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'Night of the Living Dead': The First Liberal Horror Film March 22, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The 1960s and 1970s marked an era of transformation within cinema. No longer did the studio system out in Hollywood dominate the industry as it had in the previous decades. A new era of auteur-driven cinema was burgeoning around the world, starting in Europe with François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard in The French New Wave. America finally showed up to the party in the 1960s, as directors John Cassavetes, Mike Nichols, and Arthur Penn made films for a different generation of moviegoers, a generation that was at the forefront of social change. Also adding him to this exclusive list is George Romero. At first glance, you would think Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was nothing more than a cheap horror movie looking to make a quick buck and fade from existence. But through ingenious directing and writing, Romero and co-screenwriter John Russo were able to elevate the horror genre and tell a compelling story that incorporates elements from today’s society. First and foremost, Night of the Living Dead is a B-picture that was part of thedime-a-dozen crowd back in the drive-in era. It has an ultra-low budget and is almost filled with no-name amateur actors. For 99% of films, those characteristics would be the death knells, but Night of the Living Dead is part of that 1% where its “faults” are part of its charm. I’m also not trying to say having a low budget and no movie stars is a bad thing. Even with the low budget, Romero shows off technical prowess with his grainy camera. He incites genuine fear with tilted close-ups and manipulation of the sound effects. The musical score (if you can even call it a “score”) fades in and out of the movie as it intercuts with the horrifying diegetic sound effects. This technique peaks with the infamous trowel scene where the camera shakes and careens as we follow a zombie child as she murders her mother, whose screams are amplified as she is repeatedly impaled by a blunt object. It’s a terrifying scene to watch because of the technical and shock-value aspects. It’s inspirational to see someone make an effective movie for little money. At a timewhen Hollywood was spending tens of millions of dollars on giant productions, someone was able to make something just as good (if not better), for a fraction of the cost. Even though the word “zombie” is never used within the film, Romero also laid out the groundwork for the ever-popular zombie subgenre. The idea of going for the head, burning them with fire, and zombies eating brains are a few of the ideas that he either originated or popularized. But what makes this film stand out from the rest after all these years is the socialmessaging that works in conjunction with the horror elements. Throughout his career, Romero often cast African-Americans as the heroes in his movies, going against the stereotype at the time where the black character dies first. For our hero, Ben, the horror comes from two different fronts. The first is obvious as the world is being attacked by zombies. The second is a problem one wouldn’t think he'd have to face in a world-gone-mad scenario, which is that he is a black man being discriminated against by other white survivors. Despite being the calmest and skilled survivor of the group, Ben is still regarded assecond-class by the whites who are also trapped in the house. Ben must battle for his life against the zombies and his humanity against the prejudiced survivors. Romero shows the deep prejudice that America shows for African-Americans as Ben is never fully given the respect he deserves by his group members. Romero caps this point off with the shocking ending. An earlier line from the filmdescribes the zombies as “...looking like people, but acting like animals . " As the sole survivor after a night of endless death, Ben is about to leave the house and regroup with the local police. As he climbs out the window, the police shoot and kill him, thinking him a zombie. That description of the zombies earlier can be seen both literally and metaphorically as a way that white people have put down black people for centuries. The police treat Ben’s death like putting down an animal, laughing and walking away as nothing happened. It’s an infuriating way for ourhero to meet his demise. As entertaining and as it is timeless, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead shows that society can be even scarier than zombies. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

TIFF24 Dispatch #2 September 15, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark All of the films were screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Click here for additional full reviews and dispatches. Select films below will receive separate full-length reviews at a later date, most likely in connection to their public releases. Bird Hot off his polarizing and career-best turn in last year’s Saltburn , Barry Keoghan gives another all-timer performance in Andrea Arnold’s Cannes hit Bird . A coming-of-age tale that takes a turn no viewer will see coming, Bird follows 12-year-old Bailey (newcomer Nykiya Adams), who lives in a rundown high-rise with her deadbeat dad (Keoghan), soon-to-be stepmother, and sister. Things change for her when she meets an awkward man who calls himself Bird (Franz Rogowski). Overall, Bird is a good outing for Arnold that sees her struggle with what the aesthetic of the film should be (i.e., ever-changing aspect ratios, use of Lofi music that feels thrown in at the last minute, etc.). These three strong performances by Keoghan, Adams, and Rogowski counter these missteps and make the movie worthwhile. Bird may fly (no pun intended) under the radar altogether, but it at least justifies its means to an extent. (3.5/5) Harbin A historical Korean spy thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Woo Min-ho, Harbin follows a group of Korean soldiers looking to assassinate Japanese leader Itō Hirobumi. Suspicions rise when one is deemed to be a double agent, resulting in everyone questioning who they can trust. Woo Min-ho makes it clear that he knows how to make a film of this scale as it’s well-planned, but the story does falter in its pacing and predictability. To make up for this, Harbin sprinkles in an intense sequence once every few minutes to rope audiences back in. Ranging from action to suspense, each sequence would get audiences on their toes only to put them back in the dust. When the assassination attempt scene does come around, the movie is full throttle until the end. The cast wasn’t anything too special, but Harbin would’ve been more worthwhile if there was at least one noteworthy performance. (3/5) The Assessment Fleur Fortune’s sci-fi drama is also a thriller about a couple going through a week-long test to see if they can be parents. The leading trio of Elizabeth Olsen, Himesh Patel, and Alicia Vikander stand out as the couple in question and the test assessor, respectively. Olsen and Patel capture the whirlwind their characters go through via Vikander’s assessor. The latter puts them through the wringer as she psychologically torments them through uncomfortable situations. She gives a very physical performance that should be discussed just as much as Emma Stone in last year’s Poor Things . Aside from the actors, nothing else within the film rises above being just average. By commenting on how chaotic parenting can be, The Assessment makes for a numbing display of this topic, even if it ties itself into knots to make it make sense to audiences. (3/5) The Order Gripping and shocking until the very end, Justin Kurzel’s The Order is an intense look at neo-nazism rampant in 1983 Pacific Northwest. Leading the cast is Jude Law, Tye Sheridan, and Nicholas Hoult in his darkest role yet as a leader of a neo-nazi group. He’s scary, manipulative, and flat-out the best aspect of this movie alongside the action sequences. Ranging from shootouts to bank robberies and car chases, Kurzel doesn’t waste a second crafting an action set piece that’ll keep viewers on their feet. It helps that Zach Baylin pens the script to adapt Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s book The Silent Brotherhood , and makes everything just as straightforward. The Order is a film with an important message that’s story should be learned by viewers everywhere. (4.5/5) You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Last Showgirl September 9, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark The Last Showgirl had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Roadside Attractions will release it in theaters on January 10. When people look back on Pamela Anderson's legacy, what comes to mind first? The TV show Baywatch ? Her infamous marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee? What about her rise to fame through Playboy Magazine? Anderson has had the spotlight on her for decades, even if the past 15 years have kept her quiet. From being a sex symbol in the 90s to her work as an activist, she’s endured a lot of hard work. Her first major film role in years in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl could be one. She gives a personal performance that audiences can tell comes straight from the heart, but the movie’s end result is a little flat. Whether it’s Coppola’s direction or the film’s odd melancholia, The Last Showgirl is a mixed bag that’ll leave audiences, for the most part, unamused. Don’t be fooled by this movie and its intentions because it’s not just Anderson who has her heart in the right place; everyone involved has theirs, too. Anderson plays Shelley, an aged Las Vegas showgirl who has worked with the same traditional floor show for 30+ years. She may be the oldest performer in the room, but she’s a mother figure to her much younger castmates (Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song). When stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) breaks the news that the show will close for good, she must face a new world without performing in one of the world’s biggest entertainment towns. In the film's opening scene and eventual climax, we see Shelley doing her first audition in years. She’s nervous, lying about her age and claiming that she’s not used to the audition process. This could be a slight reflection of Anderson as she hasn’t been in the public cinema eye since 2008’s Superhero Movie (or 2017’s Baywatch, if you want to count that). Anderson herself may have a poor track record regarding her acting outside of Baywatch . One of her most famous roles outside of C.J. Parker is the titular character in the 1996 flopped action flick Barb Wire , which earned her a Razzie, and Invisible Girl from Superhero Movie . That being said, her performance in The Last Showgirl is easily a standout. While Shelley isn’t a well-rounded character, Anderson captures her struggle to adjust to the new landscape. She’s lost and the mentality she brings to the character is well-intentioned. There’s even a subplot present where Shelley tries to fix her relationship with her estranged daughter Hannah, but it’s not developed enough to be relevant to the plot. Furthermore, Anderson’s physical execution of the character wasn’t strong. It may be her high-pitched voice and offputting demeanor, but she gives a conflicting turn that’ll leave opinions right down the middle. Outside of Anderson, Gia Coppola has a nice supporting cast. Shipka and Song’s characters showcase different young generations looking up to Shelley. Shipka is the youngest and more optimistic about the future, looking to adapt to whatever’s coming her way (easy for her to say since she possesses the physical features to adapt). Meanwhile, Song poses as a somewhat seasoned vet who’s a little hardened but still caring. Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista play Shelley’s friends Annette, a former castmate, and Eddie. Both are reserved in their roles and offer little to the movie, but nothing to detract it from falling farther down. Gia Coppola’s name may be enough to attract attention being part of the famous Coppola family, but she’s not as strong of one compared to her grandfather Francis and aunt Sofia. The way she tackles this movie and Kate Gersten’s script is almost reminiscent of an obscure, indulgent auteurisitic filmmaker. Compared to another TIFF alum in Lila Neugebauer’s 2022 film Causeway , Coppola makes The Last Showgirl just as meditative and somber. Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography is grainy, questioning how much integrity Coppola had in her. If The Last Showgirl visually looked stronger and not as bland, it would’ve been much stronger and left a better impression on audiences. How The Last Showgirl will pan out in the future will be a big question mark for Coppola as a filmmaker and for Anderson if she wants to make her way back into the public eye. Both ladies are looking to get something out of this movie, with the latter being the most well-intentioned. But the real challenge won’t be how it does on the festival circuit. Instead, it’ll be how it translates to general audiences and if it’ll be mentioned in awards season conversations. Time will tell what the future holds for Coppola and Anderson, but if both gain traction from The Last Showgirl , it’ll be a win for both. If Hollywood is willing to welcome Anderson back, she’ll be in for more than just one average movie where she gives a fitting role. One thing is for sure with Anderson, she’ll have a nice curtain call. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

American Fiction November 1, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen American Fiction screened at the 2023 Twin Cities Film Fest. MGM will release it in limited theaters on December 15, followed by a nationwide expansion on December 22. American Fiction is this year’s Triangle of Sadness : a social satire that somewhat succeeds because it’s undeniably hilarious and that it’s practically shooting fish in a barrel. Both films also claimed ironic victory when making their world premieres at their respective festivals. Triangle of Sadness , a brutal takedown of the uber-rich, nabbed the Palme d’Or at the exclusive black-tie Cannes Film Festival, while American Fiction , an examination of the reduction of the Black experience by white people, won the People’s Choice Award at the mostly-white Toronto International Film Festival. We’s Lives in Da Ghetto is a bestselling book in the world that Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) inhabits. Its author, Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), was born to lawyer parents and received an Ivy-league education, making her claims about the novel’s poverty-stricken protagonists being modeled after “her people” dubious at best. This is all happening while Monk can’t find anyone to publish his newest book, another in a long line of rigorously intellectual academia on Black life in America. There’s also Monk’s mother (Leslie Uggams), who’s beginning to show signs of rapidly progressive dementia. Being a literature professor at West Coast University doesn’t pay enough to cover her medical costs, and neither does having an unsold manuscript, so, in a drunken stupor, Monk decides to write the most panderingly simplistic “Black novel” that he can. Predictably, the trashy piece of work is a sensation to all the white liberal publicists. Six-digit offers come flying through the door, along with movie deals. Becoming part of the problem is now making Monk extremely wealthy. Does he continue the charade, or do his morals persuade him to pull the plug? Spike Lee’s Bamboozled would be a more literal comparison to what writer/director Cord Jefferson is aiming for in his debut feature film. There are also several connected elements between this and Charlie Day’s Fool’s Paradise from earlier this year, which aimed at Hollywood. Much of the satire there and here revolves around the protagonists doing/saying something ludicrously stupid and, to their bewilderment, being met with immense applause from the gullible idiots. The world happens around them, and they react with disdain. We’re in on the joke with them, pointing and laughing at the idiots while thinking there’s no way we’re like them. Unfortunately, like Day, Jefferson doesn’t seem to have much to say outside of the obvious as Monk digs himself deeper into a hole of lies. It’s correct in everything it’s saying, but everything it’s correct about has already been agreed upon by the audience that will watch it. It’s nearly impossible to start a conversation when most everyone is already on the same page and your material is too neatly packaged to confront the ideals of anyone on the other side. What’s missing is Spike Lee’s ability to provoke and make you uncomfortable, as that’s when you’re at your most critically minded. There’s also the presence of several other subplots along with the ailing mother. Monk strikes up a charming, yet frustratingly thin, romance with his mother’s neighbor Coraline (Erika Alexander). Monk’s erratic younger brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown), who just came out of the closet, is also in town. He isn’t much help with their mother’s medical needs, but he does know how to show Monk the error of his ways. None of these plotlines coalesce neatly, and very few of them reach a satisfying conclusion. Ironically, Jefferson launched his career as a magazine editor, a role sorely needed here. Still, Jefferson has made a very funny movie littered with many witty one-liners. And he’s given a substantial leading role to the great Jeffrey Wright, who hasn’t received top billing in nearly three decades. Just as he’s proved in the two Wes Anderson films he’s been in, Wright shows an incredible talent for wordplay and physical comedy. Brown and John Ortiz, playing Monk’s agent, often threaten to steal the show with their exuberance. American Fiction may be a victim of expectations as winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF certainly raised the bar. Whether that’s fair or not is a different story. All I know is that I can only write about what I felt, which was slight disappointment mixed with great optimism about what Jefferson will do next. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Love Hurts February 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Ostensibly, Love Hurts is an original movie. It’s neither a remake nor a reboot, or based on some existing source material. For that fact alone, it deserves some credit, as does Universal Studios for backing and distributing a film that gives the fifty-three-year-old Ke Huy Quan his first chance to be at the top of the call sheet in his forty-year career. But that’s where the positive remarks end for Love Hurts . All of its “original” ideas have been seen time and time again, all of its well-marketed stunts have been executed better by other action properties, and all of its holiday-related sentimentality is so undercooked that it might as well be served to the vultures. Love does hurt, but so does having to sit through a movie that you know won’t do anything more than be a void for your precious time. Love Hurts is still at least inoffensively entertaining, mostly from the effortless charm that Ke Huy Quan had kept from the world for nearly two decades before he returned in Everything Everywhere All at Once . He campaigned nonstop for almost twelve months between the film’s world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and the 2023 Academy Awards, culminating in his victory in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Every single one of the hundreds of interviews and speeches he conducted felt genuine, a rare feat in the increasingly politicized and performative game that is awards season. Quan’s enthusiasm for having a leading role is completely infectious, giving his character an immediately rootable spirit. He plays Marvin Gable, a Milwaukee realtor who always sees the bright side and greets every day with a smile. But while there is authenticity behind his demeanor, it's also a coping mechanism to cover his shady past as an assassin for his crime-lord brother. It’s a life he’s left behind, although it doesn’t seem like he tried very hard as he still lives in the same town and took a very public job that has his face plastered on every bus station bench. I guess Clark Kent’s strategy of simply putting on glasses to hide his identity is more scientific than I thought. But even if Marvin’s brother is egregiously oblivious, his former “lover” Rose (Ariana DeBose) isn’t. She’s supposed to be dead, at least in the legal sense after Marvin betrayed his brother’s orders and let her flee instead of being executed. Now she’s back to get revenge on Marvin’s brother’s syndicate and break Marvin out of the dull existence that she thinks is a lie. I use “lover” in quotes because Quan and DeBose have zero romantic chemistry together. The twenty-year age difference doesn’t help, nor the fact that Marvin’s constant annoyance at Rose’s chaotic nature never once hints at a past infatuation. It’s never a good sign when a climactic kiss makes an audience wince instead of swoon. The film marks the directorial debut of Jonathan Eusebio, a veteran fight and stunt coordinator with a long list of credits that include a smattering of MCU titles, the John Wick franchise, and The Matrix Resurrections. The choreography is expectedly up to par, with 87North Productions and John Wick head honcho David Leitch serving as producer. But Eusebio’s camerawork and editing don’t reach the heights of his boss, the punches and kicks never landing with enough force to garner a physical reaction. Even with a runtime of a mere 83 minutes, much of Love Hurts still feels like weightless padding to justify the feature-length treatment. If they stripped this down to its essentials, then maybe it could have been a half-decent short film, or, heaven forbid, Quibi original. I still doubt it, but at least everyone would have saved themselves the few precious dollars we need to save in order to buy eggs. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Deliverance August 20, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Deliverance is a powerhouse showcase for Lee Daniels as a producer, as it takes a lot of skill to assemble such a stacked cast and crew for a project this uninspired. The real-life story of single mother LaToya Ammons and her three children being haunted by evil spirits has been a long-gestating project for Daniels, being announced over ten years ago as his follow-up to The Butler . Time marched on, with Daniels pivoting to his biopic on Billie Holiday ( The United States vs. Billie Holiday ), an otherwise rote story salvaged by the discovery of the acting talents of its star Andra Day, who received a Golden Globe award and Academy Award nomination for her work. The pair are reunited for this project, although I’m skeptical of any possibility of awards to come to the rescue this time. “Inspired by a true story” immediately blankets what we are about to witness, a statement that has become a clichéd requirement (likely for legal reasons) for every member of the possession subgenre ( Poltergeist , The Conjuring franchise, The Amityville Horror ). Ebony Jackson (Day) and her three kids have just moved to their third home in just under a year, this time settling in Pittsburgh with Ebpny’s mother Alberta (Glenn Close, looking like a cousin to her character from Hilbilly Elegy ). There are cracks within every dynamic of the family, partially due to Ebony’s drinking, which has Child Protective Services monitor them at various times, and the fact that the children’s father seemingly abandoned them by going to Iraq. But for all the internal demons that plague this family, there are also external ones lurking within the walls. The youngest child, Andre, has an imaginary friend who increasingly tells him to commit heinous acts, and strange noises permeate every nook and cranny. Anyone who has seen an exorcist movie knows what’s been happening and where it’s leading. It’s why the second-act appearance of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as an apostle sent to serve the family in their time of need never feels like the revelation Daniels and screenwriters David Coggeshal and Elijah Bynum want you to believe it is. Daniels is still a mighty fine director for actors, previously guiding Mo'Nique - also reuniting with the director here as the CPS officer Cynthia - to an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Precious . Between Day and Mo'Nique’s more grounded work, one would have hoped that this project would have ditched the whole demonic angle and focused squarely on the social drama. Then again, we wouldn’t have gotten scenes of a bald Glenn Close wielding a baseball bat, or of the youngest child flinging his feces at his teacher as an act of possession. These unintentionally hilarious moments keep the horror elements tolerable, although that definitely wasn’t the plan. The Scary Movie franchise might have just as much in common with this story as the others mentioned earlier. There’s also humor to be found in how the film tries its damnedest to avoid the term “exorcist,” instead referring to all of it as a “deliverance.” What goes on during a deliverance? A religious figure comes to the home of a possessed person, warning the other family members that the demon has a strong hold on the victim and that they must not believe anything it says. The religious figure then sprays holy water on the demon and recites verses from the bible. Hmmmm… sounds like an exorcism to me. Between last year’s The Exorcist: Believer and two unrelated Russell Crowe movies ( The Pope’s Exorcist and The Exorcism ), Daniels was entering the exorcism genre at the perfect moment to shake things up and be its temporary savior. What’s the point of a horror movie (or any movie, for that matter) if you’re going to play it safe when it comes time to deliver the goods? I’m not mad, I’m just really, really, disappointed. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Films of 2022 January 3, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The world of cinema didn’t paint a lot of pretty pictures in 2022. Studios continue to merge, consolidating power in the hands of the few, resulting in some poor decisions that favored the dollars over artists. Save for Everything Everywhere All at Once , small to mid-budget movies floundered at the box office, continuing the dark trend of only blockbusters surviving at the cinemas. But the beginning of a new year should not be a time to reminisce about all the bad stuff that happened over the past twelve months. It should be a time when we look at all the positives and figure out a way for them to continue in the future. So, in an effort to give credit where it’s due, I’ve listed out my favorite films of 2022. Some of these films I expected to be on this list, while others came out of left field. It goes to show that you can experience something truly incredible if you dig a little deeper. Honorable Mentions The Batman Everything Everywhere All at Once Blonde Aftersun The Menu 10. After Yang After Yang is full of grace and compassion, with a touch of melancholy to make it a truly reflective experience of the human soul. It merges American sci-fi with the softer side of independent cinema, which makes it a perfect project to be under the A24 umbrella. With only two films to his name, writer/director Kogonada is already entering the conversation as one of the best humanistic directors of the modern era. Full Review 9. The Banshees of Inisherin Equally hilarious as it is disturbing, The Banshees of Inisherin finds Martin McDonagh, as well as his troupe of actors, in top form. There’s nothing quite like it, and it serves as another reminder that we should all be a little kinder to one another. Full Review 8. Broker Hirokazu Kore-eda has always been more interested in the human drama coming from each character, how they intersect, and what decisions they ultimately make rather than inserting any kind of thriller-like elements to entice the story to a more mainstream audience. The result is another solid, if not outstanding, effort from the Japanese filmmaker, backed by a flawless ensemble led by the subtly nuanced and exceptional Song Kang-ho. Full Review 7. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery A sequel to 2019’s Knives Out , the great igniter to the revitalization of the whodunit genre, was always going to be a tricky obstacle to overcome. In stepped Netflix, who gave writer/director Rian Johnson the necessary blank check to indulge in his wildest fantasies. And because of that, he has crafted a whodunnit that is grander, funnier, stranger, and perhaps better than the original. As the first of two planned sequels, I can only imagine what Johnson is going to serve up next. Full Review 6. TÁR As our guide through a world of classical music and power dynamics, Cate Blanchett reaches another echelon in a career whose peaks have only been marked. If TÁR is meant to mark the second coming of Todd Field’s career, then we should all be in for a lengthy treat for the mind, body, and soul. But if this was only a brief blip and we’re subjected to another sixteen-year absence, then I at least know what my most anticipated film of 2038 will be. Full Review 5. Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave is often a paradox in itself. It’s classical, yet modern. Cold, yet sexy. Unsatisfying, yet enthralling. Luckily, it finds the near-perfect balance between all of those things, creating a wondrous genre exercise that must be seen to be wholly believed. Full Review 4. Nitram Justin Kurzel's Nitram was one of the best films of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival (where I first saw it) as it explores a real-life tragedy with both grace and severity. While it may be an experience that wrecks people's bodies due to its humanistic intensity, there is hope that there will be a greater understanding of this dark chapter in human history upon leaving the theater. Full Review 3. The Fabelmans The Fabelmans is a collection of Spielberg's greatest hits, all delivered to their greatest effect. There’s laughter, tears, and wonder in this story that is much more than the sum of its parts. If Spielberg climbs the Dolby Theatre steps to collect his third Best Director Oscar, then it will be one of the few long overdue wins that came at the right time for the right project. Full Review 2. All Quiet on the Western Front In the film’s harrowing opening sequence, we follow a coat worn by a German soldier. The man dies in battle, and the coat is plucked off his corpse. It’s then shipped back to a factory to be washed of the blood, mended, and given to a new recruit. It’s moments like this, of which there are many, where director Edward Berger masterfully illustrates the futile self-fulfilling cycle of death that war creates. All Quiet on the Western Front is not just the best film of the year, it’s one of the best of its genre. Full Review 1. Babylon With dashes of Singin’ in the Rain, Boogie Nights, The Wolf of Wall Street, Uncut Gems , and Mulholland Drive , Damien Chazelle’s Babylon is a true auteurist epic in every sense of the word. It’s a 188-minute deconstruction of Old Hollywood mythology, complete with cocaine, fast cars, projectile vomit, glitzy actors, underground sex dungeons, and buckets of style. There isn’t anything like it this year, or any year for that matter. Full Review More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Holdovers September 12, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Holdovers had its International Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Focus Features will release it in theaters on October 27. Between its retro production titles, popping sound, dissolved editing, and grainy cinematography, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is not just a film that is set in 1970, it looks and feels like it was made during that time. The Omaha-born writer/director (only directing in this outing) returns from a six-year hiatus after the disappointing Downsizing , delivering one of his best films through a great story and equally great characters. The titular band of misfits at Barton Academy are those that have been left behind during the two-week holiday break. They’re the ones who can’t go home to their families, either because they don’t have one or they’re not welcome. The curmudgeonly history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) presides over them. He’s been handed this shit detail because none of the other teachers like him (the students share that sentiment), and because he’s also all alone. The worst of his troublemaking leftovers is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). He has a supernatural talent for getting into trouble and pushing Paul’s buttons. But he’s also a very gifted student, consistently getting the top score in class, a nearly impossible feat due to the rigors of the course and Paul’s tortuous teaching style. Also left with Paul and Angus is the school’s cook Mary. She’s decided to stay put to be with the memory of her son, as he was enrolled in the school before being drafted and killed in Vietnam a few months back. These three unlikely companions form a holiday family, going on misadventures together and learning something about each other and themselves. Nothing about writer David Hemingson’s past indicated that he would make such a bitingly funny and introspective script, let alone on the first try, at least in the realm of feature films. He’s written for a couple of television shows, none too noteworthy except for the shortlived Kitchen Confidential starring pre-fame Bradley Cooper. Paul’s insulting Latin phrases and general disregard for his students’ confidence puts up a tough exterior, one that will take a large tool and persistence to crack. Giamatti is masterful with his barbs, getting under your skin with ease as you consistently plead “Why can’t you just be nice?” Yet he’s always likable, with the later sections of the movie interestingly pulling back the layers of his past. Much of that later warmth also comes from Sessa and Randolph’s performances. Sessa delivers an astounding debut performance, overcoming many of the rookie tropes. The pain of Randolph’s character is felt in every scene, but she refuses to make it her whole personality. She’s hilarious when she checks Giamatti’s callousness, and provides the warmth Angus needs at this difficult time. I expect and fully support Oscar campaigns for each of these performers. Through his directorial choices, Payne makes The Holdovers into a Christmas classic for adults. The cinematography glows like a warm fire and the relaxed pacing allows these characters to breathe. This is a melancholic film, with Payne knowing that the holidays are not full of yuletide cheer for everyone. But there are still seasons greetings to be had, just enough to make you want to be a better person and stay close to those that matter most. What more could you ask for in times like these? More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Fair Play February 2, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Fair Play had its World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Netflix will it in theaters on September 29, followed by its streaming premiere on October 13. Netflix must have had big Promising Young Woman prospects when spending a festival-record $20 million on writer/director Chloe Domont's debut feature, Fair Play . Fennell's 2020 Oscar-winning film has laid the path for similarly biting films to gain recognition, and Domont follows close to that model with her thrilling examination of gender politics and relationships within the corporate world. But while Fair Play is quite provocative with its mixture of sex and violence, much of it comes to its detriment when the credibility of its authenticity comes into question during the third-act climax. Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are the usual extremely-motivated Wall Street up-and-comers that you've come to expect. Along with their undying motivation for their careers, they also can't take a break from each other. Their physical passion is unmatched, evidenced by an impromptu hookup in the bathroom at Luke's brother's wedding, which Luke wildly takes as an opportunity to propose. Despite now proving their undying love for each other in private, they must keep their relationship a secret in public, as they both work for the same high-stakes hedge fund where office romance is strictly forbidden. The couple makes it work most of the time, professionally speaking to each other and only passing glances when no one is looking. But all bets are off when a senior employee is fired and his position is up for grabs. The pair must juggle their ambitions with their loyalty to each other, along with keeping their indiscretions under the rug. Domont depicts the world of high finance as a pressure cooker that melts even the brightest people down into monsters. If Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street (smartly) glorified the life of wheeling and dealing, Fair Play offers a sobering reality. A glaring Eddie Marsan sits in his corner office, ready to berate his employees at any moment. The underlings are constantly pitted against each other, with loyalty disintegrated whenever the slightest hint of upward mobility comes into play. Emily and Luke initially try their best to sidestep the rat race, with each offering the usual "may the best man win" rhetoric. But when Luke makes that statement, he means it literally, as it slowly starts to dawn on Emily that he sees a significant difference between them based on their gender. Ehrenreich brings that toxic alpha-male energy to Luke. He's someone that says all the right things to your face (usually laced with an unhealthy amount of curse words), but you know he doesn't believe any of it. This is a world where the man usually gets what he wants, and their inflated egos come crashing down when they’re "unfairly" passed over. Domont doesn’t portray Emily as a saintly female in a sea of testosterone, with Dynevor, already a Netflix star through Bridgerton , packing a hard edge in her performance. There are no heroes in this story, only those that get their hands dirty and those that get them dirtier. The carnal influence of Adrian Lyne (who marked any unceremonious return last year with Deep Water ) is apparent, with Domont blending the dower and gleeful to semi-positive results. There's a hearty (and unhealthy) amount of excitement you get out of people taking down one another, even if the reasoning behind all of it is morally corrupt. Things do come off the rails alarmingly quickly during the climax when the theatricality of the situation greatly overpowers the reality. The messaging is obvious in volume, but a bit murky in tone, leaving things not as nicely wrapped as the presentation would signal. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Final 2025 97th Academy Awards Predictions February 28, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen One of the most chaotic award seasons in recent memory is finally coming to a close, and it looks like it’ll be a photo finish. For almost the entire nine-month duration since Cannes, we’ve been going back and forth on who’s got what it takes to be the top dog. Enough drama has been created, ended, and recreated to match a whole season of one of those “The Real Housewives” shows. Just as I mentioned in my nominations predictions update, the key to the Oscars is focusing your attention on what matters. So you’re going to see little analysis in categories with clear frontrunners and more in tighter races. Notable precursors that will be used to determine likely winners are the Golden Globes (GG), Critics Choice Awards (CCA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), BAFTAs, and any category-specific guild award. I’d also like to point out that I will be predicting the three short categories, but won’t be producing analysis since I have none to offer. I’ll just be going with the GoldDerby consensus. Best Picture Anora Conclave The Brutalist Emilia Pérez A Complete Unknown Wicked I'm Still Here The Substance Nickel Boys Dune: Part Two After successive years of watching Everything Everywhere All at Once and Oppenheimer run the table, it's been fun to witness what this year has brought. Anora secured its frontrunner status after it had a whirlwind weekend where it picked up the CCA, PGA, and DGA awards. But then the winds shifted towards Conclave , which then took home the BAFTA and SAG Ensemble. Conclave 's predicted wins for Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing were enough for Argo , and Anora 's predicted wins for Director and Original Screenplay were enough for Parasite . If Anora were to lose, the combination of precursor wins it has would place it alongside Brokeback Mountain and Saving Private Ryan in the pantheon of Oscar upsets. That's something I can't predict will happen again. Best Director Sean Baker (Anora) Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) It's been a slugfest between Brady Corbet and Sean Baker; the former winning the Golden Globe and BAFTA, and the latter netting the DGA. The DGA award is the most predictive of the bunch, and people like Tom Hooper ( The King's Speech ) and Alejandro G. Iñárritu ( The Revenant ) have gone on to win the Oscar with only that award in their arsenal. It's still hard to pick Baker because Corbet's work is so much more aligned with what this branch rewards. I said the same thing when it came to Sam Mendes and Bong Joon-ho a few years back, and I was wrong to make the more conventional choice. The tide is with Anora more than it is with The Brutalist , so I'll go with that and bite my nails until the very end. Best Original Screenplay Anora A Real Pain The Substance The Brutalist September 5 For a brief moment, it seemed that The Substance was gaining some momentum after its win at the CCA. But that stopped once A Real Pain won the BAFTA. All this division means that I'll default to the WGA winner and Best Picture frontrunner, Anora . Of course, the fact that it's been unable to handily win this category across so many shows means that there's some weakness, so maybe we're in for a surprise. Best Adapted Screenplay Conclave Nickel Boys A Complete Unknown Emilia Pérez Sing Sing Just as I said during the nomination predictions, the choosing of four other nominees to lose to Conclave is merely a formality. Peter Straughan's screenplay has won the Globe, CCA, and BAFTA. It was not eligible for the WGA award, which means that the winner there, Nickel Boys , gets to be the unofficial runner-up. Best Lead Actor Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) With A Complete Unknown getting four total nominations at SAG compared to the single mention for The Brutalist , it was no surprise that Timothée Chalamet claimed victory there. If he had won somewhere else between the Globes, CCA, or BAFTA, then I would be picking him here. But Brody took all those other awards, and The Brutalist received a lot more love here. Still, it would not be a surprise if Chalamet won considering this category continually falls head over heels with biopic performances and equally admired A Complete Unknown . Best Lead Actress Demi Moore (The Substance) Mikey Madison (Anora) Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez) Demi Moore has won the Golden Globe - Comedy, CCA, and SAG awards; Mikey Madison has the BAFTA, and Fernanda Torres has the Golden Globe - Drama. Madison does have the power of the Best Picture frontrunner on her side, which would be more decisive if The Substance and I'm Still Here weren't also beloved and nominated for Best Picture as well. I think that Torres will siphon enough votes from Madison, and Moore will claim her final victory. Best Supporting Actor Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) Yura Borisov (Anora) Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice) We all know it's going to be Kieran Culkin winning this award. Let's move on and spend our energy elsewhere. Best Supporting Actress Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) Ariana Grande (Wicked) Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown) The one thing that the lovers and haters of Emilia Pérez can agree on is that Zoe Saldaña delivers a great performance, a sentiment that's carried her to wins at all the major precursors (GG, CCA, BAFTA, SAG). She's also delivered some great speeches as of late, which will make sure she doesn't become one of the victims of the controversies surrounding the film. Best Cinematography The Brutalist Nosferatu Maria Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez The American Society of Cinematographers gave their top prize to Edward Lachman for Maria . It's not a surprising victory considering the legendary status that Lachman carries within that profession. But it's also a little surprising since Maria has greatly underperformed on the awards front, as evidenced by its sole nomination being in this category. Nosferatu won the CCA and The Brutalist got the BAFTA. Given that the latter award has some Oscar overlap, I'll go with that. Lol Crawley's work in The Brutalist is also more in line with the grand scale of previous winners like Dune and Oppenheimer . Best Film Editing Conclave Anora Emilia Pérez The Brutalist Wicked The not Oscar-nominated Challengers won the CCA, and the ACE awards are after the Oscars, which means we're flying pretty blind into this category. Conclave won the BAFTA and is the likely ACE - Drama frontrunner, which is just enough to convince me it'll win here. I'd also watch out for Anora given that it'll likely win ACE - Comedy and has the Best Picture frontrunner boost. This is going to be one of the most decisive categories of the night. Best Original Score The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez The Wild Robot Wicked The Golden Globes and CCA threw a wrench into this category by awarding their prize to Challengers , which was not nominated at the Oscars. That means the BAFTA winner, Daniel Blumberg ( The Brutalist ), is the precursor favorite heading into the night. Volker Bertelmann ( Conclave ) took down equally stiff competition when he beat Justin Hurwitz's score for Babylon a few years back. But the fact that he lost at the BAFTAs despite Conclave winning the top prize shows that Blumberg's work is more beloved this year. Best Original Song El Mal (Emilia Pérez) The Journey (The Six Triple Eight) Mi Camino (Emilia Pérez) Never Too Late (Elton John: Never Too Late) Like a Bird (Sing Sing) With sixteen total nominations across thirty-five years, Diane Warren has to win at least once, right? Surely she'll win once within the next few years, but how am I supposed to predict that when history tells me it's very unlikely? "El Mal" from Emilia Pérez has already won the Golden Globe and the CCA, giving it every reason to be favored here. Best Sound Dune: Part Two Wicked A Complete Unknown Emilia Pérez The Wild Robot It's been a pretty split race all season. A Complete Unknown won the main prize at the Cinema Audio Society, Dune: Part Two won the Sound Editing prize at MPSE, as did Wicked for Music Editing. I'm thinking the two music-heavy films will cancel each other out, allowing for Dune: Part Two to repeat its victory from the first film. It also won this award over Wicked at the BAFTAs, with A Complete Unknown not even being nominated. Best Production Design Wicked Nosferatu Conclave The Brutalist Dune: Part Two Wicked won the CCA, BAFTA, and ADG - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film awards, giving it a clear edge. Conclave did win the Contemporary category at the Art Directors Guild, as well as Nosferatu in the Period category, giving them both of them at least a chance. Best Costume Design Wicked Conclave Nosferatu A Complete Unknown Gladiator II The exact same circumstances from Best Production Design are repeated here, and so is my pick for who will win the Oscar. Best Makeup & Hairstyling The Substance Wicked Nosferatu Emilia Pérez A Different Man Horror makeup has historically been undervalued through this category's history, so the much-predicted victory for The Substance will be more than deserved. It's won the CCA, BAFTA, and multiple prizes at the Make-Up and Hair Stylists Guild, and also aided in the transformation for Demi Moore's possible Oscar-winning performance. Best Visual Effects Dune: Part Two Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Wicked Better Man Alien: Romulus This category has been sewn up ever since Dune: Part Two delayed its release from November 2023 to February 2024. Further proof has been provided from its victories at CCA and BAFTA, as well as its mighty haul at the Visual Effects Society awards. However, the top prize at the latter ceremony went to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes . But ape fans can't get their hopes up, as this scenario has played out for each of three previous Apes films, each one of them losing at the Oscar. Best Animated Feature The Wild Robot Flow Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail The circumstances of this year's race in this category are nearly a repeat from last year's battle between Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron , with The Wild Robot and Flow taking the spots of the former and the latter, respectively. But I think the opposite result is going to come true this year. Flow doesn't have the BAFTA win that The Boy and the Heron got, and one could make the argument that the love for the legendary Hayao Miyazaki was worth far more than any precursor. The Wild Robot is also helped by the fact that it isn't a sequel like Spider-Verse was, which this category tends to dislike unless it's from the Toy Story franchise. Best International Feature Emilia Pérez (France) I'm Still Here (Brazil) Flow (Latvia) The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) The Girl with the Needle (Denmark) Until this year, no film has ever been nominated for both Best International Feature and Best Picture and lost the former award, meaning that either Emilia Pérez or I'm Still Here will become a victim of circumstance and carry that unwanted distinction. Emilia Pérez won this award at both the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and has a whopping ten more total nominations than I'm Still Here . But that doesn't mean this is an open-and-shut case, as the recent controversies surrounding Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón, as well as the general vitriol towards the film itself, is a major thorn in its side. There's also the fact that I'm Still Here getting that Best Picture nomination illustrates that there's a lot of support for it, which seems to only keep growing. Best Documentary Feature No Other Land Porcelain War Sugarcane Black Box Diaries Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat As usual in this category, the precursor leader, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story , hasn't even been nominated here. This gives the edge to the DGA-winner, Porcelain War . However, the critical swell of support for No Other Land cannot be denied, especially when coupled with the extremely compelling fact that it's still fighting to secure US distribution. I'm going to lean with where everyone's heart seems to be, although it would not surprise me if that doesn't turn out to be true. Best Animated Short Film: Wander to Wonder Best Documentary Short Film : The Only Girl in the Orchestra Best Live-Action Short Film : A Lien More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark

The Old Man & the Gun November 1, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen Robert Redford has built a successful decade-spanning career as a charming actor who can play any type of character with a heart of gold. It seems fitting that in his final performance in the new film The Old Man & the Gun , Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a man who was born to rob banks. Except he’s not your typical bank robber, he’s the most polite and happy criminal around. Now at the age of seventy-four, Tucker becomes nationally famous and must continue his passion while eluding the pursuit of detective John Hunt, who becomes enraptured by the legend of one man living his dream despite the consequences it may bring. Director David Lowery isn’t a household name, but the thirty-eight-year-old has made some quality films such as his 2017 indie hit A Ghost Story and Pete’s Dragon in 2016 (also starring Redford). Lowery goes for the sweet and simple approach when it comes to directing this film. He keeps the feel of the film feeling like a cool, light breeze and keeps the main plot centered on detail at a time. He also nails the look and feel of the film to fit the 80s setting. The film doesn’t just feel like it's set in the 80s, it's like it was made during that time period. He uses very grainy film stock to shoot the movie, giving it a very nostalgic feel. There is also an abundance of old classic songs of that era that perfectly fit the tone. The simple approach Lowery uses also has its minor drawbacks. The overall story of the film felt a little shallow and could have used more buildup and stakes in order to build suspense. There could have also been more interaction between characters in order to develop relationships as some don’t feel as genuine as they should have. Lowery also adapts the screenplay from a real-life biographical article written about Forrest Tucker in The New Yorker by David Grann. Lowery matches his writing with his approach to directing. The script is filled with tender moments that work wonders with the actors involved. The diner scenes between Redford and Sissy Spacek are the best as they simply just enjoy each other and talk about life in old age. With only a little bit of effort and some magic, the two actors and the dialogue they share are able to keep us engaged throughout. Below the surface, however, is where Lowery’s script suffers from the same problems as his directing. The overall story told feels too simple to satisfyingly fit a feature-length film. More background and supporting details could have been used to tell the story with more depth. Many important events happen with little to no explanation, which proves very distracting by the end as they cut down on the overall believability. Redford essentially plays a culmination of every part he’s previously played in his fifty-plus-year career. He works magic with his confidence and overall physical presence in each scene. It’s a testament to his skill that you never actually see the gun he uses during the robberies, rather his charisma and charm are the only weapons he needs. Even with all his misdoings, you end up rooting for him by the end of the film. Partnering up with Redford in a supporting role is Sissy Spacek as Jewel, a widow whom Forrest takes an interest in. Jewel finds herself romantically caught up with Tucker and just can’t seem to shake him off despite knowing what he does for a living. Spacek and Redford have excellent chemistry together and keep us thoroughly entertained in even the most mundane of scenes. Every criminal needs a cop to be his nemesis, and filling that role is Casey Affleck as John Hunt. Affleck provides a counterbalance to Redford’s glee as his character glumly deals with the thought of getting older in a static career. Affleck middlingly works throughout but never matches Redford’s ability to make us care about his character. The Old Man & the Gun is similar to that of a Sunday drive out into the country. It doesn’t really know where it’s going from time to time, but it doesn’t really matter because the ride itself is more enjoyable than the final destination. In his farewell performance, Redford shows us that he can win over any crowd and rides out into the sunset and leaves us with his legend and unforgettable skill as an actor. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery September 10, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery had its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release it in theaters on November 23, followed by its streaming premiere on December 23. The Last Jedi haters are rolling in their graves, as Rian Johnson has pulled off another incomprehensible feat with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery . A sequel to 2019’s Knives Out , a great igniter to the revitalization of the whodunit genre, was always going to be a tricky obstacle to overcome. In stepped Netflix, who gave Johnson the necessary blank check to indulge in his wildest fantasies. And because of that, he has crafted a whodunnit that is grander, funnier, stranger, and perhaps better than the original. The Thrombey family has been dealt with and a whole new cast of characters has been assembled within Glass Onion . None of these people are bound by blood. Instead, they are all old friends that go by the “Disruptors.” The leader of the group is Miles Bron (Edward Norton), whose billion-dollar fortune allows him to live on a private Greek island. Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.) is the lead scientist at Bron’s company. There’s also Senate candidate and family woman Claire (Kathryn Hahn), airheaded fashion model Birdie (Kate Hudson), gun-toting Duke (Dave Bautista), and his much younger girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). The black sheep of the group is Andi (Janelle Monáe), who was excommunicated after she lost a lengthy lawsuit against all of them for stealing her business idea. Every year, the group (minus Andi) receives a puzzle box invitation for a weekend getaway on Miles’ island. This year, however, invitations have also been sent to Andi and to Mr. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), whose mind is turning into mush as the COVID-19 pandemic has him shut inside without a case to crack. As you expect, the fireworks begin to go off once all these characters are assembled in one location. Long-held secrets are spilled, violence is enacted, and everyone is a suspect. As is the location and budget, the mystery here is much larger than in the original film. Double crosses become triple crosses, which then become quadruple crosses. As another testament to his dominance over his genre contemporaries, Johnson’s ability to control the material as both a writer and director are unparalleled. Through slick editing and a tactical sense of pacing, he’s created another murder mystery where the placing of the puzzle pieces is just as satisfying as seeing the whole picture. Monáe takes over the Ana de Armas role from the first Knives Out . She’s Blanc’s intelligence, laying out the details of each of these theory characters, and what motives they may have to harm another. Talking specifically about how she effortlessly overcomes the challenge of her role would require going into spoilers, so you’re just going to have to take me at my word that she’s incredible. The rest of the cast doesn’t have as much pressure on their shoulders, but they still shine when they need to. Norton is his signature smarmy self, complete with a flashback scene of him donning Frank Mackey’s outfit from Magnolia (a decision I can only imagine was explicitly targeted toward me). Hudson gets many of the laugh-out-loud moments, and Hahn chews the scenery as usual. Of course, Craig leads the pack, whose enthusiasm for the role is immediately infectious. Watching an actor known for playing the most serious iteration of James Bond don a pinstripe swimsuit and spew information with a comically overdone Southern accent is such a sight to behold. Luckily, Craig’s relationship with this character is much more positive than Bond, so the future is bright for further travels around the world. Glass Onion skillfully embraces and overcomes the usual dangers of doing the same thing as the original, just on a bigger scale. As the first of two planned sequels by Netflix, I can only imagine what Johnson is going to serve up next. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen