The Driver (Ryan O'Neal) emerges from a parking structure. Everything has been carefully orchestrated for this casino heist. We quickly learn why he's the best man for the job. After taking off with the thieves and their quarry he successively evades the cops in an elaborate high-speed chase.
Only two problems: The Detective (Bruce Dern) with a vendetta against him, and the gorgeous Player (Isabel Adjani) who can identify him.
It's a beautiful, if a bit run down, nighttime world Hill invites us into. A world populated with people just trying to get by on the margins. These are not the high roller, fantasy criminals of John Wick. And, as you would imagine in a movie calledThe Driver, there are exceptionally well executed car chases.
I really enjoyed The Driver, and that's been true of most films by writer/director Walter Hill I've seen (e.g.: The Warriors, 48 HRS.). There are high stakes interactions between the characters, and much of the story is communicated visually. There is barely any dialogue in the first 25 minutes of the film, and we know 100% what is going on.
I genuinely liked the chemistry between the actors. Dern is a standout as the cop who is willing to cross the line and make dirty deals to meet his objectives, and we hate him for it.
I also have to mention Isabel Adjani as The Player. She's looking for a clean way out of this game of one-upmanship.
"My heart is pounding. Like a phone book in a dryer." - Cam Brady
The Campaign opens on a title card with a Ross Perot quote:
War has rules, Mud wrestling has rules - politics has no rules.
And I wondered, what sick prophecy would be in store for me in this movie?
Well, the one we already know. Rich people want to control everything.
Part satire, part stupid, The Campaign tells the story of Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) a slick yet complacent North Carolina congressman who's about to pick up his seat unopposed, when things change.
The crushingly wealthy Motch brothers, (John Lithgow & Dan Aykroyd) decide to fund the unlikely Marty Huggins, a tour guide and nepo baby (Zach Galifianakis), in the race against Cam. The Motches spare no expense and hire cutthroat campaign manager Tim Mottley (Dylan McDermott) to run the show for Marty.
Directed by Jay Roach (of Austin Powers francise fame), The Campaign is an okay movie with the talent behind it to be better. The cast is unbelievable. Brian Cox is in it for crepes sake!
In many ways, it feels like these artists are using this movie to figure out how to inject political critique into their work, and I'm all for artists attempting to push their art that way. You can see this in other films by Roach, Adam McKay, and Will Farrell. That said, rather than ride that fine line between silly and sophisticated*, it spends too much time in the former to be good commentary.
It's fine.
TRAILER:
WATCH INSTEAD: The Big Short
*The movie felt like it relied too much on improvisation which may have pushed it more toward jokes that did not serve the plot or the characters
Adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel, Purple Noon tells the tale of the lethal hanger-on, Tom Ripley played by the iconic French actor Alain Delon.
Tom is a ne'er-do-well gifted with enough charisma to keep himself in a circle of rich friends willing to pay for his ride. Tom has been sent to Rome to retrieve his buddy Phillipe. Phillipe has no interest in cooperating with his father's wishes and going back to America.
It's within this familial conflict that Tom sees his chance to achieve his dream.
The film is sumptuous with colour and saturated vistas, and a bouncing score by legend Nino Rota, in sharp contrast to the villaning hiding right in front of us.
Delon's Tom Ripley is charming and youthful. Through his performance, we get the sense that this fellow is an opportunist who chooses evil because it's expedient. His blood lust is for cash, not actual blood.
Recommended.
Clément's direction is mrasured, not overbearing, and captures the subtleties that could be missed in a film that is this grand in scale.
Pair with: This story has also been made as The Talented Mister Ripley. An even better pairing would be another Italian misadventure amongst the wealthy, L'Avventura.
Peter Winter (Peter Greene) is driving back home to find his daughter. Nicole has been living with another family; her mother died long ago and Peter was just released from an institution. He's afflicted by auditory and visual hallucinations caused by schizophrenia.
En route, he hits something with his car, wraps it and carefully places it in his trunk.
Elsewhere in town, a detective is searching for a missing girl and is confounded by the lack of evidence in the case.
Clean, Shaven has a low-budget, gritty quality. It makes inventive - often jarring - use of sound to crash you into the world as Peter perceives it. Images race by and we wonder if we're seeing how things look from the sky, from God, or inside Peter's head.
In contrast, the scenes with the cop often felt buffoonish or comic. They seemed out of place tonally, rather than feeling like moments of relief. The stories eventually converge with Peter and the cop coming face to face.
Overall the film is serious and tense, while still framing Peter as an empathetic, if troubled, person. We understand his desire for family, while fearing for Nicole.
Peter Greene's performance is captivating as a man struggling to make human connection in a world that he, literally, can't decipher.
The film is worth watching for everything it does right.
Dir. Louis Malle, 1h 50m [Film Penance 2026 - Sat Special]
"Now I'm 36, and all I think about is money." - Wallace
My Dinner With Andre lived in my mind long before I watched it. It was directed by the acclaimed French auteur, Louis Malle, and and I knew it from references in a multitude films and TV shows. This was invariably done by a brainy or snobby character, and I was versed in the movie's lore:
It's the movie where two men sit at a table in a restaurant and talk over dinner. They're philosophical and intellectual.
And I can confirm the aforementioned are true.
Wallace (Wallace Shawn) is meeting Andre (Andre Gregory) for a meal. It's been a while since these old friends have seen each other. Wallace seems a bit trepidatious about how he'll stack up against Andre, who is the more successful of the pair. Yet, who are these men now, after all this time?
The conversation between them bounces from Polish forest theatres, UFOs in Scotland, and the fascist qualities of The Little Prince.
The use of long takes and slow push-ins feel artfully connected to the dialogue, and the lighting has a natural quality. Nothing flashy about the look, this is about a relationship.
So interesting to think of this film after seeing Teorema. I wondered what Pasolini would think of these characters in the restaurant. Specifically the restaurant staff, that we only catch fleeting glimpses of. I wondered about the waiters' assessment of Wallace and Andre.
As for Malle, the message of My Dinner With Andre is that to be alive is to be purposeful. Don't be unconscious and abdicate responsibility for your life. Fair enough.
That said, ultimately, I felt like these guys were fine. The stakes were relatively low. And that's okay.
But because of it, the film did not land with much weight for me. I was more interested in the plight of those waiters.
Dir. Mike Nichols, 2h 5m [Film Penance 2026- Wolf Wednesday]
"What are you, the last civilized man? " - Laura
Wolf was not everything I hoped it would be.
Here's the gist. Will (Jack Nicholson) loses his job to the conniving Stewart (James Spader), the same guy who's banging his wife (Kate Nelligan - which BTW, great to see her a bit slutty).
Will decides to rally the colleagues closest to him and demand his job back by going to the billionaire owner of the company (Christopher Plumber) and presenting him with an offer he can't refuse.
Things are complicated in two ways. First, lo and behold, along comes the billionaire's daughter Laura (Michelle Pfeiffer), to shake things up.
Second, Will has become a werewolf.
The werewolf thing, where do we go with that?... My guess is that it's repressed masculinity. He needs to be a wolf to get his job back and have sex with a hot chick, otherwise, why even be alive, bro?
Overall the movie is a bit of a mess. I have wanted to watch it for years, especially since Siskel and Ebert panned the film when it came out. But I thought, there are so many amazing artists working on this film in so many departments... Mike Nichols directing, Giuseppe Rotunno as cinematographer, Ennio Morricone did the score, Rick Baker on effects and an ALL STAR cast (lots of names in this one). And still, it was really boring.
Never doubt Ebert, man.
The only things that made it worthwhile was James Spader, and the aforementioned Kate Nelligan sluttiness. So, just watch those clips on You Tube maybe?
NOTE: Baby David Hyde Pierce and Allison Janney are in it too! Prunella Scales! Richard Jenkins! I'm sure they all thought, "I'm in a Mike Nichols movie!" Well folks, this was not the one.
NOTE 2: If you're still here and you decide to watch this movie, I think Michelle Pfeiffer is the werewolf who bit Jack Nicholson in the beginning. Sorry. Not Sorry.
Dir Tamra Davis, 1h 33m [Film Penance 2026 Trashy Tuesday]
"Don't make me run. Just let me go. Okay?" - Lucy
Today is prom, and it's the night that Lucy and her friends Kit & Mimi are supposed to make good on their pact.
Ya see these Georgia gals buried a time capsule with their dreams when they were little - but they've drifted apart. Lucy (Britney Spears) is a bit of a bookworm and her dad (Dan Aykroyd) keeps a close eye on her since her mom left them. Kit is now the "popular girl" and she's forever talking about her fiancé. And Mimi, well, she's a very single pregnant teen.
After a post-prom time capsule retrieval, Mimi convinces them to go on a road trip to California so she can audition for a record company. She doesn't want to give up on her goal of making it as a singer. Kit & Lucy initially don't want to go, but Mimi is persuasive. Lucy decides that she'll only go as far as Arizona, where her mother (Kim Cattrall) lives now.
Written by Shonda Rhimes and directed by Tamra Davis, Crossroads is a solid little coming-of-age, "we gotta make it to the contest" film. All the little threads tie up at the end, each girl has a major awakening by the time the movie is over, and it's a nice time. There's some bickering, but ultimately the girls are on each other's sides.
Special shout-out to Lucy singing along to "Open Your Heart" in her bedroom. It was a slick way to hear Britney signing Madonna.
Recommended.
You can stop here. But... there's more...
While watching Crossroads, I often thought about how "girl" movies can often be undervalued, and will only gain legitimacy if there's a male director behind it... and my thoughts went to Tarantino's Death Proof.
Now those gals are a older than our Crossroads crew, but what else makes them different...?
Both have coy flirty moments. But it made me think that what really separates them is the use music, the depiction of violence and the male director. Crossroads is not violence free - it's just referenced in a different way. Crossroads is full of pop songs, and so are Tarantino movies, just not the same type. And Tamra Davis, like so many women directors, do not get the cred as artists. It might not be the same today, but it ain't that different. Shonda Rhimes did okay, notwithstanding.
Anyway, just some thoughts. Let me know if you want to come by for a double bill.
Dir Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1h 38m [Film Penance 2026 - Bad Company]
"You've simply destroyed the idea I've always had of myself" - The Father/Paolo
A wealthy family in Milan is about to receive a Visitor (Terence Stamp).
The family is rolling in dough because the Father is an industrialist factory owner. He has a very proper Italian household with his wife, (the Mother), his Son, his Daughter and his Servant. The kids go to private schools. They're a social group, so when the Visitor arrives, they have a little soiree. No big deal, they do this all the time.
As the party goes on and the guests dwindle, bedtime draws near. Everyone who lives at the house has eyes on the Visitor.
The members of the household are drawn to him, and each makes a sexual advance towards him in personality-revealing ways. They each need something different.
The Visitor courteously obliges them, and as the physical encounters with him occur, one by one they become obsessively attached.
The film is stylish, has a spare Ennio Morricone score, and Pasolini makes the interesting choices, such as cutting to a landscape of dark rocks each time the Visitor and a partner are intimate. Silvana Mangano is particularly arresting as The Mother of the family, as is Laura Betti as the servant Emilia. And of course, Terence Stamp dazzles as the Visitor.
Where a typical film would have the players catch wind of their mutual lover, leading to jealous confrontations and competition for the Visitor, that's not how Teorema plays out.
Half way through the film, the Visitor just leaves. In his absence, each member of the household has their identity devolve or transform in some way. Everything from naked madness to religious ecstasy.
Pasolini intended this film to be a critique of the bourgeoisie in Italy; he identified as being a Marxist film maker. That part did not connect with me.
What did, was the idea what plagues us about other people originates from within.
Dir. Daniel Mann, 1h 49m [Film Penance 2026 - Elizabeth Taylor]
"Mama, face it: I was the slut of all time!" - Gloria
Gloria (Elizabeth Taylor) is a Manhattan party girl and influencer. She gets paid to wear designer dresses at the right spots, and makes even more from the men who pay her to take them off. If you want to get a hold of her, you have to call her answering service, at Butterfield 8.
Her mother worries about her, the way Gloria disappears for days. Her childhood friend Steve (Eddie Fisher) doesn't want to bail her out anymore. She's turned up again at his door. Gloria decided to take revenge on Weston (Laurence Harvey), the married man she's seeing, by taking off with his wife's fur coat and bringing it to Steve's.
Gloria & Weston's relationship runs hot and cold. There is a kind of love there, such ad it is wrapped up in egos & posturing. Weston was a talented lawyer before he got married and went to work at the company his wife's family owns. He got soft, taking executives to lunch. If he's going to make it with Gloria, he has to choose a harder life.
But oh, that pesky coat.
I really enjoyed Butterfield 8. It's a good melodrama, with lovely costumes, barbed quips, and great atmosphere. Shot slickly and brightly with impressive production value. I'm thinking in particular of a wonderful shot of Taylor & Harvey at the threshold of their motel room, where the light throbs around them; a visual representation of their desire that's just stunning. My one quibble with the movie is that it goes beyond it's natural ending, and would have been more successful if it were tighter.
Overall, and really good film with solid performances from the whole cast.
Dir Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1h 45m [Film Penance 2026 - Elizabeth Taylor]
"I want to go back home to feel all my loneliness again." - Lise
Lise (Elizabeth Taylor) completely breaks down in the shop when the saleswoman remarks on the stain resistant fabric, ideal for traveling. But that would ruin everything. Lise desperately explains that chemically treated cloth won't work, and only calms down when they find a duplicate in a natural fabric.
It's not a cute or funny moment. Lise has life altering plans in mind for her vacation in Rome. She needs everything to be perfect to see them through.
Lise knows she has to meet a man in Rome, and little else.
The city is a place of ancient beauty, but also active political strife. Set against this backdrop, Lise drifts into conversations and encounters with people. A man obsessed with orgasms and rice. Souvenir shopping with an older woman waiting for her nephew. A firebombed motorcade. A violent mechanic.
In one sequence, we get a quiet moment with Lise. She's is alone in her hotel room enjoying it's perks, and eventually she looks outside. We see the park reflected in the glass, with her figure present. She is happily in place.
Through flash forwards we learn bit by bit that something terrible has happened, and slowly piece together Lise's story. Was she a conspirator or a victim?
The palette is filled with sepia tones punctured with green and blue and a piano score keeps up the tension.
In my little run of Elizabeth Taylor films, The Driver's Seat - also released as Identikit - has stayed with me the longest. I find myself drifting back and thinking about Lise, and what got her to this place. How she viewed herself in relation to other people.
Using visual storytelling and minimal dialogue, The Driver's Seat one character's singular drive.
Dir. Joseph Losey, 1h 53m [Film Penance 2026 - Elizabeth Taylor]
"What's human or inhuman is not for human decision." - Sissy
Noted camp classic, Boom! is an experience.
Sissy Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor) is a widow who lives on a rock. An exclusive, Italian private island rock. Sissy is contemptibly wealthy and her long-suffering staff has to endure her whims. Like say, watching her throw her personal x-ray machine over the balustrade and into the sea. Only the truly affluent can experience such balustrade-based delights. Sissy's estate is at the top of an imposing cliff, and if you dare trespass, the dogs will have at you.
One such fool is Chris Flanders (Richard Burton) who makes it up the cliff face and is left bleeding from the hounds. Sissy is far more worried about what the dog attack might cost her and not so much about the state of her visitor. And why is this stranger here? What are Chris' intentions anyway? Sissy heard from the Witch of Capri (Noel Coward) that he might be there to do her in...
Boom! is visually stunning and preposterous. The best part of the movie is the visuals. Beautiful vistas, and one sumptuous white costume after another for Ms. Taylor. As for what's going on plot-wise, well, the movie is a metaphor. I'm sure it is. For what? That part I didn't concern myself with.
Now, if I were to change one thing about my experience watching Boom!, it would be to watch it again with the John Waters commentary on. I know I left some crumbs on the table by skipping that. All the more reason to go back.
Do you need to see this movie? No. Do you want to see something strange and visually appealing? Then Boom! is for you.
I still can't believe that Tennessee Williams wrote this movie.
Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2h 41m [Film Penance 2026 - Ash Wednesday)
"I want you to create a show, Pat. Okay? This is going to announce the motherfucking revolution." - Perfidia
Set against the backdrop of a near-future United States of America, One Battle After Another tells a story where the personal is indeed political.
Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) is a Black leftist revolutionary and leading member of the armed resistance group, French 75. She's surrounded by a team of die-hard loyalists, committed to overthrowing the fascists running their country. Everyone's got a code name in French 75 to keep them safe. Names like, Lady Champagne (Regina Hall), Billy Goat, Mae West, and "Ghetto" Pat (Leonardo DiCaprio) who happens to be Perfidia's boyfriend and an explosives expert.
While on a mission to liberate a refugee camp, Perfida has a strange and erotic encounter with military commander Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), that sets off Lockjaw's obsession with her. Perfidia ends up pregnant and Pat thinks the baby is his.
Most of the French 75 crew are arrested after a robbery gone wrong, and Pat has to go on the run with the baby, and Perfidia lands in jail. They live undetected for many years under assumed names, until she's a teenager (Chase Infiniti) and Pat is a stoner single dad prepping for parent-teacher conferences and a third-rate jam-band.
The peace is broken when Lockjaw gets wind of the existence of his daughter. This cannot stand, and he pursues her with the might of a military unit behind him. Thus sets up the chase and the rogues we encounter along the way.
There are a number of really well-executed sequences in the film. One stand out has Pat racing to get help from his daughter's karate instructor, Sensei Sergio (Benicio Del Toro). Never has running from the cops while desperately needing to charge your phone been so funny and so poignant.
The car chase near the end of the film is one of the best I have ever seen. I have never seen an undulating road and blind spots captured so effectively, truly serving to ratchet up the tension.
The camera work is crisp and precise with a real sense of scale. You see how small the people are. It depicts the world as an overwhelming place, if you have no community.
PT Anderson is a hit-or-miss filmmaker for me. One Battle After Another is one of those cases where I really liked the movie even though I did not think it was perfect. There were some jarring moments*. In fact, I might like it because of its flaws. It's kept me coming back - I have now watched this film 3 times because I genuinely wanted to take the journey with these characters again.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Pair with: The Battle of Algiers, seriously. It's one of my favourite movies and it's one of Pat's favourites too.
"How can he have a heart attack without a heart?" - Filumena
I really enjoyed Marriage Italian Style. It's a delightful comedy about the ups and downs in the twenty-year relationship between Filumena (Sophia Loren) and Domenico (Marcello Mastroianni).
Filumena and Domenico meet while she was working at a brothel. She's a poor woman trying to make ends meet and Domenico is a handsome man-about-town who is not your standard commitment-phobe. He's creative.
He knows that Filumena is in love with him, forever dangling a real relationship in front of her, but there's always a catch. She's excited that he finds an apartment for her, but learns he wants her to work in his shop for free. He then says they can live in his rich family's home, she just has to care for his aging mother, who thinks she's the maid.
She is smitten and puts up with Domenico's absurdities, but behind her affection and grievances, there are three secrets she has to divulge to Domenico...
Marriage, Italian Style is fun, well-paced, and lovely to watch. The tone reminded me of Moonstruck, with quotable moments and comic melodrama.
I appreciated the serious parts of it too. The film takes place during WW2 and the immediate aftermath, and takes great care to contextualize its romantic hijinks. The sex workers run past bombed-out streets, politicians hold rallies at the side of the frame, and occupying soldiers make demands, all while silliness is at the centre.
"For your information, if it were not for quitters, no one would start anything." - Phil
Am I a Wagon's East apologist? No. Do I think this movie is as bad as people say it is? Also no.
Now, there are a number of ways in which this movie can fail you. Were you expecting a Mel Brooks comedy like Blazing Saddles? Wagon's East is not that. That said, there's a lot about this movie to like.
First, the premise is a good one one. A gaggle of people who all tried to make a go of it in the Wild West, decide they preferred things out east and hire a wagon master named Harlow (John Candy) to help them reach St Louis.
The crew of misfits include Phil a physician (Richard Lewis), Belle a Madam (Ellen Greene), and Julian a bookseller (John C. McGinley) along with other families.
The movie is at its best when it focuses on the hardships that the "de-settlers" face, whether environmental, external threats, or each other. No expense was spared here, The production design, music and costumes are spectacular. It's well shot too. The exterior locations look beautiful and people are creatively placed within the landscape.
It's at it's worst when it strays from that main plot and introduces too many stories for the sole purpose of delivering weak jokes. You just want to get back to the merry band of weirdos. It least I did.
Overall, jokes land about 60% of the time which is a shame, because the actors are really giving it all they've got. I'm not mad at any of the performers. The movie is filled with great character actors like Robert PIcardo, Don Lake, Charles Rocket and William Sanderson. I'm irritated at how the movie dragged. You could easily cut 15 minutes from this film to get a cute piece of fluff. It made me wish there had been one more pass at the script to tighten it up. (See sidenotes).
While I can't recommend Wagon's East, I was pleasantly surprised.
Sidenotes: Things I liked but didn't anticipate about the movie. The queer bookseller character was never a joke - his community liked him and cared about him. He's a hero, as are those in the Sioux Nation. The Indigenous characters were smart and funny, and the de-settlers followed their direction.
"I shouldn't have told you that, but I needed to tell somebody, and I trust you." - Peter
Agnes is a divorced waitress living hand-to-mouth, staying in a room at the end of a motel. She's been getting unsettling telephone calls from someone she assumes is her ex-husband - a violent man recently out of prison.
Her life is small and she keeps it that way. If your head stays down, there are fewer worries to contend with. The drawback to this life is the loneliness.
Her friend from work introduces Agnes to Peter. He's a bit of a loner too; integrating back into US society has been difficult since returning from his tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Something about Peter sparks something deep in Agnes, and their relationship grows. It grows into something strong enough to confront her Ex.
It grows into something that can defy reason itself.
Bug had an impact on me. Directed by William Friedkin and written by Tracy Letts, it had me thinking about the realities we create in relationships. It successfully married the reality of a hard scrabble town and the real violence that people face alongside the delusions and hopes we sustain to get by.
The movie has a dusty, worn-in feel. It starts exhausted, which makes sense for people at the end of their rope. The camera work and music add to the sense of unease. I've seen Bug referred to as a horror film; I'd say it leans more toward a dramatic thriller, though there are terrifying moments.
The performances are extraordinary. Harry Connick Jr is Agnes' demonic ex-husband, and Michael Shannon inhabits the looming and child-like Peter. Ashley Judd as Agnes however, is a standout. I have never seen her this good - it's an award-worthy turn. I would watch it again just for her.
The end moments of this film feel shocking yet inevitable.
I'm surprised this movie isn't better known, given the talented names associated with it. I've had it on my list forever, from an old movie review I saw, and I'm glad I did.
It's not for everyone, that said, I highly recommend it.
"I know a few things about predatory behavior." - Christopher
Christopher Boyce is fed up with America. His family has money. Lots of it. No shortage of sweater vests for Christopher.
But still, Nixon has him so irked. Why can't his dad see he was right about Nixon? You totally know Christopher's thinking about his dad the whole time he's racing his falcon. The falcon is so free.
The wind catches you where you are.
With his father's connections as a former FBI agent, Christopher gets a job with a defense contractor working in communications. One day he receives a CIA message in error, learning that the US government is deposing the prime minister of Australia.
He's completely disillusioned. Nixon made him angry, but now this Australia thing too? Ya, he's disillusioned. And maybe sitting on a goldmine.
He decides he's going to sell secrets to the Soviets and draws his drug dealer friend Andrew (Sean Penn) into his plot.
Inspired by a true story, the Christopher of The Falcon and the Snowman never has a political awakening. He's no Che Guevara. His government's dirty tricks don't make him a communist or a socialist, they just made him indifferent about making money from them. He doesn't seem to care much about his life-long friend Andrew either.
The film has a cool colour palette and has a real sense of scope. The cinematography is sweeping and the film has a suspenseful pace.
David Bowie wrote the song "This is not America" with Pat Metheny Group for the movie and it's used artfully throughout.
Directed by John Schlesinger, the film is an interesting Cold War thriller on loyalty, cynicism, and American values.
