Asteroid City (2023)

A playwright is working on a story about a small town in the desert hosting a kind of nationwide science fair that turns into a quarantine. We get scenes about the writing, the backstage happenings, and the play itself. I was disoriented for quite some time, but then I finally stopped trying to understand what was what and the frustration melted away.

It's your basic Wes Anderson nonsense: visually impressive with prevailing twee.

C+

Companion (2025)

Iris is uneasy about the weekend that she and Josh are going to spend with two other couples. Turns out she has good reason to be nervous as she's an AI companion bot who's treated as "less-than" by some of the guests. Although Iris's status is spoiled by the poster, I didn't know anything else about this going in, and that's exactly how this should be watched. 

This was not only surprising, but entertaining as hell. Though I'm not sure how long it's going to live in my memory, I was impressed.

B+

Project Hail Mary (2026)

The storytelling structure is brilliant: the lone survivor of a deep space mission awakes without memories, so we're learning along with him what needs to be done and how he got there. The earth scenes are full of information and tension, but also a lot of collaborative fun. Seeing all of these people from different nations working on a common goal while understanding the gravity and urgency of their task -- that's the stuff.

Less successful, for me, were the actual space scenes. Everything up there felt borderline cartoony and dumbed-down. Sure, I laughed at "fist my bump" and I understand that a cute animated sidekick opens it up to family viewing, but we spent too much time in silly-mode.

C+

The Manitou (1978)

A woman discovers a fast-growing tumor on the back of her neck. The doctors schedule next-day surgery, so she goes to see old friend -- a low-rent fortune teller Harry played by Tony Curtis -- to have a roll in the hay. When the surgeon is supernaturally prevented from removing the tumor (which they now believe may contain a fetus), Harry gets to work on figuring out how to deal with it from a mystical perspective.

It is no-holds-barred bonkers. A jacked little person emerging from a neck womb is probably the fourth most wtf thing to occur, with laser-shooting boobs coming in just ahead. It's a mess, but Curtis seems to be having a hell of a time, which makes it worth the watch.

D

The Running Man (2025)

Though I'm not a fan of the original film, the plot made a lot more sense. In the earlier film, Ben Richards was wrongfully convicted of a heinous crime, breaks out of prison, and -- once caught -- is forced onto "The Running Man" game show to either die or win his freedom and mountains of cash. In this one, Ben Richards is a hothead who can't keep a job so is struggling to make ends meet for his family. He willingly auditions to be on a game show for cash. Though "The Running Man" is the one he was hoping not to land on, he still knew it was a possibility. There's no railroading here

I don't know if the part is written wrong or if Glen Powell just plays it wrong, but I am absolutely positive that this doesn't work. Why would I root for a guy whose pride is jeopardizing his family? He's just an entitled asshole who happens to be poor. Some of the action sequences are fun, but I kind of hated Ben Richards and that ruined any chance that I would care if he lives or dies.

Final note: it took me 3 full weeks to finish watching this.

D

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (2023)

Just as was the case between seasons when the show was airing, it took so long for this movie to come out that I've pretty much forgotten everything that was going on. But, just like in times past, it doesn't really matter -- it's still gonna be a good time.

My biggest complaint? Not enough Brock.

B-

Bugonia (2025)

Michelle (Emma Stone) is CEO of a high-profile biomedical company: rich, demanding, materialistic. Teddy (Jesse Plemons), a low-level laborer in that company, is convinced she's not what she seems to be. To stop her plans, Teddy ropes his trusting cousin into abducting her and holding her hostage until she admits the truth.

Yorgos Lanthimos movies are hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes I am annoyed by what feels like a deliberately false style while, in other films, the weirdness just works. Bugonia is one of hits, right up there with The Favourite and Poor Things. I really liked the slow reveal of Teddy's backstory and how trauma could have driven him to seek a concrete target to slay. I was also really into Michelle's savvy manipulations -- her refusal to admit the upper hand may no longer be hers.

This one's a winner.

B+

Never Let Me Go (2010)

The first time I watched this, I suspected it suffered from the fact that I'd so recently read the novel. Seeing it 14+ years later, I can confirm this was, indeed, the case. Now that the story's particulars have faded from memory, I was free to experience this without comparison it to the source material. What I saw was incredibly haunting and beautiful.

Generally, when a film has an oppressive mood that refuses to lift, I can get a little antsy and feel like screaming "LIGHTEN UP FOR JUST A MINUTE COULDJA??" but I never felt that here. Maybe because the melancholy felt honest rather than like a device -- like that's just how these isolated children would feel. It's gorgeously quiet, desperately sad and every single actor knocks it out of the park.

A-

Finch (2021)

Finch has adapted to post-apocalypse reality pretty well: he's got a UV suit to protect him from the unhampered-by-ozone sunlight, a map to help him keep tabs on buildings yet to clear, and a Wall-E type robot helping him scavenge. Back at "home" there's a dog waiting for him as well as a pretty decent laboratory to keep him innovating. His latest project is a humanoid robot to take care of the dog when Finch isn't there to do it himself.

It's not terrible, but it is terribly derivative. This is pretty much a dystopian Cast Away if Wilson were a whiny bitch.

C

Europa Report (2013)

A 6-person crew sets off for Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, in hopes of finding the life there that research indicates exists. The crew loses touch with earth less than 6 months in, but the voyage itself is fairly mundane. Even the loss of a crew member along the way is a quietly sad accident rather than a bombastic set piece, which was extremely effective. These are people doing their jobs well and dealing with issues as they come up without falling apart or lashing out.

But maybe realism just isn't enough. While I did appreciate that these were adults who always put the mission first, I was also left wondering what the purpose of the movie was. I was hoping for something more thrilling.

B-

Aporia (2023)

Since Malcolm's accidental death, his widow Sophie and their daughter have been so overtaken by grief that when his best friend tells her of a machine that could get Malcolm back to them, it's an immediate lifeline for her and she insists they try to use it. Though this machine can't send a person back in time, it is strong enough to hit a target with a "bullet" of energy, assuming you know exactly where the target was at a certain time. Theoretically.

Even though time travel has been done dozens of times before, this story found a new idea to explore. No one goes anywhere new or repeats any days -- instead, reality itself shifts around its inhabitants. The exception to this reality shift is that the person/people in the room with the machine only remember the "original" timeline, having to play catch-up with the new reality everyone else has lived. 

Judy Greer made me feel the weight of the unintended consequences and the guilt that goes along with them. It's a real "what would I do" story and, in the end, I was so satisfied with their answer to that question.

B+

Robots (2023)

Robots are everywhere in the near future, serving in menial roles. They mostly wear the same oddly offputting rubber masks so you know when you're dealing with one... unless you've got enough cash (or blackmail fodder) to force someone into making one that looks and behaves just like you do. Both Elaine and Charlie have these illegal robot doubles that they use to have sex with the rich assholes who buy them things (Elaine) and to wine and dine women to prime them for sex (Charlie). When wires get crossed, Charlie's bot and Elaine's bot meet up, copulate, fall in love, and then steal their owners' identities, which forces Charlie and Elaine to team up and find them.

It's a fun premise, but not a fun movie. It's all so tame.

D

Relax, I'm From the Future (2023)

Casper travels from the future but struggles to get anything going until Holly, an aimless millennial, offers him some leftovers and a place to crash. Armed with Casper's lottery and sports knowledge, Holly can live a comfortable life and Casper can pursue his passion for memorabilia, mostly by befriending close-to-death nursing home residents in hopes of inheriting their stuff.

The script quickly dismisses the "butterfly effect" -- making it clear that small changes won't be felt, but they've got to be careful about altering anything big. The result is a charming, if somewhat weightless, story with winning performances. I had a good time.

B-

Parallel (2024)

Vanessa and Alex are spending some time with his brother while they are still grieving the loss of their son. They're staying in a house that used to belong to the men's father, deep in the woods. When out for a walk on her own, Vanessa dodges a literal bullet, fired by someone who looks exactly like her.

The plot of "stumbling around parallel universes trying to get back to the one I know" is not new (e.g. Coherence) so, if you're gonna do it, you should do something special with it. This movie doesn't do anything special and the characters are neither relatable nor likable. I just don't see any reason to have made this.

C-

Fingernails (2023)

In the future, couples can take a test to find out whether or not they're in love with each other. Just by removing a fingernail from each, you'll know for certain whether or not your feelings can be trusted and if you can move forward in confidence. Ryan and Anna tested at 100% (both partners in love) years ago, which is enough for Ryan. Anna, however, would like to keep working at the relationship and is especially interested in taking classes at the Love Institute. She's so interested, in fact, that she takes a job there and hides it from Ryan.

Though I've seen variations on the "soulmate" story many times, there was something about this one that was super affecting. Yes, there's comfort in knowing for sure, but that can obviously lead to stagnation and taking a partner for granted. I think the real triumph here -- what really puts this story above the others in the genre -- is the character of Amir (Riz Ahmed, killing it as usual). He knows so much and yet yearns to understand.

B+

The Substance (2024)

A celebrity is aging out of her current gig as the star of a fitness show when she hears about a life-changing serum. It sounds great: a "better" version of herself will be produced and they will alternate weeks of dormancy and being out in the world. But, of course, it's a little more messy than the pitch makes it sound.

We were really into this at first: the premise is fantastic and it felt like a Black Mirror or Twilight Zone episode. But then it just goes off the rails in so many ways. Not only were we questioning the level of awareness each has of the other, but we were so baffled by the choices each of them made (as well as how a nearly crippled person could absolutely fly down flights of stairs). I know that this was both written and directed by the same person and that might be the problem right there. Brutal editing could've made this absolutely soar -- as it is, though, I can only mourn this great but squandered premise.

C

Jules (2023)

Milton's a widower living on his own and he's beginning to show signs of confusion; his daughter has noticed, as have the other citizens who regularly attend town meetings. So, when he begins mentioning the spaceship that has crashed into his backyard, it only generates more concern about his mental state despite the fact that the spaceship and the alien who emerges are real. Soon a couple of elderly women are in on the secret and they're determined to keep "Jules" safe.

What a lovely story. The alien plot is sweet, but what I liked the most was the three lonely people coming together to form a sort of family. It was hopeful and a good reminder that everyone needs community -- as long as there's consciousness, there's a need for others in our lives.

B+

It's What's Inside (2024)

The day before one of them is getting married, a group of college friends reunite for the first time in almost a decade. One of them -- the black sheep who made good in tech -- has brought along a machine that allows the consciousness of each person connected to the machine via electrode to jump into the body of another participant. After the initial shock, the group enjoys the experience and starts playing a "guess who's in whom" game.

There's absolutely no question that this is a terrific premise, but the camerawork keeps shoving story out of the way to say "look how fast I can spin! see how quick I can cut! pay attention to all of my tricks!" I was disoriented and had a hard time keeping things straight. Really too bad because I liked what was underneath the effects.

C+

The Abyss (1989)

A civilian diving team is tapped as the most viable option to respond as possible rescuers to a US nuclear submarine sinking. To aid their efforts, a small group of Navy SEALS is dispatched, but they have an agenda to which the civilian team is not privy. To make ratchet up the stakes even more, a dangerous storm rages on the surface, which causes damage to the underwater rig, adding to the natural tensions already being felt by everyone involved. Throw in a little wonder in the form of never-before-seen underwater species and you've got a plot that's stuffed to bursting.

I remember being wowed by this when I first saw it more than 30 years ago. Though effects have come a long way, this still really packs a punch. There's some stiff acting and clunky dialogue, but the action scenes work and the underwater world is breathtaking. 

B

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

A hospice center takes an outing to the city to see a show and get some pizza. However, after the show, aliens attack the city, which kind of derails their dinner plans. As survivors huddle together and then head toward rescue boats en masse, Samira -- one of the hospice patients -- heads in the opposite direction with her service cat, hell-bent on getting that pizza. She's joined by a law student for some reason, and they dodge the sound-seeking aliens together.

It's all chase scenes, quiet hiding, and fear faces. Got monotonous the minute the invasion occurred.

C-