ANGEL FACE

Robert Mitchum with Jean Simmons

ANGEL FACE (1952). Produced and directed by Otto Preminger. Colorized.  

Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) is an ambulance driver who encounters Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) when her stepmother, Catherine (Barbara O'Neil), nearly dies due to an "accident" in her home. Although he has his misgivings, as well as a steady date in Mary (Mona Freeman of Shadow of Fear), he is drawn to Diane and eventually becomes her family's chauffeur. Although Frank warned himself not to get involved with the dangerous Diane, he winds up on trial for murder -- along with Diane -- when a terrible accident results in two deaths. The defense attorney (Leon Ames) cooks up a scheme that might free them -- or might not. 

Leon Ames with Simmons

Angel Face is a film that I really enjoy every time I see it, and I find it far more compelling and entertaining than Laura, the film arguably most associated with Preminger. Simmons underplays beautifully throughout the movie, so that you're never quite certain what she's up to, and Mitchum offers his typical rough-hewn portrayal and is equally effective. O'Neil and Herbert Marshall (of Midnight Lace) as her husband and Diane's father are also excellent, and Leon Ames nearly walks off with the show in his incisive turn as the lawyer. Jim Backus as the prosecutor and Kenneth Tobey [It Came from Beneath the Sea] as another ambulance driver are also in good form, along with Freeman as the cast-off girlfriend who can't quite imagine a life with Mitchum at her side. 

Simmons with Robert Mitchum

While it is interesting to muse what Angel Face might have been like had it been directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock, Preminger does a nice job with the picture and keeps things moving (although others have found it slow). Are there improbable moments -- most likely, as is the case in most of these thrillers today and back then, but nothing out of the ordinary. Many have argued that Mitchum's actions at the very end seem rather stupid, but nobody ever said that Frank Jessup was a genius. In any case, Angel Face has a nice score by Dimitri Tiomkin and is well photographed by Harry Stradling, Sr. Apparently Ben Hecht contributed to the screenplay by Nugent and Millard. 

Verdict: Something about this picture ... and it's not just the smash of an ending! ***1/2. 

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS

Harry Lauter and Aline Towne

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS (12 chapter Republic serial/1954). Produced and directed by Franklin Adreon. Colorized.  

Tom Rogers (Harry Lauter of The Louisiana Hussy) is a trader in Asian territories who is willingly signed up by Major Conroy (Robert Shayne of The Neanderthal Man) to help ferret out a gang that is smuggling out weapons, including light bulbs containing a poison gas, to foreign agents who are arming rebel natives so as to turn their country into a satellite. Vivian Wells (Aline Towne of Radar Men from the Moon) is the feisty daughter of a doctor who was targeted by evil forces, and Mr. Barent (Lyle Talbot), is the representative of his country's forces and the chief architect behind Trader Tom's troubles. Victor Sen Yung is Wang, a friendly associate of Rogers. 

Lauter and Towne with Lyle Talbot

Barent's helpmates include the nasty Kurt Daley (Fred Graham of The Giant Gila Monster), the mute Gursan (an unrecognizable Tom Steele), the psychotic Gorth (Richard Alexander), the rebel leader (Richard Reeves), and others. Tom gets some help from Kahn (Jan Arvan), who is fighting off the rebel forces in his country. Tom and Vivian have to deal with landslides, being trapped on a sinking freighter, being trapped underwater with a cut air hose, a train collision, angry rebels with big knives, and so on. Tom thinks nothing of burning these would-be killers to death, and nearly falls off a cliff into the fire in chapter seven. In chapter six a killer is placed inside a mailbag so he can take care of the engineer. 

Vivian and Tom escape from one doom only to face another

A nice aspect of the serial is that Vivian is depicted as being just as brave, plucky, and competent as Tom. She is no mere decoration, but an important player in the story. Lyle Talbot gives his usual professional but utterly bland portrayal, as he usually did in these serials. Fred Graham, on the other hand, emerges as a very credible and distinctly unpleasant bad guy. Trader Tom of the China Seas is a late Republic serial, one that is much more down to earth than the studio's sci-fi and superhero cliffhangers. For many, that may be the serial's weakness, but it has to be said that Trader Tom is fast-paced and full of action, with plenty of interesting death-traps, and a charismatic lead performance by Lauter. 

Verdict: Decent, often exciting serial if perhaps not as much fun as others. **3/4. 

TRAPPED

Barbara Payton and Lloyd Bridges

TRAPPED (1949). Director: Richard Fleischer. 

Chris Stewart (Lloyd Bridges), a prison inmate due to his counterfeiting activities, allegedly agrees to cooperate with the authorities in order to help find some near-perfect phony currency plates, but instead escapes and hightails it to the side of his girlfriend, Meg (Barbara Payton of Bride of the Gorilla). Chris makes a deal with a man named Jack Sylvester (James Todd) to exchange some counterfeit currency for legitimate cash, and contacts John Downey (John Hoyt of The Glass Cage), a confidence man who hangs out at Meg's club and is always trying to date her; Downey will come up with the cash. But Chris is unaware that the authorities are already watching Meg -- and him -- and that Downey may not be quite the man he thinks he is. 

Payton with John Hoyt

Trapped is a fast-paced, entertaining, and quite well-acted crime meller that pulls you along and makes you interested in what might happen next. There are a couple of problems with the film, however, and that includes Chris' assertion that he can get rich without acquiring those all-important bank plates, which Sylvester wants to hang on to. Also the last section of the film, while an exciting enough chase on its own terms, centers on a supporting character instead of the lead, who is off-screen for the entire final section of the movie. Bridges offers an adroit performance as a bad guy who is nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is, and Payton again proves that there was more to her than blatant sexiness and big red lips. John Hoyt offers an unusual and adept portrayal for him of a man who is almost an aging lover boy. Russ Conway and Robert Karnes have supporting roles and are fine. 

Verdict: Just misses being a special film noir. **3/4. 

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST

The scene with the hanging corpse

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST (1958). Director: Bernard L. Kowalski. Produced by Gene and Roger Corman. Colorized.

An astronaut named John (Michael Emmet) returns to earth in his capsule and appears to be dead. However, he eventually comes to life and blood tests reveal that certain creatures are gestating inside his body. This is, of course, unnerving to his fiancee, Dr. Julie Benson (Angela Greene), as well as colleagues Steve (John Baer), Donna (Georgianna Carter), Dave (Ed Nelson, of T-Bird Gang), and Dr. Wyman (Tyler McVey of Teenage Thunder). An equally disquieting development is that an extraterrestrial creature somehow managed to make it to Earth, a huge thing with a parrot-like head that invades the lab and causes death and havoc. John is convinced the creature is nevertheless benevolent, but the others aren't so sure. 

Concerned trio: Nelson, Emmet, and Baer

Night of the Blood Beast resembles a gruesome horror comic book. Although we now know that spaceship launchings employ hundreds if not thousands of technicians and scientists, this space trip is handled by just this very small group of people. If you can simply accept that this aspect is a convenience of (very) low-budget filmmaking, you might enjoy this rather creepy movie which grows on me each time I see it. Although the reaction to a dead, mutilated corpse might not be as intense as one would have expected, the acting is generally credible. The influences on the later Alien are obvious. Emmet and McVey appeared together in Attack of the Giant Leeches, which was also directed by Kowalksi. Alexander Laszlo reuses the score for that film for Blood Beast. 

Verdict: Color, as usual, adds a new dimension to the horror. ***. 

CITY OF SHADOWS

Victor McLaglen and John Baer

CITY OF SHADOWS (1955). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Small-timer "Big Tim" Channing (Victor McLaglen) meets up with Dan Mason (John Baer of Guns Girls and Gangsters) when the latter is just 12-years-old and putting slugs in slot machines. The two form a bond and inspire each other until Tim becomes a big-time racketeer and Dan is about to graduate law school, using his and other's expertise to keep Tim out of jail. Dan changes his tune when he falls in love with Fern (Kathleen Crowley of The Flame Barrier), the daughter of a prominent lawyer whose brains Dan wanted to pick. He decides to help Tim go legit, but is unaware that Tim's associates are still playing it fast and loose. Before long Tim, Dan and Fern are all on the run from gangsters. 

Baer with Kathleen Crowley

City of Shadows tosses in a lot of over-familiar elements but the picture works because it's fast-paced and well-acted by all. McLaglen plays the usual Hollywood version of a gangster, all joviality and with a heart of gold, although this type is generally seen in comedies. Good-looking and adept, Baer displays leading man charisma and ability as Dan Mason, and Kathleen Crowley offers another one of her solid and effective portrayals. Others in the cast include Frank Ferguson [The Big Night] as the D.A., Anthony Caruso as another mobster, Richard Reeves as a bad-tempered gunsel, Richard Travis as an undercover agent, and June Vincent as a secretary to Mason when he starts his own insurance/security firm but who secretly reports to Caruso. The script for this could have come out of the thirties. Serial specialist William Witney keeps things moving, and there's an exciting climax and chase on a ski lift. 

Verdict: More than acceptable crime thriller with a good cast. ***. 

CHILD'S PLAY (2019)

Andy and Chucky 

CHILD'S PLAY (2019). Director: Lars Klevburg. 

Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) gives her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a technologically sophisticated doll, Buddi, for a present, but she doesn't know that a disgruntled employee of the firm who makes these toys has removed its safety protocols. The "doll." who calls itself Chucky, does everything it can to defend Andy, and gets sinister ideas after Andy and his pals -- along with Chucky-- watch one of the sequels to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It isn't long before the massacre is on ... 

Child's Play is a pretty bad remake of the original 1988 film, and it gets just about everything wrong. The first mistake is turning Chucky into more of a robot that can already walk and talk on its own. Unlike the 1988 film, Chucky is not possessed by a serial killer, and -- although voiced by Mark Hamill -- has absolutely no personality. (It's like stripping Freddy Krueger of everything that made him interesting.) Andy is much older than in the original film, a teen, so the contrast of innocence with utter evil is minimized if not eliminated altogether. In addition the mother in this film is edgier than Catherine Hicks in the original, but both actress and character are unlikable. 

Andy and his pals

The sequels to the original film became increasingly stupid and gory, and this new version follows in that tradition. The killings in this aren't just grisly, they are sadistic (along the lines of the Saw movies), and even if most of the victims are creeps, I'm not sure they deserve what happens to them. Horror movies are not supposed to be in good taste, but I think the absolute nadir of this film -- if not modern horror films in general -- is when a cute little girl gets splattered and undoubtedly traumatized by a victim's spouting blood. Even the moments of black comedy don't do much to help this waste. 

Verdict: Even Deadly Friend was better than this! *1/2. 

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019)

Kyle Chandler

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019). Director: Michael Dougherty. 

Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), whose son was killed in the war between Godzilla and other creatures (called MUTOs), wants all of these gigantic monsters destroyed. His nutty ex-wife, Emma (Vera Farmiga), believes that humans have become an infestation in the planet and that these ancient creatures will restore a natural balance -- both humans and MUTOs can live in supposed harmony. Emma forms an alliance with eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) that even has Emma's young daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), gagging. 

Ghidorah

Meanwhile Russell and the military do their best to deal with the re-emergence of several major MUTOs (aka "Titans"), including Mothra, a big insectoid creature; Rodan, a pterodactyl-type monster; and an extraterrestrial three-headed dragon known as Ghidorah or Monster Zero. An organization called MONARCH tries to monitor all of them. Will Godzilla prove to be the savior of the human race by defeating these creatures or is he just as terrible a menace as the others?

Godzilla and little people on submarine

Once upon a time monster movies were generally looked down upon by the critical establishment. They were also a lot more fun. Whereas the 1998 Godzilla was a little too humorous (although it had stunning FX work), this Godzilla is way too serious and ponderous, with an inappropriate musical score that tries to make you think you're watching something moving and profound. It isn't. 

Godzilla emerges from the sea

I must admit that all of these Japanese monsters have never looked better, and the CGI in this is marvelous. Unfortunately, much of the time the battles are fought against misty, cluttered and foggy backgrounds, often making the action difficult to follow. However, there is a lively battle between Mothra and Rodan, which the former wins, and Rodan's attack on a fighter squadron is effective. (One poor pilot ejects from his plane only to fly right up into Rodan's mouth!) 

Ken Watanabe

The trouble with Godzilla is that after awhile it's just plain tedious. You don't care about the characters or what happens to them, and you don't give a damn about the big lizard, either. Say what you will about the 1998 Godzilla, that had some thrilling sequences in it (baby Godzillas hatch out of eggs in Madison Square Garden; big Godzilla chases the heroes down Manhattan streets) and there's nothing as exciting as those sequences in this movie. 

Ghidorah

Godzilla: King of the Monsters drags in everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs to H. P. Lovecraft, with talk of a hollow earth (which enables Godzilla to get around the world unseen) and intimating that the Titan monsters are "old gods" who once ruled over the earth. There are also some nods to the original fifties Godzilla (Gojira) in this film. Just as an Asian scientist sacrificed his life to kill Godzilla in the original movie, in this Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) sacrifices himself to re-energize the monster. The martial music that plays over these and other scenes sounds very similar to the music at the end of Gojira. 

This is a sequel to the 2014 Godzilla and to Kong: Skull Island. Needless to say, Godzilla vs. Kong comes out next year. 

Verdict: Despite some good FX work, even monster geeks may find this a waste of time. **. 

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1958)

Andre Morrell as Professor Quatermass

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (LIVE BBC Television mini-series in six parts/1958). Director: Rudolph Cartier. 

Professor Quatermass (Andre Morrell of Behemoth, the Sea Monster) is consulted on a plan to put military bases, complete with missiles, on the moon. At the same time a possible unexploded bomb is discovered at a subway excavation in Hobbs Lane, a populated area of London. Quatermass feels that the bomb theory is improbable, and eventually a space vehicle of some kind is uncovered in the rubble. Inside the ship are found several deceased insectoid and crab-like aliens with antennae that are later determined to be five million years old and from Mars! But is it possible that the aliens and their ship can still be influencing modern-day Londoners all these centuries later? 

one of the Martians

Quatermass and the Pit is the third in a series of BBC TV serials concerning the exploits of Professor Quatermass, herein played genially by the ever-professional Andre Morell. (Like the first two serials, this was also turned into a theatrical film under the same title and is also known as Five Million Years to Earth.) Pit is full of interesting concepts, including a machine that is used to get visual impressions from the brain, and it is generally well-acted. Cec Linder is cast as Dr. Roney and Christine Finn is his chief assistant, Barbara Judd. Anthony Bushell is vivid as Colonel Breen, who turns out to be not too tightly wrapped. 

Morrell and Linder

Pit holds the attention for the most part, but it also has a bit too much padding, and the ending, which depicts a martian "wild hunt" to purge mutations that is re-enacted on Earth, reminds one of the later film Lifeforce, with its rioting in London. The budget is too low to make the most of these sequences and the finale is dragged out. However, it must be remembered that this was actually shown LIVE and considering the limitations of the format it is rather well-done for its time. However, I daresay the basic story is better told in Five Million Miles to Earth. This and the other Quatermass serials -- Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass II -- were scripted by Nigel Kneale. 

Verdict: Interesting if imperfect live sci fi. **1/2. 

DOUBLE CROSS

Kane Richmond

DOUBLE CROSS (1941). Director: Albert H. Kelley.

A cop named Bronson (Richard Beach) is fiddling with a moll named Fay (Wynne Gibson), who works in a club, The Silver Slipper, owned by gangster Nick Taggart (John Miljan of The Ghost Walks). When the place is raided, Fay shoots one of the officers, and Bronson is mistakenly fired upon in return. Bronson's sister, Ellen (Pauline Moore), works in the club and is engaged to Bronson's pal and fellow officer, Jim Murray (Kane Richmond of The Tiger Woman). When Bronson kicks the bucket, Jim comes upon a plan to get kicked off the force so he can go undercover at the Silver Slipper and get the goods on the gang. He tells his fiancee of his plans, but doesn't clue in his heart-broken father (Robert Homans of X Marks the Spot), who happens to be a police captain!

John Miljan and Wynne Gibson

Kane Richmond is perfectly acceptable as Jim Murray, but the acting honors go to the vivid Wynne Gibson as Fay, who loves Taggart not wisely but well. Her best scene has her going off on Taggart when she discovers he's secretly recorded her talking about her crime. Pauline Moore is adequate if bland, John Miljan is fairly snappy as the crime boss who has the mayor in his pocket, and Homans is effective if overall unpleasant as the captain. The movie is relatively fast-paced although the finale seems a little dragged out. This is a cheap production from the poverty row studio PRC (Producer's Releasing Corporation). 

Verdict: Square-jawed Kane Richmond in another cheap thriller. **1/2. 

20,000 EYES

James Brown and Gene Nelson

20,000 EYES (1961). Produced and directed by Jack Leewood. 

Dan (Gene Nelson) tries to pull a fast one on a mobster named Novak (John Banner) and winds up owing him $100,000 which he pays back in five days -- or else! With the aid of his fiancee, Karen (Merry Anders  of The Hypnotic Eye) and old buddy Jerry (James Brown) -- who used to be Karen's squeeze -- Dan concocts a scheme to steal diamonds from a museum and engineer insurance fraud. But this might prove to be even more difficult to pull off than he imagines. 

Merry Anders with Nelson

20,000 Eyes had possibilities, and the acting is perfectly adept -- former song and dance man Nelson is perfectly fine as the anti-hero -- but this is a super-cheap TV-like production and there isn't enough skill in the direction to make this percolate, let only come to a boil. The storyline is over-familiar as well with few if any twists. The best performance is given by John Banner, who later wound up as Schultz on Hogan's Heroes; he's quite good as the mob boss. 

Verdict: Nelson gives a good account of himself, but this is a tepid melodrama. **. 

WEAPONS

Not Bette Davis as Baby Jane; Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys

WEAPONS (2025). Written and directed by Zach Cregger.

Seventeen children who were all in the class of a young female teacher named Justine (Julia Garner of Wolf Man) simply take off in the middle of the night and disappear. Justine becomes the chief suspect. Now you would imagine that FBI agents would be all over this town, but the only people working the case are some small-town cops, including Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) and one of the missing kids' fathers, Archer (Josh Brolin). Most of the people in town think that Justine has something to do with the children's disappearances, and frankly she seems more concerned over that than that her whole classroom has vanished. The only exception is young Alex (Cary Christopher), whose ill Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) is staying with him and his parents. Justine wants to talk to Alex herself, but the principal, Marcus (Benedict Wong), is against the idea. Meanwhile Paul pursues a drug-addicted drifter, James (Austin Abrams), who breaks into Alex' house and has reason to regret it ... 

Oscar-winning Amy Madigan

Weapons gets points for being something a little different, not just another slasher film, and (arguably) nothing with clowns. The picture is episodic, told from multiple points of view, and there is a degree of suspense until the villain behind the disappearances is revealed and everything turns into a dark, almost campy comedy. One could argue that the heavy moments of illogic -- nobody wonders about Alex' parents, for instance -- can be attributed not just to dramatic license but to the notion that Weapons is meant to be a kind of sinister fairy tale that no one could possibly take seriously. But that's just the problem. There are several very arresting sequences and some fine performances -- but no, I don't think Madigan's performance was quite worthy of an Oscar! -- but ultimately the whole thing just seems a little ridiculous, a burlesque. Also, for me, watching children being abused, psychologically or physically, is never entertaining. 

Verdict: Too long, too weird, too campy, too incredible, too much. **1/2. 

BONE LAKE

Maddie Hassan and Marco Pigossi

BONE LAKE (2024). Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan.  

Sage (Maddie Hassen) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) are a young couple who are excited about a weekend retreat in a fabulous house in the country. Unfortunately, they discover the house has been double booked, and Cin (Andra Nechita) and her boyfriend Will (Alex Roe) show up on the doorstep. It is agreed that both couples will share the house, and slowly become friendly. But then things begin to turn a little sinister, with one couple trying to turn the other two against each other. Before long things turn desperate and deadly ... 

Andra Nechita and Alex Roe  

Bone Lake is not the most original of movies -- its earliest antecedent might be The Most Dangerous Game -- but it is quite well-acted and is suspenseful for most of its length. It eventually turns into a gory survival story, but is effective enough on that level. One sequence is almost ruined by a pretty bad (and painfully obvious) song, "Sex and Violence," playing over the action. There is a pretty mediocre cat fight. Overall the film is watchable, but a bit slow and predictable. 

Verdict: A lot of overfamiliar elements to this. **1/2. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS GODZILLA VS KONG

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS GODZILLA VS KONG. Written by Brian Buccellato. Art by Christian Duce and Tom Derenik. DC Comics/Legendary Comics. 2024. Originally published over seven issues. 

In a story that is apparently outside of normal DCU continuity, Superman is planning to propose to Lois Lane when trouble erupts in the shape of old foe and King Kong variation Titano. But that's only the beginning. Lex Luthor and his Injustice Society manage to invade Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and somehow wind up bringing Godzilla and other monstrosities -- a gargantuan spider, a winged Bat-creature, a mammoth-type beast with enormous tusks -- into the DCU via a "Dreamstone" manipulated by Toyman. Superman has little problem with Titano, but Godzilla is another matter, and a blast of his nuclear breath puts Superman in a kind of coma where his fellow Leaguers aren't even certain if he's still alive. Green Arrow winds up on Skull Island where he not only encounters King Kong (much, much larger than in the original movie) but the League of Assassins, who are up to no good. Under the seas another huge creature -- and Godzilla -- threatens Atlantis, so Aquaman unleases a many-tentacled Kraken to beat them off. Gorilla Grodd uses his mind-control powers to turn both Kong and Supergirl against our heroes temporarily, and also snuffs Green Lantern Guy Gardner. Luthor puts his mind inside a gigantic robot, MechaGodzilla, while Batman counters with his own gargantuan Bat-robot! Superman eventually recovers and joins the fray, he and his colleagues taking after monsters, Luthor, and assorted super-villains alike. 

Now if this isn't the ultimate fan boy's collection -- not only super-heroes but giant monsters, plus Lex Luthor and his huge collection of super-villains -- I don't know what is. The story is well-told, juggling all of these different characters and pop culture references together in swift and exciting fashion, while the art is at least serviceable and often quite striking. There was a sequel which will soon be out in a hardcover collection as well.  

Verdict: The ultimate pop culture experience. ***1/2. 

 

THE HOUSEMAID

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney

THE HOUSEMAID (2025). Director: Paul Feig. 

Millie (Sydney Sweeney), who is keeping a few secrets, gets a job as housekeeper to a young couple with a small daughter. Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) seems warm and welcoming at first, but has a habit of throwing fits and becoming jealous. Her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar of Drop), is handsome and charming and seems to do his best to keep Nina under control. But the Winchesters are keeping secrets, too, as Millie learns when Nina and her daughter go out of town and Andrew asks Millie to accompany him on an innocent excursion to the theater ...

Brandon Sklenar

During much of its length The Housemaid resembles another one of those Lifetime movies with couples and nannies and housekeepers and the like where you know nothing good is going to come out of this particular hire. The Housemaid is a little trickier than that, although nothing that is that out of the ordinary. It's no big surprise who the big bad person will turn out to be, as it's almost obligatory in this day and age. Despite that, the film is absorbing enough and very well acted by all. All told, it's entertaining but not that memorable, although it has several compelling -- and even sexy -- sequences. Paul Feig also directed A Simple Favor and Another Simple Favor. 

Verdict: Very good performances in a credible if minor suspense flick. **1/2. 

SUPERMAN (2025)

Superman (David Corenswet) goes into action

SUPERMAN (2025). Director: James Gunn.

David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Nicholas Hoult (of The Menu) as Lex Luthor give fine performances in this new Superman movie that trades on some nostalgic references while trying to stay somewhat contemporary in its approach. Kyrpto, the super-dog, more an artifact of silver age comics, shows up, and we've got Steve Lombard and Cat Grant -- both of whom work for the Daily Planet -- from the seventies. Superman's robots occupy the Fortress of Solitude. Instead of a phantom zone there is a prison that exists in a pocket universe and in which Superman is temporarily imprisoned. 

Hoult as Lex Luthor

In addition to bad guy Luthor, there is a clone called Ultra-Man, and a mammoth, if silly-looking monster that attacks Metropolis. As well there are appearances from members of the "Justice Gang," including Metamorpho, Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl. Oddly, Ma and Pa Kent are pretty much portrayed as hillbillies! Superman is entertaining enough, Conrenswet makes a swell, good-looking Man of Steel, but while this by no means a bad movie, it's still lacking something. 

Verdict: Okay only. **3/4. 

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

GHOST IN THE MACHINE (1993). Director: Rachel Talaley. 

Karl Hoffman (Ted Marcoux), who works in a computer store, is actually a deadly serial killer known as the "Address Book Killer" because he goes after all the people in an individual's address book. His latest would-be victim is Terry Monroe (Karen Allen), who has a young son named Josh (Wil Horneff) and who inadvertently leaves her address book at the aforementioned computer store. An added complication is that Hoffman is in a car accident, and while he is getting an MRI an electrical surge pulls his brain patterns, or soul, into the computer and electrical systems. Hoffman's body may be dead, but his malevolent mind is still very active and as sadistic as ever. Before long Terry's friends and associates are being killed via electronics, with microwaves, dishwashers, and the like going berserk and causing death and destruction. Terry and Josh team up with infamous hacker Bram Walker (Chris Mulkey) to figure out a way to permanently dissipate this frightening and powerful entity. 

Ghost in the Machine is somewhat similar to Wes Craven's Shocker, but it is a better picture. There is an interesting use of graphics such as when the killer invades a virtual reality game being played by Josh and his buddy. The scenes with the electronic death traps are generally well-handled and suspenseful. A standout sequence occurs when Josh is nearly drowned when Hoffman operates the cover over the pool and the boy desperately tries to get out before it completely entraps him. I wish the climax had been a bit more exciting, however, and the score does absolutely nothing for the movie. 

Verdict: Well-acted, interesting, absorbing horror flick. ***. 

THE BEAUTY Season One

Ashton Kutchner

THE BEAUTY (2026 TV series). Season One. Co-produced by Ryan Murphy.  

FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall), who claim they are just "casually" involved with each other, stumble across an incredible conspiracy engineered by billionaire Byron Forst (Vincent D'Onofrio, then Ashton Kutchner). A scientist in the sociopathic Forst's employ has come up with "the Beauty," an all-purpose, essentially instant chemical injection that can turn a person younger and more attractive once they emerge from a kind of plastic cocoon. Unfortunately, after three years or so those who take the Beauty may literally explode, as happens to several crazed fashion models. The Beauty is essentially a plague, and can be sexually transmitted, bypassing the injection, although the results in that case are even more uncertain. Jordan, who has sex with a hot guy who took the treatment, becomes younger and sexier (turning into Jess Alexander), Cooper undergoes a startling transformation, and one poor teenage girl ... Millions of people would hock their souls to get the treatment, but is the cost too high, and what about the horrific side effects undergone by some patients?

Isabella Rossellini

Based on a graphic novel, The Beauty, which has quite a few satiric targets, can be dumb, but it is also fascinating, suspenseful, odd, very gross at times, and I must admit highly enjoyable, a sort of guilty pleasure. Kutchner gives a ferociously mesmerizing performance as the utterly self-centered and evil younger version of Forst, and the other players -- including Anthony Ramos as a hit man employed and then betrayed by Forst -- are on the money. Isabella Rossellini is Forst's sarcastic and uncompromising wife, who seems to completely detest him, and Ben Platt is perhaps overly campy as a guy who gets infected when a model bursts into pieces at a public function. Viewers might see some similarities to The Substance, but the Beauty graphic novel was published several years before the Demi Moore movie.

Verdict: Compelling and slick horror series. Let's hope there's a season two. ***. 

BEASTS

BEASTS. Liam Sykes. Echo Horror. 

Erica Rogers is disturbed by the fact that her horses are acting strangely and can't figure out why. There is also bizarre, inexplicable behavior among the horses in Nevada where a young man named Rory makes his home. Eventually wild mustangs and other horses band together to literally wipe Rory's town off the map in an exciting chapter entitled "Stampede." As for Erica, one of her horses kills a little girl, as well as her mother, while the rest of her formerly docile mounts attack her, her mother, and her cousin. The horses even develop a taste for human flesh! There are more bloody encounters at county fairs and race tracks even as Erica tries to track down the people responsible for this equine outrage. 

This book is a reissue of a vintage "killer animal" paperback from the eighties and it is a lot of fun. Horses may seem unlikely antagonists, but the beasts in this book have been transformed and are extremely nasty and dangerous, and even undergo some physical changes. The author can't quite seem to make up his mind if it's a chemical, a plague, or supernatural influences that are responsible for the attacks -- or all three -- but it doesn't really matter. The paperback is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble and the ebook is on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and others. 

Verdict: Be careful whom you give a sugar cube to! ***

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH

A T Rex on the attack!

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH (2025). Director: Gareth Edwards. 

A new expedition goes to the island where the genetically-engineered dinosaurs roam, as blood samples are needed for a drug to prevent heart disease. Naturally millions of dollars are at stake, and some would love to get these samples for major financial gain. Meanwhile, the people in the party -- played by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, etc. -- have to dodge attacks by various gigantic predators. Complicating matters is a family that has ventured too close to the island and winds up stranded there.  

One big effin fish!

JWR is a perfectly acceptable dino movie with the usual stunning FX work and exciting scenes. The highlights include the attack on the boat by a huge aquatic creature, a scene when a T-Rex goes after the aforementioned family, and a rampage by a huge, flying Quetzelcoatus in a mountain cave. If there's any problem with the movie is that it's too long, with the somewhat annoying family padding out the running time. 

Verdict: One more Jurassic go-round. **3/4. 

MYSTERY STREET

Ricardo Montalban

MYSTERY STREET (1950). Director: John Sturges. 

A blackmailer named Vivian (Jan Sterling), who lives in a shady boarding house, winds up on the wrong end of a bullet. Some time later Lt. Morales (Ricardo Montalban) of the Barnstable, Cape Cod police force is called in when a skeleton is found on a beach. With the help of forensics and some dogged police work, as well as interviews with those who knew Vivian, Morales is able to zero in on the killer. Morales' chief suspect is Henry Shanway (Marshall Thompson of Cult of the Cobra), a married man who made the drunken mistake of driving off with Vivian that night, while Mrs. Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), the landlady of the boarding house, is playing a dangerous game of blackmail that could make her the next victim. 

Elsa Lanchester and Edmon Ryan

Mystery Street deals with forensic science much, more more than the average murder mystery of the period, which is one of its strengths. There are also some fine performances from Montalban, Lanchester, Thompson, Sterling, Bruce Bennett as a Harvard professor that Morales consults with, and Sally Forrest as Thompson's wife. Forrest has a particularly good scene talking obliquely about the death of her child in the hospital. There is also nice work from Betsy Blair as a woman who lived in the same boarding house as the victim, and Edmon Ryan as a ship builder who is another suspect. Walter Burke and King Donovan have smaller roles and are fine.

Sally Forrest and Marshall Thompson

Mystery Street has some flaws, however. There is not nearly enough music, which would have strengthened key sequences. Certain actions of the main suspect should have strongly intimated that he wasn't the murderer if Lt. Morales, who seems quite smart, was using his head. And the scene when Morales walks in on Shanway just a second after the latter happens to see the victim's photo in the newspaper is coincidence carried a bit too far. John Alton's moody photography is an asset, though. Leading man Montalban always played with a borderline cocky assurance that gives his thesping a certain flavorful aspect -- this film is no exception in that regard.

Verdict: Good crime thriller with some very good performances. ***. 

DARK PHOENIX

Sophie Turner as Jean Grey

DARK PHOENIX (2019). Written and directed by Simon Kinberg. 

Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) sends a team of X-Men out into space on a rescue mission, and telepathic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is irradiated by what everyone thinks is a solar flare but is actually a powerful energy source. While this energy affects Jean's mind, some hostile shape-shifting aliens led by one Vuk (Jessica Chastain) come to earth to take this power away from Jean and use it for their own evil purposes. Angered that Prof X has kept secrets from her -- she thinks both of her parents were killed in a car accident but her father, who blames her, is still alive --  Jean lashes out and accidentally kills one of her colleagues, leading Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to declare war on her. But the aliens may prove a bigger threat and the mutants may find themselves in an alliance ...

James McAvoy as Professor X

Dark Phoenix was apparently excoriated by fans and critics alike, even though it is by no means a terrible movie. Unlike other recent X-sagas, Dark Phoenix at least has some well-choreographed battle scenes, and there's an eye-popping sequence on a train that is vivid and exciting. McAvoy and Fassbender offer the most memorable performances, and Turner is professional enough. Nicholas Hoult also makes an impression as the hairy Hank McCoy (better known as the Beast). Jessica Chastain really only has to show up and affect an attitude but she's still a striking presence in the movie. 

Jean Grey turning into "dark phoenix" was one of the best and most beloved storylines in the X-Men comic books, and this is the second time it has been sort of adapted -- and very much changed -- as a movie. (The first was in X-Men: The Last Stand.) In the original stories, Jean is manipulated by a bunch of evil characters called the Hellfire Club. She becomes so drunk with power that she wipes out an entire solar system of living beings, and then is taken to task by extraterrestrials and dies during battle via suicide. (It later developed that the Phoenix was a separate being from Jean, and she returned intact, more or less, in the comic books.) Many X-fans wondered why Fox bothered to do another version of this story if they weren't going to use more elements from the original tales?  

Michael Fassbender as Magneto

Dark Phoenix also creates some continuity problems if you are to take the X-films as being part of the same series of stories, which they obviously can't be. The events in this movie reignite anti-mutant feelings in society, bringing us full circle to the very first X-Men movie, but Jean Grey is very much alive in that film whereas in this she sort of goes off into the ether at the end. In any case, I found Dark Phoenix to be entertaining and better than the last couple of X-Movies, if not as good as the best films in the series. 

Verdict: Colorful X-fun if not all it could have been. ***.