Deadpool 2 (2018) The Super Duper Cut D: David Leitch. S: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Karan Soni. Middling, meandering sequel has foulmouthed invincible mutant hero who never shuts up Reynolds becoming frenemies with time-traveling cyborg Brolin (the TERMINATOR riffs are the movie’s greatest success) while trying to stop teenage mutant Dennison from becoming a bad guy in the future. The movie hinges on Dennison’s deadpan; too bad they cast someone who can’t deadpan. Big eh.
Godzilla Minus One (2023) D: Takashi Yamazaki. S: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki. Compelling concept GODZILLA, set immediately after World War II, before the country was able to rearm. It’s up to the war veterans, just finding some normalcy, to band together with industry. Lots of good, knowing nods to the franchise, great special effects, wonderful supporting cast, and abjectly boring lead Kamiki’s abjectly boring cowardice plot arc. Not fun–thrilling.
Southern Comfort (1981) D: Walter Hill. S: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Les Lannom. Apparently, director and co-writer Hill doesn’t see the very obvious Vietnam connection in his own movie, which explains why it goes to pot for the finish. Louisiana National Guardsmen versus Cajuns. Set in 1973. With a bunch of recent Vietnam vets. Sure, Jan. Some real good acting, photography, and even directing. The third act is just bunk.
Shirley (2024) D: John Ridley. S: Regina King, Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, Lucas Hedges, Michael Cherrie, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson. Jittery tale of Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 presidential campaign. While King’s compelling as Chisholm (despite director Ridley’s shallow, noncommittal script, and a sometimes unsteady Bajan accent), the film fails as a history lesson, a political drama, and a character study. Ridley flirts with all three and shrugs instead. Particularly nice support from Reddick, Cherrie, Jackson, and Hedges. Just too slight.
The Lords of Flatbush (1974) D: Martin Davidson, Stephen Verona. S: Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Paul Mace, Susan Blakely, Maria Smith, Renee Paris. Flashback picture about fifties Brooklyn teenagers King, Stallone, Winkler, and Mace’s “gang.” They mostly drink egg creams, bicker, and harass girls. King’s trying to get WASP Blakely to put out. Meanwhile, Stallone’s maybe readier to marry girlfriend Smith than he thought. Winkler and Mace barely figure in. Lousy soundtrack. Stallone’s not bad. So cheap it stops rather than ends.
No Country for Old Men (2007) D: Joel Coen. S: Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper. The Coen Brothers do a different kind of thriller, one based less on anticipation than immersion, to outstanding results. Set against a desolate eighties Texas backdrop, Brolin’s a thief on the run from the law (Jones as an aging lawman) and a relentless killer (Bardem). Stellar performances from the cast, especially Bardem’s nuanced villain. The slowest of slow burns.
Blood Simple (1984) D: Ethan Coen. S: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, Samm-Art Williams, M. Emmet Walsh, Deborah Neumann, Raquel Gavia. Singular debut from the Coen Brothers moves classic noir to small-town Texas. Seedy bar owner Hedeya hires seedier P.I. Walsh to take out cheating young wife McDormand and her beau, Getz. Fantastic acting–McDormand and Hedeya in particular–but everyone’s great (including Williams as Getz’s pal). Tight script, glorious visuals, and meticulous attention to detail. An eighties masterpiece.
The Vampire Bat (1933) D: Frank R. Strayer. S: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne, George E. Stone, Dwight Frye, Robert Frazer. Universal horror knock-off (shot on the backlot at night) about a town beset with corpses drained of blood. Totally not suspicious local mad scientist Atwill says it’s got to be vampires. Wray’s his assistant and an eventual damsel. Douglas is her police detective love interest. Atwill’s bad, Wray’s barely around, Douglas is great. It’s an impressive effort.
Miller’s Crossing (1990) D: Ethan Coen. S: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman, Albert Finney, Mike Starr. Period gangster movie about fixer Byrne falling out with big boss Finney, with Harden (as the boss’s girl) fitting into the equation. Beautifully made, beautifully acted. The Coen Brothers exercise masterful control of the goings-on; too bad they wind it too tight. The achievements–including the acting achievements (Finney’s phenomenal)–can’t overcome the staginess and the superficial emotions.
Tormented (1960) D: Bert I. Gordon. S: Richard Carlson, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders, Juli Reding, Joe Turkel, Lillian Adams, Vera Marshe. Presumably unintentionally silly horror picture about Carlson manslaughtering blackmailing ex-lover Reding, who comes back to haunt him as he tries to wed Sanders. Susan Gordon is the director’s ten-year-old daughter; she plays Sanders’s little sister, who thinks almost fifty-year-old Carlson’s dreamy. Yuck. Albert Glasser’s inappropriate jazzy score is an ear sore. Turkel’s awesome, however.
Zero Hour! (1957) D: Hall Bartlett. S: Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden, Elroy ‘Crazylegs’ Hirsch, Geoffrey Toone, Jerry Paris, Peggy King. Abysmal thriller about WWII flier Andrews forced to take over a commercial airliner when too many people have the fish, which turns out to be bad. He’s on the plane trying to keep wife Darnell from walking out when crisis strikes. Hayden’s godawful as the air traffic controller talking him through. Weird mix of empathy and machismo. Later closely remade as AIRPLANE!, which just played it for intentional laughs.
The Dark Past (1948) D: Rudolph Maté. S: William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb, Adele Jergens, Stephen Dunne, Lois Maxwell, Berry Kroeger. Not unsuccessful thriller about escaped convict Holden’s gang taking psychology professor Cobb (and his dinner party) hostage. Pretty soon, Cobb and Holden end up in a therapy session. Great performances from Holden and Cobb make up for a jarring narrative structure and often too-thin script. Nice direction from Maté and excellent black and white cinematography help.
Rebecca (1940) D: Alfred Hitchcock. S: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith. After a whirlwind courtship, unlikely newlyweds Fontaine and Olivier return to his seaside estate, where she discovers something ominous is afoot, and it all has to do with his dead first wife (REBECCA). Beautiful direction from Hitchcock, great performances all around–Fontaine and Olivier have this gentle, passionate romance going on, too–Sanders is a singular creep. It’s magnificent. Based on the Daphne du Maurier novel.
Coco (2017) D: Lee Unkrich. S: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Edward James Olmos. Outstanding Pixar effort about a Mexican boy who idolizes a famous (long dead) mariachi from the same town. Except the boy’s family forbids music because of some mariachi who once wronged them. Is it all connected? Maybe, but the boy’s one heck of an adventure to find out. Beautiful production design, animation, direction. Particularly great voice work from Bratt.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) D: Ethan Coen. S: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Jerry Grayson, Adam Driver, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund. Singular character study about callous Greenwich Village folk singer Isaac and his attempts to break out in that scene, which is still pre-Bob Dylan. Quiet and precise, the Coen Brothers intricately layer the character development amid gorgeous technicals. The production design, photography, and sound design are all superb. Great performances–Isaac, Mulligan, Timberlake (!), F. Murray Abraham, and Jeanine Serralles.
Executive Suite (1954) D: Robert Wise. S: William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Douglas, Louis Calhern. Bland pseudo-soap opera about a furniture manufacturer’s succession plan and the company men gaming for the throne. Then there’s nothing soapy except the structure. No time for subplots, just men and their honored women. Good performances from Pidgeon, March, and especially Calderon. Holden’s fine as the golden boy; Wise just doesn’t have a way to tell his story.
True Grit (2010) D: Joel Coen. S: Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Elizabeth Marvel. Meticulous in the extremis Coen Bros. revisionist Western, adapting of Charles Portis’s novel (not remaking the John Wayne version). Fourteen year-old Steinfeld hires drunken U.S. Marshal Bridges to track and arrest her father’s killer (Brolin)–and take her along. They also irregularly team up with Texas Ranger Damon. Great performances, beautiful direction and technicals. Then they utterly bungle the finish, in a hard diss to Steinfeld in particular.
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) D: William Dear. S: Fred Ward, Peter Coyote, L.Q. Jones, Richard Masur, Belinda Bauer, Ed Lauter, Chris Mulkey. Weird, low budget time travel adventure (no pun intended) with dirt bike champion Ward happening into a time portal back to the Old West. He has run-ins with outlaws (led by a lackluster Coyote), romances Creole gunslinger Bauer (who can’t do the accent so doesn’t get lines), and does cool dirt bike stunts. Tedious but not without its charms.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) D: Guy Ritchie. S: Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun. Bloody, funny WWII “true story” picture about Churchill’s bad boy squad, who do the job the regular chaps can’t. Cavill, Ritchson, Pettyfer, Fiennes Tiffin, and Golding mostly sail towards their set pieces, with land-based González and Olusanmokun getting the most story. Uniformly solid performances (save Rory Kinnear’s Churchill); Til Schweiger and Danny Sapani stand out in smaller parts.
Deadstream (2022) D: Vanessa Winter. S: Joseph Winter, Melanie Stone. Inventive micro budget horror comedy about disgraced YouTuber Winter going to a haunted house for a night. Things don’t go well, sometimes to great comic effect. Winter’s most of the show—the makeup’s elaborate but still cheap so they rush through effects shots—and he’s up to the task, charisma-wise. Stumbles through the (admittedly difficult) finish.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) D: Guy Hamilton. S: Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley, J.A. Preston, George Coe, Kate Mulgrew, Charles Cioffi. Insipid action outing about cop Ward becoming an assassin for a secret government organization run by Brimley. Grey’s in yellowface, playing Ward’s mentor, an eighty-year old Korean man who routinely mocks white people. Mulgrew’s the female Army officer who discovers all the boys are corrupt murderers. Some okay action; terrible music by Craig Safan. Ward tries. Preston’s great as his supervisor. Based on Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy’s long-running DESTROYER book series. Followed by a TV pilot, THE PROPHECY, which didn’t go anywhere (and starred new people, but still a white guy as the Korean guy). From Dick Clark’s production company!
The Odd Couple (1968) D: Gene Saks. S: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman, David Sheiner, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley. Neat freak Lemmon moves in with slob bestie Matthau when his marriage falls apart. Limited hijinks ensure (lots of time goes towards Lemmon’s suicidal ideation arc). The comedy is all situational, with scant character development, but it never feels stagey (Neil Simon adapted his play). Great supporting cast. The catchy Neal Hefti theme continued on in the TV show (1970-75). Followed thirty years later by THE ODD COUPLE II.
A Midnight Clear (1992) D: Keith Gordon. S: Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise, Frank Whaley, Larry Joshua. Devastating WWII picture about a much-too-young sergeant (Hawke) commanding much-too-young soldiers on a poorly thought-out mission. Things get peculiar when the nearby German soldiers don’t attack. Beautifully scripted and directed by Gordon, based on William Wharton’s novel. Hawke’s a fine lead, with notably excellent turns from Berg and Sinise. Great Mark Isham score too.
Army of Darkness (1992) D: Sam Raimi. S: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Timothy Patrick Quill, Michael Earl Reid. Short, fast, funny conclusion to the EVIL DEAD trilogy sends Campbell back to medieval times to again fight the Deadites. Jerkier and stupider than previously, Campbell screws things up, causing a full-on war of the dead against the living. Imaginative (if not successful) special effects. Raimi’s got the pace and tone down. Campbell’s a charming jackass. ARMY works out.
Darkman (1990) D: Sam Raimi. S: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake, Nelson Mashita, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, Rafael H. Robledo. Bad guys try blowing up lawyer McDormand, instead getting her boyfriend, scientist Neeson, who’s experimenting with artificial skin. The explosion breaks his brain, giving him super-strength and anger management issues. Able to assume new identities, he fights for truth, justice, and getting back at villain Drake. Uneven and always too rushed, but lots of moments, including a magnificent finale from Raimi.
Withnail & I (1987) D: Bruce Robinson. S: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick, Daragh O’Malley, Eddie Tagoe. Initially outstanding study of friendship between two drunkard wannabe actors (Grant and McGann). It derails when their holiday away from mundane debauchery turns into an extended gay panic arc with McGann avoiding randy Griffiths. It never really recovers but almost does thanks to Brown’s phenomenal drug dealer. Gorgeous production (set in 1969), great music; it comes up short.
Evil Dead II (1987) D: Sam Raimi. S: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Richard Domeier, Ted Raimi, Denise Bixler. Sequel (and partial remake) has Campbell again battling the Book of the Dead and its unseen minions, amping up the comedy without losing the horror (and gore). Raimi mixes various special effects devices to great success, just as Campbell can be simultaneously sympathetic, hilarious, and horrifying. Another great score from Joseph LoDuca. It’s wild, silly, gross, and smart.
Spider-Man 3 (2007) D: Sam Raimi. S: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, J.K. Simmons. Atrocious finale to the Raimi/Maguire trilogy has Maguire breaking bad while fighting evil alter ego Topher Grace and Haden Church’s CGI-heavy Sandman. Franco’s about the only thing the movie’s got going for it. Well, Simmons is good too, obviously. Really, really bad score from Christopher Young. While not completely worthless, it’s extremely close to it. So bad.
Spider-Man 2 (2004) The extended version D: Sam Raimi. S: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Donna Murphy. Rich, emotionally complex superhero saga with Raimi cracking the NYC element he missed in the previous entry. There are still some narrative missteps and Danny Elfman’s music’s bad, but the exploration of its characters’ melancholy lives (they’re all cursed by Spider-Man in one way or another) is tops. Outstanding performances from Maguire, Molina, and Harris.
Deadball (2011) D: Yudai Yamaguchi. S: Tak Sakaguchi, Mari Hoshino, Koichi Yamadera, Miho Ninagawa, Takamasa Suga, Jyonmyon Pe, Miho Harita. Bizarre sports gore comedy about Sakaguchi joining the baseball team at his reform school. Audacious and inventive are good descriptors; Japanese politicians being Nazi puppets isn’t near the weirdest it gets. Good direction from Yamaguchi makes the dystopian visuals work in DV. Relentlessly paced, with a particularly nice score from Morino Nobuhiko.
Spider-Man (2002) D: Sam Raimi. S: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons. The Marvel Comics superhero arrives on the big screen for the first time (minus the seventies live-action TV show compilations), too bad the filmmakers were worrying too much about being appropriately patriotic post-9/11. Lots of bads—the writing, villain Dafoe, the CGI, the bland NYC setting, the Danny Elfman score. Occasional flashes of potential don’t do much.
One-Percenter (2023) D: Yudai Yamaguchi. S: Tak Sakaguchi, Sho Aoyagi, Rumika Fukuda, Itsuji Itao, Taro Suruga, Kohei Fukuyama, Kanon Harumi. Low budget action movie about has been star Sakaguchi and sidekick Fukuyama go scouting locations for a comeback picture and run into gangsters. Sakaguchi has to save himself, Fukuyama, damsel-in-distress Fukuda, and the day. Sakaguchi’s great, but the movie’s a tedious disappointment. They don’t even need a bigger budget, just a rewrite.
The Evil Dead (1981) D: Sam Raimi. S: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly. Now classic low-budget young adults in a haunted cabin gore-feast is a great debut for director Raimi and leading man Campbell. Great, gruesome special effects, terrifying sequences, and untold buckets of blood abound. Excellent production values for the money, with outstanding photography from Tim Philo and a perfect score by Joseph LoDuca. Edited by Joel Coen! For DVD, Raimi reframed the 4:3 16mm to an HD aspect radio SPECIAL EDITION, which was anything but. The reframing killed the timing, atmosphere, and almost everything else. Blu-ray and UHD restored the original aspect ratio, thank goodness. Followed by EVIL DEAD II.
Café Society (2016) D: Woody Allen. S: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Corey Stoll, Jeannie Berlin. Charming Allen outing with New Yorker Eisenberg gone to Hollywood (Old Hollywood) to be a writer, then falling for the right but wrong girl (Stewart). Not an epic rise and fall picture, it’s all about the characters, including Still as Eisenberg’s gangster brother. Beautiful production values—Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography, Stewart’s gowns. She’s great, Eisenberg’s good (but eclipsed). It’s a good one.
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) D: Woody Allen. S: John Cusack, Chazz Palminteri, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly, Mary-Louise Parker, Jim Broadbent, Jack Warden. Lackluster Allen period piece about 1920s playwright Cusack (either doing a bad Allen impression or just giving a bad performance) falling in with the mob to get his play produced. The one catch? Ditzy gangster moll Tilly plays the lead. Excellent performances from Palminteri, Tilly, and Wiest. Bad Warden. The good can’t overcome the bad, though the pacing’s fine.
Blue Jasmine (2013) D: Woody Allen. S: Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard. Stunning character study of down-on-her luck socialite Blanchett who moves to San Francisco to crash with sister Hawkins. Blanchett’s snob is out of her element with working class Hawkins and her boyfriend, Cannavale. It’s a captivating examination, with extraordinary work from Blanchett, Allen, and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. (Unofficially) based on a Tennessee Williams play.
American Fiction (2023) D: Cord Jefferson. S: Jeffrey Wright, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Sterling K. Brown, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross. Sublime deconstruction of the American academia novel, as through the eyes of exhausted ultra-brow author Wright, who realizes maybe he is willing to sell out to get rich. Especially since he’s back home visiting mom Uggams, sister Ross, and brother Brown. Great performances—Wright’s fantastic–with just the right amount of big twists and little. Stellar feature debut from Jefferson, who adapted Percival Everett’s novel ERASURE.
To Rome with Love (2012) D: Woody Allen. S: Woody Allen, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Alison Pill. Allen’s Roman anthology is visually lovely—the Darius Khondji cinematography is divine—and narratively ambitious. Unfortunately, Allen prefers the former to the latter. The film’s got four unconnected storylines, with the ones about the Romans much better than the ones about the Americans. Allen and Davis are very funny as a married couple vacationing with daughter Pill. Eisenberg’s bad in his love triangle one. But the Alessandra Mastronardi, Alessandro Tiberi, and Benigni ones? Great.
Drag Me to Hell (2009) D: Sam Raimi. S: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, Reggie Lee. Bank loan manager Lohman pisses off old lady Raver, who puts a curse on her just as she’s up for a promotion and meeting boyfriend Long’s parents for the first time. Even worse… the curse is real. Often great direction, but the script’s a passively misogynist mess, Lohman’s barely okay, Long’s bad, and the end stinks.
Manhattan (1979) D: Woody Allen. S: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne Hoffman, Karen Ludwig. Breathtaking visuals—shot in lush black and white by Gordon Willis—can’t make up for lackluster performances in Allen’s ode to the MANHATTAN straights not being okay. Murphy and Keaton’s weak turns lead to Allen’s character being the protagonist. Too bad Hemingway (as his—cringe—teenage love interest) isn’t up to snuff either. Streep’s hilarious, but not in it enough.
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) D: Woody Allen. S: Woody Allen, Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, Joanna Gleason, Jerry Orbach. Masterful, elegant Allen black comedy juxtaposes philanderer Landau, who considers murder to keep his secrets, with Allen’s documentary filmmaker, who has much lighter, albeit sometimes more annoying, problems. The reasoning behind the juxtaposition comes into focus at the end, as Allen’s reflective conclusion provides a sublime critique. Great performances abound, especially from Landau. Alda’s hilarious as Allen’s obnoxious subject.
Midnight in Paris (2011) D: Woody Allen. S: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Corey Stoll. Allen gem about aspiring novelist Wilson who finds himself slipping back in time to historical Paris and hanging out with the luminaries. There’s a lot of cultural literacy required for all the references, but the rewards are worth it. Wilson’s an excellent Allen avatar, with wonderful supporting turns from Sheen, Brody, Cotillard, Bates, and Stoll. Great Darius Khondji photography.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) D: Woody Allen. S: Gemma Jones, Pauline Collins, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, Lucy Punch. Superb dark, absurdist relationship comedy about patriarch Hopkins running out on wife Jones to marry working girl Punch. The characters—including Watts as Hopkins’s daughter—keep finding themselves in ludicrous, self-inflicted predicaments. Great performances from Watts, Brolin, Banderas (as the Allen-type character!), and—in particular—Jones. It ends up all about her. Great work from Allen.
Take the Money and Run (1969) D: Woody Allen. S: Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, Jacquelyn Hyde, Lonny Chapman, Jan Merlin, James Anderson. In his directorial debut, Allen stars as notorious criminal and bumbling idiot Virgil Starkwell. The film’s a mix of screwball and mockumentary, with Allen bumbling, then people talking about it. His performance is great. The film itself runs out of steam by the end, when Allen can’t keep the sketches congealed into a narrative.
Cassandra’s Dream (2007) D: Woody Allen. S: Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Sally Hawkins, Tom Wilkinson, Phil Davis, John Benfield. Brothers Farrell and McGregor are in trouble thanks to Farrell’s gambling problem. Luckily, uncle Wilkinson will make it all better in exchange for a single murder. Allen’s back in London, this time with a European flair thanks to Philip Glass’s score and Vilmos Zsigmond’s gorgeous photography. Farrell’s phenomenal, (justly) overshadowing McGregor. Too bad the ending flops.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) D: Woody Allen. S: Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Christopher Evan Welch, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson. Familiar but obviously different—it’s set in BARCELONA, after all—Allen outing with Hall and Johansson, playing the eponymous roles, getting into a complicated relationship with sexy painter Bardem. Cruz plays Bardem’s ex. Great performances from Hall and Cruz (almost too good from Cruz). It’s fantastic… and suffers from Allen playing favorites with Hall and Cruz; Johansson, in particular, suffers.
One, Two, Three (1961) D: Billy Wilder. S: James Cagney, Liselotte Pulver, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Hanns Lothar, Arlene Francis, Leon Askin. Brisk but empty madcap comedy about Coca-Cola rep Cagney’s shockingly sexist (even for 1961) adventures in pre-Wall Berlin, trying to sell Coke to the Russians while cheating on wife Francis with secretary Pulver and keeping boss’s horny daughter Tiffin away from East Berliner Buchholz.Lots of wink-wink-nudge-nudge ex-Nazi jokes. Buccholz’s awful, Francis’s great; everyone else is in between.
Scoop (2006) D: Woody Allen. S: Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen, Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane, Charles Dance, Romola Garai, Kevin McNally. Peculiar but successful Allen outing with McShane as a ghost, Johansson as his earthly contact, Allen as a stage magician, and Jackman as an aristocrat. It’s a rom-com mystery. There’s a slow buildup before things start moving; Johansson’s a little flat (partially because of character inconsistency), but Allen’s hilarious and Jackman’s good.
Match Point (2005) D: Woody Allen. S: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton, James Nesbitt, Matthew Goode. For his most commercially accessible film in years, Allen remakes CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS as a thriller with pretty people. In London. Broke tennis pro Rhys-Meyers falls for rich buddy Goode’s girlfriend Johansson. Great cast, script, direction, and musical choices. Rhys-Meyers and Johansson are both outstanding. Not perfect, but fantastic stuff.
The Moon (2023) D: Kim Yong-hwa. S: Sol Kyung-gu, Doh Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Park Byung-eun, Jo Han-chul, Choi Byung-mo, Hong Seung-hee. Visually ambitious science thriller about South Korea’s mission to the moon, with Nepo baby astronaut Do in over his head. He’ll need the help of disgraced mission commander Sol, who’s got his own secrets. It’s too melodramatic, but it’s tense as heck. The thinly sketched “near future” plot details are a whole thing too.
Against All Odds (1984) D: Taylor Hackford. S: Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward, James Woods, Alex Karras, Jane Greer, Richard Widmark, Dorian Harewood. Unlikely remake of OUT OF THE PAST (the femme fatale from it, Jane Greer, plays mom to Ward here) and disgraced football star Bridges manhunts heiress Ward in Mexico at the behest of skeezy friend Woods. Good supporting performances from Woods and Richard Widmark, and nice technicals can’t make up for the script or the leads.
Dolores Claiborne (1995) D: Taylor Hackford. S: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judy Parfitt, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Eric Bogosian, John C. Reilly. Big city reporter Leigh returns to Castle Rock, Maine or wherever (it’s a Stephen King adaptation) when estranged mom Bates is accused of murder. The visit brings various traumatic memories to the fore, all sumptuously presented thanks to director Hackford, cinematographer Gabriel Beristain, and composer Danny Elfman. Bates is captivating, ably supported by Leigh, Plummer, Strathairn, and Parfitt.
Ashes and Diamonds (1958) D: Andrzej Wajda. S: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyżewska, Wacław Zastrzeżynski, Adam Pawlikowski, Bogumił Kobiela, Jan Ciecierski, Stanisław Milski. Initially nuanced examination of an immediately post-WWII smaller Polish city eventually disappoints as a simplistic morality tale. It starts being about the people, with engaging, wonderful performances, and ends just being assassin Cybulski having second thoughts and so on. Bummer. Impressive direction and photography (from Jerzy Wójcik).
Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman (2023) D: Kim Seong-sik. S: Gang Dong-won, Heo Joon-ho, Esom, Lee Dong-hwi, Kim Jong-soo, Park So-yi, Yoon Byung-hee. Charming but slight magical action-comedy about “fake” exorcist Gang getting a case with a very real supernatural bad guy Huh. Gang’s a delight, Lee and Kim are fun as his sidekicks. Huh’s fine but one note, ditto damsel Esom (who gets way too little). Good action, lackluster conclusion.
Se7en (1995) D: David Fincher. S: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, Kevin Spacey, Leland Orser, John C. McGinley. Gorgeous, visually harrowing, usually dumb serial killer thriller about wizened, ready-to-retire Freeman teaming with young hotshot Pitt to hunt a particularly violent killer. Freeman’s great, Pitt’s the pits. The supporting cast’s uneven; Paltrow, as Pitt’s socially isolated wife, is bad in a terribly written part. Fincher’s accomplished direction can’t overcome the script.
Alien³ (1992) D: David Fincher. S: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb. Visually compelling, atmospherically dense sequel to ALIENS sends Weaver to a prison planet, where she finds herself allied with doctor Dance and convict Dutton. Their performances, in particular, help keep the film elevated, but the entire cast helps it stay above the clunky dialogue and narrative and stylistic inconsistencies. In 2003, the studio released THE ASSEMBLY CUT, ostensibly closer to director Fincher’s original vision (but he didn’t participate; he didn’t take his name off either). This holy grail of alternate cuts turns out to be much ado about nothing. Sometimes more is just more, and in this case too much. Followed by ALIEN: RESURRECTION.
Zodiac (2007) D: David Fincher. S: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., Chloë Sevigny, Elias Koteas, John Carroll Lynch. Exquisite procedural epic covering the 1970s Zodiac serial killing in San Francisco, oscillating between the murders, the police, and the press. The film eschews a character-centered storyline for a broader examination of obsession and investigation. Great performances from Ruffalo, Gyllenhaal, and Downey. Exceptionally mature, real deal direction from Fincher.
The Game (1997) D: David Fincher. S: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat, Carroll Baker, Armin Mueller-Stahl. Dreadful thriller has poor old me millionaire Douglas getting the ultimate birthday gift from estranged brother Penn: a live-action role-playing game, just one with femme fatales (Unger–or is she) and car chases. Douglas is lousy, Penn is not. Fincher’s direction is wanting, but nowhere near as much as the script.
Willy’s Wonderland (2021) D: Kevin Lewis. S: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Caylee Cowan. Silent man with a muscle car Cage finds himself broken down in a tiny town, working off his repairs at a Chuckie Cheese-style joint. Only the animatronic animals are all killer monsters who eat people. Never quite good, never too bad; it tries and succeeds at being a gory lot.
The Capture (1950) D: John Sturges. S: Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt, Barry Kelley, Duncan Renaldo. Not unsuccessful quirky Western noir mix about fugitive Ayres falling in love with widow Wright. Little does she know he’s the reason she’s a widow. Lots of mansplaining and gaslighting ensue. Despite lousy characters, Ayres and Wright are fine. Sturges keeps things afloat.
The Great Escape (1963) D: John Sturges. S: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn. Outstanding epic about Allied prisoners attempts to ESCAPE their Nazi captors. Quickly paced at three hours, with a delightful Elmer Bernstein score and a singular tone–while the heroes are always in great danger, they’re still full of life (and empathy). Attenborough and Donald give the best performances amid the many spectacular ones. A bonafide classic.
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) D: John Sturges. S: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin, Dean Jagger, Anne Francis, Ernest Borgnine. Earnest stranger Tracy arrives in BLACK ROCK looking for an acquaintance only to discover everyone’s very hostile to his mission. Too short, with way too much offscreen character development, and strangely “too wide” widescreen direction from Sturges. The fantastic supporting cast gets lost in the background.
The Magnificent Seven (1960) D: John Sturges. S: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz. Lethargic Western remake of SEVEN SAMURAI, featuring leaden direction from Sturges and boring lead performances from Brynner and McQueen. At least they’re not atrocious, like de facto lead Buchholz. Elmer Bernstein’s theme is about the only thing the picture’s got going for it.
Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) D: John Sturges. S: William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest, William Campbell, Polly Bergen, Richard Anderson. Fantastic post-Civil War Calvary Western has Union manhunter Holden tracking down alter ego Forsythe and his gang of Confederates. Duplicitous Parker provides the love triangle for the boys, complicating matters. Great performances from Holden and Parker and direction from Sturges.
The Eagle Has Landed (1976) the extended version D: John Sturges. S: Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald Pleasence, Anthony Quayle, Jean Marsh. A group of (justifiably) treacherous British subjects with the Nazis to kidnap Winston Churchill at the height of World War II. Director Sturges does a fine job humanizing the baddies. Generally solid acting (not Agutter), with a standout performance from Duvall.
The Swiss Conspiracy (1976) D: Jack Arnold. S: David Janssen, Senta Berger, John Ireland, John Saxon, Ray Milland, Elke Sommer, Anton Diffring. Mildly engaging thriller about troubleshooter Janssen trying to solve a blackmail racket at a Swiss bank. Janssen’s on autopilot but still game. Berger’s good as his love interest. Gorgeous location shooting in Zurich and a groov-tastic score by Klaus Dolinger stand out.
Evita (1996) D: Alan Parker. S: Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail, Victoria Sus, Julian Littman, Olga Merediz. Adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical about Argentine “Spirtual Leader” Eva Peron features an almost really good Banderas and a very blah Madonna. Director Parker does a bad job filming an otherwise handsome production. There are a handful of really good numbers, but Banderas can only compensate for so much.
Nanny (2022) D: Nikyatu Jusu. S: Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker, Leslie Uggams, Olamide Candide Johnson. Real deal performance from Anna Diop as a nanny suffering shitty white people to the point it affects her mental health. Also, there’s maybe magic. Incredibly tense, nice support from everyone, great photography, real good direction. The second to third act transition is rocky, but the film comes through big.
Gimme Shelter (1970) D: David Maysles. S: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor. Singular documentary covering The Rolling Stones’s 1969 U.S. tour and the disaster of its last venue, the Altamont Free Concert. Phenomenal multi-layered document of tragedy, with artful control throughout. Absolutely devastating and, in hindsight, hopeless.
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) D: Questlove. S: Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, Sly Stone. Consistently awesome documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (aka Black Woodstock). They filmed the whole thing and then couldn’t sell it. Fifty years later, SUMMER resurrects the memories. Some original footage was lost and it would’ve put things over the top. It could easily run twice as long without drag. So good.
Moonage Daydream (2022) D: Brett Morgen. S: David Bowie. Way too long super-cut of extremely on television David Bowie with music video footage and interviews providing the career retrospective “narrative.” Bowie’s charisma carries the entire thing, though can’t stop the drag or the trite. The world’s best and worst greatest hits promo video.
Bruce Springsteen – The Promise – The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010) D: Thom Zimny. S: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Roy Bittan, Clarence Clemons, Jimmy Iovine, Nils Lofgren, Patti Smith. Okay assembled footage doc with the E Street Band recounting the creation of the DARKNESS album. Zimmy’s way too lazy when it comes to structure, but there’s some great Springsteen interviewing. It just needs about ten more minutes to contextualize. Alas, no. But for some Boss process insights? All good.
Under Suspicion (1991) D: Simon Moore. S: Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, Kenneth Cranham, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Maggie O’Neill, Stephen Moore, Malcolm Storry. Moody 1950s-set British thriller about man slut P.I. Neeson getting into trouble after rigging a divorce case and romancing client’s mistress San Giacomo. Director Moore’s script tries hard not to be predictable but eats its own tail. Neeson’s fine, San Giacomo’s not; Cranham’s good as Neeson’s sidekick.
Argylle (2024) D: Matthew Vaughn. S: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson. Spy novel writer Howard finds her fictional hero (Cavill) has an unlikely real-life counterpart (Rockwell). Numerous good moments, but it’s always a little too desperate and too cheap. Lots of the cast seems checked out, with Howard doing the lion’s share. Bad special effects don’t help either.
Knights of Badassdom (2013) D: Joe Lynch. S: Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, Steve Zahn, Ryan Kwanten, Margarita Levieva, Jimmi Simpson, Brett Gipson. Nearly clever fantasy-horror-comedy about Live Action Role-Players (LARPers) unleashing a demon during a tournament. The acting’s never terrible just bland. Dinklage, Simpson, and Gipson are pretty good. The too bumpy third act does it in.
Moulin Rouge! (2001) D: Baz Luhrmann. S: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald, Jacek Koman. Abjectly terrible tale of famous Paris nightspot and its star crossed denizens. Many levels of atrocious on display, whether it’s the writing (ha), choreography (bigger ha), or Kidman’s performance (biggest ha). Sadly, the joke’s on the viewer. Amusing–for a fraction of a second–to see McGregor act (in a bad part) while Kidman’s incapable of doing so.
Melinda and Melinda (2004) D: Woody Allen. S: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jonny Lee Miller, Josh Brolin. Slight but solid Allen effort about two alternate realities for Mitchell. She’s just okay, but the rest of the cast is superb, Sevigny, Miller, Peet, and Ejiofor in particular. Plus gorgeous Vilmos Zsigmond photography.
Love Potion No. 9 (1992) D: Dale Launer. S: Sandra Bullock, Tate Donovan, Anne Bancroft, Rebecca Staab, Mary Mara, Dale Midkiff, Dylan Baker. Often laugh out loud, occasionally very charming romantic comedy about two nerdy scientists who test the title potion (asterisk) on themselves. Winning performances from Donovan and Mara, okay enough one from Bullock. Writer-director Launer’s last credited studio work; “based” on the song–composer Jed Leiber is song co-writer Jerry Leiber’s son.
Danton (1983) D: Andrzej Wajda. S: Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Patrice Chéreau, Angela Winkler, Roland Blanche, Alain Macé, Jacques Villeret. Exquisite juxtaposition of Danton (Depardieu) and Robespierre (Pszoniak) as they weather a rough patch during the Terror. Great performances from the leads and a stellar finale from Wajda.
Superman II (1980) Restored International Cut D: Richard Lester. S: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Susannah York, E.G. Marshall, Terence Stamp. Just as Reeve and Kidder get to explore romantic possibilities, Stamp leads an evil Kryptonian takeover of Earth. The restored international cut is admirable, if technically limited, fan effort to recreate a longer SUPERMAN II mostly just highlights the faults in the production. Jokes in the bad places and shockingly little character development considering the additional runtime.
Suitable Flesh (2023) D: Joe Lynch. S: Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Johnathon Schaech, Barbara Crampton, Hunter Womack. Weird, icky homage to eighties Lovecraft adaptations with some creepy moments and wacky performances, particularly Graham and Lewis–with everyone having at least two great moments. Quirk overcomes the forecasted, predictable conclusion.
White Nights (1985) D: Taylor Hackford. S: Geraldine Page, Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren, Isabella Rossellini, Jerzy Skolimowski, John Glover, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Not entirely ludicrous tale of defector ballet dancer Baryshnikov (played by defector ballet dancer Baryshnikov) crash-landing in the Soviet Union and being forced into a cover-up involving Vietnam-era, tap dancing defector Hines. Phenomenal dance sequences occasionally get a little long (with Baryshnikov the more impressive). But Hines’s performance is easily the best. The Lionel Ritchie Oscar-winning song is a little much.