Entertainment
Colin Farrell's R-Rated Thriller On Netflix Torments Him With Ghosts
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
I’ve been running into a lot of unintended movie pairings lately, and 2025’s Ballad of a Small Player makes for the perfect companion piece to 2019’s Adam Sandler-starring Uncut Gems. In this film, Brendan Reilly’s (Colin Farrell) behavior mirrors the same kind of anxiety-inducing gambling spiral that Sandler’s Howard Ratner faces. Instead of sports betting, we’re in Macau throwing hands at baccarat, with equally disastrous results.
Ballad of a Small Player holds its own thanks to its supernatural undercurrent, implying that streaks of bad luck and the acts of desperation that follow are manifestations of hungry ghosts who insatiably feed on greed and opulence. These ghosts operate with no regard for the collateral damage left in the wake of the increasingly reckless decisions made by their human counterparts, making the whole thing feel like the kind of waking nightmare you’d expect after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and still refusing to give up chasing the high of winning big.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
Chronic gamblers often cling to their own set of superstitions to trigger a hot streak. Brendan Reilly, for example, won’t play baccarat without his lucky yellow gloves, even though he’s already lost nearly seven figures he either embezzled from his clients back in the UK or racked up from loan sharks in Macau while posing as Lord Doyle, a wealthy aristocrat who always has his sights set on the finer things in life.
Bouncing between penthouse suites, stuffing his face with five-star cuisine, and washing it down with expensive champagne, Brendan finds himself in a tight spot when his debtors, and the casinos they’re associated with, catch wise to his game. They refer to him as the white ghost, a supernatural entity fueled by greed and desire. His habits finally catch up with him when UK investigator Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) tracks him down, demanding he return the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has stolen, not knowing that his present financial standing is far worse than she could ever possibly imagine.
Brendan has a different idea for navigating his increasingly dire situation, one that involves his fledgling relationship with credit broker Dao Ming (Fala Chen) and the recent trauma she endured when one of her clients committed suicide after failing to repay his debts. Unable to function without the rush of his next big score, Brendan grows increasingly hedonistic, incapable of breaking the cycle that will either land him in jail or send him to an early grave.
An Exceedingly Stylish Downward Spiral
Colin Farrell’s portrayal of a desperate man who does not know when to stop mirrors Sandler’s performance in Uncut Gems while staying firmly in its own lane. It is the same personality type in a wildly different setting. Uncut Gems thrives on New York City grit, while Ballad of a Small Player luxuriates in penthouse suites, colorful casino floors, and elaborate Chinese architecture.
What truly separates the two films is how greed’s appetite is literalized through consumption in Ballad of a Small Player. Brendan is not just hungry for his next big win. He is trying to fill the bottomless pit that is his soul with rich food, the finest spirits, and whatever excess he can grab. When he is up, he cannot pump the brakes. When he crashes, his desperation becomes a force of nature because quitting is never an option in his mind. He believes the world is there for his taking, never fully grasping how far he’s fallen off the edge.
To bear witness to one man’s slow descent as his excessive habits drain the light from his eyes, you can stream Ballad of a Small Player on Netflix. If you want to keep the anxiety going, Uncut Gems is waiting on Max.
Entertainment
Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 trailer promises big Benophie arguments and steamy makeouts
Celebrate Valentine’s Day a day early with the latest trailer for Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2.
The trailer above explores what happened after Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) royally stuck his foot in his mouth by asking maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) to be his mistress. On the one hand, he certainly thought it was romantic, as it’s the only socially acceptable way for people of their differing social standings. Plus, he didn’t know that Sophie’s mother was her father’s mistress, adding extra emotional baggage to his request.
On the other hand… Benedict. Buddy. Read the room.
The trailer also explores the fallout of Benedict’s faux pas: Benedict pines after Sophie, while Sophie wrestles with her complicated feelings over the proposal. The yearning is simply off the charts.
Apparently the lovebirds aren’t apart for too long, though, because the trailer is full of passionate Benophie kisses — as well as a teaser for a steamy bath scene.
That’s not all, though. In addition to all the Benedict and Sophie drama, these next episodes will see the much-welcome return of Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley). Anthony even gives Benedict a pep talk about following his heart and going after Sophie.
Here’s hoping Benedict will actually follow through (and maybe choose his words better next time he tries for a big romantic gesture).
Bridgerton Season 4, Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 premieres Feb. 26.
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Entertainment
A Lion for Lunar New Year
Oh Ruth, this was just perfect and made me tear up! Wishing you and all the COJ readers a xīn nián kuài lè!
Our house is all decorated for the new year, we had dumplings on little new year this past week (festival of the kitchen god), and a big family feast to look forward to next week. Celebrating the holiday is one of the things I’ve come to look forward to every year since I met my husband – we joke we have three new years now (Jewish, Gregorian, and Chinese) to get things right! 😉
P.S. Ruth- I first found your work because of your BTS comic which was perfect… how excited is everyone for the new album/tour?!
Entertainment
Kevin Smith’s Ultra Violent, R-Rated Comedy Horror On Netflix Is A Terrifying Transformation
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Long before I found my passion for digging up movies that play better than their critical reputations suggest, Kevin Smith made a little horror comedy in 2014 called Tusk that I completely wrote off and forgot about thanks to its 45 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Having since spent years reviewing movies with single-digit scores that I feel are better than some of their critically acclaimed counterparts, I finally decided to give this one a go. In my mind, 45 percent probably translates to at least a B minus based on how I personally rate films.
I’m admittedly a bit squeamish when it comes to body horror, though I’ll still check out films like Possessor and Stopmotion if the synopsis sounds compelling enough. And let me tell you something. Justin Long getting transformed into a walrus sounds pretty compelling for one very specific reason.
I used to hate Justin Long because he always plays a jerk. After watching movies like Barbarian and The Wave and thoroughly enjoying them for this exact reason, I’ve come to appreciate that this is where his talent really lies. Given how much fun he seems to have playing a jerk in nearly every project he’s in, I’ve started to believe he’s probably disproportionately nice in real life and living vicariously through his characters. Add Kevin Smith’s twisted sense of humor to the equation, and Tusk becomes essential viewing for anyone who loves violent and bizarre B-movie schlock.
Starts With A Podcast
Justin Long’s Wallace Bryton, sporting his best Anthony Kiedis mustache, is introduced through his offensive podcast, The Not-See Party, where he and his cohost Teddy Craft (Haley Joel Osment) roast viral videos. Following a lead about a Manitoba-based, katana swinging teenager known as the Kill Bill Kid, Wallace is disappointed to discover that the subject of the video committed suicide, meaning he traveled to Canada for nothing.
In an attempt to salvage his trip while still generating content, Wallace hears about a man named Howard Howe (Michael Parks), whose flyer claims travelers can live with him for free so long as they listen to stories about his life. Driving out to the middle of nowhere, Wallace prepares for what he believes will be the interview of a lifetime. Instead, he’s drugged and slowly stitched into a human sized walrus suit.
Meanwhile, Teddy and Wallace’s girlfriend Ally (Genesis Rodriguez), having not heard from him in days, receive an alarming voicemail detailing his current predicament. They enlist the help of former detective Guy LaPointe (Johnny Depp), who has been searching for Howard for as long as he can remember, under the suspicion that he’s responsible for countless missing persons cases just like Wallace’s. Determined to rescue their friend, the trio sets out to Howard’s last known address, completely unaware of the brutality waiting for them.
Production Values That Transcend Its Budget
Despite its meager, three million dollar production budget, the practical body horror effects in Tusk are more than solid. We get graphic closeups of Wallace during and after his transformation, and they’re absolutely nauseating in the best possible way. Justin Long’s look of bewildered distress really sells the entire ordeal. He starts the movie overly confident and smug, only to end up as a man trapped inside a walrus’s body.
Since I’ve personally never been sewn into a lifelike walrus suit made from scraps of my own amputated limbs against my will, I can’t say how I’d react in a similar situation. What I can say is that Long sells it convincingly, so credit where it’s due.
The best part of Tusk, though, is Johnny Depp. It feels like the role of Guy LaPointe was written specifically for him, even though reports suggest it was originally written for Quentin Tarantino, who passed on it. Depp is enthusiastic, eccentric, haunted by his past, and driven by his obsession with Howard. He carries himself like a flask-swigging, hard-boiled private detective who’s well past his prime.
While I enjoyed Tusk well enough before his arrival, Johnny Depp’s presence and ability to command every scene he’s in is what truly sealed the deal for me.
An interesting take on body horror mixed with comedy, Tusk isn’t for everyone, but I’m glad I finally got around to watching it. It has the same sick sense of humor you’d expect from Kevin Smith, but it’s focused squarely on this specific genre, showing his range in ways that characters like Jay and Silent Bob simply can’t. Once again haunted by the realization that I could have watched this movie over a decade ago and enjoyed it just as much, it’s another reminder of why you should always take what critics say with a grain of salt.
As of this writing, Tusk is streaming on Netflix.
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