Ronald W. Berkowsky, PhD 🏳️‍🌈

Apropos of nothing - while @criterionchannl.bsky.social is maybe better known for high-brow arthouse and foreign cinema, their programming over the past few years has REALLY embraced genre cinema (particularly around Halloween!). So if #TheLastDriveIn is looking for a new home…

If you see this, post a character that starts with B.

A ★★★ review of The Perfect Neighbor (2025) Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary “The Perfect Neighbor” (2025) constructs a narrative almost entirely from police footage (e.g., bodycam and interrogation recordings) – chronicling the lead-up and afterma...

Next up, we have the documentary "The Perfect Neighbor." I won't lie - what started as a fascinating look at civil disputes in the shadow of stand-your-ground laws ultimately felt very exploitive by the end. I felt uneasy at the films conclusion, and not for the reasons it intends you to.

A ★★★½ review of Good Boy (2025) A haunted house tale told from the curious and anxious perspective of a dog, Ben Leonberg’s debut effort “Good Boy” (2025) is more than its clever conceit, as there is genuine unease and foreboding th...

Will be playing catch-up on posting film reviews today, as I have several on the docket. We'll start things off with "Good Boy" (2025), aka "that horror movie told from a dog's perspective":

"'Good Boy' is an original and assured entry into the horror genre that ends on a poignant note."

Quite literally, almost nobody wants this. Like, NOBODY.

A ★★★½ review of If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025) Maternal strife and anguish take centerstage in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” a jittery and manic dark comedy grounded almost solely by Rose Byrne’s stellar turn as the film’s lead. P...

Taking a few minutes (away from a relentless number of work emails I need to attend to) to share a few thoughts on the dark comedy "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You":

"...Bronstein’s approach serves a purpose in portraying a world that is all-too-eager to indict mothers for simply trying to survive."

Whoops, looks like the original video was taken down - but a new version has just been posted!

A ★★★ review of Peter Hujar's Day (2025) Ira Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day” (2025) functions both as a biopic and as an exercise in form. The film stages a 1974 conversation between friends, the renowned artist Peter Hujar and writer Linda Rosen...

A few lines on Ira Sachs' interesting experiment in form, "Peter Hujar's Day" (2025):

"...Ben Whishaw must be given due credit, as his Peter Hujar is an example of finely calibrated restraint – Whishaw comes off casual, reflective, and genuine throughout the film’s short runtime."

YouTube video by 101.3FM Camaradio Leadership in Healthcare: CSUCI’s Online Master of Health Care Administration (MHA)

Had the opportunity to speak to 101.3 FM ("Camaradio") detailing CSUCI's newly launched Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) program - was a lot of fun! If you're looking to further your healthcare education (and potentially earn a credential in gerontology in the process), consider applying!

A ★★★½ review of Dust Bunny (2025) Bryan Fuller’s feature directorial debut “Dust Bunny” is a stylish, imaginative, yet slightly terrifying and slyly perverse bedtime story. In it, Mads Mikkelsen’s hit man protagonist is recruited by a...

I'm shocked this film was eligible for the Spirit Awards (it just looks *expensive*) - but beyond the crafts, Bryan Fuller's "Dust Bunny" impresses on story:

"Bryan Fuller’s feature directorial debut 'Dust Bunny' is a stylish, imaginative, yet slightly terrifying and slyly perverse bedtime story."

View of Santa Monica pier from afar (cloudy day). Spirit Awards big white tent noticeably absent.

Sunday long run complete - no sun, no problem! Nine miles through Brentwood and Santa Monica. Could see the Santa Monica pier in the distance and not gonna lie - it was weird not seeing the big ol’ tent for the Film Independent Spirit Awards (they’re at the Palladium this year).

A ★★★½ review of Splitsville (2025) Michael Angelo Covino’s “Splitsville” (2025) turns a partner-swapping riot into a coolly observed study of modern coupling. In it, one marriage dissolves while another tests the physical and emotional...

I have found, as I've gotten older, that I tend to be more critical of comedies (I just don't laugh as much!). So I was quite surprised by how taken I was with "Splitsville" (Michael Angelo Covino, 2025):

"...the film finds regret and remorse (and several laughs) in the fallout of sexual honesty."

A ★★★★ review of Familiar Touch (2024) Sarah Friedland’s “Familiar Touch” (2024) enters previously-explored territory in its depiction of an aging woman and her slow cognitive decline – but, the beauty of the film lies in the film’s abilit...

Long overdue (as I viewed this 2 weeks ago), but I finally found the time and energy to put a few words down on the quiet yet profound "Familiar Touch" (2024, dir. Sarah Friedland):

"In this way, [the film] is less about deterioration as we age and more about the presence of self..."

(if you want to read the full essay but are unable to access the article, DM me)

"Gerontologists recognize that care work is a process wherein caregivers and care recipients are constantly negotiating their roles, expectations, and labor, yet the beauty of Pallaoro’s 'Monica' is in its emphasis on the importance of recognition....such grace, the film argues, can be care itself."

On Transitions and Care Work in Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica Film: Monica (106 min)

New year, new film essay! I'm happy to share my review of Andrea Pallaoro's "Monica" has been published in this month's issue of The Gerontologist. In my latest essay, I discuss the film's portrayal of care work and transitioning into the caregiver (and care recipient) role.

#FilmSky #Gerontology

On a trend us film professors have seen. Free link to “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” from THE ATLANTIC yesterday.
archive.ph/GFWzW

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

Wow. This is devastating.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Note that the review was corrected to 4 stars (because I didn’t actually check that I clicked on the right rating prior to publishing - oops).

A ★★★½ review of Lurker (2025) A polished and confident debut, Alex Russell’s simmering thriller “Lurker” follows Matthew Morning (Théodore Pellerin) as he socially maneuvers and schemes his way into the good graces of rising music...

A few words on 2025's "Lurker":

"Russell sustains a careful pace and uneasiness throughout, save for a somewhat rushed final third. Despite this, 'Lurker' is an impressive directorial debut with standout lead performances that will linger (or dare I say, lurk?) long after the credits roll."

A ★★★½ review of The Ugly Stepsister (2025) As Emilie Blichfeldt’s directorial debut “The Ugly Stepsister” progresses, one may be inclined to assume that this Cinderella-inspired horror film may eventually become a revenge fantasy; after all, a...

And next up, a few words on 2025's "The Ugly Stepsister" (dir. Emilie Blichfeldt), a surprise (but arguably deserved) Oscar nominee:

"'The Ugly Stepsister' is...a body horror study of internalized hatred where the terror lies in one’s self-loathing and in the dangerous choices it leads to.

A ★★★ review of Sovereign (2025) Christian Swegal’s 2025 tense thriller “Sovereign” revisits the 2010 West Memphis shootings wherein sovereign citizens Jerry and Joseph Kane shot and killed two police officers during a traffic stop. ...

Making my way through the 2026 Spirit Awards blind spots. So, here are a few lines on Christian Swegal's 2025 film "Sovereign":

"While Swegal does not shy away from indicting the absurdities of the sovereign citizen belief system, he also keenly humanizes the movement without indulging it..."

Definitely worth a watch. Might be a bit too philosophical or reflective for some, but I found it to be very engaging and one of the more underrated films released last year.

A ★½ review of Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (James Cameron’s latest entry in his “Avatar” series) picks up almost exactly where the previous “Avatar: The Way of Water” left off: Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family...

And finally, James Cameron's latest entry in the Avatar series, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" (which I really, really struggled with, as it's essentially a greatest hits of Cameron's worst tendencies):

"[The film] proves that it may behoove Cameron to abandon this world in favor of something else."

A ★★ review of Don't Go in the Woods (1981) A thought occurs in the middle of James Bryan’s 1981 slasher “Don’t Go in the Woods”: consisting mostly of disconnected murder vignettes, the film (which focuses on a murderous woodsman terrorizing ca...

And next up, James Bryan's 1981 slasher "Don't Go in the Woods" (which is not a good movie by any means - and yet I oddly enjoyed!?):

"[the film] plays less like a complete and functioning narrative and more like a patchwork of blood-soaked carnage shot by friends without any coordination...

A ★★★★ review of Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) Less concerned with urban corruption and more concerned with rural rot, Lucio Fulci’s classic 1972 giallo “Don’t Torture a Duckling” follows the investigation of a series of child murders in a small, ...

Attempting to catch-up on my capsule reviews today (have 3 blurbs in process). Up first: Lucio Fulci's classic "Don't Torture a Duckling":

"...some – like Florinda Bolkan as the accused Maciara – attack their characters with reckless abandon, making for an even more intensified watch."

#FilmSky

This is a UK-specific look, but American activists and scholars should take note - these tactics can be employed (and in some instances already have been) in the US.

Theater entrance to a screening of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Playing end-of-2025 movie catch-up, now seated for…

A ★★★½ review of Marty Supreme (2025) With a velocity not completely unlike a ping pong ball ripping back and forth on a table, Josh Safdie’s 2025 film “Marty Supreme” is certainly kinetic. Inspired in part by the life of Marty Reisman, t...

A few words on "Marty Supreme" (which I respected more than liked):

"With a velocity not completely unlike a ping pong ball ripping back and forth on a table, Josh Safdie’s 2025 film 'Marty Supreme' is certainly kinetic...but [it] lacks an emotional logic which may keep some viewers at bay."

A ★★★½ review of Song Sung Blue (2025) Two decades of tender devotion and professional turbulence are squeezed into Craig Brewer’s 2025 film “Song Sung Blue,” which depicts the true story of Mike and Claire Sardina, the infamous (at least ...

I'm generally not a fan of these types of films, but I was pleasantly surprised by "Song Sung Blue" (2025):

"Brewer’s command of the music film remains assured...[he] knows how to craft a film wherein the technical does not compete with the characters, making for a modest yet heartfelt biopic."