Operation Avalanche (2016)

A mockumentary set during the space race of the late 1960s, it explores the idea of the U.S. faking the moon landing to get ahead of the Russians, a famous conspiracy theory explored in popular media (including in 2024). A pair of CIA agents infiltrate NASA to expose a possible mole and wind up participating in the subterfuge. What's really impressive about this film is how it recreates the era and blends the footage to look authentic. Matt Johnson already had some experience with this shooting style in The Dirties and Nirvanna the Band the Show, but this is a much more mature interpolation and the effect is seamless.

3 Kubrick techniques out of 5

One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 (2026)

A fly on the wall documentary highlighting the production of the final season of Stranger Things, which encompasses 10 years of development building up to its culmination. Combining 1980s nostalgia with the coming of age genre and Stephen King-style of horror, it became a global phenomenon to a whole new generation of kids, in the tradition of E.T., The Goonies and Stand by Me. As a fan of the show, I found it a cathartic look at saying goodbye to childhood.

3 emotional table reads out of 5

Note: There are Ups and Downs, but I'd rate the show 4 Demogorgons out of 5. 

Oh. What. Fun. (2025)

Michelle Pfeiffer plays a GILF who is hosting the holidays this year, along with an all-star cast who apparently had nothing else better to do. Each year, I suffer through a new crop of Christmas movies that always recycle the same ideas and morals, which is that family sucks, but they're your family, blah, blah blah. You know that's exactly what you're going to get here. I'm disappointed that this came from Michael Showalter because I was expecting something dark and subversive. It positions itself to become a holiday classic devoted to moms, but you can't force that shit; from all the intentional Christmas Vacation and Home Alone vibes littered throughout. The only reason why this isn't a total piece of shit is because Pfeiffer elevates everything she does and she looks fucking incredible for 67, but that's not nearly enough to save it.

1½ sorrowful renditions of "12 Days of Christmas" out of 5

One Battle After Another (2025)

This film defies any easy explanation, so I won't even try. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon's Viceland, Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling three-hour crime epic covers a lot of ground. It's messy and takes a long fucking time to get going, but it's so close to greatness at times that I have to award it on that merit. Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn's fucked up characters make this ride infinitely watchable. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

4 boners under duress out of 5

Other (2025)

A former beauty queen returns home after her mother's death, where she's forced to face her demons of growing up in a strict household. Meanwhile, something else may be crawling in the house with her. It's surprisingly well executed, although it takes its sweet time getting there. I liked the unsettling choice to not show anyone else's face in this film besides the lead character.

2½ missing keys out of 5

Hot Spring Shark Attack (2024)

AKA: Onsen shâku (温泉シャーク)

I'll admit, watching a shitty Japanese B-movie is a bit better than an American one. But not by much. Fifty years after Jaws made you afraid to go back in the water, this one makes you too timid to take a casual dip in an indoor facility. It's insanely stupid, but it obviously knows what it's doing and leans into the absurdity. If you're a fan of Sharknado and other genre-inspired knock-offs, you might find something to like here. At 70 minutes, this shit is still too long.

1 Macho man out of 5

Oh, Hi! (2025)

A fledgling couple on a romantic trip to the remote countryside turns real dark when it's revealed that one likes the other more, while the other ends up in chains. I enjoyed it in the moment, although much less on reflection. I tend to watch these movies in a detached manner because I personally can't seem to relate to any of it. If only someone cared enough about me to chain me up...

2½ red flags out of 5

Opus (2025)

John Malkovich (channeling Nicolas Cage) plays what amounts to a cult leader at a commune under the guise of a musical prodigy who has just come out of retirement. Ayo Ebediri plays the only rational character in the film who questions his motives and all the weirdness surrounding them. It's a bit of the horror comedy persuasion (not unlike Get Out and Blink Twice), but feels like it could have gone much, much further. Standards must be slipping over at A24.

2½ bites of the communal bread out of 5

Oppenheimer (2023)

The most overrated movie of 2023. I love Christopher Nolan as much as the next film nerd, but he excels at making epic, original sci-fi films. I'm not quite as thrilled with his heady, awards-baiting historical dramas. This is essentially a 3-hour "talkie" picture about the Manhattan Project, and its literal fallout and legal ramifications. Does it really need to be that long to tell this story? Feels like a lot of pretentious showboating to me. The performances are all great and worthy of the acclaim they received, it's just that the whole thing feels a lot more self-important than it actually is. It does a fine job at telling its story, but isn't half as memorable or noteworthy as everyone else pretends it to be.

Won the "Best Picture" Oscar for 2023, but if the Academy had any balls, it would have gone to Poor Things.

3 Destroyer of Worlds out of 5

Old Dads (2023)

Three aging fathers find themselves raging against an increasingly politically correct world that is out of step with how they grew up. If you're a fan of Bill Burr's anger-fueled stand-up rants, this'll be right up your alley. Personally, I found it refreshing; the anger is cathartic. My only complaint is that it doesn't go hard enough. Some of the conventional choices in this film kind of took the steam out of it. It always bothers me whenever people try to claim this stuff is conservative or "boomer" humor (technically Gen X), when it's merely calling out the bullshit and the hypocrisies of modern life. I find it very telling that I relate more to these "old dads" than I do to people of my own generation.

3½ rap lyrics you sing when no one else is around out of 5

The Order (2024)

Based on true events, we follow a crime spree across the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s tied to a string of armed robberies committed by an apparent white supremacist terrorist group gathering funds for their nefarious deeds. Jude Law plays the FBI agent hot on their trail, with Tye Sheridan as his rookie and Nicholas Hoult as the head Aryan. Blah blah blah. A pretty standard procedural crime drama that more or less plays out exactly the way you expect it to, although its material is handled capably by all involved.

2 porno bombings out of 5

Out of Darkness (2022)

A Stone Age survival story that calls to mind something like Quest for Fire. This film is particularly unique because it's presented in an invented Paleolithic language with subtitles. 

45,000 years ago, a small clan struggles for survival against the harsh, unforgiving elements (and each other) while harboring a preternatural fear of the dark and suspecting a creature of stalking them from the shadows. You can kind of figure out where it's heading the entire time, but the end result is memorable enough.

2½ campfire tales out of 5

Orion and the Dark (2024)

Inside Out, as scripted by Charlie Kaufman. Orion is a kid who is scared of everything. He's obsessed with death and has an existential fear of the unknown. He contemplates all of life's big questions: What happens after it all goes dark? This is Charlie Brown if he was distilled down to a pure anxiety disorder. Pretty heavy shit for a kid's movie.

After a total blackout, Orion encounters the embodiment of the Dark, who takes him out on a grand adventure (à la Little Nemo in Slumberland) and forces him to confront his fears. Also in tow are the other nighttime entities: Sleep, Quiet, Sweet Dreams, Insomnia, and Unexplained Noises. (What a bunch of assholes!) You can kind of tell where this is going, but there are actually layers that are gradually peeled back and offer varying narrative perspectives. It goes some interesting places that few children's films would ever dare to go, which means it might be too intense for the little ones (though it would have been perfect for me). Once the curtain is finally lifted, there is an additional story being told that can only be appreciated by grown ass adults. Unfortunately, you get the feeling Kaufman's original script has been watered down in some respects to make it more agreeable for general audiences. You can sense they're holding back and are beholden to a more optimistic, conventional approach. As such, it's not quite as good as it could have been, but you can see all the potential that was there on the page.

3½ gilded lilies out of 5

Oddity (2024)

I walked into this screening completely blind, which has become my preferred method of watching movies nowadays because trailers spoil everything. I much prefer to "discover" movies on my own, without any pre-existing hype. It's rare that it happens these days, but I really love the feeling of going into a film knowing absolutely nothing about it beforehand; not a synopsis, teaser or nary a screenshot (even the poster above I feel gives too much away).

Out of respect for the reader, I won't spoil this one so you can enjoy it under the exact same circumstance. It's a creepy little movie to watch in a darkened room after midnight. This was definitely a slow-burn, but incredibly effective and well done.

3½ cabinets of curiosities out of 5

Over the Top (1987)

Stallone plays Lincoln Hawk, a father who's been estranged from his ten-year-old son (David Mendenhall) for the boy's entire life. The kid is a US military school brat, bordering on insufferable when we first meet him. At the behest of the youth's mother, Hawk spends time with the kid, hoping to get to know him during a lengthy truck ride across states. Trouble comes from the boy's overbearing grandfather, who wants trucker Hawk out of the picture.
It's a pretty clichéd story of an absent father who has to fight to knock down the walls of his child's preconceived notions and feelings of abandonment, and the bonding can be disappointingly mawkish at times, but it has the charm of a 1980's VHS rental, and I have a fondness for that kind of thing, When in Vegas it tries to be the Rocky of arm wrestling, and it does a half-decent job at it. I was inwardly (but assuredly) cheering for pops during the finale.

3 shoulder pillows out of 5

The Order (2001)

After an opening scene set in the year 1099, telling of the First Crusade in Israel, the film jumps to modern day Ukraine where Rudy Cafmeyer (Jean-Claude van Damme) is stealing something that he's no legal claim to. Later, after some poorly acted scenes, the charisma-vacuum goes on a quest to find his archaeologist father. There's an Israeli police lieutenant (Sofia Milos) who exists to be a helpful cliché, and, because it's 'movie' Middle East, a religious zealot (Brian Thompson) with a bomb who wants to start a Holy War.
In a way that the filmmakers likely hadn't planned, viewing The Order enriched my life, because I vow that the next time I see a film with JCVD as the leading man, I won't waste a single second of my time on it.

1 pleasure trip out of 5

Outland (1981)

A bleak sci-fi set on Io (Jupiter's third-largest moon), in and around a titanium mining outpost with lighting that's reflective of the functional aspect of the environment more than the fanciful cinematic one; i.e. it's dark a lot of the time. Any lights present are often glary, but they add atmosphere.
Sean Connery stars as Marshall William O'Niel. Like in any frontier town, the Marshall keeps the peace as best he can. But the harsh environment can take a toll on the workers, leading to violence and corruption. Not well-liked, the only person he can rely on is a lady doctor, a woman of equal temperament named Marian Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen). The much-reported similarities to High Noon (1952) aren't immediately apparent, but are inescapable as the film moves into its final third. All in all, it's probably Dir. Peter Hyams' best work.

3 cupcakes out of 5

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Instead of simply dipping a toe in the cave-girl genre, Hammer dipped an entire lady, Raquel Welch, and created something iconic in the process.
It's a story of early humans (after they'd learned sewing and modesty) with very little dialogue, most of which is Prehistoric language. Despite that, it does manage to be entertaining, least of all in its good girl falls for bad boy scenario; i.e. Loana (Welsh) for the savage Tumak (John Richardson).
Lovers of 'fur' bikinis should enjoy the scenery, while kids and fans of stop-motion can appreciate the wonderful Ray Harryhausen creature effects. Beyond that, there's character growth, some righting of wrongs, and enough tragedy to enable anyone who's seeking an actual story to leave satisfied.

3 skulls on sticks out of 5

Outrage Coda (2017)

Dictionary.com defines 'coda' as 'a concluding section or part [...] serving as a summation of preceding themes, motifs, etc.'. Outrage Coda fits that particular description, concluding the trilogy but telling its own story, too.
Otomo (Kitano) now conducts his business from a South Korean island, out of harm's way and under the protection of a powerful Korean organisation, while the old Hanabishi lieutenants back in Japan scheme and bicker over profits and status. When the two operations clash and war looms, Otomo's hand is forced.
As before there's many dialogue scenes, some with a pleasing dollop of Kitano's subtle comedy stylings, but, sadly, his character isn't involved in very many of them. But he's there for some of the violence, which is brutal.
Keiichi Suzuki's score is by turns daring, unusual, and effectively dramatic.

3 responses out of 5

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

aka 101 Dalmatians

Disney's dalmatian adventure is a simple story that moves from A to B to C without asking too much of a viewer. That's not a criticism in itself, simplicity can be a great strength in animation, but, on the whole, the dognapping yarn had me literally catnapping long before the credits rolled.
I liked the 'classic Hollywood' feeling that was most evident early on, and the wonderfully named Cruella De Vil, a wiry villainess who wants the many pups made into a fur coat, certainly looked the part (she wouldn't seem out of place in a Roald Dahl novel, either), but once again it was primarily the beautifully rendered Disney backgrounds that appealed to me, not the talking animals.

2½ all-dog alerts out of 5