My Review of Thoroughbreds (2017)

 

Written And Directed by Cory Finley

Amanda (to Lily): "You cannot hesitate. The only thing worse than being incompetent, or being unkind, or being evil, is being indecisive."

I fancied something of a black comedy and I remember that I saw this movie late at night a few years ago. I tracked it down again and watched it to refresh my memory. Two teenage girls and one much darker than the other. 

If you've ever seen the movie Heavenly Creatures, this movie felt like it was riffing some similar plot strands. You've got rich girl Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy). She's been hired to "tutor" social outcast and emotionless Amanda (Olivia Cooke). The latter clocked this immediately.

There was a time when both Lily and Amanda were friends but drifted apart. Amanda also opened the movie by performing a mercy killing on her horse but rumours of that incident have portrayed her in a much worse light to her peers. Is Amanda truly devoid of emotions?

She's definitely convinced that she's devoid of them and she was more than happy to show Lily how to fake crying pretty well. Amanda also quickly worked out how much Lily hated her stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks). It's not like Lily made much of an effort to conceal her hatred for him.

In fact, it was slightly comical when Lily pretended to be affronted by Amanda's suggestion of killing Mark, only to openly embrace the idea in very little time. Trying to get local drug dealer Tim (Anton Yelchin) to perform the task however turned out to be more of a challenge. He wisely opted not to get dragged into their crazy scheme. 

As for the actual murder itself, Lily being the one to get her hands dirty but frame Amanda for the deed didn't surprise me. Amanda even going along with it almost didn't phase me either. In a bittersweet way, both girls got what they wanted.

- Tim had a conviction for statutory rape and ended up as a valet in the last scene. Mark was definitely coercive controlling Lily's mother. Anton Yelchin died shortly after filming.

- Keeping with the horse theme, there's one scene where Amanda started making horse noises. She even dreamed of a world with Thoroughbreds.

- Standout music: King Harvest's Dancin' In The Moonlight and Rome Will Burn's Chameleon.

- Chronology: Set in a suburban Connecticut.

Thoroughbreds (2017) might lift from better films but it did manage to hold it's own reasonably well. Both Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are on solid ground with this one. A good final performance from Anton Yelchin too, I might add.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Cry-Baby (1990)

 

Written And Directed by John Waters 

Cry-Baby (to Mrs. Vernon-Williams): "I may be a drape, but I love your granddaughter. And if that's a crime, I'll stand convicted, ma'am."

How do you follow up a success of sorts like Hairspray (1988)? For John Waters, it seemed like coming out with another musical focusing on teenagers was the way to go. Throw in a forbidden love story and there was potential for success here.

The 1990s were certainly a decade for Johnny Depp as an actor and he's suitably cast as bad boy teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker. Cry-Baby was part of a group called "drapes" and everyone else was a "square" by comparison. 

One square in particular was Allison Vernon-Williams (Amy Locane). It took virtually nothing for Cry-Baby and Allison to fall madly in love with one another. There's some opposition from Allison's grandmother (Polly Bergen) and the boring Baldwin (Stephen Mailer) but Allison's love for Cry-Baby shone throughout.

Allison was happy to get a makeover from Cry-Baby's single mother sister, Pepper (Ricki Lake) and her friends, Wanda (Traci Lords) and Mona (Kim McGuire). There's also Cry-Baby and Pepper's fun grandmother, Ramona Rickettes (Susan Tyrrell) and her fella, Belvedere (Iggy Pop). They're a fun bunch of characters to watch.

Anyways, the love story with Cry-Baby and Allison largely worked, the former had a spell in a boys training school before being set free and we got a game of chicken between Cry-Baby and Baldwin, which in a predictable turn of events the latter ended up losing. On the other hand, at least the drape got the square, so it ended on a rather happy note.

- There's an amusing subplot where one of the female drapes was going to be sent to Sweden as part of a student exchange.

- Mink Stole appeared as Mrs. Malnorowski. She seems to be one of the few constants in John Waters movies.

- Standout music: Women In Cadillacs, A Teenage Prayer, The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane and Please Mr. Jailer.

- Chronology: 1954 Baltimore. Both Cry-Baby and Allison confessed to being orphans.

Cry-Baby (1990) doesn't quite hit the same way as Hairspray (1988) but it's a solid enough outing for everyone involved. Nice enough musical numbers but somewhat let down by a rather rushed ending.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Pixie (2020)

 

Written by Preston Thompson

Directed by Barnaby Thompson 

Harland: "I'm sorry we didn't fucking cover body disposal in our economics course."

Throwing in an Irish movie where two thirds of the main protagonists are played by English actors, because why not? To be fair, the actors in question do manage to deliver convincing enough Irish accents. I'll let it slide.

This movie pivoted around Olivia Cooke, who took on the title role. Pixie started the movie by having two fellas - Fergus (Fra Free) and Colin (Rory Fleck Byrne) playing off each other in order to acquire some MDMA from a group of gangster priests. Yup, you heard that correctly.

Pixie wanted a new life in San Francisco and she was determined to get it any way that she could. She came from a family of gangsters - stepfather Dermot (Colm Meaney), stepbrother Mickey (Turlough Convery) and a stepsister named Summer (Olivia Byrne). Dermot and Summer doted on Pixie whereas Mickey hated her guts, so much so that he had Pixie's mother killed to make her suffer.

The death of Fergus and disappearance of Colin created a lot of tension, including the attention of gangster priest, Father Hector McGrath (Alec Baldwin). The third act would involve one of the nuttiest shoot outs in a local parish that you'll ever see.

For most of the movie though, Pixie found herself aligned with local drifters Frank (Ben Hardy) and Harland (Daryl McCormack). Both men were easily attracted to and led by Pixie, enabling her antics. Despite Pixie being open about her duplicitous ways, both Frank and Harland were shocked when she got one up on them.

They're an entertaining trio to actually watch throughout the whole movie. There's even a moment that predated Challengers and it's as fun to watch here as it was in that movie. You'll know exactly the one I'm talking about. I also liked that Pixie got to avenge her mother, twice over. 

- Another of Pixie's ex-boyfriends appeared during that shoot out. Gareth (Sebastian DeSouza) was the son of Hector.

- Other actor appearances included Pat Shortt, Chris Whalley, Dylan Moran and Ned Dennehy. All had some good scenes.

- Standout music: Horace Silver's Song For My Father and Marlena Shaw's California Soul.

- Chronology: The movie was set in Sligo. Pixie's mother had been killed by Colin (under Mickey's instructions) four years ago.

Pixie (2020) turned out to be a delight. It doesn't do anything new for the genre but it's a lot of fun. Olivia Cooke delighted as the title character and the supporting cast are great. There's plenty to enjoy here.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Hairspray (1988)

 

Written And Directed by John Waters 

Iggy: "Would you swim in an integrated swimming pool?"

Tracy: "I sure would, Iggy. I'm a modern kind of girl, I'm all for integration."

After so many transgressive movies, could John Waters really make a mainstream hit and not lose his voice? If this was anything to go by, it appeared that he could. Oh and it's a musical to boot.

Set during 1960s Baltimore, you've got the pleasantly plump Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake). While she exasperated her loving parents Edna (Divine) and Wilbur (Jerry Stiller), Tracy had a dream to appear on Corny Collins (Shawn Thompson) variety dance show. 

Tracy didn't have to try very hard because she managed to get her dream to come true and bitchy rival, Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick) couldn't derail her. Then again, neither could Amber's awful parents Franklin (Sonny Bono) and Velma (Debbie Harry) and they certainly wanted to.

Tracy became such an instant hit on The Corny Collins Show that she got Amber's former boyfriend, Lincoln "Link" Larkin (Michael St. Gerard) as her new dance partner and boyfriend and booked a modelling contract from Hefty Hideaway's Mr Pinky (Alan Wendl). Aside from put into special ed for her hair, everything was going in Tracy's favour.

On top of that the presence of Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs (Ruth Brown) and her son, Seaweed (Clayton Prince) brought up the issue of integration versus segregation. Most of the characters were for integration with only Amber, her parents and WZZT station manager Arvin Hodgepile (Divine) being against the idea.

There's a nice love story between Seawood and Tracy's best friend, Penny Pingleton (Leslie Ann Powers), although the latter's mother, Prudence (Jo Ann Havrilla) tried to put a stop to it but love conquered all as did the majority of Baltimore wanting integration. Even a spell in reform school couldn't stop Tracy from getting one up on Amber as well.

- This was Divine's last role. He passed away around the release of the movie.

- John Waters had a rather amusing role as Dr. Fredrickson. Toussaint McCall appeared as himself. Mink Stole popped up as Tammy and Josh Charles as Iggy.

- Standout music: Hairspray, I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) and Nothing Takes The Place Of You.

- Chronology: 1962 and 1963, Baltimore, Maryland.

Hairspray (1988) was a joy from start to finish. A fun musical with some great numbers, a few nice love stories and a good exploration into the changing times and importance of society also changing for the better.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)

 

Written And Directed by Quentin Tarantino 

Elle Driver: "That's right. I killed your master. And now I'm gonna kill you too, with your own sword, no less, which in the very immediate future, will become... my sword."

The Bride: "Bitch, you don't have a future."

I might have waited too long to post my review for the first part on this blog, but here's the review for the second part. Now, I'll admit that while I do think Volume 1 was much stronger, I've grown to really appreciate the second volume and how it concluded this duology.

There's a lot of moving parts. There's two viral origins in relation to The Bride's mission of revenge and why Bill held her in such regard. Let's go into those first.

There was a big deal about The Bride getting a sword from Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba) by everyone. It turned out that Hanzo having a reserved hatred for Bill was enough incentive to get him to make a sword for The Bride. Bill has certainly pissed off a lot of people in his time.

My favourite however was watching The Bride being trained by Pai-Mei (Gordon Liu).  While he's a misogynistic, racist and xenophobic sadist of the highest order, he turned out to a brilliant trainer for The Bride. When it turned out that Elle Driver killed him, it was another reason for The Bride to up her revenge.

I do love that both Elle and Budd's comeuppance come within tandem of each other. Budd was living a depressing existence but he actually got one up on The Bride by burying her alive. It didn't take and neither did he expect that Elle would be the one to kill him. I almost felt sorry for Budd.

Elle on the other hand got a fate arguably worse than death. Having lost both eyes was squeamish but she was probably not long for the world with the Black Mamba nearby. Again, we got an epic fight scene between both Elle and The Bride as well as the latter's name finally revealed.

Yup, she's called Beatrix Kiddo and by the third act she finally caught up with Bill and met her daughter, B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine). The reunion with the three was another strength of the movie. Beatrix and Bill in spite of their complicated feelings towards one another had a certain level of respect. Bill's death was more restrained compared to others but thematically, it was a satisfying way to end this whole bloody saga.

- Samuel L. Jackson played the Reverend during the wedding rehearsal. Beatrix was almost during a wedding rehearsal. That's nuts.

- That Superman/Clark Kent analogy might be one of my favourite things that Quentin Tarantino has ever written.

- Standout music: Malcolm McLaren's About Her and Quincy Jones Ironside.

- Chronology: It was six months between releases of both parts but less time in between. You can watch both movies together with Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.

Kill Bill: Volume 2 on reflection turned out to be a much better conclusion to this whole bloody affair. It went down a spaghetti western route and it ended working perfectly, especially during the final confrontation between Beatrix and Bill.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)

 

Written And Directed by Quentin Tarantino

O-Ren Ishii: "For ridiculing you earlier, I apologize."

The Bride: "Accepted."

Okay, sometimes there are movies that I've watched so many times that I'm actually shocked that I haven't reviewed them. This would be one of two. You don't have to guess the second part.

Quentin Tarantino would be a director for his technique and utter in depth knowledge of various genres of media. It's something that he was able to fuse rather well in this two part revenge thriller, in which he reunited with the icon herself, Uma Thurman.

Thurman took on the role of The Bride. Her real name wasn't revealed during this first part for dramatic effect. There's plenty of drama here as The Bride has her wedding day to an ordinary but dull guy. Let's just say that a lot of people died and all because The Bride decided she wanted out of her job.

The job was being an assassin for a man named Bill (David Carradine) aka Snake Charmer. Bill got his best assassins O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu), Vernita Green/Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), Elle Driver/California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) and Budd/Sidewinder (Michael Madsen) to take out Black Mamba aka The Bride. They didn't really succeed on that front.

I mean they certainly made the effort and put The Bride into a coma where a vile orderly named Buck (Michael Bowen) sexually assaulted her. Fortunately, Buck got a much deserved comeuppance when The Bride woke and she had to retrain her body in order to get some of her revenge.

The Bride was determined to kill every single person who fucked up her wedding. This first part tackled both Vernita and O-Ren. Vernita happened at the start of the movie with the added complication of her daughter, Nikki (Ambrosia Kelley) witnessing her mother's death. It's a moment that The Bride took the enormity into account, aware that Nikki will be a future problem for her.

There's more of an emphasis on O-Ren Ishii, who became quite the crime boss in Tokyo with the Yakuza at her beck and call. There's a gorgeous anime flashback highlighting O-Ren's tragic origins. She's also rather sensitive to anyone pointing out her mixed heritage.

Honestly, while I love this movie to bits, it's the third act that made it such a blast. The moment The Bride touched down in Tokyo and sought out O-Ren, it's just glorious to watch. So many fights (the one with school girl bodyguard Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama was excellent), deaths, limbs and a beautifully choreographed fight sequence between the two in a snowy garden. Then there's the last moment.

The Bride spared O-Ren's right hand woman, Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus) and we learned that the baby The Bride was actually alive. That was an absolutely brilliant cliffhanger to end the first part on. I love it so much.

- Both films were meant to be released in one go before they were split into two.

- I loved the absolute contrasts that both Vernita and O-Ren had with their lives. Vernita was the only one from the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who tried to live a normal suburban life.

- Standout music: Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), The 5.6.7.8's Woo Hoo and Santa Esmeralda's Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.

- Chronology: The Bride's bloody wedding took place in El Paso, Texas during 1999. She went to California and Tokyo in 2003 to take out both Vernita and O-Ren.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 was a sprawling opening to two of the best things that Quentin Tarantino has ever committed to the big screen. A delightfully chaotic revenge thriller with top drawer performances from everyone, neat cameos, references for cinephiles, fight sequences galore and the most quotable dialogue. 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Rhaenyra Triumphant"

 

Written by Sara Hess 

Directed by Clare Kilner 

Alicent: "There is in you a door that must shut. You will do things that your heart will recoil from before you came to the throne."

Rhaenyra: "I acknowledge the struggle but I dispute that I must become what I am not."

Alicent: "Time will tell."

After last week's "victory", the reality of actually having the one thing she's wanted now hit Rhaenyra like a tonne of bricks. She really must prove herself and she's got too many offering opinions but not enough long term solutions.

Let's talk about the small folk first. Robbing the food supply from her Lords and Ladies and distributing it to her citizens might have seemed like a benevolent act on Rhaenyra's part but Torrhen Manderly (Dan Fogler) wasn't wrong in pointing out Rhaenyra's role in the small folk being hungry. 

The biggest problem - there's no freaking gold and Alicent was almost a bit too happy to point that Otto knew where it was. Alicent was a little too happy to point out a lot of things. Anyone else would've had Alicent killed on the spot. This show will not allow Rhaenyra put her childhood friend to death, even if it would make more sense to do.

Alicent will continue to fascinate and frustrated in equal measures. For someone who'll chastise Rhaenyra for their entitlement, Alicent refuses to acknowledge her own. She's damn lucky that Rhaenyra hasn't had her, Helaena and Jaehaera killed. Daemon certainly would've. Saying that, Alicent did give Rhaenyra some sound advice the latter should take on board.

Keeping with Alicent, she should've been more gracious about Daeron being sent to the Wall than being killed, the fate that will befall both Aegon II and Aemond if they're caught. Saying that, I loved that the fake Daeron plot got so quickly revealed here.

Ormund really thought he was going to get one up on the Blacks and in a way he did. He managed to capture Tumbleton and a young dragon but I'm sure he didn't expect Fake Daeron would be outed so quickly. I also loved that Rhaenyra just burned all Greens memorabilia in an act of pure pettiness. 

As for the rest of the episode, Corlys was right to call Rhaenyra out on her hypocrisy when she refused to acknowledge Addam and Alyn but at the same time, he probably should've raised the issue privately as well. I do get his frustration but there's a time and a place, Corlys.

- Mysaria proved to give Rhaenyra a solution by encouraging her to appoint a new Master of Coin. Daemon clearly views her as a threat. Daemon also wanted to sack other cities.

- While Jason is definitely dead, Tyland might not be. Can't imagine he's that much of a threat either way.

- Alicent was pretty scathing about Viserys this episode. Helaena also got in that jab about Jace to Rhaenyra.

- Rhaenyra served rats to the Lords and Ladies, was refused by the Septon when she wanted to declare Aegon II dead, had bad cramps/bleeding and hallucinated a serving boy as Jace.

- Hugh Hammer, Ulf White and Addam of Hull became proper knights. 

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Rhaenyra Triumphant kept the pace of the previous two episodes and arguably, it's the true season opener here. I like that Rhaenyra's a bit out of her depth here with only Mysaria and Alicent giving her practical advice so far. Ormund also is shaping up to be an interesting threat too.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "Guess Who's Slammin' To Dinner?"

 

Written by Sari Cooper

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Lois (to Jon): "Why are you here?"

With ten episodes per season, I do enjoy that this show will not waste time. After briefly meeting him last week, Jon Kent showed up in his past/our present to make himself known to his parents.

Anyone else might have chosen discretion upon trying to prevent the deaths of their parents but Jon went for the direct approach. E interrupted Clark and Lois's dinner date by being a hyperactive bundle and seemed delighted to also meet his Aunt Kara and Uncle Jimmy.

While Clark, Jimmy and Kara all took to Jon instantly, Lois didn't. She was wary of him and the implications of his existence dictating her destiny. Lois's reaction was the most realistic to Jon's presence and she rightly asked why he was there. Lois was pretty shocked when Jon was too forthcoming with the information. Cyborg Superman will kill both Superman and Lois.

Focusing on Superboy here, I'm impressed the show just both version. Aesthetic wise, he looks like Conner Kent but he's Superman and Lois's son, so he's Jon Kent. Given how LGBT friendly this show has been, I'm guessing this version might be gay or bisexual too.

Going back to Cyborg Superman, I knew that Hank Henshaw was going to go against Lex Luthor and I liked that they just had it happen right here. There was something comical in the way that Slade just sat back and let Hank escape. He didn't want to help Lex one bit.

- There's a nice subplot with the Subterranosauri and Prince Tyrannko. Jon managed to bring two species into a peace treaty.

- Jon might have his dad's powers but he's got his mother's inquisitive nature, food tastes and mannerisms.

- Kara's dating profile app actually broke. How much longer will Jimmy go on bad dates because he won't ask her out?

- Chronology: Not long from the previous episode.

Guess Who's Slammin' To Dinner? was a delightful episode. The addition of this version of Superboy has turned out well so far and Darren Criss (who was Superman not so long ago, animation wise) was on great form here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Disclosure Day (2026)

 

Written by David Koepp

Directed by Steven Spielberg 

Margaret (to everyone): "Listen."

It's been a while since we've had a big blockbuster from the legendary Steven Spielberg and coming up with an original idea, there's this movie. I'm not gonna lie, it's not Spielberg on all cylinders but it's not quite a misfire either.

There's a focus on two very different protagonists who find themselves drawn to one another. First of all, let's look at TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt). In fact I'd say she was the main character in this whole film.

Margaret wasn't content in her current life but she had a supportive boyfriend in Jackson (Wyatt Russell), who was willing to go along with a lot in this film. There was also an incident from when she was ten years old that she didn't want to remember until events made it impossible for her to no longer ignore.

Speaking of events, Margaret ended up with the abilities to speak and understand languages she didn't know and even became loved ones of various people that she interacted with. That certainly saw Emily give some interesting moments throughout the film. She's undoubtedly the highlight throughout.

That's not to say there aren't other performances that stand out. Josh O'Connor has proven to be quite the character actor over the years and he's suitably cast as whistleblower Dr. Daniel Kellner. He's a good straight man to the bizarre events though his relationship with former novice, Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson) was one of the weakest aspects of the film.

There's similarly strong enough supporting roles for Colin Firth and Colman Domingo respectively. The former had his moments to shine as Wardex Corporation head, Noah Scanlon. He's mostly a villain throughout the film. Domingo also was on fine form as Hugo Wakefield. He played off everyone rather well.

As for the alien reveal itself. I mean, it was the best way to end the movie and it's done reasonably well. It's mostly effective when past encounters were reported by an NBC anchorwoman, played by Courtney Grace. Margaret's last word on the whole thing might be the best final scene in a 2026 movie so far.

- There's allusion to Spielberg's previous alien themed movie with a particular scene involving Daniel.

- Steven Spielberg has claimed the movie's closer to fact than fiction. I absolutely believe him.

- Standout music: Gwen Stefani/Akon's The Sweet Escape.

- Chronology: Margaret was working on a Kansas TV station. She was thirty eight in the present day.

Disclosure Day isn't Spielberg at his best or worst but it's definitely one of the more interesting movies he's done for a bit. As I was watching it, my feelings kept shifting and having had time to reflect more on it, I liked this a lot more. Emily Blunt in particular just gave such an interesting performance.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Departures (2026)

 

Written by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan

Directed by Neil Ely And Lloyd Eyre-Morgan

Benji (to the audience): "They say the best way to move forward is to go back."

Pride Month might have been last month but coinciding with celebrations in the UK this weekend, I decided to watch a new gay themed movie. I went with this one, focusing on a rather messy break up between two very messy men.

The film started with the break up of the rather closeted, Jake (David Tag) and the somewhat clingy Benji (Lloyd Eyre-Morgan). To say it was an inevitable break up would be stating the obvious. Talk about a rather doomed pairing to begin with. Saying that, they'll always have Amsterdam. 

It was Amsterdam where Benji and Jake first met with one another. There was drinking, getting high, flirting and a bit of voyeurism between the pair. It led to an arrangement that Jake tried to control and Benji tried to stick with. Of course, the more time the two of them had their monthly hook ups in Amsterdam, the wider the divide became between the pair of them.

I'll give the movie points for doing some good deep dives in both men and why they seemed to never be on the same page as one another. Benji had a habit of dating men who treated him like shit and Jake had some serious abandonment issues. His aunt, Jackie (Kerry Howard) was an even worse adult figure than his own father.

I want surprised that as the movie went on that Jake was trying to pass as straight with his girlfriend, Olivia (Saira Choudry). He even got her pregnant and had a panic attack when Benji showed up at their home. While I did find Jake wanting to have things completely his way to be controlling, there were enough signs for Benji to have dumped him. Benji really made things as bad as Jake did.

Horrible break ups to one side, at least Benji got some alternative romance with Kieran (Liam Boyle). He wasn't a whiter than white counter to Jake but he was someone aware of his problems (alcohol dependency) and seemed to be making the effort to change himself for the better. By the end of this film, it also seemed like Benji was attempting to do the same thing. Jake on the other hand, not so much.

- If you've ever watched any UK soap in the last twenty years, you'll recognise most of the cast. Lorraine Stanley popped up as Benji's mother, Janet. Tyler Conti also appeared as Benji's hunky straight friend, Ryan.

- Benji's former boyfriends certainly did a number on his body issues. Even his hook ups were more into degrading him. Except that one guy who struggled to be dominant with Benji.

- Standout music: Both Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and David Tag got the opportunity to showcase their musical abilities, especially during the closing credits.

- Chronology: Took place over the course of 18 months between Manchester and Amsterdam. 

Departures (2026) made for a rather enjoyable but messy look into a relationship between it's two leads and the events leading into it. Solid performances from both Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and David Tag, some decent sex scenes and a mostly positive ending for at least one of them.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Polyester (1981)

 

Written And Directed by John Waters 

Francine: "I wish I could be more like you, Cuddles: always optimistic. I look into my future, and all I see is a long, dark highway, filled with endless toll booths and... no exits."

Continuing with my John Waters marathon, I've reached a point where it seemed like the most transgressive director was toning himself down a little here. I say a little but there's still some things that are very on brand for Waters.

Divine sat out Desperate Living and after previous movies where she revelled in playing the most abhorrent of characters, it took me a bit to get used to seeing her as a more downtrodden character this time. She did good.

Taking on the role of Christian alcoholic housewife, Francine Fishpaw, we got to see a slightly different side to Divine as a performer. In this movie, she was the butt of many jokes and cruelty while Francine also had a rather unique sense of smell.

Francine was married to the horrible Elmer (David Samson). Elmer owned a cinema that showed pornographic movies and this had the neighbours protesting in arms. Elmer treated Francine like dirt and cheated on her with his secretary Sandra (Mink Stole). The children and Francine's mother were no better.

Francine's mother, La Rue (Joni Ruth White) abused and stole from her daughter while also using the suave Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) to seduce Francine for the house. The woman was arguably the worst person in this film. As for Lu-Lu (Mary Garlington) and Dexter (Ken King) - teen rebellion/pregnancy and extreme foot fetishes were mild compared to the adults of the piece.

The only character to extend any kindness to Francine was formed maid turned socialite Cuddles Kovinsky (Edith Massey). Cuddles was the kind of friend that was handy to have in a crisis because she really did save Francine a lot. I even liked her romance with driver Heintz (Hans Kramm). At least Francine got something of a happy ending when the four worst people in her life got their just desserts.

- The movie opened with a smelling tutorial and everything that Francine smelled throughout the film was accounted for.

- Apparently this was John Waters first R rated movie, though it's somewhat tamer compared to previous efforts.

- Standout music: Tab Hunter's Polyester.

- Chronology: 1980s suburban Baltimore. Cuddles didn't speak kindly of the place. Partially set during Halloween.

Polyester (1981) had a fun pastiche of the suburbs and the not so average American family. Divine excelled as the put upon matriarch, giving one of her most charming performances yet. Oh and as dastardly as his character was, Tab Hunter was a delight.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Marty Supreme (2025)

 

Written by Ronald Bronstein And Josh Safdie

Directed by Josh Safdie

Marty: "It's every man for himself where I come from. That's just how I grew up."

I avoided this movie for a while and I'm regretful that I did. Did I really want to watch a two and a half hour movie about a sport that I don't really care about? It turned out that I did.

Timothee Chalamet might have run one of the worst Oscar campaigns in recent years but I have to admit that the reason why this movie worked so well was because of how bloody good he was throughout. It's certainly a career defining performance that could've bagged him the win had he played his cards better.

In this movie, he took on the role of Marty Mauser (loosely based on Marty Reiser). Marty was ambitious enough in his chosen field that he stole money from the shoe shop he was working, tried to avoid interacting with his mother, Rebecca (Fran Drescher), pissing off the wrong people and sleeping with the wrong women.

Two of his most troublesome relationships were with attached women. There was his childhood friend, Rachel Mizler (Odessa A'zion). She was married to Ira (Emory Cohen) but that didn't stop Marty from getting her pregnant or the two of them being involved in a dog napping scheme. On the other hand, there's something rather nice about Marty being there to meet his child at the very end of the film.

Marty's relationship with older actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) seemed a bit more transactional. He was able to give her some good advice but he wasn't above trying to steal from her when desperate. Marty's antics also incurred the wrath of Kay's husband, Milton Rockwell (Kevin O'Leary).

As for the table tennis scenes themselves, they were fine. Marty had the talent and moved up along the ranks to get to the championship. He also had to humiliate himself by letting Milton spank him in front of others but at least he managed to end things by winning the damn thing.

- Other noteworthy performances include David Mamet, Fred Hechinger, Sandra Bernhard and an uncredited voice role from Robert Pattinson.

- Josh Safdie had been a fan of table tennis since childhood. Marty Reiser's autobiography laid the groundwork for this film.

- Standout music: Tears For Tears Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

- Chronology: 1952 New York City with the championship set in Tokyo.

Although it did seem somewhat overhyped, I ended up enjoying Marty Supreme a lot more than I thought I would. Timothee Chalamet delivered one of the strongest career performances and the rest of the cast didn't slouch either.

Rating: 8 out of 10