Killer's Kiss (1955) ***

Above average noir solely because of Stanley who did just about everything on this picture. The camera work is spectacular and quite remarkable given the budget, the methods and the results.

A Cold Wind in August (1961) **

Pretty good little potboiler with two terrific performances and a sharp script. The wildly variable quality of the direction is the only drawback.

A Complete Unknown (2024) ***

Enjoyable biopic is well photographed and produced with a superb Ed Norton, but Tim Chalamet can't quite dissolve into Dylan. Wonderful soundtrack.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) ***

Another hilarious adventure with the cheese loving inventor and his trusty sidekick. Cracking finale.

The Universal Theory (2023) **

I would have liked it more if the soundtrack wasn't so overbearing and carelessly used. Could have used some trimming as well although it's nicely put together over all.

Tesla data helped police after Las Vegas truck explosion, but experts have wider privacy concerns

The data collected by Musk’s electric car company after the Cybertruck packed with fireworks burst into flames in front of the Trump International Hotel Wednesday proved valuable to police in helping track the driver’s movements.
Wrong! The data was collected BEFORE the truck burst into flames. It was provided to the police after the explosion. Tesla is a surveillance company.

North by Northwest (1959) ****

Hitch at his best. The crop duster sequence may be his best ever.

Birth (2004) ****

Nic Kidman gives the female equivalent of George C.'s Patton performance in this beautifully filmed and produced examination of grief that cannot be overcome. Fine cast including the always welcome Betty Bacall.

2024 In Review: Movies

** Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
* Nosferatu

(Ripley was the best filmed fiction I saw this year.)

2024 In Review: Music

**** Asteroid No. 4, The - Several Shapes of Solar Flares
**** Linda Lindas, The - No Obligation
**** Mary Timony - Untame The Tiger
**** Nada Surf - Moon Mirror

*** Astral Bakers - The Whole Story
*** Elephant Stone - Back Into the Dream
*** Gift - Illuminator
*** Hinds - Viva Hinds
*** IDestroy - IDestroy
*** Katy J Pearson - Someday, Now
*** Keeley - Beautiful Mysterious
*** Laughing Chimes, The - Tomorrow's 87
*** Lemon Twigs, The - A Dream Is All We Know
*** Mediavolo - Away Within
*** Middle Kids - Faith Crisis Pt 1
*** Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets - Indoor Safari
*** Real Estate - Daniel
*** Richard Thompson - Ship To Shore
*** Ride - Interplay
*** Sixpence None The Richer - Rosemary Hill
*** Still Corners - Dream Talk
*** Umbrellas, The - Fairweather Friend
*** Waeve, The - City Lights
*** Wilco - Hot Sun Cool Shroud
*** X - Smoke & Fiction

** Bad Bad Hats - Bad Bad Hats
** Blue Oyster Cult - Ghost Stories
** Crumbs - You're Just Jealous
** Everything Everything - Mountainhead
** Finom - Not God
** Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More
** La Luz - News of the Universe
** Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs - Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits
** Modern English - 1 2 3 4
** Omni - Souvenir
** Pernice Brothers - Who Will You Believe
** Torres - What An Enormous Room
** Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
** Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
** Wild Pink - Dulling The Horns
** Wishy - Triple Seven