Parthenope February 7, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen It may only be February, but Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope could very well take the cake as the most beautiful film of 2025. Early on in the famed Italian auteur’s newest film, the streets of Naples circa 1968 are bathed in the golden sunlight reflected off the water of the Mediterranean Sea. Men, women, and children populate every corner and avenue, all dressed in the works of Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of the luxury fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. At this moment, you understand exactly what Kate Hudson was singing and dancing about in Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of Nine . In those same waters eighteen years earlier, the titular Parthenope was born. Her godfather, the shipping tycoon boss of her father, gifted her a chariot from Versailles as a crib so that she could travel the world as she slept. He also insisted that the family name her after the mythological name of coastal Naples, bestowing her with thousands of years of blessings and curses. Like the streets in that opening, one of those blessings is her unparalleled beauty. Men start drooling like cartoon characters before going into a catatonic state just at the sight of her, and women understand that she puts them all to shame just by comparison. One of those slobbering dogs is Sandrino (Dario Aita), the son of her family’s maid. He’s fawned over her his entire life, even succumbing to sniffing her drying bathing suit just to get closer to a goddess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT5PGHBugic Despite Parthenope being aware of the power her beauty possesses, she isn’t sure how to best wield it. She keeps those ogling men at bay, all of them treating her as a trophy to acquire. They all ask her what she’s thinking, but they never listen to her response. When she rejects the advances of a rich man who makes inquiries from his helicopter, he lashes by saying “You’re not a big deal.” Film acting initially seems to be the best use of her talent, although the fate of every actress is never pretty. She eventually lands in academia, specifically anthropology, a natural fit considering her voracious reading habits and need to always have a ready answer for those inquisitive men. Academia is where Sorrentino steadies the sights of his screenplay for the rest of the runtime, ruminating on the complexities of love, youth, and beauty. As evidenced by his previous works, Youth and The Great Beauty , these are not newfound themes for Sorrentino. What’s new for the director is centering his epic tale on a woman, specifically in a time and place when women were rarely given the chance to do so. When Parthenope asks her father what would help lift him out of his depression, he selfishly looks her up and down and responds that a grandchild might help. While all of its ideas are communicated through the utmost sensuality in both the setting and performances, much of Sorrentino’s dialogue gets lost in its flowery translation. Their prettiness is what also makes them vapid, a contradiction to the ultimate goal of this story. It’s why the more direct conversations between Parthenope and author John Cheever (Gary Oldman), soaking his new novel in alcohol and repressed homosexuality, leave a more lasting impression despite their brevity. There is also the dichotomy between a writer/director insisting that a woman is more than just her beauty, only to indulge in lensing her as if she’s beckoning you to buy the newest line of perfume. 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. A24 will release Parthenope in select theaters on February 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

Blade Runner 2049 October 11, 2017 By: Button Hunter Friesen Blade Runner 2049 is a slow and complex film that yet again tackles what it means to be human, lifting the Blade Runner series to new heights. The plot is new and doesn’t follow the usual sequel tropes, the acting is superb, and the production is first-class. Denis Villeneuve has performed the rare feat of making a worthy sequel to a beloved and influential cult classic. The plot of Blade Runner 2049 takes its time to unravel and demands strict focus to fully grasp every detail to piece the puzzle together. In the year, you guessed it, 2049, Officer K tracks down the replicant Sapper Morton, who is living out his life as a lonely farmer. While investigating the farm he finds a box with the skeleton of a woman. After examining the remains, we discover the woman died during childbirth and was a replicant. Replicants being able to have children wasn’t considered possible and could potentially create a widespread panic in the population. K is sent on a hunt to find and eliminate the replicant child before anyone else finds out. His journey leads him to meet with old and new faces such as the enigmatic replicant creator Neander Wallace and retired blade runner Rick Deckard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcx85zbxz4 The story plays out almost like procedural crime drama but is way better than anything you would find on television. We follow Officer K as he uses his detective skills and clues to figure out the history of the replicant child. We take breaks in between to see inside his private life and how his life experiences have made him who he is. The one problem with the plot is the pacing for the film's final third. The film carries a 163 runtime, slowly feeds you information, and builds the plot for the first two hours. It then feels like the final act needs to be quicker and leaves too early for us to fully comprehend and appreciate what is going on. Just like the first Blade Runner , this film questions the idea of what it means to be human. We as humans in the real world see man as rational and capable of making the right decisions for the common good. In the film, we see man coexisting with replicants, with some replicants exhibiting more human traits than actual humans. You feel more for them than our kind because of the situation they are forced into and how they must deal with their short and hopeless lives. Fans and appreciators of the original will undoubtedly enjoy this sequel as it dives deeper into the dystopian future and builds upon the ideas Ridley Scott proposed to us way back in 1982. Denis Villeneuve continues this question flawlessly and keeps the mystery and intrigue flying the whole way. You can feel the influences and connection between Villeneuve's last film Arrival as we follow the main character as they struggle to grasp and understand the different world around them. The biggest and best thing about this film is the masterful cinematography done by the legendary Roger Deakins. This is the third collaboration between Deakins and Villeneuve after Sicario and Arrival . Each shot is beautifully crafted and contains a whole story about the world we see. Seeing this film in IMAX will be worth your time and money. The most memorable shot comes when K is slowly walking through the red desert of Las Vegas and we see the destruction and unknown landscape he is entering. Deakins will receive an Oscar nomination (would be his fourteenth!) for his work and be in contention for his first statue. Complementing the breathtaking visuals is the amazing score done by Jóhann Jóhannsson , Hans Zimmer, and Benjamin Wallfisch . These three composers have created a soundtrack that not only perfectly fits the futuristic setting, but also philosophical ideas presented during the film. The music is made for you to think about the world we live in and the things surrounding us. The highlight of the soundtrack also comes from the looming desert walk scene, where a string of booming noises disorients us from the world and we are exploring with fear and intrigue just like K. The acting in this film is remarkable and outperforms almost every action blockbuster. Ryan Gosling gives a career-best as Officer K, a character having trouble figuring out his place in the world and coming to grips with his investigation. His performance here is comparable to his character in Drive , brooding and mysterious, but still, a very interesting character that we enjoy watching. While Deckard isn’t as interesting as Officer K, Harrison Ford does a solid job as a supporting character bridging the gap between the two films. Jared Leto is also great as the dark Neander Wallace. He barely gets any screen time but leaves a great impression on his role in the story. Great supporting performances also come from Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks, and Ana de Armas. Blade Runner 2049 is an excellent sequel to a cult classic that carries the story forward while keeping the same ideas and themes fresh and exciting. This film should be experienced and appreciated just as highly as the original. Villeneuve has entered the highest realm of great 21st-century directors alongside Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and other visionaries. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Blade Runner 2049 in theaters nationwide on October 06th. 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

Mufasa: The Lion King December 17, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Mufasa: The Lion King is a terrible sequel, a half-decent prequel, and a continuation of the failed excuse for the flawed existence of this version of the iconic story of the animal kingdom. Those may be harsh words to fling at a children’s film, but that’s what the property deserves when it trades its soul and respectability for cash. And that’s not even considering the fact that Barry Jenkins, writer/director of such foundational films of this era as the Best Picture-winning Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk , got roped into this, years of his finite career gone for nothing more than a commercial for merchandise and theme park attractions. Of course, it’s wrong of me to sit here and armchair theorize about the reasons for Jenkins’ position as the film’s director. This is a free market after all, and the pitfalls of the film industry have been made so clear since its inception that it would be foolish to judge someone for accepting work on the biggest stage. And there’s no denying that Disney hired the best possible candidate for the job, a visionary whose presence at the helm was the sole reason I ventured back into this photorealistic version of Africa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17MF9vnabg Neither party comes out of this project having harnessed their full potential. Jenkins, a filmmaker with a masterful understanding of quiet observation, finds himself saddled with a story that always feels the need to be loud to resonate with audiences, specifically the younger ones. Case in point: the entire sequel subplot that is the shell to the nut of this story. Donald Glover and Beyoncé reprise their roles as Simba and Nala, respectively. Well, “reprise” would be a strong word considering the latter speaks less than ten words, shifting the focus of the future onto the lioness princess Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter). While Mom and Dad are away, she hears the origin story of her grandfather Mufasa from Rafiki… with some additional thoughts by Timon and Pumbaa. Between the strain of removing Simba and Nala as quickly as possible and the constantly unfunny gag of Timon and Pumbaa’s fourth-wall-breaking interjections, this section is ripe for removal, or, at the very least, fast-forwarding once this lands on Disney+. It would certainly help trim the fat off this 120-minute beast and maintain the dramatic heft of the prequel storyline. The past finds Mufasa as a lost cub, taken in by another pride of lions and given a brother named Taka, heir to the throne. The story of Moses and Rameses continues from there, with a great journey forcing Mufasa to face his destiny as king despite his hesitancy to ascend past his adopted brother. A few members of Jenkin’s usual crew came with him for this blockbuster. Cinematographer James Laxton finds more life in both the vast landscapes and the faces of his feline subjects. The hyperrealism of the visual effects has been slightly toned down, lessening (but not eliminating) the nagginess of the uncanny valley. Dave Metzger’s music backs up a race sequence between Mufasa and Taka that finds the magic and power of the original film, the cubs sprinting through the grass and ascending jagged rocks and trees. The music cedes itself to cues from Zimmer’s original track from there on out, a crutch to rekindle those nostalgic feelings. Wholly original are the lyrical songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, although none reach the exceedingly high bar that the famed multi-hyphenate songwriter has set for himself. Adding insult to injury is their placement within the story, many shoe-horned at the worst possible moment. Did we really need a chintzy tune about how evil the main villain (Mads Mikkelsen) is right before he murders a peaceful pride of lions? All of these less-than-ideal elements make it seem as if we’re settling. We already did a near-perfect version of this story thirty years ago (and subsequent variations of it on VHS) with a quarter of the runtime, so what could be accomplished now? If someone like Jenkins can’t find that much-needed spark, then it truly is time to throw in the towel. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Mufasa: The Lion King in theaters nationwide on December 20th. 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

Inside March 14, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Between the fish in the aquarium and the pigeon with a broken wing on the patio, there’s plenty of on-the-nose symbolism surrounding Willem Dafoe’s character’s situation within Inside , a film that never lacks for imagery, but seldom brings it above the surface. “Cats die, music fades, but art is for keeps,” Dafoe narrates as he prepares to perform a high-stakes burglary within a luxurious Manhattan penthouse. The owner appears to be an uber-rich art collector, with several of his prized pieces fetching a high asking price on the black market. The initial snatch-and-grab goes off without a hitch, that is, until Dafoe’s hacker accomplice mistakenly trips the alarm at the last minute. The apartment shuts down into defense mode, trapping Dafoe in a gilded cage filled with bountiful treasures, but no way to get them out. The resourceful thief must rely on his wits and resourcefulness to endure the isolation, as there’s no way to tell when he might be able to get out. In a cruel twist of fate, the apartment is filled with more paintings than food and running water, turning this once lavish paradise into a barren wasteland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjODCllZj4w With next to no other in-person cast members and taking place on entirely one set, Inside may as well be confused as a member of the pandemic-era club of tiny movies that were able to be filmed while abiding by the strict safety protocols. Such members include Sam Levinson’s misbegotten Malcolm & Marie , the James McAvoy & Sharon Horgan-starring Together , and Judd Apatow’s “I shed two tears every time I mention it,” The Bubble . Luckily, Inside is nowhere near as infuriating or as limited as those films, but it may not be all that memorable. Director/co-writer Vasilis Katsoupis, marking his narrative feature debut, displays a knack for crispy imagery. The sharp edges of the high-end furniture and décor give off the vibe of a cold prison, with the thief’s hierarchy of needs being changed by the day. The television has a CCTV feed, with one of the cameras being pointed at a cleaning lady eating her sandwich during her lunch break. The thief looks with lust toward the sandwich, with all the high-priced surroundings worth nothing in comparison. Eventually, Inside becomes a game of Chekhov’s Symbol, as every perfectly framed image and use of color is required to profoundly mean something. It would have made for an interesting puzzle if the pieces weren’t so easy to put together and the ending picture was anywhere close to being worth more than the sum of its parts. Dafoe never lets the act of putting those pieces together seem dull, with his quiet intensity and surprisingly physical athleticism making for an interesting outward character study. Along with Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton, he has amassed one of the most interesting careers of the past few decades, seamlessly moving between large-scale Hollywood productions and offbeat indies. If anything, Inside serves as a nice appetizer of Dafoe before the main course is served by Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos later this year with Asteroid City and Poor Things / Kinds of Kindness , respectively. The bluntness of Inside doesn’t make an immediately rewatchable experience, nor does the ho-hum narrative make for an immediate reason to see it in the first place. Katsoupis tries his best to make his film a work of art. But just like all the pieces hanging on the walls within the apartment, his work will quickly get tossed away in favor of anything that offers more sustenance. Focus Features will release Inside in theaters nationwide on March 17th. 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 Batman March 7, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen It can be quite difficult these days to parse through the DC Cinematic Universe. While Marvel has been steady as she goes for nearly a decade and a half, DC has puttered along, shooting misfire after misfire. Man of Steel was certainly not the way things should have started, and neither was Justice League the way things should have come together. And then there’s the whole debacle around Zack Snyder’s Justice League (is it canon, or just a director’s cut?) and The Suicide Squad , which is somehow both a reboot and a sequel. Somewhere during their productions, Warner Brothers decided they should differentiate their slate from Marvel by producing smaller-scale, filmmaker-focused films (no disrespect to Marvel, but there isn’t a single film in their universe with a clear authorial voice). First came Todd Phillips' Joker , which, for better and for worse, made quite the statement. The next is Matt Reeves’ The Batman , which steps outside of the current cinematic universe hellscape and exists on its terms as an ultra-dark and ultra-noir-inspired thriller. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqft2x_Aa4 Batman has been fighting crime for close to two years now, with not much to show for it. The streets are still filled with garbage, both in the form of flesh and debris. The criminals may fear Batman, but not enough to stop committing crimes altogether. So, the endless cycle of carnage continues. That is until a new face appears on the block in the form of The Riddler, who’s brutally murdering Gotham’s top officials, and also murders their reputations by exposing their scandals to the public. As his name would suggest, the culprit leaves behind riddles addressed “To the Batman,” made to mock The Caped Crusader as he pieces together this intricately pieced puzzle. Just like Phillips took (a little too much) inspiration from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy when crafting his character study of the mentally insane for Joker , writer/director Matt Reeves borrows heavily from the work of David Fincher, particularly Se7en and Zodiac . The Riddler may as well be the Zodiac killer, as Paul Dano’s performance channels the character’s brilliance and insanity. The tension he builds is unparalleled and makes you feel that you're witnessing someone who’s truly gone off the deep end. And with a runtime just five minutes shy of three hours, The Batman has plenty of time to unravel its grand mystery. It’s a thickly layered plot tracing corruption back to the days of Thomas Wayne. The best compliment that I can give any comic book movie is that even if you replace the superheroes with regular people, you still have an interesting story to tell. It’s something that Christopher Nolan was able to accomplish with his Dark Knight trilogy, as well as Sam Raimi with his Spider-Man films. Things may get lost in the shuffle from time to time here, and the ending may leave a bad taste in your mouth, but there’s a lot to love on the page. But with Robert Pattinson as Batman, it’s hard to imagine him not in this movie, as he delivers yet another undeniable performance. Nearly every actor cast as Batman has had their fair share of naysayers, from Michael Keaton to Ben Affleck. With this role, Pattinson is finally able to show the general public his true talent, with most casual moviegoers remembering him only as the sparkly vampire from the T wilight series. Pattinson has always excelled at playing uncomfortable characters, with his work on Good Time and The Lighthouse being prime examples. There’s a restless edge to his version of Batman, something that's been eating away the character’s soul after years of sleepless nights. And in those nights, DP Greig Fraser, hot off his Oscar nomination for his work on Dune , crafts some immaculate imagery. Silhouettes and shadows haunt the dark city streets, with the neon lights drenched in rain providing stark contrast. This is not just one of the best-looking comic-book movies, it’s one of the best-looking movies ever. Fraser does get help from Production Designer James Chinlund, who seamlessly merges New York and Chicago architecture to make Gotham the cesspool that it is. At its core, The Batman is not much of a Batman movie, and that’s what makes it so great. Reeves has taken all the familiar trappings and given them a fresh new look. It may only be March, but the bar for the rest of the films this year just got raised a bit higher. And unlike every other DC film to come out in the past couple of years, I’m excited to see where this story goes next. Warner Bros. Pictures will release The Batman in theaters nationwide on March 4th. 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 Whale September 12, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen There’s a lot to be both worried about and interested in The Whale . For starters, Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, while met with critical acclaim, has been the center of several think pieces on the use of “fat suits” within performance art. The use of suits has often been used to mock a certain character, almost making a spectacle out of their obesity. But there is some nuance to this issue, as the goal of using the suit on Brendan Fraser in The Whale is much more admirable than say Mike Meyers wearing it as Fat Bastard in the Austin Powers movies, or Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor . Fraser’s donning of heavy prosthetics and makeup adds to his character’s physical and emotional downfall and isn’t a cheap tactic to get the audience's attention. I’ll admit, it is nearly impossible to look away from him, especially when he stands up and makes his way around his dingy apartment, which has been rigged up to cater to his physical needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWiQodhMvz4 The Whale also marks the return of director Darren Aronofsky following a brief sabbatical after the extreme divisiveness of 2017’s Mother! , which included an F Cinemascore, a few undeserved Razzie nominations, and spots on a few critics’ (mine included) end-of-year Top-10 lists. Given Aronofsky’s other works, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler , and Black Swan , claiming that The Whale is his most emotionally devastating film yet is quite the statement. And like all his films, The Whale contains both theatricality and cinematic flair. Sometimes they clash together for scenes that feel artificial and emotionally manipulative, and sometimes they come together to create something revelatory, such as the final scene, where not a single dry eye was left in the theater. Fraser stars as Charlie. He works as an online university English teacher to hide his appearance, doing so by claiming his webcam is always broken. He’s been holed up in his apartment for years now, eating himself away because of the depression he feels over the sudden death of his partner, Alan. The only human contact he has is with his nurse Liz (Hong Chau), whose reminders of how his unhealthy lifestyle is rapidly dwindling his remaining years fall on deaf ears. Eventually, more people come into Charlie’s tragic life, including his seventeen-year-old daughter Ellie, now estranged from him after he left her and her mother for Alan. And there’s also Thomas, a member of a local church who wants to help Charlie find God before he perishes. Along with last year’s No Sudden Move and his ongoing work in the cult series Doom Patrol , Fraser has entered a new renaissance period of his career. He may no longer be the blockbuster leading man he once was, but he’s proven to be game for whatever the material asks of him. The role of Charlie is a demanding one, forcing Fraser to be physically limited and emotionally open. He earns so much of our sympathy, beckoning for some basic respect for his situation and for compassion to overcome hate. He is also able to ably dodge some of the material’s excessiveness, which sometimes gets in the way of the younger performers of Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins. There’s a profound amount of beauty within The Whale , often unlocked by Fraser’s mesmerizing performance and Rob Simonsen’s score. Aronofsky has continually been able to revitalize (Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream ) and or solidify (Natalie Portman in Black Swan ) the career of his leading stars, and he’s done so again with The Whale . This review was originally published from the North American premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. A24 will release The Whale in select theaters on December 09th, followed by a nationwide expansion on December 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

The Marvels November 8, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Marvels comes to us suffering from a clear case of the “yes… buts.” It’s a rapidly progressive disease that’s been plaguing many MCU projects now that we’ve reached the middle age of this mega-franchise. Let’s run down all the places this disease is showing. Yes, the special effects look better than the unfinished slop within Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania … but they still somehow look worse than the majority of what's come before. Yes, the central trio of Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani share great chemistry… but much of their time is spent delivering inanely convoluted exposition about why this movie needs to exist. Yes, the fight choreography is pretty creative when the heroes fully harness their powers… but it gets pretty choppy whenever the camera isn’t in a wide shot. Yes, the main villain has a semi-compelling justification for her actions… but that reasoning happens offscreen, and her plan involves yet another skybeam. This list could fill the rest of this review… but that would be as interesting as having yet another debate over whether superhero fatigue is real or not (see what I did there?). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS_qbDztgVY I hope you aced your Kree and Skrull history exams because you’re going to need all your knowledge to understand the machinations of what’s happening here. I'm not up to date on current events (a symptom of not caring about the television shows), so there may be some tiny gaps in this retelling. But I doubt there are many people left who could fully comprehend and connect the dots anymore. There’s been a war between the Kree and Skrull that has left both sides in ruin: The Kree’s homeworld is desolate, and the Skrull are discriminated refugees. The leader of the Kree, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), has come upon a powerful bengal that gives her the strength of a god, more than enough to rally her armies and steal the natural resources of the neighboring planets. The uncovering of this Bengal has created a wormhole in time and space, entangling the powers of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). This trio must overcome the learning curve and work together if they want to stop Dar-Benn and save the countless lives being affected by her reign. Talented indie director Nia DaCosta takes over from duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who always seemed out of their element in a $150+ million behemoth. DaCosta fares a little better at the helm, keeping things zippy as we move from one planet to another, some of which I would have liked to spend a little more time at. She does have the benefit of a warmly welcomed shortened runtime (105 minutes) and no need to tell a boilerplate origin story for any of these characters. Even with all those “character-building” requirements out of the way, the character of Captain Marvel remains blandly two-dimensional. She has the same curse as DC’s Superman: Too powerful to feel like any villain is a threat, which forces the writers (DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik) to create a potential universe-ending catastrophe, which has become so tiring at this point. Larson has a clear grasp on the smaller character moments, even overcoming some of the shoddy greenscreens that she’s forced to deliver them on. But her attempts at humorous quips and iconic lines feel forced, almost as if she’s still not comfortable fully embracing this persona. Someone who has welcomed her cape is Iman Vellani. She’s Peter Parker to Larson’s Tony Stark, a bright young hero who wants to do good in the world, but just doesn’t know what her place is. There are a few moments clearly inspired by her show, a necessary boost of youthful energy to lift the spirits of the more professional adults. Parris (reuniting with DaCosta after Candyman ) greatly benefits from the work she put into WandaVision , with this being a further fleshing out of her character. All that can be said about The Marvels is that it is passably fine. It’s not bad enough to be a catalyst in the downfall of the MCU, nor is it good enough to be its savior (not that one movie should bear that unfathomable struggle). It inoffensively slots in with the rest of the forgettable middle-of-the-pack entries, rarely to be talked about again. Mission accomplished, I guess? Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release The Marvels in theaters nationwide on November 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

The Legend of Ochi April 21, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Before the (digital) film reel started spooling to unveil the story of The Legend of Ochi , first-time feature writer/director Isaiah Saxon gave a brief introduction via a video message set in what could only be assumed as one of the Romanian filming locations. Speaking in a comedically hushed tone, the filmmaker stated that he made this film for children and that their intelligence rarely gets the respect it deserves from Hollywood. Maybe it was just because I had seen A Minecraft Movie a week prior and had my brain fried from the TikTok toilet humor, or the fact that the largely adult-oriented distributor A24 is finally breaking into the realm of children’s entertainment, but Saxon’s words really resonated with me. Here is a film for children that is explicitly meant to be engaged with on both an emotional and intellectual level, and not just a vessel for memes and merchandise. Of course, I say all this and can immediately see that A24 has littered their online shop with Ochi swag and ironically posted about it everywhere on social media. I guess we can’t always get everything that we want… Unfortunately, it’s way more interesting to think and discuss what The Legend of Ochi represents than it is to talk about what happens between minute one and minute ninety-six. For as much as Saxon finds himself clearly inspired by the darker children’s films of yesteryear like The NeverEnding Story , Labyrinth , and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , there’s never a moment where the weight of comparison doesn’t fully crush this lush tale. Take, for instance, the premise of the young girl Yuri (Helena Zengel) growing up in a remote village in the Carpathian mountains. She has a strained relationship with her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), and has been told her whole life that the local wildlife that goes by the name of the Ochi only live to feed on the flesh of the living. All day and night, Maxim marches up the mountains, rabble-rousing and training the local youth to hunt down these creatures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jTFLg3arYU Being that she has a general distrust of her dad, Yuri doesn’t buy into the jingoistic fervor. And it also only takes one non-gun-related meeting with these creatures to convince her that they aren’t as dangerous as she’s been told. One of the babies got caught in a trap and has been separated from its family, a feeling that Yuri figuratively feels every day. That connection spurs them on a quest for reunification and self-discovery. In this momentary void between the television hiatus of The Mandalorian and its 2026 film continuation, the titular baby Ochi has kicked Baby Yoda / Grogu off its perch at the top of the animatronic cuteness pedestal. Fully operated by hand, this monkey-ish puppet features solid black eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and a lovely bright orange coat of fur. When seen from a distance in the dead of night, one could almost forgive Maxim for duping himself into thinking these creatures are evil. But just as it does for any living creature, the sun illuminates our best features. There’s a loveliness to seeing the Ochi move with a little bit of jerkiness, as sanding off the artificiality with visual effects would have made it seem even more fake. Saxon surrounds his humans and puppets in a world of matte paintings and sets possibly borrowed from Midsommar . He’s already been forced to stave off unfounded claims of AI usage, and I fear he’ll be forced to continue that defense as more eyes are placed upon the film. I’ll admit, the imagery within the film does have a striking resemblance to those demo reels that float around social media, preaching that technology has unlocked a new age of filmmaking. Along with the fact that it was filmed in 2021, before any of this AI nonsense was a serious threat, Saxon’s argument stems from the love and sweat put into his craft, which is always visible on the screen. But that love Saxon has for his work is never felt by us, with everything feeling more like an aesthetic than a fully realized world. The emotional coldness doesn’t help to bridge that gap either; David Longstreth’s score does all of the communicating. Because of this, I fear that Saxon’s intended adolescent audience is unlikely to discover and commit to the task that this film lays before them. It’s foolish and unfair for one film to be beset with the expectation that it’ll reinvigorate a largely stagnant subgenre, although the words from the creatives and marketers certainly have set themselves up for that. Saxon has certainly earned another go-around, so perhaps that will contain the spark that sets all of this ablaze. This review was originally published from a screening at the 2025 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. A24 will release The Legend of Ochi in theaters nationwide on April 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

Nyad October 20, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s not hard to see why documentary directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin found themselves attracted to the story of Diana Nyad. With their Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo , the duo introduced (at least to the public at large) the character of Alex Honnold. He’s reckless, charismatic, and someone polite people would call a “free spirit.” Having that much of a personality dangling on the side of a rock hundreds of feet in the air is a combination made for the cinema. It was a film you had to see on the big screen, with the stunning imagery and stakes making it a thrill ride to rival even the most high-octane blockbuster. Diana Nyad seemed to cut from the same cloth as Honnold. She came to prominence in the 1970s, setting several world swimming records, such as the fastest time ever in the 22-mile Gulf of Naples race and swimming the 28 miles around the island of Manhattan in just under 8 hours. She’s someone who doesn't understand the word “no,” which does make her quite the asshole to her friends and trainers, as they often beg her to see the consequences of her illogical actions. For all her trophies and achievements, one thing has always eluded her: The 101-mile swim from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida. She wasn’t able to do it in her 20s; she’ll be damned if she can’t get it done in her 60s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3anCgVSQb3Q It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening plays Nyad, who finally accomplished her treacherous swim after four failed attempts. There’s no denying, or shame in admitting, that this is a role tailor-made to get Bening her overdue trophy. It’s an extremely challenging role, both physically and emotionally. She’s not that nice a person, being bossy and always pushing everyone around. But Bening never lets you outright hate her, as you’re always aware that she can do something no one else can, and the only way to accomplish it is to break a few eggs. Much of the film is set in the water during Nyad’s various attempts. The problem is that swimming is a bit like running in that it’s not the most cinematically engaging sport to watch. I’m oversimplifying things quite a bit (like all movies), but there’s not much of a visual difference between Nyad’s failures and successes. You see her in the water pushing herself to the extreme, yet you don’t feel it deep down like you should. Much of that has to do with the flatly competent direction by Vasarhelyi and Chin, who are making their feature narrative debut here. Outside of the somewhat jarringly stitched-together sizzle reels that feel lifted right from their documentaries, the pair never can bring this story out of the water, which is quite the shame considering the talents of Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi, Top Gun: Maverick ) were at their disposal. There’s a hollowness to the story and characters. Writer Julia Cox can’t find more within the character of Diana Nyad that Bening doesn’t do herself. It’s impressive to see Nyad make these attempts, but at some point, we all ask ourselves why she’s doing it, and the answers are both unclear and unsatisfactory. Helping carry Bening’s baggage is an excellent Jodie Foster as her best friend and trainer, Bonnie. It may be because she’s always sharing scenes with a person who seems like a fish out of water, but Foster/Bonnie is the unexpected heart and soul of the film. Nyad is stuck in an awkward middle ground. It doesn’t possess enough cinematic spectacle to be a Netflix original that deserves to be seen in the theater. It also doesn’t have enough energy or interesting characters to hold people’s attention as they watch it on the couch. There will be some that get a lot out of this, but for most, including me, this feels like an untapped opportunity for almost everyone involved. This review was originally published from the international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release Nyad in select theaters on October 20th, followed by its streaming premiere on November 03rd. 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

First Man October 15, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen What do we as Americans really know about Neil Armstrong? Everyone can say that he was the first man to set foot on the moon, but what else? Most of us would be left blank and stuck, realizing that we know so little about one of the most important American figures of the twentieth century. Stepping in to remedy this problem is director Damien Chazelle with his new film First Man . Instead of solely focusing on the moon landing, Chazelle decides to center the story on Armstrong. Spanning from 1961 to the 1969 landing, First Man daringly attempts to entertain and educate its audience about the trials and tribulations that one man went through in the name of human exploration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSoRx87OO6k Hot off winning the Academy Award for Best Director in 2016 with La La Land , the thirty-three-year-old Chazelle again makes his case for being one of the best directors working today. He reteams with his La La Land cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, and the results are spectacular. The imagery of the film is engrossing and stirs a wide range of emotional responses. To give the film a 60’s look and feel, Chazelle opts to use a more grainy camera filter rather than the traditional smooth. He also uses a multitude of handheld close-ups to try to keep the story emotional and character-driven. As a space film, First Man more than delivers on the action and pushes the boundary on how movies can convey the overall experience of space travel. Chazelle shifts to IMAX cameras in space and fills the screen with both beauty and menace. The camera violently shakes as the rocket blasts off, engulfing us in the terrifying moment. Then everything steadies, and the awe of outer space is revealed. It’s a balancing act that perfectly captures the immense danger that was involved in order to reach new heights. Chazelle also reteams with his regular composer Justin Hurwitz, who gives a compelling soundtrack that perfectly complements the film. The best part comes during the lunar landing scene when a constant hard-charging drum beat takes over as the only sound we hear. Even though the outcome is already known, it’s still the most nerve-wracking part of the film. The one area where First Man struggles to make its mark is in the writing department. Josh Singer pens the script, based on the novel by James Hansen. The writing does well at establishing Armstrong in the beginning. He’s quiet and a bit standoffish, but also very loving. We see him as a family man, one who’s struggling to balance his piloting dreams with the welfare of his wife and kids. However, after the first act, not much time is spent on developing Armstrong’s character. The rest of the film centrally focuses on the mission straightforwardly. The years go by, but we hardly see any change in his character. This lack of an arc goes against Chazelle’s intentions and undermines the great work he does to connect us to the characters. It also restricts the core theme of the film from being achieved, as very little about Armstrong is actually revealed by the end. Marking his second time working with Chazelle, Ryan Gosling is spectacular as Neil Armstrong. Gosling plays against type and delivers a solemn and heroic performance. The camera is pressed to his face the whole time as we watch his perilous journey unfold on Earth as well as above it. Gosling controls each scene with his blank face and calmly keeps the audience connected to him. Playing Janet Armstrong is The Crown star Claire Foy, who trades in her British accent for a Texan one. Foy provides the emotion of the film as she plays the nervous wife who just wants to see her husband come home safely. She shares some great scenes with Gosling as their characters try to cope with the dangers of attempting history. Rounding out the A-list cast are Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, and Corey Stoll. Each one of them plays an important supporting character in Neil’s story. They all give commendable performances as they play well off of Gosling and Foy. Boldly going where no one has gone before, Damien Chazelle has changed the way space movies should be made. His expert use of all facets of production raises the bar for the future of commercial filmmaking. The combination of his powerful directing and the outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy lifts First Man off the ground and into the upper echelon of both space films and biopics. Universal Pictures will release First Man in theaters nationwide on October 12th. 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

Armageddon Time May 26, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen In the words of Mugatu from Zoolander : “Directors making their own autobiographies, it’s so hot right now.” Of course, a regarded filmmaker telling their life story isn’t exactly a brand new concept. François Truffaut did it with The 400 Blows , and so did Federico Fellini with Amarcord . But just like skinny ties and baggy beanies, the fad went away for a while. That was until 2018, when Alfonso Cuarón made it cool again with Roma , which earned him a trio of Oscar statuettes, including Best Director. Now it’s become a genre itself, with directors churning out cine memoirs at a pace that rivals the MCU. There’s been Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast , Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2 , Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God , Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo (I’m not going to spell out the whole title, it hasn’t earned that gesture yet), Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir films, and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans . And now, after venturing out into the Amazon jungle for The Lost of Z and deep space for Ad Astra , writer/director James Gray returns home to Queens, New York, for Armageddon Time . Apart from being a homecoming to the location that housed his first five films, Armageddon Time also serves as Gray’s return to the Croisette after almost a decade away. It’s his fifth time competing for the Palme d’Or, and, based on the quality of this film, I’d say it’s his best chance yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLu3t-G9Do Banks Repeta (in his first major role after appearances as younger versions of characters in The Devil All the Time and Uncle Frank ) is our stand-in for Gray as Paul Graff, a sixth-grader at PS-173 in 1980 Queens. He’s a gifted student, but not a very motivated one, which often leads him into trouble with his strict teacher, Mr. Turkeltaub. One of his regular prankster cohorts is Johnny, the only black student in the class. Despite both of them often getting caught for the same thing, Johnny’s punishment always seems to be worse than Paul’s. It’s a fact that resonates with Paul, even if the concept of racism hasn’t fully formed within his head. But his parents don’t see the innocence in the situation and move him to an elite private school across town. It’s not hard to imagine Gray writing this story during the Trump presidency, especially since Donald’s father and sister, Fred, and Maryanne, play small roles in shaping Paul’s increasingly pessimistic worldview during his time at the seemingly all-white prep school. Gray’s bluntness is apparent as he traces how the casually elitist and racist children of the Reagan era grew up to embrace the 45th president, and how their children will likely do the same in a few decades. It sometimes comes as lecturing, but there’s a sweetly honest feel to it that makes it go down smoothly. Also lending to the emotional pull of the film is the grown-up trio of Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and Anthony Hopkins. Hathaway is given the shorter end of the stick as Paul’s affectionate mother, but the actress makes up for her limited time with some moments of pathos. Strong, playing the more emotionally distant father that doesn’t hesitate to teach with his belt, also makes a strong impression, even if it sometimes feels as if he’s trying to do his best Ray Romano impression. It’s Hopkins who steals the show as the grandfather who fled Europe to escape Jewish persecution and find a better life in America. He’s always got a nugget of wisdom to spare, and a heart warm enough to start a fire in winter. The scenes between grandpa and grandson are a clear standout, especially one set in the park where the elder shares a touching monologue, which will surely be used as Hopkins’ Oscar clip come next year’s ceremony. You won’t walk away from Armageddon Time feeling as if you’ve been enlightened or seen something out of the ordinary, but you may find yourself moved at times and closely connected to your familial past. And at the end of the day, we could all use a little more of that. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Focus Features will release Armageddon Time in select theaters on October 28th, followed by a nationwide expansion on November 4th. 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 Zone of Interest June 4, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen “The banality of evil” is a term that has been (over)used to describe the lens that Jonathan Glazer uses to dissect the Holocaust in The Zone of Interest . The term was coined nearly fifty years ago by the German-born writer/philosopher Hannah Arendt during the post-war trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the highest-ranking Nazi figures behind the Holocaust. Eichmann showed no remorse for his inhumane actions, nor did he have hatred toward the people that he had been ordered to eradicate. He pleaded not guilty to his crimes, as he was just doing his job as part of the Nazi machine. Arendt viewed Eichmann as an ordinary cog who refused to think for himself. He was simply motivated by career advancement and didn’t want to disrupt the order of things. That banality would become one of the most dangerous things within the new Nazi regime, as indescribably heinous acts were committed with the same complacency as an everyday person doing their chores. Glazer zeroes in on that concept with his radically departing adaptation of Martin Amis’ (who tragically died just one day after the Cannes premiere) 2014 novel of the same name. There is no vilification of the main characters within Glazer’s story, which are the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller). They have five young children and are trying to create the perfect home to raise a family. When not working, the family spends their time swimming in the nearby lake, tending to their garden, or playing games in the house. They seem like a perfect unit, with the only reminder of their underlying beliefs being the concrete wall that separates their yard from the inner workings of Auschwitz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-vfg3KkV54 There isn’t a single moment that takes place within the infamous camp, but its presence is always felt. The family will be sunbathing in the garden when a faint gunshot goes off on the other side of the wall. Both you and the characters know what that sound means, but only you care about the implications of it. For the family, those gunshots are just as much a part of everyday life as the birds chirping in the trees above. They go about their daily lives without a hitch, leaving you stranded in the fear of your imagination. This provocation through absence is in such stark contrast to other works within the Holocaust subgenre that it sometimes makes you question the approach other filmmakers took. Did Steven Spielberg’s stylizations within Schindler’s List lessen the impact of the horrors, or did they make it palatable enough so that it could be used as a teaching point for a mass audience? A more extreme version of that argument would be Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful and the lesser-known Robin Williams-starring Jakob the Liar . Glazer is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum from Spielberg. His absolute refusal of stylization towards the pivotal acts is based on your preconceived knowledge of Auschwitz. You’ve seen the photos, learned the class lessons, and most likely seen Schindler’s List . Seeing what’s going on lessens its impact, as the horrors you infer in your mind are much scarier than anything within the frame. You want to look away, except there was nothing you were looking at to begin with. Grand stylizations do emerge from time to time, most notably a pitch-black prelude overture of Mica Levi’s incredible score, and a black-and-white negative vision that follows a young girl on a secret mission. Paweł Pawlikowski’s regular cinematographer Łukasz Żal captures the action in staged wide shots, with much of it taking place within the house. Glazer and Żal positioned ten fixed cameras within the various nooks and crannies, operating by remote control, similar to surveillance cameras within a mall. They give off a feeling of detachment and unimportance, with Glazer refusing to view the characters going about their daily lives in anything but a neutral light. Friedel made a name for himself as a burgeoning Nazi in Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner The White Ribbon back in 2009. While his commandant position would imply that he’s a radical supporter of the ideology, he is the film’s Eichmann, devoted to his role as a means to support his family and get ahead in life. The same can be said for Hedwig, with Hüller - having a wonderful Cannes with both this and Anatomy of a Fall - only breaking from her sternness when she finds out the family may need to move away from the camp. Sickening in the most calculated way possible, The Zone of Interest is Jonathan Glazer's ode to Stanley Kubrick. He answers the question of how evil can exist unchecked, holding all of your senses in a sterilized vice. Be sure to soak it all in during your first watch, because I doubt you'll ever want to view the world this way again. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. A24 will release The Zone of Interest in select theaters on December 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