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Him September 18, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen At this point, should Jordan Peele bear some of the blame for the countless bad films he’s inspired in the years since Get Out ? Based on the recurring delay of his next film, it feels like even he’s starting to feel the pressure of comparison. Then again, should Quentin Tarantino have been blamed for all the Pulp Fiction rip-offs of the ‘90s and early 2000s? Should Steven Spielberg be blamed for every movie centered around sharks or dinosaurs? It’s the mark of a true master, someone who makes it look so effortless that it deludes people into thinking that they can just as easily pull it off. 99% of them try and fail, with that one special person perfectly threading the needle between homage and distinctiveness, restarting the cycle all over again. Much as it really wants to be in that 1% club, Him is most certainly an imitator, flaunting sights and sounds as if it were some deep and insightful piece of filmmaking. In actuality, it's just noise, an irritating string of moments that increasingly pushed me to pack up and go home. But instead of doing that, I stayed in my seat, recounting all the productive things I could have done with the ninety-six minutes I just burned. I could have read a few more chapters in that book I should have already finished, cherished these final few summer days by going on a walk, or just stared blankly at a wall. Those corny workout videos that football teams post on social media during the offseason have been brought to the silver screen, only this time with more explanatory narration and opportunities for athletes to repeatedly take off their shirts. Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) is one of those shirtless hunks, the next great football quarterback. Unfortunately, that path of success is derailed when he’s struck in the head by a random attacker, an event that’s never mentioned again until much later in the film. As an act of redemption, Cameron takes an offer to spend a week training at the compound of Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), the recipient of eight championship rings and the undisputed status of The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). You could say he’s the Daniel Day-Lewis of football, reaching his status through uncompromising dedication to his craft and a willingness to sacrifice everything. That even extends to the health and safety of his employees, all of them with a cult-like devotion to put their bodies on the line. There were several moments throughout that reminded me of Opus from earlier this year, which has been rightfully banished to the realm of obscurity. Both films try to expose our obsession with celebrity culture through a mixture of dark comedy and brutal horror. But the lameness of their ideas and ineffective scares make it a tedious snoozefest. The only benefit of the totally predictable jump scares is to jolt you back awake. But that’s only a startle, as it takes actual talent to scare someone. And just like Opus , Him ends with a baffling sequence of reveals that invite dozens of questions about the logic and ultimate goal of this whole operation. Why does every Julia Fox scene end with her having to leave? Why are there a bunch of rabid fans living on the outskirts of the compound as if it’s Area 51? Why does Isaiah drink alcohol and smoke cigars when it’s already been established that he follows an extremely regimented diet? Why does Cameron always preach about the importance of family, only for all those characters to be extremely annoying? The more I ask these questions, the less I actually want the answer. Him isn’t meant for fans of football, horror movies, or life in general. It’s meant to be used as a repellent, pushing people towards better movies. I’d like to consider this review as an act of public service, but I fear that the stench is going to stick with me for a while. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Movies That Made More Money Than You Think August 7, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen In the modern world of cinema, the power of recognizable brands often sets the stage for box office success. However, now and then, something unique emerges that not only captivates audiences worldwide but also defies all expectations by amassing colossal profits beyond anyone's wildest imagination. These are the movies that made way more money than they were supposed to, shattering records and redefining the very essence of success in the film industry. One ground rule is that each selection for this list was released in 1990 or afterward. This is approximately the time the modern box office landscape was born, with multiplexes overtaking the long-standing mom & pop movie theaters. It’s also hard to compare and analyze box office performances from several decades ago, as it wasn’t uncommon for a movie to be in theaters for months on end. Both Gone with the Wind and The Sound of Music were in theaters for over four years upon their initial release, which certainly gave them an advantage towards becoming two of the highest-grossing films ever. Several metrics were also used to make these selections, such as the amount of money the movie made, how much it was expected to make based on projections and the performance of similar movies, and its overall cultural relevance (or lack thereof). From underdog productions battling against all odds to star-driven blockbusters soaring to unprecedented heights, each film on this list has a unique tale to tell. Ghost (1990) ($500 million) 1990 was the year of surprise hits. Pretty Woman, Home Alone , and Dances with Wolves all hugely outgrossed expectations. But the best of the bunch was Ghost , a bit of female counterprogramming from Paramount against the boy-friendly summer titles of Die Hard 2 and Back to the Future III . Mixing steamy romance, crime drama thrills, the supernatural, and comedy, the film was the prototypical four-quadrant release. Its PG-13 rating wasn’t too risque for conservative viewers, while still pushing the envelope enough to entice teenagers. It opened #2 at the box office in July just behind the second weekend of Die Hard 2 . It would remain in either of those top two spots for the following nine weeks and would retain the same theater count (1700) until November. It had the third-highest domestic gross ever (behind E.T. and Star Wars ) before Home Alone dethroned it that holiday season. It’s a simply astounding feat for a film that has never inspired sequels, spin-offs, or even merchandise sales (at least not yet). What Women Want (2000) ($375 million) It’s hard to envision it now, but Mel Gibson was, for a brief moment, a romantic leading heartthrob. The $34.4 million opening weekend for Nancy Meyers’ film was the highest ever in December at that time and even bested Gibson’s action-oriented films like Ransom and the Lethal Weapon franchise. An EW poll found that nearly half the audience saw the movie for Gibson, who would receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (losing to George Clooney for O Brother, Where Art Thou? ). The film ended with $180 both domestically and internationally, claiming the fourth best worldwide cume of 2000. Meet the Fockers (2004) ($525 million) Gone are the days of star-driven studio comedies being at the top of the box office charts. Meet the Fockers earned the highest-ever Christmas Day gross at $19.5 million in 2004, even beating the previous’s year champion, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . The character of Greg Focker was almost as lucrative as Harry Potter and Peter Parker that year, with the comedy sequel finishing its box office run with over half a billion dollars. It was Robert De Niro’s highest-grossing film for fifteen years until it was beaten by Joker in 2019. The Da Vinci Code (2006) ($760 million) While many films on this list accumulated their huge grosses due to good reviews and word of mouth, neither of those was the case for The Da Vinci Code . The film boasts a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and was the recipient of several rounds of booing during its premiere as the opening film of that year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film was also banned in several countries such as parts of India, Egypt, and China (after it had played for a few weeks), and was boycotted by several religious groups. None of those factors stopped audiences from flocking to the film that summer. It amassed a near-record worldwide total of $224 million on its opening weekend, thanks in part to the immense popularity of the novel and the star power of Tom Hanks. Over 70% of its $750 million total gross would come from international territories, with a similar breakdown occurring for the film’s two disappointing sequels: Angels & Demons ($500 million total) and Inferno ($220 million total). 2012 (2009) ($770 million) Sure, disaster movies are pretty dependable at the box office because of their simplistic storytelling and bang-for-your-buck visuals. But does it make much sense that one of the most forgettable entries in that subgenre, Roland Emmerich’s 2012 , is also one of the most successful? 2012 was boosted by a viral marketing campaign that latched onto the urban legend of the world ending in the year 2012. Comcast even blocked out a ten-minute chunk of time on nearly every genre to show a clip of the film. Even with a less-than-ideal leading man in John Cusack, the film accumulated almost $800 million worldwide. Almost 80% of those dollars came from overseas, as the film was the first $700+ million grosser to make less than $200 million stateside. True Grit (2010) ($250 million) It only took twelve days for this Western remake to become the highest-grossing film within the Coen brothers’ filmography. The strong critical reactions and awards buzz helped the movie double its opening weekend projections, pulling in over $25 million during the holiday weekend. There was also the advantage of the Coens dialing down their eccentricities for this film, delivering a more conventional crowdpleaser that had a more long-lasting theatrical appeal. It ended up being one of the highest-grossing Westerns ever, finishing with $171 million domestically and $81 internationally. That holiday window happened to be the coronation of star Jeff Bridges, who also appeared in the chart-topping TRON: Legacy . Black Swan (2010) ($330 million) While it is nice to see Oppenheimer and Barbie sparking a renewed conversation about the merits of “original” programming at the box office, it is still a little disheartening to see that this same conversation was taking place over a decade ago thanks to Black Swan . Strong interest in Darren Aronosky’s film started from the viral marketing campaign, which didn’t commence until just a few weeks before the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The buzz out of the fall festivals matched the enthusiasm online, something relatively unheard of for an arthouse movie. Along with the strong critical remarks it received, especially for Natalie Portman’s lead performance, one of the biggest benefits of the movie was that it was somehow able to appeal to nearly every demographic. Arthouse cinephiles were excited about a new Aronofsky film, dance and theater fans got a unique reimagining of Swan Lake , and horror junkies were treated to a dark psychological tale of obsession. The film would gross over $100 million domestically, all before it even had been released internationally, with many of those dates pushed up to capitalize on the demand. In the end, it grossed $330 million worldwide on a $13 million budget, placing it as the second biggest sleeper hit of 2010. What was #1 you ask? The King's Speech (2010) ($480 million) Everything Everywhere All at Once ’s worldwide gross of $140 million puts it near the top half of Best Picture winners in the modern era. But that total doesn’t even match the domestic cume of The King’s Speech , which only accounted for a little less than a third of the film’s global take of almost $500 million. Tom Hooper’s film is the second-highest-grossing Best Picture winner of the 21st century, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (which stands so far ahead with over $1 billion). Between claiming the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, having the highest per-theater-average opening weekend of the year ($350,000), and receiving a yearly best of twelve Oscar nominations, success followed The King’s Speech everywhere it went. It was hailed as one of the most successful British independent films ever only after a month of release, overcoming the controversial R-rating it received. The film also made over half its money after the Oscar nominations were announced, with the compelling exploration of friendship and resilience resonating deeply with viewers. American Sniper (2014) ($550 million) If asked to guess which film conquered the North American box office in 2014 most people would defer to a franchise film such as Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 , or Captain America: The Winter Soldier . Those would all be good guesses (they each placed within the top five), but sitting on the throne was 84-year-old Clint Eastwood with American Sniper . Showing the power of appealing to middle America and controversy about its messaging, American Sniper grossed $90 million in its opening weekend, more than double what it projected to do. The A+ CinemaScore and awards attention kept it at the top of the box office for the next six weeks, where it would end with over $350 million domestically and $550 worldwide. It still stands as the highest-grossing war film ever (not accounting for inflation) and is only behind The Passion of the Christ and Deadpool as the highest-grossing R-rated film in North America. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

TIFF25 Recap September 17, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen For ten days at the beginning of September, the laws of time and space cease to exist. Days turn to night in an instant, getting three hours of sleep per night becomes a normal practice, and diets consist of Tim Horton’s donuts, movie theater popcorn, and hot dogs from that heavenly cart located at the corner of King Street W and John Street. If you’re not going home asking yourself why you put your mind and body through the wringer, then you haven’t fully experienced the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Of the two hundred plus films showcased throughout the fiftieth edition of this festival, I saw thirty-eight of them, an improvement over last year’s tally of thirty-seven. Before branding me with the crazy label, just know that I’ve met and observed people who have eclipsed fifty films without breaking a sweat. My streak started on a soaking wet Thursday with one of the best films of the festival: Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier. The recipient of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this Norwegian drama is one of the year’s most emotionally intelligent films. Every tear, gasp, and laugh is produced at the exact right moment. Yet it's never manipulative, always proudly wearing its heart on its sleeve. I expect a lot of Oscar attention to be placed upon Trier and his quartet of cast members, with Stellan Skarsgård likely to be the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor. The second day began with a major disappointment as Olivier Assayas’ The Wizard of the Kremlin was a major bore. And that’s coming from someone who enthusiastically took a college elective course on modern Russian history. Luckily, Park Chan-wook’s wildly entertaining No Other Choice picked me right up only a few hours later. And then later that night, I caught the world premiere of The Choral , a comfortingly forgettable British dramedy starring Ralph Fiennes as a choir teacher who must inject new life into a town’s choir during the height of World War I. Sony Pictures Classics will release it in theaters on Christmas Day. After taking the festival by storm last year with The Brutalist , Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold returned with The Testament of Ann Lee . Fastvold takes her turn in the director’s chair in stride, presenting a quasi-musical about the titular character and the founding of the Shaker movement in colonial America. Amanda Seyfried is excellent in the title role, and I hope she’ll be a factor in this year’s Oscar race once a distributor picks up the film. It’s unfair to label Wake Up Dead Man as my least favorite of the now three Knives Out films, as I still had a lot of fun with it. Josh O’Connor is ostensibly the lead, taking an ever larger role as the audience’s guide than Ana de Armas and Janelle Monáe did in their respective entries. The cast is not as well served here, while Daniel Craig falls deeper into his Foghorn Leghorn routine, upping his comedic prowess as the proudly rational detective must come face-to-face with the realization that all the clues point to this murder being a miracle. I saw a lot of good/great films throughout the first few days, but I was still waiting for “the one” to appear. That happened early Monday morning in the form of Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet , which deservedly took home the festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award. There wasn’t a dry eye in the theater as the origin of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is told through the tragic prism of his young son, Hamnet. Jessie Buckley is nothing short of transcendent, practically engraving her Oscar with every moment of laughter and cries. It’s the best film of the year, and make sure to check it out in theaters this Thanksgiving. Netflix led the charge during the festival’s middle section. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams are also two of the year’s best films, telling touching stories set against breathtakingly beautiful backdrops. Edward Berger couldn’t maintain the momentum as he delivered his worst film to date in Ballad of a Small Player . It’s still watchable thanks to his expert craftsmanship, but the DNA is all wrong. Ranging from “okay” to “good enough” during that span were Rental Family , The Lost Bus, Nuremberg , Hedda , The Secret Agent , and Good Fortune . Starring Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine came into the festival with a ton of heat after Venice showered the film with positive reviews and the Silver Lion prize to director Benny Safdie. I’m a little puzzled as to what everyone saw in the film, as all I experienced was a standard sports biopic clothed in just enough rough production qualities so that distributor A24 could maintain their indie cred. The final few days are always a crapshoot in terms of quality. Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy starred in the toothless capitalist satire Sacrifice , while Angelina Jolie led an international cast through Paris Fashion Week in Couture . Vince Vaughn may be a very likable actor, but he can’t carry a tune to save his life, which is why he’s horribly miscast as a Las Vegas lounge singer with untapped potential in Easy’s Waltz . The worst film of the festival was Scarlet , Mamoru Hosoda’s anime version of Hamlet (there he is again!) that trades away all of the wit and heart for obnoxious characters and never-ending yelling. Many of these films will be released in theaters or on streaming by major studios from now until the end of the year, while others will be trapped in limbo for years to come. It’s all a part of the big gamble we all partake in, experiencing the ecstasy and agony through stories projected on a giant silver screen. You’d assume I’d swear off movies for a few weeks after this whole ordeal. But the train never slows down, and I’m having too much fun to jump off. FULL RANKING Hamnet Frankenstein Sentimental Value No Other Choice The Testament of Ann Lee Train Dreams It Was Just an Accident Sound of Falling Nouvelle Vague Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Roofman Two Prosectors The Voice of Hind Rajab The Secret Agent Rose of Nevada Sirāt Eagles of the Republic The Christophers Rental Family Ballad of a Small Player Fuze Hedda The Smashing Machine Nuremberg A Private Life Good Fortune Couture The Wizard of the Kremlin Sacrifice The Choral Tuner Christy The Lost Bus Silent Friend Orphan The Fence Easy’s Waltz Scarlet More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cassavetes & Newman: Hollywood Stars, Art Cinema Auteurs March 11, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As actors, John Cassavetes and Paul Newman worked within the Hollywood studio system. Cassavetes starred mostly in miliary movies, while Newman was one of the biggest stars in the world with hits such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . While both of them were prevalent on the multiplex screens, they were much different behind the camera. As directors, they veered into unfamiliar territory, creating films more in line with the auteur theory that wasn't present in the movies they starred in. Through the films Faces and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds , both Cassavetes and Newman created films one would consider part of the arthouse crowd. In his essay “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice," David Bordwell writes that arthouse films are “a distinct mode of film practice, possessing a definite historical existence, a set of formal conventions, and implicit viewing procedures.” Hearing the word “convention” when describing arthouse cinema sounds like an oxymoron as everything within this specific industry is meant to be in contrast to the usual conventions within Hollywood. But every movement and genre has to have rules, whether written or unwritten. These rules can be seen in both Cassavettes’ and Newman’s films. Bordwell writes that the narratives within art cinema pride themselves on two things: realism and authorial expressivity. Life is to be shown as realistically as possible, with real locations and problems. In Faces , shot in grainy 16mm, Cassavetes makes it seem as if the viewer is a fly-on-the-wall as we watch a marriage decay. There is no gloss and the music doesn’t swell our emotions, instead, we are bombarded with closeups and technical inconsistencies. It’s the cinéma vérité style commonly found within Europe at the time. Cassavetes’ camera doesn’t glamorize American life, it shines a light on the reality of middle-class suburban life. Richard and Maria fight about their sexual desires and their discontent for one another. Instead of finding solace in each other, they find it in the bottle and strangers. It’s highly unconventional for the time and way ahead of anything that was coming shortly. Like Faces , Marigolds is filled with imperfect characters stuck in a realistically depressing situation. Beatrice has aspirations, but she doesn’t have the means to accomplish them. She’s also an embarrassment to her daughters and is an alcoholic. But the story isn’t about her, it’s actually about Matilda coming to terms with her downtrodden life. She and her mother are determined to push past their social convention offenses. Newman doesn’t treat the situation as misery porn, he simply follows the story. He’s connecting his audience, who most likely share the same circumstances, with the characters. Like Cassavetes, Newman’s visual style is pulled back, never reveling in the situation and the performances are also more reflective of the characters you would see on your street block. With both Faces and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds , John Cassavetes and Paul Newman pushed back against the Hollywood system they had inhabited for many years. Through technical and thematic intrusiveness, they were able to tell real stories for real people, something the big machine out in California simply didn’t want to do. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi December 18, 2017 By: Button Hunter Friesen Director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi is easily the grandest and most epic film to have come out in 2017. It boasts a balanced cast of series veterans and newcomers along with outstanding production quality. However, what was supposed to be The Empire Strikes Back for the new trilogy has come up short in key areas such as an exciting plot and engaging characters that limit the film from being anything above average. The Last Jedi picks up immediately after the closing events of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens . We cross-cut between Princess Leia leading the Resistance in a desperate escape mission from the pursuing First Order, and Rey trying to recruit a weary Luke Skywalker on his secluded island. On the dark side of the force, Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren act out plans to try and bring Rey to the dark side. While the summary I gave makes the film sound simple, it really isn’t. There are many side plots and characters that muddy the water and make the overall story meander aimlessly until the final act. Each of the plots feels underdeveloped because of all the juggling and some of them clearly should have been cut or greatly reduced, which would have helped resolve the overlong 152-minute runtime. The film is also unoriginal and doesn’t add anything new or meaningful to the saga. Most everything goes exactly as you would expect, and the things that are different aren’t done well. The characters endure many problems within the film mostly because of their own incompetence to do things right. In the end, everything that happened was expected and everything that was new wasn’t good. The biggest problem with the film is how it treats its characters. Rey is still a standout from the previous film and has grown even more since then. She is still trying to make sense of becoming a Jedi but exhibits great bravery and a strong will to help her friends. Luke is hit or miss depending on the scene as he tries to deal with his failures as a Jedi master and Rey’s plea for his help in training her. Finn’s role is greatly reduced as he becomes part of the supporting cast as he and Rose (a Resistance engineer) embark on a side quest to secure a safecracker. Their plot is totally pointless and neither of them ends up as likable characters by the end of the film as all they do is critique the bad guys and say how things are bad. Kylo Ren and Poe are adequate most of the time, but never good enough in their expanded roles. Characters such as Leia, Snoke, and Captain Phasma are either completely disrespected or wasted as Johnson can never seem to figure out what their role should be in the overarching story. The one thing you can always expect from a Star Wars film is great visuals and an epic lightsaber fight, and The Last Jedi is no exception to that rule. The main lightsaber battle is one of the best in the series and is expertly shot and choreographed for maximum intensity and realism. You can feel the danger and raw power within the characters as they fight for their lives against an unforgiving enemy. The space battle is really well done as well as it blends great visuals and sounds. There is one specific sequence in the latter part of the film that is one of the best-looking moments of the year. While their characters are overall pretty poor, most of the actors do a fine job when it comes to breathing life into the film. Highlights include Daisy Ridley as Rey and Carrie Fisher as Leia. Each of them balances their emotions really well and delivers their lines perfectly in the situation they are thrust into. Mark Hamill does a good job as well at bringing Luke Skywalker back to life after a thirty-year screen absence. He gives Luke the old man treatment but also still reminds us of the headstrong kid we all fell in love with in the original trilogy. Adam Driver is pretty good as Kylo Ren, but he struggles to make his character anything different than what we have already seen. Some, however, don’t deserve praise for their work. Both John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran as Finn and Rose, respectively, make for some pretty forgettable moments in the film that could have been a lot better. They also don’t share any chemistry together which makes it hard to care about them the whole time. Overall, The Last Jedi is disappointing but is still an acceptable film in the ever-expanding Star Wars saga. While it isn’t the sequel fans were hoping for, it still delivers in getting the look and feel of what a Star Wars film should be. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Creed II December 3, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen The first Creed film was an entertaining surprise that was able to be both fan service to the Rocky franchise and a great standalone story filled with rich characters and relationships. The new sequel, Creed II , goes bigger than the first as the return of Ivan Drago reignites a rivalry thirty-three years in the making. Viktor, Ivan’s son, challenges Adonis Creed to a match that will determine who will be the heavyweight champion of the world. Accepting the challenge, Adonis fights for his name and takes revenge against the son of the man who killed his father. Now that Ryan Coogler has moved on to Black Panther and its sequel, the director mantle now falls to Steven Caple Jr.. He tries to imitate Coogler rather than put his own stamp on the franchise. This technique more or less works, but only because Coogler supplied a proven template that could easily be followed. The film stays smoothly slow throughout as Caple Jr. allows his cast to freely take reign over the material. Sometimes this proves to be too slow and tedious, but mostly it makes the story more character driven. The staple of the Rocky franchise is the fight scenes and Caple Jr. does an alright job with the two major ones. The first one doesn’t make much of an impact as it comes and goes with little originality or flair. The second one, however, really comes alive as the sound of bones crunching and the whipping of the camera lends itself to a visceral experience. The original " Gonna Fly Now" theme is even thrown in to cap off the grueling bout. From a script by Stallone and Juel Taylor, Creed II is serviceable enough in the writing department despite being wholly unoriginal. The overall plot is a beat-for-beat recreation of Rocky IV . Revisiting that story is great on a nostalgia level, but on a storytelling level, it takes away from the suspense. The final fight even takes place in Moscow just to rub it in a little bit more. The one area that the film truly excels is its handling of the relationships and interactions between characters. The conversations between the main core feel authentic and help grow the connection the audience shares with them. The importance of family pops up more than once as Adonis begins his life as a father and Rocky tries to reconnect with his distant son. These include some beautiful moments of tenderness that provide a great counterweight to the stone-cold fights. The one character that gets the short end of the stick is Viktor, who really doesn’t have any reason to be in the movie except for name recognition. In a franchise full of great opponents, this one falls to the bottom of the barrel as Viktor’s development as a character is given little thought and brushed aside for more scenes of him beating guys up. With the Creed series and his role in Black Panther , Michael B. Jordan is on a hot streak right now. He brings his natural talents to the screen and more than delivers on the physical and emotional demands of the character. He also has that bit of charisma his onscreen father possessed all those years ago. Watching him in the ring is a sight to see as he rolls with the punches and is able to fledge out his character without any dialogue. Another standout performance comes from Sylvester Stallone his most iconic character. For two films now Stallone has naturally been able to play Rocky as the wise elder to the young prodigy. His scenes with Jordan are excellent and really lend to the emotional heart of the story. Tessa Thompson does a good job as Bianca. She proves to be Adonis’ rock as she and him further their relationship into parenthood. Lastly, Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu do a fine job as father and son combo Ivan and Viktor Drago, respectively. Lundgren can be a bit over the top at times, but he does well at being both menacing and vulnerable. Munteanu physically is more gorilla than human as he towers over his competition and stokes fear through his muscles. Led by powerhouse performances from Jordan and Stallone, Creed II is able to deliver on the expectations of its predecessor. While it does fall into Rocky IV -esque melodrama at times, Caple Jr.’s film finds the right balance and knows when to strike and when to let back as it sports some thrilling fight scenes along with some touching human moments. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Three Thousand Years of Longing August 26, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Resting somewhere between David Gordon Green and Steven Spielberg, Australian filmmaker George Miller ranks as one of our most chameleon filmmakers (to Miller’s benefit, he’s much closer to the latter than the former). Ranging from the harsh brutalism of the Mad Max quadrilogy to the familial wholesomeness of Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet , Miller’s career has never had a straight trajectory. Rather, it darts from one end of the cinematic spectrum to the complete other side, with the only consistent thing pattern being that he always remains on the high side of quality. So naturally, when asked how he would describe his newest film, the first to follow his magnum opus of Mad Max: Fury Road , Miller called it “anti- Mad Max .” But fret not all you War Boys (and girls)! For all of its intimacy and small scale, Three Thousand Years of Longing contains dazzling imagery and set pieces that make for an engaging cinematic experience. After all, this is still the same filmmaker who gave us a blind character that plays a flaming guitar atop a monster truck. Just as the title implies, our story spans nearly three millennia. Beginning in the present, acclaimed narratologist Dr. Alithea Binnie is on a work-related trip to Istanbul. By her definition, she’s a solitary creature that has no partner, no parents, and no children. She buries herself in her work, which includes giving lectures on how ancient civilizations would explain the phenomena of the universe through stories. As she puts it during one of her talks, “How else would you explain the changing seasons if you had no idea the Earth rotated the Sun?” Her fascination with stories leads her to purchase a less-than-stellar bottle at a local shop. “Whatever it is, it must have an interesting story, '' she explains as she takes it back to her hotel room. That turns out to be the understatement of the century, or, more accurately, the past three millennia. Quickly, the bottle is broken, and out comes a djinn, whose existence is based on granting three wishes to whoever frees him from the bottle. Now Alithea’s predicament revolves around the question everybody has asked themselves at least once in their lives: If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? To help Alithea (and the viewer) answer one of life’s hardest philosophical questions, the djinn regales his life story, which spans from ancient Arabia in the time of King Solomon, to Suleiman the Magnificent's reign of the Ottoman Empire, all the way to the modern day. It’s no wonder what brought Miller to this short story by A.S. Byatt. Reportedly, he had read it in the ‘90s and was set on making it into a film, but the scope he wanted to achieve just wasn’t possible (a sentiment many filmmakers shared at the time). Miller’s patience was rewarded, with the final product being a gorgeous melding of visual effects and practical magic. Each of the djinn’s tales contains aspects of lust and betrayal, each more visually arresting than the last. It’s in these sequences that the film reaches its heights. And it’s not just Miller himself that is a chameleon, it’s also his production crew, which has been entirely reunited after the overwhelming success of Mad Mad: Fury Road . Miller’s eye for popping visuals is wonderfully captured by legendary cinematographer John Seale, who announced this project as his final one (although Seale has as much respect for retirement as Daniel Day-Lewis, as came out of retirement for Mad Max: Fury Road , only to retire again and then return for this film). And then there’s Tom Holkenborg, who trades in his drum core for a passionate string orchestra. For all its extravagance on a technical level, Three Thousand Years of Longing still has overflowing emotion at its center. This is the part that Miller described the film as “anti- Mad Max .” Swinton and Elba carry the heartfelt moments with ease, even if the script itself can’t fully justify what direction it’s going in. A modern fairytale that is both epic and intimate, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a wildly original re-welcoming for George Miller, who brings the spirit and passion of a filmmaker much younger than him. It’s a story about the power of storytelling, with Miller playfully executing his role as the storyteller with all the tricks at his disposal. For any filmmaker of Miller’s age (nearing 80) and stature, one would think that he would treat this film as a starting point to make more smaller-scaled features. But Miller isn’t just any filmmaker, and it only seems natural that he’s currently in his native Australian Outback shooting Furiosa , the epic prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Nickel Boys December 24, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Every once in a while, there comes a film that breaks your preconceptions on how a story can be told. The Jazz Singer, Jaws, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, The Blair Witch Project, The Avengers , and The Zone of Interest are such films, leaving you with the impression that you've seen much more than just a single piece of work. It might not happen right away, but RaMell Ross' Nickel Boys is destined to join those ranks. It's one of the most important films of the year, both in terms of the substance it carries over from the pages of its source material and in how it elicits your emotional response to it. Imagery is Ross's weapon of choice, with much of the words within Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 novel being either reduced or omitted altogether. But he doesn't stop there, opting to fully dismantle the debate of objective vs. subjective within storytelling and literally placing us within the eyes of the two leads: Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson). While video games and virtual reality have brought the first-person perspective to televisions for years, it's still a relative stranger to the silver screen, especially once you consider the added challenge of the audience not being able to control where and when they look. Ross and co-writer Joslyn Barnes' adaptation goes even further once the layers of time start to fold on top of each other, trapping us in a series of undefinable dreams and nightmares, each one crashing into the other without warning. The central timeline places itself within 1962 Tallahassee. We see and hear the world through Elwood's eyes and ears: A television playing Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, his reflection in a steaming iron, a white officer giving him a dirty look, and his grandmother (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) raining tinsel upon him as he lays under the Christmas tree. These sequences play out through the prism of memory, all of them fragmented and extremely brief. They create the dots that we connect through our history and understanding of the time period. We only remember bits and pieces of our past, but the experiences are carried with us to the end of time. Elwood's experience worsens when he accepts a ride from a kindly stranger. The car turns out to be stolen, a fact that the aggressive officer probably used to pull over any African American he could that day. Elwood's punishment is a trip to the Nickel Academy reform school, a place where the term "school" is nothing more than window dressing. The White and Black kids are segregated into different buildings, the latter group mostly all here for some bullshit reason or another, their ages ranging from preschool to high school. What could a preschooler have done to deserve this level of punishment? Turner is the Red to Elwood's Andy Dufresne, quickly offering the sobering tips of what life is like here. The system is rigged, and a few boys disappearing every once in a while is not something out of the ordinary. This place is a microcosm of America itself, pushing down its most disenfranchised citizens while simultaneously scolding them for not being able to climb the barbed ladder. Cinematographer Jomo Fray's camera stays locked within the eyes of the two boys, freely moving between them. This deprivation of the traditional cinematic gaze makes them blank slates, especially Elwood, who we don't get a good look at until over an hour in. There's a newfound sense of discovery as we witness the good and the bad through them, everything real enough that you can't excuse it as just a piece of entertainment. Whitehead's novel was based on the Dozier School for Boys, a place where bodies are still being uncovered. Ellis-Taylor often provides those small semblances of warmth as the kindly matriarch. Her beaming eyes and smile nestle into your heart when they're fixed directly at you. A smattering of scenes with Daveed Diggs recontextualizes the events of the past, with the camera now fixed on his back as if he were in a film by the Dardenne brothers. In one of those later scenes, two of the men reopen their past at school. They talk as if they went to war together and came back with PTSD, with reintegration into society being a constant struggle. A more Hollywood-ized version of this story would make this moment feel a little hokey, but Ross' vision makes it authentic. They, and, by extension, us, have been on a tumultuous journey in a way that we've never seen before. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Twisters July 17, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Is it a good or bad sign if the most interesting aspect of a disaster movie is the humans? Twisters may be the first film to buck a decades-long trend within the disaster/monster subgenre where our species has been the superficial window to view the events within our world that hold dominion. The occasional glances at the watch here are reserved for the moments of tornado-based destruction, with the character-driven scenes coming in like a knight in shining armor to break up the monotony. I guess that’s what you get when you hire the director of one of the most tender human dramas of the decade. Lee Isaac Chung’s inability to fully flex his filmmaking muscles is definitely the lesser of two evils, as none of the traditional journeymen that could have been hired to fill the chair would have a percentage of the heart he instills here. A ragtag group of Oklahoman storm chasers has replaced his Arkansan family from 2020’s Minari , each ready to risk their lives in the name of science. But the risk turns out to have exactly that asking price, with the only two survivors of the five-person team being Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Javi (Anthony Ramos). It’s another startling reminder Mother Nature is undefeated in any attempts to tame her. That fatal error of judgment was enough to send Kate behind a desk in the New York office of a weather service. She’s put her wild days behind her, which we all know isn’t true because we’re only ten minutes into a two-hour movie. Javi calls her back into the fold once an even deadlier series of storms starts ripping through her state. This time they’ve got the advantage of upgraded technology and a team full of PhDs, a combination that could help them answer the elusive question of how to prevent and stop these storms. The implementation of serving the common man as a reason to be in this line of work is sold well by Edgar-Jones and Ramos, both of whom carry a small amount of traumatized weight in their performances. Screenwriter Mark L. Smith doesn’t give them much of anything to work with, nor does he have regular Joes like you and I do anything more than get swept up in storms and look solemn after their towns have been destroyed. There’s an underdeveloped subplot about Javi’s boss acting as an ambulance chaser, buying up the ripped-up land at rock-bottom prices under the guise of offering a fresh start to those who have nothing left. That aspect could essentially be mirrored onto the film itself, with Smith and Chung always talking about their love for people, yet the way they walk illustrates otherwise. This is where Glen Powell enters the scene as “tornado wrangler” Tyler Owens, his good-ol’-boy charm and looks implemented to distract from the film’s mental problems. That strategy works more times than it doesn’t, with Powell’s movie star swagger perpetually threatening to burn a hole through the screen. It’s no surprise that the most impactful moment of weather is just a drizzle of rain while he dons a cowboy hat and white T-shirt while striding to his mammoth pickup truck. But the simplicity of that breathless moment instantly becomes a double-edged sword, as the weightless scenes with millions of dollars worth of special effects feel even more disappointing in comparison. The theater roars and the screen fervently flashes, but the bone-chilling feeling of real danger is never felt. There’s a moment where Kate and Tyler rescue a mother and child by clinging for dear life at the bottom of a hotel pool. Chung holds the camera on their fear-stricken face as an act of humanistic connection, yet the CGI debris and wind effects rob those feelings from truly bubbling to the surface. To incorrectly apply a famous phrase: it’s full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Twisters may still end up being one of the better blockbusters of the summer on account of it’s central characters being the secret main attraction, although I’m not exactly sure that’s how the plan was drawn up at the Universal offices. The rusty old door has been opened with care that it needed, while the well-greased one seems to be giving the most trouble. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Twin Cities Film Fest 2025 Preview October 14, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen From late August through mid-September, the fall film festival corridor reaches its apex of influence and popularity with the overlapping of the trifecta that is the Venice International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Dozens of A-list movie stars and auteurs debut their newest projects, walking the red carpet and shaking hands to attract as much attention as possible. It’s all a game, with the victor being showered with praise in the form of box office earnings and industry awards. While those headlining festivals are mostly exclusive events, a democratization of this process begins in October with the blitz of the regional festivals. All across the country (and the world), smaller festivals gather a collection of the best that world cinema has to offer, curating for local tastes and building narratives that carry on throughout the rest of the year. Notable festivals that take place during this time include the New York Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and AFI Fest. Also a part of that mix is the Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF), now celebrating its “Sweet 16” anniversary with its lineup of blockbusters and headliners. Distributor Focus Features retains its opening night slot for the third year in a row after The Holdovers and Conclave , respectively. Both of those films placed for the Best Feature Film Award, something that this year’s selection, Hamnet , could very likely do, considering its rave reviews and awarding of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tissues will be needed for the audience of this tear-jerker, which features Oscar-worthy performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. It will then be released in theaters around the Thanksgiving holiday. Also from Focus Features is Bugonia , the newest collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone, whose previous works include The Favourite , Poor Things , and Kinds of Kindness . Stone plays a CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed young men who believe that she is an alien who has been sent to destroy the planet. Amazon MGM Studios will bring Hedda , writer/director Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, starring Tessa Thompson. Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, and Keanu Reeves headline Ansari’s directorial debut, Good Fortune , which will play at the Edina Mann 4 Theatre as part of the festival’s new partnership to expand its programming capabilities. Searchlight Pictures will be pulling double duty during the festival’s final days with the dramedies Rental Family and Is This Thing On? . In the lineup press release, Executive Director Jatin Setia said that he wanted to “put a brighter spotlight on the independent spirit.” That sentiment is illustrated by the selection of The Floaters as the Spotlight Centerpiece. Marking its Minnesota Premiere at the festival, the indie dramedy features an eclectic cast of performers like Jackie Tohn, Seth Green, Aya Cash, and Steve Guttenberg. Director Rachel Israel and producer Shai Korman will conduct a Q&A following the screening. The Closing Night Gala, Lost & Found in Cleveland , will also bring together its cast and crew, including directors Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman, as well as actors Santino Fontana and Benjamin Steinhauser. The festival received a record number of submissions this year, with over 150 films set to screen at the Marcus West End Cinema, Edina Mann 4 Theatre, or virtually via the TCFF streams platform. The selection runs from October 16 to the 25th, with information about scheduling and tickets available at twincitiesfilmfest.org . More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Running Man November 11, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Does a joke get funnier the more times you say it? Does a piece of music get richer if you play it louder? Does food taste better if you chew it more? Does a painting become more beautiful if you paint harder? Lessons in moderation are all around, each protecting us from the consequences of having too much of a good or bad thing. Edgar Wright is an excessive filmmaker, always keeping his editing zippy, set pieces cued to a hip piece of music, and comedy at its most deadpan. His indulgences had been held in check by a creative partnership with stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, or at least harnessed towards their fullest potential in a worthwhile endeavor. Now, in The Running Man , they’ve been tangled into their most off-putting form, all in service of a story that’s been beaten to the punch many, many, many times before. Set in the dystopian world of 2025 (hey, they got that right!), America is a vast land of the haves and have-nots. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is one of the have-nots, forced to work in radiation-laced factories for less than minimum wage. But he’s the kind of poor you only find in the movies, which means that despite a dire physical and financial situation, he still has chiseled abs, pearly white teeth, and an expensive haircut. Those qualities, plus his hair-trigger temper, make him the perfect candidate for The Running Man , a game show where a contestant wins one billion dollars if they survive for thirty days while being hunted down. No one has ever won the game before, which practically means it's suicide. That’s already the situation Ben is in (his neighborhood is called “slumicide”), and his toddler desperately needs medicine for a fever. If you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, you might as well get paid to suffer. Granting credit where it's due, the story of The Running Man is based on the novel by Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982. A few years later, it was adapted for the screen as an Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle. That predates all the other dystopian stories revolving around games like The Hunger Games , Ready Player One , and Battle Royale . But in modern movie form, it’s already been lapped by those properties, plus adjacent stories like Ready or Not , Self Reliance , and The Hunt . It’s bad to come late to the party; it’s worse to also not come with a gift in hand. If Wright and co-writer Michael Bacall aren’t going to be first, they’re going to make damn sure they’re the loudest. You’d need more than two hands to count the number of speeches made about the 1% pushing their thumbs down on the little guy, and how the game, and, by extension, life, is rigged against all of us. Everything is a pre-packaged, corporate-sponsored meal to keep us in line for the slaughter, and we’re all too weak to do anything but swallow it whole. Neverminding the retreading of these very timely themes, Wright might have had the audience raising their fists in solidarity if everything else about the film wasn’t so… lame. Fitting to his name, Ben Richards is a generic protagonist whose only sin is that he cares too much. His anger is righteous, and every supporting character’s sole occupation is to tell him how much of a hero he is for the commoners. That means a supporting cast of William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Lee Pace, and Emilia Jones is wasted. At least Colman Domingo brings a robust amount of charm to his duties as the game’s emcee, the lone supply of humor in this shockingly unfunny script. It’s hard to judge if this is a success or a failure in the test of whether Glen Powell is a bona fide A-list leading man. On one hand, he’s saddled with a nothingburger character and a shallow story. On the other hand, he doesn’t do much to rise above those limitations, mostly meeting the project on its level. If you can’t decide if something is good or bad, then you’ve probably already answered the question. Unfortunately for me (and us), it didn’t take long to decide that The Running Man is an extreme disappointment. It’s a fitting film for the time: grotesque, unapologetically brash, and always looking to send a message. A famous man once said that “I know writers who use subtext, and they are all cowards.” You know what’s also cowardly? Selling a prime steak, and then serving reheated hamburger. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Martin Scorsese Films October 16, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen In the realm of American cinema, few names resonate as powerfully as Martin Scorsese. With a career spanning over five decades, he has crafted a body of work that is as diverse as it is profound. He’s bigger than the gangster films he’s mainly known for, adapting himself to deliver quintessential entries within the sports, noir, biopic, and kids subgenres. It was an extreme challenge to narrow this list down to only ten movies, as a director of his stature has so many masterpieces that even the great ones don’t make the cut. A ranking of the 11-20 entries would still tower over 99% of other filmmakers. Honorable mentions that just missed inclusion were Raging Bull , Hugo , and New York, New York . 10. Gangs of New York Gangs of New York is an epic about the battle for American democracy, often paralleling some of the modern struggles within our government. It features some of Scorsese’s best world-building as he weaves us in and around the catacombs and rickety tinderbox buildings of 1860s New York. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance may not rank as the highest in his filmography, but it doesn’t matter when Daniel Day-Lewis is chewing every scene as the violently charismatic Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting. 9. Taxi Driver Taxi Driver sees New York as it truly was in the 1970s: a cesspool of crime and villainy that no decent person should visit, let alone live in. Scorsese bridges the gap between our thirst for the unseen on screen and how it plays out in reality. There’s a smoky focus on the physical and mental damage done, and how the media can twist evil into a morbid story of vigilante justice. 8. Silence Faith-based movies are often met with skepticism, but the power of Scorsese’s filmmaking is always able to appeal to both sides of the coin. He transports us the 17th-century Japan, a place of clashing cultures that becomes the backdrop for the soul-searching journey of Father Rodrigues. Andrew Garfield painfully captures the inner turmoil of a man battling his faith and the system that surrounds him. 7. The Departed Not many directors can claim that their seventh-best film was the one that netted them both the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. Scorsese blends a taut and intricate plot with stellar performances from its ensemble cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Martin Sheen. It was, and still is, one of his most straightforward films, offering escapist thrills through a refined lens. 6. The Irishman At 209 minutes, The Irishman is a true-crime epic. Telling the story of mob hitman Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, the long-gestating project is packed with an all-star cast of Robert De Niro as the titular character as well as Joe Pesci and Al Pacino in career-defining roles. Instead of rehashing his usual gangster formula, Scorsese flips the script and fully exposes the audience to the doom and gloom that a life of crime brings to someone. 5. Goodfellas Goodfellas is the shining testament to Scorsese’s unparalleled brilliance at bringing the world of organized crime to life on the silver screen. It showcases an unapologetic and unflinching portrayal of the mafia lifestyle. We are in the same position as Lorrain Bracco’s Karen Hill, always weary of what’s going on and what’s around the corner, but too blinded by lights to do anything about it. And even when we spin out of control, there’s still a piece of us that wants to do it all over again. 4. The Wolf of Wall Street The exuberance and moral decay of 1980s Wall Street never felt more alluring than it does in The Wolf of Wall Street . But that excitement is also a powerful teacher, showcasing that greed isn’t good. It’s a car crash that you can’t look away from, filmed so kinetically that almost want to be in the driver’s seat. It also took extreme talent from Scorsese and his whole team to set a Guinness World Record for the most instances of swearing in a film, with the word “fuck” said 506 times. 3. Casino Like the story itself, Casino is as excessive as possible. It was the most Scorsese-like movie Scorsese had made up to that point, featuring all the hallmarks: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the rise and fall of the mob, smooth camera movements, an absolute fuckton of swearing, and a roaring soundtrack. It’s compelling and thrilling to watch from minute one to minute one-hundred and seventy-nine. 2. The Aviator This biographical masterpiece flawlessly captures the tumultuous life of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. Leonardo DiCaprio is perfectly cast here as he was miscast Gangs of New York , brilliantly showcasing Hughes's genius, eccentricity, and inner demons. Scorsese’s meticulous attention to detail recreates Classical Hollywood as we witness the rise and fall of one of cinema’s first titans. 1. The Age of Innocence The costume drama is not a genre one would normally associate with Martin Scorsese. But Scorsese is not a director confined to certain genres. Tender, yet brutal, The Age of Innocence burns with fiery passion while also being extinguished by icy repression. It's a battle of yin and yang that Scorsese perfectly balances with his sumptuous staging and set design. But what always separates Scorsese from the pack is the performances he can bring out. He always seems to find a new level for even the very best such as Daniel Day-Lewis. Winona Ryder radiates and Michelle Pfeiffer incites yearning with her performance. Never has such a naked performance been given under so many layers of clothes. 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