HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (2026)

 

Written & Directed By: John Patton Ford 

Inspired By “KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS” Screenplay By: Robert Hammer and John Dighton 

Based On the Novel “ISRAEL RANK” By: Roy Horniman

Cinematography: Todd Ranhazl

Editor: Harrison Atkins 

Cast: Glen Powell, Jessica Henwick, Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, Ed Harris, Topher Grace, Zach Woods, Phumi Tau, Stevel Marc

Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, a blue-collar stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.

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This  is a loose remake or more a modern retelling of the Alec Guinness film KIND HEARTS & CORONETS only set more realistically and taking out the gimmick of that film years ago. Where Alec Guinness played all the members of the family that was getting killed off.

It might have been an added incentive if this film had big stars making cameos as members of the family getting killed off, but only Topher Grace is recognizable as one of the kin in standing to inherit a fortune above out protagonist. 

So the film really adds nothing except instead of being an outright comedy. It’s dark and slick. It attempts to be a social satire. Though never quite feels sharp enough. In fact at times it feels oddly rushed.

The film is darkly comedic and isn’t as bad as one would think. Considering how little fanfare or promotion the film got. Which the studio seemed to have cold feet after Glen Powell started in THE RUNNING MAN reboot that bombed. I don’t even remember seeing a trailer for this film. Until I had to go out and find it online myself.

The film plays pretty standard items entertaining as you watch but barely sticks with you once done. This fits in with the disposable films of yesteryear that were good enough for a watch and are rewatchable but therebisnMt much to them except for entertainment.

This film seems like it’s going to be a crowd pelaser until the end where it stays with it’s cynicism.

Strangely enough Glen Powell, plays a likable killer. That feels like he has shades of Patrick Bateman possibilities but is never that much of a sociopath or psychopath and had his reasons for his actions. 

Margaret Qualley is a good femme fatale only because we barely know anything about her and comes across as a mystery but also a type. Though she wears chanel as her wardrobe in all her scenes. That gives you a hint to the heart of her character. Where her legs are all over.

Which is one of the films problems it’s 

Likable enough bit has no real depth. The characters are more types. So that it never draws you in. So as it stays on the surface that is what you get and how you feel by the end. 

The films screenplay was surprisingly on the 2014 BLACK LIST of scripts that those in the industry rank as the best unproduced they have read that year. 

Which drags the film down and makes it feel more and more basic as it goes along. Especially in the end where the irony want to take over. As this is a film that shouldngave high stakes. Yet it all feels very telegraphed. 

This feels like a film you would sneak Into after paying and watching another film or that you go to on a weekend, just because you want something to watch.

Grade: B- 

HONEY DON’T (2025)

 

Directed By: Ethan Coen 

Written By: Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke

Cinematography: Ari Wegner 

Editor: Tricia Cooke and Emily Denker 

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Lera Abova, Billy Eichner, Talia Ryder, Kristin Connolly, Jacnier

A dark comedy about small-town private investigator Honey O'Donahue, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.

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When it comes to this film’s plot. One can understand like their last collaboration DRIVE AWAY DOLLS. Writer Directors Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Like to have multiple narratives going on all at once that run parallel to each other even if just in theme and eventually run into or connect at certain points. That seems like it will be the big payoff. Here the themes are there but everything feels like a near miss. 

Feels a bit exploitive as it seems more interested in showing a lesbian sexual relationship than anything else. Rather then story or plot and put it in there haphazardly so that it feels random 

Even though it might be that the main Character is interesting and this has bits and pieces especially with the characters.  that could have been more of a small town mystery but plays more sporadically and you wonder where it is going and how it will all tie together that you feel like you are floating through it all waiting for some kind of direction other then Suggestions 

Starring the director’s muse Margaret Qualley Whitney’s to play the most interesting character and gets the most range 

Of course the film has a heavy feminist feel which there is nothing wrong with but it seems to pile it on after awhile rather then necessarily subtle 

It has a supporting cast of recognizable names that are here but given very little to do except play small exaggerations and somewhat central to the plot but feel more like stunt casting to add more reverence to the rather thin material. As the characters seem interesting but are in search of a better story and meaning. As next to qualley the only actor who really makes the most of their screen time is Lena Abrova as the mysterious cheer 

Wonder if this is a way for the filmmakers to add sex and sexuality back into films that seems to be lost or unused in modern cinema but truly it isn’t erotic but more sloppy and matter of fsct

There is now doubt that Ethan Coen can do quirky and can do the same with characters, but there needs to be some kind of meaning and consideration for the audience. As this film while silly and quirky does come out feeling self indulgent and like only the filmmakers are the only ones. It only entertained but also seem to care 

As this film feels more like a lark, more like an extended episode rather then truly a whole film 

By the time we get to the entrance walls revealed it seems rather random or much ado about  it nothing and all just coincidence and interlocked and it plays more comedic then it should more like a from a John waters film 

The film has its moments but doesn’t add up to making the film feel worth it. 

Grade: C-

KINDS OF KINDNESS (2024)

 

Directed By: Yorgos Lanthimos 

Written By: Yorgos Lanthinos and Effhimis Filippou 

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan 

Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis 

Cast: Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schaffer, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Yorgos Stefanakos 

a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

THE SUBSTANCE (2024)

 

Written & Directed by: Coralie Fargeat 

Cinematography: Benjamin Kracun  

Editor: Coralie Fargeat, Jerome Eltabet and Valentin Feron 

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

A fading celebrity decides to use a black-market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS (2024)

 

Directed By: Ethan Coen

Written By: Ethan Coen And Tricia Cooke

Cinematography: Ari Wegner

Editor: Tricia Cooke

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson, Bill Camp, Beanie Fieldstein, Annie Gonzalez, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon 

The film follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

SANCTUARY (2023)

 

Directed By: Zachary Wigon  

Written By: Micah Bloomberg 

Cinematography: Ludovica Isidori 

Editor: Kate Brokaw and Lance Edmonds

Cast: Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley 

Follows a dominatrix and Hal, her wealthy client, and the disaster that ensues when Hal tries to end their relationship.

NATIVE SON (2019)

Directed By: Rashid Johnson 
Written By: Suzan Lori-Parks 
Based on the Novel By: Richard Wright 
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique 
Editor: Brad Turner 

Cast: Ashton Sanders, Kiki Layne, Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, David Alan Grier, Sanaa Lathan, Lamar Johnson 


A young African-American living in Chicago enters into a seductive new world of money and power after he is hired as a chauffeur for an affluent businessman.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

(Before you read this I suggest you see the film. As there are mild spoilers towards the end of this writing) 


Written & Directed by: Quentin Tarantino 
Cinematography: Robert Richardson 
Editor: Fred Raskin 


Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Austin Butler, Lena Dunham, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Damien Lewis, Mike Moh, Kate Berlant, Danielle Harris, Lorena Izzo, Harley Quinn Smith, Maya Hawke, Kansas Bowling, Parker Love Bowling, Sydney Sweeney, Rumor Willis, Martin Kove, Leslie Bega, Dreama Walker, Clifton Collins Jr., Rebecca Gayheart, Samantha Robinson, Scoot Mcnairy, Omar Doom, Brenda Vacarro, Mikey Madison, Nicholas Hammond, Clu Gulager, Lew Temple, Vincent Laresca 


Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.