Baby Driver (2017)

written and directed by Edgar Wright

Baby Driver, writer/director Edgar Wright’s kinetic ode to 70s movies such as Vanishing Point (1971) and The Driver (1978), starts off strong: A getaway is edited to the beat of Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, immediately followed by a beautifully choreographed one-shot title sequence set to Bob & Earl’s Harlem Shuffle. It’s an auspicious beginning that set my heart racing and made me grin with delight. But as young wheelman Baby (Ansen Elgort) gets in over his head with crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), the film loses some of its fun and becomes a more bombastic action flick. Still, Baby Driver is a pretty good ride.

Rating: **½

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

written and directed by S. Craig Zahler

Can’t say I’ve seen many horror Westerns aside from films like Near Dark (1987) and Vampires (1998), and those are not even period films. Bone Tomahawk is the real deal. Set at the turn of the 20th century, it follows a sheriff (Kurt Russell), his deputy (Richard Jenkins), a cowboy (Patrick Wilson), and a gunslinger (Matthew Fox), as they ride into the badlands to rescue three people from a clan of Native American cannibals. It’s a slow, methodical, visceral journey, so well directed, acted, and photographed, it belies the ridiculously low budget and ambitious scope. Must see.

Rating: ***

Bring Her Back (2025)

written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman

directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou

Anyone who watched Danny and Michael Philippou’s debut Talk to Me (2022) knows that the brothers know their horror, and this sophomore effort is even more unsettling. Orphans Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live with a grieving foster mom (Sally Hawkins) who plans to bring her daughter back from the dead… and into Piper’s body. The acting from the three leads is top-notch – Hawkins expertly walks a high wire of loathing and compassion – but perhaps the most demanding role goes to Jonah Wren Phillips as a possessed child who has to endure all sorts of physical pain. With Bring Her Back, the Philippou’s hone their lo-fi aesthetic, mixing terror with an emotional resonance that’s hard to shake.

Rating: ***

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

from a story by James Wan and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and characters by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes

directed by Michael Chaves

The Conjuring (2013) was a welcome return to a more old-school type of haunted house film, but its derivative sequel, The Conjuring 2 (2016), left me a little cold. Since then I had lost track of the series, which by now includes several Annabelle and The Nun spin-offs. I’ve no interest in seeing those, but I came back for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, in which paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) investigate another creepy case based on true events. The detective setup is a nice change of pace, and by now Wilson and Farmiga have an easy, believable rapport as the husband-and-wife sleuths. Despite the usual scary/silly tropes, I was pleasantly entertained.

Rating: **½

Eenie Meanie (2025)

written and directed by Shawn Simmons

Former getaway driver Edie (Samara Weaving) is forced into one last job when mob boss Nico (Andy García) threatens to kill her loser ex-boyfriend John (Karl Glusman). Despite Weaving’s best efforts, Eenie Meanie is a tonally disjointed mess that fails to achieve the B-movie thrills it’s clearly going for. Not even the car chases are exciting. Watch Baby Driver (reviewed above) instead.

Rating: **

Elio (2025)

written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones

from a story by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Julia Cho

directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina

Elio, a little boy (Yonas Kibreab) obsessed with finding other life in the universe, gets whisked away by aliens who mistake him as the leader of Earth. It’s all beautifully animated as usual by Pixar, and Elio’s friendship with a worm-like alien is both fun and touching, yet Elio feels somewhat derivative of other movies that have travelled these space highways before (1984’s The Last Starfighter was a direct inspiration). Still, as a primer on believing in oneself, it’s well worth the close encounter.

Rating: **½

Carlos I. Cuevas