“Bugonia” Review

Year: 2025, Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

“Bugonia”, surprisingly, is a loose remake of the 2003 South Korean movie “Save the Green Planet!”. One might presume it is an original work because various plot points feel so relevant: conspiracy theories, frustrated white men, corporate abuse, the opioid crisis. The basic plot involves two young men that kidnap a female pharmaceutical exec on the suspicion that she is a martian. What unfolds is deeply entertaining, and often quite funny, despite the trappings of a genuine horror like “The Silence of the Lambs”. A great introduction to Lanthimos, if somewhat familiar for fans of his previous work.

“Primate” Review

Year: 2025, Director: Johannes Roberts

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

No doubt inspired by the 2009 chimpanzee attack in Stamford, CT; “Primate” seizes on a realistic fear. It’s a novel one, and the film gets quite a bit of juice from the premise. Beyond the rabid chimp and jarring violence, the story fails emotionally. None of the characters are particularly likeable. There are also several scenes with human behavior that lack believability: a girl facetiming loudly on speaker in a crowded plane; guys waltzing into a clearly vacant house for a party, an “experienced” researcher eschewing all caution with a potentially dangerous animal. Verdict: chimp good, human bad.

“Crime 101” Review

Year: 2026, Director: Bart Layton

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

“Heat”-lite. If I had watched this on Prime Video for free, it would have been a *shrug* “that was fine”. Paying good money to see “Crime 101” in theaters sours the experience. It is a sleekly filmed LA heist movie. Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, and Mark Ruffalo are all quite good. Hemsworth, as the principled, professional thief at the center of the story underwhelms. While the first half of the movie is solid, the wheels fall off at the end, with a conclusion that is not only unbelievable, but melodramatic and patronizing.

“Steve” Review

Year: 2025, Director: Tim Mielants

OP-ROB RATING: STARTER, RODMAN

If you are looking for a movie that will instill gratitude for your current line of work, look no further. “Steve” immerses us in the world of special education, and no, not that kind of special-ed. Cillian Murphy anchors as the head of school for Stanton Wood, an institute for criminally dangerous young men. His character is gifted, connecting with the boys with a casual profundity. He harbors demons of his own though. “Steve” is loud, chaotic, unpleasant, depressing, and I dare say worthwhile. Murphy and the boys excel, but I won’t be returning to Stanton Wood any time soon.

“Frankenstein” Review

Year: 2025, Director: Guillermo del Toro

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

I personally do not care for the Guillermo del Toro aesthetic. The gothic fairytale environment bends realism too much for my liking. And yet, how many directors out there have achieved a level of “brand” that we can look at a single frame and say, “Yeah, that’s so-and-so”? Wes Anderson, Tim Burton… del Toro? The craft is palpable. “Frankenstein” is a story we are all familiar with, and here we get it with the del Toro treatment. For fans of the director, it should be a delight to the senses. For the rest of us, it’s an ornate slog.