Cyrano February 24, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Great Musical War of 2021 has come to an end With the late-breaking Cyrano being the last extension of this trend The famed wordsmith's tale of forbidden love Has been told so many times before that it is as worn as an old glove Between José Ferrer, Gérard Depardieu, and Kevin Kline on the stage and the screen Many have given performances of the character that are oh so fine Now it is time for Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame to take on the role And give it all, with both heart and soul You may wonder why I am speaking in rhyme To that, I say it is to keep my mind as sharp as a dime Because after writing over seventy reviews for films, both small and big My brain has become brittle and could snap like a twig But I also speak in rhyme as a way to honor good Cyrano Who can mold words to his liking as a baker does with dough So this is a fair warning to all readers who oppose rhymes As you will want to lock me up for my crimes Now with that out of the way, let's get on with the review For a film that has assembled quite the cast and crew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e8apSFDXsQ Our story begins in the time of old When men were told to be soldiers and bold Cyrano is a man full of charm and wits Whose only downfall is that he stands as tall as a man when he sits His lack of stature is what keeps him away from his love, Roxanne Whose skin and voice are as soft as a dove Much to Cyrano’s dismay, Roxanne loves another His name is Christian, Cyrano’s new army brother Christian loves Roxanne as well, but hasn’t got a tongue As the words he speaks have the same effect as potent dung So Cyrano comes up with a plan so that he will act as Christian’s voice Writing letters to Roxanne, making her rejoice, even if it isn’t by choice However, this love triangle gets complicated as time goes on As the snooty Count de Guiche forces Roxanne’s hand in marriage as part of a con Christian and Cyrano must tell Roxanne the truth of their ruse Or her forced marriage to the Count will forever give her the blues Directing this film adaptation of Cyrano is Joe Wright Whose past works of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement are an absolute delight Lately, he’s been in a bit of a rough patch As Pan and The Woman in the Window failed to hatch No matter, here is where Wright once again flexes his skill With imagery captured with the camera, with such thrill Scenes play out in extended takes lasting minutes at a time Allowing for the sets, costumes, and music to be sublime “Someone to Say” is my favorite tune of the soundtrack to exist As it now has a permanent spot in my Spotify playlist The technicals and craftsmanship are so wonderful And so is the cast, made up of actors quite colorful Dinklage’s charm brings a certain panache And he should have dived into the Oscar race with a splash His height may limit his character on the screen But it’s never stopped him personally from chewing the scene And while Haley Bennett as Roxanne may not be up to his level Their chemistry often makes scenes quite the revel Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian brings might As he aptly plays the knight who cannot write But surprisingly, it is good Ben Mendelsohn who steals the show With his face caked in posh makeup, white as snow Of the musicals that came out this past year Cyrano places third in the upper-tier What films are ahead of it that you request? It’s West Side Story and Annette, of course, whose set pieces are the best But even in third place, Cyrano is a treat So go out, buy a ticket, and save your seat I’ll be on my way now, making haste to my next story When it comes to picking my next film, I can choose any category And if you thought this poem came to no amount My only defense is to say that it is why I studied the art of the account United Artists Releasing will release Cyrano in theaters nationwide on February 25th. 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

Sorry, Baby July 25, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen We’re just over halfway through the year, and Sorry, Baby has planted its lead flag in the race for the award for “best movie to be ruined by sound bleed in the multiplex.” It’s a prize that distributor A24 has been dominating over the past few years, with last year’s winner being Janet Planet and the year before that being All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt . It’s the price one has to pay to experience a bit of counterprogramming during the height of summer blockbuster season, a reminder that the quantity of noise and flashing lights has little correlation to the overall cinematic experience. Sorry, Baby opens gently with Lia Ooyang Rusli’s piano over cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry’s soft image of light snow flurries against a rural New England house. Never mind that the roar of a dinosaur in Jurassic World: Rebirth and the thundering of Superman encroached on the walls of the small auditorium that housed this film; I was immediately locked into the world that writer/director/star Eva Victor was creating. The confidence of that frame continued throughout the rest of the runtime, with the fact that this is Victor’s debut making the whole feat even more astonishing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc0jgWoZo9w It’s a bit of a paradox in itself. It’s funny, yet not a comedy. It’s dramatic, yet not a drama. It’s unique, yet tells a painfully standard story. By that logic, I guess you could describe it as a semi-relatable dramedy. But that doesn’t feel correct either, with Victor striking a near-perfect balance between all those poles. I laughed, cried, and did a little bit of everything else. The story is simply described as “Something bad happened to Agnes.” That bad thing is the focal point for the structure, with everything happening either before or after. Agnes was a promising grad student who was about to receive high marks for her thesis. That burgeoning cycle of evolution during the period before has been replaced by mere survival in the period after. Agnes is stuck in her place, which is where the second sentence in the description comes into play: “But life goes on - for everyone around her, at least.” Sorry, Baby is least concerned in the pivotal bad moment, and more interested in how everything changes, both in foreseeable and unforeseeable ways. Authorities say, “We are also women,” as if that blanket statement solves everything. Agnes has been psychologically changed, with no escape from the multitude of mundane ways that the memory of said bad thing can reintroduce itself at any moment. Victor assembles a great cast, with themselves nailing the offbeat humor and deftly emotional moments. Lucas Hedges continues to be one of the smartest young actors working today, trusting directors like Victor in supporting roles rather than seeking the spotlight. He plays Agnes’ neighbor Gavin, a little aloof but completely charming in his own way. Naomi Ackie is great as Agnes’ best friend, Lydie. She has moved on from college and wants Agnes to do the same. This is a movie also about the power of friendship, how it lifts us out of the bad times and makes us into the best version of ourselves. A24 will release Sorry, Baby in select theaters on June 27th, followed by a nationwide expansion on July 25th. 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 Samurai and the Prisoner August 5, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen A war epic, intriguing drama, and murder mystery all wrapped in one, writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Samurai and the Prisoner is the kind of film that honors the long legacy of samurai films from Japan, most notably from esteemed filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa ( Throne of Blood , Seven Samurai , Kagemusha, Ran ) and Masaki Kobayashi ( Harakiri , The Samurai Rebellion ). At 147 minutes, it is lengthy, commanded by Kurosawa with a clear eye for the material and his audience, who have been treated here with a deviation from his usual J-horror fare. The year is 1578, and Japan is at war. Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki) resides as the lord of his castle, with walls on all sides that are said to be impenetrable. Just like Agamemnon at Troy, Lord Oda puts that notion to the test, encircling the castle with his vast army. Araki was once one of Oda’s top generals, but has abandoned his cause after years of ceaseless bloodshed that has permanently soaked the land. By staying locked up in his castle, Araki is protected from further warfare, left to be the gentler ruler he once aspired to be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY5kXykdbLo And yet, death still finds a way into Araki’s domain, seemingly through inexplicable means. The young son of a rival general who is being held ceremonially hostage is killed by an impossible arrow shot. Despite all his rational thinking and clue gathering, the answer eludes Araki. This spreads fear among the advisors and guards, most of whom believe these events are divine punishment for Araki's breaking of the code of honor. With enemies on the outside and schemers on the inside, Araki has no choice but to ask for help from the titular prisoner in his dungeon. His name is Kanbei Kuroda (Musaki Suda), a messenger for Oda who came to Araki to warn him of his foolish betrayal and surrender before an inevitable defeat. Instead of doing the honorable thing of returning Kuroda to his master, Araki decides to lock him up, a sentence worse than death, as the implication that he defected will bring violent consequences to his family. The dungeon proves to be the only safe place for Araki, and Kuroda agrees to aid in his search for the true killer, mostly to belittle Araki's weakness as a leader. Impeccably crafted with the aid of cinematographer Yasuyuki Sasaki and composer Yoshihiro Hanno, Kurosawa creates an atmosphere of mounting paranoia rather than relentless action. Sasaki's measured compositions emphasize the emotional distance between characters, while Hanno's understated brass score quietly reinforces the unease without overwhelming the drama. It is a film that understands tension doesn't always come from drawn swords, but from uncertainty and mistrust within closed corridors. The film is equally compelling in its exploration of honor and leadership. Araki and Kuroda are positioned as ideological opposites, yet Kurosawa avoids painting either man as entirely right or wrong. Araki has grown weary of bloodshed and hopes peace can be preserved behind his fortress walls, while Kuroda remains devoted to the samurai code and the obligations it demands. As they investigate the impossible murder together, their debates become just as engaging as the mystery itself, revealing two men whose convictions are continually challenged by the circumstances around them. Although the mystery provides the narrative's momentum, the real intrigue comes from watching loyalties unravel under the pressure of fear. The Samurai and the Prisoner occasionally lingers longer than necessary, but Kurosawa's assured direction and the strength of the central performances keep the film engrossing. More than a traditional samurai epic, it is a thoughtful meditation on justice, loyalty, and the scars left by war. Janus Films will release The Samurai and the Prisoner in select theaters on July 31st, followed by a nationwide expansion 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

No Other Choice September 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Man-soo has it all. A beautiful wife whom he can shower with expensive gifts, such as dance lessons and imported shoes. Two kids, one of whom is a cello prodigy. Two golden retrievers, each named after one of the kids. A nice house, the one he grew up in and poured his blood, sweat, and tears into when he rebought it once he had the money to do so. His company sends over an expensive eel for his family to eat, a thank-you present for the many years of loyal servitude. If this were a Christmas movie, the obviously impending bad times would be a wake-up call for Man-soo to take a step back and appreciate all that he has. But No Other Choice isn’t that type of film, and Man-soo is already very appreciative of the material and emotional wealth that he has. It’s what makes the words “no other choice” sting just a little bit more, and why he twists them into a comically sadistic motivational phrase for getting his life back on track. Those words are first used by an American businessman visiting Man-soo’s paper mill, a forewarning of upcoming layoffs. It turns out that the expensive eel was part of his severance package, a faceless and empty gesture to soften the blow. His self-imposed three-month unemployment period quickly becomes thirteen months, plunging the family into dire financial straits. The job he’s perfectly suited for at a different mill is currently filled by a yuppie, a resentful fact that leads Man-soo to seriously ponder killing him. But Man-soo is only one of several in an identical situation, with a few possibly even more qualified. So he pivots to the next best option: create a fake job posting to attract all his rivals, use that information to kill them off, kill the yuppie, and waltz into the open position. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKZpuG_ezvY This darkly comedic scenario is lifted from the 1997 American thriller novel The Ax by Donald E. Westlake, first adapted into a feature film by Costa-Gavras in 2005. Director Park Chan-wook has been a lifelong fan of the novel, an adaptation perpetually teased as his next project since he first publicly announced his intent back in 2009. Coupled with his staggeringly immense filmography, which includes international hits such as Oldboy , The Handmaiden , and Decision to Leave , Park’s further statement that it is a "lifetime project" elevated the bar just that much higher. Luckily, this is one of those circumstances where the right filmmaker meets the right story. Those decades of pent-up giddiness are evident in Park’s visuals. Crisp digital cinematography is punctuated by fluid camera movements, many of which astounded me in how they were able to pull it off. Even the opening of a mortgage default letter gets a camera swoop and zoom. And in a time when most filmmakers have a phobia of cell phones (looking at you, Robert Eggers…), Park embraces them with open arms. You can bring a surprising amount of characterization to the surface through the jolt of a sudden phone call or the tiny expressions during FaceTime. Although he’s attempting to circumvent the job market grind, Man-soo’s plan just perpetuates the cycle of rejection. The people that he’s killing are under the impression that they’re applying for a respected position, another glimmer of hope in a long series of misery. Park grants these men just as much compassion as he has for Man-soo, making the farce of these violent acts all the more tragic. The rich get richer, all while the poor literally kill each other for the ever-shrinking scraps. Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun reunites with Park a quarter century after their initial breakthrough in Joint Security Area . He continues Park’s trend of totally emasculating the desperately pathetic male lead, while also earning the pathos. Son Ye-jin rises as Mi-ri, the matriarch of the family, who, unlike everyone else, is allowed to be very conscious about choosing what path she wants to take. The pendulum between comedy and drama may swing a little too leniently towards the former, keeping the ball from fully leaving the park. Still, this is a stand-up triple from one of our best working directors, someone who continues to find more passion in his craft. You should always cherish someone who consistently makes movies with this caliber of entertainment and intelligence. This review was originally published from the North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Neon will release No Other Choice in select theaters on December 25th. 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

Magpie October 23, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Early on in Magpie , Annette (Daisy Ridley) feels trapped in her home in the English countryside. Her husband, Ben (Shazad Latif), is chaperoning their young actress daughter, Matilda, during a movie shoot. Playing Matilda’s on-screen mother is Alicia (Matilda Lutz), an actress who’s been involved in several tabloid sexcapades. Paparazzi snaps some photographs of her and Ben together on set, and Ben’s phone constantly buzzes from Alicia’s texts when he’s home. Annette stares at herself in the mirror, seeing nothing but a blank face. She presses her hands upon the glass, incrementally applying pressure until the whole thing shatters. The floor is a mess with shards, a few of them still stuck in her hands. But she doesn't seem to notice as the blood starts to drip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3XPcvInmE This scene is emblematic of director Sam Yates’ approach to the material. A veteran stage director, most notably for 2023’s Vanya starring Andrew Scott, Yates has dabbled a few times in film with some shorts and television. Magpie marks his feature directorial debut, and the results could be the start of a promising career. Nothing about his work is flashy (“flat” would be the derogatory term), but his approach to the material builds a tightly wound atmosphere. The gloominess of the setting, both literally and emotionally, is reflected in the cinematography. Distance and uncomfortable closeness are mixed for a revolving door of claustrophobia, with quite a few of those shots being reminiscent of the POV shots that Jonathan Demme made so famous in The Silence of the Lambs . It’s tough to distinguish between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in Annette and Ben’s relationship, an intentional blurring of the lines by screenwriter Tom Bateman. Similar to Yates, he’s making his feature screenwriting debut here, having previously appeared as an actor in Kenneth Branagh’s two initial Hercule Poirot films (he met Ridley on the set of Murder on the Orient Express ) and other British productions. The idea for this story came from Ridley herself, influenced by her experience as an on-screen mother in The Marsh King’s Daughter (at least something came out of that movie). Annette doesn’t want to jump to conclusions about Ben and Alicia’s relationship. And yet, it’s the only thing she can do as she sits at home looking after her newborn. There are hints of depression and manic behavior within her due to Ben’s past behavior. Bateman initially plants this as a potential conversation starter about the pressures of motherhood and buried trauma. That all gets morphed into something much more kitschy as time progresses, with late revelations making me laugh both with and at the movie. It wants to please you, even if that doesn’t please the movie as a whole. Ridley is fierce in the lead, maintaining a steely presence that keeps you on edge. There’s both sympathy and guilty pleasure you put upon her as she grapples with her domestic situation. Latif and Lutz display great confidence in their increasingly villainous roles. The whole thing feels like a throwback, while also having its cake and eating it too, about so many modern topics. It’s a delectable cake, with just a bit too much sugar added. This review was originally published from a screening at the 2024 Twin Cities Film Fest. Shout! Studios will release Magpie in theaters nationwide on October 25th. 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 Devil All the Time September 24, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen What do you get when you combine two orphans by parental suicide, a serial-killing couple, a pedophile preacher, a corrupt sheriff, and a town full of zealots? You get the darkest and most disturbing movie of the year. The newest Netflix movie, The Devil All the Time , is a sprawling tale of faith and violence that spans multiple generations within the Appalachian heartland of America. The story opens in 1945 as Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård) returns home to West Virginia from the Japanese front. He’s seen and done unspeakable things that he can only share with God. Willard has a young son named Arvin, whom Willard teaches that you must answer violence with violence. When the matriarch falls ill with cancer, Willard goes to extreme measures to test his faith in God and beg for her healing. These crazed acts by Willard leave a large impact on Arvin that resonates long after. After this brief segment, we jump years later and are introduced to the rest of the lowlifes and degenerates. Now a teenager, Arvin (played by Tom Holland) lives with his grandparents and Lenorrah, his pseudo-half-sister. Lenorrah’s mom died at the hands of her crazed preacher father when she was just a baby. Almost like a spiteful trick by the universe, a new young preacher comes into town with his eyes set on Lenorrah, even though she’s only fifteen years old. Stalking the country roads is the serial killing couple of Carl and Sandy, who like to take pictures of their victims before they cut them up. And then there’s Sandy’s sheriff brother, Lee, who isn’t afraid to bend the laws to enact his ideas of justice. There sure is a lot of movie within this movie... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzazUv2gtI Director and co-writer Antonio Campos takes all his separate characters and places them at different corners within the Bible-belt setting. Similar to how Quentin Tarantino constructs his stories, Campos gives each character their own slice of the story and, over time, begins to intertwine them. But even at 140 minutes, The Devil All the Time is too short to fit in all that it wants to deliver. The sheer amount of content it tries to cover forces the pacing to be rushed and the emotional payoffs to be underwhelming. Arvin is the only real character that we get enough time to make a connection with. The rest of the cast fill supporting roles, with some getting some standout scenes and others falling by the wayside. What also may or may not turn off viewers is the incredibly high amount of weight and ferocity put into the material. Campos doesn’t allow for a single moment of levity and only answers misery with more misery. The amount of physical and emotional torture inflicted upon these characters becomes too much at times, almost like Campos is testing his viewers to see how much they can take. But there still is a lot of good work here that deserves praise. Campos imbues each scene with a piercing atmosphere of terror and menace. Much of the sweat-infused imagery - shot in beautiful 35mm - instills feelings of dread that last beyond the credits. The scratching string-filled score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans also does a lot to darken the mood. There’s also a slew of strong performances throughout the all-star ensemble. Tom Holland plays against his Spider-Man type and turns in a surprisingly dark and heartfelt performance. Gone is his boyish charm as he gets his hands dirty on more than one occasion. Robert Pattinson - the next Batman - plays our lustful preacher. With his bright blue ruffled outfit and twangy Southern accent, Pattinson is a scene-stealer that you just can’t get enough of. Bill Skarsgård does a lot with his opening segment as he explores PTSD, faith, and fatherhood with his grounded performance. While somewhat underutilized, Eliza Scanlen as Lenorrah and Riley Keough as Sandy are great. Each brings emotional weight to their conflicted characters. The Devil All the Time is a mean and nasty film that bites off a lot more than it can chew. It might not work all the time, but the directional skill by Campos and the sheer talent of the cast keep this ultra-depressing story from falling completely off the tracks. Netflix will release The Devil All the Time in select theaters on September 11th, followed by its streaming premiere on September 16th. 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

Colony August 26, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Ten years after the smash hit Train to Busan (and six years after the extremely disappointing and forgettable sequel, Peninsula ), South Korean writer/director Yeon Sang-Ho returns to the land of the living dead with Colony . Just like they were on that speeding train, these zombies are extremely fast, aggressive, and agile. They love to leap after their prey, pulling off some acrobatic moves that would catch the eye of a few gymnastics coaches. It all starts rather simply at a biotech conference. Kang (Kim Jong-tae), the CEO of a leading bio company, is giving a presentation on a new bioengineered mold that communicates through a hive mind. He describes it as an "organic semiconductor," capable of adapting itself and everything connected to it in an instant. Of course, that all sounds fine and dandy as long as it's used responsibly. Seo Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan), a former employee who feels he's been cheated out of recognition for his discovery of this organism, decides to weaponize it. He injects the CEO with the mold, violently turning him into a bloodthirsty zombie whose sole mission is to bite and claw at people to spread the infection. One zombie becomes two, then four, then eight, and so on and so on. Within an hour, the whole building has been locked down to contain the hundreds now infected, with a few survivors trying to make their way out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je122ZNo6uw "Imperfect communication is the source of all tragedies" is Seo's reasoning for starting this chain reaction. How many horrible events throughout human history can be attributed to poor communication? How many lives have been lost? How much progress has been erased? The infected communicate through a shared brainwave, cutting through the walls put up by the complexity of language. They are a new version of humanity, all equal in the knowledge they possess. Think of the hive mind from Pluribus , with everyone being a lot gooier and more violent. Learning to communicate is a cohort of survivors, each fitting a specific archetype within a disaster movie. There's a nice old man who possesses more skills than meets the eye, a rude middle-aged business executive, annoying teenagers, a police officer who takes charge, and a conflicted main character who often provides the voice of reason. Most of them make dumb decisions that put themselves in further peril, usually stumbling around just as they're about to escape to safety. If not very fresh or interesting, Sang-Ho at least uses these characters to move us from one thrilling set piece to the next. The zombies undergo a logical evolution of their mental and motor skills. They learn that cardboard model cutouts aren't human, and that people have a distinct smell to them. The same tactic can't be used twice, leading to many different sequences where the survivors must use their wits to move past the growing horde. Eventually, it does start to get a little repetitive, with false flags being waved around too many times for us to believe in their trickery. Seo's role as an outright villain is a refreshing take, with Koo consistently playing him with a devilish grin. The scope enlarges once the army gets involved, focusing on the debate about how much attention should be paid to a few survivors when the outbreak could easily snowball to envelop the entire country. It's that mixture of brains and brawn that keeps Colony interesting from beginning to end. In our relentless pursuit to eliminate all that makes us different, we threaten to rid the world of uniqueness, creating a monoculture where a single way of thinking reigns supreme. In essence, we would all become zombies, doomed to walk the same path without an individual thought. Well Go USA Entertainment will release Colony in select theaters on August 28th. 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

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom December 21, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s hard to care, let alone write, about the incredibly uneventful Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom , the last gasp from the bloated, rotten corpse that is the DCEU. It’s a soaking wet mess, not from H2O, but from the sweat of editor Kirk M. Morri as he tried to stitch this Frankenstein’s monster of a production together into a tolerably cohesive “cinematic experience.” The reports of multiple reshoots, reedits, reconfigurations of timelines, and just overall studio meddling are apparent at every moment, with the final product sharing the same amount of creative energy as a used Toyota Corolla. As the most well-liked member during Zack Snyder’s time at the helm, it’s fitting that Jason Momoa’s Aquaman / Arthur Curry would be the one to usher this mega-franchise out the door. Writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (with story credits also given to director James Wan, Momoa, and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett) wastes no time getting this farewell train going, revealing that Arthur and Mera (Amber Heard) got married, had a son, and now rule over Atlantis as king and queen. Still present are Arthur’s parents, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and Tom (Temuera Morrison), as well as the allied King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3bqvOHRQo But for every hero, there must be a villain, with Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) still maintaining that position from the first film. This time, however, he’s made a deal with an underwater devil: Free this long-imprisoned enemy of Atlantis, and he will be bestowed with enough power to destroy Aquaman and everything he cherishes. Absolute power has corrupted absolutely, with Manta being blinded to the consequences his rage has on the environment. Blah blah blah… Arthur must learn what it means to be a king… blah blah blah… Patrick Wilson returns as Arthur’s half-brother Orm… blah blah blah… a giant battle commences… blah blah blah… the end. Look, we’re now 33 films deep in the MCU and 15 for the DCEU, so nothing can really be a spoiler anymore. We’ve truly seen it all, which was admittedly much shallower than I would have expected. But if you’ve developed short-term memory loss over these past few years or go full Velma and drop your glasses in the theater, you’re in luck, as this audiobook of a script doesn’t let anything go unnoticed through its relentless exposition. Whether it’s during a montage, a flashback, or just a regular scene, there’s always some sort of narration or formulaic plot-driven explanation. This might be one of the first blockbusters to treat the visual component of cinema as a secondary tool. And any visual flourishes here have been rendered naught by James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water last year (can you believe that these two films were at one point going to be released on the same day!). There’s no egregious VFX sloppiness, just a lot of uninspired uses for such a vast world. Also paling to Cameron is the clunky messaging about environmentalism and xenophobia, with some of Arthur's speeches coming dangerously close to the level of Steven Seagal in On Deadly Ground . Kidman and Abdul-Mateen II are too good to be doing this kind of thing (again), with Willem Dafoe being the lone lucky one who was able to get out of his contractual obligations. It should have been telling that no major additions were made to this cast, with only talks of departures and backdoor firings. That’s pretty much been the DC way these past ten years: don’t try much of anything new and endlessly fight with each other. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in theaters nationwide on December 22nd. 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 Friend March 28, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen I first saw The Friend as part of the Toronto International Film Festival back in September, squeezing it into my schedule on the final Saturday, making it the second-to-last film in my 37-film bonanza. I rushed over to the Scotiabank Theatre from the premiere of The Deb , scarfing down a corn dog as the festival volunteer rattled off the perfunctory introductory remarks. I then scurried out of the theater as soon as the credits began, my body and mind in go mode as I went a few blocks to catch the Midnight Madness screening of The Shadow Strays . What I just described in that four-ish hour chunk illustrates the sins of my gluttony when it comes to film festivals. In the race to see everything, many films become boxes to check off. The Friend was one of those films, largely due to the fact that it didn't grab me right away, making it easy to shrug off. But in the six months since then, it's lingered moderately well, raising my guilt as to how I originally treated it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Df2g0Gl6o If your best friend were to die and their will stipulated that you adopt their miniature horse, would you be able to do it? Let's also preface that question with the fact that you're not a pet person, and you have a rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan that prohibits animals in the building. This is the central question posed to Iris (Naomi Watts) after her best friend Walter (Bill Murray) suddenly dies from suicide. Now, Walter didn't own a literal miniature horse in New York City. No, that would be absurd. But he did have a 185-pound Great Dane named Apollo that he adopted in a spur-of-the-moment decision while he was out on a jog. Now that Walter is gone, the dog has no master and will be indefinitely impounded if Iris doesn't step up to the plate. Suddenly coming home with a horse-sized dog is not a surprising move for Walter. He's also got three ex-wives - Elaine (Carla Gugino), Tuesday (Constance Wu), and Barbara (Noma Dumezweni) - as well as numerous flings with current and former students. He's the Bill Murray type, the life of every party and a lovable headache for everyone who gets close to him, Iris included. Murray's casting is pretty spot-on compared to the description from Sigrid Nunez's novel (she also wrote What Are You Going Through , the basis for the recent Pedro Almodóvar film The Room Next Door ), and his larger-than-life presence is always felt despite his limited screentime. For as much as The Friend would seem like the typical "dog helps a depressed human land back on their feet" kind of film, the writer/director duo of David Siegel and Scott McGehee flips much of that script. Dogs may be known as man's best friend, which would also mean we're their best friend. You'd be depressed if your best friend unexpectedly committed suicide, so why wouldn't a dog? Apollo is played by the canine actor Bing, who showcases his immense skills as a thespian. Bing/Apollo doesn't have the wet eyes of your usual cinematic dogs, something that always felt like a bit of a cheat code to our hearts. His face is blank as he solemnly stares at Iris whenever she tries to command him; his sighs are heavy every time he plops down in her bed. Things still move in a pretty predictable pattern. Iris' initial frustrations eventually become opportunities for her to embrace the chaos and redefine her life. Watts is at her usual best, working with a sturdy supporting cast and a few standout cathartic scenes. Dog lovers are very much the target audience for this story, and I'm sure they're going to eat it up. But even if you're someone like me who is neither a pet person nor found myself immediately hooked by what's being sold, allow it to linger in the days and weeks that follow. Like adopting an animal, this is a long-term investment. Bleecker Street will release The Friend in select theaters on March 28th, followed by a nationwide expansion on April 04th. 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

Challengers April 12, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen If there’s one thing that Luca Guadagnino understands about sports, it’s the sex appeal. Muscles are perpetually firm and clenched, sweat hangs on the brow and slips off perfectly chiseled jaws, and outbursts of enthusiasm share the same primal feelings from the bedroom. It’s something that Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) alludes to early in Challengers , calling tennis “a relationship.” There are moments in a match where the competitors aren’t on Earth anymore; rather, they’re on another plane of existence, fully intertwined. Of course, Guadagino finding the eroticism in something shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his filmography. This is the same man who looked at a peach and knew just what to do with it in Call Me By Your Name , and also found a tender way to express the intersection between pleasure and violence in his (vastly superior) remake of Suspiria and Bones and All . There’s always a beautiful balance between every emotion within his films, pulling you in deep while also keeping you guessing at what’s going to happen next. Challengers follows that same strategy, with Guadagnino veering his sights away from the arthouse and into the multiplex with his most commercial project yet. But fear not any of you who think he’s “going Hollywood,” as there are still several moments where his poetic past merges with the visual panache that a studio allows. Take, for instance, the pivotal tennis match between Tashi’s husband Art (Mike Faist) and her former boyfriend/his former best friend Patrick (Josh O’Connor). The camera takes the form of all shapes and sizes, morphing seamlessly between the first-person viewpoints of the competitors, the tennis ball, and the spectators. Then the camera will swirl and burrow itself underneath the surface to give a worm’s eye view (I guess that’s the best way to describe it) of the action. It’s all so relentless and highly energizing, effortlessly capturing the kinetic rhythm of the match. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VobTTbg-te0 But how did we get to this match of former friends and lovers now turned enemies? It all began a little over thirteen years ago when Art and Patrick were dominating the doubles junior circuit in their senior year of high school. After one of the victories, they decide to hang back and watch the next match, which just so happens to feature Tashi Duncan, the most talked-about phenom on the scene. “It wasn’t even tennis, it was a completely different sport,” says Art, with both him and Patrick awestruck by her magnetism on and off the court. A litany of poke-and-jab flirtations continues throughout the night, capping with the beginning of a years-long ménage à trois. Through a series of tragedies and screw-ups, Tashi prematurely retires from tennis and takes up the position of Art’s coach and wife. Patrick goes his separate way on the professional tour, sporadically coming back into the fold to remind everyone of the good ol’ days. “When we were teenagers” is a line said by each of them to excuse the past, but none of them seems to be over it. One of the wonderful things about Justin Kuritzkes’ script (his feature debut!) is its ability to keep things fresh while dizzyingly spinning in circles. Much of that comes from the complex structure of the proceedings, almost emulating a Christopher Nolan-esque style by jumping back and forth within the thirteen years. One moment you’re on the court during the pivotal match, the next you’re in the Stanford dormitory, being given a clue to a payoff later down the road. There are no lines or roles for supporting players, just the central trio, meaning there’s a limited number of combinations for character interactions. There’s a snapping bite to much of the dialogue, which doesn’t try to emulate the pace of Aaron Sorkin's dialogue, but instead lets a moment hang between words. But when things do get rapid, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ incredible rave-like score is right there to push things over the edge. Not that there was much debate beforehand, but between Dune: Part Two and this, Zendaya has reached the level of a certified movie star. The confident vulnerability of Chani extends here, being combined with a physically athletic swagger. She’s a chess master forced to play with her hands tied behind her back, but that challenge only emboldens her flair. Faist steps into a role all fans of Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story dreamt of. He and O’Connor certainly level up with their work here, with a special mention also going to casting director Francine Maisler for recruiting performers who can seamlessly switch between the ages of 18 and 34. And Gudagnino certainly knows what people want to see with these actors on the court, incorporating almost as much slow-motion as Zack Snyder, something that I didn’t think was possible. In his ironically typical fashion, Guadagnino will quickly pivot from Challengers over to an adaptation of William S. Burroughs Queer , telling the story of an insecure and haunted gay former GI played by Daniel Craig. Consistency in subject matter and filmmaking techniques may not be in Gudagnino’s wheelhouse, but the outcomes always turn out the same: excellent. 2024 will surely be his year, and we’re all going to have a fun time basking in it. Amazon MGM Studios will release Challengers in theaters nationwide on April 26th. 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

Top 10 Films of 2025 (So Far) July 5, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Most years, I begin this list by commenting on how fast time flies when you're not paying attention to it. But this year has been anything but normal. Through a combination of several political, social, and economic factors, every second seemed to last an eternity. Unfortunately, the film industry followed that theme, failing to provide the same quantity of top-tier films that we're used to. I usually have to kill some darlings due to precious margin space. This year, I had to stretch a little bit, with most titles unlikely to repeat their placement on my end-of-year best list. Still, every film listed here is one that I enjoyed, and we should always be thankful for what we have. 10. Caught by the Tides Watching Caught by the Tides without seeing the rest of Jia Zhangke’s filmography is a bit like taking a test without doing any homework. Sparked by the limitations set by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese director decided to revisit two decades' worth of footage from his previous works, mixing and matching to create a documentary-fiction hybrid that explores a love story and China's social transformation. While largely incomprehensible for the uninitiated, it's still marvelously fascinating to watch it all weave together, kind of like a puzzle in a language you can't understand. 9. Presence To label Presence as a horror film feels a bit misleading. The scares are never in your face, with director Steven Soderbergh using his bold experimental camerawork to craft a voyeuristic feeling of unease. The actors are all fine, especially Callina Liang and Chris Sullivan, and the technical experiment is perpetually interesting. This is more than a VR experience, although it could be a more than worthwhile starting point for something of that caliber in the future. Full Review 8. Parthenope As evidenced by his previous works of Youth and The Great Beauty , the complexities of love, youth, and beauty are not newfound themes for Italian writer/director Paolo Sorrentino. Newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta is radiantly beautiful and intriguing in the lead role, imbuing Parthenope with much more depth than the script reluctantly presents. Even if this amounts to style over substance, the performances and overwhelming seductiveness are temptingly attractive. For Sorrentino, the style is just as much the substance as the substance itself. Full Review 7. Thunderbolts* The theme of Thunderbolts* is recovering from driftlessness through finding a purpose alongside friends and family. For as much as a gun or a fist can accomplish, some nice words and a hug can do a lot more. To be talking about ideas and themes instead of easter eggs and cameos is a breath of fresh air for the MCU, one that I dubiously hope that they’ll maintain as they wade into their ensuing behemoth chapters. Full Review 6. The Gorge The Gorge is a B-movie with A-level talent. Known for delivering grisly violence, one would think that the PG-13 rating here would tie director Scott Derrickson’s hands behind his back, but the interesting creature design and expert overall craftsmanship never let that thought occur. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross create an unsettling atmosphere through Cold War aesthetics. For those who have regularly played the Zombies game mode in the Call of Duty video game series and have longed for it to be brought to the silver screen, this is your dream come true. Full Review 5. Materialists It’s natural and odd that after writer/director Celine Song tenderly explored the concept of destiny and love in Past Lives , her follow-up takes a cold, hard look at the facts. Fortunately, Song still makes sure there are a lot of laughs to be had along with all the nonsense that is modern dating. But everything is funny because people are saying the quiet parts out loud, and deep down, we all know we do it too. Honesty is still the best policy, and Song continues to show that she’s a master of telling us how it is in the ways we want to hear it. Full Review 4. Sinners Shot and marketed with IMAX cameras akin to something only Christopher Nolan would do, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners plays big and tall as it spans both centuries and genres to tell a story you’ve never quite seen before. Coogler has illustrated a near-masterful skill for diffusing incisive social commentary into the muscular frame of a popcorn blockbuster. In a time when America is having an identity crisis (then again, when aren’t we?), Sinners looks back and forward with the gumption that only a wild premise such as this could achieve. Full Review 3. Black Bag The latter entry in this year’s David Koepp-Steven Soderbergh double feature, Black Bag illustrates that the greatest weapon in a spy’s arsenal is not a gun or some nifty gadget, but the ability to have an open conversation. Making the traditionally important aspects of a story the least interesting thing about them is a common practice for Soderbergh. That decision could, should, and would disappoint those looking to be greeted by the familiar trappings of the spy. But Soderbergh is always one step ahead, using subversion to his own benefit and ours. And even when you strip away all the fancy artistry and subtextual analysis, you’re still left with something extremely entertaining. Full Review 2. The Phoenician Scheme Wes Anderson is a lot like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At this point, you’re either in or you’re out. I’m so deep in the bag that it might as well be the one from Mary Poppins . I’ve seen a lot of films, and the majority of them all follow the same pattern. Anderson’s films certainly aren’t an exception, but there is always something magical about their sameness. And like Nicole Kidman always says: We come to this place [the cinema] for magic. Full Review 1. April Nowadays, almost every movie that brags that it needs to be seen in theaters is filled with extravagant visual effects and booming sound effects. The beauty of the cinema is not just in the sheer size of the speakers and screen, but the opportunity it gives us to break away from our world and be transported to a different one. Georgian writer/director Dea Kulumbegashvili has crafted a film where absolute patience and concentration are a prerequisite, with any glances at your phone or minor distractions at home stripping away the spellbinding effect. Between the unsettling abstract visuals at the beginning of the film and the brutal real-life truths about bodily autonomy, this is one of the most bone-chilling films of the year. After seeing it at TIFF 2023, The Beast was the wire-to-wire winner last year. I first saw April at TIFF 2024, and at this point, a miracle would need to occur so that it would not repeat that achievement. Full Review 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

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever November 9, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen To paraphrase James Cromwell’s Captain Dudley Smith from L.A. Confidential : “I wouldn't trade places with Ryan Coogler for all the whiskey in Ireland.” Just on a purely basic level, the bar for the sequel to the box office smash / Oscar-winning / pop culture phenomenon that was Black Panther was almost insurmountable. Add in the untimely death of lead star Chadwick Boseman and the overall decline in reception to the preceding bunch of Phase Four, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for an anxiety attack. To Coogler’s credit, he makes a valiant effort to craft something unique out of his unfortunate situation. It’s just that his efforts didn’t turn into results, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever feeling more like MCU entry #30 rather than a distinct work by a talented filmmaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z3QKkl1WyM Just as Boseman is tragically gone from this world, so is King T’Challa from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film opens with Shuri (Letitia Wright) unsuccessfully attempting to cure her brother of an unknown illness. She blames herself for his death, leaving her unable to properly grieve the loss. With Wakanda stripped of its chief protector, the superpowers of the world see an opportunity to seize their coveted vibranium resources, leading to hostile relations for Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) to deal with. But, as it turns out, vibranium is not solely located within Wakanda. It’s also found near the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean thanks to a detector built by MIT student and overall wunderkind Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). Unbeknownst to all, the underwater civilization of Talokan, led by the ankle-winged (an objectively silly concept) Namor, has observed the surface world for centuries and treats their underwater vibranium excursions as the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Namor wishes for Wakanda to join him on his crusade, but his request is swiftly denied. Knowing that the Wakandan forces are the only ones powerful enough to stop him, he wages war on the briefly vulnerable kingdom. The premise of Wakanda Forever is awfully by-the-numbers, especially when compared to its ever-interesting predecessor. The complex arguments from Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger have been replaced by surface-level (pun intended) anecdotes about how “humans are bad” by Namor, who falls far down the MCU villain power rankings. It also doesn’t help that his motives and the design of his underwater kingdom look and sound scarily similar to 2018’s Aquaman , which actually performed better on a technical level. Of course, James Cameron will probably have the last laugh with Avatar: The Way of Water next month. The blandness that Namor suffers from can also be found in Riri, aka Ironheart. Along with America Chavez from this year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Kate Bishop from Hawkeye , Riri fills the role of the “young protege who needs to be saved by the current hero so that she can take their place.” Florence Pugh’s Yelena remains the cream of that crop, with Riri being adequate, yet entirely forgettable. Still, there are many things that Coogler does within Wakanda Forever that give it just enough personality. One of those things is the emotional heft he conveys through T’Challa’s passing, with the talented cast more than up to the challenge. Wright effortlessly takes on a leading role in this story, and Bassett brings her signature gravitas to every bit of dialogue. Barring the final battle, which, like the first Black Panther , looks shockingly poor, and some off-putting uses of slow motion, the action set pieces are thrilling. Danai Gurira as Okoye remains a venerable badass, wielding her spear with fury. Her introduction out of the shadows is one of the countless beautiful shots. Even with all its shortcomings, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closes out a beleaguered Phase Four as one of its best entries thanks to its emotional honesty and quality action. Except that those commendable attributes are in service to a lacking plot and an (at this point, expectedly) uninteresting villain. This return to the land of Wakanda was a welcome one, but it could have been so much more fruitful. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters nationwide on November 11th. 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