Category Archives: Kyle Gallner

2023 Films, Carter Smith, Johnny Berchtold, Kyle Gallner, Liza Weil, Thriller

The Passenger-2023

Leave a comment

The Passenger-2023

Director Carter Smith

Starring Johnny Berchtold, Kyle Gallner

Scott’s Review #1,509

Reviewed January 10, 2026

Grade: A-

The Passenger (2023) is a powerfully disturbing film that examines one’s purpose in life, specifically through the three main characters and a deadly chain of events set over the course of one day in a small town in Louisiana.

But if looked at more closely, lesser characters are also worth noting, making the message relatable to any viewer who feels suffocated or unmotivated.

The story is thought-provoking and intelligently written, offering a sometimes bleak perspective of existence and why we are here. The choices we make often leave scars and a life filled with regret, or, in some cases, blossom into new beginnings.

While a bit depressing as a whole, the film is rich with terrific performances and spot-on detail to small-town life. An independent-style budget is a winning formula with many exterior scenes enhancing the film’s tone.

The climactic diner scene is compelling, and the film ultimately ends on a hopeful note with a significant character having a bright future while another does not.

Randy Bradley (Johnny Berchtold) is a mysterious young man with little to say, harboring a secret from his childhood. He works at a fast-food restaurant in a dismal town, where two irritating coworkers bully him.

Randy’s boss takes a shine to him and sees a potential promotion in his future, but also doesn’t even know his first name and assumes that his last name is his first.

During a particularly dull morning shift, Randy’s coworker, Benson (Kyle Gallner), goes on a berserk and violent rampage when he sticks up for Randy. The two young men spend the rest of the day cruising the streets of their small town, pondering life and Randy’s past mistakes.

Benson is intrigued by Randy and determined to help him face his past while wrestling with his own demons and fits of aggression, which only deepen the chaos.

The Passenger could have easily been a by-the-numbers thriller and a shoot ’em up good time, but it’s more cerebral than that. The character-driven writing doesn’t always satisfy, but it raises the film way above the ranks of a genre film.

The bloody killing spree at the burger joint is exceptionally tense and the film’s best scene. As Randy is humiliated, with a seething Benson silently mopping the floor in the background, it is nail-biting to know what will happen next.

The culminating bloodsplattering will impress auteur director Quentin Tarantino and is clearly patterned after his work. It’s always satisfying when villains get their due in a bloody and gory fashion. As the dead bodies are callously dragged off to the walk-in freezer, the audience will undoubtedly give a quick smirk.

The intrigue of Randy’s backstory slowly unfolds, so the audience comes to understand the character. A terrible event that occurred in second grade involving a teacher, Miss Beard (Liza Weil), resurfaces as the teacher is introduced to the canvas in the final chapter.

How Miss Beard has fared since the event is enjoyable.

What puzzles me about The Passenger is the motivations and inner demons of Benson, though I find the character fascinating, and Gallner deserves recognition for his performance.

Suffering from rage issues, his mother appears to be bedridden at their home during a mysterious David Lynch/Twin Peaks-inspired scene when she meets Randy and asks him for the telephone.

Is Benson her caretaker? What are her issues?

Later, Benson brutally attacks a principal who was once his third-grade teacher. The beating is so savage that the man later dies. Why?

Still, the film’s minimalist nature adds oodles of realism. Despite modern times, 1970s and 1980s automobiles are seen, including Benson’s large yellow Chrysler, which has seen better days. The car is seen so often that it becomes a character.

A local greasy spoon diner where the servers have worked for years is paired with tired-looking homes and grey skies. These elements create an atmosphere that offers a rawness far superior to that of a movie set.

Director Carter Smith brings the intensity with boiling emotions and simmering secrets that examine characters residing in a small town, probably repressed. His offering, The Passenger (2023), is a pleasant surprise with flawless performances by its leads, Gallner and Berchtold.

2022 Films, Horror, Jessie T. Usher, Kal Penn, Kyle Gallner, Parker Finn, Rob Morgan, Sosie Bacon

Smile-2022

Leave a comment

Smile-2022

Director Parker Finn

Starring Sosie Bacon, Jessie Usher

Scott’s Review #1,342

Reviewed February 8, 2023

Grade: B+

I was prepared to award Smile (2022), a new supernatural horror film, with an exceptional ‘A-‘ grade until it dissipated during the final act and became too confusing.

The story collapsed mightily, leaving too much ambiguity and a messy plot that turned chaotic, so my initial reaction was one of dissatisfaction.

But then I remembered that I watched some of it with my hand closed to cover my eyes, and my jaw dropped open during other parts.

Smile is one of the scariest horror films I’ve seen in quite a while, with striking visuals and a handful of terrifying scenes. I’ll probably never see someone smirk again without thinking of this film.

Matters get off to a thumping start when Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) witnesses a bizarre, traumatic incident involving one of her patients. The troubled patient claims to see a haunted smile and suddenly kills herself in the presence of Rose.

Shaken, Rose starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain as she turns to white wine to calm her nerves. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

But what does the link to her past have to do with the present?

That’s where Smile does a deep dive south, but I’m willing to forgive Rose’s trip to her abandoned childhood home, where her mother, who has a mental illness, offered herself while a guilt-ridden Rose did nothing to help.

There’s also Rose’s bitchy, self-centered sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser), to contend with.

The implausible storyline can be forgiven by the knowledge that Smile is director Parker Finn’s first feature film! Greats like Hitchcock and Tarantino didn’t knock it out of the park with their first releases either, but the brilliance was noticeably there.

The opening sequence, for example, is one of the best I’ve seen in horror this decade. I didn’t anticipate something so gruesome and palpable to occur right away. Rose’s patient is immediately terrified of Rose, which is a clear indication that something is seriously wrong.

The next best scene happens at Rose’s nephew’s birthday party. On an otherwise lovely afternoon, the boy’s living room is filled with brightly packaged presents from friends and family gathered nearby. He eagerly picks up his Aunt Rose’s specially wrapped gift.

What is wrapped inside is too gruesome to describe, but suffice it to say the party is ruined, the nephew traumatized, and all the party guests in agreement that Rose should be immediately sent to the loony bin.

It’s other aspects that give Smile a significant victory. Any character who dons that sinister smile (see poster art above), whether real or imagined, haunts me in my dreams.

Those who scare easily need not see this film.

An interracial aspect (the Caucasian Rose’s boyfriend is black, and Holly’s husband is Indian) scores major points from a diversity perspective, and more minor characters provide a robust helping of cultural richness as well.

Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kira Sedgwick, may be headed for Hollywood fame of her own as she easily carries the film. She emits a combination of calm, vulnerability, and intelligence, which makes the character relatable.

The film received positive reviews from critics but was criticized for patterning itself too closely after its counterparts, The Ring (2002) and It Follows (2014), but since those films were excellent, I didn’t mind a bit.

I don’t think we necessarily need a sequel to Smile (2022), but I’m anxious to see what Parker Finn comes up with next. He’s got the jumps and the cinematography down, and hopefully, he stays in the horror genre.

2022 Films, Adam Brody, Alicia Silverstone, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Hayden Panettiere, Henry Winkler, Horror, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jenna Ortega, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Matthew Lillard, Melissa Barrera, Mikey Madison, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Slasher, Tyler Gillett

Scream-2022

Leave a comment

Scream-2022

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Starring Melissa Barrera, Neve Campbell, Jack Quaid

Scott’s Review #1,284

Reviewed August 2, 2022

Grade: B+

Scream, the 2022 version, was billed as a ‘relaunch’ of the film series when it was released in the crappy month of January. However, is that so important in a COVID-19 age when hardly anyone goes to movie theaters?

The film is essentially ‘Scream 5′ because it maintains continuity from the last installment, released in 2011, and harkens back to the 1996 premiere of the original Scream.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the film.

Scream ultimately follows a formula, but a formula that works exceptionally well and will please fans of the series. My expectations were superseded, and wonderful is the inclusion of series stalwarts in roles that are much more than glorified cameos.

On the flip side, the finale is underwhelming, and the killers’ (isn’t there always two??) motivations are lame, but I found that to be unimportant because the real fun is the whodunit aspect.

Scream is very faithful to that.

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, California, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

The frightening release date and the first installment in the series not to be directed by Wes Craven is enough to make any Scream fan bite their nails in worry about how the end product will turn out.

In addition, there are two screenwriters and two directors, which is rarely a good sign for creativity.

But all’s well that ends, as writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olipin and Tyler Gillett do many things right.

I mentioned the formula before, and they wisely use an anniversary as a starting point. Vicious murders commence in poor Woodsboro at just the right time for mayhem to erupt all over again.

For those who have forgotten the titillating and flawless opening sequence of Scream circa 1996, when poor Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is forced to play a guessing game with an unknown phone caller to avoid death, it is reintroduced with gusto.

The film immediately begins with a nod to that history.

When teenager Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) answers her landline, the audience whoops with joy at the anticipation of what’s to come. She will endure a game of horror film trivia with Ghostface before he (or she) leaps into the kitchen to cut her to bits.

Pleasurably, a new gang of fresh-faced Woodsboro teenagers is then introduced to be plucked off one by one. But could one or two of them be the killers?

A treat for all fans is the inclusion of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Skeet Ulrich in their original roles, with one having a significant connection to a new character.

This only reinforces the franchise’s lifeline.

The clever writing was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters aware of real-world horror films, which openly discussed the clichés that the film attempted to subvert.

In Scream (2022) this is heightened by a discussion of ‘source material’ and ‘requel’ which feels like a horror film progression.

If you’re thinking that Scream 2022 is a carbon copy of Scream 1996, it is, to some extent, but with some modern updates. And it works like a charm, feeling like a good visit with an old friend and watching their offspring sprout into young adults.

Scream (2022) takes a lesson from what the recent Halloween film reboot did. A reprisal franchise, once aged and tired, breathes new life into the series by using its history and legacy characters.

How clever that the characters in Scream even acknowledge this in the story!

I anxiously await the next Scream film, rumored to be released in 2023, for more fun.

2010 Films, Clancy Brown, Connie Britton, Freddy Kruger, Horror, Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Samuel Bayer, Slasher

A Nightmare on Elm Street-2010

Leave a comment

A Nightmare on Elm Street-2010

Director Samuel Bayer

Starring Jackie Earle Haley

Scott’s Review #1,023

Reviewed May 14, 2020

Grade: C-

Rather a pointless remake, but unsurprising given the speedy attempts at re-doing almost every successful horror franchise in recent memory, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) offers nothing that the original did not provide better.

Any film that is considered a dud with the word “nightmare” in the title is ripe for the picking as far as jokes and mockery go. The film is not too terrible but is rather mediocre and average to the taste.

There is no reason to watch this offering over the 1984 original, besides perhaps a moment of curiosity.

A quick recap or re-introduction. Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), a serial killer who crosses the worlds of dreams and reality to slice and dice his victims with his razor-sharp blade-fingered glove, is on the loose in small-town America.

As Nancy (Rooney Mara) and her pals fight for their lives, they also uncover clues to a shocking secret from their past. Freddy was a known child molester decades earlier and was tracked down and burned alive by angry parents seeking revenge after he escaped prison.

He has vowed to destroy the children of those parents who all conveniently still live in the same town.

Capitalizing on the box-office success of a commercially successful yet critically sub-par 2009 offering of Friday the 13th, the light bulb went off and A Nightmare on Elm Street was green-lit and born.

The intention was to make Freddy and the film harsher and scarier than the 1984 original.

This is a severe misstep as what made the original so good was the character of Freddy. What 1980s teenager doesn’t fondly recall oozing with delight at Freddy’s one-liners and quips as he playfully toys with his pray before slitting their throats?

New Freddy is sinister, violent, and banal. Boring!

Earle Haley, a character actor known for 1977’s Breaking Away and finding a well-deserved career resurgence with the brilliant Little Children (2006) is cast as the brutal villain, sans any of the humor.

The actor, small in stature, is cast well on paper and doesn’t purposely ruin the role. It’s just that he is not Robert Englund and therefore never has a chance.

While admittedly Earle Haley is menacing, he lacks the charisma and charm to do very much with the role except try to recreate something that is not his to begin with.

The rest of the teens in the cast are decent but hardly spectacular. The “final girl” is Nancy Thompson (Rooney Mara) changed to Nancy Holbrook in this version in another eye-rolling mistake since no reason is explained for the name change.

It’s like changing Freddy Krueger’s name to Freddy Kelly.

Regardless, Mara champions on in a role she is way too good for. The actress, about to reach stardom for gems like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Carol (2015) needed a start.

Fair enough.

From a visual standpoint, the film has some jump scares and frights that are stock fare for slick, mainstream horror films, almost now becoming clichés.

The sets are decent with some of the houses and, a church, worthy of mention. Darkness is the main ingredient of this film- it is horror after all, and the filming has a very dark texture even during bright scenes.

Some nice kills flesh out the rest of the experience.

If there is money to be made in Hollywood, it will be made. The true motivator of remaking A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) was profit over art. This is a reality and not so much a criticism, after all, it’s called the entertainment biz for a reason.

The changes made to the script do it no favors and if a remake had to be done, it was better left alone and not fooled with.

Jackie Earle Haley does his best, but he is not and never will be the real Freddy Krueger. Robert Englund has that dubious honor.

2014 Films, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Dennis Haysbert, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, Justin Simien, Kyle Gallner, Satire, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Tyler James Williams

Dear White People-2014

Leave a comment

Dear White People-2014

Director Justin Simien

Starring Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson

Scott’s Review #274

70298948

Reviewed September 18, 2015

Grade: B+

Dear White People (2014) is a highly creative, independent satire that begs to be watched for no reason other than for its message of existing racism in present times, homophobia, and class distinction.

Set at an Ivy League college and written tongue and cheek, but also with a direct message from newly discovered director Justin Simien, it is a meaningful gem that challenges audiences to think and be entertained and emit an occasional chuckle at the wit and comical lines presented.

Set in the present day- assuming 2013 or 2014, and well beyond the Civil Rights era, the film features a hip, sharp look and a myriad of characters, all with differing perspectives, all Caucasian or black in racial identities.

All the characters attend the affluent and sophisticated Winchester University, a mostly white, conservative school with a small community of black students, who curiously all seem to reside in the same dorm house.

In addition, the Dean is a black man (played by Dennis Haysbert).

Sam White is a rebellious female student, of mixed race, who runs a radio show entitled “Dear White People”, which challenges the current state of racism in America, specifically at Winchester University.

Supporting characters include Lionel Higgins, a gay, bookish student with an enormous afro, excluded from almost all the sub-groups. Lionel is intrigued by Sam’s radio show.

Other characters include Coco- an attractive black girl with typically “white” mannerisms and friends, who try to fit in with the white culture. Troy, a very handsome black student (who tries to act “white”), dates a white girl (who tries to act “black”).

Finally, the film features Kirk, a white student whose father is the school president, who values an old-style way of thinking. Kirk, shockingly, hosts a blackface party, which leads to major controversy at the school and is the focus of much of the film’s drama.

The main theme is race, but different characters have different viewpoints on the subject matter, and all are explored, which makes the film unique and interesting.

Sam, for example, is a true advocate for racial equality and constantly challenges white people’s motivations and actions, blatantly so.

Coco, on the other hand, is resistant to being stereotyped as a woman of color and, in one scene is incorrectly assumed to be from the hood by a reality television producer she is auditioning for.

She is envious of white people and the advantages they have, even going so far as having straight hair and blue contact lenses. Then we have Lionel, who is both gay and black, and considered an outcast. He fits in with no group and curiously seems okay with being his own person.

What is unique and compelling about Dear White People is that it brings up a controversial issue, mixes it in satire, humorously, but presents compelling arguments against stereotypes, also bringing those stereotypes center stage, which most films avoid like the plague.

One black character is frustrated that, in their mind, most black people are content watching dumb black comedies, thereby supporting a negative racial stereotype.

One interesting aspect regarding the score is the use of lily-white classic film music- such as Barry Lyndon (1975)- the most lily-white of lily-white films (British and Irish).

Famous film director, Quentin Tarantino, is called out as being a racist director. What wonderful irony!

Dear White People (2014) is a witty, intelligent slice of inventive filmmaking that is worth seeing if only for its controversial subject of inequality and racism, which is too often forgotten.

An indie treat for those inclined to think a little.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best First Screenplay (won), Best First Feature

2014 Films, Biography, Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Drama, Kyle Gallner, Luke Grimes, Madeleine McGraw, Sienna Miller, War

American Sniper-2014

Leave a comment

American Sniper-2014

Director Clint Eastwood

Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller

Scott’s Review #223

American_Sniper_poster

Reviewed February 22, 2015

Grade: A-

American Sniper (2014), directed by Clint Eastwood, is a war film told from the viewpoint of a soldier- or a sniper.

A character study if you will.

Starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, deemed the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history, he has 255 kills. The film begins pre-9/11 as Kyle views coverage of the 1998 U.S. Embassy attacks and enlists in a grueling training program to become a Navy Seal sniper.

Flashbacks reveal Kyle as a child being taught to hunt deer and shoot a rifle by his demanding father. He is eventually sent to Iraq following the 9/11 terror attacks and the film continues to showcase Kyle’s military career and multiple tours of duty ending years later.

His wife Taya is played by Sienna Miller.

I am not sure the bevy of controversy that American Sniper has stirred is warranted. I see the film simply as a very good mainstream, action movie. Yes, it does have the overdone Americana machismo and Texas swagger, but it is an Eastwood film! This masculinity is at the heart of many of his films.

I do not view the film as politically charged.

The film leans neither Republican nor Democratic and seems to take a middle-of-the-road viewpoint.

It is a tale of a war hero, but it questions the wars fought and the casualties involved both American and otherwise. Sure, Kyle is a good ole, red-blooded American, but as he and Taya watch the 9/11 attacks on television, they are watching CNN, not Fox News.

His close military buddy asks “Why are we here?” referring to Afghanistan- there is inference by Eastwood to question what this is all about.

I hope audiences keep this in mind.

One concern I do face as I ponder the film is whether American Sniper will send some audience members back to a time when the world was fearful of Muslims and at risk of the recent ISIS terror situations, I hope that people are smart enough to realize that NOT all Muslims are terrorists.

It is only a minuscule portion that is evilly inspired.

The major terrorist in American Sniper, known simply as The Butcher, is despicable, but plenty of other Muslims are innocent and victims of The Butcher’s brutality.

I love how the film has depth. Cooper is as resilient as the troubled sniper. He is portrayed as human, a nice, all-American guy. He wrestles with the choice of shooting a woman and a young boy who died at the risk of them carrying a bomb and killing members of his squad- he does not want to kill them, but rather is excellent at his job.

He is a perfect shot.

In the heat of the moment, under extreme pressure, he must ask himself, “Should I pull the trigger and end their lives”? “what if they are innocent pedestrians?”.

He becomes, in a sense, addicted to his duty of going overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan and justifies his service as “protecting Americans”.

This leads to a troubled personal life as Taya becomes frustrated with his frequent tours of duty, which he readily chooses to do. He suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress disorder but refuses to acknowledge this. He almost kills the family dog in a fit of uncontrolled rage; he temporarily confuses sounds from an auto shop as military warfare.

My admiration for the acting ability of Bradley Cooper increases with each role I see him in. He is a marvel. From recent dynamic performances in American Hustle (2013) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) to this role, I am convinced he can play any part successfully and convincingly.

He has sure come a long way from The Hangover (2009).

American Sniper (2014) is an enormously creative and commercial success and deserves to be. Layered, and character-driven, it is worlds above the typical male-driven action film.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Actor-Bradley Cooper, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Editing (won), Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing

2012 Films, Aaron Paul, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, James Ponsoldt, Kyle Gallner, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mary Kay Place, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer, Romantic Drama

Smashed-2012

Leave a comment

Smashed-2012

Director James Ponsoldt

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul

Scott’s Review #139

70227949

Reviewed July 28, 2014

Grade: B

Smashed is an independent film made in 2012, as a showcase for Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who impressed me enormously as an actress.

She gives a fantastic portrayal of a twenty-something elementary school teacher who is an alcoholic.

Known for either crappy or supporting roles (or both) in bombs like The Thing (2011) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Winstead comes into her own with her performance and is the main reason to see the film.

I am always amazed when an actor who previously has not been given great material that allows them to shine, finally goes indie and takes a risk.

Aaron Paul plays her husband, who is also an alcoholic. They both love music and partying. When she decides to sober up, conflict emerges in their marriage.

Despite the subject matter of alcoholism, the film is not a downer. It borders on romantic comedy with drama thrown in and is not depressing.

My one criticism would be the side effects of alcoholism are glossed over. There is not much grittiness in the film-she becomes an alcoholic, struggles a bit, and recovers, almost television movie-like.

The true, horrific battles are not shown.

Octavia Spencer and Megan Mullally appear in small roles.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Female Lead-Mary Elizabeth Winstead