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Twin Cities Film Fest 2023 Preview October 18, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As autumn paints the Minnesota landscape with fiery hues, it's time once again to immerse ourselves in the world of storytelling through film. The Twin Cities Film Fest 2023 seeks to showcase both established and emerging talent in the world of cinema. Here are six films in this year's lineup that have me the most intrigued. Note: Alexander Payne's The Holdovers and Christos Nikou's Fingernails are also part of the official selection. Because I saw both of these films at TIFF, they will not be included in this list. All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (10/21) A decades-spanning exploration of a woman's life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us. The film world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will also screen at the New York Film Festival. A24 will release the film in theaters beginning November 03. All of Us Strangers (10/21) A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with a mysterious neighbor as he then discovers his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before. Written for the screen and directed by Andrew Haigh ( 45 Years ). Starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and will also screen at the New York Film Festival, London Film Festival, and Chicago Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release the film in theaters beginning December 22. The Taste of Things (10/22) It tells the story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet she has been working for over the last 20 years. Director Trân Anh Hùng won the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film was also recently selected to represent France in the international feature film race at this year’s Oscar ceremony. An IFC release. Foe (10/23) Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Directed by Garth Davis ( Lion ). Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre. Amazon Studios will release the film in theaters beginning October 06. The Teacher's Lounge (10/25) When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. It later won four awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress) at the German Film Awards. It will represent Germany in the international feature film race at this year’s Oscar ceremony. American Fiction (10/28) Author Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is peeved because his latest offering hasn't caught fire with publishers, while a tome called We's Lives in Da Ghetto by Sintara Golden hits the bestseller lists, leaving Monk seething. Cord Jefferson's directorial debut had its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, winning the coveted People's Choice Award. Jefferson adapted the story from the novel by Percival Everett. Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Issa Rae star. Downtown Owl (10/28) Based on the novel by Chuck Klosterman and partially filmed in the Twin Cities area, Downtown Owl is a sparkle-dark Reagan Era comedy set in the fictional town of Owl, North Dakota in the leading days up to the region's blizzard in Minnesota's century. Directed by Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe. Written for the screen by Hamish Linklater. Starring Lily Rabe, Vanessa Hudgens, Ed Harris, Finn Wittrock, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Henry Golding. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Eden September 10, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Eden had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release it in theaters on August 22, 2025. 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. 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. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Till October 22, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Till screened at the 2022 Twin Cities Film Fest. United Artists Releasing will release it in theaters on October 28. One of the most prominent things that creeps through the first act of Till is the sense of impending doom. We open on Mamie and Emmett Till shopping in a department store in 1955 Chicago. They’re buying the necessary things so that Emmett can visit his distant family down in Mississippi. He’s pleading with his mom to buy him a nice wallet to show off to his cousins, who’ve never had much contact with the big city, something that Emmett exemplifies with his effortless charm and nice clothes. At face value, these scenes are full of the usual joy and innocence that would come with any scene where a parent lets their child spread their wings and fly out into the world. But co-writer/director Chinonye Chukwu knows that context is key, as history tells us that Emmett would be kidnapped and lynched by two white men only one week into his visit to Mississippi. So while everything is light and joyful on the surface, there’s a biting feeling deep inside preparing you for what’s to come. Emmett’s murder would become one of the most publicized and important moments of the American civil rights movement. Knowing that his tale would be swept under the rug just like any other story of white-on-black violence, Mamie had her son’s beaten and bloated body put on display so that millions could not forget what had been done. It was a controversial move, but one that has kept Emmett’s legacy alive decades later, and shined a brighter light on the issue of lynchings in the American south. Even if she doesn’t fully illustrate the viciousness inflicted upon Emmett (a long shot of the scene of the crime with distant screams is all we get), Chukwu doesn’t shy away from the aftermath. The body is put on display to both the characters and the viewers, with the first sight of it sending shivers down the spine. But the appearance of the body creates a divide, as it seems to come from a much rougher film than what this ultimately becomes. As time goes by, the glossy biopic trappings begin to set in, most annoyingly present when Abel Korzeniowski’s mismatched score barges its way in. Things are played by the book, stretched across a 130-minute runtime filled with the usual rage-inducing courtroom scenes and a few odd winks to other moments within the movement. Fortunately, with Danielle Deadwyler front and center, much of those negative thoughts drift away. Given a lead role after years in much smaller ones ( The Harder They Fall , HBO’s Watchmen ), Deadwyler delivers a performance that is both heartbreaking and uplifting. With several long takes gifted by Chukwu, she displays powerful courage in the face of danger. She’ll deservedly be a force to be reckoned with come this Oscar season. If only she was served in a better film that followed through on its early promises of nuance. But even with its late-act shortcomings, Till remains an important retelling of history that is, sadly, just as relevant in the present as it was in the past. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The New Mutants August 31, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen Filmed way back in the bygone time of 2017, The New Mutants - the newest entry into the now-scrapped X-Men Cinematic Universe - has had its fair share of trouble getting to theaters. Originally set for release in April 2018, the movie has had a record of seven date changes, making it a running joke that it would never see the light of day. Defying the naysayers, The New Mutants has finally hit theaters right in the middle of a pandemic. Set in a remote research facility, The New Mutants follows five teenagers as they discover their newfound powers. The stern Dr. Reyes looks after the young mutants and tries to help them control their raw powers. We follow the newest member of the group, Danielle Moonstar, who was placed there after a mysterious natural disaster wiped out her entire reservation. After some time, the five realize that there’s more behind this facility than meets the eye. To save themselves and right the wrongs of the past, the group must work together to harness their powers and become something bigger than themselves. The New Mutants is directed by Josh Boone, who last made a critical and commercial splash with his adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars . Billed as an action/horror/drama, The New Mutants fails on all three of those genre levels. Thanks to Boone’s inability to grasp onto his material, the various tones of the movie go together like oil & water rather than peanut butter & jelly. The action is sparse throughout the first 80 minutes, only showing us glimpses of each person’s unique power. The final 15 minutes end on an action set piece that unleashes all that the movie has been building up, which isn’t much. The intentionally dark and snowy setting acts as a smokescreen to cover up the poor digital effects and blocking. Fairing even worse than the action is the horror element. It’s been reported that the studio demanded reshoots to add more horror after the mega-success of IT . Neutered by a PG-13 rating, the scares in this movie are comparable to the ones found in a January dumpster movie aimed solely at young teenagers. For nearly the entire runtime, we’re subjected to a rinse-repeat cycle of jump scares and sound blasts that only mildly startle us but never come close to scaring us. Even the main villains - gangly creatures dressed in tuxedos that look almost too similar to Slenderman - come across as more laughable than creepy. But even the failings in the action and horror departments don’t come close to the movie’s biggest crime, which is how boring it is. For being set in a superhero universe, very little of this movie is connected to the larger world. Except for a few namedrops and the fact that our main characters are called mutants, this could have been set in any other YA universe and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The uninteresting plot offers a few biting questions to chew on. If you have even an inkling of knowledge about the X-Men Universe, then these questions will be a breeze to answer. But, immediately knowing these answers is a double-edged sword as you now have to impatiently wait an hour for the movie to reveal them in the dullest way possible. Maybe the only person who can come out of this mess with some credibility is Blu Hunt and her performance as our lead character, Danielle. Hunt does fall into the teenage actor trap of overdoing it, but overall she does a commendable job of being the audience’s viewpoint into this story. Three of our five main characters have accents and each of them vies for the award of least convincing. The winner of that goes to American-born Anya Taylor-Joy in her attempt at portraying a Russian. Charlie Heaton’s Kentucky drawl comes in at a close second place, while the British Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame does alright with her Scottish accent. As an action movie, The New Mutants is a failure. As a horror movie, it’s a failure. Even as a piece of entertainment, it’s a failure. This is nothing more than a cheap cash grab whose only purpose is to make a quick buck off brand recognition alone. The only time I’ll ever think about this movie again is when I have to decide where to place it on my worst-of-the-year list. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Last Night in Soho November 1, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Zippy editing, deadpan comedy from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and a killer soundtrack. These are the characteristics that have come to define the filmography of Edgar Wright. The world first got a glimpse of those three things in 2006 with Wright’s feature debut, Shaun of the Dead . Other features followed, such as the cult classics of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver , giving Wright a dedicated following of fans that will always be itching to see what the stylish British director does next. For his next trick, Wright has done away with two of those three trademarks. He’s keeping the soundtrack, but trading away the duo of Pegg and Frost for Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as trading in humor for horror. The title of Last Night in Soho refers to the famous entertainment district located in London’s West End. From nightclubs to pubs to other seedier establishments, there’s always something to entice your interests. For Eloise Turner (McKenzie), that’s the London College of Fashion. She has big dreams to be a designer like her late mother, but her outsider persona doesn’t mesh well with her urban classmates. Eloise finds solace in her antique off-campus apartment, where she's free to play her 60s music and dream about a better time. Her dreams quickly become reality, as Eloise magically gets transported back to 60s London, where she is mysteriously linked to the life of up-and-coming singer, Sandie (Taylor-Joy). These nighttime adventures allow Eloise to live the life she’s always wanted. But the honeymoon period doesn’t last for long, as these dreams gradually devolve into nightmares. The question of what is reality and what is dream begins to get muddled, and the glamorous white lights begin to run red with blood. Coincidentally, 2021 has been the year of nostalgia for 1960s London as both this film and Disney’s Cruella prominently feature the setting. But while the dalmatian-laced feature carried tacky set pieces and a soundtrack that felt like someone just pressed shuffle on a “Best of the 1960s” Spotify playlist, Wright’s film has much more reverence for the era. The dream-like sections of the film reinvigorate your love for cinema, as Wright displays some inventive camerawork throughout his extended tracking shots that weave their way throughout some of London’s historic establishments. The glittering lights and costumes are candy for eyes, and the hits of “Downtown” and “Got My Mind Set on You” serenade the ears. From a production standpoint, this is Wright’s most accomplished work. Eloise and Wright seemed to be linked to the same fate, as the moment her fortune begins to darken also marks the same point where Wright begins to falter. Once you take away that swinging style, the film topples over as it doesn’t have any legs to stand on in terms of substance. For some people, that may not be a bad thing as Wright’s style goes a long way. But it often feels like empty calories that don’t equal the sum of their parts. Wright, along with co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns ( 1917 ), makes a statement about sexism and toxic men. But specific ideas are scarce and it all plays as more of a generalized blanket observation on the unfair inequality of gender, something any woman learns at some point (hopefully not first-hand). There is no central villain to this story, with Sandy’s pimp and abuser, Jack (played by the handsomely sinister Matt Smith), being too surface-level to be perceived as an actual person, just an idea. For a while, the villains are the ghoulish spirits of controlling men. But our fear of them diminishes each time they appear, which happens much more than it should, a common problem within this 116-minute film that feels every bit as long as it is. Eventually, there are so many twists and turns that you, as well as Wright, don’t know how to feel about these characters, ending the film on a confounding question-mark rather than an exclamation point. Last Night in Soho gloriously indulges in the technical eccentricities that have come to define Edgar Wright. For fans of his work, it is quite a treat to see how far he has come as a craftsman. But all that glitter is not gold, as there's not much underneath the sheen to make this feel anything different than a mild disappointment. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F July 2, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen With Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F , Eddie Murphy has joined Adam Sandler and Millie Bobby Brown in Netflix’s flock of golden geese. This marks his third film with the streamer in the last five years, the previous two being career-revitalizer Dolemite Is My Name and the worst film of last year, You People . Also mixed in are two Prime Video exclusives ( Coming 2 America and Candy Cane Lane ), with another one titled The Pickup currently in post-production. If you take a gander at Murphy’s IMDb page, you can see that he hasn’t been in a theatrically released film since 2016’s Mr. Church , which almost doesn’t count since it never got above a couple hundred theaters. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with starring in streaming movies, especially when someone like Netflix is seemingly the only one willing to greenlight Dolemite Is My Name after years of development hell and throw $150 million at a Beverly Hills Cop film after a thirty-year break. But for how smart they are as business decisions in this modern film industry, the creative output that comes from them is sorely lacking. “Good enough” feels like the mantra, something I mentioned in last week’s review of Netflix’s A Family Affair . It seems that Netflix and others have taken the lower barrier of entry for audiences as an excuse not to try as hard. How much would you really care about the experience of watching a film if it didn’t make you leave the couch? Certainly less than if you had to drive to the theater and fork over $10. Everything and everyone just feels like they’re just going through the motions in Axel F . Axel once again has to leave Detroit, a place he destroys more than the criminals he chases, and go to Beverly Hills. This time he’s flying west to save his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige) after she defends a wrongfully convicted cop killer and is threatened by those actually responsible for the murder. Also returning are old costars Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, and Bronson Pinchot; each of them inadvertently being an advertisement for whatever products Murphy uses to defy aging (seriously, he looks phenomenal for 62). Joining the mix is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a fellow cop and Kevin Bacon as the chief of a new shady task force. “The world has changed” and “in today’s climate” are phrases used a couple of times to try and push the theme of Axel being lost in time just as much as he is often lost in his surroundings. The attempts are heavy-handed, yet never effective as Axel hardly seems to change as a person throughout the film. His relationship with his daughter stems wholly from everything that happened offscreen between Beverly Hills Cop III and now. There’s also the theme of mortality in the line of duty, something that’s already been done in the other Jerry Bruckheimer-produced cop-based sequels, Bad Boys For Life and Bad Boys: Ride or Die . Being that this is a Bruckheimer production, the action is bombastic. First-time director Mark Molloy is often hampered by bad special effects and drab photography. The extended opening chase scene involving a snow plow in Detroit is quite fun, but a later one with a helicopter is garish. Murphy is always having fun with the material, throwing out the same level of one-liners and energy he’s had for decades. There’s never a movie where his presence isn’t welcome, it’s just that most of them (this one included) don’t have any other reasons to care. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Wizard of the Kremlin September 5, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Wizard of the Kremlin had its North American Premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking US distribution. Zigging and zagging between an international remake of Les Vampires in Irma Vep , the exploits of the most wanted man in the world, Carlos the Jackal, in Carlos , and a Cuban espionage ring in Wasp Network , writer/director Olivier Assayas’ fascination with the theme of globalization knows no bounds. After taking some time off from the subject during the COVID-19 pandemic to look inward with Suspended Time , Assayas has saddled himself with his biggest subject yet in The Wizard of the Kremlin , a decades-spanning look at the rise of modern Russia and Vladimir Putin. However, Putin is not the central or most important figure in this tale, which comes with a forewarning about how none of this should be misconstrued as pure fact. Our titular “hero” in this story is Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), a soft-spoken and unassuming spin doctor who secretly held the world in his grasp. He’s now retired to his wintry chalet, giving him plenty of time to host and recount his career to an American foreign correspondent named Rowland (Jeffrey Wright). Their initial meeting is spurred by a mutual admiration for Bolshevik writer Yevgeny Zamyatin, who laid the groundwork for George Orwell’s 1984 . Baranov’s tale starts in the early 1990s when counter-culturalists ran amok, the Soviet Union was dismantled, and Moscow citizens were able to breathe a little easier. But politics and cultural movements hang by a pendulum. Time has allowed some people to look back on Stalin’s tenure through rosier glasses, a time when Russia was at the forefront of geopolitics and thought of as a superpower on par with the United States. Jude Law appears halfway through the 156-minute mini-slog as Putin, the iron fist to Dano’s reserved wit. As exciting as the revitalization of a modern empire might sound (at least to me), Assayas’ film lacks the energy required to keep this engaging and memorable. The central structure of Baranov’s monologue to Rowland lacks any sense of discovery, mostly because Rowland seems to already know all of this. They chat for a while in one room, and then walk to another place on the estate to talk some more. Dano’s narration is long and laborious, taking us through thinly defined episodes that have as much dramatic weight and insight as the chapters in a high school history textbook. The cast sometimes brings up the energy, such as Tom Sturridge as the flashy Dmitri Sidorov, who steals Baranov’s first love, Ksenia (a woefully underused Alicia Vikander), with promises of endless revelry. The weight and presence that Law instills within his portrayal of Putin is just as impressively convincing as the makeup. We may never get to see him bare-chested like the real Russian president, but he does go water skiing and prepares a delectable barbecue dinner. None of the famous faces speaks with a Russian accent, with a vague British tone being used as shorthand. Baranov is persuaded to join Putin’s rising regime when he’s told to “stop making up stories, and start inventing reality.” Assayas clearly sees a link between Putin’s rise to power and Donald Trump’s, with Baranov being his Roy Cohn. Unfortunately, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn’t have the same level of entertainment and enlightenment as last year’s The Apprentice , leaving its credible points of comparison to land with a thud. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Immaculate March 27, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark In recent years, Hollywood has found a knack for releasing random religion-themed horror films that either get overlooked or flop altogether. This was evidenced when I saw Neon’s latest fright fest, Immaculate , and got a trailer for the upcoming 20th Century Studios horror film The First Omen . Director Michael Mohan and screenwriter Andrew Lobel craft a twist on the Rosemary’s Baby narrative with one of the hottest actresses working today, Sydney Sweeney. The movie looked like an intense, bloody horror show from the trailers. Ultimately, it’s a boring film that restrains itself from being the scariest thing to come out of 2024. After her parish shuts down in her hometown, American nun Cecilia (Sweeney) is assigned to a convent in rural Italy. As she settles in, she miraculously becomes pregnant and is proclaimed the next Virgin Mary. However, the more her pregnancy progresses, the more Cecilia learns of the convent’s darkest secrets. Although the synopsis seems too familiar, Immaculate initially appears to have the intention of breaking that formulaic mold through some solid cinematography and the casting of such a modern-day actress in Sweeney. But between Will Bates’ stock score and repetitious cycle of loud jumps scares and gotchas, this just feels like another entry in the already watered-down The Nun franchise. Sweeney is on a fascinating streak right now as Immaculate comes nearly one month after the disastrous Madame Web , which in turn came out a month and a half after the box office hit Anyone But You . Both of those polar opposites (as well as this project, which she produced) came after years of her presence on HBO with Sharp Objects , The White Lotus , and the controversial drama Euphoria . Her performance here might not break any new ground, but it does check off the box of being a solo leading lady who can sell a project on a concept and her acting abilities. She has a scream near the end where she’s caked in blood that echoes the signature outbursts from Janet Leigh in Psycho and Jenna Ortega in X . Aside from Sweeney, the cast isn’t very noteworthy, with everyone playing cookie-cutter horror characters. You’ve got the strict mother superior nun, the freaky priest who tries to defuse the situation but doesn’t help, the rebellious friend, and the one nun who thinks she’s better than everyone else. The only one that comes close to breaking out is Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen, the rebellious nun. When she and Cecilia are talking to each other and making humor out of whatever they’re doing, it’s cute, but it feels forced. If Immaculate is going to accomplish anything, it’s likely just that it’s a horror movie starring Sydney Sweeney and nothing else. There’s a moment where the nuns have a ceremony for Cecilia after the word of her pregnancy gets out. Cecilia is dressed in a lavish blue and yellow dress with a gold crown and see-through veil, metaphorically spotlighting her as the Virgin Mary. Everyone else is smiling and bowing their heads to her, reflecting how numerous viewers see Sweeney today. Then, in an instance, there’s a close-up of Cecilia shedding a tear, a callback to a certain shot of Sweeney in the second season of Euphoria . Are we as a society beginning to worship her as royalty this fast in her short career? Only time will tell, but I can guarantee people won’t look back at Immaculate as the primary reason for her ascendency. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Bohemian Rhapsody November 12, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen Making a biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen is a truly difficult task for anyone to accomplish. Trying to condense the life of the greatest lead singer of all time into a feature-length film is next to impossible. Attempting this feat is Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody , which unsurprisingly isn’t able to do justice to its subject matter. Still, the film makes up for what it lacks by containing great musical performances and a mesmerizing performance by Rami Malek as Freddie. Singer has never been good with emotions throughout his career and that clearly shows here. He desperately struggles to deal with the more human scenes and the difficult relationships Freddie had with many of his closest friends and family. Most scenes feel hokey as they try every shameless tactic to get the audience to care. The film also uses a straightforward method of telling the story. The plot basically boils down to a glorified Wikipedia article that tracks the history of the band from start to finish. By the end, everything that is learned feels like surface details that could easily have been explored more. Singer may not be an emotional filmmaker, but what he does have going for him is his ability to be a showman. The many different concert scenes are a treat to watch as they play back some of the band’s greatest hits. Eventually, it all culminates in the famous Live Aid performance that blows away all expectations. The film beat for beat recreates the historic moment and makes you feel like part of the electric crowd. Penned by Anthony McCarten, the script for Bohemian fails quite badly at various points. The most apparent problem is the truly atrocious dialogue that ruins many moments that are supposed to be heartfelt. Any scene with Mary and Freddie immediately becomes a sappy mess and dashes away any hope of connection to the characters and their relationship. It can also be said that the script fails to defend the film’s 134-minute runtime as it never dives deep enough into Mercury’s troubled life. Background details are given about his upbringing and the strained relationship he had with his parents. However, these elements are treated with minor importance and don’t make an impact on Freddie as a character. On a brief note, there is a small subplot with Mike Myers cameoing as a record producer who objects to the band’s unconventional ways. Myers comes off as a cartoon and the whole storyline reeked of desperation to get a slight laugh out of the meta-joke. Lastly, Freddie’s sexuality is briefly touched on and with very little detail that it never truly feels that important even though it became a defining part of his image by the end of his career. The script never gives an explanation for why and how Freddie is gay, just the fact that he is. His sexuality becomes the main storyline by the end of the film, but by then it’s too little too late. Freddie Mercury always seemed like the type of person who would be impossible to properly portray on screen. Rami Malek defies that logic and delivers a pitch-perfect performance. Apart from the singing voice, Malek recreates the mannerisms and overall presence of Mercury down to the letter. He brings a kind of contagious energy that lights up the screen every time he grabs the mic, giving us a sense of what it might have been like to be in front of Mercury as he performed. The rest of the cast do an alright job, but really none of them matter compared to Malek. Lucy Boynton is pretty good as Mary Austin, Freddie’s wife at one point and lifelong friend. Boynton does what she can with the terrible dialogue and tries to salvage each scene she shares with Malek. Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, and Joseph Mazzello play the rest of the band. Each of them is average and just kind of floats around in the background as Freddie takes center stage. Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t a good film when put together as it fails to be a serviceable biopic about the band and its larger-than-life lead singer. However, the film is still a very fun time that delivers when it comes to musical thrills and will have you banging your head and listening to Queen for weeks after. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Predator: Badlands November 5, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

After Yang March 7, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Ranking the Planet of the Apes Franchise May 7, 2024 By: Tyler Banark As one of the most unsung yet successful franchises in film, the Planet of the Apes franchise, much like its subject material, has evolved. It all started as a sci-fi adventure film that took the world by storm in 1968, which inevitably led to a hit franchise in the 70s. The sequels weren’t as critically successful as the original (as you’ll see reflected in this ranking), but they still made a big enough splash to warrant four of them. Tim Burton attempted to revitalize the franchise in 2001 but failed in doing so (also reflected in the rankings). However, his flop provided a silver lining in the form of a catalyst for another reboot that changed the franchise forever. Now, the newest series is looking to continue with its fourth entry, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes . Now is the best time to look back and rank all nine films in this primal franchise once and for all. Spoiler Warning: Specific story points will be mentioned when talking about some films 9. Planet of the Apes (2001) I admire Burton for twisting the synopsis of the original to avoid being a scene-for-scene remake, but then he also fails to follow through by making overt callbacks that now feel out of place (what was up with that twist ending!?!). The combination of Wahlberg and Burton is one of the oddest pairings since De Niro and Tarantino. But while the latter worked against expectations, this one unsurprisingly struggled. There’s also Tim Roth doing way too much behind pounds of unconvincing makeup. Thankfully, this single entry can be easily forgotten. 8. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) As the final part in the original series, Battle finds itself recycling several elements from the previous outings, all of which at least tried to further a theme within this universe. The story sees apes and humans living in peace, but when Cornelius learns of his past, he brings light to the mutant humans from Beneath . There’s also corrupt general Aldo leading an uprising against Caesar in hopes of planting Apes at the top of the food chain. What unfolds between these plots makes for numerous continuity errors in the franchise, specifically how this prequel ties into the 1968 original. It’s never a great sign when you’re franchise’s big send-off poses more questions than it answers. 6. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) Taking place years after the deaths of Zira and Cornelius, Conquest sees their son Milo (now named Caesar for some reason) grown up and living in a world where apes have become slaves to humans. Cats and dogs are a thing of the past, and apes have become popular pets, leading Caesar to lead an uprising (take a shot every time that word gets mentioned in this ranking) that starts the downfall of humanity. Roddy McDowall, who played Cornelius in Escape and the first movie, plays Caesar and gives a noteworthy monologue to end the movie. But the run-of-the-mill plot and lazy casting choices make this into a rote entry. At least Rise was able to improve upon the basic premise decades later. 6. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) Sure, the idea of talking apes is inherently weird, but Beneath is just plain absurd. Although it continues to build and expand upon the ape world, there are some serious “jump the shark” moments such as mutant humans worshipping an atomic bomb. On the other hand, the technical aspects were improved by the bigger budget, with the makeup design still being impressive. Charlton Heston’s screentime was drastically reduced, with new addition James Franciscus taking over the main human role. Was it all worth the effort? Perhaps, even if what it's showcasing raises an eyebrow amongst its viewers. 5. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) Without a doubt the best of the original sequels, Escape took the franchise in a vastly different direction. It sees Zira and Cornelius getting out of Ape City and traveling back to 1973 when the humans ran the world. Through seeing the world differently, Zira and Cornelius get a slight taste of their own medicine as the humans look down on them. The only difference is that other humans are more welcoming to them than the Apes treated Taylor, Nova, and the other humans. Escape also takes the approach of being more character-driven, as we see Zira and Cornelius undergo development, as well as their side of the fallout seen in Beneath and navigating an Earth run by humans. The only fluke was the extended runtime and lack of action, although that ended up being the least of the franchises’s problems the longer it went on in this era. 4. Planet of the Apes (1968) The one that started it all, 1968's Planet of the Apes is a feat of grand filmmaking. Giving the tone and stakes of a blockbuster (before the term was ever coined), director Franklin J. Schaffner crafts a sci-fi adventure of epic proportions. The Oscar-winning makeup design is impeccable, even if it later becomes dated as the franchise turned to sleek CGI in the 21st Century. Charlton Heston leads the cast as Taylor, an astronaut who's lightyears from home and gets caught in an alien world where humans are feral to apes. Michael Wilson and Rod Serling's script remains timeless as it discusses themes of social class that can also be interpreted as metaphors for a political conversation. The same goes for the iconic plot twist, which left much to explore in the years to come. 3. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) The conclusion to Caesar’s story, War for the Planet of the Apes is a heartfelt sendoff to one of the most impressive character arcs in recent memory. Andy Serkis gives it his all in his final outing as Caesar who, at this point, is fed up with humans. The war that started at the end of Dawn is now in full swing, which reaches a pivotal moment when Caesar’s wife and eldest son are killed in a raid. Woody Harrelson makes for a great antagonist, and Steve Zahn is a nice addition as the comedic Bad Ape, although a lot of the humor around the character can be repetitive. That feeling of spinning wheels also extends to the plot as much more time was spent at the Colonel’s base than was needed, preventing the fulfillment of the title. Still, it was more than a fitting ending to the reboot trilogy. 2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) The movie that changed it all for the better, Rise of the Planet of the Apes reignited a fire that wasn’t seen in the franchise since the 1968 original. Only this time, Rise provides a much stronger origin to how the apes got their intelligence. Andy Serkis may have been working in this industry for years up until this point, but it was Rise that cemented himself as a movie star. He captures Caesar perfectly and, thanks to his production company The Imaginarium, presents special effects that had never been seen beforehand. Serkis isn’t alone in front of the camera as he’s joined by a great ensemble consisting of John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, and James Franco. Contrary to almost every other entry in the overall franchise, Rise could have benefited from a longer runtime. 1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) As the top dog (or ape) of the entire franchise, Dawn not only ups the ante from Rise , but also makes for one of the best modern sequels. It tells a compelling story that sheds light on both sides of the apes vs. humans conflict, with director Matt Reeves making quite the statement for himself. Everyone is at the top of their game, including Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell as the villainous Koba, and Michael Giacchino sneakily turning in one of his best scores. Rise may have kicked off the excitement for the new series, but Dawn was the one that made it something truly special. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen