Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985) Twenty minutes from now the world is a cyberpunk dystopia with vast disparity in wealth, body horror chop shops just around the corner, and the cutting edge of science in the the hands of few quirky brilliant minds using technology that looks ancient and decaying. It's all suspiciously like Blade Runner aped using a secondary British TV network's budget. In this dark, wet land we get one bright spark - ace investigative reporter Edison Carter who so energizes the population he is the prime-time ratings ace for Network 23. In Quiller style, every reporter is run by a producer who gives the reporter attack plans, escape routes, and hacks their way through anything. Unfortunately, the thing Carter is currently investigating is Network 23, and his new producer is unstoppable. They can't let him live, and they can't lose his show. Maybe that nerd in the basement who just mapped his pet parrot's brain in a computer can fix both loose ends. I think this is actually overly stylized ("who are you and what have you done with spejic" you all say) where trying to out Blade Runner Blade Runner and having British eccentrics so eccentric they would have been kicked out of Mrs Miggins Pie Shop hurts the suspension of disbelief, especially as the Carter character is played straight by a Canadian actor. But it's diverting enough, and I liked the Network (not randomly chosen name) inner politics. Helps that it's only an hour long so it doesn't drag, but it does force some compression of the story and Carter's status after the run-in with a noteworthy sign is confusing for a while. The Max Headroom character as an ironic outsider spewing accidental wisdom working as a VJ was created first, and this origin story created to suit the purpose of introducing him. In that sense, the whole of the Max Headroom production can be considered a meta-cyberpunk performance art piece in the sense of creating a narrative to ingratiate this modern media figure onto us for manipulatory purposes. And it worked. Max is fun.
Synchronic (2019) New Orleans paramedics Steve and Dennis have seen some stuff, I can assure you. But nothing as bizarre as the consequences of a new designer drug, Synchronic. One guy had sword wounds, another was burned to a crisp when nothing around them was singed. Then Dennis' gothy and emotionally distant daughter goes missing, which seems to be another side effect of the drug. Steve has an idea where she went - he just needs to do some tests first. He's got 6 Synchronic pills to do it. A dark and moody movie that probably would have been better served watching at night instead of in the morning before I had to return the DVD to the library. Unfortunately, the mood is pretty much the only thing really going for it. The sci-fi was preposterous and almost all the story in the movie turns out to set up a particular action at the climax which made it both terribly telegraphed and a waste of the (not all that interesting) human drama that took place. But I think it's still better than average. I love a good mood.
Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) Dir. Matt Palmer In 1988, Shadyside High is preparing for Prom Night, There is special interest in who will be prom queen, the favorites consisting of the queen bee popular girl Tiffany Falconer, a trio of her followers who aren't given much chance to outshine Tiffany and then two outsiders: rebel from the wrong side of the tracks Cristy Renault and Lori Granger, a girl who is an outcast at school for a very different reason: her mother was once the prime suspect in a murder case and whilst she was never convicted of the crime, many in town still believe she is guilty. It turns out that not only the various cliques at the high school are interested in who will become Prom Queen, as at least one individual with murderous intent is also very interested in the outcome of the competition. The 2021 Fear Street trilogy wasn't bad, with especially the first two movies at the very least good genre exercises, if not particularly original. Like those films, this Prom Queen entry is also an adaptation of an R. L. Stine book. Unfortunately something of a disappointment and I already had readjusted my hopes when the screenplay introduced its characters in an opening narration from the protagonist's POV instead of introducing them more organically. India Fowler is a decent final girl and I was very surprised to see Katherine Waterston in this film, playing the super-demanding Tiger mom of the Prom Queen favorite.
Fountain of Youth (2025) Dir. Guy Ritchie Luke and Charlotte Purdue are two siblings trying to live up to their father's reputation, who was a world-renowned archeologist. Whilst Luke has somewhat disgraced his father's legacy by being suspected of the theft of artifacts and pieces of art all over the world, Charlotte is living a quiet and somewhat boring life as a museum curator. The brother and sister duo meet up again when Luke steals a Rembrandt from her museum, supposedly meant to be a clue in his latest treasure hunt style endeavor: he believes by combining hidden clues in six renaissance paintings, he can figure out the location of the Fountain of Youth, something Charlotte mocks him for believing in. The person not ridiculing the idea of a Fountain of Youth: billionaire Owen Carver, who hopes the Fountain will be able to cure his terminal cancer and is bankrolling Luke's endeavor. After losing her museum job, Charlotte too gets roped into the search for the Fountain, the closer they come to their goal, the more clear it becomes that the mythical spring might in fact exist, as well as the fact that it might be the kind of power that you would rather not find... This is aspiring to be an action-adventure in the style of say National Treasure, with some of the supernatural aspects of The Mummy franchise sprinkled on top. Unfortunately not nearly as good as either of those two film series. The primary failure is in the writing, which apart from jetting our heroes all over the globe, is just a checking of the boxes of genre cliches without even an attempt to do something original with it. Guy Ritchie's latter day career is truly a mystery to me, capable of underrated gems like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and then subpar fare like this. In terms of the cast, watching this film did make me realize that I have never been convinced by "John Krasinski, leading man", no matter how charming he was as a member of a sitcom ensemble in The Office. As for Natalie Portman, something about her performance tells me she figured out early on she was stuck in 'une grosse merde', as the French would say. Perhaps the only person who is having some fun is Eiza Gonzalez, which is why the few moments the movie does light up a bit mostly feature her character's appearance.
Until Dawn (2025) Dir. David F. Sandberg A year after her sister Melanie disappeared during a cross country drive, Clover and her four friends Max. Nina, Megan and Abe are taking the same route, partially in the hope to still find a trace of Melanie after all this time, partially to help Clover get some sort of closure, even if they don't actually find Melanie. When they arrive near the last spot where Melanie was seen, a gas station attendant has a rare clue: he hasn't seen Melanie, but he does know of a place nearby where several people have gone missing in the last couple of decades. When the five of them arrive at that destination, they only find an empty and seemingly long abandoned visitor center. Then an hourglass on the wall turns and the group is soon attacked by violent assailants of a supernatural nature. When the clock resets, the five of them find themselves back at the start of the night, with no way to escape, and forced to endure another night of bloodshed... Horror movie based on a survival horror video game of the same game that I never played. I have to say that whilst the time loop construct is something that has been used before in horror films, I think it's actually a nice device to create suspense, but this film doesn't do much with it. And it certainly doesn't lead to a remotely original climax, or even one that makes sense. Decent enough cast, with lead Ella Rubin and Ji-young Yoo as the two stand-outs.
Bad Monkey [2024] I thought this show might have some potential after the first episode, but it ended up being very mediocre (to say the least). It tried very hard to be something comedic, but it just ended up being boring and silly, and not in a good way.
"Might have some potential...but ended up being very mediocre." You have perfectly encapsulated Vince Vaughn's career.
Sinners (2025) Dir. Ryan Coogler 1932, in the Mississippi Delta. Brothers 'Smoke' and 'Stack' Moore return home after over a decade away, having first served in the army and then moved to Chicago, where they were part of the underworld. They have returned to the place of their birth to realize a long held dream: to open up their own juke joint. They buy an old sawmill as the location and recruit some local musicians as the act, including their cousin Sammie Moore, who is a talented young blues guitarist. On the opening night of their new place, lots of familiar faces descend upon the place, as well as one new one: a stranger with a supernatural origin who will ruin their night... Period piece horror thriller from Ryan Coogler. I quite enjoyed this, whilst I mostly agree with @Val1's criticism that this movie probably tries to be too many things at once, meaning that it is impossible to do justice to them all in even a 2+ hours run-time. For instance, the historical importance of Chinese-American store owners in the Jim Crow South is a very interesting subject (and the release of this film has led to some articles devoted to the subject), but Coogler can only briefly touch upon it here. The musical middle section of the film is by far the most enjoyable. The final third feels more or less like a period piece version of From Dusk Till Dawn. Not bad, but even a horror lover like myself found it to be the least interesting segment of the film. Still probably my favorite Ryan Coogler film, by some distance and it's just nice to see a big studio release that isn't a remake, sequel, adaptation from another medium but rather a wholly original story and idea. As for the cast, I was relieved to find out that the whole Michael B. Jordan playing twins thing was far less distracting that I had feared. Though the true delight of this movie is in the supporting players, especially the likes of Delroy Lindo (once again superb) and newcomer Miles Caton. Jack O'Connell is majorly chewing scenery as the main antagonist but then the role sort of demands it.
Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Solid action movie that happens to be in the MCU. They do a decent enough job of tying things back into the 2008 Hulk film. Almost no actual superpowers until the 3rd act and it's a decent enough storyline that builds off some of the elements of Falcon & The Winter Soldier. It certainly helps to have actors like Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito carrying some scenes. Nice way to introduce adamantium as well. I'm assuming the end credits scene is a tease towards the Fantastic Four, and later X-Men, coming in from other parts of the multiverse. It's not great, by any means, but it's a step in the right direction considering the last few years of MCU content. This would have been a bigger hit 4-5 years ago, before everything started falling apart for Disney/Marvel.
The Brides of Dracula (1960) Dir. Terence Fisher Late 19th century Transylvania. Whilst the terror of Count Dracula is now over, many of the men and women he turned still roam the countryside. Mademoiselle Marianne Danielle is traveling through the area to take up a position as a schoolteacher in a school belonging to Herr and Frau Lang. Before she can arrive at her destination, her coach abandons her in a small town quite a few miles from the school. The townsfolk seem anxious to get the young woman out of their hamlet, though it is unclear as to why. Shortly after her arrival, a local noblewoman by the name of Baroness Meinster offers the stranded Marianne a place to stay for the night and then a carriage ride to her school in the morning. Since the town's innkeeper claims he has no rooms available to Marianne, she is happy to accept the Baroness' offer. At the Baroness' chateau, she meets its solitary caretaker and staff member Greta, an enigmatic woman whose demeanor is slightly unsettling.. Though there appears to be another inhabitant of the castle: the Baroness' son, though the woman seems reluctant to discuss his presence or even his existence. The events of the following night go a long way in explaining why... The rare Hammer Horror Dracula movie that does not feature Christopher Lee as the Count, which goes a long way to explain why I hadn't yet seen this one. Peter Cushing is reliably good as Van Helsing. Unfortunately David Peel is no Christopher Lee as the stand-in vampire. Lead Yvonne Monlaur is an actress I mostly associate with another British horror film, an excellent one at that: Circus of Horrors, not a Hammer production, but an Anglo-Amalgamated film, one of the three known as the Sadean trilogy and for my money easily the best of the three films. I would say apart from Monlaur and Cushing's good work, this is a merely adequate Hammer entry.
Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny - 2024 (Hallmark+) The third of four films about the four college housemates (we learn that in THIS movie) who run a gift wrapping store together. Lily (Ashley Newbrough) gets set up on a date with Owen (Franco Lo Presti) while also having to meet with Sean (Torrance Coombs) about a magazine article he's going to write to promote the shop and their Christmas activities. Owen is a self-absorbed douche, Sean is a nice guy who appears to have a family who happened to graduate from the same college at the same time as Lily, and Lily is torn between both while trying to manager her work duties, deal with a pesky neighbor, and a young entrepreneur from the college learning under her. Ashley Newbrough again comes across as a prettier, more talented Denise Richards without the artificial flotation devices. Franco Lo Presti plays a really good obnoxious douchebag. Torrance Coombs is solid as the nice guy who writes for the local magazine. This is probably the best of these films so far, as each one has added just enough new layers to the preceding entries. Here we go: Hanakkuh on the Rocks Hallmark That Christmas Netflix Believe in Christmas Hallmark Sugarplummed Hallmark Christmas on the Ranch Hulu Christmas on Call Hallmark Following Yonder Star Hallmark Santa Tell Me Hallmark A Reason for the Season Hallmark Mystery The Finnish Line Hallmark The Merry Gentlemen Netflix Jingle Bell Love Roku Channel Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story Hallmark Tis the Season to be Irish Hallmark A Novel Noel Hallmark Mystery All I Need for Christmas Hallmark Mystery Nutcrackers Hulu A Dance in the Snow Hallmark Mystery Confessions of a Christmas Letter Hallmark Three Wiser Men and a Boy Hallmark Hot Frosty Netflix Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny Hallmark+ Unwrapping Christmas: Mia's Prince Hallmark+ A Vintage Christmas Great American Family Christmas Under the Lights Hallmark Mystery Twas the Date Before Christmas Hallmark Holiday Mismatch Hallmark The Santa Class Hallmark A '90s Christmas Hallmark The 5-Year Christmas Party Hallmark Trivia at St. Nicks Hallmark Holiday Crashers Hallmark Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle Hallmark+ To Have and to Holiday Hallmark Operation Nutcracker Hallmark A Carol for Two Hallmark The Christmas Charade Hallmark Christmas Wreaths & Ribbons Great American Family Trading Up Christmas Hallmark Mystery Jingle Bell Run Hallmark My Sweet Austrian Holiday Hallmark Mystery The Christmas Quest Hallmark Scouting for Christmas Hallmark Our Holiday Story Hallmark Our Little Secret Netflix Christmas with the Singhs Hallmark A Sudden Case of Christmas Hulu This Time Each Year Hallmark Mystery Private Princess Christmas Hallmark Deck the Walls Hallmark Five Gold Rings Hallmark Mystery Meet Me Next Christmas Netflix Debbie Macomber's Joyful Mrs. Miracle Hallmark Leah's Perfect Gift Hallmark Happy Howlidays Hallmark Anything from My Sweet Austrian Holiday and above is watchable. Anything from A Vintage Christmas and above might even be something you really like. 55 Down, 30 to go (I didn't count the excellent Disney+ short film that I watched): Hallmark+ - 4 Great American Family - 14 Lifetime - 9 UPtv - 3
Unwrapping Christmas: Olivia's Reunion - 2024 (Hallmark+) The final film of the 4. Olivia (Cindy Busby) is asked to deliver gifts for the store to a place "up north" from St. Paul. She arrives and finds an old boyfriend, Ben (Jake Epstein), as the only person from his family to make it yet to the giant house they rented for Christmas. A snow storm hits, everything gets shut down, and they get stuck together in the house alone. Along the way we get glimpses into Olivia's dog tearing up the houses of the other 3 co-workers from the gift wrapping shop and we also get the random shop owner, Jen (Zoë Barrett-Wood) who is also a past love interest of Ben's who occasionally makes things slightly awkward. Not much of a story, but Cindy Busby and Jake Epstein have enough chemistry and talent to carry the movie. Probably 3rd best of the bunch, but still solid. Here we go: Hanakkuh on the Rocks Hallmark That Christmas Netflix Believe in Christmas Hallmark Sugarplummed Hallmark Christmas on the Ranch Hulu Christmas on Call Hallmark Following Yonder Star Hallmark Santa Tell Me Hallmark A Reason for the Season Hallmark Mystery The Finnish Line Hallmark The Merry Gentlemen Netflix Jingle Bell Love Roku Channel Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story Hallmark Tis the Season to be Irish Hallmark A Novel Noel Hallmark Mystery All I Need for Christmas Hallmark Mystery Nutcrackers Hulu A Dance in the Snow Hallmark Mystery Confessions of a Christmas Letter Hallmark Three Wiser Men and a Boy Hallmark Hot Frosty Netflix Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny Hallmark+ Unwrapping Christmas: Mia's Prince Hallmark+ A Vintage Christmas Great American Family Christmas Under the Lights Hallmark Mystery Twas the Date Before Christmas Hallmark Holiday Mismatch Hallmark The Santa Class Hallmark A '90s Christmas Hallmark The 5-Year Christmas Party Hallmark Trivia at St. Nicks Hallmark Holiday Crashers Hallmark Unwrapping Christmas: Olivia's Reunion Hallmark+ Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle Hallmark+ To Have and to Holiday Hallmark Operation Nutcracker Hallmark A Carol for Two Hallmark The Christmas Charade Hallmark Christmas Wreaths & Ribbons Great American Family Trading Up Christmas Hallmark Mystery Jingle Bell Run Hallmark My Sweet Austrian Holiday Hallmark Mystery The Christmas Quest Hallmark Scouting for Christmas Hallmark Our Holiday Story Hallmark Our Little Secret Netflix Christmas with the Singhs Hallmark A Sudden Case of Christmas Hulu This Time Each Year Hallmark Mystery Private Princess Christmas Hallmark Deck the Walls Hallmark Five Gold Rings Hallmark Mystery Meet Me Next Christmas Netflix Debbie Macomber's Joyful Mrs. Miracle Hallmark Leah's Perfect Gift Hallmark Happy Howlidays Hallmark Anything from My Sweet Austrian Holiday and above is watchable. Anything from A Vintage Christmas and above might even be something you really like. 56 Down, 29 to go (I didn't count the excellent Disney+ short film that I watched): Hallmark+ - 3 Great American Family - 14 Lifetime - 9 UPtv - 3
Kate ~ C. Nicolas-Troyan I went in expecting it to be dumb but left disappointed in just how bland and predictable the plot was. The fight choreography is fine, though not spectacular. It's just generic, John Wick-style hyper violence. There's a weirdly filmed car chase at the beginning which was at least unique (though I didn't really like it), but that wasn't carried any further beyond that scene.
Mystery Street (1950) Dir. John Sturges In an opening segment set in Boston, we meet Vivian Heldon, a young woman intent on improving her situation, a perpetually broke B-girl whose living arrangements have her renting a room from a woman she loathes, Mrs. Smerrling. Always short of the kind of money that could buy her a better life, she believes she has found a way out. We hear her blackmailing what appears to be her married former lover. When she drives to Cape Cod later that night to confront him in person, using a car belonging to a patron at the bar she works at, she meets up with the mysterious adulterer she was the mistress of, only to be shot. Months later, the skeletal remains of a human body are found on the beach. Investigator in charge of the case Peter Morales sends the bones to Harvard, where a scientist (essentially a forensic pathologist though the term is not used in the movie) examines them and identifies them as belonging to a young woman. Morales starts looking for young women who had gone missing in the greater New England area around the time of the skeleton's likely demise, first having to identify the victim before he has any hope of finding the killer.. Noirish detective mystery that I found quite enjoyable. The early half of the film is very interested in the forensic techniques used by the Harvard men who assist Morales, whilst the second half turns into a more straightforward detective story. Led by a rather excellent and still youngish Ricardo Montalban, Khan Noonien Singh himself. Some good supporting work from Elsa Lancaster as the scheming Mrs. Smerrling and Betsy Blair, who plays a sympathetic roommate of the murder victim. Marshall Thompson, of later Daktari fame, plays a person of interest in the case. Features quite a few on-location shots, primarily in and around Boston, including the Beacon Hill neighborhood, Harvard and Cape Cod.
Christmas on Cherry Lane - 2023 I watched this one because it spawned three more films in 2024 using the same gimmick. Three couples are featured in different times (1973, 1998, 2023) as they deal with Christmas at their home at 7 Cherry Lane. 1973 - John (John Brotherton) and Lizzie (Erin Cahill) move into the first house they've owned as a couple, two days before Christmas, while Lizzie is pregnant with their first child who is due in a few weeks. John freaks out as Lizzie's parents and siblings show up on Christmas Eve unannounced and say they're staying at the house while belittling his job and inability to get their stuff unpacked in a single day. The in laws are really good, especially Fred Henderson as the perfectly arrogant father-in-law. 1998 - On Christmas Eve Regina (Catherine Bell) tells her adult kids that she's marrying Nelson (James Denton) and then retiring at the end of the year and moving to Florida. The kids freak out and give us a master class in bad Hallmark acting, especially Matthias Falvai, as Conrad, who comes across as Milo Ventimiglia if he had a failed facial reconstruction surgery from an accident that also drained him of all his acting talent. 2023 - Jonathan (Mike Harrelson) and Zian (Vincent Rodriguez III) panic as their contractor hasn't finished remodeling their kitchen hours before they need to host a party on Christmas Eve and they find out they've been approved to foster a child who they need to take in that night. The contractor, Quinn (Robert Moloney), plays it as if he's Tim Taylor in the real world and just barely keeps from going too over the top. You also always have to wonder how Hallmark will handle a gay couple, but they seemed to get it right this time. The 1973 group are the best actors and probably had the best script to work with. The 2023 group is pretty good as well. The 1998 portion is rough when the "kids" are acting but Bell and Denton are fine on their own. Special notice goes to Brandi Alexander, who plays the neighbor Daisy in all 3 parts, and the makeup team who made her look like she was the right age in each time frame. This was good, and the gimmick allows them to basically put sets of 3 short stories together instead of trying to write a full film each time.
It's actually nice because the regular TV and sports schedules are pretty sparse at the moment. I'll finally finish off all the Christmas movies from last year while also knocking out a bunch of other movies and shows on my list that I didn't watch when they came out.
They're doing voting for which ones get featured this year. The four "Unwrapping" movies will get their network debut on Saturday nights.
Season's Greetings From Cherry Lane - 2024 The first of the 3 new movies, covering 3 couples in 3 different timelines, this was a mixed bag. One really nice thing that was established was the house being built in 1951 so there's a defined time frame they can work with now. 1951 - Charlie (Corey Cott) and Joan (Annabelle Borke) move into their newly built home just months before he's supposed to deploy to his MASH unit in Korea. Joan's arm has a hairline fracture and Charlie tries to learn everything around the house while not wanting to teach her how to handle anything outside of it (car maintenance, etc.) and not admitting his own fear of being in a war zone. Neighbors Julian (Jordan Buhat) and Amelia (Rryla McIntosh) are helpful but the roles aren't really big enough to know if they're actually good actors. I wouldn't mind seeing this crew again. 2003 - Kill it with fire. Literally everyone involved with this should be murdered and hidden in unmarked graves to save their families the embarrassment. I don't know any of these people in real life, but I would gladly accept the ability to create time travel if it meant I could put them all on the Titanic and guarantee they don't get off. The gold medal goes to Sarah Dugdale whose acting ability is entirely comprised of looking confused and looking confused while smiling. She's several orders of magnitude worse than Gal Gadot as an actress. She might legitimately be the single worst actor I've ever seen. 2024 - This is the cast of the 2023 era being shown a year later. The guys have started getting the hang of being adoptive parents but they're both stressed as each tries to surprise the other with something great for Christmas while also not talking about whether they want to adopt more kids. This group can carry another 2-3 years if they keep bringing the concept back. Maybe with them selling it to a final new couple to end the series. This was good, but could have been one of the better ones of the year if 1/3 of the movie wasn't unwatchable.