No Other Choice (2025) ***

 

What first turned me onto this film is that it is based on a novel by Donald Westlake. The Ax tells the tale of a mid-level manager with technical expertise in a shrinking industry who gets laid off. Eager to get back to work, he finds that every time a job in his field becomes available, there are a handful of unemployed guys with his same skill set hustling for it. As the months go by and his joblessness takes a toll on his family, he hatches a plot to murder the other similarly-skilled men, so that he can get the next job that opens up. It's a dark story with moments of dark humor. It's a high-wire act for Donald Westlake to occasionally inject his trademark sense of humor into what is really a horrible tale about the people left behind by capitalism and progress. As I recall, he manages to pull it off.

Park Chan-wook (“The Handmaiden” “Oldboy”) follows Westlake's plot surprisingly closely in his Korean adaptation of the story. Lee Byung-hun (“Squid Game”) does a fine job as the desperate anti-hero. I will say that Park struggles a bit with the tone. His unemployed manager's inexpert efforts at murder create some madcap scenes of comedy that are a poor fit with the theme of good, family men murdering each other over a job. Still it's a good watch and a good story about the human cost of technological progress – a good fit for the zeitgeist in the era of AI anxiety. (This isn't the first film adaptation of this story, by the way. There is apparently a 2005 French film called “Le Couperet.” Maybe I'll check it out!)

One other thing, and this isn't limited to this movie: everybody yells a lot. This seems to be a feature of Asian films in general. Characters frequently yell and act in a campy, exaggerated way. And yet, in real life here in the U.S., the Asian people I know tend to be chill and on the quiet side. What's up with that?

3 stars out of 5

Bugonia (2025) ****

 

This was one of 2025's Oscar nominated films that I hadn't gotten around to watching yet. I guess I was put off by the weird title and the image of Emma Stone's shaved head. I finally resolved to do my homework, and I'm glad I did.

Stone plays Michelle, a Big Pharma CEO who speaks corporate speak and wants to be the kind of leader who puts values over profits, but at the end of the day, she's just the biggest cog in a machine. Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) are cousins who blame that machine for their sad, low-rent lives. Teddy pressures Don, who is developmentally-delayed, to help him kidnap Michelle. His motive is not ransom or even murder, however. Teddy is convinced that Michelle is one of many aliens who live among us, secretly running and destroying the world. The cousins kidnap Michelle, shave her head (to keep her from signaling her mother-ship), and attempt to negotiate Earth's fate with her, while Michelle just tries to figure out how to survive.

“Bugonia” is an English-language remake of the South Korean film “Save the Green Planet!” Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos ("Poor Things"), with a screenplay by Will Tracy ("The Menu"), the film has a strong pedigree of dark comedy, and it lives up to it. Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone (even with her shaved head) are riveting. Stavros Halkias ("Let's Start a Cult") puts in an excellent, nuanced supporting performance. I'd say Aidan Delbis steals the show, though. Delbis is autistic himself, and his conflicted portrayal of Don, who is torn between his conscience and his loyalty to his cousin, is heartbreaking.

As for that weird title, it's a nod to the film's environmental themes. Bugonia was supposedly an ancient Greek folk practice in which farmers would sacrifice an ox, believing that bees would spontaneously generate from its corpse.

4 stars out of 5

With “Bugonia”, I have watched the majority of last year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture. It may be tough to complete the list. “The Secret Agent” looks okay, so I'll probably check it out. “Hamnet” looks long and boring, and I really don't feel compelled to watch that Timothee Chalamet movie about ping-pong. I mean, maybe if it were pickle-ball!

Fackham Hall (2025) ***

 

Everyone who watches TV or has read Jane Austen knows that British landed estates can only pass to a legitimate male heir. Thus, a lord without a son faces the prospect of his wife and daughters being kicked out of the family mansion upon his death, so that a brother or nephew can take over the lordship. The only solution, apparently, is to marry one of those daughters off to the inheriting nephew, thus keeping everything in the family, so to speak. This is why those old paintings of British royalty feature such, ahem, distinctive jawlines.

Variations on this theme have formed the backbone of many a British, period drama, with “Downton Abbey” being a recent example. “Fackham Hall” is a broad sendup of these dramas. This silly farce features all the archetypes: the slutty daughter, the smart daughter, the haughty cousin/heir, the poor orphan with a mysterious past. These characters ham it up, delivering rapid fire jokes reminiscent of “The Naked Gun.”

What “Fackham Hall” lacks in comedic refinement, it makes up in quantity. The jokes are fired at us non-stop out of a machine-gun of broad, British wit. The theory is that if you aren't laughing at the last joke, you'll laugh at the next, which comes right on top of it, or maybe at the next one. It mostly works. The film isn't a comedy classic, but if you have ever watched a British period drama, you'll get the satire and at least a few chuckles out of it.

3 stars out of 5

The Housemaid (2025) ***

 

OK, first a little housekeeping. There was the dystopian TV show starring Elizabeth Moss called “The Handmaid's Tale.” There was the 2016 Korean erotic thriller "The Handmaiden." And now there's this domestic thriller starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, called “The Housemaid.” That's the one we are talking about here.

This type of movie is all about plot twists and turns, and I don't want to give them away. Sydney Sweeney plays Millie, a girl down on her luck and desperate for a job. Nina (Seyfried) hires her for a live-in maid position. It doesn't take long before we learn that both of them have some secrets, and the job isn't what Millie thought it would be.

Any more details would ruin the trashy fun of watching this erotic, scary, sometimes funny movie. The film is based on the novel by Freida McFadden, directed by Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids” “Freaks and Geeks”). It's not a movie that is going to change your life, and honestly, it's not going to make you like men very much. What it is, is solid entertainment. When it shows up streaming free on one of your services, I suggest you check it out.

3 stars out of 5

Honey Don't (2025) ****

It still feels strange to me to see the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, pursuing separate projects. For most of my movie-watching life, they were a legendary team: writing, directing, and producing films like "Raising Arizona," "Miller's Crossing," and “The Big Lebowski” together. The reality is that since 2021, they have been doing their own separate things. What Ethan Coen has been up to is working with his wife, Tricia Cooke, on a trio of lesbian-themed films. You can't really call it a trilogy, as the characters and stories are not linked. The first film in the trio was 2024's “Drive-Away Dolls,” which I found reasonably entertaining, but not nearly as good as the Coen brothers' best work. Now, with their second film, Coen and Cooke seem to be finding their footing.

Margaret Qualley starred in “Drive-Away Dolls,” and she returns for “Honey Don't” as a completely different character. She plays Honey O'Donahue, a private eye with a weakness for booze and the ladies. When a prospective client dies in a car crash, Honey wonders what are the odds that someone would call her office in trouble, then die the next day in an “accident.” She starts poking around, and the trail leads to a shady, cult-like church. The pastor, Reverend Drew (Chris Evans) regularly has “congress” with his female parishioners, and he runs a drug dealing operation out of the church. Meanwhile, Honey may have found her soul-mate in a lady cop (Aubrey Plaza).

“Honey Don't” does not break any new ground, nor is it trying to. Honey is a textbook noir detective from the school of Chandler and Hammett, who just happens to be female and gay. All the traditional plot elements are in place: the murdered client, dark secrets, the tension between the private detective and the established police force. Coen and Cooke do here what many noir directors have done before them, and they do it well. The dialogue is snappy, the twists are surprising, and the lesbian angle adds just enough spice to make it all feel fresh. (And by spice, I mean graphic, lesbian sex.)

4 stars out of 5

Roofman (2025) **1/2

 

In the late 1990's, Jeffrey Manchester robbed about 50 McDonald's restaurants. His modus operandi was to hack through the roof of the store in the middle of the night, then wait inside to rob the store at gunpoint when the employees showed up the next morning. His unique mode of entry made him famous as “Roofman”. Of course, he eventually got caught, but he managed to escape from prison to the town of Charlotte, NC, where he hid out in a Toy's R Us store. He made himself a hidden nest where he slept during the day, coming out at night for food and exercise. He wound up living there secretly for 6 months, dating a local woman and joining her church.

It's no surprise someone would make a movie out of this story. What does surprise me is that writer/director Derek Cianfrance made such a hackneyed, predictable film out of this wild tale, and assembled an all-star cast to do it. Channing Tatum plays Manchester, Kirsten Dunst plays the love interest, and they get support from LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage, and Juno Temple. While the cast is talented and game, the script is no great accomplishment. The only surprising story elements are the ones that come from Manchester's real-life antics. The narrative glue that Cianfrance inserts to turn the story into a 2 hour movie is treacly and predictable. You can see every plot point coming a mile away.

“Roofman” does offer something we don't see a lot in film, namely people attending church regularly. It's also a very family-friendly movie, despite its R rating (presumably because we witness a couple of armed robberies and Channing Tatum's naked butt.) For these reasons, I suspect the film will find an audience, and good for 'em! Not everybody wants to watch art movies about gay cowboys eating pudding (If you know, you know.)

2.5 stars out of 5

The Phantom of the Paradise (1974) ***

 

If you thought “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was too conventional and predictable, this is the movie for you! Writer/Director Brian De Palma is known for pushing boundaries in movies like “Carrie” and “Scarface”, but this black-comedy rock opera is outre even for him. The film borrows themes from “Faust”, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and of course The Phantom of the Opera.

William Finley plays Winslow Leach, a singer-songwriter whose music is stolen by an unscrupulous producer named Swan (Paul Williams, who wrote the music for the film). When Winslow tries to assert his rights, his face gets horribly disfigured, so he dons a mask and takes to haunting the music hall owned by Swan. Lurking in the shadows, Winslow promotes a singer with whom he is obsessed (Jessica Harper), and he learns Swan's secret to youth.

There's no way I could describe just how strange this musical film is; you just have to see it for yourself. This bizarre flick is not good in any traditional sense, but it is eye-and-ear candy for lovers of cult classic films. Paul Williams really lets himself go wild with the music, and Jessica Harper is as charming here as she would later be in 1977's “Suspiria.” Whether you are a Brian De Palma completist or just love a cult classic, this is one to check out when you are in the mood for something weird.

3 stars out of 5

Gentlemen Broncos (2009) **1/2

 

This one slipped by me back in 2009. It's by Jared and Jerusha Hess, the creators of "Napoleon Dynamite." As classic as that film is, I was disappointed by their follow-up, "Nacho Libre," and I guess I stopped looking out for offerings from the Hesses.

In “Gentlemen Broncos”, Michael Angarano plays Benjamin, an awkward, home-schooled high-schooler who writes sci-fi/fantasy stories. When he submits one of his stories at a writing camp, an established author (Jemaine Clement) steals his ideas. Initially oblivious to the plagiarism, Benjamin and a couple of new friends (Halley Feiffer and Hector Jimenez) turn Ben's book into an amateur movie. Competing versions of Ben's vision eventually collide.

With “Napoleon Dynamite”, the Hesses were working with mostly unknown actors, but that film cast a long shadow, and they were able to get some recognizable names in this one. Jennifer Coolidge is charming as Benjamin's mom. Mike White, who also produced the film, is characteristically weird as a Big-Brother-type mentor from Ben's church. Sam Rockwell is unrecognizable as the movie version of Ben's novel protagonist. I would say Jemaine Clement steals the movie as the villainous sci-fi writer Chevalier. He plays it straight as a self-important has-been with ridiculous advice for young authors.

When the Hesses premiered “Napoleon Dynamite” at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, it was something new and fresh. With a cringy sense of humor and pacing that demanded patience, the film introduced unforgettable characters like Pedro, Uncle Rico, and Napoleon himself, a shoe-gazing super-nerd with a big inner life. Since then, the Hesses have struggled to recapture that lightning in a bottle. 2006's “Nacho Libre” fell flat in my book, cringy without much humor. “Gentlemen Broncos” gets back to their “Dynamite” roots – a nerd who conceals a creative soul under his awkwardness makes some weird new friends. The story is not as fresh this time around, and they rely more on potty humor than on originality, but the story occasionally displays some heart. If you are a big “Napoleon Dynamite” fan, this is one to watch when you can't find anything else.

2.5 stars out of 5

Caught Stealing (2025) ***

 

Movies that blend genres have to walk a thin line to get the tone right and maintain it. Guy Ritchie's “Snatch” is an example of one that gets it right, blending violence and humor in just the right proportions. Darren Aronofsky's latest, “Caught Stealing,” is one that struggles a bit to walk that line.

Austin Butler plays Hank, a washed up baseball player whiling away his life tending bar, drinking heavily, and hooking up with his impossibly-cute girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz). His shady neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks Hank to cat-sit while Russ is out of town, and things take a left turn when a parade of Russian, Colombian, and Orthodox Jewish mobsters come looking for Russ.

“Caught Stealing” has its share of laughs, thrills, and shocks, but they don't fit well together. The zany, heavily-accented characters are entertaining, but they are a bit too madcap for the number of shocking deaths in the film. Fortunately, excellent cinematography and an outstanding cast (including Butler, Kravitz, and Regina King) make up somewhat for the plot issues. Aronofsky doesn't hit a home run here, but he manages to make it around the bases eventually.

3 stars out of 5

Blue Moon (2025) ****

 

 

Richard Linklater is having a good year, film-wise. "Nouvelle Vague" was outstanding, and now there is this, “Blue Moon,” about a night in the life of songwriter Lorentz Hart.

In an Oscar-nominated performance, Ethan Hawke plays Hart, famous for writing musicals with composer Richard Rodgers in the 1920's and 30's. The Rodgers name, of course, is a bit more famous when paired with that of Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers and Hammerstein achieved great success with “Oklahoma!” and went on to become a household name, while Hart's career faded, in part due to his alcoholism, although he and Rodgers did collaborate again before Hart's death.

“Blue Moon” depicts Hart on opening night of “Oklahoma!”, a triumphant night for Rodgers and Hammerstein, and a bittersweet one for Hart. Hanging out at the bar of the restaurant where the “Oklahoma!” after-party will later take place, Hart holds court with the bartender (Bobby Cannavale) and the piano player (Jonah Lees). He regales them with his scathing opinions on “Oklahoma!”, but he mostly talks about a young college student with whom he is infatuated. Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley) is coming to the party later, and Hart intends to do two things: 1) overcome his bitterness to be gracious to Rodgers and Hammerstein, and 2) seduce Elizabeth.

Hawke deserves his Oscar nomination for this role, although I think the movie is probably too obscure for him to hope to win. He appears in every second of the film, and his depiction of a talented artist struggling with sour grapes, puppy love, and addiction is just devastating. He benefits from a strong supporting cast, especially Cannavale, whose world-weary bartender does his best to steer his friend Hart clear of the whiskey and bitterness. This is ultimately Hawke's movie, though, and he is brilliant in it.

This is one of those Oscar-nominated films that even most Oscars viewers will probably not have seen, and in truth it is not for everyone. It's an artsy, talky movie about a night in the life of a songwriter most people now, 100 years later, haven't heard of. It's really worth watching, though, if you like the kind of talky movies that Richard Linklater makes. You don't need to be familiar with the music. The piano player regales us with a few of Hart's classics to get us oriented. (It probably does help to know that E.B. White, who is quietly hanging out in the bar, is the famous author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little.) You don't need to know about Hart's career, as he fills us in as we go. Ethan Hawke's heartbreaking performance is spellbinding as his Hart dances the line between delusion and despair, bravery and resignation.

4 stars out of 5