The Weight September 12, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Weight opens on a sunrise on a fogged-over cornfield in rural Oregon. Maybe it’s the Midwestern DNA in me, but it looks like a piece of paradise: a quiet and honest life free from the hustle and bustle of life. Despite not being very honest and always hustling, this land is also paradise for Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke). That’s because he’s got his car and his young daughter Penny in the backseat. “I’ve never been caught, and they ain’t ever going to catch me!” he exclaims to her, hinting at a past and potentially present life of running from the police. Of course, a main character proudly saying that at the start of the movie will quickly regret it. With the Great Depression humbling even the most brash people, it doesn’t take long for Murphy to land on the wrong side of the law. A miscommunication over a dilapidated rental property leads him to punch an undercover officer, sentencing him to six months of hard labor as part of a chain gang in the mountains. Even with all the good behavior and favors he acquires, he won’t be released before another family can legally adopt Penny, essentially losing her forever. The lord of this work camp is Clancy (Russell Crowe), who loves nothing more than baseball and circumventing the rules from time to time. Luckily for Murphy, his knack for cars gets him into Clancy’s good graces, who propositions him with a job that will grant him his immediate freedom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YpuMymmiJ8 As great as that reward sounds, it comes at a great risk. With Franklin Roosevelt taking the United States economy off the gold standard and enacting a law requiring the reversion of all bank and mining gold back to the federal government, it’s a Wild West scramble for people to get their hands on whatever’s left before it’s too late. Clancy and some of his warden friends have a stash, and they need someone who can transport it unseen through the wilderness. With much more brains than brawn and a no-nonsense attitude to get any job done in order to return to his daughter, Murphy is the perfect man for the task. When pigeon shooting one afternoon with Clancy, Murphy shoots the bird right away instead of letting it fly away for a few seconds. When asked why he doesn’t allow the bird to have a sporting chance, Murphy says that if the goal is to shoot the bird, then it would be more efficient to do it right away. Director Padraic McKinley (an editor and/or producer on several previous projects for both Hawke and Crowe) takes that direct line of thinking and applies it to the film. Moving at a brisk pace and with a clear sense of perilous stakes, this is a white-knuckle thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You’ll just want to make sure that seat is in a theater with a decent projector, as the slightly washed-out cinematography can be quite hard to see during nighttime scenes. Even in the daytime, danger lurks around every corner. That’s because even a little bit of gold can make any desperate person persuade themselves to do something drastic. Also, a part of this mission is a ragtag group of prisoners, each with their own little backstories that get explained one by one. There’s a wisecracking troublemaker, a Scandinavian immigrant who just had one bad day, a philosophical socialist who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a Native American woman using this secret mission to escape her indentured servitude. Their stories are generic, with all the trials and tribulations they face just as predictably timed. At the center is Hawke, put through the wringer and coming out with a full, forced reminder that he is one of America’s greatest living actors. On top of the weight of gold on his back, he wrestles with the weight of the predicament he’s been placed in, and the choices he will have to make to get to where he needs to be. It’s a muscular performance full of vigor, a reluctant leader of this dirty half-dozen. Crowe also maintains his immense screen presence, even with a limited role. This would have been a much more exciting film had it just been him and Hawke fighting their way through the trees. It’s a credit to McKinley, as well as the cohort of writers - Matthew Booi, Shelby Gaines, and Matthew Chapman - that they make things simultaneously simple and complicated enough that the prospect of two actors walking in the woods would make for a great movie. By adding a few too many characters into the mix, they’ve diluted the final product. Nevertheless, this is a solid bridge between the thrills of summer blockbuster season and the smaller-scaled nuance of autumn. Vertical Entertainment will release The Weight in theaters nationwide on September 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

Final 2026 Academy Award Predictions March 12, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Starting with the Cannes Film Festival in May, the film awards season is finally coming to a close with the Academy Awards. It’s been an exciting season, with every contender and pretender experiencing their own rollercoaster of emotions. For some, it’s been a steady climb of positivity, while for others, the fall came much sooner than expected. Even though the Oscars are the last and most significant ceremony, it’s not the only awards show in town — collectively known as “precursors.” Several critics' groups and guilds present their awards between December and March, with the winners often strongly predicting the Oscar outcome. Major precursor awards include the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Critics’ Choice, British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), and the Producers Guild of America (PGA). Using a mix of this season’s precursor results and nearly a century of voter patterns, I’ve made my predictions for who will win in each of the twenty-four Oscar categories, along with analysis for all above-the-line categories. I hope this helps you win your Oscar pool and brag to your friends and family. Best Picture One Battle After Another Sinners Hamnet Sentimental Value Marty Supreme Frankenstein Bugonia The Secret Agent Train Dreams F1: The Movie Despite a record-breaking sixteen nominations for Sinners , which led many of us to assume that this would be a two-horse race between that and One Battle After Another , only one of those horses has been consistently winning throughout this season. The latter film has gone on an unprecedented winning streak throughout the precursors, picking up the top prize at the Golden Globes (Best Musical or Comedy), Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, PGA, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and the Gotham Awards. Sinners won the best ensemble prize from the Screen Actors Guild, a prize that correlates well with Best Picture. But when comparing that prize against One Battle After Another ’s haul, this doesn’t seem like a fair fight. Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) Ryan Coogler (Sinners) Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme) Even if the battle (pun intended) seemed slightly open between One Battle After Another and Sinners , this is a category where there was never any doubt. Paul Thomas Anderson has won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, DGA, and BAFTA awards, fully sealing up his Oscar chances. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, this will be a nice moment for one of America’s greatest modern filmmakers to receive his flowers finally. Best Original Screenplay Sinners Sentimental Value Marty Supreme Blue Moon It Was Just an Accident It’s been fun this season to watch the two titans of One Battle After Another and Sinners dominate their respective screenplay categories. The former won at the only head-to-head matchup at the Golden Globes, which does not separate its screenplay prize. Other than that, Sinners has won the Critics’ Choice, WGA, and BAFTA prizes. While the WGA prize comes with a bit of an asterisk from the weaker competition due to guild restrictions, its win at BAFTA was mighty impressive since it beat the theoretical runner-up, Sentimental Value , which seemed more likely to win closer to its home turf. Best Adapted Screenplay One Battle After Another Hamnet Train Dreams Bugonia Frankenstein To put things in perspective, Paul Thomas Anderson has won the Best Adapted Screenplay prize from forty-five critics/guild organizations throughout this entire awards season. The film with the second most wins is Pillion … with two. And that film isn’t even nominated for the Oscar! There’s no reason to have a shred of doubt over PTA continuing that trajectory to the Oscars. Best Casting Sinners One Battle After Another Marty Supreme Hamnet The Secret Agent As this is the first year for this category, we don’t have any precedent to assume the tendencies of voters and the influence of precursor awards. The nominees were selected by the Casting Directors Branch, which went pretty basic, with only Best Picture nominees. If we extend that logic to the entire Academy membership when it comes time to vote for the winners, the eventual winner will likely be Sinners or One Battle After Another . The former won the prize from the Casting Society of America, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics’ Choice, and boasts the legendary status of casting director Francine Maisler. Best Lead Actor Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another) Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) After presumably coming in second place last year to Adrian Brody ( The Brutalist ), Timothée Chalamet seemed primed to ascend the coveted steps to victory. He won the Golden Globe (Musical or Comedy) and Critics’ Choice, cementing himself as the clear favorite. Since then, he’s been stumbling, losing to Robert Aramayo at BAFTA and Michael B. Jordan at SAG. Theoretically, Chalamet still has the objective edge. But his loss of momentum is coinciding with Sinners ’ rise across several categories, which is why I’m going a bit out on a limb with Jordan. Best Lead Actress Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You) Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue) Emme Stone (Bugonia) Jessie Buckley has undergone one of the most dominant runs this decade for an actor. Along with a few dozen critics’ prizes, she also picked up the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and SAG prizes. There’s no way she loses the Oscar after that. Best Supporting Actor Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) Delroy Lindo (Sinners) Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another) After nearly a decade of this category being plagued by unambiguous sweepers, it’s nice to witness some chaos. Jacob Elordi kicked off the revolving door by unexpectedly winning the Critics’ Choice. That was then followed by Stellan Skarsgård winning at the Golden Globes, and Sean Penn at BAFTA and SAG. There’s even still the wild card of Delroy Lindo, who was not even nominated at any of the precursors. After all those absences, his unlikely inclusion here signals that the Oscar voters really like him. With Penn taking the two biggest prizes, it seems like he’s got the advantage. Best Supporting Actress Amy Madigan (Weapons) Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value) Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value) For several months on paper, the lack of stiff competition made it seem like Ariana Grande would steamroll her way to a victory of Wicked: For Good . The winds started to change once Amy Madigan picked up Critics’ Choice and Teyana Taylor won the Golden Globe. Things were then blown wide open once Grande was snubbed entirely, with further chaos occurring once Wunmi Mosaku won the BAFTA. Now that Madigan won at SAG during the final stretch of the Oscar voting window, she might be the ultimate victor. This is still a very close race to call. Best Cinematography One Battle After Another Train Dreams Sinners Marty Supreme Frankenstein Ever since Ryan Coogler collaborated with Kodak to publish a YouTube video explaining the different aspect ratios of Sinners , it seemed like that film had this Oscar in the bag. And yet, those fortunes never materialized amongst the industry awards, with One Battle After Another unexpectedly running away with awards from the British Society of Cinematographers, BAFTA, and American Society of Cinematographers. Best Film Editing One Battle After Another F1: The Movie Sinners Marty Supreme Sentimental Value Even at a length of 161-minutes, One Battle After Another flies by with its flawless breakneck pacing. That sentiment awarded it the Best Film Editing prize at BAFTA and the American Cinema Editors Awards (Comedy), a precursor combination that has flawlessly led to Oscar victory. Best Original Score Sinners One Battle After Another Frankenstein Hamnet Bugonia Is Ludwig Göransson about to become the new John Williams? The jury is still out if he’ll be able to match the sheer number of nominations. But it’s certainly looking like he’ll be able to match the tally of wins. He’s won the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Grammy for his original score for Sinners . That will definitely translate to the Oscars, where it will mark his third victory in seven years. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, I fully expect him to be back at or near this same position next year with The Odyssey . Best Original Song “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters) “I Lied to You” (Sinners) “Train Dreams” (Train Dreams) “Dear Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless) “Sweet Dreams of Joy” (Viva Verdi!) With 1.5 billion streams on Spotify, “Golden” is the kind of chart-topping song that could not be muscled out of the top position of this category. It’s a similar trajectory to recent winners like “Shallow” and “Skyfall,” which harnessed their cultural popularity as an asset to Oscar glory. Wins at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, and Grammys further secured its victory potential. Best Sound F1: The Movie Sinners Sirât One Battle After Another Frankenstein When in doubt, it’s always wise to pick the loudest film and/or the film that intertwines its soundwork with its narrative. The consolidation of Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing into a single category has also implicitly suggested that the predicted winner must also be a Best Picture nominee. That disqualifies Sirât , a shame because it features some ingenious audio moments. F1: The Movie is by far the loudest film of the Best Picture nominees, and fits the action genre mold of previous winners like Ford v Ferrari , Top Gun: Maverick , and the two Dune films. Best Production Design Frankenstein Sinners Marty Supreme Hamnet One Battle After Another Similar to Best Costume Design, this category is all about capturing a period in time ( All Quiet on the Western Front , Mank , Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ) or creating a fictional world ( Dune: Part One , Mad Max: Fury Road , Poor Things , Wicked ). Frankenstein melds both of those qualities in lavish style, with gigantic, sumptuous sets that are always highlighted by Guillermo del Toro’s constantly roaming camera. It won at Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, the Set Decorators Society of America (Fantasy or Science Fiction Film), and the Art Directors Guild Award (Period Film). Best Costume Design Frankenstein Sinners Hamnet Marty Supreme Avatar: Fire and Ash To win this category, you must be a film with period costumes, specifically dresses. It’s what recent winners like Wicked , Cruella , Poor Things , and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom all have in common. Of this year’s crop of nominees, Frankenstein is the closest comparison. It won this prize at the Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and the Costume Designers Guild Awards (Excellence in Period Film). Best Makeup & Hairstyling Frankenstein Sinners The Smashing Machine Kokuho The Ugly Stepsister The key to this category is to have a transformative performance as a leading contender in one of the acting races. Recent winners that exemplify this strategy include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom , The Eyes of Tammy Faye , The Whale , Poor Things , and The Substance . Frankenstein fits that bill this year, with Jacob Elordi fully plastered in makeup as the mad scientist’s famous undead creation. The film won this award at the Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and Best Special Make-Up Prosthetics at the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild’s awards. Best Visual Effects Avatar: Fire and Ash F1: The Movie Sinners The Lost Bus Jurassic World: Rebirth What other purpose is there for the Avatar films besides grossing billions of dollars and winning this category? I’m so sure of this prediction that I’m already rubberstamping Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 for this win in their respective years. Best Animated Feature KPop Demon Hunters Zootopia 2 Arco Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Elio This category has seen some tight races over the past few years, with The Boy and the Heron and Flow upsetting predicted favorites Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Wild Robot , respectively. That’s unlikely to happen this year as KPop Demon Hunters has steamrolled the competition with its culture-defining popularity. Further bolstering its chances is the high likelihood that “Golden” will win the Oscar for Best Original Song. Best International Feature Sentimental Value (Norway) The Secret Agent (Brazil) It Was Just an Accident (France) Sirât (Spain) The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia) Sentimental Value maxed out its nomination haul on Oscar nomination morning, getting in at every above-the-line category it was eligible for. That also includes Best Film Editing, another strong indication of the film’s strength across several branches. It also swept the European Film Awards and won Best Film Not in the English Language at the BAFTAs, where it received an equally high number of nominations. The Secret Agent is no slouch either, winning this category at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice. That Best Picture nomination was not guaranteed on Oscar nomination like Sentimental Value was, hinting that there’s enough passion to make it competitive against the odds. Not that it’s causation, but a country hasn’t won this category in consecutive years since Denmark did in 1987 and 1988 with Babette’s Feast and Pelle the Conqueror , respectively. I’m Still Here won this award last year when it statistically shouldn’t have, so I wouldn’t fully count out Brazil to pull off another upset. Best Documentary Feature The Perfect Neighbor The Alabama Solution Mr. Nobody Against Putin Come See Me in the Good Light Cutting Through Rocks There’s one film each year whose biggest fight is to push past this branch’s biases and simply get nominated. Once that’s accomplished, the win is almost a formality. My Octopus Teacher and Summer of Soul are recent examples of this route. The Perfect Neighbor will likely replicate it, with its popularity extending to the culture at large thanks to its release on Netflix and poignant topic. There are never any sure things with this category, so a surprise winner is a very real possibility. Best Animated Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls Best Documentary Short Film : All the Empty Rooms Best Live-Action Short Film : Two People Exchanging Saliva 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

2023 Losers January 2, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen We’ve crowned our winners for the year, so now it’s time to perform the autopsies on some of this past year’s biggest victims. No one should want to see pain inflicted on others, but some of these parties got what was coming to them, and may have deserved worse. The best-case scenario is that they all use their failures as motivation for 2024, or take it as a sign to pack it up and change course. Disney In true monkey’s paw fashion, the Mouse House grabbed a ton of headlines during their 100th-anniversary celebration as almost all of their blockbusters went belly up. After producing 7 $1 billion hits in 2019, the studio wasn’t able to churn out a single one in 2023. Their losses may have reached as high as $1 billion between the lackluster results of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , The Marvels , and Wish . A string of delays and reworkings means Inside 2, Deadpool 3 , and Mufasa: The Lion King will be their only offerings in 2024. The Future of the MCU 2023 turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for the MCU, with silver screen projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels falling well below expectations, both creatively and financially. Even the one shining light that was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 can’t be touted too heavily as that was a franchise conclusion. Interest and optimism are at an all-time low, with no direction or clear finish line in sight. Whether it was out of necessity or fear (or a bit of both), the delaying of almost all their future projects leaves Deadpool 3 as the lone property in 2024. Here’s hoping Kevin Feige can use the time he bought himself. WB's Reptuation (If They Had Any) Each year it seems that WB is trying to one-up itself as the most hated studio to both creatives and fans. Between elongating the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, significantly reducing the HBO Max catalog, shelving the already completed Coyote vs. Acme , and cutting funding for TCM, this year turned out to be their best at producing hatred. The world isn’t prepared for the witchcraft CEO David Zaslav is cooking up in 2024. The AMPTP Corporations didn’t earn much credibility in 2023, and the AMPTP did everything in its power to destroy whatever minuscule amount they had. No one was ever going to be on its side during the WGA and SAG strikes, but its tone-deaf messaging and bully tactics made it impossible for anyone to see their side of the argument. They’ve shown their hand when it comes to AI, with the future not looking too bright for creatives. Belated Sequels Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water proved that long-in-development sequels can make just as much, if not more, money than their predecessors. Studios took that lesson to heart in 2023, except they forgot the part where you have to make a good movie. Magic Mike's Last Dance , Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , Expend4bles , My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 , and The Exorcist: Believer were just some of the warmed-over leftovers studios thought would pass for full course meals. Audiences rejected them, and will hopefully do the same in 2024. Fan Screenings Studios are already having a tough time getting audiences in seats, so it seemed like a brain-dead idea to confuse people as to when a movie would be available to them. Sony originally announced wide releases for Gran Turismo and Dumb Money before changing course to platform releases with later wide expansions. All audience interest vanished by the time of wide release, leaving these bombs hanging out to dry. None of those compared to the debacle that was The Flash , with over a dozen fan screenings taking place weeks before the general release. All of that work amounted to one of the biggest bombs in history. Comedians Going to Film Nothing’s worse than a comedy that isn’t funny, which is what these comedians delivered this year on the silver screen. Bill Burr and Charlie Day unsuccessfully tried their hand at directing with Old Dads and Fool’s Paradise , respectively. Sebastian Maniscalco ( About My Father ), Brett Kreischer ( The Machine ), and Please Don’t Destroy ( The Treasure of Foggy Mountain ) also missed the mark. There’s nothing funny about failure, although that might have been the best joke each of them wrote this year. Streaming Action Movies Let’s get one thing straight: Extraction 2 was pretty good. But it was made to look like Citizen Kane when compared to everything else that was available. Netflix may have scored decent viewership with The Mother and Heart of Stone , although I’d bet an unseemly amount of money that almost all those viewers couldn’t remember a single thing that happened. But at least those titles got eyeballs, as Apple’s Ghosted and Amazon’s Shotgun Wedding may as well have never existed. Movie Posters Were poster artists given the year off? From terrible photoshopping to uninspired designs (anyone up for the millionth floating head layout?), no one was flocking to see some of these movies based on their artwork. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 easily took the cake as none of the actors’ heads were connected to their bodies. But even big-name projects like Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon were left with boring layouts. 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

Friendship September 14, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Cringe comedy has become a new form that’s slowly been on the rise recently. The situations we see characters get themselves in and how awkwardly they handle them is an odd way to make audiences laugh. Whether it’s watching a guy go on a dating show only for the house’s zipline or seeing someone make obscene comments during a late-night haunted house tour, SNL alum Tim Robinson has found numerous approaches to making us squirm. He’s been behind the rise of this comedic style via his Netflix variety series, I Think You Should Leave . His newest film, Friendship, breathes life into his technique and offers substance to his otherwise dry comedy palette. Making an out-of-place addition to this year’s Midnight Madness lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival, Friendship also boasts one of the most irresistible men in Hollywood, Paul Rudd. He and his neighbors, who find themselves in camaraderie and playing mind games with each other in a plot format Robinson knows all too well. When Austin (Rudd) starts ghosting Craig (Robinson) to hang out with his usual friends, Craig goes to great lengths to fix their relationship, even if it involves him getting into inappropriate positions. Some of the incidents we see Austin and Craig get into often involve troubling circumstances (trespassing, assault). Still, it’s not until they start spending time away from each other that things escalate. Rudd and Robinson play off each other well when these events happen in the movie, and their comedic styles blend surprisingly well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSPwZIZu6Y Two factors go into making cringe comedy: the writing and delivery. While this may sound like a no-brainer for a comedy, let alone any movie, it’s vital to this specific style. Some of his line deliveries play a part in it, as some can be dumb, but he manages to make it work. There’s a moment where Craig’s trying to intimidate Austin’s friends and says they shouldn’t mess with him because he recently bought a van. This threat shouldn’t work, yet Robinson makes it, and the response is uproarious laughter. Rudd helps him out sometimes, mainly just as a setup to a punchline. The best instance is when the two are exploring a sewer and trying to climb over a wall. Rudd clears the wall, but Robinson struggles, and seeing him struggle is where the joke lands. On one occasion, Rudd does make the joke himself, and it’s when he and his friend group start singing My Boo by Ghost Town DJs. It might simply pose as a random needle drop, but if the boot fits, wear it. Occasionally in Friendship , there is the zany humor that writer-director Andrew DeYoung’s script samples. Craig has a wife, Tami, and son Steven, played by Kate Mara and Jack Dylan Grazer, respectively. There’s a moment in the opening minutes where the three have an interaction with each other that’s met with many laughs, and the three actors do an excellent job of executing it. Grazer and Robinson have more experience in comedy than Mara, but she still helps out in the moment as the joke catches audiences by surprise. On the contrary, some of the humor outside of the cringeworthy jokes isn’t as outstanding. The movie often showcases moments of Craig experiencing a psychedelic trip and tries to get a laugh out of audiences through those moments. If this movie had come out in the 90s, these choices likely would’ve been seen as genius, but unfortunately, they do not, and drag Friendship down. With Friendship , Robinson makes his film debut as a leading man and brings his comedic chops to the forefront. While it translates better on the big screen than as a streaming show, there’s still the looming factor that cringe comedy won’t be for everyone. Regardless, Friendship sees Robinson make a big leap in his career and has an excellent team to work with on it. It might get some viewers to explore more of Robinson and make I Think You Should Leave an even bigger show, but viewers who weren’t too amused by this won’t have their lives changed. As long as viewers are hooting and hollering, it works. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. A24 will release Friendship in select theaters on May 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

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part February 11, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen Back in 2014, The LEGO Movie had to overcome the enormous challenge of adapting a storyless toy brand into a compelling blockbuster. Through expert use of wit and charm, the film became a rightful smash hit that could be enjoyed equally among children and adults. And, for better or worse, it introduced the world to the incredibly memorable song “Everything is Awesome.” Opening exactly where the original left off, the Duplos have attacked Bricksburg and transformed the land into an apocalyptic Mad Max -like wasteland. Despite the darkness of the situation, Emmett maintains his cheery attitude, making him an outsider amongst the tougher community members. In the midst of an attack, Lucy is captured and taken to the Sistar System. With both his home and friends taken from him, Emmett sets out to save Lucy and become the tough guy he thinks he needs to be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvHSlHhh1gk Mike Mitchell takes over the directing chair from the original pair of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Mitchell doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and very much stays in the same lane as the first film. He keeps the pace frenetic and is able to cram a large amount of story within a 106-minute runtime. This fast pace works well at keeping the jokes fresh, but it does wear the story thin near the beginning of the third act. Fortunately, the film quickly recovers and delivers a beautiful ending. Supporting the vast amount of set pieces and action sequences is some great animation that is slightly improved over the first film. Computerized effects are used in restraint in favor of more practical-looking effects. And even when used, the computer effects are creative and fit well within the story. Even though they passed on directing, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller returned as scriptwriters for this sequel. The pair proves yet again that they have a natural talent for witty dialogue that works best when it's able to parody itself. The script for this film closely resembles the first as it preaches the value of being yourself and accepting others. This retread of familiar material does strip the story of surprising moments, but the rapid-fire meta jokes about this fact make up for the conventionality. One thing this sequel does better than the original is flesh out the real-world story of the brother and sister who control what happens in the LEGO world. The addition of this element provides some touching moments that connect well with anybody who remembers having fights with their sibling over childhood toys. With both returners and newcomers, the voice cast does a great job at supplying the laughs and heart-tugging moments. Chris Pratt is exceptional as Emmett. His upbeat voice and ability to connect emotionally with the audience make him a fantastic leading character. Elizabeth Banks does a great job as Lucy, whose imprisonment forces her to look at a mirror and decide who she really is. Will Arnett is still perfect as Batman, who is still full of himself and offers hilarious material in a supporting role. Tiffany Haddish is the standout as Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi. Along with being uproariously funny, Haddish surprisingly lends her voice to some new songs, most notably “Gotham City Guys.” Five years after the original, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part surpasses all expectations and captures lightning in a bottle again. With heart and humor to spare, this tale for all ages is yet another awesome experience that is able to take its small pieces and build something extraordinarily larger than life. Warner Bros. Pictures will release The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in theaters nationwide on February 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 Great Musical War of 2021 December 28, 2021 By: Hunter Friesen Besides the expected superhero films, the genre that seemed to be all the rage in 2021 was the movie musical. With Broadway shut down for a majority of the year due to the ongoing pandemic, the movies had to pick up the slack when it came to delivering the musical joy that audiences crave. 2021 saw several different variations of the movie musical, featuring original concepts ( Annette ), musical interpretations of classic tales ( Cinderella ), Broadway adaptations ( In the Heights , Tick, Tick… Boom! & Dear Evan Hansen ), and new adaptations of Broadway shows (Steven Spielberg's West Side Story ). Like Darwin's law of natural selection, some came and went with a whisper, and some were enjoyed and may become classics of the genre in the future. In this article, we'll look at why so many musicals were released this year and how each one fared in both a critical and commercial sense. Why were there so many musicals in 2021? When analyzing a trend, the first question that needs to be asked is why it happened in the first place. It's not like musicals are some newfound genre, like found footage movies. Musicals used to have the same market dominance that the superhero genre holds today. In 1930 alone, Hollywood released 100 musicals, most of them offering escapism from the doldrums of the Great Depression. There was even an Academy Award for Best Dance Direction from 1935 to 1937. As time went on, the number of musicals grew thinner, while their quality grew much bigger. Lavish and extravagant productions of well-known properties were made to compete with the growing popularity of television, with West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins , and The Sound of Music being some of the highest-grossing films of their respective year. Eventually, the market turned away from escapism and more towards realism. The big-budget hits of the past were now becoming hugely expensive bombs, as Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly! , and Paint Your Wagon all lost millions within the span of a few years. Apart from Disney animation and a few hits here and there ( Grease ), the musical genre took a backseat role for a few decades. That is, until the 2010s when studios were chasing pre-branded hits. Mamma Mia! grossed over half a billion dollars in 2008, and its 2018 sequel grossed nearly $400 million. These impressive results encouraged studios to mine for Broadway intellectual property and bring it to the big screen. Tom Hooper's (whose Cats adaptation was interestingly the last musical to be released before the pandemic) Les Misérables nabbed several Oscar nominations (including a Best Supporting Actress win for Anne Hathaway) along with $438 million worldwide. Into the Woods made half of that and gave Meryl Streep another acting nomination to add to her record tally. But it wasn't just Broadway adaptations that were becoming hits. Original titles, such as La La Land and The Greatest Showman , made millions mainly because of their soundtracks. With the rise of music streaming, a hit song could make cultural waves even before the movie came out. The soundtrack for La La Land reached number 2 on the US Billboard 200, and the album for The Greatest Showman was the best-selling album of 2018. Along with the market's driving forces, the other reason why there are so many musicals this year is a more obvious one: the pandemic. By the time everything went to hell in March 2020, nearly every studio had at least one, if not multiple, musicals somewhere along the pipeline. Plans were thrown into chaos, and many movies, like West Side Story and In the Heights , could not recoup their costs solely through streaming. They had to play the most boring game imaginable, which was the waiting game. And so, many other musicals followed suit, condensing the steady stream of releases into a cascading waterfall. Musicals were no longer competing with other genres; they were now competing with themselves. This in-fighting bred a more fierce competition style, making 2021 a war for the finite amount of consumer time and money. Now that the dust has finally settled, let's take a look at how each of the 2021 releases fared... In the Heights Before there was Hamilton , there was In the Heights . Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Broadway musical about Hispanic and Latino characters living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights won the Tony Award for Best Musical and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Universal Studios was initially set to adapt the musical back in 2008 but had to wait another decade for things to come together finally. A victim of the pandemic, the film was originally set to debut in the summer of 2020. It eventually was seen by audiences with a simultaneous HBO Max release in June of this year. The critical acclaim was through the roof, especially for Jon M. Chu's direction and Olga Merediz's supporting performance. Unfortunately, the film was a box office bomb, grossing a meager $43 million on a $55 million budget. That tepid response seems to have cratered the film's awards chances, with a Golden Globe nomination for Anthony Ramos seemingly being the best the film will net over the season. Annette Coming from the mind of Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, and director Leos Carax of Holy Motors fame, Annette is a truly unique vision. Starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as parents of a child with a unique gift, the film is more of a psychological drama than an escapist fantasy. It's a wild ride that divided critics and audiences, with the Cannes Film Festival awarding Carax the Best Director prize. While Amazon (who financed and released the film) will be a bit disappointed with the awards results, those familiar with Carax's filmography won't be shocked to see that the awards trajectory of Annette has (and will be) mostly relegated to critics' circles. The idiosyncratic Cahiers du Cinéma named the film the second-best of 2021 (behind First Cow ), and the Golden Globes gave a surprise nomination to Cotillard. Time will tell if this becomes a cult classic down the road. Come From Away Of all the historical events one could do a musical about, the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be one of the last to come to mind. But that hurdle didn't stop Irene Sankoff and David Hein from writing this musical about the true story of 7,000 passengers who become stranded in a small town in Newfoundland. Similar to Disney's Hamilton , Apple TV+ released this as a stage recording on September 10th. Critics immensely enjoyed the material, heaping praise for its ability to find joy and compassion in such a tragic time. Everybody's Talking About Jamie Going under the radar for the majority of audiences worldwide, this adaptation of the British stage musical (itself an adaptation of a BBC documentary) received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. Much of Everybody's Talking About Jamie's quiet release had to do with the pandemic, as its original date of October 2020 was scuttled due to the effects of COVID-19. Disney eventually sold it off to Amazon, who unceremoniously dumped it in early September. Following the true story of a 16-year-old boy fulfilling his dream of becoming a drag queen, the film has an infectiously giddy spirit as it sends a heartwarming message of inclusion for LGBTQ audiences and anyone who has had to deal with stigmatization. The British Independent Film Awards nominated Max Harwood for Best Breakthrough Performance for his titular role, along with the film's costumes and make-up. Cinderella It's a tale as old as time and one that has been told several times before in a much better fashion, according to both critics and audiences. Despite offering a few updates to the classic material, such as Billy Porter as the nonbinary fairy godmother, Kay Cannon's ( Blockers ) adaptation of Cinderella was flatlined by poor performances and character development. This was another Amazon disappointment, even though it was the most-streamed musical of the year as of its Labor Day weekend release. By the time the next rendition of this princess is released, this one will surely be forgotten. Dear Evan Hansen This adaptation of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical was mired with controversy since its inception through the casting of 27-year-old Ben Platt to reprise the role of the titular 17-year-old. There was also the problem of Stephen Chbosky's Dear Evan Hansen being unfaithful to the material and the lackluster handling of the touchy subject matters of suicide, depression, and self-discovery. The film had its world premiere as the Opening Night Gala Presentation for the Toronto International Film Festival, a decision that festival director Cameron Bailey may regret. Upon release, it was savagely ridiculed by critics and fans, grossing only $18 million worldwide, a far cry from the lofty expectation Universal had. Even the Golden Globes, who have come through for misbegotten films in the past, stayed far away from this disaster, refusing to give it a single nomination. " You Will Be Found" may be one of the most acclaimed songs from the soundtrack, but the only place this movie will be found is on several critics' worst-of-the-year lists. Diana Despite The Crown and Spencer taking up most of the oxygen about the life of Diana Spencer, Netflix felt that there was still room for a musical rendition about the life of the Princess of Wales. Their hunch proved to be incorrect, as this stage recording of the short-lived Broadway production was met with harsh criticism from critics, some of which went so far as to claim it was so bad, it's good. Other critics felt it was extremely immoral and disrespectful to Diana's life, and as a result, audiences stayed far, far away. Tick, Tick... Boom! The world got not one but two Lin-Manuel Miranda projects this year as the Hamilton and In the Heights creator made his feature film directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical telling of the life of Jonathan Larson, who wrote the famed production of Rent . Andrew Garfield received some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of Larson, bringing panicked energy as he attempted to jump-start his career with a show that consumed most of his life in 1990s New York City. By depicting the turbulent creative process, Miranda has made a love letter to all those who have poured their hearts and souls into their work. And unlike the fates of so many other musicals this year, this one has serious awards prospects. Garfield is firmly in the Best Actor race, and so is Steven Levenson's script and the film's editing. With a locked ten nominees for Best Picture starting this year, Tick, Tick… Boom! may find itself in good company come nomination morning. West Side Story Another pandemic victim that sat on the shelf for nearly a year, Steven Spielberg's first foray into the musical genre has been touted as one of the year's best films. Despite adapting one of the most beloved stage musicals (which was turned into a Best Picture-winning film in 1961), Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner found a new way to harmonize the past and the present, giving the original material fresh life. West Side Story also made stars out of new and exciting talents such as Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, and David Alvarez. Alongside Belfast and The Power of the Dog , Spielberg's film is a serious contender to win Best Picture and will more than likely be the nomination leader come Oscar nomination morning. Cyrano Unlike the majority of the films that were delayed due to the pandemic, this adaptation of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac did not commence production until October 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing. Famed literary director Joe Wright ( Atonement ) helmed the musical, with multiple Emmy winner Peter Dinklage portraying the titular wordsmith. Reviews from the film's festival run have been quite positive for Dinklage, who garnered some of the best reviews of his career, and the craftsmanship from Wright despite having to operate under such restricting circumstances. United Artists Releasing holds domestic distribution and is playing a high-risk, high-reward game by giving the film a qualifying release, followed by a limited national release in mid-January. So far, the strategy seems to be working as both the film and Dinklage have picked up several critics group nominations, including Best Actor nominations from both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice. In a year with so many movie musicals, Cyrano 's late-release strategy is helping it to stand out and carry the movie musical genre's momentum into 2022, where hopefully we'll continue to see a trend of more of these films continue to get released. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Shazam! April 4, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen I would have called you crazy if you had told me that we would get both a Captain Marvel and a Shazam film in the same year. But stranger things have happened, which is something we’ve had to get used to over the past couple of years. So now the year is 2019, and both of these films have premiered within the span of a month. Unfortunately, as much as I am happy to see these films get their moment to shine, the experience that I got out of both of them didn’t match my expectations. This superhero origin story centers around Billy Batson, a troubled kid that has committed his whole life to running away from foster homes and finding his real mom. On one fateful day, Billy is approached by an all-seeing wizard who wishes to transfer his power to him so that he may fight off the seven deadly sins that seek to destroy humanity. By speaking the wizard’s name, Billy is suddenly transformed into the unstoppable superhero Shazam, who possesses the combined powers of the Greek gods. With his nearly unlimited new powers, Billy must now set out to do good in the world, while still trying to find his real home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6GEIrcvFY Shazam! is directed by David F. Sandberg, who has made his name with the horror films Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out . One admirable thing that can be said of Sandberg is his intention and ability to make this film a moderately fun ride throughout, as it pokes fun at itself from time to time. To my regret, that is probably the only good thing that can be said about his directing, which has a consistent pattern of him pacing so much smaller material into an already overstuffed main narrative. The biggest issue that plagues Shazam! is that it always acts like it’s different from all the other superhero films, even though it really isn’t. This problem can be glaringly seen in the egregious 132-minute runtime, which follows the generic origin path where the hero gets their powers, has some struggles along the way, and then vanquishes evil in a climactic CGI battle. The one thing that this film does differently lies within its effects, which are a lot worse when compared to the competition. Written by Henry Gayden, Shazam! tries really hard (and fails) to be the family-friendly version of Deadpool . The problem that this film repeatedly runs into stems from the fact that Deadpool ’s style works solely on the effortless charm of Ryan Reynolds and its ability to be R-rated, two things that Shazam! sorely lacks. To be fair, a few of the jokes are actually quite funny, but the majority just fall flat and feel like a pale imitation. Another problem with Shazam! is the terrible one-dimensional villain, whose name I couldn’t remember until the credits rolled by. Basically, he’s a supervillain that does bad things because that’s what a supervillain does. Clear motives for his actions or any other defining character traits are nonexistent Retouching on the point of needless subplots, the whole storyline about the missing mother is handled quite amateurishly and laughably underwhelms in its conclusion. Part of the blame can be placed on Sandberg for spending too much time on it, but most of it should go to Gayden for not cutting this tedious and unimportant plot out of an already bloated story. Maybe the finest quality that this film has lies within its lead actor, Zachary Levi, who brings a lot of energy to the titular role. He’s no Ryan Reynolds, which he tries really hard to be, but he does a good enough job to cover many of the storytelling faults. Asher Angel plays Billy and does a below-average job. His performance of Billy as an insufferably meddling kid wildly contrasts with Levi’s and makes it really hard to believe both of them are playing the same core character. The villain role of Sivana is played by Mark Strong. Just like his character, Strong’s dull performance is immediately forgotten after watching. Lastly, Djimon Hounsou underwhelmingly stars as the wizard, who can best be described as a dollar-store version of Gandalf. After seven entries, the DCEU has yet to put out one above-average film. And although Shazam! falls prey to many of the same problems that have besieged the other films in the universe, the one thing that it can hang its hat on is its ability to be quite entertaining for a portion of its runtime. Still, don’t expect to be blown away, just moderately surprised. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Shazam! in theaters nationwide on April 05th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Love Hurts February 6, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Ostensibly, Love Hurts is an original movie. It’s neither a remake nor a reboot, nor is it based on some existing source material. For that fact alone, it deserves some credit, as does Universal Studios for backing and distributing a film that gives the fifty-three-year-old Ke Huy Quan his first chance to be at the top of the call sheet in his forty-year career. But that’s where the positive remarks end for Love Hurts . All of its “original” ideas have been seen time and time again, all of its well-marketed stunts have been executed better by other action properties, and all of its holiday-related sentimentality is so undercooked that it might as well be served to the vultures. Love does hurt, but so does having to sit through a movie that you know won’t do anything more than be a void for your precious time. Love Hurts is still at least inoffensively entertaining, mostly from the effortless charm that Ke Huy Quan had kept from the world for nearly two decades before he returned in Everything Everywhere All at Once . He campaigned nonstop for almost twelve months between the film’s world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and the 2023 Academy Awards, culminating in his victory in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Every single one of the hundreds of interviews and speeches he conducted felt genuine, a rare feat in the increasingly politicized and performative game that is awards season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frYVyUDIwiE Quan’s enthusiasm for having a leading role is completely infectious, giving his character an immediately relatable spirit. He plays Marvin Gable, a Milwaukee realtor who always sees the bright side and greets every day with a smile. But while his demeanor is authentic, it's also a coping mechanism to cover his shady past as an assassin for his crime-lord brother. It’s a life he’s left behind, although it doesn’t seem like he tried very hard, as he still lives in the same town and took a very public job that has his face plastered on every bus station bench. I guess Clark Kent’s strategy of simply putting on glasses to hide his identity is more scientific than I thought. But even if Marvin’s brother is egregiously oblivious, his former “lover” Rose (Ariana DeBose) isn’t. She’s supposed to be dead, at least in the legal sense, after Marvin betrayed his brother’s orders and let her flee instead of being executed. Now she’s back to get revenge on Marvin’s brother’s syndicate and break Marvin out of the dull existence that she thinks is a lie. I use “lover” in quotes because Quan and DeBose have zero romantic chemistry together. The twenty-year age difference doesn’t help, nor the fact that Marvin’s constant annoyance at Rose’s chaotic nature never once hints at a past infatuation. It’s never a good sign when a climactic kiss makes an audience wince instead of swoon. The film marks the directorial debut of Jonathan Eusebio, a veteran fight and stunt coordinator with a long list of credits that include a smattering of MCU titles, the John Wick franchise, and The Matrix Resurrections. The choreography is expectedly up to par, with 87North Productions and John Wick head honcho David Leitch serving as producer. But Eusebio’s camerawork and editing don’t reach the heights of his boss; the punches and kicks never land with enough force to garner a physical reaction. Even with a runtime of a mere 83 minutes, much of Love Hurts still feels like weightless padding to justify the feature-length treatment. If they stripped this down to its essentials, then maybe it could have been a half-decent short film, or, heaven forbid, a Quibi original. I still doubt it, but at least everyone would have saved themselves the few precious dollars we need to save in order to buy eggs. Universal Pictures will release Love Hurts in theaters nationwide on February 7th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes May 8, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Dubbed by many as the “thinking man’s action franchise,” the Planet of the Apes films have garnered quite high esteem over the years. What started as a single above-average 60s sci-fi blockbuster quickly became a cash-grab franchise, complete with a failed reboot at the turn of the millennium by Tim Burton. A balance of brain and brawn was finally met with Rise of the Planet of the Apes a decade later, followed by two excellent sequels ( Dawn and War ) that proved to be the exception to the rule of the dumbed-down CGI-heavy summer blockbuster. The momentum was too hot to put a cold towel over, prompting a continuation in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (the perfect title for critics striving to hit a certain word count). And just like they proved the doubters over the past decade, Kingdom rises above the notion that it’s an unnecessary addition, as it reaches for newer, relevant themes in a world turned upside down. The central ape of the modern reboot trilogy, Caesar, has now passed, with his legend taking different forms in the many generations to follow. Earth is still an ape-dominant world, with them talking in semi-complete sentences and harnessing the power of other animals (eagles, horses, etc.) to progress their clans. It’s a feudal time of several clans all living separately, one of them being a group of eagle herders deep within the jungle. A young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) knows that there is more to the world than the arbitrary borders his clan elders have drawn. But instead of a great journey inspired by self-discovery, Noa’s adventure is spurred by warring ape factions that seek to dominate and enslave others. The motivation for these aggressive apes is the deification of Caesar into a Christlike figure. Led by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who sees himself as the second coming of the messiah, they are essentially medieval crusaders, fighting to purify the land. “Apes together strong” has become one of their commandments, only this time it’s been twisted to brainwash apes into indentured servitude, as there isn’t a common enemy in the form of humans, with only a few left who are intelligent enough to speak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtFI7SNtVpY Writer Josh Friedman keeps the brain of Kingdom firing at all times, holding up a mirror to the apes just as much as it does to all of human history. The words of Caesar have now become copies of copies of copies, with the loss of meaning being replaced by control and lust to grab hold of the power they possess. While it may sometimes over-explain itself, there’s a lot to appreciate in the moment and the many moments after the lights have gone up. In conjunction with Friedman, who is working from a foundation laid by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the writers of Rise, whom James Cameron has recruited to help steer his Avatar films, is director Wes Ball, now also taking a few inspirations from that particular blue franchise. This is a new world from the time of Caesar, with Ball relishing in the time needed to relearn its environment and culture. There’s a patient rhythm to the storytelling, with just as many quiet moments of introspection as there are moments of shrieking bombast. The overall production qualities are still top-notch, even if they are a mild step down from what director Matt Reeves was able to accomplish with his two most recent entries. The rich, natural colors of War have been replaced with an overly lit palette, and the ape CGI is slightly less expressive in the facial area. And the excellently underappreciated work by composer Michael Giacchino is sorely missing. It doesn’t feel like the highest form of criticism to simply compare the previous films to this new one, but it’s nearly impossible to avoid it after the bar has been set so memorably high. Under all that digital fur are some quality actors, notably Teague as our new hero. It must be catnip for an actor to inhabit a role such as this, especially after Andy Serkis revolutionized and displayed to the world just how seriously the craft of motion capture performing should be taken. There are real emotions on display, with Teague and his other ape castmates deserving just as much credit as the visual effects department. There’s also Freya Allan as the intelligent human Mae, who serves as the main catalyst for the debate over whether humanity has the right to take back what they once held a several millennia-long grip over. That debate will surely rattle on and become more intense in the successive sequels, which will have the opportunity to follow the same trajectory of the previous sequels by improving on an already solid start. There’s also the possibility that they drag over the same terrain that we’ve become accustomed to. But this franchise hasn’t done us wrong for a while now, so I’ll let the side of optimism take over for the time being. It’s a nice feeling to have, and not one I take for granted. 20th Century Studios will release Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in theaters nationwide on May 10th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2023 Predictions - Part 4: The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers April 11, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, the Cannes Film Festival always attracts the attention of cinephiles and industry professionals alike. Each year, the festival presents a diverse lineup of films that represent the best of international cinema, including both established and emerging filmmakers. With the 76th edition of the festival set to take place in May, film enthusiasts around the world are eagerly anticipating the announcement of the official selection on April 13th. While the festival organizers keep their cards close to their chest, there are already some strong players emerging as likely contenders for the coveted Cannes spotlights. In this four-part series, I’ll take a closer look at some of the films that are generating buzz and predict which ones are likely to make it to the Croisette this year. Each part will represent a category of films, which are: The Festival Masters Hollywood Makes a Splash The Festival Mainstays The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers The fourth and final part of my prediction series has us looking deeper into the fog. The directors listed are usually the most hungry and ambitious, as they are still looking to make a name for themselves at both the festival and within the world of cinema at large. Their projects may also still have a lot of questions, such as production status or release strategies. But miracles have happened and many of these deserve a coveted spot, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Which of these films are you most interested in? I'll be keeping you all posted on my adventures and sharing my thoughts on the films that I see. Stay tuned for more updates! The Iron Claw Indie filmmaker Sean Durkin has already impressed both domestic and international critics with his spellbinding psychological exercises. His feature debut of Martha Marcy May Marlene made the trek to the Croisette after its premiere at Sundance, and his next film (distributed by A24) seems Cannes-appropriate. Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White star as the Von Erichs, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a great impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day. Club Zero Little Joe director Jessica Hausner had her last film stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing it from being ready in time for last year’s festival. Things are looking much better this year, with Hausner ready to make her second appearance in the competition. She teamed up once again with her usual co-writer Géraldine Bajard in this story about a teacher (Mia Wasikowska) who takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students - a relationship that eventually takes a dangerous turn. Memory Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco has split his time between Cannes and Venice when it comes to premiering his films. His last two works have made the Italian festival their home, but Fremeux may be able to tempt him to return to the Croisette due to the star wattage of Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard leading his new film. How Do You Live? With a planned July release date in his native Japan, all signs point to Hayao Miyazaki debuting his latest (and presumably) final film at Cannes. Despite several of his previous films playing at the festival, How Do You Live would mark his first film to premiere before its theatrical release. The titular book has long influenced Miyazaki, who cites it as his favorite childhood read. It’ll tell the story of a teenage boy and the interactions he has with his friends and uncle. Eureka A part of the New Argentine Cinema movement, Lisandro Alonso and his films have moved at a deliberate pace. He’s only directed six feature-length films since 2001, with nearly all of them playing at Cannes. His most recent film, Jauja won the FIPRESCI Prize as part of the 2014 Un Certain Regard selection. He’ll be reteaming with Viggo Mortensen for a story about a man on the search for his daughter after she has been kidnapped. No word has been given on production status, so it remains a mystery if the film is ready. Salem Jean-Bernard Marlin made a name for himself in 2018 with his Shéhérazade , netting him the award for Best First Feature at that year’s César Awards after its premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week. His next feature will continue to be set in the ganglands of France as it centers on a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who can save his Marseille community from an apocalyptic curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath. Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet made her festival debut in 2019 with Sibyl , which was met with mixed reviews. Those reactions would be cause for demotion to one of the sidebars for most filmmakers, but Triet is packing a punch in her sophomore effort with Toni Erdmann star Sandra Hüller leading as a mother accused of killing her husband. Her blind son is the sole witness to the murder, putting him in a grave moral dilemma. Strangers After taking a slight detour in television, 45 Days and Lean on Pete writer/director Andrew Haigh is back to feature filmmaking, and he’s brought together an all-star UK cast to mark the occasion. Andrew Scott will lead the film as a screenwriter who has a chance encounter with his neighbor (Paul Mescal), which pulls him back into his childhood home, where his long-dead parents are mysteriously still alive (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). Haigh has premiered films at both Venice and Berlin, so it may be time he heads to Cannes, whether it be in competition or one of the sidebars. Occupied City Documentary films may not always pack the biggest red carpet potential, but plenty of them have broken out, notably Michael Moore’s Palme d’Or winning Fahrenheit 9/11 . Steve McQueen will try to recreate that success with his retelling of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam from 1940-1945. Carrying a blockbuster budget of $5 million, joint distributors A24 and Film4 will likely want a big splashy premiere. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Housemaid December 17, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Keenly shot and dressed like one of those insufferable holiday-themed luxury car commercials, director Paul Feig’s adaptation of Freida McFadden's bestselling 2022 novel knows how to have a good time. Awards and prestige can be damned, as this is all about the guilty pleasure that is harbored within trashy twists and turns. It’s something the suit-and-tie-wearing filmmaker has been enamored with over the past few years, helming other BookTok sensations like A Simple Favor (and its sequel ) and The School for Good and Evil . This is the first time he’s been able to hit that elusive target, which makes the fact that this is his first theatrically-released project since 2019 not much of a coincidence. Hooting and hollering were rampant throughout the audience as the barbed edges of this salacious story gradually slinked their way out of the shadows. There’s also no shortage of warning signs before their arrival, with every utterance of “I insist” concealing sinister intentions and every people-pleasing smile lasting just until everyone looks away. The gardener has two jobs: tending to the plants and staring at everyone suspiciously through the windows. Both of those jobs are quite simple, as this mansion has a lot of flowers, and everyone on the inside is up to no good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48CtX6OgU3s Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is the fly that lands in this ointment. Fresh out of prison and on parole, she thinks she’s found the dream job she desperately needs as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar). Andrew designed the whole house, complete with a fabulous kitchen, soundproof walls, a screening room stocked full of candy, and Chekhov’s winding staircase. He’s a perfect husband and father, especially considering that Nina seems to be suffering from some sort of personality disorder. One minute, she’s all sunshine and rainbows; the next minute, she’s accusing Millie of destroying their family. Andrew's status as an absolute saint, along with being unfairly attractive (granted, everyone is obscenely beautiful in this cast), makes it all too good to be true. I caught the smell of bullshit once he pseudo-intellectually claimed that Barry Lyndon is a “misunderstood masterpiece,” which makes absolutely no sense considering its numerous Oscars and perennial placement on lists of the best movies ever made. But Millie doesn’t seem to be much of a cinephile, and everyone has a tragic backstory that conjures up just enough sympathy for the red flags not to seem so scary. And then, of course, sex has to become a part of the problem, with Andrew and Millie growing closer while they endure Nina’s mood swings. This is a story best experienced in the theater, mostly because you wouldn’t be able to pause and ask one of the many questions that would unravel this pretzel. Those four walls and the social agreement of silence mean you’re mentally and physically locked in for this ride, which Feig knows how to keep deliciously entertaining. Seyfried handles the shifts between pleasantries and insanity well, and Sweeney continues her streak of frothy thrillers. The Housemaid makes me happy about the fact that I’ll likely never make enough money to be able to hire a stranger to live at my house. Then again, I’d probably be alright with taking my chances if it meant I got to have a home theater like Andrew’s. I’d just make sure to leave all the drama to the movies, where it’s served best. Lionsgate will release The Housemaid in theaters nationwide on December 19th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

I Wanna Dance with Somebody December 21, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen INT. STAGE - THE SET OF “20 QUESTIONS” Announcer (A): Hello, and welcome to 20 Questions , the popular game that everyone loves to play! The rules are simple: We select a subject and something specific within that subject, and our contestant races to identify that specific item in twenty questions or fewer. If the contestant succeeds, they will walk away with $10,000. Sounds easy enough! Now, let’s meet the lucky lad who will be playing today! Hunter (H): Hello, my name is Hunter, and I consider myself a big movie buff. A: Well, Hunter, it's your lucky day, as the theme for today’s game is movies! Hunter does a fist pump under the desk he’s sitting at. A: We’re going to give you a specific genre of movies, and you have to figure out which movie we’re looking for in twenty questions or fewer. H: Sounds great, Mr. Announcer. I’m ready to receive my $10,000! A: Alright, well, let's get the game started. Your specific genre is… musician biopics . H (under his breath): Oh crap… A: You may begin asking questions! Q1: Alright, well, does this start at the end of the protagonist’s journey, and then proceed to be told as one long flashback? A: Yes Q2: Do the parents of the protagonist have a strained relationship, giving the protagonist unresolved trauma? A: Yes Q3: And does the protagonist make many of the same mistakes as their parents, even though they swore they wouldn’t be like them? A: Yes Q4: Do things start rough at the protagonist’s first big public appearance, like they stand too close to the microphone or they almost faint before they walk on stage? A: Yes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tfemzaMkoU Q5: But they immediately pull themselves together and deliver a knock-out performance that stuns the crowd, which coincidentally includes a big-time agent/manager/producer? A: Yes Q6: Once they're signed to a contract, does the protagonist enjoy immediate success, thrusting them into an unfamiliar world of high expectations? A: Yes Q7: And is this successful period covered with a montage containing shots of positive newspaper headlines, screaming crowds, and lots of expensive items, all while one of their most famous songs plays? A: Yes Q8: After a while, does the protagonist meet an outsider who begins to corrupt their good-natured morals? A: Yes Q9: Do the family and friends of the protagonist try to convince them that this outsider is a bad influence and will probably ruin their career? A: Yes Q10: But the protagonist doesn’t listen to any of them, as they’re blinded by either love or a need to rebel against what people expect of them? A: Yes Q11: Does the protagonist eventually start to struggle with the pressures of fame, leading them to rely on drugs and alcohol to maintain the pace? A: Yes Q12: And does this addiction disrupt their talents, leading to some backlash from their fans? A: Yes Q13: Do the family and friends who have been with the protagonist since the beginning of the movie stage an intervention about their addiction? A: Yes Q14: And does the protagonist then lash out by repeatedly saying “I’m fine” or “I have it under control”? A: Yes Q15: Then the protagonist goes to rehab, starting the recovery process by going back to their roots of why they loved singing in the first place? A: Yes Q16: Do we then get to the end of the movie, where the protagonist makes a comeback by performing another one of their most famous songs? A: Yes Q17: Does the movie then fade to black once they finish the song, revealing a postscript that describes the tragic fate of the protagonist, and how their music was so important? A: Yes Q18: After the postscript, does a clip montage of the real protagonist play over the credits, validating the impression made by the lead actor or actress? A: Yes Q19: Will this lead performer be described as a “star-in-the-making” or a “revelation,” and be considered for an Oscar? A: Yes Q20: But, despite the lead performance being praised, will everyone agree that the movie is just an airbrushed retelling of the protagonist's Wikipedia page and that it played loose with the facts? A: Yes, and that was your final question, so you need to guess which movie we’re looking for. H: Well, gosh, I haven’t really narrowed it down. It could be… Walk the Line, Bohemian Rhapsody , Born to be Blue, Beyond the Sea, I Saw the Light, Judy, Coalminer’s Daughter, Ray, Elvis, Respect, Get on Up , or The United States vs. Billie Holiday , Stardust , or twenty other movies I can’t think of right now. A: Well, I’m going to have to ask you to only guess one. H: Alright, I’m guessing that the movie you’re looking for is Bohemian Rhapsody . A: Oh, I’m sorry, but the answer we wanted was Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody ! You actually saw that movie last night. H: Dang! You’re right, I did see that movie last night! I’ve completely forgotten about it, and it’s not even been 24 hours. A: Don’t feel too hard on yourself. Everyone is going to forget about that movie by next week. H: Yeah, you’re probably right. A: And that’s going to do it for us here at 20 Questions ! We hope you all at home had fun playing along, even though we doubt you were able to come up with the answer as well. Sony Pictures Releasing will release I Wanna Dance with Somebody in theaters nationwide on December 23rd. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen