The Grouchy Editor

Obsession

The big development in Hollywood these days is independent movies like Backrooms and Obsession, low-budget flicks made by Gen Z YouTubers, breaking past “establishment” gatekeepers. The Gen Z kids have been killing it at the box office.

I went to see Obsession, Curry Barker’s horror film about a young couple who, well — it’s basically Play Misty for Me (look it up, kids) with a supernatural twist.

In short, the young man uses a mumbo-jumbo trick to get hot girl to like him. Really, really like him. Yeah, be careful what you wish for.

Pros: There is one scene that takes place in the front seat of a car that made me literally jolt in my seat. Yes, it was a dreaded “jump scare,” but it was earned because, somewhere in the back of my consciousness, I was afraid something like it might happen. And then it did. And it got me.

Cons: For most of the film, I was more depressed than fearful. I felt bad for young people who, college degree or not, find themselves working minimum-wage jobs and splurging on “trivia nights” at the bar for entertainment. No wonder these penniless kids resent older generations. Release: 2026  Grade: B

Would I watch it again?  Possibly. It’s a well-made movie, but not all that new.

**

Send Help

Director Sam Raimi is still living down a scene in his breakthrough movie The Evil Dead in which a girl is sexually assaulted by … a tree limb. I suspect much of Send Help, Raimi’s latest movie, is meant to atone for that sinful scene — at least in the eyes of woke Hollywood.

The movie, in which a male boss and his female subordinate get stranded on a deserted island (think Swept Away), seems hellbent on paying back old-time misogyny with modern-day misandry.

The male gaze? More like the female gaze. Raimi’s camera lingers on naked Dylan O’Brien’s backside as he stands in the ocean surf. Meanwhile, Rachel McAdams “bathes” in a waterfall — without removing any clothes.

There are multiple scenes in which the much smaller McAdams out-muscles co-star O’Brien in hand-to-hand combat.

And then there is the infamous faux castration scene. I could almost hear Raimi whispering to Hollywood, “Does this make up for the tree-limb scene?” Release: 2026  Grade: B-

Would I watch it again?  No.

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Drop

A single mother on a first date at a fancy restaurant gets anonymous “drops” on her phone threatening to harm her young son if she doesn’t do something right now: kill her date. Is someone in the restaurant sending the threats? What should she do?

The first hour of this (sort of) Hitchcockian thriller is pretty good. It plays on the dangers of new technology (cell phone texts) by capitalizing on a nice setting (the skyscraper restaurant), clever editing, and an intriguing premise.

Alas and alack, alack and alas, the last act of the film undermines all of those positives by being a) predictable; b) outrageous; and c) insulting to the audience’s intelligence – multiple times. Release: 2025  Grade: B-

Would I watch it again? No.

**

Fall

You can pretty much tell from the posters and plot synopsis if Fall is a movie for you. Do you have a fear of heights? Do you get a vicarious thrill from watching people in precarious positions — like atop a 2,000-foot-tall TV tower? If so, Fall is a rollicking great time. 

On the other hand, if you’re a stickler for plot and realism, well, maybe watch something else, like 2015’s The Walk.

Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner play two women who attempt to bond — and bolster their TikTok clout — by climbing an imposing but dilapidated tower. This they decide to do alone in the desert. Do you think things will go smoothly?

Director Scott Mann says he eschewed green screens and digital sets, and actresses Currey and Gardner reportedly did the bulk of their own stunts. I’m guessing this was not the case for all of the shots.

I didn’t much care how the visual effects were created; they worked, and regardless of numerous departures from reality in the story, I shut off my brain and had a nail-biting good time. Release: 2022  Grade: B+

Would I watch it again?  I wouldn’t seek it out, but if it happened to be on TV, why not?

Gratuitous Sidebar

I wasn’t familiar with the two stars of Fall, so as part of my, ahem, research, I looked them up. Turns out Virginia Gardner (the blonde) appeared in the TV show 1923. Turns out she was featured in a kinky nude scene. Turns out I decided to share a couple clips with you:

I’m a dirty old man, so I will see a scene like this and wonder: Was it a closed set? Did the gaffers get a look between her legs while she was naked and spread-legged on that bed?

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Sinners

Plot:  Twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return home to 1932 Mississippi and run into an unexpected obstacle when they open a juke joint: vampires.

Pros:  The movie is well-produced and well-shot. There is a fantasy dance sequence incorporating music through the ages that’s a thing to behold. The cinematography and acting are top-notch.

Sinners, at least in its first hour, is often a thought-provoking drama. Writer-director Ryan Coogler had lofty ambitions. His story isn’t just horror; he tackles race and temptation in the 1930s South.

Cons:  For a movie promoted as a vampire flick, it’s not scary. Vampires with red eyes and who dance an Irish jig don’t exactly tingle the spine.

Crucially, Coogler’s metaphors and political themes don’t mesh well with vampire shenanigans.

The elephant in the room:  Sinners garnered a record 16 Oscar nominations. This is a movie that wants to be taken seriously but winds up a peculiar mix of To Kill a Mockingbird and From Dusk till Dawn. It’s good, but not 16-Oscars good. Release: 2025  Grade: B

Would I watch it again?  Possibly. But I forgot to mention one more con: Like so many Hollywood movies these days, at 138 minutes this one is too damn long.

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Eden

A family man, a hedonist, and a philosopher become neighbors on an uninhabited island. When things go bad, who comes out on top?

Ron Howard’s (inexplicably, to me) controversial movie, based on a true story, is basically Lord of the Flies with adults instead of children. A stellar cast including Jude Law, Ana de Armas, and Sydney Sweeney — yes, Sidney Sweeney — battle the elements and each other when, unlike the boys in Flies, they choose to escape 1931 Germany for new lives on a Galapagos island.

Apparently, Howard had trouble finding a distributor for his film, possibly because it’s quite the departure for the usually wholesome director. There is much sex and violence in the movie. But it’s never dull. Release: 2024  Grade: B+

Would I watch it again?  It’s often unpleasant but, eventually, sure.

*

Relay

Relay was such a good movie — until it wasn’t.

It was a superb thriller that had the makings of a modern-day The Conversation — until it didn’t.

I was ready to give an “A” grade to the film, something I don’t do very often, until the last 15 minutes or so of the story. I’m still giving it a high grade because 90 percent of the film is deserving.

Leads Riz Ahmed and Lily James star as a New York fixer and the whistle-blowing client he’s helping avoid the wrath of Big Pharma. Ahmed, especially, shines as the kind of loner played by Gene Hackman in The Conversation: exceptionally good at his job yet haunted by all the grey areas he needs to navigate to help whistleblowers who change their minds. The villains, especially Sam Worthington, are everything you want in your bad guys. The movie is all tense cat-and-mouse dealings between these factions. Until the final scenes.

What went wrong? Did screenwriter Justin Piasecki decide his film needed more drama? Did someone in marketing determine that clips of people speaking in hushed voices and typing on laptops wouldn’t make for a spicy-enough trailer? Either way, when the film devolves into cliched shootouts and chases, it loses its chance at greatness. Release: 2024 Grade: B+

Would I watch it again? Definitely.

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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

A recurring theme on Julian Fellowes’s beloved Downton Abbey (TV series and movies) has always been societal change — embracing it or resisting it. The suppression of gays, women, and people of color have all been examined. Nothing wrong with that; after all, the show is set in the early 20th century.

However … Fellowes goes light on potential downsides to social upheaval. Does gradual “progress” for marginalized groups inevitably lead to a more just, utopian world? Or does it simply transfer power from one group to another, and we all know what power does? Downton, especially lately, is none-too-subtle in its support of one side over the other. Fellowes’s villains do all but wear black hats (actually, sometimes they do). His heroes realize the error of their ways and reluctantly embrace change.

But I digress. I’ve been a fan of this show since 2011. The characters, pacing, and production values made it a joy for fans. This alleged swan song (will there be a spinoff for Lady Mary?) is comforting and poignant.

Yet I also watch the news in 2025. I see what progressivism has done across the pond. I can’t help but worry about another poignant movie titled Great Britain: The Grand Finale. Release: 2025 Grade: B

Would I watch it again?  Not likely, but I might go back and watch the original series.

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