2025 Films, Allen Leech, Brendan Coyle, Dominic West, Drama, Elizabeth McGovern, Historical Drama, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Parsons, Joanne Froggatt, Julian Fellowes, Laura Carmichael, Lesley Nicol, Michelle Dockery, Paul Giamatti, Penelope Wilton, Period Drama, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Simon Curtis, Sophie McShera

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Director Simon Curtis

Starring Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern

Scott’s Review #1,535

Reviewed June 11, 2026

Grade: B

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) is like comfort television set on a big screen.

The third in a planned film trilogy based on the popular television series that ran from 2010 to 2015, the film is satisfying while remaining safe and warm.

It concludes in the early 1930s, nearly a generation after the series debuted in 1912.

From a historical perspective, it’s compelling to see how world events progressed from the sinking of the Titanic when the series began to the begrudging acceptance of a divorced woman as the head of a household in the 1930s.

Separating an evaluation of the television series itself, and honing in on the three films, The Grande Finale ends at just the right time, feeling ever so stale at this point.

The absence of Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham is noticed, as her trademark wit and bitchiness cannot be replaced by any other character.

Let’s hope that creator Julian Fellows doesn’t go down the path that the slasher franchise Friday the 13th did in the 1980s and birth Downton Abbey: A New Beginning.

In this installment, the Crawley family and their staff enter the 1930s with the typical trials, tribulations, scandals, and drama they have overcome.

When Mary (Michelle Dockery) finds herself at the center of a public scandal over her divorce, the family also faces financial trouble, the threat of losing everything, and social disgrace.

The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future, which is at the heart of the finale.

The storylines, though modernized for the times, follow a familiar pattern, which is comforting for audiences. The soothing, methodical pace, lovely musical score, and familiar characters we have come to know and love over the years all return.

Even though there are problems for the Crawleys to tackle, nothing too heavy or startling emerges, maintaining a safe bubble for viewers to nestle in, keeping their security blanket intact.

Of course, lead actors like Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, and Elizabeth McGovern, joined by Paul Giamatti, are given the meaty storylines since they best represent the Crawley family.

Dockery as Mary, frequently known as being uptight, loosens up a bit amid her scandalous divorce, even giving in to desire and having a steamy one-night stand with a handsome stranger.

Meanwhile, Robert and Cora (Bonneville and McGovern) must grapple with the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the subsequent Great Depression.

The real-life world events the fictional stories are based on make the events more interesting than if writers had invented them.

A major positive is that nearly every character in the ensemble is given something to do, even if it’s only a crumb or two to chomp on.

For example, Carson (Jim Parsons) copes with retirement, while the cook, Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), embraces it and hands the reins to the young assistant, Daisy (Sophie McShera).

Popular couple John (Brendan Coyle) and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) Bates, eternally loyal to Robert and Mary, have a touching send-off.

Finally, the same-sex romance between Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Thomas, a former butler at Downton Abbey (Robert James Collier), is explored as the men slowly become more comfortable admitting their relationship to friends.

Still taboo, the notion shows the progress that has occurred in the world over the decades.

The film ends perfectly, a wonderful tribute seen through Mary’s eyes as she takes over the Crawley estate. She sees those deceased family members she was once close to as she ponders the vast estate and the years gone by.

Violet, Matthew Crawley, and Lady Sybil Crawley all appear in archival cameos, making for a sweet and teary wrap-up.

Amid the comfort factor, the film doesn’t offer much that is new or different from the other installments. The new storylines aren’t particularly dangerous, and it’s clear things will be wrapped up in short order.

As nice as Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2026) is, let’s hope it truly is the finale. There’s something to be said about going out on top before the gas runs out of the tank.

1968 Films, British, British Horror, Diana Dors, Geoffrey Keen, Horror, Jim O'Connolly, Joan Crawford, Judy Geeson, Michael Gough, Robert Hardy, Thriller, Ty Hardin

Berserk! -1968

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Berserk! -1968

Director Jim O’Connolly

Starring Joan Crawford

Scott’s Review #1,534

Reviewed May 25, 2026

Grade: B

Joan Crawford, legendary Hollywood screen star, appears in Berserk! (1968), a British horror-thriller vehicle that was one of her last roles.

Trog (1970) was her final film role.

She portrays Monica Rivers, a ringmistress of a traveling circus in the London area. Monica is no-nonsense and man-hungry, known to bed some of the talent as she confidently hunts her prey.

As the co-owner of the circus, Monica is always preoccupied with filling seats and making money, a bottom-line gal.

Following the suspicious ‘accidental’ death of a tightrope walker, Rivers is pleased to see her profits increase because of the drama. She soon hires handsome Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin) to replace him.

But when performers start to meet gruesome deaths, it becomes apparent that a killer is on the loose. Monica must juggle pesky detectives lurking around with accusations that she may be the killer.

While I enjoyed the film, which serves as a compelling whodunit first and foremost, not to mention Crawford’s appeal, it is only moderately above mediocre.

As expected, Crawford leads the charge and gives the project her best effort. Deliciously callous and self-serving, the role of Monica is one Crawford can sink her teeth into as unsympathetic as she is.

Her many outfits are glamorous, especially given the circus setting, and her cigarette smoking, nearly a trademark, makes her look powerful.

An aging star, her romantic pairing with Hardin, young and muscular, is borderline silly since she could easily be his grandmother. Weirdly, in a couple of scenes with him, Crawford looks much older and more ragged than in other scenes, while Hardin is bare-chested and buff.

There is little chemistry between the two.

The whodunit works well, as a myriad of suspects have both the cause and the motivation for the killings.

Monica, Frank, performer Matilda (Diana Dors), and others are suspects.

A colorful yet dark circus setting is wonderful in any horror film. The peculiar yet stereotypical characters, such as the strongman, the bearded lady, and others, are incorporated, as are scenes of characters following one another or lurking in the shadows.

The mostly nighttime scenes work well.

The final reveal of the killer is startling and surprising, which greatly improves the film. There is satisfaction when a viewer is genuinely surprised by a whodunit rather than having guessed the killer from the start.

However, the killer’s motivations are lackluster and hard to believe. The sequence is also very rushed and wrapped within five minutes of screentime.

Rather than systematically kill victims off one by one, the killer might have had a sit-down conversation over tea to flesh out the issues that are the motivation for the murders.

Another perplexity is Crawford’s lack of a British accent. Having grown up in England and with the circus in her family for 50 years, Monica wouldn’t be American.

While a real circus was used for the myriad scenes involving elephants, dog performers, and others, director Jim O’Connell overdoes it to the detriment of the action.

The scenes are cute, but they slow down the plot.

Berserk! (1968) is a watchable effort largely due to Crawford’s stunning screen presence and a solid whodunit. It is hardly on her greatest-hits film reel, but it is not disastrous either.

2026 Films, Anne Hathaway, B. J. Novak, Comedy, David Frankel, Donatella Versace, Drama, Emily Blunt, Heidi Klum, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Lady Gaga, Lucy Liu, Meryl Streep, Naomi Campbell, Patrick Brammall, Simone Ashley, Stanley Tucci, Tracie Thoms

The Devil Wears Prada 2-2026

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The Devil Wears Prada 2-2026

Director David Frankel

Starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep

Scott’s Review #1,533

Reviewed May 11, 2026

Grade: B+

Twenty years after the box-office smash The Devil Wears Prada (2006), an entertaining and satisfying follow-up, The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026), will please fans of the original and even garner a fresh audience.

The experience is fun and largely what one would expect from a sequel. Besides a light plot twist or two, there is nothing too surprising about the film. One could almost accuse it of being a money grab or a nostalgic throwback, and they’d be right in a way.

But with the return of the original cast, and with director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna at the helm, the formula works well, and consistency and truth to the characters are maintained.

And film audiences can rest easy with legendary icon Meryl Streep leading the pack of quality actors.

Doubtful if Streep would accept a role merely for a paycheck and without a good script at hand. This lends to security for cinema fans looking for more than a mediocre sequel. As I settled into my seat, I felt confident I would enjoy the film.

It’s delightful to see Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci back at the helm.

Miranda (Streep), Andy (Hathaway), Emily (Blunt), and Nigel (Tucci) return to the fashionable streets of New York City and the sleek offices of Runway Magazine.

Stalwarts Miranda and Nigel remain at the company, while former assistants Andy and Emily, now in their 40s, have branched out into other industries (Andy) or an advertising company (Emily).

When Andy loses her job, she is offered a role with Runway, uniting with the others, much to the bitchy Miranda’s chagrin. The women playfully spar while an obvious respect is showcased.

Mixed with the humor is a dramatic storyline involving corporate takeovers, backstabbing, a struggle for control, and an interesting generational age angle.

Hathaway and Streep, in particular, have lost none of their original chemistry despite Andy now being a grown woman and an equal and no longer a minion to be chewed up and spit out.

The most fun is the knowledge that the women don’t really hate each other but share mutual admiration. They have their unique way of expressing that.

Laugh-out-loud moments occur mostly at Miranda’s expense as the rigid superstar is forced to endure an international flight in crowded coach seating and eating lunch in the building’s cafeteria, where she has never set foot.

Even though all the principal actors are wonderful, Streep is unsurprisingly the best part. The actor has a gift for flawlessly making any scene she is in something special.

As Miranda, she uses her eyes to her advantage, meshing wickedness, humor, and a burgeoning sentimentality. She’s a character audiences have previously loved to hate and now love to love.

Thankfully, since the setting is the fashion world, New York City is prominently featured and oozes sophistication, style, and a coolness. Many scenes of the characters walking down the crowded streets occur, enhancing a fresh, metropolitan Big Apple.

Impressively, the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria, Hudson Yards, and the former McGraw-Hill building are used.

Gorgeous locales in Milan, Italy, the fashion capital of the world, are featured at a swanky gala and as the film’s high point. da Vinci’s The Last Supper, The Palazzo Parigi & Grand Spa Milano, and Lake Como are featured, which provides a sizzling, sophisticated feeling.

We even get to see Lady Gaga perform!

The film has laughs, heart, and a timely message about technology, journalism, and the treatment of people as aging, disposable objects rather than human beings.

In a 2026 world filled with corruption, lies, and coldness, the film gives a much-needed slice of escapism and an uplifting message of unity.

A box office hit, it also reaffirms the importance of audience connection, and I happily enjoyed the film in a full theatre.

The consensus about The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) is that while not as good as the original, it’s a quality slice of popcorn nostalgia with a terrific message.

I agree 100% with this sentiment.

2025 Films, Ethan Suplee, Fabianne Therese, Horror, Independent, Independent Horror, Max the Impaler, Rod Blackhurst, Seann Williams Scott, Slasher

Dolly-2025

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Dolly-2025

Director Rod Blackhurst

Starring Max the Impaler, Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott

Scott’s Review #1,532

Reviewed May 3, 2026

Grade: B+

Dolly (2025) is a disturbing yet effective slasher film patterned after the 1974 horror masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. With grainy filmmaking, a remote, woodsy locale, and hints of inbred country folk living a secret, macabre existence, the parallels are clear.

Following the film’s viewing, it’s almost a necessity that a prequel is in the works, as many questions remain, especially among the family.

While following a standard slasher film in terms of a masked, unknown assailant, jump out of your seat scares, and characters making inane decisions, Dolly has a uniqueness all its own.

Since Dolly is an independent horror film, the low-budget nature works in its favor.

The opening sequence features a hulking woman wearing a porcelain doll mask, clutching a decapitated body. In her bedroom, she sobs with grief and appears emotionally wounded as she utters wounded, animalistic sounds.

The room is infested with buzzing flies, creating a hot summer atmosphere.

The plot then follows Macy (Fabianne Therese) and Chase (Seann William Scott), a happy couple on their way to a remote mountain-top getaway where Chase nervously intends to propose marriage.

A silly and superfluous add-on about Chase having a young daughter from a previous relationship and Macy’s uncertainty about being a stepmother, since her own mother was a shitty parent, is discussed via FaceTime with her sister.

This has nothing to do with the main story.

Chase and Macy briefly hike and enjoy the picturesque views before noticing an array of doll figures strewn across the forest and an eerie music box lullaby barely within earshot.

Naturally, since Dolly is a horror film, the couple separates as Chase goes to figure out what the mystery is all about, leaving Macy alone and both of them vulnerable.

Why they don’t go together is beyond me.

Eventually, Macy is abducted by the hulking mask-clad woman and dragged to a dilapidated house in the woods. She fights for survival after she realizes the woman intends to raise her as her infantile child.

Dolly is never a boring experience; it is divided into six chapters aptly named Mother, Father, Daughter, and so on. While the film is ambiguous, the chapters at least help the viewer ascertain that something weird is going on in the house, involving a family.

But is the hulking woman, assumed to be named ‘Dolly’, a victim herself? Why does she put Macy in a baby dress and give her a pacifier? Did she kill the decapitated body or did someone else?

Dolly is certainly nuts, but why is she nuts?

Eventually, another character is introduced who provides a shred of clarity but also raises even more questions. Why is the character bound and tied, and can they be trusted?

To offset the gruesome physical suffering and emotional trauma the characters endure, the audience can have some good, clean, slasher fun. Macy, in particular, makes one dumb decision after another, which may make the viewer scream out to the screen in comical frustration.

Seemingly countless times, Macy foregoes escape to either pause and ponder the situation, wasting precious time, or merely wounds her assailant instead of decapitating them to ensure she is safe.

There are also clichés like a character wearing headphones and blasting music, not hearing a victim’s pleas for help, a barricaded door, tripping and falling in the forest, curiously yelling out ‘hello?’, and various other devices to keep the character trapped and in peril.

It also makes Dolly seem predictable, especially as the conclusion draws near.

I wouldn’t say I was glad Dolly ended when it did, but it felt like it went as far as it could with what might be ‘Act 1’ of a multiple-film experience.

Dolly (2025) has an excellent horror vibe, great elements, and decent acting, but provides few answers to a myriad of questions.

While riddled with clichés from many past horror films, the setup is there, and the film successfully intrigues its audience enough, prompting a follow-up.

1972 Films, Horror, Lamont Johnson, Patty Duke, Richard Thomas, Rosemary Murphy, Sian Barbara Allen

You’ll Like My Mother-1972

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You’ll Like My Mother-1972

Director Lamont Johnson

Starring Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy

Scott’s Review #1,531

Reviewed April 29, 2026

Grade: A-

A largely forgotten 1972 horror film, You’ll Like My Mother, is a diamond in the rough.

It’s a perfect offering for a frigid wintry night since several days’ worth of activity occur amid a blustery Minnesota blizzard.

Additionally, a foreboding remote mansion with warm fireplaces, howling wind, and passageways is where most of the action takes place.

Is there any better atmosphere for a horror film?

Influenced by films like Psycho (1960), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), and even What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and undoubtedly others, its themes are ‘mommy horror’ and being incapacitated, gaslit, and trapped in an isolated locale.

When her husband, Matthew, is killed in Vietnam, newlywed Francesca Kinsolving (Patty Duke) finds herself pregnant and alone. She travels from sunny Los Angeles to visit her in-laws in snowy Minnesota, believing, based on her late husband’s encouragement, that she’ll be welcomed with open arms.

She is mortified at what she actually finds when she arrives.

Mrs. Kinsolving (Rosemary Murphy) is an uncaring woman who refuses to accept Francesca as her daughter-in-law. Upon an introduction, she casually mentions having just drowned some kittens as a result of the family cat mating with an alleycat.

Matthew’s mentally disabled sister, Kathleen (Sian Barbara Allen), whom he never thought to mention, is kind, and Francesca forms an immediate connection with her.

Much to her displeasure, Francesca sticks around because of the blizzard, and events take a peculiar turn with the discovery of a family Bible, a mysterious resident of the mansion, and questions about the family fortune.

Patty Duke, best known for Valley of the Dolls in 1967, reportedly sought more mature roles and delivered a fantastic lead performance in You’ll Like My Mother.

The best part about Francesca is that she is a strong character and matches wits with Mrs. Kinsolving. When she is given a sleeping pill in her hot cocoa, causing her to sleep for fifteen hours, she scolds the mother and demands the hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast that she missed.

She also doesn’t mince words about her disappointment in Mrs. Kinsolving’s demeanor, admitting she expected someone a bit nicer and stating she doubts they’ll see each other again.

I wanted more scenes between the two and more bitchy sparring as the ladies play cat and mouse, dangling leverage in front of each other.

Rosemary Murphy is a standout as Mrs. Kinsolving, lending the character a cold, abrupt quality. As the onion is peeled and uncertainty about her identity is unleashed, she boldly keeps her cool.

The pacing of the film is excellent, and events never lag. At merely one hour and thirty-two minutes, the director Lamont Johnson makes the most of it, immediately showing Francesca on a bus towards snow country.

The rest is contained in and around the vast mansion and its grounds. While not haunted, the estate is a major player with long hallways, staircases, cabinets, and the attic and garage being important components.

A few plot holes are evident, such as no one realizing a newborn baby is being kept in the attic, and horror standards like Francesca’s near escapes being thwarted, but the film’s tension never wanes.

The final act is juicy as a wild chase and game of hide and seek around the mansion’s grounds ensues, which results in a shocking death. The audience will bite their nails in hopes that Francesca and the baby escape with their lives.

There is no gore, making the film more intellectual and haunting than in-your-face violence would be. Often, the danger is unseen, and shadows and noises are common.

A chilling thrill ride makes You’ll Like My Mother (1972) a delicious effort, a perfect companion for a dark, stormy night.

1997 Films, Andrea Martin, Angela Lansbury, Animated, Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Children, Christopher Lloyd, Don Bluth, Fantasy, Gary Goldman, Hank Azaria, J.K. Simmons, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Kirsten Dunst, Meg Ryan, Musical

Anastasia-1997

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Anastasia-1997

Director Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

Voices Meg Ryan, John Cusack

Scott’s Review #1,530

Reviewed April 27, 2026

Grade: B

Anastasia (1997) is an animated film that explores emperors, duchesses, and the Romanov royal family of Russia, offering an important early-twentieth-century history lesson.

Surprisingly, not a Disney film, it’s the first release from Fox Animation Studios, resulting in an overall decent effort. It has potency but lacks the magic of other darling animated creations of the past.

An evil and vengeful wizard named Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) casts a curse on the royal family as a dazzling ball commences in 1916, and young Anastasia disappears as their palace is overrun by killers, leaving most of the family dead.

She and her grandmother, whom she eventually is separated from when the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury) flees on a train, are saved by a mysterious servant boy who whisks them to a secret room.

Years later, the Grand Duchess offers a reward for Anastasia’s return, but finally gives up amid a legion of imitators and attempted schemers, leaving her flustered and hopeless.

Two Russians, Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vlad (Kelsey Grammer), initially plan to pawn off a phony discovered through auditions, but are shocked to learn that an orphan girl named Anya (Meg Ryan) is the real Anastasia.

Dimitri, who has fallen in love with Anya, is torn between his feelings and a potentially lucrative payday.

The film’s wintry backdrop is visually exquisite, with snow, lights, and the glitz and glamour associated with Paris, setting the story in Saint Petersburg and launching the action amid fabulous costumes and palace trimmings at the ball.

A dangerous train ride from Saint Petersburg to the east, winding up in Paris, is also a high point of the film.

The central characters, Anya, Dimitri, and Vlad, escape terrible fates that the evil Rasputin is plotting against them. They slink from first class to the luggage car to finally leap from the train itself in a daring escape.

They then stowaway on a ship bound for Paris.

The trio’s adventures make the film enjoyable and edge-of-your-seat at times.

Another highlight is a compelling sequence in which Rasputin gets Anya to sleepwalk to the edge of the ship, attempting to make her jump to her death. She sees her dead siblings in a sunny pool of warmth as they invite her to dive in and join them.

The glowing, hallucinogenic interplay of summer sun and winter-driving rain aboard the ship is both majestic and frightening. It also shows the connection between her and her siblings, as well as feelings of loss.

I wasn’t entralled with the characters of Rasputin or the hapless Bartok (Hank Azaria), a minuscule albino bat sidekick, who eventually ‘turns good’.

Rasputin, stuck in a mysterious limbo until he kills off the remaining Romanov (Anya), is portrayed as cartoonish and over-the-top. His threats become redundant, as does his one-note nature.

The characters’ situation is complicated by a weird situation in which, because of foiled attempts on the lives of Dimitri, Vlad, and Anya, they are forced to return to the ‘real world’ and kill Anya there.

It makes little sense, feels juvenile, and the characters were wisely omitted from the stage version.

The musical numbers are charming, but they do not knock it out of the park. Tepidly nominated for an Oscar nomination, “Journey to the Past” is okay, but nothing memorable either.

What works best is the romance between Anya and Dimitri, who have tremendous chemistry. Since he is immediately smitten with her, it is interesting to see how the film handles the eventual revelation of his villainy and his subsequent redemption.

Since it’s clear the film will have a ‘happily ever after’ ending, the anticipation of a final showdown reduces some of the predictability.

The reunion between Anya and her grandmother is touching and sentimental without being too mushy. Even in an animated film, powerful performances can be achieved, and the characters can touch their audience as much as a live-action film.

An entertaining film with heart and a intellectually stimulating backdrop, it has enough to recommend to children and adults alike. I could have done with a better villain or perhaps no villain at all, which makes Anastasia (1997) feel more juvenile and less sophisticated than it should have been.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Musical or Comedy Score, Best Original Song-“Journey to the Past”

 

1956 Films, Dorothy Malone, Douglas Sirk, Drama, Edward Platt, Lauren Bacall, Robert Keith, Robert Stack, Rock Hudson

Written on the Wind-1956

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Written on the Wind-1956

Director Douglas Sirk

Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack

Scott’s Review #1,529

Reviewed April 20, 2026

Grade: A-

The terms ‘melodrama’ and ‘soap opera’ unfortunately come with a negative connotation, conjuring up disparaging adjectives like sappy or overwrought. Mix in poor acting, and you’ve got yourself a bad film.

But director Douglas Sirk, well known in the 1950s for his Hollywood melodramas like All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959), and Written on the Wind (1956), crafts beautiful visual effects amid powerful performances and compelling storylines.

Casting A-list movie stars only adds to the credibility.

Written on the Wind stars Rock Hudson and Lauren Bacall as complicated characters on the cusp of a relationship, but hindered by other selfish characters determined to achieve their own romantic desires.

Hudson starred in an impressive six Douglas Sirk films while Bacall’s career was beginning to wane, leading her to accept the role.

The action makes stops in New York City and Miami before settling in oil-rich Texas, where a central dysfunctional family dynasty led by Jasper Hadley (Robert Keith) is the main focus.

Hadley’s alcoholic son, Kyle (Robert Stack), is in love with Lucy (Bacall), whom he woos and marries. At the same time, Kyle’s scheming, self-destructive sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), has her sights set on Kyle’s childhood best friend, the dashing Mitch (Hudson), who longs for romance with Lucy.

The foursome banter, lust after, and become involved in dramatic situations, which lead to secrets and eventually death. Subjects like alcoholism, unrequited love, miscarriage, murder, and a court trial are explored.

While the situations may sound like nothing more than a sudsy afternoon daytime drama, the acting and rich writing more than raise the film above mediocrity.

The juicy sequences alone will entice the rabid viewer.

The exceptional chemistry between Hudson and Bacall is a winning formula, and viewers easily root for them to be together, and they immediately seem destined to be.  Their scenes smolder with passion and determination, but both characters are too righteous and benevolent to let anything happen.

After all, Lucy is married to Kyle, and learns she is pregnant, though she remains terribly unfulfilled.

It’s easy to like Mitch and Lucy, especially when they’re contrasted with unsympathetic characters like Kyle and Marylee. Rich and spoiled, Kyle is a lustful playboy, a womanizer, and terribly insecure and jealous.

Marylee is a boozy nymphomaniac who is callous and never satisfied.

Kyle and Marylee are not explored as much as they might have been with a longer running time, so they have hints of being one-dimensional. But both actors’ powerful performances leave audiences mesmerized by their characters.

Marylee nearly steals the show with her fiery bedroom negligee dance to a hi-fi blaring “Temptation,” while another character dies tragically a floor below.

You might say we ‘love to hate’ both characters.

Since Sirk and Hudson were both gay, though not publicly at that time (1956), keen viewers can notice hidden clues about what situations Hudson might have been facing in real life.

We can see how Hudson would have had attractive women like Marylee fawning over him and practically begging him to bed them. Unable to be receptive to their advances, instead, he would feel guilty and lonely.

Besides wonderful writing, Sirk’s direction is inspiring. The opening sequence features a clever ‘the beginning is the ending ‘ approach that many filmmakers borrowed over the years in their cinematic works.

The audience immediately sees Kyle stagger outside the palatial mansion, brandishing a gun and finally collapsing. While the wind whistles, a desk calendar is shown with the pages quickly turning to eighteen months prior when the story really begins.

This opening scene will be recreated at the end of the film, making for instant attention.

Other spicy add-ons, like fine furniture throughout the estate, a grand dinner beginning with a fruit-cocktail appetizer, more than a few sophisticated martinis served, and modern sports cars being driven, lend a robust flair of wealth and glamour to the production.

A sequence was even patterned after a flashy Manhattan nightclub named 21 Club.

For a trip into a world of wealthy yet tortured characters, Written on the Wind (1956) is top-notch. Some cliches can be forgiven, as melodrama was hardly done any better than this film.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Supporting Actor-Robert Stack, Best Supporting Actress-Dorothy Malone (won), Best Song-‘Written on the Wind.’

1983 Films, Anne Ditchburn, Horror, John Vernon, Lesleh Donaldson, Linda Thorson, Lynne Griffin, Peter Simpson, Richard Ciupka, Samantha Eggar, Slasher

Curtains-1983

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Curtains-1983

Director Richard Ciupka, Peter R. Simpson

Starring John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson

Scott’s Review 1,528

Reviewed April 13, 2026

Grade: B-

Curtains (1983) is a mid-1980s horror film that sits somewhere between an intended arthouse gem akin to Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977) and a standard slasher flick, ala Friday the 13th (1980), riddled with clichés.

To be blunt, most of the time it doesn’t know what it wants to be, which is unsurprising given the behind-the-scenes drama enveloping the project.

The plot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and is a mess from the opening scene until the two sets of credits roll. Weakly billed as Act I and Act II, the dual set of credits is mystifying without knowing the backstage turmoil.

It’s never a good sign when a director ultimately removes his name from the project, but that’s what happened.

Producer Peter R. Simpson butted heads with director Richard Ciupka, so that, in the end, he was frustratedly forced to have his name removed from the film entirely and was reduced to being listed under a pseudonym.

I doubt the gentlemen ever exchanged Christmas cards.

Most of the cast doubted the film would ever see the light of day until, lo and behold, it was released two years after being made.

The streaming quality via Prime is horrendous, nearly making Curtains unwatchable and adding to an already chaotic trainwreck.

Nonetheless, the brief ninety-minute experience contains some clever moments and a compelling whodunit-style murder mystery amid a lonely mansion. These, right off the bat, are horror standards sure to get some credibility.

The hideously creepy ‘ugly’ mask that the killer dons is frightening, as is a strange doll that makes recurring appearances. See above and add to more horror must-haves.

In a murky opening sequence, a method actress, Samantha Sherwood (Samantha Eggar), has herself committed to an asylum to study the inmates, only to be double-crossed by her husband, Jonathan Stryker (John Vernon), who intends to keep her locked up.

She escapes to attend his casting session for six starlets whom he has invited to his prestigious and secluded mansion for a weekend retreat/audition for his new movie. Samantha’s motive is revenge and a desperate desire to play the film’s mysterious, mentally unstable star, Audra.

The ambitious female performers the unknown killer targets run the gamut from serious actress to sex kitten to stand-up comic. They are systematically killed one by one, naturally.

A clever and recurring theme is that of dreams. One victim, driving on a deserted highway en route to the mansion, stops to investigate a doll sitting in the middle of the street. A maniac then runs her down before waking up safely in her bed.

This ambiguous sequence and a riveting ice skating sequence on a frozen pond are the film’s best.

Curtains also does a good job at providing frights, as when one victim stages a kinky home intruder sequence with her boyfriend. Assumed to be there to kill her, instead, they simulate a rape before cracking up into hysterics.

The twist at the end of the film is also well done. Perhaps an early influencer to Scream (1996), there are not one but two killers in play, but are they in cahoots or kill independently?

The negatives run from a wacky cat-and-mouse scene amid mannequins, to someone placing a severed head in a toilet that is removed a minute later with no leftover blood and gore.

Neither the doll nor the mask has anything to do with the story other than creepy effects to throw in. And a hunky male hot tub soaker is introduced, then disappears for no reason.

The acting, even by heavyweights like Vernon and Eggar, is surprisingly ineffectual, saved slightly by Lynne Griffin (Black Christmas, 1974).

Despite being a cluttered, disarrayed film, Curtains (1983) does have elements that work. There are more questions than answers left to ponder, but the win, of note, is that the viewer will keep thinking about the film.

1981 Films, Comedy, Cookie Mueller, Dark Comedy, David Samson, Divine, Edith Massey, Jean Hill, John Waters, Ken King, Mary Garlington, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Satire, Tab Hunter

Polyester-1981

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Polyester-1981

Director John Waters

Starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey

Scott’s Review #1,527

Reviewed April 6, 2026

Grade: A-

Polyester (1981) is the film that brought raunchy director John Waters to the mainstream, some well-deserved respectability, and what better timing than the 1980s, a time of conservatism.

To many, the film is vile, outlandish, raunchy, and numerous other adjectives, steering many viewers away from even seeing it. But compared to his earlier works of filth, such as Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974), Polyester is quite tame and accessible.

In fact, the film is one of New Line Cinema’s earliest releases.

I see Polyester as a bridge between his early 1970s works and the sentimentality of his later works.

Waters’ stalwarts like Divine, Edith Massey, Mink Stole, and others return to the fold to wreak havoc on virgin film goers who may not be familiar with his dark comic situations.

An attention-grabbing gimmick called Odorama, in which moviegoers can smell what they are viewing on-screen using special scratch-and-sniff cards, is a unique add-on to the film.

Scents like roses, pizza, and farts are a few examples.

In the story, a frustrated middle-class housewife, Francine Fishpaw (Divine), tries to maintain her sanity while managing her dysfunctional household. Her husband, Elmer (David Samson), the owner of a controversial adult theater, is sleeping with his secretary, Sandra (Mink Stole).

Meanwhile, her delinquent teen son, Dexter (Ken King), and pregnant teen daughter, Lulu (Mary Garlington), have problems of their own.

But when Francine meets handsome and wealthy Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), the owner of a theater specializing in art films, her life takes a positive turn.

The biggest change from Waters’ previous works, which were always set in his hometown of Baltimore, is that the setting is a more upscale suburban neighborhood rather than the rank slums of downtown.

The Fishpaws reside in a powder blue house with a paved driveway and shutters. While not a mansion, it’s respectable, and they forge a decent lifestyle. Francine dreams away the days while dutifully cooking and cleaning for her husband and fixing his evening cocktail, while enduring jokes about her weight.

The story is told from Francine’s perspective, and she is joined by her best friend and former maid, Cuddles (Massey), who is now wealthy after an enormous sum of money was left to her by a former client.

The ladies chat over fattening cake, discussing Francine’s numerous problems and her scheme to catch her philandering husband in the act of cheating.

Francine’s pale blue phone rings constantly with one nuisance after another.

The film is a satire of suburban life in the early 1980s, involving topics such as divorce, abortion, adultery, alcoholism, racial stereotypes, foot fetishism, and the religious right.

Naturally, in wacky form.

My favorite sequence comes when a religious right group prances around Francine’s house protesting Elmer’s pornographic theatre. When one woman smacks Francine, she proudly proclaims, ‘That’s from Jesus.

Later, when on a shopping trip to try on dresses with Cuddles, a hungover Francine pukes in her handbag to the horror of a stuffy saleswoman.

It makes a mockery of religion, particularly Catholicism, as when wicked nuns enter the story in relation to a pregnant Lu-Lu. Shown as ridiculous, they are able to ‘reform’ Lu-Lu into the straight and narrow.

Polyester is filled with terrific moments tamer than Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, but nonetheless laugh-out-loud and raucous.

For those curious about a John Waters film, left of center from the normal yet important Hairspray (1988), but still nicely subversive, Polyester (1981) is a great choice.

1965 Films, Bruce Glover, Crime Thriller, Elaine Stritch, Film noir, Jan Murray, Joseph Cates, Juliet Prowse, Margot Bennett, Sal Mineo, Thriller

Who Killed Teddy Bear?-1965

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Who Killed Teddy Bear? -1965

Director Joseph Cates

Starring Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Elaine Stritch

Scott’s Review #1,526

Reviewed April 5, 2026

Grade: A-

Enshrouded with groovy, almost psychedelic camera shots and black-and-white filming, Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) has tremendous style and cinematic creativity.

The film also shows the seedy nature of 1960s New York City, a time when crime increased, and the once culturally and artistically safe haven was suddenly shrouded in filth and danger.

This sets the stage for a film about stalking, menacing, and murder.

Frequent exterior shots of Manhattan, including 42nd Street, Central Park, and Times Square, make it feel relevant and alive. I’m glad these were incorporated over solely studio sets.

Additionally, taboo subjects like lesbianism, pornography, and incest are explored, enhancing a stark direction in cinema from the wholesome 1950s to the edgy 1960s, to the intensity of the 1970s, when the envelope in filmmaking was gloriously pushed and pushed.

Combined with the experimental visuals, the film is a measured success.

The overall story, though, disappoints due to ambiguous motivations and an unsatisfying conclusion.  Right off the bat, the cover art essentially gives away the film’s predator, which the film sets up as a whodunit of sorts.

Nonetheless, thanks to its daring, I rank Who Killed Teddy Bear? as a compelling, impressive effort despite some reservations about the writing.

The film follows Norah Dain (Juliet Prowse), a nightclub disc jockey and aspiring actress living alone in a sublet apartment in Manhattan. Norah begins to receive a series of obscene phone calls from someone who seems to be watching her every day.

She also finds a decapitated teddy bear in her apartment.

Suspects like police detective, Dave Madden (Jan Murray), whose own wife was raped and murdered, and takes a personal interest in Norah and her case, and a waiter at the nightclub, Lawrence Sherman (Sal Mineo),  who lives with and cares for his nineteen-year-old sister Edie (Margot Bennnett), who has a brain injury and has the mind of a child, are introduced.

Of course, we know from the very first scene that the stalker is a man, but we don’t know his motivations or why he targets Norah in particular.

Does he have a mental illness, merely obsessed with a pretty girl, or are his reasons more personal? What does the teddy bear have to do with anything?

In an opening scene, and what could have been influenced by Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), a young girl falls down the stairs, clutching a teddy bear that she ultimately drops.

Is the stalker out for revenge for a past wrongdoing, and what does Norah have to do with that? How does Marian Freeman (Elaine Stritch), the older, experienced manager of the nightclub who takes a personal interest in Norah, fit into the puzzle?

Mineo gives an impressive performance right alongside Prowse, and his character is the most interesting to dissect once the film concludes. Nearly rivaling his performance in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), his character is flawed, ruined, and emotionally scarred, and we yearn to know more about him.

Sadly, there is more left to learn.

Prowse deserves praise for carrying the film and exuding cautious rebellion and a thirst for life. Norah refuses to cower in her apartment; instead, she lives her life, yearning for freedom in the big city, and Prowse captures this wonderfully.

Aspects of Peeping Tom (1960) and Psycho (1960) regarding voyeurism and ‘mommy issues’ can be seen in Who Killed Teddy Bear? and in the yet-to-come Black Christmas (1974), which may have been influenced by the film.

I can’t find much about director Joseph Cates, but he has a masterful cutting-edge technique.

Considering the multitude of taboos and perversions the film explores, that almost no films were doing is to be celebrated. Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) is a messy, sometimes uneven film, but rocks the boat in all the best ways.

1975 Films, Drama, Elizabeth Wilson, Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, Lisa Lucas, Made for Television, Mildred Natwick, Paul Bogart, Television Specials

The Easter Promise-1975

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The Easter Promise-1975

Director Paul Bogart

Starring Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, Lisa Lucas

Scott’s Review #1,525

Reviewed April 3, 2026

Grade: A

The Easter Promise (1975) is a television movie that is surprisingly powerful and emotional. The umbrella title ‘family classics’ was misleading to me, as I begrudgingly watched what I thought would be an overly sentimental and wholesome affair.

That is not the case at all, as The Easter Promise is laden with dark and strong themes of loneliness and alcoholism mixed with feminism and truth to oneself.

A major win and another surprise is the use of videotape rather than film. This makes the story feel like a stage play or a very good daytime television drama layered with humanity and identification.

This worked in the same successful way for the well-known PBS series Upstairs, Downstairs series, and ups the storytelling and investment in the characters.

Finally, a hint of class distinction and career success versus failure is explored. Characters struggle to decide whether to reach for the stars or be complacent and content with the daily drudgery of ordinary life.

The story is that one day, the townspeople of a small Nebraska town eagerly anticipate the return of a former resident and now famous, glamorous Broadway actress, Constance Payne (Jean Simmons). Constance has returned to town to sell her recently deceased father’s house and quickly return to the Big Apple.

Events are told from the perspective of pre-teen Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas), an aspiring artist who cannot wait to leave the folksy and dull Midwest for the lights of New York City the moment she is old enough to.

She intends to forge a connection with Constance, whom she admires for reaching heights of career success.

But when Addie and her girlfriends bombard Constance with requests for acting lessons and an appearance at a local fashion show, they begin to see a dark side of show business.

Drama also surrounds Addie’s father, Jamie (Jason Robards), a high school classmate of Constance’s, who finds her lifestyle flashy and ridiculous. He prefers the small-town mindset and folksy way of thinking, which clashes with Constance and Addie’s beliefs.

Jamie’s mother, Grandmother Mills, provides a kindly, non-judgmental presence that counters Jamie and is wonderfully portrayed by Mildred Natwick.

The character reminds me of Helen Potts, the sweet-natured older woman from Picnic (1955) who brings a sense of pride and good-naturedness to the image of the Midwest.

Serving up a freshly baked pie or muffins elicits a friendly, welcoming vibe.

Despite the heaviness of the alcohol scenes staged dramatically, the best scenes are the quiet ones over a simple meal. When Addie impulsively invites Constance to dinner at her family home, much to Jamie’s dislike, career and mindset are on the agenda.

Constance and Addie calmly question why people are expected to stay passive and unhappy in an isolated place rather than embrace the hustle and bustle of New York City or the gypsy life of a creative soul.

Culturally, Constance expects a cocktail hour before the meal, whereas the Mills family does not even have wine on hand and serves dinner immediately.

This shows the difference between a good Christian family and the edginess of more creative types and perhaps non-believers.

The scenes involving alcoholism don’t exactly treat the topic as an addiction, or any other message deeper than someone who drinks has a myriad of problems.

But the acting between Lucas and Simmons is top-notch during these scenes.

I was impressed with the scene where Constance teaches the girls about acting and techniques surrounding improvisation and being in the moment of a scene. As a former brief theater major, I found the tips rang true and served as a reminder of my own drama teacher.

A clever, artistic addition is the inclusion of drawings of the characters prior to particular sequences. The drawings come to life as real people, and the scene begins.

The Easter Promise (1975) is a wonderful early-spring made-for-television gem that can be watched year after year.

2025 Films, Ahn Hyo-seop, Animated, Arden Cho, Best Animated Feature Oscar Winners, Chris Appelhans, Daniel Dae Kim, Fantasy, Ji-young Yoo, Ken Jeong, Lea Salonga, Lee Byung-hun, Maggie Kang, May Hong, Musical, Yunjin Kim

KPop Demon Hunters-2025

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KPop Demon Hunters-2025

Director Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans

Voices Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo

Scott’s Review #1,524

Reviewed March 12, 2026

Grade: B+

KPop Demon Hunters (2025) has become an international hit sensation and a phenomenal crowd pleaser, winning several year-end awards in the process.

This is unsurprising, since the film is a beautifully animated/anime extravaganza, oozing with infectious energy and vibrant colors.

The film contains poignant messages of girl power, self-acceptance, and humanity that make it perfect family entertainment with a terrific soundtrack to boot.

Juicy songs like ‘Takedown’, especially ‘Golden’ and ‘Soda Pop’, are instantly memorable and hummable, celebrating universal pop boy-and-girl band sensations that kids and parents alike can appreciate.

It also incorporates a storyline about South Korean culture and ancient lore, which provides a rich international flavor.

It’s not high art nor groundbreaking cinema, but rather pure bubble gum: fun, sweet, and joyful, and it sticks with you all throughout the running time.

For this type of film, that is acceptable, and the main reason to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Between gigs as a stadium-headlining, social-media-frenzied pop sensation, the members of the girl band Huntrix use their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans. A constant supernatural threat hovers, posed by demons named Honmoon who roam the streets.

It’s unclear if Honmoon are spirits or if the fans can actually see them.

Each of the girls, Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), has a distinct personality, but Rumi is the leader of the pack with the strongest singing voice.

When a dark secret about one of the girls is revealed, it threatens to break up the group just as a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, of demons in disguise, emerges on the scene.

In teen fashion and a clear attempt to market the film to a young demographic, romance blossoms between Rumi and Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), the pretty leader of the Saja Boys.

Of course, they begin as rivals but form a strong alliance later in the film.

The lavish colors, many pinks, purples, and blues, make the look enticing and cotton candy-like, almost like being immersed in a sugary video game version of Candy Land with songs.

The plentiful concert sequences also score big, as the anthemic numbers are sometimes repeated. This reinforces the connection between the bands and the fans, and also the film and the fans.

A main message is one of connectivity. Community, friendship, and having each other’s backs are the main themes and an inspiration for the viewer to come together as one, as evidenced by the concert scenes.

Despite KPop Demon Hunters not being defined as an LGBTQ+ film nor having any specific LGBTQ+ characters, it still resonates on a deep level.

Rumi’s story parallels the experience of coming out, particularly regarding parental and societal expectations. The continuous lyrics focused on the struggle to hide your true self and finally be yourself are highly inspiring.

So that, while an entertaining crowd pleaser, there is more than meets the eye if one is to dig a little deeper.

Victory is achieved by KPop Demon Hunters (2025) through expressive animation, articulate lyrics, and spectacular action, resulting in a gem that’s comical, romantic, exciting, and moving all at once.

It also makes older adults feel like part of things and not embarrassed about watching a youthful film.

A sequel is planned.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Animated Feature (won), Best Original Song-“Golden” (won)

1980 Films, Adrienne Barbeau, Charles Cyphers, Hal Holbrook, Horror, Independent, Independent Horror, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Carpenter, John Houseman, Nancy Loomis, Tom Atkins, Tommy Lee Wallace

The Fog-1980

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The Fog-1980

Director John Carpenter

Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins

Scott’s Review #1,523

Reviewed March 9, 2026

Grade: A-

Ghost stories can be tough for a filmmaker to make interesting, let alone be successful. So much depends on atmosphere, mood, and good storytelling.

The most memorable ghost films are The Innocents (1961), The Shining (1980), and The Sixth Sense (1999), but there are bound to be others I can’t think of.

The key is to make the unbelievable believable and to make the subject matter realistic and spooky enough to avoid a mediocre or worse yet, hokey experience.

The Fog (1980) is one of the top-tier ghost stories, often mistaken for a slasher film, undoubtedly because it stars scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and is directed by John Carpenter, who, two years earlier, had created one of the greatest slasher films, Halloween (1978).

It also stars slasher stalwarts Charles Cyphers and Nancy Loomis, and includes Halloween producer Debra Hill and Halloween editor Tommy Lee Wallace, who was once married to Loomis.

Additionally, Curtis’s mother, Janet Leigh (Psycho, 1960), is also in the cast, making the entire film an incestuous horror experience.

But it’s hardly Halloween lite.

Instead of making a patterned carbon copy, Carpenter pivots to a spooky, original story filled with exceptional jump scares, a foreboding musical score, and iridescent fog; a character in itself is so prominent.

The keyboard-tinged sounds are highly effective at delivering a downright scary mood.

One midnight hour, cleverly billed the ‘witching hour’ by sultry radio announcer Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau), strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary.

Reverend Malone (Hal Holbrook) stumbles upon a dark secret about the town’s past while reading his grandfather’s diary, and town resident Nick Castle (Tom Atkins) and hitchhiker Elizabeth (Curtis) try to save others from death as the body count begins to climb.

Savvy Halloween fans know that Nick Castle was a stuntman who played the Shape in the film. And, Carpenter makes a cameo as Bennett Tramer, a character in the Halloween franchise.

At a quick ninety minutes of running time, The Fog hardly has time to lag and almost feels like a short anthology. The brevity is to its advantage despite the many characters featured.

A common theme in horror, the film opens with a campfire story told around a campfire by an older man, Mr. Machen (John Houseman), to a group of startled kids about a doomed clipper ship that crashed into rocks a hundred years ago.

With the stage perfectly set, the killings ensue in rapid form first aboard a fisher boat and subsequently when deadly lepor beings rap loudly on their victim’s doors in the hopes of being answered.

The casting is an exceptional part of the fun. Atkins joins Holbrook, Curtis, Leigh, Loomis, Cyphers, and Barbeau to round out a phenomenal cast. I only wish mother and daughter, Curtis and Leigh, shared more screentime.

The special effects need to be seen in light of the 1980s cheesiness. Yes, in 2026, more CGI would be used, but the misty rolling fog and the shimmering light are quite impressive.

Unsure if Curtis or Barbeau is considered the lead (Barbeau gets my vote, but Curtis gets the cover shot), Curtis was a bankable horror film star, so perhaps an attempt to grab the younger demographic was the motivation.

Jump out of the seat, moments like a falling dead body, a hand on a shoulder, and a gruesome-looking hand smashing through glass are highly effective moments aided by perfectly placed synthesizer sounds.

A well-crafted, intelligent, though underappreciated horror effort, The Fog (1980) is more of a cult classic than a bona fide classic, which is a shame because it’s a very good film.

A dismal remake followed in 2005 and should be avoided.

1983 Films, Brian Dennehy, Crime Thriller, Ian Bannen, Ian McDiarmid, Joanna Pacuła, Lee Marvin, Michael Apted, Michael Elphick, Political Thriller, Richard Griffiths, Rikki Fulton, Thriller, William Hurt

Gorky Park-1983

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Gorky Park-1983

Director Michael Apted

Starring William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Joanna Pacula

Scott’s Review #1,522

Reviewed March 8, 2026

Grade: B+

Gorky Park (1983) is an aptly named thriller set in Moscow, Russia, involving a mysterious triple murder of three young adults while ice skating at the titled central park. In addition to being murdered, their faces have been skinned and their fingerprints removed.

Russian detective Arkady Renko (William Hurt) uncovers a network of deceit and intrigue when he investigates the murders.

As he tries to make progress on the case, it becomes apparent that the KGB doesn’t want the homicide to be solved, and Renko needs to know why. He eventually meets an American businessman, Jack Osborne (Lee Marvin), who offers some clues, but Renko soon realizes that Osborne may be involved in the plot.

He also meets and falls in love with a mysterious young woman, Irina Asanova (Joanna Pacula), who owned the ice skates found on one of the victims.

The film succeeds in outlining a compelling story that doesn’t lag and in providing a cold, wintry atmosphere, just what one would expect from the drab Russian environment. The audience knows deadly shananigans have occurred, and the film is fun to watch as it tries to connect the dots.

Even though the action is palpable, the ensuing mystery can feel overly complicated at times and hard to follow, leading to an overwhelming feeling.

Accepting Hurt, an American actor, as a Russian police investigator takes some time. For the first thirty minutes, I thought he was an American character.  He sometimes shows hints of an English accent and no Russian at all.

Once I accepted this, Hurt does a very good job at leading the film, which is a tough ask given the complexities of the story. He is handsome and a good guy wanting to do the right thing, so he’s easy to root for.

The film is adapted from the 1981 novel written by Martin Cruz Smith.

While most of the film is set in Moscow, the action later shifts to Stockholm, Sweden, a city I adore. Due to the Cold War conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States, the film was obviously not shot in Moscow.

Finland and Sweden were the chosen filming locations.

As hard as I tried to follow the main plot, my mind occasionally wandered because there are KGB elements, Jack Osborne, Irina, and an American detective, William Kurwill, in the mix, as well as various colleagues and connections to Renko.

Any or all of these characters or organizations could be involved in the murders, and minor red herrings like the creepy Professor who recreates the victim’s heads and Irina, who comes off as a cold and unfeeling, emerge as the story goes along.

Despite the story’s complexities, Gorky Park is filmed very well and rises above the ranks of mediocrity it could have fallen into, since countless other political and crime thrillers have used the tired Russia/United States rivalry.

The elements are the best part because numerous snowy and bleak sequences enhance the overall story and atmosphere. A scene in woodsy Sweden is wonderfully cold and white, with the woods and a shack coming into play.

The romantic storyline between Renko and Irina is more plot-driven than anything fresh. It’s predictable from the moment the characters meet as they delve into a strong dislike that becomes a love formula.

While there are some cliches to endure, like menacing ‘type’ characters and the overuse of the word ‘comrade’, the film surprisingly feels crisp, and the big reveal and the hows and whys of a sable fur smuggling organization, though years later, feel dated, are interesting.

I’m not sure I need to see Gorky Park (1983) again, but considering it’s a political/crime thriller amid hundreds of similar films, it stands a bit above the rest.

2025 Films, ASAP Rocky, Christian Slater, Comedy, Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Dark Comedy, Drama, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Josh Safdie, Mary Bronstein, Rose Byrne

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You-2025

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If I Had Legs I’d Kick You-2025

Director Mary Bronstein

Starring Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, Christian Slater

Scott’s Review #1,521

Reviewed February 25, 2026

Grade: A-

Not being a parent myself, nor ever having the desire to be one, I was nonetheless enthralled by the subject of stressed parenting explored in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (2025).

Examining our frazzled lead character, Linda’s, descent into madness after enduring day after day of adult chaos and kid problems, the role is wonderfully played by Rose Byrne.

The actor, though memorable in 2011’s classic Bridesmaids, is usually associated with one-note or throwaway roles throughout her long career.

It’s inspiring to see her finally get her due by playing a complex role with so much chops and receiving an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2025.

With her life crashing down around her, Linda, ironically a psychotherapist, attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness amid pressure from her therapist, her absent husband, a missing client, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her own therapist (Conan O’Brien), also a colleague.

After her living room is destroyed by water damage, she is reduced to renting a dingy motel for an extended period, where she encounters hostile motel workers.

Her saving grace is her late-night solitude, when she can peacefully indulge in wine and pot while sitting on the beach, contemplating her life.

Director Mary Bronstein, who also appears as a therapist, cleverly doesn’t show Linda’s daughter or husband for nearly the entire film, revealing them only through their grating voices. They irritate and stress Linda out to no end.

Undoubtedly, Bronstein either wanted to keep the focus on Linda and her daily peril or to leave it uncertain whether they even existed outside Linda’s mind.

The plot mostly involves a medical situation where Linda’s daughter, Delaney, has a pediatric feeding disorder that necessitates nightly supplemental feeding through a tube and participation in a day hospital program.

Her husband, a ship captain, is away, presumably at sea. This leaves Linda to handle everything.

Linda trudges through her days, arguing with a parking attendant and a contractor, while having misunderstandings with her therapist, patients, and a bitchy girl at her motel.

The supporting characters are well cast and add leverage to Linda’s peril by being completely unsympathetic and sour. O’Brien is excellent as the self-absorbed therapist, while Danielle Macdonald is good as a needy patient who ditches her baby.

But the film belongs to Byrne.

From the first scene, she wears a weary look, and her close-up facial expressions speak volumes about her peril. Linda looks washed out and exhausted while things spiral out of control. Nearly dozing off as a patient chatters away, she finally has had enough.

On the other hand, she is constantly on the brink of losing her shit.

Thanks to Byrne, we are treated to fist-pumping scenes where she lets loose on both therapists and the bitchy motel girl, instantly making Linda the only rootable character in the lot.

Still, she’s not exactly likable herself and incessantly makes poor choices. Her irritation with everything grows tiresome until the final sequence, when the film parleys into a message about mental illness.

If I should have found the film depressing, I didn’t.

Sprinkled with macabre humor, the film must have been influenced by the 1970 masterpiece Diary of a Mad Housewife, starring Carrie Snodgrass as a woman emotionally tortured by her selfish family and on the brink of a breakdown.

Bronstein, also the screenwriter, makes Linda the only character the audience should focus on, and all events are told from her perspective, which makes the film a winner.

Never knowing where events are headed, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (2025) is a sheer delight in comedic/dramatic insanity. Though it carries a strong central theme of mental wellness, it also promotes the important message that it’s also okay not to have kids who will ruin your life.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Rose Byrne

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Director-Mary Bronstein, Best Lead Performance-Rose Byrne (won)

1960 Films, Bing Crosby, Comedy, David Burns, Frankie Vaughan, Gene Kelly, George Cukor, Marilyn Monroe, Milton Berle, Musical, Musical Comedy, Richard Haydn, Tony Randall, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Yves Montand

Let’s Make Love-1960

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Let’s Make Love-1960

Director George Cukor

Starring Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Frankie Vaughn

Scott’s Review #1,520

Reviewed February 22, 2026

Grade: C+

Let’s Make Love (1960) is a mediocre musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe in one of her last film roles.  It would be her final musical film performance before she died in 1962.

Ironically, the iconic star plays a strong character, too frequently known for playing dimwits or money-hungry women. While refreshing, her role is almost a supporting turn for the star, playing a love interest to an uninteresting character portrayed by Yves Montand.

A very wealthy businessman, Jean-Marc Clement (Montand), has all the material possessions money can buy, but he has no love life. He seeks someone who loves him for who he is, not for his fortune.

One day, Clement learns that he is the subject of a satirical theater production and visits the set during a rehearsal. Unrecognized, the show’s unwitting producers offer him the part as himself, and he takes the gig to be close to the gorgeous yet down-to-earth actress Amanda Dell (Monroe).

This leads to a series of hijinks, misunderstandings, and, finally, an unfulfilling, predictable conclusion.

Monroe is terrific, of course, playing a character rich with honesty, integrity, and support for her theatre company. Amanda is not looking for a sugar daddy or a meal ticket and is content to while away the days doing what she loves on stage.

The film’s highlights occur when Monroe performs in showy outfits sparkling with glitter and color, oozing with sex appeal. Visually, she does not look as good as she did five years prior, appearing washed out and tired, but this can be attributed to knowing the personal turmoil she was in.

Numbers like the Cole Porter song “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” and the title track, “Let’s Make Love,” are moderately memorable and, because Monroe performs them, are worth hearing.

It’s also cool to see exterior shots of New York City in the early 1960s grace the screen, and the backdrop of a low-key theatre is appealing.

I couldn’t help but find Clement’s character harshly unlikable and incapable of sympathy. We are asked to root for a rich man who wants a loving woman but doesn’t treat others very well.

When female staff who take dictation are called into his office, he isn’t particularly warm to them. His assistant, Alexander Kaufman, played by Tony Randall in a tepid performance, caters to Clement’s every whim but isn’t treated kindly in return.

In fact, the irritation is increased because the character of Tony Danton, Amanda’s boozy co-star, is very likable and a perfect match for Amanda.

Why the writers decided Clement and Amanda were better suited for each other is a mystery we’ll probably never figure out.

The biggest mistake is the lack of chemistry between Clement and Amanda, who have none. On the other hand, in the few scenes they share, Tony and Amanda have a tremendous connection.

What a missed opportunity.

Besides the main storyline, there is a silly side story about financing the production and a pissing match over who controls the theatre and its show. This was terribly unnecessary and would have been better if Amanda had been given her own side story, or better yet, a triangle between Amanda/Clement/Tony.

Troubles surrounded the production with various starts and stops, restarts, and proposed reshoots. This affects the film’s look and feel, and it’s apparent that the pacing is terribly uneven.

Even the incorporation of big stars like Milton Berle and cameos by Gene Kelly and Bing Crosby does nothing for the film.

It’s hard to believe that, aside from the outfits and musical numbers, George Cukor directed the film, since he would direct the sensational My Fair Lady in 1964.

Since I adore Marilyn Monroe, I desperately wanted to like Let’s Make Love (1960), but didn’t. The misplaced characters, the lukewarm pacing, and missed opportunities for a better story led to boredom and disappointment.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Score

2025 Films, Abel Ferrara, Comedy, Drama, Emory Cohen, Fran Drescher, Gywneth Paltrow, Josh Safdie, Kevin O'Leary, Odessa A'zion, Sandra Bernhard, Sports, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Okonma

Marty Supreme-2025

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Marty Supreme-2025

Director Josh Safdie

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’Zion

Scott’s Review #1,519

Reviewed February 19, 2026

Grade: A

At a mere thirty years old, Timothée Chalamet has already amassed some terrific film roles in Call Me By Your Name (2017), Wonka (2023), and A Complete Unknown (2024).

Portraying unique and offbeat characters is his sweet spot. 

Playing Marty Mauser in the film Marty Supreme (2025) is his best performance to date. He seamlessly turns a character the audience should dislike into an instant fan favorite who we laugh with, cry with, and root for to overcome life obstacles.

He is a nobody who desperately wants to be a somebody.

While Chalamet leads the charge, he is aided by strong supporting performances from Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, and Fran Drescher as characters who weave into Marty’s web of adventures.

Even actors appearing in only a few scenes are flawlessly cast, providing an authentic look at working-class and affluent white Jewish people in New York at the time.  A racial harmony is also set by including a handful of black characters as dear friends of Marty’s.

Set in 1950s New York City, Marty is a young man with a dream of becoming the world’s best table tennis player, despite setbacks and a lack of respect for the sport.

With a needy mother (Drescher), two different on again off again girlfriends who are both married, one a childhood buddy and one twice his age (A’zion and Paltrow), a pathway to a dull career as a shoe salesman, and a tumultuous relationship with a successful businessman (played by Kevin O’Leary), the cards in life are stacked against him.

Yet, Marty consistently manipulates his way to a free trip to London and Tokyo, and several get-rich-quick schemes to get what he wants and to fulfill his lifelong dream.

Acting is only a part of the overall success of Marty Supreme. Thanks to Josh Safdie’s (Good Time, 2017; Uncut Gems, 2019) superior direction, all technical capabilities are flawlessly executed, and an unpredictable story is achieved.

The pacing is quick and organized, leaving never a dull moment in nonstop Marty adventures. Sequences like the search for a lost dog portray perilous moments of danger as the dog becomes a more prominent character than expected.

The editing is superior, making the fast-paced table tennis sequences both thrilling and exhausting. The quick dialogue, whether during phone conversations, in a dusty theater, or in an exquisite hotel room, all add up to a tight package of filmmaking.

Finally, the costumes and art direction more than adequately showcase a period when a few Americans were affluent. At the same time, the rest struggled to make ends meet while pursuing their own version of the American dream.

I’ve been a fan of Safdie since he was an up-and-comer making the independent film Good Time with his brother Benny, and he has since come into his own with the grizzled crime thriller Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler.

Seeming to enjoy the New York setting in his films, just like director Paul Thomas Anderson prefers sunny California, he is steadily making his films highly recognizable.

Continuing on the theme of good film balance, Safdie incorporates naughty scenes like Marty’s humiliating bare bottom spanking in front of snickering businessmen, and a daring scene where he goes down on an aging film actress (Paltrow) in Central Park.

This ensures some humor is present.

The haves and have-nots support Marty’s journey. Wanting more than the life his depressed mother or shady friends have, Marty aspires to be in the big leagues. He will lie, cheat, or steal from whomever he needs to to achieve this.

And yet, Marty is kindhearted and humorous in his pursuits. He giggles when he can lounge in a lavish hotel and order room service or shmooze among rich theater types at a grandiose party.

Class distinctions are an important part of the character’s motivation for a better life.

Deservedly recognized with many awards-season accolades, Marty Supreme (2025) is an example of a young director coming into his own, with ample resources to make a gem of a film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Josh Safdie, Best Actor-Timothée Chalamet, Best Original Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Costume Design

1976 Films, Comedy, Edward Schaaf, Janet Wood, Kitten Natividad, Monty Bane, Raven De La Croix, Robert McLane, Russ Meyer, Sexploitation

Up!-1976

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Up! -1976

Director Russ Meyer

Starring Raven De La Croix, Robert McLane, Janet Wood

Scott’s Review #1,518

Reviewed February 15, 2026

Grade: B+

A follow-up to the masterpiece Supervixens (1975), sexploitation guru Russ Meyer released Up! (1976), a film in a similar vein with enough bare skin and sexual acts to make even the sexually open-minded blush just a bit.

Ridiculous and titillating beyond belief, the film is meant to be enjoyed for what it is rather than analyzed. Still, despite the sexual escapades of large-breasted women and taut young men, the film achieves a measure of female empowerment through its characters.

As far as Meyer films go, Supervixens, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) are my favorites, but Up! deserves credit for its outrageous and wacky nature alone.

The plot is quite thin, but it kicks off with a man named Adolf Schwartz (Edward Schaaf), who lives in a Bavarian-style castle in Northern California. After an orgy in the dungeon with three women and a man, he is murdered when someone places a deadly piranha fish in his bathtub.

Some time later, Margo Winchester (Raven De La Croix) hitchhikes to the nearby town of Miranda, where she is raped. With assistance from a horny sheriff (Monty Bane), she finds work at a local diner owned by Alice (Janet Wood) and Paul (Robert McLane).

Subsequent hijinks ensue like another rape in a dive bar, countless nude chase scenes and sex in the woods, and a revenge tale involving the child of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.

Up! and most other Russ Meyer films are for a specific audience only and are not recommended for fans of mainstream cinema. Prudish, uptight individuals, or those expecting a tight story or professional acting will not be satisfied.

However, for an eye-opening or eye-popping experience, sure to leave your mouth agape at some of the raunchy sequences, you will find Up! rather endearing.

Amid the sexuality and chesty scenes are some laugh-out-loud wooden performances, mostly from the lead, De La Croix, though she is also wonderful to watch in her debut film. And considering she had no acting experience when cast, she’s not all that bad.

The best scenes are when she charges through the forest, naked, of course, fleeing a character, Alice, out for revenge. The women trade barbs while playing cat and mouse and occasionally engaging in sex.

A separator from other Meyer films is the incorporation of bisexuality in nearly all circles.

Handsome lead actor, Robert McLane, gets it on with nearly everyone, including Adolf Hitler, who, in hilarious and satisfying form, desires some rear entry.

While hardly a message movie, the inclusion of Hitler and Nazi references reinforces the hypocrisy of the entire movement.

The Paul, Alice, Margo triangle is good fun, especially as the trio briefly lives an idyllic lifestyle serving up hash at their diner, led mostly by Margo and her low-cut uniform.

This harkens back to a similar theme in Supervixens, during a happy sequence involving the central characters.

A Meyer film wouldn’t be a Meyer film without an appropriate dose of gore. A sharp ax comes into play during the latter part of the film after a gang rape goes awry.

The full frontal nudity, both male and female, is rampant and includes The Greek Chorus (Kitten Natividad), who appears nude except for long black boots, and boldly opens the film and appears between scenes to provide narration, plot details, and updates.

Up! (1976) is a fine addition to the Russ Meyer viewing collection and showcases the Pacific Northwest of the United States in an atypical way. It’s fun, silly, and quite refreshing.

2025 Films, Documentary, Geeta Gandbhir, Independent

The Perfect Neighbor-2025

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The Perfect Neighbor-2025

Director Geeta Gandbhir

Starring Various 

Scott’s Review #1,517

Reviewed February 13, 2026

Grade: B+

The Perfect Neighbor (2025) is an enthralling documentary that will surely please fans of crime scene investigations. Those familiar with the case in question, as I was, will benefit greatly from engagement.

On the other hand, those unfamiliar may be equally mesmerized, having no knowledge of the outcome.

The bottom line is that the project, directed by Geeta Gandbhir, is excellent work across many aspects, including camerawork, story, and raw video footage, most of which was captured on police body cams.

A seemingly minor neighborhood squabble between a white woman named Susan and a black neighbor named Ajike in rural Ocala, Florida, escalates into a fatal shooting, with Susan ultimately killing Ajike.

The film chronicles the lead-up period from 2022 to June 2023, when the shooting occurs. We see from repeated 911 calls and complaints that Susan regularly reported neighborhood kids being noisy or playing on or around her property.

Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews are largely used throughout the documentary to show the progression of the incident and questioning by the police detectives following the shooting.

Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law, which allows someone who is fearful for their life to defend themselves using a firearm, is showcased in the final segment since it was used as a defense.

The case was high-profile in the United States.

As a disclaimer, Gandbhir is the victim’s sister-in-law’s best friend, so the perspective is from Ajike and her family more than Susan’s.

Emotional sequences, such as when Ajike’s kids are told that their mother has died, are heartwrenching and tremendously effective. Later, anger erupts when Susan is allowed to return home amid shouts from Ajike’s family members.

Susan, who is heavily featured, is not meant to elicit sympathy, though once or twice I did feel sorry for her. Yes, she is the neighborhood nuisance and inexplicably calls the cops unnecessarily, but is she lonely, or does she feel left out?

Would Susan have accepted an invitation to a neighborhood barbecue?

Gandbhir might have delved a bit more into Susan’s personal life, but the intention feels more like making it clear she is a piranha.

At one point early on, Susan proclaims to be a doctor, but the claim is never confirmed or denied.

I would have liked to have known more about Susan. At one point, a female friend briefly appears.  Was Susan married? Did she work? Was she actually a doctor? If so, what led her to a poor neighborhood?

Despite the filmmakers’ slanted viewpoint, whether justified or not, the end product is visually exceptional. The use of police cams and raw footage makes the viewer feel like an observer in the action, almost as if they are there in real time, standing alongside the cops and hearing witness accounts.

The production, direction, and editing are the documentary’s sweet spot and are technically excellent.

Beginning with a brief snippet of the fateful night, we then go back to the first complaint, and the documentary is henceforth chronological.

Most scenes are interviews with the participants, which makes it interesting to determine who is right or wrong and for the viewer to assess who is to blame. Or are multiple parties to blame? We merely see the aftereffects of the altercations, not the altercations themselves.

The message of The Perfect Neighbor (2025) is to question the systemic failures and uncertainties of the American legal system and to determine whether racism was a factor in a horrific small-town event or in the Florida stand-your-ground law itself.

Oscar Nominations: Best Documentary

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Documentary (won)

1970 Films, Donald Wolfe, Florence Lake, Gale Sondergaard, Horror, John David Garfield, Miriam Hopkins, Virginia Wing

Savage Intruder-1970

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Savage Intruder-1970

Director Donald Wolfe 

Starring Miriam Hopkins, John David Garfield, Gale Sondergaard

Scott’s Review #1,516

Reviewed February 9, 2026

Grade: B+

A cult subgenre of horror, disparagingly called hag-horror, made a modest name for itself throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s.

Thanks in large part to the surprise success of the cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? starring Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in 1962, this encouraged other stalwart actresses, well past their prime, to seek a sliver of career rejuvenation, or at least to keep themselves in the game.

Savage Intruder (also known as Hollywood Horror House) is a 1970 American psychological horror film that is clearly influenced by Baby Jane, borrowing its central plot point and a similar setting.

Unclear why the little-known film warrants two separate titles, my preference is for the latter, though the former seems to be the main title.  Hollywood Horror has a more dramatic flair and is more true to the storyline than the more generic-sounding Savage Intruder.

The film also has similarities to the 1950s film Sunset Boulevard, which features an aging actress oblivious to Hollywood’s harsh realities and enamored with a younger man.

An injured, alcoholic movie queen who uses a wheelchair, Katharine Packard (Miriam Hopkins), lets a mutilator named Vic (John David Garfield) move into her Hollywood mansion as her personal assistant and nurse.

Vic intends to insinuate himself into Katharine’s good graces and take control of her estate. Katharine’s other staff, secretary Leslie (Gale Sondergaard), housekeeper Mildred (Florence Lake), and cook Greta (Virginia Wing), become suspicious of Vic and try to thwart his devious efforts.

But will any or all of them fall victim to his schemes?

The main attraction is Hopkins, who was a relatively big star in the 1930s and 1940s, even receiving an Oscar nomination for 1935’s Becky Sharp. She was also a rival of Bette Davis.

A similar role to Crawford’s disabled Blanche in Baby Jane, Hopkins is believable as a vulnerable woman who has battled alcoholism but is wise enough to know it is her undoing. After all, falling down the stairs while drunk is the reason she needs care at all.

In Katherine’s case, she also desires a man’s affections and hopes against hope that Vic likes her for who she is, not just her money. Hopkins channels this emotion well, as many older women can relate to her predicament.

She is also a good enough actress to portray fear and vulnerability convincingly, without making the character a nitwit or too melodramatic.

John David Garfield, while not a terrific actor, is convincing enough to make the audience half believe that, as a kid, watching his mother participate in an orgy was enough reason to chop her partners to bits.

The statuesque mansion high atop the Hollywood Hills is grandiose and a perfect setting for this type of film. Shots of characters peering from window to balcony or tiptoeing up or down a stairway ooze mystery and danger at every turn.

We know that Vic will try to off Leslie, Mildred, and Greta in no particular order, so the fun is in the whodunit vein. A fan of chopping off body parts, we wonder who will lose limbs.

Donald Wolfe, a director I am unfamiliar with, is careful not to make the film too campy and ridiculous, and he largely succeeds. With a good blend of suspense, mostly involving when Vic will jump out at Katherine or one of the supporting characters, there is a perilous feeling.

Of course, some hokey moments transpire, as when a mannequin is believed to be Katherine despite a waxy shape and a different hair color. Or, when Vic makes it appear that Katherine is in her room when she really isn’t, and nobody has the wherewithal to check on her.

There’s also an amateurish quality to the amputation scenes that reminds me of H.G. Lewis’s gore-horror films.

But enough fun is incorporated into the film to make it a success, and the ridiculously juvenile appendage-chopping sequences are humorous enough not to be taken too seriously.

Savage Intruder (1970) is a forgotten relic that has superior acting, a good pace, and nice Los Angeles elements, making it an enjoyable entry into the hag horror genre.

2025 Films, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Clint Bentley, Drama, Felicity Jones, Independent, Independent Drama, Joel Edgerton, Kerry Condon, Will Patton, William H. Macy

Train Dreams-2025

Train Dreams-2025

Director Clint Bentley

Starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy

Scott’s Review #1,515

Reviewed February 4, 2026

Grade: A-

Train Dreams (2025) offers a character-driven approach to filmmaking that is also wonderfully cinematic, thanks in part to Clint Bentley’s direction.

Bently also wrote and produced 2023’s Sing Sing, but I think Train Dreams is the superior effort in terms of visuals alone. Adolpho Veloso is the film’s lead cinematographer and deserves major praise for the gorgeous look the film achieves.

The tone is often serene and quiet, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the scenes’ tranquility without making the film drag. Landscapes, forests, and luminous sunsets are featured, providing an environmentally ubiquitous experience.

Will Patton narrates the film.

Train Dreams begins around 1917 and recounts the life of Robert Grainier, fantastically portrayed by Joel Edgerton, an example of an actor/director who continues to choose quality projects.

This may be his best role yet.

Robert begins life as an orphan, arriving in the desolate town of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, where he works aimlessly as a logger until he meets Gladys Olding (Felicity Jones). They marry, build a log cabin along the Moyie River, and have a daughter, Kate.

When tragedy strikes, Robert must reassess his life and purpose as he grows older and the years pass aimlessly by. Through the elements, he recognizes both beauty and brutality during his life-altering events and the redundancy of everyday life.

The scenes featuring Edgerton and Jones are the warmest and most touching. The pair shares a strong chemistry made more palpable because Robert is forced to leave his family for a portion of the year for work. Their joy at each reconciliation is apparent, with golden sunsets enveloping the happy couples’ most memorable moments.

Years later, Robert meets another woman named Claire (Kerry Condon), a Forest Service worker who is nearly a doppelganger for Gladys. We tenderly see the progressive, fearless woman Gladys might have become decades later, had she not been in a terrible accident.

Edgerton, the standout performer, easily displays his emotions on his face. Though tortured, he is also a dreamer and a kindly man, as proven when he is disturbed by an immigrant who is shot and killed, and an older man who has dementia.

There is an overall intimacy to Train Dreams that the audience can grasp. Robert’s frequent visions of Gladys, Katie, and the immigrant both disturb and comfort him as he evaluates his usefulness over his decades on Earth.

For a viewer like me who lives in a city, Train Dreams was an important reminder to appreciate the small, silent things in life, such as birds, grass, and trees. So easily overlooked, these elements remain long after the self-important human beings pass through.

I asked myself when the last time I was in a forest was, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.

Intricate sequences of spinning trees, with shifting focus, further enhance the creativity of the cinematography and production design.

The message Bentley creates also appears to be a comparison of the peace America once had, now tarnished by political discord, corruption, and chaos, which has destroyed most of its serenity.

But that’s a different conversation.

Above all, Train Dreams (2025) taught me not to get so hung up on stress and the rat race, but to put the brakes on from time to time to appreciate what really matters.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Song, “Train Dreams”

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 3 wins-Best Feature (won), Best Director- Clint Bentley (won), Best Lead Performance- Joel Edgerton, Best Cinematography (won)

2025 Films, Andrew Scott, Biography, Bobby Cannavale, Comedy, Drama, Ethan Hawke, Jonah Lees, Margaret Qualley, Patrick Kennedy, Richard Linklater

Blue Moon-2025

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Blue Moon-2025

Director Richard Linklater

Starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley

Scott’s Review #1,514

Reviewed January 26, 2026

Grade: B+

Blue Moon (2025) is a character-driven look at a talented writer on the brink of breakdown. Over the course of one boozy night, the audience is introduced to the troubled man and comes to envelop him and his sometimes off-putting ideas.

The movie succeeds through a combination of crisp, sardonic, well-written dialogue and Ethan Hawke’s inspired performance as Lorenz Hart, an American lyricist living in the 1940s.

A film every Old Broadway New Yorker ought to love, the setting is the famous theatre district eatery, Sardi’s, where many a piano song has been sung, and drink has been drunk by both popular and struggling players in the Broadway game.

The plot centers on the night of March 31, 1943, as World War II rages.

Hart reflects on himself following the opening night of Oklahoma!, a new musical created by his former colleague Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), where a celebration is planned to gush over its overwhelming success. He despises the corny, overly wholesome lyrics and is dismayed by the production’s popularity.

The talkative, cynical, and newly sober Hart visits with bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), who tries unsuccessfully not to serve him liquor, and enlisted sergeant piano player Morty (Jonah Lees), who is on leave.

Hart also commiserates with writer E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy), soon to become famous for stories like Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, the former of which he gets from Hart.

While not the flashiest film, director Richard Linklater draws an excellent performance from Hawke and miraculously and flawlessly makes Hawke’s character appear physically very short in stature.

This is more difficult than it sounds from a cinematography perspective, and it also deserves props for creating a unique-looking restaurant-and-bar shape.

Hawke came into his own with 1989’s Dead Poets Society and has continued to deliver more sophisticated performances as he has aged.

Except for a brief opening sequence where Hart’s ultimate fate is revealed, the entire film takes place in the dark restaurant/bar.

Hart spends time chatting with Elizabeth Weiland, an unrequited love interest of his, who ruminates on her own unsuccessful love life.

Over the course of the film, it’s sad to see Hart’s life unravel. Fans will know that Rogers and Hammerstein were a tremendously successful musical duo and not Rogers and Hart. As Hart spends time pitching ideas to Rogers, we realize their partnership will go no further than it already has.

Hawke is superb at delivering a massive amount of lines, showcasing Hart’s sometimes rambling and fragmented ideas. The handsome actor adopts a more homely persona in Hart, suffering rejection after rejection throughout the evening.

The glitz of Broadway is enshrouded within the walls of Sardi’s, famous for showcasing caricatures of Broadway celebrities. In satisfying form, a close-up of a caricature of Hart clings to the wall as Blue Moon ends, presumably long after his death.

Briefly skated over is Hart’s sexuality, said to lean more toward homosexuality than is ever more than alluded to, which is a disappointment. The closest the film comes to any dissection of this nature is when Hart invites a delivery boy to an afterparty and has a a conversation with Morty in the men’s room.

Both story points go nowhere. Instead, Hart mostly pines over Elizabeth.

The winning formula is the dialogue, sometimes teetering off course when Hart goes off on tangents. Still, the central concept of a misunderstood and underappreciated creative genius is received loud and clear.

While good, Qualley and Cannavale are never given great moments to show off their acting chops. The best supporting player is Andrew Scott, who provides entertaining banter while playing opposite Hawke.

Linklater offers up a talkative, cerebral film about the celebrations and heartbreaks of life through art. Through enriching conversations, Blue Moon (2025) delivers a thought-provoking dialogue-heavy cinema that is an intelligent, confined experience.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor-Ethan Hawke, Best Original Screenplay

2025 Films, Brian Kirk, Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Laurel Marsden, Marc Menchaca, Thriller

Dead of Winter-2025

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Dead of Winter-2025

Director Brian Kirk

Starring Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca

Scott’s Review #1,513

Reviewed January 20, 2026

Grade: A-

The brilliant Emma Thompson, known for Howard’s End (1992) and a bevy of other quality films, stars in and executive produces Dead of Winter (2025), a perfect movie to watch in January. If one is fortunate enough to watch on a blustery, cold, or snowy night, all the better for an ideal atmosphere.

The thriller is unpredictable and downright touching, largely thanks to Thompson, who leads the charge emotionally. To see the actor shoot, stab, and catfight her way to a beautifully shot ending is icing on the cake.

Plus, trading her sophisticated British accent in for a folksy midwestern drawl is quite pleasing.

The elements are a huge win and the main attraction of the film, other than Thompson and the eerie timeliness of the United States’ Minnesota, the setting of the film, being in the top U.S. news in late 2025/early 2026.

The stark, empty vastness of the cold land is made even more potent by the endless whiteness of the snow-covered, curving roads, the tundra of the lake, and the lake house, where most of the action takes place.

While the story can be argued to be implausible and the ending fragile, bordering on silly, requiring suspension of disbelief, Thompson’s performance more than makes up for any weak fragments.

Hit by a blizzard, a grief-stricken loner named Barb (Thompson) gets lost among backroads near a Minnesota lake and stops for help at a remote cabin in the woods where she discovers drops of blood and a startled middle-aged man (Marc Menchaca) who can’t get rid of her fast enough.

She then discovers a young woman (Laurel Marsden) kidnapped by a desperate couple intent on murder. Isolated and without cell service, Barb realizes she is the woman’s only hope of survival.

Director Brian Kirk carefully places tender flashbacks of a young Barb and her husband Kirk from smitten youngsters to tragic seniors battling Kirk’s failing health and the in-between trials and tribulations of the couple over the years.

These scenes not only create an emotional investment in the audience, but also fill in the blanks about why Barb would be possessed to go ice fishing in the middle of nowhere, all alone.

Sprinkling bits of humor that make Barb appear a kindly woman rather than an incompetent bafoon, she is a salt-of-the-earth type who opposes violence. Thompson was undoubtedly influenced by Frances McDormand’s sheriff character Marge Gunderson in 1996’s Fargo.

In fact, there are multiple Fargo comparisons to explore for fans of the Coen Brothers’ film, covering plot, atmosphere, and characters.

Judy Greer and Menchaca provide solid support as the mismatched couple with deadly intentions, whose motives become clearer as the plot unfolds. Greer’s character is pretty unlikable despite softening towards the end, but her actions are peculiar from a logistical perspective, and her acting is of high quality.

Menchaca has the more sympathetic role, and not only because the actor performs his nude scene in freezing temperatures.

The finale is set underwater, and it is a teary yet satisfying sendoff for Barb and Kirk, who make the hardest-hearted viewer believe in true love and a testament to commitment.

Likely superceding any expectations set by filmmakers, Thompson gives a bravura performance through facial expressions alone, telling much of the sentimental part of the story through her bright blue, emotion-filled eyes, pulling the audience in.

I didn’t expect to enjoy Dead of Winter (2025), a film given little notice, nearly as much as I did.

1986 Films, Catherine De Prume, Horror, Horror Anthologies, Horror-Camp, Horror-Comedy, Jeffery Delman, Matt Mitler, Melissa Leo, Nicole Picard, Scott Valentine

Deadtime Stories-1986

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Deadtime Stories-1986

Director Jeffrey Delman 

Starring Scott Valentine, Nicole Picard, Catherine de Prume

Scott’s Review #1,512

Reviewed January 19, 2026

Grade: B-

My expectations for Deadtime Stories (1986), a horror anthology with a fairy-tale focus, were loftier than the final product, which had an overall amateurish quality. I anticipated a glossier, perhaps gorier, and certainly a more compelling experience.

As far as film anthologies go, there are far better ones, like Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Vault of Horror (1973), which are much, much better. These are suggested first and foremost.

By the end credits, Deadtime Stories is largely forgettable.

Nonetheless, it’s marginally recommended for those seeking a late-night offering of an 1980s genre film type, with one of the three chapters, a take on Little Red Riding Hood, as the standout.

We are introduced to a somewhat creepy uncle who attempts to calm his restless nephew by telling him three horror stories to help him fall asleep without worrying about monsters coming to get him.

The first story involves a slave boy (Scott Valentine) who is used by two witches in an attempt to resurrect their sister.

The second story is based on “Little Red Riding Hood”, where a teenage girl (Nicole Picard) mistakenly picks up a werewolf’s medicine for her grandmother.

The third story, based on “Goldilocks”, tells about three escaped people with a mental health condition who share their hideaway with a murderess (Catherine de Prume).

The sequences between the uncle and nephew lay the foundation for what’s to come. The quality, though quite 1980s, is well-lit and dark, so the audience believes the kid is terrified of falling asleep. And who doesn’t have memories of wondering what or who is lurking in their bedroom closet?

Though bratty, the uncle shows patience and returns to the room again and again to introduce yet another story. A clever, dark, comical twist in the last shot makes this vignette satisfying.

The first story is the weakest. Said to be from medieval times, the witches’ costumes and makeup are the only things that impress. One witch is more grotesque than the other, with jagged, rotting teeth and a resting sneer that is more comical than scary.

Actor Scott Valentine is likable, and the romance between the young damsel in distress is nice, though there is hardly any time for it to go anywhere.

The premise of a handsome young man being sold as an enslaved person to resurrect another witch is impressive, but the follow-through is weak, and the tale never fully satisfies.

The second story is very well thought out.

Nicole Picard as Rachel is clad in a sexy Little Red Riding Hood outfit and debates having sex with her boyfriend, who finds a dingy shed for them to make love in. Before this, she accidentally picked up a prescription for her grandmother, which was switched for one for a werewolf.

The most suspenseful and entertaining portion is when the werewolf breaks into the grandmother’s house. The acting is wonderfully bad, which makes for a delightful experience and a cat-and-mouse quality.

When a character surprisingly turns into a werewolf at the end, it is exciting and unexpected, making the chapter the best of the bunch.

Making Goldilocks a female serial killer is a terrific idea, and the story’s macabre humor is clever. The final sequence in a pizza restaurant is deliciously evil.

The rest, though, is lackluster and difficult to follow. The people with a mental health condition who escape with the help of MaMa Bauer (Melissa Leo) seem to endlessly drive around town in their dated white Chevy, crashing into objects and people.

The tale has a John Waters campy vibe, which is inspired, but the story never reaches a satisfying conclusion, other than occasional bits and pieces.

The attempt by Jeffrey Delman to make fables into horror vignettes is impressive, but unfortunately, Deadtime Stories (1986) only hits the mark now and then.

1990 Films, Frances Sternhagen, Horror, James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, Rob Reiner, Stephen King, Thriller

Misery-1990

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Misery-1990

Director Rob Reiner

Starring Kathy Bates, James Caan

Scott’s Review #1,511

Reviewed January 18, 2026

Grade: A-

Kathy Bates and James Caan deliver exceptional performances in Misery (1990), a thriller/horror hybrid set in the snowy hills of remote Colorado over the course of a couple of winter months.

Caan plays famed novelist Paul Sheldon, who is held captive by Annie Wilkes (Bates), an obsessive and unpredictable fan. Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.

Thanks to Rob Reiner’s superior direction, the film never lags and continuously keeps the tension boiling at a heart-racing pace. From an early sequence involving a terrible car accident to a slasher horror-worthy finale, Misery contains something for everyone.

The film is based on the enthralling 1987 Stephen King novel and a screenplay by Academy Award-winning writer William Goldman (All the President’s Men, 1976).

After completing his latest novel involving a beloved series character named Misery, Paul’s car careens off a snowy mountain road, leaving him stranded and unconscious. He is rescued by former nurse Annie, who claims to be his biggest fan.

Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, where her obsession takes a dark turn when she discovers that Sheldon is killing off Misery, her favorite character.

The success of Misery is due to the chemistry between Bates and Caan. While no romantic sparks exist, the taut scenes of captor and captee are enthralling as the audience nervously awaits what could happen next.

At first, thankfully rescued by Annie, Paul quickly realizes he may be better off dead. Seemingly shifting from kind to rage, Bates flawlessly reveals to the audience that something is not quite right with Annie.

As the actors play cat-and-mouse with their characters, each scene is potent as deeper layers of character texture surface, especially with Annie.

The fact that she is no longer a nurse is shocking.

They even share a tender scene dining over a lovely meal of meatloaf and red wine, though one character’s intentions are spoiled before too long.

Bits of dark humor surface mainly as Annie uses the words ‘cockadoodie’ and ‘poop’ and greedily munches on chips while watching her favorite game shows.

Keeping with the suspense, Reiner’s direction employs several jumps. It starts as Annie suddenly appears out of the blue, fiendishly hovering over the injured Paul in his bed, with a look of rage or, in some cases, of unrequited love.

Comparisons to the television series Twin Peaks (1990-1991) and the films Fargo (1996) and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) can be recognized.

Supporting characters, the capable Sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth) and the horny Deputy Virginia (Frances Sternhagen), are also a married couple, and the cold, snowy small town with peculiar characters like the folksy general store clerk comes to mind when thinking of the aforementioned 1990s efforts.

The claustrophobic bedroom setting, in which one bedridden sane character relies on an insane character for food and medicine, recalls the 1960s cult classic well.

When another character uncovers the charade and tries to save the victim, the audience lets out a brief sigh of relief before the rug is pulled out from under them.

Finally, with little to do as Paul’s book agent, it’s nonetheless a treat to see legendary screen actress Lauren Bacall appear in the film.

While many of Stephen King’s adaptations are mediocre or less, it’s nice to see Misery (1990) achieve its due. Alongside Stand By Me (1986), this makes two successful King adaptations by director Reiner.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Kathy Bates-Best Actress (won)

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