The Apprentice June 1, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Whether we like it or not, a Donald Trump biopic was always going to be one of the hottest projects to be eventually announced. The headlines practically write themselves, and the free publicity from all the controversy would be too much for any producer to resist. But what filmmaker would have the audacity and enough screws loose to saddle themselves with such a divisive project? The Vegas odds would have most likely leaned on Adam McKay mining the same territory that he did with Dick Cheney in Vice . Or maybe HBO would have tapped company man Jay Roach to make a prestige made-for-television movie to help maintain their brand. Oliver Stone recently said he had “one more” in him during an interview with IndieWire after the Cannes premiere of his new documentary Lula . Stone has always fashioned himself as a mainstream provocateur and has had a fascination with Republican presidents ( Nixon , W. ), so what better way to go out than with the most attention-grabbing Republican president in history? Well, all the smart money bets would have been dead wrong, as Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi, helmer of the Swedish fairytale Border and the Iranian crime thriller Holy Spider , turned out to be the one given the keys to the kingdom. But as it turns out, the most unlikely candidate for the job actually pulls it off quite well, with Abbasi and writer Gabriel Sherman (working off his original screenplay) excellently threading that dangerous gap between airless history lesson and alluring endorsement. An important disclaimer is the first to appear on the black screen: the people you will see on-screen are real; their stories might have been fictionalized. The text isn’t meant to be read in a winking fashion or seen as some sort of excuse by the filmmakers for missing a few details here and there. It’s more of a stage setter to understand the figure at the heart of this story, a man we have all come to know as a serial manipulator of his origin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXEN0WNJUg The story then takes off in New York, circa the 1970s. The Trump family business is currently facing a Justice Department discrimination lawsuit for its dilapidated rental units, and young Donald (Sebastian Stan) is desperately seeking a way into the upper echelons of New York royalty. A chance meeting at the swanky Le Club with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) immediately becomes the answer to Donald’s troubles, as the infamous lawyer, who would be the main inspiration for Mr. Burns in The Simpsons , takes a shine to the lovable loser energy that Donald exudes. Cohn gives three simple commandments for Donald to follow: (1) Always be on the attack, (2) Never settle and always be ready to counterattack, and (3) Never accept defeat and always claim victory. Do these tactics sound familiar to you? Armed with these principles and the tenacity to make them work at any cost, Cohn slowly morphs Trump from that sadsack kid with a dream into the person we know today. Hey, at least we have someone else to throw on the pile of blame now. The legend of Roy Cohn in popular culture has been dominated by Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America , with the role most famously played by Nathan Lane in the 2018 Broadway revival and Al Pacino in the 2003 HBO miniseries. Their Cohn is brash and larger-than-life, spitting in the face of his terminal AIDS diagnosis. Sherman and Strong opt for something subtler, a quietly menacing presence that coldly seduces you. His head pops out like a turtle after every other fourth word, and he may as well have been voiced by Ray Romano, but the power he wields at every moment cannot be denied. There’s a reason that Donald hung on to his every word and loved him like a father. Stan also shifts away from the umpteen portrayals of Trump we’ve seen over the past decade. His performance is absent of all the exaggerated impressionistic ticks of Alec Baldwin on SNL , instead leaning on his inner battle between superiority and insecurity to drive the physical energy. The hair and prosthetics are never necessary to the performance, only there to seal the deal for any still images. Abbasi does make prominent use of differing visuals within the film, opting for a grainier look during the 1970s that morphs into a retro VHS aesthetic in the ‘80s. Kasper Tuxen’s camera is perpetually in documentary (or mockumentary) mode, supplying much of the humor with some nicely timed zooms and visual gags. But then the high-drama string score will remind you of the implications of this buffoonery. Coupling those two technical aspects with the presence of Strong does make for some strong (no pun intended) comparisons to Succession , which definitely isn’t a bad thing in this case. There is still some biopic-y writing (they literally stumble into saying "the art of the deal" at one point) and Maria Bakalova’s presence as Ivana Trump mostly gets sidelined to the archetype of “long-suffering wife.” But those faults could have been only the tip of the iceberg in the multitude of other versions of this project that were likely in the pipeline. I didn’t have it on my 2024 bingo card that the most accurate adjectives to describe a Donald Trump biopic would be “restrained” and “insightful.” This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Briarcliff Entertainment will release The Apprentice in theaters nationwide on October 11th. 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 Wizard of the Kremlin September 5, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Zigging and zagging between an international remake of Les Vampires in Irma Vep , the exploits of the most wanted man in the world, Carlos the Jackal, in Carlos , and a Cuban espionage ring in Wasp Network , writer/director Olivier Assayas’ fascination with the theme of globalization knows no bounds. After taking some time off from the subject during the COVID-19 pandemic to look inward with Suspended Time , Assayas has saddled himself with his biggest subject yet in The Wizard of the Kremlin , a decades-spanning look at the rise of modern Russia and Vladimir Putin. However, Putin is not the central or most important figure in this tale, which comes with a forewarning about how none of this should be misconstrued as pure fact. Our titular “hero” in this story is Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), a soft-spoken and unassuming spin doctor who secretly held the world in his grasp. He’s now retired to his wintry chalet, giving him plenty of time to host and recount his career to an American foreign correspondent named Rowland (Jeffrey Wright). Their initial meeting is spurred by a mutual admiration for Bolshevik writer Yevgeny Zamyatin, who laid the groundwork for George Orwell’s 1984 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ctYp3zQVA Baranov’s tale starts in the early 1990s when counter-culturalists ran amok, the Soviet Union was dismantled, and Moscow citizens were able to breathe a little easier. But politics and cultural movements hang by a pendulum. Time has allowed some people to look back on Stalin’s tenure through rosier glasses, a time when Russia was at the forefront of geopolitics and thought of as a superpower on par with the United States. Jude Law appears halfway through the 156-minute mini-slog as Putin, the iron fist to Dano’s reserved wit. As exciting as the revitalization of a modern empire might sound (at least to me), Assayas’ film lacks the energy required to keep this engaging and memorable. The central structure of Baranov’s monologue to Rowland lacks any sense of discovery, mostly because Rowland seems to already know all of this. They chat for a while in one room, and then walk to another place on the estate to talk some more. Dano’s narration is long and laborious, taking us through thinly defined episodes that have as much dramatic weight and insight as the chapters in a high school history textbook. The cast sometimes brings up the energy, such as Tom Sturridge as the flashy Dmitri Sidorov, who steals Baranov’s first love, Ksenia (a woefully underused Alicia Vikander), with promises of endless revelry. The weight and presence that Law instills within his portrayal of Putin is just as impressively convincing as the makeup. We may never get to see him bare-chested like the real Russian president, but he does go water skiing and prepares a delectable barbecue dinner. None of the famous faces speaks with a Russian accent, with a vague British tone being used as shorthand. Baranov is persuaded to join Putin’s rising regime when he’s told to “stop making up stories, and start inventing reality.” Assayas clearly sees a link between Putin’s rise to power and Donald Trump’s, with Baranov being his Roy Cohn. Unfortunately, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn’t have the same level of entertainment and enlightenment as last year’s The Apprentice , leaving its credible points of comparison to land with a thud. This review was originally published from the North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical will release The Wizard of the Kremlin in theaters nationwide on May 15th. 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

Hope September 8, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen Even at a blisteringly paced 160 minutes, Hope feels like it needs to be twice as long to fit all of writer/director Na Hong-jin’s ambitions. The characters and audience are in go mode from the first to the last minute, chasing and running through the titular town as it comes under attack from something not of this planet. Na presents it all with thrilling precision, a modern master of genre filmmaking behind 2008’s The Chaser and 2016’s The Wailing . Ten years have passed from the latter film to this one, reportedly every second of that gap dedicated to delivering what should be the biggest action spectacle to explode across the silver screen since Mad Max: Fury Road . And yet, for all its propulsiveness , Hope only has enough gas in the tank to drive about halfway to its destination. For much of its runtime, the smell of burnt fumes permeates the air, with Na relying on everything in his toolbox to convince us of the larger-than-life scope he so desperately wants to achieve. Maybe it’s the way this monster movie takes way too long to show its cards, only to reveal quite the bluff, or that its characters are mostly just screaming cartoons, but I can’t help but feel both refreshingly exhilarated and disappointingly exhausted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5jcEBVBEbQ Except for sight, Na engages all of our senses as he sets the stage for the chaos. A rotting cow carcass is found just outside of town, with claw marks on its stomach too big to be from any natural predator, and the smell of rotting fish stinking up the immediate area. There’s also a sticky goo that’s been left behind, the taste sending everyone flinching back. Police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) takes charge of this case, sending some local hunters up into the woods to look for more clues as he goes back into town to get some reinforcements. But before he can even drive the few miles back to the station, explosions and gunfire scream out. Also engulfing the air is a menacing roar that leads Bum-seok down the streets of Hope, each subsequent one ripped apart with superhuman savagery. Production designer Lee Hwo-kyoung built much of the town from scratch, the hand-crafted apocalypse offering a real sense of death and destruction. For quite a while, it’s all Na gives us: clues to envision what kind of horrible creature could have done this. An hour later, the culprit is finally revealed… and he looks hideous. He has long hair, orange, greasy skin, stands about ten feet tall, and has razor-sharp teeth stained with the blood of the townspeople. He also looks rendered for a PlayStation 2 video game, with enhanced speed made possible by moving the frame at twice the speed. It’s distractingly silly, with the reported $30 million budget, the biggest in South Korean history, not being nearly enough to accommodate how much screen time this creature gets throughout the next 90 minutes. And once that embarrassing initial reveal occurs, there’s no true way to suspend our disbelief anymore. For all the bullets, bombs, and booming score from Michael Abels, I could not bring myself to think of these monsters as an interesting threat. Nor could I ever fully grab onto Na’s wavelength of mixing humor and horror, each moment teetering me into the direction of laughing at the movie rather than with it. Somehow, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell are involved here, although you’d be hard-pressed to figure out the reasoning for their casting, or why Na teases us with a promise of more information about their characters in later chapters. Then again, more information, even as un-tantalizing as it sounds, would be better than the nothingburger here. I’m a sucker for camera movement, highly intrusive scores, and gonzo kinetic action. Hope has more of that than any other film this year, and I’m glad to see it getting as big a rollout as Neon is providing it here in the United States. At least Na has the fiscal responsibility not to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on mindless action. Now let’s hope he keeps up that sensibility by not wasting any more money on future chapters. Neon will release Hope in theaters nationwide on September 09th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Judas and the Black Messiah February 8, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Fred Hampton was only 21 years old when he was murdered by Cook County police in an illegal home raid in 1969. He was drugged with a sedative to prevent him from fighting back and shot twice in the head while sleeping in front of his nine-month-pregnant partner, Deborah Johnson. Even though he died young, Hampton had already accomplished more than many of us could ever dream. As chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Hampton founded the multicultural organization, the Rainbow Coalition, and allied his party with other Chicago groups in an effort to end street violence and instigate social change. He was a born leader and speaker, moving hundreds with his words at the protests and educational courses he led. Now, fifty years since his untimely death, Hampton is getting the biopic treatment in Judas and the Black Messiah . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSjtGqRXQ9Y The British-born Daniel Kaluuya portrays Hampton in a performance that can only be described as electrifying. Kaluuya has already made himself known with his lead performance in Jordan Peele’s Get Out and a supporting turn as a sadistic hitman in Steve McQueen’s Widows . Here, Kaluuya elevates his game even further as he channels both the powerfulness Hampton carried in public and the tenderness he had in private. There isn’t one second you’re not glued to him while he’s on screen. An Oscar nomination is bound to happen, and a win would be deserved. Playing Judas to Hampton’s Black Messiah is LaKeith Stanfield (also in Get Out as the brainwashed Andre King). Stanfield plays William O’Neal, who was a petty Chicago criminal who became an informant for the FBI as he rose the ranks within the Black Panthers. O’Neal was the one who sedated Hampton in exchange for $200,000, an act he never considered a betrayal. Stanfield rises close to the level of Kaluuya as he gives a twitchy and layered performance that is nothing short of a career-best. Directed and co-written by Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah meets both criteria of a biopic, which is to be both entertaining and informative beyond the top-layer Wikipedia facts. We learn about Hampton through O’Neal, as we watch him ascend from the bottom to the top within the party, interacting with Hampton at various points in history. King doesn’t sin falling head over heels with his subject. Like the Messiah in the holy book, Hampton had the demons that he had to constantly wrestle with. King takes a similar approach that Steven Spielberg took with Lincoln , where we get a compelling real-life hero and learn about what they had to overcome both externally and internally. This treatment also extends to O’Neal, whom King doesn’t wholly vilify or pardon. We’re shown the path O’Neal initially led himself down and how he saw an opportunity to work for the FBI. While it’s an easy decision to make, King lets the audience decide how to perceive O’Neal’s actions. With Steve McQueen’s go-to cinematographer Sean Bobbitt in his crew, King makes this one of the most surprisingly gorgeous movies of the year. Incorporating a mixture of long takes and over-saturation, King and Bobbitt perfectly illustrate the vibrant urban setting. And the jazz-infused score carries sharp tension with its low trombones. At just over two hours long, King carries his film with great energy from beginning to end. Expertly filmed action is interspersed throughout, as well as sharply edited speeches that contain more action than the actual shootouts. Even when King falters for a few brief moments at the beginning of the third act, he picks himself back up and delivers an utterly spine-chilling and infuriating ending that properly uses the clichéd element of postscript. Judas and the Black Messiah is an all-powerful work by director Shaka King and the two leads, Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield. Both timely and historical, this biopic will surely land near the top of my best-of-year list and is not one to miss. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Judas and the Black Messiah in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max on February 12th. 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

TIFF24 Recap September 21, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen They said it couldn’t be done. Of the 278 films screened over the 10 days at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), I was able to see 37 of them. Never mind that my eyesight has probably gotten much worse, my skin is even paler than before, and that someone broke the world record for most movies watched at a film festival by eclipsing 80 films within the same timeframe. This year’s edition of TIFF was a rousing success for both myself and the festival as a whole. I maintained a perfect schedule throughout, seeing everything I wanted to, ranging from glitzy world premieres in the biggest venues to independent international films in the back of the Scotiabank Theatre. The best came first on Friday (well, technically third since I saw Presence and William Tell on Thursday) in the form of The Brutalist , which met the sky-high hopes I had placed upon it through its placement on my Most Anticipated of 2024 list. Although I had to reluctantly accept a 35mm presentation of the film instead of the 70mm print that was being shown at the public screenings, there’s no denying that this is one of the most beautiful films of the year. It’s a new American epic that I will certainly catch again later this year whenever A24 decides to start their rollout, which I assume will emulate the molasses pace of classic Hollywood roadshows. This needs to be treated as a cinematic event on the same level as Oppenheimer . See it on the biggest screen possible, and plan a dinner afterward to reward both your body and mind. While the feasibility for The Brutalist to win the coveted People’s Choice Award was slim, both in terms of logistics regarding the runtime and mass appeal, I did end up seeing the actual top dog a few hours later at its world premiere. Unfortunately, I didn’t share the same enthusiasm for The Life of Chuc k compared to everyone else, with Flanagan’s approach to the material being a little too disjointed and schmaltzy for my liking. However, being in the same as the cast and crew, as well as the raucous audience, was more than worth it. John Crowley’s charming two-hander We Live in Time provided a nice break in the disappointment streak, which would continue the next morning with The Room Next Door and Hard Truths . In a bubble, both are fine movies with exceptional qualities to them. But when you factor in the talent involved, it’s impossible not to view them as less than they should have been. It was extremely shocking to walk out of The Room Next Door to the news that it had won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, a prize that seemed destined for The Brutalist . Ron Howard’s Eden , still without distribution as of this print date, served as my only Gala premiere within Roy Thomson Hall. After he showed humanity at its best with his previous film ( Thirteen Lives ), Howard drags us down to its most vile state. The pulpy tone and starry cast are what sell the experience. Overall it’s nothing special, which is why it’ll likely get punted to streaming, where it’ll probably be a big hit. Sunday was a double Ralph Fiennes day. Edward Berger’s Conclave is a soap opera with as much page-turning substance as it has a prestige-like style, while The Return , Uberto Pasolini’s adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey , was a snooze-fest. Bookending The Return was two fun thrillers: Justin Kurzel’s The Order and A24’s Heretic . The former contains some exceptional action setpieces and moments of chilling true-crime violence, while the latter has a devilishly delicious Hugh Grant performance. Things started slowing down a bit as the weekdays rolled around. David Mackenzie’s Relay was a smoky cool way to start a Monday morning, while Luca Guadagnino’s abstract adaptation of Queer was a puzzling way to end the night. Thankfully I had some sleep between that film and Tuesday morning’s Better Man , the CGI-monkey starring biopic on Robbie Williams. Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here and Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson provided glimpses into fractured families reckoning with their past and future. Halina Reijn took that familial structure and burned it to the ground with Babygirl , a perverse tale of sex and power featuring knock-out performances from Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. I saw two slow cinema titles carrying over from Venice on Wednesday: Harvest and April . While the former spun its wheels a few too many times, the latter mixed abstract visuals with real-life horrors to excellent results. Capping off the night was The End , Joshua Oppenheimer’s narrative feature debut after years of success as a documentarian. I was by far the biggest fan of this somber musical about the last surviving family, with the audience within the Princess of Wales growing more restless as the 148-minute feature went on. To be fair, TIFF didn’t do its audience many favors this year as they scheduled several long and challenging films for the 9:30 pm slot, which always starts at least twenty minutes late. The final Thursday-Sunday was reserved for catching up on several titles I had a passing interest in. The Fire Inside and Millers in Marriage turned out to be the only two that I came out with a positive reaction, while stuff like Without Blood , On Swift Horses , and The Cut ranged from disappointing to downright terrible. Somewhere in the middle was Bring Them Down , The Deb , and The Friend . Despite my eyelids carrying the same weight as dumbbells, I decided to cap the festival with the Midnight Madness screening of The Shadow Strays , the new film from Indonesian action aficionado Timo Tjahjanto. It was one of my most anticipated of the festival, and the energy from the crowd and the film was more than enough to sustain me throughout the 140-minute runtime. One could debate the pros and cons of watching so many movies in such a short amount of time. But there’s nothing like having a cinematic buffet such as this, and the experience of gorging is unbeatable. Now I’ll take an extended break, as the mere thought of watching a movie gives me a headache. FULL RANKING 1. The Brutalist 2. Conclave 3. The End 4. Saturday Night 5. The Order 6. April 7. I’m Still Here 8. Relay 9. We Live in Time 10. Heretic 11. The Shadow Strays 12. Presence 13. Harbin 14. The Piano Lesson 15. Babygirl 16. Queer 17. Eden 18. The Fire Inside 19. Millers in Marriage 20. The Room Next Door 21. Hard Truths 22. William Tell 23. Harvest 24. The Life of Chuck 25. Better Man 26. The Friend 27. Shell 28. Bring Them Down 29. The Deb 30. The Assessment 31. Nightbitch 32. The Return 33. On Swift Horses 34. Without Blood 35. The Last Showgirl 36. Hold Your Breath 37. The Cut 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 2025 Recap May 27, 2025 By: Tyler Banark This year, I was honored to attend the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. It was my first time attending the festival and being in Europe, and it truly was a wonderful experience. The sights, views, and movies were all something to behold and made me grateful that I could be in the presence of great people working in the industry. I saw eight films during the last three days, so here are my brief thoughts on everything I saw on the Croisette, in the order I watched them in. Sound of Falling One of the most hyped-up non-English-language movies of the festival, Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling , will likely be on many people’s radar later this year. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as everyone else at the festival. It was boring, and I had no idea what it wanted to be. It does try to make a valid commentary on childhood trauma across different generations, but it gets convoluted in doing so. It also ended suddenly as I got into the moment and was eager to see where it would go. How this movie tied for the Jury Prize (third place) is beyond me. I would advise avoiding it. (2/5) The History of Sound The History of Sound sees Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, two actors at the top of their game, collide in a love story driven by folk music. The two are excellent, but the rest of Oliver Hermanus’ film is dull as it tries to mask itself with performances and enticing music moments.. There is a great movie somewhere underneath this movie’s surface, but whether that core can be reached is a stretch to see and may require a second viewing. For now, The History of Sound is a miss for Hermanus. (2.5/5) Eddington Eddington is a daring and complex film that challenges viewers to reflect on the societal divisions exacerbated by the pandemic. Its potent performances and atmospheric direction make it a standout entry in Aster's filmography, even if its political messaging occasionally lacks precision. It's the latest example of that and is a compelling film that provokes discussion and introspection about the pandemic, no matter how comforting or discomforting it may be. (4/5) Resurrection Bi Gan’s latest epic, Resurrection , is the big movie of the year that people will either love or not get. It’s best to go into it knowing little of the plot other than it falls into the genre of a love letter to cinema. Resurrection sees Gan passionate as ever, as it’s a visual feast. Bookended with a remarkable opening sequence and a final twenty minutes that will stun audiences, Gan should have audiences wrapped around his finger. (4/5) Sentimental Value Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World sees him slowly reaching the Western Hemisphere. He’s back with Renate Reinsve and has Stellan Skarsgård on board. But in terms of Hollywood, he recruited American actors Elle Fanning and Cory Michael Smith in supporting roles. The actors make Sentimental Value what it is as we see a father look to reconnect with his adult daughter, but an American actress poses a threat. If Sentimental Value is looking to accomplish anything, it’s being a heavy awards season contender as the leading trio is all wonderful. If there are any flaws, it’s in the pacing, as it tends to drag for much of the movie’s runtime. Nevertheless, be on the lookout for this soon. (3.5/5) Die, My Love Lynne Ramsay’s long-awaited return to the silver screen is a bleak slice-of-life film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as a lowly couple living in the countryside of Montana. Lawrence performs daringly as she’s in a weird phase of looking to reinvent herself. As a fan of hers, I’m all for it, but I don’t know if others will see it that way. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see Lawrence back in the limelight, but I don't know if this will work for her due to the subject matter of the love. It’s a raw, physical performance, and she can do it. But when the rest of the movie isn’t as consistent as she is, where will the general viewers fall? (3/5) Honey Don't! The second film in Ethan Coen’s follow-up lesbian trilogy after last year’s Drive-Away Dolls , to Honey Don’t is another step down for his solo director career. While watching this film, I realized which past Coen brothers projects were helmed mainly by him and which were done by Joel. Margaret Qualley is looking to be his muse as she leads this queer crime comedy, and she owns the screen. She fits the mold of the Coen aesthetic, and is far from the most significant issue I had with Honey Don’t. The writing is the suspect here as Coen co-wrote this with his wife Tricia Cooke, and it leaves audiences unamused with lamely written characters. The only good thing to come out of the script is the humor. Still, even that didn’t do much to save. He wastes a stacked cast of Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Chris Evans, and Talia Ryder with ho-hum character development, making the previously mentioned typecast. If there’s anything Ethan Coen should take away from Honey Don’t , it’s that he needs to reunite with Joel. (3/5) The Phoenician Scheme Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme sees the director at a crossroads. His style is unique and can't be replicated, no matter how much people try. However, the relationship between Asteroid City and The French Dispatch has become stale in the past few years . Luckily, moviegoers and Wes heads can put this fear to rest as The Phoenician Scheme is a bold, genre-blending espionage comedy that both honors and subverts his signature style. For a while now, Anderson has been making the narrative approach of having a story within a story. And while it worked at first, it slowly got boring. Have no fear, as The Phoenician Scheme reverts to that and gives a direct plot that feels like a breath of fresh air for viewers like me. (4/5) 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

Enola Holmes 2 November 1, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the title of the Enola Holmes sequel is simply Enola Holmes 2 ? In this day and age, studios seem to be allergic to putting numbers in their titles. It happened to the John Wick series, which inexplicably felt the need to tack on the Parabellum subtitle for the third chapter. Based on the quality of the series, the barrage of subtitles makes it damn near impossible to remember all of them or keep them straight. I’ll bet anyone a billion dollars that they can’t sequentially order the Resident Evil films. I’d also place the same bet for someone to properly explain to me why Star Trek Into Darkness doesn't have a colon. Thankfully, the producers of Enola Holmes 2 (which includes star Millie Bobby Brown) felt that it would be better for everyone if they just used a number to denote this newest edition to the franchise. It’s a doubly impressive move considering that each of the books in the Enola Holmes series contains subtitles, so there were ample options to pick from. It’s just a shame the simplicity of the title doesn’t translate to the story within, which falters from a hurried script that tries to do too much at nearly every turn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKXNmYoPkx0 Leaping right from where its predecessor left off, Enola Holmes 2 finds the titular character opening her own detective agency. Unfortunately, she still lives in the shadow of her famous older brother, who makes the headlines every time he cracks an “unsolvable” case. Just as she’s about to pack up and head back home in failure, a young girl comes knocking at Enola’s door. Her dear friend from the match factory has gone missing, and foul play seems to be involved. After some digging, the clues surrounding Enola’s case have an alarming connection to that of Sherlock’s newest mystery, which, for the first time in his life, is beyond his comprehension. Despite their reluctance to accept help, the siblings agree to pair up, sending them on a deadly game throughout the highs and lows of Industrial Age London. Enola Holmes 2 brings the whole gang back together, which includes stars Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, as well as director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne. Along with her role in Stranger Things , Brown continues to climb as a movie star. She brings excellent energy to the role, including Fleabag -inspired fourth wall breaks and numerous improvised quips. The real mystery is how she hasn’t been gobbled up by the MCU machine at this point. But that’s one I’d like to remain unsolved. Cavill maintains his moniker as the hunkiest Sherlock to date. He’s been promoted from supporting to an almost co-lead, making room for some unnecessary scenes where we learn more about Sherlock’s psyche, which we’ve already covered numerous times across novels, plays, television, and film. That inclusion of more Sherlock is just one of the many symptoms of the sequel-itis that Enola Holmes 2 suffers from. Introductions to more new characters, including one played by David Thewlis in his millionth “creepy British guy” role, and returning old characters make for a crammed cast. Also crammed is the story, which features too many subplots and stops along the way to the final destination. It’s all amusing but can often get quite tiring. Enola Holmes 2 exemplifies the adage that more is not always better. Thankfully, the overabundance of charm and style makes its nearly 130-minute runtime go by without much bother. For the next one, let’s hope they focus on quality rather than quantity. Netflix will release Enola Holmes 2 on its streaming service on November 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

MSPIFF 2023 Recap April 29, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF, or “Ms. Piff” as it’s said here) is a much-awaited annual event for cinephiles in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Every year, the festival showcases a diverse selection of films from around the world, ranging from documentaries to independent films, and even cult classics. As a movie enthusiast, I had the opportunity to attend the festival this year and watch several films. In this article, I will be ranking the films I saw at the MSP Film Festival. From thought-provoking dramas to hilarious comedies, these films left a lasting impression on me, and I hope to provide you with an insight into the best of the festival. 9. Dreamin' Wild Writer/director Bill Pohlad’s sophomore feature may be a slightly inferior carbon copy of his debut outing Love & Mercy . Still, his love and appreciation for the Emerson musical duo is always evident, almost as if he made the movie more for them than the paying audiences. That emotional reverence is what I walked away from the movie feeling the most, which is more than I can say about the majority of biopics these days. Full Review 8. The Beasts The central themes within The Beasts are both specific to its setting and universal within every country on Earth. It’s what makes it both compelling to a worldwide audience, and also why it lacks depth below the surface. The back-and-forth arguing and vitriol pads out most of the runtime until the expected climactic moment, where writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen allows himself to flourish with a creative perspective shift. The production values and directorial skill are always abundant, with the actors relishing in the extended scenes and long takes. If only there was more meat on this skeleton of a story. 7. Showing Up In its low-key nature, Showing Up can be a comforting ode to small artists persevering to put their creations into the world. Unlike Lizzy’s clay creations that start as wet messes and end up as fully formed creations, Reichardt’s work stops just short of the kiln and ends up feeling more like a shallow puddle of good ideas. I’ve seen this movie twice now, and I wouldn’t be that opposed to another watch somewhere down the road. Full Review 6. Somewhere in Queens After so many years of being lost in the Ice Age films, comedian Ray Romano returns to his Italian-American roots with Somewhere in Queens. The idea of a parent molding their child into a reflection of themselves may not be the most unique theme, but Romano finds both the humor and heart within the situation. Laurie Metcalf plays the mother, bringing great comedic energy and some surprising pathos to a character that easily could have been a throwaway cutout. 5. Polite Society Polite Society is an impressive debut from all those involved (writer/director Nida Manzoor and star Priya Kansara), as it’s only slightly undone by minor problems that are symptoms of its ambitions. It’s both a takedown and love letter to the works of Jane Austen, making a delectable time out of having its cake and eating it too. Full Review 4. R.M.N. Featuring five different spoken languages (Romanian, Hungarian, German, French, and English) and characters from all different walks of life, Cristian Mungiu’s newest visual essay tells a universal story within one specific Transylvanian village. As is tradition for Mungiu, each scene is realized in unbroken takes, with the climactic town-hall meeting unfolding across 17 minutes and featuring dozens of characters. While there are no clichés, this is a story that has been told time and time again, unfortunately, led by the least interesting character of the ensemble. The naturalism is abruptly broken by the ambiguous final shot, leaving you with a disquieting outlook on this specific village, as well as the entire world. 3. Tori and Lokita The newest film from the Belgian brotherly duo of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne finds them once again examining the miscarriages of social justice within their native country. Their handheld long takes and lack of score capture the harsh reality of society. There’s also a propulsive energy to the film, with the semi-criminal elements keeping the 85-minute feature (a staple length for the brothers) moving at a brisk pace. The realism of the situation and themes are slightly undone by the script, which paints everything in such mutually exclusive strokes. But there is power in those overbearing moments, as you’re left with another stark reminder of how the laws of the Western world provide little aid to those who need them the most. 2. BlackBerry Time has not been an ally for the BlackBerry phone, but I believe it will be for this movie. While the other movies in this growing subgenre built themselves largely around the iconography of the brand, Johnson always has his sights set on the people behind the machine, which is what makes this specific story that much more compelling and rewatchable. Full Review 1. Cairo Conspiracy Corruption runs rampant in the holiest of places within Cairo Conspiracy , as faith is used to broker further advances of power. Writer/director Tarik Saleh tells an overlapping story of politics and religion, molding his message within the old-fashioned espionage thriller genre to fantastic results. It’s both entertaining and enlightening, leaving you with something to ponder long after the credits roll. 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

25 Most Anticipated Films of 2022 January 31, 2022 By: Hunter Friesen The last two articles I have written have been about reminiscing over the good and bad in 2021. Even with its ups and downs, 2021 could be labeled a good year for film. At the very least, it was better than 2020, even though that’s not much of a comparison. But with a new year should come a forward-thinking mindset that looks ahead to new possibilities. With its mixture of exciting new projects from both new and established talent, 2022 has the power to be even better than 2021. To get you all excited as much as I am, this article will detail twenty-five (I wanted to add fifty more, but space wouldn’t allow it) of my most anticipated films expected to be released sometime this year. Films will be listed in alphabetical order, with known release dates and distribution strategies (i.e. streaming or not) provided. Asteroid City Wes Anderson returns with Asteroid City , said to be set during an astronomy convention, with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Jeff Goldblum being a few names within the starry cast. Avatar 2 (December 16) James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time. Babylon (December 25) La La Land writer/director Damien Chazelle’s period drama about Hollywood’s transition from silent to sound films. Starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Bullet Train (July 15) Five assassins aboard a fast-moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common. From Deadpool 2 director David Leitch. Canterbury Glass (November 04) Writer/director David O. Russell returns with a stacked cast, including Christian Bale and Margot Robbie, for a story about a doctor and lawyer who swindle their way to a fortune. Disappointment Blvd. Hereditary and Midsommar writer/director Ari Aster’s “nightmare comedy” on the life of a successful entrepreneur, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. Don't Worry Darling (September 23) Florence Pugh stars as a 1950’s housewife living with her husband (Harry Styles) in a utopian experimental community. She begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets. Elvis (June 24) The legendary rock star gets the biopic treatment by Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann. Newcomer Austin Butler stars as The King, while Tom Hanks plays his manager. Emancipation (Apple TV+) Will Smith plays a runaway slave who has to make the treacherous journey from the Louisiana swamps to the free North. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+) Martin Scorsese’s true-crime western surrounding the mysterious murders of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro star. Knives Out 2 (Netflix) Detective Benoit Blanc must solve another mystery, this time with an entirely new assortment of nefarious characters. Next Goal Wins Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok writer/director Taika Waititi tells the true story of the American Samoa soccer team, who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. Nope (July 22) Get Out and Us writer/director Jordan Peele’s mysterious new social horror film starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. Poor Things Weirdo writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos tells the story of Belle Baxter, a Victorian woman who is brought back to life by an eccentric scientist. Emma Stone stars as Ms. Baxter, with Willem Dafoe as the brilliant madman. See How They Run Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are detectives solving a murder mystery where actors performing in a murder mystery are being offed one by one. Spaceman (Netflix) Adam Sandler looks to maintain his dramatic streak by starring as the first Czech astronaut. Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano also star. The Batman (March 04) Robert Pattinson dons the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves’ new take on the early days of the Dark Knight. The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiography is based on his own childhood. The Gray Man (Netflix) Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans star as dueling spies in this action-thriller from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. The Killer (Netflix) David Fincher ( The Social Network, Gone Girl ) directs Michael Fassbender as an assassin who slowly begins to lose his mind. The Northman (April 22) The Lighthouse writer/director Robert Eggers’ action-filled Viking epic is about a prince’s quest to avenge his father's murder. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (April 22) Nicolas Cage goes full meta as he plays himself, playing the part of a CIA informant as he meets his biggest fan, who happens to be a drug kingpin. The Way of the Wind Revered auteur Terrence Malick retells several episodes in the life of Jesus Christ. The Whale Brendan Fraser stars as a severely obese father who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Darren Aronofsky ( Black Swan ) directs this dramedy. White Noise (Netflix) Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig reteam with writer/director Noah Baumbach for the offbeat story of a professor pioneering the field of Hitler studies. 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

Gemini Man October 17, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is the most elite assassin the U.S. government has ever had. He has 72 confirmed kills and is even able to hit a target on a moving train from over two kilometers away. Disillusioned and fatigued from years of killing, Henry decides to put it all away for a quiet retirement. Unfortunately for him, the life he’s lived the past few decades doesn’t just go away. After figuring out some dark secrets about his last job, Henry is betrayed by his government and made an enemy of the state. Knowing that Brogan is the best there ever was, the government decides to send their most valuable asset, Gemini, a direct clone of Brogan that “possesses all his strengths without his pain.”Pitted against a seemingly perfect version of himself, Henry must go on the run and fight to clear his name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbyJignbSj0 Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ang Lee, Gemini Man is both a marvel and a tragedy on a technical level. Repeating the technique he used in his previous feature, Billy Lyn’s Long Halftime Walk , Lee uses a frame rate of 120 frames per second, five times more than the traditional 24. This results in a give-and-take situation where the technology grants unparalleled picture quality at the expense of your eyeballs. The glorious images become physically hard to watch and induce headaches, especially when paired with 3D. Another technical innovation that Lee incorporates is the use of de-aging on 51-year-old Will Smith to allow him to play the 23-year-old clone. Just like the frame rate, this technique has its ups and downs. During the early and darker-lit scenes, the effects look great and don’t cause any distraction. Near the end of the film is when things start to slide downhill. Scenes taking place in the daylight show off the imperfections in facial movements. The final scene is the most guilty, as the effects are laughably atrocious and make the clone look more like a character from The Polar Express than an actual living human. And even with these technical innovations, Lee still isn’t able to make full use of them in the action set pieces. The larger shootouts are handled pretty well as they flow together with steady camerawork and tight blocking. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are when Lee loses focus, leaning heavily on the Jason Bourne style of choppy editing and shaky cam. It becomes hard to tell what’s going on and who’s winning a fight, especially since the two Will Smith characters look and dress exactly alike. With three credited screenwriters and countless others that have come and gone over the years, the script for Gemini Man is a mess that feels like it was ripped straight from the 1990s. That feeling is fitting since the screenplay was first written in 1997 and seems to have never been updated. It is heavily laden with cliches and hammy dialogue that are impossible to recover from despite the cast’s best efforts. The plot is pretty simple on paper, but on film, it's a confusing mess. It’s a strain to keep all the facts straight and follow the reasoning for anything to happen. There’s also a lack of humanity and character development. Will Smith does his best in his dual roles, but the writing gives him nothing to work with. By the end, most characters are just shells of a person. As noted before, Will Smith turns in one of his better performances and does a great job in his dueling roles. As Henry, Smith is closed off and mature. When playing the clone, he’s more vulnerable. Even with writing’s severe limitations on what he can do, Smith can sell you on the idea that these are two separate characters. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Dani, Henry’s sidekick, who’s forced to join him on the run. Winstead does a nice job as a companion to Smith. Unfortunately, she also falls prey to the writing and gets saddled with a cliched backstory and overly expository dialogue. Lastly, Clive Owen plays Verris, the leader of the Gemini Project and the supposed villain of the film. I say supposed because the film never really figured out if he is a bad guy or not. Owen does fine, but mostly because it's a role he’s been playing for the last decade in subsequently worse films. Gemini Man is neither a good nor a bad film. Mainly, it’s a tech demo that may lead to better films using these innovations in the future. It also teaches a valuable filmmaking lesson: all the bells and whistles money can afford are no match for a good story, which is something this film sorely lacks. Paramount Pictures will release Gemini Man in theaters nationwide on October 11th. 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

Zack Snyder's Justice League March 25, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen What was once an internet pipedream has become a reality. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally here in all its bombastic glory. This specific version of Justice League was never meant to happen, and neither was the 2017 theatrically released version. Snyder’s original vision was for this movie to be the third part in his DCEU series, directly following Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Snyder left the film in post-production after a devastating family tragedy. Distributor Warner Brothers - not wholly satisfied with the path Snyder was taking - brought in The Avengers director, Joss Whedon, to retool the film into a more light-hearted affair. What was released in theatres contained very little of Snyder’s material and was widely disregarded as a disjointed and forgettable mess. The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement was born immediately, with hundreds of thousands of irate fans demanding that Snyder’s original version be restored. After years of campaigning, Snyder and his fans have been treated with a golden opportunity that looks to right the wrongs of the past. The general plot found within Snyder’s version is nearly identical to the one in the Whedon cut. The evil Steppenwolf, a loyal follower of Darkseid, has come to Earth to claim three mother boxes that wield unlimited power to conquer worlds. Honoring his promise after Superman’s death, Batman assembles a team of superheroes to stop Steppenwolf and unite the planet to defend itself from threats beyond the stars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui37YKQ9AC4 Snyder adopts the Seven Samurai approach to his story as the first half takes an individual look at the members of the team. They each get backstories in varying degrees of quality, with some being more embarrassing than others. The Flash’s introduction will act as a litmus test of your acceptance of Snyder’s excessiveness. Above all else, this version of Justice League is an infinitely more cohesive and enjoyable experience compared to its predecessor. It’s also fun to ponder and discuss with others, unlike the migraines I get every time I think of the Whedon cut. The film looks and feels like a single production, and not a Frankenstein-like mashup of competing ideologies. Gone are all Whedon-directed scenes, and the color saturation levels have been reset to Snyder’s usual palette. The intricacies of the story have been completely retooled, giving characters such as Cyborg and The Flash more characterization and things to do. Superman no longer has his infamous CGI baby mouth. Steppenwolf is less embarrassing as he is visually reworked and supplied with a proper backstory and motivation. Tom Holkenborg’s score and Fabian Wagner’s cinematography are also allowed to flourish on an unparalleled epic scale. Now, these improvements are not to say this is a perfect movie. Stripping away the benefit of comparison, Snyder’s film carries many of the foundational problems that have plagued both of his previous DC films. The newly revised script provides the 5 Ws (and one H) for each story thread, filling in the gaping plot holes present in the Whedon cut. The problem is that a few of these storylines aren’t necessary or that interesting, to begin with. And the writing is still filled with cringeworthy exposition with attempts at humor that don't mesh well with the self-serious tone. Snyder’s insistence on using a 4:3 aspect ratio - more commonly seen in arthouse films - seems to be a decision based more on him being seen as a bona fide auteur rather than just improving the picture quality. At 242 minutes long (yes, that’s four hours), the film requires a gigantic investment from the viewer that isn't fully warranted. Scenes are stretched to the nth degree by incessant slo-mo, and a few deleted scenes that should have been left on the cutting room floor have found their way back here. The nearly thirty-minute epilogue is entirely spent on setting up sequels that are unlikely to ever be made. Its inclusion feels like an attempt by Snyder to rally his troops once again to demand that the story be told his way. No matter how much it drags the story down and erases a lot of the goodwill built up to that point, Snyder’s ideas are much better than anything else being offered at the moment. Even though a much tighter and free-flowing three-hour cut could have been released, there is a complete singular vision here, one that Snyder has carried throughout his DC films. His vision may not always succeed, but it is something to be championed. With many blockbuster films leaning ultra-safe to guarantee box office returns, Snyder’s no-holds-barred style is the answer to Martin Scorsese’s comment on comic book films lacking an authorial voice. For better and for worse, a filmmaker was the driving force for a major franchise, which is more than one can say about the corporate machine attitude over at Marvel. An experience that may never be replicated again, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a mythologically epic film that delivers more than anyone could have imagined. It may not always work, but it sure does pack the punch that fans deserve. If you have the mental and physical ability to invest four hours into this monumental project, I recommend you do so. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max on March 18th. 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

Ticket to Paradise October 19, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Over the past decade, writer/director Ol Parker has crafted his own genre of “vacation cinema,” where he takes A-list stars (generally white and older) and whisks them away to exotic places that teach them about what truly matters in life. The two Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again are some recent examples of this, all of which made a killing at the pre-pandemic box office. And with nearly $70 million to its name after launching overseas this past month, before it finally reaches stateside, Ticket to Paradise looks likely to join that money-making club. The beautiful A-listers at the center of this film are George Clooney and Julia Roberts, marking their fifth collaboration together and first since 2016’s Money Monster (anyone remember that?). The stars play divorcées David and Georgia, who are unable to stand each other for more than a few minutes each time they briefly meet. Fortunately for them, those moments of contact only occur when it comes to their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), who is just graduating from law school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkP4tVTdsz8 After an awkward ceremony where the two feuding parents attempt to one-up each other with their displays of affection, Lily is off to Bali for the summer with her fun-loving roommate Wren (Billie Lourd in a Booksmart reunion with Dever, although she’s given a fraction of the material). Within only a few weeks, Lily is swiftly engaged to a handsome local by the name of Gede. David and Georgia disapprove as they think she is making the same mistake they did by marrying too young. They embark on the wedding location, deciding to team up to take down their mutual enemy of young love. Of course, you already know where this story is going before you’ve even finished the trailer. In their attempts to break up their daughter’s relationship, the two lovelorn adults will rekindle that passion that brought them together all those years ago. Before those romantic sparks start to fly, much of the humor between the pair is just them bickering back and forth with bitchy one-liners, which gets quite tiring after a while. But Clooney and Roberts make it work thanks to their undeniable chemistry. They get to be full-on movie stars here, something we all needed a reminder of as Clooney continues his fledgling directorial career and Roberts pivots towards television. There’s a hilarious scene (featured in the trailer) where the older couple team up in a game of beer pong that gets them drunk enough to lead a dance-off featuring “Jump Around.” The rest of the movie may be a bit one-note and forgettable, but a moment like that is worth the price of admission. If you miss the days of movies playing bloopers during the credits, which they do here, Ticket to Paradise will be right up your wheelhouse. There’s no shortage of shoreline, sun, and stars in this romantic comedy. So, grab your mom and aunts for some escapist fun, because you know they deserve that from time to time. Universal Pictures will release Ticket to Paradise in theaters nationwide on October 21st. 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