Today is Nicolas Cage’s 62nd birthday. Join me and celebrate by watching this incredible clip from my favorite film of 2021, PIG! It’s currently streaming on Netflix!
Category Archives: Film
Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Art Directors Guild
The Art Directors Guild has announced its nominees for the best of 2025! And here they are….
BEST PERIOD FEATURE FILM
Frankenstein — Production Designer: Tamara Deverell
Hamnet — Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
Marty Supreme — Production Designer: Jack Fisk
The Phoenician Scheme — Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
Sinners — Production Designer: Hannah Beachler
BEST FANTASY FEATURE FILM
Avatar: Fire and Ash — Production Designers: Dylan Cole, Ben Procter
The Fantastic Four: First Steps — Production Designer: Kasra Farahani
Mickey 17 — Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
Superman — Production Designer: Beth Mickle
Wicked: For Good — Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
BEST CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM
Bugonia — Production Designer: James Price
F1 — Production Designers: Ben Munro, Mark Tildesley
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning — Production Designer: Gary Freeman
One Battle After Another — Production Designer: Florencia Martin
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery — Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Bad Guys 2 — Production Designer: Luc Desmarchelier
Elio — Production Designer: Harley Jessup
KPop Demon Hunters — Production Designers: Mingjue Helen Chen, Dave Bleich
The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants — Production Designer: Sean Haworth; Animation Production Designer: Pablo R. Mayer
Zootopia 2 — Production Designer: Cory Loftis
I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)
Sleazy magazine publisher Harlan Wade (Robert Guillaume) has made a lot of enemies through his scandal sheet. He just published a story suggesting that Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) and Della Street (Barbara Hale) are more than just friends. Well, duh! Everyone knows Perry and Della are in love! Perry still wants to sue him but then Harlan turns up dead in his swimming pool. It would have been interesting if Perry had been a suspect but instead the police arrest Michelle Benti (Susan Wilder), a reporter who was recently fired by Wade. Because Michelle is the ex-girlfriend of Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), Perry defends her in court.
This is another case of someone close to the Mason crew being accused of murder. The D.A. should know better than to arrest anyone who knows Perry, Della, or Paul. Michelle first appeared in The Case of the Shooting Star but she was played by a different actress. It’s still good that, for once, the series actually acknowledged one of Paul’s ex-girlfriends. I worry about Paul and the way he falls in and out of love.
This one had a good mystery and a really memorable supporting cast. Morgan Brittany, Yaphet Kotto, Wings Hauser, and George Grizzard all played potential suspects. I liked that this was one of those mysteries where the victim went to a party before he died and everyone there threatened to kill him at some point. This movie also featured one of the better courtroom confessions. Raymond Burr uses a cane in this episode and is usually filmed either sitting down or leaning against something for support. Even though Burr obviously wasn’t feeling well, it’s nice to see him and Barbara Hale share some sweet scenes together.
Who sent Della flowers, champagne, and perfume? Watch to find out!
Camouflage (2000, directed by James Keach)
It’s strange to hear Leslie Nielsen drop an F bomb.
That was my main though I watched Camouflage. Leslie Nielsen plays a hard-boiled private detective named Jack Potter who reluctantly takes on an apprentice named Matty McKenzie (Lochlyn Munro). Mostly to get Matty, a failed stage actor, out of his hair, Jack sends him to handle a minor case in the small town of Beaver Ridge. The minor case becomes a major case when it becomes clear that a murder is being planned.
Camouflage starts out like a typical Leslie Nielsen mockbuster, with Nielsen providing a ridiculous, Frank Drebin-style narration. But the film itself develops into a dark comedy where Matty finds himself in a small town where everyone’s got secret. Nielsen gives an almost-serious performance as Potter, playing him as a cynic with a tragic backstory and little patience for his protegee. There’s a tonal imbalance between the moments of broad comedy and the more serious moments and the film doesn’t work as a result but it is interesting to see a post-Airplane! Leslie Nielsen playing things relatively straight.
One interesting thing about Camouflage is that it was written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson but, in the final cut, the screenplay is credited to Reginald Perry. (The small town setting is one that Thornton used frequently in his scripts and it’s easy to imagine him playing the role of Jack Potter in alternate version of this film.) Camouflage reportedly sat on the shelf for quite a while before it was finally given a release and Nielsen’s narration often feels like it was something that was added in post-production to try to both bring the disjointed film together and to draw in the Naked Gun fans. I have a feeling the story behind this film is probably more interesting than the film itself.
North of the Border (1946, directed by B. Reeves Eason)
Rancher Bob “Utah” Neyes (Russell Hayden) heads into Canada to meet up with his business partner. Unfortunately, his partner has been murdered by outlaw Nails Nelson (Douglas Fowley). Mountie Jack Craig (Lyle Talbot) almost arrests Utah for the crime but he becomes convinced that Utah is innocent and Nails is guilty. Along with fur trader Ivy Jenkins (I. Stanford Jolley), Craig and Utah try to break up Nails’s fur-smuggling operation.
While I was watching it, I thought this movie seemed even more familiar than the usual Poverty Row western. I realized that’s because I had actually seen Russell Hayden and most of the rest of the cast in another movie that had a similar plot, right down taking place on the other side of the border. That other movie was called ‘Neath Canadian Skies.  Both it and North of the Border are among the four Canadian western films that Robert Lippert produced in 1946, all of which starred Russell Hayden and were directed by B. Reeves Easton. Supposedly, it took 20 days to shoot all of them.
As for North of the Border, it’s only 42 minutes long and none of those minutes are wasted. There’s all of the usual horse chases and gunfights that fans want from these films. For me, the most interesting thing about the film was getting to see Lyle Talbot play something other than a boring authority figure. Also, this film features Inez Cooper, a pretty redhead who had a short career but whose beauty and personality as well-remembered by fans of Poverty Row westerns. She plays the love interest in this one and there’s no doubt that most men would give up living in Utah for her.
Here Are The 2025 Actor Nominations!
The SAG Awards are now known as the Actor Awards for some reason. I think that’s kind of dumb but whatever. The important thing that the 2025 Actor nominations were announced this morning. My main take away? The Best Picture hopes of both Jay Kelly and Wicked: For Good are dead. If they couldn’t score an ensemble nod with this crowd, they’re not going to make it to the top ten. (Wicked: For Good, at least, seems destined to get a nomination for Ariana Grande and some technical nods. Jay Kelly seems destined to go for zero.)
Here are the Actor Nominations:
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Emma Stone – Bugonia
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Miles Caton – Sinners
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
OUTSTANDING STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
F1
Frankenstein
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
I Watched Perry Mason: The Case Of The Murdered Madam (1987, Dir. by Ron Satlof)
Former madam Suzanne Domenico (Ann Jillian) attempts to blackmail four rich men who are planning on embezzling money from a bank and is found dead by her husband, Tony, shortly afterwards. Tony (Vincent Baggetta) is arrested and charged with murdering his wife. Tony’s older brother used to run around with Della Street (Barbara Hale) and Della is able to get Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to defend him in court. Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt) is brought in to do the investigative legwork. Once again, Paul falls for a younger woman (Daphne Ashbrook) who will probably never be mentioned again in any of the other movies.
This movie was a little sad because it was obvious that Raymond Burr was not in good health. He spends most of the movie sitting or moving with crutches. In the movie, they say that Perry is using crutches because of a skiing accident but looking at Raymond Burr, there’s no way to imagine him skiing. Burr is still as sharp as ever when asking questions in the courtroom but it’s still clear that he was in pain when he did this movie. Perry being sidelined does mean that Barbara Hale and William Katt get to do more than usual. After spending the last few movies constantly getting outrun and smacked around, Katt finally gets to beat someone up in the movie.
The mystery isn’t bad, even though I guessed who the murderer was long before the trial started. The entire embezzlement scheme comes down to embezzling a few cents a day so that no one will notice. That’s the same thing they tried to do in Office Space! Luckily, no one got murdered that time.
Overall, this was a good entry in the Parry Mason movies, especially for those of us who like watching Paul Drake, Jr. I’m starting to wonder if all of Perry and Della’s friends are going to end up getting accused of murder at some point. My aunt and I always used to joke about how often Jessica Fletcher’s nephew was accused of murdering someone. It might be just as dangerous to be a friend of Perry Mason’s!
Jury Duty (1990, directed by Michael Schultz)
Meek-looking accountant Sanford Lagelfost (Bronson Pinchot) is on trial for embezzlement. It’s supposed to be a simple, up-and-shut case but when the beautiful star witness (Tracy Scoggins) testifies that Sanford is an amazing lover, it becomes a tabloid sensation and the jurors are sequestered in a hotel, where they have to deal with their own restlessness and several distractions, the majority of whom are also played by Bronson Pinchot. Pinchot plays a total of four characters but it’s not like he’s Peter Sellers or even Eddie Murphy. He looks and sounds like Bronson Pinchot in every role.
The jurors are played by a bunch of a familiar television actors. Alan Thicke plays a yuppie named Phil and Lynn Redgrave plays a hippie named Abby and they end up getting married. Stephen Baldwin is the waiter who falls for Heather Locklear, an actress who is a former call girl who is being threatened by her pimp. Madchen Amick is the spoiled rich girl. Television mainstays Mark Blankfield, Ilene Graf, William G. Schilling, Danny Pintauro, and Bill Kirchenbauer are all present and accounted for. Adding to the overall sitcom feel of the movie is the presence of Reginald VelJohnson as the judge. No one in the cast tries very hard, though I do think a case can be made that Madchen Amick was the most beautiful woman on television in 1990.
With the film failing to achieve either a consistent tone or a single laugh, the best thing that I can say about Jury Duty is that it didn’t feature Pauly Shore. Instead it featured Alan Thicke driving a BMW with a license plate that read, “BMW4Phil.” It’s hard to believe that this film was directed by Michael Schultz, who was responsible for movies like Car Wash, Cooley High, and Greased Lightning in the 70s and Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon in the 80s.
I wish I had watched The Last Dragon instead.
Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin (1937, directed by Sam Newfield)
On the frontier, crooked lawyer Gabe Bowdre (Karl Hackett) is trying to secure all of the local water rights for himself and that means running off both the homesteaders and the ranchers. Bowdre and his men try to start a range war between the ranching Stocktown family and the homesteading Dawsons. Meanwhile, Dan Stockton (Bob Steele) has fallen in love with Gail Dawson (Louise Stanley) and marries her mere minutes before someone shoots his father in the back.
Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin has all the common elements that usually come with a B-western. I have lost track of how many times I have watched Karl Hackett play a crooked businessman who tries to start a range war to win either the water rights or the property deeds. Bob Steele spent a good deal of his career beating up Karl Hackett on screen.
What sets Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin apart is the Romeo and Juliet angle. While it’s predictable, the love story between Dan and Gail still adds more emotional depth than is usually found in these movies. The scene where all of the ranchers glare daggers at Dan’s new wife is powerful.
Bob Steele’s as good a hero as usual and Karl Hackett is a dastardly villain. Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin runs a little less than an hour, making it a good western for an afternoon break.
Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Chicago Indie Film Critics
The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their nominations for the best of 2025! And here they are:
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Producers: Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Conor Hannon, Richie Doyle
It Was Just an Accident – Producers: Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin
The Life of Chuck – Producers: Trevor Macy, Mike Flanagan
Sorry, Baby – Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins
Train Dreams – Producers: Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler
BEST STUDIO FILM
Hamnet – Producers: Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg
Marty Supreme – Producers: Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas, Timothée Chalamet
One Battle After Another – Producers: Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson
Sinners – Producers: Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler
28 Years Later – Producers: Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice, Bernie Bellew, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
It Was Just an Accident – Producers: Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin
No Other Choice – Producers: Park Chan-wook, Back Jisun, Michèle Ray-Gavras, Alexandre Gavras
The Secret Agent – Producers: Emilie Lesclaux, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sentimental Value – Producers: Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
Sirât – Producers: Domingo Corral, Oliver Laxe, Xavi Font, Pedro AlmodĂłvar, AgustĂn AlmodĂłvar, Esther GarcĂa, Oriol MaymĂł, Mani Mortazavi, Andrea Queralt
BEST DOCUMENTARY
John Candy: I Like Me – Producers: Colin Hanks, Johnny Pariseau, George Dewey, Shane Reid, Ryan Reynolds, Sean Stuart, Glen Zipper
Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 – Producers: Raoul Peck, Alex Gibney, George Chignell, Nick Shumaker
The Perfect Neighbor – Producers: Alisa Payne, Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee
Secret Mall Apartment – Producers: Jeremy Workman, Jesse Eisenberg
Zodiac Killer Project – Producers: Charlie Shackleton, Anthony Ing, Catherine Bray
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Elio – Producers: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, Mary Alice Drumm
KPop Demon Hunters – Producers: Maggie Kang, Chris Applehans, Michelle Wong
Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up – Producers: Peter Browngardt, Sam Register, Alex Kirwan
Predator: Killer of Killers – Producers: John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt
Zootopia 2 – Producers: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eddington – Ari Aster
Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Sinners – Ryan Coogler
Sorry, Baby – Eva Victor
Weapons – Zach Cregger
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Bugonia – Will Tracy
Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet – Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell
One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson
28 Years Later – Alex Garland
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Hailee Steinfeld – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
BEST ENSEMBLE (Casting Director Award)
Black Bag – Carmen Cuba
It Was Just an Accident – Jafar Panahi
Marty Supreme – Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another – Cassandra Kulukundis
Sinners – Francine Maisler
BREAKOUT PERFORMER
Odessa A’zion
Miles Caton
Indy the Dog
Chase Infiniti
Jacobi Jupe
BREAKOUT BEHIND-THE-SCENES
Clint Bentley
Harris Dickinson
Scarlett Johansson
James Sweeney
Eva Victor
SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Jason Bateman – Zootopia 2
Oona Chaplin – Avatar: Fire and Ash
Nick Offerman – The Life of Chuck
Will Patton – Train Dreams
Alan Tudyk – Superman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
F1 – Claudio Miranda
Frankenstein – Dan Laustsen
One Battle After Another – Michael Bauman
Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams – Adolpho Veloso
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis
Frankenstein – Tamara Deverell
Sinners – Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne
28 Years Later – Carson McColl, Gareth Pugh
Wicked: For Good – Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales
BEST EDITING
F1 – Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another – Andy Jurgensen
Sinners – Michael P. Shawver
Weapons – Joe Murphy
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Alexandra Byrne
Frankenstein – Kate Hawley
Hedda – Lindsay Pugh
Sinners – Ruth E. Carter
Wicked: For Good – Paul Tazewell
BEST MAKEUP
Frankenstein – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey
Sinners – Mike Fontaine, Ken Diaz, Shunika Terry
The Smashing Machine – Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal
28 Years Later – Flora Moody, John Nolan
Weapons – Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett
F1 – Ryan Tudhope, Keith Alfred Dawson, Nicholas Chevallier, Robert Harrington
Frankenstein – Dennis Berardi
Sinners – Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean
Superman – Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stephane Naze, Guy Williams
BEST STUNTS
Ballerina – Jackson Spidell, Stephen Dunlevy
F1 – Gary Powell, Luciano Bacheta
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – Wade Eastwood
One Battle After Another – Brian Machleit
Superman – Wayne Dalglish
BEST SOUND
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Brent Burge, Gary Summers, Michael Hedges, Alexis Feodoroff, Julian Howarth
F1 – Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John
Sinners – Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco
28 Years Later – Johnnie Burn
Warfare – Mitch Low, Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet – Max Richter
Marty Supreme – Daniel Lopatin
One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Clothed by the Sun” – The Testament of Ann Lee (Written by Daniel Blumberg, Mona Fastvold; Performed by David Cale, Lewis Pullman, Matthew Beard)
“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters (Written by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24, Teddy; Performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami)
“Highest 2 Lowest” – Highest 2 Lowest (Written and Performed by Aiyana-Lee)
“I Lied to You” – Sinners (Written by Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson; Performed by Miles Caton)
“Pale, Pale Moon” – Sinners (Written by Brittany Howard, Ludwig Göransson; Performed by Jayme Lawson)
THE IMPACT AWARD
Elizabeth Arnott – Programmer of “Sapphopalooza”
Tyler Michael Baletine – Programmer of “Life Within the Lens: Juneteenth Edition”
Matthew C. Hoffman – Programmer and Host at the Pickwick Theatre
Anna Pattinson – Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Femme
Michael Phillips – Former Film Critic of The Chicago Tribune
Through the Shattered Lens