The Great Musical War of 2021 December 28, 2021 By: Hunter Friesen Besides the expected superhero films, the genre that seemed to be all the rage in 2021 was the movie musical. With Broadway shut down for a majority of the year due to the ongoing pandemic, the movies had to pick up the slack when it came to delivering the musical joy that audiences crave. 2021 saw several different variations of the movie musical, featuring original concepts ( Annette ), musical interpretations of classic tales ( Cinderella ), Broadway adaptations ( In the Heights , Tick, Tick… Boom! & Dear Evan Hansen ), and new adaptations of Broadway shows (Steven Spielberg's West Side Story ). Like Darwin's law of natural selection, some came and went with a whisper, and some were enjoyed and may become classics of the genre in the future. In this article, we'll look at why so many musicals were released this year and how each one fared in both a critical and commercial sense. Why were there so many musicals in 2021? When analyzing a trend, the first question that needs to be asked is why it happened in the first place. It's not like musicals are some newfound genre, like found footage movies. Musicals used to have the same market dominance that the superhero genre holds today. In 1930 alone, Hollywood released 100 musicals, most of them offering escapism from the doldrums of the Great Depression. There was even an Academy Award for Best Dance Direction from 1935 to 1937. As time went on, the number of musicals grew thinner, while their quality grew much bigger. Lavish and extravagant productions of well-known properties were made to compete with the growing popularity of television, with West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins , and The Sound of Music being some of the highest-grossing films of their respective year. Eventually, the market turned away from escapism and more towards realism. The big-budget hits of the past were now becoming hugely expensive bombs, as Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly! , and Paint Your Wagon all lost millions within the span of a few years. Apart from Disney animation and a few hits here and there ( Grease ), the musical genre took a backseat role for a few decades. That is, until the 2010s when studios were chasing pre-branded hits. Mamma Mia! grossed over half a billion dollars in 2008, and its 2018 sequel grossed nearly $400 million. These impressive results encouraged studios to mine for Broadway intellectual property and bring it to the big screen. Tom Hooper's (whose Cats adaptation was interestingly the last musical to be released before the pandemic) Les Misérables nabbed several Oscar nominations (including a Best Supporting Actress win for Anne Hathaway) along with $438 million worldwide. Into the Woods made half of that and gave Meryl Streep another acting nomination to add to her record tally. But it wasn't just Broadway adaptations that were becoming hits. Original titles, such as La La Land and The Greatest Showman , made millions mainly because of their soundtracks. With the rise of music streaming, a hit song could make cultural waves even before the movie came out. The soundtrack for La La Land reached number 2 on the US Billboard 200, and the album for The Greatest Showman was the best-selling album of 2018. Along with the market's driving forces, the other reason why there are so many musicals this year is a more obvious one: the pandemic. By the time everything went to hell in March 2020, nearly every studio had at least one, if not multiple, musicals somewhere along the pipeline. Plans were thrown into chaos, and many movies, like West Side Story and In the Heights , could not recoup their costs solely through streaming. They had to play the most boring game imaginable, which was the waiting game. And so, many other musicals followed suit, condensing the steady stream of releases into a cascading waterfall. Musicals were no longer competing with other genres; they were now competing with themselves. This in-fighting bred a more fierce competition style, making 2021 a war for the finite amount of consumer time and money. Now that the dust has finally settled, let's take a look at how each of the 2021 releases fared... In the Heights Before there was Hamilton , there was In the Heights . Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Broadway musical about Hispanic and Latino characters living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights won the Tony Award for Best Musical and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Universal Studios was initially set to adapt the musical back in 2008 but had to wait another decade for things to come together finally. A victim of the pandemic, the film was originally set to debut in the summer of 2020. It eventually was seen by audiences with a simultaneous HBO Max release in June of this year. The critical acclaim was through the roof, especially for Jon M. Chu's direction and Olga Merediz's supporting performance. Unfortunately, the film was a box office bomb, grossing a meager $43 million on a $55 million budget. That tepid response seems to have cratered the film's awards chances, with a Golden Globe nomination for Anthony Ramos seemingly being the best the film will net over the season. Annette Coming from the mind of Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, and director Leos Carax of Holy Motors fame, Annette is a truly unique vision. Starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as parents of a child with a unique gift, the film is more of a psychological drama than an escapist fantasy. It's a wild ride that divided critics and audiences, with the Cannes Film Festival awarding Carax the Best Director prize. While Amazon (who financed and released the film) will be a bit disappointed with the awards results, those familiar with Carax's filmography won't be shocked to see that the awards trajectory of Annette has (and will be) mostly relegated to critics' circles. The idiosyncratic Cahiers du Cinéma named the film the second-best of 2021 (behind First Cow ), and the Golden Globes gave a surprise nomination to Cotillard. Time will tell if this becomes a cult classic down the road. Come From Away Of all the historical events one could do a musical about, the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be one of the last to come to mind. But that hurdle didn't stop Irene Sankoff and David Hein from writing this musical about the true story of 7,000 passengers who become stranded in a small town in Newfoundland. Similar to Disney's Hamilton , Apple TV+ released this as a stage recording on September 10th. Critics immensely enjoyed the material, heaping praise for its ability to find joy and compassion in such a tragic time. Everybody's Talking About Jamie Going under the radar for the majority of audiences worldwide, this adaptation of the British stage musical (itself an adaptation of a BBC documentary) received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. Much of Everybody's Talking About Jamie's quiet release had to do with the pandemic, as its original date of October 2020 was scuttled due to the effects of COVID-19. Disney eventually sold it off to Amazon, who unceremoniously dumped it in early September. Following the true story of a 16-year-old boy fulfilling his dream of becoming a drag queen, the film has an infectiously giddy spirit as it sends a heartwarming message of inclusion for LGBTQ audiences and anyone who has had to deal with stigmatization. The British Independent Film Awards nominated Max Harwood for Best Breakthrough Performance for his titular role, along with the film's costumes and make-up. Cinderella It's a tale as old as time and one that has been told several times before in a much better fashion, according to both critics and audiences. Despite offering a few updates to the classic material, such as Billy Porter as the nonbinary fairy godmother, Kay Cannon's ( Blockers ) adaptation of Cinderella was flatlined by poor performances and character development. This was another Amazon disappointment, even though it was the most-streamed musical of the year as of its Labor Day weekend release. By the time the next rendition of this princess is released, this one will surely be forgotten. Dear Evan Hansen This adaptation of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical was mired with controversy since its inception through the casting of 27-year-old Ben Platt to reprise the role of the titular 17-year-old. There was also the problem of Stephen Chbosky's Dear Evan Hansen being unfaithful to the material and the lackluster handling of the touchy subject matters of suicide, depression, and self-discovery. The film had its world premiere as the Opening Night Gala Presentation for the Toronto International Film Festival, a decision that festival director Cameron Bailey may regret. Upon release, it was savagely ridiculed by critics and fans, grossing only $18 million worldwide, a far cry from the lofty expectation Universal had. Even the Golden Globes, who have come through for misbegotten films in the past, stayed far away from this disaster, refusing to give it a single nomination. " You Will Be Found" may be one of the most acclaimed songs from the soundtrack, but the only place this movie will be found is on several critics' worst-of-the-year lists. Diana Despite The Crown and Spencer taking up most of the oxygen about the life of Diana Spencer, Netflix felt that there was still room for a musical rendition about the life of the Princess of Wales. Their hunch proved to be incorrect, as this stage recording of the short-lived Broadway production was met with harsh criticism from critics, some of which went so far as to claim it was so bad, it's good. Other critics felt it was extremely immoral and disrespectful to Diana's life, and as a result, audiences stayed far, far away. Tick, Tick... Boom! The world got not one but two Lin-Manuel Miranda projects this year as the Hamilton and In the Heights creator made his feature film directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical telling of the life of Jonathan Larson, who wrote the famed production of Rent . Andrew Garfield received some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of Larson, bringing panicked energy as he attempted to jump-start his career with a show that consumed most of his life in 1990s New York City. By depicting the turbulent creative process, Miranda has made a love letter to all those who have poured their hearts and souls into their work. And unlike the fates of so many other musicals this year, this one has serious awards prospects. Garfield is firmly in the Best Actor race, and so is Steven Levenson's script and the film's editing. With a locked ten nominees for Best Picture starting this year, Tick, Tick… Boom! may find itself in good company come nomination morning. West Side Story Another pandemic victim that sat on the shelf for nearly a year, Steven Spielberg's first foray into the musical genre has been touted as one of the year's best films. Despite adapting one of the most beloved stage musicals (which was turned into a Best Picture-winning film in 1961), Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner found a new way to harmonize the past and the present, giving the original material fresh life. West Side Story also made stars out of new and exciting talents such as Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, and David Alvarez. Alongside Belfast and The Power of the Dog , Spielberg's film is a serious contender to win Best Picture and will more than likely be the nomination leader come Oscar nomination morning. Cyrano Unlike the majority of the films that were delayed due to the pandemic, this adaptation of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac did not commence production until October 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing. Famed literary director Joe Wright ( Atonement ) helmed the musical, with multiple Emmy winner Peter Dinklage portraying the titular wordsmith. Reviews from the film's festival run have been quite positive for Dinklage, who garnered some of the best reviews of his career, and the craftsmanship from Wright despite having to operate under such restricting circumstances. United Artists Releasing holds domestic distribution and is playing a high-risk, high-reward game by giving the film a qualifying release, followed by a limited national release in mid-January. So far, the strategy seems to be working as both the film and Dinklage have picked up several critics group nominations, including Best Actor nominations from both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice. In a year with so many movie musicals, Cyrano 's late-release strategy is helping it to stand out and carry the movie musical genre's momentum into 2022, where hopefully we'll continue to see a trend of more of these films continue to get released. 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

Shazam! April 4, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen I would have called you crazy if you had told me that we would get both a Captain Marvel and a Shazam film in the same year. But stranger things have happened, which is something we’ve had to get used to over the past couple of years. So now the year is 2019, and both of these films have premiered within the span of a month. Unfortunately, as much as I am happy to see these films get their moment to shine, the experience that I got out of both of them didn’t match my expectations. This superhero origin story centers around Billy Batson, a troubled kid that has committed his whole life to running away from foster homes and finding his real mom. On one fateful day, Billy is approached by an all-seeing wizard who wishes to transfer his power to him so that he may fight off the seven deadly sins that seek to destroy humanity. By speaking the wizard’s name, Billy is suddenly transformed into the unstoppable superhero Shazam, who possesses the combined powers of the Greek gods. With his nearly unlimited new powers, Billy must now set out to do good in the world, while still trying to find his real home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6GEIrcvFY Shazam! is directed by David F. Sandberg, who has made his name with the horror films Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out . One admirable thing that can be said of Sandberg is his intention and ability to make this film a moderately fun ride throughout, as it pokes fun at itself from time to time. To my regret, that is probably the only good thing that can be said about his directing, which has a consistent pattern of him pacing so much smaller material into an already overstuffed main narrative. The biggest issue that plagues Shazam! is that it always acts like it’s different from all the other superhero films, even though it really isn’t. This problem can be glaringly seen in the egregious 132-minute runtime, which follows the generic origin path where the hero gets their powers, has some struggles along the way, and then vanquishes evil in a climactic CGI battle. The one thing that this film does differently lies within its effects, which are a lot worse when compared to the competition. Written by Henry Gayden, Shazam! tries really hard (and fails) to be the family-friendly version of Deadpool . The problem that this film repeatedly runs into stems from the fact that Deadpool ’s style works solely on the effortless charm of Ryan Reynolds and its ability to be R-rated, two things that Shazam! sorely lacks. To be fair, a few of the jokes are actually quite funny, but the majority just fall flat and feel like a pale imitation. Another problem with Shazam! is the terrible one-dimensional villain, whose name I couldn’t remember until the credits rolled by. Basically, he’s a supervillain that does bad things because that’s what a supervillain does. Clear motives for his actions or any other defining character traits are nonexistent Retouching on the point of needless subplots, the whole storyline about the missing mother is handled quite amateurishly and laughably underwhelms in its conclusion. Part of the blame can be placed on Sandberg for spending too much time on it, but most of it should go to Gayden for not cutting this tedious and unimportant plot out of an already bloated story. Maybe the finest quality that this film has lies within its lead actor, Zachary Levi, who brings a lot of energy to the titular role. He’s no Ryan Reynolds, which he tries really hard to be, but he does a good enough job to cover many of the storytelling faults. Asher Angel plays Billy and does a below-average job. His performance of Billy as an insufferably meddling kid wildly contrasts with Levi’s and makes it really hard to believe both of them are playing the same core character. The villain role of Sivana is played by Mark Strong. Just like his character, Strong’s dull performance is immediately forgotten after watching. Lastly, Djimon Hounsou underwhelmingly stars as the wizard, who can best be described as a dollar-store version of Gandalf. After seven entries, the DCEU has yet to put out one above-average film. And although Shazam! falls prey to many of the same problems that have besieged the other films in the universe, the one thing that it can hang its hat on is its ability to be quite entertaining for a portion of its runtime. Still, don’t expect to be blown away, just moderately surprised. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Shazam! in theaters nationwide on April 05th. 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

Love Hurts February 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Ostensibly, Love Hurts is an original movie. It’s neither a remake nor a reboot, nor is it 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frYVyUDIwiE Quan’s enthusiasm for having a leading role is completely infectious, giving his character an immediately relatable spirit. He plays Marvin Gable, a Milwaukee realtor who always sees the bright side and greets every day with a smile. But while his demeanor is authentic, 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 land 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, a 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. Universal Pictures will release Love Hurts in theaters nationwide on February 7th. 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

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes May 8, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Dubbed by many as the “thinking man’s action franchise,” the Planet of the Apes films have garnered quite high esteem over the years. What started as a single above-average 60s sci-fi blockbuster quickly became a cash-grab franchise, complete with a failed reboot at the turn of the millennium by Tim Burton. A balance of brain and brawn was finally met with Rise of the Planet of the Apes a decade later, followed by two excellent sequels ( Dawn and War ) that proved to be the exception to the rule of the dumbed-down CGI-heavy summer blockbuster. The momentum was too hot to put a cold towel over, prompting a continuation in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (the perfect title for critics striving to hit a certain word count). And just like they proved the doubters over the past decade, Kingdom rises above the notion that it’s an unnecessary addition, as it reaches for newer, relevant themes in a world turned upside down. The central ape of the modern reboot trilogy, Caesar, has now passed, with his legend taking different forms in the many generations to follow. Earth is still an ape-dominant world, with them talking in semi-complete sentences and harnessing the power of other animals (eagles, horses, etc.) to progress their clans. It’s a feudal time of several clans all living separately, one of them being a group of eagle herders deep within the jungle. A young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) knows that there is more to the world than the arbitrary borders his clan elders have drawn. But instead of a great journey inspired by self-discovery, Noa’s adventure is spurred by warring ape factions that seek to dominate and enslave others. The motivation for these aggressive apes is the deification of Caesar into a Christlike figure. Led by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who sees himself as the second coming of the messiah, they are essentially medieval crusaders, fighting to purify the land. “Apes together strong” has become one of their commandments, only this time it’s been twisted to brainwash apes into indentured servitude, as there isn’t a common enemy in the form of humans, with only a few left who are intelligent enough to speak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtFI7SNtVpY Writer Josh Friedman keeps the brain of Kingdom firing at all times, holding up a mirror to the apes just as much as it does to all of human history. The words of Caesar have now become copies of copies of copies, with the loss of meaning being replaced by control and lust to grab hold of the power they possess. While it may sometimes over-explain itself, there’s a lot to appreciate in the moment and the many moments after the lights have gone up. In conjunction with Friedman, who is working from a foundation laid by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the writers of Rise, whom James Cameron has recruited to help steer his Avatar films, is director Wes Ball, now also taking a few inspirations from that particular blue franchise. This is a new world from the time of Caesar, with Ball relishing in the time needed to relearn its environment and culture. There’s a patient rhythm to the storytelling, with just as many quiet moments of introspection as there are moments of shrieking bombast. The overall production qualities are still top-notch, even if they are a mild step down from what director Matt Reeves was able to accomplish with his two most recent entries. The rich, natural colors of War have been replaced with an overly lit palette, and the ape CGI is slightly less expressive in the facial area. And the excellently underappreciated work by composer Michael Giacchino is sorely missing. It doesn’t feel like the highest form of criticism to simply compare the previous films to this new one, but it’s nearly impossible to avoid it after the bar has been set so memorably high. Under all that digital fur are some quality actors, notably Teague as our new hero. It must be catnip for an actor to inhabit a role such as this, especially after Andy Serkis revolutionized and displayed to the world just how seriously the craft of motion capture performing should be taken. There are real emotions on display, with Teague and his other ape castmates deserving just as much credit as the visual effects department. There’s also Freya Allan as the intelligent human Mae, who serves as the main catalyst for the debate over whether humanity has the right to take back what they once held a several millennia-long grip over. That debate will surely rattle on and become more intense in the successive sequels, which will have the opportunity to follow the same trajectory of the previous sequels by improving on an already solid start. There’s also the possibility that they drag over the same terrain that we’ve become accustomed to. But this franchise hasn’t done us wrong for a while now, so I’ll let the side of optimism take over for the time being. It’s a nice feeling to have, and not one I take for granted. 20th Century Studios will release Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in theaters nationwide on May 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

Cannes 2023 Predictions - Part 4: The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers April 11, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, the Cannes Film Festival always attracts the attention of cinephiles and industry professionals alike. Each year, the festival presents a diverse lineup of films that represent the best of international cinema, including both established and emerging filmmakers. With the 76th edition of the festival set to take place in May, film enthusiasts around the world are eagerly anticipating the announcement of the official selection on April 13th. While the festival organizers keep their cards close to their chest, there are already some strong players emerging as likely contenders for the coveted Cannes spotlights. In this four-part series, I’ll take a closer look at some of the films that are generating buzz and predict which ones are likely to make it to the Croisette this year. Each part will represent a category of films, which are: The Festival Masters Hollywood Makes a Splash The Festival Mainstays The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers The fourth and final part of my prediction series has us looking deeper into the fog. The directors listed are usually the most hungry and ambitious, as they are still looking to make a name for themselves at both the festival and within the world of cinema at large. Their projects may also still have a lot of questions, such as production status or release strategies. But miracles have happened and many of these deserve a coveted spot, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Which of these films are you most interested in? I'll be keeping you all posted on my adventures and sharing my thoughts on the films that I see. Stay tuned for more updates! The Iron Claw Indie filmmaker Sean Durkin has already impressed both domestic and international critics with his spellbinding psychological exercises. His feature debut of Martha Marcy May Marlene made the trek to the Croisette after its premiere at Sundance, and his next film (distributed by A24) seems Cannes-appropriate. Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White star as the Von Erichs, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a great impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day. Club Zero Little Joe director Jessica Hausner had her last film stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing it from being ready in time for last year’s festival. Things are looking much better this year, with Hausner ready to make her second appearance in the competition. She teamed up once again with her usual co-writer Géraldine Bajard in this story about a teacher (Mia Wasikowska) who takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students - a relationship that eventually takes a dangerous turn. Memory Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco has split his time between Cannes and Venice when it comes to premiering his films. His last two works have made the Italian festival their home, but Fremeux may be able to tempt him to return to the Croisette due to the star wattage of Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard leading his new film. How Do You Live? With a planned July release date in his native Japan, all signs point to Hayao Miyazaki debuting his latest (and presumably) final film at Cannes. Despite several of his previous films playing at the festival, How Do You Live would mark his first film to premiere before its theatrical release. The titular book has long influenced Miyazaki, who cites it as his favorite childhood read. It’ll tell the story of a teenage boy and the interactions he has with his friends and uncle. Eureka A part of the New Argentine Cinema movement, Lisandro Alonso and his films have moved at a deliberate pace. He’s only directed six feature-length films since 2001, with nearly all of them playing at Cannes. His most recent film, Jauja won the FIPRESCI Prize as part of the 2014 Un Certain Regard selection. He’ll be reteaming with Viggo Mortensen for a story about a man on the search for his daughter after she has been kidnapped. No word has been given on production status, so it remains a mystery if the film is ready. Salem Jean-Bernard Marlin made a name for himself in 2018 with his Shéhérazade , netting him the award for Best First Feature at that year’s César Awards after its premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week. His next feature will continue to be set in the ganglands of France as it centers on a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who can save his Marseille community from an apocalyptic curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath. Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet made her festival debut in 2019 with Sibyl , which was met with mixed reviews. Those reactions would be cause for demotion to one of the sidebars for most filmmakers, but Triet is packing a punch in her sophomore effort with Toni Erdmann star Sandra Hüller leading as a mother accused of killing her husband. Her blind son is the sole witness to the murder, putting him in a grave moral dilemma. Strangers After taking a slight detour in television, 45 Days and Lean on Pete writer/director Andrew Haigh is back to feature filmmaking, and he’s brought together an all-star UK cast to mark the occasion. Andrew Scott will lead the film as a screenwriter who has a chance encounter with his neighbor (Paul Mescal), which pulls him back into his childhood home, where his long-dead parents are mysteriously still alive (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). Haigh has premiered films at both Venice and Berlin, so it may be time he heads to Cannes, whether it be in competition or one of the sidebars. Occupied City Documentary films may not always pack the biggest red carpet potential, but plenty of them have broken out, notably Michael Moore’s Palme d’Or winning Fahrenheit 9/11 . Steve McQueen will try to recreate that success with his retelling of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam from 1940-1945. Carrying a blockbuster budget of $5 million, joint distributors A24 and Film4 will likely want a big splashy premiere. 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 Housemaid December 17, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Keenly shot and dressed like one of those insufferable holiday-themed luxury car commercials, director Paul Feig’s adaptation of Freida McFadden's bestselling 2022 novel knows how to have a good time. Awards and prestige can be damned, as this is all about the guilty pleasure that is harbored within trashy twists and turns. It’s something the suit-and-tie-wearing filmmaker has been enamored with over the past few years, helming other BookTok sensations like A Simple Favor (and its sequel ) and The School for Good and Evil . This is the first time he’s been able to hit that elusive target, which makes the fact that this is his first theatrically-released project since 2019 not much of a coincidence. Hooting and hollering were rampant throughout the audience as the barbed edges of this salacious story gradually slinked their way out of the shadows. There’s also no shortage of warning signs before their arrival, with every utterance of “I insist” concealing sinister intentions and every people-pleasing smile lasting just until everyone looks away. The gardener has two jobs: tending to the plants and staring at everyone suspiciously through the windows. Both of those jobs are quite simple, as this mansion has a lot of flowers, and everyone on the inside is up to no good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48CtX6OgU3s Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is the fly that lands in this ointment. Fresh out of prison and on parole, she thinks she’s found the dream job she desperately needs as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar). Andrew designed the whole house, complete with a fabulous kitchen, soundproof walls, a screening room stocked full of candy, and Chekhov’s winding staircase. He’s a perfect husband and father, especially considering that Nina seems to be suffering from some sort of personality disorder. One minute, she’s all sunshine and rainbows; the next minute, she’s accusing Millie of destroying their family. Andrew's status as an absolute saint, along with being unfairly attractive (granted, everyone is obscenely beautiful in this cast), makes it all too good to be true. I caught the smell of bullshit once he pseudo-intellectually claimed that Barry Lyndon is a “misunderstood masterpiece,” which makes absolutely no sense considering its numerous Oscars and perennial placement on lists of the best movies ever made. But Millie doesn’t seem to be much of a cinephile, and everyone has a tragic backstory that conjures up just enough sympathy for the red flags not to seem so scary. And then, of course, sex has to become a part of the problem, with Andrew and Millie growing closer while they endure Nina’s mood swings. This is a story best experienced in the theater, mostly because you wouldn’t be able to pause and ask one of the many questions that would unravel this pretzel. Those four walls and the social agreement of silence mean you’re mentally and physically locked in for this ride, which Feig knows how to keep deliciously entertaining. Seyfried handles the shifts between pleasantries and insanity well, and Sweeney continues her streak of frothy thrillers. The Housemaid makes me happy about the fact that I’ll likely never make enough money to be able to hire a stranger to live at my house. Then again, I’d probably be alright with taking my chances if it meant I got to have a home theater like Andrew’s. I’d just make sure to leave all the drama to the movies, where it’s served best. Lionsgate will release The Housemaid in theaters nationwide on December 19th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

I Wanna Dance with Somebody December 21, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen INT. STAGE - THE SET OF “20 QUESTIONS” Announcer (A): Hello, and welcome to 20 Questions , the popular game that everyone loves to play! The rules are simple: We select a subject and something specific within that subject, and our contestant races to identify that specific item in twenty questions or fewer. If the contestant succeeds, they will walk away with $10,000. Sounds easy enough! Now, let’s meet the lucky lad who will be playing today! Hunter (H): Hello, my name is Hunter, and I consider myself a big movie buff. A: Well, Hunter, it's your lucky day, as the theme for today’s game is movies! Hunter does a fist pump under the desk he’s sitting at. A: We’re going to give you a specific genre of movies, and you have to figure out which movie we’re looking for in twenty questions or fewer. H: Sounds great, Mr. Announcer. I’m ready to receive my $10,000! A: Alright, well, let's get the game started. Your specific genre is… musician biopics . H (under his breath): Oh crap… A: You may begin asking questions! Q1: Alright, well, does this start at the end of the protagonist’s journey, and then proceed to be told as one long flashback? A: Yes Q2: Do the parents of the protagonist have a strained relationship, giving the protagonist unresolved trauma? A: Yes Q3: And does the protagonist make many of the same mistakes as their parents, even though they swore they wouldn’t be like them? A: Yes Q4: Do things start rough at the protagonist’s first big public appearance, like they stand too close to the microphone or they almost faint before they walk on stage? A: Yes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tfemzaMkoU Q5: But they immediately pull themselves together and deliver a knock-out performance that stuns the crowd, which coincidentally includes a big-time agent/manager/producer? A: Yes Q6: Once they're signed to a contract, does the protagonist enjoy immediate success, thrusting them into an unfamiliar world of high expectations? A: Yes Q7: And is this successful period covered with a montage containing shots of positive newspaper headlines, screaming crowds, and lots of expensive items, all while one of their most famous songs plays? A: Yes Q8: After a while, does the protagonist meet an outsider who begins to corrupt their good-natured morals? A: Yes Q9: Do the family and friends of the protagonist try to convince them that this outsider is a bad influence and will probably ruin their career? A: Yes Q10: But the protagonist doesn’t listen to any of them, as they’re blinded by either love or a need to rebel against what people expect of them? A: Yes Q11: Does the protagonist eventually start to struggle with the pressures of fame, leading them to rely on drugs and alcohol to maintain the pace? A: Yes Q12: And does this addiction disrupt their talents, leading to some backlash from their fans? A: Yes Q13: Do the family and friends who have been with the protagonist since the beginning of the movie stage an intervention about their addiction? A: Yes Q14: And does the protagonist then lash out by repeatedly saying “I’m fine” or “I have it under control”? A: Yes Q15: Then the protagonist goes to rehab, starting the recovery process by going back to their roots of why they loved singing in the first place? A: Yes Q16: Do we then get to the end of the movie, where the protagonist makes a comeback by performing another one of their most famous songs? A: Yes Q17: Does the movie then fade to black once they finish the song, revealing a postscript that describes the tragic fate of the protagonist, and how their music was so important? A: Yes Q18: After the postscript, does a clip montage of the real protagonist play over the credits, validating the impression made by the lead actor or actress? A: Yes Q19: Will this lead performer be described as a “star-in-the-making” or a “revelation,” and be considered for an Oscar? A: Yes Q20: But, despite the lead performance being praised, will everyone agree that the movie is just an airbrushed retelling of the protagonist's Wikipedia page and that it played loose with the facts? A: Yes, and that was your final question, so you need to guess which movie we’re looking for. H: Well, gosh, I haven’t really narrowed it down. It could be… Walk the Line, Bohemian Rhapsody , Born to be Blue, Beyond the Sea, I Saw the Light, Judy, Coalminer’s Daughter, Ray, Elvis, Respect, Get on Up , or The United States vs. Billie Holiday , Stardust , or twenty other movies I can’t think of right now. A: Well, I’m going to have to ask you to only guess one. H: Alright, I’m guessing that the movie you’re looking for is Bohemian Rhapsody . A: Oh, I’m sorry, but the answer we wanted was Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody ! You actually saw that movie last night. H: Dang! You’re right, I did see that movie last night! I’ve completely forgotten about it, and it’s not even been 24 hours. A: Don’t feel too hard on yourself. Everyone is going to forget about that movie by next week. H: Yeah, you’re probably right. A: And that’s going to do it for us here at 20 Questions ! We hope you all at home had fun playing along, even though we doubt you were able to come up with the answer as well. Sony Pictures Releasing will release I Wanna Dance with Somebody in theaters nationwide on December 23rd. 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

A Thousand and One March 30, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Through the grainy filter capturing the hustle and bustle of the streets of Harlem, writer/director A.V. Rockwell, making her feature directorial debut, showcases her skillfulness at creating a lived-in setting for her story. Initially set in the mid-1990s, you see people with beepers, boom boxes, gold chains, and ripped jeans. The World Trade Centers are still standing, signaling how different an era this was. But not everything has changed since then, with the aggressive “anti-crime” (a code word for racial profiling) politics of former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg being a consistent threat over the decades. People get stopped for random frisks, neighborhoods become gentrified, and the police presence is always felt. Inez (singer Teyana Taylor) is one of those people living on the fringes of this world. She just got back from an extended stay at Rikers Prison and is in the process of figuring out how to move on. One of the first people she sees from across the street is her sort-of young son, Terry (it’s complicated), who’s been shuffling around foster homes since she left. Inez is a child of the foster care system as well, and she’s a lot of herself within Terry. She knows that he’ll end up just like her if he continues to be stuck on this path. To break the chain, Inez illegally “kidnaps” Terry from his foster home and moves him uptown, giving him a new name, Daryl, and a fake birth certificate in the process. Years eventually go by, with Inez and Terry making the most out of their makeshift situation. But Inez knows this lie will come crashing down once someone starts to wiggle that bottom block. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBM0_6JJw1s Similar to how she creates the world around her characters, Rockwell has the world push back against them. Inez is always having to fight for what she has, whether it's the landlord’s shady attempts at getting her to leave so he can flip the building or her being unable to support herself through a job she cares about, like hairstyling. Years and years of that wear on her, with Taylor being a great illustrator of this. Those hardships burrow into Terry as well, with Rockwell taking the Moonlight approach of having three different actors (Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross) play the boy between the ages of six and seventeen. The choice may not work as well compared to what Barry Jenkins did for his Best Picture-winning film, but all three performers here find a connective thread that they weave together. While the influence of Moonlight becomes more heavily evident as A Thousand and One marches on with its slightly overextended 116-minute runtime, none of it feels like a secondhand imitation. Eric K. Yue’s beautiful cinematography and Gary Gunn’s fluttery score give warmth in the most tender moments. The coldness is always present as well, being an aching reminder of how close to the edge these characters live. A Thousand and One tells a story of the past and the future, with each character having to reckon with where they stand in their timeline. Rockwell has delivered an impressive debut, worthy of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize awarded to her at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Between her career behind the camera and Taylor’s in front of it, there’s an immense amount of talent on the rise. Focus Features will release A Thousand and One in select theaters on March 31st. 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

A Man Called Otto January 11, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In the realm of professional basketball (NBA), there’s always a bit of controversy surrounding the award for Most Valuable Player (MVP). There are no clear-cut criteria for how the award should be given to a player, begging the question: how do you define the term “most valuable”? For some people, “most valuable” means the most impactful player on a great team (people want to vote for winners). For others, it simply means the player who played the best during the season, no matter if their team is good or bad (Russell Westbrook averaged a historical triple-double during the 2016-2017 season, despite his team barely making the playoffs). And for the real purists, “most valuable” should always go to the player who would hurt their team the most if they didn’t play. Objectors to this mindset claim that LeBron James would then just win every year, as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 40 more games in both of the seasons after he left the team. All of these mindsets can also be extended to the acting Oscar races, specifically this year’s race for Best Leading Actor. Voters who think Best Actor should go to the best performance in a great movie will likely side with Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin . The voters who think the award should go to the best performance, regardless of the film’s quality, will likely be split between Brendan Fraser in The Whale or Austin Butler in Elvis . And I suppose the purists who think the award should go to the actor who saves their film the most might be inclined to look toward Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto because no one else in that titular role would have been able to make something out of nothing like Hanks does. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFYUX9l-m5I Thinking of Tom Hanks, a.k.a. America's dad, as a grumpy old widower sounds like an impossible endeavor. After all, this is the same man who preached simple goodness in Forrest Gump , spread childlike wonder in Saving Mr. Banks , and literally played Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood . But Hanks has no trouble shifting towards the side of bitterness and resentment. Of course, this old grump still has a heart of gold tucked underneath a cold exterior, so it’s not like Hanks is going totally outside his comfort zone. Otto serves as the unofficial meter maid, recyclable sorter, grievance giver, and overall Debbie Downer of the little row-house development he inhabits with his neighbors, who all try their best to stay out of his way in fear of being berated. Someone who won’t just roll over like the rest is Marisol (a wonderful scene-stealing Mariana Treviño), who just moved into the neighborhood with her husband and two kids, with a third on the way. Marisol’s good nature and excellent cooking chip away at Otto’s gruffness over time, and an unlikely relationship begins to form. The way in which A Man Called Otto goes about its business should come as no surprise to any viewer. Screenwriter David Magee (pulling off triple duty this year with this and The School for Good and Evil, as well as Lady Chatterley’s Lover ) takes an overzealous approach to using a sander to smooth out the dark edges within the bestselling novel and 2016 Swedish film A Man Called Ove . There are a few cloying moments meant to tug at the heartstrings, and some heavier themes that are mentioned rather than examined. Director Marc Forster tries to rationalize Otto’s behavior with frequent flashbacks to his younger days, where he’s played by Tom’s real-life son, Truman. The physical resemblance might be there for Truman, but the acting chops certainly are not, making the connection between the younger and older versions of Otto fuzzy at best. A Man Called Otto is a family affair for the Hanks clan, with Rita serving as producer and dishing out a few songs on the radio. Even wild Chet gets a cameo with his “White Boy Summer” blasting from the car of a trashy side character. It’s doubtful that any family watching A Man Called Otto will get as much out of it as the Hanks’, but I also doubt any family will be harmed by it either. Sony Pictures Releasing will release A Man Called Otto in select theaters on December 29th, followed by a nationwide expansion on January 13th. 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

Marriage Story December 12, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen “Divorce is like death without a body.” With nearly half of all marriages ending in divorce in America, this quote from Noah Baumbach’s new film now rings truer than ever. Debuting on Netflix, Marriage Story centers on the relationship between Charlie and Nicole Barber. Charlie is an emerging New York theatre director, and Nicole is a revered actress who's followed him on the stage for the last decade. The good times are over now, and the couple is in the process of divorce, with their eight-year-old son, Henry, caught in the middle. The couple first decided to part ways amicably, but over time, things got messier with lawyers and a sudden move by Nicole to Los Angeles. Now on opposite coasts, the two sides must bear the immense strain of splitting up while still trying to keep some semblance of their family together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHi-a1n8t7M The tenth feature from Baumbach (and second for Netflix), the unfolding of Marriage Story takes several cues from its stage theatre setting. Numerous scenes play out in long, uninterrupted takes as characters move around the space, delivering monologues aimed at the audience just as much as they are at other characters. The blocking of each camera and character movement is superb as it allows scenes to flow with grace and deliver their maximum effect. Accenting Baumbach’s work behind the camera is an orchestral score from legendary musician Randy Newman. The score calls back to Newman’s similar work in Toy Story as the mood swings back and forth from playful to somber. More of a writer first, and director second, Baumbach’s screenplay contains both unparalleled honesty and authenticity. The film opens with Charlie and Nicole saying what they love about each other, only for it to be revealed that it’s all part of an exercise assigned to them by their divorce counselor. This perfect establishing scene and many others work wonders at making us feel for their relationship and connect it to our experiences, both good and bad. Given that this is a semi-autobiographical film for Baumbach about his earlier divorce, you may fear that bias would be present. Luckily, Baumbach isn’t interested in taking sides. He may give Charlie a little more of the benefit of the doubt, but overall, he paints a balanced picture where both the features and flaws of each character are on display. And despite the depressing subject matter, the film is still able to be quite funny as comedy gets woven throughout. This is usual for Baumbach, who uses humor as an addition to the drama rather than a clean break from it. Playing Charlie and Nicole are Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, respectively. Each of them is amazing on their own and will deservedly be showered with awards this season. They each have their big individual scenes and one grand one together, but where they each make their money is in the little scenes between the big ones. A small facial movement here or special line delivery there goes a long way in developing who they are and what they stand for. Laura Dern is also great as Nicole’s no-nonsense lawyer, Nora. Dern has made a name for herself as a tough character, and she continues that here with a fierce, commanding performance. Alan Alda and Ray Liotta play Charlie’s two lawyers, who have two very different styles that complement each other's acting strengths. Alda is the gentler and more presentable one when compared to Liotta’s more hostile and brash demeanor. Never before has a film been so pleasantly depressing and genuinely funny at the same time. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, or you’ll do both at the same time. By the time the credits start rolling, you’ll have been on a journey with not just these characters, but also with yourself. Netflix will release Marriage Story in select theaters on November 06th, followed by its streaming premiere on December 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

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Magellan January 24, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Running 160 minutes, Magellan could be considered a short film for Filipino writer/director Lav Diaz. Often also serving as his own cinematographer and editor, it is not abnormal for one of his films to eclipse the three-hour mark. Two of his most acclaimed works are The Woman Who Left (winning the Golden Lion at the 2016 Venice Film Festival) and Season of the Devil , both clocking in at nearly four hours. A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery reaches eight hours, Melancholia and A Tale of Filipino Violence are seven, and From What Is Before is five-and-a-half. Apart from its reduced runtime, Magellan also contrasts on account of its exponentially grander scale and scope. Almost all of the previously mentioned films were shot in black-and-white with consumer-level HD and DSLR cameras, extremely inexpensive compared to traditional productions. For this film, €2 million was allotted, still a small amount for a story taking place on multiple continents and headlined by a major international star in Gael García Bernal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h7rriQD1qc The relative brevity of this film was initially not by design; the project was first announced in 2019 under the title of Beatriz, The Wife . The goal was to depict the life of Ferdinand Magellan through the eyes of his younger wife, whom he married just before his expedition, and then never saw again. True to his form, Diaz is still working on a much lengthier sort of sequel to Magellan with the extra footage , which will fulfill that promise. Here, she is essentially a cameo, a brief moment of solace between Ferdinand’s perilous journeys. That choice is in service to this specific story, as Magellan sees the titular explorer as little more than power-hungry and only out for himself. Magellan left Spain in 1519, seeking to reach the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia. He sailed west, intending to prove that there was a faster route than going under the southern tip of Africa. For two years, he and his crew sailed across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, eventually making landfall in the eastern Philippines. They were the first European contact for the native people, bringing the word of God with them. Of course, this view of Christianity is still strictly conservative, with two homosexual crewmen being executed midway through the journey. All physical renderings of local idols are immediately burned, with any displays of worship being swiftly punished. As Bender once said in Futurama : “The whole world must learn of our peaceful ways... by force!” For many Filipinos, the legend of Ferdinand Magellan is one marked by bloodlust and outsized ambition, a symptom of the European disease to conquer rather than cooperate. Working with cinematographer Artur Tort, a frequent collaborator of the similarly patient director Albert Serra, Diaz constructs breathtakingly painterly frames. Within the 4:3 ratio, both the background and foreground contain a multitude of plot strands, their naked truth revealing the spoken lies. In one moment, Ferdinand kneels to pray to God in gratitude, with several native corpses lying near him. Although he often bristles against the idea of ‘Slow Cinema,’ Diaz is very much a part of that community, along with other revered filmmakers like Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Bela Tarr, and Theo Angelopoulos. The camera sits motionless for minutes on end, equally capturing both the epic and mundane. It replicates the pace of a journey, the ecstasy not all that much different than the endless agony. You’re lulled into the film’s liminal flow of time, a witness to the tragically pathetic expansion of Western civilization. Others may be lulled to sleep, their slumber never interrupted due to the film’s absence of any noise above a whisper. Even with its length, much of Magellan still feels surface-level. Granted, this is not meant to be the definitive portrait of the man, as evidenced by the fact that we don’t get a good look at him until at least an hour in. Diaz is more concerned with repercussions than reinterpretations, the slippery slope this specific part of the world has been on for more than five centuries. Many of the lessons are still being learned the hard way, with the only difference being the way they’re dressed. Janus Films will release Magellan in select theaters on January 09th. 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