9 to 5 (Original title: Nine to Five per IMDb, 1980) – Watched in honor of Dolly Parton, who is great here. Good old-fashioned comedy (funny, clean, creative, i.e. no Seth Rogan). The gals were all fine, but the fact that Dabney Coleman was not even nominated for an Oscar shows again what a sham the Academy is. Amazon.
Fall 2: Deadpoint (2026) – Huge drop-off from the original (hee-hee) where 2 babes were stranded on a radio tower. Now, rather than a vertiginous 360° of nothingness, their backs are against a cliff face. It matters. Still, pretty good if you see it in a rare theater that will turn the goddam projector bulb up to spec! Theater. [1]
Grace of My Heart (1996) – Roman à clef about Carole King that does not use her name or songs, so it follows a rando at the world-famous Brill Building in NYC which somehow does not employ the world-famous Carole King. Finally, a bio-pic that wants it neither ways. So far out of my wheelhouse, I can’t even rate it. Criterion Channel. [2]
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982) – OK tale of the punk scene and an angry all-girl band. I miss those good old days when rockers hated everyone, not just 50% of the country. Sporadic greatness deflated by a cop-out ending forced by the male director. Criterion Channel.
Josie and the Pussycats (2001) – OK, so I got mired in the Criterion Girl Bands! Collection. Freakishly close to transcendent. They had the great Seth Green in an overlong prologue full of potential (and pissed it away). They had the odious Alan Cumming and unadvisedly used him throughout. They had a solid commercialism hook with no bite. And – shocker — Tara Reid proved she was up to playing an airhead, but the dialog given to her did not even rise to that level. Criterion Channel.
American Fiction (2023) — Fine film, but they could have easily trimmed 20 minutes from the mo-f***a. Amazon.
Star Trek: Discovery S1 (2017) – Almost 10 years late because I originally found the lead actress extremely unlikable. Surprise – after actually watching it, I kinda like her! Sadly, I despise almost everyone else: her roommate silly Tilly, gay discount-Alan Tudyk, his doctor boyfriend proto-Boner McCoy, faux-Poe Dameron, the worst-design-ever Klingons, and especially Jason Isaacs because of what he did to Prairie in The OA. However, kudos to Doug Jones for creating yet another great lanky weirdo character . . . why does he give me déjà vu? Also, Michelle Yeoh is always welcome. Paramount+.
Supergirl (2026) – Just an unbelievable turd. There are 9 producers listed, including James Gunn. Did not one of them read the script or watch 1 second of dailies? The flaws are that obvious. Wee Milly Alcock could have been iconic if she had a shred of competent support. HBO.
Ruthless People (1986) – Even more than Kentucky Fried Movie or Top Secret, this is the lost Zucker Brothers movie. Yeah, it is funny, but the relevance here is that the OG Supergirl is in it. Helen Slater is stunningly beautiful and deserved a better career. Amazon.
The Runner (2026) – Gal Gadot lives out Keanu Reeve’s film Speed — on foot instead of a bus. Cool concept, but I saw it earlier on 12-29-16 in a cheapo movie called Run. Sadly, 10 years later, it is as totally forgotten as 51 year old Gal Gadot will be in 2036. Amazon.
Runner (2026) – Alan Ritchson seems to be a huge dick IRL and I have never liked Owen Wilson. Where was I? Oh, they do team up for a pretty entertaining buddy comedy. Theater.
The River Wild (1994) – As many movies as I watch, I have only seen Meryl Streep in ten. Must say, though, she is entirely adequate in this well-paced adventure of a mom hijacked by bank robbers on a titular river wild. Amazon.
Resident Evil (2026) – Very good horror joint despite the lack of Milla Jovovich. Theater.
The Librarian I, II, & III (2004 – 2008) – Juvenalia Jones in the Temple of Lost Crusades. Dumbed-down archaeology starring Noah Wyle. Amazon. [3]
Survivor S51E1 (2026) – As usual, the cast is like cocaine-jacked 12 year old theater kids over-emoting and mugging for camera time. As in the last several years, the music is overbearing (it’s not just me — Google it). As in about 45 of the seasons, they lost me immediately. Where art thou, Rudy? [4] CBS.
Head (1968) — Mostly self-indulgent with shockingly mediocre songs, but that Technicolor was glorious! What ever happened to that? Is it like Coke, did they lose the formula? Kudos also to Mike & Mickey who actually had some chops. Criterion.
Alamo Drafthouse – My local Alamo just closed, and good riddance. The movies were always too dark, they changed up the food ordering to require use of a QR Code (which are the devil’s work!), and the no-phones policy actually seemed to encourage more use.
[1] Once again, I had to go tell the manager to start the bloody movie.
[1] AI says I am wrong about the bulbs. Could be — I’m relying on a 50 year old rant from Siskel & Ebert. AI says it is deliberate choices by film-makers. If so, just one more reason to hate them.
[2] Remade today it would include her hits I Feel the Earth Warm Under My Feet and You Make Me Feel Like a cis-Gender Woman.
[3] I checked AI to see if “juvenilia” was a real word. It said “Brilliant—Juvenile + alia! That is a clever portmanteau for a collection of childish odds and ends or immature antics.” Alert the OED!
[4] Oh.