Movie Reviews | The Last Movie Guy

House of Wax (1953): The Birth of a Legend

Hollywood’s obsession with remakes is nothing new. Long before André De Toth’s House of Wax (1953), the legendary Michael Curtiz —yes, the same man behind Casablanca— had already explored this story in Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). De Toth took Curtiz’s film as a foundation but had to tone down the macabre and sexual elements of the original to comply with the strict Hays Code, which governed Hollywood from the 1930s through the late sixties. Decades later, the gruesome allure of the tale would be revived once again in House of Wax (2005), directed by Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra and starring, among others, Paris Hilton, offering a bloodier and more commercial reinterpretation of the classic horror story.

Good Boy (2025): Horror Seen Through a Dog’s Eyes

Posted on October 16 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Ben Leonberg’s decision to make his dog, Indy, the protagonist of his horror film Good Boy (2025) is not exceptional. The list of canine leads is long and covers almost all cinematic genres. In horror cinema, we can mention the classic Cujo (1983), based on the Stephen King novel. However, if we want to consider how Leonberg uses the dog’s perspective as an absolute resource for his narrative, perhaps we should recall Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) by the great Robert Bresson. The concept of Good Boy takes a different course but ultimately relies entirely on the artifice of using the dog’s point of view from start to finish.

The Smashing Machine (2025): The Rise and Fall of an MMA Legend

Posted on October 8 by Hugo Pagan Soto

There is a striking contrast between the Mark Kerr we see crushing opponents inside the ring and the smiling, distracted Mark Kerr riding a carousel like a child. That powerful juxtaposition reveals the complexity of the inner battle Kerr fights. The Smashing Machine (2025), directed by Benny Safdie, explores a fragment of the life of one of the pioneers of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) — his meteoric rise and brutal downfall. With an almost documentary tone, Safdie exposes the humanity of a figure who is both sweet and bitter, inspiring and tragic.

The Wizard of the Kremlin: Inside the Shadows of Russian Power – TIFF 2025

Posted on October 2 by Hugo Pagan Soto

There is always a decisive figure behind great myths. These legendary figures, who history turns into heroes or villains that transcend time and space, always have someone by their side who ends up being essential, because without their presence, their legend would never have been forged. The Wizard of the Kremlin (2025) by Olivier Assayas presents one of those figures who work from the shadows. Vladislav Surkov is one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in Russian politics. He was known as the Kremlin Puppeteer for his ability to pull political strings from behind the scenes.

One Battle After Another (2025): An Action Epic from P. T. Anderson

Posted on October 1 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Bob is absorbed in his own world, getting high while The Battle of Algiers (1966) plays on the television. The ringing of a telephone is enough to suddenly drag him back into his past and snap him into reality. By the time we reach this moment, One Battle After Another (2025) has already infected us with its frenzy. For director Paul Thomas Anderson, this is his second time adapting a novel by Thomas Pynchon. In 2014, he adapted Inherent Vice for the screen, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the peculiar detective Doc Sportello. Now Anderson draws on Vineland, published in 1990, to create the universe of One Battle After Another.