The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

 Latest Wes Anderson movie exhibits its autors signature visual style, but benefits most from being focused on a strong central relationship. Andersons last couple of movies have been principly anthology or ensemble pieces, where as the dynamic between enigmatic businessman/criminal Benicio del Toro and his estranged daughter, a nun played by Kate Winslet's daughter Mia Threapelton, is a satisfying one harkening back to the directors early work. There is still a star studded supporting cast with Micheal Cera's entomology professor being the standout. The film holds plenty of long shoots with which to better enjoy the set design. As far as homoge and influences go, this reminds me alot of Orsons Wells 1950's production 'Mr. Arkadin', which is about (among other things) an international buisnessman/ criminals fraught relationship with his daughter. ***

Return to Paradise (1953)

 Wanderer Gary Cooper arrives on an isolated South Pacific island some time during the Hoover administration. He forcibly corrects the over reach of the resident missionary and ultimately falls in love with an island girl who dies shortly after giving birth to their daughter. Cooper leaves the girl with family friends and departs the island, not to return until the second World War, when now working for the U S Government he shows up to help the islands defenses and reconnects with his daughter (Roberta Haynes plays both mother and daughter). Mostly notable for its location filming, there is really not much to this movie, creatively or otherwise. *

Night Eats the World (2018)

 Made in English but shot and set in France, 'Night Eats the World' is a low budget-ish, largely minimalist zombie film. Getting in a fight at a party in his ex girlfriend's house, Anders Danielsen Lie decides to lock the door and sleep it out in a storage room. When he wakes up he finds that the zombie Apocalypse has arrived. Anders locks the doors to the fancy 6 story apartment house he finds himself in, kills or incapacitates the remaining zombies inside, and through prudent rationing manages to live quitley and securely for around 9 months, before another survivor comes a calling. Solid, underplayed, not particularly innovative (other then that these zombies are quite), a well handled reasonably entertaining picture that is also a rumination on loneliness. ***

Trancers 2 (1991)

 The entire original cast returns in this sequel that has so many logical problems, that I was disappointed I couldn't find an 'Everything wrong with Trancers II' video on YouTube. *

The Purchase Price (1932)

 Night club singer Barbara Stanwyck flees Montreal to escape her gangster boyfriend, by taking the place of a mail order bride and getting hitched to struggling North Dakota farmer George Brent. Film attempts to be timely but just isn't very good. *1/2

Miranda (1948)

 This is a British mermaid comedy. Vacationing doctor Griffith Jones falls into the ocean while fishing near Cornwall, he is rescued by beautiful mermaid Glynis Johns. Miranda the mermaid, who knows of the world chiefly through magazines pilfired from ships, gives the doc two options, keep her company in the air pockets of an underwater cave, or take her to London on a three week vacation. The doctor of course choses the latter, passing Miranda off as an invalid patient. Comic complications ensue keeping Miranda's mermaidness a secret, while she charms multiple men with her beauty and straight forward manner. Likable. The film has a transgressive coda that you wouldn't get from a production code bound American production of the time; Miranda's is successful in her true purpose in the city, landing a human baby daddy as mermen are ugly. ***

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)

 Not as good as many of it's predecessors, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is an exposition heavy and messianic conclusion to the adventures of Ethan Hunt. There are some good set pieces, as one expects in these, and the feeling of impending doom is well realized (Ethan must prevent an evil AI from starting a nuclear war), but the plot is pretty silly as is Cruse's accent to a surprisingly literal Christ status, his beloved team becoming in effect his apostles. Some unexpected call backs to earler films, like 'No Time To Die' this film is very aware of its self as an end to a franchise. I was not awed. **1/2

Flow (2024)

 'Flow' is an Oscar nominated, dialogue free, Lithuanian computer animated film about a group of animals from diverse species who ban together to escape a flood. There is a real purity and simplicity to this story, as Cat ends up on a boat with Capybara, and is later joined by Lemur, Golden Retriever, Secretarybird and a number of other dogs. That these animals are native to different areas around the world makes it hard to hit on a location for the action; however this might be explained by the films apparently post apocalyptic setting, we see traces of abandoned human civilization, but never any humans. However these hinted at ideas don't detract from the main theme and story, as this assortment of critters gradually becomes it's own family or pack. A refreshing picture, very different from the usual animated fair. I low key loved this. ***

Joshy (2016)

 Given the way writer/director Jeff Baena died, his dark comedy about the aftermath of a suicide plays differently then it would have 9 years ago. Four months after his fiancee hangs herself with one of his belts, the friends of Joshy (Thomas Middleditch) decide to convert the cabin get away that was supposed to have been his batchelor party into an opertunity to cheer him up; to mixed results. Mixed results applies to the film as well, though for the most part it does a pretty good job of navigating between comic and tragic tones. This is a tragi-comedy if ever their was one, wry humor and enough hart to earn this ***