Queen of Chess 2026 * * 1/2 Stars

"CHECK" THE TECHNIQUE

Queen of Chess is a true events documentary that takes place in the post-Cold War decade 90s. And yeah, it's made even more truer by the fact that the actual subject is the one being interviewed most of the time. I mean there are a few people that I didn't know from Adam putting their two cents in (via accounts) but it's main lead Chess player Judit Polgar getting the veritable spotlight. "In the beginning everybody underestimated me." Uh, too bad for those critical dolts. They're too busy playing checkers. Natch. 

Anyway at 93 minutes of running time, "Queen" is shot in chronological order only to produce a sort of neutered, Marty Supreme-style ending, complete with a final endgame and a totally vanquished dream. It's edited feverishly with microfilm reader remnants and careful emends, trying to mask the fact that we're watching an almost paint-drying effect that to people like me who have no clue as to what we're seeing, looks like a couple of small, wooden sculptures moving from one freaking box to the next.  A Chess prodigy (Polgar mentioned earlier) challenges the greatest player in her field (past champion Garry Kasparov), wins the match, and becomes the GOAT of all things female checkmate. "When I was five years old, I started my Chess training." You don't say Judit. You don't say. 

Timothee Chalamet vehicles, slow burn castling-s, and girly Bobby Fischer grandmasters aside, Queen of Chess is well done yet fairly predictable, with the usual archives, a few nifty draw reenactments, a couple of unknown Chess mongers being grilled, and some of the most sluggish cue card narration I've heard in many a moon. I mean I wouldn't say it's a lousy docu but it's far from indelible. Yup, you could leave the room you're watching it from and come back literally non-staggered. "Queen B-minus."

Written by Jesse Burleson

Scream 7 2026 * * 1/2 Stars

"I'LL BE RIGHT BACK"

A one-word title for a movie (plus a number), gory as all get-out, relentless, made for an audience that is so hard-up for horror they'll fork out $10-$15 bones just about any day of the week. Yeah I'm talking about Scream 7, that's right, the 7th installment in the already distance-running franchise of 30 years. So come on, how many of these things does Dimension plan on putting out? And uh, should Sidney Prescott seriously consider not having possession of a phone (cell, landline, or otherwise)? "Hello Sidney." Oh boy, here we go again. 

So yeah, the Scream franchise does the AI thing now with "7", digging up the corpse of actor Matthew Lillard so he can play an artificial intelligence version of old jag Stu Macher. Other than the AI shtick and the addition of mobile security cameras to track offender monger Ghostface, Scream 7 is just like every other Scream flick, lots of nasty kills, a big whodunit at the end, and characters who make substandard decisions like they wanna get offed. "I wanna be a fighter, like you." That's the spirit teenage daughter of Mrs. Prescott (now Mrs. Evans). You go girl!

Starring Neve Campbell, Joel McHale, Lillard (mentioned earlier), and Isabel May and featuring a better-than-usual score from maestro veteran Marco Beltrami (he was Wes Craven's musical, right-hand man back in the day), Scream 7 is about the Ghostface slayer setting his sights on Sid's daughter (as the main target) while butchering everyone else in his or her's path. 

Solid direction from the screenwriter of 1996's Scream (Kevin Williamson who rarely helms movies), more cruor than any Scream vehicle that has ever existed, and a window to the next bit make "7" entertaining and cinematically malnourished at the same time. Heck, they can keep churning out these pics forever. I mean Scream 11 could be in outer space like Friday the 13th's Jason X. Oh and Sidney could show up in a walker a la Scream 19, brandishing a sawed-off shotgun while blasting Ghostface right between the good old corneas. Yikes! "Scream aim fire." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Firebreak 2026 * * 1/2 Stars

FLAME THROWDOWN

A one-word title for a movie, vexing, poorly dubbed, Syfy channel-like, made for the weary, beaming streaming crowd. Yeah I'm talking about 2025's Firebreak. a pseudo thriller that's more about Hitchcockian panics and suppositions than uncontrolled towering infernos. So OK, are the main characters intolerant or just plain paranoiac? And where's the plot buildup? And um, why does it take forever for the combustion and/or burning to reach ye olde denizens of Segovia, Spain. "Is it snowing?" Uh no, that ain't vapor my young Padawan.

So yeah, there aren't many fire clips in Firebreak, probably because the special effects are just you know, ho-hum. Basically this flick is like watching Alex Garland's Annihilation from 8 years back, less trippy yet more signal, less about the flames yet more about the onus probandi. 

You want a cast of unknowns yelling at each other while trees and shrub steadily go up in smoke all around them? Yup, Firebreak can sort of be your ticket. And do you want those same actors constantly howling the words "where is she?" and "we've got to get out of here" enough times to warrant a freaking drinking game? Me neither, don't think so.

Starring Belen Cuesta, Diana Gomez, and Enric Auquer and distributed by Netflix (I've been saying that a lot these days), Firebreak is about a widowed family who visits their forestry, summer home only to plan on selling it after the death of a recent member. As said family is getting said home ready for buyers, a wildfire breaks out and a 7-year-old child goes missing. Conflict and chaos ensue with the mystery of the disappearing girl being the dramatic center and the wildfire in question being merely the backdrop. A couple of flashbacks here, a violent shindy there, a whole lot of diegesis discontent everywhere. Near "backfire". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Investigation of Lucy Letby 2026 * * * Stars

CODE RED

"We need to speak to you." Yeah you do. We're talking about Lucy Letby, the nurse who's about to be detained for some unspeakable crimes. Add some bodycam footage and a crying mother and well, you've got a pretty staggering way of opening a non-fictional, true events movie.

So yeah, my latest review is the nearly closed bookend, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, a documentary that causes the viewer to have an almost flip-flopped opinion. I mean did Lucy murder these infants or didn't she? And why is the girl so darn unforthcoming? And uh, what's up with the "no comment" shenanigans? "The only person who knows truly why is Lucy Letby herself." Uh-huh. 

Letby, well she's a mystery, an enigma just like the docu itself. I would say you can't really see the wheels turning in her head so she's like a female Keyser Soze and/or a good old Anton Chigurh type from No Country for Old Men. She is matched only by Detectives Paul Hughes and Simon Blackwell, dudes who are relentless in proving Lucy's culpability. An interrogation here, a double arrest there, a push for Letby's life sentence. It's only in "Investigation's" last act do we realize that maybe it's you know, the hospital's fault and not Lucy's. "But when you delve deeper, things were not so straightforward." Yikes. 

Usual Suspects characters and private dicks aside, The Investigation of Lucy Letby is directed by Dominic Sivyer, he of Rebel Nun and Masked Scammer fame. Sivyer shoots "Investigation" in the traditional Netflix style, streamlined and clean and sterile in its gape. With not-so-long-ago archives, interviews, and a 92-minute running time without an actual coda, The Investigation of Lucy Letby is a riddle wrapped inside a conundrum, begging for you to think about it long after the credits roll. "Depth probe." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart 2026 * * * Stars

SEIZED 

A sensitive documentary that might be only suited for the most mature of audiences. Yeah I'm talking about 2026's Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, one of those 90-minute, streaming pics that unfolds like pure fiction even though it's solely based on true events and communique. I mean why has it taken almost 25 years to tell Smart's story? And what's up with the weird behavior of some of her relatives via media coverage? And why did the abductors wear white robes and tunics? "This case captivated the nation." You ain't kidding boss. You really ain't kidding.

So OK, there's a grainy yet streamlined look to "Kidnapped", with helmer Benedict Sanderson shooting everything chronologically until the big vouchsafe halfway through. Basically with Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart you're looking at early 2000s archives intertwined with present-day interviews mainly from the Smart kin or the Salt Lake City rozzers. You want a solid episode of 48 Hours with production values and Utah locales that ascend? Yup, you'll get that with "Kidnapped". You want a docu that plays it safe, embracing the tactful and/or the kid-glove strands? Not here chief. Surely not here. 

Distributed by Netflix, with scenes of very spectral reenactments (yikes), Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is about well, Elizabeth Smart, a 14-year-old girl who was abducted from her home circa 2002 with only her younger sister as a witness. Her kidnappers were a couple of Bible-thumpers, abusing Smart and keeping her captive for nine months until a chance rescue by the authorities comes about. "Kidnapped", well it's eerie and startling stuff, with haunting music by Mat Davidson and tenebrous direction by Sanderson (mentioned earlier). If it weren't for the audience knowing some good things to come out of Smart's upshot later on, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart might have been too difficult to keep a weather eye on. "Atrial capture". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Miracle: The Boys of '80 * * * 1/2 Stars

POWERED PLAY

The U.S. Olympic team goes into Lake Placid circa 1980 and wins the gold medal, beating the heavily favored Soviet Union and those sneaky blokes from Finland. Basically it's considered the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. "I realize now why it became so much bigger than just a hockey game." Oh fo sho. Fo sho. 

So OK, I think 2026's Miracle: The Boys of  '80 is the best flick of the year (so far). After viewing it recently, I also consider it to be stronger in value than the non-docu, 2004 made-for-the-big-screen version starring good old Snake Plissken (that would Kurt Russell). I mean I'm not saying '04's Miracle is bad, it just seems to omit certain particulars that only the actual players (now in their 70s) can attest to. "We weren't superstars, we were the boy next door, lunch pail, hard hat group of guys." You tell 'em left winger Mike Eruzione. You tell 'em bro. 

Directed by two dudes (Max Gershberg, Jacob Rogal), distributed by Netflix (who else), and clocking in at a running time of 108 minutes, Miracle: The Boys of '80 is well, a quaint, time machine of a documentary, going back 45 years as it guns it stealthy to 88 (hint hint). Essex County, New York literally looks the same, Placid's Main Street is still kicking it in all its twee glory. 

"Boys of '80", yeah it tells its story chronologically and cleanly, how US hockey was H-E-double-hockey-sticks until the late Herb Brooks came along and gathered a bunch of amateurs ready to shock the world. Guys like Jim Craig (goalie), Mark Johnson (center), and Ken Morrow (defense) return to the scene of the crime, looking grizzled yet happy as they enter the Olympic Fieldhouse decades later to reflect. Miracle: The Boys of '80, well it intertwines between present-day interviews and strong print, grainy archives, giving the viewer a hint of teary-eyed wistfulness. "Miracle work it." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Wrecking Crew 2026 * * * Stars

JUICE CREW

My gosh that was hardcore, an exhausting bodies in motion flick where fists fly, bullets pierce, and bones cleave. Yeah I'm talking about 2026's The Wrecking Crew, an action comedy that's rock 'em sock 'em, where it's action clip then payoff then action clip then payoff, where a sword or tongue is firmly planted in cheek. Mm-hmm, you get the drift. "Crew" stars Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa, two dudes who have well, decent propensity together and at the same time, a disdain for one another. "Well, it should be fun". Uh, you darn tootin'. 

Anyhow The Wrecking Crew has two half-brothers (Bautista as James Hale and Momoa as Jonny Hale) trying to mysteriously find out who offed their father who initially was ruled dead by a hit-and-run. So yeah, basically "Crew" is like a buddy cop movie a la 48 Hrs. and Lethal Weapon, not quite as dark and brooding but just as much fun. Here are the only differences: Momoa's Jonny is a cop that's nonchalant to the nth degree and suspended with pay. Bautista's James is not the fuzz but an ex Navy SEAL with a tempted mean streak. Oh and they're also pseudo related. Did you get all that?

The Wrecking Crew, yup it's Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa going rogue as they leave nothing but human carnage in their wake. As actors they look a little weathered but shine being a couple of antihero gangbusters who have nothing to lose except maybe their heads and/or a limb or two. "Crew's" director (Puerto Rico native Angel Manuel Soto) films nasty fistfights and shootouts three-dimensional, blurring the lines between good taste and good old ferity. His "Crew" has a pretty composite plot for an action vehicle but who cares when there's so much glorious pulp splattered on screen. "Wrecking" ball out. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Mercy 2026 * * * Stars

PREVENIENT GRACE

Wow, now that was intense, a real increased blood circulation of a movie. Yeah I'm talking about Mercy, the type of cutthroat, sci-fi thriller that takes a scene or two from 2002's Minority Report and stretches it out to a little over 100 minutes. Mercy, well it's mostly a screenlife affair, initially a drag but eventually becoming a consuming ride. "I loved my wife, I didn't hurt her." Prove it bro. Prove it Pratt man.

Anyway Mercy has Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) on trial for murdering his wife. Here's the glitch: he has to sit in an execution-style chair, be presided over by an AI judge, and sift through a bunch of found footage to prove his innocence. If he can't do so in an hour and a half, he'll be offed for sure. Yikes! 

Pratt, well he plays the character of Raven with a raw potency, a glint of hope, and an antihero jetlag. Heck, he looks like he hasn't slept in days. You root for him because well, you have to, not because you want to. Otherwise there'd be no film, no supposed leading light to keep alive. 

Mercy, yup it's the ultimate "big brother" flick, the ultimate social media boon, and the ultimate, brash whodunit. Everybody is watching everybody, every movement dissected like an Energizer Bunny telescope, every surveillance video a cumulus "cloud" (natch). 

Co-starring Rebecca Ferguson and Chris Sullivan and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, Mercy revels in the fact that it's akin to a modern day Zapruder film with director Timur Bekmambetov getting his tech on as he chills on the grassy knoll. The pic does what most pics do well. It gets your heart rate up, it's twisty, it renders you restive, and it keeps you on the edge of your proverbial seat. Errand of "mercy". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

The 37th Annual Notre Dame Student Film Festival, January 23-25th, 2026

I've been covering the Notre Dame Student Film Festival on and off since 2014. Below are the highlights along with favorable ratings.

A Regular Cat-astrophe * * * Stars

-It's about losing smartphones and befriending cats, with numerous title cards and copious info concerning the plight of a nebulous, female college student. Part documentary, part dramatization, all good.

Stalker * * * Stars

-A rack focus here, a Dutch angle there, a closeup. Yeah Stalker is well, about a stalker. It's uh, dark and dangerous, the type of short a young Sam Raimi would have pursued circa 1981. Oh and with most creepy fleeting flicks, the music is pretty much everything. "Besetting compulsive". 

Flicker * * * Stars

-As a silent pic about a drug addict who tries to put his life back together via seeing flashbacks of his childhood, Flicker packs an emotional wallop and features some supreme, physical acting by its lead. Oh and an alternate title could be "Flicker of Hope" as demonstrated by the shining, visual hues near the end.  

Therefore, I Am * * * Stars

-An assault on the senses, some European shooting techniques, the mind of an ND student becoming as skewed as what's on screen, a little inborn narration. Yes I'm talking about Therefore I Am, a five-minute-plus vehicle that requires multiple viewings in order to expound. "I am, nuff said."

Dukeneuse * * * 1/2 Stars

-Dukeneuse is about parodying, spoofing, and making black comedy fun of infomercials in the most cynical and airy way. I mean I've never seen anything like it at a Notre Dame flick fest and even the head of the theatre department didn't want anyone asking him how to explain what they just saw. "Duke nukem." 

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Rip 2026 * * * Stars

LET THIS PRISE

It does feature Ben Affleck and Matt Damon sans any reunion of a Good Will Hunting 2, it did come out via Netflix in January and well, it's from the dark, underhanded style of director Joe Carnahan. Yeah I'm talking about The Rip, a crime thriller where the perp isn't always just a perp and the constabulary isn't always well, you know. "This is my crime scene, let me run it." You got it boss. Uh, you got it Mr Clean.

Starring Affleck, Damon, Kyle Chandler, and Scott Adkins and featuring its leads playing with enough gumption to spew any number of four-letter words, The Rip feels like a group hug version of Training Day coupled with numerous mock-ups of every David Ayer screenplay you can think of and an Assault on Precinct 13 tail end. The film also gives helmer Carnahan a chance to make another bad cop flick that's more arcane and dire than it needn't be. I mean just check the dead of night cinematography from Juan Miguel Azpiroz, a sort of doom and gloom-hued palate with the occasional glowing lights of some minacious, Miami Cruisers. Yikes!

So yeah, as something about a bunch of rozzers who find millions in cash during a routine robbing of a drug house, The Rip is like a ticking time bomb of a movie, slick and glossy and smoky and stout, a dark blue remnant in reverse if you will. Visceral shootouts that have to be seen to be believed, trickery, fuzz hoodwinking, slugs aplenty, a numbing musical score by 25-year veteran Clinton Shorter. Yeah The Rip winds up the tension till Carnahan's signature, flashback conclusion comes along which is abrupt and gotcha in the most headlong way. Joe, well his vehicles are the enigma of duplicity. I can't wait to see what he does next. "Rip" city.  

Written by Jesse Burleson