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.

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.

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.

Appointment with Murder (1948) D: Jack Bernhard. S: John Calvert, Catherine Craig, Jack Reitzen, Lyle Talbot, Peter Brocco, Ben Welden, Robert Conte. Better than last time “FALCON” entry has Calvert (sans cute dog and magic tricks) trying to unravel an art fraud deal gone wrong. Luckily for the film, director (and producer) Bernhard’s inventive on the shoestring budget, and Reitzen’s so bad as the villain, he makes Calvert seem competent. Supporting cast’s okay, and Craig’s good as the potentially fatale femme.

Dangerous Passage (1944) D: William Berke. S: Robert Lowery, Phyllis Brooks, Charles Arnt, Jack La Rue, John Eldredge, Victor Kilian, Alec Craig. Solid budget noir about newly wealthy Lowery finding himself in inheritance-related danger. He escapes on a seedy boat, finding romance with potential fatale Brooks and mystery with the weird crew. Except then there are further–and further–DANGEROUS developments. Lowery and Brooks have more chemistry than acting chops, but it’s good chemistry. Daniel Mainwaring’s script is crackerjack-paced.

Devil’s Cargo (1948) D: John F. Link Sr.. S: John Calvert, Rochelle Hudson, Roscoe Karns, Lyle Talbot, Theodore von Eltz, Michael Mark, Tom Kennedy. New take on the FALCON property (minus existing canon); non-actor, non-charmer, magician Calvert is the lead in this Poverty Row production. The new Falcon does magic tricks all the time and has replaced dames with his lovable dog. Dirt cheap, but L.A. location shooting’s interesting, and some of the supporting cast’s competent. Link’s direction’s no help, either.

The Falcon in Hollywood (1944) D: Gordon Douglas. S: Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Veda Ann Borg, John Abbott, Sheldon Leonard, Konstantin Shayne, Emory Parnell. Middling entry has Conway stumbling across a corpse at a movie studio, wrecking his vacation. Complicating matters is an old foe, who just happens to have a fetching female associate (a rather good Hale). The big problems are the cops, who aren’t any good, and annoying cabbie Borg, who won’t leave Conway alone. Borg gets the racist bits, too.

The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) D: Joseph H. Lewis. S: Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Edward Brophy, Sharyn Moffett, Fay Helm, Robert Armstrong, Carl Kent. Conway, again with a sidekick (Brophy, who does better than he should with so little), helps out little kid Moffett, who’s got a fetching old sister (Corday, a series regular always playing a new character). Good mystery, great villain in Helm, who keeps easy pace with Sanders. Not particularly cheap in scale but the production cuts too many corners.

The Falcon’s Adventure (1946) D: William Berke. S: Tom Conway, Madge Meredith, Edward Brophy, Robert Warwick, Myrna Dell, Steve Brodie, Ian Wolfe. Conway and Brophy head to Miami to help out Meredith, who’s in possession of an industrial formula. A couple real, cheap laughs for Brophy, and the setting’s good, but the ADVENTURE’s off. Conway’s charm can do a lot, and he’s game for new ideas–a giant fisticuffs scene–but it’s got limits. Quite indistinct for the series finale.

The Falcon’s Alibi (1946) D: Ray McCarey. S: Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Vince Barnett, Jane Greer, Elisha Cook Jr., Emory Parnell, Al Bridge. Conway has a particularly good time this outing, which now has comely Corday as a secretary trying to find her boss’s missing pearls. The setup has the suspects all in lockdown at a hotel, but McCarey barely does anything with it. Lots of fun seeing Cook and Cook as young lovers. Parnell’s super blah. It’s lesser FALCON, but okay.

Frankenstein (2025) D: Guillermo del Toro. S: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Charles Dance, David Bradley. Very fathers and sons adaptation blows the first half on Isaac’s one-note FRANKENSTEIN. One-note as far as writing, not acting; Isaac’s always chewing on the (elaborate but bland) CGI scenery. Elordi’s fantastic as the Creature, with lovely Wrightson-esque make-up. Del Toro tries in the wrong places, including a BRIDE nod. Shelley deserves a lot more.

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) D: Héctor Babenco. S: William Hurt, Raúl Juliá, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, Miriam Pires, Nuno Leal Maia. Beautifully acted almost-rumination on masculinity, love, gender, and avocados loses its way in the second half when it ceases pretending to be a character study. Hurt and Juliá–as cell mates with secrets who bond over Hurt’s recollections of an old movie–are phenomenal. Hurt gets a great hour, Juliá far less; neither get enough at the finish.

The Madness of King George (1994) D: Nicholas Hytner. S: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Anthony Calf, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Graves, Geoffrey Palmer. Thoughtful, deliberate account of King George III’s inexplicable dissent into debilitating mental illness. Hawthorne’s mesmerizing in the lead; director Hytner gets great performances–no small parts-style–from everyone. Everyone’s great; loyal queen Mirren, scheming prince Everett, and unorthodox doctor Holm are obvious standouts. Strong script from Alan Bennett (based on his play). Third act bumps, but not excessively.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) D: Rupert Julian. S: Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, Snitz Edwards, John St. Polis. Handsome adaptation of Gaston Leroux novel successfully casts Chaney’s PHANTOM in a monstrous, fascinating but never sympathetic light. Unfortunately, damsel-in-distress Philbin’s performance is so affected and histronic, she’s not really able to convey terror (reliably). Kerry’s a little better as her beau. Chaney’s great, though. Okay overall, but the first act really shouldn’t be the most compelling.

Queens of the Dead (2025) D: Tina Romero. S: Katy O’Brian, Jaquel Spivey, Nina West, Tómas Matos, Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, Quincy Dunn-Baker. Ground zero for the zombie invasion is at a drag show where the headliner has bailed and there’s endless (amusing) drama about the show. Good performances but not enough character work for anyone; Spivey’s excellent, O’Brian seems poised for a good lead eventually, and Cho’s hilarious. Unfortunately, QUEENS doesn’t do anything with them or anyone else. But not bad.

Search for Danger (1949) D: Jack Bernhard. S: John Calvert, Albert Dekker, Myrna Dell, Ben Welden, Douglas Fowley, Michael Mark, James Griffith. Thanks again to director Bernhard (who loves that L.A. location shooting even more this time) and the supporting cast (particularly Dell, Dekker, Welden, and Fowley), the final “FALCON” picture survives Calvert’s wanting lead performance. This time he’s trying to unravel a complicated double homicide with too many suspects. The conclusion, complete with an “ah ha” moment, ties everything nicely.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e03 “Captain Farnon?” [2025] D: Stewart Svaasand. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. The show feels comfortable enough after the season jump ahead–with Shenton finally getting down to the village for a bit–it’s a surprise when the episode slows down in real time. Ralph’s got the Tricki Woo breeding subplot, West and Woodhouse have the bickering because West’s not communicating one. Sublimely goes from busied to precise. Madeley’s awesome.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e04 “Jenny Wren” [2025] D: Brian Percival. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. Heartstring-pulling–in all the best ways–episode about Imogen Clawson’s future potential. Meanwhile, Woodhouse has a culture clash with his paramour’s family, and West still can’t figure out how to communicate. Excellent episode for Shenton, Woodhouse, Clawson, and Tony Pitts, with some delightfully unexpected character interactions. It quickly gets emotionally intense and stays there. Great vet cases, too.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e07 “Silver Alert” [2025] D: Jessica Yu. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger. The gang heads out to the country to Waltz’s weird mansion, thinking they’ll catch the billionaires plotting. Instead they find them playing board games for the future of the MacGuffin. Only then everyone figures out it’s a MacGuffin. Maybe they’ll pull this off? Like, Short and Gomez are really good this episode, and Waltz’s fun. But it’s still iffy.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e08 “Cuckoo Chicks” [2025] D: Jessica Yu. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Meryl Streep, Richard Kind, Renée Zellweger. Did they just save the season? It’s a big turnaround episode, thanks mostly to Streep getting every morsel off the scenery. It’s kind of cruel Zellweger’s one note Martha Stewart is opposite her. The circles Streep runs are something. Really nice character moments, lots of laughs, and a genuine surprise at the end. Great balance of guest stars too.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e09 “LESTR” [2025] D: Jamie Babbit. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind, Jermaine Fowler. The penultimate episode puts everything on the line with the case and the building. Then it (initially) inexplicably messes with the stakes (with Gomez nicely getting the good scene if not arc), before a dynamite second half. Returning supporting cast members make for a fun time. And Short and Martin eventually do get to their moments, too. Real good.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e03 “Tall Tales” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards. Brilliantly done bridging episode has Scott Thomas and Oldman simultaneously figuring out what the season villains are plotting. Oldman’s in lockdown with the team while Scott Thomas is interrogating Chung, who gets to show some actual range for the first time. There’s also a lot of saboteur intrigue and reveals, though special guest star Nick Mohammed isn’t really delivering.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e04 “Missiles” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards. Excellent direction, acting, and a surprise ending cap the episode, which opens with Oldman thinking through a part of the mystery and showing off. The second half is Lowden and Edwards trying to investigate and potentially protect assassination targets, with varying levels of success. Once again, Nick Mohammed is over his head, but James Callis finally gets to flex.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e05 “Circus” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards. Excellent setup for the finale has little fallout from last time, instead showcasing supporting players Ruth Bradley and James Callis. It’s (presumably) to get the board in shape for the HORSES to come through and save the day next episode; superbly executed. Though not enough for still regular Scott Thomas. And there’s some concerning repetition from last season’s wrap.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) D: George Roy Hill. S: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, George Furth. Superlative Western about outlaws Newman and Redford’s luck running out as the world’s changing and they aren’t. Spectacular filmmaking–Hill’s direction, Conrad L. Hall’s photography, John C. Howard and Richard C. Meyer’s editing standout–essays William Goldman’s patient, lush screenplay. And then, of course, there’s the acting. Redford, Newman, and Ross are all fantastic. Some great bit players, too.

A Date with the Falcon (1942) D: Irving Reis. S: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Mona Maris. Professional cad Sanders once again finds himself embroiled in a mystery, this time at the expense of meeting fiancée Barrie’s family. Sanders is charming throughout, thank goodness, because Barrie spends most of her time either complaining about Sanders being a cad or catching him with other women. The mystery’s half-baked, and Reis’s direction is wanting, but Sanders delivers.

The Falcon and the Co-Eds (1943) D: William Clemens. S: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Rita Corday, Amelita Ward, Isabel Jewell, George Givot, Cliff Clark. Despite Conway being a profound creep (his romantic pursuit is Ward, the–hopefully–legal age daughter of an old paramour), it’s a swell FALCON. Conway’s investigating a mysterious death at a girls’ school, where everyone (who isn’t coming on to him) is a suspect. Clemens’s best work directing on the series. Brooks is fantastic as the moody drama teacher.

The Falcon in Danger (1943) D: William Clemens. S: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard, Amelita Ward, Cliff Clark, Edward Gargan, Clarence Kolb. DANGER gives Conway a fiancée sidekick with Ward, who’s still hysterically jealous after telling him to help damsels Brooks and Shepard. Long, but Conway’s found his (somewhat less slutty) groove (and Clark’s his best ever as the cop antagonist). The mystery’s great until the messy, unrewarding third act. Ward’s amalgam character’s an interesting idea, but the execution fizzles fast.

The Falcon in Mexico (1944) D: William Berke. S: Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha Vickers, Nestor Paiva, Mary Currier, Cecilia Callejo, Emory Parnell. After a somewhat protracted setup in the city (which city, what supporting players, don’t ask), Conway’s on his way to MEXICO to uncover a potential art forgery. Vickers doesn’t impress as the ingenue, but Maris is great as her suspicious step-mother. Paiva’s profoundly uncomfortable Mexican caricature has an explanation, if not a point. Competent outing.

The Falcon Out West (1944) D: William Clemens. S: Tom Conway, Carole Gallagher, Barbara Hale, Joan Barclay, Cliff Clark, Edward Gargan, Minor Watson. Fun–albeit frequently racist–outing with series regulars Conway, Clark, and Gargan heading out to a ranch to investigate a murder. Conway’s there to help grieving almost-widow Gallagher, but gets distracted by capable cowgirl Hale. Conway’s getting better at the detective scenes but worse with the caddish behavior material. Great Roy Webb score. Off finish but great rhythm.

The Falcon Strikes Back (1943) D: Edward Dmytryk. S: Tom Conway, Harriet Nelson, Jane Randolph, Edgar Kennedy, Cliff Edwards, Rita Corday, Erford Gage. Conway’s first solo FALCON is a whodunit with wartime espionage trappings. He’s framed for a war bonds heist; somehow, lovely ladies Corday and Nelson figure in. Plus, Randolph’s back to perturb the plot whenever needed. Conway’s charming (though less believably mindlessly horny than unmentioned George Sanders), Dmytryk’s direction’s nicely moody, and it moves. The resolution’s a little pat, though.

The Falcon Takes Over (1942) D: Irving Reis. S: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Helen Gilbert, Ward Bond, Edward Gargan. Fascinating mix of Sanders’s slutty (no other word) adventurer FALCON and a Raymond Chandler adaptation. Sanders (fiancée now off-screen) moves from lady to lady (Bari as the good girl, Gilbert as the bad), while sidekick Jenkins is constantly assaulted by man mountain Bond, who’s looking for revenge. Plus, series cop Gleason’s around (and pressuring Jenkins). Often very noir.

The Falcon’s Brother (1942) D: Stanley Logan. S: George Sanders, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, Don Barclay, Cliff Clark, Edward Gargan, Keye Luke. Sanders, still in New York but with an almost entirely new supporting cast (and no fiancée to be cheating on), goes to greet visiting brother Conway, only to find a corpse, instead. Incredibly efficient, albeit derivative (same jokes, plot points, and character setups as last FALCON entry), baton passing entry. Randolph’s likable as the good girl. Some racism, however.

Münchhausen (1943) D: Josef von Báky. S: Hans Albers, Wilhelm Bendow, Ferdinand Marian, Käthe Haack, Hans Brausewetter, Marina von Ditmar, Brigitte Horney. Often racist, always sexist, tedious, terrible (just because it’s literal German Nazi propaganda, either) tale of how young fräuleins can’t get enough of fifty-year-old Albers. Who’s magic and immortal. The narrative arc itself could be worse–but the pieces along the way are awful, so the finish flops. The single imaginative sequence (the moon) isn’t worth it.

Underwater (2020) D: William Eubank. S: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie, T.J. Miller, John Gallagher Jr., Jessica Henwick. Ocean floor and monsters of the deep versus determined gaggle of survivors lacks competent directing and writing, but the special effects aren’t bad. Director Eubank cares about nothing but getting Stewart soaking wet and scantily clad. She and Cassel manage not to embarrass themselves; everyone else has a bad part (in addition to bad writing). Except charisma vacuum Miller.

Alien: Earth (2025) s01e07 “Emergence” D: Dana Gonzales. S: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James. Lawther once again fails to deliver, dragging an already wobbly episode down at the finish. Everything is full red alert, moving pieces in place for the season finale. Ceesay also stumbles, while Chandler gets an iffy part in the script. Olyphant gets an outstanding showcase, as ever. Great special effects, not long enough action; Michael Crichton’s ALIEN 3 continues.

Alien: Earth (2025) s01e08 “The Real Monsters” D: Dana Gonzales. S: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Timothy Olyphant. Solid enough finale with some great direction from Gonzales–including what appears to be an ALIEN 3 visual homage; warms the heart. Either way the cliffhanger goes–renewal or not–doesn’t touch movie canon; fine, but safe. No one gives a standout performance, either. This episode really showcases how sacrificing actor gristle can lead to more dramatic success.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s05e07 “All God’s Creatures” [2024] D: Andy Hay. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. Stressful, well-acted wartime Christmas episode tries giving everyone something, but only Madeley and Woodhouse get completed arcs. Woodhouse only because he can pick up some more narrative heft thanks to Madeley. Ralph and Shenton are trying to make a nice Christmas for the baby, which is barely a plot. It’s nice to see Tony Pitts and Imogen Clawson.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e01 “Gathering the Flock” [2025] D: Brian Percival. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. The series jumps ahead to 1945 and the war winding down. Madeley has moved away, leaving West and Ralph to their own devices. Ralph copes, West does not. Can Ralph and Woodhouse get things right? Some great moments, strong performances from Madeley and Wedt, and a cracker of a veterinary case. They handle the time jump quite well.

All Creatures Great & Small (2020) s06e02 “Old Dog, New Tricks” [2025] D: Stewart Svaasand. S: Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton. Great episode gets away with not addressing various changes since last time, instead continuing West’s unpleasantness and the various repercussions. Fun subplots for Ralph, home and work, and continuous nice moments for the characters nearly post-war. Outstanding work from the cast, including Hodge, who sets up a promising season plot. The optimism’s back; ditto the particular charm.

My Life Is Murder (2019) s05e08 “The One That Got Away (2)” [2025] D: . S: Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans. Meandering wrap-up to the two-parter should give Lawless more to do character development-wise but the episode intentionally avoids it. Vagulans’s trip to Fiji is a lot less interesting than it ought to be as well. It’s not bad or anything, but there’s very little payoff from this episode or last, which doesn’t work for season finale.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e04 “Dirty Birds” [2025] D: Chris Koch. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger. This episode feels a little like the fourth season premiere, confirming Lerman, Waltz, and Zellweger as the season adversaries (or at least level bosses). It’s a fine episode–great acting (Waltz and Zellweger are particularly delightful opposite Martin and Short, respectively)–but the season’s herky-jerky. And Gomez’s season isn’t looking good. For a final season, it’s unduly erratic.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e05 “Tongue Tied” [2025] D: Robert Pulcini. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind, Téa Leoni. Funny but thin episode gives Martin and Leoni a comedy set piece, which rocks while also being a little pointless as things unfold. Randolph’s back, which also rocks. But then Gomez is just reacting to finding out it’s the last season from a shoehorned detail. Solid Short moments and a great showcase scene for Creighton.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s05e06 “Flatbush” [2025] D: Robert Pulcini. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Michael Cyril Creighton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Meryl Streep, Téa Leoni. Good episode for Gomez, great episode for Short and guest starring Streep. There’s also some great Dianne Wiest and Leoni, and also Randolph. It’s an absurdly good showcase for everyone (minus Martin and Creighton, who’ve had their turns already). Short and Streep get some wonderful character moments, ditto Gomez. Albeit with less oompf. Too bad the end reveal’s lukewarm.

Slow Horses (2022) s05e01 “Bad Dates” [2025] D: Saul Metzstein. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas. Well-acted and fairly well executed opener respects the formula–terror attack (related to the HORSES but how)–while they recuperate from last season. Oldman gets very little this episode, mostly just yelling at Edwards, who’s this season’s loose cannon. Meanwhile, Lowden gets less likable; they do ground him better. It’s good, it just hasn’t clicked into place yet.

Upload (2020) s04e01 “Wedding Weekend” [2025] D: Daina Reid. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Allo and Edwards still each have their own version of Amell, albeit with some differences in virtuality. Everyone in the real world lives with Johnson (who gets a lot and is so good she makes up for the more extreme gags), and Edwards’s wedding is imminent. Zilch about the politics or conspiracies; good acting, overly enthusiastic–nearing desperate–writing.

Upload (2020) s04e02 “Workload” [2025] D: Daina Reid. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Amell’s splitting his time between bewildered and doofus, without clicking in either mode. Allo’s trying to find one of those versions, but mostly in background to Daniels’s romance arc or doofus’s honeymoon planning. Johnson continues to have the season’s best subplot, this rushed corporate espionage future spy thing. The season reveal is impressively woven, and the cast’s still appealing.

Upload (2020) s04e03 “Spa Day” [2025] D: Jeffrey Blitz. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. It’s Amell’s easy best episode of the season, but they also rush through the big setup. They had the money for the idea but not to take it anywhere. There’s also a bunch of filler with Amell and Edwards on their honeymoon, which is slightly less time wasting than Daniels’s plot. Johnson’s great as always, though.

Upload (2020) s04e04 “Mile End” [2025] D: Jeffrey Blitz. S: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels. Well. Some good acting–maybe not from the people who needed to be giving the best performances–but a fairly big whiff of a series finale. Show creator Greg Daniels is back scripting the finish, which accounts for Allo and Amell getting to be cute, and it’s an intentional conclusion. A bad one, but certainly intentional. Oh, well.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) D: Simon Curtis. S: Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Paul Giamatti, Hugh Bonneville, Alessandro Nivola, Phyllis Logan. Dockery’s divorce sends shock waves through London society and even follows her back to DOWNTON. Meanwhile, Giamatti’s over from the States with some bad news for McGovern. And Bonneville doesn’t want to retire from overseeing the estate. Fine acting, strong moments, but it feels like mini-series hastily edited down. Especially if Dockery’s supposed to have any character development.

The Dragon Murder Case (1934) D: H. Bruce Humberstone. S: Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Eugene Pallette, Helen Lowell, Robert McWade, Robert Barrat. Philo Vance (William, who does fine) investigates a blue blood going missing at a party. Despite some elaborate sets, the script’s nothing but red herrings, false starts, and bad one-liners for Pallette. Lindsay, second-billed as the missing man’s fiancée, barely figures in. Talbot’s her would-be beau but strangely not a suspect. Humberstone’s direction’s blah, too.

The Garden Murder Case (1936) D: Edwin L. Marin. S: Edmund Lowe, Virginia Bruce, Benita Hume, Nat Pendleton, Gene Lockhart, H.B. Warner, Kent Smith. Engaging programmer has Philo Vance (Lowe) maybe falling for murder suspect Bruce; they’re exceedingly charming together. There’s a lot going on with the other suspects–layers and layers of impropriety and ick–and a genuine surprise for the finish. Marin’s direction is fine enough, with occasional superlatives. The supporting cast’s mostly good, though sadly not an under-directed Pendleton.

The Iceman (2012) D: Ariel Vromen. S: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi, John Ventimiglia. Mostly middling period piece organized crime drama about unfeeling hitman Shannon, the family he loves, and all the cameos the producers could afford. Plus Schwimmer as a doofus mob fanboy. There’s a lot, with a masterful performance from Shannon but to no end. Ryder gets worse as her character ages, fine to bad. The third act’s a truncated mess.

Night of Terror (1933) D: Benjamin Stoloff. S: Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Sally Blane, Bryant Washburn, Tully Marshall, Gertrude Michael, George Meeker. Old dark house thriller but one with a serial killer on the looser, a suspended animation science subplot, a family inheritance bickering and backstabbing subplot, a romance subplot, an anti-romance subplot, and low and high key racism. All in an unrewarding single hour. Ford’s a bland lead, Blane’s a likable damsel, Lugosi looks embarrassed as the “heathen” butler.

The Renegade Ranger (1938) D: David Howard. S: George O’Brien, Rita Hayworth, Tim Holt, Ray Whitley, Lucio Villegas, William Royle, Cecilia Callejo. Not boring (but not any good) Western about Texas Ranger O’Brien sent to bring in righteous rebel Hayworth. She’s battling evil businessman Royle. O’Brien’s ex-pal Holt is now working for Hayworth. Also, O’Brien thinks Hayworth’s hot. And maybe innocent. Fisticuffs, romance, villainy, and shootouts occur, but O’Brien’s terrible; it fumbles. Hayworth and Holt are at least likable.

Stir of Echoes (1999) D: David Koepp. S: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Zachary David Cope, Kevin Dunn, Conor O’Farrell, Jennifer Morrison. Disappointing adaptation of a Richard Matheson novel about blue-collar Bacon (with an ill-advised Chicago accent) all of a sudden seeing dead people and needing to solve a mystery. Screenwriter and director Koepp doesn’t have much interest in the mystery, mise-en-scène, characters, or performances. Some interesting visuals, nowhere near enough. A bad production more than misfire.

Surviving Desire (1992) D: Hal Hartley. S: Martin Donovan, Matt Malloy, Rebecca Nelson, Julie Kessler, Mary B. Ward, Thomas J. Edwards, George Feaster. Theatrical (not stagy) hour-long skips the first act in depressed, bad at his job literature professor Donovan obsessing over student Ward. Lots of talking. Donovan can’t shut up, while Ward puts it into her writing. About him. Donovan’s performance’s uneven, Ward’s great when the film doesn’t hate women; Malloy and Nelson are standout supports. Not unimpressive, just unsuccessful.

Union Depot (1932) D: Alfred E. Green. S: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, David Landau, George Rosener, Earle Foxe. Young hobo Fairbanks–in an astonishingly charismatic performance–schemes his way into a good outfit and a good dinner, leading him to meet Depression damsel Blondell. Unfortunately, some of his good luck turns out to be counterfeit dough, putting Secret Service agent Landau on his tail. Despite returning to the romantic drama–the better material–the end falls flat.

Young Adult (2011) D: Jason Reitman. S: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Jill Eikenberry, Richard Bekins. A good–albeit pointlessly so–performance from Theron anchors this pseudo-character study. Theron’s a drunken YA ghost writer who goes home to blow up high school boyfriend Wilson’s marriage. Along the way, she reacquaints with high school nobody Oswalt. Reitman’s indistinct direction doesn’t do the film (or the actors) any favors. The smug elitist misanthropy’s a yawn, too.