[“The Brink of War” screened at Filmland 2026 followed by a Q&A with director Michael Russell Gunn]

October 11, 1986 was an overcast and blustery day in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was marked by heavy rains and high wind gusts which was nothing out of the ordinary for a North Atlantic autumn. But October 11, 1986 was no ordinary day. It was when United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev were to meet face-to-face in hopes of easing Cold War tensions. The 48-hour summit was held at the Höfði house, a whitewashed waterfront home overlooking Faxaflói Bay. Though technically considered a failure, the summit was crucial in laying groundwork for future nuclear arms treaties.

With “The Brink of War”, writer-director Michael Russell Gunn chronicles the Reykjavík Summit, offering fascinating historical and political perspectives into the talks, their ultimate collapse, and the shaky trust that grew between the two leaders. Gunn’s lengthy research included transcripts of the 1986 summit as well as an interview with former Secretary of State George Shultz prior to his death in 2021. It results in a compelling and insightful drama that carries the necessary weight of the subject matter.

Set at the tipping point of the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) arrives in Reykjavík with his trusted Secretary of State George Shultz (J.K. Simmons). Not far behind them is General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) and his wife Raisa (Branka Katić). As their staffers feverishly prepare the Höfði house for the summit, the two world leaders ready themselves for a meeting of seismic importance – one that could shape the very existence of the world as they know it.

Filmed on location at Höfði in Reykjavík, Gunn wastes no time kicking off his high-stakes chess match. Within their first session together, we get a good sense of each leader’s strategy. High on Reagan’s priority list is the Soviet Union’s many human rights violations. Gorbachev repeatedly diverts the discussion to the US’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Both subjects prove to be tense sticking points in the negotiations, so they’re regularly tabled to come back to later.

At the same time, a surprising amount of common ground is found, specifically in regard to nuclear disarmament. But with so much on the line, will their sharp differences be too much for the two leaders to get past? History answers that question for us. But Gunn is still able to generate drama through his snappy script which heavily relies on compelling dialogue and performances to convincingly relay the gravity of the moment in history. It’s an essential mix and the movie would fall apart if either fell short.

The film also has fun with the real-life rivalry between Raisa and Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis). As the Soviet First Lady strolls around Reykjavík for the cameras, Mrs. Reagan remains in Washington DC, annoyed that she ended up staying behind. The two never share a scene together but they don’t pass up chances to take shots at each other from afar. Their antics provide some of the film’s more amusing moments while giving us a needed break from the negotiating table.

As Daniels and Harris nail their respected characters, the wiley Simmons is the glue that holds the film together. Interestingly none of the actors bear a particularly strong resemblance to the characters they play. But aside from a few obvious ticks from Daniels, it never becomes a problem, which is a testament to the overall strength of the performances and to the sharpness of Gunn’s screenplay. It’s also energized by a number of very precise camera tricks including overhead angles, split screens, shifts in perspective, and more.

The movie does run off-track with a handful of scenes between two reporters, one American and one British. Their scenes are little more than uninteresting diversions that feel forced upon the story rather than organic to it. But thankfully they only play a small part in what is otherwise a compelling movie that shines a spotlight on a seemingly small but consequential moment in world history. It also marks the impressive feature film directorial debut for Michael Russell Gunn, who succeeds it sharing a story about bridging divides. And in our current climate, that’s a message we all need to hear.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

“The Bride!” is a movie that made industry headlines for all the wrong reasons. Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ambitious but clunky gothic horror romance had a star-studded cast and was given a near $100 million dollar production budget. But the movie failed to connect with mainstream audiences. And its disastrous theatrical run led to a projected loss of approximately $90 million.

After a quick movie post-mortem, it’s pretty easy to spot the issues that contributed to its poor performance. The film’s inflated budget certainly didn’t help, especially considering its stylishly gonzo concept. Its trek towards profitability was made even tougher by the confusing marketing which tried but failed to sell the movie to either blockbuster audiences or the arthouse crowd. And then there was the poor word-of-mouth, which kept the movie from gaining any box office traction.

But how is the actual movie? Well, it’s complicated. “The Bride!” is a bold yet messy attempt at reimagining both Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein” and the 1935 film “Bride of Frankenstein”. On one hand, there is an undeniable allure to this unruly, hyper stylized, maximalist mashup. Gyllenhaal delivers a fearlessly rebellious and slickly anachronistic gender-bender that ambitiously smashes together gothic horror, classic noir, pitch-black comedy, and 1930s gangster action. It’s a wildly entertaining blend.

On the other hand, “The Bride!” often plays like an out-of-control feminist fever dream, especially in its second half, where nearly everything takes a back seat to Gyllenhaal’s in-your-face messaging. She force-feeds her audience to the point that subversion turns superficial. And too many of the attempts at making a statement come off as performative rather than genuine to the story being told. It’s a reoccurring and self-inflicted problem that gets more frustrating over time.

Recent Academy Award winner Jessie Buckley stars in a dual role, first as author Mary Shelley who is speaking from somewhere in the afterlife. The framing device features Shelly venting her frustrations at not being allowed to tell the “Frankenstein” story she longed to tell. To finally do so, Shelley possesses Ida (also Buckley) a disenchanted escort in 1936 Chicago. Ida’s loose lips angers a local mob boss named Lupino (Zlatko Burić). And during a confrontation with Lupino’s goons, a ranting Ida ends up falling to her death.

Enter Frankenstein’s monster, aka Frank (Christian Bale), whose often-told story is one Gyllenhaal understandably expects her audience to already know. He travels from Bavaria to Chicago in search of Dr. Cornelia Euphronius, an infamous scientist whose work in reanimation caught Frank’s attention. We learn that in the years since he was created, Frank has been overwhelmed by loneliness. Desperate for a conjugal relationship, Frank hopes to convince Dr. Euphronius to create him a bride.

It takes some convincing, but Euphronius finally agrees. She and Frank dig up the fresh corpse of Ida from a potter’s field and take her back to the doctor’s lab. Euphronius is able to revive Ida who awakens with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Frank makes up a story that she’s his bride and that her memory will return over time. The new couple ignore the doctor’s warning and head out for a night on the town, catching a movie before going dancing at a raucous nightclub.

But for Frank and Ida, things go south quick. While leaving the club, Ida is attacked by two goons who Frank promptly and brutally kills. Having faced angry mobs in his sad and painful past, Frank encourages Ida to leave him and spare herself from the inevitable trouble that’s coming. But with nowhere else to go, Ida insists on staying with Frank. So the two go on the run, hopping a train bound for New York. But they quickly learn that their problems follow them to the Big Apple.

From there “The Bride!” unfolds like a monster version of “Bonnie and Clyde”. Frank and Ida’s growing notoriety not only draws the attention of the police, but also Lupino who sends out a hitman to silence Ida for good. Meanwhile an undercooked side story(ish) follows a haggard private detective named Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) who wants to find Ida before the cops do. He works alongside his plucky secretary, Myrna Malloy (Penélope Cruz), who (in keeping with the film’s unsubtle feminist core) is the brains behind their partnership.

Buckley and Bale are great together and they maneuver through the various genres with a playful energy and emotional intensity. Buckley follows up her Best Actress turn in “Hamnet” with a raw and boisterous spin on The Bride, sporting a platinum blonde bouffant, pale skin, and a black crystalloid smudge across her face. Meanwhile Bale slyly finds a balance between monstrosity and humanity. In one scene he unleashes violence like a feral beast. A short time later he’s sitting in a movie house with a tear in his eye, quoting lines along with his favorite actor.

With “The Bride!”, Gyllenhaal throws a lot at us. Her film rotates between being a gruesome monster movie, a quasi-musical, a dark romance, and a gritty gangster flick. It doesn’t always gel together as intended, but it’s hard not to appreciate the daring swings and gonzo style. The real problems come with the bludgeoning attempts at social commentary. Whether it’s the inherent preachiness or the awkward sloganizing, the film’s lack of finesse and nuance undermines so much of what the movie does well.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

The found-footage craze ran its course with me some time ago. But credit to director Brandon Christensen for finding a fresh and clever use of it in his new horror film “Bodycam”. As its rather obvious title reveals, the film tells its entire story through the bodycams of two police officers, with some occasional shots coming from the dashcam of their patrol car. But rather than feeling like a gimmick (which it kinda is), there’s an authenticity here that gives the found-footage choice purpose.

Even more, Christensen’s use of foot-footage succeeds in doing what the best movies of its kind does. It immerses us in the moment while blurring our perception of what’s real and what isn’t. Unfortunately it also comes with the obligatory shaky cams, especially when things intensify, and the overuse of first-person perspective shots as the characters feel their way through the dark. But for the most part Christensen keeps us involved and often on the edges of our seats.

The story follows two policemen, Officer Bryce Anderson (Sean Rogerson) and Officer Jerome Jackson (Jaime M. Callica), who are dispatched to a seedy part of town to investigate a possible late-night domestic dispute. They arrive at the house which sits in a rundown neighborhood populated with wandering locals they call “tweakers”. Anderson and Jackson approach the home but get no answer at the door. After hearing a scream for help, they enter with flashlights on and guns drawn. They’ll soon wish they hadn’t.

As the officers search the house they make several chilling discoveries. One leads to an encounter where a frightened Bryce reactively guns down a man who lunges at him from out of the shadows. Jerome immediately wants to call it in to headquarters. But fearing they will be crucified by the press and the public, Bryce stops him and begins throwing together a cover story.

An immediate tension forms between Bryce’s fear and Jerome’s conviction. But far more threatening is the sinister force that latches onto them and won’t let go. “You take something from him, he takes something from you,” mutters the gathering tweakers. It’s here that Christensen turns his police procedural into a terrifying mix of the supernatural and the occult.

A handful of other characters pop in including Bryce’s pregnant wife Michelle (Elizabeth Longshaw), an underground tech whiz named Esposita (Angel Prater), and Jerome’s mother Ally (Catherine Lough Haggquist) who seems to know more about what’s going on than anyone else. But the two officers remain the centerpiece and their story takes some dark, twisted turns. And while it’s a horror story through and through, it dabbles in several themes including police accountability and more metaphorically the controlling grip of addiction.

Like nearly every found-footage movie out there, its effect begins to wear off the longer it goes on. But Christensen smartly winds things down at 75 minutes before his film overstays its welcome. It’s a move that not only keeps the style choice respectably fresh, but it keeps the story wound tight and constantly pushing forward. Overall, “Bodycam” is a tense and eerie Shudder Original that breathes some much-needed new life into the found-footage formula.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

It was only a few weeks ago that Prime Video released “The Wrecking Crew”, a straight-to-streaming action comedy that seemed custom made for theaters. Now a month later they’ve released another streaming feature that I imagine would have played extremely well on the big screen. While it’s a bummer for those of us who love that experience, the movies look to be big successes on their platforms meaning this trend is likely to continue.

“The Bluff” is a pulpy action-packed swashbuckler that takes the fun of other high seas pirate adventures and laces it with the brutal and bloody action of an old-time B-movie. It turns out to be an interesting combination as director Frank E. Flowers removes the playful, romanticized buccaneer veneer to make a high-energy, no-nonsense foray into a genre we rarely see these days.

Co-written by Flowers and Joe Ballarini, “The Bluff” is set 1846 as the era of the pirates sailing the Caribbean Sea is coming to its end. Only the most brutal marauders remain, such as the notorious Captain Francisco Connor (played by a devilishly fun Karl Urban). In the film’s brief prologue we see Connor’s massive galleon overtake a smaller brigantine. His pirates ransack the ship and kill the crew, sparing only one man, T.H. Bodden (Ismael Cruz Córdova), who possesses a gold bar bearing Connor’s mark.

After studying the ship’s logs, the determined Connor orders his dutiful quartermaster (Temuera Morrison) to set sail for the tiny island of Cayman Brac where he believes T.H. has hidden the rest of his gold. Cayman Brac is an emancipated British colony with a small, tight-knit community living a quiet and peaceful life. Among them is T.H.’s wife, Ercell (Chopra Jonas) who eagerly awaits the return of her husband along with their son Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo) and her sister-in-law Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green).

But when Connor and his raiders arrive instead, the island is plunged into violent chaos. “No one leaves this island until I collect my property,” he bellows. Yet when Connor’s siege brings his pirates to Ercell’s front door, it unleashes a dark past that she has worked hard to bury. What follows is a blood-soaked battle across the island as Ercell tries to protect those dearest to her while settling some old scores with a ruthless enemy.

Zoe Saldaña was originally cast to play Ercell, but Chopra Jones more than fills those shoes. She makes Ercell her own, with a convincing physicality and stunning ferocity. The action scenes are impeccably choreographed and shot, often fueled by a brutality that adds to the intensity. Chopra Jones excels throughout, whether she’s throwing fists or wielding a cutlass. Meanwhile Urban savors every surly second, giving the film a straightforward but wickedly entertaining antagonist.

While “The Bluff” brims with thrilling action and electric set pieces, the story remains pretty bare-bones. Yet it’s littered with great faces, rich period detail, and scenic vistas (with the Gold Coast in Queensland filling in for the Cayman Islands). And despite not having a lot of meat on its bones, the script is constantly propelling itself forward without ever bogging down or feeling repetitive. Altogether it makes for an surprisingly visceral experience that is enjoyable from start to finish.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner surprises with “Beast of War”, a movie that slickly balances World War II and sharksploitation. Yep, “Beast of War” is indeed set during the Second World War. But at its core it’s a shark movie through and through. And a really good one at that. It’s all due to Roache-Turner’s firm grasp of his characters and the genres he’s working in. And he’s helped by strong, committed performances from an ensemble who know their assignment.

The first good sign comes in the film’s prologue. While it’s nothing profoundly original, Roache-Turner puts time into his characters, introducing them through their stint in boot camp. Set in 1942, a group of young and enthusiastic Australian soldiers are preparing to go to war. When not in weapons training or running drills, they crack jokes, get into scraps, play rugby, and flirt with the camp’s nurses. As we meet them, some dance a little close to caricature, but never enough to become an issue. Instead these early scenes add weight to the carnage to come.

Standing out in the ragtag unit is Leo (Mark Cole Smith), a strong and dutiful indigenous soldier who only gets one-third the pay the white soldiers get and endures constant jeering from the unit’s bigoted loudmouth Des (Sam Delich). But Leo quickly wins over the other troops with his humanity and fortitude. He has no problem taking up for himself, but his toughness is tempered with compassion that shows itself when he takes a struggling squadmate named Will (Joel Nankervis) under his wing.

Things ramp up once the soldiers are deployed. As they’re being transported across the Timor Sea, their battleship is suddenly attacked by Japanese planes and immediately sunk. Only eight soldiers survive, with three of them badly wounded. They end up floating on a small metal section of the ship’s hull, consumed by a dense fog bank. It’s here that the survival movie angle kicks into gear. But our eight soldiers soon learn they have more to worry about than food, water, and medical attention.

Led by Leo, the survivors begin putting together a plan. But they’re interrupted when a monstrous great white shark bursts from the water and chomps down on a soldier, pulling him into the water (a proudly obvious but effective tip of the hat to Spielberg’s “Jaws”). From there Roache-Turner leans into the sharksploitation, putting together one harrowing ‘man-vs-beast’ encounter after another.

To the film’s credit, it avoids turning into one vicious shark attack after another. In fact, despite being stranded on a piece of metal floating in the sea, Roache-Turner finds countless creative ways to off the soldiers. No two deaths happen the same way. And he doesn’t shy away from cranking up the B-movie gore. But it’s the practical effects that are so impressive, from the grisly carnage to the magnificent half-ton animatronic shark itself. It’s a choice that pays massive dividends.

The strikingly cinematic “Beast of War” delivers everything a genre-lover would want and expect. At the same time, Roache-Turner brings along his own playbook which keeps the movie from simply being more of the same. It’s strengthened by sturdy performances (especially from Smith), solid character work, and masterful practical effects. There are even bursts of unexpected humor, often from the most unexpected places. And it’s all packaged in a tight but fluid 87 minutes which keeps this lean, no-nonsense genre-bender focused and on point.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

The fact that Ethan Hawke has yet to win an Academy Award is nothing short of absurd. Throughout his remarkable 40-year career, the 55-year-old Austin, Texas native has delivered countless top-tier performances. Yet he’s only received two Oscar nominations for acting (and another two for screenwriting). And some of the snubs he has received still baffles me (nothing for “First Reformed”???).

Well 2025 could be his time as Hawke delivers a fascinating performance in “Blue Moon”. Reteaming with his old friend and frequent collaborator Richard Linklater, Hawke commits every ounce of himself into portraying lyricist and Broadway songwriter Lorenz Hart. He’s terrific, and to no surprise Linklater’s direction is focused and precise. But their film as a whole does too good of a job showing why Hart was ditched by his longtime musical partner, Richard Rodgers.

Rodgers and Hart collaborated for over 20 years, delivering a string of musical hits including “Blue Moon”, “Isn’t It Romantic”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, and many others. But Hart’s erratic behavior due to bouts with alcoholism and depression would lead Rodgers to partner with Oscar Hammerstein II. As a result, Rodgers and Hammerstein would become one of the most successful and celebrated creative duos in the history of stage and music.

“Blue Moon”, written by Robert Kaplow, takes place on the evening of March 31, 1943. Acclaimed lyricist Lorenz Hart (Hawke) sits in the balcony with his mother Frieda (Anne Brogan) watching the opening night performance of the soon-to-be Broadway hit “Oklahoma!”. Noticeably uncomfortable, Hart slips out of the theater and makes his way to Sardi’s restaurant and bar where an after-show celebration is set to be held.

Once at Sardi’s, the crass and cynical Hart (known as Larry by those who know him) spends the next fifteen minutes ranting about “Oklahoma!” to the amused bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale) and the restaurant’s young piano player Morty (Jonah Lees). Deep down Larry may be hurt and even bitter, but he puts on a good show for his audience of two. From the start Hawke is fun to watch, impressively managing the dense dialogue despite some scenery chewing along the way. And Cannavale is a stabilizing force amid the verbal chaos.

Larry’s attention soon turns towards what’s really on his mind – a 20-year-old Yale student named Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley). The two have been corresponding for months and even spent an innocent weekend together. Larry is smitten with Elizabeth and has used his connections to get her an invite to the after-party where he has promised to introduce her to his former partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott). But like so much in Larry’s life, their relationship is not what he believes it to be.

The rest of the film takes place over the course of the evening, never leaving Sardi’s. Larry has a lengthy and mostly one-sided conversation with author E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy). He has his reluctant face-to-faces with Richard and Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney). And he meets with Elizabeth, trying to muster the strength to share how he really feels. Between each exchange Larry retreats to the bar where Eddie listens, strokes his customer’s bruised ego, and attempts to keep Larry off the sauce.

“Blue Moon” is an interesting cocktail of drama, comedy, and biography. Despite being a fictionalized account, it will have a special appeal for the historically inclined. And the theater initiated will find nuggets buried all throughout that others might not recognize. But there are still things for the rest of us to appreciate, namely the uniformly strong performances led by Hawke. He energizes this talky bio that can sometimes be as obnoxious as its central character.

VERDICT – 3 STARS