Quick Hits: January 2026

Welcome to a new recurring feature!

I'm at the theater just about every week of the year, frequently doubling or tripling up to make the most of each trip to the multiplex. Given this blog is a passion project, other areas of my life sometimes take precedent over writing reviews, as does general leisure. So I don't have the time to write a review for every single one. Lacking an assignment editor, I follow my whims when deciding what to write about. They said I needn't bother writing a review of She Rides Shotgun, although I'd have loved to find the time for the delightfully strange Dust Bunny. And yes, I saw Frankenstein (okay), A Nice Indian Boy (bad), Shadow Force (dreadful), Wake Up Dead Man (great!), and many, many more.

In this new column, once a month, I'll round up all the new releases I've seen that didn't get a full review. I'm going to include festival films that didn't get a mention in the corresponding wrap-up, taking care not to dwell too hard on those whose primary failing is lack of budget. For each film, I'll present a short, less formal blurb explaining my thoughts (~100-200 words). Although most will have been out for a few weeks, I'll keep them spoiler-free.

It's mid-April as I write this, but as you can see with the headline, I'm going back to the start of the year. I'll release each month's as I complete them, until I'm caught up. At which point they'll come out in the first few days of the next month.

Let's get to it!

Is This Thing On?

Despite his best known roles being comedic (whether set in Las Vegas or space), Bradley Cooper's two directorial efforts have been laser focused on heartfelt drama. With Is This Thing On?, he tries to straddle the two worlds.

Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) are getting a divorce for reasons they limply allude to but we never see, during which time Alex stumbles into an open mic. The core plot leans hard into the poorly defined drama of the dissolution and evolution of that relationship, and seems unable to leverage its protagonist's interest in stand-up to hit either big laughs or poignant, human insights. Instead, Cooper steals the scene every single time he shows up as their friend's husband Balls, whose initial introduction prompts huge guffaws when he walks through the door holding a carton of milk and immediately faceplants. It's not without its merits, but it fails to achieve the heights of either prior work.

Dead Man’s Wire

Writer/director Gus Van Sant never quite figures out if we should be rooting for Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård). He swings back and forth, informing us both that Tony is rightfully aggrieved, but also somewhat unhinged even as he stays outwardly calm throughout the entire ordeal. He also never determines how much empathy we should have for Dick Hall (Dacre Montgomery), Tony's hostage, and son of the mortgage banker CEO (Al Pacino) at whom Tony is actually pissed. Neither is aided by the particulars of the drama, which feel strangely inert. The result is a situation that feels like it should land as a primal scream against an unjust system, an attempt to bolster a forgotten folk hero, but instead lands as a horrifying and disturbed act of terrorism.

The Choral

There's little to say about this film. It's got a solid heart, and some thoughts about the value of artistic interpretation and the shackles of the establishment, but that's about it. All the successful humor is shown in the trailer, and there are few attempts outside of that. Ralph Fiennes is fine, but it's far from his best work. It's far from the worst thing you could watch, but it's got little to offer.

H Is for Hawk

H Is for Hawk is a story of Helen (Claire Foy) grappling with life after the loss of her father. She sinks into depression, and at the same time is introduced to falconry. Not one to go the easy route, she adopts a goshawk, which we're informed is amongst the toughest birds to train. This is where the film shines: Foy's relationship with the bird is intense and genuine, her face always visible as she, not a trainer or double, handles Mabel. Their first meeting is incredibly moving, a ten minute (or so) single take in a curtained room as Helen silently holds on to the bird as it tries to escape her gloved hand, strongly flapping its powerful wings repeatedly before settling down.

But the story never turns the corner, nor effectively plays out how this hobby and friendship is helping (or hurting) her. Her deteriorating mental state feels like the natural progression of untreated grief. And the middle is largely filler, where although the falconry is impressive and pretty cool, the human aspects fall to the wayside of the script. So when the inevitable resolution of the film arrives, it's surprising rather than satisfying.