Eagerly anticipating this month ... (6-25)

Eagerly anticipating this month ... (6-25)
Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value (2025)
Showing posts with label Colin Farrell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colin Farrell. Show all posts

4/19/2025

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) - Gilliam's rambling mess

 

An celestial array of surreal elements and many stars stand ready on this poster for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

In London a traveling group of weirdos attempt to entertain ungrateful, rude drunks from a wagon that includes the ancient Parnassus' imaginarium.

 

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is written by Charles McKeown (Brazil (1985)) and American-born British master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)), whose 11th feature it is.

Despite a dragging beginning, this chaotic film flows out and becomes enormously testing to watch. This is less astonishing when considering that it is a Gilliam creation that was completed with three new stars cast in the lead, since the original suddenly passed away in real life, in a script that was already bonkers. (Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale (2001)) died at age 28 from accidental prescription medication poisoning.) All involved do what they can, in ugly hair, beards and many layers of ugly costumes, often in ugly lighting, in ugly images, with many sequences also featuring ugly 'fantastical' CGI elements.

Ledger's Tony character, as a side note, is a man who is rescued from wanting to hang himself. Gilliam's messy procession is anything but uplifting. 

 

Related posts:



 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 30 mil. $

Box office: 64.3 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.14 times its cost)

[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus premiered 22 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 123 minutes. 12 companies and support bodies were involved in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from December 2007 - April 2008, with a month-long hiatus due to the demise of Ledger, in British Columbia and in England, including in London. Gilliam engaged friends and colleagues of Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to all overtake the actor's part following his tragic death, and the three decided to donate their (unknown) salaries to Ledger's daughter Matilda. The film went about 5 mil. $ over budget. Co-producer William Vince also passed away prior to release. The sensation surrounding Ledger's death meant that the film reportedly made back its budget through presales before even getting released. It opened #20 to a 415k $ first weekend in 48 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #11 and in 607 theaters, grossing 7.6 mil. $ (11.8 % of the total gross). This was the film's 3rd biggest market. The biggest two were Italy with 11.1 mil. $ (17.3 %) and Japan with 6.5 mil. $ (10.1 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Costume Design to The Young Victoria and Art Direction to Avatar. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, a British Independent Film award and other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. The film reportedly additionally made in excess of 11.7 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. Gilliam returned with The Legend of Hallowdega (2010, short) and The Wholly Family (2011, short) and theatrically with The Zero Theorem (2013). This was Ledger's final film; Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World (2017)) returned with voice performances in My Dog Tulip (2009) and 9 (2009) prior to his physical theatrical return in The Last Station (2009). The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is fresh at 64 % with a 6.0/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?

7/23/2024

In Bruges (2008) - McDonagh's 'hit men in Belgium' idea scores

 

Three tough-looking men in dark suits contrastingly placed in picturesque Bruges, Belgium make up this amusing poster for Martin McDonagh's In Bruges
 

Two hit men from London are sent into exile in Bruges, Belgium, following one of them performing the fatal mistake of shooting a child. Their boss' wish to rid himself of the culprit becomes a matter of principle.


In Bruges is written and directed by great English filmmaker, debuting Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)).

Shot almost entirely in Bruges, the film is very preoccupied with its location, - and the city, it must be admitted, is very beautiful. But it is primarily McDonagh's own, original script and strong characters coupled with enthusiastic performances from Colin Farrell (Miami Vice (2006)), Brendan Gleeson (The Village (2004)) and Ralph Fiennes (No Time to Die (2021)) which make this film funny and estimable.

 

Related posts:

 

Martin McDonagh: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - M. McDonagh surprises with a kicker of an amazing movie 





 

Watch a trailer for the film here


Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 34.5 mil. $

= Minor flop (returned 2.3 times its cost)

[In Bruges premiered 17 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 107 minutes. Shooting took place from February - March 2007 in Belgium. The film opened #25 to a 459k $ first weekend in 28 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #21 and in 232 theaters, grossing 7.8 mil. $ (22.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 6 mil. $ (17.4 %) and France with 3.5 mil. $ (10.1 %). The film was nominated for the Best Screenplay Oscar, lost to Dustin Lance Black for Milk. It won 1/4 BAFTA nominations, 1/3 Golden Globe nominations and a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. The film had video sales of estimated 4.9 mil. $ in North America alone. McDonagh returned with The Beauty Queen of Leenane (2010, TV movie), The Pillowman (2011, short) and theatrically with Seven Psychopaths (2012). Farrell returned in Pride and Glory (2008); Gleeson with a voice performance in The Secret of Kells (2009), Into the Storm (2009, TV movie) and theatrically in Perrier's Bounty (2009); and Fiennes in The Duchess (2008). In Bruges is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of In Bruges?

6/17/2023

Phone Booth (2002) or, Boxed In

♥♥♥

 

A dramatic and dynamic mix of images and text make up this poster for Joel Schumacher's Phone Booth

Stu is a PR man in New York and relatively successful in his line of work, until a moralistic sniper gets him to come clean inside of a phone booth!

 

Phone Booth is written by Larry Cohen (The Ex (1996)) and directed by Joel Schumacher (The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)).

There's a confession scene and a cop character (played by Forest Whitaker (Empire (2017-18))) that are a bit naive in their design, but otherwise this minimalist, real-time thriller works. Colin Farrell (Widows (2018)) is naturally decisive as Stu, and he does well. Perhaps most impressive about Phone Booth is that it was shot in around 10 days - in Los Angeles!

 

Related posts:

Joel SchumacherHouse of Cards - season 1 (2013, VoD) - Mean streaks at the sausage factory 

The Number 23 (2007) - Carrey's big ol' turkey 

Falling Down (1993) - Schumacher's arguably best film, a fiery dragon of a societal thriller

The Lost Boys (1987) - A crazy 80's teen vampire bonanza 

 


 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 13 mil. $

Box office: 97.8 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 7.52 times its cost)

[Phone Booth premiered 10 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 81 minutes. Cohen pitched the idea to Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s and kept him updated over the following years on his inability to find the necessary ploy that would force the protagonist to stay inside a phone booth. The solution came to him in the late 1990s in the form of the sniper antagonist. Jim Carrey was set to star but bowed out. Shooting took place from November - December 2000 in New York and Los Angeles, California. The release was postponed from November 2002 to April 2003 due to the D.C. sniper attacks that left 17 people dead and 10 wounded over a 10 month period. The film opened #1 to a 15 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#5), grossing 46.5 mil. $ (47.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 10.9 mil. $ (11.1 %) and Spain with 5.8 mil. $ (5.9 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Schumacher returned with Veronica Guerin (2003). Farrell returned in The Recruit (2003). Phone Booth is fresh at 72 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Phone Booth

10/27/2021

The New World (2005) - Exquisite images in hard-to-take Malick drama


+ Most Deserved Flop of the Year


Swept in cloudy skies, violence and romance are promised on this muted colored poster for Terrence Malick's The New World

As strange ships arrive from the East in 1608, Pocahontas and her tribes' lives are soon changed forever.


The New World is written and directed by Illinoisan master filmmaker Terrence Malick (Badlands (1973)), whose 4th feature it is.

It is a film that divides its audiences sharply. Those who see the light in The New World really see the light in it. There is no question that Emmanuel Lubezki's (The Harvest (1993)) photography is exceptionally beautiful and that James Horner's (Flightplan (2005)) score is commendable, (although little of the music in the film is actually Horner's, due to Malick's unconventional way of working.)

Malick's nature-romantisizing and pseudo-poetical style in a film where, for the longest stretches of it, nothing seems to happen, are deeply aggravating to me. Colin Farrell (Ondine (2009)) as Captain John Smith is mostly inexplicable in terms of the film's plot and stands back as eye-candy in a pompous, women's magazine style drama.


Related posts:

Terrence Malick: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

The Tree of Life (2011) or, Mother, Father, Sharks, Dinosaurs, My Brothers, Sunflowers, the Desert, the Wind and Me 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Top 10: The best true story movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Badlands (1973) or, Kit and Holly in Love

 






Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 30 mil. $

Box office: 49.3 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.64 times its cost)

[The New World premiered 25 December (US) and runs 136 minutes, with the first limited release version running 150 minutes. Malick had been working on the script for the film since the late 1970s. When his planned Che Guevara film failed to materialize, he instead found support for this film. Shooting took place from July - November 2004 in England and Virginia. The film opened #44 to a 30k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #9 and in 811 theaters, grossing 12.7 mil. $ (25.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 3.9 mil. $ (7.9 %) and Italy with 3.5 mil. $ (7.1 %). The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: Best Cinematography, lost to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. It also won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 4 notches over this one. Horner was deeply unsatisfied with his collaboration with Malick, who cut and edited his film right up the time of release, leaving little room for the long score Horner had devised: "I never felt so let down by a filmmaker in my life", he has said. The Pocahontas-Smith romance is usually considered to be a fictional invention, as Pocahontas would have been 12, when she first met Smith. Malick returned with The Tree of Life (2011). Farrell returned in Ask the Dust (2006); Q'orianka Kilcher (The Alienist (2018, TV-series)), who plays Pocahontas, returned in Princess Kaiulani (2009). The New World is fresh at 63 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of The New World?

8/15/2019

The Recruit (2003) - Farrell and other factors buoy Donaldson's uninspired CIA thriller



Al Pacino and Colin Farrell look mysterious in black in a cold hallway on this dark poster for Roger Donaldson's The Recruit


James Clayton is a young man who gets recruited by the CIA; he is trained at their facility 'the Farm' and his recruiter enlists him to look for a mole there.

The Recruit is written by Roger Towne (The Natural (1984)), Kurt Wimmer (The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)) and Mitch Glazer (A Very Murray Christmas (2015, TV special)) and directed by Australian master filmmaker Roger Donaldson (Sleeping Dogs (1977)), whose 14th feature it is.
SPOILER Al Pacino (Bobby Deerfield (1977)) stars as the fairly predictable wolf in sheep's clothing, giving a routine performance that frankly feels a bit burnt out.
The Recruit gambles on a monotonous ploy of 'dynamic' photography, (nearly no shot is horizontally balanced), and dialog that seems like taglines; everything is a test, and so on and so forth.
What works in the film still are its interrogation scenes, a car chase and Colin Farrell (Fright Night (2011)), who is very watchable as the young recruit. The film is fast forgotten.

Related posts:

Roger Donaldson:
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Thirteen Days (2000) - Electrifying Cuban Missile Crisis thriller 
Cocktail (1988) - Cruise an iconic stand-out in Donaldson's masterful drama




Pacino and Farrell dine at a crab restaurant in this clip from the film

Cost: 46 mil. $
Box office: 101.1 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.19 times its cost)
[The Recruit premiered 25 January (Febio Film Festival, the Czech Republic) and runs 115 minutes. Shooting took place in Virginia, Washington DC, and in Ontario, including Toronto, from December 2001 - March 2002. The film opened #1 to a 16.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#4) and grossed 52.8 mil. $ (52.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 7 mil. $ (6.9 %) and Spain with 4.3 mil. $ (4.3 %). Due to its big stars and spy pedigree, the film likely turned profitable with home video sales and TV sales later on. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. CIA employees reviewed the film in 2009, finding it 'entertaining' but 'ridiculous'. Donaldson returned with The World's Fastest Indian (2005). Pacino returned in Gigli (2003); Farrell in Daredevil (2003). The Recruit is rotten at 43 % with a 5.55/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Recruit?

11/03/2018

The Lobster (2015) - Lantimos' absurd, hilarious, out of this world relationship fantasy



+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Animal Movie of the Year

Colin Farrell looks not exactly hopeful embracing someone who has been erased on this mysterious poster for Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster


A single man checks into a hotel for singles. Here he is to find a partner within 45 days, - or suffer transformation into an animal.

The Lobster is the 5th film from Greek master filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (My Best Friend/O kalyteros mou filos (2001)), co-written with Efthymis Filippou (Alps/Alpeis (2011)). The grotesque premise above delivers material for a divine absurd-comedy, making The Lobster likely the year's funniest film.
But behind the original and eccentric universe also clearly lie many dark and rather cynical observations about humans, our behavior, marriage, single life, monogamy and death. This altogether makes The Lobster a thoroughly unique and fantastic experience, which bears the distinct Lanthimos stamp of poignant, alienated absurdity.
The film has less sex and violence than his biggest success preceding it, the provocative Dogtooth/Kynodontas (2009), which broadens its appeal. So do the cast of international stars, obviously:
Colin Farrell (Daredevil (2003)) is great in arguably the best role of his career yet; Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom (2008)) is also outstanding, and there are several other very good performances; among them are Ben Whishaw (A Hologram for the King (2016)), John C. Reilly (Carnage (2011)) and Olivia Colman (Peep Show (2003-15)).
SPOILER The ending could be described as a bow out, but in this story and Lanthimos' case, I find it appropriate. - It is a sure conversation starter in a film that should be enjoyed in the company of others. The Lobster is a splendid film and a brilliant director's work.

Related posts:

Yorgos Lanthimos:
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - Lanthimos' psycho-thriller turns out a twisted Greek tragedy

Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
 
Dogtooth/Κυνόδοντας (Kynodontas) (2009) - Lanthimos establishes himself internationally with an unsettling family portrait









Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 4 mil. €, approximately 4.5 mil. $
Box office: 18 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 4 times the cost)
[The Lobster premiered 15 May (Cannes Film Festival, France, in competition) and runs 118 minutes. Financing came together from 21 companies and governmental support bodies. Shooting took place in Ireland, including Dublin, from March - May 2014. The film opened #23 to a 190k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #11 and in 560 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 9.1 mil. $ (50.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 2.3 mil. $ (12.8 %) and France with 0.9 mil. $ (5 %). The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, lost to Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, won 3 prizes in Cannes, including the jury prize, 2/6 European Film award nominations and many other honors. Lanthimos returned with The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), again starring Farrell. Farrell returned first in True Detective (2015, TV-series) and theatrically in Solace (2015); Weisz in Youth (2015). The Lobster is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Lobster?

12/06/2017

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - Lanthimos' psycho-thriller turns out a twisted Greek tragedy



A still image cleverly drawn longer makes up the evocative poster for Yorgos Lanthimos' The Killing of a Sacred Deer

A well-off cardiac surgeon has kept his strange friendship with a teenage boy named Martin a secret from his optometrist wife and their children. When he decides to invite the boy over to meet them, it drastically alters their lives.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is the 6th feature from Greek master filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth/Kynodontas (2009)), once again co-written by Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou (Alps/Alpeis (2011)). The film is based loosely on the Greek myth Iphigenia in Aulis (405 BC) by Euripedes (Medea (431 BC)), which concerned Greek leader Agememnon's sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia to appease the goddess Artemis.
Although The Killing of a Sacred Deer also features Colin Farrell (Ondine (2009)) as the protagonist, the film is quite different from Lanthimos' previous film, his absurdly funny wrestling with the concept of love, The Lobster (2015), which it can't compete with. The film rolls out as a highly cinematic (cinematography by another Lanthimos regular, Thimios Bakatakis (Blind (2014))) psycho-thriller that invokes Hitchcockian comparisons (masterpiece Rear Window (1954) and great horror Psycho (1960) for instance), its climax calls Michael Haneke's equally grisly Funny Games (1997) to mind, while dealing with a hair-raising young sociopath that bears comparison to the one we meet in Lynne Ramsay's masterpiece We Need to Talk About Kevin (2010). The dead eyes, snakily superficial courtesy and jumpiness of Barry Keoghan's ('71 (2014)) performance as Martin is truly a feat, possibly the year's best portrayal of a villain/psychopath and a prime example of the type of kid you'll wish you and/or your own kids never befriend. The script and Lanthimos' direction plays up a feeling of some unexplained perversion in his relation to Farrell. As the basis for this tension and their relation as such is revealed, some of the suspense of the film seeps out, as the plot attains an inevitability, a karmic dimension or, more accurate here, the promise of a Greek tragedy, which we all know how will end, as tragedies all end the same way: Bad.
As the scenes play out with their realistic thread blurred out, the film's unpleasant developments, mostly deprived of their previous suspense, get to feel as though simply made up by a sadistic filmmaker. As another recent, unpleasant, artsy offering, Darren Aronofsky's mother! (2017), The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an ambiguous mystery thriller open for interpretation. You may take Martin to be the Devil in disguise; you may take the film as a critical scolding of fanatically scientifically minded modern people, who have to face an unexplainable tragedy here that's as futile, it could be said, as the title's referral to a sacred deer getting slaughtered, (an otherwise non-existing concept in the film). - A psycho-analytical mind would have a feast with how the sins of a parent literally cripple his children here.
The humor of Lanthimos' previous, brilliant The Lobster is naturally toned down here, although humor found in the absurd and pitch-black material is still to be found.
Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge! (2001)) adds a welcome depth and dimension to almost any film, and her strong performance here is no exception. The Killing of a Sacred Deer also has a compelling, often hard-to-watch performance from young Sunny Suljic (The Unspoken (2015)).
It is ultimately hard to pinpoint what The Killing of a Sacred Deer is telling us. But that may well be a part of its mission: laying an unexplainable tragedy before us to bother us may be its very calling.

Related post:

Yorgos Lanthimos: Dogtooth/Κυνόδοντας (Kynodontas) (2009) - Lanthimos establishes himself internationally with an unsettling family portrait







Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 4.2 mil. $ and counting
= Uncertain
[The Killing of a Sacred Deer premiered 22 May (Cannes) and runs 121 minutes. Filming took place from August 2016 - ? in Ohio, including Cincinnati. The film won the screenplay award in Cannes, tied with Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here. It opened #31 to a good 115k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it has peaked at #22 and in 238 theaters and grossed 2.1 mil. $ to date. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets so far have been the UK with 0.9 mil. $ and Australia with 0.3 mil. $. The film is nominated for 2 Independent Spirit awards. It opens in UAE, Taiwan, Germany and Hungary in December 2017. Lanthimos will return behind a TV movie comedy with Kirsten Dunst entitled On Becoming a God in Central Florida and a historic biopic with Emma Stone and other stars, The Favorite (2018), both without his screenwriting partner up to now. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Killing of a Sacred Deer?

10/27/2016

The Way Back (2010) - Weir's honorable but muddled, presumably last film

♥♥

 

A textural and visually appealing poster for Peter Weir's The Way Back

 

A political prison in Sibiria during the Stalin regime: Extreme hardship reigns, and surrounding the camp is colossal, hostile Russia. A group of prisoners escape and launch on a 4,000 mile walk through forests, desert and mountains. - Not every one makes it.

 

The Way Back, written by Keith R. Clarke (Ben-Hur (2016)) and great Australian co-writer/co-producer/director Peter Weir (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)), based on Sławomir Rawicz's supposedly autobiographical novel The Long Walk (1955), is on an honorable mission: Portraying the misanthropic consequences of communism with a story that utilizes Christian themes. Unfortunately the film isn't good enough.

The language aspect, (different kinds of English accents, Russian accent, broken English and some few Russian words are combined), is interfering and strange. Colin Farrell (Alexander (2004)) is just plain bad as a brutal Russian with Stalin in his heart. The film has nearly no releases in the form of humor, - but it does have unconvincing CGI wolves, (ugh!) The harshness of nature isn't done justice in this regrettably mixed experience which seems destined to become Weir's last film.

 

Related review:

 

Peter WeirThe Cars That Ate Paris/The Cars That Eat People (1974) or, Small Town, Big Hell


Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here


Cost: 30 mil. $

Box office: 20.3 mil. $

= Huge flop

[The Way Back premiered September 3 (Telluride Film Festival) and runs 133 minutes. Filming took place from February - June 2009 in Bulgaria, Morocco and India. Pole Rawicz's book's truthfulness has been contended by several since its publication, which was sold in more than 500k copies. Weir believes the story to be true but says his film is "essentially fiction". The film opened and peaked at #15 in 678 theaters to a 1.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed just 2.7 mil. $ (13.3 % of the total gross). The 3 biggest markets were France with 7.3 mil. (36 %), Spain with 4 mil. $ (19.7 %) and the UK with 3 mil. $ (14.8 %), (followed by North America.) The film was nominated for the Best Makeup Oscar, which it lost to The Wolfman. The Way Back is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of The Way Back?

Eagerly anticipating this month ... (5-25)

Eagerly anticipating this month ... (5-25)
Kleber Mendonca Filho's The Secret Agent (2025)