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Havoc April 24, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen A generic petty drug deal goes wrong in a generic city run by a generically corrupt mayor who was just saved from generic charges brought by the district attorney. The generic Christmas lights glisten in the night as the generically crooked cops chase after them. The apex is reached once the criminals reach the lair of the generic Chinese triad, only to find themselves involved in a shootout that frames them for the murder of everyone inside. The generically gruff police detective with a generically dark past named Walker (Tom Hardy) gets roped into the case, his past being used as blackmail by the mayor to sweep this whole thing under the rug due to his son being one of the criminals. This dime-a-dozen cops-and-robbers story has been a VOD and Redbox staple for decades, but the technological advancements of our time have shifted its importance to streaming. It's the kind where the detectives - one a grizzled veteran, the other a fresh face looking to do things by the book - roll up to the crime scene saying "What'd ya got for me today?" Walker's troubled past is given the generic summation line of "You live in this world, you make choices," right off the bat. His choice caused the fracturing of his relationship with his wife and young daughter. The former repeats the specifics of their breakup as if recapping the previous episode of a long-running television series, and the latter exists as a prop to be reminisced about from a distance as she colors in her book or plays tea with stuffed animals. All these valid complaints make it seem as if Havoc is one of the worst movies of the year, just another streaming exclusive designed to appear momentarily on the most-watched of the weekend list and then fade into the overpopulated land of obscurity. No, Havoc never threatens to plunge to those levels. But with a script that might as well be from the stack of rejected episodes within the CSI writer's room, it's damn near impossible to muster any emotional or intellectual reaction. Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans directs from his own script. He's the creator behind the formerly cult classic, now insanely popular, Indonesian action films of The Raid: Redemption and its sequel, The Raid 2 . Both spawned a new wave of intricately choreographed, hyper-violent crime films (see Headshot , The Night Comes for Us , and The Shadow Strays ) that placed Indonesia at the forefront of modern action. Plot is merely a formality for these projects, a boilerplate connector for the bone-crunching action setpieces. Viewing Havoc through those lenses, the final product starts to look a little rosier. American action films have never been as brutal as things are here. Sure, the John Wick series may pile bodies for a mile in each direction, but there's a pristine sharpness injected into the choreography and set decorations. No such luxuries exist here, with the nicest location being the initial few minutes within an underground EDM dance club before it gets bathed in bullets and blood. Every character is just as grimy as the spaces they inhabit, with their only penance being the edge of a blade or the last bullet from a seemingly bottomless gun. In one of his few non-Venom lead roles since he took over the character in 2018, Hardy dives headfirst into the sweatiness. He still carries a lot of Eddie Brock-isms with him, likely from the fact that this film was shot in 2021, right between the first and second Venom films. He may not be as physically gifted as Iko Uwais or have a contract that allows him to get as bruised up, but he carries himself like a bulldozer. And, like every American, he always carries a bigger gun than his foe. For Evans, this is still a slight disappointment. Perhaps it's because the American studio system doesn't allow for as much freedom to innovate, or because its comparatively boundless riches make it too tempting to take the easy way out. The opening car chase is infested with snow and debris to hide the extensive visual effects, the camera swirling around at impossible speeds. The theatrical realism Evans has been known for was immediately stripped away, with a few glimpses throughout the rest of the film. Something is still better than nothing, which is what we usually get in this subgenre. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

BlackBerry April 24, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen BlackBerry screened at the 2023 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival. IFC will release it in theaters on May 12. Out of all the “corporate biopics” that were on the docket for 2023, none piqued my interest more than BlackBerry . The allure of the story came solely from the predictability of the outcome, as everyone knows Nike made billions off of the Air Jordan brand and that Tetris would become one of the world's most popular video game franchises. But do people really know what happened to BlackBerry, the phone that one executive referred to as “CrackBerry” due to its dominant popularity within the business landscape? I’m guessing they don’t, as a little-known product called the iPhone consumed all the attention at that transitional moment. But before we get ahead of ourselves with all that doom and gloom, let's jump back to the hopeful beginnings. The year is 1992. Mike Lazarides (Jay Baruchel) and Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson, also serving as co-writer and director) have just founded Research in Motion in Ontario and are going around to investors pitching their idea for a revolutionary new phone that is capable of being an all-in-one business machine. While their idea is brilliant, the duo have little to no business acumen, which is illustrated by the laissez-faire way they approach their equally bright workers. Luckily, one of their “so bad it’s good” business pitches catches the attention of the power-hungry Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton), who sees the potential for this product. He jumps ship in exchange for becoming co-CEO with Lazarides, making them the new Jobs and Wozniak. Success comes quickly in the form of market domination and billions of dollars in market capitalization. But the fall came quicker when the actual Steve Jobs came out with a phone that has a keyboard on the screen (“Who would want that!?” yells Lazarides during the Apple announcement). The rest, as they say, is history. Of course, you could just read the Wikipedia article on BlackBerry to get all of that information. But Johnson is a smart enough writer and director, invoking a seriocomic sensibility at every turn. The camera is handheld and observational, with zooms similar to The Office and Succession . You laugh along with these misfits as they race to their doom, but you also never look down upon them. Their brilliance is always on display, even if Jay McCarrol’s electronic score (borrowing heavily from The Social Network ) does most of the heavy lifting as tech-heavy terms like “network interface” and “carrier capacity” are thrown around to land credibility. Baruchel’s Lazarides is a charisma void. He’s someone that would say thank you after being told to fuck off, which happens more than a few times as Balsillie’s ambition starts outgrowing his capabilities. Howerton is brilliantly cast, as he essentially plays his character of Dennis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , just with a quite obvious bald cap. And then there’s also Johnson as the man-child of the group, who always sees work as an opportunity to have fun. But his idea of fun is not just about slacking off, it’s about creating a family ecosystem that produces new ideas through support and nurturing, something a lot of other tech companies miserably tried to emulate through bureaucracy. 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. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Enola Holmes October 1, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen Over the years we’ve heard a lot of stories about the famed detective Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s deerstalker-wearing sleuth holds the record for the most portrayals of a literary character at 254. While Sherlock has dominated the mystery genre for over a century, a new part of the Holmes family is finally getting its due. The newest Netflix movie (there seems to be a new one every day) follows the adventures of the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, named Enola Holmes. Enola was born years after her famous brothers and never quite got to know them or her prematurely deceased father. She spent her entire childhood with only her mother for company. Together, they read books, played indoor sports, conducted science experiments, and acted out plays. Despite her name being “alone” spelled backward, Enola always had her mother by her side to show her the wonders of the world. On her sixteenth birthday, Enola wakes up to the unpleasant surprise of her mother suddenly disappearing without a word. She calls in her brothers to help solve the mystery. They arrive with dismay about how Enola has been raised and cast her aside thinking she won’t be of much aid. Needing to prove to her brothers that she’s a capable young woman, Enola sets out to find her mother and beat them at their own game. Like the locomotive train that contains one of the movie’s great set pieces, Enola Holmes is a well-oiled machine that runs at a rapid pace. The film carries an infectiously rambunctious energy to it, much of which comes from its star. Already a two-time Emmy nominee for her role as Eleven in Stranger Things , Millie Bobby Brown is perfectly cast as our titular character. She never misses a beat with her comedic timing and carries the film almost solely on her shoulders. She also brings great skill to emotional moments. Director Harry Bradbeer also contributes to the gleeful tone by doing what he does best. Similar to his work in the critically acclaimed Fleabag , Bradbeer has his heroine break the fourth wall and talk directly into the camera. It’s a fun tactic that never wears its welcome and allows for Brown to showcase her amazing talent. Things take a surprisingly dark turn once Enola arrives in London as she gets tangled with hitmen and a radical plot to bomb the House of Lords. For a supposed kids' film, there is quite a bit of violence toward our younger characters. The home of Big Ben looks more drab and crowded than ever as cinematographer Giles Nuttgens beautifully contrasts the cramped and intimidating metropolis with the lush and vibrant countryside. What does bring down Enola Holmes from time to time is its predictable central mystery. If you’re a veteran of Sherlock Holmes or the mystery genre, it won’t be too hard to figure out what will happen next. The film also tries to weave in bits of social commentary about gender and class throughout. Unfortunately, the messaging is half-baked and creates jarring breaks from the whimsical tone. Even though Brown is clearly the star, the well-rounded supporting cast also shines in their roles. Superman himself Henry Cavill plays the iconic detective. Still with his Man of Steel physique, Cavill plays Sherlock closer to James Bond as his suave charisma brings a welcome departure from his dour performances in the DC films. Sam Claflin, most famous for playing Finnick in The Hunger Games films, is downright dastardly as the uptight Mycroft Holmes. Complete with a twirling mustache and tophat, Claflin offers a harsh counterbalance to Brown’s exuberance. Finally, Helena Bonham Carter is inspirational as the eccentric mother of the Holmes trio. She brings the same out-of-the-box energy one would expect from her and hits the emotional depths required. With a star-making performance from its leading lady and a healthy dose of energy, Enola Holmes is a charming mystery for (nearly) all ages. Based on the way it ends, a sequel could be on its way in the near future; one that would be well deserved. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Inside Out 2 June 16, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Pixar’s newfound knack for unnecessary sequels rears its head once again with Inside Out 2 . When the inevitable news broke that a sequel to the 2015 hit was going into production, many people (including myself) hesitated to view things positively and pondered the need for its existence. On top of that, Pixar was currently on a losing streak in terms of critical and audience reactions, with the likes of Lightyear and Elemental coming and going without much fanfare. And even with those worrisome trailers, all those negative thoughts left my head once I sat down to watch the final product, which could (and hopefully will) be the start of the studio returning to form. Despite all the pageantry by Pixar to be returning to this property, some of the original key players in the cast and crew are missing. For the cast, only Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black returned to voice Joy, Sadness, and Anger, respectively. Tony Hale and Liza Lapira took over for Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling as Fear and Disgust, an unfortunate downgrade as the replacements don’t rise to the occasion. But on a more positive note, Poehler once again knocks it out of the park as Joy, and she’s joined by a bevy of new emotions in Embarrassed, Ennui, Envy, and Anxiety. Ayo Edebiri and Maya Hawke stand out as Envy and Anxiety, respectively, with the latter giving the best voiceover performance of the year thus far, capturing the frenetic chaos and capitalizing on the inner struggle one can have when dealing with it. At the same time, Edebiri brings her bombastic charms to her adorable character. Regarding the crew, the most prominent absentees are previous co-writer/director (and overall Pixar legend) Pete Docter and composer Michael Giacchino. Although Docter is still attached to the project as an executive producer and his role as Chief Creative Officer at the studio, his absence is felt in the driver’s seat as veteran studio writer Kelsey Mann takes over. That isn’t to say Mann does a lousy job, there’s just that extra bit of creativity missing to make this all feel truly special. After Anxiety boots the original emotions from headquarters, they come across more concepts that operate the human mind, many of them not seen in the first movie. Riley’s secret vault, brainstorms, Sense of Self, and a sar-chasm are just as generously illustrated as the ones presented in the predecessor. The use of Riley’s beliefs as cords stringing from a pond underneath headquarters to a flower inside of it is terrific. The designs of the new emotions felt fitting given their natures - Embarrassment being big and Envy being small - each conveying how those feelings take over once expressed. There’s also a moment where Anxiety creates a tornado when she starts to take over, an apt metaphor that’s as fun to watch as it is relatable. In a more stunning turn of events, the film takes a stab at different animation styles in several scenes. When the original emotions are locked away in Riley’s secret vault, they meet Bloofy, a character from Riley’s favorite children’s show, and Lance Slashblade, a video game character that Riley once had a crush on. Bloofy and Lance are animated differently, with the former (along with his fanny pack sidekick Pouchy) being traditionally 2-D animated and the latter having the design of a late 2000s video game graphic. Although it’s not something I would have expected Pixar to do, it’s a pleasant surprise from their traditional formula. There may be some slight missteps in this sequel, but Inside Out 2 is still a delightful return to the world of emotions, bringing back the spark that we once consistently expected from Pixar. The kids will have fun watching it for its humor, while the grown-ups will find the concepts to be intriguing. How long will it take before Pixar is officially back? Who knows, but there’s no need for longtime fans and moviegoers to get anxious over it. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Armageddon Time May 26, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Armageddon Time had its World Premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Focus Features will release it in theaters on October 28. In the words of Mugatu from Zoolander : “Directors making their own autobiographies, it’s so hot right now.” Of course, a regarded filmmaker telling their life story isn’t exactly a brand new concept. François Truffaut did it with The 400 Blows , and so did Federico Fellini with Amarcord . But just like skinny ties and baggy beanies, the fad went away for a while. That was until 2018, when Alfonso Cuarón made it cool again with Roma , which earned him a trio of Oscar statuettes, including Best Director. Now it’s become a genre itself, with directors churning out cine memoirs at a pace that rivals the MCU. There’s been Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast , Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2 , Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God , Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo (I’m not going to spell out the whole title, it hasn’t earned that gesture yet), Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir films, and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans . And now, after venturing out into the Amazon jungle for The Lost of Z and deep space for Ad Astra , writer/director James Gray returns home to Queens, New York for Armageddon Time . Apart from being a homecoming to the location that housed his first five films, Armageddon Time also serves as Gray’s return to the Croisette after almost a decade away. It’s his fifth time competing for the Palme d’Or, and, based on the quality of this film, I’d say it’s his best chance yet. Banks Repeta (in his first major role after appearances as younger versions of characters in The Devil All the Time and Uncle Frank ) is our stand-in for Gray as Paul Graff, a sixth-grader at PS-173 in 1980 Queens. He’s a gifted student, but not a very motivated one, which often leads him into trouble with his strict teacher Mr. Turkeltaub. One of his regular prankster cohorts is Johnny, the only black student in the class. Despite both of them often getting caught for the same thing, Johnny’s punishment always seems to be worse than Paul’s. It’s a fact that resonates with Paul, even if the concept of racism hasn’t fully formed within his head. But his parents don’t see the innocence in the situation and move him to an elite private school across town. It’s not hard to imagine Gray writing this story during the Trump presidency, especially since Donald’s father and sister, Fred, and Maryanne, play small roles in shaping Paul’s increasingly pessimistic worldview during his time at the seemingly all-white prep school. Gray’s bluntness is apparent as he traces how the casually elitist and racist children of the Reagan era grew up to embrace the 45th president, and how their children will likely do the same in a few decades. It sometimes comes as lecturing, but there’s a sweetly honest feel to it that makes it go down smoothly. Also lending to the emotional pull of the film is the grownup trio of Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and Anthony Hopkins. Hathaway is given the shorter end of the stick as Paul’s affectionate mother, but the actress makes up for her limited time with some moments of pathos. Strong, playing the more emotionally distant father that doesn’t hesitate to teach with his belt, also makes a strong impression, even if it sometimes feels as if he’s trying to do his best Ray Romano impression. It’s Hopkins who steals the show as the grandfather who fled Europe to escape Jewish persecution and find a better life in America. He’s always got a nugget of wisdom to spare, and a heart warm enough to start a fire in winter. The scenes between grandpa and grandson are a clear standout, especially one set in the park where the elder shares a touching monologue, which will surely be used as Hopkin’s Oscar clip come next year’s ceremony. You won’t walk away from Armageddon Time feeling as if you’ve been enlightened or seen something out of the ordinary, but you may find yourself moved at times and closely connected to your familial past. And at the end of the day, we could all use a little more of that. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

No Time to Die October 11, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Since his first cinematic appearance in 1962, James Bond has done a lot of things. He’s been reincarnated five times, traveled around the globe (including space), and saved the world more times than it deserves. But the one thing that James Bond has never done is venture inward. For one of the first times in the franchise, the emotional beats are what pump the blood within the film’s heart. The theme of finality rings loudly, as No Time to Die marks the twenty-fifth entry in the long-running series, as well as the fifth and final part of the Daniel Craig era. In a move that has become routine by now, Bond has left active service. This time it wasn’t because of being presumed dead (even though that is true here), but because of his love of Madeleine Swann, a daughter of SPECTRE. Their attempt at a normal life goes about as expected, with bad guys ruining their Italian honeymoon. This, along with a deadly theft of a weaponized virus in the heart of London, brings James back into the fold for one last mission. Not one for nostalgia, MI6 moved on from Bond and promoted a new 007 named Nomi, who embodies the new school of espionage. Along with M, Q, Moneypenny, and Tanner, it’s time once again for the forces of good to vanquish evil. The Craig era marked the MCU-ification (a term that shouldn’t be taken as derogatory) of the Bond franchise, as it turned against the standalone nature of the previous entries and started to treat subsequent films as true sequels. The events of Casino Royale fed directly into Quantum of Solace . And when that movie failed, Skyfall acted as a soft reboot, later filtering into Spectre . No Time to Die pulls double duties by playing as a direct sequel to Spectre , but also the final bow on the whole modern Bond era. Despite the interconnectedness, long-time writers Neil Purvis and Robert Wade don’t want to be restricted by franchise ties. There has never been a need to see a previous movie to comprehend the next one, with only tried and true franchise elements such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE providing an integral throughline. The duo always seems to be stuck in the past with their scripts, mining the same bits, such as shaken not stirred martinis, Aston Martin cars, and megalomaniac villains hellbent on world domination. The blame for the forgettable plot – borderline incoherent at times – should rest on their shoulders. Lacking the personal connection of Christoph Walz’s Blofeld and Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva, Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin is a second-rate Bond villain. The casting choice itself is a no-brainer, as Malek has a heavy natural supply of VE (Villain Energy). Safin seems to be a character lifted from a Shakespearean play, as he often poetically monologues into the middle-distance. There’s unintentional ironic humor to Safin’s plan of decimating the world’s population through a virus, as it requires much more effort than what COVID-19 has been able to do. It’s co-writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga (first American Bond director) and Fleabag scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge that want to take the franchise in a newer direction. There’s an element of fun introduced that has been missing from the Craig films. Doing well to supply that is Ana de Armas, who does too well with too little screen time in a Knives Out reunion. There’s also the pairing of Bond with Nomi, played terrifically by Lashana Lynch, and who is much more than the alleged SJW-takeover that some want you to believe. With their record-breaking budgets, the Bond films have always had nice toys to play with. They just needed the right person to harness their potential. Fukunaga breaks the stoic shackles set by Skyfall and Spectre director Sam Mendes, returning Craig back to the kinetic destruction wonderfully employed in Casino Royale . There’s a particular long-take stairwell scene, similar to the one Fukunaga used in True Detective , that perfectly illustrates Bond’s otherworldly combat skills. And there’s the shoutout in Cuba, which plays more like a dance as Bond and Nomi attempt to retrieve a precious item. It’s a testament to Craig that he’s been able to keep up with the physical requirements of the role, especially with the battle scars he’s accumulated over the years. But he also reaches new heights emotionally, with his Bond being the most vulnerable, both literally and metaphorically. He shares more than an animalistic sexual relationship with his Bond girls. There’s something palpable under the surface, keeping you invested beyond just the setpieces. With a lot of time (163 minutes in fact) to end, No Time to Die says goodbye to the actor who ushered in a new era for James Bond. Thankfully, it does it with a sly wink and a nod to what could be in store for this long-weathered franchise. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Banshees of Inisherin September 12, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Banshees of Inisherin had its North American Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release it in theaters on October 21. Fear not all you haters of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (of which there are a lot more of you than I originally thought), writer/director Martin McDonagh has left the United States and is going back to Ireland for his newest film, The Banshees of Inisherin . And that’s not even the best part, which is that he’s reteaming with his In Bruges duo of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Actually, that’s not the best part either. The best part is that this new dark comedy is hands-down the funniest film of the year and the finest work by McDonagh as both a writer and a director. Every afternoon when the hour hand hits two o’clock on the dot, the good-souled, yet a little dim, Pádraic (Farrell) leaves his cozy dairy farm to meet up with his best friend Colm (Gleeson), the more reserved and intellectually inclined one of the pair, down at the local pub. Colm has been tirelessly working on a new piece of music for his fiddle, one that he hopes will have him remembered long after he’s left this world. But on one fateful day, those formalities are interrupted by Colm’s sudden need to end their relationship. “I just don’t like you anymore” is what he gives as a reason, something Pádraic can’t comprehend. And to prove that he’s absolutely serious, Colm promises to cut off one of his fingers each time Pádraic attempts to speak to him. Will Colm actually go through with his threat? How can this friendship go on for decades ad then suddenly be declared over? And how will Pádraic respond after being dumped so brutally? McDonagh answers these questions with devilish honesty by giving you the results you expect, but not in the way you expect them to happen. He infuses a dark undercurrent into nearly every scene, with side-splitting banter leading to some brutal anecdotes on human relationships. As was alluded to in the plot description, Colm’s threat about his fingers leads to some squirm-inducing laughter down the road. That mixture of dark and light on the page is also evident in the direction. There’s some sumptuous cinematography (provided by go-to MCU DP Ben Davis, finally breaking free from CG-infested photography) of the titular island, with the green rolling hills cascading into the roaring sea. But not far on the other side of the water is the raging Irish Civil War, where friends turned on each other in a bloody conflict that didn’t accomplish much of anything. Sound familiar? Trying to keep the peace between the two warring (or “rowing” as it's said in the film) friends is Pádraic’s sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon, often stealing the show with her warmth), who seems to be the only sensible one who longs to be free from the doldrums of this community. Her task is made even more difficult with the presence of the town chaos agent, Dominic (Barry Keoghan, continuing his streak of playing freaky weirdos), who makes Pádraic look like Plato. With equally stunning turns in The Batman , After Yang , and Thirteen Lives , 2022 seems to be the year of Colin Farrell. For years his good looks have come with a monkey paw curse, as he was forced to star as boring leading men in cookie-cutter blockbusters (see The Recruit and S.W.A.T. ) Fortunately, a few directors, such as Yorgos Lanthimos and McDonagh, have been able to work his charm into something a little more unique. Farrell’s innocence as Pádraic is often heartbreaking as he deals with emotional torture. And even after fourteen years apart, his chemistry with Gleeson has never been better. Equally hilarious as it is disturbing, The Banshees of Inisherin finds Martin McDonagh, as well as his troupe of actors, in top form. There’s nothing quite like it, and it serves as another reminder that we should all be a little kinder to one another. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Films of 2024 December 28, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen In my Best of 2023 list, I described my choices as "predictable," taking both a positive and negative stance on that scenario. Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised that historical dramas by Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan, a David Fincher hitman thriller, and a Wes Anderson comedy would end up being some of my favorites of the year. 2024 ended up being very different, with many of the titles on this list coming clear out of left field. Could that be a sign that the usual heavy hitters are on their way down, or that last year's SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have walloped the industry with more than just a temporary blow? Perhaps. But it could also mean that there are so many of those medium and small films out there, many ready to change your life if you just give them a chance. The only currency that matters in cinema is the experience you have in your seat and in the time that follows. All ten of the films featured in this list (and the extra ten honorable mentions) are boundlessly wealthy in that department, which is why I'm so excited to talk about them one more time before the book is closed. Honorable Mentions: A Complete Unknown , Dune: Part Two , I'm Still Here, Kinds of Kindness , Nickel Boys , Nosferatu , Saturday Night , September 5, The Apprentice , The Order 10. Maria Pablo Larraín concludes his biopic trilogy not with a story about a figure at the end of an era, but at the end of their life. This Maria Callas-led capper is further separated from the previous two efforts, the frenzied claustrophobia substituted with something more hauntingly elegiac, with Ed Lachmann's warm cinematographer and Guy Hendrix Dyas' sumptuous production design proving that pretty surroundings don't equal a pretty life. Angelina Jolie reminds us of her immense screen presence and poise as a performer, guiding us through Callas' tumultuous past and present. Full Review 9. The Substance If there’s one thing writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature hates more than attached limbs and unspilled blood, it’s subtlety. She knows that if you’re not going to be first or the most insightful, then you might as well make damn sure you’re going to the most audaciously unforgettable. With Julia Ducournau and Fargeat rising through the ranks of international cinema, the no-holds-barred corner that they occupy is looking like a mighty fine place to camp out for a while. Full Review 8. We Live in Time Featuring two of the most charming performances of the year by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, We Live in Time is the kind of heart-tugging romantic drama that they don't make anymore. Cutting back and forth in time, screenwriter Nick Payne pieces together the story of a relationship, the trials and tribulations that drive humans to seek companionship with each other. Director John Crowley, excellently rebounding from The Goldfinch , makes sure none of this seems corny or overblown, applying a deft touch that authentically incites tears of laughter and sadness. 7. Emilia Pérez To try and categorize the filmography of French maestro Jacques Audiard into one box would be an act of futility, a sentiment that extends to his newest Mexican-set film. Is it a musical? Is it a crime thriller? Is it a life-affirming melodrama? It’s all and none of those things, harnessing the unique power of each genre to create a film bursting with bombast. Karla Sofía Gascón is a true discovery in the titular role, as are the musical talents of Zoe Saldaña that are rarely able to be shown outside of her CGI-heavy work. Full Review 6. Evil Does Not Exist Arthouse superstar Ryûsuke Hamaguchi makes his most outspoken work with Evil Does Not Exist . The relative leanness of Drive My Car has been dialed down to a quiet tranquility. Those who embrace the molasses will find themselves powerfully transported, a task that becomes much simpler with the aid of Eiko Ishibashi’s magnificent score. Despite being clear in his message, Hamaguchi never eviscerates the villains of this story, delivering an ecological parable that intricately paints in shades of grey. 5. The Girl with the Needle An ultra-grim fairy tale comes to life in writer/director Magnus von Horn’s loose retelling of Denmark’s most heinous and prolific serial killer. The depressing gloom of post-WWI Copenhagen is lensed in claustrophobic black-and-white, and the dread drip-fed through abstract visuals and a deeply haunting score. Vic Carmen Stone and Trine Dyrholm are standouts in their lead roles, guiding not just through this literal story, but also the universal lesson of the nightmares women have endured throughout history. 4. The End Even in the darkest depths of the Earth at the end of humanity, you can still find a reason to sing and dance. Co-writer/director Joshua Oppenheimer, famed for his one-two documentary punch of The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence , makes sure his fiction feature debut is as bold and audacious as one would expect. The Golden Age influences of Jacques Demy and Vincent Minnelli supply the bravura, the cast's confidence more important than their physical abilities. This is an absurdist concept with humorous moments, but it’s also so sincere that you can’t simply excuse it as another "eat the rich" story. These are rich characters, both emotionally and financially, with their inner delusions offering a complex lesson on how we handle the horrors that are right in front of us. Full Review 3. Conclave For someone who seemed to appear out of nowhere with All Quiet on the Western Front , director Edward Berger has quickly strung together two of the finest films of the past few years. Conclave is a soap opera with as much page-turning substance as it has a prestige-like style, with Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan keeping the balance between thrills and social critique just as pristine as it was in Robert Harris’ novel. Longstanding acting royalty fills the cast, each of them maintaining a quiet dignity as a web of lies and deceit begins to unspool right in front of them. Full Review 2. The Brutalist The Brutalist is a full-course cinema meal, requiring an afternoon to consume and much longer to digest. It’s easy to savor every moment of it in real-time because of its boundless beauty, and just as easy over time thanks to its long lingering themes on the ideals that modern America convinced itself it was built upon. With a record-breaking runtime of 215 minutes (including an intermission!), each scene flows with more freedom and weight, all of them simultaneously epic and intimate as the camera glacially passes through the years. With three features to his name as a director, Brady Corbet has become one of the most formidable artists of his generation, challenging his audience to see the darkness that our world invites. Full Review 1. The Beast First watched in September 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival (and rewatched in April of this year as part of the film's US release), Bertrand Bonello's sci-fi epic was the clear wire-to-wire winner of the year. Bonello displays a mastery of tone and vision across his 146-minute adaptation of Henry James' genre-defying novella. There’s passion, fear, humor, drama, and everything in between as Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play characters in three different periods - 1910, 2014, 2044 - as they navigate the unknowable connection they feel for each other. It's a greatly demanding work exploring the fear of opening oneself up to risk and the unknown, something that modern audiences have continually proven to be less adept at overcoming. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Current War October 31, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen In the late nineteenth century, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse were the two titans of American innovation. With the country modernizing at a rapid pace, both of them figured that there needed to be a better way to power society than just candles and gas. After some years of development, they both discovered different ways to transmit electric current. Edison stood behind his Direct Current (DC) and Westinghouse championed his Alternating Current (AC). They were similar designs, each with their unique benefits and costs. But the country wasn’t big enough for both of them and only one method could prevail. Out of this situation sprang a fierce competition between the two men, a rivalry that was labeled as “the war of the currents”. This war lasted years as they battled endlessly to see whose technology would be the one to forever power and illuminate America. After having a tumultuous time getting to theaters (that’s a whole other story to look up), The Current War finally arrives two years after intended. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the film moves like electricity, zipping from scene to scene. The use of sharp camera work and montages oozes kinetic energy that keeps everything moving at a frantic pace, never ceasing to slow down or end. You’re gripped within the race and linked to the main characters as they tirelessly persist to be the one on top. If you’re not a natural history lover, this technique will keep you endlessly entertained without boring you with historical details. If you are a fan of history, this technique will still entertain you but leave you disappointed as moving the film at the speed of light (or current for that matter) doesn’t allow for deeper learning about the events or people attached to them. Anything that is learned is only surface level as there just isn’t enough time to develop any factual depth. It also doesn’t help that these shallow details become increasingly hard to keep straight, especially as the years go by in minutes and characters are split up into several intertwining storylines. While a miniseries would be the better way to tell this story, The Current War is an exciting way to convey history on the screen. Just like Gomez-Rejon’s use of rapid pacing, writer Michael Mitnick’s screenplay is expeditious and Sorkin-like. The rivalry between our two main giants is fierce as they snap dialogue to beat each other in the labs and the presses. And just like the outcome of the directing, the writing here is entertaining but very hard to follow. Mitnick tries to do too much in too little time as he crams the script to the brim with historical facts. As more information is heaped on, it becomes information overload, and gets increasingly impossible to keep things straight. By the end, you’ll feel like you’ve read a Wikipedia page and will only be able to remember fragments here and there Also, Nikola Tesla shows up in the story and participates in the race. While Tesla does deserve to stand with Edison and Westinghouse in the history books, he doesn’t belong in this already overly-stuffed movie. Starring as the brash Thomas Edison is Benedict Cumberbatch, whose American accent isn’t as convincing as one would think. Like most of Cumberbatch’s performances, you can see the genius of the character within his speech and mannerisms. Thankfully, the genius he plays here isn’t as cold as Sherlock Holmes or Alan Turing. There’s some warmth under Edison’s surface that you can sense through Cumberbatch’s performance. Michael Shannon plays the opposite of Cumberbatch as he is calmer and calculated in his performance of George Westinghouse. He’s the more businessman-like of the two as he carries himself more professionally. Nicholas Hoult plays Nikola Tesla. Just like Cumbertach, Hoult’s Eastern European accent isn’t on point, but it’s fine enough to pass. Hoult does well at making you see the frustration within Tesla as his brilliant ideas are never allowed to flourish. Lastly, Tom Holland does supporting work as Edison’s secretary. As it was filmed before his star power ballooned from Spider-Man, Holland’s role is minor and doesn’t give him much to work with. The Current War is the most entertaining and needlessly confusing movie of the year. All the talent involved makes a great effort, but their good intentions just come up short of making a great movie. But it’s still quite good and deserves to be seen, even if you’d be hard-pressed to absorb and remember most of what it’s trying to teach you. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

'Bonnie & Clyde' and New Sentimentality February 1, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen Immediately upon its release, film critic Roger Ebert claimed Bonnie and Clyde to be alandmark in American cinema. The film attracted a love/hate relationship with critics, with the love side eventually winning out in the long run. Ebert was right in that Bonnie and Clyde was a milestone for American cinema, as this was one of the earliest and most successful films that embraced the idea of “counterculture." Through the use of their idea of new sentimentality, screenwriters David Newman and Robert Benton took Hollywood by storm by defying the oldways in favor of charging down a new path. The idea of “new sentimentality” laid out by Newman and Benton tried to explain the cultural and generational differences that were taking place in America during the 1960s. The ways of Old Sentimentality, which preached about the good ol' days of American patriotism and love for others, were now fading away in favor of a more tough and self-empowering way of thinking. Bonnie and Clyde illustrated this new way of thinking in multiple ways. The main factor that created controversy around Bonnie and Clyde , and for why it is apiece of new sentimentality, is the unrivaled amount of violence inflicted by and onto the characters. Obviously, with a movie about bank robbers, there has to be a few shootouts thatwould get butts in seats. Bonnie and Clyde does deliver the shootouts that one would expect and pay to see at the time, but it does it in such a way that it sucks out all the guilty joy we get out of watching it. Instead of dropping dead instantly after one shot, characters bleed and writhe around in extreme agony. The old way of gun violence was quick and didn’t allow for us to think aboutthe ramifications. This new way forces us to see the effects violence has on every day people, the physical damage it does to the person hit and the emotional damage it does to the people watching it, for which we the audience must participate. This idea somewhat borrows from the French and Italian new-wave of thinking that placed importance on telling stories that reflected our reality that is filled with real people. The violence comes to an incredible climax at the very end when our titular characters are gunned down in a hail of never-ending bullets. All you can do during the scene is sit there incomplete shock as their bodies are riddled to shreds. It’s not fun to watch or heroic in any nature. The old sentimentality had gun-toting heroes like Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne who killed quick and clean. They symbolized a time when America was in a righteous war to protect theworld from the Nazis. Bonnie and Clyde is the new idea that violence is something that lingers inthe moment and for many moments after. America was in Vietnam at the time, a war that waspropelled by American self-interest. Apart from violence, another element that must be delivered to sell a movie is sex. Like violence, sex was shown in only its tamest forms in film. Hitchcock famously had to dance around the subject in Notorious by having his characters kiss and peck at each other over time. Bonnie and Clyde engages with sex on a much more open scale. Bonnie and Clyde have sex multiple times throughout the film and even discuss it with each other. It’s a part of their relationship as opposed to being kept under the rug like before. We even get a tiny storyline about Clyde being impotent and then finally overcoming this. The idea of impotence before that time wasn’t one to be discussed as it clashed with the idea of what a real man was. John Wayne would never be impotent! The idea of new sentimentality changed what it meant to be a man, filled with imperfections and perversions. Bonnie and Clyde marked the mainstream beginning of new sentimentality within cinema. Through its unflinching approach to violence and sex, the film sparked a debate that isstill being felt today. As Ebert said, the film was made in 1965 about people in 1934, but it will always be made for us here and now. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny June 29, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen For each new movie I’m reviewing, I bring along a mini journal that’s used to jot down small observations. Most of these scribblings turn out to be near illegible due to writing in the dark while still looking at the screen. But I can still recall them well enough once I piece a few of the letters together. On average, I fill up about one page front and back, equalling about 15-20 bullet points. But for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I was only able to muster just six bullet points. Nearly half of those observations were made during the film’s opening set piece, which finds Indiana Jones hurtling aboard a Nazi train as World War II is coming to a fiery conclusion. I was perplexed at the moment as to why I couldn’t think of anything to write, and I’m still perplexed right now as I attempt to formulate my thoughts in an informative and entertaining manner. It was the same problem I had with Murder Mystery 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie a few months ago. But I always knew those two were airless junk. This is Indiana Jones for god’s sake, a franchise that has set the bar that no one else has come close to passing within the action/adventure genre! How is it possible that I could watch this finale and not have anything to say about it? To be fair, I was never bored, nor did I ever think that I was watching something that wasn’t worth my time. But I also never felt like I was watching something I hadn’t seen before or something that I hadn’t seen done much better. Some of the blame can be put upon director James Mangold, who’s placed himself in the unenviable position of taking over the reins from Steven Spielberg. Mangold has proven himself to be an above-average studio director, most notably in the past few years with Logan and Ford v Ferrari . But being above average doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re being compared to God himself. Mangold’s use of a semi-convincing (at least when he’s standing still) de-aged Harrison Ford during the opening is deliriously entertaining. The meaty whack of a Nazi being punched and the cracking of a whip is music to my ears, as is hearing John Williams’ famous score as Indy leaps further into danger. But that introduction ends up being the peak, with all the other set pieces - of which there are many across this slightly bloated 154-minute movie - going through the motions. This adventure finds Indy going after Archimedes’ Dial, which is believed to be able to open and locate time fissures (just as the movie does for about ⅔ of its runtime, I will liberally dance around saying what those fissures mean). Also desperately pursuing the artifact is the Nazi doctor Jürger Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Unfortunately for both him and Indy, they’re going after only one-half of the dial, with the latter portion still lost somewhere in the world. Twenty-five years go by, with the opposing forces facing each other again as they try to unlock the mysteries of the ancient world. Considering the fate of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , it shouldn’t be viewed as a surprise that The Dial of Destiny does its best to stick to the tried and tested franchise formula. Any combination of a train, car, motorcycle, boat, plane, and horse is used across the several chase scenes that take place in identifiable locations. Ford is still as lively as ever during these moments, moving with great freedom for an octogenarian. It’s just that the script can’t keep up with him as all it wants him to do is don that fedora and whip, even if that means sacrificing the potential for something unique to happen. There’s also the addition of Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter Helena and her kid sidekick, both of whom add more weight than they carry. Maybe I was asking for too much from this movie. But I also feel like a brain trust composed of Ford, Mangold, Spielberg, and George Lucas would be able to come up with a compelling reason for this character to return other than to just go through the motions. It seems like this old dog can’t (or won’t) be taught new tricks. I watched this movie, had a pretty decent time, and will likely forget about it come next week. That’s a destiny I’d like to turn back. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Rustin September 13, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Rustin had its International Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release it in theaters on November 03, followed by its streaming premiere on November 17. Rustin is exactly what you expected based on the premise: a by-the-numbers awards-baiting biopic filled with stars that’s made for the most general of audiences. Some would call that a cynical way to look at it, others would say it’s the only true way. In the end, it doesn’t matter as director George C. Wolfe’s film never does anything astounding or abysmal (save for maybe the extremely overbearing jazz score by Branford Marsalis) to ignite much passion in that argument. As the unsung hero of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, Bayard Rustin is the perfect figure to be given the biopic treatment. It also helps that he had the personality of a movie star, always taking over the room with his magnetic personality and witty banter. But these “attention-grabbing antics” and the fact that he was a homosexual made him unpopular within his ranks, particularly to NAACP president Roy Wilkins. But Rustin has Martin Luther King Jr. on his side, whom he recently convinced to stage a peaceful demonstration at the National Mall. He’s promised over 100,000 attendees, making it the largest political rally in American History, and only has eight weeks to organize and execute. Those eight weeks fly by due to Wolfe’s ever-accelerating pacing and Dustin Lance Black and Justin Breece’s quick-on-its-feet script. Each scene is filmed with vigor, lasting only a few minutes before moving on to the next one. It’s an accomplishment that so much story is told within the 100-minute runtime, but it also begs the question as to why everything is so condensed and constricted. A life and moment in history as eventful and important as this could have been given at least another half hour, allowing for some of the less-than-satisfying subplots, such as Rustin’s tumultuous love triangle, to be given more time to develop. Wolfe is also venturing a little more out of his element in this feature. As a winner of multiple Tony awards, 2020’s film adaption Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom provided a nice middle ground for his skills, with Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis giving career-defining performances. Rustin finds Wolfe still in that stagey mood as the flat camerawork makes the sets glaringly obvious, which the actors enter and walk around with overly careful coordination. The scenes may be flowing at a fast pace, but it never feels like they’re on the correct course. Fortunately, there’s a hero who swoops in and saves the day by the name of Colman Domingo. He’s been putting in the work over decades, with some flowers blossoming in the form of a Tony nomination and Emmy win just in the past few years. Now an Oscar nomination (and potential win) are in his sights, as his portrayal of the titular character is effortlessly engaging. He’s backed up by an admirable supporting cast, many of which deserve more time than they get. Rustin won’t live on in the public consciousness for its craft, but it most certainly will because of Domingo’s performance. It’s a shame the whole package couldn’t come together, but it’s hard to complain when the headliner is just that good and the objective of the mission is to enlighten just as much as it is to entertain. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen