Bugonia (2025)

A CEO is kidnapped by a conspiracy theorist who believes her to be an alien planning about the end of humanity. This follows many of the same beats as the original South Korean film, improving it in some respects while ruining some of the things I loved about it. In the end, they are both able to co-exist harmoniously by scratching different itches and fulfilling a different need.

4 chemical castrations out of 5

Eddington (2025)

Ari Aster takes a page out of the Coen Brothers' book in this darkly satirical, gritty crime thriller taking place in May 2020 during the early days of COVID, charged racial protests and civic unrest across the country. In the sleepy town of Eddington, New Mexico, a small-time sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) decides to stand up to local mask mandates and run for mayor against the incumbent (Pedro Pascal) whom he holds a grudge against. And that's about all I can say without veering off into spoiler territory. It's sprawling and depressing as hell in the way that only Aster excels at, and it goes much further than you'd ever expect it to go. I can't say if the payoff was worth the price of admission, but it's the type of film that'll get stuck in your head for all the wrong reasons.

3½ coughs out of 5

Poor Things (2023)

How to condense this film into a concise summary without giving away key plot points? It's the type of film that needs to be seen to be believed, without any prior expectations set. Bella (Emma Stone, at the tip-top of her game) is a Frankenstein-like creation who wants to experience the world for herself and sets out on an epic journey of self-discovery. Yorgos is the perfect filmmaker to handle this weird, sometimes off-putting material, which is both hilarious and tragic. It's a brilliant movie and I hope I haven't said too much or too little.

5 furious jumping out of 5

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

A deeply twisted absurdist tragi-horror-comedy that required two separate viewings for me to finally process my feelings about it. Essentially three separate stories, starring the same group of actors playing different roles each time, you have to search to find a common thread. The theme here being the fucked up ways people show appreciation and gratitude. At times, it might feel like weird for weirdness' sake, but sometimes that's just what you crave. If you enjoy Yorgos's previous work, this may strike the right chord within you.

4 tennis racquets out of 5

LA LA LAND [2016]

Whiplash director Damien Chazelle continues his love for music with his faithful homage to the 1950's Hollywood musicals, La La Land.
It's the simple story of boy meets girl, falls in love and everything in between against the backdrop of a colorfully glamorized version of Los Angeles.
It might callback to such classics as Singin' in the Rain or even more-so Jacques Demy films but La La Land still manages a distinct look and feel all it's own.  Aided by it's two charismatic leads, cool cat musical numbers and brilliant photography, the film's simplistic storyline takes a backseat but never trails off too far to try and bet better than it could.  In this day and age, La La Land is probably what the world needs.  Good, clean fun that wows with it's flamboyancy and outgoing spirit.  

4 traffic jams out of 5

MOVIE 43 [2013]

Producer Charlie Wessler gathers together a band of embarrassed directors, including Peter Farrelly, James Gunn, Griffin Dunne, Brett Ratner and many more for his sketch comedy anthology Movie 43.  Depending on what country you're in will depend on what plot you'll get threading all the sketches together...for once, the U.S. cut is the best one.
It's basically a gaggle of juvenile humored sketches that constantly try to outdo each other in jokes about bodily fluids, sex, periods, incest and various forms of racism and sexism.  It's amazingly disgusting, vile and void of any sort of class.  With that being said, it's quite often just as funny as it is ridiculously stupid.  It's notoriously known as one of the worst films of all time but I wouldn't go that far.  I figure more was expected of it considering the huge cast of well-known actors involved, many of whom tried to unsuccessfully back out.

2 shitty car accidents out of 5

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) [2014]

Since it was first announced two years ago, people have been looking at me funny when I expressed my excitement for director Alejandro González Iñárritu's twisted dark showbiz satire, Birdman.

I'm happy to say my excitement wasn't for nothing and this is easily one of the best films of the 2014 and quite possibly the best film of the year.

Michael Keaton, in what should become a defining moment in his career, portrays a has-been actor who can't shake off the comic book character he played in a popular late '80's franchise, while trying to make a comeback as a serious performer. With a cast that doesn't a weak link within it, the unusually long but effective tracking shots and a dizzying drums only score by Antonio Sanchez, this daringly ambitious film could have been a disaster if everything wasn't in the right place, which it is all thankfully fitted to careful perfection.    

5 weird moments for a boner out of 5

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 [2014]

The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb returns for the second part in what is proposed to be a quadrilogy.
Joined by Fringe & LOST writers Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci & Jeff Pinkner, Webb expands the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy into something much more flourishing and even more heartfelt than the original film.  With the heart of the story in place, comic book films need some worthy villains and that's where things get a little jumbled up.  Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan do a fine job at portraying the main baddies, Electro and Green Goblin, but it's the gaggle of other villains slipping in through the cracks that confuse things a bit, some are slapped right in your face, while others might only go noticed by comic book nerds.  It's a little unfocused plotwise but carries a heavier emotional weight that many felt was void from the first film.

3 Inter-web designs out of 5

GANGSTER SQUAD [2013]

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer brings journalist Paul Lieberman's pulp novel Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles to the screen.
With it's impressive ensemble cast and hard-boiled Hollywoodland noir story you suspect Fleischer was attempting to replicate the success of L.A. Confidential but somehow misses the mark.  The characters are atrociously underdeveloped, the editing is terrible, the dialogue it both boring & forced and you'll predict the entire film only 5 minutes in.  As cliched as this uneven mess of a laughable film is, I can't really deny that it was entertaining as feck.  Check your brain at the door and you might find some light entertainment in it.

2½ toasty elevator rides down out of 5

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE [2011]

Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (the writers behind Bad Santa) direct this surprisingly good romantic comedy-drama Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I was expecting cliche after cliche and a number of generic songs played over "dramatic" scenes, which it occasionally resorts to but it mostly focuses on developing the conflicts and faults of the ensemble cast of well-written characters. It's a wonderfully harmless character study balanced with the right amount of comedy, romance and drama to make it bearable, if you're prepared for the unlikely "happily ever after" ending.  

3½ "A"'s for assholes out of 5

THE CROODS [2013]

How To Train Your Dragon director/screenwriter Chris Sanders & Kirk DeMicco crank up the fun in the CGI animated comedy The Croods.

Aided by some great voicework (particularly Ryan Reynolds hilariously perfecting smug bastard), some colorful heart-racing action scenes and composer Alan Silvestri doing his best work since The Mummy Returns, the film is light on substance but high on fast-paced entertainment.  The first 15 minutes might be a little too boring but I think it's intentional to polarize the ride you're taken on afterwards.  It's really goofy but the heart of the story wins you over with laughs and action.

3½ mother-in-laws out of 5 

ZOMBIELAND [2009]

Ruben Fleischer directs this wild zombie romp that's like Shaun Of The Dead after a 3-day cocaine bender.

Zombieland being a comedy about the living dead can't help but draw comparisons to Shaun but that's fine because it's so damned fast-paced, well-performed and funny, as a fan of the genre one can't but enjoy it. It's a bloody fun, rollercoaster of a ride and tries to be nothing more.

3½ zombie kills of the week out of 5

THE HELP [2011]

Kathryn Stockett's debut novel, about the civil rights movement in 1960's Mississippi, The Help is brought to the screen carried by a strong ensemble cast and wonderful script courtesy of director Tate Taylor. 

With subject matter as dark as it is, most films would fall fate to overly dramatic tear-jearking but The Help manages to tug at the heart strings with wonderfully fleshed out characters and perfectly timed humour.  I went in expecting weepy eyed, preachy schmaltz and came out rather surprised it was 100 times better than that.

3½ Special Chocolate Pies out of 5

EASY A [2010]

The silly and predictable cinematic ode to John Hughes, Easy A is carried by Emma Stone's dryly comedic performance along with a host of great supporting characters to back her up. In fact the whole time I was thinking "this reminds me of Friends With Benefits with it's awesome supporting characters and really trivial plot".  Turns out it was the same director, Will Gluck.
It's not a complete waste of time due to some great laughs but in the end it never adds up to much and makes you wish you'd revisited the John Hughes classics instead.

2½ Homosexual comparisons to Huck Finn out of 5

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [2012]

Aside from the point that director Marc Webb's take on Spidey is far too soon after Sam Raimi's hit & miss series of films, The Amazing Spider-Man is a most welcome addition to this decade's run of comic book adaptations.

Webb's confident direction and the impressive cast, particularly Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, give the film a bigger heart, funnier & sharper dialogue, a more emotional impact and an underlying darker edge compared to the previous Raimi efforts.  Unfortunately the main villain is a bit of a snooze and there's a scenes that do nothing but serve as "pop song" moments that hurt the narrative flow a bit.  We've seen it all before but that's all right, granted there's more on the way...'cuz it's really going to hurt come Gwen Stacy's *spoiler*...as if you don't all ready know, True Believer.  

4 non-great powers or responsibilities out of 5