The Long Walk
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I watched it streaming on 12/11/2025.
Based on a novel by Stephen King (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). Excellent storytelling by director Francis Lawrence and the screenwriter JT Mollner. I hadn’t read the book by King, but the story was really excellent in concept and execution.
Excellent performances by the whole ensemble cast, especially leads Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson. I really enjoyed the cameo by Mark Hamill as The Major, whom I didn’t recognize at first.
The cinematography is understated but excellent in rain or shine. You forget you’re watching a movie and don’t even think about it, which to me is the highest praise. It isn’t trying to look like art, it just is.
Subtle music throughout the film that adds to the atmosphere and situations, but like the cinematography, completely blends into the whole fabric of the film without drawing any attention to itself.
I highly recommend checking it out.
The Substance
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I watched it streaming on 12/2/2025.
A break-out film by Coralie Fargeat. She doesn’t have a long resume but the story and film are well-made and well-polished.
The casting of Demi Moore as an aging and falling star and her counterpart, played by the captivating Margaret Qualley, was perfect. Each held their own as the two sides of the character. Qualley isn’t a double of Moore, but as an idealised younger version, the conceit works perfectly.
It’s a wild ride and far out concept. Pretty original in the seldom-seen genre of Body Horror.
I like to call it “David Cronenberg’s Pretty Woman “. Another equal parts bizarre & brilliant movie.
I highly recommend checking it out.
Weapons
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I watched it streaming on 11/29/2025.
To me, the movie was very well done, but a bit strange in a mildly unsatisfying way. I think it had more potential than was realized. In look and execution, it was very similar to Zach Cregger‘s 2022 movie “Barbarian“. I can’t really put my finger on why I didn’t love either of Cregger’s highly received movies. There were a lot of great parts, especially the children running at the end.
I’d recommend watching it if you liked Barbarian or like offbeat horror films.
The Electric State
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I watched it streaming on Netflix on 3/15/2025
A Netflix original starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. It reminded me so much of a Robert Zemeckis or Steven Spielberg movie. Has a similar feel to Ready Player One. The score is excellent and sounds like a classic Spielberg movie.
I saw some reviews saying that the Russo bros dropped the ball, but it’s my favorite movie of theirs. I feel like the poor ratings and criticisms are unhinged because I found the whole movie a fantastic ride to watch.
Here Alone
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I watched it streaming on Netflix on 7/5/2017
Very good character-centered film. It takes place during a zombie apocalypse, but that is peripheral and almost inconsequential to the story. Very atmospheric and somber. Worth watching if you like films that make a meal out of silences and stuff like that. More of a post-apocalyptic film than a zombie film in most ways, though.
It was the winner of the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I watched it on 4/2/2016
I thought it was excellent. A thrill ride through the whole thing; I didn’t even fall asleep! (which I usually do watching action flicks). I liked it a lot.
Michael M. Frankel 