Black Phone 2 October 15, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen In 1954, director Alfred Hitchcock released Dial M for Murder and Rear Window . Ingmar Bergman had Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal in 1957. 1974 saw Mel Brooks and Francis Ford Coppola simultaneously reach their apexes, the former with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein , and the latter with The Conversation and The Godfather Part II . And then, in 1993, Steven Spielberg seemingly did the impossible, conquering the box office and the Academy Awards with Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List . He then repeated the feat in 2002 with Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can … and again in 2005 with War of the Worlds and Munich … and again in 2011 with The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse . Now, in 2025, Scott Derrickson has sneakily achieved greatness with Apple TV’s The Gorge back in February, and Black Phone 2 this October. Of course, to compare a made-for-streaming creature feature and a horror sequel to some of the greatest films of all time is quite a hyperbole. To equate anything to The Godfather Part II would be enough to have my license as a cinephile revoked on the grounds of heresy. But the general sentiment is still true, with Derrickson exponentially raising the ceiling for two films that should have been lost to the swamp of nothingness. The Gorge was a dream come true for anyone who has longed for Call of Duty Zombies to come to the silver screen, with the PG-13 rating never barring Derrickson from getting down and dirty with some nightmarish creatures. Black Phone 2 drops the "the” from its predecessor’s title, yet never drops the terror or suspense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0kqkRZHqk4 Shifting a few years later to 1982, Finney (Mason Thames) is still haunted by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) despite killing him at the end of the previous film. But that only marked a victorious battle in a war that mixes reality with dreams (or nightmares). His sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw, delivering one of the best performances of the year), has a series of dreams about children being gruesomely butchered at a Christian winter camp in the Colorado mountains, their corpses etching letters in the ice before sinking to the bottom. Similar to how she solved the mystery of The Grabber while Finney was locked in his dungeon, these dreams are visions of what’s happened, the murdered kids being a key to The Grabber’s past, and how he’s still able to be a threat to the living. With a runtime of 114 minutes, this film is not brisk. But Derrickson knows how to maintain a creepy atmosphere through pacing, an interesting story, and some stellar performances. All of these things are hard to come by in horror movies as gruesome as this one, and it's rarer to have them combine so harmoniously. I knew I was seeing something that was a cut above when we were forty minutes into the film, and I wasn’t bothered that Ethan Hawke still hadn’t shown up yet. But good things come to those who wait, and Hawke’s turn as this movie’s Freddie Krueger is quite memorable, reaching down into hell and relishing in his demonic presence. A Nightmare on Elm Street is the central influence, mostly out of necessity, since there’s not much of a grounded reason for this sequel to exist. Gwen is cut, beaten, and tossed around by a seemingly invisible enemy, her dreams being the only time she can see The Grabber. But he can still harm those who can’t see him, as he does on a frozen lake with some makeshift ice skates and an axe. It’s a lot less goofy to watch than it is to type and read aloud, although it’s not all perfect. There’s still plenty of blood to be chillingly spilled, most of which is conveyed through Derrickson’s signature Super 8 footage mixed with eerily scratchy sounds. This franchise only has a few more time jumps left before its titular payphones go completely out of style. Even here, almost all of them are out of order and targets of ridicule for their unreliability. I can already tell you that my Old Spice whistle ringtone won’t conjure up the same level of scares as the clangs of a rotary phone. It’s a good thing I haven’t taken my phone out of silent mode in almost a decade, as there might be a few calls from beyond the grave that I should probably miss. Universal Pictures will release Black Phone 2 in theaters nationwide on October 17th. 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

Queer September 10, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Desperation and desire go hand-in-hand within Luca Guadagnino’s Queer , an adaptation of the legendary William S. Burroughs’ early short novel. These are qualities that the famed workaholic Italian director has found a knack for expressing, doing so in opposing fashions this year with the stylishly Hollywood-y Challengers and this magnetically opaque, hedonistic journey. Everything is presented in its most sensual form through Guadagnino’s eyes and ears, with the destination this time being Mexico in the 1950s. World War II is over, and those returning from Europe and the Pacific are looking for a little rest and relaxation. The American public still (and will continue to for decades) looks upon homosexuality as a disease, forcibly creating the neighboring southern country as a haven filled with life’s great pleasures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eknj5_0tF2s The streetlights cast beams of heaven down upon the men and women of the night, the bars are always open, and everyone’s thirst is perpetually unquenchable. But Guadagnino and production designer Stefano Baisi don’t stop there, replacing establishing shots with dreamy illustrations filled with miniatures and backdrops that seem much larger and more expressive than they ever could have been. This version of Mexico isn’t being viewed through an objective lens; it’s someone’s reconstruction of a long memory. That memory belongs to William Lee (Daniel Craig), one of those GIs who left America once he got off his Navy boat and never looked back. Donning a sharp outfit and an even sharper tongue, his days consist of bar trips, flirtations with the boys passing through, and consuming what drugs and alcohol he can get his hands on. It’s a fast and cheap lifestyle, one that comes to a halt once he lays eyes on fellow American Gene (Drew Starkey). The youngster arrives on the scene in slow motion and is engulfed by the blaring words of Nirvana’s Come As You Are . You can feel the temperature rising in the room rising just as much as it is within William’s loins, with this introduction being just the first of many moments where the anachronistic soundtrack and Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s camera concoct some of the most potently erotic sequences put to celluloid. That dichotomy between the audio and the visuals translates to William and Gene’s relationship, with the former trying to play younger and the latter containing much more maturity than his fresh face lets on. They have a unique honesty with each other, which Guadagnino transfers to the bedroom with as much raw authenticity as he had with Call Me by Your Name and last year’s All of Us Strangers . Craig is at his most appealingly charming here, mixing the sexual power of James Bond and the eccentricities of Benoit Blanc. He sees what he is through the mirror that is Starkey’s performance, the enigmaticness of Gene being his most appealing and perplexing quality. Burroughs’ novel was published in its unfinished form, something that Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes emulate within their project, even down to the literal runtime, which has been the subject of much scrutiny as it kept getting whittled down since its announcement. A question came to Guadagino during the North American premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, asking if the initial three-hour cut would ever see the light of day. The director shyly laughed and said that this was the film that he made, the hesitation in his voice almost signaling that he has as much desire to share his undiluted version as much as audiences want to consume it. The current 135-minute version is a shaggy mini-beast, hypnotically blending reality and dreams as it traverses from the urban hustle to the isolated jungles. Comparisons to Bardo may be appropriate in terms of trying to understand the imagery and intention behind each scene. There are moments when everything is frustratingly translucent, just escaping your grasp, no matter how hard you try to grab hold of it. But even in its haziness, there’s an alluring power that prevents your ignorance from clouding the enjoyment. A24 will release Queer in select theaters on November 27th. 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

Dune: Part Two February 21, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen In my review of Dune , I said that the film “was an odd case of style over substance, in that the substance is there but intentionally left out for next time. It’s a gamble that may pay off once Part Two is released.” Well, that next time has come, and so has the cast of the die as part of that gamble. Luckily for me, those pangs of disappointment that clawed at my cinematic soul in 2021 are nowhere to be found in 2024, as Denis Villeneuve’s conclusion to Frank Herbert’s 1965 groundbreaking novel might be one of the best science-fiction films of the modern era. And it’s not just me who thinks this sequel far surpasses its predecessor. Speaking at a South Korean press conference in December , Villeneuve said, “For me, this film is much better than Part One … There’s something more alive in it. There’s a relationship to the characters. I was trying to reach for an intensity and a quality of emotions that I didn’t reach with Part One and that I did reach with Part Two .” The French-Canadian filmmaker wasn’t lying with that statement, as this latter entry is no longer a desert of humanity, but an oasis of philosophy and hard-earned emotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Way9Dexny3w “Power over spice is power over all” blares over the black screen before the studio credits fade in. Along with being a bold and instant attention grabber, it’s a startling reminder of what the political dynamics are on the planet of Arrakis. The Harkonnen family still rules with an iron fist, but enough disturbances to the spice production by the Fremen have tested the patience of Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken). Just as the battles rage on across the desert, so do they within the mind of Paul (Timothée Chalamet). Visions of death and destruction still ravage his dreams, with the unfolding event pushing the inevitable closer and closer. There’s also infighting within the Fremen, with the prophecy of Paul ascending to be their messiah being met with hostility amongst the younger members who would wish the Fremen to be led through a democracy comprised of its own people. Paul doesn’t know his place either. How can he be a savior for a threat he’s partially to blame for? No matter what he does, other people and the world itself make choices that lead him closer to the point of no return. Villeneuve and returning co-writer Jon Spaihts may have lost industry legend Eric Roth from their team for this sequel, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost a step when it comes to wrestling with Herbert’s material. Every moment, from the biggest of setpieces to the smallest of character moments, is given an incredible amount of weight and importance. The dialogue is just as action-packed as the action itself, with the introduction of a deeper roster of characters building to that feeling of grandiosity. Austin Butler plays the psychotic bald albino Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen with devilish delight. Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux, and Walken add gravitas to their scenes of imperial intrigue. I was reminded of James Cameron’s Avatar and Matt Reeves’ 2022 adaptation of The Batman several times while watching this. Similar to those properties, this is inherently silly material when you take a step back and look at everything on the surface level. There are giant sandworms, magic dust that fuels spaceships, and people flying around in jetpacks. One only has to look at David Lynch’s 1984 version to know that this story can be tonally jarring. But everything here is told with such care and respect that you immediately buy into all of it. Each new development is riveting, with the interactions between the returning characters being more potent thanks to the groundwork already laid. Chalamet and Zendaya’s romance blossoms over time, as does the plot over Paul’s prophecy by Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem). For all its meditative qualities, there are still several moments for Villeneuve to show off his brawn as a filmmaker. Chaos is often met with chaos as the action is more bombastic this time around, with rockets, lasers, and tips of knives being readily exchanged. The returning crew of Oscar winners includes cinematographer Greig Fraser, composer Hans Zimmer, editor Joe Walker, production designer Patrice Vermette, and costume designer Jacqueline West. Each does their part to increase the scale from the already gargantuan first part. It would come as no surprise if they’re all Oscar-nominated again, with a few potentially grabbing a second trophy. Just as he did with Blade Runner 2049 , Denis Villeneuve has accomplished what has long been thought to be impossible with Dune: Part Two . There’s no doubt that fans of the 2021 film will be overjoyed with what’s served here, and that previous detractors such as myself will be won over by the improved scale and direction of the saga. Fear is the mind-killer to all those on Arrakis. But there is no fear for those of us on Earth, as one of the best films of 2024 and of the science-fiction genre has been bestowed upon us. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Dune: Part Two in theaters nationwide on March 01st. 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 Death of Robin Hood June 17, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen An unfortunate part of growing up is uncovering the truth that the adventures of many of your childhood heroes did not lead them to living out the rest of their days under sunshine and rainbows. No, they almost all exclusively became sad and embittered, with years of fighting corrupting their once optimistic morals. Luke Skywalker exiled himself and believed that the Jedi Order should end with him in The Last Jedi , Daniel Craig’s later James Bond films reckoned with his mortality in a modern world, and Rocky Balboa lived alone in the Creed films. No actor has capitalized on this trend better than Hugh Jackman. At the time, his seemingly final performance as The Wolverine in Logan was a fitting conclusion to the character. Blending both the history of the character with that of a Western, director James Mangold and Jackman examined the shattering consequences of what it means to be a hero. Visceral action and a touching story made it not just one of the best comic-book films of all time, but an altogether poignant human drama. Jackman’s scars may have healed while playing the adamantium-infused Logan throughout the years, but they do not in The Death of Robin Hood . Looking as grizzled as the famed comic book character, the body of the Prince of Outlaws tells a life full of violence without mercy, serving as the only way to separate fact from fiction. Like Batman, everyone in 1281 has a story about Robin Hood. Some say he killed hundreds for the fun of it, the charity work being an unintended benefit that covered for his many sins. Others say he died years ago, a victim of revenge from one of the many who would seek it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlSDDuWxO_0 In the frozen, windswept steppes of England, a death for his crimes would be the preferred choice by Robin. Instead, his superior fighting skills against his mostly peasant opponents force him to endure living with his regrets and increasingly decaying body. Eventually, he nearly meets his maker, becoming mortally wounded when he becomes embroiled in a revenge plot along with his longtime sidekick, Little John (Bill Skarsgård), who murdered a man and stole his identity to have a family. The first act of The Death of Robin Hood is as brutal and violent as a movie can be. Slashed throats spew with blood, heads are smashed in with rocks, arrows pierce flesh, and bones are bludgeoned. Reminiscent of Justin Kurzel’s 2015 adaptation of Macbeth , writer/director Michael Sarnoski paints everything with fire and brimstone, letting the blood flow heavily on already-soaked fields. PTSD is heavily implied for Robin, with his sunken eyes, scraggly beard, and weathered face constantly being captured in close-ups. Unluckily for Robin, he is saved from death by the prioress Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer). On her island, she runs an orphanage (not for gifted mutants, like Charles Xavier), taking in the young and decrepit. Robin fits closer to the latter, although the adoptive daughter of Little John is also on the island. Although feral to everyone else, she takes a liking to Robin, and he finds a comforting innocence in her. Sarnoski made his feature debut in 2021 with Pig, a brilliant subversion of revenge actioners that featured a mesmerizing performance from Nicolas Cage. Next came A Quiet Place: Day One , a director-for-hire job that netted him some nice box office points. As much as A24 sunk into this production, they’re unlikely to see much of it back. Once on the orphanage island, this story slows to a crawl. Conversations about the nature of legacy and the cycle of violence make up most of the runtime, each of them placed and delivered in an increasingly predictable manner. Thanks to its top-notch technical merits, such as Pat Scola’s 35mm cinematography or the period-accurate hair and makeup, the whole endeavor never fully becomes boring (although it does threaten that on multiple occasions). Jackman is obviously game for the part, but that also means there’s hardly anything surprising about his performance. Comer is compelling in a limited role, as is Murray Bartlett as a leper who opens his heart as he must constantly be bandaged up. Robin Hood has been many things over the years. For as much as this tries to recontextualize his legend, I don’t think it’s successful enough as a piece of entertainment to make a real difference. A24 will release The Death of Robin Hood in theaters nationwide on June 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

John Wick: Chapter 4 March 15, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In a move that will surely make it Michael Haneke’s least favorite movie of all time, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a glorious showcase of violence. Not since the days of gladiators (and I’m not talking about Russell Crowe) has mankind’s bloodlust been so voraciously quenched. Does the collective laughter and applause from my audience at the sight of bad guys having their testicles ripped apart, limbs severed, or craniums detached by a bullet make them bad people? Maybe. But this isn’t the movie (or franchise) for that sort of question. It’s best to follow the advice Winston gives to John Wick before he resumes his rampage: “Just have fun out there.” John Wick is back for his fourth chapter, who at this point has become a far cry from his humble beginnings in 2014, when he was just a man getting revenge for his dead dog. A novelization’s worth of lore has been built up since then, with people carrying lofty titles like The Bowery King, The Director, and The Adjudicator, and societies like The High Table becoming a part of this world on top of our world. You may ask yourself how John Wick can rack up more bodies in one day than the US military does in a year, all without ever running into the police or government agencies. But then again, that angle has been done way too many times in other lame action movies, so it’s nice to be invited into something unfamiliar, even if the seriousness it handles itself with often comes across as self-parody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEVUtrk8_B4 That tongue-in-cheek playfulness, whether intentional or not, most clearly comes across in Keanu Reeves’ performance. His stilted dialogue and inability to say more than two lines at a time do break the grand illusion instilled by cinematographer Dan Lausten’s exquisite framing and lighting, but that’s also par for the course for Reeves at this point in his career, which has risen to meteoric levels within this digital age for just that reason. That ironic sense of charisma works well with the theatricality supplied by the supporting cast, featuring the great Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada, and the operatic scale of the narrative. Just as James Cameron continually revolutionizes visual effects and puts most of his contemporaries to shame, Chad Stahelski does the same for action set pieces, at least within the confines of the Hollywood studio system (Hong Kong and other Asian countries deserve some respect). With a nearly three-hour runtime, your dollars spent on tickets will be stretched to their max potential, with sequences going for multiple film reels, pushing the envelope on the physical toll an actor/character can take. The neon lights engulf everything in bright colors, and the camera stays back and moves with fluidity. There’s a specific set piece reminiscent of Minority Report , with Stahelski holding onto a single take for minutes on end. It’s pure, unadulterated adrenaline, delivered in hefty doses. The cinematic nods don’t stop there, with an ode to Lawrence of Arabia serving as the show-stopping introduction. The luxuriousness of that initial setting is extended throughout, with the hottest tourist spots of Paris, including the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Arc de Triomphe, acting as backdrops. Although I said the character of John Wick has drastically changed over time, the John Wick series has maintained that underdog energy since its initial entry, even though the budgets have increased nearly sixfold. Each sequel tries its hardest to outdo the previous one, offering an improvement on what’s already been done and creating something entirely new. Although I know it will be done, I don't know how they’re going to top this in John Wick: Chapter 5 . Lionsgate will release John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters nationwide on March 24th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Ferrari December 17, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Michael Mann is back. That statement should end with an exclamation point, but, unfortunately, the famed director’s comeback vehicle (pun intended), Ferrari , doesn’t have the juice for anything more than a ho-hum period. Mann has been away from the cinematic landscape for quite some time, his latest venture being the 2015 studio-overhauled thriller Blackhat . Mann made sure not to make the same mistake twice, accumulating nearly $90 million worth of independent financing for his newest feature, a fact symbolized by the film’s dozens of credited producers, executive producers, associate producers, consultant producers, and co-producers. It’s an admirable move both artistically and professionally that also serves as a depressing illustration of where the studio money is being allocated these days. Then again, I’m not exactly sure where the $90 million fully went, as I only saw about half of it on the screen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oOVNMjM1Jk The majority of that half surely went to the cast headlined by Adam Driver as the titular Enzo Ferrari, Penélope Cruz as his wife and business partner, Laura, and Shailene Woodley as his mistress, with whom he shares a young illegitimate child. The 40-year-old Driver dons a rather unconvincing wig and forehead lines to play the nearly 60-year-old Ferrari, who has been besieged by tragedy after the double whammy of suddenly losing his young adult son Aflredo to muscular dystrophy last year and his car empire on the verge of financial collapse. Driver is no stranger to playing downtrodden figures, but he’s still very much a stranger to the Italian accent, which gravitates towards the parodic style in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci . It’s hard to take an A-lister seriously in a heavy scene when he’s only a few hand gestures away from being a credible cousin to Tony Lip from Green Book . The answer to Ferrari’s money troubles is to win the 1957 Mille Miglia (translated to Thousand Miles ), an incredibly dangerous (at least one fatality occurred for thirty consecutive years, with a total death count near sixty) open-road race that often set the stage for the biggest rivalries in sports racing. Victory would reclaim the prestige the Ferrari brand once had, meaning more sales of luxury cars. Mann works with David Fincher’s now-regular cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt to capture the overall sense of violence this race involves. There’s a speech that Enzo gives to his team just before they go out about how “two objects cannot occupy the same point in space at the same moment in time.” It’s a metaphorical way of saying that his drivers need to fight for every inch on the track, even if it means pushing someone out of the way and potentially sending them to their death. It’s just a real shame that the instances of vehicular carnage are made unintentionally hilarious by abysmal uses of visual effects. There is no clear-cut answer for Enzo’s trouble with Laura and Lina. His affairs with other women were well known to Laura, but the fathering of a child with Lina was kept hidden from her until the boy was twelve. Cruz is fiery and totally convincing next to Driver and Woodley, the latter given a thankless role that mostly involves her folding her arms and waiting for Enzo to come home. And while he’s a distant supporting player compared to this central trio, it would be a sin not to mention the dashing silver fox that is recently crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive, Patrick Dempsey. He plays Piero Taruffi, the elder statesman of the Ferrari racing team that also includes Gabriel Leone and Jack O'Connell as the young guns. Ferrari feels both nothing less and nothing more than a mild disappointment, which somehow feels worse than if it landed on either one of the extreme sides of the spectrum. Mann has already confirmed that Heat 2 will be his next film, with Driver rumored to be part of the cast. Maybe Ferrari was just a warm-up exercise, something to get Mann back in the groove of making large-scale adult dramas? It definitely feels that way, although I’m not sure enough was achieved here to make that crime prequel/sequel the on-paper slam dunk it should be. Neon will release Ferrari in theaters nationwide on December 25th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Awards Update: Post-Cannes Realignment June 18, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen Welcome to an ongoing series where I cover the 2024/2025 awards season. On a regular basis, I will update my Oscar predictions, taking into account the new information that has been received since the last update. Full predictions in every category can be found on the Home and Awards page. Two of the Big Five (plus Telluride as the unofficial sixth member) film festivals have concluded for the year, which means it's time to take stock of where we are in the Oscar race. The chants of "U-S-A!" rang throughout the Palais a few Saturdays ago as Sean Baker’s New York-set Anora took home the Palme d’Or, the first American film to reign victorious since Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life in 2011. Having attended the festival and seen the film for myself, I can say that Anora is Baker’s best shot yet to gain some Oscar recognition. It’s his most commercial film, a laugh-out-loud comedy that manages to instill some social and political commentary along the way. It’s also overlong and not his most incisive work, but the sheer amount of fun it incites makes up for that. Given the recently announced October 18 release date by Neon, the film will most likely replicate the rollout strategy of Red Rocket . Splashy appearances at Telluride and the New York Film Festival are almost a given, with the biggest question being the possibility of a stop at TIFF. You’d have to go back to 2008’s The Class to find a Palme d’Or winner that didn’t make an appearance at TIFF, with, coincidentally, The Tree of Life being the exception as it released in theaters in June. You’d then have to go back to 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to find a film that premiered in Cannes and then went on to win the TIFF People’s Choice Award. Parasite came close in 2019 as it won the Palme d’Or and then placed in the second runner-up position at TIFF. Given my audience’s reaction to Anora , and that of critics, I think there’s a strong possibility that it places well at TIFF, if it decides to show. Neon has taken each of their four previous Palme d’Or winners ( Parasite , Titane , Triangle of Sadness , Anatomy of a Fall ) to TIFF, with three of them earning a Best Picture nomination later down the line ( Titane was never going to be serious Oscar player). As for nomination outcomes Anora could replicate, I’d look towards the strictly above-the-line, overall low-nomination players such as Licorice Pizza , Women Talking , and Past Lives . An Original Screenplay nomination feels like a lock at this point, with Best Director being in the mix. I was hesitant about both Jonathan Glazer and Justine Triet last year, so Baker finding his way into the final five would not surprise me. Staying within the winner’s circle, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light marked a triumphant return for India to the Croisette after a nearly thirty-year absence. Janus Films holds the domestic distribution rights, the same company that guided Drive My Car ’s hugely successful and influential underdog campaign in 2021. The reactions out of Cannes for Kapadia’s film are just as high as they were for Hamaguchi’s. We’ll just have to wait and see how much the critical enthusiasm for the film survives until later in the year, as Drive My Car didn’t announce itself as a serious Oscar player until it won the Best Picture prize from all three major U.S. critics groups (LAFCA, NYFCC, NSFC). There’s also the problem of Kapadia not being a popular figure by the Indian government , which dampens the film’s chances of being submitted for Best International Feature. The French/Mexican production Emilia Perez will surely find itself submitted by the former country, save for the unlikely possibility of another French film stealing the spotlight during the fall festivals. Netflix made the splashiest acquisition of the festival when it scooped up the domestic distribution rights, a move that bodes well for the number of eyeballs that will be fixated on this Spanish-language crime musical. At the moment, I’m still questioning what kind of Oscar player it will be. I could equally see a scenario where it nabs a half-dozen nominations, including Best Picture, and a scenario where it just finds itself with a single ho-hum placement in Best International Feature. While I certainly didn’t envision Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness to be as dominant as The Favourite and Poor Things , I did think the vibe would have been a little more Oscar-friendly. The good-but-not-great reactions and quick release don’t bode well for the film, which is making me lower its overall nomination total from six (including Best Picture), to just a namecheck nomination in Best Original Screenplay, which I’ll likely drop once the fall festivals reveal more contenders. I can confidently say that Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis will not be an Oscar player in any category, as most of the negative aspects of my mixed review stemmed from the film’s poor production values and acting. Its recent acquisition by Lionsgate doesn’t add any strength to its chances, but it does make me happy that more people will be able to see it. Still stuck in destitution hell is Ali Abassi’s Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice , of which I was a big fan. I’d still be a bit skeptical of the film’s awards chances if it had landed a distribution deal at the festival, so the lack of one really puts a dent in any hope one might have for it. Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig was certainly my Palme d’Or prediction going into the final day, so walking away only with a Special Prize of the Jury certainly felt like a disappointment. I’m sure Neon felt the same way as they picked up the film midway through the festival. The critical reception is still quite high, so there’s a chance it could find some critics' group love later in the year. Iran will not be submitting it for Best International Feature, and I’m not sure Neon will be giving it the push it needs now that its eggs are firmly in the Anora basket. The rest of the summer season will be spent evaluating likely below-the-line players such as Twisters , Deadpool & Wolverine , and Alien: Romulus . We’ll also be getting a steady dripping of fall festival rumors and lineup announcements. I’ll have another update in a few months before the fall festivals commence. 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

Eden September 10, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Ron Howard’s recent track record has been met with absolute inconsistency. It seems as though, since his Best Picture-winning film A Beautiful Mind , he hasn’t hit a home run or at least gotten more than a double. He’s known to be a “safe” director, which is the case as many of his movies, especially recent ones, don’t shoot for the moon or offer any new substance. The worriers should be pleased that Eden looks to end this streak, as it’s Howard’s best movie in years, as well as his darkest one ever. It is a gritty thriller that sees a stacked cast consisting of Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, and Ana de Armas play a game of survival of the fittest that is sure to be jaw-dropping for all viewers. Set in the late 1920s, Eden follows three groups of Germans who fled their country to the island of Floreana in the Galápagos Islands. Law and Kirby play a doctor and his handicapped wife, looking to find solace on the island as the first to do so, in an attempt to escape from society. Sweeney and Brühl are a couple with a young son looking for a new start, while de Armas is an enigmatic socialite looking to build the nicest hotel in the southern hemisphere. The three groups find themselves at odds when looking to establish dominance and power amongst each other. Everything that happens from there is sheer bedlam as each group plays mind games to try and turn certain characters against each other. To say things get dark for a Howard movie would be a gross understatement, but it’s best to leave audiences knowing as little about it as possible beforehand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVSyZQ7S8hc Right out of the gate, the cast delivers strong performances, from the subtle Kirby and Law to the loud and expressive Brühl and Sweeney. However, de Armas is the MVP of it all, taking on a character far from what we’ve previously seen from her. The Baroness is an evil, manipulative woman whose welcoming demeanor comes off as fittingly reckless and untrustworthy. When we first meet her, she’s being carried off the boat by two servants who are to help her build the hotel. The way de Armas toys with the other island residents and her helpers is devious, and she executes the character’s intentions phenomenally. She’s always been able to adapt to different accents, as she dons an unmistakable German one mixed with other parts of Europe. Sweeney is another contending standout as she gives another fierce performance (similar to her recent horror flick Immaculate ). Howard’s direction and translation of his and Noah Pink’s script are impeccable. Throughout the plot, audiences can never tell whether the characters are playing chess or checkers, with motivations constantly fluctuating. The plot is well-planned and thought out, and the production value fits tremendously. There are some speed bumps in its cinematography and score. DP Mathias Herndl has difficulties shooting this movie, with the coloring giving a grainy color scheme, and the camerawork takes time to find its footing. Hans Zimmer’s score is routine, which unfortunately falls in line with the majority of his work as of late (the Dune films serving as the exception) Of everything Howard has made thus far, Eden is one of his boldest films, not simply because of its haunted qualities. It speaks volumes and provides a resonant tale, as his best works do. Eden is no different by showcasing how ugly humanity can be in the face of fight-or-die situations. The cast he assembled is one of the year’s best, and it will surely be a conversation topic once it’s picked up for distribution and seen by audiences everywhere. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release Eden in theaters nationwide on August 22nd. 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

Maestro November 23, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen “A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.” This quote by Leonard Bernstein flashes before Maestro commences. It’s a mission statement for writer/director/producer/star Bradley Cooper, who’s made it his life’s work to bring this story to the silver screen. It’s a warning to any Bernstein acolytes who come to this seeking untold answers about the famed conductor’s artistry. And it’s also a blessing to anyone bemoaning another musician biopic, the likes of which have haunted our multiplexes the past few years with their cookie-cutter rise-and-fall stories. There is nothing cookie-cutter about Maestro , which is its absolute greatest strength… and occasional weakness. Cooper is like a high school theater kid who’s just landed the role he’s always dreamed of, so giddy and overstimulated that he’s almost leaping off the screen. It’s almost too showy, making the Old Hollywood aesthetic and mountains of makeup and prosthetics feel like even more of an illusion than they already are. Of course, the creative talent being too passionate about their work is near the bottom of the list of problems a film can have. It’s also how Cooper sees himself tethered to Bernstein: two geniuses who often became overwhelmed with passionate joy in their craft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJP2QblqLA0 Lenny is just an upstart assistant conductor at the beginning of the movie, but his legend is born when he’s summoned at the last minute to replace the sickly guest conductor. Hearing his name during the loudspeaker announcements is what gives him the most pleasure, a small sign of how highly this man viewed himself. It’s hard to blame someone for seeing himself next to God when he has been blessed with such talent. A wide variety of music constantly pours out of him: musical theater (at one point, it’s mentioned he’s working on a Romeo and Juliet story with Jerry Robbins, I wonder what that could be?), film scores, classical pieces, and everything in between. Cooper’s filmmaking is just as confident and classical as Bernstein’s musical arrangements. It possesses great power to evoke a film made during the 1940s, complete with stark black-and-white and Technicolor-infused Academy ratio cinematography. Re-teaming after A Star Is Born , DP Matthew Libatique is in lockstep with Cooper’s direction, creating sweeping scenes through long takes and impeccable framing. It all crescendos at the Ely Cathedral in 1973 when Bernstein famously conducted Mahler’s Second Symphony, “Resurrection.” It’s spiritually transcendent, the camera capturing every enrapturing moment as it weaves its way through the choir and orchestra. The inescapable mantra during the film’s press tour is that Cooper prepped for this scene for six years, which is quite evident in the final product. Fortunately for him (and us), Netflix is committed to a substantial theatrical rollout (at least to their standards), offering audiences the chance to see this moment in the proper setting. This moment isn’t all about Bernstein, though, as the final camera movement during the impressive long take pans to reveal his wife Felicia Montealerge (Carey Mulligan) standing off to the side, ready for Lenny to walk over and embrace her after his performance. It’s emblematic of how Cooper frames this entire biopic; the music and their relationship are always intertwined. The pair are magnificent together at every turn, with a jovial banter during the early stages, and a more mature understanding during the middle periods of their marriage. While Felicia is sidelined later in life as Lenny continues his affairs with younger men, Mulligan maintains her placement front and center through sheer emotion and her ability to elevate past the typical “tortured wife of a great man” role. For something that has and will continue to be labeled as “Oscar bait,” Maestro is, more than anything, a confidently unique entry in a well-worn genre. It makes A Star Is Born seem like only the appetizer, and this is the main course. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to label Cooper as this generation’s Warren Beatty: a movie star interested in grown-up stories whose oversized ambition is matched by their incredible skill both in front and behind the camera. If there’s anything modern cinema needs more of right now, it’s someone like that. Netflix will release Maestro in select theaters on November 22nd, followed by its streaming premiere on December 20th. 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 French Dispatch July 17, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen With each subsequent entry into his distinct filmography, Wes Anderson seems to make it a mission to make the most Wes Anderson film. The intricacies of 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums seemed quaint around the time The Grand Budapest Hotel was released in 2013. Even his side ventures into stop-motion animation contain a great distance in production quality between 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and 2018’s Isle of Dogs . Anderson’s tenth feature film, The French Dispatch, towers over all of his previous works with its masterful production qualities and international ensemble cast. Set in 20 th -century France in the fictional city of Ennui-sur-Blasé, The French Dispatch opens with the untimely news that the editor of the titular magazine, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), son of the magazine’s founder and holder of a supreme eye for talent, has died. As per his wishes, his life is to be tied directly to that of the magazine, meaning that the publication dies with him. His team of writers – an eccentric bunch of expatriates all recruited over the years by Howitzer in one way or another – is granted one final issue, which they decide will contain “an obituary, a brief travel guide, and three feature stories.” The obituary is, of course, for Arthur, while the travel guide takes one through the historic village that has acted as the publication’s home for nearly half a century. The three retrospective stories selected are considered to be the best in the publication’s long history: an account by the paper’s art critic (Tilda Swinton) of the deranged painter Moses Rosenthal (Benicio Del Toro) and a brash art dealer (Adrien Brody); an on-the-ground report by political correspondent Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) of the student revolution led by the charismatic Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet); and a retelling by food critic Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) of how he got entangled in a kidnapping involving the son of the chief of police (Matthieu Almaric). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcPk2p0Zaw4 While there is no central story to fully move the film from start to finish, the anthology-style structure still allows Anderson to explore several of the themes found within his previous works, such as human curiosity and the ironic relationship we share with the world and its other characters. The final story of the food critic ranks as the best in terms of what’s on the page, giving Jeffrey Wright a wonderfully complex character who unintentionally learns several valuable lessons about his place in the world. Some will find that the anthology structure limits the emotional connection one can have to the characters, especially since Anderson has built his career on wonderfully layered characters such as Royal Tenenbaum and M. Gustave. On the contrary, while many of his characters tend to overstay their welcome in a 100-minute narrative, the anthologies force Anderson to be as efficient as possible with character development, creating several sequences of mise-en-scène where the direction tells just as much of the story as the script. After gradually becoming more confident as a director, Anderson has finally allowed himself to fully unleash his unique brand of filmmaking. Visually, this is one of the most accomplished works ever made as Anderson toys with aspect ratios (very similar to the strategy within The Grand Budapest Hotel ), color and black & white cinematography, ingeniously hilarious freeze frames, and a period-accurate soundtrack that seems to always be perfectly queued. Ironically, the major complaint I have against the film is that there are dozens of expertly crafted shots that come and go in mere seconds, even though they could be dissected for hours. Every frame truly is a painting, as several hidden treasures can be found in every nook and cranny. This is a film that demands to be rewatched several times over to soak in every last detail. There are no weak links within the Robert Altman-sized cast, with players such as Adrien Brody (who seems to only deliver a good performance nowadays when directed by Anderson), Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright. The phrase “there are no small parts, only small actors” doesn’t apply here, as people such as Christoph Waltz and Saoirse Ronan are reduced to minuscule cameos. Still, Henry Winkler and Willem Dafoe can do a lot with the little that they are given. A visual masterpiece bursting at the seams with talent both on and off the screen, The French Dispatch is a film by a director working at the absolute height of his powers. More importantly, the film gave me one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences in a long time, with several rounds of applause from the Cannes crowd that seemed to be in love with the film as much as I was. I worry about how Anderson will be able to top this with his next film. But until then, I’ll stay in the present and be thankful that something this magical is allowed to exist in a world that only seems to get bleaker. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release The French Dispatch in select theaters on October 22nd, followed by a nationwide expansion on October 29th. 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

Sinners April 15, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Shot and marketed with IMAX cameras akin to something only Christopher Nolan would do, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners plays big and tall as it spans both centuries and genres to tell a story you’ve never quite seen before. Gangsters, musicians, preachers, conjurers, and vampires collide on one hot summer night, all of them ready to shake away the demons under the power of liquor, the blues, and sweat. Vampires, you say? Yes, those bloodsuckers that have ruined pretty much every protagonist’s day since the birth of cinema are in the Deep South too, and they possess just as much bark as they do bite. Although they live in the shadows very literally, those demons also represent themselves metaphorically through Coogler’s rotational use of the Ultra Panavision 70mm 2.76:1 aspect ratio. Normally reserved for epically scoped projects like The Hateful Eight and Ben-Hur , Coogler and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw flip the technique on its head, the black bars heavily weighing down on our mortal characters as the grainy photography captures the humid restlessness. Many of them fear that their lives are being drained away by the society that keeps them down, the chains of slavery from just a few generations ago replaced by the invisible shackles of Jim Crow in the 1930s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKGxHflevuk For Sammi (Miles Caton), the son of your usual movie preacher who warns about the dangers of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, there's a world of opportunity outside of Mississippi. But for the Smokestack twins (Michael B. Jordan as both Smoke and Stack), they know that those promises of a land of milk & honey where all men are created equal are just a bunch of fools’ gold. They’ve seen a thing or two to know a thing or two, which is that Jim Crow is a worldwide recipe, the only variable being the intensity of the flavor. The best strategy in a world set against you is to plant yourself where you know your enemy best. That means they’ve returned to their birthplace of Clarksdale, Mississippi, after nearly a decade of ripping off gangsters in Chicago, a city that everybody asks them if it is as good as the legends say it is. The twins leave that question mostly unanswered, as they know the preciousness of hope and that they never were set on honest work to begin with. Fortunately for them, everybody in Clarksdale is a sinner, filling themselves up on liquor and fleshly desires. What’s the point of the future when the outlook is just more of the same shitty present? For as much as the marketing team has cranked up the promise of death and destruction, Coogler spends a large chunk of the first act examining the death and decay of the American dream. “The Klan doesn’t exist no more,” says the heavily assumed racist white owner of the sawmill the twins buy to refurbish into a juke joint. It’s a line that elicited uneasy chuckles from my audience, everyone knowing underneath that’s as much a lie in 2025 as it was in 1932. Between his two Black Panther films and Creed , Coogler has illustrated a near-masterful skill for diffusing incisive social commentary into the muscular frame of a popcorn blockbuster. Jack O'Connell’s vampire Remmick spins a yarn of a vampire world where everyone lives together in harmony, although his appearance signals that the only thing that will change is the ownership of those at the top of the social hierarchy. Without spoiling its specific contents in fear of robbing you of the experience of witnessing it with a clean palette, there’s a certain long take that merges the past, present, and future in an exhilaratingly fresh way that I didn’t think was possible for a $100 million studio film. Even if, for some odd reason, you’re coming into Sinners looking to turn your brain off, Coogler supplies more than a sizable portion of R-rated gnarliness. This is still a horror movie down to the bone, filled with characters who make dumb decisions and moments that will make you jump out of your seat. That long take also shows off the immaculate craft of his production crew: Hannah Beachler’s rich sets, Ruth E. Carter’s snazzy costumes, and Ludwig Göransson’s banjo and electric guitar layered score. Each of them can both open and rip out your heart at the drop of a hat, something the cast also replicates. If I had a nickel for every time a 2025 Warner Bros. film had its lead actor play multiple identical-looking characters, I’d have three nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened thrice. Luckily, this nickel goes to the top dog that is two Michael B. Jordans, and not the multiple clones of Robert Pattinson from Mickey 17 or the double De Niro in The Alto Knights . As twins, Jordan doesn’t play two totally different personas, just a closely overlapping Venn diagram. Hailee Steinfeld, who, believe it or not, hasn’t been in a live-action feature film since 2019, showcases why we shouldn’t have let that fact come to fruition and kept her on the path of being a full-time movie star. In a time when America is having an identity crisis (then again, when aren’t we?), Sinners looks back and ahead with the gumption that only a wild premise such as this could achieve. Coogler has shown you on multiple occasions a new path as part of a well-worn map, so now let him redraw the whole thing in blood and brimstone. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Sinners in theaters nationwide on April 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

Top 10 Films of 2024 (So Far) July 1, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen I don’t know if it should be cause for celebration or concern, but we’ve reached the halfway mark of 2024, seemingly faster than any year before. This moment places us at a crossroads, able to equally look back at what’s already happened, and continue to look forward to what’s to come. Before we dive even deeper into the months ahead, I’d like to take a moment and be thankful for the best that cinema has had to offer us in this initial half. According to my Letterboxd list, I’ve seen a whopping 78 new releases, a number that is slightly inflated as many titles were seen at 2023 festivals, while others were seen at festivals this year and have yet to be released. To promote equality among the contenders, I’ll only be ranking the films that have been made available to the public before June 30, which disqualifies great works like The Apprentice and Emilia Perez , both of which have a strong chance of showing up on this list at the end of the year. 10. The Beekeeper It only took until the second week of January for 2024 to get its best bad movie of the year. This Jason Statham-starring revenge flick is what mindless action movies should strive for, although I’m not sure writer Kurt Wimmer and director David Ayer would be able to share how they’ve crafted a movie that is both self-aware and totally oblivious to being so bad it’s good. Full Review 9. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Vietnamese writer/director Phan Thien An has created a film of extraordinary uniqueness, aligning closely with the extreme slow cinema works of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Béla Tarr. Every scene is comprised of a single take, all of them extraordinary feats of production on account of their length and complexity. Time is often at a standstill, with no one ever seeming to be in a rush or wanting to have a direct conversation. Your attitude towards this style will be determined quickly, most likely in your ability to stay awake. But even those who drift off from time to time will have their dreams permeated by images from the film. It’s part of the experience, a little piece of the film that sticks with you, something the large majority of other works fail to do. 8. I Saw the TV Glow I couldn't tell what feelings I was experiencing while watching I Saw the TV Glow , but I can definitely tell you I was feeling something. There was terror, bewilderment, wonder, curiosity, nostalgia, and some sort of feeling of childhood innocence. And yet there was none of those things, at least in the forms I’d expected or had experienced before. I stared at the screen with the same hypnotized energy as the main characters watching their favorite show, The Pink Opaque . Was I enjoying what I was watching, and did it even make sense? I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know now. But I can’t get it out of my head, and that’s what’s most important. Full Review 7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Furiosa may not surpass Fury Road , but I don’t think that was ever the intention, at least not directly. At the very least, it’ll be regarded as the best pure action film of the year, and be another be another notch for Miller’s claim to be the best to ever do it. It’s too bad the box office wasn’t able to meet the challenge, as Miller deserves to be given carte blanche to venture out into the desert and cook up something just as epically fun as this. Full Review 6. Challengers If there’s one thing that Luca Guadagnino understands about sports, it’s the sex appeal. Muscles are perpetually firm and clenched, sweat hangs on the brow and slips off perfectly chiseled jaws, and outbursts of enthusiasm share the same primal feelings from the bedroom. With his adaptation of William S. Burroughs Queer barreling down the pipeline, 2024 will surely be Guadagnino’s year, and we’re all going to have a fun time basking in it. Full Review 5. Hit Man If you still weren’t convinced about Glen Powell’s movie star charisma after Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You , then Hit Man will certainly be the successful pitch. Richard Linklater's film is a sexy romantic comedy pairing Powell with Adria Arjona to electric results. It’s devilishly fun, packing a smart script (by Linklater & Powell) that matches well with its antics. 4. Kinds of Kindness If The Favourite and Poor Things were one for them, then Kinds of Kindness is one for me. It’s a film that Greek Weird Wave writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos has been working on for a few years now with his usual partner Efthimis Filippou, almost as if he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to unleash it unless he built up enough street cred through those two Oscar-winning period pieces. The result is another work of the macabre, a blending of his nastier Greek projects with the prestige of his star-studded English-language cohorts. Full Review 3. Evil Does Not Exist Drive My Car writer/director and all-around arthouse superstar Ryûsuke Hamaguchi makes his most outspoken work with Evil Does Not Exist. The tranquility of a Japanese village is being threatened by the introduction of a “glamping” (glamorous + camping) site proposed by a talent agency. The site would negatively impact much of the environment around it, with many of the village resident’s livelihoods being forever altered. Despite being clear in his message, Hamaguchi never eviscerates the villains of this story. The extreme slow cinema approach will test the patience of many expecting a return to the relative leanness of Drive My Car . Those who embrace the molasses will find themselves powerfully transported to one of the few places left that hasn’t been bulldozed by capitalism. 2. Dune: Part Two Just as he did with Blade Runner 2049 , Denis Villeneuve has accomplished what has long been thought to be impossible with Dune: Part Two . There’s no doubt that fans of the 2021 film will be overjoyed with what’s served here, and that previous detractors such as myself will be won over by the improved scale and direction of the saga. Fear is the mind-killer to all those on Arrakis. But there is no fear for those of us on Earth, as one of the best films of 2024 and of the science-fiction genre has been bestowed upon us. Full Review 1. The Beast Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast is the pretentious European version of Cloud Atlas, which is a statement that tells you everything you need to know about whether you’ll like it or not. Bonello jumps between 1904, 2014, and 2044, intersplicing the three time periods to tell a story about love conquering time. Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play characters in each period, navigating the unknowable connection they feel for each other. It’s overindulgent and excessive, with Bonello displaying a mastery of tone and vision across the 146 minutes. There’s passion, fear, humor, drama, and everything in between. I’ve seen it twice now, and am already itching for another go around. 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