Ladyhawke (1985)

Sources told me that this was a cult classic. I fully expected an '80s sword-and-sorcery flick to be cheesy, but when YouTube suggested it, I figured it would at least be different from my other recent viewings.

Medieval peasant and habitual petty thief Phillipe "The Mouse" Gaston (young Matthew Broderick, mischievous as usual) escapes from an Italian dungeon but needs help evading guards ordered by the bishop of Aquila (John Wood) to kill him. Enter Etienne of Navarre (Rutger Hauer), former captain of said guards, who seeks to kill the bishop over a past treachery. Etienne is accompanied by a faithful red-tailed hawk, but by night, Phillipe sees neither of them, only the friendly Isabeau of Anjou (young Michelle Pfeiffer) and a black wolf who attacks only their enemies....

TTT: Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil (2026)

From the initialism, I expected a spiritual successor to RRR. Nope, different feel, different studio, different language, probably none of the same people working on it. The Tamil title translates roughly to "Under the Leader and Younger Brother."

Somewhere in modern India, during a pre-wedding party, an elderly alleged prophet dies of natural causes. His son insists on holding an elaborate funeral at the same time the wedding is scheduled to begin. Village council president Jeeva has his work cut out for him in keeping the peace between hostile, sometimes criminal neighbors, especially after the bride is mistakenly believed to have run off with another man.

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

I saved this for one of my last viewings of Best Picture nominees from 2022 because, well, just look at the title. Only recently did I learn that it's partly comic. Netflix will stop streaming it soon, and I had 147 minutes to kill, so I obliged.

Few films have such an explicit three-act structure. First we get a few scenes involving models Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), who are dating but prone to argumentation over financial matters. Part 2, on a luxury yacht in an unspecified waterway, splits the focus among many customers and staffers. Carl and Yaya get a little more central again when they are among eight castaways on an island, shaking up the social order. (The title is what someone in the modeling industry calls an area of the face, but it works on multiple levels.)

Sinners (2025)

I don't recall ever going to a theater two nights in a row before. But I was getting tired of knowing so few Best Picture nominees ahead of the Academy Awards. This one makes four for me, and it has the best shot among them at winning.

Sammie (Miles Caton), against the wishes of his preacher dad (Saul William), decides to use his blues singing and guitar skills at a new rural juke joint run by his older twin cousins, "Smoke" and "Stack" (both Michael B. Jordan), who are thuggish yet charismatic to anyone they don't rob or attack. This being 1932 Mississippi, it's only a matter of time until the Black-centric establishment gets unwelcome attention. Well, the Ku Klux Klan shows up in force only near the end, but an even worse menace plagues opening night....

The Secret Agent (2025)

No, nothing to do with the Joseph Conrad novel by the same title, just similarly big on corruption and tragedy. It wasn't high among my priorities for watching before the Academy Awards, but it was the only Best Picture nominee showing at a convenient time and place last night.

Most of the scenes take place on or near Carnaval 1977 in the vicinity of Recife, Brazil. Yup, it's under that government. Armando, once a researcher, has adopted the alias of Marcelo because of his dissidence, and his allies help him get clerical work in an ID office. He tries to live as normally as possible, reconnecting with his young son, who has been living with the parents of Armando's dead wife. He also reluctantly accepts protection from a corrupt civil police chief, for what that's worth when a personal enemy hires a hit man.

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

Wow, it's been that long already? ...Since the depicted incident, I mean. I don't recall the screen adaptation from an article being advertised when new, which may explain the poor box office performance despite rave reviews and award wins and nods. Regardless, I got curious to learn more.

In 2010, technician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) says goodbye to wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) and starts work on the titular oil rig off the Louisiana coast. He and manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) soon discover lots of problems, such as a nonfunctional phone system, and persuade the visiting stingy BP managers, Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich) and Robert Kaluza (Brad Leland), to approve more testing. The real trouble begins with a cement bond failure....

The Children's Hour (1961)

This adaptation of a Lillian Hellman play got mixed reviews and did not cover expenses at the box office, but when YouTube suggested it to me, I noticed the high ratings on modern boards. Besides, I was in the mood for an Audrey Hepburn piece, and this one sounded quite different from the same year's Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (Shirley MacLaine) run a girls' boarding school. For the first half hour, their struggles include some unruly students; Martha's annoyance at her conceited Aunt Lily (Miriam Hopkins) on staff; Karen dragging her heels about marrying the school's go-to physician, Joe (James Garner); and Martha worrying what will happen to the school when they do marry. But all those troubles get overshadowed when every student suddenly gets pulled out of the school. What rumor could be so ugly that the headmistresses take forever just to hear an explanation?

Nouvelle Vague (2025)

When I saw this advertised on Netflix, I briefly thought it was quite old, perhaps belatedly released like The Other Side of the Wind. That's a deliberate nod to the subject. Once I understood, I was sold.

By 1959, film critic Jean-Luc Godard has directed a short but feels much less accomplished than his cinematic comrades. He finally agrees to direct a romantic crime story co-written by François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol, which would become Breathless. Godard's many unconventional techniques, including long periods without shooting, annoy pretty much everyone he works with, especially female lead Jean Seberg and producer Georges de Beauregard. Other famous figures who turn up include Jean Cocteau, Éric Rohmer, and Roberto Rosselini.

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025)

No, nothing to do with the 2001 Amélie. I hadn't heard of this hand-drawn adaptation from a book until its nomination for Best Animated Feature. For once, I went to a theater at a time I'd normally be having lunch, figuring I wouldn't be too hungry after 78 minutes.

In 1969, Amélie is born the third child to Belgian parents staying in Japan. For her first two years, she is outwardly unresponsive. Then she spends six months raging at her limitations, until her grandmother and a new nanny, Nishio, daughter of landlady Kashima, show her understanding and teach her to enjoy life. Alas, Grandma isn't long for this world, and Kashima's wartime grudge against Belgium leads her to discourage Nishio from spending much time around Amélie. What's more, Dad's job means they may have to move back to Belgium any week, despite Amélie self-identifying as Japanese. (I won't list voice actors, because none of the names for English or French mean anything to me.)

Chisum (1970)

It's been more than a year and a half since my last western, and that was a peculiar anthology. A John Wayne title promises something more traditional. This one isn't treated as much of a classic, but I got curious when YouTube suggested it.

Only after watching did I know about its basis in the Lincoln County War in 1878 New Mexico. John Chisum (Wayne) has had many rustlers coming after his cows and horses. He's also annoyed at Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker) for buying up as much land as possible and attempting a high-price monopoly on general stores and banks. Chisum's friend Henry Tunstall (Patric Knowles) and conscientious attorney Alex McSween (Andrew Prine) give him a hand at countering these moves, but the bribed Sheriff Brady (Bruce Cabot) makes it hard to get justice by legal means. Throw in Billy "The Kid" Bonney (Geoffrey Deuel), Pat Garrett (Glenn Corbett), and bounty hunter Dan Nodeen (Christopher George), and the town becomes a real powder keg.

The American President (1995)

With Valentine's Day on a Presidents' Day weekend, I knew just what to watch: a White House romance. I'd seen this one in a theater, but I could barely follow along at 13 or remember much after 30 years. Even if I could, I'd want to compare my adult perspective.

Amid a reelection campaign, widowed Pres. Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) must continue governmental decisions such as how ambitious a gun control bill to support, what to do about an attack in Libya, and how much reduction of carbon dioxide to endorse. He still finds time to pursue a new love interest, lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), who gradually overcomes her intimidation. The press, of course, pays inordinate attention, and candidate Sen. Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) sees an opportunity to trash his opponent's morals. Shepherd understandably gives no comment, but that doesn't help his odds of winning a second term -- or Wade's devotion.

Demolition Man (1993)

I was barely aware of this flick when it was new. Only in adulthood did I encounter people talking about it, not so much for the demolition as for the nanny state sendup. I got curious whether it had more to offer than a particular line summarizing the scenario and a curious, semi-tasteful bathroom gag.

In 1996, LAPD Det. John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is effective at crimefighting but destructive enough to earn the titular moniker. When his arrest of master criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) leads to the explosion of a building full of hostages, both men are sentenced to decades in cryopreservation. At a 2032 parole hearing, Phoenix breaks loose, discovering that this peaceful era has pushover police and he's become mysteriously knowledgeable and badass. Lt. Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a big fan of the 20th century, persuades Chief George Earle (Bob Gunton) to thaw and reinstate Spartan to take on Phoenix, but authorities worry that Spartan's just as bad.

Train Dreams (2025)

Had I realized that this was a Netflix movie, I wouldn't have seen it in a theater. But I'm kinda glad I did, partly because I supported my favorite local theater and partly because a large screen and loud speakers enhance the dramatic experience. We don't usually think about that for mere dramas.

Despite copious narration by Will Patton, I had to look up the Denis Johnson novella to tell when the story begins: the 1910s. It ends in 1968, and I'm not sure how many decades in between are represented. In any case, Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) works first as a railroad builder, then as a lumberjack, and eventually as a carriage driver, all in rural Idaho. In trying to make ends meet, he doesn't get to spend as much time with wife Gladys (Felicity Jones) and cute young daughter Kate as they'd all like. And he sees far more deaths than he'd like.

Father Goose (1964)

I hadn't heard of this movie before YouTube suggested it. It turns out to have been Cary Grant's second-to-last work and one of his favorites, not least because he acts more like himself than ever before. (No, the protagonist doesn't do any drugs besides whiskey.)

American civilian sailor Walter Eckland (Grant) swipes Australian naval supplies and openly cares only about himself, so we don't feel too scandalized when Commander Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard) strong-arms him into staying at a Papua New Guinea hut and watching for Japanese planes during World War II. He hears about an eligible replacement he can fetch, but by the time he arrives, the replacement has been killed. All he finds are teacher Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) and seven female students of various ages, two of whom speak only French. Reluctantly, Walter takes them to the relative safety of his hut, where Catherine disapproves of his slovenly lifestyle. The navy can't rescue them any time soon, so they'll have to get used to each other.

Moonraker (1979)

More than 20 years ago, an online quiz claimed that this was the most promising James Bond flick for me, but others warned me that it was likely to annoy me. Since then, I've found that even unpopular entries can strike a chord with me. When Netflix kept suggesting this one, I finally went for it.

The title refers to a model of space shuttle, one of which gets hijacked en route from California to the UK. Agent 007 (Roger Moore) begins his case by meeting with Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale), shady yet publicly trusted owner of the manufacturing company. The plot Bond eventually uncovers is probably the most destructive in the history of the franchise.

Frankenstein (2025)

When I learned that I hadn't seen any of the Academy Best Picture nominees for the year, I chose the first one I could find. Ordinarily, I save arguable horror movies for October. I say "arguable" because Wikipedia characterizes it as "Gothic science fiction drama." That's fair enough.

The movie begins near the end, when 19th-century Danish sailors find a nearly dead Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) in the Arctic and try to protect him from his raging creation (Jacob Elordi). In the captain's cabin, Victor tells Captain Andersen (Lars Mikkelsen) the first half of the story. Then the creature shows up and takes the narration from there. In the small chance you don't know the gist, Victor stitched together parts from different corpses and brought the gestalt to life but didn't raise him properly, leaving him put upon by society and violently resentful.

The Rip (2026)

I knew this was getting a middling reception from general audiences, but someone had recommended it earlier in the day. Besides, I hadn't seen Matt Damon and Ben Affleck together since Dogma in 1999. And this was the only movie left on my Netflix list that ran less than two hours.

The title is slang for confiscation. A Miami police team under Lt. Dane Dumars (Damon), including Det. Sgt. JD Byrne (Affleck), Det. Mike Ro (Steven Yeun, not to be confused with Mike Rowe), Det. Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Det. Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Mareno), searches a decrepit Hialeah house suspected of storing loads of cash for drug dealers, with only one Desi Lopez (Sasha Calle) at home. They find about $20 million, far more than they anticipated. This is not entirely good news for them, because both career criminals and cops might do almost anything for that kind of take. Dumars insists that they count the money on site (trusting any labeled amounts on stacks to save time) but not call it in, and they must prepare for a shootout. Naturally, tensions rise within the team.

Ip Man 2 (2010)

Either I watched the first Ip Man before I launched this blog, or I was too unenthused to write a review. I certainly don't remember much of it. Just know that it's an action flick about an RL grandmaster of the Wing Chun style of kung fu, often called Yip rather than Ip even on screen, perhaps best known for teaching Bruce Lee. From what I can tell, the story bears little resemblance to his actual life, and I imagine that the sequels hew no closer.

In 1950, Ip (Donnie Yen) opens a Wing Chun school in Hong Kong. He has no students until young hoodlum Wong Shun Leung (Huang Xiaoming) challenges him and the word spreads of how awesome Ip is. Alas, they develop a fierce rivalry with thugs from the Hung Ga school under Hung Chun-nam (Sammo Hung), who runs a protection racket for martial arts trainers. By the second half, the main villain appears to be dirty Superintendent Wallace (Charles Mayer), who shakes down Hung, bullies journalists who print unflattering truths, and pulls strings for British boxer Taylor "Twister" Miller (Darren Shahlavi) to take on Chinese opponents and assert ethnic superiority. You can guess who the last one will be.

Pitch Perfect (2012)

Boy, it's been more than a decade since I saw the first sequel. I don't remember when I put the predecessor on my Netflix list; I may have ignored it many times. But I was finally in the mood for a flick with a lot of decent singing, regardless of any other virtues.

After a disastrous performance at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, the all-female Barden Bellas are down to Aubrey (Anna Camp) and Chloe (Brittany Snow). They can't be too picky, so the new recruits are a motley crew. Some get kicked out for intimacy with the Bellas' fiercest on-campus rivals, the all-male Treblemakers. The main internal conflict concerns Beca (Anna Kendrick), who has a habit of pushing people away but does great at mashups, which hidebound, bossy Aubrey rejects.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

I know it hasn't been long since my last superhero movie, but this one promised to be rather different. Besides, people have long told me it's one of the best Batman animated features, if not the best ever, and I never saw it offered on Netflix when I looked. When YouTube suggested it, I couldn't resist for long.

A creepy new vigilante (masked voice by Stacy Keach) has been hunting down and killing unthemed Gotham mob bosses. Unlike Holiday in The Long Halloween, Phantasm keeps getting mistaken the superficially similar Batman (Kevin Conroy). Commissioner Jim Gordon (Bob Hastings) doesn't believe it, but City Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner) sends the police after Batman with authorization of deadly force.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

Despite my mostly positive reviews of prior entries in the series, I'd been putting this one off. I'm a practicing Catholic, and Hollywood rarely depicts the Church in a kind light. Even members of other religions have reported WUDM rubbing them the wrong way -- and indeed, director Rian Johnson says he likes to make polarizing pictures that annoy much of the audience. But this one is still popular overall, and my curiosity about a cultural phenomenon won out.

During a Good Friday service in a small New York town, controversial Msgr. Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) is found stabbed to death under seemingly impossible circumstances. The police chief (Mila Kunis) is inclined to arrest junior Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), who has a history of violence and notably locked horns with Wicks. But famed PI Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) thinks Jud, while no angel, doesn't act like the guilty party. He enlists Jud's help in gathering clues. The case gets freakier still come Easter....

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

In the past year, for the first time, I checked out some Fantastic Four comic books. They seemed like the biggest gap in my superhero education. I didn't even know at first about their influence on the Incredibles, let alone later Marvel properties. Alas, they've had a hard time getting popular screen outings, so this reputedly middling one would have to suffice.

Four years after the four astronauts gained powers from radiation exposure, Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue "The Invisible Woman" Storm (Vanessa Kirby) are expecting their first child, Franklin. Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm (Joseph Quinn) looks forward to being an uncle, and even Ben "The Thing" Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) sees Franklin as family. Then the alien Silver Surfer (a woman for once, Julia Garner) announces that she has selected Earth for the next meal of giant Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and recommends making the most of the time people have left. The Fantastic Four travel to meet Galactus, who offers to spare Earth if he can have the secretly powerful Franklin absorb his curse of insatiable appetite. Since Galactus, like Dormammu, is too mighty to consider fighting head on, the four struggle to come up with a third option....