The Wailing (2016)

I don't remember learning about this South Korean TV movie before. Most likely, it was on an online list of great horrors. In any case, it was the only horror I found left on my Netflix list.

Officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won), a police officer for the village of Gokseong, comes to recognize a pattern: Locals covered in boils are growing violently insane before dying. A theory tying the symptoms to drugs is not entertained for long, and for some reason, nobody even mentions the possibility of a natural disease. Reportedly, the first case emerged shortly after the arrival of an unnamed, reclusive Japanese man (Jun Kunimura), the subject of many rumors, including that he is a ghost. Jong-goo pays him a visit with a translating deacon (Kim Do-yoon) and finds a ghastly shrine but nothing to justify an arrest. When Jong-goo's preteen or early teen daughter (Kim Hwan-hee) shows early signs of the condition, his wife (Jang So-yeon) calls on a shaman (Hwang Jung-min) for an exorcism. A strange woman in white (Chun Woo-hee) often appears with warnings, but Jong-goo doesn't know much about her or whether to trust her.

Werewolf by Night (2022)

I had not heard of this Disney+ special or even the Marvel antihero of the same name until I perused the Halloween section of Disney+. Among the movies I hadn't seen, this was the only title to grab me. I realize its status as a movie is a stretch at a mere 55 minutes, but it felt long enough to me.

The Bloodstone is a gem that weakens and angers monsters but strengthens monster hunters. Now that longtime wielder Ulysses Bloodstone has died (so much for the Wikipedia claim that he's immortal), widow Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris) hosts a contest to see who will own it next. Five accomplished hunters plus Elsa (Laura Donnelly), not the Arendelle queen but Ulysses' daughter by another woman, are assigned to kill a Lovecraftian creature trapped in a labyrinth. Elsa cares only about an inheritance from a father with whom she did not see eye to eye. One of the hunters, Jack (Gael García Bernal), secretly wants to free the monster, for reasons of kinship. Yep, it doesn't take long to guess he's the title character, and no, nobody calls him "Wolfman Jack."

It Follows (2014)

This was the first Halloweeny title I found on my Netflix list. It also happened to be leaving Netflix today. Sorry if you wanted to see it there but read this too late.

College undergrad Jay (Maika Monroe) has casual sex with "Hugh" (Jake Weary), only to learn that he's not whom he claimed to be and has dishonorable intentions toward her. He forcefully conveys that he has been stalked by a killer monster invisible to everyone it hasn't targeted yet, and the only way he knows to get it off his trail, at least temporarily, is to have sex so it goes after the partner instead. He does want her to survive too, if only because the monster will turn its attention back to him otherwise. Most of the movie consists of Jay escaping the monster, often with help from her true friends, who vary in how much they believe her. And yes, she keeps the pass-it-on option in mind.

A Star Is Born (2018)

I had watched the first two movies by this title and skipped the third, so this was one of my last priorities among Best Picture nominees for the year. At my harshest, I declared that a re-re-remake shouldn't even exist. But the United menu was running low on promising options I hadn't seen.

Ally (Lady Gaga) is an up-and-coming singer and songwriter. Her career gets a boost from established country rock star Jack Maine (Bradley Cooper). The two eventually marry, but it's a rocky marriage as Jack's success flounders amid alcoholism and he grows jealous of his own wife. Other notable actors include Sam Elliott as Jack's brother and manager, Dave Chapelle as Jack's friend, and Andrew Dice Clay as Ally's father.

Robot Dreams (2023)

This was probably the least noted Best Animated Feature nominee of the year, at least for the U.S. Going in, I knew little more than the what the poster presented. It hardly mattered, because I've never really hated an animated feature.

In a parallel world of anthropomorphic animals, a New York dog named Dog Varon (after the graphic novel writer, Sara Varon) buys a companion robot, who seems masculine but is never assigned a name to our knowledge. Despite some obstacles, they have a lot of fun together -- until the robot rusts to immobility at the beach. Dog can't move his friend with raw strength, and by the time he gets tools handy, the beach is closed for the next three seasons. Planning to try again later, Dog makes other efforts to combat loneliness, while the robot literally dreams of different futures for them both.

Barbie (2023)

I was reluctant to try something so polarizing. If nothing else, I figured that seeing the largest amount of pink outside of a nudist community would sicken me. But on a tiny airplane-back screen, that's not so risky.

Here we see Barbieland, home to live humanoids who mostly go by "Barbie" and "Ken," who come into existence as Mattel makes their corresponding doll models, and who change based on how the dolls are played with. The focal characters are Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling), whom I'll call SB and BK for simplicity. SB starts to develop realistic flaws nearly unheard of in Barbieland, so she travels to real-world L.A., where Mattel is headquartered, in search of a solution. BK tags along and discovers that Barbieland could become a lot more fun for the men -- at the cost of the women. He returns before SB does....

The Zone of Interest (2023)

To avoid my prior mistake, I watched this at the start of my flight home, when my attention wouldn't be flagging yet. I also had a strong feeling that I would need a palate cleanser afterward.

We might call this a slice of life, but that kind of implies an ordinary setting. The focus is on the large family of Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant at Auschwitz, living very close to it. The most notable plot developments concern changes in his job, whether he likes them or not. His five kids seem not to know or care what he's up to.

Past Lives (2023)

I recalled almost nothing about this title except that it was nominated for Best Picture. It turns out to have had only one other Oscar nod, for Best Original Screenplay, so no one seriously expected it to win. I would have given priority to Poor Things, but that wasn't an option from United.

Thanks to two time jumps, there is a clear three-act structure. First Na Young (then played by Seung Ah Moon) and Hae Sung (then played by Seung Min Yim) are preteen classmates and fierce academic rivals. Just as they start to grow fond of each other, Na moves to Toronto for a more promising future and changes her name to Nora Moon. They rediscover each other on Facebook 12 years later (now played by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo), having many video calls until Nora takes an indefinite hiatus to focus on work. Another 12 years later, in what I take to be 2023, they finally meet in RL again, specifically in New York City, where Nora lives with husband Arthur (John Magaro). This marriage is stable, but Nora and Hae can't help thinking about what could have been -- and, from a Buddhist perspective, what may have been in previous incarnations.

The Fall Guy (2024)

I had never heard of the '80s TV series of the same title. Fortunately, this is only a loose adaptation, so it doesn't presuppose much knowledge. The only detail I know would have meant more to me with familiarity was a pair of cameos.

Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a beleaguered stuntman, most notably standing in for obnoxious actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). A particularly bad injury dissuades him from further stunts, until producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) asks him to work on the directorial debut of his ex-girlfriend, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Gail later confides that the invitation isn't really about the job: She wants him to track down the suspiciously absent Tom before the production fails. Colt always knew that Tom was troubled, but he doesn't anticipate what follows. Hint: The title has a double meaning.

Bad Boys (1995)

As I perused my alphabetized menu on a flight, this was the first title to jump out at me among those I hadn't seen. I'd had no strong desire to see it, but the fact that it spawned a series, including an entry this year despite Will Smith's decline in marketability, made me think I ought to learn more about it.

Undercover narcs Mike Lowrey (Smith, late in the Fresh Prince era) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are assigned to look into the theft of all the heroin seized by Miami PD. Kingpin Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo) adds bloodshed in an effort to cover his tracks, but witness Julie (Téa Leoni) slips away. Thanks to a departed mutual acquaintance, she trusts Mike and nobody else in the department. He's absent when she calls, so supervisor Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) insists that Marcus stand in for Mike. For appearance's sake, the two longtime partners end up swapping residences....