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Red One November 15, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen To be able to critique a film, you have to care about it. It doesn’t matter if that care comes in the form of how much you loved or hated it, it just needs to be present. But every once in a while there comes a film that doesn’t do anything for you. A form of highway hypnosis takes over; a blank stare fixes upon your face, your posture slouches, and your sense of purpose has been fully diluted. Red One was one of those films for me, something that I should have easily foreseen. The solitary thought that broke through my catatonic state during the screening was a wish that the movie was worse, as it would at least be interesting to talk about. But it wasn’t, so the only ammunition I have to fill this valuable margin space is a list of things I didn’t care about: I didn’t care that every character’s motivation adheres to the tired “rubber-ducky school of drama.” Everyone is good or evil because of some innocuous thing in their childhood, which will certainly be explained at length. I didn’t care that the fine folks at Amazon funded a $250 million movie about the evils of consumerism. Although it’s probably not a coincidence that every act of consumer greed occurs at a mall, not online. I didn’t care that the film wanted to have its cake and eat it too when it came to the rules and logic. Every world leader is aware of the existence of Santa Claus, and he even uses military bases to land his sleigh. And yet, the rest of the world’s population still thinks he doesn’t exist. How do parents react when they buy presents for the kids and new ones appear under the chimney on Christmas morning? Are the leaders keeping Santa a secret to prop up the economy? I didn’t care that Santa’s helpers are now CGI trolls instead of elves. Milk and cookies are fine, but we’re drawing the line at elves? I didn’t care that the film used the convenient fact that the North Pole is in perpetual darkness during the winter months to cover up its laughably subpar effects. I didn’t care that none of the jokes would be worthy of appearing in the bottom rung of the MCU. Take a shot every time a character says an inherently silly line with a straight face, only for the other character to repeat that same line with an exacerbated tone. I didn’t care that the fourth-billed J.K. Simmons does absolutely nothing for 80% of the movie. What do you mean he got totally jacked for the role and then proceeded to sit in a snow globe jail cell for 100 consecutive minutes? I didn’t care that Nick Kroll, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Bonnie Hunt were totally wasted in nothing roles. I didn’t care that enough holiday-related mythological creatures were sprinkled throughout to tease the establishment of a cinematic universe. After reading that list (and checking it twice), you’re probably thinking to yourself, “For a movie you didn’t care about, you certainly had a lot to say about it.” My answer is simple: I don’t care, and neither should you. Checkmate. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World March 4, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen Without many people noticing, the How to Train Your Dragon series has become one of the most highly regarded modern trilogies. The first two films struck a chord between audiences and critics by telling the beautiful story of a friendship between a boy and his dragon. The third and final film in the franchise, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World meets the bar set by its predecessors and caps off a series a decade in the making. Now the leader of Berk, Hiccup has transformed the island into a dragon sanctuary. Due to their vulnerability and approaching enemies, Hiccup decides to search for an underground dragon paradise known as the Hidden World. At the same time, a new Night Fury mysteriously appears, catching the eye of Toothless. With both their physical and emotional fortitude being tested by new outside forces, both Hiccup and Toothless will have to re-examine their bond and decide what truly matters to them. First and foremost, this is an absolutely gorgeous movie with several stunning shots. In association with the great Roger Deakins, cinematographer Gal Zimmerman has crafted a beautiful breathing world filled with vivid colors. Director Dean DeBlois uses outstanding cinematography to its fullest potential as a large part of the film takes place in the foreground of majestic vistas. He also uses stages in many of his scenes with single camera movements that make for more believable action. DeBlois proves to work best without dialogue as he creates great emotional depth through movement and expression. The dragons benefit the most from this as they are developed into full characters, with most being more fleshed out than the humans. And as always, composer John Powell delivers another amazing score. The mix of epic and tenderness makes Powell’s score quite possibly the best part of the film as it combines with the sweeping imagery. Serving as the sole writer, DeBlois isn’t as good on paper as he is behind the camera. The script for this entry follows beat for beat with the previous two installments. The main theme of dragons and humans learning how to coexist is heavily touched on, but this time to the point of boredom. I realize it's the essential crutch of the trilogy, it's just tiring to tread the same points for the third film in a row. There’s only so much that can be said until it becomes monotonous. The film also feels quite overstuffed as too many supporting characters fight for a small number of good jokes. Most of them turn out to be quite irritating as they only get one trait that wears thin incredibly quickly. The thread of single-trait characters can also be extended to the main villain, Grimmel, whose one defining characteristic is that he’s evil. Instead of developing him and creating justifications for his actions, DeBlois back up everything Grimmel does with the explanation that he’s a bad guy that does bad things. Even with all his faults, DeBlois does do a great job with the final act. He effortlessly ends the series on a high note through sequences of heartfelt character interaction that will bring tears to audiences of all ages. Compared to most other animated films, the voice acting is not as high of quality as one would expect. Jay Baruchel as Hiccup is still pretty good. His voice perfectly captures the character both physically and emotionally. America Ferrera does equally decent work as Astrid. Her best scenes are the more intimate ones she shares with Baruchel. F. Murray Abraham does a respectable job as Grimmel. Unfortunately, his perfectly menacing voice kind of goes wasted on a paper-thin character. Weighing the rest of the cast down is the comedy sidekick trio of Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, and Justin Rupple. They each sound like their on autopilot mode and end up becoming progressively more annoying throughout the length of the film. For lovers of the first two films, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is another instant classic. While it isn’t perfect, this finale to a solid trilogy will leave dazzled by its imagery and touched by its story. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

TIFF23 Dispatch - Part 2 September 17, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen All of the films were screened at the 2023 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. The Royal Hotel It’s adapt or die for Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liz (Jessica Henwick) as they take jobs as bartenders in the only pub in a remote Australian mining town. The temp agency warned the girls that they needed to be “okay with a little male attention,” which turns out to be quite the understatement as their first night is filled with nasty jokes, unruly stares, and just general douchiness. Choosing adaptation is a death sentence, as there’s no reward for allowing this toxic mob to take control of their mind and body. Director Kitty Green announced her talent with the matter-of-fact The Assistant in 2019 (also starring Garner). This sophomore effort is a leveling up of her prowess behind the camera, lining every scene with a grimy sense of dread. It feels like a thrill ride, except none of the thrills are satisfying. Green greatly elevates her script, written by Green and Oscar Redding, which never packs the depth needed and tends to loop around as it tries to sustain the 90-minute runtime. Garner and Henwick are powerful anchors, “supported” by some convincing creeps. I have no doubt Green will be hitting it big within the next few years. (3/5) The Beast Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast is the pretentious European version of Cloud Atlas , which is a statement that tells you everything you need to know about whether you’ll like it or not. I was all in on this movie, even if its ultimate message and specific story beats are hard to follow. Bonello jumps between 1904, 2014, and 2044, intersplicing the three time periods to tell a story about love conquering time. Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play characters in each period, navigating the unknowable connection they feel for each other. It’s overindulgent and excessive, but Bonello displays a mastery of tone and vision across the 146 minutes. There’s passion, fear, humor, drama, and everything in between. I’d love to see it again sometime down the line. (4/5) Les Indésirables Ladj Ly's sophomore effort is not an answer to a question, but a further examination of it. There's dissatisfaction at the end of the road, both intentionally through Ly's honest depiction of political warfare and unintentionally through the overloaded script that tries to combine too much. Even with this slight slump, Ly's voice continues to grow, and I can't wait for it to click sometime in the future. (3/5) Evil Does Not Exist Drive My Car writer/director and all-around arthouse superstar Ryûsuke Hamaguchi makes his most outspoken work with Evil Does Not Exist . The tranquility of a Japanese village is being threatened by the introduction of a “glamping” (glamorous + camping) site proposed by a talent agency. The site would negatively impact much of the environment around it, with many of the village resident’s livelihoods being forever altered. Despite being clear in his message, Hamaguchi never eviscerates the villains of this story. The extreme slow cinema approach will test the patience of many expecting a return to the leanness of Drive My Car . Those who embrace the molasses will find themselves powerfully transported to one of the few places left that hasn’t been bulldozed by capitalism. Eiko Ishibashi delivers a magnificent score. It angers me that I’ll have to wait several months until it’s available to stream on Spotify. (4/5) Finestkind Writer/director Brian Helgeland told the TIFF audience that he wrote the script for Finestkind thirty years ago, a fact that becomes glaringly obvious the longer the film goes on. The story is stuck in the past in the worst ways possible, soaked with cheesy sentimentality, a laughably underdeveloped female character that Jenna Ortega somehow signed up for (did she owe someone a favor?), and an out-of-nowhere crime plot that undermines all the heart and soul mined in the first half. As per his contract demands these days, Ben Foster goes crazy a few times, and so does Tommy Lee Jones as he realizes he’s appearing in a stinker. It’s a Paramount+ production, meaning it’ll play well to the “guys being dudes” crowd that has been gorging on Taylor Sheridan's diminishing machismo these past few years. (2/5) More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Saturday Night September 12, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Saturday Night had its Canadian Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Sony Pictures will release it in theaters on September 27. There’s life before Saturday Night, and there’s life after Saturday Night ! No, I’m not just talking about the first-ever episode of one of the most iconic comedy series ever. Although no one could have been prepared for how big of a cultural phenomenon the show would go on to be, one thing has rang true about SNL: staying true to being the escape from our mundane lives. As for Saturday Night , Jason Reitman’s latest film is a tumultuous dark comedy thriller about the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of SNL going to air. What he does with the movie is a match made in heaven as it captures the behind-the-scenes mayhem that occurred on October 11th, 1975. The film works as a comedy, but it works better as a thriller and a race against the clock to ensure everything and everyone is ready to go. The big selling point of Saturday Night is that it’s being dubbed as a comedy thriller. These two genres rarely, if not never, mesh, so seeing Reitman and Sony Pictures talk about the movie in this light created vast intrigue. The film starts at 10:00 pm on the dot. Every few minutes, the audience is updated about where the cast and crew are before showtime, as they have until the 11:30 airtime to be ready. We see the famous cast and crew racing against time to ensure everything is correct. DP Eric Steelberg capitalizes on this by having the camera move with the cast through long takes and back-and-forth pans. He makes the audience feel as though they are in the room witnessing the craziness. It also helps Reitman and Gil Kenan’s script translate well to screen. The duo taps into a similar vein as the Safdie brothers, adding another entry to the recent trend of anxiety-inducing cinema. The showrunner, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), has to run around like crazy to ensure everyone and everything is all set…but it’s not. Everything one could imagine going wrong for a live TV show goes wrong: the lighting and sound systems are wrecked, the cast is fighting amongst each other, and worst of all, Michaels has numerous sketches to use but can’t fit them within the airtime given. On top of this, he has a couple of NBC execs (Willem Dafoe and Cooper Hoffman) on his back, with the anxiety always just on his shoulder whispering the five words no one in the TV or filmmaking process wants to hear: we are cutting the show. The biggest highlight of this movie is the ensemble, which further elevates the madness on display. No specific person stood out more than the rest, as this is very much an ensemble movie. However, some exceptions are worth mentioning. LaBelle gets the most screen time as Lorne Michaels and doesn’t waste any of it. He commands every moment on screen, proving why he’s one of the best young actors working today, a streak that started at TIFF two years ago with The Fabelmans . Cory Michael Smith and Matt Wood play Chevy Chase and John Belushi, respectively, and do the comedians justice. Smith not only has a spot-on impression of Chase, but he also nails the look of the controversial comedian. Meanwhile, Wood captures the mindset of the thunderstorm-fueled Belushi. At no point in any scene is there always a sense of dread where he could break at any second, and Wood does a fantastic job making audiences question whether it will happen. All of these aspects of Saturday Night make it one of the year’s best movies, but there’s also the subtle homage to the process of shooting an episode of SNL. The process likely became more accessible after the first episode, and they figured out the system, but it can only make viewers imagine what each cast and crew member goes through weekly. Getting an idea of their lines, making costumes fit, and ensuring the sound and lights are effective. The SNL cast and crew endure a lot, but somehow, they always manage to get it down by the time the clock strikes 11:30pm and the show goes live. No matter what may be happening behind the scenes, they put any tension aside and give audiences a laugh they’ve been waiting all week for. Because when whoever’s on-screen shouts, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” the crowd goes wild, and all worries vanish. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 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 less. 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 less. 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 out 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 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 that 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 done 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. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

No Other Choice September 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen No Other Choice had its North American Premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Neon will release it in theaters on December 25. Man-soo has it all. A beautiful wife whom he can shower with expensive gifts, such as dance lessons and imported shoes. Two kids, one of whom is a cello prodigy. Two golden retrievers, each named after one of the kids. A nice house, the one he grew up in and poured his blood, sweat, and tears into when he rebought it once he had the money to do so. His company sends over an expensive eel for his family to eat, a thank-you present for the many years of loyal servitude. If this were a Christmas movie, the obviously impending bad times would be a wake-up call for Man-soo to take a step back and appreciate all that he has. But No Other Choice isn’t that type of film, and Man-soo is already very appreciative of the material and emotional wealth that he has. It’s what makes the words “no other choice” sting just a little bit more, and why he twists them into a comically sadistic motivational phrase for getting his life back on track. Those words are first used by an American businessman visiting Man-soo’s paper mill, a forewarning of upcoming layoffs. It turns out that the expensive eel was part of his severance package, a faceless and empty gesture to soften the blow. His self-imposed three-month unemployment period quickly becomes thirteen months, plunging the family into dire financial straits. The job he’s perfectly suited for at a different mill is currently filled by a yuppie, a resentful fact that leads Man-soo to seriously ponder killing him. But Man-soo is only one of several in an identical situation, with a few possibly even more qualified. So he pivots to the next best option: create a fake job posting to attract all his rivals, use that information to kill them off, kill the yuppie, and waltz into the open position. This darkly comedic scenario is lifted from the 1997 American thriller novel The Ax by Donald E. Westlake, first adapted into a feature film by Costa-Gavras in 2005. Director Park Chan-wook has been a lifelong fan of the novel, an adaptation perpetually teased as his next project since he first publicly announced his intent back in 2009. Coupled with his staggeringly immense filmography, which includes international hits such as Oldboy , The Handmaiden , and Decision to Leave , Park’s further statement that it is a "lifetime project" elevated the bar just that much higher. Luckily, this is one of those circumstances where the right filmmaker meets the right story. Those decades of pent-up giddiness are evident in Park’s visuals. Crisp digital cinematography is punctuated by fluid camera movements, many of which astounded me in how they were able to pull it off. Even the opening of a mortgage default letter gets a camera swoop and zoom. And in a time when most filmmakers have a phobia of cell phones (looking at you, Robert Eggers…), Park embraces them with open arms. You can bring a surprising amount of characterization to the surface through the jolt of a sudden phone call or the tiny expressions during FaceTime. Although he’s attempting to circumvent the job market grind, Man-soo’s plan just perpetuates the cycle of rejection. The people that he’s killing are under the impression that they’re applying for a respected position, another glimmer of hope in a long series of misery. Park grants these men just as much compassion as he has for Man-soo, making the farce of these violent acts all the more tragic. The rich get richer, all while the poor literally kill each other for the ever-shrinking scraps. Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun reunites with Park a quarter century after their initial breakthrough in Joint Security Area . He continues Park’s trend of totally emasculating the desperately pathetic male lead, while also earning the pathos. Son Ye-jin rises as Mi-ri, the matriarch of the family, who, unlike everyone else, is allowed to be very conscious about choosing what path she wants to take. The pendulum between comedy and drama may swing a little too leniently towards the former, keeping the ball from fully leaving the park. Still, this is a stand-up triple from one of our best working directors, someone who continues to find more passion in his craft. You should always cherish someone who consistently makes movies with this caliber of entertainment and intelligence. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Spaceman February 28, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen If you were to close your eyes and envision an Adam Sandler movie about a Czechoslovakian cosmonaut, you’d probably come up with some sort of Happy Madison production filled with lots of zero-gravity toilet humor and slightly offensive accents. And if I were to ask you to predict who would voice the giant CGI spider (we’ll get to that later); you’d say Rob Schneider, Kevin James, David Spade, or anyone else in the Sandler crew. Luckily for us, we at least live in a good enough timeline where a film where Sandler is a Czech cosmonaut does exist, but none of those other things are true. Chernobyl director Johan Renck is at the helm with a cast rounded out by Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, and Isabella Rossellini, all of whom go the Ridley Scott route of maintaining their natural speaking for their Eastern European characters. But for all those right ingredients on paper, Spaceman grounds the Sandler dramatic winning streak, proving that the simple sight of the comedian in a lower register isn’t enough to cover up an oversimplified love story with liberally borrowed plot points. We first find Sandler six months into his solo journey to the outer reaches of the universe. Jakub Prochazka is the pride of Czechoslovakia, an invulnerable explorer who will answer our long-held questions. But that description is just what the populous is fed through the space program’s PR campaign. In reality, Jakub is nearing his mental abyss due to a mixture of isolation, a spacecraft that makes the Millennium Falcon look pristine, and his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan) refusing to speak to him. Reality quickly begins to bend when a giant spider (voiced by Paul Dano) appears on the ship. Is this a real alien or just a figment of Jakub’s imagination? Either way, it has the ability to replay Jakub’s buried thoughts to help him through his unresolved emotional stress. If the plot synopsis of an emotionally detached astronaut working through their feelings sounds familiar to you, it’s because it is. Ironically, the final frontier has been the location for our Earthy problems several times before; most notably in Gravity , First Man , and Ad Astra . That last example gets extra points since both it and Spaceman feature eerily similar romantic situations and scores by Max Richter. But Renck and Sandler aren’t able to mine what director James Gray and Brad Pitt did with their 2019 film, settling on beats that come across more as conceptual ideas than lived-in moments. The back-and-forth bleeding of Jakub’s earlier memories with Lenka always stays on the surface, never answering the question of how and why these two fell in and out of love. They stare and kiss each other from time to time, yet never have a meaningful conversation. That banality is at least pretty to look at, with the camera swirling around Sandler with a boxy frame. What is sometimes annoying is the gimmicky use of excessive film grain for scenes set on Earth, as well as the fisheye distortion for the memories. The spider, named Hanuš, is created convincingly enough to scare any arachnophobe. Its eyes dart in different directions, and its legs dangle as it traverses around in zero gravity. Sandler has always been a very watchable performer, so the ability to pay attention is not diminished when half the scenes solely feature him. Unlike his dramatic work in previous films like Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems , he’s not delivering his usual Sandler-isms in a different key. This is an entirely different performance altogether, stripped of anything you’ve come to expect. He’s perpetually glum and reserved, never saying or doing anything that could be inserted into a future YouTube compilation. There’s no denying the fact that he’s still one of the industry’s biggest stars if he can keep you glued to the screen without doing much of anything. Dano is a great piece of casting in his voice-only role, serving the melancholic curiosity that keeps the plot moving. Mulligan, on the other hand, is wasted in a doting role ripped straight out of a poor man’s version of a Terrence Malick film. She stares solemnly into the sky several times over, yet the emotional pull is as barren as the fields that surround her. It’s these scenes that epitomize the film as a whole: a pretty picture without much of a story to tell. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Boy and the Heron September 8, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Boy and the Heron had its International Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. GKIDS Films will release it in theaters on December 8. It’s not a coincidence that Guillermo del Toro gave a brief message before the International Premiere of The Boy and the Heron aka How Do You Live? . He repeated the motif he’s been (rightfully) banging since the promotional tour for his animated Pinocchio adaptation last year, that animation is not just a genre solely meant to panderously entertain children. “Animation is film, and tonight’s film goes beyond that. Animation is hard,” he said as he expressed his enthusiasm for the film and Hayao Miyazaki. The famed filmmaker has called it quits several times throughout his career, most notably in 2013 during the festival tour of The Wind Rises , an unconventional animated biopic on aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi that also happened to investigate Miyazaki’s legacy. It was a fitting farewell, but the press-shy director couldn’t stay away, coming back for his truly final film. It’s a supportable decision, as The Boy and the Heron is Miyazaki’s most personal film, combining several elements of his upbringing as well as statements aimed straight at his audience. Our titular boy is 12-year-old Mahito, who’s recently lost his mother to a 1943 Tokyo fire. His dad quickly marries her sister, much to Mahito’s disapproval. The titular heron is a gray heron that flies around the new stepmother’s house. It’s taken an interest in Mahito, and in typical Miyazaki fashion, is able to speak and sets him on a quest to different worlds. Forgive the vagueness, but I’d prefer to take the stance Studio Ghibli did with their marketing of the film and reveal as little as possible. There’s no point in going into detail about how beautiful The Boy and the Heron looks . It’s on the same level as Avatar and Gravity , every possible way to articulate the visual sumptuousness doesn’t do enough justice. There’s the intangible feeling you get knowing that so much work and love was put into every frame. You let out a sigh of relief and know that you’re in the safe hands of a master. While it can be one of the film’s minor faults, Miyazaki’s methodical pacing is a breath of fresh air compared to the hyperactivity of most works within this genre. Balancing out some of the maximalist aspects of the visuals is Joe Hisaishi’s wondrous piano score, highlighting all the pain, joy, and everything in between that comes with Mahito’s journey. Miyazaki explores rather mature themes, offering lessons on life applicable to all ages. The boy’s fantastical journey, slightly similar to Chihiro’s from Spirited Away , is full of danger and intrigue at every turn. Animation is a medium that allows for endless possibilities, and Miyazaki is a filmmaker who pushes it to its most extreme boundaries. The question I always want to ask during a film is “What’s going to happen next?” So many movies don’t incite enough wonder for that question, nor do their answers provide the necessary satisfaction. The Boy and the Heron made me ask that question out loud more times than I can count, and each answer was filled with more passion than I could have hoped for. There are animated films for children, and there are animated films for adults. This is an animated film for everyone, and the world is a much better place because of it. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, figures in animation history has provided us with his swan song, and now it’s time for us to continue his legacy with the pieces left behind. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Inside March 14, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Between the fishes in the aquarium and the pigeon with a broken wing on the patio, there’s plenty of on-the-nose symbolism surrounding Willem Dafoe’s character’s situation within Inside , a film that never lacks for imagery, but seldom brings it above the surface. “Cats die, music fades, but art is for keeps,” Dafoe narrates as he prepares to perform a high-stakes burglary within a luxurious Manhattan penthouse. The owner appears to be an uber-rich art collector, with several of his prized pieces fetching a high asking price on the black market. The initial snatch-and-grab goes off without a hitch, that is until Dafoe’s hacker accomplice mistakenly trips the alarm at the last minute. The apartment shuts down into defense mode, trapping Dafoe into a gilded cage filled with bountiful treasures, but no way to get them out. The resourceful thief must rely on his wits and resourcefulness to endure the isolation, as there’s no way to tell when he might be able to get out. In a cruel twist of fate, the apartment is filled with more paintings than food and running water, turning this once lavish paradise into a barren wasteland. With next to no other in-person cast members and taking place on entirely one set, Inside may as well be confused as a member of the pandemic-era club of tiny movies that were able to be filmed while abiding by the strict safety protocols. Such members include Sam Levinson’s misbegotten Malcolm & Marie , the James McAvoy & Sharon Horgan-starring Together , and Judd Apatow’s “I shed two tears every time I mention it,” The Bubble . Luckily, Inside is no nowhere near as infuriating or as limited as those films, but it may not be all that more memorable. Director/co-writer Vasilis Katsoupis, marking his narrative feature debut, displays a knack for crispy imagery. The sharp edges of the high-end furniture and décor give off the vibe of a cold prison, with the thief’s hierarchy of needs being changed by the day. The television has a CCTV feed, with one of the cameras being pointed at a cleaning lady eating her sandwich during her lunch break. The thief looks with lust toward the sandwich, with all the high-priced surrounding him worth nothing in comparison. Eventually, Inside becomes a game of Chekhov’s Symbol, as every perfectly framed image and use of color is required to profoundly mean something. It would have made for an interesting puzzle if the pieces weren’t so easy to put together and the ending picture was anywhere close to being worth more than the sum of its parts. Dafoe never lets the act of putting those pieces together seem dull, with his quiet intensity and surprisingly physical athleticism making for an interesting outwardly character study. Along with Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton, he has amassed one of the most interesting careers of the past few decades, seamlessly moving between large-scale Hollywood productions and offbeat indies. If anything, Inside serves as a nice appetizer of Dafoe before the main course is served by Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos later this year with Asteroid City and Poor Things / AND , respectively. The bluntness of Inside doesn’t make an immediately rewatchable experience, nor does the ho-hum narrative make for an immediate reason to see it in the first place. Katsoupis tries his best to make his film a work of art. But just like all the pieces hanging on the walls within the apartment, his work will quickly get tossed away in favor of anything that offers more sustenance. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Us March 28, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen When you hear the name Jordan Peele these days, you instinctively think of his 2017 breakout hit Get Out . Through impeccable directing and writing, Peele created a pop culture moment around a film that was able to be entertaining and thought-provoking. It was so good that the only real critique people had was that it really wasn’t that scary. Us is Peele’s response to that critique as he delivers an out-and-out horror film that is still able to make you think while it scares the pants off you. In 1986, a young girl named Adelaide wandered into a hall of mirrors and encountered what seemed to be an evil version of herself. Never really convinced of what she had seen, the little girl turned mute and for years wasn’t able to express herself. Now thirty years later, Adelaide and her husband Gabe take their children, Zora and Jason, to that same beach where the incident happened. Adelaide tries to keep calm for her family, but the thought of that childhood moment keeps lingering in her. Unfortunately, only a day into the vacation, that evil doppelganger returns to get its revenge, and this time it has an identical family all armed with scissors. With his second directorial gig, Jordan Peele proves that Get Out was not a one-hit-wonder and that he is a fully accomplished director. While still delivering the scares, he takes the home-invasion thriller genre and gives it a much larger scope. This feat is accomplished through his expert use of camerawork, which is used to push the narrative as much as possible. A mixture of long takes and pan shots is used to keep the story moving and give off a constant feeling of suspense. When opting for quicker shots during bursts of violence, Peele incorporates well-timed cuts that perfectly match the tone of the scene. As noted in Get Out , Peele knows how to use music as a storytelling tool. That skill is put on full display here as he combines usual horror music with modern pop hits such “I Got 5 On It” and NWA’s “F--- Tha Police”. Every music choice here is just right and heightens the power of each scene. *It is quite hard to critique certain story elements as they would reveal essential spoilers that would ruin the viewing experience. In service of this, I will be quite vague when it comes to specific details.* As a whole, Us is a bit of a step back for Peele. His script is filled with questions referring to themes of classism in America and the duality of man. Little answers are given for these big questions, seemingly on purpose in an effort to let the imagination of the viewer run wild. Unfortunately, while I do respect Peele’s honorable intent, I feel that he has set his sights too high and isn’t able to come full circle on his ideas. A few plot holes pop up from time to time, most notably during the third act when Peele decides to exposition dump in one short sequence. Little payoff was given for important questions that had been building since the beginning, leaving me with an unsatisfying feeling. Coupling this misstep with the ambiguous ending quickly makes the narrative lose its luster. Many questions I had came more from the film’s faults rather than its merits. Lupita Nyong’o is absolutely perfect in her dual roles. Her performance as the conflicted heroine of Adelaide is top-notch. Equally great, if not better, is her turn as the doppelganger Red where she is downright terrifying as she moves around the screen with menacing precision. Winston Duke is great as Gabe, who offers some comedic relief from time to time. Duke ingeniously uses his physicality for both roles as he loafs around to make his human character seem like a teddy bear and stands tall and bulky for his fearful doppelganger. Both the child performances by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex deserve applause. They don’t fall into the usual trap of overacting and are able to make the audience genuinely care for them. The rest of the cast, consisting of Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker, are fine in their own right but hold nothing compared to the main troupe While it could be considered slightly inferior to his previous film, Peele’s Us is still leagues ahead of the usual movies that file under the horror genre. Best seen going in as blind as possible, this film will have you captivated during its two-hour runtime along with the subsequent days proceeding. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Eden September 10, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Eden had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release it in theaters on August 22, 2025. Ron Howard’s recent track record has been met with absolute inconsistency. It seems as though since his Best Picture-winning film A Beautiful Mind , he hasn’t hit a home run or at least gotten more than a double. He’s known to be a “safe” director, which is the case as many of his movies, especially recent ones, don’t shoot for the moon or offer any new substance. The worriers should be pleased that Eden looks to end this streak, as it’s Howard’s best movie in years, as well as his darkest one ever. It is a gritty thriller that sees a stacked cast consisting of Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, and Ana de Armas play a game of survival of the fittest that is sure to be jaw-dropping for all viewers. Set in the late 1920s, Eden follows three groups of Germans who fled their country to the island of Floreana in the Galápagos Islands. Law and Kirby play a doctor and his handicapped wife, looking to find solace on the island as the first to do so in an attempt to escape from society. Sweeney and Brühl are a couple with a young son looking for a new start, while de Armas is an enigmatic socialite looking to build the nicest hotel in the southern hemisphere. The three groups find themselves at odds when looking to establish dominance and power amongst each other. Everything that happens from there is sheer bedlam as each group plays mind games to try and turn certain characters against each other. To say things get dark for a Howard movie would be a gross understatement, but it’s best to leave audiences knowing as little about it as possible beforehand. Right out of the gate, the cast delivers strong performances, from the subtle Kirby and Law to the loud and expressive Brühl and Sweeney. However, de Armas is the MVP of it all, taking on a character far from what we’ve previously seen from her. The Baroness is an evil, manipulative woman whose welcoming demeanor comes off as fittingly reckless and untrustworthy. When we first meet her, she’s being carried off the boat by two servants who are to help her build the hotel. The way de Armas toys with the other island residents and her helpers is devious, and she executes the character’s intentions phenomenally. She’s always been able to adapt to different accents, as she dons an unmistakable German one mixed with other parts of Europe. Sweeney is another contending standout as she gives another fierce performance (similar to her recent horror flick Immaculate ). Howard’s direction and translation of his and Noah Pink’s script are impeccable. Throughout the plot, audiences can never tell whether the characters are playing chess or checkers, with motivations constantly fluctuating. The plot is well-planned and thought out, and the production value fits tremendously. There are some speed bumps in its cinematography and score. DP Mathias Herndl has difficulties shooting this movie, with the coloring giving a grainy color scheme, and the camerawork takes time to find its footing. Hans Zimmer’s score is routine, which unfortunately falls in line with the majority of his work as of late (the Dune films serving as the exception) Of everything Howard has made thus far, Eden is one of his boldest films, not simply because of its haunted qualities. It speaks volumes and provides a resonant tale, as his best works do. Eden is no different by showcasing how ugly humanity can be in the face of fight-or-die situations. The cast he assembled is one of the year’s best, and it will surely be a conversation topic once it’s picked up for distribution and seen by audiences everywhere. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The French Dispatch July 17, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen The French Dispatch had its World Premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release it in theaters on October 22. With each subsequent entry into his distinct filmography, Wes Anderson seems to make it a mission to make the most Wes Anderson film. The intricacies of 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums seemed quaint around the time The Grand Budapest Hotel was released in 2013. Even his side ventures into stop-motion animation contain a great distance in production quality between 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and 2018’s Isle of Dogs . Anderson’s tenth feature film, The French Dispatch towers over all of his previous works with its masterful production qualities and international ensemble cast. Set in 20 th century France in the fictional city of Ennui-sur-Blasé, The French Dispatch opens with the untimely news that the editor of the titular magazine, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), son of the magazine’s founder and holder of a supreme eye for talent, has died. As per his wishes, his life is to be tied directly to that of the magazine, meaning that the publication dies with him. His team of writers – an eccentric bunch of expatriates all recruited over the years by Howitzer in one way or another – are granted one final issue, which they decide will contain “an obituary, a brief travel guide, and three feature stories.” The obituary is, of course, for Arthur, while the travel guide takes one through the historic village that has acted as the publication’s home for nearly half a century. The three retrospective stories selected are considered to be the best in the publication’s long history: an account by the paper’s art critic (Tilda Swinton) of the deranged painter Moses Rosenthal (Benicio Del Toro) and a brash art dealer (Adrien Brody); an on-the-ground report by political correspondent Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) of the student revolution led by the charismatic Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet); and a retelling by food critic Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) of how he got entangled in a kidnapping involving the son of the chief of police (Matthieu Almaric). While there is no central story to fully move the film from start to finish, the anthology-style structure still allows Anderson to explore several of the themes found within his previous works, such as human curiosity and the ironic relationship we share with the world and its other characters. The final story of the food critic ranks as the best in terms of what’s on the page, giving Jeffrey Wright a wonderfully complex character who unintentionally learns several valuable lessons about his place in the world. Some will find that the anthology structure limits the emotional connection one can have to the characters, especially since Anderson has built his career on wonderfully layered characters such as Royal Tenenbaum and M. Gustave. On the contrary, while many of his characters tend to overstay their welcome in a 100-minute narrative, the anthologies force Anderson to be as efficient as possible with character development, creating several sequences of mise-en-scène where the direction tells just as much of the story as the script. After gradually becoming more confident as a director, Anderson has finally allowed himself to fully unleash his unique brand of filmmaking. Visually, this is one of the most accomplished works ever made as Anderson toys with aspect ratios (very similar to the strategy within The Grand Budapest Hotel ), color and black & white cinematography, ingeniously hilarious freeze frames, and a period-accurate soundtrack that seems to always be perfectly queued. Ironically, the major complaint I have against the film is that there are dozens of expertly crafted shots that come and go in mere seconds even though they could be dissected for hours. Every frame truly is a painting as several hidden treasures can be found in every nook and cranny. This is a film that demands to be rewatched several times over to soak in every last detail. There are no weak links within the Robert Altman-sized cast, with players such as Adrien Brody (who seems to only deliver a good performance nowadays when directed by Anderson), Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright. The phrase “there are no small parts, only small actors” doesn’t apply here as people such as Christoph Waltz and Saoirse Ronan are reduced to minuscule cameos. Still, Henry Winkler and Willem Dafoe are able to do a lot with the little that they are given. A visual masterpiece bursting at the seams with talent both on and off the screen, The French Dispatch is a film by a director working at the absolute height of his powers. More importantly, the film gave me one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences in a long time, with several rounds of applause from the Cannes crowd that seemed to be in love with the film as much as I was. I worry about how Anderson will be able to top this with his next film. But until then, I’ll stay in the present and be thankful that something this magical is allowed to exist in a world that only seems to get bleaker More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen