John Patton Ford

How to Make a Killing

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Becket with a bow and arrow

Not to be confused with a 2024 French black comedy with the title How to Make a Killing (in English at least), this one is from 2026 and stars Glen Powell. A remake of 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets, it is, you know, OK, and demonstrates (yet again) how good those Ealing chaps were at cranking out superficially slight comedies with a stiletto subtext. Director/adapter John Patton Ford updates things to the 21st century, where little Becket Redfellow (Powell as an adult, Grady Wilson as a kid) is born into a wealthy family but is kicked out of it when his mother marries beneath her. Having grown up broke, and having promised his … Read more

Emily the Criminal

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Aubrey Plaza as Emily

An astute move sideways by Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal gives her fans a bit of what they want alongside a good whack of something new. She’s a producer of the film so it’s fair to say this is deliberate. Playing the sexy snark can’t go on for ever, and she’s been working this territory at least since 2007’s online TV series The Jeannie Tate Show (she was the petulant drug-dependent teenage step-daughter). In 2009, Parks and Recreation made her a star. Since then Plaza has been playing variations on that Parks and Rec character, cynic/slacker/ditz April Ludgate, in films like Safety Not Guaranteed, Life After Beth, Ingrid Goes West and Dirty Grandpa. … Read more

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