Backrooms

Movie Name: Backrooms
Year of Release: 2026
Director: Kane Parsons
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Much like "Obsession", "Backrooms" has been a big success for its distributor and for the director and creator of the narrative behind the feature. The narrative focuses on Clark, an architect by trade, who is currently managing his own struggling business, a furniture store. He is coping with the challenges of his life, which include a failed marriage and professional ambitions, by over-drinking, but also by attending therapy sessions with Mary Kline, a well known therapist. Mary has a traumatic past of her own, having lived with a shut-in mother which scarred her for life. One evening Clark uncovers in the lower floor of his store, what seems to be a portal to another space which appears to be boundless, with rooms that are empty and others with furniture that seem cropped or half materialized. He manages to get back to the store, and recounts this exploration to Mary, who doesn't seem to fully understand what he's saying. Aiming to get solid proof from his discovery, Clark ventures in the boundless space, but with his sales assistant, Kat, and her boyfriend Bobby who has a video camera. As the three go in the backrooms and start exploring, they soon realize they're not alone, and something eventually attacks Bobby and Kat. Later on Mary receives a puzzling voice message from Clark, and after his absence from a series of sessions, decides to check in on the store and his whereabouts. The space looks abandoned and as she goes to the bottom floor, Mary uncovers the portal as well. 

What's interesting with films with enigmatic premises, is essentially what is the journey where the creative team behind them wants the viewers to go on. "Backrooms" has a great premise: a boundless, possibly alien created space, which consumes memories and possibly brings to life the worst aspects of people's identities or feelings (the dark side of each individual that is). That's a possible interpretation, but much like any work of art, it can possibly be open to many types of interpretations. And while not every story needs to be a linear one, something that David Lynch taught us so well with his films, it does have to have a momentum, a sense of a continuous journey that leads us somewhere. Mr. Kane Parsons, for whom this is his feature directorial debut, definitely has a way of bringing this world to life, and his characters have enough dimension to make them somewhat interesting, however as the film progresses, and eventually gets to its final act, all the momentum that was built, it starts to fizzle, as if the creative team doesn't really know where they want to take the narrative or the characters themselves. The film is built like an MC Escher universe brought to life, with the characters' psyche resembling a bit of that deconstructed universe: however towards the epilogue, when trying to wrap up the narrative, the film attempts a series of signals, a series of cues that may help the viewer with the interpretation of what just happened, and they sadly feel undercooked. A film's intelligence isn't measured by how much of its plot-line is given away, but how much of it can be emotionally resonant, and intellectually stimulant for its viewers. I personally didn't need to know what Tippi Hedren's character's fate was going to be as the group left Bodega Bay at the end of "The Birds", but I was invested all along to sit for the end to come along. "Backrooms" gets halfway there, but the problem is lots of misdirection that is given throughout the narrative, promising something that isn't really there. It's a stylish film indeed, but in a way, it's more formally interesting than narratively arresting. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are great. The production team is solid, particularly Jeremy Cox's cinematography and Danny Vermette's production design. It's worth watching, even if a bit overhyped. 

The Muse

Movie Name: The Muse
Year of Release: 1999
Director: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges, Mark Feuerstein, Bradley Whitford
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Following the well received "Mother", actor/writer/director Albert Brooks returned with another stellar-filled cast for his follow up, "The Muse". The film's narrative focuses on Steven Phillips, a writer/screenwriter, whom we first encounter winning a lifetime achievement award. He soon realizes that most people in the industry consider his career past its prime, and for all intended purposes dead. The latest script he was working on, an action picture, is brushed aside. Steven's wife, Laura, suggests he seeks out the help/advice from his friend Jack, who is a very successful screenwriter and has even won an Oscar. Jack lets him know that what has kept his sparkle and good ideas going is the help of a muse, a woman by the name of Sarah. He forewarns Steven that Sarah is very picky about who she chooses to take as a client. She also likes to receive gifts. Steven meets Sarah, and she eventually decides to take him on as a client. However, she sets a series of demands, that are met with surprise for both Steven and eventually Laura. Steven starts noticing that a series of Hollywood heavyweights reach out to Sarah for ideas/inspiration, and he eventually gets an idea that he starts converting to a script. However, the demands from Sarah keep growing, and eventually she turns her attention to Laura, inspiring her to start a business of her own. Steven's anxiety and lack of what he considers palpable results, starts creating some friction with Sarah.

"The Muse" has the makings of a great satire on Hollywood, the creative process, the ageism of being in an industry that caters to mostly young people, the shallowness of overhype, and the list goes on. However and sadly for this film and for all the talent involved, this turns out to be quite a limp story with a third act that doesn't go anywhere. Albert Brooks has always utilized the same persona across all feature films he's in, including films that he has not directed himself, such as his character in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" and James L. Brooks' "Broadcast News". That persona is always characterized by being overly verbose, insecure, always challenged in his romantic relationships with women who are clearly out of his league, and eventually someone who always sabotages himself, for not believing in his own abilities. He is essentially a less prolific, less funny, and possibly less intellectual version of Woody Allen. Which is to say, the persona he always embodies is a schtick that has a limited shelf life. "The Muse" however could have gone in a very different direction, since it had the opportunity to shift the focus to the Muse herself, played with enough sharpness by Sharon Stone. Sadly the film never strays too far away from Mr. Brooks' central character, and underplays and underwrites the supporting characters, including Sarah, Laura, and even the best friend Jack. So much could have been done with those characters, and these talented performers, but the film gives them so very little to do. The entire film feels like it's at the constant precipice of something terribly funny, biting, or even daring happening, but for its entire duration it remains limp and tepid, precisely like the scripts Steven is accused of writing. The best gag of the entire film takes place early on when Steven shows up for a meeting with the other Steven (as in Spielberg). They make him walk for a ton of miles, only for him to be received by Mr. Spielberg's cousin, who hasn't even seen his films. This type of acidity and irreverence, could have been applied to the rest of the film, but sadly it never makes a mark again. The talented cast is wasted, and the production team is solid without being remarkable. It's a waste of talent and a quickly forgotten endeavor.

You're Next

Movie Name: You're Next
Year of Release: 2011
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Margaret Laney, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Rob Moran, Barbara Crampton, L. C. Holt, Simon Barrett, Lane Hughes, Larry Fessenden, Kate Lyn Sheil
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

While Adam Wingard is now a well established director, courtesy of the successful films he has directed in the last few years which includes "Godzilla vs. Kong" and "Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire", and even the smaller scale "The Guest", "You're Next" is the film that was his breakthrough and opened the door to his subsequent features. "You're Next" follows the events surrounding a family who gets together for a dinner celebration at their vacation home in rural Missouri. The Davison family is comprised of the parents, and 4 adult offspring, all of whom appear with their significant others. One of the offspring is Crispian, who has always been the target of the taunting of his older brother Drake. Crispian shows up with Erin, who used to be his teaching assistant, but who is now his partner/girlfriend. During the dinner and as tensions start rising up between Crispian and Drake, the family is attacked by an assailant in a tiger mask. That person shoots a crossbow, and kills Tariq, Aimee's boyfriend. Everyone is shocked and distressed, and immediately try to reach out to the police. However they all realize their cell phones have no reception, and that something may be jamming it. The family decides that one of them can quickly run outside past the intruders, and either get to one of the cars or to the road and ask for help. Aimee who's a runner, volunteers to do so, but as she sprints out of the house, she gets detained by a garrote wire, that kills her. The panic ensues, and as the family and their loved ones react differently to what is happening, these attackers brutally murder them one by one, that is until Erin starts fighting back.

"You're Next" very much sets itself up as a narratively economic B-movie. The characters are all briefly and succinctly introduced, with the archetypes ranging from the bullies, to the no-nonsense attackers, the rebels, the pretentious intellectuals, and the list goes on, with the sole purpose of getting the relationships between everyone progressively clearer, particularly when the brutal killings commence. The film smartly doesn't focus itself around uncovering the why of it all happening, opting instead to focus on the fight for survival that everyone is going through. The reason for the brutal attack is uncovered as the relationships between everyone become clearer. While some of the situations have a McGiver vibe to them, particularly some of the defensive tactics Erin chooses to adopt, Mr. Wingar smartly keeps all these interactions on a brutal and economical state. There's no empathy buildup, no reasoning, no negotiating: everyone is trying to survive, and as the motives for the blood fest become clearer, there's also no excuse, and no escape. The cast is solid, with Sharni Vinson making the most of her central role, with Joe Swanberg providing good support as the spoiled bully. The production team is solid, particularly Andrew Doz Palermo's cinematography and Tom Hammock's production design. It's a violent, but well crafted film. 

Robots

Movie Name: Robots
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Casper Christensen, Anthony Hines
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Jack Whitehall, Paul Rust, Nicholas Rutherford, Paul Jurewicz, David Grant Wright, Emanuela Postacchini, Chelsea Edmundson, Samantha Ashley, Richard Lippert
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

"Robots" is the feature directorial debut for Casper Christensen and Anthony Hines. They have quite an extensive career in film writing, with Mr. Hines in particular having had an ongoing partnership with actor/writer/producer Sacha Baron Cohen (he has co-written "Borat" and its sequel, as well as "Bruno"). "Robots" takes place in the near future, and follows the story of Charles Cameron, the spoiled and self entitled son of real estate mogul/financier Ted Cameron, who has figured out a way of doing almost nothing with his life: he has spent a small fortune to have someone build a robot replica of himself (which is not permitted), who goes to work, cooks, cleans, and even jumpstarts romantic entanglements with women, with his only chore being to bed them once they're ready to move to the next step. Charles' replica, named C2, meets a beautiful woman at an ice skating ring. That relationship evolves pretty quickly, but as they're ready to consummate the relationship, Charles gives C2 the wrong address. He ends up going to a business meeting, where C2 goes to meet Elaine, the woman he's been dating, and that he is supposed to have sex with. As it turns out, Elaine is also enjoying a similar swindle to Charles: she also has a similar robot to herself, which she uses for menial jobs, but also to have sex with the men she dates and gets money from. The replicas spend the night together, fall in love, and decide to evade their situations. The following morning Charles and Elaine realize what has happened, and they resort to Zach, the engineer who created the replicas, to locate and terminate them, before authorities realize what has happened.  

The premise for this film is an interesting one, since it bypasses all the heart and intelligence Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick depicted in "AI", and instead goes for a quasi romantic comedy of sorts, where robots eventually become sentient, evade to Mexico so they can be free, whereas humans are egotistical, selfish, and immature individuals. In other hands, this film could be a potent satire, addressing issues like personal freedoms, emotional shallowness, political unrest, and the list goes on. The creative team chooses to go with a rather emotionally stunted version of "Overboard", where the rich and spoiled Charles gets a lesson of how the other side lives, from a slightly less selfish and emotional unavailable person embodied by Elaine. These are both ethnically questionable individuals, who get a sort of awakening during the film, while going through situations that are meant to be humorous (they're not for the most part), and as it turns out, in the end everyone gets a happy ending. It's a bland storyline, with a modest budget, which the final rendered output comes across as even cheaper than what the team must have had to begin with. One questions how Curry Barker was able to make "Obsession" with so little money and make it look so polished, whereas this film had a budget of 21 million dollars, and literally looks like it was made for 50K. The sole positive nod for this film is the shining and winning presence of Shailene Woodley, a very talented performer, who brings a nuanced perspective to her portrayal of Elaine: she's a grifter, but she's not completely without principles. Jack Whitehall can't quite keep up with her, and the rest of the cast doesn't have much to work with. The production team is forgettable, which sadly is the same that can be said for this film. Skip it. 

The Long Walk

Movie Name: The Long Walk
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Charlie Plummer, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Josh Hamilton, Ben Wang, Joshua Odjick, Jordan Gonzalez, Roman Griffin Davis, Noah de Mel, Daymon Wrightly, Jack Giffin, Dale Neri
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

While producer/director Francis Lawrence started his career in music videos and commercials, before moving on to feature films with "Constantine" back in 2005, he has since carved a niche for himself directing the adaptations of many of Suzanne Collins' books from "The Hunger Games" universe. At the time of writing this review, his most recent film is premiering in 2026, another Suzanne Collins adaptation, "The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping". "The Long Walk" is another book adaptation, but this time around from a Stephen King novel (adapted by JT Mollner), an author who usually works with another writer/director, the talented Mike Flanagan, who has worked on Mr. King's adaptations such as "Gerald's Game", "Doctor Sleep", and has the upcoming "Carrie" miniseries to premiere. "The Long Walk" takes place in an alternate United States in the 20th century, where the country is dominated by a totalitarian military regime. This regime has instated an annual event named "Long Walk", which aims to inspire commitment/devotion to the regime for those who are less fortunate, particularly as the country is in the throes of an economic depression. This event consists of 50 teenage boys, one from each state, who are chosen randomly, are given rations and water, and must walk continuously while escorted by armed soldiers. If they fall below a certain speed, they're given up to three warnings, before they're killed. The last one who survives gets a large cash prize and can have one of their wishes fulfilled. This particular year of the Long Walk features a young man by the name of Ray Garraty, who has a secret agenda behind his participation (his father was killed by the military for inspiring critical thinking). His mom is devastated to see him go and participate in the event. He becomes friends with Pete McVries, a young man who also has a past story of his own, and soon the both of them have a small nucleus of buddies including Billy Stebbings, Art Baker, Collie Parker, and a few others. As the walk continues, different boys get killed, which only reinforces their drive of making it to the end.

This dystopian and alternative universe doesn't look quite so far off and different from where we currently stand. This is actually Stephen King's first written novel, even though it got published after "Carrie". While this narrative was written as response to the Vietnam War, including the drafting and killings happening then, the book is also a critique of authoritarian regimes, despots, and unchecked violence. Francis Lawrence takes a rather stripped away look to what is happening in this narrative: he illustrates the events sequentially, with a cinematography that looks unglamorous, and also without any stylized camera angles, which sometimes punctuate his films (and some of his films have great and unexpected shots, something "Constantine" and "I Am Legend" demonstrated). He illustrates the depression populations are going through (not just economical, but also moral), and the walk demonstrated the bleakness of the future that lies ahead for these young men, as they witness the wreckage that lies within the towns they walk by. Where John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" was all about gray tones, bleakness/survival, and the ashes/remainders of the end of civilization, "The Long Walk" gives us a new perspective on how dehumanizing totalitarian regimes are, how little human lives matter to them, and how every action is a deliberate step in the direction of pushing an agenda that has very little to do with making lives better, but instead, keeping the interest of those in power protected. It's a metaphor that reads across so many different events that have occurred in the past, and continue to occur in the present. The film uses this array of young men to illustrate this brutal story, and while the script could have given a bit more nuance to some of these characters, the director is able to capture who each of them are just by a few interactions between them, glances they share, and general physical portrayal. The cast is solid, particularly Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill, the same going for the production team. Jeremiah Fraites' score, Jo Willems' cinematography, and Nicolas Lepage's production design, all work together to bring this universe to life. It's entertaining, well crafted, and sparks much needed reflections.

Supergirl

Movie Name: Supergirl
Year of Release: 2026
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Mamoa, Eve Ridley, David Corenswet, Ferdinand Kingsley, Diarmaid Murtagh, Bruce Lennox, Emily Piggford, David Krumholtz, 
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The always underrated Craig Gillespie is back, following the well received past features, "Cruella" and "Dumb Money", alongside his consistent directorial work on prestige shows, such as "Physical", "Your Friends and Neighbors", and "The Better Sister". The narrative for this film focuses on Supergirl/Kara Zor-El, whom we first encounter on a remote planet celebrating her birthday. Her celebration comes to a halt with the appearance of Ruthye, wanting to hire someone to help her avenge the murder of her entire family at the hands of a ruthless group by the name of Brigands. They're confronted by that group once again, and while they manage to escape, Kara's dog, Krypto, is shot with a poisonous dart. Kara has 72 hours to get the antidote to save her dog, and agrees to take Ruthye along. Once again in possession of her powers (thanks to the yellow sun), Kara is able to thwart the attack of space pirates, and learns of the location of the Brigands. The criminal and brutal group has also been kidnapping young women to force them to be their brides. Kara has another confrontation with the Brigands, and while she manages to defeat them, many of them escape, even if she has the help of the mercenary Lobo. She eventually manages to convince local aliens to indicate the location of the Brigands, but not all goes well when they leave her at that location. Ruthye comes to the rescue. 

One of the best things about James Gunn's take on "Superman" was its screenplay, one that married the general societal anxiety, with social media pervasiveness, image manipulation, with the constant emergence of authoritarian-like regimes that seem to be flourishing all over the world, all this wrapped around this concept of a hero who is trying to do the right thing, even when that right thing seems more and more out of reach. It was visually dazzling, but also reflected what is happening in the world, moving beyond the typical stereotypes that comic book films seem to constantly reinforce. "Supergir", stemming from Craig Gillespie, who in the past has directed the great remake of "Fright Night" alongside "I, Tonya", and also the underrated "Lars and the real Girl", can't overcome the terrible script he has been dealt with. It's a script that amasses every conceivable cliché that has been heard of, mixing elements from "Conan, The Barbarian", "Red Sonja", "Batman", and every other hero origin story in existence (the parents who have been killed in front of the pure hero, who is then hellbent on revenge), throwing multiple splashes  from other influences such as George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road", and even James Gunn's own "Guardians of the Galaxy". There's nothing ostensibly wrong with this film, aside from the fact that it feels generic and devoid of any intelligence, nuance, or even memorable reasoning. Supergirl's motivation for this storyline is saving her dog, but also coming to peace with the life she now has on Earth, something that her relationship with Ruthye brings into perspective. Aside from that, the film and the script offer absolutely nothing that is distinctive: the characters barely have any dimension, and the actors for all their effort, can't inject charisma and humor when there isn't much to work with. Matthias Schoenaerts, who is a solid actor, has very little to do here, aside from parading a series of makeup effects, and acting very disgruntled. Jason Mamoa shows up to collect his paycheck, and attempt to convince the audience that his character isn't the same as "Aquaman", just with a space motorcycle, leaving Milly Alcock with most of the heavy load to make the film have some interest and charisma. For the most part, Ms. Alcock does manage to do so, but the script doesn't give her much to do. The production team is solid, featuring Claudia Sarne's score, Rob Hardy's cinematography, and Michael Mooney & Anna B. Shephard's costumes. It's not by any means a wreck, but another example of the importance of having good scripts that go beyond a bunch of clichés tied together with little humor, or written with no sense of what is happening in the world. Give Mr. Gillespie better material, and let him do his own thing. 

The Whisper Man

Movie Name: The Whisper Man
Year of Release: 2026
Director: James Ashcroft
Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Michael Keaton, Owen Teague, Acston Luca Porto, Hamish Linklater, Will Brill, Robert Clohessy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

The multi-hyphenated James Ashcroft, who started his career in acting but has since moved on to writing and directing features, has followed the well received "The Rule of Jenny Pen", with this Netflix produced and released feature which has substantial viewership numbers. The film follows multiple threads, all of which converge on a serial killer who was captured in the 1990s, who had a particular signature: he murdered boys, recorded messages of the captives addressing their loved ones, and their bodies were eventually discovered with a shirt wrapped around their heads. This serial killer, by the name of Frank Carter or The Whisper Man, was apprehended by the now retired, Peter Willis. In 2026, Detective Amanda Beck discovers the body of a dead boy featuring the same trademarks of the imprisoned Frank Carter. She seeks out the advice of Peter Willis, since she knows Frank Carter won't speak to anyone but him, but he admits to being retired and having nothing else to add to that story. In the meantime Peter's estranged son, Tom Kennedy, moves back to the same town with his young son, following the death of his wife. The little boy by the name of Jake, has an imaginary friend, and his mom's long illness has traumatized him. He finds out someone outside his room, who also tries to reach out to him through the letter box located in the front door, events that spark serious concern with Tom. Jake's imaginary friend also warns him of "the boy in the floor". Jake is kidnapped, leading Tom to reach out to Peter asking for help. Peter eventually uncovers a new person into this scenario, a very wealthy man by the name of Norman Collins, who collects serial killer memorabilia. While the police suspects he is involved in the current kidnappings, he has alibis for all these occurrences. As time is running out for Jake, further aspects of Frank's previous killings come into play, that influence what is taking place. 

"The Whisper Man" is adapted from the very well received book with the same title from Alex North. Much like James Patterson's books, these thrillers touch similar universes as the ones Thomas Harris' tackled with "Red Dragon", "The Silence of the Lambs", and "Hannibal", namely stories about unflinching serial killers who develop an obsessive relationship with the detective who has imprisoned them. James Ashcroft is able to illustrate this universe quite deftly, if somewhat generically: the characters have enough substance to remain interesting and compelling, but are also elusive, relying on the quality of the cast to bring them to life, and breathe some uniqueness into them. In this particular case, Michael Keaton is the one who fares best, even if he doesn't have much screen time. Magnetic as always, he creates Frank Carter as someone who is very much in control, someone who has nothing to lose, but who remains attached to the actions he performed, and the person who uncovered him 30 years earlier. Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott, are wonderful actors, but sadly the script doesn't give them much to do with roles that are underdeveloped and in Ms. Monaghan's case in particular, a bit muted. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this film/procedural: it has all the ingredients of a solid thriller, similar to the ones that fared so well in the 1990s, such as Gary Fleder's "Kiss the Girls", Lee Tamahori's "Along Came a Spider", or even David Fincher's "Seven", however it lacks a more unique point of view on the material, someone who can elevate and make the material something more visceral and memorable, as opposed to the rather generic output that it ends up being. The cast is solid, as is the production team, including the cinematography from Peter Deming (the long time collaborator of the late David Lynch), Colin Stetson's score, and Anastasia White's production design (the house rental is a highlight). It's watchable, adequate, but also quickly forgettable. 

The Lighthouse

Movie Name: The Lighthouse
Year of Release: 2019
Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Following his auspicious feature directorial debut with "The Witch", writer/producer/director Robert Eggers returned with another stylish feature, this time revolving around a chamber piece featuring the performances of Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. The film takes place in the late nineteenth century and follows two men, one older by the name of Thomas Wake, and one younger, by the name of Ephraim Winslow, who are assigned the job of lighthouse keepers during four weeks, in an area of New England. Thomas who is the supervisor, puts Ephraim through hard work, preventing him from accessing the lantern room in the lighthouse. Ephraim begins to hallucinate about sea monsters and mermaids. While having dinner Thomas reveals that his prior employee died after losing his mind, whereas Ephraim reveals that he was a former timberman from Maine, who is now embarking on a new trade. A brutal storm hits the island, and the two men spend that evening getting drunk. The storm prevents their replacements from coming in and also destroys their rations. While Ephraim thinks only a day has gone by, Thomas tells him that they have been stranded for weeks. As the storm continues to rage, the two men continue to drink, leading them to expose hidden secrets, and even question their sanity.

It's curious how some writer/directors are very much visual artists with a stylistic point of view, something that they apply with more largesse or finesse, depending on the story they're telling, while others become prisoners of that very specific point of view. Wes Anderson, for all his virtuosity and uniqueness, has become a prisoner of this world he has created, and while in some features his detailed point of view works remarkably well, such as "The Grand Budapest Hotel", his more recent endeavors feel progressively more trapped in this highly artificial construct in which his characters exist. Robert Eggers seems to be embarking on a journey somewhat similar to Mr. Anderson's. And while his recent "Nosferatu" displayed his ability to take Werner Herzog's 1970's version of that story to a much grander and far more stylized stage, "The Lighthouse" on the other hand, feels at times like an indulgent stage play that is going nowhere. It's undeniable there's much to admire about this film, particularly the performances of both leads, the production design, the cinematography, but the narrative itself eventually becomes a repetitive descent into madness and despair of two alcoholics that for all its good intentions and artistry, has already been captured, and far better, in other films. When someone thinks of descent into madness and isolation, one always thinks of the majestic "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola, one of the best films ever created, and one that truly depicts how war, guilt, isolation/deprivation, and mental instability, can lead to monstrous outcomes. Mr. Eggers attempts to create something lyrical with "The Lighthouse", with the watery metaphors and the mythical creatures hallucinations, while simultaneously peppering the narrative with violent streaks, sadly the combination of all these elements isn't the most graceful one, and the film ends up being very one-note, without a semblance of humor, and at some point, without a semblance of momentum (that third chapter where the audience eventually asks, "where is this going"). I found this film less rewarding than his other films, both prior and subsequent ones, something that even the phenomenal Willem Dafoe could not save. Robert Pattinson for all his good intentions, much like some of his collaborations with David Cronenberg, felt out of place, a bit like someone experimenting with a concept of a role, while not truly embodying it. The production team is excellent, including Jarin Blaschke's cinematography, Mark Korven's score, Craig Lathrop's production design, and Linda Muir's costume design. It's an interesting endeavor, but not necessarily a great experience.