Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026)

64% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 214 reviews) 

Runtime: 132 minutes

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Starring: Pedro Pascal & quite a few other random voices & actors, including Martin Scorsese!

From: Lucasfilm

I now know that Star Wars has:

Hell as a concept
Lawyers
MINIONS. At least that’s what those tiny hairy bipedal creatures sounded like

My review of The Mandalorian & Grogu will be even lengthier than usual; however, my history with Star Wars is probably necessary here. I am a middle-aged dude who has some gray hair that loved the original trilogy since a little kid, the prequel trilogy was a great idea executed poorly, and I’d rather forget about all the movies in the sequel trilogy, especially the abominations that were The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. One day, new reviews of those two need to be done-I’m sure they’d be rated much lower by me… but the gag is that I’d quite hesitant to check out those awful movies again!

As for the streaming shows, I only saw the first season of The Mandalorian and wasn’t impressed; the other streaming shows I never bothered with. The only two that doesn’t seem like gruel is Andor & Visions. As to why I’d even bother with The Mandalorian & Grogu, it’s not to be a troll or hater. Rather, “morbid curiosity” and “all the other live-action theatrical movies were viewed on the big screen” were the reasons why.

The Mandalorian & Grogu thankfully isn’t a disaster like The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker. That doesn’t mean I thought it was good, let alone great. As others have noted, the movie felt quite episodic and did not have a traditional plot structure; that’s not necessarily a bad thing, although the movie felt like several episodes of the streaming show. Regrettably, much of this was just forgettable.

That said, as others have noted, thank cripes this isn’t more nonsense featuring characters from the original movies or rehashing ideas ad nauseum. I never saw Clone Wars-the show or movie-yet have heard that Jabba’s son Rotta is a character. I wasn’t sure what was more jarring: a Hutt who is YOKED or the Hutts mainly speaking English instead of Huttese. Jeremy Allen White voicing Rotta was a genuine shock; the credits did remind me that SCORSESE provided a voice for who knows what reason. It’s a small role, so dignified that he brought to life… what is best described as “a four-armed Italian monkey!” Our lead duo deals with several members of the Hutt clan as they attempt to track down a warlord who’s a thread to the New Republic.

It's a shame that this exhibited several of the issues that I feel have been industry-wide problems for years: dimly-lit, unneeded, unnecessary “humor” (although it wasn’t as bad or frequent as in Jedi or Rise), overly explanatory dialogue that wasn’t needed. I’m crestfallen, as the Ludwig Goransson score was quality, many different creatures were seen, and Grogu was usually brought to life by animatronics or puppetry rather than CG.

Disney Star Wars can’t be categorized as anything but a disaster overall. Back then, I never could have imagine them creating films that still have divided the fanbase, focused on streaming gruel, make horrible decision after horrible decision, announce a plethora of projects only to later cancel them, created an industry where “certain YouTubers” have made serious bank criticizing the and THIS is how they returned to cinemas after 6 ½ years. The buzz for the movie seems incredibly low for what was THE name worldwide franchise; many were likely as apathetic as I was, and there has to be plenty that only will see the film for the same reasons I did.

When a highlight (that doesn’t seem like Star Wars but that’s been an issue for years now) is Grogu in a GEARING-UP MONTAGE like he’s John Rambo or John Matrix… well, at least it made me laugh. As someone who avoids modern blockbusters in general-don’t expect me to discuss many more of those in 2026-I suppose it’s a relief that I felt the movie was “incredibly average” instead of “incredibly enraging” or “incredibly stupid.”

The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Revisited

I was wrong about this movie.

The first review-which is now deleted; I’m embarrassed by it-was done the summer of ’15, via a theatrical viewing. My opinion was “meh” and what threw me off was the tongue-in-cheek style, mainly from Henry Cavill but also from the other characters. In hindsight, after viewing other modern films aping the 1960’s and seeing similar performances from others-which didn’t really bother me… Uncle deserved another shot. I thought of doing so for YEARS; of course, it was recent messageboard discussion of Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander-more on that at the end-which finally gave me the push.

In 2026, the movie played much better for me. I always enjoyed the style, the fashion, the music; now, the plot and the performances sat better with me, including from Mr. Cavill. Shame that Armie Hammer has been exposed as an alleged sex pest & weirdo in the preceding 11 years, but… this tale is of a CIA agent teaming with a KGB agent along w/ Vikander (daughter of a nuclear scientist) to Rome to stop Nazi sympathizers from building their own nuclear bomb.

Now, I appreciate how fun, entertaining, cool, funny, and yes, sexy, the lead trio that couldn’t trust each other were together. The supporting turns from the likes of Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Debicki were also memorable. Even more so than 2015, the awesome fashion-especially worn by Ms. Vikander-the sweet jazzy soundtrack from Daniel Pemberton, and needle-drops that are still original today, not to mention greatly appealing to my tastes due to the usage of groovy old tunes comprising several different genres.

It is a shame that a stylish, wacky, light yet still thrilling spy film set in the swingin’ 60’s missed the mark for me back in 2015 for whatever reasons. I realize now how wrong I was then. The action was cool but the focus was on how fashionable everything was. At least now, many more eyes than back then will have read my new take on U.N.C.L.E.—now I wish there would have been a sequel teased during the conclusion.

I wish Guy Ritchie would continue to make motion pictures like this-apparently he hasn’t. As for why there was discussion on a messageboard a few days ago concerning Alicia Vikander & her husband Michael Fassbender: would you believe they are in a Korean film?! Yes, they’re in Hope, from the dude that directed the quality films The Wailing & The Chaser. I am fascinated and now excited to check out Hope in the future.

Mazes & Monsters

Mazes and Monsters (1982)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Steven Hilliard Stern

Starring: Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wysocki, Chris Makepeace, many famous faces in small roles

From: McDermott Productions/Proctor & Gamble Productions

Yesterday was a crummy day; thank goodness for a Sunday night discovery. Lionsgate has three different YouTube channels titled “MovieSphere” where they upload random genre movies (most of which even I was unfamiliar with), sometimes in 4K. Yes, I’ve known of this infamous scare-mongering made for TV film; well, I can’t explain why the aspect ratio is 1.78:1 instead of 1.33:1 but otherwise, no complaint that I finally got to see the film-in 4K quality to boot-and this poppycock did brighten my mood. 

I can’t blame Lionsgate for censoring the word “suicide” and “STUPID”; I know that’s YouTube’s fault as from other videos, I know they are now Puritanical A-holes! YouTube is now too $#%#$%. I really hope the other films on MovieSphere don’t have these Draconian censorship issues. In any event… 

Note that I’ve never played a game of Dungeons & Dragons or any similar fantasy role-playing games; however, I’ve known that back around this time, there were silly fears over it being related to such activities as Satanism, witchcraft, and even suicide. Mazes and Monsters was originally a novel, which was loosely based on a real-life disappearance of a college student named James Dallas Egbert, III, where his playing of Dungeons & Dragons was greatly overblown in the explanation for his disappearing for a month. 

In 2026, of course it’s nonsense that such a game resulted in TOM HANKS (as Robbie) having a mental health crisis when they transitioned to playing it IRL in a cordoned-off cave system, or that all four of the players in the game are from broken homes. Robbie had obviously the worst childhood and what we call now “mental health struggles.” You can’t entirely blame his deteriorating mind on playing an RPG. It’s all very silly even if the viewer does feel bad that those goofy college kids have flaws, especially Robbie. 

The cast has familiar faces (Chris Makepeace, Wendy Crewson, Lloyd Bochner, Louise Sorel, Anne Francis, Murray Hamilton, Vera Miles) in large or small roles, but it was Hanks and his performance which was the highlight. He made Robbie quite sympathetic no matter his mental state. 

There were elements that I greatly enjoyed: the song that was sung over the opening credits had an incredible amount of reverb for some reason-it’s at least better than that Autotune crap! The opening credits and parts of the final act were filmed in New York City. That includes seeing the Bad New York City of Old (always a favorite) and noting that the non-adult movies playing in Times Square included Creepshow, a re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, An Officer and a Gentleman, & E.T. Plus, Raul Julia stars in the Broadway Musical Nine, which I understand opened in ’82. 

Mazes and Monsters might offend LARP’ers and/or D&D players. As a neutral party in 2026, I can guffaw at this cultural artifact which presented how some people saw what was ultimately a benign pastime, one which ironically gained plenty of attention & fans after the controversy. Considering this debuted on CBS a few days after Christmas (December 28, to be exact) how pessimistic the final act is may surprise—not just because the climax is at a location which no longer exists.

The Ghost Galleon

The Ghost Galleon (El Buque Maldito) (1974)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Amando de Ossorio

Starring: Maria Perschy, Jack Taylor (RIP), Barbara Rey, Carlos Lemons, Manuel de Blas

From: Ancla Century Films/Belen Films

RIP Jack Taylor. I know many won’t recognize the name but those well-versed in old European genre movies-usually directed by Jesus Franco-you’ll likely be familiar, and be saddened that he passed away on the 12th at the age of 99. What little I’ve seen of Franco, he’s best described as “hit or miss” with my esoteric tastes & I’ve viewed the infamous Pieces before. However, as a kid I’ve viewed the first two films in Spanish director Amando de Ossorio’s Tombs of the Blind Dead tetralogy of films-the cut versions-and the full versions as adults.

This was a good time to finally view the third in the series. In brief, the lore is that a sect of Knights Templar became cannibals and were executed, crows plucking out their eyes. They (the director thought of them as “mummies” more than “zombies”) rode horses at night to kill.
In this installment, they rode on the titular ghost galleon, an appropriately spooky wooden ship from centuries past. How the ship is first introduced is preposterous: Taylor is a businessman involved in sporting goods who hires a pair of models to get stranded on one of his boats in the middle of the ocean… so that they can get rescued by a ship passing by! No, I don’t get it either.

Furthermore, that plot thread also includes another woman who has sapphic feelings for one of the models, and she’s kept hostage so the scheme isn’t revealed, and she’s unfortunately sexually assaulted. Sleaze was also in the first two movies; my biggest issue: how dreary the film is. “Somnambulistic” is another good term. All the characters-including the one played by Taylor-are just so dull and flat.

The mood & atmosphere are so good, that does plenty of heavy lifting to make the Galleon not a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, for my tastes the movie is too boring, the presence of actual exciting moments in the final act notwithstanding. Franco Files (my term for fans of that director) can better tell you which Jack Taylor films are the “most exciting”; I can say that Pieces is wildly entertaining if not technically “good”; Taylor played a supporting role in that insanity. Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Blind Dead-the original cuts, not any edited versions-are well worth tracking down, IMO. One day I’ll check out the 4th and final in the series, the bizarrely-named Night of the Seagulls.

Battleship Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)

Runtime: 72 minutes

Directed by: Sergei Eisenstein

Starring: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov, Mikhail Gomorof

From: Mosfilm

Among all the classic, highly-regarded film directors of the past, many have been sampled by me at least once; however, Sergei Eisenstein was a blind spot. There's no anti-Russia or anti-Soviet Union bias; I just put off this task despite the knowledge that one scene in particular is still influential now, 101 years later.

The Odessa Steps scene is powerful now, in 2026. Tsar soldiers massacre citizens who are in a fervor against the government; this includes a young boy and most famously, a mother's death causes a baby in a carriage to roll down the stairs. De Palma most famously paid homage to this but everyone from Spielberg & Lucas to Gilliam & Johnnie To have as well. 

That said, the movie is more than just one scene; erroneously, I assumed all these years Odessa Steps was the finale-oh, no. The plot itself isn't convoluted: loosely based on an actual 1905 incident, the Soviet government asked Eisenstein to make this into propaganda, the sailors on the titular ship reached their breaking point with the awful conditions on the ship, especially the maggot-riddled meat—ewww. They rebel and the consequences resulted in the citizens of Odessa to reach that fervor.

I've never been to film school so a concise explanation of such concepts as montages, the Kuleshov Effect, and Soviet Montage Theory-however, Wiki actually has extensive articles on these concepts-yet I can say that the editing and montages here are still powerful now and still tell its story well in a movie with a limited amount of intertitles. Those components were huge assets in creating the right emotions for the viewers: admiration for the citizens, a loathing for the tyrannical government. 

Battleship Potemkin is homework for the cinephile and those learning to become a filmmaker; it also transcends the feeling of “boring, scholarly study” & can simply be enjoyed for its plot & themes... themes that unfortunately still resonate today. The film was viewed by a copy on YouTube; it wasn't the special version released last year w/ a score from... The Pet Shop Boys?! My ignorance of the act beyond their radio hits was why I was surprised—rave reviews mean that I'd be down with hearing their score one day.

Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Runtime: 121 minutes

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and many familiar British faces, including Timothy Dalton

From: Working Title Films/Big Talk Productions 

Make Sandford Great Again

Last night was finally the time for me to discuss Hot Fuzz on Letterboxd. It’s a film that’s a love-letter to the cop action movies of old-of course this review is overdue.

By now most people likely know the plot of how Simon Pegg is so good a London cop, he makes his compatriots all look bad, necessitating a move to a bucolic town full of bumpkins-including those that go “Yarp!”-but then gruesome murders occur. As it’s Edgar Wright, of course there’s running jokes, set-ups that have payoffs much later, memorable characters, rapid-fire editing that rarely became “too much,” and gruesome moments. As others have noted, it’s a shame that Wright doesn’t make films like this any longer.

Simon Pegg as lead Nicholas Angle managed to pull off the role of “badass cop hero” better than what people would have expected before 2007. Naturally, the camaraderie between him and Nick Frost was aces. The other famous British faces present-there were many-were all memorable, but IMO Timothy Dalton was the highlight—and not just because of the shot where he poses next to the framed photo of himself.

The film is a love-letter rather than a mockery of those old action pictures; to echo an opinion, the love of Point Break-with its homoerotic relationship of the two leads-is matched by the vaguely homoerotic relationship between Penn and Frost. As the film also pokes fun at slashers & murder mysteries while providing satisfying action beats in a rural setting, Hot Fuzz is a rewarding journey and its full 2-hour length is not too long for this particular comedy.

Manila in the Claws of Light

Manila in the Claws of Light (Maynila Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag) (1975)

Runtime: 125 minutes

Directed by: Lino Brocka

Starring: Rafael Roco, Jr., Lou Salvador, Jr.,  Tommy Abuel, Jojo Abela, Hilda Koronel

From: Cinema Artists 

Last night was another instance of me clearing off more space from the DVR; this TCM recording was made way back in January, yet because I’m me it took 4 months to finally push “play.” Also, there are even older recordings on the DVR that probably will sit there for awhile until the mood arises…

Ultimately, it was seeing a mutual’s glowing review that finally gave me the push. Julio is a young man from a rural area who moves to Manila to track down his missing girlfriend. A mysterious woman recruited his lady, you see. Julio experiences hardship-he’s broke after a mugging so work in miserable construction jobs are required just to afford food. Julio thankfully meets good folk who are only “lower-class” when it comes to social strata and how much money they possess.

The journey was a compelling one, seeing various people attempting to survive in tough conditions. One only succeeds because… well, I was not expecting to see the term MAN-WHORE in the subtitles, but it’s true. Without revealing too much, they even had 70’s downbeat cinema in The Philippines. I’m not sure how this film was released in the country during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos-who controlled the country’s cinema-when a pessimistic view of life in Manila was presented, but viewers around the world since 1975 benefitted from this decision.

An intriguing story that was never dull despite the length of over 2 hours, a unique yet befitting score from Max Jocson, and quality performances from the cast-especially Rafael Roco, Jr. as Julio-makes this an easy recommend for those seeking more in World Cinema.

Other reviewers have noted that the finale is reminiscent of one in a famous film that came out not that long after this released in The Philippines. As Manila was based on an old Filipino novel and what I know of how the other film was written… “coincidence” and “people have similar stories of those in marginalized communities” is my verdict. Thankfully, Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation was one of the entities responsible for restoring this masterpiece; the blurb at the beginning noted how rough the film’s original camera negative was. The restoration was flawless, especially given its condition.

One last detail: given the serious tone of the movie, one moment of levity brightened the mood, at least for me. In the final act, during a scene where an important bit of information is revealed, I was happily surprised when right beforehand, a popular 60’s pop song-cheery & upbeat-played on the jukebox. I’ll be disappointed if even Gen Z wasn’t familiar with the tune.