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.