Late Fame (2025). Ed Saxberger, a long forgotten minor poet now working in the post office gets adopted by a group of creative twentysomethings who seemingly revere his work. Sad, thoughtful and gently amusing, Late Fame pokes fun at the artistic pretensions of its young characters, while also reflecting on second chances in life, if indeed there are any. Willem Dafoe is quietly outstanding in the lead role as Saxberger, in my opinion one of the most intelligent actors of recent times. Late Fame isn't a classic but it certainly put a smile on my face, I do recommend it. B+ Available on M4uhd stream.
DreamQuil (2026). In the near future, a dissatisfied career woman signs up for a virtual reality wellness retreat, when she returns, she finds a robotic doppelganger has taken her place in the family home. Dystopian sci fi thriller with sumptuous visuals and a retro 50s set design, it's highly stylized but bloody gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately DreamQuil falls short on the story front, the film is swimming in ideas that are never really explained or fully explored, a film more for the eye than the brain but it's entertaining enough and Elizabeth Banks turns in a hypnotic performance. C+ Available on Look2movie stream.
Verity (2026). A young woman is hired as a ghostwriter for a famous author, she uncovers chilling autobiographical notes which leads to her discovering dark secrets about the woman in question. As dull Hollywood thrillers go, Verity is near enough comatose, I lost all interest after forty minutes and it runs for nearly two hours. Cardboard characters, slack writing and poor acting are in abundance, it kind of resembles The Housemaid for total crappiness, and Dakota Johnson doesn't get her chebs out unlike the Sweeney bint in the other film. D Available on Look2movie stream.
