GENE HACKMAN DIED.
Gene Hackman was a titan of the acting art who could show up in a trashy thriller for 10 minutes and liven up the place just as easily as if he was the movie's lead. My initial memorial double-feature was a no-brainer: Narrow Margin and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Narrow Margin is one of my favorite thrillers. Sure, it's a bit far-fetched that a Los Angeles District Attorney would travel to Canada to bring in a sole witness to testify against a mob boss, but Hackman is in rare action mode and the close quarters setting is very appealing. His charm & wit keep himself and the witness alive on a train back to LA. A signature moment is when Hackman’s DA is talking with the assassins in the dining car. The carefree conversation is underlined with menace. Hackman is all smiles and chuckles until he’s had enough and his tone becomes threatening, his stare cold, within a sentence.
I don’t like The Royal Tenenbaums as much as many seem to, but there is no doubt that his performance is nothing short of perfection. Never has a piece-of- shit been so lovable.
I ended up watching about twelve more of his movies after those. Some I hadn’t seen before. Full Moon in Blue Water was only known to me as a poster. Camera and characters flowed through the set, which gave it the feel of a play. Teri Garr co-stars, so, bonus. He said Scarecrow was his favorite of all his movies. He’s great in it. I loved the final scene. The 10 minutes before it is very ‘70s but what are you going to do? It was the ‘70s. He left us so many great movies. His greatest gift of all is in Unforgiven. I will never hear the word “duke” and not think “duck.”
THE SODERBERGH & KOEPP TRILOGY.
Director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp released Kimi directly to Max in 2022. It’s a great little thriller about a work-from-home technician who hears the recording of a murder while reviewing audio logs from voice-activation service. Her agoraphobia is compounded by a world of COVID, but she is determined to solve the crime.
January 2025, now back in the world of open movie theaters, Presence was released. Much slighter than Kimi and not as scary as as the synopsis makes it seem. A family moves into a new home already inhabited by a single resident, a g-g-g-g-g-ghost! It is filmed entirely from the point of view of the ghost with a slight warp on the image that could bother some folk. It’s one of those movies that was going to come down to sticking the landing, which it does well.
Seven WEEKS later, Black Bag was released. The first “best movie of the year” of the year. I love spy shit and tense dinner parties. This had both. Simply, a British spy is told there is a mole in the organization. Five possible suspects. One of which is his wife. Hadn’t seen a movie associate marriage with espionage before. Don’t think it could be done better. Great background use of “Up the Junction.”
These are the run times, in respective order: 89 minutes, 84 minutes, 94 minutes. How refreshing is that!
MUSIC IN THE MOVIES.
The Blank Check podcast is close to the end of their trip through Amy Heckerling’s filmography. She is my favorite kind of filmmaker that they cover; a career with highs and lows, yet not talked about much. In watching along with the series, her focus on music stands out the most. The soundtracks are often packed. Some movies even feature a concert. Everclear in Loser and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in Clueless. The appearance of Supergrass’ “Alright” in Clueless set me on a YouTube tour of their videos. There are some great and fun ones. Eventually, I was led to a good documentary about their first ten years, Supergrass Is 10.
While on the YouTube I also treated myself to a re-watch of the Minutemen documentary, We Jam Econo.
The Criterion Channel added Rude Boy this month. New to me. Tough to watch. It seems someone personally knew The Clash and “wrote” a story about a youth slumming about in the punk scene who is hired as a roadie for a string of shows. I only kept watching for the concert and studio footage. The Clash saw an early cut and disavowed it. The idea of a filmmaker turning a relationship with a band into a movie was much better executed with Le Donk & Scor-zay-ze. Paddy Considine plays a roadie for Arctic Monkeys who tries to break a young rapper into the biz.
Blur: To the End. One third is the band reuniting to record their first album in eight years. One third is a kick-off-the-cobwebs tour. One third is their show at Wembley. I can’t think of another concert doc at this scale that gives that amount of time to the opening acts.
The greatest 2025 musical moment comes not from a band but Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. While I wouldn’t call Sinners a movie musical, it is a musical movie. The folklore of an artist having such talent that they are able to break through to all time - past and future - is the foundation for the story of twin brothers returning to their hometown to open up a juke joint. Their cousin is the one with such musical power and ushers in the musical centerpiece in which the borders of time are erased. Of course this power is wanted by vampires and all hell breaks loose. It’s an incredible movie that is vibrant in character and visual style.
THE SO-FAR TOP TEN. WHO WILL SURVIVE?
Sinners.
Friendship. An incredibly funny story of a man who tries to make a new friend only to have it blow up in a spectacular fashion. Tim Robinson didn’t write this but it shares themes with his show I Think You Should Leave.
The Ballad of Wallis Island. Sometimes a movie comes along that is just really nice. An enjoyably pleasant tone that’s warm without being saccharine. A refreshing movie that leaves the more conventional paths alone.
28 Years Later. Good golly, it’s so nice to see Danny Boyle’s visual style and musical sensibilities on the big screen again. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was not prepared for an emotional gut punch. There’s something I’m still not sure I’m on board with. Gotta respect the swing either way.
Black Bag.
The Phoenician Scheme. I have realized that when a new Wes Anderson movie comes out I rarely call it by its name. I call it “the new Wes Anderson movie.” I know what it will look like. I know the cast will be stacked. The story isn’t important until I’m in the theater. That said, the new Wes Anderson movie might be one of his best. Michael Cera is hilarious and a perfect fit. I was surprised by a camera move!
Ballerina. Some inventive fight elements and a couple great fights. John Wick is in it more than I was expecting. I’ve got in-story logic questions about some of his involvement and his presence was distracting enough that I wondered if it was necessary. (related: Wick Is Pain, an excellent documentary about making the the first movie and the three sequels.)
The Surfer. Nicolas Cage has slammed the brakes on his output. It’s been six months and he’s only had one movie in the theater. Even if we acknowledge the one thrown straight into the stream, he is still way off his typical schedule of 5-7 movies per year. Such is the off-ramp to retirement, he says. The Surfer comes to the Australian beach of his childhood only to be threatened by The Locals. Psychological torture and physical strain weaken his mental state. Somewhat better to reflect upon than watching some of it. Still, a higher-tier Nic Cage joint.
Thunderbolts*. Never thought I’d care about this team. All hail Florence Pugh!
Final Destination Bloodlines. Never thought there’d be another one of these. Delivers 100%. A top five favorite franchise.
THE FINAL ROUND: HEAD VS HEART.
Twenty minutes into Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning my head said, “I think this is going to be bad.” To which, my heart said, “Shut up.”
Forty minutes into Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning my head said, “No joke. I think this bad.” To which, my heart said, “Shut the fuck up! It’s going to kick in any moment and be great.”
Seventy-five minutes into Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning my heart said, “See!” To which, my head said, “Okay, that was badass.”
Three days after seeing Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning my heart said, “Goddammit. Not only is that movie bad but it made me dislike Dead Reckoning because the greatness of Grace is completely undone. Final Reckoning’s misplaced need to tie into all of the other movies is infuriating. Jim Phelps’ kid? Are you fucking kidding me?!” To which, my head said, “I told you.”
Here is how I’ve settled on this for now. Mission: Impossible is still my favorite franchise. The series ends with Fallout. The Dead and Final Reckonings are victory laps for stunts they didn’t get around to. The Final Reckoning’s submarine sequence is a franchise high point and the bi-plane stuff and parachute gag are incredible.
