A Few Good Men (1992): Rob Reiner’s violent passing this week has shaken me in the way that such drama usually doesn’t. I wanted to honour him in some way and ended up re-watching AFGM. This is a classic that most people will have seen – a military courtroom drama, starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack and, of course, Jack Nicholson. If you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably still seen the famous “you can’t handle the truth” scene. It’s the kind of moment that outgrows its source, thanks in equal parts to Nicholson’s iconic rendition and the memorable build-up. As for the rest of the movie, I thought it was a generally well put-together story, with Sorkin-esque flourishes and embellishments and a distinct lack of subtlety, that relies on the incandescent talent of its mainstream cast. The courtroom action sometimes wavers too, with one too many cliches and a glaring plot cop-out. But all that doesn’t make the whole thing any less entertaining. RIP RR. 7
Nadia, Butterfly (2020): Pascal Plante worked his way up to Red Rooms (2023) through a sports movie. Nadia is in her mid-twenties, an Olympic swimmer, but she has already decided to quit the sport and focus on her education to become a doctor. As the Tokyo Olympics are winding down, the spectre of change looms largely on her mind, with doubts, uncertainty and external pressure mounting a fearful trifecta. Katerine Savard plays the lead, in a balanced, effective interpretation, built on her own experience as a professional swimmer. The movie doesn’t do anything to surprise, but it is well assembled and portrays the familiar, yet relatable life-junction to good effect. 7
Heads of State (2025): I’ll always allow myself to laugh if I have something to work with. It turns out that HoS is in more ways than expected similar to Deep Cover (2025), as a different kind of trio needs to defeat Paddy Considine. John Cena is the US President, Idris Elba the UK Prime Minister and Priyanka Chopra the ex-lover/MI 6 agent. So, different stakes, but similar vibes and the same mix of comedy with action. The banter between Cena and Elba makes this an enjoyable watch, which includes some laugh out loud scenes – just don’t think too highbrow. The constraints of reality were not at the table when the script was written. What the movie really blows are any pretentions of political commentary and critique, because they are plainer than unsalted white rice. Not that it matters too much, if you want political satire, go somewhere else. If you want Cena and Elba, you’re just where you should be. 7
The Map That Leads to You (2025): For whatever reason, I thought watching Lasse Hallström’s movie about a summer travel romance might be more than the usual fluff. It’s not. Three friends are galivanting around Europe when the shy one with an emotional need for order and predictability meets a guy who is everything but. It becomes quickly apparent that said guy, who seems cool and sweet, has some dark secret that will make the otherwise simple part of a romance more complicated. Ugh. Madelyne Cline and KJ Apa provide serviceable, if forgettable, performances, and the overreliance on soft latin pop to set the tone of scenes is borderline annoying. But, you know, don’t take it too seriously, it has a certain warmth to it. So be young and find enjoyment in something old grouches can’t relate to. 5
Loving Pablo (2017): I’m not a freaky Pablo Escobar aficionado, so I knew little about him before this movie. Which is also how much I know about him by the end of it. This generic biopic, starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, is a pretty painful watch. It takes significant liberties in dramatizing the story, but then does so in severely ineffective ways. The first two-thirds of the movie, which just fly through Escobar’s rise with zero emotional or narrative anchoring, were some of the most rhythmless and soulless collection of scenes I’ve watched this year. It doesn’t get that much better in the end, but at least the movie decides to stay for long enough on a period to get some momentum going. I kept thinking of House of Gucci (2021), probably because of the voiceover narration (most of which Ridley Scott thankfully cut), but even that shines bright like a diamond compared to Loving Pablo. 4
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