Stop! That! Train! (2026)

Two train stewardesses (Ginger Minj, Jujubee) trade their dreary shifts on the Skank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express! When a catastrophic "stormaganza" threatens to derail the high speed train, the duo join forces to save the day along with U.S. President Judy Gagwell (RuPaul Charles). Directed by Adam Shankman (HAIRSPRAY). The kind of silly comedy that's not really funny that eventually grows on you. Some parts are really bad but the dedication of the drag queen cast (all alumni of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE) wins you over. Although the film received good notices, it tanked at the box office. There might be an audience for heterosexual actors playing drag queens like THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, LOVE JULIE NEWMAR (Swayze, Snipes, Leguizamo) but apparently not for real drag queens (or male actresses if you prefer). But they're not playing drag queens, they're playing women much like Divine did in John Waters' films. The film itself is a spawn of AIRPLANE! (1980) that satirized the disaster movie genre but AIRPLANE was over 45 years ago and moviegoers seem to have moved on. As cinema, it's vastly superior to THE BIG BUS (1976), another film that attempted to satirize the disaster movie. Other drag performers include Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marty Lauter (known professionally as Marcia Marcia Marcia), Michelle Visage, Monet X Change, Symone and Latrice Royale. The film is crammed with cameos including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Joel McHale, Charo, Nicole Richie, Lisa Rinna, Chris Parnell, Jerry O'Connell and Raven Symone.

The Golden Fleecing (1940)

A $50,000 life insurance sale puts a mild mannered salesman (Lew Ayres) on the fast track at the Ajax Insurance Company. Unfortunately, it seems the sale was made to a racketeer (Lloyd Nolan) with an army of gun toting rivals! So his boss (Thurston Hall) gives him an order: keep the gangster alive! Directed by Leslie Fenton (THE REDHEAD AND THE COWBOY). A sweet natured comedy that plods along amiably and amusingly. Certainly not memorable but it's so ingratiating that the trip is pleasantly inoffensive. Lew Ayres' milquetoast act is near perfect and he gets good support from Nolan's thug and Virginia Grey as Nolan's moll. You could do worse! With Rita Johnson, Nat Pendleton, Marc Lawrence and Leon Errol.

Hobson's Choice (1954)

When his haughty and independent daughter (Brenda De Banzie) decides to forge her own path, the owner (Charles Laughton) of a boot shop must deal not only with her independence but marrying his prize bootsmith (John Mills). Based on the play by Harold Brighouse and directed by David Lean (SUMMERTIME). What a delight! David Lean is perhaps best remembered today for his wide screen epics (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO) and his screen adaptations of Dickens (GREAT EXPECTATIONS, OLIVER TWIST) but his occasional foray into comedy like BLITHE SPIRIT and this charmer are undervalued. Laughton as the boozing tyrant gives one of his very best performances but he's not the whole show. John Mills as the backward, servile bootmaker remade into a new man by his forceful bride is perfect and Brenda De Banzie seems born to play this role, she's that good. A real treat. With Daphne Anderson, Prunella Scales, Richard Wattis, Helen Haye and Derek Blomfield.

The Beasts Are On The Streets (1978)

A careening tanker truck rips through the fence of a wild animal park, unleashing an untamed force of nature on an unsuspecting community. Directed by Peter Hunt (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE). Just awful pretty much sums it up. A live action offering from Hanna Barbera productions (known primarily for animated fare like THE FLINTSTONES), the humans in this telefilm are either dull or moronic so even if you're not an animal lover, your interest is focused on the animals. The film wisely opens with a title card acknowledging the assistance of the American Humane Society and that no animals were harmed in the making of the movie since the animals (lions, tigers, elephants, ostriches etc.) are placed in dangerous situations. With Carol Lynley (deserving better than this), Billy Green Bush, Philip Michael Thomas, Anna Lee and Casey Biggs.

The Gay Desperado (1936)

Set in Mexico, an opera singer (Nino Martini) is kidnapped by a gang of bandits and forced to become a member of the gang. When an American girl (Ida Lupino) and her rich fiance (James Blakeley) are kidnapped by the bandits, the singer finds himself falling in love with the girl. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian (BLOOD AND SAND). Mamoulian is no stranger to musicals having directed such movie gems as LOVE ME TONIGHT and SILK STOCKINGS as well as the original Broadway productions of OKLAHOMA! and PORGY AND BESS. This musical comedy, however, is a curiosity. Widely admired on its original release, Mamoulian even won the New York Film Critics best director award for his work here. While it still retains some of its offbeat charm, posterity has not been kind to the film. Its bandido stereotypes doesn't sit well with 21st century sensibilities. That being said, the movie is stolen by Leo Carrillo's soft hearted bandit leader murdering the English language. Hollywood made several opera singers into movie stars in the 1930s, 40s and 50s such as Mario Lanza and Grace Moore. Martini was a leading Metropolitan opera tenor occascionally dipping his toes into films but I found his breaking into arias about as appealing as Kathryn Grayson doing the same in an MGM musicals. With Mischa Auer and Harold Huber.

L'Etranger (aka The Stranger) (2025)

Set in French Algeria, an office clerk (Benjamin Voisin) is detached from his surroundings and the people who inhabit it. He is indifferent to the suffering of others. A neighbor (Denis Lavant) beats their dog, another neighbor (Pierre Lottin) beats his mistress (Hajar Bouzaouit) and he is apathetic. When he is arrested for killing an Arab boy, he has no explanation or defense for his act. Based on the acclaimed novel by Albert Camus and directed by Francois Ozon (8 FEMMES). Camus' existential novel is one of those classic pieces of literature that is oft deemed unfilmable. Ozon's excellent film is probably as close to a cinematic equivalent as we're going to get. Shot in stunning B&W by Manu Dacosse (PETER VON KANT), it's an impeccably formulated adaptation. Ozon takes some liberties such as making the female roles more prominent and fleshed out but still holding the film firm to Camus' intentions. Previously filmed in 1967 by Luchiino Visconti, I haven't seen that version since (the film has long been out of circulation in the U.S.) and my memories are too vague to make a fair comparison. With Rebecca Marder and Swann Arlaud.

Is There Life Out There? (1994)

A housewife (Reba McEntire), who's married to a carpenter (Keith Carradine) works part time as a waitress to make ends meet. She sacrificed her college education to get married and have a family. But both she and her husband agree that the time is right to go back to school and pursue her dream. Based on the song Is There Life Out There? written by McEntire and directed by David Jones (84 CHARING CROSS ROAD). Typical "inspirational" 1990s TV movie fare but well done for what it is. While it's message is positive, it's a little too obvious and some subtlety would have been appreciated. Fortunately for the movie, Reba McEntire brings some real authenticity to the project while avoiding the actress-y performance that another actress might have brought to it (think Ellen Burstyn in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE) and the screenplay doesn't condescend to its characters. With Donald Moffat and Mitchell Anderson.

The Last Tycoon (1976)

Set in the 1930s, the young production chief (Robert De Niro) of a major Hollywood studio runs the studio with an iron fist much to the chagrin of another studio producer (Robert Mitchum). A widower, the young studio head becomes obsessed with a young girl (Ingrid Boulting), who resembles his dead wife. Based on the (unfinished) novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and directed by Elia Kazan (ON THE WATERFRONT) in his final film. A stiff of a movie! With an illustrious cast, produced by Sam Spiegel (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) and Harold Pinter adapting Fitzgerald's novel for the screen, Kazan can't breath life into a deadly laborious elephant of a film that never gets off the ground. A major portion of the film is devoted to De Niro's fascination with Ingrid Boulting but she's not much of an actress and while pretty, she just doesn't justify the mogul's obsession with her. The movie briefly comes alive toward the end when a union organizer (Jack Nicholson in the film's best performance) enters the movie. Nicholson brings a much need vitality to the proceedings but alas, he's gone as quickly as he came in. The impressive cast includes Jeanne Moreau, Tony Curtis, Anjelica Huston, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, Theresa Russell, Donald Pleasence, John Carradine, Peter Strauss, Jeff Corey, Rutanya Alda and Betsy Jones Moreland.

La Triche (aka The Cheat) (1984)

Set in Bordeaux, France. Investigating the murder of the owner (Michel Galabru) of a gay nightclub, the police commissioner (Victor Lanoux), who is a closeted bisexual, begins an affair with a musician (Xavier Deluc) who works at the nightclub. His involvement strains his marriage and blurs the boundaries between his professional and personal life. Written and directed by Yannick Bellon (LA FEMME DE JEAN). An interesting but not altogether successful crime thriller with its focus on the relationship of a bisexual man in a position of power and respect in society and his attachment to a homosexual which compromises him, socially and morally. How far will the protagonist go to protect his social status? He's a hypocrite, of course, even if his feelings for the gay boy is sincere. You can't really like any of the movie's characters, so I watched from a distant perspective, observing rather than getting involved. Definitely worth a watch but ultimately, too non committal to be effective. With Anny Duperey, Valerie Mairesse and Roland Blanche.

Stateline Motel (aka L'Ultima Chance) (1973)

Set in Quebec, Canada. After a deadly jewel heist, two robbers (Eli Wallach, Fabio Testi) split up to evade the police. Tasked with getting the stolen jewels across the border to the U.S., Testi holes up in a small border town motel. It's there he meets the sexy wife (Ursula Andress) of the motel owner (Massimo Girotti) and the trouble begins. Based on the novel by Franco Enna and directed by Maurizio Lucidi (THE DESIGNATED VICTIM). Although filmed in Canada, this is an Italian film and not a bad one at that. It's a nifty cat and mouse game with Ursula Andress especially good as the movie's ambiguous femme fatale. The film has slight echoes of THE POSTMAN ALWAS RINGS TWICE with Testi's drifter on the run drawn into a deadly web by the sexy wife of Girotti's kind hearted motel owner. There's a little twist at the end of the movie that I saw coming but unless you're a suspicious mystery addict, it might get past you. With Barbara Bach, Celine Lomez and Howard Ross.

Era Notte A Roma (aka Escape By Night) (1960)

Set in Nazi occupied Rome, a beautiful black marketeer (Giovanna Ralli) gives sanctuary to three escaped POWs: an American pilot (Peter Baldwin), a Russian sergeant (Sergei Bondarchuk, who would go on to direct the 1966 WAR AND PEACE) and a British major (Leo Genn). By taking them in, she jeopardizes the safety of her communist lover (Renato Salvatori). Directed by Roberto Rossellini (OPEN CITY). Since its debut at the Cannes film festival, Rossellini's film has seen several versions of various length: 157 minutes, 145 minutes, 114 minutes. The transfer I saw was 135 minutes. Slightly overlong, it's a riveting glimpse of Roman life during the waning days of Rome under the Germans before it was liberated by the allies. Rossellini captures the chaos and intense pressure that ordinary citizens lived under while keeping the suspense quotient high. Surprisingly, it was not successful either artistically or commercially at the time of its original release. I found it held my interest in both departments. With Sergio Fantoni, Enrico Maria Salerno, Paolo Stoppa, Laura Betti and Rosalba Neri.

Crime Against Joe (1956)

Set in Arizona, an innocent man (John Bromfield) with a drinking problem is accused of murdering a cabaret singer (Alika Louis). A girl (Julie London) secretly in love with him provides a false alibi to keep him out of jail, if only temporarily. He uses the time to investigate and find the real killer. Based on a story by Decla Dunning and directed by Lee Sholem (TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRL). Bromfield's protagonist is rather unlikable and his problems are due to his excessive drinking. It's really hard to drum up much sympathy for him. He's aggressive and rude and seems to be asking for trouble. It doesn't help that Bromfield's performance is terrible, especially his "drunk" scenes. More interesting is a subplot involving an overprotective, repressive father (Joel Ashley) who suffocates his daughter (Patricia Blair) so much that she needs to escape him. With Henry Calvin, Joyce Jameson and Frances Morris.