Avatar: Fire and Ash December 16, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and that James Cameron will defy all the doubters. 20th Century Fox was reluctant to make a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien , only to be swayed by Cameron’s gumption during a pitch meeting when he added a “$” suffix to the title. Titanic was destined to be a humongous flop as its production timeline grew longer and its budget eventually ballooned to the biggest ever for its time. It took over a decade for technology to catch up to the vision of Avatar , with an executive claiming that Cameron was delusional for thinking that he could pull this off. After being subjected to eight delays totaling thirteen years, people wondered if the sequel, The Way of Water , would be worth all the trouble. It’s safe to say that I don’t need to mention the combined $8 billion at the box office and dozens of Academy Award nominations for you to know how each of those films fared. Unfortunately, Avatar: Fire and Ash , the third of the five planned films in the franchise, might mark the end of this forty-year winning streak, at least in terms of critical and cultural relevance. I have absolutely no doubt that this film will join its predecessors to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Granted, that achievement won’t be as much of a challenge considering the several Premium Large Formats (PLF) the film will be released in, such as 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX, IMAX, IMAX 3D, and HFR. Here in Minnesota, a ticket to screening in one of those formats will cost you about $25, an almost 50% increase from the average price of $17 for a normal screening. As much as those costs can be balked at on paper, every dollar is well earned on the screen. Seeing this in Dolby 3D HFR reminded me how much these films operate on a different plane of existence. Everything simultaneously feels lifelike and otherworldly, with the fully computer-generated sets having an amazing depth. Cameron delivered a foreword speech about the perils of generative AI, and made it very clear that his films are fully human-driven. Everything took a painstaking amount of time and resources to transfer from the mind to the silver screen. That includes the actors, whose performances are captured with an ever-increasing amount of detail. It’s quite astonishing for Zoë Saldaña to open this year with an Oscar win for her supporting role in the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez , and then close it out with equally impressive work as a ten-foot-tall blue alien. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb_fFj_0rq8 Despite it now only being three years since the previous film, it still takes some time to adjust to the sensory explosion. Cameron doesn’t make it any easier by forgoing all opening studio logos, plunging us right into the action of Pandora. After the death of their eldest son at the conclusion of The Way of Water , Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldaña) find themselves wandering down different paths of grief. Like every hardened marine, he keeps it all on the inside, pushing the family like a drill instructor so that something like this will never happen again. Neytiri has abandoned all compassion for humankind, pushing for all-out war against them. Unsurprisingly, considering our history, humans share Neytiri’s sentiment and are more than willing to raise the stakes. The Na’vi are not as unified as they once were, with several clans harboring resentment for how Sully’s involvement in their plight has only brought more death and destruction. The most outwardly spoken of these factions is the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People. They resolve their differences with their fists and are led by the witch Varang (Oona Chaplin). Seeing how this splintering can lead to the whole dam breaking, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the biggest proponent of Han Solo’s famous quote about how “hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side,” decides to ally with Varang and supply her with all the firepower she could ever want. Cameron has always been the master of understanding the purpose of a sequel, how the re-entry into a world marks an opportunity to expand upon the original and carve a new path. Fire and Ash contains no footprints of that ideology, essentially being a carbon copy of The Way of Water , a fact that both does and doesn’t make sense, considering that the two films were originally envisioned as one epic story. It seems that when the decision to split them was made, Cameron, along with co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, decided to hit copy/paste and call it a day. If you were to watch the final hour stretches of The Way of Water and Fire and Ash side-by-side, it would be nearly impossible to spot the differences. The introduction of Jaffa and Silver for these two sequels has not improved the quality of the writing. This is the kind of blockbuster where you can predict exactly what’s going to happen and when it will occur. The stakes of a lead character dying in the first battle are weightless because there are still another two-and-a-half hours to go. This trash for your mind is treasure for your bladder, as a movie that features this much water footage across a 195-minute runtime will naturally lead to a steady stream of bathroom breaks. If The Way of Water left you clamoring for more from the Avatar series, then Fire and Ash has delivered in monkeypaw fashion. It’s more… of the same, focusing on survival rather than evolution. The tension around my ears and markings all over my face from the 3D glasses were well worth it for the audio/visual experience, another in a long line of raisings of the bar by Cameron. But what good is a tricked-out sports car if you're just going to cruise around the neighborhood? 20th Century Studios will release Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters nationwide on December 19th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Barbie July 18, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In a recent article by The New Yorker , Greta Gerwig stated that “her ambition is to be not the biggest woman director but a big studio director. And Barbie is a piece of I.P. that resonated with her.” Sure, the arthouse crowd could cry foul at losing one of their most longstanding patrons, with Gerwig being most known through the mid-2000s to late 2010s as an entrenched member of the mumblecore movement, where young adults vented about their first-world problems (that’s the crass way of defining the genre). From Martin Scorsese to Christopher Nolan, plenty of major filmmakers have started small and then jumped aboard the volatile cruise ship that is the studio system. They’re legends to the public because they can seamlessly find the most comfortable middle ground between art and entertainment. The loss within the independent crowd from Gerwig’s departure is a noble sacrifice, as having her at the helm of tentpole productions is of benefit to the greater good of cinema. Barbie may not find that exact sweet spot like the instant classic blockbusters, but it has just as much of a brain as it does have good ol’ fashioned summer movie season fun, solidifying itself as an achievement of this season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBk4NYhWNMM Just as she does in our childlike imaginations, Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in a perfect dream world where the sun shines every day, and everyone gets along. The Barbies inhabit and govern the land in perfect harmony, with the Kens (Ryan Gosling being Robbie’s "... and Ken" ) always competing for the attention and affection of their female counterparts. Every day is the same day, that is, until Robbie’s Barbie, known as Sterotypical Barbie because of her absolute perfection, starts having thoughts about death and existentialism. This rift is due to a downward mood in the girl who owns Stereotypical Barbie in the real world, as the doll reflects the emotions of the person who plays with her. So Barbie must venture out into our imperfect world, towing Ken along with her. The overall uniqueness of Barbie is no small feat, but it’s also not something that should be viewed as that big of a surprise, especially to those who have paid attention to Gerwig’s tenure as a director. Both the lived-in intimacy of Lady Bird and the modern buoyancy of Little Women are evident here. It’s so apparent how a product so steeped in corporate greed, like Barbie, could have been a cynical cash grab. Gerwig avoids (most of) those pitfalls, infusing this fish-out-of-water story with reflective takes on feminism, gender roles, and self-worth. There’s the million-dollar question surrounding the whole story: Barbie is perfect so that she can inspire little girls to be perfect at any job they want. But is selling perfection only setting kids up for failure, as we all learn that no one is perfect? The answers Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach (also her husband) give are nothing you haven’t heard before. But just as Triangle of Sadness and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery didn’t have the most original things to say about the ultra-rich last year, the obvious things they were saying have never been said more funnily. Gerwig and Baumbach deliver nonstop laughs with their script, dishing up just as hearty spoonfuls of social commentary. Gosling walks away with the most laughs, as his dim-witted charm and good looks make him the personification of a lost puppy. His role is a purely comedic one, with Robbie commandingly doing the tougher task of balancing the humor and central themes of the movie. She walks and talks like a dream doll, but also finds something deep within the core of her plastic shell. The rest of the large ensemble cast is there for support, with some getting better treatment than others (Kate McKinnon often steals the show as Weird Barbie, but Will Ferrell gets little to do as the Mattel CEO). If 2003’s The Cat in the Hat is the worst case for this sort of candy-coated production, then Barbie is one of the best-case scenarios. Gerwig has kept her directorial winning streak intact and further pushes her status as one of this generation’s leading voices. I’ve got some simple free advice for all the studio heads been facing big blockbuster bombs this summer: invest in Greta Gerwig. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Barbie in theaters nationwide on July 21st. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Decoding the Fall Festival Lineups July 26, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen With both the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Venice International Film Festival announcing their slates this week, the fall festival rush has officially begun. And with the premiere status designations supplied by TIFF, we’ve got a pretty good idea of the films that will be bowing in the mountains of Telluride right between the two other festivals. The puzzle still isn't fully clear when it comes to the overall Oscar race, but we’re a lot closer to realizing which pieces the studios are prioritizing. Similarly to last year (although that could be chalked up to the dual SAG-WGA strike), it looks like no film will be making the trip to all three festivals. Telluride famously doesn’t reveal their lineup until the day before their festival begins on August 29, but Venice director Alberto Barbera hinted that Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door and Luca Guadagnino’s Queer will be making their world premieres on the Lido during the back half of the festival, meaning they won’t be eligible for Telluride. Other Venice titles such as Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here , Justin Kurzel’s The Order , and Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest were all announced as North American premieres in TIFF’s Gala/Special Presentation announcement, so Pablo Larraín’s Maria might be the only Oscar-buzzed Venice title to pop up at Telluride. But fear not Telluride attendees, as the mountain-based festival will also have its crop of world premieres as hinted by the TIFF announcement; including Better Man , Conclave , The Friend , The End , The Piano Lesson , and Piece By Piece . Netflix’s total absence from Venice comes as quite a surprise considering their relative dominance over the past decade, but the presence of The Piano Lesson at both Telluride and TIFF shows that they won’t be out of the awards race altogether. They’ll also be reintroducing Emilia Perez after it won the Jury Prize and Best Actress prize (for its ensemble) at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Other Cannes titles that are confirmed to be playing at both Telluride and Toronto include the Palme d’Or winning Anora , Grand Prize winning All We Imagine as Light , and Andrea Arnold’s Bird . TIFF won’t be announcing its Centerpiece program until August, which usually contains a few more films that had their premieres at the spring and summer festivals (Sundance, Berlin, Cannes). TIFF will also host world premieres for films from several high-profile directors such as Ron Howard ( Eden ), Mike Leigh ( Hard Truths ), and Marielle Heller ( Nightbitch ). Leigh has been overdue for an Oscar for decades now. However, the combination of the rumor that his film was rejected by both Cannes and Venice and the delayed release to mid-January by Bleecker Street does give pause to those aspirations. Ironically, the TIFF title with the highest Oscar potential at the moment is Sing Sing , which debuted at the festival last year and is currently in theaters. Skipping the fall festival trifecta altogether is Steve McQueen’s Blitz , which will be opening the London Film Festival on October 9th, and then closing the New York Film Festival the following day. Both festivals haven’t been the best breeding ground for Oscar success over the years, but the decision to start there makes sense considering the London setting for the film and McQueen’s unwavering loyalty to NYFF throughout his career. It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy by Apple as they could avoid the usual fall festival glut and have space all to themselves, or come out too late and fail to find space in the race. Searchlight Pictures will likely be in the same position with their Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown . The last-second nature of the announcement for its unspecified December release could be interpreted as a small act of surrender for Nightbitch and A Real Pain, both of which never seemed poised to repeat the same level of success that the distributor is known for. Depending on how the premiere of Nightbitch goes at TIFF, look for them to accelerate a Gala premiere for James Mangold's film at AFI Fest in late October. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen

The Power of the Dog November 29, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Despite being the master of the gangster genre with such films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull , and Goodfellas , Martin Scorsese cites The Age of Innocence as his most violent film. It’s a bizarre statement, considering the 1993 period piece features no sex, swearing, or physicality. Instead, the violence that the film harbors is purely emotional and under the surface, carrying far more damaging effects that linger longer than any external wound. Similarly, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is one of the most violent films of the year - and of the Western genre - all without a gun, knife, or fistfight. The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers run one of the most successful ranches in Montana. Phil is handsome, calculating, and utterly brutal. He lives purely for the land, paying no mind to the feelings of those around him. George is pudgy and sensitive, and always on the receiving end of Phil’s torments. Together, they represent Romulus and Remus, ruling over a vast empire that could topple at any moment. On one of their cattle drives, George becomes smitten by a widow, Rose. The couple swiftly marries and moves back to the mansion-sized ranch house. Disapproving of this union, Phil unleashes his cunning fury on Rose and her emasculated son, Peter. But there’s more to Peter than meets the eye, as his outward weakness may not be reflective of the inside. After some time, Phil begins to warm up to Peter and take him under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or another one of his mind games that will delve further into menace? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRDPo0CHrko As a director, Campion has often been able to communicate the unsayable and unspeakable. Her films often resemble a poem more than a narrative. Based on her past features of The Piano and Sweetie , it can be said that she isn’t concerned with only opening one door or telling her audience exactly how to feel. This ambiguity brings out the power of interpretation, leaving the viewer with the film in their mind long after the runtime has passed. The Power of the Dog doesn’t stray from that trademark as Campion tightly winds this surprise psychosexual drama. There’s a cutting edge to each frame, epically lensed by Ari Wegener with the vast prairies of New Zealand standing in for Montana plains. A shot of a knotted rope, the castration of a bull, or the movement of a cigarette tells as much of the story as any piece of dialogue. Every act becomes a piece of symbolism, carrying an intentional ritualistic weight. With plucked strings, Radiohead frontman Jonny Greenwood (often a collaborating partner with Paul Thomas Anderson), squeezes those last drops of tension out of every scene. But when the dialogue takes precedent, Campion, adapting the words of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel, makes sure it still stings. Phil uses his words to cut someone while they’re down, with a sharpness that cannot be matched. It doesn’t help that his cowhands, who worship his every move, sneer and snicker along. In the lead role of Phil, Cumberbatch reaches new heights in his career. The British thespian has built himself on playing the smartest man in the room, such as Sherlock Holmes on television, Alan Turing in The Imitation Game , and Doctor Strange in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here, that supreme intelligence brings its faults, such as emotional weakness and detachment. Branding Phil as carrying “toxic masculinity” would be too much of an oversimplification, as Campion takes that weakness and spins it into something less one-dimensional. While Phil may hate himself on the inside, George is more outward with his self-loathing, which inevitably gets passed on to Rose, as she deals with despair by turning towards the bottle. The real-life couple of Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst are great in their supporting roles, as they find solace in each other’s arms in the brief moments they have together. Acting as the yin to Phil’s yang (and also as the surprise actor showcase within the film) is Kodi Smit-McPhee as Rose’s son, Peter, whose external simplicity masks his internal strength and awareness. The battle between Phil and Peter is one of wits, with the outcome recontextualizing the film into something more than the sum of its parts. Jane Campion has made a grand return to feature films with The Power of the Dog . It’s an enigmatic modern take on the well-worn genre of the Western that leaves you with much more than you could ever bring in. Because of that, it’s one of the best films of the year, and should surely be checked out. Netflix will release The Power of the Dog in select theaters on November 17th, followed by its streaming premiere on December 01st. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Rivals of Amziah King August 10, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Andrew Patterson can’t seem to catch a break. His debut feature, The Vast of Night , is one of the most underseen and underrated films of the past ten years. Spookier than any conventional horror movie and brimming with talent from its cast and crew, it premiered on the festival circuit in 2019, making stops across the continent and accruing positive word-of-mouth. Then, when it was supposed to finally be publicly released in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic relegated it to merely a token streaming release. It took him five more years to finally get a movie off the ground. The Rivals of Amziah King debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in March of 2025 to near-universal acclaim, clearly the highlight of the fest for everyone involved. Despite all that, it went unsold to a distributor, months passing as the question of its existence grew exponentially. Eventually, producer Black Bear Pictures decided to go it themselves, putting it in theaters nationwide this weekend. In the context of everything Patterson has had to deal with, it’s a big win. But it’s still not enough for a filmmaker who should be celebrated as a star-in-the-making behind the camera. There is something inherently charming about a movie that knows how to slow down and let its characters breathe. The Rivals of Amziah King is full of split-second pauses that hold onto the lively energy it creates, moments where a conversation can linger just a little longer or a character can simply exist without the story rushing to its next plot point. It is a quality that makes the film feel lived-in, even when its narrative eventually turns toward revenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwSvAyaMGMo At the center of it all is the titular Amziah King, played with an easygoing charisma by Matthew McConaughey. Amziah is the kind of person who lights up every room he walks into. More importantly, he creates a space where people feel safe enough to express themselves, whether through music, conversation, or simply being around one another. There is a warmth to him that recalls the best of McConaughey's natural screen presence, but the film wisely refuses to make Amziah into some uncomplicated saint. This is a man with a checkered past, and while he may be better than most, "better than most" is not the same thing as perfect. That distinction extends to the entire community surrounding him. For a movie so heavily concerned with honey, there aren't actually that many sweethearts. Everyone has their flaws, histories, and reasons for keeping certain things buried. Yet they are bound together by a genuine sense of community, the kind that feels increasingly rare onscreen. This is a place where you can open your front door and yell for your neighbors to come over for a jam session. The group even performs together as a quartet at the local equivalent of a Sonic, a wonderfully specific detail that captures the movie's affection for the people who inhabit its world. The honey itself becomes another extension of that community. Anyone who has ever worked with bees seems to have an almost evangelical enthusiasm for it, and they will gladly tell you all about it. Something is amusing and strangely moving about the passion with which these characters talk about their work. More importantly, the film finds a metaphor in the bees themselves. Bees don't take no for an answer. When tragedy destroys what they have built, they simply rebuild on top of it. Life, the movie suggests, can demand the same stubbornness. The young adult Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) has to rebuild her life, a former foster child of Amziah’s. She’s back in town, and Amziah decides to make amends by offering her a job as his apprentice. She becomes the audience’s viewpoint, initially resistant to the eccentricities that this kind of life harbors. That philosophy is perhaps best expressed through the film's seemingly unnecessary moments. The Rivals of Amziah King has a lot of time for the superlative stuff that more plot-focused movies would probably cut. A potluck dinner can become an opportunity for a life lesson. A musical performance can exist simply because these people enjoy making music together. A conversation doesn't necessarily have to advance the story. These digressions are part of what makes the film feel real, even if they also contribute to its somewhat elongated 130-minute runtime. It drags in places, but it is a worthy tradeoff for a movie this committed to creating a genuine sense of place. Eventually, though, the sweetness gives way to something darker. The film's revenge story introduces a Kill Bill -esque streak, transforming its intimate community drama into something closer to a bruised Southern fairy tale about a girl seeking retribution. The tonal shift can be jarring, but it also adds another dimension to the movie beyond its easygoing charm. The Rivals of Amziah King isn't interested in rushing toward its destination. It wants to spend time with its people, their music, their bees, and their dinners. Sometimes that patience works against it, but more often it gives the film an uncommon texture. Like its bees, it understands that rebuilding takes time. And sometimes the sweetest things come from letting them. Black Bear Pictures will release The Rivals of Amziah King in theaters nationwide on August 14th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Teen Sex & Death at Camp Miasma August 12, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Slasher movies are about teenage sex and death, almost always in that order. It is a simple formula, but one that has proven remarkably durable: put a group of attractive young people somewhere they shouldn't be, give them enough privacy to make increasingly poor decisions, and wait for the killer to arrive. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma understands this formula intimately, but its real subject is the strange relationship between horror movies and the people who make, watch, commodify, and overanalyze them. The film begins with the mythology of Camp Miasma , a fictional slasher franchise that has somehow become a cultural institution. Its history follows the familiar trajectory of many real horror series. The original becomes an immense box-office success, religious groups protest its content, and increasingly watered-down sequels pile on convoluted lore until the once-simple premise becomes almost incomprehensible. Razzies fly in left and right, with only the weird diehard fans left to even notice when a new film comes out. Eventually, nostalgia takes over. Feature articles dissect the franchise's hidden meanings, conspiracy theories emerge around its mythology, and Hollywood decides it is time for a reboot, one that promises to be more "elevated." Naturally, the studio sees this as an opportunity to make money. Queerness and political correctness become marketing language, themes to be packaged and propagated across merchandise and streaming rights rather than artistic ideas worth exploring. Into this corporate machine steps a wunderkind fresh out of Sundance, who actually wants to use queerness as part of the film's art. The studio, unsurprisingly, isn't nearly as interested in that version of the movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dimCiC_hdoA At the center of this production is Kris (Hannah Einbinder from Hacks ), a timid young woman who appears to have spent most of her life on the outside looking in. She is starstruck by Gillian Anderson (honestly, who wouldn't be?) as Billy Presley, the original film’s final girl, but her fascination with the actress reveals something deeper about her own isolation. Kris keeps her arms tucked inside her sleeves, only pulling them out to fix her glasses as she stutters through her words. Love and sex seem almost completely foreign to her, something she desperately wants but has no idea how to approach. She becomes an obvious stand-in for writer-director Jane Schoenbrun's own relationship with those feelings, giving the film's awkwardness a distinctly personal quality. Schoenbrun has explored queerness and gender identity throughout their previous films. We're All Going to the World's Fair used online horror culture to explore teenage alienation and the search for identity, while I Saw the TV Glow more directly connected its supernatural imagery to the repression and realization of a transgender identity. In both, horror becomes a language for feelings that their characters struggle to articulate. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma continues that exploration while turning its gaze toward the industry itself, questioning what happens when something deeply personal becomes another marketable commodity. Presley, meanwhile, is the director of the relationship, giving orders to the timid Kris and assuming control over their interactions. Her philosophy toward horror is similarly reductive. People, she argues, take these movies too seriously. They're just works of "flesh and fluids." It's a funny sentiment, but Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma keeps asking whether art can actually be taken too seriously. And, perhaps more provocatively, whether slashers can be called art when its story is merely an 85-minute excuse to provide five minutes of softcore pornography and a series of increasingly elaborate kills. Schoenbrun's film provides its own answer. This is unquestionably a work of art, and its artificiality is essential to that argument. The world of Camp Miasma feels less like a physical location than a memory reconstructed from fragments: fake snow, matte paintings, and plastic effects combine into an intentionally dreamlike production design. Spot-on recreations of the original Camp Miasma are interspersed throughout, while 35mm cinematography and crackling sound give the images the texture of something simultaneously ancient and newly unearthed. Even Little Death, the franchise's iconic killer, looks like a warped cousin of Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill series, except with a cube for a head. It's ridiculous, sinister, and unmistakably artificial, the embodiment of a movie that wants to expose the machinery behind horror while still believing in its power. The result is a fascinating collision between slasher convention and personal expression. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma knows that horror can be reduced to sex, death, flesh, and fluids. But it also knows that those things can become something more when an artist is allowed to put themselves inside the formula. The real horror isn't necessarily the killer waiting in the woods. Sometimes it's the studio deciding exactly what your art is allowed to mean. Mubi will release Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma in select theaters on August 07th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Last Duel October 18, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen At 83 years old, Ridley Scott is quite the inspiration. With a directorial career that spans nearly 2,500 commercials and countless films - such as Alien , the Best Picture-winning Gladiator , and The Martian - no one would blame him for hanging it all up and retiring to the countryside. But Scott has never known the definition of the word “break” and has tasked himself with increasingly tougher work the more he ages, with 2021 seeing the release of two major tentpole films in The Last Duel and House of Gucci . The latter of that pair bows at Thanksgiving, with the former hitting theatres this past weekend. In an extended prologue surrounding the titular bout between Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), The Last Duel sets up what to expect, such as the grey dourness of the setting and story, lensed exquisitely by Scott’s longtime cinematographer Darius Wolski. Atop both of the knights is the petulant King Charles VI, who is more than giddy for some bloodshed. And standing between the duelists is Marguerite de Carrouges (a terrific Jodie Comer), whose fate is linked to the outcome. Before any of the men meet their maker, we flashback sixteen years prior, to a time when they were dear friends. Broken up into three chapters, the film follows the unique perspectives of the three central individuals as it tracks the events that led to the duel. This Rashomon- inspired structure is where Scott, along with Damon and Ben Affleck, in their first credited screenplay since Good Will Hunting , show off their brilliance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgygUwPJvYk The first chapter is “The truth according to Jean de Carrouges.” In Jean’s eyes, he’s a righteous knight who has been wronged by those who deserve less than him. Despite his proud military record, his squire Jacques is shown favor by Count Pierre (a bleached-blond Affleck), who gifts Jacques with a vast piece of land once promised to Jean. The growing resentment between the two reaches a tipping point when Jean’s new wife, Marguerite, accuses Jacques of rape. But “The truth according to Jacques Le Gris” sees things differently. Jean is headstrong and foolhardy, easily leading Pierre to favor Jacques’s worldliness. Jacques feels that Jean is wasting the sophistication of Marguerite and that he is the only person who truly appreciates her. Therefore, his sexual act cannot be classified as rape, since the two of them are meant for each other. Not that it’s much of a spoiler of what the actual truth is, but “The truth according to Marguerite de Carrouges” displays the words “the truth” for an extra couple of seconds before fading away. This chapter is written by the talented Nicole Holofcener, as Damon and Affleck felt they were unqualified to write from a female perspective. Marguerite’s truth sees both Jean and Jacques as squabbling children using the pretexts of duty and honor to mask their cruelty. The rape scene is played again, this time amplifying the excruciating horror of the act, prompting a necessary, uncomfortable feeling within the viewer. Her accusation against Jacques is met with hostility from both Jean and the rest of France, as rape is not considered a crime against a woman, but a property matter. The greatness of the film’s structure is that it creates a puzzle where the pieces are constantly shifting in size and placement. Even a simple act, such as a handshake between Jean and Jacques, is seen from three angles, each eliciting a different response. It’s fascinating to watch as the web of lies and truth becomes increasingly difficult to parse, with Scott supplying the necessary inertia to keep the film moving at a great pace. And the final duel more than lives up to expectations, especially when compared to the high bar Scott has set for himself within his filmography. There have been only a handful of final battles that weren’t already decided by the plot before they begin, and this is one of them. There’s an exciting amount of tension as the knight's exchange blows in agonizing brutality. Bolstered by spectacle and substance, The Last Duel is one of Ridley Scott’s finest films. It’s one of the few films in 2021 to exceed my expectations, and one of the few blockbusters of the modern age to be propelled by collaborative artistry, rather than preconceived properties and overblown budgets. 20th Century Studios will release The Last Duel in theaters nationwide on October 15th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Malignant September 13, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen When talking about the most popular and influential horror films of this century, James Wan’s name pops up on more than one occasion. Spawning the Saw franchise in 2004, Wan illustrated his knack for scary thrills doused in buckets of blood. He would tone things down to a PG-13 rating for the first two installments in the Conjuring and Insidious series. He made sure to prove that he wasn’t just a one-trick pony as he lent his kineticism to Furious 7 and Aquaman (and the upcoming sequel). But after helming several $200 million productions, Wan has gone back to his horror roots with Malignant . Madison is pregnant and living with her abusive husband - the kind that won't hesitate to bash her head against the wall when he doesn’t get his way. One night, the couple’s house is broken into, leading to the gruesome deaths of the husband and Madison’s unborn child. Her trauma doesn’t end there as she begins to have vivid nightmares of the killer striking down other prey. It becomes clear that these nightmares are visions, as Madison is paranormally linked to the masked killer, as they share a connection dating back to their childhood in a now-abandoned research hospital. In a race against time, Madison must piece together the past and convince the skeptical police before more lives are taken. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczt0fhawDs When announcing production on this film, Wan claimed that it would be nothing like his previous horror films, which relied on jump scares and the occult to convey his version of dread. Instead, Malignant would take influence from the Italian horror sub-genre of “Giallo”, which reached its heights in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with films such as Dario Argento’s Suspiria (delightfully remade by Luca Guadagnino in 2018) and Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace . These films were defined by their mystery elements, intense color palettes, disregard for logic, and sickening violence. Wan commits fully to his Giallo promise, delivering grisly murders and an outrageous plot that must be seen to be believed. Wan’s camera never lingers for more than a moment. Rather, it whips and pans as we are right with Madison, witnessing these unseemly events. It keeps the plot moving at a steady pace, with the last act picking up momentum towards a bloody conclusion. While he made good on his Giallo promise, Wan doesn’t fully commit to breaking away from his overproduced previous features. The earlier sequences of Malignant , particularly the home invasion, are carbon copies of Wan’s earlier work as characters shuffle around a dimly lit house as they hear creepy noises, only for it to conclude with a jump scare. This modern trope builds a wall between the film’s two halves, with the former stuck in the present and the latter embellishing the past. The acting and writing in Malignant fall way down in the priority list, with Wan’s direction overtaking all. There is no development for any of these characters, except for a pointless lab technician who has the hots for the handsome detective. Given not much to do besides delivering exposition and crafting some semblance of humanity, the actors are free of blame for their faults. But what the script lacks in quality, it makes up for in originality as it tells a ludicrously bonkers story that has been sorely lacking from this genre. There is a cult-classic feeling to this story, one that may find more appreciation down the road. James Wan’s Malignant is a melding of modern horror tropes with classic horror lunacy. There’s enough blood and guts to make even the most seasoned horror veteran wince, and a shockingly outlandish story to pave over the film’s other faults. You may not fully enjoy the film, but you will never forget the experience of watching it. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Malignant in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max on September 10th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Omaha Film Festival 2024 Recap March 17, 2024 By: Tyler Banark Three weeks ago, I attended the 19th edition of the Omaha Film Festival. Smaller in scale compared to the likes of TIFF, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, and NYFF, Omaha focuses on telling Nebraska-based stories along with narratives from around the country and even the world. Although other somewhat big-named movies were part of the festival lineup, such as the documentaries Frida , Chasing Chasing Amy , and the Oscar-nominated short Red, White, and Blue , there were also various feature-length and short films. Here are my thoughts on some of the films I saw this year. Lousy Carter Lousy Carter is a comedy starring David Krumholtz as the titular character, a low-life college professor who finds out he has a terminal illness. He tries to sleep with a student of his graduate seminar on The Great Gatsby and sleeps with his best friend’s wife, all while trying to complete an animated film. Krumholtz turns in a dry but entertaining performance, making Lousy into a character that lets the audience decide whether or not he’s worth cheering for. The supporting cast of Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, and Jocelyn DeBoer do their parts well as the other people in his life. Although the movie didn’t offer much other than its dry, dark humor, it’s still a fun comedy thanks to Byington's script. Brave the Dark Following the true story of Pennsylvania teen Nathaniel Deen, Brave the Dark is about a troubled high school student who tries to turn his life around with the guidance of his English teacher (played by Jared Harris). Easily the best I saw at the festival this year, Brave the Dark also won Best Film and Audience Choice Feature Film prizes. The movie is fearlessly made to evoke a no-filter look into a troubled teen’s upbringing and how it transpired into his life. Nathan (played by Nicholas Hamilton, best known for playing Henry Bowers in 2017’s IT ) went through the wringer with his parents, who raised him as a little kid, leading him to the foster care system. Hamilton is great, but Jared Harris is the real MVP. He embodies the inspirational teacher trope we’ve seen (i.e., Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society , Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love ) and runs with it as he fights tooth and nail to ensure Nathan gets a second chance at life. The movie’s tone does feel a little melodramatic at specific points, but it still leaves a lasting impression on viewers as it’s a tearjerker that wins over their hearts. Guacamole Yesterdays A spin on Michel Gondry’s 2004 sci-fi romance drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Guacamole Yesterdays follows a woman using a machine to manipulate memories of a relationship that ended in a painful separation. The two leads, Sophie Edwards and Randy Havens, showcase some excellent chemistry in not only the romantic side of their relationship but also in the darker moments. Hudson Phillips’ script benefits from this, and the movie acts as a meditation on grief and how people handle it differently depending on their situations. Guacamole Yesterdays does pull a plot twist in the vein of Shutter Island in the third act, preventing it from sticking to the landing. Overall, it’s a neat sci-fi drama that may be a bit on the nose regarding the movie it’s spinning off of, yet still gets the job done. Don't Get Eaten Don’t Get Eaten is a family comedy about YouTuber dad Noah, who takes his family on a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods. He hopes to unplug and reconnect with his wife, Rose, as their marriage is on the rocks due to his channel and her on-the-rise career as an entrepreneur. One night into the trip, he and his daughters are attacked by zombies and must hold them off before Rose finds out. This was hands down the worst movie I saw at the festival, as it was tailor-made for families to enjoy, with humor appealing mostly to the current generation of kids. Generational moments such as Noah using a GoPro or watching his videos on a live stream were some of the sight gags that don’t land. The other half of the movie’s head-shaking humor consists of dumb jokes viewers would expect to see from every other kid's movie ever (people getting severely injured from the smallest inconvenience, goofy noises, etc.). It’s a boring watch that families surely enjoyed at the screening, but for the typical viewer, it’s another headache-inducing mess. The Headliner Shot entirely in Omaha with a cast and crew entirely of Omaha natives, The Headliner is a comedy that follows a middle-aged comedian hoping to break out on the stand-up scene in Omaha. Director Tony Bonacci has been making several commercials and short films over the years, one of which is a short film version of this. He brings back Darrick Silkman to play the lead, Chad, a comedian who is out of touch with modern society and is estranged from his wife and daughter. Throughout the movie, audiences see various comedians doing their bits in the Omaha stand-up scene. Although it’s nothing compared to the likes of big cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, Bonacci uses this chance to give comedians at this scale a platform to be seen. The choice is neat and does its job, but the film’s narrative is lacking because of it. Chad gets offered a stand-up gig in Montreal, which coincides with his daughter’s wedding on the same day. Screenwriter Christine Burright tries to juggle these subplots with others (Chad having an intimate relationship with one of his daughter’s besties and learning how to use an iPhone), but the result is messy. Chad comes off as a one-note character, which is partially Silkman’s fault and potentially Burright’s. In the big picture, The Headliner is a movie that highlights Omaha positively but doesn’t bring a story to keep audiences invested. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Venom: Let There Be Carnage October 4, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an insult. It’s an insult to the pieces of paper that were mutilated to make the script. It’s an insult to the film stock. It’s an insult to the millions of dollars that could have served an infinitely better purpose. It’s an insult to activists, as it waves gay pride around with an ultra-corporate attitude. It’s an insult to the talents of Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, and Robert Richardson. But most importantly, it was an insult to my time, as it took much more from me than merely ninety minutes. The first Venom was bad for its reasons, as it was tonally inconsistent, with Tom Hardy and director Ruben Fleischer having conflicting ideas on what the movie should be. In the end, Fleischer’s darker take overpowered Hardy’s goofiness. Throw in weak characters and plot, and you've got yourself one of the worst movies of 2018. Venom: Let There Be Carnage has addressed one of those problems, as it swings the tonal pendulum entirely in the other direction, resulting in self-parody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FmWuCgJmxo The sequel picks up where the last film left off, with Eddie and the alien symbiote, Venom, learning to live together within the same body. The two of them seem to be ripped from a Capra screwball comedy, as they’re sparring in slapstick fashion. Marking his return since the post-credit scene in the 2018 original, the deranged serial killer, Cletus Kasady, is about to be put on death row. But before that fateful day arrives, Cletus and Eddie’s paths cross, resulting in the birth of Carnage, the T-1000 to Venom’s T-800. Cletus and Carnage spark their symbiotic relationship, one that seeks the doom of Eddie and the rescue of Cletus’s longtime flame, Shriek. Replacing Fleischer, who was busy with Zombieland: Double Tap and is currently working on Uncharted , is motion-capture wizard Andy Serkis. It’s a fitting lateral move, considering he’s worked with visionary directors such as Peter Jackson (as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Matt Reeves (as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy), two people able to seamlessly blend visual creations within reality. Serkis hasn’t fancied himself much as a director, with Breathe and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle being so underseen that they may as well not exist. With Venom: Let There Be Carnage , Serkis has landed on strike three, hopefully landing him in director jail. There’s an erratic and jerky quality to the film, one that tries to reflect the inner torment between Eddie and Venom. Locations become interchangeable, and so does logic as character motivations become lost in the struggle. Many of the actors seem lost as well, with Michelle Williams (way too talented to stoop this low for a paycheck) constantly trying to find a reason to exist beyond just being the contractually obligated “love interest that got away.” Things quickly become hard to follow, with Venom acting as Eddie’s inner monologue, butting in at every possible moment with one cringe-inducing line after another. Integral information is doused while the three characters speak at the same time, making the effort needed to keep things straight not worth it. Once Venom and Eddie split up their bromance, you’re relieved, as it means a few moments of peace. There also seems to be an inevitable ugliness to the Venom films, as Matthew Libatique turned in the worst work of his career in 2018, and now the legendary Robert Richardson (a frequent collaborator with Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, and Martin Scorsese) produces his most drab and cheap-looking work. At some point, you have to wonder how many people are involved in this franchise just for the money. Definitely not here for the cash is Tom Hardy, who has deepened his involvement by receiving the first writing credit of his career. Hardy has always delivered 110% for each of his roles, even if it wasn’t in the best interest of the film. With this sequel, Hardy, as well as Harrelson, have dialed things up to a Looney Tunes level of zany. There’s at least some unintentional comedy in their line readings, with a highlight being “I’m a real boy, and you’re just an amoeba!” The badness of Venom: Let There Be Carnage made me appreciate other comic-book films even more. Marvel may be getting stale with their formula, but at least it works on a fundamental level. And based on the post-credit scene, we’ll have to see which side of the coin wins out, a battle which I am not looking forward to. Sony Pictures Releasing will release Venom: Let There Be Carnage in theaters nationwide on October 01st. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Exit 8 April 9, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Both fittingly and unfittingly, Exit 8 opens with the piece of music Boléro by Maurice Ravel. It’s a courageously rousing song, one that would feel most at home placed over the opening credits to a David Lean epic. I can already picture the sweeping landscapes being given the grand cinematic treatment. Exit 8 is at the opposite pole of the spectrum of epicness, primarily taking place in one hallway and boasting a cast that can be counted on one hand. Its sense of adventure is also horribly twisted, both literally and figuratively. There is no sense of adventure among any of these characters; each seems trapped in a cycle of psychological horror. What makes Boléro a fitting choice for this film is the piece’s repetitive nature, gradually increasing tempo, and volume as it marches to the beat of its own drum. The longer it goes, the louder it gets, building anticipation for what’s coming. Patience is quickly rewarded, creating a constant feedback loop. It’s intentionally simple, yet it fully gets the job done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlRQ1oatOt8 A nameless protagonist (Kazunari Ninomiya) is on a Tokyo subway. Everyone is buried in their phones, oblivious to everything that’s going on around them. The man gets a call from his ex-girlfriend with some important news. Along with his stroll and often blank expression, his waffling on how to feel exemplifies his indecisive nature. On his way out of the station, he walks through a hallway that supposedly leads to Exit 8. He makes a turn, and he’s back in the same hallway. He turns back… and is back in the same hallway. All of the pedestrians have disappeared, except for one man who walks on a set path with no expression or discernible human qualities. Eventually, the lost man stumbles upon a sign of instructions. He is to look out for “anomalies,” which could be anything that seems out of the ordinary. A sign might have a different color than the last time he saw it, or the doors might be open instead of closed. Should he see one, he has to turn back and go the other way. Completing a challenge takes him to the next exit, with the implied reward being his freedom after finishing the eighth level. This film is based on the wildly popular video game of the same name. Released in 2023 and developed by Kotake Create, it preyed on the fear of liminal spaces. The beauty of the game was its random simplicity, which meant that no two players had the same experience. One might beat the game in an hour, another might never finish it. Granted, the player who beat the game first probably had the lesser overall experience, as there’s very little replayability. That fear of a player being trapped forever is inherently removed from Genki Kawamura’s film adaptation. Obviously, a movie must follow the rules of narrative structure, so the (limited) freedom that the game allowed has now been strapped onto a conventional track. The camera follows closely with the nameless man, with slick editing and production design making the bulk of it seem like one uninterrupted shot. The man mutters expositional reminders to himself for the uninitiated, constantly reinforcing the rules Kawamura assumes we keep forgetting. Even at just a hair over 90 minutes, there’s quite a bit of time spent spinning wheels. The repetition is intentional, yet still feels like a flaw that could have been avoided. For someone like me who has played the game, it felt like I was watching someone else play it poorly. I sat there, rolling my eyes as it took the man too long to figure out what needed to be done. Of course, that won’t be a problem for those who haven’t played it. Then again, I feel like that group would be much better served by picking up a controller than buying a movie ticket. Neon will release Exit 8 in theaters nationwide on April 10th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

36 Most Anticipated Films of 2023 December 23, 2022 By: Hunter Friesen 2022 marked another year of recovery for the film industry after the immense struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. And with a new year approaching, we should adopt a forward-thinking mindset that looks ahead to new possibilities. With its mixture of exciting new projects from both new and established talent, 2023 has the power to be even better than 2022. To get you all excited as I am, this article will detail several of my most anticipated films expected to be released sometime in the next calendar year. Films will be listed in alphabetical order, with known release dates and distribution strategies (i.e. streaming or not) provided. A Haunting in Venice (September 15) Kenneth Branagh once again dons the famous mustache of detective Hercule Poirot, who must solve a murder that involves Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, and Kelly Reilly. Air Jordan Ben Affleck directs Matt Damon for the first time in this true story about how Sonny Vaccar was able to sign Michael Jordan to his Nike shoe deal. Asteroid City (June 16) Wes Anderson returns with Asteroid City , said to be set during an astronomy convention, with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Jeff Goldblum being a few names within the starry cast. Barbie (July 21) Writer/director Greta Gerwig offers a presumably original story on the life of the plastic doll. Margot Robbie will play Barbie, with Ryan Gosling as Ken. Blitz (Apple TV+) Small Axe writer/director Steve McQueen shifts from Amazon to Apple for his World War II story about several Londoners during the Nazi blitzkrieg bombings. Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Graham star. Challengers (August 11) Luca Guadagnino directs Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as three tennis players who reignite old rivalries on and off the court when they compete in a world-class tournament. Chevalier (April 07) Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair. Civil War Alex Garland continues his A24 relationship after Ex Machina and Men . Kirsten Dunst stars in his original epic action movie that is set in the United States in the not-so-distant future. Creed III (March 03) Michael B. Jordan pulls double duty as director and star in the conclusion of this trilogy. Jonathan Majors plays Damian Anderson, a long-lost friend of Adonis, who now seeks revenge for the sins of the past. Disappointment Blvd. Hereditary and Midsommar writer/director Ari Aster’s “nightmare comedy” on the life of a successful entrepreneur, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. Dune: Part Two (November 03) Denis Villeneuve concludes the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Ferrari Adam Driver continues to play Italians after House of Gucci , this time starring as the famed Enzo Ferrari. Michael Mann ( Heat, The Insider ) writes and directs, with Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, and Jack O’Connell filling out the supporting cast. Flint Strong Black Panther and Mudbound cinematographer Rachel Morrison steps into the director chair for the true story of Olympic boxer Claressa Shields. Barry Jenkins supplies the screenplay, with Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry topping the cast list. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 05) Writer/director James Gunn finishes his trilogy about the most lovable misfits in the galaxy. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30) Even at 80 years old, Harrison Ford continues to crank out the adventures of the titular archaeologist. Time travel is rumored to be a part of this James Mangold-directed film, with Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banders, and Phoebe Wall-Bridge along for the ride. John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 24) Keanu Reeves returns as the titular ass-kicker, who must continue his fight out of the violent world he finds himself in. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+) Martin Scorsese’s true-crime western surrounding the mysterious murders of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro star. Maestro (Netflix) Bradley Cooper writes, directs, and stars in this retelling of the life of Leonard Bernstein, often considered the greatest American conductor ever. Carey Mulligan will play his wife Felicia. May/December Julianne Moore and director Todd Haynes reunite for the fourth time, bringing in Natalie Portman as an actress who arrives to do research for an upcoming role on Moore’s character’s life. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (July 14) Tom Cruise (supposedly) closes his Mission: Impossible series with this first in a two-part story. Rogue Nation and Fallout writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is back at the helm, promising more unbelievable stunts. Napoleon (Apple TV+) Director Ridley Scott and writer David Scarpa reunite after All the Money in the World for this personal look at the immense life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the French emperor, with Vanessa Kirby as his empress, Josephine. Next Goal Wins (April 21) Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok writer/director Taika Waititi tells the true story of the American Samoa soccer team, who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. Oppenheimer (July 21) Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the father of the atomic bomb. Nolan veteran Cillian Murphy plays the titular figure. Poor Things / AND Weirdo writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos tells the story of Bella Baxter, a Victorian woman who is brought back to life by an eccentric scientist. Emma Stone stars as Ms. Baxter, with Willem Dafoe as the brilliant madman. Both Stone and Dafoe will feature in AND , a rumored anthology that will tell three separate stories; each letter representing a different tale. Priscilla Sofia Coppola responds to Ban Luhrman’s Elvis biopic with her own take on the life of Priscilla Presley. Relative newcomer Cailee Spaeny stars as the titular figure, with Euphoria star Jacob Elordi as the King of Rock and Roll. Spaceman (Netflix) Adam Sandler looks to maintain his dramatic streak by starring as the first Czech astronaut. Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano also star. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 02) The multiverses collide again, and Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey must come together again to stop an even bigger threat than before. The Bikeriders Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Norman Reedus, Michael Shannon, and Jodie Comer lead writer/director Jeff Nichols’ story of a Midwestern motorcycle club. The Brutalist Vox Lux writer/director Brady Corbet recruits an all-star cast composed of Joel Edgerton, Vanessa Kirby, Marion Cotillard, Sebastian Stan, and Mark Rylance for his mysterious story of an architect immigrating to New York in 1947. The Color Purple (December 20) Fantasia Barrino takes over the role of Celie from Whoopi Goldberg in this musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s epic novel. The Holdovers Alexander Payne looks to make a comeback after the disappointment of Downsizing . He reunites with Sideways star Paul Giamatti for this small-scale story of several students and teachers who are stuck at school over the holidays. The Iron Claw Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White star as the Von Erich brothers in Sean Durkin’s retelling of the family dynasty, and their impact on the world of wrestling. The Killer (Netflix) David Fincher ( The Social Network, Gone Girl ) directs Michael Fassbender as an assassin who slowly begins to lose his mind. The Way of the Wind Revered auteur Terrence Malick retells several episodes in the life of Jesus Christ. The Zone of Interest Under the Skin writer/director Jonathan Glazer returns to feature filmmaking with an adaptation of Martin Amis’ novel about a Nazi officer who becomes enamored with the wife of a concentration camp commander. Wonka (December 15) Paul King, director of the Paddington films, provides a musical origin story of the famed candy maker (Timothée Chalamet). More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen