Much has been made of Ridley Scott’s (Prometheus, Robin Hood) films in the last decade or so as being a far cry from those earlier in his career. Highly anticipated, high-budget films such as House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Gladiator II, and Napoleon have failed to deliver either critically or financially. While three of the films turned a profit, The Last Duel grossed just $30 million off a $100 million budget, though it was the highest-rated of the four on Rotten Tomatoes (critics), IMDB, and Metacritic. I saw all four in the theater. I thought The Last Duel was great, Gladiator II was good, and the other two were terrible. The budget for his most recent film, The Dog Stars, was around $80 million, similar to House of Gucci and The Last Duel. Based on its audience and critics’ scores (40%, 71% on Rotten Tomatoes) and opening-weekend box office gross of just $8 million, The Dog Stars appears to be well on its way to being a massive flop. This will be a shame as it’s a pretty good, albeit flawed, film. Continue reading The Dog Stars (2026)
Little Fish (2020)
Little Fish, the limited release and widely underseen 2020 film from Chad Hartigan (The Threesome, Morris From America), was a movie that captivated me so much that I turned it off 30 minutes in while falling asleep late at night, knowing I could not give the film the full justice it needed, and started it from the beginning the next morning. Released straight to streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, most who have watched this film likely did so through word of mouth or because they are fans of one or both of the two lead characters, each an A-list actor with a large following.
Marty Supreme (2025)
Continuing the trend of biopics with A-list actors that perhaps aren’t interesting or important enough to warrant such a big-budget production, the Timothée Chalamet-led Marty Supreme (Dune, Beautiful Boy) is among them. The story is based loosely on a period of American table tennis player Marty Reisman’s life. If you’ve never heard of Marty Reisman, you aren’t alone. He lived a very unremarkable life, one that is far from the kind of role that would require one of the best working actors to spend time on during the peak of his career. This wasn’t a story about the Marty Supreme. This was about creating a character that Chalamet could lead to his first Best Actor Oscar win, which I believe will happen.
Is This Thing On? (2025)
The 2025 film that felt the most real to me was one of the year’s final releases. Bradley Cooper’s (A Star Is Born, Maestro) is a poignant and personal look at the end of a marriage and the lengths we will go to overcome the loss that accompanies it. Will Arnett (Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory) delivers the best performance of his career as Alex, recently divorced from Tess (Laura Dern – Wild, Jay Kelly), trying to navigate a life in a new apartment and spending half as much time with his two elementary school-aged boys while still maintaining his career and career for his physical, mental, and emotional health. To escape his troubles, he ends up at a bar one night and on stage for an improv comedy skit.
Song Sung Blue (2025)
Hugh Jackman commands attention every time he’s on screen, regardless of the quality of the film surrounding him. Though he has just one Oscar nomination—for his performance in Les Misérables (2012)—his career spans fan favorites (Logan, Real Steel, The Greatest Showman, Eddie the Eagle), underseen gems (Bad Education, The Fountain), and even standout performances in films that never quite came together (The Front Runner, The Son). Jackman’s presence is undeniable, so it speaks volumes when an actor can upstage him in one of his films. Kate Hudson (Deepwater Horizon, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) does just that, delivering an Oscar-worthy performance in Craig Brewer’s (Black Snake Moan, Hustle & Flow) Song Sung Blue.