In which the Mister and Monsters review GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988), from the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.

In writer/director Isao Takahata’s haunting 1988 Studio Ghibli masterpiece, a teenage boy named Seita and his younger sister, Setsuko, are left to fend for themselves in the final months of World War II after their home is destroyed by firebombing. To escape the cruelty of their surroundings and a strained relationship with a distant relative, the siblings move into an abandoned hillside bomb shelter, attempting to sustain their spirits through play and the flickering light of fireflies. However, their desperate attempt at self-sufficiency is soon threatened by the harsh realities of starvation and social indifference, testing Seita’s resolve to protect his sister’s remaining childhood innocence. The film clocks in at 1 h and 29 m, is unrated R and is currently streaming on Netflix but also available to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.
#GraveOfTheFireflies # AkiyukiNosaka #IsaoTakahata #TsutomuTatsumi #Seita #AyanoShiraishi #Setsuko #Japanes #AdultAnimation #Anime #HandDrawnAnimation #PeriodDrama #Drama #PsychologicalDrama #Tragedy #War #Siblings #NationalSiblingsDay @Netflix @PrimeVideo⁩ #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024) from director David Hinton and narrated by Martin Scorsese. We actually watched this film in 2025 on Turner Classic Movies.

This 2024 documentary provides an intimate, first-person look at the revolutionary creative partnership between British director Michael Powell and Hungarian writer Emeric Pressburger. Scorsese utilizes a treasure trove of film clips and archival footage to demonstrate how the duo's visionary "Archers" productions shaped the landscape of global cinema and personally inspired his own iconic filmmaking style. Moving beyond a standard retrospective, the film serves as a passionate testament to their enduring legacy, exploring the "magic and wonder" of their work while celebrating their unique ability to blend high art with commercial storytelling. The film clocks in at 2 h and 11 m, is unrated and you can find it on Fawesome and to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.

#MadeInEnglandTheFlmsOfPowellAndPressburger #MichaelPowell #EmericPressburger #DavidHinton #MartinScorsese #Documentary @Fawesome @PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) from the novel by Rumer Godden and written and directed by The Archers, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

In this Technicolor masterpiece, a group of Anglican nuns led by the ambitious Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) travels to a remote, wind-swept palace in the Himalayas to establish a school and hospital. As the sisters struggle with the thinning air and isolation, the palace’s history as a former harem begins to exert a sensual and destabilizing influence on their suppressed desires and psychological stability. The tension reaches a fever pitch as the unstable Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) becomes obsessively infatuated with a local British agent, Mr. Dean (David Farrar) leading to a haunting confrontation that threatens the very foundation of their mission. The film clocks in at 1 h and 41 m, is rated Approved and you can find it on HBO Max, Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Tubi and to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.

#BlackNarcissus #RumerGodden #MichaelPowell #EmericPressburger #DeborahKerr #SisterClodagh #FloraRobson #SisterPhilippa #JennyLaird #SisterHoney #JudithFurse #SisterBriony #KathleenByron #SisterRuth #DavidFarrar #MrDean #Sabu #TheYoungGeneral #JeanSimmons #Kanchi #MayHallatt #AnguAyah #EddieWhaleyJr #JosephAnthony #ShaunNoble #Con #NancyRoberts #MotherDorthea #LeyOn #Phuba #Drama #PsychologicalDrama @TCM @HBOMax @Plex

@PlutoTV @RokuChannel ⁠@Tubi ⁠⁠@PrimeVideo⁠ #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister and Kid 1 join me in reviewing CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 (1962) from writer/director Agnès Varda.In Agnès Varda’s 1962 French New Wave classic, a striking pop singer named Cléo (Corinne Marchand) spends ninety minutes wandering through the sun-drenched streets of Paris while anxiously awaiting a medical diagnosis that could confirm a terminal illness. As she moves from a state of superstitious dread and superficial vanity to a more profound observation of the world around her, she gradually sheds her "performer" persona in favor of a raw and grounded human experience. Her journey of self-reflection culminates in a chance encounter with a kind soldier on the eve of his departure for war, offering her a rare moment of genuine connection amidst her existential crisis. The film clocks in at 1 h and 30 m, is unrated and you can find it on HBO Max and to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.
#CleoFrom5To7 #AgnésVarda #CorinneMarchand #Cléo #AntoineBourseiller #Antoine #DominiqueDavray #Angèle #DorothéeBlanck #Dorothée ##MichelLegrand #Bob #JoséLuisDeVilallonga #José #LoyePayen #Irma #French #Drama #PsychologicalDrama #WomensHistoryMonth @HBOMax @PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight
Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister and Kid 2 join me in reviewing LES DIABOLIQUES (1955) from the novel, "Celle qui n'était plus" by writers,Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejaca and a screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jérôme Géronimi. In director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1955 suspense classic LES DIABOLIQUES, the frail Christina (Véra Clouzot) and the steely Nicole (Simone Signoret) — the wife and mistress of a cruel boarding school headmaster (Paul Meurisse) — conspire to murder their shared tormentor to escape his abuse. After drowning him and dumping his body into the school's neglected swimming pool, the women are paralyzed by dread when the corpse mysteriously vanishes after the pool is eventually drained. Their guilt-ridden reality soon dissolves into a paranoid nightmare as strange occurrences and sightings suggest that their victim may not be as dead as they intended. The film clocks in at 1 h and 57 m, is unrated and you can find it on HBO Max, Plex, Roku Channel and to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.
#CelleQuiN'étaitPlus #PierreBoileau #ThomasNarcejaca #HenriGeorgesClouzot #JérômeGéronimi #LesDiaboliques #VéraClouzot #Christina #SimoneSignoret #Nicole #PaulMeurisse #Michel #French #Drama #PsychologicalThriller #Crime #Mystery #Thriller #WomensHistoryMonth @HBOMax @PlexTV @RokuChannel @PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight
Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing SUSPICION (1941) from a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison and Alma Reville, from Anthony Berkeley's "Before The fact" novel, the film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A shy heiress named Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine) impulsively elopes with the charming but penniless playboy Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) against her father’s wishes. After the honeymoon, Lina’s romantic bliss turns to dread as she discovers that her husband is a compulsive gambler and a liar who has been embezzling funds to support their lavish lifestyle. Her anxiety escalates into a paralyzing fear when Johnnie’s business partner dies under mysterious circumstances, leading her to believe that her husband is a murderer who now views her own life insurance policy as his final financial escape. The film clocks in at 1 h and 39 m, is rated Approved and is available to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.
#Suspicion #AnthonyBerkeley #BeforeTheFact #SamsonRaphaelson #JoanHarrison #AlmaReville #AlredHitchcock #JoanFontaine #Lina #CaryGrant #JohnnieAysgarth #CedricHardwicke #GeneralLaidlaw #MayWhitty #MrsLaidlaw #NigelBruce #Beaky #FilmNoir #PsychologicalThriller #Suspense #Whodunnit #Mystery #Drama #Thriller ⁠@PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

** Originally watched last year on TCM 's Noir Alley with host Eddie Muller and based on Lucille Fletcher's radio play which she then converted to a screenplay **

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948) from a screenplay by Lucille Fletcher, who created the original radio play, the film is directed by Anatole Litvak.

Leona Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyck), a bedridden and wealthy heiress, accidentally overhears a telephone conversation between two men plotting a murder while trying to reach her husband, Henry (Burt Lancaster) at his office. As she grows increasingly frantic, her desperate attempts to alert the police and telephone operators are met with bureaucratic indifference, leaving her trapped and alone in her silent, dark mansion. The mystery takes a chilling turn when Leona begins to piece together clues from the overheard call, leading her to the terrifying realization that the intended victim may be closer to home than she ever imagined. The film clocks in at 1 h and 29 m, is rated Approved and is available on Prime Video but also available to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.

#SorryWrongNumber #LucilleFletcher #AnatoleLitvak #AnnRichards #Sally #WendellCorey #DrAlexander #HaroldVermilyea #Waldo #EdBegley #James #LeifErickson #Fred #WilliamConrad #Morano #JohnBromfield #DetectiveJoe #JimmyHunt #Peter #DorothyNeumann #MissJennings #FilmNoir #PsychologicalThriller #Suspense #Mystery #Crime #Drama #Thriller @TCM @NoirAlley ⁠@PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing THE SECRET AGENT (2025) from writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho. A research scientist named Armando (Wagner Moura) flees the political repression of 1977 São Paulo for his hometown of Recife, adopting a false identity to evade a corrupt businessman and the military regime. While hiding in a safe house filled with fellow dissidents, he navigates a surreal and paranoid landscape during Carnival, desperate to reunite with his young son and secure his family's future before his cover is blown. As he searches government archives for his own mother's history, Armando becomes a target in a high-stakes game of surveillance and urban legends, where the line between a personal vendetta and state-sanctioned violence begins to blur. The film clocks in at 2 h and 41 m, is rated R and is available on Hulu but also available to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.

Please donate if you can to my Covenant House Sleepout here:

https://www.sleepout.org/participants/66266

#TheSecretAgent #KleberMendincaFilho #WagnerMoura #Marcelo #Armando #Fernando #Portuguese #PeriodDrama #PoliticalThriller #Suspense #Mystery #Crime #Drama #Mystery #Thriller #BestCasting #BestInternationalFeatureFilm #BestMotionPictureOfTheYear #BestPerformanceByAnActorInALeadingRole #Oscars2026 @Hulu @PrimeVideo #FridayFamilyFilmNight

Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library