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)
Category Archives: Suspense
The Long Walk (2025)
Sometimes it’s tough not to recommend a good movie. While there are exceptions to the rule, they are rare. Francis Lawrence’s (Red Sparrow, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1) adaptation of Stephen King’s 1966 novel The Long Walk is one of those. I imagine his book wasn’t overly controversial when it was published, particularly given that media, such as novels, didn’t have the same reach they do now. Likewise, Stephen King was still a relative unknown. In fact, he wrote this novel under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. That is all to say that a work of fiction that dealt with something as dire as this story’s plot likely wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Nonetheless, once King earned the “King of Horror” nickname, his bloodthirsty fans would undoubtedly search for and find his earlier works.
Relay (2024)
How do you stay concealed in a world that makes it nearly impossible to do so? How can you safely hide your identity at all times when all it takes is a partial photo of your face for the wrong person to learn more about you than you could imagine that they could ever know? These are all-too-real questions tackled by Relay, director David Mackenzie’s (Hell or High Water, Outlaw King) taut thriller. In a day and age in Hollywood where you can be anything, a typical moviegoer’s wish is for a film just to be original. That is what Mackenzie brings with this subtle, yet intense, character-driven whistleblower thriller, while also delivering the best twist of the year, one that will invite us to reexamine the movie’s entire timeline long after our viewing is complete.
28 Years Later (2025)
When director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) and screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War) teamed up for the 2002 film 28 Days Later, little did we know what a cultural phenomenon this under-the-radar, “Zombie if they were infected with Rabies” story filmed on an $8 million budget would become. Nor did we know just how well Boyle and Garland would complement each other, as director and screenwriter, respectively. Having become a timeless film that ignited a quarter century of zombie fiction movies, television shows, books, and video games, 28 Days Later modernized this horror sub-genre with its “what if the infected zombies moved at warped speed rather than at a snail’s pace” question.
28 Weeks Later (2007)
28 Weeks Later, the sequel to the box office success and critically acclaimed 28 Days Later (2002), directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intruders), seemed like it was destined for failure before it even began. With the relative newcomer replacing the seasoned Danny Boyle in the director’s chair and without the help of screenwriter Alex Garland, 28 Weeks Later could have easily been looked at as a cash grab, looking to earn a quick buck off of name association alone, while coming at the expense of a lesser story or one that was poorly executed. However, that was far from the case. While not as crisp or innovative as the original, 28 Weeks Later quickly established itself within the franchise and became a standalone film in its own right. Continue reading 28 Weeks Later (2007)