netflix | The Last Movie Guy

A House of Dynamite (2025): Nuclear Tension in Modern Times

Perhaps we are all already on the verge of paranoia, and it only takes the slightest push to set it off. A House of Dynamite (2025), directed by Kathryn Bigelow, works with the anxiety of nuclear annihilation to construct a story that feels lifted from the Cold War era, yet unfolds unmistakably in our present. Noah Oppenheim’s script confronts us with the reality that the possibility of nuclear conflict is stronger today than ever, even as the public’s attention is scattered by economic crises, climate change, and the noise of social media.

The Perfect Neighbor (2025): America’s Fractured Mirror

Posted on October 24 by Hugo Pagan Soto

In 2005, the state of Florida passed the “Stand Your Ground” law — legislation now in effect in several U.S. states — which allows a person to use force (even lethal force) in self-defense without any obligation to retreat first if they believe their life or physical integrity is in danger. Unlike other self-defense laws, this one does not require the threatened individual to attempt to flee or avoid confrontation before using force.

The Shadow Strays: The Indonesian New Wave

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Long before superheroes took over the screens. There were flesh-and-blood action heroes before Marvel and DC sought the niche of action cinema with their characters. Nostalgia always gets the better of me and I can’t resist returning to those action movies and characters from the 80s and 90s that paved my way to the movies. Stallone, Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal, Bruce Lee… these legends and many others dominated the big screen with their epic adventures from which they always emerged victorious.

The Dilemma of The Killer

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Hugo Pagan Soto

I come to David Fincher’s The Killer with eagerness. I am driven by a longing to find the Fincher from Se7en (1995) or perhaps the one from Zodiac (2007). My search does not seek comparisons but to come across the visual style and the unique staging that have made the North American director a reference in the film industry. I am inclined to specifically mention those two films from his filmography because The Killer invites us into a world that beats the rhythm of murderers and emotionally complex characters. In the end, I leave this meeting recognizing the work of an experienced director, who knows the job and demonstrates it but who does not leave his mark with the impetus with which he did before.

SLY: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Hugo Pagan Soto

I remember when I started writing about cinema. One of those first articles was about my action movie heroes. SLY (2023), the documentary that covers Sylvester Stallone’s film career, made me return to that moment and the motivation that generated that crude writing. Those celluloid heroes that Hollywood spawned were my favorite refuge for years and there I always ran into that Stallone. It is impossible to imagine the history of cinema without Rocky, without Rambo, without Cobra, without Tango, without John Spartan…