News You Can Bruise for 2026 July 11

Possibly the latest Roundup in Film history. We just did a big product launch at work and I've had no energy. Before that happened, though, I was able to get it together enough to sit on the couch and watch some movies:

• Bullet for a Badman (1964): Unremarkable western, to the point I thought maybe I'd seen it before. But no, it's just reusing a lot of stuff from other movies and not bringing new things to the potluck. I can sense the shadow of Shane (1953) looming large over westerns that include kids, even though I haven't seen Shane. Sort of like how I regard Bonnie and Clyde as a mysterious piece of dark matter that abruptly changed Hollywood's orbit in 1967. Anyway, not recommended.
• The In-Laws (1979): Now this one I can recommend. Alan Arkin at his most neurotic and Peter Falk exploiting his Columbo fame to deliver a character who acts the same but thinks totally differently. Falk loves doing this; witness the previous year's The Brink's Job. In fact, you know when he shows up in The Muppet Movie (1979) and tells Kermit a ridiculous tall tale? He's reprising his character from this movie.

  Yeah, just a fun movie overall. There are a lot of great Carter-era comedies that hold up really well but people only know about Airplane! and The Jerk. I'm trying to change that in my small way.