'28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' A Review

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a zombie movie, a direct continuation of last summer's 28 Years Later. At the end of the previous film Spike(Alfie Williams) had been rescued by the satanist Jimmy(Jack O'Connell) and his group of teenage cultists, now he must be initiated into the group and join them as they roam the countryside mindlessly torturing survivors. Concurrently Dr. Ian(Ralph Fiennes) befriends and attempts to treat Samson(Chi Lewis-Parry) an infected Alpha. Eventually the two must collide.

O'Connell is compelling here, particularly in the one normal scene he shares with Fiennes, but the whole Jimmy plot-line doesn't have much depth to it. The second time he goes into his, I'm communing with Satan spiel, and orders his little droogies to kill someone it becomes surprisingly rote. The film really comes alive when Fiennes is on screen, the camera loves him, and he's absolutely captivating. The humanist perspective he brings to his character and to the zombie-world of the series feels like the most logical and compelling evolution of the franchise and makes the violent parts of the film seem dated. The limited supporting cast are all good but no one really distinguishes themselves save for Erin Kellyman as one of the Jimmys.

Visually the film is just as rich as its predecessor but has a narrower focus, doesn't stray far from the titular Bone Temple, which works in it's favor. Director Nia DaCosta has style and she paints with a rich brush here but you get the sense she is constrained a bit by this being such a direct sequel. The soundtrack works, the costuming in make up are impeccable, it's just the story that falls a bit short. Like the first one, the focus is split when it should be narrow, Williams as Spike is a decent child actor but his storyline was never that interesting and his presence here feels almost perfunctory. Fiennes is clearly the star, the movie wants to be about him, anytime we cut away we want to return, and this is no where more apparent than in the climatic "meeting" of Dr. Ian and the Jimmys underscored to Iron Maiden. Even if the film meanders and doesn't meet its full potential it is unquestionably worth it based on that singular scene alone.

A sequel constrained by its predecessor, still interesting, with one truly transcendent scene.

Currently in theaters.

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Polar Vortex

I find I am relieved
after several
mild winters waiting

the snow and the cold

the ice and the bite

return, unrelenting

and it is certainly

inconvenient

the layering

the preparation

the deliberate caution

but in a time

when so much

is uncertain

there is a comfort

in the bluntness

of a classic

Chicago January

'The Rip' A Review

The Rip is an action thriller about the Miami-Dade Police Department's Tactical Narcotics Team(TNT) that investigates a tip that turns into something much bigger and dangerous than they expected.

Matt Damon as the leader of the team Lt. Dumars is good if not particularly surprising or doing anything much beyond what we've seen him do in the past, he is no doubt a movie star and he is no doubt servicable in the role. Ben Affleck as Sgt. Byrne is more electric, is having more fun, and it is genuinely great to see the two of them share scenes together again, their chemistry is undeniable. And if the movie itself is semi-standard cop-fair it is well made, the script is tight, the action is compelling, it works. The supporting cast is full of some solid talent- Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Kyle Chandler- who all round out the film and give it depth and texture. Is this Heat? No. But it's a world beyond Netflix's typical offerings in this genre like Havoc and Extraction. 

Visually the film is dark and thick evoking the close humidity of southern Florida, the locations are limited, the action, when it comes, explosive and potent. The score subtle and suspenseful. It's a pro production. When the script veers into the obvious or the cliche the presence of the actors weathers those bumps relatively easily. In a feature landscape where regular action movies(without superheroes or magic or aliens) are in shorter and shorter supply this is kind of treat. The logic of not distributing it theatrical is increasingly silly given this is the kind of movie that would be a sleeper January hit, the kind of decent money maker Gerard Butler and Jason Statham have had a monopoly on the past several years.

A solid piece of popcorn entertainment.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

See It.

A Truth About My Brothers & Sisters

To abuse us
for any reason
but particularly
in the attempt
to make by us
an example

leverage

for future cruelties

fundamentally

misunderstands

the nature

the beating heart

of the Middle West-

Above all

we endure.

Top 5 Movies of 2025

Top 5:

The Alabama Solution

Eephus

Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching

Predator: Badlands

Weapons

Honorable Mentions:

Black Bag

CHAOS: The Manson Murders

East Of Wall

Grand Theft Hamlet

Mickey 17

The Naked Gun

One Of Them Days

Sinners

Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Disappointments:

Jay Kelly

The Mastermind

Pavements

The Roses

The Shrouds

Most Overrated:

Train Dreams

Most Underrated:

Predator: Killer of Killers

Worst Of The Year:

Materialists

Performances Of The Year:

Marisa Abela, Cate Blanchett, and Michael Fassbender - Black Bag 

Jessie Buckley - Hamnet

Glenn Close & Josh Brolin - Wake Up Dead Man

Kirsten Dunst - Roofman

David Jonsson - The Long Walk

Michael B. Jordan - Sinners

Liz Larsen - The Baltimorons

Amy Madigan - Weapons

Keke Palmer - One Of Them Days

Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

Scenes Of The Year:

The Ending - Hamnet

Recording Studio Confrontation - Highest 2 Lowest

Fergalicious Fight - The Naked Gun

The Dance - Sinners

Final Chase - Weapons

'Father Mother Sister Brother' A Review

Father Mother Sister Brother is a drama triptych about parental relationships. The first feature from writer/director Jim Jarmusch since 2019's The Dead Don't Die.

The cast is filled with talent and all deliver great, simple, not quite understated but natural, performances. There's not a tone of flash but there is nuance and authenticity. Where the film falls short is in the script. But making it a triptych none of the three storylines has the time to develop any particular depth, once we begin to get below the emotional surface on each, they conclude.

Visually the film has the same patient clarity Jarmusch deploys in most of his work, calling attention to subtleties in performance and the beauty of the landscape(be it natural or architectural). There is no score or soundtrack but the film is book-ended by a singular, not particularly effective, needle drop. The production overall is just a clinic effective, focused, no-frills filmmaking.

Slick but simple, mildly resonant, but ultimately falls short in offering any actual insight.

Currently in theaters.

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Form & Substance

Working with clay
the hands recognize it
the mind understands it
the spirit welcomes it

connected as it is

back to the one land

and the one people

we have always needed water

and something to hold the water

we have always needed food

and something to hold the food

we have always decorated

the vessels that help us live

with the substance of our lives

intertwined

the essence of ceramics

is the history of humanity

no wonder there is familiarity

as I sit at the wheel

and shape the wet earth

and think of nothing

save form and substance

'The Secret Agent' A Review

The Secret Agent is a historical thriller set in 1977 Brazil about research professor Armando(Wagner Moura) on the run after a local oligarch dismantled his department and murdered his wife.

Moura is compelling but he overly relies on his(not ineffective) neutral face to do a lot of the work. He leads the film well, with confidence and solidity, but all the characters and plot that swirl around him are kind of a mess. The supporting cast are all talented, particularly the women- Tânia Maria, Maria Fernanda Cândido, and Alice Carvalho in a brief flashback- to name a few. But the material just really isn't there for them to dig in and soar, acknowledging of course there may be some cultural connections or meaning that an average US citizen would miss.

Visually the film is beautiful with some inspired, exciting sequences. Some long takes and artistic ones. And the score is thrumming and enhances the mood. But the story is deliberately unclear, overly complicated, and tonally inconsistent. It careens from thriller, to drama, to melodrama, to straight up slapstick comedy. Which is all great it just doesn't come together. At about the halfway point a new time period is introduced, in which nothing at all really happens, and seemingly serves no purpose but to cap the film in a very contrived unnecessary way. There's a lot going for it but at 2 hours and 40 minutes it is simply too sprawling, too erratic, too unfocused to have the kind of artistic impact it so clearly aspires to.

Intriguing and beautiful but unequal to the sum of it's parts especially narratively.

Currently in theaters.

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'Anaconda' A Review

Anaconda is an action comedy a reboot/meta-sequel to the franchise. Doug(Jack Black) a wedding videographer and Griff(Paul Rudd) a struggling actor together with their friends Kenny(Steve Zahn) and Clarie(Thandie Newton) decide to pursue their dormant dream of making a movie and travel to the Amazon to reboot the 1997 cult classic Anaconda.

Black is as magnetic as ever and wills this into being an agreeable, fun adventure by shear charisma and energy alone. Rudd is decent but is a bit uninspired, he's seems to lost a bit of his spark in recent years, but both Zahn and Newton make up for it completing the foursome with enough chemistry and electricity to make this enjoyable. The supporting cast is pretty limited with Selton Mello(who is inspired) and Daniela Melchior(good in a mostly thankless role) being the most notable. All in all it's a solid ensemble.

Visually the film is relatively straight-forward with some action and comedy sequences being the most involved(and effective), the soundtrack catchy. The script, overall, is a bit thin but nonetheless it's entertaining, a solid popcorn flick in a time when depressing Oscar bait is flooding theaters. Good counter-programing.

A relatively fresh take on IP is bolstered by the indefatigable Black and Newton clearly relishing operating in the comedy space. Hampered by somewhat predictable emotional arcs.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.