens with Brown discovering Marsden dead, with flashbacks setting up the ground situation. Mystery and surprises, along with a big finale reveal; Brown’s so good and so in command of the show, it weathers everything. Including Marden’s limp prez.

Paradise (2025) s01e02 “Sinatra” D: John Requa. S: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Aliyah Mastin, James Marsden, Krys Marshall. Lots more flashbacks–this time to Nicholson’s specific tragedy and character motivation–juxtaposed against fall out affecting Brown’s plans to investigate. Shahi shows up for a scene or two (plus flashback duty) as the town shrink who’ll probably end up helping Brown, but not this episode–they’re still setting up the underground town stuff. Brown puts it over mid.

Paradise (2025) s01e03 “The Architect of Social Well-Being” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi. There’s a bunch of Krys Marshall’s investigation (weird they’re only paying her guest star money) and Nicholson’s undue influence on it. Then Brown and Shahi go on a walking meet-cute around town, only it’s mostly flashbacks of Brown and his dad (Glynn Turman!). Maybe if Nicholson weren’t so one note and the town tour had been a tour.

Severance (2022) s02e05 “Trojan’s Horse” [2025] D: Sam Donovan. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, John Turturro. The season passes the halfway point with almost everything leftover from last season’s cliffhanger resolved. There are some more surprise reveals, some unexpected (and expected) character developments, and fantastic acting from the entire cast. Tillman and Lower get the best material, but Scott and Cherry are also very good. It’s an office bickering episode, with mysterious and rewarding stakes.

Severance (2022) s02e06 “Attila” [2025] D: Uta Briesewitz. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, John Turturro, Christopher Walken. Rather good episode–even if Briesewitz’s direction is… a bit extra. And not even with all the “sharing vessels” (this episode is very horny), just everything. It’ll eventually lead to some obvious tropes, but it’s a fine ride there. Great performances from Lower, Tillman, Cherry, and Scott. Turturro and Walken are “back,” but it’s something else. Lots afoot.

Severance (2022) s02e07 “Chikhai Bardo” [2025] D: Jessica Lee Gagné. S: Adam Scott, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, Robby Benson. Surprise, Lachman is the main character. She gets a great showcase as a recovering but unconscious Scott remembers the way they were. Entirely coincidentally, Lachman’s thinking about it too, as she goes about a hellish, And mysterious existence. But their backstory is mid and reductive; plus, Scott’s flashback performance is off. Exquisitely directed, just an average mythology reveal script.

The 39 Steps (1935) D: Alfred Hitchcock. S: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim. Early Hitchcock spy thriller has a good first half as average man-in-a-plot Donat flees London for Scotland, complete with good chemistry opposite spy Mannheim. Then Carroll comes in as the actual love interest, and the film stumbles and the pacing never recovers. Fine Scotland visuals only help so much. Even the decent finale is clunkily constructed.

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) D: Akira Kurosawa. S: Toshirō Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kamatari Fujiwara. Kurosawa in prime form–an office-politics thriller starts with a twenty-minute wedding scene. Mifune’s protagonist isn’t even revealed for another twenty. The film builds through impossible situations with unexpected tenderness and playfulness. There’s a loose HAMLET framework, which never overwhelms the corruption storylines. Kurosawa and Mifune are also a lot more tender than HAMLET. It’s a great one.

Best Defense (1984) D: Willard Huyck. S: Dudley Moore, Eddie Murphy, Kate Capshaw, George Dzundza, Helen Shaver, Peter Michael Goetz, David Rasche. Abysmal military-industrial complex comedy about goof-off engineer Moore putzing around with spies and trade secrets while trying not to get laid off again. The film tested so poorly they added Murphy (commanding Moore’s tank in the field) to salvage it. Murphy’s not funny, but he’s fine. Rasche’s hilarious. The rest’s terrible, notably Moore (and the script).

Boogie Nights (1997) D: Paul Thomas Anderson. S: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore. Dazzling technical achievement follows Wahlberg’s rise and fall in ’70s porn industry. The first half’s upbeat comedy gives way to brutal second half, with Anderson torturing his dimwitted characters until they sweat humanity. Incredible ensemble with standouts in Reynolds, Don Cheadle, and Thomas Jane. Almost too well-made for its own good–NIGHTS works despite its formula constraints.

Citizen Kane (1941) D: Orson Welles. S: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore. Structurally brilliant and emotionally devastating Welles masterpiece about a newspaper tycoon’s rise and fall. KANE’s melodramatic framework conceals subtle moments between stellar performers (Welles, obviously, but also Comingore, Cotten, and everyone). The newsreel opening, disorienting timeline, and withheld conclusion demand engagement. Welles crafts an unsentimental film about a sentimental subject, with impeccable technicals like Gregg Toland’s photography.

Dune (2021) D: Denis Villeneuve. S: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, Zendaya. The Frank Herbert novel gets the mega-epic adaptation (complete with splitting it into two parts) but outside the magnificent production design, there’s not much to DUNE. Chalamet rarely gets to lead the movie, with director Villeneuve instead relying on his dream sequences to promise character development. Skarsgård’s great as the odious villain; otherwise, it’s by the numbers prestige.

Dune: Part Two (2024) D: Denis Villeneuve. S: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgård. Some better acting this entry, but a worse screenplay (by director Villeneuve and PART ONE scripter Jon Spaihts) takes out any substantial gains. Villeneuve hasn’t got any (good) new tricks left for this entry (the black-and-white sequence is sad more than anything else). Who knows, maybe they should’ve just trusted Chalamet to lead his own messiah movie…

The Golden Child (1986) D: Michael Ritchie. S: Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis, J.L. Reate, Victor Wong, Randall “Tex” Cobb, James Hong. Terrible Murphy vehicle curbs the language at PG-13, gives him a chemistry-free romance with Lewis, and leverages his likability way too much. Murphy can’t make up for CHILD’s mind-bending choices, like demons. And make-up villains. It’s almost a curiosity given the flexes, but it’s also awful. It’s an attempted family-friendly movie about child sacrifice.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) D: Barry Jenkins. S: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Michael Beach, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Beautiful, rending adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel. James is recently imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Pregnant girlfriend Layne and her family work to get him free. Layne’s narration provides a structure, with flashbacks revealing James and Layne’s love story. Breathtaking, layered, patient work from Jenkins, Layne, James, and King (as Layne’s mom). It’s a splendid, devastating film.

King Kong (1933) D: Ernest B. Schoedsack. S: Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong, James Flavin, Sam Hardy. Adventurist director Armstrong picks up down-and-out actress Wray for the chance of a lifetime in his next picture… which will co-star a giant ape on an island lost to time. The groundbreaking stop motion effects still astonish. The film never forces sympathy for Kong but does create the space. Even the hasty New York finale works.

The Lady Vanishes (1938) D: Alfred Hitchcock. S: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, May Whitty. Early Hitchcock mixes comedy, mystery, and action (in roughly that order) and delivers the purest entertainment. On a European train, where Lockwood tries to find mysteriously missing fellow passenger Whitty. Pretty soon Redgrave’s involved–he and Lockwood have excellent chemistry–and Lukas also figures in. Lukas is particularly fantastic here. It’s an outstanding picture. A technical delight as well. Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford’s cricket-obsessed passengers return in NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH.

Shock Corridor (1963) D: Samuel Fuller. S: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best, Hari Rhodes. Provocative noir tracking reporter Breck’s adventures after committing himself to a mental hospital to solve a murder. Uneven but often brilliant exposé of American social issues–especially Rhodes’s spellbinding performance as a Black student driven mad. The second act procedural soars, while the problematic premise and rushed conclusion disappoint. Fuller’s ambition exceeds his execution, but it’s outstanding work.

The Third Man (1949) D: Carol Reed. S: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles. Post-WWII noir masterpiece follows hapless American Cotten through occupied Vienna searching for old friend Welles. Phenomenal work from Reed–breathtaking, stark expressionist visuals throughout. When Welles finally arrives–otherworldly and magnetic–the film shifts into both thriller and profound anti-war statement. Every technical is superlative, including Anton Karas’s haunting zither music. THIRD MAN’s a perfect motion picture.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) D: John Huston. S: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence. Beautifully directed look at a caper unfolding, with newly paroled planner Jaffe trying to put a team together. Hayden’s the ostensible protagonist but not really. Strongest performances are Jaffe, Whitmore, and Lawrence. The third act turns into a moralizing copaganda flex, as Huston condemns the low morale character of criminals (and those who consort with them). Shits the bed. Lots.

Dazed and Confused (1993) D: Richard Linklater. S: Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Wiley Wiggins, Anthony Rapp, Ben Affleck, Marissa Ribisi, Michelle Burke. Linklater’s last-day-of-school nostalgia piece follows star quarterback London (who’d rather hang with stoners) and incoming freshman Wiggins. Large cast delivers charm but little depth; McConaughey’s creepy twentysomething stands out. Good period design and soundtrack paper over thin characterization. Worse, Linklater’s more invested in that script than his direction, leaving solid performers (Rapp, Ribisi, Burke) stranded.

Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) D: John McTiernan. S: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons, Larry Bryggman, Graham Greene, Anthony Peck, Nicholas Wyman. Terrorist with familiar last name Irons sends now NYC cop again, on-the-skids Willis on a riddle-solving chase, with civilian Jackson along for the ride. Fantastic direction from McTiernan; Willis and Jackson sell their buddy rapport despite thin material. Outstanding technicals. Irons relishes the villainy and a strong cast overall (particularly Bryggman). The tacked-on ending stinks, though.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) D: Jonathan Goldstein. S: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Chloe Coleman. Epic, fun, and funny (but never silly) “adaptation” of the role playing game doesn’t require foreknowledge. It still has nods and gags and Easter eggs, but the story is the thing. Pine’s a rogue trying to get back to his daughter, Rodriguez is his warrior bud; they’ve got to quest it. Delightful performances and a strong script sell it.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) D: Tim Story. S: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne. Vast improvement over the first FOUR, this one’s a superhero wedding comedy with apocalyptic stakes. The FOUR’s clicked– especially Gruffudd and Alba–making even the cartoon action work. Director Story handles the effects better; Jones & Fishburne’s Silver Surfer impresses. McMahon’s Doom feels tacked on, though, and Beau Garrett’s weak. Mostly it’s just fun spending time with the family now.

The Heat (2013) D: Paul Feig. S: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Jane Curtin, Thomas F. Wilson. Uptight FBI agent Bullock’s got to work with profane Boston cop McCarthy on a case. Conflict ensues. McCarthy dominates every scene while Bullock struggles through a basic character arc about not being (so) uptight. Fine direction from Feig; the plot’s just framing for McCarthy’s comedy. Sadly, the strong supporting cast (Wilson, Curtin, Wayans) is wasted. McCarthy’s hilarious.

The Mole People (1956) D: Virgil W. Vogel. S: John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, Phil Chambers, Rodd Redwing. ’50s Universal sci-fi about archaeologists Agar and Beaumont discovering underground civilization. Agar’s obnoxious, Beaumont’s patient; Paiva steals the show. Strong first half (with exceptional black and white photography). Second half stumbles thanks mostly to Napier’s weak villain. Vogel’s technically solid direction can’t overcome the too chatty script. Great music, though, and Patrick’s game as the love interest.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Mystery of the White Room (1939) D: Otis Garrett. S: Bruce Cabot, Helen Mack, Joan Woodbury, Constance Worth, Thomas E. Jackson, Roland Drew, Frank Reicher. Tedious–at under an hour–murder mystery set at a hospital. Jackson’s the cop who suspects top-billed Cabot. Cabot and Mack are an item, which keeps her around but with nothing to do. Drew is terrible as the twerp suck-up surgeon. It’s very low budget and the direction’s not creative with it. Reicher’s a delight, however.

Secret of the Blue Room (1933) D: Kurt Neumann. S: Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas, Edward Arnold, Onslow Stevens, William Janney, Elizabeth Patterson. Creaky “thriller” about Stuart’s three suitors each spending a night in her family castle’s BLUE ROOM. Oh, and it’s haunted. Also in the suspect pool is Atwill as Stuart’s secretive father. Some good direction helps, but until Arnold shows up towards the end, it’s lethargic. Maybe have any of the red herrings be interesting. Long even for an hour.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) D: Joseph Sargent. S: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Héctor Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Jerry Stiller. Perfectly cut, tightly wound thriller about a rag-tag group of terrorists taking over a New York City subway train. Shaw’s the boss and brains, Balsam’s the ex-motorman grinding an ax, Elizondo’s the psychopath, and Hindman’s the doofus. PELHAM barely spends any time with the hostages, instead focusing on transit cop Matthau’s procedural end of things. It’s outstanding.

Underworld (1937) D: Oscar Micheaux. S: Bee Freeman, Sol Johnson, ‘Slick’ Chester, Ethel Moses, Oscar Polk, Lorenzo Tucker, Dotty Saulter. Con man Chester brings well-to-do college student Johnson up to Chicago for summer break, planning on fleecing him fast. But then Johnson falls for Freeman, who’s married to gangster Polk, while romancing and supporting Chester. If only Johnson could meet a nice girl like Moses… Fine low budget filmmaking from Micheaux, with Freeman a strong proto-fatale.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e05 “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” D: Rachel Goldberg. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The episode does a big death and a couple twist reveals, but it’s a tad slight. The gang gets to Hahn’s trial and the show rushes it with a ouija board bit. And the rush seems to be so they can move the narrative’s perspective between characters. Only… kind of not? LuPone’s great. Hahn’s got bad material.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e06 “Familiar by Thy Side” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. Locke’s secret origin reveals all the ties to WANDAVISION and some to the rest of the series so far. And it’s a good episode, except where it lands in the series. Episode six feels a tad long to get around to the stakes… not to mention the character development reset. Locke’s real good and an awesome returning player.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e07 “Death’s Hand in Mine” D: Jac Schaeffer. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. LuPone gets her spotlight episode amid all the reveals happening with Locke. It’s a beautifully directed episode, wonderfully acted, and feels very much like a Hail Mary victory lap. The show’s not sure it’s getting away with it. None of the groundwork for LuPone’s adventures here compare to what they do now. Even the effects work seems better.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e08 “Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The last five minutes, when Locke pretends he’s been leading the show the whole time, those five minutes are a disaster. But most of the episode is this weird misfire with Hahn, Locke, and Zamata reaching the end of the Road. Plaza’s there, too, post-her big reveal. None of the performances click, which hurts it the most.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e09 “Maiden Mother Crone” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The grand finale answers all questions but not the most important–what performance did they think Hahn was going to give and why didn’t she? For her secret origin flashback, she entirely phones it in. The present day conclusion is for a show they didn’t do. It’s a bewildering shrug of a finish. Poorly directed, too.

The Rig (2023) s02e05 “Episode 5” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola. They spend the whole episode resolving the cliffhanger, which works out fairly well. It’d be better if the geography were more involved, but it’s a fine cat and mouse chase. Then there’s land stuff with Teale and Alice Krige discovering common purpose. For an Amazon “backdoor” second season it’s actually working out rather well.

The Rig (2023) s02e06 “Episode 6” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola. Okay finale really wants to be THE ABYSS, with some pointlessly self-indulgent shots given the budget. It does give Hampshire her easy best episode of the season and it’s nothing special, she just gets to have some character development. It’s packed, too. The pacing is excellent; though they did need the happy gay couple to smooch.

Severance (2022) s02e01 “Hello, Ms. Cobel” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, John Turturro, Sarah Bock, Bob Balaban. Scott returns to the office to find almost everything different, and only mysterious answers to what’s happened since last season’s cliffhanger finale. There are coworkers missing, some new coworkers, some promotions, and pop culture references. And too much CGI. It’s manipulative and might show the season’s whole hand, but it’s still pretty good. Cherry and Tillman rock on.

Severance (2022) s02e02 “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” [2025] D: Sam Donovan. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, John Turturro. Now it’s the outies’ story since the season one cliffhanger. Some surprises, which may or may not pay off, they’re playing it very close all of a sudden. We meet Lower’s other half for the first time. Pins in that. All the acting’s good or great, with Tillman and Arquette in particular fire. It’s getting a better footing.

Severance (2022) s02e03 “Who Is Alive?” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, John Turturro. Some of the show seems to be going back to the first season’s outstanding threads–with some genuine narrative surprises–while Season Two business spins its wheels. The show keeps introducing incongruous details, without ever addressing the unresolved ones; it’s in danger of folding in on itself with intentional inconsistencies. Some excellent acting; it’s solid but just.

Severance (2022) s02e04 “Woe’s Hollow” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Sarah Bock, John Turturro, Christopher Walken. Is punting a big cliffhanger going to be a “SEVERANCE?” Perhaps (they do it again here). The gang wakes up outside on a tundra. They will get an explanation, which raises unanswered (and sometimes unaddressed) questions. But they do deal with one of the season two subplots, not letting it go stale. Great Turturro and Tillman performances.

Silo (2023) s02e10 “Into the Fire” [2025] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Steve Zahn. There’s a lot of good acting. And what should be Ferguson’s best scenes, if the script weren’t so banal. Everything comes to a head and so on, nothing goes unresolved (except stuff for next season). It’s all very neat, and also shows the effects of never flexing against constraints. Zahn does not break out (sadly); Robbins maybe next season?

Bridge of Spies (2015) D: Steven Spielberg. S: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Sebastian Koch, Austin Stowell, Billy Magnussen. Milquetoast, profoundly problematically jingoistic “thriller” about successful attorney Hanks defending an accused Soviet spy (Rylance). The storytelling (despite a Coen Brothers rewrite) is hackneyed and bland. It’s visually bland, too; all super high contrast and CGI-y. The Thomas Newman score… well, I’m glad it’s not John Williams. Hanks is good, Rylance is great, everyone else is just there.

Cunk on Life (2024) D: Al Campbell. S: Diane Morgan. Morgan’s indomitable interviewer Philomena Cunk returns for another special, this time contemplating the big question–human existence. Given there’s no real imperative for the contemplation (there’s a good ChatGPT gag), it’s just a showcase of Morgan’s deliveries of the absurdist f*ckwit history. There are some excellent laughs, even if none of the interview segements stand out.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) D: Chuck Russell. S: Patricia Arquette, Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund, Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman, Jennifer Rubin. For the third NIGHTMARE, Langenkamp and John Saxon return from the original, with the former now a hotshot dream research grad student (less said about Saxon the better). She’s trying to help the latest teens Englund’s hunting; they’re all under psychologist Wasson’s care. Excellent effects, okay enough direction, and some solid performances (not Langenkamp or Wasson) get it through.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) D: Renny Harlin. S: Robert Englund, Rodney Eastman, Danny Hassel, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Ken Sagoes, Lisa Wilcox. Englund inexplicably returns from the dead the hunt down the teens who escaped last movie. Knight is in for Patricia Arquette and is terrible. Otherwise, the cast is likable and able if not talented. Some excellent direction from Harlan at times, even better special effects. It’s as good as NIGHTMARE gets. Fantastic pacing too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) D: Stephen Hopkins. S: Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Erika Anderson, Valorie Armstrong, Kelly Jo Minter, Danny Hassel. Direct follow-up to the previous entry has Wilcox returning, only looking more like a different character from the last one. She can’t help but dream Englund back from the dead for another sequel. Creatively bankrupt is mean but not inaccurate. The special effects seem a tad too staid and budget. The cast’s not terrible just kind of silly.

Paddington (2014) D: Paul King. S: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters. Constantly entertaining adaptation of Michael Bond’s children’s book character. Whishaw does a fine job voicing the talking Peruvian bear trying to find a home in London, pursued by evil Kidman, and crashing with Bonneville and Hawkins’s family. It gets short towards the end, but it’s always charming and usually a delight. Some great cameos and bit players, too.

Saturday Night (2024) D: Jason Reitman. S: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Willem Dafoe. Not quite real time recounting of the first SATURDAY NIGHT (LIVE). Brash, passionate young producer LaBelle has to contend with hostile network fogies and squares, temperamental cast members, and a particular marital arrangement. All in 90 minutes (ish). All the performances are excellent plus, particularly Sennott, O’Brien, Morris, and Smith. LaBelle’s a superb lead. Wonderful direction and production too.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) D: Merlin Crossingham. S: Ben Whitehead, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry. Nick Park’s dynamic duo returns for a tightly paced (shall we say, reasonably budgeted) feature, with a thirty-year legacyquel to their second outing, THE WRONG TROUSERS. Evil penguin Feathers McGraw is plotting his revenge. Wallace invents a third wheel, aggravating Gromit but getting things underway. There are some nice laughs, good action scenes; a convivial, constrained outing.

The Rig (2023) s02e01 “Episode 1” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Last season’s cliffhanger resolves real quick when it turns out they’re just on another RIG. By the end of the episode, Hampshire and Glen are commanding another undersea mission (anyone seen the ABYSS), while their bosses deceive them. The finale’s incredibly tense, which makes up for the narrative recycling and the acting being a little bland.

The Rig (2023) s02e02 “Episode 2” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Is Mark Addy good here, or is he bad and just so unpleasant as a villain, it’s effective. And they don’t waste any time with conspiracy subplots, the good guys are already discovering them. Hampshire does get the short end of the stick here, however. Silly ladies in the oil industry. But they’re in good shape so far.

The Rig (2023) s02e03 “Episode 3” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Intrigue continues on land and sea (Teale and Sandall have the best episode, content-wise), and the season two cast members–Alice Krige, Ross Anderson, Johannes Roaldsen Fürst–are all doing fine acting work. Sadly, Compston gets the most for the original cast and he’s (as ever) beyond flat. Top-billed Hampshire and Glen are barely in it.

The Rig (2023) s02e04 “Episode 4” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. It’s a solid episode but the intrigue involving new season two regular Alice Krige–getting outmaneuvered by a nepo-baby, hopefully a feint because otherwise RIG’s got a catastrophic misogyny problem–just showcases how they should’ve started her in season one. Too little, too late, also amid much more concerning turns of event. Probably Glen’s best episode this season.

Shrinking (2023) s02e11 “The Drugs Don’t Work” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Turns out Tennie does have more subplot, we just don’t get to see it. It comes up during Ford’s part of the episode, which goes by way too fast. Williams has a deck-chair arranging plot point or two, but mostly it’s Segel being upset. And it requires some basic dramatics; neither Segel nor the show can manage them.

Shrinking (2023) s02e12 “The Last Thanksgiving” [2024] D: Bill Lawrence. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. If I’ve sat through a more manipulative television episode, it’s been a while. It’s Thanksgiving and everyone’s going to learn… nothing. They skip the big scene the season’s been promising (can’t expect Segel to act, after all). Williams’s plot is a big diss. Ford does get a great scene. Also, Apple’s appropriation of the mental health tag is gross.

Silo (2023) s02e09 “The Safeguard” [2025] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae. Despite some concerning flashbacks, Ferguson’s solo b half of the episode (quarter of the episode?) is quite good. Nice resolve for the Zahn arc, even if he’s just an extended guest star of the week. The main silo plots are talky and stalled, but then there’s a big cliffhanger reveal, promising something more interesting for next week’s season finale.

Doctor Who (2024) s00e05 “Joy to the World” D: Alex Pillai. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola Coughlan, Jonathan Aris, Joel Fry, Peter Benedict, Julia Watson. Ultimately disappointing Christmas special has Gatwa stumbling into a hotel mystery. Complicating factors is the hotel being a time travel tourism location so there are plenty of trips to various periods (always at Christmas). Ostensibly mooning over departed companion Millie Gibson, Gatwa tries out Coughlan, de Whaley, and Fry, with varying results. The third-ish act sinks it.

Shrinking (2023) s02e06 “In a Lonely Place” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Better–mostly because guest star Brett Goldstein keeps up with Maxwell in their big scene, and it’s a lot. But still on very shaky ground as far as schmaltzy. As some of the outstanding personal conflicts are solved (thanks to talk therapy), we get hints at forthcoming ones. Segel’s such a limp noodle opposite Ford, too. His timing’s broken.

Shrinking (2023) s02e07 “Get in the Sea” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. As painfully foreshadowed, the shits start hitting the fan. It leads to McGinley’s first real scene on the show ever and… well, it’s unsuccessful. But two multi-episode crises resolve with hugs and whatnot. Actually, it’s like fifty-fifty. Also, people unironically wear jean jackets in the show. Maybe it wouldn’t be so shallow if they weren’t healthcare professionals.

Shrinking (2023) s02e08 “Last Drink” [2024] D: James Ponsoldt. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. Well, McGinley gets to have a pretty good episode even with a thin script because they’re relying on Segel to act and he hasn’t got it in him. Maxwell continues to be the show’s easy best performance, though Ford gets a few moments to shine as well; at least SHRINKING appreciates when he’s funny. But it’s afterschool special obvious.

Shrinking (2023) s02e09 “Full Grown Dude Face” [2024] D: Anu Valia. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. The show remembers it’s a comedy so there are actual laughs. Maxwell and Ford continue their inglorious competence–Williams isn’t bad she’s just lost, ditto Tennie–but there are some actual bad performances. Especially with the comedy flexing. Though Segel didn’t bump his head on his action calling, which is a pleasant turn. Zero stakes.

Shrinking (2023) s02e10 “Changing Patterns” [2024] D: James Ponsoldt. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. How’s the show going completely post-reality? Less than zero stakes (it’s literally just looping back to plot lines on hold), but still some decent and better performances. Until the soft cliffhanger, Segel’s doing fairly well. Because he’s either the butt of the joke or better than new guest star love interest Cobie Smulders. It’s too often exasperating.

Silo (2023) s02e07 “The Dive” [2024] D: Michael Dinner. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Steve Zahn. In addition to other disappointments, SILO is also not Zahn’s renaissance so he and Ferguson doing little but bickering for their art is tiring. The political machinations and such with Robbins and Common are fine. Uche continues to have nothing to do and excelling. Some actual plot surprises keeps things moving. It’s a very weird season. Ferguson’s barely around.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) D: Stephan Elliott. S: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Bill Hunter, Sarah Chadwick, June Marie Bennett, Rebel Penfold-Russell. Popular Sydney drag queen Weaving up and takes a gig in the middle of nowhere, then invites Pearce and Stamp (playing a trans woman) along for the company (and gig). The often bickering trio makes the trek across the desert, far outside their less dangerous comfort zone. Funny, warm, sad, scary; excellent handily performances carry the uneven third act.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023) D: Christopher Berkeley. S: David Giuntoli, Patrick Fabian, John DiMaggio, Karan Brar, Navid Negahban, Darin De Paul, Emily O’Brien. The gorgeous production design alone could carry this animated Batman adaptation, set in the Roaring Twenties and has the Caped Crusader battling Lovecraftian horrors. The third act is an objection lesson in committing too much to the bit. The rest is a disturbing delight. Giuntoli is quite good as Batman here, though that third act does him dirty.

Black Christmas (2019) D: Sophia Takal. S: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes, Simon Mead. Sort of remake, sort of occasional homage has sorority sisters again, but this time it’s all about the frat boys being creeps, rapists, and murderers. The first hour is basically just a zero humor SCREAM riff, getting worse as it goes. Good thing director Takal’s got a killer finale (no pun). It’s a long wait for the pay-off.

The Dark Crystal (1982) D: Frank Oz. S: Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Brian Meehl. Beautifully puppeteering can’t make up for the rest of this deeply weird, entirely unpleasant fantasy picture. Two elves have to save their desolate planet from the gross vulture-men. There’s torture, and “essence-sucking.” Henson and Oz aren’t up to the directing tasks either. But the David Odell screenplay is the real villain. It’s just awful.

It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2003) D: Kirk R. Thatcher. S: Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson, David Arquette, Joan Cusack, Whoopi Goldberg. Lackluster outing ends up being MUPPETS IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but doesn’t have enough story for it so instead does a bunch of very contemporary references. Though it’s the best MOULIN ROUGE has ever been. Cusack and Arquette are bad as the main humans, but it’s really the writing and (lack of) budget. Some good laughs, of course.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) D: Brian Henson. S: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, Don Austen. Delightful adaptation focuses on Caine as Scrooge; he just happens to be Scrooge in Muppet world. He’s utterly fantastic opposite the magic unfolding around him. Great writing, great songs (by Paul Williams), and a particularly good outing for Gonzo and Rizzo as the narrators. Henson’s strong direction also helps. Funny, dad, and scary at all the right moments.

Muppet Treasure Island (1996) D: Brian Henson. S: Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta. Superb production design and imaginative “Muppet-izing” make up for some second-act meanderings in this adaptation of the Stevenson adventure classic. And while Curry’s fine as Long John Silver, he’s far from transcendent. Lots of good Muppet gags, and the eventual love song montage helps put it over. Make sure to hang out for the credits.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e04 “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” D: Rachel Goldberg. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. Fantastic performances make up for the “oh, another escape room” nature of the episode (and, perhaps, show?). It’s Ahn’s episode but it’s also where Plaza comes back in. Lots of charged banter between Plaza and Hahn. The enthusiasm makes up for the occasionally too obvious budget limitations. And LuPone’s just a delight, too.

Shrinking (2023) s02e02 “I Love Pain” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. Given how the stakes from last episode’s cliffhanger evaporate in this one almost immediately… Well, it actually does work but it’s kind of annoying. This episode ends with a much better sad montage. Lots of good acting, especially Ford and Williams. Even Segel is better than usual, maybe because someone calls him on his bullshit for once.

Shrinking (2023) s02e03 “Psychological Something-ism” [2024] D: Zach Braff. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Well, Segel getting called on his bullshit lasted all of one episode and now they’re back to his bullshit actually being okay with everyone. Not Williams, but only because they’re using it for banter. And giving affect incapable Miller an emotive arc is a miss. Maxwell and Ford easily do the best in an iffy episode.

Shrinking (2023) s02e04 “Made You Look” [2024] D: Zach Braff. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Schmaltzy to the point sincerity doesn’t even matter anymore is certainly something to behold. They’re setting everything up for big dramatic confrontations and so on (even having Ford expound over a montage), so it’s all intentional. But it’s also lost all grip on reality so the stakes are toast. Even Maxwell falls victim to it. It’s desperately empathetic.

Shrinking (2023) s02e05 “Honesty Era” [2024] D: Jamie Babbit. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. The schmaltz continues. Even as Segel gets called out again, all his amends are schmaltz. Without any stakes–Maxwell is still keeping her secrets, which ought to be the show, but is instead ignored–it’s hard to care. Worse, things are getting tied up, seemingly prematurely. It’s disappointing and unsurprising. Ford is still a delight. Ditto Williams.

Silo (2023) s02e05 “Descent” [2024] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Steve Zahn. It’s a chase episode (which is a good way to follow-up last week’s big mistaken swing, like hold your best performers in the light, SILO). Anyway. The framed fugitives are trying to get back to the basement, lots of surprises as Common and Robbins (who’s just getting better) pursue. Also, low bar, but Glen’s best-ever SILO performance.

Silo (2023) s02e06 “Barricades” [2024] D: Michael Dinner. S: Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Rick Gomez, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner. More political drama, with Robbins and Common both starting to lose their grips, possibly because they’re relying on the wrong people. Lots of it is Uche deal-making so he can do the right thing. Then all the plotting of the mechanical workers, who might be ready to start the revolution. Also they might not.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e08 “Upper Decks” [2024] D: Bob Suarez. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Dawnn Lewis, Gillian Vigman, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, Ben Rodgers. The bridge crew gets a spotlight episode to show off their A tier Starfleet adventures, and it’s a lot of fun. Maybe they should have done one a season or something. There’s an engineering issue, boring artsy endeavors, an invasion, and adorable space cows. Plus action, gore, and romance. It’s all over too soon.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e09 “Fissure Quest” [2024] D: Brandon Williams. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Fred Tatasciore, Gabrielle Ruiz. Fantastic start to the finale, with an alternate universe adventure featuring Quaid and Newsome trying to stop the villain creating interdimensional rifts. They play it as a straight episode focused on the new crew, who are all alternate-universe versions of familiar TREK franchise characters. Lots of delight; lots of fun; the big swing tying it all together lands.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e10 “The New Next Generation (2)” [2024] D: Megan Lloyd. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore. Unfortunately, after the banger setup and a solid first act, LOWER DECKS lurches into spacedock for its finale. No actual onscreen character development for Newsome and Quaid, Cordero’s got an obnoxious last subplot, and Wells is a bit of a punchline. There are some cute nods, and the pacing’s outstanding. No fan service cameos, either; they’d be too enthusiastic.

What We Do in the Shadows (2019) s06e10 “The Promotion” [2024] D: Kyle Newacheck. S: Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, Tim Heidecker, Andy Assaf. Some solid laughs for the penultimate SHADOWS, which wraps up the season’s two subplots. There’s some inkling of a setup, but nothing about it screams finale-building. Still, nothing about the subplot resolutions required them to run the whole season, especially not since they’re acting like the resolve does enough character development for Novak and Guillén. It does not.

What We Do in the Shadows (2019) s06e11 “The Finale” [2024] D: Yana Gorskaya. S: Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, Kristen Schaal, Andy Assaf. Just okay finish has some moments, and some good moments for the cast (though, actually, everyone but Berry who seems bored). But they introduce a bunch of things they could’ve used to better frame the season. Like, really obvious stuff. And some of the credited guest stars… don’t seem to be in the episode. One super cute gag, though.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021) D: Sam Liu. S: David Giuntoli, Mark Dacascos, Kelly Hu, Michael Jai White, James Hong, Jamie Chung, Chris Cox. Kickass animated Batman feature set in the 1970s, in a groovy, butt-kicking karate picture. It’s a team effort with Bats (Giuntoli, who’s fine) just a cog as he reunites with his (albeit mystical) dojo friends. Dacascos is Richard Dragon, Hu is Lady Shiva, White is Bronze Tiger. Hu’s legit great, Dasascos is solid, too. Fantastic action choreography.

Black Christmas (2006) Unrated Version D: Glen Morgan. S: Katie Cassidy, Kristen Cloke, Andrea Martin, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert. Atrocious remake has less than nothing going for it even after the big twists turn out to be incest, cannibalism, and misogyny. The gore’s terrible too, because Morgan’s a bad director and writer. The acting’s something awful too, with “lead” Cassidy and Martin coming out best. Choke, Winstead, and Trachenburg are profoundly bad. Avoid this CHRISTMAS.

Fantastic Four (2015) D: Josh Trank. S: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson. Abysmal adaptation offers nothing but bad performances, worse writing, and reminders of other movies one could be watching. Jordan does the best in the main cast. Teller’s terrible, Mara’s bad, Nelson’s literally chewing, and Cathey… poor Cathey. Bell’s awful too but why wouldn’t he be? It’s so incompetent it’s not even embarrassing. And there’s something funny about the music.

The King (2019) D: David Michôd. S: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Tom Glynn-Carney, Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn, Andrew Havill. Epic-sized telling of Prince Hal’s transformation into King Henry V. Chalamet’s a solid lead; Edgerton (who co-wrote with director Michôd, so presumably intentionally) steals the show as Falstaff. Everything’s fine until the reveal-heavy finale when Harris (as another advisor) can’t get away with being so slight. Mendelsohn’s awesome in his bit. Nicholas Britell’s music’s awesome, too.

Kneecap (2024) D: Rich Peppiatt. S: Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, Josie Walker, Jessica Reynolds, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender. Pretty good “origin” story of Irish-language hip-hop trio, KNEECAP. The film’s fast and loose with the historicity of the sometimes fantastical events, and the third act’s a disaster, but the group’s sympathetic. Albeit not the best actors. But then there’s Fassbender in a bit part; he and Walker carry all the gravitas. Great photography, too (Ryan Kernaghan).

Man Push Cart (2006) D: Ramin Bahrani. S: Ahmad Razvi, Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Ali Reza, Farooq ‘Duke’ Muhammad, Panicker Upendran, Arun Lal. Rending tale of NYC breakfast cart vendor Razvi, who’s hustling to make as many bucks as possible, and how dangerous vulnerability can be in that situation. Writer, director, and editor Bahrani relies a little to heavily on melodrama (assuming DV can cover it; not with some of these actors), but Razvi’s so absurdly good it all works out.

They Cloned Tyrone (2023) D: Juel Taylor. S: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Kiefer Sutherland, David Alan Grier, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Tamberla Perry. Outstanding, exquisitely crafted semi-satire about Boyega, Foxx, and Parris’s unlikely trio finding themselves in the middle of a government conspiracy. There’s a moody, grainy seventies vibe, which director Taylor also brings to the sci-fi action. Taylor’s clanging genres–Blaxploitation and “urban”–for sparks, but everything’s character-driven. The leads are fantastic (and the occasional cameo’s always solid).

A Very Missing Person (1972) D: Russ Mayberry. S: Eve Arden, James Gregory, Julie Newmar, Ray Danton, Dennis Rucker, Pat Morita, Skye Aubrey. TV movie updating of the Hildegarde Withers franchise has Arden in the lead, tracking down an heiress who’s fallen in with some hippies. But are they sketchy yacht captain Danton’s hippies? It’s slight to be sure, but Arden’s got great timing with the one-liners. Gregory plays her cop pal, except (young) blond charmer Rucker drives her around everywhere.