Mārama - 2025 - New Zealand

Mārama - 2025 - 6/10 

 
Mary Stevens receives passage money and hints about her parents.
An orphan, she travels from New Zealand to York, only to learn the man who contacted her is dead.
Local landowner Nathaniel empathizes and offers her a position as governess. 
The little girl is precocious, but the manor itself repeatedly sends warnings.
Mary Stevens, part of the Maori, possesses second sight and realizes the house has terrible secrets.
Brooding film, especially dark, draws from a wellspring of Maori culture and British colonialism.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371749

The Stranger - 2025 - France

The Stranger - 2025 - 7/10
AKA - L'Étranger

 
Meursault is roused early.  Telegram informs him his mother has died in the retirement home.
His employer gives him two days.  He sits through the vigil, attends the planting, returns to work.
Also reconnects with Marie, with whom he has an affair, then agrees to marry.
Is he in love?  No.  Did he grieve for mom?  No.  Is he ambitious at work?  No.
Not that Meursault is bored.  He is simply disinterested, disconnected.  Lifeless.
Even facing criminal charges, he couldn’t care less.
Ozon’s adaptation of the Camus novel is detached, forcing viewers to watch abstractly.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371179

Edgar Allan Poe's The Oval Portrait - 2025 - Canada

Edgar Allan Poe's The Oval Portrait - 2025 - 6/10

 
The antique shop is by appointment only, Whitlock is fussy.
Nevertheless, thieves try and fail to steal an oval portrait.
Then there is the downsized art student, painter, Ava, who Whitlock befriends.
Three threads, but each have additional sideplots.

 
For a low-budget affair, the photography is excellent.
The musical score is old-fashioned, grandiose, sweeping, perhsps too loud at points.
The side narratives seem tacked on, while the main line glides between mystery, thriller and melodrama.
Aside from the two leads, others are “re-actors”, waiting for their lines, then speaking awkwardly.
Ava is nicely turned, riding bad luck.  Whitlock is straitlaced, mannered, a throwback.
Poe’s story is incorporated, and Edgar resonates, along with a dash of Bierce, perhaps Fitz-James O’Brien.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370957

Deep Cover - 2025 - UK

Deep Cover - 2025 - 6/10

 
Police try a new angle to infiltrate some of the savvier gangs.
Hire actors, improv actors, capable of thinking and talking on their feet.
Yes, the concept is pretty darned silly.  Just buy it, and trot along.
Fast comedy relying on situations, characters and clever dialogue.
Most of the cast seem to be having a full tilt blast.
Extra credit to Orlando Bloom as the crazy Marlon, as the outta control Roach.

Fuze - 2025 - UK

Fuze - 2025 - 7/10

 
During construction, a World War II bomb is discovered in London.
A big one, a blockbuster.
The Army bomb squad is summoned, neighborhood evacuated, police cordon off the area.
Meanwhile, a small crew of robbers gets to work in the basement adjoining a bank.
Fabulous caper film, operating on multiple levels.  Army, police, civilians, criminals.
If you enjoy heist movies, watch it cold.
Avoid reviews, sorry, most will spoil the countless twists that await.

Urchin - 2025 - UK

Urchin - 2025 - 7/10

 
Mike sleeps rough and scrounges drugs as he can.
After incarceration for robbery, he begins to claw his way back to redemption.
A social worker, a temp residence, employment, coworkers who like him.
In his background vision,  however, lurks a siren, playing violin.
The old life, the perfumed existence of nothingness.
Possibly better for those who have been on the streets, been poor, desperate.

The Christophers - 2025 - UK

The Christophers - 2025 - 7/10

 
Lori accepts the position of assistant to the once-great Julian Sklar.
Actually, it is his estranged children who want to her complete a series of unfinished paintings.
Once he dies, and he is elderly and dying, they intend to cash in.
Old and embittered, Sklar may be, yet he is no fool.
He sees and grasps the game, while he and Lori engage.
Keen edged dialogue, thrust-parry-relax.  Will thrill theatre fans.

Chicken Town - 2025 - UK

Chicken Town - 2025 - 5/10

 
Lee causes the actual accident, but shifts blame to best mate Jayce.
Who receives ten months incarceration.  Upon release, he starts looking.
An old geezer discovers he has been growing reefer for years.
Local punks taunt school children.
Odd assorted premises and characters bounce at random.
This plays like a draft, a series of sketches, and desperately needs a rewrite to tighten the plot.

Nine Puzzles - 2025 - S Korea

Nine Puzzles - 2025 - 6/10  
AKA - Nain Peojeul // 나인 퍼즐

 
“I really hate people.  Why the hell do you work so hard just to stay alive?
“Why would you struggle to live?  I don’t see the point of it.”
Nihilistic K-drama involves the search for a serial killer.
One targeting the powerful and influential.
Fans of interlocking mysteries and compartmentalized puzzles may enjoy.
The profiler is too young to be believable, and the sock-hat cop rings wrong.
Who and why, worked out.  How, is completely overlooked.

Peter Hujar’s Day - 2025 - USA

Peter Hujar’s Day - 2025 - 7/10

 
Taken from the interview transcript between photographer Hujar and writer Rosenkrantz.
She was planning a project akin to “what artists do all day.”
Here, Hujar reflects on his day.  A shoot with Ginsberg, chatting with other photographers, writers.
Commercial jobs, if he could land them, especially if they paid.
Most of this occurs in an apartment, or a few rooftop shots.
Enthralling throughout, although there is plenty of name-dropping amidst a mid-70’s New York.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369820

The Housemaid - 2025 - USA

The Housemaid - 2025 - 6/10

 
Millie, on parole, desperately needs the job.
Hence, she endures all manner of mistreatment from Nina.
Who issues commands, changes her mind, goes into volcanic meltdowns.
Rich housewife Nina is unstable and dangerous.  And understands privilege.
Husband Andrew, however, is sympathetic and a stud.
Throwback to the 90’s erotic thrillers is a fiendishly plotted gem.
Gears shift throughout and I would suggest those curious to go in cold.

Saipan - 2025 - Ireland

Saipan - 2025 - 7/10  

 
Bristling retelling of Ireland’s travails in the 2002 World Cup.
The team is to acclimate to heat and humidity in Saipan.
Fourth rate hotel has faulty air-conditioning.  Meals are sandwiches.
The training field is hard and rock strewn.  No matter.  There are no balls to practice with.
Despite team captain Roy Keane’s bitter complaints, the coach does little to help the squad.
Oh, he sends plays to play golf or go one boat rides.
Told from Keane’s point of view, this is an infuriating watch.

The Revenge Club - 2025 - UK

The Revenge Club - 2025 - 6/10

 
Or the divorced survivors club, working through their pain.
Still stung by their exes, a few desire petty revenge.
Members team together, and payback turns lethal.
Mystery thriller relies on deniability and obfuscation.
Plausibility stretches razor thin, although you might be guessing until he conclusion.

Aontas - 2025 - Ireland

Aontas - 2025 - 7/10

 
Clever, perhaps too clever, Irish heist flick.
The target, an impoverished credit union in a dying town.
Things start to go wrong from the onset.
Figured it out?  Wait for the flashback to upset that.
Followed by another, messing with your next guess.
Backwards chronology means you better not be multitasking.
Unless you speak and know Irish, subtitles essential.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369650

Marching Powder - 2025 - UK

Marching Powder - 2025 - 6/10

 
After being arrested for fighting, Jack is given a short leash.  Six weeks to straighten his life.
He’s 45, still brawling, addicted to cocaine, poor husband, worse father, sponge.
Acid humor throughout, yet this satire of yob culture has been done too often.
Dyer could do this in his sleep, at times it looked like he was.
Bristling dialogue enliven this.
No matter any sort of ending, his time seems numbered.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369230

Amandaland - 2025 - UK

Amandaland - 2025 - 6/10

 
Recovering from a divorce, Amanda and her two children, relocate to an untrendy neighborhood.
A wannabee influencer, her brand, Senuous, is a nonstarter.
Vain, vapid, supercilious, she is pretentious, and ruthlessly mocked.
Of course, you know these types.  They are coworkers or, worse, relatives.
This gets funnier as it goes along, and one grows familiar with the characters.
Similar to Julia Davis fare (Nighty Night, Camping) albeit less savage, less sleazy.

Steve - 2025 - UK

Steve - 2025 - 7/10

 
There’s more to this life than you see, than you can imagine.
Eventually, things always have a way of turning.
Steve is headmaster for a school for those who used to be deemed Young Offenders.
Troubled lads, late teens.  Too much anger and testosterone.
The government wants to close these schools, so BBC sends out a crew.
Do the boys play nice?  Feign politeness for the camera?
From the getgo, everyone is in your face and frothing.
Know your tolerance.

Persuasion (Read) - 2025 - UK

Persuasion  (Read) - 2025 - 7/10

 
Monica Dolan, shifting from room to room, tells the story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.
A young couple, deeply in love, yet he has only prospects, no wealth.
Consequently, Anne is persuaded by her great influencer, Lady Russell, to decline his proposal.
Eight years follow, whereupon Anne and Wentworth meet again.
Dolan is an emotive speaker, fleshing out characters and undercurrents.
Excellent companion to the acclaimed 1995 film.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369084

Man On The Run - 2025 - UK

Man On The Run - 2025 - 6/10

 
Docu-mercial from Paul giving his slant on his later group, “and Wings”.
Voiceovers and archived interviews, carefully curated.
Idyllic scenes from his rustic retreat, studio time, tours both small and mammoth.
By the end, perhaps he tired of the whole being in a band thing.
Crafted by his own production company, released in conjunction with a Wings box set.
Wings was massively popular during their run, and McCartney still has legions of fans.
Disappointed?  View McCartney 3, 2, 1.

The Island - 2025 - UK

The Island - 2025 - 6/10
AKA - An t-Eilean

 
An intruder has shot the lord of the island and his wife, the latter fatally.
Police investigate with limited success, then dispatch an ex-local.
Who, more than anything, just digs up dirt on the wealthy family she holds a grudge against.
Breathtaking scenery, a twist-filled script, fine acting all around …
Except – for the lead who goes beyond “family support” to “finding the truth”.
Moreover, the role was painfully miscast.
The performer looks like a high school junior, with acting chops of a grade schooler.
The role was too early for her and her inexperience mars a good series.