Favorite films

Recent reviews

• 

  Yasmine 2014

  ★★★ Watched 18 Mar 2025

  March Around the World 2025: Brunei Darussalam
  ======
  Could be called The Silat Kid, as the Pat Morita, Ralph Machio 80s flick s a clear inspiration. Yasmine follows its title character, plucky teenager Yasmine (Liyana Yus), into a new school, where she gets involved with Silat, a South Asian martial art. Yasmine is competitive and cocky, so she browbeats her teammates to improve so they can win the local tournament—a goal that only grows more compelling when she falls for…

• 

  Breeder 2015

  ★★½ Watched 21 Mar 2025

  March Around the World 2025: Malta
  ======
  Breeder wants to be Malta's answer to Silence of the Lambs, and at times, it succeeds. The plot is intriguing enough: the mother of a missing man begs a pair of private investigators to find her son, and when they reluctantly agree, they tie him to a creepy underground world of supplying necrophageous insect larvae to pet owners looking to feed their lizards and other creepy crawlies. Unfortunately, the movie spends too much…

Popular reviews

• 

  The Big Shot 1942

  ★★★ Watched 18 Nov 2024 2

  The Big Noirvember 2024: Category 25. With "Big" in the title
  =======
  It's all fun and games until someone puts on blackface.

  Aside from that rather unfortunate sequence, The Big Shot is a solid Huphrey Bogart/Warner Bros. ganster flick. Bogie plays a washed-up gangster who agrees to one last job. We get a few fun action sequences, well executed by director Lewis Seiler. The plot is serviceable enough. And, of course, Bogart carries the picture on his charisma and acting…

• 

  Le Cercle Rouge 1970

  ★★★ Watched 09 Nov 2024

  The Big Noirvember 2024: Category 30. Any noir on your watchlist
  =======
  Basically a remake of Rififi, just not as riveting. The film's a good 30 minutes too long. The heist sequence, like that in Rififi, is the highlight, taking place in real time and with no dialogue like that in the earlier film. Despite the sleepy pacing, Le cercle rouge is worth a look for fans of French neo-noirs or of heist films in general.