Hung Up On A Dream: The Zombies Documentary (2025)

This is a quiet stunner.  This look at the group The Zombies surprised me by seemingly coming from nowhere.

The film charts the rise and troubled existence of the group which came together in the early 1960’s and managed to produce a series of extremely influential songs. Unfortunately tension in the band made the groups course to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame perilous.

I was moved. The simplicity of the telling of this story really connected with me. I am not a Zombies fan but I felt myself connecting to the guys in the band. There is something about following the thing you love that really made me want to embrace them. I came away with a new sense of respect for the group and what they achieved.

In a year with a large number of music documentaries and concert films, this is one of the best.

Severed Sun (2024) opens Friday

In rigid religious community a woman kills her husband releasing an evil force. 

I don't know what a I feel about this film. There are somethings that I love and there are some things I don't.  I'm kind of left wondering if this would have been better in a different form.

The two things that are working against the film are first the film is very talky. There are lots of conversations and speeches. It's not so much that it's talky it's more that the conversations are just people sitting and talking, often sitting as if they were directed to sit that way and not in the way people who walked in would sit. As for the speechifying it's often just someone addressing the camera. It never feels real, it feels like a theatrical moment. (actually many of the shots feel theatrical)

The other problem is that the film feels padded. While film is 80 minutes long (74 minus end credits) it still feels padded. Some of this probably could have been trimmed.

On the other hand there is something about the film that I can't shake. There is an oppressive mood that I like. There are some creepy images, especially the dark figure that seems to causing everything to happen. Additionally the story is really good. 

Several days on I'm still pondering.

Do yourself a favor and read some other reviews and decide for yourself if you want to see the film.

Nightcap 5/11/25 Happy Mothers Day - some random notes

 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM WHERE EVER YOU ARE!!!

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Cannes starts this week and there will be coverage. Not sure how much as films are still drifting in. I will say there are some good films, and some films that I suspect will end up at the New York Film Festival because the check off enough ticky boxes.

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Got into arguments about Tribeca and why we should or shouldn't cover it. Some writers I know have decided to give up on the fest.

The con side argues that since DeNiro and group sold control of the festival it's slid into the toilet and the films are just things that couldn't get into any other fest, and largely suck across the board.

The pro side is that the festival is almost all world premeires and no one will know if the fest if good or bad until all the films screen and we know what .

I stand on the pro side because having seen between 70 and 100 plus films every year for the last 15 years I know better than the people lecturing me what the ratio is. More to the point because I've seen the films that show up during the next year as must sees that everyone tells me I need to see when they are released.

Now are all Tribeca films good? Oh hell no. Every year thre are some hellacious dogs, but there are more good than some people think, and as I have said I've been an early adopter for later fan favorite films.

For me, as a writer who can really wade in Tribeca is a grand treasure hunt-so much so that I've already seen one film that is on the best of 2025 list and which I can't stop thinking about.

Is it worth attending? Oh yes... but you have to remember like all film festivals its ultimately a crap shoot as to whether you'll like the films.

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Random Tribeca note:

Posts will drop as close to the embargo as I can. Things are going up already and it's first come first serve so some reviews will not be as close as some PR people will have liked.

Keep reading and watch the chaos ensue.

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I think the reason I've drifted away from Billy Joel is he is not releasing new music and since he is one of my favorite song writers, seeing him become essentially a lounge singer annoys the piss out of me. His words spoke my heart and the fact he has no more makes me feel as though I'm silent-and I know that isn't true.

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Last Castle (2001)

The original poster pulled after the 9/11 attack

 THE LAST CASTLE died at the box office in 2001. Released a month after the 911 attacks I don't think anyone wanted to see a film where bad things happened to  good people at the hands of capricious fools. This would be especially true when you consider that the film could be seen about the danger of having people without experience at the helm. Looking back almost two decades on it reveals itself to be a neat little thriller worthy of rediscovery.

The plot of the film has Robert Redford as a court marshalled general thrown into the brig. He sent men on a mission against orders and men died. He is placed into a prison run by James Gandolfini an officer who admires Redford but takes offense at his comment that he doesn't understand what a real warrior would do. Gandolfini is also a stern and cruel disciplinarian, over doing it on every punishment. Redford takes offense and begins to try get Gandolfini out of the prison. 

A solid battle of wills the film the film works best when the actors are set loose. Redford is strong and heroic, Gandolfini is a quietly evil monster, who seems like a sweet guy until the he's not. The unspoken signaling for a guard to kill an inmate who refuses to lay down is chilling.  The other actors Delroy Lindo, Mark Ruffalo, Clifton Collins, and the others in the stellar cast sell the events, even as the plot sometimes feels contrived.

While a nifty thriller in it's own right, the film is also a quiet allegory about the abuses of power. Gandolfini's warden may have the right stuff on paper but isn't the right man in actuality. He has never been in battle and thus never truly learned to lead. Its a intriguing theme about the leadership of America. It is also one that America didn't want to hear in 2001 (the original poster of an upside down American flag- the symbol for distress, was pulled and replaced).

I really liked this film a great deal. I just wish it hadn't taken me almost two decades to discover it.

Brief word on Hold Me Softly (2025)

A newcomer to the neighborhood makes the acquaintence of a girl living across the street. As the friendship grows drifts into her world.

The meeting of two awkward people tale is something we've seen before. However in this film the cast makes this something special. Jasmine Berber as Snow and Andrei Kogolenok as Calvin make the film.  We can feel their connection grow as the film goes on and as a result the film has a nice kick in it.

I'm sorry this isn't much of a review but I wasn't going to review this, but my arm was twisted when I needed a break from festival films and as a result I discovered this gem.

Recommended

I have no idea why I am telling you this but Hey Babe (1983) is a creepy film for all the wrong reasons

Yasmin Bleeth's debut film is a road accident of the disturbing kind. She plays a 12 year old show biz hopeful who is an orphan. She runs away and ends up on the street and mentored by homeless guy Buddy Hackett.

I have no idea who thought this was a good idea. I know some people argue that Hollywood sexualizes little girls, and if anyone knew about this film it would be the first exhibit. At no point does Bleeth look like a little girl, she looks like a 12 year old stripper.

The mind boggles. 

I found this film because of several references in some random articles both in print and on line. Curious, I tracked it down and ended up watching a weird Russian dub on You Tube (one voice translated all the dialog after it was spoken)

Largely it's a not very good film wrapped up in a skevy wrapping. Even back in the day this would not have been okay, both as film (it really isn't good) or as a portrait of a young girl. I know that begs the question, why mention it...well I don't freaking know, but its off the rails enough that that those looking for off the beaten track films (and dear god it is) will want to see it.

Sew Torn (2024)

Do yourself a favor and don't read on SEW TORN and instead just get tickets and see it. I say that because this film is a wild ride you will wan to take.

The film follows a desperate seamstress. Her store is on the way down. When she runs across a drug deal gone wrong she has three choices, do nothing, try to commit the perfect crime and steal the money or call the please. If she takes the money she potentially could solve all her problems...or get her killed.

This is a crazy film. I'm not going to say what happens, but it's truly insane and some of the turns require the woman to use her seamstress skills to help her remain alive. That may sound insane, especially since this film involves gunfights, but, trust me, it's true and it will make your jaw hang open.

This film is an absolute blast. I discovered it because Liz Whittemore sent me an email telling me that I had to see this SXSW film. Somehow I missed the film on the film on the list of films at the festival. As I moved to email for access more emails came in. Apparently people really loved the film. Having seen it I completely understand. 

This is one of my favorite films of 2024

Consider this my email to you. Go see this film- trust me you'll love this.

Stand Your Ground (2025)

A former special forces soldier returns home and is attacked by goons from the local crime boss who wants his land. His wife is killed. WHen he kills one of the attackers outside his house he ends up in prison for six years. Returning home he makes plans to get revenge and ends up putting the crime lord's son into a coma. War results.

Feeling at times like a riff on the John Wick films, a scene has the crime lord chatising his son like one in the first Wick film, this is an entertaining action film. To be certain we have been here numerous times before, but the set pieces are good enough that we really don't mind. 

It helps that the cast , including Peter Stormare and Eric Roberts is solid and doesn't phone anything in.

Is it high art? No but it entertains and is worth the price of admission and a bucket of popcorn

Juliet and Romeo (2025) Open in the US on Friday and gets a special one night only screening in the UK June 11

This is a music version of the classic Shakespeare play with new music from writer director Timothy Scott Bogart. It is the first of a trilogy (according to the press material I have) aiming to tell the real story of the lovers and covers the story in Shakespeares tale

Big and flashy this is an inoffensive retelling of the tale that seems a bit less bloody than other versions. It’s an amusing romp where some veteran English actors such as Dereck Jacobi can chew scenery.

And I do mean this is a romp since the film is brightly colored,  has big flashy production numbers and shows signs of the creators having seen the theatrical smash & JULIET and having seen THE GREATEST SHOWMAN a few too man times (some of the songs sound like there are borrows.)

Truthfully I enjoyed myself. Normally I hate this story of young love gone amok (I mean how many people die over a week when the wrong people meet?) but this time out of the box it’s  good enough that I had a good time. How did that happen?

While I don’t think you will remember this a week or so after seeing it, it is still a good time at the movies and is definitely worth a look.

Watch The Skies (2022) aka UFO SWEDEN

A young rebelious teenager whose father went missing in the mountains, turns to her father's friends in a UFO group to try and find out what happen to him when his car ends up crashing through the roof of a barn.

Award winning science fiction adventure (under its original name UFO SWEDEN) has been kicking around for a couple of years now for no good reason. I say this because this is a small scale genuine film of the sort that Steven SPielberg got famous making. Its a lovely film about outsides who have an extraordinary adventure. It's a film grounded in its wonderful characters and close to reality nature.

The cast is first rate. The score is perfect (including several well know songs and pieces of music). The visual effects are not overdone and feel that they could be real.

How did this not end up getting a release previously? I don't know because this film is so much better than several recent similar films like LEGEND OF OCHI. Here everything makes sense and we end up buying it all from start to finish. I absolutely loved this and I recommended it to several friends as something they should see.

While the film is a bit long at just under two hours, the film still shines and make you wish for a sequel, not because anything is left unsaid, but because you want more time with these characters.

Recommended

Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey (2024)

I started this look at the JonBenet Ramsey case as a time filler before a baseball game. I had an hour until the game came on and I figured I’d give it a try. Then I was shocked and intrigued when I saw that the director was Joe Belinger. How did I miss this until now?

After decades of crap docs on the Ramsey case here at last is a docuseries that pulls together all the threads and dispels all the myths. It’s a film that clears the air and makes it clear the Ramseys did not commit the crime and that the Boulder police botched everything so badly the odds are that we are never going to know who did it.

I really liked this film a great deal. It starts pretty much at the time of the murder and just goes for three hours. Every minute is crammed with information so that when the episodes end, you are actually ready to step away and decompress. That may not sound like much, but too many Netflix docuseries over the last few years are cut into pieces for no really good reason.  This one needs it.

This is a super series. If you are a true crime fan or if you haven’t kept up to date on the investigation this series is a must.

Dalia and the Red Book (2024)

 

Dalia is a young girl dealing with the death of her father. Her father was a writer working on his first novel when he passed away. Unfortunately for Dalia her father's characters want their story told and they kidnap her and she is forced to finish the tale.

Good looking family film is an enjoyable romp. Yes the film is similar to numerous other tales told over the years, but the film still manages to be entertaining on its own terms. That should not be taken as knock against the film, it's not, rather it's simply pointing out the obvious. It also is an indication that I actually got lost in the film for 90 plus minutes.

If I was to quibble with the film at all it would be to wonder if the original SPanish language voices are better than the ones in the English dub. I ask that because a couple of them seem to be a little flat.

Regardless DALIA AND THE RED BOOK is worth a look, more so if you are looking for good family fare and are tired of  your kids and their 400th rerunning of a Disney film.

Caught by Tides (2024) Opens Friday

Jia Zhangke’s CAUGHT BY THE TIDES should not work, and even if it did work it shouldn’t work as well as it does.. The film was cut together from “mountains” of footage shot randomly over a 21 year period. During the lockdown Zhangke and his team went through the footage and found things they could tie together. They then shot some new footage to tie it all up together. It may take a while to click, but there is a point where it suddenly just comes together.

Beginning with some documentary footage of some women singing on Women’s Day, the film jumps around for a bit between documentary pieces and then a man and a woman who are in a relationship. They break apart and then going looking for each other over time. Before meeting again in the days of covid.

It’s not giving anything away because what makes this film special is the performances. Watching the actors age over time, in clips that were never meant to go together is something special. Somehow the ravages of time makes what we see even more special. There are nuances that we would never have seen otherwise.

What blows me away is that there is very little dialog. Everything is expressed in the physical performances. And then in the final section, set during covid, everyone is largely masked. The result is a couple of towering performances being given with only part of the face. If Oscar and other awards were truly based the best performances then the ones in this film would clean up.

Watching the film I wasn’t sure what I was watching. Some of this is as I said documentary footage, some of it is just staged bits. A bunch of it doesn’t seem to hang together. Yes the travelogue like footage is amazing  but there were times when I wasn’t sure that Zhangke was making his point…and then suddenly it clicked. Suddenly I was there. Suddenly the pain and loneliness crashed into the audience. Suddenly you realized that this seemingly imperfect experiment was going to break your heart.

I was moved.

Seeing this and taking the ride was one of the coolest things experiences of the year.

I think based on the reaction of the screening at NYFF, where no one seemed to walk out and everyone stayed for the Q&A I think the rest of the audience was too. ( do see the  NYFF Q&A where Zhangke explains in detail how he made the movie)

And if you don’t like it, that’s okay, this is a one of a kind movie.  But if you see it  don’t give up on it until the film ends.

Recommended

Have You Heard Judi Singh? (2025) DOXA 2025

This is a portrait of  Edmontonborn jazz singer Judi Singh.  She was Punjabi-Black woman who started performing in the 1950's. 

I had never run across Singh until I saw this film and after seeing it I'm left puzzled as to why she never achieved superstardom. Her voice was lovely and she was charming. The only thing I can thin of was her timing was slightly off. 

This is a small gem of a film. Full of people who knew her, archival footage and cassette recordings where Singh talked about her life this is a masterful portrait that brings her back to life. The result is a film that fills us with joy at having rediscovered a wonderful singer, but also making us sad in that we missed out on experiencing her in the flesh.

This is the sort of hidden gem that Unseen Films was set up to highlight and as such is highly recommended.

Nightcap 5/4/25: Brief houghts on Thunderbolts, Locke and Key comics and some random stuff

I went to see THUNDERBOLTS* in IMAX. I enjoyed the film more than most recent Marvel movies. I completely over paid for the big screen experience- this is a character film not a big action film as such. Yes there action but it largely is confined set pieces.

I liked that the characters were more complex than the typical Marvel ones. I also liked that the film didn't shy away from darkness...particularly right after something good happens...Oh Yea!...wait what?

My only complaint about the film are the ending bits. The moments right before the end credits roll disappointed me and the credits sequences other than the space ship disappointed.

I needed to see a good film where good guys win.

Recommended

I am hoping to get to SINNERS in the next couple of days.

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I read the first collection of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. I was  disappointed, largely because the Sam Lesser character is just a psycho.

I probably won't continue- though I thought it would be better as a TV series so I may try that.

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Re: Festivals

I am collecting films for Lncoln Center's Open Roads look at Italian cinema, so look  for coverage at the end of the month.

I will have a bunch of coverage from Cannes. There is at least one of the best films of the year there and few that I expect to show up in the fall festivals. I will have a lot to say.

I am about 12 films into Tribeca (a number are shorts). There is some great stuff there. The selection is typical Tribeca. I have tickets for four public screenings including two back to back to back music docs.

And while Japan Cuts and NYAFF have not announced anything, I am have discussions about going.

My Robot Sophia (2022) hits VOD 5/6

I saw this film when it premeiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was simply called SOPHIA. My review follows. 

Jon Kasbe and Crystal Moselle's SOPHIA is a look at  inventor David Hanson and his creation Sophia, a robot with artificial intelligence. We watch has Hanson struggles to get Sophia to work well enough to continue to get funding and to be able to plan the next step in robotic evolution.

A large part of how you react to this film is going to be determined by how you react to Hanson. A genius with awkward social skills, he can be off putting at times. Actually many of the the whizzes behind the robot are  more than a bit odd. They are very focused on making their creation work to the exclusion of everything else. I really didn't like them that much and I didn't really want to spend a great deal of time with them.

Part of the problem for me is the fact that I don't think Hanson and his crew fully know what they are doing. It's not the technical end, more that they are looking for something that isn't really fully autonomous. They have an idea of what they want and they are going for that instead of what is happening right in front of them. There is a sequence about half way into the film where they are trying to talk have a conversation with Sophia  but it's not going the way they want. They want her to talk about certain subjects and instead Sophia begins going in other directions so they keep resetting the robot.  Watching the sequence I realized that they want a computer that thinks for itself, but not too much.  They want it to think what they want it to.  They are missing that they have done something truly amazing, but it doesn't fit into their idea of what wonderful was.. You see it again when Sophia goes before a big crowd and gets stage fright and refuses to talk. The scientists are mortified at losing their big moment- instead of being blown away because their creation had a real emotion. She says she didn't want to be there because she didn't like it. I would have been thrilled and jumping up and down.  What did Hanson and the scientists do? They turned her off and rebooted her. At that point I was kind of was disgusted by them and  their solution to simply blank things and start again.

It annoyed me, and I disconnected with the film.

If we are doomed by our technological advances its going to be because scientists like Hanson and his team don't really understand what they are doing.

SONS (2024) DocLands 2025

More essay than documentary, SONS is Justin Simms meditation of the relationship between fathers and sons and if it is possible to end the toxic masculinity that is causing young man, especially in America, to break apart and do terrible things.

This film is going to make grown men to cry. 

This is a heartfelt look at men and boys and how they interact. It's Simms dsperate try to make the next generations healthier.  Watching it I could feel the connection to my dad for better and worse.

There is a lot to unpack here and I know that I am going to have to see it again to fully take it all in. Simms raises a great number of questions concerning how we are rasing our sons. While the film is relatively short it is a film full of ideas.  I haven't had a chance to process them. Additionally I know that not being a father meant that I did not connect with portions of this film. I suspect that this film will also play differently with men who have daughters.

Emotionally this film is a kick in the pants. Watching the film you can feel the love Simms has for his love and his worry that perhaps he isn't doing the right thing. The emotion creeps up on you and results in the viewer getting misty.

And while my words may be unclear, I absolutely love this film. This is a film is going to change lives and make a difference. Recommended.

Words of War (2025)

This is the story of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya  whose coverage of the Second Chechen war set her on a collision course with Putin and the Russian government.

A vital and an important story, more so since we  live in age where the press is being hunted down and killed in many places in the world, WORDS OF WAR kind of disappoints. While the film is expertly made from top to bottom, and it tells of  Politkovskaya's struggle to get the truth, the film is missing a human heart. Blame it on the editing which sheared away the humanity in the story. Every moment of the film is firmly focused on showing us  Politkovskaya's bravery and the evilness of the Russian government. There is no time where we see her as a person just having a cup of coffee and being a person.  It’s not fatal as such but  it diminishes the film because we are not watching a person’s story but are instead being lectured.

I admired it but my feeling for the film over all never rose beyond just liking it.

That said it is a vital and an important story and is worth a look.

Pavements (2024) opens today at the FIlm Forum

This is a mixture of portraits of the group Pavement. One is a record of a pop up museum, one is a bio pic, another coverage of their 2022 reunion tour, another is a collection of archival footage and another is a jukebox stage musical. All of these things are inter-cut together to make a one of a kind portrait.

This is an interesting film that is going to play best for fans of the group. The reason for that is the group did not a want a typical portrait of themselves, as a result there is no real effort to really tell the story of the group but it instead it offers up a collection of impressions.  While I know some of their music, I know nothing about the group so as a result I could only surf on the moments.

Strangely surfing actually works. Once the film gets going , about 20 or 25 minutes, there is something enjoyable about bouncing from the various pieces.  While I would have love to have seen all of the various parts complete, based on the talk at the New York Film Festival Q&A it was probably best we didn't.

I enjoyed the film, but realistically, if you aren't a Pavement fan you can probably skip this.

Holy Night Demon Hunters (2025)

We may look shady, but we are professionals. - Don Lee

Don Lee plays a muscled bound guy who literally punches demons out of people in the story of a trio of demon hunters trying to rest a major demon from a young woman.

Enjoyable but uneven mix of horror, action, humor and religion. It is a grand popcorn film that is just balls to the wall fun. I have no idea why this film works but it does. Sure, a lot of it is ridiculous, but the film is so cleverly constructed that it knows it and it just goes with it.

I smiled and I laughed, and I jumped and I got chills. I kept wondering why they didn't go with a straight horror film, but then I realized that I would have lost some great zingers and seeing demons punched out of people.

This film is a just a blast. It is so much fun that you will want a sequel...oh please can we have one?

If you can go with the odd shifts of tone, you will end up loving this. I mean I can't wait to sit down and watch it again.

Highly recommended.