Faster (2010) D: George Tillman Jr.. S: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace, Carla Gugino, Tom Berenger, Matt Gerald. Depressingly (because director Tillman just cannot hack it) bad car action picture about the Rock hunting down those who wronged him before he went to prison. Thornton is the cop on his trail, Jackson-Cohen is the hit man who comes between them. There’s no good acting until Annie Corley shows up, but Jackson-Cohen’s particularly godawful.

Hit Man (1972) D: George Armitage. S: Bernie Casey, Pam Grier, Lisa Moore, Bhetty Waldron, Sam Laws, Don Diamond, Bob Harris, Candy All. Mean, sometimes cruel revenge picture about Casey coming down to L.A. from Oakland to bury his brother. He soon finds out things aren’t what he assumed and he needs to take care of a variety of baddies. Solid acting from pretty much everyone but white Mr. Big Diamond. Grier’s a standout, Laws is hilarious, and Casey’s a great lead.

Pride (2014) D: Matthew Warchus. S: George MacKay, Ben Schnetzer, Bill Nighy, Dominic West, Andrew Scott, Faye Marsay, Jessica Gunning. Charming historically-based comedy-drama about a group of eighties queer Londoners deciding to raise money for striking miners, regardless of whether they’re welcome. Excellent performances, fantastic production design, careful direction, and strong dialogue. The only thing wrong with it is the length (it’s too short). West, Gunning, and Scott give the standout performances, but everyone’s outstanding.

Rampage (2018) D: Brad Peyton. S: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Åkerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, P.J. Byrne, Demetrius Grosse. Entertaining enough video game “adaptation” about Special Forces commando turned primatologist Johnson’s favorite ape getting doused with a DNA-change agent and turning into a giant monster. Harris is the disgraced scientist who can help, Morgan (with a bewildering “cowboy” accent) is the G-man who believes in the good guys. Great special effects, solid acting, blah finish.

Sinners (2025) D: Ryan Coogler. S: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson. After working as gunsels in 1930s Chicago, twin brothers Jordan (and Jordan) return home to Mississippi to open a juke joint. They’re trying to get the band together and reconnect with the loves left behind. But then it turns out vampires are real. And they love music. Great picture, start to finish. Writer-director Coogler handily surpasses his influences.

Skyscraper (2018) D: Rawson Marshall Thurber. S: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Møller, Byron Mann, Pablo Schreiber, Hannah Quinlivan. Former FBI strike team commando Johnson and Navy doctor commando Campbell are marrieds visiting a hi-tech skyscraper in Hong Kong. Johnson’s doing security consulting, Campbell’s taking the kids to see the pandas. A bunch of terrorists show up. Not good, but could be worse–Johnson’s effortlessly sturdy running through CGI chaos–and it’s always nice to see Campbell.

Unforgiven (1992) D: Clint Eastwood. S: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Jaimz Woolvett, Richard Harris, Saul Rubinek, Anna Thomson. Eastwood’s final Western is a lush, deliberate, brooding examination of violent men and those they inflict violence upon. Eastwood and Freeman are bad men turned farmers looking for an easy payday to turn their lives around. Hackman is the vicious, cruel sheriff standing in their way. Beautiful filmmaking and the richest performances. Very smart script from David Webb Peoples.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e09 “Straight to Hell” D: Aaron Moorhead. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer, Wilson Bethel, Deborah Ann Woll, Jon Bernthal. Smart, savvy season finale brings Woll back–presumably to be a regular–to give Cox a pal since he may be surrounded by (problematically?) female Judases. Most of the episode’s got Berenthal laying waste in perfection. The third act’s a little clunky (they needed a consistent city hall subplot), but REBORN’s in great shape for next time.

Doctor Who (2024) s02e01 “The Robot Revolution” [2025] D: Peter Hoar. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Evelyn Miller, Jonny Green, Max Parker, Thalía Dudek, Jeffin Kunjumon. Excellent debut for Sethu, who gets kidnapped by alien robots so she can rule their planet, but it’s complicated and timey wimey it turns out. Gatwa is there to save her, but she’s going to save herself. The conclusion’s both good and bad, with the script flexing a little much for a bit. Great direction from Hoar.

Doctor Who (2024) s02e02 “Lux” [2025] D: Amanda Brotchie. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Alan Cumming, Lucy Thackeray, Linus Roache. Sethu’s second outing, which has her getting into the Doctor’s investigating and not just needing to be rescued, is a fantastic one. She and Gatwa happen across a mysterious movie theater (where the audience already knows an evil cartoon has come to life–voiced by Cummings). Great chemistry between Sethu and Gatwa, but also just great television. Real good.

Doctor Who (2024) s02e03 “The Well” [2025] D: Amanda Brotchie. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Christopher Chung, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Bethany Antonia, Annabel Brook. In the very far flung future, Gatwa and Sethu land on a desolate planet in the middle of a space marines mission. The setup is very trope, but the surprise continuity ties, and just the plain scariness are outstanding. Another great episode for the new duo. The big budget Disney+ effects don’t hurt at all either. Real good.

The Last of Us (2023) s02e01 “Future Days” [2025] D: Craig Mazin. S: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Samuel Hoeksema, Kaitlyn Dever. Exposition-heavy season opener does a five-year jump ahead to a period where Pascal and Ramsey aren’t talking. Is it because of his big secret? Not even therapy with new cast member O’Hara will answer that question here. Then Merced gets to raise a bunch of personal stakes for Ramsey. It barely qualifies as engaging, much less compelling.

The Last of Us (2023) s02e02 “Through the Valley” [2025] D: Mark Mylod. S: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Kaitlyn Dever, Robert John Burke. Oh, so it is “that” episode. Well. Honestly, not having played the game… I’m hesitant to offer an opinion on adaptation. As far as this episode’s dramatics, however, high mid? They should’ve done a two-hour premiere and gotten this over with if it’s so soon. Also, if Dever pulls off the heavy, sure, otherwise, oof. Prestige RESIDENT EVIL….

The Last of Us (2023) s02e03 “The Path” [2025] D: Peter Hoar. S: Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Rutina Wesley, Catherine O’Hara, Robert John Burke. They didn’t even get Pedro Pascal for a corpse cameo; not sure how to read into that one. Overall, the episode goes on too long, with Ramsey and Merced saving it scene to scene, but the pedantic, belabored storytelling works against it. Maybe it’s the lack of cinematic direction? Something. But Ramsey’s great and Merced’s real good too.

Anora (2024) D: Sean Baker. S: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Luna Sofía Miranda, Lindsey Normington. Good but overlong story of stripper Madison and son-of-a-Russian-oligarch Eydelshteyn going from a professional arrangement to a quickie wedding. Except then his family finds out. The “courtship”’s way too long (with shockingly little character development for Madison), but the second half picks up. Strong performances, great direction, no ending (because it was never about Madison).

A Different Man (2024) D: Aaron Schimberg. S: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson. Pretty good drama about Stan going from having a disfiguring facial condition to looking like Sebastian Stan. The first half of the picture, which has Stan almost entirely in prosthetics and forming a friendship with new neighbor Reinsve, is solid. The second half, despite a delightful performance from Pearson (who actually has Stan’s dramatized condition), misses its marks.

Doc Hollywood (1991) D: Michael Caton-Jones. S: Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Barnard Hughes, Woody Harrelson, David Ogden Stiers, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda. Barely charming romcom about hotshot surgeon Fox getting sentenced to be a small-town doctor while his car gets fixed. Then he meets Warner, who he’s destined by plotting to pursue. Not a good vehicle for Fox (or anyone, save maybe Fonda and Harrelson; but barely). Maybe if director Caton-Jones noticed the changing and disparate Southern accents.

Event Horizon (1997) D: Paul W. S. Anderson. S: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee. Boring, bad sci-fi horror picture about a rescue mission to a ghost spaceship. Fishburne’s captain’s tough but fair and cares, Neill’s mad(?) scientist has secrets. Everyone else is either collateral damage, comic relief, or terror fodder. At least Neill’s so terrible he overshadows mid to bad performances from everyone else. Lousy special effects, beyond derivative script; the pits.

Harlem Nights (1989) D: Eddie Murphy. S: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, Lela Rochon. Murphy’s debut as a writer-director has problems, but the film’s production values are top notch and there’s some great acting. Pryor is a nightclub owner in thirties HARLEM, Murphy’s his kid. White gangsters decide to muscle them out. Strange, earnest performance from Pryor. Murphy doesn’t know what to do with it. Reese is hilarious and Lela Rochon’s excellent.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) D: Yorgos Lanthimos. S: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan. Absurdly affected psychological thriller about teenager Keoghan terrorizing Farrell and his family. Keoghan blames surgeon Farrell for his father’s death, and the piper wants to be paid. They’re both great. Kidman is not as Farrell’s wife (can’t hold the accent even), but her part’s lousy. Alicia Silverstone’s cameo’s rough, too. Director Lanthimos’s very busy and opinionated, but nothing more.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) D: Martin Scorsese. S: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey. Ambitious Scorsese biblical epic has a conflicted Jesus (Dafoe) trying to understand his situation as moving through the familiar New Testament stories. Keitel’s a standout as Judas, the viewer’s surrogate. The film gets through its bumpier parts–mostly the transition from miracles to the crucifixion–thanks to amazing technicals, an excellent performance from Dafoe, and the great Peter Gabriel score.

The Secret of My Success (1987) D: Herbert Ross. S: Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Richard Jordan, Margaret Whitton, John Pankow, Christopher Murney, Gerry Bamman. Fox is a farm boy gone to New York City to become a yuppie. Overlong by a lot, with tedious song montages and inert direction from Ross. The real problem’s the script, which doesn’t give the game cast much to work with (especially poor Slater). Whitton’s great as Fox’s aunt (by marriage) and lover. Everyone else just tries to stay afloat.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e06 “Excessive Force” D: David Boyd. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Nikki M. James, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer. Another strong episode implies we’re definitely after the creative team change (and their reworking of shot material). D’Onofrio’s got professional troubles, both as a crime boss and the mayor, while Cox is running away from his nature and gets called on it. Both inciting incidents involve the same serial killer graffiti artist; very tidy, very well-acted.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e07 “Art for Art’s Sake” D: David Boyd. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Genneya Walton, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer. Pretty good, quick resolution to the Daredevil vs. villain plot makes some predictable moves but well. And there are a handful of surprise moves too. Great performances from D"Onofrio and Cox, along with some solid action, get it through just fine. Though they’re avoiding very obvious ways to resolve or at least progress major plot points. Small quibbles.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025) s01e08 “Isle of Joy” D: Aaron Moorhead. S: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer, Wilson Bethel. Fantastic episode brings Bethel back and delivers the previously avoided sequel to the Netflix incarnation. Great tortured Cox performance, getting to do a whole lot as he continently discovers new details about the series’s inciting incident. Then D’Onofrio and Zurer have a dynamite episode, too. It’s flirts with safety then dares (no pun) to go higher. Real good.

The Outlaws (2021) s03e01 “Episode 1” [2024] D: John Butler. S: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stephen Merchant. Barreto gets the gang back together for another season; she’s got a dead body she needs help with and no one’s sure she isn’t just a psychopath. Nice episode for Perkins and Tomlinson’s funny. Merchant, too. But Gunning is the glue. The fractured narrative, lots of flashbacks to catch us up since last season, is rote and effective.

The Outlaws (2021) s03e02 “Episode 2” [2024] D: John Butler. S: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stephen Merchant. Some actual surprises–the show’s wasting no time whatsoever moving things along, with Perkins and Tomlinson getting the only real subplots. Cole and Barreto kind of get more, kind of don’t. Recurring guest star Ricky Grover’s bringing a lot, ditto Charles Babalola (back from the previous seasons). It’s setting up the heist angle now; about time but right on.

The Outlaws (2021) s03e03 “Episode 3” [2024] D: Curtis Vowell. S: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stephen Merchant. Some surprises but mostly in terms of character development. Noticeably none for Barreto and Cole; Perkins, Boyd, Gunning, Tomlinson, and Merchant make up for it. The show doesn’t waste any time getting the heroes back up the creek, with heavier stakes for everyone as the episode progresses. It’s sturdy enough but is Barreto ever going to do anything?

The Outlaws (2021) s03e04 “Episode 4” [2024] D: Curtis Vowell. S: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stephen Merchant. Deftly efficient episode perturbs all the character development–all of it–completing a handful of plotlines, in fact, while setting everything up for a grand finale. The strongest performances are Boyd, Perkins, and Tomlinson; Merchant holds his own opposite guest star Richard E. Grant in Merchant’s best acting maybe ever on the show. It’s a damned strong episode.

The Outlaws (2021) s03e05 “Episode 5” [2024] D: Curtis Vowell. S: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stephen Merchant. Ho-hum finale acts like Barreto’s been the protagonist the whole season, then can’t even figure out what to do with her after that positioning. The big heist sequence is amusing enough (despite showcasing the guest stars not the regulars), but then there’s another half hour to kill. Disappointing given the season’s highs, but otherwise… fine?

The Outlaws (2021) D: . S: . Barreto gets the gang back together for another season; she’s got a dead body she needs help with and no one’s sure she isn’t just a psychopath. Nice episode for Perkins and Tomlinson’s funny. Merchant, too. But Gunning is the glue. The fractured narrative, lots of flashbacks to catch us up since last season, is rote and effective.

The Outlaws (2021) D: . S: . Barreto gets the gang back together for another season; she’s got a dead body she needs help with and no one’s sure she isn’t just a psychopath. Nice episode for Perkins and Tomlinson’s funny. Merchant, too. But Gunning is the glue. The fractured narrative, lots of flashbacks to catch us up since last season, is rote and effective.

The Outlaws (2021) D: . S: . Barreto gets the gang back together for another season; she’s got a dead body she needs help with and no one’s sure she isn’t just a psychopath. Nice episode for Perkins and Tomlinson’s funny. Merchant, too. But Gunning is the glue. The fractured narrative, lots of flashbacks to catch us up since last season, is rote and effective.