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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

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania February 16, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen So, whose idea was it to make Ant-Man less fun? This is a franchise that was initially going to begin with Edgar Wright in the director’s chair (who still got credit for the screenplay, along with Adam McKay and star Paul Rudd) and had its sights set on delivering size-shifting hijinks within a low-stakes environment. This strategy worked pretty well thanks to the positioning of the first and second entries immediately after the cataclysmic events in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War , respectively. Now with Quantumania , those humorously tinged roots have been upended and mangled into one of the most overly serious and ugliest films within the entire 31-film catalog of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Turn on your listening ears kids because it’s time to learn about the Quantum Realm and the multiverse for the umpteenth time. After being a small man within a large world, Scott Lang becomes a big man in a super small world as he and his Ant-Man family are transported down into the Quantum Realm. Inside this realm is a collection of creatures, some that look exactly human (so that they can be played by famous actors, such as Bill Murray in a brief so-so cameo) and some that possess physical form beyond simple anatomy. At the top of the food chain is Kang the Conqueror, who has a complicated past with Janet Van Dyne during her long years of being stranded. Filled with such classic lines as “There’s something I need to tell you,” “You haven’t told them?,” “What else have you been lying about?,” and “I was trying to protect you,” the script by Rick and Morty alum Jeff Loveness capitalizes on every opportunity it can to deliver the most cliché lines about characters not being able to communicate properly. It’s a frustratingly weak way to build suspense for the exposition-dumped reveals and contradicts the genius-level intellect many of these characters are supposed to have. Much of the humor is absent since the first two outings. This is in “service” to raise the stakes of this lightweight hero and have him introduce us to the new Thanos-level threat in Kang. Jonathan Majors, already having a stellar 2023 with physically imposing roles in the Sundance title Magazine Dreams and Creed III , plays the conqueror with a menacing calmness. The character himself may not have won me over yet, but Majors in the role has intrigued me about the future. Fairing much worse than the writing is the cinematography by the usually-dependable Bill Pope, last seen producing decent work in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (remember when that was also supposed to be a part of this universe?). With backdrops that make George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy look photorealistic and drabby brown shadings, Quantumania easily takes the cake as one of the worst-looking blockbuster films of the past few years. Actors are obviously running within fully green-screened sets, and the fully-digital creatures are weightless. And don’t even get me started on one actor’s horrendously superimposed face (you’ll definitely know what I’m talking about when you see it), which incited the most laughs from the audience, although that might not have been intended. Rudd does the good work that is expected from him, and Evangeline Lilly gets next to nothing to do despite her character being in the title. Kathryn Newton is a welcome addition to the slowly-building Young Avengers. The Ant-Man franchise has mostly been unnecessary but provided fun escapism. Quantumania is the inverse of that by being both required reading material and not fun, which essentially makes it homework. This has been the antithesis of Marvel during Phases 4 and 5, where the effort needed to keep up is not being properly compensated, both on the small-scale levels of individual films and the large-scale shared narrative. I’ve been on this train since day one, and have a completionist mindset (at least when it comes to the movies), so I’m kind of stuck in my seat. Although now I’m really starting to have serious doubts about all the picturesque promises the conductors have been making about the destination. 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

Bad Times at the El Royale October 25, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen A priest, a singer, a vacuum salesman, and a drifter walk into a hotel. They all have a story and need a room for a specific reason, but only one of them is telling the truth. Each one is untrusting of the other and plans out how to survive the night as a severe storm moves in. Then enters a crazy cult leader who wants to exact revenge on the one who wronged him. With five seedy characters and a suspicious bellhop, a one night stay at the El Royale may come with a fatal price. Bad Times is directed by Drew Goddard, who previously directed and wrote the comedy/horror The Cabin in the Woods and wrote the screenplay for The Martian . Goddard does well at directing this film. He does make some mistakes from time to time, but they aren’t too severe. The first of his mistakes come from the pacing and overall length of the film. The 141-minute runtime is weird as the film felt like it could easily have been cut to two hours or justifiably stretched to three hours. This is due to some areas of the story being dragged on more than need be and some areas getting not as much as attention. The first act of the film slowly builds up each separate character with their backstory and motives. Then the second wizzes by and the third needlessly slows everything back down again. Goddard does do good work with the camera as he gives the film a dark washed overtone to match the 60s era feel. He also uses a wide array of camera techniques to tell the layered story. Some scenes are played out multiple times from different angles to convey each character's viewpoint. There also is a hefty amount of symbolism and thematic imagery within each frame that pushes the narrative along without the use of words. One scene that really stands out is a seven-minute tracking shot where the camera follows one character as they go room by room and spy on the others. It’s a suspenseful sequence that gives a good amount of insight into each character in a short span of time. Along with directing, Goddard also serves as the sole writer for the original story. He divides the film into chapters based around the room a certain character is staying in. The technique works well to distribute time to develop each character. Not everyone gets equal time, but everyone gets enough to make them important to the overall narrative. The intersection of many different character’s stories leads to the script being filled with lots of fun twists and surprises that continually come out of nowhere. Some of them are predictable once revealed, but many aren’t and keep you on the edge of your seat. There are some plot holes and untidy loose ends that are quite obvious near the end. However, they really don't harm the quality of the story and are more of an afterthought. Bad Times boasts a sizeable and star-studded cast. Most of the actors fare well with some doing better than others. Jeff Bridges does pretty well as the elderly priest looking for a little vacation. Bridges is able to make his character be believably evil as well as have a sympathetic heart. It’s not his best work, but nowhere near his worst. Cynthia Erivo is the best out of the cast as she plays the singer making her way to a gig in Reno. She provides her own voice to the role and confidently takes charge of each scene. Dakota Johnson and Jon Hamm kind of just skate through and don’t provide any real defining moments. They’re not bad, but it feels like anyone could have filled the roles. Lastly, Chris Hemsworth does good work as the Jesus-like cult leader who likes to preach with his shirt open. Hemsworth brings both his comedic and dramatic skills together and creates an uneasy character that keeps the suspense high throughout. Bad Times at the El Royale is a fun thriller that tells a complex story in an enjoyable fashion. It doesn’t always work perfectly, but minor mistakes aren’t enough to ruin the overall product. In a fall season full of heavy films trying to send a message it feels good to have a film that only wants its audience to sit down and have a good time. 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 Wedding Banquet April 18, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Wedding Banquet screened at the 2025 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. Bleecker Street will release it in theaters on April 18th. Remaking Ang Lee’s 1993 film The Wedding Banquet in 2025 doesn’t make much sense. For starters, gay marriage has been legalized and is more widely accepted than it was then, and the idea of needing to marry is no longer as prescient. However, director Andrew Ahn, co-writing with the original film’s writer, James Schamus, doesn’t let those obstacles get in the way of updating a story that is much more universal than it is specific. Shifting the story from Manhattan to modern-day Seattle, Ahn also doubles the trouble by expanding the central conceit of a gay man going through a sham marriage to ward off his suspecting parents by adding a lesbian couple into the mix. Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone) have been unsuccessfully trying to have a family through IVF treatment. It’s taken a toll on both the emotional and financial stability of their relationship. Living in their garage is the gay couple of Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan), the former sitting indecisively at a crossroads in his life, and the latter scrambling to find a way to stay in America before his visa expires and he’ll have to move back home to Korea to work in the family conglomerate business. The simple solution would be for Min and Chris to get married, but Chris can’t pull the trigger and Min’s family is still in the dark about his homosexuality and wouldn’t take too kindly to it. So Min proposes to Angela instead, offering to pay for her IVF treatment out of his trust fund in exchange for faking a heteronormative wedding so that he can obtain a green card. Even more so than it did back then, this plan makes no sense. Min is obviously loaded with cash and has been best friends with Angela and Lee for years, so why has he never offered to help out before? How far do Min and Angela expect to take this charade? Min’s grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) is very adamant about him getting married, so I’d assume grandchildren are also part of her plan. A green card gotten through marriage is conditional for two years, meaning Min and Angela would need to legally stick together for at least that long. There are about five more holes I could poke, but you get the idea. For as much as these gaps sink the boat of logic, they also highlight key societal struggles. The challenge of starting a family is no longer about the fear of public perception, but its financial viability. Gay marriage and homosexual relationships may be fine in this generation and in parts of the world like Seattle, but members of the older generation like Min’s grandmother aren’t as open to the idea. Even Angela’s mother (Joan Chen), while a proud lesbian ally now, was very much against the idea of her daughter not following the traditional path of marrying a man. Ahn and Schamus are always precise with the emotional stakes of the story. There are plenty of moments to laugh, cry, or a bit of both. This is also a movie that serves its cast extremely well, all of them performers who have largely never been given the spotlight that they deserve. Any combination of characters, either one-on-one, in pairs, or in a group setting, makes for a sensational scene. The clear standout is Youn Yuh-jung, whose character adds yet another layer when she reveals that her marriage was arranged and that she never got the option to fall in love. If not for her recent Oscar win for Minari , I’d mount a serious campaign for her this year. Then again, the Academy has clearly become more open to awarding performers with multiple Oscars, so anything is possible. There’s a threading of the needle with all of this, melding the charmingly broad implausibility of a studio rom-com with the more serious-minded grounded indies. Which flavor you’re more inclined to like, Ahn has a slice of it waiting for you. 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 'The Godfather' Signaled Hollywood Change 50 Years Ago March 15, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The 1970s saw the birth of the film movement known as “New Hollywood” or the“American New Wave”. This movement emulated what had been going on in Europe for quite some time. The director (and sometimes writer) of the film was seen as the key authorial voice of a film, rather than the producing studio. For decades, moguls like David O. Selznick and Jack Warner loomed large over theindustry, deciding what made it to the screen. They often held the roles of judge, jury, and executioner, killing a career before it started. With these titans dying off near the beginning of the 1970s, new studio heads now had to rely on filmmakers to create products audiences craved. The world no longer begged for big musical productions or sappy romances. They wanted authentic stories that still offered gripping storytelling. A generation of filmmakers was up to this task. One of the most popular among this group was Francis Ford Coppola, a bright new talent fresh out of UCLA Film School. Like a rocket, his career took off with hits such as The Godfather , its sequel The Godfather Part II , and Apocalypse Now . Looking through the lens of “New Hollywood” and the argument of Old vs. New Sentimentality, we can see why and how Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather was a monumental work for film history. Adapted from the Mario Puzo novel of the same name, The Godfather tells the story of the Corleone crime family in 1945. Don Vito Corleone is getting up in years and must look to transfer control of his clan to one of his sons. His eldest son, Sonny, is the prime candidate to take over, but he is hot-headed and lacks the necessary nuance. The youngest son, Michael, is reluctant to work in the family business but is thrust into it after several deadly altercations. The Godfather does share many similar qualities with the films of Old Sentimentality. It’s a nearly three-hour epic adapted from a beloved novel that is filled with movie stars. Marlon Brando was one of the hottest actors on the planet, both in terms of looks and talent. Like many of the films in the studio era, the inclusion of Brando in the cast did a lot to sell the movie. But while the production values on the surface may connect The Godfather to the past, it’s what’s underneath that breaks it away from the usual crowd. The Production Code of the 40s and 50s restricted what could and could not be displayed on the screen. The good guys must win and the bad guys must lose was one of the prevailing rules. Fortunately, the code was stopped in 1968, allowing Coppola and Puzo to dig deeper into the criminal world. Coppola steeps his film into the rich Italian immigrant culture, one filled with hardships and that stresses the importance of family. Vito Corleone is a character that is given immense psychological development. Many of his actions are done to protect his family and strengthen his relationships with the other crime families. He still can be considered a villain, as he orders men to be killed and works in illegal enterprises. With Brando’s method acting, Vito Corleone was an unprecedented authentic depiction of Italian-Americans, distancing the image away from the Tommy Gun swinging depictions in earlier films such as The Public Enemy and Scarface . There could also be an argument made that Coppola’s new image became a harmful stereotype, as The Godfather became immensely influential in how Italian-Americans were portrayed in future films. What also makes The Godfather a part of the New Hollywood movement is itsunflinching violence. Around this time, auteurs were experimenting with the relationship both Hollywood and audiences had with violence, which, because of the Production Code, had been severely limited for decades. Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection , and Straw Dogs broke into the mainstream, with their heavy use of screen violence being one of the central elements of their success. The violence within The Godfather does not sensationalize the crime lifestyle. Each death is stripped of stylization, often being shown in gruesome fashion. For example, the garrote scene has Luca Brasi’s eyes popping out of his head, and Sonny’s ambush leaves him in a bloody mess. The ending follows the massacre of several high-ranking mob bosses, including on being shot in the eye and another being gunned down in bed. None of this violence is played to be heroic or produce good consequences, similar to the films mentioned before. From the outside, The Godfather may seem to be a product of Old Sentimentality with its rich production values and starry leads. But underneath the surface, the film is a beacon of New Sentimentality with its radical new depiction of Italian-American life and its treatment of on-screen violence. 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

Top 10 Films of 2020 February 18, 2021 By: Hunter Friesen For the past two years, I’ve led this article by saying how crummy the year has been. Well, 2020 doesn’t even deserve to be joked about as it was such a terrible year that I’m glad has passed, even though I don’t have much hope for 2021. Even with the pandemic shutting down theatres and several tentpole films being delayed indefinitely, there were still quite a few movies worth celebrating. In an effort to give praise to those that deserve it, here is my list of the ten best films of 2020. Honorable Mentions Possessor Tenet The Truth On the Rocks Let Them All Talk 10. Ammonite What can be considered dull to some is romantic to others. Set in 1840s England, writer/director Francis Lee tells the story of a forbidden lesbian romance between a lonely fossil hunter and a young woman burdened by a loveless marriage. Ammonite has all the tropes of the romantic drama genre, but none of its clichés. Lee avoids these traps by trusting his leads in Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, who are a winning combination as they give amazing performances with little dialogue. Everything comes from just a look or a glance, enough to describe a whole scene and carry a film. 9. One Night in Miami After many successful years in front of the camera, Regina King proves she’s just as skilled in the director’s chair. What could have been an overly stagey experience is turned into a fiery character drama featuring some of the most influential figures in history in Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. Screenwriter Kemp Powers takes these four larger-than-life figures and brings them down to Earth and connects their lives to the present-day African-American experience. Special praise goes to the performances by British-born Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X and Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. as Cooke, as well as his contribution to the song “Speak Up." 8. The Prom The cinematic equivalent of a sugar rush, director Ryan Murphy assembled an all-star cast for his Netflix adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. The story of a lesbian teen who is denied the ability to tale her girlfriend to her conservative town’s prom is told exuberantly through flashy song & dance numbers. While it does have its cake and eat it too, the guilty pleasure that this film brings is in the wonderfully campy performances from its main troupe and its earworm-inducing tunes. 7. Wolfwalkers Hailing from Ireland, this fantasy adventure beat Pixar’s Soul to be the best-animated film of the year. Aspiring adventurer Robyn stars as our hero as she befriends a free-spirited “wolf walker” named Mebh, who has the power to become a wolf at night and defends the ever-shrinking forest. Beautifully animated in various styles and boasting a great lyrical soundtrack, Wolfwalkers also touches our minds with its authentic philosophical message about deforestation and the bridging of cultural differences. 6. The Nest Similar to the calculated and observational style of Stanley Kubrick and Yorgos Lanthimos, Sean Durkin’s newest feature is a drama/horror tale about the dangers of greed and ambition. Jude Law and Carrie Coon each give career-best performances as a couple that is forced to come to terms with their increasingly meaningless lives. With the gap between the haves and the have-nots becoming wider every day, this social critique is timely in the present and I suspect it will continue to be in the future. 5. First Cow First Cow is the most gentle “bro movie” out there. Writer/director Kelly Reichardt calmly guides us through this frontier-set story of friendship and opportunity. As unpredictable as it is gorgeous, Reichardt balances various genres as the film eventually spins itself into a heist film with high tension and stakes. Even with all these changing elements, Reichardt never loses the emotional connection with her characters. I’m still hoping Evie the Cow can get an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 4. The Trial of the Chicago 7 The words “the whole world is watching!” still ring in my head even after six months since seeing Aaron Sorkin’s newest Netflix film. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a nostalgic old-school courtroom drama bolstered by strong modern filmmaking and terrific performances from its cast. The timeliness and importance of its message make it a must-see as our nation faces a turbulent path of healing after a disastrous year. Full Review 3. Nomadland With Nomadland , writer/director/editor Chloé Zhao has crafted something special, something that pulls you in and never lets you go. Many times you catch yourself just basking in the imagery. The plains, the mountains, the natural landscapes. It doesn't feel like a movie, but a feeling that just carries you all the way through. With a lead terrific performance from the legendary Frances McDormand and a supporting turn from the reliable David Strathairn, Zhao combines so many complex things to create a true piece of art. 2. The Vast of Night Amazon’s The Vast of Night is a director's showcase for Andrew Patterson. With long takes and tracking shots that are near Cuarón level, Patterson fully immerses us in this 1950s-set small-town alien invasion mystery. Spookier than any conventional horror movie and brimming with an abundance of talent from its cast and crew, The Vast of Night is a startlingly well-made debut that will surely lead to fruitful careers for all those involved. 1. Never Rarely Sometimes Always Written and directed by indie-darling Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is an authentic and upsetting coming-of-age story. Taking place over a trip to New York City to abort an unwanted pregnancy, Hittman did an impeccable job of exuding sympathy and connecting me to a process I am biologically unable to relate to. The title of the film comes full circle near the end in a scene that left me with no dry eyes. Newcomer Sydney Flanigan is a star in the making with her lead performance. Her career will be one to watch. 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

M:I - The Final Reckoning May 14, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Although the title would give you that impression, everything and everyone connected to Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has been extremely coy about this eighth installment in the franchise being the capper. Even the opening to the film - a hall-of-fame induction montage of all highlights across the previous seven films - provides yet another mythological introduction for what we infer to be the final mission (should he choose to accept it…) for Ethan Hunt. How long can one man continually double down at the blackjack table until he inevitably gambles away everything? And by extension, how long can the sixty-two-year-old Tom Cruise expect to perform these death-defying stunts until he inevitably fails to defy their definition? Of course, going out in a blaze of glory for our entertainment is probably Cruise’s preferred way to go out, just as long as it’s caught on camera. Those lines of questioning propel the strategy behind The Final Reckoning , which is to go big or go home. Even the opening studio logos fly by at an unusually accelerated pace. That sense of urgency never ceases across the nearly three-hour runtime, with every loose end needing to be tied up. It makes the creation of a few more loose ends all the more puzzling, with the earlier mostly standalone entries now being connected to the events of this film through some convenient retconning. Jason Bourne may share his initials, but Ethan Hunt is the American James Bond. And just like the Daniel Craig era of 007, the sum of every previous adventure has led to this moment for Hunt. The story jumps immediately from the end of Dead Reckoning Part One (the “ Part One ” has more or less been dropped at this point), with Ethan and his team in a race against time to find the downed Russian submarine that contains the kill switch source code for the supervillain articial intelligence known as The Entity. It’s already taken command of most of the world’s nuclear warheads, and has beaten Twitter at its own game by fully dismantling the line between fact and fiction by altering what everyone sees online. The world has been plunged into anarchy, with a common enemy that can’t be dealt with through traditional means. To complete this mission, Ethan will need the full cooperation of the US government, a body that’s put a bounty on his head more times than someone can count on one hand. This leads to the introduction or return of several cast members, such as Angela Bassett as President Sloane, her cabinet (Nick Offerman, Holt McCallany, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss, Janet McTeer), Hannah Waddingham as a US Navy ship commander, and Tramell Tillman as a submarine captain. Of course, there’s also the more notable characters played by Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames, Shea Whigham, and Esai Morales. To accommodate a cast like this that would make Wes Anderson blush, co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie doles out the exposition like a dealer at a poker table. Thankfully for them, there’s plenty to go around, as each hopscotch to a new location means a plan has to be devised, broken, and improvised. Everyone sits in a circle and waits their turn, one sentence at a time. It’s an amusing, overdramatic cheat to get around the “boring” parts, although it gets quite distractingly repetitive the more time goes on. McQuarrie and Cruise also overplay their hand at the sentimentality of this adventure, cramming several reminders of how much Ethan cares for his friends. More is more is obviously the mantra of this franchise, but less would have been more in this case. The more you insist upon something, the less genuine it becomes, especially when it’s coming from someone like Cruise. He’s not a normal person with normal emotions, which makes him both an incredible movie star and unable to be fully empathized with. Words and emotions are not the weapon of choice for this franchise, with its visual arsenal being just as stocked here as it has been in the previous few entries. Each setpiece would be considered the showstopping climax in any other action franchise. Here, they’re just one piece to this extremely kinetic puzzle. A clear highlight would be Ethan’s solo descent into the submarine to retrieve the source code. It’s an almost wordless extended sequence, with panicky editing and heightened sound design playing on our fears of being at the bottom of the ocean. Oh, and there’s also a moment Ethan/Cruise dangles from a biplane thousands of feet from the ground. It’s astounding that within the context of this franchise, that statement seems pretty tame. But it’s anything but in practice, the wind whipping as one finger separates Ethan from the plane and the ground. The Final Reckoning will play significantly better later once you’re able to watch like a kid again and skip all the talking bits. Then again, this movie should also never be seen on anything less than an IMAX screen. Anything less would deserve the same level of vitriol that David Lynch has for telephones. My cynicism leads me to believe that this isn’t the end of this franchise, and that Ethan Hunt will return one day. But, for the sake of argument, let’s say this is the end. In that case, mission accomplished. 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

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga May 21, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Since the relative conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been an increasing urge to claim that a certain film “needs to be experienced on the biggest screen possible.” While it is true that no television can match the sharpness and brightness of a theatrical projection (if handled well, which is becoming more of a rarity these days), the notion that every movie with a budget over $100 million needs to be seen in the cinema does water down the uniqueness of the ones that truly push the medium forward. I can tell you for a fact that Argylle wouldn’t have been harmed had it bypassed its theatrical release and gone straight to Apple TV+. I can also say the inverse of that towards Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , and that anyone who chooses to experience George Miller’s newest extravaganza outside of the cinema deserves the same amount of ire that David Lynch has for phones . The screen pops and the sound system roars with each successive introduction to a motorcycle. But it’s not done as an act of fetishization for the aesthetic of the machinery, it’s about the newfound importance of bikes in the wasteland. Along with bullets, they are just as much a part of the hierarchy of needs as food and water. The world is now a desolate desert of nothingness, with none of its inhabitants possessing the survival skills of Arrakis’ Fremen population from Dune . Murder and thievery is the new name of the game. But hidden away from all the destruction amongst the sand is an oasis of abundance called “The Green Place.” Furiosa and her family escaped the ravaged land to live there, but their paradise is encroached on by a biker gang who kidnap Furiosa to take her back to their leader Dementus (Chris Hemsworth donning a wild set of fake teeth and nose prosthetics). A relentless chase across the desert ensues, one whose consequences will shape Furiosa’s outlook on the world. But from there, things slow down. True to the subtitle, Miller and co-writer Nick Lathouris treat Furiosa’s journey as a saga, complete with chapters. Each contains its own set piece and three-act structure, but this is not the non-stop onslaught of action that Fury Road was. This is a prequel, after all, so time is well spent on introducing (and reintroducing) the elements and characters of this universe. Gas Town, Bullet Town, and the Citadel are back; and so is Immortan Joe (now played by Lachy Hulme) and his War Boys. Even with all its operativeness, Miller still indulges in the silliness of the world and concepts, such as Joe’s sons Rictus Erectus and Scrotus. And let’s not forget Pissboy, whose weapon of choice is exactly what you think it is. It’s that combination of grit and goofy that has marked the high points of Miller’s nearly five-decade-long career. You only have to look for a few seconds on his IMDb page to notice that Happy Feet Two and Mad Max: Fury Road are squished right next to each other on the timeline. The carnage is gruesome and the body count is quite high as Miller takes an almost Biblical approach akin to the world just before God’s flood. There’s still a popcorn-munching delight in the carnage, not out of guilt, but out of the pleasure of seeing the process executed by masters of their craft. Margaret Sixel’s (and co-editor Eliot Knapman's) editing is just as propulsive as it was before, with the rhythms of the action likely to be matched by your heartbeat. Junkie XL’s booming score beckons closely to his work on Fury Road (not a bad thing!), most noticeable during the show-stopping “Stairway to Nowhere” sequence. If there is to be one complaint - a minor one nonetheless - it is the price of a bigger scale in the form of a slight overreliance on visual effects. A few backdrops and ragdoll effects look a little questionable, although never to the extent the first trailer led us to believe. It’s also hard to be too overly critical, as Miller’s flawless mixture of practicality and technicals on Fury Road raised the bar so high that no one might be able to clear it going forward. Simon Duggan’s photography isn’t as sweeping as John Seale’s on Fury Road , but he gets across the finish line with some angles and movements. Anya Taylor-Joy solidifies her blockbuster chops in the titular role, her eyes even more striking when surrounded by grease paint. Miller takes a similar stance on dialogue as Denis Villeneuve, opting for his actor’s expressions and camera to do much of the talking. However, that strategy doesn’t apply to Hemsworth, who chews up the scenery each chance he gets. The pristine IMAX visuals do make his prosthetics quite glaring, but that phoniness is one of the leading characteristics of his messianic figure. While they don’t have their names on the poster, Alyla Browne and Tom Burke are exceptional as Young Furiosa and Praetorian Jack, respectively. Furiosa may not surpass Fury Road , but I don’t think that was ever the intention, at least not directly. At the very least, it’ll be regarded as the best pure action film of the year, and be another be another notch for Miller’s claim to be the best to ever do it. So, what does the 79-year-old Australian do now that he’s conquered the desert twice? Go and do it again, of course! 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

Emancipation December 7, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen With Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and now Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation , desaturated cinematography seems to have replaced black-and-white as the new stylistic craze for the year. The thematic reasoning behind the decision is sound (the morally gray dilemma in Women Talking , the ultra-grim circumstances in Emancipation ), but the results are far from pleasing to the eye. To paraphrase Roger Ebert: I admire what they’re doing, and I hate it. Thankfully, the garish photography, which stings just a little more considering it’s supplied by three-time Oscar winner and Scorsese/Stone/Tarantino handyman Robert Richardson, doesn’t prohibit Emancipation from reaching its lofty ambitions. This is a nightmarish retelling of a true American horror story, one that shook the world to its score over 150 years ago, and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If not for “The Slap” which transpired only eight months ago when Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, the King Richard star would likely find himself back there as a nominee this year. I have no sympathy for Smith after what he did. Still, his worthy performance here would honorably fill that vacant last slot in Best Lead Actor behind presumed locks Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, and Bill Nighy. If nothing else, it would also prevent Hugh Jackman from being nominated in a much more heinous film that is Florian Zeller’s The Son . But the past is the past, and we must now view Emancipation through the lens of a less likable Will Smith. Here he plays Peter (inspired by the true story of Gordon), a Haitian-born slave we are introduced to as he is being sold away from his family. He promises to return to them, no matter the obstacles in his way. His unwavering faith in God provides him the strength to endure the inhumane treatment he receives at a Confederate army camp near the swamps of Louisiana. While there, rumors start to swirl that President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation. Knowing that their captors won’t give them their freedom willingly, Peter and others decide they must take it. They flee from their chains and head towards Baton Rouge, where friendly Union soldiers await. “Follow the sound of Lincoln’s cannons” is their north star as they trek through the treacherous terrain, all with a sadistic bounty hunter (Ben Foster) hot on their trail. One of the more unexpected things to come from Emancipation is Fuqua’s in-your-face grisly depiction of slavery and general life in the mid-1800s. Captured runaway slaves are beheaded and placed on stakes, others are branded, and many more die because of the grueling working conditions that promote disease and famine. Fuqua also leans into his action director pedigree to bring elements of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant , such as extended long takes and the beastly monsters that await in the murky swamp water. A fight with an alligator is one of a few moments where this aggressively serious film finds itself trying too hard to be “entertaining.” There’s also a large-scale Civil War battle that must have been added to justify the film’s $100 million budget, even if it creakily undermines the more minimalist approach to the first ninety minutes. Overarching all of this is the emotional honesty that Smith’s performance lends to the story of Peter. Dialogue is seldom used as his character overcomes the unimaginable with stoicism. Facial expressions do most of the talking, most noticeable when he is staged for the famous “ Whipped Peter ” photograph that told the story of American slavery to the rest of the world. Emancipation will likely not be the comeback vehicle that Smith desperately needs, but it was also never designed to be that. Through his clumsy past actions, he has turned away most audiences that were likely already on the fence about watching this daunting slave drama. That’s a shame because it means he has wasted a powerful performance that deserves to be seen by more than just the tiny audience it will now attract. 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

Creed III February 24, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen With Creed III , the reins (or should I say gloves?) of the Rocky franchise have been fully passed down from Sylvester Stallone's The Italian Stallion to Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed. And in typical Rocky fashion, Jordan plants himself further into this universe by stepping into the director's chair, taking over after Ryan Coogler successfully revived this tired franchise in 2015 and Steven Caple Jr. adeptly continued that ascending trajectory in 2018. Fortunately for Jordan, he displays a higher quality of skill both in front and behind the camera than Stallone did with his sequels, which have the added benefit of decades worth of nostalgia to make it palatable. For the first time in this now nine-film franchise, the character of Rocky Balboa is totally absent from the story, with no mention of how he's doing in Vancouver with his estranged son and grandson. Adonis now sits somewhere in between his shoes from the first two films, and that of Rocky's, as he decides to hang up the gloves after a successful career. But while he deals with his new post-retirement future, a figure from the past shows up unannounced. It's Damian Anderson, Adonis' older brother figure from when he was moving between group homes and running from the law. An incident from their youth caused Damian to spend the next eighteen years in prison, stripping him of his "rightful" opportunity to become the best boxer in the world after making a name for himself on the amateur circuit. Adonis tries to make up for lost time by extending an olive branch to Damian in the form of taking him under his wing and preparing him for a title shot. Quickly things get out of control as Damian's pent-up rage and resentment take over, threatening to destroy Adonis' legacy as a boxer and the future he hopes to build as a leader. So, in the spirit of brotherly love, Adonis must protect what's his through the only means he knows how to: with his fists. It may come as a shock to you, especially after that plot description, to know that Creed III spends just as much time debating the morals of fighting vs using your words as it does delivering those bone-crunching blows to the head. But while Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin's script may take its time talking about why fighting doesn't solve everything, the overall narrative and kinetic work delivered by Jordan as a director say otherwise. A small subplot appears in the form of Amara dealing with bullies at school, an on-the-nose metaphor for Adonis and his situation, one that is quickly abandoned as soon as it could really mark a shift in the philosophy in this franchise. Maybe it was foolish of me to think that things could change even a little at this stage because we know that all the talk of not wanting to fight means nothing once the going gets tough. The going doesn't really need to get tough here either for Adonis to lay down the challenge, just a few inconveniences and shots at his ego, which is subtly examined by Damian as he mentions the privilege the Creed surname has afforded Adonis. Jordan has mentioned repeatedly the inspiration that the anime genre had on the filming of the boxing scenes, a statement that he capably backed up with the final product. Gone is Coogler's fluid camerawork and long takes (except for one modest sequence early on), replaced with a not-egregious-but-still-considerable amount of Zack Snyder slow motion. It's used sparingly, mainly to focus on the split-second decisions made in the ring that can win or lose a fight. The sound of blows landing does rumble throughout the theater, with the final moments having the same raw power as a fighting game character unleashing their combo meter. Majors fills out the role of the final boss with immense theatricality, displaying the unbelievable threat he is with his cagey movements and fighting style. Jordan is the more composed one of the pair, preaching how boxing is more about control and strategy than it is about violence. And the always-great Tessa Thompson is regretfully sidelined to merely being a support figure to Adonis rather than the richer character she was in the original. Creed III may be the weakest of its trilogy, but the fact that the seventh, eighth, and ninth entries are all the best of a franchise is an accomplishment by itself, even more so when you factor in the inherent limitations of the boxing genre. Jordan and Coogler (and Stallone to an extent) have found a way for this cycle of storytelling to remain relevant, even if it sometimes punches below its weight class. 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