Movie Review: The Swiss Conspiracy (1976)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: Jack Arnold  

Starring: David Janssen, Senta Berger, John Saxon, Ray Milland, John Ireland, Elke Sommer, Anton Diffring  

Running Time: 83 minutes  

Synopsis: In Geneva, former US Justice Department official David Christopher (David Janssen) is hired by bank president Hurtil (Ray Milland) to investigate a blackmail plot targeting five bank clients. The victims include the alluring Denise Abbott (Senta Berger), tough Chicago crime boss Hayes (John Saxon), and shady Texas businessman McGowan (John Ireland). Meanwhile, bank Vice President Benninger (Anton Diffring) and his lover Rita (Elke Sommers) may be suspects with means and a motive. As Christopher investigates, the dead bodies start to accumulate, drawing the attention of Police Captain Frey (Inigo Gallo).

What Works Well: The Swiss locations and slick production values provide scenic backdrops, and the complex story rewards attention by delving into sordid secrets hiding behind anonymous bank accounts and stone facades of respectability. Director Jack Arnold mixes action scenes with plot advancements and a mutual seduction, and throws in a couple of red herrings to extend the guessing game all the way to a decent mountaintop climax. The supporting cast contributes an interesting character actor in every role. 

What Does Not Work As Well: David Janssen lumbers through the action with little finesse but many shirt buttons undone. A few of the chase scenes go on for longer than needed, and the final plot explanations are unleashed in a frantic flurry. A couple of Ferraris engage in a high speed duel that unfortunately has nothing to do with the plot. Seemingly extensively damaged, one of the Ferraris emerges unscathed in the very next scene.

Key Quote:

Denise (to David Christopher): I'll change into something less comfortable.

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Movie Review: Bad Manners (1997)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Jonathan Kaufer  

Starring: David Strathairn, Bonnie Bedelia, Saul Rubinek, Caroleen Feeney, Julie Harris  

Running Time: 88 minutes  

Synopsis: Married couple Wes and Nancy (David Strathairn and Bonnie Bedelia) are both Boston-area professors, but the passion has long since seeped out of their relationship. Their staid home is upturned by the visit of Nancy's former lover Matt (Saul Rubinek), a musicology professor in town for a guest lecture, accompanied by his much younger lover and research assistant Kim (Caroleen Feeney). Wes is jealous of Matt, the free-spirited Kim stirs the pot, and accusations of theft and infidelity are soon rocking both couples.

What Works Well: The adaptation of the David Gilman stage play exposes turmoil between two mis-matched couples, and carries obvious echoes from Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. Strong performances by the four main cast members animate a milieu of crackling discontent hiding beneath a veneer of upper middle class respectability. Selfish motivations, generational gaps, and suppressed frustrations bubble to the surface, driving a steady stream of narrative twists.

What Does Not Work As Well: The stage origins are only partially concealed, and the plot hinges on a couple of logic leaps unworthy of supposedly smart people. A missing $50 bill immediately becomes an accusation of theft, and music notes within a garbled composition are posited as no less than possible proof of God's existence. Elsewhere the incessant lying erodes any sense of belief in what anyone is saying, slowly undermining the investment in already unlikeable characters.

Key Quote:

Kim: You're being a bore.

Wes: I am a bore. I lead a placid life.

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Movie Review: Firewalker (1986)

Genre: Adventure  

Director: J. Lee Thompson  

Starring: Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett Jr., Melody Anderson, Will Sampson, John Rhys-Davies  

Running Time: 104 minutes  

Synopsis: Dim-witted adventurers Max and Leo (Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jr.) are hired by the mysterious Patricia (Melody Anderson) to find a gold treasure. Their search takes them to an Indian Reservation mountaintop where they find a magical dagger and meet Tall Eagle (Will Sampson). Next they travel to San Miguel, where they tangle with local bandits and are rescued by old ally Corky (John Rhys-Davies). All the while they are hunted by the evil El Coyote (Sonny Landham), an Aztec descendant seeking enormous power.

What Works Well: Melody Anderson brings strong-willed and capably likeable presence to Patricia.

What Does Not Work As Well: This is a low budget, low talent, exhaustingly awful Cannon Group production designed to cash in on Raiders Of The Lost Ark-type adventurism. The misguided attempt to wedge Chuck Norris' stoic persona into a talkative lighthearted action comedy is predictably catastrophic, and the support from more refined actors like Louis Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, and Will Sampson is wasted on an inane script. With no coherent plot points, director J. Lee Thompson resorts to a series of uninspired set-pieces staged within cheap cardboard sets. 

Key Quote:

Patricia: What scares you, Max?

Max: Suits, alarm clocks, apartment buildings.

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Movie Review: Overboard (1987)

Genre: Romantic Comedy  

Director: Garry Marshall  

Starring: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Roddy McDowall  

Running Time: 112 minutes  

Synopsis: In Oregon, Dean (Kurt Russell) is a carpenter and single dad to four boys. He is treated poorly by the wealthy and spoiled Joanna (Goldie Hawn) after he upgrades her yacht closet. When Joanna suffers memory loss after accidentally falling overboard, her husband Grant (Edward Herrmann) abandons her at the hospital. Dean senses an opportunity for revenge: he pretends to be Joanna's husband, calls her Annie, and takes her home to care for the chaos of his ramshackle house and kids.

What Works Well: Real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn carry an easy chemistry into this romantic comedy, more often than not finding fun and laughs in a story of mutual antagonism turning to opposites-attract love. The unlikely plot benefits from a commitment to two well-defined central characters, Dean a kind-hearted carpenter hiding beneath a rough-and-tumble exterior, Joanna discovering the nurturing joys of family as an alternative to the entitled nothingness of wine and fashion. In a highlight scene, Hawn turns a chicken cooking session into comedy gold.

What Does Not Work As Well: The more physical comedy moments lean into food-fight and hose-down type silliness rather than cleverness, while Joanna's husband Grant and mother Edith (Katherine Helmond) are firmly stuck in caricature land.

Key Quote:

Dean: Hey hey hey, don't you worry about me and my boys, okay? We're pals.

Annie: They have enough pals, they need a father.

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Movie Review: Code Of Silence (1985)

Genre: Action  

Director: Andrew Davis  

Starring: Chuck Norris, Henry Silva  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: After a violent gang-on-gang drug den raid, Chicago mobster Luis Comacho (Henry Silva) seeks revenge on the rival outfit of Tony Luna (Mike Genovese). Tough-as-nails Police Sergeant Eddie Cusack (Chuck Norris) anticipates the wave of violence and tries to protect Luna's innocent daughter Diana (Molly Hagan). His job is complicated by tensions within the police force, where past-it Detective Cragie (Ralph Foody) has planted evidence to cover-up the accidental killing of a bystander. 

What Works Well: The casting of Chuck Norris and Henry Silva on opposite sides of the law creates an epic duel of the expressionless stonefaces, adding macho joy to the bouncy vibe of this action-packed thriller. Director Andrew Davis rises well above the acting talent, budget, and plot, using numerous Chicago locations to stage competent and sometimes clever set-pieces, stunts, and chases. The likes of Dennis Farina and John Mahoney lurk deep within the cast list, although they are upstaged by a clunky-but-still-cute and heavily armed police robot on wheels.

What Does Not Work As Well: All the characters are in-you-face stock representations of good and evil without a visible morsel of depth, context, background, or self-awareness. It's never quite clear if the relationship between Eddie and Diana is supposed to be parental or something ickier.

Key Quote:

Eddie: When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you.

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Movie Review: Billy The Kid (1941)

Genre: Western  

Director: David Miller  

Starring: Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Gene Lockhart, Ian Hunter  
Running Time: 94 minutes  

Synopsis: Notorious gunslinger William "Billy the Kid" Bonney (Robert Taylor) is hired by evil cattle baron Hickey (Gene Lockhart), who is locked in a dispute with rival cattle owner Keating (Ian Hunter). Billy gets re-acquainted with childhood friend Jim Sherwood (Brian Donlevy), now working for Keating, and switches sides. Keating believes in law and order and tries to convince Billy to abandon his outlaw methods, but with Hickey intent on stirring up trouble, avoiding violence will not be easy.

What Works Well: The Monument Valley backdrops provide a scenic setting, the script is packed with sharp dialogue, and director David Miller keeps the action moving briskly. Billy's exposure to the potential joys of peaceful domesticity is handled with sensitivity, and enough is revealed about his background (he was still a child when he sought revenge on the men who got away with murdering his father) to explain his disillusionment with the rules. Gene Lockhart (the self-satisfied slimeball Hickey) and Ian Hunter (the empathetic mentor Keating) offer robust support at either end of the ethical spectrum.

What Does Not Work As Well: The plot is only loosely based on facts. The real Billy died at 21, and Robert Taylor at 30 (and looking older) cannot convey the audacity of youth. Studio-bound close-ups are awkwardly (and frequently) inserted into the exterior shots.

Key Quote:

Billy: I got a horse and the west is wide.

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Movie Review: Windfall (2022)

Genre: Crime Thriller  

Director: Charlie McDowell  

Starring: Jason Segel, Lily Collins, Jesse Plemons  

Running Time: 92 minutes  

Synopsis: A burglar (Jason Segel) rummaging through a high-end vacation home in the California desert is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the owners, a husband (Jesse Plemons) and wife (Lily Collins) couple. The husband is a wealthy technology capitalist, the wife runs his charity organizations, and now the burglar holds them hostage and tries to extract a large sum of cash.

What Works Well: The single location benefits from the rustic beauty of a dream vacation home nestled in a desert hosting orange groves. The restless music carries a dynamic edge, and all three central performances are committed to the quirkiness of the premise.

What Does Not Work As Well: An idea in search of a movie, this chamber thriller is probably more suited to the stage. Despite the short running length, the cinematic execution is flabby and gets caught in long stretches of irrelevant talkiness and silent pauses, the script bypassing dramatic momentum by only nibbling at character backgrounds. The ending is therefore devoid of substance and defaults to shock for shock's sake, decoupled from coherence.

Key Quote:

Burglar: I want $150,000.

Husband: Do you think that's enough?

Wife: Yeah, I think you're probably gonna want more than that.

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Movie Review: Sentimental Value (2025)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Joachim Trier 

Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning  

Running Time: 133 minutes  

Synopsis: In Norway, veteran film director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård) abandoned his family years ago and now has a fraught relationship with his two grown daughters. Nora (Renate Reinsve) is a theatre star, while Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), a former child actress, has settled into domesticity. After their mother dies, Nora pointedly turns down her father's request to star in his next film, although he wrote the script for her. Gustav turns to American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) and they start to prepare for the shoot, while Nora and Agnes navigate around their father's proud stubbornness.

What Works Well: In this thoughtful exploration of awkward father/daughter reconciliation, director and co-writer Joachim Trier delves into a family dynamic beset by abandonment, death, and successive generations of grim determination. With the family house acting as a dominant presence harbouring decades of essential history, Gustav, Nora, and Agnes are unapologetic about their choices, and yet aware of the damage caused. Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas excel in creating real people grappling with essential discomfort, and Elle Fanning is the outsider tiptoeing into intensely personal space. Trier deftly drives the narrative towards a couple of exceptionally well handled plot curves, all while staying true to his characters.

What Does Not Work As Well: The running time is long, and the pacing slow. The deliberate approach is essential to enrich the story, but can also create an endurance test.

Key Quote:

Gustav: Everyone's mad at dad, huh? You two turned out fine, didn't you?

Nora: How can you tell? You don't even know us.



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Movie Review: Bugonia (2025)

Genre: Science Fiction Drama Thriller  

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos  

Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons  

Running Time: 118 minutes  

Synopsis: Conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) and his none-too-bright cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) kidnap pharmaceutical executive Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), believing her to be an alien and part of a conspiracy to control the human race. They shave her head (because hair is a means of communication with the mother ship) and hold her captive in their basement. To regain her freedom Michelle first attempts to rationalize with her captors then tries to manipulate them, but Teddy is prepared to fight for his cause.

What Works Well: Stellar performances by Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Aidan Delbis create a tightly wound collision between sharp intelligence and damaged minds, and director Yorgos Lanthimos (adapting a South Korean film) steers this conflict towards intriguing explorations of the human psyche. In what becomes searing societal commentary, Michelle needs all her wits to try and wriggle free, but smarts alone may be insufficient to defeat deeply-held warped beliefs. Teddy and Don's occupation as beekeepers provides a parallel subtext about a well-structured community's collapse, and the backstory of Teddy's mother adds texture to his mental state.

What Does Not Work As Well: The final act is unworthy, ditching cerebral jousting for inconsistent and outlandish resolutions fortified by far-fetched coincidences. 

Key Quote:

Teddy: Welcome to the headquarters of the human resistance.

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Movie Review: Frankenstein (2025)

Genre: Monster Drama  

Director: Guillermo del Toro  

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Lars Mikkelsen  

Running Time: 150 minutes  

Synopsis: It's 1857 near the Arctic Circle, and a Danish navy vessel led by Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) rescues Baron Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who is escaping from the Creature (Jacob Elordi) he created. In flashbacks, the badly injured Victor recounts his story. As a child he experienced no love from his father (Charles Dance), and grew up to be an Edinburgh surgeon obsessed with defeating death. Shunned by the establishment, he finds a benefactor in Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), whose daughter Elizabeth (Mia Goth) is engaged to Victor's brother William (Felix Kammerer). Victor establishes a lab at an isolated tower, assembles body parts from fallen soldiers, and creates the Creature, but is then frustrated by its slow mental progression.

What Works Well: Director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley's source material into a spectacularly imaginative spectacle filled with human heart and longing. Gothic sets, bold cinematography, elaborate make-up, and intricate costumes create a monstrous nightmare emanating from narcissism, a yearning for love, the complications of incomplete father-son bonds, and the questionable value of life without death. Oscar Isaac throws himself into a dark role where brilliance is stranded by the inherited absence of empathy, and Jacob Elordi surrounds acute loneliness with immense physical presence.  

What Does Not Work As Well: While the story is rich in incident and details, the running time is still too long.

Key Quote:

The Creature: If you are not to award me love, then I will indulge in rage. And mine is infinite!

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