Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar (2025)

Runtime: 214 minutes (not a misprint)

Directed by: Aditya Dhar

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, Madhavan

From: B62 Studios/Benetone Films/Jio Studios

I was hoping to see more than two movies from India in the month of March; alas… I’ll try to see one at the least in April but before my Netflix subscription lapses (given that they’re raising prices AGAIN, it might be some time before I rejoin that platform) in a few days, this popular Indian Hindi spy thriller needed a viewing. The lengthier sequel to an already lengthy first film is still on cinema screens for the next few days in my area but something 229 minutes long is a lot even by my standards. However, I still want to eventually check out the sequel at home.

Inspired by a few real-life events, an agent named Hamza goes undercover to study then infiltrate the gangs in Karachi, Pakistan to topple a terror network plotting to terrorize India. Of course, I’m greatly simplifying the scenario and not discussing the revenge killings, the drama among the gangs in Karachi, the political machinations, the gruesome violence-including something straight out of a Miike movie-the romance, the shootouts, etc.

The film still had what I stereotypically expect from Indian cinema: OOT moments, slow-motion, men with beards and/or mustaches smoking cigarettes, etc. There are even a few song-and-dance numbers, although the dancing was always organic to the scene. Much of this installment leans towards the crime drama aspect rather than the terrorist angle. One day in the future, I’ll check out its sequel (The Revenge); the first installment was an exciting crime drama full of characters which never become tired or confusing despite the 3 ½ hour length, filled with the Indian flavor that makes the country’s cinema unique.

That includes a catchy score/soundtrack. I was happy to have seen a role from a legend in that country’s film world—Sanjay Dutt. He portrayed a grizzled old badass rather well; I was amused after the fact to learn that the earworm tune which played during his first scene was from a film he did in the 90’s.

 

The Bank Dick

The Bank Dick (1940)

Runtime: 72 minutes

Directed by: Edward F. Cline

Starring: W.C. Fields, Grady Sutton, George Moran, Una Merkel, Shemp Howard

From: Universal

For fans of older cinema, you’ll likely be delighted that I check out the most famous picture from a famous figure of the past (W.C. Fields) that erroneously had the reputation of a man that “hated dogs & babies” but his love of alcohol was not phony. Regardless, I knew he had an acerbic wit and in The Bank Dick, he bonked his young daughter on the head after she struck him; her striking him became a running gag where only fate prevented him inflicting grievous bodily harm towards his own flesh & blood. This played on Turner Classic Movies last night, one of a few Fields films they played on a random Sunday.

Fields was Egbert Sousé (the accent grave on the e is important), a curmudgeon alcoholic whose focus is on detective novels and drinking at the Black Pussy Cat Café, where Shemp Howard is the bartender. As he’s a henpecked husband, I can’t entirely blame him. He becomes a bank dick (i.e. detective working for the bank) after mistakenly being credited for capturing a dude named LOUDMOUTH MCNASTY, one of a duo that just robbed the bank. The script has an onslaught of wacky names: A. PISMO CLAM, MACKLEY Q GREENE, EFFINGHAM HOOFNAGLE, OG OGGILBY, & J. PINKERTON SNOOPINGTON.

I was happy to not be a luddy-duddy or a mooncalf and finally tackle this movie. Egbert began the film as a bum lacking in most redeeming qualities and his character changed little by the end, even after earning a new job, being swindled by con artist J. FROTHINGHAM WATERBURY, convincing future son-in-law Og-the most amusing supporting character, as portrayed by That Guy actor Grady Sutton, to steal from the bank, & more. 

Fields had creative control over the script after some successes at Universal; he was out of films for awhile due to illness & depression over the death of several friends in a short amount of time. He (credited under the name MAHATMA KANE JEEVES) brewed a satisfying concoction where Sousé was an agent of chaos, an instrument of destruction causing havoc everywhere he stumbled himself into, yet through dumb luck, Ol’ Egbert always came out of the increasingly ludicrous events smelling like roses. For less than 75 minutes, this was a satisfying meal full of witty banner & sight gags.

If Fields played funny jerks like this constantly, eventually-even if it’s many months in the future-I’ll check out more of his films.

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary (2026)

95% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 354 reviews) 

Runtime: 156 minutes

Directed by:  Phil Lord/Christopher Miller

Starring: Much of the film is just Ryan Gosling

From: Amazon MGM Studios 

So, I saw a 70mm presentation of this motion picture. As screenings in this format aren’t that plentiful worldwide, there’d be outrage if I revealed there was a print in Orlando and I selected the digital experience instead.

While not the masterpiece many proclaim the film to be, I can still state that Project Hail Mary was pretty good. Those that haven’t followed me for too long, many films in the past 10 to 15 years are rated lower than typical. Positive comments can be made immediately: this was better than the similar Interstellar & this was only the second Lord & Miller joint for me, so strong my dislike was for their The Lego Movie.

Now, the contrivances and the nitpicking that could be done concerning the linguistics between Grace & Rocky, that is likely at the feet of Andy Weir. I wouldn’t want to read any of his novels, if the (admitted) cherry-picking of his “Reddit writing” passages posted on Twitter are anything to go by. However, the prevalent “humor” and how unfunny much of it was… I’ll blame Lord & Miller; I don’t recall The Martian as having that issue. Never bothering w/ either 21 Jump Street movie looks better every day.

Those elements are unfortunate, along w/ the assumption that I wasn’t suppose to detest the character portrayed by Sandra Huller, karaoke skills aside. Otherwise, Project Hail Mary does a lot right and represents what I want in modern blockbusters, the “borrowing” of certain ideas from the past acknowledged by me. The focus on hard science in attempting to solve a universe-ending problem is always welcomed by me. The score from Daniel Pemberton & cinematography from Greig Fraser: aces. Rocky brought to life by puppetry rather than CGI: great. So is the decision to avoid any usage of greenscreens.

All those details + my acknowledgement that a soundtrack full of nice older songs you never hear in cinema was also appreciated by me, of course it was Ryan Gosling and his great performance that made the film work. Most of the film is either him solo or interacting w/ a rock puppet. A lesser performance & that flawed character wouldn’t have come across as so charming & likable to me… a middle-school science teacher on a hero’s journey alone would have played as preposterous.

Despite my criticisms, by modern blockbuster standards, Project Hail Mary can still be considered a success, a thumbs down-many already know why I made this statement. The screening last night was in a large auditorium that probably was at least 2/3 full; fears were high that it’d be a bad audience experience. For the most part, it wasn’t; I wish the random people sitting by me would have snuck in some Raising Cane’s for me as well, but them sneaking in those large containers of food was an impressive feat…

Ultimately, I was relieved that Project Hail Mary wasn’t mediocre or even worse in my eyes. The unconventional yet lovable team of Ryland Grace & Rocky delighted me and especially delighted the crowd at the screening—many reacted quite positively. To reiterate, the desire is for an increase in films like this (or The Martian) at the cineplex rather than the nonsense we’ve received for much of the 21st century.

Problem Child 2

Problem Child 2(1991)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Brian Levant

Starring: John Ritter, Michael J. Oliver, Laraine Newman, Jack Warden, Amy Yasbeck, Ivyann Schwan

From: Universal

RIP James Tolkan

He passed away a few days ago but the news broke last evening. He will forever be known as Principal Strickland in the Back to the Future franchise-although was a recognizable face in other famous movie and television efforts like Top Gun and Masters of the Universe. While diminutive, he had an outsized personality with his gruff demeanor & bald head, making him a perfect fit for either tough guys or those in positions of authority, like a high school principal, a coach, a police Detective, or a military man.

His small role as an elementary school teacher in Problem Child 2 was far from his most dignified (there’s a joke concerning him penguin-waddling to the toilet to have a bowel movement!) yet this was selected as the film’s script was fascinating-I’ll elaborate at the end of the review-and I saw the first two movies as a kid. The first was reviewed 4 years ago; an OK rating was given, the same as for the sequel.

The first Problem Child was odder than you’d expect; the same goes for 2. Poor sap John Ritter and son move to another town, where he’s suddenly the hottest hunk in town-an opinion I know at least one Letterboxd mutual agrees with. Specifically, he is eyed by Laraine Newman, the richest dame in town; all her ex-husbands (shown in photos) is Ritter in different disguises, which made me chuckle. There’s something to be said for that, or that Amy Yasbeck returns, but playing a different role. I’m sure many fall for those that resemble their ex-partner, although the obvious reason is that this movie brought back many actors for the immediate sequel, including Gilbert Gottfried.

2 is PG-13 rather than the first’s PG; the crass level does in fact increase. Junior gives someone the middle finger, urinates in a pitcher and tells a pair of twin girls it’s lemonade, says “bitch” in reference to a woman twice & turns up the speed on a version of a Tilt-A-Whirl to make everyone on the ride projectile vomit! Right after this was a serious heartfelt scene concerning Junior’s still-lingering fear that his adopted father won’t love him any longer.

After that, the buffoonery continued, including an inexplicable scene involving a pair of animal control officers shot like a dog food commercial where there’s a brief tease of a homosexual relationship between the two… but they managed to fix the failed hypnosis attempt that Junior tried on grandfather Jack Warden’s dog. At least Junior is better at setting up A/V equipment, in that he somehow created a projection of his babysitter making out with her lover in a bedroom, with the men in the neighborhood watching on!

Please don’t ask.

In fact, the screenwriters of the first film returned, but were miffed that the studio rushed this into production due to fears that child actor Michael J. Oliver would age out of the part so they went OOT in gross/weird ideas; somehow, Universal accepted this weird script. The “big idea” of this sequel is that Junior meets a girl who is even more outrageous than he is. The film’s nonsense yet laughs were still present-I can’t proclaim this as a catastrophe. There’s a Bryan Adams song that opens the film & there’s another tune from-no kidding-before they were famous Alanis Morrisette!

Oh, and there were no memories that this was filmed in Orlando. For those that remember the brief moment in the opening credits where father & son purchased ice cream from a building shaped like a soft-serve ice cream cone… Twistee Treat still exists in Florida, & those buildings are the same. One’s literally a few minutes from where I live. Also amusing me was something more subtle: a background vehicle seen even more briefly; Truly Nolen pest control still uses bright yellow company vehicles.

Apologies for the longest review of Problem Child 2 you’ll ever read. Tolkan’s role wasn’t as extensive as I faintly recalled. In the future, a more substantial part for a memorable actor will be discussed here.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Who names their dog JEFF?

There was no review posted yesterday; several factors caused that, including but not limited to an internet outage and my watching the start of the Major League Baseball season. However, free time was had last night and I did not want to turn down the opportunity to see my first new (to me) Studio Ghibli movie in years… & theatrically to boot. To answer a question someone would ask, I saw the subtitled version.

Not even Ghibli film has been viewed by any means and not every one of Miyazaki’s movies has been rated as high as everyone else. Thankfully, people don’t have to take out their pitchforks & torches to go after me-I agree with the consensus, re: Kiki’s Delivery Service. I’m a heterosexual male in my 40’s yet this tale of a 13-year-old witch leaving her family w/ her black cat Jiji to a city resembling one in the Europe of the past as part of her path to maturity & the typical teen struggles she experiences… incredibly charming, this was.

An extensive discussion concerning the studio’s animation and the Joe Hisaishi score aren’t necessary-both are as top-notch as expected. Instead, I’ll note that the journey Kiki undertook was pleasant; while she naturally came across some that didn’t understand her due to her differences, many kind people were met along the way, some becoming friends. It was simply nice seeing her start up her own courier service and become more mature while at the same time dealing w/ typical teenager anxieties and fears. I don’t know why there’s a dog named JEFF, but of course that’s not a criticism of the film itself.

I enjoyed this pleasant, methodical trek that Kiki took where my attention never wavered as she figured out w/ the assistance of everyone from Jiji and the bakery owners who took her in to potential love interest Tombo and an artist living in the woods to determine her path in life; it was irrelevant that only the finale featured any peril when I was so enthralled in this world.

This successful viewing of Kiki’s Delivery Service also served as a reminder to seek out more from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in general.

Can't Stop the Music

Can’t Stop the Music (1980)

Runtime: An overlong 124 minutes

Directed by: Nancy Walker

Starring: The Village People, the person now known as Caitlyn Jenner, Valerie Perrine (RIP)

From: More than one entity that soon went out of business, this movie bombed so hard

RIP Valerie Perrine. I’m sure she’d be honored that I chose THIS instead of Lenny or Slaughterhouse-Five for tribute! After all, she got along w/ director Nancy Walker-yes, the actor-so poorly, the movie’s cinematographer had to direct her scenes. The direction wasn’t bad yet the movie failed so badly and wrecked two entities (EMI Films & Associated Film Distribution), she never directed another film. Perrine passed away at the age of 82 due to Parkinson’s Disease.

As a little kid in the 80’s, I’ll always know her as Eve Tessmacher from the first two Superman movies. For someone who has seen similar movies of the era (Xanadu, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Apple) & guffawed at each one, I was glad to have tracked down a copy of the film in better than potato vision-nevermind how-& give my thoughts on a movie that helped give a certain organization the inspiration to create The Razzies, which is not a positive but that's another topic for another time.

Yes, Can’t Stop the Music is preposterous; a Hispanic dude name Felipe wears a scanty amount of clothing while cosplaying as a Native American out in public, among many weird and sometimes even off-color moments. The film shouldn’t have been two hours long and the attempt to make THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (including the guy dressed like an extra at the Ramrod club in Cruising!) a heterosexual act failed, regardless of this being an origin story, of all things. Then there’s the person known now as Caitlyn Jenner… I know not to use their deadname. The band aren’t great actors, but compared to her—it’s clear why they are best known not as thespians. At least Jenner wore Daisy Duke shorts & a white crop-top for those interested in such things…

No wonder Music has ratings across the spectrum, one of the more polarizing motion pictures on Letterboxd. Your opinion of disco music is a factor, and to address the elephant in the room, your sexual orientation is a factor. I’m a heterosexual man; those of a different persuasion will naturally feel different. I can admit that the film is subversive, featuring numerous characters that were obviously queer or queer-coded. There’s also a progressive (for the time) line concerning acceptance of those that are “different.”

Wisecracks concerning their acting aside, I’ll echo the thoughts of a few & note that the movie was less interesting and undoubtedly dull as dishwater when The Village People weren’t on screen. Yes, there are legit funny moments to go along w/ the unintentional ones; however, I’ll always gravitate towards such wackiness as the split screen and other period visual effects used during the singing of YMCA, or the big song-and-dance number devoted to… MILKSHAKES.

Can’t Stop the Music has its lulls yet there are more than a few campy moments. While Steve Guttenberg & his charisma in the leading role was the acting highlight, Perrine was charming herself as a recently-retired model who doesn’t engage in romance w/ Guttenberg but instead Jenner—in hindsight, not a surprise their romantic chemistry wasn’t great…

As strange as the movie is, it served as a nice time capsule of an infamous (yet fun, IMO) musical genre, New York City, and several other ideas. Even if it’s far in the future, I’ll view something serious featuring Ms. Perrine.

Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror

I’m thankful that Netflix documentaries are better than their fictional movies. Yes, there is knowledge of controversial & polarizing documentaries on that platform-those are avoided by me. However, the ratio of hits to misses is far better, at least from what little has been tackled. As an American of course I remember the April 19, 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; this occurred at the age of 14.

This documentary is less than 90 minutes yet was still satisfactory in explaining the bombing, the trauma inflicted upon the innocent who survived but were forever emotionally damaged, why those SOB’s Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols committed those heinous acts, the first responders, and the law enforcement that quickly solved the case. No, I won’t comment on the far-right movement that played a critical role in the atrocity nor the ethnic biases that created the initial assumptions that the “Middle East” was responsible, including innocent people being looked at suspiciously solely due to their skin color.

A topic such as the Oklahoma City Bombing is worthy of books, longform podcasts and/or shows of multiple episodes. That said, American Terror does a swell job informing the viewer that knows less about the incident than me & don’t have the hours to become informed. The presentation was solid, was not overly flashy, & best of all, showed that after the horrific act, many people came together to help those in need. Oklahoma City isn’t constantly downbeat; don’t let those fears dissuade you from a view if you’re at all interested.

100 Rifles

100 Rifles (1969)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Tom Gries

Starring: Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Fernando Lamas, Dan O’Herlihy

From: Marvin Schwartz Productions 

Is the movie a masterpiece that you’d perhaps want for something starring Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Fernando Lamas, Dan O’Herlihy, and even cult favorite Soledad Miranda for a few scenes, filmed in Spain and all set to a Latin-flavored Jerry Goldsmith score?

No. Also, Brown & Welch did not get along during filmmaking.

This does not mean that 100 Rifles wasn’t a pretty good time. Brown was a lawman who rode into early 20th Mexico to collect the bounty on the head of Reynolds, who had a white father and a Native American mother; Burt had a hell of a tan for this redface role; so did Welch in her Native American role. He robbed a bank to purchase the titular rifles for his people to fight against the Mexican government & a railroad built on their land.

The relationship between the three leads was a fractious as you’d expect; also expected (and delivered) for me was that this was a rollickin’ good time. They had an adventure in the wilds of Mexico-Spain was a nice substitute-at least one set I recognized as appearing in From a Few Dollars More. Colorful characters, a detestable villain-the General role Lamas had-and the Goldsmith score were further assets.

In my opinion, there are several quality shootouts involving large numbers of people which electrified & was an asset in making 100 Rifles enjoyable despite the film not coming together to form a classic starring a trio of legends. At least there was what amounted to a gratuitous shower scene involving Ol’ Raquel… but it’s done as a ruse so that moment didn’t serve no purpose for the plot.

The Delta Force

The Delta Force (1986)

Runtime: An overlong 129 minutes

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, many others

From: Cannon

Alan Silvestri’s all-timer of a score makes me want to run through a brick wall, it’s so epic & rousing!

There was no better time than now to revisit The Delta Force for the first time since long before I joined Letterboxd 13 (!) years ago. This is still one of the most famous films Chuck Norris ever did, it has the most distinguished cast, and is amazingly 80’s as only Cannon could deliver. That includes the topic of plane hijackings; the plot is loosely based on the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, along with a few details of Operation Entebbe.

I will NOT spend time discussing how the terrorists were Palestinians or how they segregated the Jewish passengers on the plane, or the numerous photos seen of the Ayatollah, or the line “Israel is America’s best friend in the Middle East” or other details for MANY blatant reasons. I can note that some now won’t like that the villains were Arabs (despite all the turmoil in the Middle East I recall as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s) or that their leader was non-Arabic Robert Forster, who at least did a swell job in making the role not as stereotypical as was probably on page. Plenty of time is spent on that sweaty airplane; while not everything the villains did was vile, most of their behavior was. The drama on the airplane is best described as “histrionics.”

The cast of familiar faces does help: Chuck, Forster, Lee Marvin, Joey Bishop, George Kennedy, Bo Svenson, Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters, Lainie Kazan, Kim Delaney, Susan Strasberg, and Martin Balsam. There’s also Hanna Schygulla of Fassbinder and Bela Tarr fame who elevated a standard “heroic flight attendant” role. Heck, the titular Delta Force is so badass, Steve James is a key member (although as I always say, there needed to be more of his character) and three of the random background players in the group are Liam Neeson, Kevin Dillon, & Mykelti Williamson.

Most of the action is saved for the back half; those action beats thankfully delivered. Some moments are so OOT you might be reminded of Team America: World Police. Politics aside, a few times I giggled at the silliness on screen, whether it was s--- blowing up on screen or absurdly awesome deaths. To reiterate, the Alan Silvestri score-especially the motif-is tremendous and is an asset for the film. Heck, if the Marvel movies he scored had music like this, I’d actually want to watch those silly pictures!

The Delta Force was another nice way for me to tip my cap to the late Chuck Norris. The pushback on a Variety article concerning his politics was so strong, I shouldn’t have worried that much about that detail. Many people have noted him as a good, honorable dude (including a Letterboxd mutual that got to briefly meet him personally) so I was happy to finally discuss The Delta Force here. If I had any Budweiser on hand, at least one would have been cracked open during viewing…

 

A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind (2003)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Christopher Guest

Staring: The typical crew in these Guest mockumentaries… including (RIP) Catherine O’Hara

From: Warner Bros./Castle Rock

A belated RIP to Catherine O’Hara. When I saw Best in Show for the first time in January, the thought never crossed my mind that she’s passed away only about two weeks later. I pushed off tipping my cap to her until now; this film is on Netflix currently, but only until early April. As someone who grew up in the 80’s & 90’s, I’ll of course forever remember her for Beetlejuice & Home Alone but I’ve enjoyed her in other things, including Best in Show and now, A Mighty Wind.

Truth be told, I never listened too much to folk music; it’s not something I hate but it’s a genre I’ve never done a deep dive on. I wish my late mother was still around-at times she’d remembered the old folk music she used to listen to-this mockumentary spoofed the folk revival of the early 60’s, when Mom was a kid. I do recall she still remembered the songs of Peter, Paul, & Mary. Who knows if she’d be offended at even this light poking fun at that scene.

An old folk music producer passes away; several groups come together for a tribute concert. This includes The Folksmen act that was both on Saturday Night Live in the 80’s & are part of the Spinal Top universe. Of course, many wacky, colorful characters appear throughout. The usual crew for the Christopher Guest mockumentary subgenre are here: Michael McKean, Ed Begley, Jr., Harry Shearer, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, and many others. What a tremendous look Willard sported in this film.

The droll humor you expected was present; I was entertained by these characters & the scenarios. O’Hara was part of a former duo w/ Eugene Levy but they had the typical nasty split. His character had mental health struggles; thankfully, that wasn’t done in poor taste. To echo others, his character was clearly based on such musicians as Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. As expected, the O’Hara-Levy duo were simply a treat. Not a bad way for me to pay tribute.

Naturally, for a comedic movie concerning a musical genre, the songs needed to sound authentic while still ludicrous. Thankfully, A Mighty Wind succeeded on this front. The movie was also a success in terms of providing entertainment for 90 minutes, notwithstanding of my limited knowledge of the musical genre it mildly prodded.

Code of Silence

Code of Silence (1985)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Andrew Davis

Starring: Chuck Norris (RIP), Henry Silva, Molly Hagan, Bert Remsen, Mike Genovese

From: Orion

RIP Chuck Norris. I watched something else last night but that review will be posted early next week. I should have inferred yesterday that his hospitalization in Hawaii was serious.

Yes, I’ve heard some things, re: his political stance/how many on Letterboxd would vehemently disagree with them; there’s blissful ignorance on my part if he ever had any abhorrent beliefs. Regardless, I’m not someone who ever watched too much of Walker: Texas Ranger or even paid much attention to the memes. Rather, I’ll note that he was a great martial artist w/ multiple black belts and he starred in silly yet usually entertaining B-movies in the 70’s & 80’s. Code of Silence was seen before, but long before the days of Letterboxd; no better time for a revisit. Thankfully I had time earlier today for the revisit.

Chuck is a Chicago cop alongside the likes of Dennis Farina & Ralph Foody, a.k.a. the Angels with Filthy Souls guy from Home Alone; Foody & some other faces (including Henry Silva) would later appear in Above the Law, also from director Andrew Davis. Things go awry during a stakeout and in a plot point that will garner a reaction from at least some on Letterboxd, Chuck won’t support corrupt police officer Foody, who accidentally shot a random minority civilian but planted a gun on his corpse to cover his own behind. The racism among some cops won’t make people happy either. No wonder Foody was later cast as a gangster. Norris is ostracized as a gang war is occurring. 

The movie is silly yet entertaining; after all, another plot point is a giant robot on wheels that is more “product of 80’s movies” rather than anything that to my knowledge ever existed in real life. This is not my favorite Chuck Norris yet is still a good time. Even early in his career, Davis as a director was an asset; so was the 80’s-riffic score from David Michael Frank. The film’s more a gritty thriller with car chases & shootouts than martial arts—that’s OK as Code of Silence still delivers satisfying action beats. As someone from Illinois, it was great seeing Chicago in the 80’s-many different locales were shown, including a scene on the El Train.

Chuck was acceptable when it came to acting skills, at least in Code of Silence. For those that aren’t as keen on trashy genre pictures like I am, this may be a good selection for someone wanting a Norris movie they would enjoy. I’m glad to have seen some of his cheesy yet fun B-movies in recent years; that’s why I am a little bummed he passed away, even if he reached the age of 86. To borrow a line seen on Twitter today, Death didn’t walk towards Chuck Norris to claim him… Chuck Norris walked towards Death.

 

Tommy

Tommy (1975)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Ken Russell

Starring: Oliver Reed, Ann-Margaret, Roger Daltry, many other actors & musicians

From: Columbia

No one should be surprised that I found the plot of Tommy a little baffling yet also found the music to be incredible and the bizarre maximalism moments to be hilarious. No one should be surprised either that I have even more to say than typical about the movie.

I hadn’t heard most of the songs on the Tommy album as rock operas aren’t always my bag yet who could believe that a Ken Russell (no relation) film would play on IMAX screens across the United States both Tuesday night & last night in the Year of Our Lord 2026? I’d seen Russell’s OTHER 1975 rock opera starring Daltrey (Lisztomania) so no better way to finally tackle the film. Many Who songs I do enjoy, for the record.

Surprises occurred throughout; having viewed some of the director’s films before, bizarre moments were expected. I wasn’t quite imagining the titular Tommy to become “deaf, dumb, & blind” after a certain traumatic event, Tina Turner appearing in a bedroom above a strip club w/ red cape then turning into a metal knight, Ann-Margaret straddling a long pillow after being doused w/ baked beans & chocolate sauce, her being seduced by Jack Nicholson (on-screen during his one scene… although presumably he also tried to do so off-screen! Also, he SANG), Elton John’s Giant Shoes, or many other moments that probably shouldn’t be spoiled by me.

The film has a wacky plot… yet as I’ve seen others eloquently proclaim, the story is more thoughtful than I expected concerning such topics as abuse, exploitation, religion, cults, stage parents, celebrity worship, & more. At the time I realized the story of Tommy Walker wasn’t a cheery one; after all, he was obviously sexually abused by a relative (a trigger warning for those out there). Well, after reading other reviews, there might have been implicit abuse of that nature by other loved ones that was beneath the surface of the bizarre scenes… yes, morbid.

Perhaps it’s better I be amused by such things as the clothing Oliver Reed wore, or another assumption: on set wasn’t the only time that Reed and Keith Moon partied with each other. The story was more than expected when going in, I only knew the wacky premise of “a deaf, dumb, & blind kid can sure play some mean pinball.”

I’ll give Pete Townshend (I REALLY hope the reason he provided why he got “in trouble” in 2003 was true) and Russell credit; they collaborated on this film and created a product that greatly entertained me-while sometimes puzzling me as well-and was deeper than I first give it credit for. Then again, with hindsight, I should have given Phantom of the Paradise more kudos for presenting serious themes & some evils concerning real life behind the veneer of bombastic moments & catchy music.

Like w/ De Palma, Russell is a talented director despite his proclivities towards seedy genre material. His direction was a huge asset for Tommy; the final few minutes before the end credits alone were incredible… it featured an epic journey to a great song, leading to an awesome shot that mirrored the opening, then hearing the great song again during the end credits. I am glad that a director like Russell had one undeniable commercial success while maintaining his outrageous style.

Between the quality sets, the music, & the ending, that alone is one of the many reasons why I don’t feel quite the same about modern films as I do older ones. I also have to acknowledge that Ann-Margaret was the MVP; afterwards, I discovered she won a Golden Globe & was actually nominated for an Oscar.

As for the crowd that came out on this night: a mix of people, but many older folks who could have watched this on the big screen in ’76. Not all the Gen-Z’ers stuck around to the end of the film (the heck with them. I know those reading this aren’t like them) but most of the middle-aged & older stuck around for the end credits, then loudly cheered & clapped. Not only was I happy they had a great time, but that it’s easier now than ever before to view older movies at all the major theatrical chains in the United States. While it’ll have to be done at home, I’ve probably been sleeping on Ken Russell for too long.

Gugusse and the Automaton

Wake up folks, a lost film from 1897 (!) was recently found again: 

In this special post earlier than usual for a weekday, I discuss the tremendous story behind this piece of lost media, which was recently revealed as having been found again. This 45-second short features director Georges Melies interacting w/ an automaton dressed as Pierrot the clown, using the trademark Melies camera tricks & editing. Whether or not this should be considered as “the first instance of a robot in cinema” or even “it was the first sci-fi movie” can be debated.

Instead, I’ll focus on how the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. acquired this on a film reel. They were donated a box of reels from a Bill McFarland in Michigan; his great-grandfather William Frisbee was a potato farmer and schoolteacher who was a showman at night who went around w/ a projector and another new device (a phonograph) to show the world’s first films to paying customers. How cinema was shown way back when during those nascent days is a topic I know little about but need to do a deeper dive on in the future. The topic sounds endlessly fascinating to a nerd like myself.

I’ve not seen the Scorsese film Hugo but I do realize Melies is a key character & like in the film, he had his own automatons. My granting a rare 5 star review is not entirely due to the content of this short (shorts are always difficult to rate as it’s not a fair comparison to feature films) but rather the story of how Automaton was discovered. I'm thankful the LoC was able to restore this nitrate print; it's always nice seeing silent cinema "found" again-much of it is still lost. Perhaps London After Midnight is out there somewhere... 

Blood & Gold

Blood & Gold (2023)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Peter Thorwarth

Starring: Robert Maaser, Marie Hacke, Alexander Scheer, Roy McCrery, Jordis Triebel

From: Netflix

This was much preferable to Sisu to me. Earlier in the year, someone on a messageboard discussed the German Netflix film and noted the same opinion that I did. It was a relief that Blood & Gold wasn’t a massive letdown like Sisu was. An actual story was present, the hero (heroes in this case) weren’t superhuman like they were part of the MCU, the dark humor actually landed, and Nazi scum were still killed.

As a deserter of the German Army is captured and hung from the neck until dead, Heinrich isn’t dead due to rescue from Elsa, a woman who lives on a remote farm w/ Paule, her brother that has Down Syndrome. Heinrich would really like to see his young daughter again. Meanwhile, the same Nazi scum are looking for a cache of gold belonging to some Jewish people.

Some minor nitpicks could be made; instead, I’ll focus on the positives. Heinrich is an enjoyable hero, while Elsa was competent in facing off against the villains without being OOT unstoppable. The action wasn’t a must-see yet was still enjoyable, especially the gory moments. The characters were fun, whether the heroes or the hissable villains. Paule was the most memorable role-& not just because the character wasn’t a lame stereotype. Of course, the highlight was seeing Nazi Scum Get Wrecked ™

Adding personality to the mix was that this had the flavor of a Western (including the score) and featured several songs, including one from Marlene Dietrich during a key scene. My negative opinion of Sisu puts me in the minority; regardless of your opinion, re: that motion picture, Blood & Gold is one I recommend for those that have their interests piqued by the premise.

Cat City

This is quite the animated feature film from behind the Iron Curtain: 

This sure was a 1986 Hungarian animated movie featuring anthropomorphic cats & mice where the former are the villains & portrayed as gangsters. Instead of watching the Oscars last night (they haven’t been viewed by me in at least the past few years), my time was better spent on the Eternal Family streaming platform; I went to one of their 24/7 streaming channels, and a movie was ending. This played next-as this was on my watchlist anyhow, the channel wasn’t changed.

There’s a Star Wars crawl and the movie was announced as taking place “80 Years After Mickey Mouse”… no, I don’t know why either.

Cats and mice live on Planet X but it’s not harmonious. A badass mouse named Grabowsky is tasked to grab plans from a city called “Pokio” (i.e. Tokyo. Expect to see mice that some will describe as “racially insensitive”… but there’s an even worse example of that I’ll mention in a moment) to built a weapon that will protect the mice for good. The cats attempt to stop this, although that is done via bumbling henchmen.

A subplot is present involving someone called LAZY DICK who is a police officer & becomes involved w/ crude Mexican stereotypes; that did not age well. Otherwise, I had a pretty good time with this adult cartoon (which was never graphic or OOT) and had a silly sense of humor that typically did make me laugh. The animation was nice, as was the score. Oh, and Cat City randomly had several musical numbers.

From other reviews, evidently not all the Hungarian humor and situations will translate well for those like me that are ignorant of the culture, either 40 years ago or now. Even so, I was still happy to have tackled an interesting animated feature film like Cat City last night. Thankfully, Deaf Crocodile released it on Blu in the West. One day, the similar Felidae (a German animated movie featuring only cats)-which I’ve known of for far longer-will finally be viewed then reviewed here.

The Pledge

The Pledge (2001)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Sean Penn

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Tom Noonan (RIP), many others

From: Morgan Creek/Franchise Pictures

A belated RIP to Tom Noonan. While many-myself included-will remember him best as Francis Dollarhyde in the incredible Manhunter, I was always delighted to see him pop up in a film… even ones I didn’t care for like RoboCop 2 or The House of the Devil. The reason why I selected The Pledge: the impressive cast, the plot, and hearing a recommendation from-of all things-a Patreon episode of a true crime podcast that did something different one time and discussed underrated crime dramas rather than actual crimes & mysteries.

Police chief Jack Nicholson is on his last day before retirement but pledges to the mother of a slain girl (Ginny) he will find her murderer. Ginny was brutally assaulted then killed-the viewer sees some graphic images of her; that was more than enough motivation for him to work this case despite now being retired. The Pledge is the sort of film I should gravitate towards more frequently. A crime drama, character-driven, takes its time, full of famous faces.

As Nicholson will turn 90 next year, I should give my props to a legendary actor while he’s still alive. He was as magnetic here as ever; the role wasn’t flashy or bold yet his Jerry Black was still convincing as the determined officer who the viewer believes would be the honorable type that would keep such a promise… yet becomes consumed by obsession. The other famous faces seen throughout (no matter how small or large their parts were) included Patrick Clarkson, Mickey Rourke, Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Aaron Eckhart as-naturally-a police officer-Benicio Del Toro, Sam Shepard, Robin Wright, and Harry Dean Stanton. It was a treat to see all those actors.

The movie was made w/ Franchise Pictures; I won’t go down the rabbit hole of discussing who they were or their brief troubled history. I will note that I wasn’t surprised to read afterwards of money problems and scenes that weren’t filmed. This included scenes w/ Noonan-his screentime was limited yet effective.

Yes, Sean Penn is another guy I put in the “separate the art from the artist” category. However, as a director he did a swell job even w/ that story handicap. The music, the cinematography, the setting-much of this is rural British Columbia substituting for rural Nevada, my interest never wavered.

Some viewers have their issues w/ The Pledge, either feeling disappointed or downright disliking the movie, for reasons that obviously can’t be revealed without massive spoilers. That is understandable-what I recall from that podcast episode, hints were given that prepared me for certain things. Patient viewers and those accepting what the story was about after its final resolution… hopefully you’ll find the journey rewarding. Soon, the film won’t be on Netflix any longer but The Pledge has the rare distinction of also streaming on Peacock AND Hulu.

Kate

Kate (2021)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Cedric Nicolan-Troyan

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau, Tadanobu Asano, Jun Kunimura, Woody Harrelson

From: Netflix

After a rare but needed night off from watching film, last night I returned to that world by checking out something that easily could have been Netflix gruel yet the idea was to see more Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Even now, hardly anything’s been seen from her; I’m not interested in The Farting Corpse Movie given my loathing of Everything Everywhere All at Once & Scott Pilgrim has always seem equally as repellant to my tastes. One day I’ll get to 10 Cloverfield Lane but my desire for an action flick, the basic plot description, the Japan setting, and Woody Harrelson (his political leanings aside) intrigued.

Yes, Kate is rather improbable, predictable, and quite silly. That doesn’t mean I was not entertained by the film. Kate-the lady-is a badass, mentored since childhood by Harrelson’s Varrick… presumably a nod to the quality 70’s film Charley Varrick. She wants to retire, and that goes exactly as well as that proclamation does in films… she is poisoned and looking for revenge during a very long night in Tokyo.

As flawed as the movie can be, several aspects are assets. The Japan setting was neat-Tokyo at night will always be exotic to my eyes. The cast is fine, including the Japanese talent-some of whom I of course instantly recognized; even newcomer Miku Martineau was not bad… although Winstead was of course the highlight and pulled off this vulnerable badass character. The action was from 87North Productions; the John Wick-flavored house style hasn’t grown tiresome with me quite yet. Those action beats were fun-a further asset in my enjoyment of the film.

The other half of the Spiderman pointing meme (of course, I’m referring to Gunpowder Milkshake) stands a stronger chance of rubbing me the wrong way-don’t expect a review from me, even to compare the two. I was thankful that Kate wasn’t a waste of time and did not turn me off—even if I wish there would have been less of the “overly explanatory moments” that I should refer to as “Netflix’s house style” no matter who makes their original movies.

Soup to Nuts

Soup to Nuts (1930)

Runtime: 70 minutes 

Directed by: Benjamin Stoloff

Starring: Ted Healy and the men to be later known as The Three Stooges

From: Fox

This was a good movie to watch last night to celebrate the 131st birthday of Shemp Howard. Those not familiar w/ the early lore of The Three Stooges, at this time they were a vaudeville act of Moe, Larry, & Shemp but led by their leader/manager, a dude named Ted Healy. This was their debut on film. A few years later, Shemp left the act, Moe & Larry dumped the allegedly abusive alcoholic Healy, and added Curly. This was also of interest to me as a co-writer of the script was Rube Goldberg. Yes, the guy who the phrase “Rube Goldberg Machines”-an idea I’ve referenced more than once in reviews. He even has a cameo as himself.

To copy and past from his Wiki article:

“Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.”

As for the movie… it made me realize that Ted Healy and his Stooges would never have been beloved even in 2026 like The Three Stooges are. I don’t know if people back then were supposed to like a loudmouth verbally abusive jerk that was Healy’s lead character, but I certainly didn’t last night.

The plot: Healy works at a costume shop, ran by a guy obsessed with Rube Goldberg Machines; this is why the business is bankrupt and taken over by creditors. Healy also enjoys hanging out at the fire station where Moe (billed in the credits as HARRY HOWARD, no lie), Larry, & Shemp work at… just because. A mute fireman named Freddie also is a fireman; there’s always a risk in injecting a political reference in a review but saying that “Freddie has Ben Shapiro’s eyebrows as they appeared in a recent viral Photoshopped image” is an accurate statement!

The Stooges are only shown in a few scenes before the final act; Healy is in many more… my belief that the movie is “fine” is DESPITE Healy and his odious presence. The other characters and scenarios thankfully gave me enough entertainment to counteract Ol Ted. This includes child actor Billy Barty (who in the 60’s had a TV show on KTLA in Los Angeles that would air Three Stooges shorts), Mack Swain of The Gold Rush fame and Heinie Conklin, who would appear in a few dozen Stooge shorts.

As a fan, it was fascinating to see routines and lines of dialogue that would appear when they were on their own. Most people, there likely is little need to check out Soup to Nuts & its threadbare plot unless you’re a huge Stooge fan and/or had the foreknowledge that there was a person named Rube Goldberg.

Save the Children

This is a 1973 concert film that was resurrected in an edited form for a 2023 release,as I explain below: 

Despite some controversial moments in the past, it wouldn’t seem right for me not to say RIP to the recently-departed Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. I should be canceled if his impact as a critical civil rights leader for Black people starting in the 1960’s was not noted by me. I mention Reverend Jackson as this concert film (where the film crew was entirely composed of Black talent) was filmed at the PUSH Expo in 1972 Chicago-as in Jackson’s Operation PUSH.

A longer version of this was barely released by Paramount in 1973, then summarily vanished and could only be seen in bootlegs before the Reverend sought to have the movie restored starting in 2021. I say longer because the cut on Netflix-as Save the Children: A Concert for the Ages-is about 20 minutes shorter than what was released in 1973. The presumption is that non-concert scenes were excised although that’s a non-confident guess.

If the low amount of ratings on IMDb & Letterboxd are an accurate barometer, another presumption is that the film is hidden on Netflix-people not knowing of its presence on the platform. For those that have seen & loved 1973’s Wattstax and 2021’s Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), this is a must. What an astounding collection of Black talent, including:

Marvin Gaye
The Temptations
The Main Ingredient (led by Cuba Gooding, Sr.)
Cannonball Adderly
Reverend James Cleveland and his choir
Isaac Hayes
The O’Jays
Curtis Mayfield
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Quincy Jones
Roberta Flack
The Jackson 5, who wore some of the most incredible multicolored clothing my eyes have ever seen. A few songs from them are shown, as the crowd treated them as if they were a boy band, they were so over at the time.

Among many others; I don’t want this review to be too long. I was happy to see the collection of legends perform. Reverend Jackson is shown preaching, twice. This alone is a great artifact of his skill as a great orator.

In addition, during a few performances, footage is shown of Black people living their life in Chicago & the surrounding environs.

While it’s a shame that more people don’t know that Save the Children exists (especially in the high quality presentation that’s on Netflix), I was happy to publicize it via this review no matter who was involved with the production.