Hello, friends and occasional readers. February started with One Battle After Another (2025; written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), a movie I was somewhat avoiding because I’ve never been a big Paul Thomas Anderson fan. For some reason, most of his movies strike me as a little pretentious (1999’s Magnolia; 2007’s There Will Be Blood; 2012’s The Master), and so I’ve skipped a couple. But there was a lot of buzz about this one, so I gave it a shot. It’s a bit of a mess.

Based on the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, the film is about a burnt-out former revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who goes on the run when he and his daughter (Chase Infiniti) are targeted by a racist military officer (Sean Penn). It’s meant to be absurd, poking fun at both sides of the political spectrum – and considering the times we are living in, also quite timely. But Anderson tries to have it both ways, mixing satire with a tense, naturalistic aesthetic that never quite gel together (2025’s Eddington had a similar issue). Still worth it, if only for Infiniti’s striking debut. Rating: **½

Next up is The Running Man (2025; written by Michael Ball and Edgar Wright; directed by Edgar Wright), the second adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name*. The first was all the way back in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a game contestant in a future dystopian United States. It was a rote action flick with none of the pessimism of the novel or even the silly thrills common of an Ahnuld vehicle. This time we have Glen Powell, and the update goes for a more satirical, quasi-fun experience that also falls flat on its face. Plus the climax once again eschews the dark-as-fuck ending of the novel, so why even bother? Rating: **

In the horror/comedy Send Help (2026; written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift; directed by Sam Raimi), a mistreated female employee (Rachel McAdams) gets revenge on her asshole male boss (Dylan O’Brien) after they’re stranded on a deserted island in the Pacific. It’s fun enough, with a couple of over-the-top moments that harken back to director Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead trilogy (1981-1992), yet I couldn’t help feeling it could’ve pushed the envelope more. Still, McAdams has a ball, and like my fellow critic Rubén Rosado says, minor Raimi is better than no Raimi at all. Rating: **½

I had Italian horror flick Ecologia del delitto (1971; English title: A Bay of Blood; written by Mario Bava, Giuseppe Zaccariello, and Filippo Ottoni; from a story by Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Barberi; directed by Mario Bava) on my list for quite a while, namely because it was one of the – if not the main – inspiration for the slasher boom in the late 70s/early 80s. Is it any good? Not really. What little plot there is is pretty confusing, and co-writer/director Mario Bava seems somewhat subdued despite all the imaginative killings. I’d say skip it, except for the curio factor and obvious influence on the first couple of Friday the 13th films. Rating: **

I love conspiracy/paranoia thrillers, so I decided to revisit The China Syndrome (1979; written by Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, and James Bridges; directed by James Bridges), which I had seen first in my teens. A TV reporter (Jane Fonda) witnesses a nuclear plant coming perilously close to meltdown, leading to an investigation and evidence of a coverup. It’s reasonably tense, aided greatly by Jack Lemmon’s everyman performance as an employee with a conscience, and the filmmakers’ spot-on decision to forgo a music score. I’m now curious about the rest of co-writer/director James Bridges’ career. Rating: ***

Verónica (2017; written by Paco Plaza and Fernando Navarro; directed by Paco Plaza) is a Spanish horror film based on the Expediente Vallecas, a police report detailing the allegedly true haunting of a teenage girl in Madrid. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but co-writer/director Paco Plaza keeps things fairly anchored, and I was surprised at the quality of acting from the young cast. Worth a look. Rating: **½

Finally there’s Mortal Thoughts (1991; written by William Reilly and Claude Kerven; directed by Alan Rudolph), which I had found an interesting watch during my video store days and still like overall. Cynthia (Demi Moore) and Joyce (Glenne Headly), two best friends from New Jersey, find themselves trying to evade the police after accidentally killing Joyce’s sleazebag husband (Bruce Willis). It’s a somewhat formulaic psychological thriller, with a miscast Harvey Keitel as a police detective and a narrative that tries too hard to be surprising. But director Alan Rudolph’s penchant for improvisation and long takes (he was a student of Robert Altman’s) elevate it significantly. I also love Mark Isham’s ethereal music score. Rating: **½

Carlos I. Cuevas

* under the pseudonym Richard Bachman