The Dog Stars (2026)

Ridley's newest pic, The Dog Stars, is as close to a western as he ever did get to. A post-apocalyptic story, it's a very intimist film, 1 character, a dog, two characters, three characters, that's it. Oh, and a Cessna 1956 plane. Major character. 

Greatness, no zombies or super powered mutants or carnivorous plants. 

Now if you already read the reviews which I can't understand...? Worst ever for a Scott film??

The film is very slow and it builds atmosphere gradually. The three acts are separated smoothly. The landscape, the nature is another silent character, the green, the mountains vs. The Wasteland.

Incredibly the whole film was shot in Italy, with the Grand Junction sets built at Cinecitta. DOP is Erik Mesermschmit, David Fincher's later collaborator, here in his 1st cinema fare with Scott (he worked before with RS on TV's Raised by Wolves and The Dope Thief).

Comparisons with The Last of Us or The Walking Dead are wrong, closer is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. 

The Dog Stars is based on the 2012 book by Peter Heller and the script is by Mark L  Smith who wrote The Revenant.

Harry Gregon-Williams composed the score, which is part elegiac, part menacing, it's his 7th for a Scott film.

The soundtrack has also value, from opening credits in Hosier, to Van Morrison (Tupelo Honey), to the end in The Chieftains and Mick Jagger.

There is a most poetic scene at the end with the "mormons"countryfair that transcends Ridley Scott's cinema, an optimic message in a post-apocalyptic world.

To be seen on the Big Screen.

The IMAX thing is a gimmick tho.

3 1/2 out of 5, 7 out of 10 !

The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024)

The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024) id the 2nd film of New Zeelander James Ashcroft. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: meets Bubbahotep (without the mummy ;) and Misery. Rush and especillay Lihgow are a blast, one of Lithgow's best. Stellar acting. Not for the faint of heart ;)

TBC 

RIP Tim Curry

Tim Curry aka Dr Frank-N-furter, on stage since 1973 !

Curry was 80, he had a stroke in 2012 and sice then did mostly voiceover work.

Quintessential as Dr. Frank-N-Furter the Transexual Vampyre from Transylvania in the cult movie that invented the Midnight Movie Madness, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), also featuring Meat Loaf. 

also:

The Dark Lord in Ridley Scott's superb Legend (1985), under heavy prosthetics make-up (over 6 hours if work).

Long John Silver in The Muppet Trasure Island

Wadsworth in Clue )1985)

The clown from It (1990), the original Pennywise

Dr Petrov in The Hunt for the Red October opposite Sir Sean Connery...

And the infamous Romanian con Herkemer Homolka, 'at last freed from Ceausescu's chains' from the very bad guilty pleasure movie Congo (1995, Frank Marshall).  I guess the neme came from Oskar Homolka ?

"While filming Congo, I sat on top of a Volcano talking to Tim Curry..." - Bruce Campbell said about sitting on top of a volcano talking with Tim Curry.

Curry earned three Tony nominations and a Daytime Emmy and released three musical albums in his career.

RIP Dolly Parton

 The great and unique Dolly Parton is gone...The 'Queen of Country" was 80 ! 

She did 9 to 5 and beyond....

Her last album was also her first Rock album, at 77 in 2023. entitled of course, Rockstar, with many famed collaborators and evergreen Rock songs . It made my Top Albums of 2023 list.

RockStar. as a true one she was...

All album listening party here.

found out this:

and now this:

She had a huge hit with Kenny Rogers in 1982, composed by the Bee Gees, called Islands on the Stream. 

On Rockstar there is the Bygones song, sung together with Rob Halford from Judas Priest.