THE DANMAN CAN

Emilie Blichfeldt 's The Ugly Stepsister (2025) is a deliciously bent version of Cinderella , full of grotesqueries (via wonderful practical effects), lush cinematography, exquisite costume and production design, and an excellent score (whose anachronistic qualities I actually quite like; on that note, you gotta love a random Busby Berkeley -style sequence).  Disturbing yet beautiful, tragic yet hilarious, TUS is a visual feast, a subversive stab at the patriarchy (without being too on the nose; IYKYK), and an impressive feature film debut, with a fearless, committed performance by Lea Myren . A truly grim fairy tale. Recommended for fans of  The Substance  (2024) [ review ],  Pearl   (2022) [ review ] ,  Excision  (2012) [ review ],  Audition   (1999) [ review ], and  The Company Of Wolves  (1984) [ review ].

 "I sometimes hang awake at night dreaming of being spat at in the face." "How shall we fuck off, O Lord? "Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each." Terry Jones Films Ranked

"I love you. I loved you the moment I saw you. I'm mad about you. My little shoplifter. My sweet little pickpocket. My darling." Ernst Lubitsch Feature Films Ranked

"We all have our ghosts, Marshal." "God's got nothin' to do with it." Ted Post Feature Films Ranked

"You look like Pinehaven." "How does Pinehaven look?" "Well-tended." Lawrence Kasdan 's 1981 debut  Body Heat  is a neo-noir chock full of seductive dialogue, gorgeous compositions, and excellent early performances by William Hurt , Kathleen Turner (in her feature debut), and Ted Danson (who has a few very amusing scenes). Kasdan's sweaty, horny version of  Double Indemnity   (1944) [ review ] is perfect viewing for a 95° summer day.

"Friends don't have a pecking order." John Woo 's Bullet In The Head (1990) is a very good film overall, but I found it overlong, repetitive, and I wasn't in love with large swaths of the score. It's perhaps Woo's darkest and most downbeat (and certainly most pessimistic) picture. There are some truly affecting moments, with some expertly shot sequences, but it's also haphazard in its construction (kinda feels like three different movies mashed into one). The drama in BITH worked better for me than the action. John Woo Feature Films   Ranked

"What's the matter with you?! You wanna spend the rest of your life living out of a shopping cart?! We could be on top again. We could be drinking champagne instead of Night Train."

"Here's my card. Johnny Tremaine's the name. Making rock stars is this man's game. You know, I think I see real talent. I almost even see Led Zep. You know, I think I could do for you girls what God did for mankind."

The 1960s really was one the best decades of film.  Lee Marvin  as Walker is easily one of the most badass characters in any film. The dreamy psychedelic sequences, the jazzy  Schifrin -like score by  Johnny Mandel , the great supporting roles ( Keenan Wynn ,  Carroll O'Connor ,  Michael Strong ,  John Vernon ), the style, the time shifts/jump cuts, the economy of  John Boorman 's filmmaking (only his sophomore film!)—there is so much to savor here.  Point Blank   (1967) was a huge influence on  Steven Soderbergh 's   The Limey   (1999) [ review ] (another favorite film) and was remade, as a lesser but still great film called  Payback   (1999), both based on  Donald E. Westlake 's (writing as Richard Stark) novel  The Hunter   (1962). John Boorman Feature Films Ranked

Akira Kurosawa 's ninth solo feature film and third collaboration with  Toshirō Mifune , Stray Dog (1949), is a solid noir police procedure. The film drags a bit in the first half (the pursuit in the second half is more exciting) and sits in the bottom quarter of my Kurosawa rankings, but it's got strong performances (the actors convey the sense of heat quite well) and striking camerawork Akira Kurosawa Films Ranked Top 20 Directors Film Noir Feature Films Ranked