SSP Thinks Film

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) Review

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Sam S-P

https://secondcutpod.substack.com/p/wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Second Cut | Tagged Daniel Craig, Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Knives Out, Mystery, Netflix, Rian Johnson, Wake Up Dead Man | Leave a comment

Review in Brief: The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Sam S-P

“I feel very safe myself”. On the whole I think I’m much more of a fan than many others of Wes Anderson’s latest career stage where his unmistakable style has never been more prominent but he continues to experiment with storytelling techniques and vivid characterisation. It’s definitely not style over substance, whatever lazy naysayers might say. Following infamous arms manufacturer Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro) miraculously continuing to cheat death while reconnecting with his estranged nun daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and attempting to close the biggest deal of his career, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME is one of Anderson’s most ambitious projects to date. Apart from anything else, this has got a real scale to it. He still plays with reality and dials up the theatrical elements, but this is a real globe-trotter, an absurdist comedy showcasing a diverse ensemble of regular collaborators and even dicing with a bit of political commentary. It’s mad, it’s exciting and breathlessly convoluted and one of Anderson’s best in years. SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged Benicio del Toro, Comedy, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Satire, The Phoenician Scheme, Wes Anderson | 1 Comment

Review in Brief: Bring Her Back (2025)

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Sam S-P

A horror movie hasn’t made me cry for a while. BRING HER BACK creeps up on you, then pummels you with short, sharp shocks of nightmarish imagery before blindsiding you with incredibly vulnerable emotionality. Arriving to live with their new foster mum Laura (Sally Hawkins) following the sudden death of their dad, the troubled Andy (Billy Barratt). and the visually-impaired Piper (Sora Wong) have a major period of adjustment to get through. But it soon becomes apparent that the affectionate Laura has a dark side and it has something to do with her other foster child Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and her deceased daughter Cathy. The Philippou Brothers’ TALK TO ME was like a ghost train ride, thrilling and entertaining and just as likely to make you laugh and shriek at the audacity of it all. Bring Her Back is a more mature, sober but still mischievous affair, not always a fun watch but one that leaves its images and soulful message seared on your brain. SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged Billy Barratt, Bring Her Back, Danny Philippou, Horror, Jonah Wren Phillips, Michael Philippou, Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Talk to Me | Leave a comment

Wicked: For Good (2025) Review

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Sam S-P

https://secondcutpod.substack.com/p/wicked-for-good-2025-review SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Second Cut | Tagged Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Fantasy, Jeff Goldblum, Jon M Chu, L Frank Baum, Musical, The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Wicked: For Good | Leave a comment

Insulate (2025) Short Film Review

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Sam S-P

https://secondcutpod.substack.com/p/insulate-2025-short-film-review SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Second Cut | Tagged British, Daniel Poyser, David Fielder, Drama, Independent Film, Insulate, Mark Parham, Short Film | Leave a comment

Sam’s Noirvember 2025

Posted on November 30, 2025 by Sam S-P

Film 1 – Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). Fritz Lang’s final American film is a clever story well told, though somewhat lacking the mastery of style from his early career.

Film 2 – Le Samouraï (1967). Jean-Pierre Melville’s endlessly influential hitman noir is morally murky, suspenseful and largely built around how great Alain Delon looked in a coat and hat.

Film 3 – Laura (1944). Otto Preminger’s mannered but intriguing murder-mystery looks and sounds great, with striking performances from Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and a young, sexy Vincent Price.

Film 4 – The Breaking Point (1950). In the second, less famous but more faithful adaptation of Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not, Michael Curtiz trades in romance for grit to largely good effect.

Film 5 – The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). This knotty classic about murder, passion and the consequences of both is good-looking and well performed in an old-fashioned way (complimentary) that belies its twisted core.

Film 6 – While the City Sleeps (1956). Visually and thematically referring to Fritz Lang’s earlier work, here the German expat’s direction remains tightly controlled, though the script does too much telling rather than showing.

Film 7 – Naked Alibi (1954). A taut, dynamic and surprisingly brutal crime thriller with top-class work from Sterling Hayden and Gloria Grahame. As should be a given for everything I watch this month, it looks amazing too.

Film 8 – Out of the Past (1947). A soaring romance punctured by extreme darkness and cynicism that gets a lot of mileage out of Robert Mitchum’s physicality. Jacques Tourneur forever a master of atmosphere.

Film 9 – The Big Heat (1953). The best of Fritz Lang’s final career phase by some distance, this is a tough and uncompromising cops and gangsters picture with operatic flourishes.

Film 10 – Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948). This UK-set, US-shot postwar blackmail thriller doesn’t have many surprises in store, but is entertainingly played, particularly by Robert Newton at his slimy best. SSP