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The Legend of Ochi April 21, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Legend of Ochi screened at the 2025 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. A24 will release it in theaters on April 25th. Before the (digital) film reel started spooling to unveil the story of The Legend of Ochi , first-time feature writer/director Isaiah Saxon gave a brief introduction via a video message set in what could only be assumed as one of the Romanian filming locations. Speaking in a comedically hushed tone, the filmmaker stated that he made this film for children and that their intelligence rarely gets the respect it deserves from Hollywood. Maybe it was just because I had seen A Minecraft Movie a week prior and had my brain fried from the TikTok toilet humor, or that the fact that the largely adult-oriented distributor A24 is finally breaking into the realm of children’s entertainment, but Saxon’s words really resonated with me. Here is a film for children that is explicitly meant to be engaged with on both an emotional and intellectual level, and not just be a vessel for memes and merchandise. Of course, I say all this and can immediately see that A24 has littered their online shop with Ochi swag and ironically posted about it everywhere on social media. I guess we can’t always get everything that we want… Unfortunately, it’s way more interesting to think and discuss what The Legend of Ochi represents than it is to talk about what happens between minute one and minute ninety-six. For as much as Saxon finds himself clearly inspired by the darker children’s films of yesteryear like The NeverEnding Story , Labyrinth , and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , there’s never a moment where the weight of comparison doesn’t fully crush this lush tale. Take for instance the premise of the young girl Yuri (Helena Zengel) growing up in a remote village in the Carpathian mountains. She has a strained relationship with her father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) and has been told her whole life that the local wildlife that goes by the name of the Ochi only live to feed on the flesh of the living. All day and night Maxim marches up the mountains rabble-rousing and training the local youth to hunt down these creatures. Being that she has a general distrust towards her dad, Yuri doesn’t buy into the jingoistic fervor. And it also only takes one non-gun-related meeting with these creatures to convince her that they aren’t as dangerous as she’s been told. One of the babies got caught in a trap and has been separated from its family, a feeling that Yuri figuratively feels every day. That connection spurs them on a quest of reunification and self-discovery. In this momentary void between the television hiatus of The Mandalorian and its 2026 film continuation, the titular baby Ochi has kicked Baby Yoda / Grogu off its perch at the top of the animatronic cuteness pedestal. Fully operated by hand, this monkey-ish puppet features solid black eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and a lovely bright orange coat of fur. When seen from a distance in the dead of night, one could almost forgive Maxim for duping himself into thinking these creatures are evil. But just as it does for any living creature, the sun illuminates our best features. There’s a loveliness to seeing the Ochi move with a little bit of jerkiness, as sanding off the artificiality with visual effects would have made it seem even more fake. Saxon surrounds his humans and puppets in a world of matte paintings and sets possibly borrowed from Midsommar . He’s already been forced to stave off unfounded claims of AI usage, and I fear he’ll be forced to continue that defense as more eyes are placed upon the film. I’ll admit, the imagery within the film does have a striking resemblance to those demo reels that float around social media preaching that technology has unlocked a new age of filmmaking. Along with the fact that it was filmed in 2021 before any of this AI nonsense was a serious threat, Saxon’s argument stems from the love and sweat put into his craft, which is always visible on the screen. But that love Saxon has for his work is never felt by us, with everything feeling more like an aesthetic than a fully realized world. The emotional coldness doesn’t help to bridge that gap either, David Longstreth’s score doing all of the communicating. Because of this, I fear that Saxon’s intended adolescent audience is unlikely to discover and commit to the task that this film lays before them. It’s foolish and unfair for one film to be beset with the expectation that it’ll reinvigorate a largely stagnant subgenre, although the words from the creatives and marketers certainly have set themselves up for that. Saxon has certainly earned another go-around, so perhaps that will contain the spark that sets all of this ablaze. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Gladiator II November 11, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen One of the hottest TikTok trends of the year centered around raising the question of how often men think about the Roman Empire. Answers ranged from "a few times a month," "at least once a week," and "almost every day." As is usually the case with social media, everything surrounding this viral moment was performative. But if you were to glance at this year's crop of movies, there is evidence to support the modern popularity of Rome. Francis Ford Coppola's long-gestating Megalopolis found Rome in the new world, with Madison Square Garden transformed into a coliseum and everyone flashing their favorite togas and olive branch crowns. And now, Ridley Scott returns us to the epic world of his Best Picture-winning film. Similar to Coppola, Scott finds his version of Rome in an anarchic state. The legend of Marcus Aurelius has become all but forgotten by the commoners, replaced by the tyrannical rule of brothers Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). "They can eat war!" is their response to General Acacius' (Pedro Pascal) subtle plea that their bloodlust is starving the empire. He's just returned from conquering Numidia (modern-day Algeria), although there weren't many spoils to be had in the victory as the bodies of the slain men and women were burned right in front of their families. One of those victims was Arishat, the wife of Lucius (Paul Mescal) who only spoke in sentences that characters say before they die. Rage and bloodlust are the only currency that Lucius possesses while he's enslaved as a gladiator, two skills that make him worthy of the sponsorship of Macrinus (Denzel Washington). In the gladiator pits, Lucius faces off against some of the nastiest animals on the planet, including rabid baboons, sharks, and a man tall enough to be in the NBA riding an armored rhinoceros. It is entirely forgivable for anachronistic creatures to appear upon the sands of The Colosseum. Like the spectators lining the rows, we're sitting in the theater for thrills, and the sight of Paul Mescal taking a bite out of a howling monkey and a shark jumping out of the water to snatch a random gladiator off a boat is something to behold. What's less forgivable is the CGI used to render these creatures to life, specifically the primates. Quite a few snickers emerged from the rows behind me as the image of Mescal flailing on the ground pretending to fight a monkey formed in their heads. For Scott, age is still just a number, a fact that he can flaunt with even more swagger as he continuously eclipses the technical prowess of almost all his peers. While Gladiator II doesn't contain the unparalleled scale of Napoleon or the unforgettably brutal hand-to-hand combat of The Last Duel , it executes itself well enough to avoid faltering under the threat of comparison. The opening siege of Numidia follows a D-Day pattern as the Romans crash their vessels on the jagged shores. Arrows and catapults are exchanged at will, and bodies are returned to the sea in droves. Things never get much bigger than that, with subsequent violence being reserved for the circular walls of The Colosseum. Fueling the background for those skirmishes is backdoor politics between various parties looking to ascend to the throne. Lucius is Macrinus' instrument for gaining favor from the current emperors, while Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) tries to rally the old guard of senators and generals. Writer David Scarpa returns to Scott's side after collaborations on All the Money in the World and Napoleon . The sweep and authentic drama from the original isn't to be found here, with a majority of the nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime spent wading water. It's Denzel Washington that breaks the movie out of that funk. He turns in a true movie star performance, twirling in his fine robes and chewing on every syllable. Nothing is more amusing than being in his presence, a feeling that will surely net him his tenth career Oscar nomination. While not necessarily miscast, Mescal never reaches the heights expected of him. The same goes for Pascal, who was caught in a functionary role. "Indulgent" wouldn't be a word I'd use to describe Ridley Scott, but that's just what Gladiator II is. It's the sequences and performances that lean into the schlock that fare the best, although that's what disassociates it from the superior original and will likely hinder its memorability. To answer Maximus’ famous question: I was entertained… kind of. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Creator September 27, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Creator is the return of original science-fiction on the big screen… but only if you’ve never seen a Star Wars film, Blade Runner, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Avatar, or A.I. Artificial Intelligence . Honestly, it wouldn’t be a shocking revelation to learn that The Creator was spawned from an early draft for director Gareth Edwards’ follow-up to his Star Wars entry Rogue One . It’s a disappointing fact given the hard road Edwards has been on since that 2016 galactic actioner, but it’s also not enough to derail this epic film, which offers enough dosages of spectacle to keep it steady. “It’s not real, just programming” is a line said multiple times by Joshua (John David Washington). He’s part of the population that doesn’t see anything human inside the A.I. citizens within 2065 society. But there are others, most of them in Asia, that see these androids as the next step in evolution. Any robot that wears a hood to cover up the holes where its ears should be is indistinguishable from any meat-based lifeform. This difference in ideology reached a tipping point when a nuclear bomb was detonated in Los Angeles, an event the United States government blamed on the A.I. War soon broke out, with many of the androids fleeing to the refuge of New Asia. Joshua is part of a task force to find and terminate the A.I. leader, who has reportedly built a weapon great enough to destroy NOMAD, the American space station that fires a giant laser down on the planet (sound familiar?). But this weapon is not a thing, it’s a robot child that can control electronics with her mind. Joshua may disregard robot life, but he’s not monstrous enough to kill a child, which makes him a fugitive to his CO (Allison Janney) and the rest of the human military. If the plot summary of “grizzled man begrudgingly escorts kid who is special but slowly grows attached to them and has a change of heart” sounds familiar to you then that means you’ve watched/played any combination of Logan, The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, God of War , or The Witcher over the past few years. The Lone Wolf and Cub trope is barebones here as Joshua and Alfie (the name given to the child) don’t share a strong enough connection throughout much of their journey. Washington and newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles are delightful actors, but Edwards and co-writer Chris Weitz offer little comradery outside of poorly placed jokes and overly sentimental exchanges about what it means to be human. There’s also little introspection given to the subject of human vs. artificial intelligence. All the robots are noble and peaceful, and all humans are violent and selfish. The Vietnam War parallels aren’t subtle, only this time “Fortunate Son” has been replaced by “Everything In Its Right Place.” There isn’t much room for debate nor fully compelling characters when everything is binary. Edwards remains an extreme talent as a director, crafting set pieces that incite realistic terror and spectacle within extraordinary events. He’s assembled much of the Dune team including cinematographer Greig Fraser, editor Joe Walker, and composer Hans Zimmer, each of them adding gravitas to this vision of our future. The widescreen imagery is impressively grand, begging to be projected on the biggest IMAX screen possible. The fact this only cost $80 million unofficially confirms that many Hollywood tentpoles that cost three times as much are money laundering schemes. The Creator is always on the verge of being a good movie, but just can’t ever string together the consistency needed to make the leap. One thing that is certain is that we can’t afford to let Edwards slip away into hibernation again. Somewhere out there is a killer script that needs a visionary captain. And when that time comes, blockbuster filmmaking will be forever changed for the better. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

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 cranium 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, whom 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. 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 . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Empire of Light September 12, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Empire of Light had its Canadian Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release it in theaters on December 09. With Empire of Light , Sam Mendes further proves that he’s one of the best directors working today. He also proves that he should abandon his newfound lust for writing his own scripts, as that should be left in more capable hands. It’s also hard to judge Mendes’ film on its own terms, as it comes at a time when filmmakers feel overwhelmingly compelled to tell their life stories through film. Just this year we have Steven Spielberg ( The Fabelmans ), Richard Linklater ( Apollo 10 1/2 ), Alejandro G. Iñárritu ( Bardo ), and James Gray ( Armageddon Time ) offering insights into one of, or both of, their child and adult lives. We also can’t forget Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast , Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza , and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God making dents in last year’s Oscar race. And then there’s Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma , Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird … alright I think you get the idea. With all the direct competition in the past and the present, Empire of Light crumbles under the weight of expectations and comparisons. It’s nowhere near being classified as bad, just underwhelming and forgettable once you also factor in all the talent involved both in front and behind the camera. Whether they know it or not, the workers within the Empire Theater act as a sort of family. Roger Deakins’ lush cinematography (solidifying him and Mendes as the best working director/cinematographer pair) captures all the bells and whistles of this movie palace, which now stands on its last leg as the age of multiplexes rushes in. You can see how this place once was the entertainment capital of the coastal English town it resides in, with its staged screens and elaborate decorations. At the helm is the self-entitled owner, Donald (Colin Firth), who never has much time for the rest of the employees. Hilary (Olivia Colman) is the de facto manager, even though she’s never watched a film during her tenure. A new recruit (Michael Ward) shakes things up a bit, unlocking romantic feelings within Hilary and some unsavory attitudes toward race and class within the community. As with nearly all entries within this specific subgenre, Empire of Light explores the healing power within movies. Except, instead of purely emotional healing, the films playing within this cinema can also cure mental illnesses, which Hilary is afflicted with, and bigotry towards others. The messages within Mendes’ script, his first without a co-writer, are never connected as tightly as they should be, with several topical ideas floating around as loose fragments. If only he could have picked one because there are specific moments for each that are well-executed. But as a whole, they are less than the sum of their parts. The weakness on the page doesn’t serve the actors well, with Colman falling into a bit of overacting for her character’s outbursts. She and Ward lack the necessary chemistry to make their relationship believable, with it mostly feeling like Mendes put them together simply because they’re outsiders. Empire of Light exemplifies both the best and worst parts of cinema, in that it holds unbelievable power in certain moments and unbelievable artificiality in others. If Mendes goes back to solely directing his next feature (or at the very least co-writing with an esteemed partner), then the world will be in for an immense treat. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Priscilla November 2, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen What’s most evident about Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla is how much it is the antithesis of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis from last year. The Australian showman’s authorized propaganda piece (I don’t mean that as derisively as it sounds, all biopics are propaganda to some degree) lit up the marquee signs at the multiplexes thanks to its bright cinematography, fast-paced editing, and roaring soundtrack. Coppola’s film will subsist within arthouses and the back of the multiplexes as she trades all that in for a somber mood, silence so deafening that a you could hear a pin drop, and a soundtrack so devoid of Elvis hits that you would think he was a one-hit wonder. Of course, as per the title, Coppola shifts away from The King and examines the woman who constantly lived in his shadow, someone who only got one scene in Luhrmann’s rendition (and looked about twice as old as she was supposed to be). Actually, scratch all that. The most evident thing about Priscilla is the star-in-the-making presence of Cailee Spaeny, a growing sentiment considering her Best Actress win at this year’s Venice Film Festival. She’d been relegated to playing the younger versions of lead characters to this point: young Lynne Cheney in Vice , the daughter of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex , and young Eleanor Roosevelt seen only in flashbacks in The First Lady . She is technically playing the younger version of a real person here, but this time the focus is entirely on her. That expanded canvas allows her to spread her wings, showcasing an immense talent to hold your attention and convincingly play across an elongated timeline. We first meet Priscilla Beaulieu in Germany circa 1959. Her father has been stationed at the local Army base, making her the loneliest American in all of Bavaria. Just like it were a fairy tale, the sad girl gets her wish when an Army captain asks her to come along and meet Elvis Presley, who’s also been stationed abroad. He’s undeniable, a beaming example of Americana that seems to have leapt off the posters to fulfill her wildest fantasies. He’s ecstatic to bring her into his world, and she’s naively happy to go along for the ride. Quickly comes a move to Graceland, marriage, a child, and the duties of being a reliable homemaker to the most desirable man in the world. Coppola’s film is at its best in the beginning as she explores the morally questionable inception of the couple’s relationship. She was 14 and he was 24, but Elvis was always kind and courteous, and she was emotionally mature for her age. Despite their initial hesitations, her parents consented to their star-crossed union. Coppola doesn’t heavily lean to one side or the other, instead offering evidence for both camps. There are moments of both intentional and unintentional grooming on the part of Elvis, as well as Priscilla imprudently rushing in without understanding what she’s signing up for. What’s less interesting about Priscilla is what happens once the dust settles. Graceland quickly morphs from a luxurious palace into a gilded cage where Priscilla is forced to spend her most youthful days. She’s not allowed to leave the compound without supervision, and also not allowed to bring anyone in. It’s a more subdued version of Pablo Larraín’s duology (soon to be trilogy) of Jackie and Spencer as Priscilla is a prisoner in a dream, caught in a cycle that doesn’t become more impactful despite Coppola’s insistence on keeping it on loop. That lack of energy is almost a winking joke on Coppola’s part as she takes one of the most charismatic men in entertainment history and reveals him to be a scared child doing his best to masquerade as an adult. Jacob Elordi sees Elvis as someone who always wants to stay in control, but never does anything of value to maintain it. He’s lucky that his looks and sphere of influence do all the work for him. Fantasy slowly catching up to reality is often a theme of Sofia Coppola’s filmography and, along with Marie Antoinette , this is one of its most clear historical instances. It’s the more authentic version of the story Luhrmann avoided telling, although it is missing some much-needed spectacle that he could have shared. At the very least, Spaeny should join the ranks of Kirsten Dunst, Scarlett Johansson, and Elle Fanning, all of whom Coppola announced to the world through her work. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

The Boy and the Heron September 8, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Boy and the Heron had its International Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. GKIDS Films will release it in theaters on December 8. It’s not a coincidence that Guillermo del Toro gave a brief message before the International Premiere of The Boy and the Heron aka How Do You Live? . He repeated the motif he’s been (rightfully) banging since the promotional tour for his animated Pinocchio adaptation last year, that animation is not just a genre solely meant to panderously entertain children. “Animation is film, and tonight’s film goes beyond that. Animation is hard,” he said as he expressed his enthusiasm for the film and Hayao Miyazaki. The famed filmmaker has called it quits several times throughout his career, most notably in 2013 during the festival tour of The Wind Rises , an unconventional animated biopic on aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi that also happened to investigate Miyazaki’s legacy. It was a fitting farewell, but the press-shy director couldn’t stay away, coming back for his truly final film. It’s a supportable decision, as The Boy and the Heron is Miyazaki’s most personal film, combining several elements of his upbringing as well as statements aimed straight at his audience. Our titular boy is 12-year-old Mahito, who’s recently lost his mother to a 1943 Tokyo fire. His dad quickly marries her sister, much to Mahito’s disapproval. The titular heron is a gray heron that flies around the new stepmother’s house. It’s taken an interest in Mahito, and in typical Miyazaki fashion, is able to speak and sets him on a quest to different worlds. Forgive the vagueness, but I’d prefer to take the stance Studio Ghibli did with their marketing of the film and reveal as little as possible. There’s no point in going into detail about how beautiful The Boy and the Heron looks . It’s on the same level as Avatar and Gravity , every possible way to articulate the visual sumptuousness doesn’t do enough justice. There’s the intangible feeling you get knowing that so much work and love was put into every frame. You let out a sigh of relief and know that you’re in the safe hands of a master. While it can be one of the film’s minor faults, Miyazaki’s methodical pacing is a breath of fresh air compared to the hyperactivity of most works within this genre. Balancing out some of the maximalist aspects of the visuals is Joe Hisaishi’s wondrous piano score, highlighting all the pain, joy, and everything in between that comes with Mahito’s journey. Miyazaki explores rather mature themes, offering lessons on life applicable to all ages. The boy’s fantastical journey, slightly similar to Chihiro’s from Spirited Away , is full of danger and intrigue at every turn. Animation is a medium that allows for endless possibilities, and Miyazaki is a filmmaker who pushes it to its most extreme boundaries. The question I always want to ask during a film is “What’s going to happen next?” So many movies don’t incite enough wonder for that question, nor do their answers provide the necessary satisfaction. The Boy and the Heron made me ask that question out loud more times than I can count, and each answer was filled with more passion than I could have hoped for. There are animated films for children, and there are animated films for adults. This is an animated film for everyone, and the world is a much better place because of it. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, figures in animation history has provided us with his swan song, and now it’s time for us to continue his legacy with the pieces left behind. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Thunderbolts* April 30, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen At this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I often ask why I even bother. Why put up with the casting announcements, release date changes, rumors, and debates? Why sit through the endless credits for a small tease of what’s to come next, which, at this point, will likely be less than what it advertised? Why drift over to Disney+ to watch the required supplemental material? That’s a task I quickly gave up on after WandaVision vastly overstayed its welcome. I’ll tell you why. Because, like every Minnesota sports fan who's lived through countless seasons of agony and deep soul searching, there comes a time when the clouds lift and you feel as if you’ve been placed upon the highest mountain. The release of Thunderbolts* (no, that asterisk is not a typo) marks that time for the MCU. Of course, as any Minnesotan will tell you, the vast majority of those peaks still came just short of a championship. Thunderbolts* is also not a championship-worthy film for the MCU, more akin to the new era of the Minnesota Timberwolves after the doldrums of the early 2010s (I’m writing this analogy while doped up on the adrenaline of a 3-1 opening playoff series lead over the evil empire that is the Los Angeles Lakers). It’s also a movie that made me wish I was less forgiving of Captain America: Brave New World just a few months ago. I wrote that that movie was “a semi-comforting reminder that it’s okay for a movie to be just fine and forgettable.” Now I’d recalculate that allocation much more in the latter’s camp than the former. After some gloomy studio logos, everyone’s favorite raised-from-the-womb assassin, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), speaks that “there’s something wrong with me… an emptiness… a void.” She’s going through the motions, completing missions and erasing targets with nothing more than a blank stare. Thankfully, director Jake Schreier doesn’t share her sentiments when it comes to manning this $200 million behemoth. The helmer of the Netflix series Beef gives the opening proceedings a more flavorful edge, opting for a much-marketed practical skyscraper jump and longer-take in-camera fight choreography. In Yelena’s world, there is no such thing as loyalty, so a chance encounter between her, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) in the belly of a secret underground bunker housing the secrets of CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is definitely not a pleasant coincidence. Everyone’s supposed to kill each other, leaving no more loose ends for the impeachment trial that’s digging up all of their involvement in Valentina’s off-the-book endeavors. Since they all realize that they have a common enemy, the loners decide to team up to increase their chance of survival, which, in this case, just means that they’d like to prolong the inevitable delay until their fate catches up with them. But unlike the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, this ragtag group does not consist of heroes looking to strengthen their commitment to protecting humanity or lovable misfits who just needed a chance to do good. These are all bad people, leaving miles of bodies in their wake. They’re also characters that don’t immediately scream that they’re all that interesting. Walker and Valenita are from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , a show I never watched. Ghost and Taskmaster respectively appeared as the antagonists in Ant-Man and the Wasp and Black Widow , two films I’ve completely memory-holed. Yelena did make an impression in Black Widow and her successive appearances in the MCU, much of that coming from Pugh’s innate charm and pathos. Much credit goes to the performers, as well as co-writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, for making these less-than-desirable characters into compelling people. The quips have been dialed back, and the ones that do stick around land at a much more consistent rate. David Harbour’s Red Guardian does throw off that balance on a few too many occasions, with the character’s lovability being sabotaged by an overwhelming eagerness. There’s also the presence of Bob (Lewis Pullman), a Valentina-sponsored human experiment who has the power to make those that he touches relive their worst nightmares. With the aid of the A24 veteran duo of cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo and production designer Grace Yun, there’s a more natural balance to the emotional depth of these characters. That “Absolute Cinema” trailer touting the indie credentials of all the talent involved may have reeked of cinemaphile desperation, but the final product illustrates that the marketers weren’t lying about the goods they’ve assembled here. The theme of the film is recovering from driftlessness through finding a purpose alongside friends and family. For as much as a gun or a fist can accomplish, some nice words and a hug can do a lot more. To be talking about ideas and themes instead of easter eggs and cameos is a breath of fresh air for the MCU, one that I dubiously hope that they’ll maintain as they wade into the titans that are this summer’s Fantastic Four: First Steps and next year’s Avengers: Doomsday . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story September 9, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Weird: The Al Yankovic Story had its world Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Roku will release it on its streaming platform on November 04. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story asks one of the most important questions in cinema: why can’t musician biopics be fun? For decades this genre has been spinning its wheels (it’s closer to a century considering the first edition of A Star Is Born popularized this genre way back in 1937) churning the same old tired formula of humble beginnings, meteoric rise to fame, drugs & alcohol causing the downfall, and a final redemptive arc where our hero wises up and becomes the person they’re meant to be. Booooooooooring! In the same vein as how he built his musical career, by parodying popular songs with his wacky lyrics, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story parodies the musical biopic genre by playing the same beats, but changing up the lyrics to make it something original and, you know… fun to watch. Of course, our hero's journey has to start with an authoritarian figure disapproving of his accordion fixation. Al’s stern father, who works at “the factory,” forbids accordion playing in the house, calling it “the devil’s box.” Their relationship remains strained, prompting Al to move to California to pursue his niche dreams. It turns out California is the place to be for accordion lovers, as Al finds himself rooming with three other enthusiasts who support his dreams. And in a moment of destiny, Al’s task of making sandwiches for the group produces his first “original” hit, “My Bologna.” With the lyrics of “Oo my little hungry one! Hungry one! Open up a package of MY bologna…,” Al’s rise to fame is set. I mean, who wouldn’t want to rock out to that? Just as his father disapproved of his lifestyle, so do the record companies. They can’t comprehend why anyone would take a perfectly good song and change the lyrics to it. It’s blasphemy! So, Al’s fame stays underground, where he falls under the tutelage of Dr. Dimento (a charming Rainn Wilson, easily using his The Office chops for great effect). From there, Al falls in line with the rest of the grungy and off-beats starts of the late-70s/early-80s, including Andy Warhol, Divine, and Peewee Herman (all of which are played by a cavalcade of celebrity cameos, which eventually becomes a game of how many you can name in the short amount of time they have on-screen). I’m guessing you know the rest of the story. And your assumption would be right, partially. Madonna’s entrance into the film brings about our hero's downfall but with the added twist of a hilarious escapade into the jungle for a gunfight against Pablo Escobar. Co-writer/director Eric Appel, who adapts his 2010 Funny or Die sketch (which Al used as a trailer for his concerts), lifts this above being just another SNL parody movie that overstays its welcome. Sure, the rapid-fire in-jokes and ribbings get a little stale by about the middle third, but there’s enough cleverly written material between that portion that makes up for it. And with Daniel Radcliffe tickling those ivory keys, you’ve got one hell of a show. Although he doesn’t provide the vocals (which are still done by the real Al), Radcliffe brings the zealous energy he’s been honing since his retirement from the Harry Potter series. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a near-perfect movie for midnight madness fans (which is where it premiered at this year’s TIFF), as it takes Weird Al's eclectic catalog and turns it against the tired music biopic genre. That's not to say this doesn't still fall into those same traps, but it is done with a little more ingenuity. Grab your accordion and get ready to rock! More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Hostiles February 21, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen Christian Bale is one of the best actors working today. He has the ability to do so much with so little, raising the bar each time he takes on a new character. But, Bale is only a mortal man. He alone cannot carry a film alone, which is exactly the task that is set upon him in Hostiles . Bale does an excellent job, but he doesn’t get much support and his performance becomes almost wasted in a film that is middle of the road at best. The story takes place in 1892, a time when Native and American tensions were at their highest. Revered army captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) is close to retiring with a kill count well over one hundred. For his last mission, to his dismay, he must escort a dying native chief (Wes Studi) and his family so he may be buried in his homeland. Blocker and his section must saddle up to make the treacherous journey, which treks from New Mexico to Montana. They quickly meet up with Rosalie (Rosamund Pike), a country woman who recently lost her family to a native raid, leaving her in an elongated state of mental shock. Along with battling elements and the discontent within themselves, the troops must also fend off warring tribes that are out for blood. The film is a conventional western through and through, boasting gorgeous shots of the landscape and plenty of shootouts. It tries to call back to the times of John Wayne. While this film tries to harken back to the golden era of Westerns, it fails to incorporate one vital component; simplicity. Old Westerns were straightforward and to the point, this one isn’t. The film is slow and meandering, often taking breaks from the main plot in an effort to build up the epic scale. So much has happened by the end that it becomes impossible to connect at all to the characters or story. Also to the detriment of connectivity is the high body count. Tons of characters are either introduced or half-developed, and then killed off to try and force you into caring about them. What director Scott Cooper doesn’t understand is that if you don’t care about a character when they are living, then you are not going to care about them when they’re dead. Now with a couple of successful films under his belt, Cooper tries here to illustrate the brutality of Western life. He emphasizes the blood, sweat, and tears of each character and how they deal with their seemingly miserable lives. Unfortunately, Cooper overplays his hand as constantly watching 134 minutes of emotional suffering begins to bore quickly. Characters incomprehensibly mutter nonstop about how sad they are and how they wish they could just end it all. The cinematography is beautifully done by Masanobu Takayanagi, marking his third collaboration with Cooper. Takayanagi keeps the camera motionless most of the time and allows the characters to move within the frame. This technique gives the Western world a sense of stillness, almost like the people are the only thing inhabiting the cruel setting. But people are not the only physical inhabitants. Takayanagi has an eye for the surrounding scenery that makes the characters almost feel insignificant compared to the vastness of the land and wildlife. The film touts some great actors in both leading and supporting roles. Some meet and exceed the lofty demands, while others struggle to make a difference. Christian Bale is definitely the best part of the film as he carries most of the emotional weight. He has so much in his acting arsenal and is able to switch from gruff killer to stoic hero in the blink of an eye. Rosamund Pike does well with her conflicted character, who is forced into a new, harder life after the butchering of her family. Finally, Wes Studi and Jesse Plemons do respectable jobs with the limited time they get. For the most part, the actors that struggle to make an impact are the ones whose characters are underdeveloped. Ben Foster cameos as a soldier accused of murder, which is part of a side plot that serves no real purpose. Foster doesn’t do anything new as he plays the character that gives the same old “we’re not so different” speech a couple of times. Timothée Chalamet surprisingly turns up here, trying to add to his already fabulous 2017. His silly French accent and his four total lines of dialogue make him laughably bad. Fortunately for him, most people won’t bring this film up when talking to him. While it is ambitious, Hostiles can be slow and rambling as it hopelessly tries to keep your full engagement. No fingers or blame can be pointed, only wishes that there could have been something more. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just alright. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

You People January 25, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In a recent interview she did with Indiewire centered around the world of You Hurt My Feelings at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival, star Julia Louis-Dreyfus had an astute observation about the power of film editing: “...when it comes to timing, both for drama and comedy but specifically for comedy if it’s not in place, it can be a butchery. It can be total nails on a chalkboard if you’re not with the right person.” If only she had shared that wisdom sooner with You People editor Jamie Nelsen and director Kenya Barris… Barris, co-writing with star Jonah Hill, makes his feature directorial debut with this film. He’s already spent years on television as the creator of the hit ABC sitcom Black-ish (along with its subsequent spin-offs Mixed-ish and Grown-ish ), as well as the Netflix series #BlackAF . Much of that sitcom energy spills into You People , with almost all of the scenes playing out as individual components that are awkwardly stitched together to deliver a less-than-compelling narrative. You People is essentially an unofficial remake of 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner , except with none of the seriousness and intention to actually make a difference. The story, while believable in concept, is delivered with such simplicity that it might as well be titled You People Have Got to be Kidding Me?!?!? Things start off sweet as the white, Jewish Ezra (Jonah Hill) and the black, Muslim Amira (Lauren London) fall in love despite their many outward differences. Standing in the way of their love fully blossoming into marriage are their parents, namely Ezra’s mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Amira’s father (Eddie Murphy), who both can’t get over the fact that their child is marrying someone of a different race. Much of the “humor” within You People is that the characters don’t want to outwardly offend others by bringing up what they're really thinking, so they dance around the subject with endless rambling. It’s as if you’re binging five episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David gets himself into a bad situation and makes it worse by trying to talk his way out of it. Except here there are no Larrys as Barris and Hill don’t outwardly vilify their characters, keeping the conflicts superficial. All you get is an excessive amount of second-hand embarrassment and little first-rate sense of stakes or personal investment. If any of the characters sat down for more than five minutes and talked honestly, then none of this would be a problem. It seems like that was the intention that Barris and Hill had with their script, to show that all these racial problems could be solved with some understanding and truthfulness. But if Green Book erroneously taught us anything a few years ago, it’s that this problem doesn’t just go away with a quick heart-to-heart as it does here. Even Eddie Murphy, who can usually be depended on to spin comedy gold out of straw, can’t salvage what he’s given here. He’s given a movie star entrance as James Brown plays overhead, but then just sits back and bemoans about Ezra being white for the next ninety minutes. Louis-Dreyfus is probably worse served as she’s forced to recycle the same “older white woman who’s not in touch with today’s racial climate” bit on and on until it almost becomes offensive to comedy. You People tries way too hard to do way too little, becoming a “film for everyone” that no one will enjoy. Barris abruptly exited his $100 million multi-year deal with Netflix in 2021 for another lucrative pact over at Paramount. Somewhere in a Hollywood bar right now there are two executives, one from Netflix and the other from Paramount drinking together, except one is downing shots much happier than the other. More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Deadpool & Wolverine July 23, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Deadpool & Wolverine may be the most Marvel thing Marvel has ever produced, which is saying a lot considering they have a whole character who carries that moniker. And considering just how long and intensive this machine has been going, that’s also a statement you already know how to interpret for yourself. This isn’t going to win over any outsiders, nor does it serve as the self-dubbed “Marvel Jesus” that will offer a hearty course correction that the passengers on this increasingly derailing train so desperately need. But even if it can’t turn water into wine, it can easily turn two hours into a solidly entertaining time, something that has become a valuable currency at this stage in the game. Director Shawn Levy, the biggest rival to Hugh Jackman and Mint Mobile for the role of Ryan Reynold’s best friend, takes a page out of his namesake brother Sean Baker’s playbook for how to energetically open a movie about a motor-mouthed scumbag. NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” kicks us into music video mode as Deadpool spills more literal blood in thirty seconds than the MCU has done in its past thirty features. It’s a cheap trick akin to using “I Need a Hero” during a training montage, but clichés are only born because they work, and the sight of dismembered limbs and the Merc with a Mouth sensually dancing did put a somewhat sadistic smile on my face. That grin stayed in a fixed position throughout the next two hours, although my eyebrows were raised a few times, the majority occurring during the timey wimey exposition dumps where the two seasons of Loki become a prerequisite. Just as the MCU is in critical condition, so is Deadpool’s timeline after the death of Logan in his 2017 titular movie. He was one of those figures whose universe lives and dies with them, so his departure gives the TVA the authority to speed up the deterioration process by pruning it off the tree of time. But for what the multiverse takes away, it also gives back in the form of countless iterations of our favorite heroes. Wade thinks that any Wolverine can fill the shoes of his Logan, which he unintentionally puts to the test when he pulls the worst one from another universe. Hugh Jackman reprising his most famous character after beautifully concluding that chapter in his career sounds sacrilegious by itself, but it’s less offensive once you start factoring in that Wolverine has only ever been the lead of large ensembles or solo features. It’s refreshing to see him equally billed with someone so different, and the real-life friendship of Jackman and Reynolds adds that extra bit of oomph to the expletive-laden one-liners. Another treat comes from the comic-accurate yellow jumpsuit that he gets to don. It also wouldn’t be too far-fetched to theorize that a few dump trucks of money helped sway Jackman’s decision to return. It’s money well spent, which can’t be said for the other hundreds of millions that went into securing such scenic locations as a drab wasteland, a nondescript forest, and your usual New York subway station. You can feel the layers of irony coming together as this initially scrappy franchise has become the megaton freighter it points and laughs at. A Honda Odyssey serves as an equally deflating vehicle of choice, although it gets a few bonus points for serving as the setting for an amusing action setpiece. Just as there’s no problem in the MCU that can’t be solved with cash and gratuitous quips, there’s also no moment that can’t be an opportunity to crack open the vault and play with the toys. The writers have read all the Reddit threads and think pieces, watched all the hours-long YouTube rants, and listened to all the podcasts about the state of comic-book movies. But more importantly, they saw how successful Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were at creating viral moments through cameos and winks. No movie has been higher on its own supply than this one, with nearly a dozen slow-motion reveals and pauses for applause that will be immediately spoiled after the Thursday afternoon previews. It also means that the actual supporting characters like Emma Corrin’s villainous Cassandra Nova and Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Paradox are continually sidestepped in favor of further digs at Fox. Fan service can only take you so far, which is why Deadpool & Wolverine stops plenty short of being the MCU’s redeemer. There was a clear opportunity for this to be much more than just the thirty-fourth entry in this universe: a true game-changer that recontextualizes the past, revamps the present, and paves a new road for the future. Oh well, fun is fun, and this is summer after all, so it’s best not to overthink things. That’s the biggest benefit of this neverending story, as all our hopes and fears can be punted onto the next chapter. Good luck, Captain America: Brave New World ! You’re going to need it! More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen