The Monkey, 2025 - ★★½
Osgood Perkins films are apparently not for me. There are aspects of The Monkey (a demented, jet-black comedy) and Longlegs (his try at a procedural Lecter-esque film) that I absolutely adored but, it doesn't take away the fact that both films had me looking at my watch several times during their respective viewings. And The Monkey is 97 minutes long for Christ's sake! He's a good film maker, he's just a boring story teller. I should see if there's a film he directed, but didn't write, out there before I write him off completely.
The Old Guard 2, 2025 - ★★
Beatrice Kiddo and Furiosa face off in a film that, minus about 5 minutes (a cleverly handled, literal walk through time), is inferior to the first in almost every way. I'm glad it was made because I do like the premise (and the characters) but, the whole vibe of this one was off by a mile. The music and the writing especially. A missed opportunity on all fronts. Hopefully the next one is better?
Trap, 2024 - ★★
Middle aged suburban Dad goes to heavily guarded concert, lies about childhood cancer, brings up carbon monoxide at amazingly odd times, periodically sees geriatric ghosts, brags way too openly about his hobbies to complete strangers, underestimates those that are closest, takes his shirt off for no reason, and knows precisely how to use a bicycle in the end.
This film was so damn long and had just about as many false endings as Return of the King. I thought the film ended the first time and, no shit, there was FOURTY FIVE MINUTES left!
One star for the uneven whackadoo Hartnet performance. And another for the concert-based first half which, on a technical level, had to have been a real bitch to pull off.
A Working Man, 2025 - ★★★
57 year old construction worker with a military past, after proclaiming he's "not that man anymore", very ably becomes "that man" and kills an entire family faction of the Russian Mafia to save his employer's kidnapped and sex-trafficked daughter. You basically get it all in this one: bad guys aim is horrible, the henchmen are often entertainingly inept, if there is a moon on the horizon it is always enormous, kidnapped girl is extraordinarily violent for a music major in college, bad guy on a motorcycle goes through a window for absolutely no reason at all, and Statham keeps poisoning the water supply with crystal blue meth from Breaking Bad… oh and his young daughter is cool with it all and kinda sorta doesn't like her gramps, who's a weird douchebag.
This is about the most modern “Statham movie” you can get. Better than the Beekeeper and co-written/produced by his good pal Stallone. A silly movie for sure that is 30 minutes too long but… at least it was more entertaining/amusing than not.
Venus, 2022 - ★★★½
If you want to know what one half of the directors who made the mostly excellent REC franchise are up to, you won’t go wrong here! It’s definitely a horror sub genre that is prone to jumping the shark and boy howdy… does it ever in the last third!
A nice looking film with some characters that earn the right for you to root for. It’s takes a bit, but there’s definitely some blood and gore to be had if you are a little patient. Some of the digital gore effects fall flat, but there’s plenty of practical stuff to make it worth your time.
The Rule of Jenny Pen, 2024 - ★★★½
Woof… this was a hard watch for me. Mostly because my Dad is in a similar community for elderly folks (though without the staff) and it was heart-breaking watching that kind of extreme elder abuse occurring in such an environment.
Well made, well acted, really nicely shot… I can’t say I enjoyed this film at all, but I certainly respect that it was made and that clearly there was a lot of passion behind creating it.
Gladiator II, 2024 - ★★½
No… I was not entertained!!
I can’t remember the last movie I saw that had this much genuine top tier talent involved that was this mediocre.
Bizarre.
Paris Is Burning, 1990 - ★★★★
Can’t believe it took me so long to watch this! Should be required viewing for everyone and anyone. ❤️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Dead Mail, 2024 - ★★★½
A genuinely odd and compelling film. One part detective drama, and one part fatal attraction. All filmed in a retro, VHS high grain sometimes handheld sometimes steady cam fashion. Clearly talented film makers put a lot of care and intention into writing and shooting this film. The acting was on point as well! Everyone involved brought their A-game! The length was its only fault, and at well under two hours, that’s a bit of a conundrum. It would’ve made an excellent short!
The Accountant², 2025 - ★★★
Yes it’s preposterous. Yes we’ve seen this a million times before but…. The thing is, I’m the younger brother of two older brothers who couldn’t be more different from me. We love each other a lot though, so parts of the movie surprisingly hit me in the feels. That’s why I gave it a heart. I’m a total sucker for that kinda of stuff and Daredevil and the Punisher have genuinely good chemistry in this.
The Accountant², 2025 - ★★★
Yes it’s preposterous. Yes we’ve seen this a million times before but…. The thing is, I’m the younger brother of two older brothers who couldn’t be more different from me. We love each other a lot though, so parts of the movie surprisingly hit me in the feels. That’s why I gave it a heart. I’m a total sucker for that kinda of stuff and Daredevil and the Punisher have genuinely good chemistry in this.
Currently reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells 📚
Finished reading: Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman 📚
