Ballerina (2025)

AKA: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

Ana de Armas portrays Eve Macarro, a Ruska Roma avenging the murder of her father in this spin-off to the John Wick franchise, taking place alongside and adjacent to the events of Parabellum. Eve is slight but proves to be formidable and fully capable of handling this action franchise, and this film is just as dumb and relentless as its male-centric counterpart. Basically does all the things the other movies do well, except she's a girl. Featuring appearances from series staples such as Keanu Reeves and Ian McShane, as well as Lance Reddick's final on-screen role as the wonderful concierge of the Continental, Charon.

3 fire fights out of 5

Hereditary (2018)

Writer/director Ari Aster comes swinging out the gates with his debut feature designed to be watched with all the lights out and the bolt locked tight. I don't want to reveal too much because it's a ride meant to be taken alone. 

This is a dark, evil little film. It'll sneak in the back of your skull and refuse to let go.

4 walnut allergies out of 5

Stigmata (1999)

Anyone can wear a white clerical collar and pretend to be a Catholic priest, but, strangely, when actor Gabriel Byrne wears one it seems authentic. His role in the film is also the best it has to offer. He's an investigator for the Vatican, finding — and, if need be, discrediting — alleged religious miracles. He's sent to investigate Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette), a young party-going hairdresser who appears to be suffering the stigmata of the title.
There's about 10 minutes, in total, in which the film gets close to being a sophisticated drama with theological concerns firmly fixed but open to interpretation, but then it stumbles over its own telling and reverts to being just another horror with christian themes used for broad dramatic effect.

2 impressions of the truth out of 5

The Usual Suspects (1995)

If you've not seen or been spoiled on TUS yet, do yourself a favour by not reading anything more and instead just watch it because a first viewing will give you something that cannot be repeated. Part of what separates it from its crime drama peers of the era is that it respects its audience's ability to keep up with the twists, and engages their willingness to go along for the ride.
Subsequent viewings will likely take a more analytical approach. It was during such an endeavour that I was struck by how much Dir. Singer valued both the language of film and its unique storytelling devices; his big budget films may attempt the same but often get swamped by spectacle. The flashbacks, v/o, timing and techniques used herein are modernised but familiar, a kind of revitalisation of cinematic tools that had worked their magic for decades.

4 probable causes out of 5

Spider (2002)

An often overlooked film from David Cronenberg that absolutely deserves more attention than it currently receives, for a number of reasons but mostly because of Ralph Fiennes acting his socks off.
His speech characterises him, as you'd expect, but perhaps even more important are his mannerisms, clothes and even his stained fingers, all of which are an exquisite commentary on his inner feelings.
The Becket-esque halfway house in which Spider resides has a nearby factory that looms in an almost Ballardian way. The two styles work as one thanks to Cronenberg's ability to make them feel as if they deserve each other.
I really like Miranda Richardson and loved seeing her get such a powerful role.
Be warned, the trailer makes it appear something it's not.

5 bad airs out of 5

Shade (2003)

A tricksy drama in which misdirection and sleight of hand are both a part of the plot and a technique employed by the director to keep his audience guessing. Damian Nieman filled both creative roles and for some reason it’s his only film to date. He did well. The characters occasionally feel more written than real, but that's often par for the course in drama.
It follows a trio of card-cheating hustlers as they attempt to win big on a very exclusive poker game. As you’d expect, it doesn't go smoothly.
Being a fan of poker meant I very much enjoyed it. If the principal actors had tried harder to make the role their own it could've been even better.

3 dangerous games out of 5

COOL WORLD [1992]

The live action/animated hybrid Cool World is like Fritz The Cat director Ralph Bakshi's raunchier answer to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
With it's seedy world inhabited by cute Fleischer-esque cartoon characters who look like they took a turn down the wrong road I was reminded of Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles.  It's got some interesting back-drop designs but the animated characters themselves look like juvenile versions of the cartoons they're attempting to imitate.  It's apparently supposed to be funny but I don't think I cracked a smile even once as I tried to figure out why I was subjecting myself to this crap.  It's hilarious to see Brad Pitt before his balls dropped but that wears off within 10 minutes into the film.

1 doodle out of 5

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

Jean-François Richet’s remake of John Carpenter’s version (1976) of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959) adds more guns in the hope that it’ll be enough to distract you from the fact that they removed the point of the previous entry entirely.
Ethan Hawke said it was the best action script he’d ever read; I think he needs a new agent. Without Laurence Fishburne I’d have tossed the shit-fest out the window long before the end.

1½ hours I wasted on this crap out of 5

Gothic (1986)

The meeting of Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and his lover Mary Godwin has passed into legend as the night the seeds of Frankenstein (1818) were born.
Ken Russell creates his own hysterical imbued fiction around those events, in his unique debauched style. With a carnival ride through the themes of abortion, adultery, blasphemy, incest, self-mutilation and vampirism it’s business as usual for the British pervert. It starts great and ends great, but it’s flabby in the middle. Special kudos to Natasha Richardson as Mary.

3 poets, like schizos, are never alone out of 5