Pecker

Movie Name: Pecker
Year of Release: 1998
Director: John Waters
Starring: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Mary Kay Place, Lili Taylor, Martha Plimpton, Brendan Sexton III, Mark Joy, Jean Schertler, Lauren Hulsey, Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst, Donald Neal, Tim Caggiano, Scott Morgan
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The last film directed by John Waters, as of 2025, has been 2004's "A Dirty Shame". And while a recent project was announced, he sadly has been met with difficulties in financing, which illustrates the state of the industry: denying one of its most original voices, the ability to continue a directorial career that sadly hasn't been as prolific as it should have been. "Pecker" came out in 1998, following "Serial Mom", who has gone on to become a cult film, one that is frequently quoted in pop culture jargon. "Pecker" takes place in Baltimore and follows the life of a young man by the name of Pecker, who loves photographing his loved ones, and what he considers interesting about his life and everyone's life in his city. Pecker loves to capture beauty in the unexpected, be it his girlfriend Shelley who owns and runs a laundromat, or his best friend Matt who is a compulsive shoplifter, or the gay club where his oldest sister works. His camera is like a diary, an extension of how he sees the world, even if his photos are at times out of focus or have unexpected angles. Pecker has a mini showing for his photos in the Deli where he works, and catches the attention of Rorey, an art dealer from New York. Pecker's work and his unpretentious demeanor delight Rorey who decides to do a showcase of him in an art gallery in New York. His work is received extremely well, and he suddenly finds himself as the pin-up of the art world, giving him some financial rewards, but taking away some of his anonymity, and making his process for taking photos that much harder. It also puts a strain on his family's life, not to mention his girlfriend's and best friend's. 

While "Pecker" may not be as corrosively funny as "Serial Mom" turned out to be, it's nonetheless an interesting and ironic view at how the art world has a way of being both incestuous and also superficial, constantly tooting the horn for the meaning of art, for the next big artist, all the while failing to truly view the artists and their point of view for what it is. John Waters perfectly captures how the art world creates these hype-cycles around someone whom they don't really know, but that becomes a trend, simply because they can and the timing is right. The film illustrates this dichotomy quite well in how it portrays the more realistic perspective of how Pecker lives in Baltimore, and the contrasting reality of the art world of New York, who considers Pecker and his subjects much like curiosities to be studied (and while the fantastic Cindy Sherman does have a cameo, John Waters doesn't make Pecker's photos to be like Nan Goldin's for instance). What the film ultimately illustrates is how trends and hype are indeed fleeting, but that the unique point of view of an artist, in this case Pecker and his camera, stay with him, even after the focus of attention goes in a different direction. What makes this film successful, much like all of John Waters' features, even if with different levels of success, lies on the universe he illustrates and brings to life, always filled with colorful characters, where everything has a slight different tonality to it. Yes, there are influences from classic Hollywood, including Douglas Sirk, but it's all blended through his lens, one that mixes his sarcasm, irony, politics, sex, and nixes the concepts of gender and labels. "Pecker" features great performances from the always reliable and underrated Mary Kay Place, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, Lili Taylor, and while Edward Furlong may not have been the best choice for the central part, he still makes the character a lovable kid who just wants to keep doing what he loves. The production team is solid including Stewart Copeland's score, Robert M. Stevens' cinematography, and Vincent Peranio's production design (who perfectly captures the art gallery vibe of the late 1990s). It's an entertaining feature, one that is a comforting visit to a universe from an artist who isn't as prolific as he should be. 

Sisu

Movie Name: Sisu
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Jalmari Helander
Starring: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila, Tatu Sinisalo, Wilhelm Enckell, Vincent Willestrand, Elina Saarela, Ilkka Koivula, Max Ovaska
Genre: Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Sisu" is writer/director Jalmari Helander's third directorial endeavor, following his breakout/debut with "Rare Exports". In the interim he has directed a considerable array of shorts and ventured into directing TV shows such as "Wingman" and "Perfect Commando". "Sisu" takes place in late 1944 and focuses its narrative on a man by the name of Aatami Korpi, who lives a simple life in the company of his horse and dog. He spends his time looking for gold in the Lapland area (in Finland), until he eventually does find a considerable amount of it. He decides to travel towards Rovaniemi, but along the way encounters an SS platoon who are retreating in the direction of Norway, but destroying villages in the process (and have taken quite a few Finnish women with them along the way). While they let him pass, a second unit of soldiers discovers his gold and decides to kill and rob him. Aatami however is swifter, and kills them all and escapes. The first SS group is alerted by the gunfire and discovers what has happened, and some of the nuggets that were left behind. Bruno Helldorf who leads the SS battalion, decides to pursue Aatami in his tank. They soon discover that Aatami is much more than a simple prospector, but they also know Germany has lost the war, and that they need the gold to escape prosecution for war crimes. 

Certain aspects of this film, namely its bloodshed and graphic violence bring to mind the over the top stylings of Michael Davis' "Shoot 'Em Up", a film that came out in 2007, and has become somewhat of a blueprint for many of these post-Death Wish/Rambo B-movie stylings that have been coming out in the last few years. The skeleton of these films is still very similar to the construct of the original B-movies of the 1970s/1980s which started this trend (including the ones from the late Cannon/Yoram Globus/Menahem Golam), however they have since introduced this hyper violent set pieces which have been somewhat legitimized since Quentin Tarantino included them in his own films since the 1990s, which have been labeled homages and a stylistic point of view. "Sisu" brings to mind aspects of Chad Stahelski's "John Wick" series, in the sense that the central character is a stoic, monolithic, and apparently indestructible hero, who goes on a killing spree due to the fact that he's been wronged. While Wick is reeling from the death of his wife, Sisu lives in the aftermath of his own trauma, and the fact that Nazis want to rob him. It's a straightforward premise for a film that never stops, that goes from set piece to the next, much like a video game that takes the user through different difficulty levels. For the most part "Sisu" works quite well, since the motivation for these characters is limited, but also riveting. All these parties do want that loot, for different reasons, and while this isn't a film where we progressively learn more about who these characters are, their limitations don't prevent the film from losing its momentum. It does make the film less impactful, since there isn't much storytelling about these characters and their journey, even if it is an action film. One can always remember John McTiernan's "Die Hard" and Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber character: we never knew much about him, but knew enough to understand that he was intelligent, motivated, had a sense of humor, and was somewhat irreverent. These characters needed a bit more of that, of something that brought them further into the realm of reality, and that is where the film falters the most. The cast is uniformly solid, with highlights going to Jorma Tommila and Aksel Hennie. The production team is solid as well, particularly Otso Linnalaakso's production design and Anna Vilppunen's costumes. It's watchable, but not the most memorable action film. 

Working Girl

Movie Name: Working Girl
Year of Release: 1988
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Cusack, Alex Baldwin, Philip Bosco, Olympia Dukakis, Oliver Platt, Kevin Spacey, Nora Dunn, James Lally, Amy Aquino, Jeffrey Nordling
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

By the time "Working Girl" premiered at the end of December of 1988, just in time for awards consideration, Mike Nichols was coming off a mild hit with "Biloxi Blues", and a big disappointment, "Heartburn", with his beloved Meryl Streep, which didn't connect with audiences. As it turns out "Working Girl" was a huge hit, sending Melanie Griffith on an upward trajectory which resulted in a series of misfires, whereas Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver further cemented their taste level. The film focuses on the story of Tess McGill, an assistant for two stockbrokers in a Manhattan firm, who has dreams and aspirations of being able to work with portfolios of assets as opposed to taking phone calls and doing coffee errands. Despite having a business degree earned from attending evening classes, Tess isn't taken seriously. Her bosses send her on what she thinks to be a networking opportunity only to find out that it's more of a inappropriate hook up situation. After turning the tables on them, she finds herself out of a job, and the job placement office warns her the opportunity available is actually her last (at least with them). As it turns out it's another administrative assistant role, but this time around for a woman named Katherine Parker, a beautiful, patrician, and elegant individual who is handling mergers and acquisitions. While Katherine is condescending, the women manage to establish a working relationship. Tess comes up with a business idea/angle to Katherine who reassures her she'll review it and give her feedback, so Tess can enroll in a program she wants to pursue. In the meantime Katherine goes on a break, has a skiing accident, and turns to Tess to do all chores at her house (while keeping everything afloat at work). While checking Katherine's house and attending to her instructions, Tess accidentally discovers Katherine has decided to move ahead with her business idea, claiming it as her own, without telling her these developments. Tired of being mistreated (including a philandering fiancée), Tess decides to let her ambition be her driver. 

"Working Girl" hit the mark when it premiered in 1988. It represented a different level of professional visibility in the workforce for women, and it came on the heels of Charles Shyer's "Baby Boom" which had also hinted at that reality, though that story went in a very different direction, which was not the case for Kevin Wade's script. "Working Girl" managed to place a female character at the center of the narrative, and much like Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street", Tess was resourceful, intelligent, and ambitious, though unlike Sheen's character not entirely unscrupulous. Even though her actions weren't exactly the most honest ones, she was not taking ownership for anyone's intellectual capacity or ideas, nor was she leveraging any insider trading to get ahead: she just wanted to get a fair shot at being able to pitch her ideas, and be judged on those, and not on her background, or where she hailed from. While this description may come across as a recipe for a potent drama, Kevin Wade and Mike Nichols were able to create a funny observational comedy, mostly leveraging the fish out of water angle, and particularly by relying on both Sigourney Weaver and Joan Cusack to do the heavy lifting in terms of injecting humor during the narrative. Katherine Parker is the perfect satire for the boss who has gotten to where she is because of a combination of nepotism, the right connections, and her looks. She isn't necessarily obtuse, but she has no issues walking over others to self promote and get where she wants to be. She is the right amount of self involved and narcissistic to elicit comedic observations from her cocktail reception, to her ski trip, to her final confrontation with Tess and Jack. Joan Cusack on the other hand had far less screen time, but was able to perfectly capture the Staten Island persona, with the big hair and mild ambitions, who wanted to be a good friend, and just lead a quiet, suburban life. The film is indeed a testament to how society was evolving in the late 1980s, and how these characters, particularly Tess, is more than just a traditional one note central heroine. She does feel slighted, deceived, but she's willing to combat and shape her life to get where she wants to be (without losing sight of herself). The cast is uniformly excellent, with Melanie Griffith having her second best moment yet on film (her best is still Audrey/Lulu in Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild"), with solid support from Harrison Ford, and the aforementioned Sigourney Weaver who ends up stealing most scenes she's in, the same going for Joan Cusack. The production team is brilliant, including the late Michael Ballhaus' cinematography, Carly Simon's score, and Ann Roth's costumes. A classic always worth revisiting. 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Movie Name: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Thomas Haden Church, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, Jeffrey Wright, James Faulkner, Annie Hamilton, Bridget Everett, Noah Segan, Cecilia Blair, 
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 9
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Rian Johnson's feature directorial debut, "Brick", which launched him into a stellar career. His latest installment for the "Knives Out" series, may well be the best one yet. The narrative positions the young priest by the name of Jud at the center of the events. He's sent to a parish in upstate New York, following a physical altercation with one of the deacons. His passion for what he does renders him the protection of Bishop Langstrom. He gets sent to the Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude parish, one that is led by the forceful and iron willed Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. Wicks has a long standing history with the parish, as his grandfather was also a Reverend there. Jefferson's mother, dubbed a "loose woman", had him out of wedlock, and his grandfather forced her to stay in town with the promise of getting his considerable inheritance. Upon his passing, there was nothing to collect and she destroyed the interior of the church. Jud realizes he's going to have a steep battle with Wicks, but soon realizes that the Monsignor alienates most of the parishioners, except for a group of people who come in every week and seem to hang on his every word. As Jud tries to show everyone another side of faith and of the church, he's met with derision, particularly from Martha, who runs the entire church affairs and has known Wicks all her life. Things take a dark turn when Wicks dies in a storage closet near the pulpit, he is in fact murdered there. All eyes land on Jud even though there's no proof of his wrongdoing. Police chief Geraldine Scott asks Benoit Blanc to investigate what is apparent a perfect murder.

One of the most interesting traits of Rian Johnson's accomplished career as a writer and director (and producer) has been how he intelligently peppers his view of the current world, the political, economical, social challenges we all face in a daily manner into his work. That once again appears in this chapter of the "Knives Out" series, a more somber chapter than the previous ones for sure, but also quite possibly the most potent one of the three thus far. Topics like religion, radicalization of populism, lack of principles and ethics, misogyny, amongst many others, are illustrated in this film in a way that is neither preach-full nor self-important. The writer/director is able to embed points of reflection on what is happening in society these days in this format of a quasi Agatha Christie inspired and highly entertaining whodunit. Another remarkable aspect of this film is in fact its pacing: the film flows almost effortlessly between the set pieces, like a perfectly timed clockwork, allowing for all the events to take place without lulls, peppering the narrative with just enough dark humor to keep everything in perspective. The fine cast of this feature also makes it that much more riveting, starting with Josh O'Connor who truly embodies the central character to perfection, leading the film with charisma, energy, and conviction. He gets great support from Daniel Craig, and the wondrous Glenn Close who once again steals the film with her portrayal of a character who has seen everything and knows everything (her characterization is reminiscent of the Férula character she portrayed in Bille August's "The House of the Spirits"). The rest of the cast is solid in their portrayals, though Josh Brolin's characterization, in particular his wig and beard are at times a bit distracting. The production team is as always impeccable, with highlights going to Nathan Johnson's score, Rick Heinrichs' production design, Jenny Eagan's costumes, though Steve Yedlin's cinematography, particularly during daylight shots, feels almost devoid of any dimension (the nighttime shots are far better). It's a superbly well crafted film from a great film maker. 

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Movie Name: Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Year of Release: 1997
Director: David Mirkin 
Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Mira Sorvino, Alan Cumming, Janeane Garofalo, Julia Campbell, Elaine Hendrix, Jacob Vargas, Camryn Manheim, Justin Theroux, Kristin Bauer, Vincent Ventresca, Mia Cottet, Neil Dickson
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

David Mirkin has had a lengthy association with Matt Groening's "The Simpsons", but "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" was his feature directorial debut, following some TV work he did in the late 1980s into the 1990s, which included "Newhart" and "Get a Life". The narrative of the film is very much on target with its title: Romy and Michele are two women in their late 20s who live in LA. Romy is a receptionist in a garage while Michele is currently unemployed. Romy crosses paths with one of their high school colleagues, Heather Mooney, who is now a successful business mogul. Heather asks if she's going to the high school reunion, one that is about to take place. The two friends who weren't even aware of the event, reminisce about their days in high school, with Romy in particular being pained since she thinks the both of them were somewhat outcasts, and were never part of the cool crowd. Michele on the other hand, thinks high school was fun, since they were always together, and had a blast by themselves. Romy thinks their current lives are a bit underwhelming and decides that upon arriving at the reunion they should lie about their accomplishments since leaving high school. Michele goes along for the scenario, but midway through the drive to Tucson they realize they haven't decided what lie to spin for everyone at the reunion. They decide to make up the story that Romy invented post-its, and that Michele's uncle had a printing business to build them. This lie causes a rift between the two of them, since Michele accuses Romy of deeming her insufficiently capable of inventing post its. As they further bicker about their attractiveness, they both decide to go their separate ways upon arriving at the reunion.

"Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" has become an audience favorite since its release in 1997. A somewhat campy and silly film that people love to watch even if its flaws and shortcomings are quite obvious (possibly the reasons why it has maintained its popularity). It joins other films such as "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar", "Muriel's Wedding", "Death Becomes Her", "The Devil Wears Prada", and "Clueless", to name but a few. The film is light in terms of its narrative, but also in terms of its pretension, which is also one of its stronger suits. It's unpretentious and it clearly aims to reinforce the message of self acceptance and self content, particularly as these two women who have been friends forever, and particularly the more insecure one of them, have to grow up and figure out how to move through life by being their authentic selves, without trying to appease everyone around them. It's a film that creates its humor from the obliviousness of these characters to the cruelty of those who surround them, but also by illustrating this microcosms of pop culture and over the top fashion statements in which the central characters exist. There isn't much to this film aside from what the cast brings to it, and in this case Lisa Kudrow and Janeane Garofalo really shine through, easily creating characters that are hilarious, but also possessed of a heart (and mind). The remaining cast hits some highs, such as Alan Cumming, Julia Campbell, and Camryn Manheim, while others such as Mira Sorvino feel miscast (and always trying to catch up to their more talented counterparts). The production team is solid, including Reynaldo Villalobos cinematography, Mona May's costumes, and Steve Bartek's score. It's a film that touches upon some recurring themes, and while not the most creative or original, it has enough cleverness and talent to withstand the test of time.

A House of Dynamite

Movie Name: A House of Dynamite
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso, Moses Ingram, Jason Clarke, Malachi Beasley, Anthony Ramos, Willa Fitzgerald, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Brittany O'Grady, Jonah Hauer-King, Brian Tee, Kaitlyn Dever, Kyle Allen
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Director Kathryn Bigelow is back, her first film in 8 years, since the lastly released "Detroit". This time around she has partnered with Netflix and writer Noah Oppenheim who also wrote Pablo Larrain's "Jackie" and the script for Wes Ball's "The Maze Runner", to bring her particular type of perspective to a very current storyline. The narrative's premise is a singular one, but the story is showcased from three different perspectives, of characters impacted by the events taking place. The first perspective is that of Captain Olivia Walker, whom we witness getting to her work at the White House, only to be confronted with a situation unlike anything she has ever witnessed before. A missile appears out of nowhere destined for the United States, and she and her team have to deploy counter-measures. Her boss is removed to a special locale, in case of detonation, and she and her team frantically try to address the looming threat, that is going to occur in a less than 30 minutes. She decides to stay at her post, and quickly informs her husband to get their young child out of harm's way and escape. The second perspective witnessing the events taking place is that of Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Bearington, who is running late to work that morning with his pregnant wife. When the situation starts unfolding, he's making his way to the White House, while discussing on the phone the mounting pressures of the scenario with everyone involved, including the Secretary of Defense, and the President himself. He is trying to bring some calmness to the situation, though the pressure is immense, and the missile will possibly destroy one of the biggest American cities (though in all truth, they don't know if their equipment has been compromised, if that missile is indeed coming). The third perspective is that of the President of the US. He has a few appointments that day, while is wife is doing a safari in Africa. When he becomes aware of the situation, he is rapidly extracted, and taken to an official transport, while he gets as much information as possible, in the hopes he can make the best informed decision following what's about to happen. Bearington has conversed with the Russian ambassador, but he ultimately has no certainty to provide. It's all about to the President to make a decision, and he has with him a Lieutenant Commander showcasing the options available as means of retaliation.

Since winning an array of accolades for "The Hurt Locker", director Kathryn Bigelow hasn't been the most prolific of film makers. She directed the sensational "Zero Dark Thirty", "Detroit", and now "A House of Dynamite". To her credit, she has never been someone who released many films, but with her talent and point of view, the audiences are definitely missing out on a tremendous talent (one of my favorite films of the 1990s was her James Cameron collaboration, "Strange Days"). "A House of Dynamite" is in many ways, a film that has a very similar tone to the one Ms. Bigelow captured in "Zero Dark Thirty". That tone is one of mounting fear and pressure, illustrating how chains of command deal with the inevitability of dramatic decisions that need to be made/taken, and finally the toll these situations have on the individuals who are experiencing these challenges (and how those decisions have massive implications in the world). "A House of Dynamite" takes a different turn from "Zero Dark Thirty", since it doesn't focus on a central character like the latter did (embodied by Jessica Chastain, in one of her finest performances to date), it chooses instead to view the situation from three different characters perspectives, though I'd volunteer to say that the script could have aimed for a slightly different choice of perspective considering all the focal points of the narrative. The film has a solid pacing, and the director is able to quickly establish the characters who are populating the narrative, however the script is very narrowly focused on this microcosms, which makes it less successful and diverse in its reach. The script starts leering towards a version of the show "24", when it needed to have segments that counter balanced each other (or where the perspectives were slightly different). It's definitely a well mounted film featuring a solid cast, particularly the always fantastic Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jason Clarke, Tracy Letts, and Jared Harris. The production team is solid, though the cinematography from Barry Ackroyd is a bit uneven, particularly the daylight shots which are ghastly, whereas the ones in the Alaska terrain are far more subtle and elegant. The score from Volker Bertelmann is impeccable, as is Kirk Baxter's editing. It's a very well crafted film, even if it doesn't reach the heights of prior releases from this talented director.