TIFF25 Recap September 17, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen For ten days at the beginning of September, the laws of time and space cease to exist. Days turn to night in an instant, getting three hours of sleep per night becomes a normal practice, and diets consist of Tim Horton’s donuts, movie theater popcorn, and hot dogs from that heavenly cart located at the corner of King Street W and John Street. If you’re not going home asking yourself why you put your mind and body through the wringer, then you haven’t fully experienced the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Of the two hundred plus films showcased throughout the fiftieth edition of this festival, I saw thirty-eight of them, an improvement over last year’s tally of thirty-seven. Before branding me with the crazy label, just know that I’ve met and observed people who have eclipsed fifty films without breaking a sweat. My streak started on a soaking wet Thursday with one of the best films of the festival: Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier. The recipient of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this Norwegian drama is one of the year’s most emotionally intelligent films. Every tear, gasp, and laugh is produced at the exact right moment. Yet it's never manipulative, always proudly wearing its heart on its sleeve. I expect a lot of Oscar attention to be placed upon Trier and his quartet of cast members, with Stellan Skarsgård likely to be the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor. The second day began with a major disappointment as Olivier Assayas’ The Wizard of the Kremlin was a major bore. And that’s coming from someone who enthusiastically took a college elective course on modern Russian history. Luckily, Park Chan-wook’s wildly entertaining No Other Choice picked me right up only a few hours later. And then later that night, I caught the world premiere of The Choral , a comfortingly forgettable British dramedy starring Ralph Fiennes as a choir teacher who must inject new life into a town’s choir during the height of World War I. Sony Pictures Classics will release it in theaters on Christmas Day. After taking the festival by storm last year with The Brutalist , Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold returned with The Testament of Ann Lee . Fastvold takes her turn in the director’s chair in stride, presenting a quasi-musical about the titular character and the founding of the Shaker movement in colonial America. Amanda Seyfried is excellent in the title role, and I hope she’ll be a factor in this year’s Oscar race once a distributor picks up the film. It’s unfair to label Wake Up Dead Man as my least favorite of the now three Knives Out films, as I still had a lot of fun with it. Josh O’Connor is ostensibly the lead, taking an ever larger role as the audience’s guide than Ana de Armas and Janelle Monáe did in their respective entries. The cast is not as well served here, while Daniel Craig falls deeper into his Foghorn Leghorn routine, upping his comedic prowess as the proudly rational detective must come face-to-face with the realization that all the clues point to this murder being a miracle. I saw a lot of good/great films throughout the first few days, but I was still waiting for “the one” to appear. That happened early Monday morning in the form of Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet , which deservedly took home the festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award. There wasn’t a dry eye in the theater as the origin of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is told through the tragic prism of his young son, Hamnet. Jessie Buckley is nothing short of transcendent, practically engraving her Oscar with every moment of laughter and cries. It’s the best film of the year, and make sure to check it out in theaters this Thanksgiving. Netflix led the charge during the festival’s middle section. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams are also two of the year’s best films, telling touching stories set against breathtakingly beautiful backdrops. Edward Berger couldn’t maintain the momentum as he delivered his worst film to date in Ballad of a Small Player . It’s still watchable thanks to his expert craftsmanship, but the DNA is all wrong. Ranging from “okay” to “good enough” during that span were Rental Family , The Lost Bus, Nuremberg , Hedda , The Secret Agent , and Good Fortune . Starring Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine came into the festival with a ton of heat after Venice showered the film with positive reviews and the Silver Lion prize to director Benny Safdie. I’m a little puzzled as to what everyone saw in the film, as all I experienced was a standard sports biopic clothed in just enough rough production qualities so that distributor A24 could maintain their indie cred. The final few days are always a crapshoot in terms of quality. Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy starred in the toothless capitalist satire Sacrifice , while Angelina Jolie led an international cast through Paris Fashion Week in Couture . Vince Vaughn may be a very likable actor, but he can’t carry a tune to save his life, which is why he’s horribly miscast as a Las Vegas lounge singer with untapped potential in Easy’s Waltz . The worst film of the festival was Scarlet , Mamoru Hosoda’s anime version of Hamlet (there he is again!) that trades away all of the wit and heart for obnoxious characters and never-ending yelling. Many of these films will be released in theaters or on streaming by major studios from now until the end of the year, while others will be trapped in limbo for years to come. It’s all a part of the big gamble we all partake in, experiencing the ecstasy and agony through stories projected on a giant silver screen. You’d assume I’d swear off movies for a few weeks after this whole ordeal. But the train never slows down, and I’m having too much fun to jump off. FULL RANKING Hamnet Frankenstein Sentimental Value No Other Choice The Testament of Ann Lee Train Dreams It Was Just an Accident Sound of Falling Nouvelle Vague Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Roofman Two Prosectors The Voice of Hind Rajab The Secret Agent Rose of Nevada Sirāt Eagles of the Republic The Christophers Rental Family Ballad of a Small Player Fuze Hedda The Smashing Machine Nuremberg A Private Life Good Fortune Couture The Wizard of the Kremlin Sacrifice The Choral Tuner Christy The Lost Bus Silent Friend Orphan The Fence Easy’s Waltz Scarlet More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

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 are the new names 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJMuhwVlca4 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 that the first trailer led us to believe. It’s also hard to be 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 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! Warner Bros. Pictures will release Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in theaters nationwide on May 24th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Top 10 DreamWorks Animated Movies March 7, 2024 By: Tyler Banark A child sitting on the moon fishing accompanied by a fairytale-like fanfare. What more could you ask for from one of Hollywood's simplest and most recognizable studio logos? With Kung Fu Panda 4 on the horizon this week, DreamWorks Animation has another installment of one of its many beloved franchises. While it has evolved over the years, the studio has never lost sight of its humble beginnings. In their 25-year history, they’ve proven adept at rivaling Disney through their ability to tell stories of different substances and styles. And unlike the Mouse House and Illumination (who never fail to rope audiences in with their vexing mascot and bland style), DreamWorks has never shied away from being themselves, even if the result isn’t always exclamatory. Nevertheless, they still crank out consistently amazing movies, and here are the ten that have stuck with me the most. 10. Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) I wouldn’t go so far as to describe animated movies as campy, but if there’s one that fits that mold, it’s this 2009 gem. Led by a voice cast of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stephen Colbert, Monsters vs. Aliens makes for a wacky monster movie that pokes fun at kaiju movies and old sci-fi cult classics like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman . Rogen gives one of his most underappreciated voiceover performances here as B.O.B., a dimwitted gelatinous mass lacking a brain. The film isn’t one of DreamWorks’ most talked-about works, but rest assured, there are a few lovers of this movie like myself out there. 8. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) As the follow-up on the studio’s biggest surprise hit, How to Train Your Dragon 2 greatly expands the world of Berk and its inhabitants. Hiccup continues his research of dragons and the possibility of them and Vikings living in harmony. The sequel introduces Cate Blanchett’s Valka, Hiccup’s long-lost mother, and Djimon Hounsou’s Drago, a man looking to control all dragons. Their additions add to the already impressive returning voice cast. Throughout the trilogy’s run, each entry made the case that it was worthy of top accolades, but there was always something else pushing it aside. The first and third entries were defeated by Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 , and the middle chapter ran into The Lego Movie and Big Hero 6 . 8. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) The conclusion to one of the most underappreciated trilogies ever, The Hidden World finds Hiccup and Toothless facing the ultimate test of a ruthless dragon hunter and his army, all while discovering a hidden realm where dragons live in peace. The animation is top-notch, and the cast is wonderful as always, especially Jay Baruchel, who never failed to make his case as to why he was the best choice for Hiccup. F. Murray Abraham joined the cast as the antagonist, Grimmel, who, like Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2 , knows how to counter and confound his opponents. Director Dean DeBlois went all out to make The Hidden World a fitting conclusion to a decade-spanning trilogy, with John Powell’s score remaining consistently soulful, just as the series was as consistent in overall quality. 7. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) As a big welcome back to not only the Shrek universe but to DreamWorks as a whole, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish took some of the biggest risks audiences have witnessed from a DreamWorks property. It not only switched gears in animation styles by following the storybook look of The Bad Guys , but it also featured the scariest representation of death in a family-friendly movie. Thanks to Wagner Moura’s spine-tingling voiceover work, the Wolf is one of the best villains in recent years. However, The Wolf wasn’t the only baddie here making a statement for himself. Big Jack Horner, voiced by John Mulaney, displayed his ruthlessness by being willing to kill one of his henchmen without remorse. Puss is written with complexity as he grapples with mortality and anxiety, capped with further commentary on how our time in life is short and shouldn’t be wasted. 6. The Bad Guys (2022) Based on the popular children’s book series by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys flew under the radar when compared to the studio’s other works. Not only was it the best animated film to come out that year, but it was also one of the first to show Into the Spider-Verse ’s impact on the industry, as the animation is far different than anything done before by DreamWorks. The Bad Guys steers away from the typical computer-generated look and goes for something more storybook-like. It pulled me in immediately through its opening scene: a long take of Wolf and Snake eating breakfast before pulling up to a bank for another heist. On the surface, it’s just an opening scene that the typical viewer could just brush off. However, if you’re like me, you’ll notice that DreamWorks made a subtle homage to Quentin Tarantino and his crime flicks (more specifically, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction ). Sam Rockwell led an excellent cast; including Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Zazie Beetz, and Richard Ayoade. 5. Kung Fu Panda (2008) A remarkable feat that safely introduced young audiences to martial arts movies, Kung Fu Panda not only featured the witty humor audiences came to expect but also a compelling character arc for Jack Black’s Po. The movie provided resonant motifs of never giving up and that answers can be found in the unlikeliest places. Black had an impressive supporting cast around him, including Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Ian McShane as one of the best villains in studio history who is both menacing and understandable. Kung Fu Panda cemented DreamWorks’ second most successful franchise, and it’s never been far behind a certain green ogre… 4. Shrek 2 (2004) Shrek 2 is one of the rare sequels to equal its predecessor. Not only did it raise the stakes, but it distanced itself enough to the point where it could be a standalone, feel-good movie. Shrek 2 also featured a great villain in Fairy Godmother, who is nice on the surface but reveals her true intentions by trying to get in between Shrek and Fiona. The sequel also introduced us to the irresistible Puss in Boots, who solidified himself as a franchise favorite to the point where he got two spin-offs. There’s also a strong soundtrack, with the highlights being the movie’s anthem, Accidentally in Love, and Jennifer Saunders’ cover of Holding Out For a Hero . 3. Shrek (2001) A landmark film of a generation and the first film to win Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, Shrek is DreamWorks’ golden child. It put the studio on the map and provided a wake-up call to Hollywood that Disney isn’t the only source of animation, while also spawning three sequels and two spin-offs. During its run, Shrek went on to become the first animated film in almost sixty years to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars, and Eddie Murphy became the first actor to receive a BAFTA nomination for a voice-over role by playing Donkey. It threw out audiences’ preconceptions about fairytales, giving us a hero far from Prince Charming on the outside, yet still charismatic and lovable. It made a statement that anyone is capable of giving and receiving love, with the added bonus of several raunchy jokes and clever moments that have become staples of online culture. 2. The Prince of Egypt (1998) The best piece of religious cinema I’ve ever seen and one of DreamWorks’ earliest works, The Prince of Egypt follows the story of Moses and his liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Ancient Egypt. Based on the book of Exodus, it’s one of the few faith-based films to resonate with culture both critically and commercially, with other worlds like The Passion of the Christ and Silence falling on extreme ends of the spectrum. A strong cast including Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Steve Martin, and Martin Short all brought their A-game. The Prince of Egypt is still one of the few DreamWorks movies to feature traditional hand-drawn animation, most notably seen in the climax where Moses parted the Red Sea, and an eerie nightmare sequence told through Egyptian paintings. Music from Hans Zimmer and a soundtrack featuring sweeping songs such as Deliver Us , Through Heaven’s Eyes , and The Plagues , aided in establishing the epic scale and the studio’s legacy. 1. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) If you’re reading this and know this cinephile personally, then this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover, and that’s exactly the case with How to Train Your Dragon . Gorgeous animation with the help of legendary cinematographer Roger Deakin, a stellar voice cast, and a timeless script are just a few of the reasons why the movie exceeded all expectations. Hiccup and Toothless are an irresistible duo, accompanied by many characters that complement them well. Furthermore, John Powell’s score is one of the best, if not the best this critic has ever heard. It’s easy to listen to, and you can’t help but smile when you hear our duo’s themes. This first chapter also lays the groundwork for one of the most consistent animated trilogies ever, never going overboard with the worldbuilding, leaving enough to be discovered and built upon in said sequels. Through Hiccup, the movie conveys that you should never be afraid to be who you truly are, even if everyone around you is different. This method can be applied to DreamWorks as a studio, which is exactly why How to Train Your Dragon is their best. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

2025 Oscar Nominations - Winners & Losers January 23, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Today was Christmas morning for Oscar lovers around the world. After months of anticipation, the nominees in each category were unveiled. It was an eventful morning, with plenty of surprise inclusions and omissions. Now that the dust has settled (for now), let's break down who the big winners and losers were. Winner: I'm Still Here Sony Pictures Classics strikes again! The distributor best known for securing come-from-behind acting nominations did exactly that and then some today with the Brazilian film I'm Still Here . Fernanda Torres secured that last slot in Best Lead Actress, repeating what her mother Fernanda Montenegro did with director Walter Salles almost thirty years ago. But the real shocker was the film getting into Best Picture, knocking out more expected nominees like Sing Sing and A Real Pain . Loser: Sing Sing Speaking of Sing Sing , this A24 acquisition was once pegged to be a serious contender to win Best Picture. Now it finds itself totally out of the race, only netting nominations for lead actor Colman Domingo, its adapted screenplay, and an original song. The ten total nominations for The Brutalist still give A24 a lot to cheer about, but the serious underperformance by Sing Sing both at the box office and at the major awards, should make them sit down and rethink their strategy. Winner: The Apprentice It's been a long and tumultuous road for the Donald Trump "biopic" ever since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May. But all that work turned out to be worth it, with both stars Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan netting acting nominations. Stan's came as a bigger surprise considering he was possibly facing vote splitting from his equally lauded performance in the A24 dark comedy A Different Man , for which he recently received a Golden Globe award. Loser: Luca Guadagnino It was a tough morning for the workaholic Italian director as both of his 2024 director efforts - Challengers and Queer - were totally blanked. Granted, neither was expected to net many mentions, but the Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross score and song from Challengers and Daniel Craig's lead performance from Queer were seen as totally gettable. Neither came to fruition, extending Guadagnino's Oscar slump since he broke out with Call Me By Your Name . Winner: A Complete Unknown The guild dominance of Searchlight's Bob Dylan biopic continued this morning. Both Monica Barbaro and director James Mangold were able to translate their surprise SAG and DGA nominations, respectively. Lead actor Timothée Chalamet expectedly got in, with the slew of craft nominations bolstering his case to be a serious contender to win his first acting trophy. Loser: Edward Berger What more does Edward Berger need to do to get some respect around here? His past two films All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave netted a combined seventeen nominations, but his name was left off the list for Best Achievement in Directing both times. The film's last-minute surge could explain his absence from All Quiet on the Western Front . But there's no reasoning behind today's snub, especially when he received nominations from all major precursors (Golgden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA, DGA) Winner: Robert Eggers The filmmaker who's been known to be "too cool" for the Academy finally made his way into the club in a big way. Piggybacking off the $150 million it made at the box office so far, Nosferatu netted four total nominations: Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, and Cinematography. It now seems like a no-brainer decision that he and Focus Features have already announced their next project together, a supposed werewolf film dated for December 2026. Loser: Paramount Ridley Scott's sequel to his own Best Picture-winning film had a lot of Oscars in its sights when it premiered just before the Thanksgiving holiday. But so-so critical reactions and box office dollars eventually whittled down those prospects to a single category: Best Achievement in Costume Design. And after threatening to break into the Best Picture category all season, September 5 just couldn't get over the line, netting a lone nomination in Best Original Screenplay. Winner: Emilia Pérez Twitter's favorite punching bag this awards season just keeps winning. A total of thirteen nominations were bestowed upon Jacques Audiard's film, smashing the record for the most nominations received by a non-English language film. It also carried Netflix to sixteen total nominations, the best of any distributor. With all of their other projects falling by the wayside ( Maria , The Piano Lesson ), the streamer is going to throw everything and the kitchen sink in an effort to break their Best Picture curse. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen

2026 Golden Globes Awards Predictions January 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen This year’s Golden Globes ceremony feels like a warm-up round for the two heavyweights that are One Battle After Another and Sinners , who will then have to clash at the main event that is the Oscars. Technically, both films are on the same team (Warner Bros.), so they should be very chummy with each other as they likely dominate their respective genre categories. The last time a studio won both Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy in the same year was 20th Century Fox in 2015 for The Revenant and The Martian , respectively. Like any good wrestling match, there are plenty of spoilers waiting in the wings. If this new version of the Globes has taught us anything, it’s that they’re not afraid to get weird. The old version of the Globes would never contemplate nominating Sebastian Stan for A Different Man or Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here . Now those performances are (deservedly) winning prizes, a pleasant step in the right direction for an organization that perpetually deserves ridicule. Below is a breakdown of each category for the film-related categories, delving into who the likely winner is expected to be and what other nominees have the potential to disrupt the competition. Best Motion Picture - Drama Sinners Hamnet Frankenstein Sentimental Value It Was Just an Accident The Secret Agent Neon is entering the night with a three-headed dragon, comprised of three foreign language films. It’s almost impossible to determine which one of those films has a better shot than the others, so it’s probably best to rule them all out. Hamnet and Frankenstein are worthy contenders, but neither has positioned itself as a winner throughout this precursor portion of the season. It’s clearly going to be Sinners , which seems to be amassing more acclaim in the nine months since its release. Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy One Battle After Another Marty Supreme Bugonia No Other Choice Blue Moon Nouvelle Vague Let’s give it up for Richard Linklater for directing two films nominated in this category, a feat that has never happened before. It won’t mean a whole lot for the chances of either film winning, but it’s a nice thing to see. Despite all the other achievements of the other nominated films, none of them is even close to matching One Battle After Another . It’s my lock of the week(end)! Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) Ryan Coogler (Sinners) Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident) Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) Actually, never mind. This category is going to be my lock of the weekend, as Paul Thomas Anderson is finally being avalanched with the flowers he’s been deserving of for the past thirty years. Best Screenplay One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson) Sinners (Ryan Coogler) It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi) Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt) Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein) Hamnet (Chloé Zhao & Maggi O’Farrell) It’s a two-horse race at the top, with One Battle After Another and Sinners being the runaway favorites in the adapted and original screenplay categories, respectively. Luckily for the loser and unluckily for the winner, this probably won’t have much effect on the Oscar race then. The mantra this season has been to bet on One Battle After Another , and it hasn’t steered me wrong yet. A real, yet fully plausible, shocker would be for Jafar Panahi to come from behind with It Was Just an Accident . Best Lead Actor - Drama Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine) Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams) Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein) Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere) The Secret Agent making it into Best Motion Picture - Drama feels like it means something, especially when we’re only a year removed from Fernanda Torres winning Best Lead Actress - Drama here and starting the surge for I’m Still Here . But Michael B. Jordan is also right there, and his winning here would be a perfect compliment to the film’s eventual win in the Best Motion Picture - Drama category. Best Lead Actress - Drama Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love) Julia Roberts (After the Hunt) Tessa Thompson (Hedda) Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby) This is a shockingly light year for this category, which is usually stacked with Oscar contenders. Jessie Buckley and Renate Reinsve are the only ones with higher aspirations; the rest likely to be relegated to future episodes of the “This Had Oscar Buzz” podcast. Although I do want to give a shoutout to Eva Victor’s inclusion, as that’s a great nomination. Buckley seems like she’ll be the sweeper of the televised awards, having already started that train at the Critics' Choice Awards last weekend. Best Lead Actor - Musical or Comedy Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another) Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice) George Clooney (Jay Kelly) As one of the most impressive lineups this category has ever seen, it’s a shame that only one nominee can win. Chalamet has delivered a career-best performance, both in the movie and on the campaign trail. His effort in the latter secured a mightily impressive box office performance, which confirmed his status as a major star. With that done, now it’s time for him to be awarded on the critical front. Best Lead Actress - Musical or Comedy Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You) Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another) Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee) Emma Stone (Bugonia) Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue) Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good) The craziness of the past year can be illustrated by the fact that both of the lead performance contenders in the Musical or Comedy category stem from projects written by a Bronstein. Written and directed by Mary Bronstein, wife of Marty Supreme co-writer Ronald Bronstein, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You has come a long way since its premiere nearly a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival. Despite being initially written out of the awards conversation for being too abrasive, Rosy Bryne has been the critical darling, receiving awards from NYFCC, LAFCA, NBR, and being a runner-up at NSFC. This will be another win to get her to an Oscar nomination, which will be quite the accomplishment for such an anti-awards film. Best Supporting Actor Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another) Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) Paul Mescal (Hamnet) Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly) This is an insanely tough category to predict, with the top three all having a seemingly equal chance of winning. Benicio del Toro has the majority of the critics’ prizes, with Stellan nabbing the LAFCA prize. And then Elordi just surprisingly won at the Critics’ Choice Awards last weekend. There’s no right decision here, but the least wrong one feels like Benicio. Either way, this will be an exciting Oscar race for a category that has been quite stagnant over the past decade. Best Supporting Actress Amy Madigan (Weapons) Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value) Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good) Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value) Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine) Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the ladies are also bringing some chaotic energy to this category. Teyana and Inga have been splitting the critics’ prizes, with Madigan winning at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Despite what I just said for Best Supporting Actor, this scenario seems to favor Madigan, who really seems to have a lot of passion around her. Then again, betting against One Battle After Another is a fool’s errand. Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent (Brazil) It Was Just an Accident (France) Sentimental Value (Norway) No Other Choice (South Korea) Sirāt (Spain) The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia ) A majority of the nominees in this category are also nominated in the Best Motion Picture - Drama or Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy category, which kind of negates the competitive advantage that is usually only given to one film per year. Just as I said for Wagner Moura in Best Lead Actor - Drama, The Secret Agent leaping into Best Motion Picture - Drama feels like it means something. I have a feeling that a lot of Brazilian voters feel like they missed out on a moment by not giving this prize to I’m Still Here last year. Given that practically every other nominee has a decent shot at winning, I’ll have no shame in getting this wrong. Best Animated Feature Film KPop Demon Hunters Zootopia 2 Arco Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Scarlet Elio While it always seemed like KPop Demon Hunters was going to eventually win the Oscar, the race was virtually over before it even began when the usually stuffy New York Film Critics Circle gave the film their Best Animated Feature prize. The Globes like to throw curveballs in this category, like when Missing Link beat Toy Story 4 in 2019. But the competition doesn’t seem to be there this year, so that's not likely to happen. Best Original Score Sinners (Ludwig Göransson) One Battle After Another (Jonny Greenwood) Sirāt (Kangding Ray) F1 (Hans Zimmer) Hamnet (Max Richter) Frankenstein (Alexandre Desplat) In a battle between Ludwig Göransson and Jonny Greenwood, I’ll probably give the edge to the former nominee since his film is specifically about the power of music. There’s also the distinct possibility of an upset by Kangding Ray for his rave music from Sirāt , which has a similar techno vibe to last year’s surprise winner of Challengers . Best Original Song Golden (KPop Demon Hunters) I Lied to You (Sinners) The Girl in the Bubble (Wicked: For Good) Train Dreams (Train Dreams) No Place Like Home (Wicked: For Good) Dream as One (Avatar: Fire and Ash) Your kids can’t stop singing it, it’s on the radio every day, and TikTok has been flooded by tribute edits. “Golden” is the cinematic song of the year, and everyone wants to be a part of its victory lap. Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Sinners Avatar: Fire and Ash KPop Demon Hunters F1 Weapons Zootopia 2 Wicked: For Good Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Over this category’s brief two-year history, it's been won by Barbie and Wicked , two films that were nominated in their respective Best Motion Picture category. That leaves Sinners as the only viable candidate this year, and it’s got quite the box office story to bolster its chances. Of course, if you want to talk about overall big dollars, then that would certainly be Avatar: Fire and Ash . I’d also give a decent shot to KPop Demon Hunters , which feels like the movie with the most cultural impact this year. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings September 9, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen For nearly ten years after its inception, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was dominated by the adventures of white men. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow had to fight to get her own film this year, while her male co-stars got entire trilogies. Black Panther reinvigorated the franchise with its celebration of African culture in 2018, proving that the Marvel brand didn’t have to be so beige. Captain Marvel became the first MCU film to be fronted by a woman. Now, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings marks the first Asian-led film. Not only does the film feature the first Asian protagonist, it also features a predominantly Asian cast and crew, which, thankfully, gives this franchise a much-needed change in perspective. The Ten Rings have been around for nearly a thousand years, gifting their wearer, Wenwu, immortality so that he may rule with unmatched strength. After centuries of building an empire out of blood, Wenwu was turned away from a life of violence by Ying Li, a guardian of the mystical land of Ta Lo. When heartbreak struck shortly after, Wenwu picked up the rings once again, causing him to go down a dark path, and his son, Shang-Chi, to run away to the United States. Now, after ten years, the son must come home to confront his father and become who he was truly meant to be. Similar to what Ryan Coogler was able to do with Black Panther , co-writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton brings out the best of this new world as he is able to handle the mountains of establishing exposition. His use of flashbacks may be a bit liberal, especially as the film reaches its climax, but they’re used meaningfully to build upon a story focused on character and culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YjFbMbfXaQ Without a leading acting credit to his name, Simu Liu takes the titular role by storm as he navigates this typical hero’s journey with charm and composure. Mixing a bit of T’Challa with Tony Stark, Shang-Chi is a hero battling with his past and future. Liu and Cretton strike a great balance as Liu hands himself over to Cretton's material in the somber moments, and Cretton lets Liu’s comedic instincts light up the room. Veteran Tony Leung brings the same melancholic energy to Wenwu as he did in his roles with Wong Kar-wai, particularly his work in In the Mood for Love . Leung layers this villain and distances him from the average world dominator. He carries a stillness about him that inspires fear and compassion, two things that have made some of the greatest villains. The overall narrative within a Marvel film is evenly composed of the plot and the action. Thankfully, Cretton blends both those halves together as he imbues the setpieces with the qualities of the wuxia genre, taking after such films as Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (also starring Michelle Yeoh) and Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers . The action often tells as much of the story as the dialogue, particularly in the gracefully dazzling opening sequence. But there’s also room for brutality as the first act ends with a tower-scaffolding brawl where Shang-Chi’s emotions turn him into a raw killer. Not since Captain America: The Winter Soldier has the action been so impactful on a technical and emotional level. When allowed to be its own film, Shang-Chi is quite the spectacle. But when it gets forcefully molded into a Marvel film, the results are less than stellar. Even after all his work with the story and action, Cretton can’t break free from the third-act visual effects extravaganza that holds this franchise like an iron vice. It’s a shame, as the smaller familial moments do more for the mind and soul than the forgettable litany of explosions that encompasses the final thirty minutes. Being that this is the 25 th film in the franchise, I’ve come to expect that level of disappointment. Thanks to its multi-talented cast and crew, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of the better origin stories within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The action may (rightfully) be the selling point, but the heart of the film lies within its characters, telling a familiar story on an impressive scale. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in theaters nationwide on September 03rd. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Ambulance April 14, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen A funny thing happened before my screening for Michael Bay’s newest film, Ambulance . During the pre-trailer commercials, a TV spot for Ambulance came on the screen, claiming that it has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of Michael Bay’s entire filmography. Except in their claim, the advertisers neglected to mention what the numerical value was. Knowing that it couldn’t be a coincidental error that they left it out, I quickly did my research and found that the score was 66%, which is a fine score, but nothing to brag about. But when you look at Bay’s other films, which include the dismal Transformers: The Last Knight at 15% and Bad Boys II at 23%, it becomes clear that the bar was really, really low. And with that bar being set to the floor, Ambulance can haphazardly clear it as explosions and lens flares go off in the background in true Michael Bay fashion. Michael Bay does not have the time or mental capacity to deliver human drama. Luckily, after years of trying to do just that in Armageddon and Pearl Harbor , Bay has finally thrown his arms up in the air and decided to triple down on giving the people what they want: pure adrenaline-filled mayhem (better known as Bayhem). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NU-STboFeI Ambulance has a plot as thin as a dryer sheet. If this were like 99% of the other films, that would be a major problem. But Bay is that 1% where it doesn’t matter what the story is, as it will almost assuredly be bad, as it still is here. Will Sharpe (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a decorated war hero whose wife needs experimental life-saving surgery. His insurance won’t cover it, and he’s desperate for money. In his time of need, he looks to his adopted brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has followed in their father’s footsteps by becoming a career criminal. He’s looking to make one last score that could net them $32 million from a Los Angeles bank. Despite his reservations, Will agrees to help out in return for a portion of the cut. Of course, things don’t go as planned, and the brothers are forced to take an ambulance hostage that also has an EMT (Eiza González) onboard who’s trying to save the life of a wounded police officer. By using addition by subtraction, Bay has cut out the usual fat in his films and delivered one of his leanest films to date. The whole setup for the heist takes less than five minutes, with the rest of the runtime devoted to the action. But just as the advertisers should include an asterisk when claiming this as Bay’s best-reviewed movie, I also need to use an asterisk when calling this Bay’s leanest film, since it still comes in at a bloated 136 minutes. Nearly 20-25 minutes could have been shaved off without much detriment to the final product. There are still the usual Bay fetishes here with explosions coming from every angle, guns going bang, and the American military being given the best recruitment commercial they could ever ask for. Bay has even found a new fascination with the drone camera, as he uses it to whirl and whizz around the action with dizzying effect. There’s no time for your brain to comprehend much of what’s going on as Bay takes your senses for a joyride. Along with the carnage, what helps keep your eyes glued to the screen is Jake Gyllenhaal’s bonkers performance. His diet might as well consist of Red Bull and sugar every morning, as he’s bouncing off the walls with manic energy, screaming nearly every line as he toes the line between being purely psychotic and a charming anti-hero. Abdul-Mateen II and González provide a nice fold to him as they try to keep things under control. When Bay’s previous films have contained performances like Ben Affleck’s in Armageddon and uh… Ben Affleck’s in Pearl Harbor , it’s truly something to see decent work here. Just like the roller coasters at amusement parks, every theater showing Ambulance should have a warning stating that people with medical conditions should not see this movie. And if you are up to the challenge, make sure to grab your free T-shirt that says “I survived Michael Bay’s Ambulance and all I got was this lousy shirt” on your way out. Universal Pictures will release Ambulance in theaters nationwide on April 08th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Testament of Ann Lee September 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The TIFF press gods might smite me for mentioning this right off the bat, but early in the Press and Industry screening for The Testament of Ann Lee , the 70mm projection sputtered for a moment, only to then fully cut to a black void. An ironic wave of applause and cheering came over the audience of critics, with many (including myself) lining up hours prior in the crisp morning air. The distraction lasted less than a minute, with the heavenly image of Amanda Seyfried’s titular character and her devout followers reappearing on the screen in a rush of rhythmic dance. This hiccup was just another reminder of the tightrope that director Mona Fastvold and her co-writer/partner Brady Corbet must traverse to get their art made and presented in the purest way possible. The pair were at the prior edition of the festival with The Brutalist , their efforts finally rewarded after years of toiling with financing, recasting, and distribution. The fact that a movie of that scale and intelligence could be crafted for a mere sum of $10 million calls into question the ethics of modern moviemaking. Fastvold and Corbet went unpaid for their efforts, and much of their crew labored for a fraction of their usual fees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb0ZhiDD9J0 But just as László Tóth and Ann Lee were unshakeable in their creed, so are Fastvold and Corbet in their artistic integrity. The Testament of Ann Lee arrives at the festival under a similar scenario to The Brutalist : undistributed, a laundry list of producers and foreign subsidiaries, and an eagerness to ward off any spineless suit with the premise of a quasi-musical about a female-led religious movement set during the years before the American Revolution. Unlike Tóth, Ann Lee was a real person. She was born in Manchester, England, and received no formal education, remaining illiterate throughout her life. The ecstasy of religion mitigated the agony of daily life. Her shepherds were James and Jane Wardley, who preached the value of cleansing oneself from sin through chanting and dancing. The unconditioned eye may judge these people as crazed zealots, flailing about with the same rhythm of a seizure. Fastvold lowers our guard by burying the camera deep within their movements, each contortion an act of pure faith. The Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg returns with a rich soundscape that focuses on the repetition of words and phrases. The songs “Beautiful Treasures” and “Hunger and Thirst” bring together all facets of the production into a harmonious expression of resilience. None of these tunes will be climbing up the Spotify charts, and they’re probably better off because of that. Ann’s devotion is not rewarded with the gifts of children, all four of them dying before their first birthday. These costs of lust, along with Ann’s mother being sexually assaulted when she was a child, lead her to swear off any physical bodily pleasures. Her followers obliged, which is probably why their numbers have dwindled down to just two in 2025. It’s from here that the movement transplanted to America, a land of religious tolerance (cue the ironic slide whistle). Seyfried is tremendous in her commitment, seizing this golden opportunity to showcase her musical talent fully. It might be her best work yet, a remarkable achievement in this Renaissance period that includes turns in Mank and The Dropout . The supporting players - Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson - all have their moments to shine, although not in the usual form of musical solos or dance numbers. They share a glance or a steadfast prayer in defense of the persecution they receive from the conservative leaders. I’d say that Fastvold and Corbet deserve more than the pennies they receive to make their films, but it doesn’t seem like they need it. The pair obviously sees themselves in their subjects, willing to put everything on the line for what they believe in. Lest we forget that history was never made by the meek. You probably won’t become a Shaker after seeing The Testament of Ann Lee , but you’ll be a believer in their convictions and the overwhelming power of their story. This review was originally published from the North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release The Testament of Ann Lee in select theaters on December 25th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Fountain of Youth May 22, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Guy Ritchie is a very busy man. Since 2020, the British writer/director has released five feature films ( The Gentlemen , Wrath of Man, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre , The Covenant , and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ) and directed multiple episodes of The Gentlemen and MobLand for Netflix and Paramount+, respectively. He's also got two more feature films already in the can ( In the Grey , Wife and Dog ), and recently signed on to direct the sequel to the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Road House reboot and a Sherlock Holmes origin story television series for Amazon Prime. The only stone left to acquire in his streaming service Infinity Gauntlet is Apple TV+, which is where his newest film, Fountain of Youth , comes into play. And just like the Avengers had to suffer for Thanos to get his final stone in Infinity War , so do we across the 125-minute lifespan of this ultra-bland adventure film. I'm a fan of Ritchie, with his swaggering, self-assured brand of filmmaking being effortlessly entertaining. There's a slickness to everything he does, usually just a cut above what a standard director would produce. Based on his blitz of output over the last half-decade, I could almost forgive him for coasting a little bit here. Everyone needs a break, or has an off day where they just didn't have their head in the game. Except I don't think Ritchie had his head within the vicinity of the stadium for this project, let alone near the court. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gB9h0ELEf0 Take, for instance, the cookie-cutter opening chase scene set within the alleyways of Bangkok. We're meant to feel like we've been dropped right in the middle of a chaotic situation, except there isn't an ounce of energy to pull us in. The overcooked editing seems to be a symptom of the need to hide the stunt performers, their presence being quite obvious anytime the camera catches their faces. The motivation for this chase stems from Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) having stolen a piece of artwork from a notorious gangster. Except he didn't take it for the money, just the clue hidden on its backside. Once he finds the other five paintings and puts together the pieces of the puzzle, he'll unlock the location of the mythical Fountain of Youth and possess all the treasures it promises. But just like he doesn't care about the value of the artwork he has to steal, Luke also doesn't prioritize the pot of gold at the end of the journey. The journey is a big enough reward by itself, and there's never been a bigger and more thrilling one than this. His sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman), on the other hand, finds herself on a journey towards divorce. She left her high-flying life with Luke a decade ago to raise a family, although everyone knows she hasn't been nearly as happy since. Almost like destiny, her job as the curator of an art museum housing one of the paintings Luke needs brings the siblings together again. Krasinski and Portman are both good actors, but they're ill-suited for this type of film. For Krasinski, he's going way overboard with his Indiana Jones audition/impression. Harrison Ford was effortlessly charming, and Krasinski seems to never stop trying here. And the more you try to make something happen, the less it will. Portman has always been a performer who loses her edge once the budgets for the projects creep into eight figures. She's someone who thrives on making big, risky choices for assured directors like Todd Haynes ( May December ) and Pablo Larraín ( Jackie ). Ritchie doesn't possess that skill, leaving Portman lost at sea. To the actor's defense, there isn't much within James Vanderbilt's script to lift them out of the depths. Everything feels designed to be viewed through the prism of a streaming service. New locations and set pieces are introduced every fifteen minutes, and characters speak only in plotlines. Luke and his team even have a fancy PowerPoint presentation pre-made for Charlotte, themselves taking turns explaining the history and importance of their mission. It's the bare minimum to keep you from turning it off, but never enough to keep you interested in what's happening next. That mantra might as well be extended to the whole project, although I'd recommend not even bothering to begin with. Apple Original Films will release Fountain of Youth on its streaming service on May 23rd. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Frankenstein September 11, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Guillermo del Toro, the filmmaker most in love with monsters, finally gets the chance to adapt the story of the most famous one of all. It’s been a dream project for him, entwined in his DNA and influencing each piece in his vast filmography. For decades, Mary Shelley’s novel always seemed to elude him, with box office hits and scores of Oscars never moving the needle enough. Then came Netflix with its bottomless war chest, opening the possibility for an epically scaled story about monsters playing god. “Some of what I will tell you is fact. Some is not. But it is all true.” This is how Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) prefaces his life’s story to Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) after his injured body is rescued from the frozen tundra of the North Pole. A creature has been hunting him from the ends of the Earth, seemingly unkillable after Anderson’s men fire several shots and trap him under the ice to no avail. To understand this relationship, Victor must start from the beginning, when death conquered over his mother, igniting a vengeful desire for the brilliant boy to reverse what only God can control. His goal and methods make him a bit of a bad boy in Victorian England, the professors at the Royal Society decrying his attempts to revive the dead. He is more or less creating zombies, a patchwork of body parts from separate corpses held together by an electric current through the spinal column. They’re technically alive, although they lack a soul to become emotionally and mentally intelligent. But as history has proved time and time again, war loosens moral constraints. In comes Harlander (Christoph Waltz) with his deep pockets and need for Victor to revive dead soldiers so that they can be reused for cannon fodder. The Creature (Jacob Elordi) is the first specimen to take things to the next level, offering increased motor skills and the ability to learn language. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aulMPhE12g The original 1818 novel carries the full title of “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.” But unlike the Greek god, Victor doesn’t champion humanity or its new member. He’s only interested in reversing death, not creating life. To fix death only takes a keen intellect and equipment. Bestowing life takes compassion and patience. The Creature is slow to learn, stumbling around with his oversized limbs and scars that make him look similar to the Engineer from Prometheus . He is discarded once he proves useless, a toy that his owner no longer finds amusing. Conversely, Shelley and, by extension, del Toro, share great sympathy for The Creature, his plight being a reflection of humanity's cruel backwardness. Harlander claims to be a man of honor, and yet he can’t even remember the name of the war that he’s currently getting rich on. Elordi turns in his best performance yet, with the pounds of makeup and effects never inhibiting his emotional pull. His grunts eventually become full sentences, with the second half of the film dedicated to the origin from his perspective. Heavy is the head that wears the crown of immortality, forced to walk a lonely life of rejection and incompleteness. At the very least, del Toro crafts this dreary story into an absolutely breathtaking experience. The filmmaker’s love for the material is entirely infectious, with the constantly roaming camera picking up every sumptuous detail from Tamara Deverell’s sets and Kate Hawley’s costumes. The stark black and red suits and dresses gothically contrast with the pure white snow, which is then bathed in blood and fire. Victor’s clifftop laboratory exemplifies that contradiction, littered with pristine sculptures and severed bodies. Isaac’s doctor is a mad genius, his ego always more inflated than his understanding of what he’s truly doing. He and The Creature are in a constantly revolving door over who is the predator and the prey, blazing a bloody trail across Europe. Mia Goth is well cast as Victor’s sister-in-law, Elizabeth. She has just as curious a mind as Victor, but also a heart to be offered to The Creature. Waltz joins alongside Charles Dance, David Bradley, and Ralph Ineson as the heavy hitters lining up the rest of this stately cast. With a lifespan recently crossing over into two centuries, Shelley’s story has long suffered the plague of becoming a copy of a copy of a copy. Endless adaptations and inspirations have taken only the elements that are deemed the most commercially muscular, leaving out the heart and mind. Del Toro has picked up those discarded pieces and made it whole again, reminding us why stories like these have and will withstand the test of time. This review was originally published from the North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release Frankenstein in select theaters on October 17th, followed by its streaming premiere on November 07th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Mulan September 14, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen For over a decade now, Disney has been mining their animated catalog of magical stories and remaking them into live-action movies. This trend has had its ups (the visual spectacle found within The Jungle Book ) and its downs (last year’s joyless photorealistic The Lion King ), but each one has made buckets of money for the house of mouse. Originally set to join the line of remakes back in March was Mulan . For obvious pandemic reasons, that release didn’t go as planned, and now the film has been released straight to Disney+ at the exorbitant fee of $29.99, which is on top of your regular monthly payments. It’s a price point no one should come close to thinking of paying, especially considering that the movie they are buying pales in comparison to its animated predecessor. If you’ve seen the original 1998 version of Mulan , then you’ve already seen this newer adaptation as the story follows the same path. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8FHdFluOQ The film opens in Imperial China as we are introduced to Mulan, a young adventurous girl that is often a disappointment because she does not fit her predestined gender role. In this opening sequence, we are dazzled with all the things money can buy. At a budget of $200 million, it’s no surprise that the sets are luscious, the costumes are pristine, and the makeup is vibrant. Further illustrating the power of money is the locations used by director Niki Caro and cinematographer Mandy Walker. The duo beautifully gives life to the rural and urban landscapes, even if some moments can be ruined by an overabundance of computer effect meddling. After an invasion by the villainous Bori Kahn, the emperor conscripts an army made up of one man per family. Unfortunately for Mulan’s family, the only man is their war-wounded father who surely will not survive. Under the cover of night, Mulan takes her father’s gear and sets out in his place for the army. Upon reaching the training grounds, we are introduced to the lot of supporting characters, first of which is Commander Tung. The rest of the gang are younger lads that only possess one character trait to set them apart. The training sequence is where Caro exemplifies her chops as a director. She creates bold imagery that gives off a sense of power and courage. Caro also injects a bit of wuxia (a Chinese action genre that suspends physics in favor of more fantastical action) into the action. Even if it is over-edited, the stunt work is something to admire as elaborate set pieces are constructed in various interesting locations. And while it’s no “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”, composer Harry Gregson-Williams does deliver a terrifically epic score to punctuate the action scenes. What clouds over this newest version of Mulan and negates many of its accomplishments is the shocking lack of fun within the movie. Stripping itself of the musical numbers and talking animals, and then adding on a dour tone about warfare doesn’t make for a very inspirational or entertaining time. Of course, a war movie doesn’t have to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it's next to impossible to take this movie seriously when there’s an identical bright, animated version that’s superior in nearly every way. Chinese star Yifei Lu plays the titular character with both grace and ferocity. She expertly tackles the language barrier and carries the majority of the film’s emotional weight on her shoulders. Her interactions with her father (brilliantly played by Tzi Ma) are the highlights. Playing a new character in the story is Gong Li as the conflicted witch Xianniang. She’s as mysterious as the dark side of the moon and often toes the line between hero and villain with her inventive powers. It’s a shame that she and Jason Scott Lee’s Bori Khan were given little to work with. Chinese megastars Donnie Yen and Jet Li play Commander Tung and Emperor, respectively. Yen and Li lend star power to their minor supporting roles, which was probably the only reason they were cast. The newest version of Mulan is a passable film that fares better than most of the assembly line remakes that have preceded it. But at the same time, it still falters to the original and lacks the entertaining bite that has never been in short supply within Disney films. At the high price required to view it, the best option would be to wait until December 04, when the movie is available at no extra cost to Disney+ subscribers. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Mulan on Disney+ on September 04th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2024 Predictions- Part 2: The Regulars April 7, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen With Oscar season firmly behind us (although it never really ends), it’s time to set our sights on the next white whale barreling toward us: festival season! Sundance and SXSW have provided the appetizer with their concentration of indies and spring studio releases, opening the doors for Cannes to take center stage with glitzy red carpets and world-class talent. Last year’s edition proved to be one of its best, with Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Grand Prize winner The Zone of Interest being two of the most acclaimed and rewarded films of the year. Also featured were About Dry Grasses , Fallen Leaves , La Chimera , May December , and The Taste of Things . Last year’s SAG and WGA strikes will likely put a damper on the presence of Hollywood on the Croisette (and potentially at the later fall festivals), but it shouldn’t prevent Delegate General Thierry Fremaux and his team from assembling some of the best that world cinema has to offer. The festival will announce its full lineup on April 11. Until then, I’ll take a closer look at some of the films that are generating buzz and predict which ones are likely to make it up the coveted steps this year. This middle part of the series is where we find the directors with a decent Cannes and/or festival background. They may not have the ability to grab the headlines like some of their contemporaries, but many of them are in the process of being established as festival darlings and have projects that deserve attention on account of their immense potential. Preference will be given to directors who have displayed a commitment to Cannes before. So stuff like Luca Guadagnino’s Queer , Pablo Larraín’s Maria , and Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada won’t be included on account of all three of them having heavy ties to Venice. The Most Precious of Cargoes Michel Hazanavicius took Cannes by storm in 2011 with The Artist , which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director. He’s had three films at the festival since ( The Search , Godard Mon Amour , and Final Cut ), all of which disappointed. He’s venturing into animation for his new film, an adaptation of a best-selling French book set during WWII. Production began just before the pandemic, with some footage and a 2024 release date being announced at the 2022 Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival. Hazanavicius’s spotty record and the festival’s aversion to animation in the Official Selection hints that if this does show up, it’ll be out-of-competition or in the Cannes Premieres section. Inside Out 2 It’s a partnership that may seem a little strange on paper, but the collaborations between Pixar and Cannes have always borne fruit (well, until last year’s Elemental ). Up opened the festival in 2009, and Inside Out was one of the most acclaimed titles of the 2015 edition. Soul was even given the honorable laurels for the 2020 edition. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Inside Out 2 is taken overseas to generate buzz ahead of the film’s worldwide release in June. Those Who Find Me Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili made one of the most acclaimed debut films of 2020 with Beginnings . It was part of the honorary selection at that year’s canceled edition, instead premiering months later in Toronto. Her sophomore feature tells a timely story of a “gynecologist-obstetrician working in the only hospital in a provincial town, who is unconditionally committed to her Hippocratic Oath, even if it means carrying out illegal abortions.” Fremeaux and his selection committee might have sympathy for Kulumbegashvili not getting her time to shine in 2020, so an invite into the main competition could very well be in the cards. Serpent's Path Kiyoshi Kurosawa will likely be pulling double duty this year as he’s already debuted the 45-minute-long Chime at the Berlin International Film Festival. He’s been a Cannes regular over the past three decades, but recently won the Best Director prize at Venice for 2020’s Wife of a Spy . His latest is a French remake of his own 1998 Japanese film that stars Matthieu Almaric. Partenhope Despite his Italian heritage, Paolo Sorrentino has opted to debut nearly all of his feature films on French soil His previous film, The Hand of God , was forced to skip Cannes because of its distribution by Netflix. No such worries are present for his new film, set within his native Naples. Gary Oldman is part of the sprawling cast that will travel through different eras in a dreamlike state, all (at least based on the first images) captured in crisp black and white. C'est Pas Moi Cannes is a party, and you can’t have a party without Leos Carax. He started the 2021 festival off with a bang with Annette , netting him the Best Director prize. His latest escapade is a short film that reunites him with Holy Motors frontman Denis Lavant for a self-portrait of Carax’s life and filmography. Expect something wholly strange and out-of-this-world. The End Despite only having two films to his name, director Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence have made him a marquee name on the festival circuit. He’s stepping outside the documentary structure for his third feature, which has been described as “a Golden Age-style musical about the last human family. Festival favorite Tilda Swinton leads the cast along with Michael Shannon and George MacKay. Neon holds distribution rights, giving the company a chance to nab their fifth consecutive Palme d’Or. Furiosa (*CONFIRMED*) The speed bump that was Three Thousand Years of Longing won’t be able to slow down George Miller from storming the Croisette with another story set in the world of Mad Max . He’ll be bringing along Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth for this origin story of the titular character. The Second Act (*CONFIRMED*) Along with Gaspar Noe, surrealist filmmaker Quentin Dupieux often is the provider of the strange and wild, most notably with Smoking Causes Coughing and Deerskin . He’s assembled his starriest cast yet for his new film, with Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, and Vincent Lindon playing actors appearing in a terrible film. Filming was completed before the public was aware of the film’s existence. Dupieux has only ever appeared in the sidebars, with the most likely landing spot being an out-of-competition midnight slot. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen