Search Results

Memoria July 15, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Memoria had its World Premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Neon will release it in theaters on December 26. The work of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (try saying that five times fast) has never fully been able to register with audiences outside of the festival circuit. He has amassed universal critical acclaim since he graced the Cannes Riviera in 2004 with Tropical Malady . He creates gaps between his feature films by creating several short films, some of which eventually spawned into feature-length, such as the 2009 short A Letter to Uncle Boonmee becoming the 2010 Palme d’Or winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives . Now in 2021, Weerasethakul is stepping outside of his native Thailand for Memoria , (translated from the Latin word “memory”) which prompted another return to Cannes, this time netting him the Jury Prize. The first English-language film for Weerasethakul, Memoria is set in Colombia, following Tilda Swinton from destination to destination. The film opens with a surprising jumpscare illustrating our main character’s problem, which is that she often hears a loud crashing noise that seems to be confined entirely within her head. This noise confounds her, leading to an investigation into what exactly it is and why it is happening, which puts her in contact with a sound engineering student, a morgue doctor, and a strange fisherman offering profound insights on memory and identity. Those familiar with the work of Weerasethakul will know that the plot is not the driving force behind the ultimate narrative. Instead, the visuals and sound work do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Within Memoria , dialogue is seldom found for long stretches at a time, leaving the viewer to look at the screen like one would look at a painting, soaking in as much information as possible. This restriction of information will irritate those looking for answers to the questions the film raises, which Weerasethakul doesn’t have any intention of addressing. The Cannes World Premiere garnered nearly fifty walkouts from disgruntled viewers, and several nodding heads from the slow pacing that were often reawakened by the mysterious crashing noise, which shook the theatre. Swinton acts less like a character and more like a wandering observer. Never shot in closeup and always present of the world around her, she moves from place to place, learning new information about her condition, all without much dialogue from her end. The first half of the film is where Swinton does most of her traveling, which keeps the film moving at a steady, yet still slow, pace. Much of the “action” within these journeys would be considered filler in most mainstream projects, such as Swinton waiting patiently for the sound engineer to finish his work before addressing her, or an unbroken take consisting solely of car alarms going off. The last hour of the film is where some will applaud and others will boo (just as they did at the world premiere). Swinton’s final journey takes her to a remote village housing a fisherman who claims to remember everything about his life. The two of them engage in an extended conversation that explores the strange connection they share. To an extent, the conversation acts as a vessel for Weerasethakul to talk to his audience about his ideas about cinema and life. It’s a bold move by a director not known for boldness, and is one that teeters reshapes the way you look at the world at its best and teeters on self-aggrandizing at its worst. Weerasethakul ties his thesis up in a perfect bow with an ultimate answer that is fittingly incomprehensible and produces several more questions. Memoria is a work for the cinephiles that need an escape from the noise of the modern world. It’s wildly beautiful and imaginative, all while challenging your patience and viewpoints. Go in with an open mind, and you find yourself enlightened. 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

Created by Hunter Friesen, The Cinema Dispatch is your one-stop-shop for all reviews, lists, awards updates, and essays relating to the world of cinema. About The Cinema Dispatch is founded, owned, and operated by Hunter Friesen. While attaining a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of Northern Iowa, Hunter was also a student of cinema. He was president of the Film Appreciation Club for three years, programming weekly screenings that aimed to entertain and educate the student body. He also served as the film critic for The Northern Iowan newspaper and co-hosted a biweekly campus radio show called Your World with Nick & Hunter on 94.5 KULT-FM. While the perpetually cold weather of Minnesota usually forced him to hunker down and enjoy so many great movies, Hunter has also used his passion for cinema to travel the world. He covers several international film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival. He also covers the local Twin Cities Film Fest and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. Hunter currently serves as the president of the Minnesota Film Critics Association and is an active member of the International Film Society Critics , Online Film & Television Association , Independent Film Critics of America , and The Critics Circle . Hunter publishes a weekly film review column at the Eden Prairie Local News and Woodbury News Net . Tyler Banark Staff Writer Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Tyler has been a film lover since age eleven. He continues to express his love through his Instagram page , which he started in December 2015. He majored in Film Studies and minored in Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he contributed to the UNL Film Club and spent a semester contributing to the campus radio station 90.3 KRNU-FM. He covers the Toronto International Film Festival and the local Omaha Film Festival, along with keeping up with the latest new releases. Tyler is the president of The Critics Circle and a contributor to TLOC Productions . He also wrote for Buffed Film Buffs , Cinema Solace , and the Shenandoah Film Collaborative .

Cannes 2021: All The Films That Could Premiere May 17, 2021 By: Hunter Friesen Often considered the most prestigious film festival globally, the Cannes Film Festival is your one-stop shop for some of the greatest works in international cinema. For the first time since 1968, the festival was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's edition has the potential to be one of the best as dozens of projects from the world's greatest filmmakers jockey for the opportunity to be awarded the coveted first place Palme d'Or, which will be decided by a Spike Lee led jury. Twenty films will be selected for the Official Competition, with several others being placed in one of the festival's many sidebar sections. And quite a few unlucky films will have to set their sights somewhere else. Cannes also has its place in the Oscar race. To use a sports analogy, it is the preseason to the fall festivals regular season. Films such as Pulp Fiction, The Tree of Life, Amour and Parasite started their Oscar path at the festival. In this article, I will detail the films that have the potential to premiere at the festival. They are sorted into three categories based on their likelihood, which stemming from a combination of factors that are explained in each summary. The festival will announce the lineup for all sections on June 3rd. ALREADY CONFIRMED Annette This year's festival will start off with a bang as Leos Carax premieres his newest film on opening night. The movie stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as parents to a young girl with a surprising gift. The film will contain no dialogue and be a completely sung-through musical, which is precisely something that should be expected from the man that brought us Holy Motors . Benedetta Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has shifted away from Hollywood this century in favor of European productions. His last film was the Isabelle Huppert-led Elle in 2016; a smash hit at Cannes, which led to an Oscar nomination for Huppert for Best Actress. His newest film, a holdover from last year, is a culmination of many topics found within his filmography, such as religion and eroticism, as a nun suffers from disturbing visions in 17th-century Italy. The French Dispatch Wes Anderson's newest idiosyncratic feature has been sitting on a shelf for over a year so that it would have its world premiere at this particular festival. Starring a cast of names too long to write, the film is a sort of anthology of stories told in the titular magazine. Looking to be a huge Oscar player this year, this may be Anderson's time to be rewarded for his unique body of work. VERY LIKELY A Hero Iranian-born Asghar Farhadi has won two Oscars for Best International Feature, doing it first for 2011's A Separation and then for 2016's The Salesman . He's also brought his last three films to Cannes, opening the 2019 festival with the Spain-set Everybody Knows . Plot details are still a secret for his new movie, with the only thing we know is that it is set in Iran and tackles several contemporary issues. The film was recently acquired by Amazon, who is planning an end-of-year domestic release and huge Oscar push for Farhadi. Bergman Island Filmed in 2018 and early 2019, Mia Hansen-Løve's ambitious film was delayed from the 2019 festival for a primetime slot at the 2020 festival. Obviously, that edition didn't happen, so the film sat for another year. The title Bergman Island refers to the famous Fårö Island, which housed Swedish-auteur Ingmar Bergman and was used for several of his movies, and is now a pilgrimage destination for cinephiles. Starring Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, and Mia Wasikowska, the film follows an American filmmaking couple who retreat to the island to write their screenplays. And like a Bergman film, reality and fiction begin to blur as the couple becomes more ingrained into the magical island. Everything Went Fine Prolific director François Ozon has competed regularly at Cannes, and it is expected to do so again with his newest film. Adapted from a novel by Emmanuèle Bernheim, the film follows a daughter who rushes to help her father after he has a debilitating stroke. In a shocking turn of events, he pleads to have his life ended. Will the daughter be able to honor her father's request? Fire Starring French acting royalty Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon and directed by Claire Denis, Fire surrounds a love triangle that forces a woman to choose between her long-time partner and former lover. Denis has had a long relationship with the festival, as she was the president of the board of the Cinéfondation and short films in 2019. Memoria Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul will likely return to the festival where he won the Palme d'Or in 2011 with the indescribable Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives . Marking his English-language debut, Memoria stars Tilda Swinton as a Scottish woman traveling in Colombia who begins to hear eerily strange noises. This film is also a holdover from last year and is expected to fall in the same lane of Weerasethakul's previous filmography. Official Competition Just by the title alone, this seems like a Cannes selection. The film is by Argentinian duo Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn and stars Spanish superstars Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz. The synopsis is that of a wealthy businessman who impulsively recruits filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Cruz) to make a smash hit movie. Banderas plays the Hollywood heartthrob that will headline the picture. Expect a satirical comedy that pokes fun at the unglamorous task of creating a film. On a Half Clear Morning Bruno Dumont has been a staple of Cannes for nearly a decade, as he's premiered his last three films at the festival. Also, a recurring character at Cannes is actress Léa Seydoux, who stars in Dumont's newest film that he both wrote and directed. Listed as a comedy-drama, On A Half Clear Morning has Seydoux play a celebrity journalist who has her life turned upside down after she is in a freak car accident. Paris, 13th District A previous winner for Dheepan in 2015, Jacques Audiard returns with a new film that also happens to be co-written by Portrait Of A Lady On Fire director Celinne Sciamma and stars Noémie Merlant. The film follows four young adults as they navigate their friendships and love lives in modern Paris. Petrov's Flu Another holdover from last year, Russian writer/director Kirill Serebrennikov adapts the novel of the same name that follows a family living ordinary lives with extraordinary secrets. At the head of the family is the titular Petrov, who seems to be fading in and out of reality as he battles the flu. Serebrennikov wrote the movie under house arrest, and an early teaser trailer showcases some of the visual bizarreness. Three Floors Italian national treasure Nanni Moretti has had a very successful career at Cannes, winning the Best Director award for Dear Diary in 1994 and the Palme d'Or for The Son's Room in 2001. His newest film is a holdover from last year and follows the intersecting story of three families who each live on different floors of a bourgeois condo. Triangle of Sadness Expect Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund to return to Cannes after winning the Palme d'Or with The Square in 2017. His follow-up is said to be in that same satirical vein as the story takes place on an uber-rich yacht captained by a crazy Marxist (Woody Harrelson). The boat becomes shipwrecked, flipping the social hierarchy as everyone fights for survival. Tromperie With this movie, along with The French Dispatch and On a Half Clear Morning , the question becomes how many Léa Seydoux films will play at the festival? Seydoux is reteaming with another Cannes-favorite in Arnaud Desplechin, who's competed six times in the official competition. The title translates to deception, as the film is about an American novelist navigating his relationship with several women in his life, including his wife, mistress, and other characters he has dreamed up. LIKELY After Yang Starting with video essays, writer/director Kogonada had a remarkable feature-film debut with Columbus in 2017. That success allowed the enigmatic director to work with Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith on his newest film. Set in the near future, the story tracks a family as they must try to save the life of their A.I. helper, who unexpectedly breaks down. Given the low-key nature of Kogonada's work, an out-of-competition spot may be a more likely place for it to debut. Benediction It's usually Ken Loach's job to be the British representative at Cannes, but this year that duty may fall to Terence Davies, who premiered a slew of his earlier films at the festival. Davies' film tells the true story of Siegfried Sassoon, an English poet, writer, and soldier in World War I. Jack Lowden plays the younger Sassoon, while Peter Capaldi takes over in the later years. After A Quiet Passion made waves a few years ago, all eyes will be on what Davies can do with his next biopic. C'mon C'mon For his first feature since winning the Best Leading Actor Oscar for Joker , Joaquin Phoenix is teaming with writer/director Mike Mills ( 20th Century Women & Beginners ) for what seems to be another acting showcase. Phoenix plays an artist who must embark on a cross-country road trip after he is left to take care of his precocious nephew. Shot in black-and-white by the great Robbie Ryan, the movie was forecasted to premiere at the virtual Sundance Film Festival in January but was quietly absent. Was it because they wanted to premiere it at Cannes? De Son Vivant Catherine Deneuve is one of the finest French actresses ever to grace the silver screen. Any of the projects she's attached to surely deserves festival buzz. Her newest film is a reteaming with director Emmanuelle Bercot and tells the story of a mother coming to terms with her terminally ill son, who has one year to live. Flag Day Sean Penn is extremely loved by the Cannes brass, as he won Best Actor in 1997 for She's So Lovely and premiered two of his directorial efforts at the festival. His newest project stars himself, along with Miles Teller and Josh Brolin. It'll be interesting to see if Penn is welcomed back after his latest film, The Last Face , was one of the most reviled films in festival history. Huda's Salon Palestinian writer/director Hany Abu-Assad has had two previous films at the festival, winning the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize in 2013 for Omar . His newest film is based on real-life events as a woman's experience entering a hair salon becomes a living nightmare after the owner blackmails her. The filmmaker has plans to return to Cannes, hopefully with the promotion that comes with being selected to the Official Selection. Joan Verra It's an unofficial rule at Cannes that at least one movie selected stars, Isabelle Huppert. This time she stars as the titular character who retreats to the countryside with her son when a figure from her past unexpectedly returns. Writer/director Laurent Larivière's last film, I Am a Soldier , premiered in Un Certain Regard in 2015. The coupling of Larivière's experience at the festival and Huppert's prestigious reputation gives the film a good shot of being selected. Mona Lisa and The Blood Moon Rumored to be a part of the selection in 2020, Ana Lily Amirpour's newest film promises to be unique. Set in contemporary New Orleans, a girl breaks out of a mental asylum and must use her supernatural powers to survive. Considering the stylism found within Amirpour's previous features, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and The Bad Batch , it's safe to assume there is more than meets the eye here. The Card Counter Longtime Martin Scorsese scribe Paul Schrader received a career resurgence in 2017 with the critically acclaimed First Reformed premiering at the Venice Film Festival and received his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Schrader used his goodwill to stack the cast for his newest film, which has Oscar Issac starring as a reformed gambler who attempts to mentor a young man (Tye Sheridan) seeking revenge on a mutual enemy (Willem Dafoe). Also in the cast is Tiffany Hadish as a mysterious casino financier. The film has also been invited to Venice, so there is the likelihood it premieres there instead. The Souvenir Part II Joanna Hogg took Sundance by storm in 2019 with her semi-autobiographical take on young love in The Souvenir . With a UK release date set for late 2021 and A24 acquiring domestic rights, the time is right for Hogg to unveil the sequel. Filming has been completed for a while, with Honor Swinton Byrne and Tilda Swinton returning. This may be Hogg's time to shine under the brightest lights. The Tragedy of Macbeth The Coen brothers are the cream of the crop when it comes to Cannes royalty, winning the Best Director award a record three times and winning the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink . The last two films by the brothers that premiered at Cannes were No Country For Old Men and Inside Llewyn Davis , which both became prominent Oscar players, with the former winning Best Picture. For the first time, Joel Coen is the sole director of his upcoming adaptation of The Tragedy Of Macbeth , which stars Denzel Washington in the titular role and Frances McDormand as his wife. With its subject matter and leading stars, the film has high Oscar prospects, begging the question of whether Apple will wait to premiere it near a friendlier award season date. The Worst Person in the World Norwegian director Joachim Trier has debuted two films at Cannes, most recently his star-studded English-language debut Louder Than Bombs in 2015. Trier is returning to his native language for his newest film, which follows the life of Julie, who must take a hard look at herself after years of navigating love and careers. The cast comprises almost all newcomers, opening the possibility of the festival being a launchpad for a few young stars. Titane Writer/director Julia Ducournau made a splash at Cannes in 2016 with her debut, Raw , which won the first place prize in the Director's Fortnight section. After years away, she's back with Titane , a mystery film surrounding a child returning home after being missing for nearly a decade. There's also a murder element as a series of gruesome killings has been ravaging the area. The question is if Ducournau will be promoted to the official competition or if she'll remain in the sidebars. The Velvet Underground Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine made a splash for its cast and crew when it hit the Croisette in 1998. Twenty-three years later, Haynes is returning to rock music with a documentary on the famous titular American band. The documentary is an Apple TV+ production, and a big festival push may be just the thing the streamer needs to break into the awards conversation. UNLIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE Big Bug Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet delivered a one-two punch with Amelie and A Very Long Engagement at the beginning of the century. He hasn't done much since, meaning it could be time for Cannes to welcome him back to the international stage. His newest film is an adventurous comedy where an android uprising causes a bickering suburban family to be locked in their home. Like many other films in this section, Netflix holds the distribution rights. Given the lighter nature and Jeunet's inexperience at the festival, an out-of-competition spot may be possible. Blonde Andrew Dominik has made his way around the festival circuit, hitting up Venice in 2007 with The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and going to Cannes in 2012 with Killing Them Softly . His next film looks to be a prime Oscar contender as it tells a fictionalized story about the inner life of Marilyn Monroe. Burgeoning superstar Ana de Armas plays the iconic Blonde Bombshell, with Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, and Scoot McNairy rounding out the supporting cast. Again, this movie has a Netflix problem, so a Venice premiere seems to be the most likely outcome. Cry Macho Contrary to his all-American image, Clint Eastwood is quite beloved over in France, as he has debuted several films at the festival, such as Mystic River and Changeling . He even served as jury president in 1994, awarding Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction the Palme d'Or. Being as Eastwood's upcoming Cry Macho very well could be his final outing, it would be fitting for it to make a splash at the festival that has welcomed him for decades. Decision to Leave Along with Bong Joon Ho, director Park Chan-wook has helped popularize South Korean cinema in recent decades. Chan-wook has won the second and third place prizes at the festival, doing so with Oldboy in 2003 and Thirst in 2009, respectively. After some time away since his last effort, The Handmaiden , Chan-wook is diving into the detective genre with a story following an investigation about man's mysterious death and his equally mystifying wife. Filming began in October, making a Cannes premiere very difficult in such a short time. Soggy Bottom Sources say that Fremaux has been trying his best to get Paul Thomas Anderson to debut his newest film at the festival, a sentiment that Anderson also shares. This would mark the second time PTA has debuted a film at Cannes, as he first did it in 2002 with Punch-Drunk Love . Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman's son Cooper Hoffman, Benny Safdie, and Bradley Cooper, this would easily be the most anticipated premiere. The recently announced Thanksgiving release date does put a damper on things, as distributor MGM may want to wait a while to premiere the film closer to Oscar season. The Hand of God After helming both seasons of The Young Pope and The New Pope over at HBO, Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino is making a return to the silver screen. Little is known about the plot, except that it is a very personal film set in Naples that centers on the legend of Diego Maradona and his miracle play. Toni Servillo, who has frequently participated in Sorrentino's movies such as the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty , leads the cast. Netflix holds the distribution rights for the film, which does put a dent in any premiere plans. With Sorrentino's lauded history at the festival, hopefully, some arrangement can be made. The Perfumed Hill Hailing from Mauritania, Abderrahmane Sissako has released only three films this century, but they all premiered at Cannes, with 2014's Timbuktu also being nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar. Little is known about his next film, except that production began in the fall of 2019. If filming were completed before the pandemic, Sissako would likely be invited back to the festival he has called home for so many years. The Power of the Dog New Zealander Jane Campion remains the only woman ever to direct a Palme d'Or winning film, doing it in 1993 with The Piano . Campion's newest film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons as Montana ranching brothers who both pine after the affection of Kirsten Dunst. What makes this a tricky situation is that Netflix is treating this as their prize Oscar contender. It has also been invited to the Netflix-friendly Venice Film Festival, which could very well be its eventual landing spot. The Way of the Wind There's no way to figure out when a Terrence Malick film will be released. All you can do is wait and pray. Malick premiered his last movie, A Hidden Life , at Cannes in 2019, and he also won the Palme d'Or for his magnum opus The Tree Of Life in 2011. He once again has saddled himself with another weighty topic, as The Way Of The Wind will tell several episodes of the life of Jesus Christ, led by a cast of Mark Rylance, Ben Kingsley, Joseph Fiennes, and Matthias Schoenaerts. Several of Malick's films have been delayed for years as he endlessly tinkers in the editing room, so there's no telling when this film will be seen. Where is Anne Frank? Ari Folman took the world by storm with his 2008 animated documentary, Waltz With Bashir , which played at Cannes and was nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar. Announced just after that film premiered, Folman's newest animated effort will tell the story of Anne Frank through Kitty, the imaginary friend from Frank's diary. Considering the already long production cycle of the film and that no new information has been released in quite some time, it seems unlikely that the film would be ready. 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

Bad Boys: Ride or Die June 4, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen It may seem like another lifetime ago, but we’re only four years removed from the third entry in the now long-running Bad Boys series, Bad Boys for Life , being the highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office. Of course, that year happened to be 2020, so more than a few asterisks should be applied to that record, especially since 1917 and Jumanji: The Next Level were not that far behind in the rankings. But the film’s lucky-as-hell January release date is not the only credit it should be given, as Michael Bay replacements, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, made the smart choice of dumping out the racist jokes and nihilism for coherent storytelling and bearable action. In other words, they actually made this franchise fun to watch. So where does your sequel go when the previous entry had the benefit of being able to shake everything up? Not much of anywhere it turns out, as Ride or Die pretty much peddles more of the same from the Bad Boys for Life . That’s not a bad thing considering the very real alternate reality we could have lived in where Bay kept digging this franchise into the ground, à la his Transformers pentalogy. We’ve been here and done this before, so there’s not much use in getting all worked up. The attempt at uniqueness in this fourth entry comes from our main character’s ages. The thoughts of mortality are starting to creep into the psyches of Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), as the now AARP-qualified detectives are slowly being physically and mentally edged out of the game. Bad Boys for Life may have toyed with these ideas through obvious Gen-Z mockery in the form of the up-and-coming AMMO squad (all of them returning for this sequel), but this entry is where the pedal really hits the medal. For starters, Mike is transforming from a boy to a man by marrying Christine (Melanie Liburd), with Marcus suffering cardiac arrest on their wedding dancefloor. A new lease on life puts some perspective on Marcus, almost adopting a new zen-like “go with the flow” identity. There’s also Mike’s son Armando (Jacob Scipio) still in prison after the events of the last movie. He gets brought back into the fold once the deceased Captain Howard is framed for corruption by some no-good goons that he can identify. Even though Michael Bay is out of the director’s chair, this is still a Jerry Bruckheimer production, which means the plot will be generic and the action will go boom. The bad guys may be hiding in plain sight to our characters, but we as the audience can spot them from a mile away, especially when they make vague speeches about rectifying the past and doing stuff for the greater good of the country ( Hot Fuzz just keeps getting more relevant by the day). All that really matters is that their faces and demeanor make it super satisfying when they get punched, or, in this case, shot in the head. The carnage is quite high and gruesome, with limbs and skulls splitting from bullets and throats getting slashed on multiple occasions. Adil and Billal still keep everything flowing with jittering energy, almost like a kid hopped up on candy, a craving Marcus struggles to control after his operation. A drone camera becomes the director’s best friend during the firefights, ducking and dodging through smoke and a hail of bullets. A first-person POV is sometimes employed, with the camera swapping bodies at a moment’s notice. The giddiness of the production doesn’t always match the tone of the story. I can only take a scene where a bad guy forces someone to commit suicide so seriously when it’s immediately followed by a Fast & Furious montage of the finest bikinis in Miami. Smith and Lawrence do better with the balance, both of them never showing a single hint of losing a step after inhabiting these roles for almost three decades. The film grinds to a halt on several occasions for them to just stand around and bicker, but their unmatched chemistry makes it all tolerable. The script may start hinting at the end of the road for these characters, but everyone involved still has enough left in the tank for a few more rounds. 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 Menu November 16, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen As a cinephile and critic, the occurrence of asking the question “What is going to happen next?” while watching a movie is one of the most valuable and enjoyable experiences. It’s what makes the Knives Out films so enjoyable because writer/director Rian Johnson always knows how to be one step ahead of the viewer, twisting and turning their preconceptions of what can happen in a whodunnit. On the inverse of that spectrum lies the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which I still greatly appreciate the majority of the time. But, I do have to admit that it’s getting exponentially tiring to see the same formula repeat itself 3-4 times each year. However, no movie (barring maybe Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia or Glass Onion ) has made me ask the question “What is going to happen next?,” more frequently and passionately than The Menu . Colin Stetson’s Hereditary -esque score (so you know something sinister is waiting in the wings) acutely plays while Ralph Fiennes’ world-renowned Chef Julian Slowik (walking and talking with unwavering intensity like Hannibal Lecter) welcomes his elite guests to the island of Hawthorne, where they will dine like kings and queens. Unbeknownst to the patrons, they each have been assembled intentionally and catered to with the utmost precision towards a much darker grand goal. There’s a fading movie star (John Leguizamo); a snobby food critic (Janet McTeer) and her yes-man editor; a wealthy regular customer (Reed Birney) and his wife (Judith Light); and a trio of tech bros that came only so that they could brag about it. At the center of the narrative are the final guests Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a foodie that acts as if he’s a teenage girl about to go backstage and meet Harry Styles, and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), Tyler’s date for the evening that finds all this food worshiping to be a bit much. Margot’s presence is a disturbance to Slowik, who did not account for her as Tyler made the reservation several months ago before they were a couple (the restaurant does not allow single reservations). Trying to keep the evening going as originally planned is the steely Elsa (Hong Chau), the second-in-command who guests while Slowik handles the food. From one course to the next, the chef answers his guest’s increasingly desperate questions through his painstakingly crafted works of art. Just like any great food movie ( Chef, Julie & Julia ), The Menu delightfully makes you crave the dishes it serves up, even if you don’t understand what half of them are. Ingredients for each are slyly displayed as they are introduced, so you can attempt to remake them if your heart desires (I suggest finishing the movie before finalizing that decision). Regular David Lynch cinematographer Peter Deming and production designer Ethan Tobman cast a luxuriously simplistic shadow over everything akin to the work in Parasite . And similarly to Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Best Picture winner, screenwriters Seth Reiss and Will Tracy infuse their dark thriller with social commentary about elitism, gender roles, and creators vs. critics. There’s a dark satisfaction to watching some of these characters receive their comeuppance, even if the punishment far exceeds the crime. Director Mark Mylod, returning to film after a lengthy stint at HBO with Succession and Game of Thrones , keeps the film tightly knotted, building the pressure from the moment the guests step foot on the island all the way to the end. Of the films I used for comparison, each of them is better than The Menu in their respective traits. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out characters are more fleshed out and entertaining, the social commentary and technical aspects of Parasite are better developed, and the actual Hannibal Lecter is far more sinister. But the one overarching skill that The Menu does better than all those films (yes, I’m saying Parasite isn’t the best at everything, calm down Letterboxd) is that it holds your attention like a vice grip and keeps you frantically guessing all the way through. That alone is more than worth the price of admission, which becomes a bargain once you factor in all the other delectable aspects. 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

Spirited November 17, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Nothing on paper hinted that I would walk out of Spirited with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. Barring his work in the Deadpool films, I’ve been allergic to Ryan Reynolds's one-note wise-cracking performances, breaking out in severe hives with last year’s Free Guy and Red Notice . Will Ferrell has been on a downward spiral, releasing nothing above passable for years (not counting voice-over work in The Lego Movie ). And the greatest claim to fame writer/director duo Sean Anders and John Morris have is the Daddy’s Home films and the unneeded Horrible Bosses 2 . Yet, with all those warning signs and the potential for some serious damage, Spirited was able to lift my holiday spirits (pun fully intended) by being a wholly entertaining comedy musical. A reimagining of Charles Dickens's classic story, Spirited opens with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future performing their annual haunting on a less-than-stellar person. This past year's target was a woman named Karen (one of several attempts at internet culture humor, this one being the most successful), who became a nicer person to her neighbors. Present (Ferrell) feels that the recent haunts haven’t made a big enough difference. He wants the next “perp” to be someone whose change would have a huge ripple effect across other people’s lives. Showing up at the perfect moment is Clint Briggs (Reynolds), founder and CEO of his own media manipulation agency. He creates what you call non-troverseys: unimportant and trivial internet wars that stir up attention for whatever side is paying him (he’s probably the one behind the black/blue & white/yellow dress debate, which saw sales of it go up nearly 400%). Unfortunately for Present, Clint has been labeled an “unredeemable,” meaning that no amount of haunting could turn him into a nice person. But Present’s Christmas optimism doesn’t allow him to quit easily, so the haunt is on in hopes of turning this self-centered jerk into a decent human being. The world doesn’t need another adaptation of A Christmas Carol (does anyone remember the 2019 miniseries or The Man Who Invented Christmas ?), a fact that Anders and Morris acknowledge through their screenplay. Instead of following the tried and true path of three ghosts fully changing a mortal soul, Spirited is more of a two-hander about how people can’t suddenly change for the better, and instead, they need to focus on incremental improvements from within. It’s a surprisingly nuanced message, one that’s hard to fully take seriously coming out of the mouths of Reynolds and Ferrell, who are still doing their usual schtick. The central pair do have great chemistry together, which is fully harnessed by choreographer Chloe Arnold, the unseen MVP of the film. Treating the dance numbers as if they were done for a stage audience, Arnold compiles huge swaths of backup dancers for big chorus numbers, with Reynolds and Ferrell front and center tap dancing away. Ferrell solidifies his comedic music chops from Eurovision , and Reynolds aptly brings his game. There’s also the added bonus of Octavia Spencer being a nice romantic fold for Ferrell. It is unfortunate that the horrendous CGI backgrounds often distract from the capable work being done. The songwriting duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - who’ve penned works from La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen , and The Greatest Showman - unleash a whole new album's worth of holiday tunes. There aren’t too many distinguishing features between many of the songs, but their sameness doesn’t take away from their catchiness. Spirited will probably never become a holiday classic due to its anonymous release on Apple TV+, not that it really deserves to become one anyway. But I was entertained throughout its slightly bloated two-hour runtime and thought to myself how I should be a better person. And for that, it deserves some yuletide cheer. 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

Sorry, Baby July 25, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen We’re just over halfway through the year, and Sorry, Baby has planted its lead flag in the race for the award for “best movie to be ruined by sound bleed in the multiplex.” It’s a prize that distributor A24 has been dominating over the past few years, with last year’s winner being Janet Planet , and the year before that being All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt . It’s the price one has to pay to experience a bit of counterprogramming during the height of summer blockbuster season, a reminder that the quantity of noise and flashing lights has little correlation to the overall cinematic experience. Sorry, Baby opens gently with Lia Ooyang Rusli’s piano over cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry’s soft image of light snow flurries against a rural New England house. Never mind that the roar of a dinosaur in Jurassic World: Rebirth and the thundering of Superman encroached on the walls of the small auditorium that housed this film; I was immediately locked into the world that writer/director/star Eva Victor was creating. The confidence of that frame continued throughout the rest of the runtime, with the fact that this is Victor’s debut making the whole feat even more astonishing. It’s a bit of a paradox in itself. It’s funny, yet not a comedy. It’s dramatic, yet not a drama. It’s unique, yet tells a painfully standard story. By that logic, I guess you could describe it as a semi-relatable dramedy. But that doesn’t feel correct either, with Victor striking a near-perfect balance between all those poles. I laughed, cried, and a little bit of everything else. The story is simply described as “Something bad happened to Agnes.” That bad thing is the focal point for the structure, with everything happening either before or after. Agnes was a promising grad student who was about to receive high marks for her thesis. That burgeoning cycle of evolution during the period before has been replaced by mere survival in the period after. Agnes is stuck in her place, which is where the second sentence in the description comes into play: “But life goes on - for everyone around her, at least.” Sorry, Baby is least concerned in the pivotal bad moment, and more interested in how everything changes, both in foreseeable and unforeseeable ways. Authorities say, “We are also women,” as if that blanket statement solves everything. Agnes has been psychologically changed, with no escape from the multitude of mundane ways that the memory of said bad thing can reintroduce itself at any moment. Victor assembles a great cast, with theirself nailing the offbeat humor and deftly emotional moments. Lucas Hedges continues to be one of the smartest young actors working today, trusting directors like Victor in supporting roles rather than seeking the spotlight. He plays Agnes’ neighbor Gavin, a little aloof but completely charming in his own way. Naomi Ackie is great as Agnes’ best friend, Lydie. She has moved on from college and wants Agnes to do the same. This is a movie also about the power of friendship, how it lifts us out of the bad times and makes us into the best version of ourselves. 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

Asteroid City June 12, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Asteroid City had its World Premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Focus Features will release it in theaters on June 13. By far the strangest movie in his eclectic filmography, Asteroid City is Wes Anderson’s return to America in over a decade, having spent time in fictional Eastern Europe for The Grand Budapest Hotel , Japan for Isle of Dogs , and well… France for The French Dispatch . The fanciful writer/director takes us into the scenic deserts of the 1950s American southwest, specifically the titular sleepy tourist town that serves as the meeting point for all of the eccentric characters. The half-built town, complete with the stereotypical bar-stool diner and motel, is the destination for those attending the annual Junior Stargazer / Space Cadet convention. It’s a place where the best, brightest, and most awkward kids in America show off their new inventions, including a jetpack, raygun, and overhead projector for the moon, which, in one of many hilarious throwaway lines, is said to have huge potential in the future of interstellar advertising. Arriving in a putter under the beaming sun is Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a war photographer with a genius son and young triplet girls. This event is only a brief stop on his way to see his father-in-law (Tom Hanks, proving as always to be a wonderful addition to any cast), who’s the only other person that knows of Augie’s wife’s recent demise. Also in attendance is a group of other precocious children and their host of parents (Scarlett Johannson, Liev Schreiber, Steve Park, Hope Davis, etc.) Eventually, this event designed to look up at the stars comes in contact with something from there, which reshapes how our characters interact with each other and themselves. As I said in the opening sentence, this is Anderson’s weirdest movie to date, always keeping your eyebrow in a raised position. To avoid spoiling events beyond what is shown in the trailer, I’ll only mention that Anderson’s screenplay (written in conjunction with his usual partner Roman Coppola) emulates a certain Christopher Nolan movie that has to do with dreams. How else are you going to be able to fit in all the names within this all-star cast, including regular players Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum? The term “this is the most Wes Anderson movie Wes Anderon has ever made” has been used to describe nearly every new entry in his filmography. That cycle doesn’t stop with Asteroid City , as the traits you’ve come to love (or hate) are all here: symmetrical framing, varying aspect ratios, color and black & white cinematography, and steady camera movements. Anderson’s usual designer Adam Stockhausen once again creates a doll-house world filled with too many sights and sounds to be absorbed in one viewing. Sure, there may now be umpteen TikTok and A.I. generated videos replicating Anderon’s distinct style, but all of them contain just the window dressing of a Wes Anderson movie, and not the emotion. Just as his box of tricks has constantly evolved, so has Anderson’s ability to find the heart in his richly defined characters. While on their methodically placed tracks, each character veers off in different directions, exploring the fear of death, finding connections in a barren land, cutting through the messiness of life, and paying homage to those kitschy B-movies you grew up watching late at night on the public access channel. At this point in his filmography, you’ve probably made up your mind about Wes Anderson. I’m somewhat of an apologist, with those instantly recognizable production qualities and whimsical tones being music to my ears (and eyes). Asteroid City is another healthy dose of what I’m come to love, with the bonus of seeing an auteur continue to find new ways to channel what they do best. 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

Saturday Night September 12, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Saturday Night had its Canadian Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Sony Pictures will release it in theaters on September 27. There’s life before Saturday Night, and there’s life after Saturday Night ! No, I’m not just talking about the first-ever episode of one of the most iconic comedy series ever. Although no one could have been prepared for how big of a cultural phenomenon the show would go on to be, one thing has rang true about SNL: staying true to being the escape from our mundane lives. As for Saturday Night , Jason Reitman’s latest film is a tumultuous dark comedy thriller about the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of SNL going to air. What he does with the movie is a match made in heaven as it captures the behind-the-scenes mayhem that occurred on October 11th, 1975. The film works as a comedy, but it works better as a thriller and a race against the clock to ensure everything and everyone is ready to go. The big selling point of Saturday Night is that it’s being dubbed as a comedy thriller. These two genres rarely, if not never, mesh, so seeing Reitman and Sony Pictures talk about the movie in this light created vast intrigue. The film starts at 10:00 pm on the dot. Every few minutes, the audience is updated about where the cast and crew are before showtime, as they have until the 11:30 airtime to be ready. We see the famous cast and crew racing against time to ensure everything is correct. DP Eric Steelberg capitalizes on this by having the camera move with the cast through long takes and back-and-forth pans. He makes the audience feel as though they are in the room witnessing the craziness. It also helps Reitman and Gil Kenan’s script translate well to screen. The duo taps into a similar vein as the Safdie brothers, adding another entry to the recent trend of anxiety-inducing cinema. The showrunner, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), has to run around like crazy to ensure everyone and everything is all set…but it’s not. Everything one could imagine going wrong for a live TV show goes wrong: the lighting and sound systems are wrecked, the cast is fighting amongst each other, and worst of all, Michaels has numerous sketches to use but can’t fit them within the airtime given. On top of this, he has a couple of NBC execs (Willem Dafoe and Cooper Hoffman) on his back, with the anxiety always just on his shoulder whispering the five words no one in the TV or filmmaking process wants to hear: we are cutting the show. The biggest highlight of this movie is the ensemble, which further elevates the madness on display. No specific person stood out more than the rest, as this is very much an ensemble movie. However, some exceptions are worth mentioning. LaBelle gets the most screen time as Lorne Michaels and doesn’t waste any of it. He commands every moment on screen, proving why he’s one of the best young actors working today, a streak that started at TIFF two years ago with The Fabelmans . Cory Michael Smith and Matt Wood play Chevy Chase and John Belushi, respectively, and do the comedians justice. Smith not only has a spot-on impression of Chase, but he also nails the look of the controversial comedian. Meanwhile, Wood captures the mindset of the thunderstorm-fueled Belushi. At no point in any scene is there always a sense of dread where he could break at any second, and Wood does a fantastic job making audiences question whether it will happen. All of these aspects of Saturday Night make it one of the year’s best movies, but there’s also the subtle homage to the process of shooting an episode of SNL. The process likely became more accessible after the first episode, and they figured out the system, but it can only make viewers imagine what each cast and crew member goes through weekly. Getting an idea of their lines, making costumes fit, and ensuring the sound and lights are effective. The SNL cast and crew endure a lot, but somehow, they always manage to get it down by the time the clock strikes 11:30pm and the show goes live. No matter what may be happening behind the scenes, they put any tension aside and give audiences a laugh they’ve been waiting all week for. Because when whoever’s on-screen shouts, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” the crowd goes wild, and all worries vanish. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews One Battle After Another September 24, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen A Christmas Party September 23, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Him September 18, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Swiped September 19, 2025 By: Tyler Banark Hunter Friesen

Echo Valley June 9, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Echo Valley opens at the bottom of a lake. A wrapped-up dead body is adrift, the details as murky as the ethics of the person who put it there. How and why that body got to where it is is the central mystery that will be solved, unraveled, and resolved within the next two hours. It starts on Kate's titular Pennsylvanian horse farm (Julianne Moore). Due to her wife's tragically sudden passing earlier in the year, the farm is just downtrodden as Kate's emotional state. Doing the bare minimum to keep the place at least somewhat presentable is the only thing that gets her out of bed in the morning, which takes a little longer to accomplish with each subsequent day. A barn roof collapse doesn’t make matters any easier, forcing Kate to beg for the $9,000 to repair it from her ex-husband Richard (Kyle MacLachlan), who now has a much younger wife and daughter. The two of them share an adult daughter named Claire (Sydney Sweeney), who's been in and out of rehab several times over and is relatively estranged from her parents. While Richard has stuck to the pledge they made in family therapy that they wouldn't interact with Claire until she got better, Kate can't completely go cold turkey. A few days later, Claire shows up at the farm. She still has a shitty boyfriend, but things seem to have drastically improved. That is, of course, until it's revealed that she has gotten involved in a drug debt and has no one else to turn to except for Kate. I'll stop the plot synopsis there to preserve the cover of who that dead body is, and how they got to be there. The script comes from Brad Ingelsby, who most recently created and wrote every episode of Mare of Easttown , alongside films Out of the Furnace , The Way Back , and American Woman . The pervasive themes of strained familial relationships within a crumbled America are present here, just in a frenzied manner. Stories like this have become dime-a-dozen streaming miniseries at this point, and there are more than a few instances here where that route would have lent to a more methodically structured story. Twists and turns come at a pretty rapid rate, leaving little time to question what's going on and how we should react. Then again, it's nice to watch a story dole out multiple swaths of information in minutes rather than chunking it out over several hours. Having great actors like Moore and Sweeney at the helm helps make it all go down more easily. There are years of melancholy in each of Moore's choices, grounding the highwire choices she has to make as a parent. Despite not being present for large stretches, Sweeney makes the most of her opportunities. The frenetic energy she brought to her character in Euphoria is replicated here. A harrowing confrontation between mother and daughter becomes the standout scene, as each character unloads years of baggage on the other. The subsequent busyness of the plot loses focus on that raw emotionality, almost as if Ingelsby doesn't trust himself to reach the audience without a tried-and-true murder plot. Director Michael Pearce, the main discoverer of Jessie Buckley with Beast back in 2017, shoots this story with a gloomy palette. There are moments where it feels as if he didn't know that the final product would be watched on Apple TV+, with the overall darkness of the imagery requiring a pitch-black cinema to make out any of the details. On one hand, I blame myself for watching this on a summer afternoon, the sun being too powerful for my curtains. On the other hand, I lay some blame on an artist for not being considerate of his audience. It's that kind of dichotomy stretched across each department keeping this film from lifting itself out of the realm of being respectably average. 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

36 Most Anticipated Films of 2023 December 23, 2022 By: Hunter Friesen 2022 marked another year of recovery for the film industry after the immense struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. And with a new year approaching, we should adopt a forward-thinking mindset that looks ahead to new possibilities. With its mixture of exciting new projects from both new and established talent, 2023 has the power to be even better than 2022. To get you all excited as I am, this article will detail several of my most anticipated films expected to be released sometime in the next calendar year. Films will be listed in alphabetical order, with known release dates and distribution strategies (i.e. streaming or not) provided. A Haunting in Venice (September 15) Kenneth Branagh once again dons the famous mustache of detective Hercule Poirot, who must solve a murder that involves Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, and Kelly Reilly. Air Jordan Ben Affleck directs Matt Damon for the first time in this true story about how Sonny Vaccar was able to sign Michael Jordan to his Nike shoe deal. Asteroid City (June 16) Wes Anderson returns with Asteroid City , said to be set during an astronomy convention, with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Jeff Goldblum being a few names within the starry cast. Barbie (July 21) Writer/director Greta Gerwig offers a presumably original story on the life of the plastic doll. Margot Robbie will play Barbie, with Ryan Gosling as Ken. Blitz (Apple TV+) Small Axe writer/director Steve McQueen shifts from Amazon to Apple for his World War II story about several Londoners during the Nazi blitzkrieg bombings. Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Graham star. Challengers (August 11) Luca Guadagnino directs Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as three tennis players who reignite old rivalries on and off the court when they compete in a world-class tournament. Chevalier (April 07) Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair. Civil War Alex Garland continues his A24 relationship after Ex Machina and Men . Kirsten Dunst stars in his original epic action movie that is set in the United States in the not-so-distant future. Creed III (March 03) Michael B. Jordan pulls double duty as director and star in the conclusion of this trilogy. Jonathan Majors plays Damian Anderson, a long-lost friend of Adonis, who now seeks revenge for the sins of the past. Disappointment Blvd. Hereditary and Midsommar writer/director Ari Aster’s “nightmare comedy” on the life of a successful entrepreneur, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. Dune: Part Two (November 03) Denis Villeneuve concludes the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Ferrari Adam Driver continues to play Italians after House of Gucci , this time starring as the famed Enzo Ferrari. Michael Mann ( Heat, The Insider ) writes and directs, with Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, and Jack O’Connell filling out the supporting cast. Flint Strong Black Panther and Mudbound cinematographer Rachel Morrison steps into the director chair for the true story of Olympic boxer Claressa Shields. Barry Jenkins supplies the screenplay, with Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry topping the cast list. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 05) Writer/director James Gunn finishes his trilogy about the most lovable misfits in the galaxy. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30) Even at 80 years old, Harrison Ford continues to crank out the adventures of the titular archaeologist. Time travel is rumored to be a part of this James Mangold-directed film, with Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banders, and Phoebe Wall-Bridge along for the ride. John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 24) Keanu Reeves returns as the titular ass-kicker, who must continue his fight out of the violent world he finds himself in. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+) Martin Scorsese’s true-crime western surrounding the mysterious murders of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro star. Maestro (Netflix) Bradley Cooper writes, directs, and stars in this retelling of the life of Leonard Bernstein, often considered the greatest American conductor ever. Carey Mulligan will play his wife Felicia. May/December Julianne Moore and director Todd Haynes reunite for the fourth time, bringing in Natalie Portman as an actress who arrives to do research for an upcoming role on Moore’s character’s life. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (July 14) Tom Cruise (supposedly) closes his Mission: Impossible series with this first in a two-part story. Rogue Nation and Fallout writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is back at the helm, promising more unbelievable stunts. Napoleon (Apple TV+) Director Ridley Scott and writer David Scarpa reunite after All the Money in the World for this personal look at the immense life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the French emperor, with Vanessa Kirby as his empress, Josephine. Next Goal Wins (April 21) Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok writer/director Taika Waititi tells the true story of the American Samoa soccer team, who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. Oppenheimer (July 21) Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the father of the atomic bomb. Nolan veteran Cillian Murphy plays the titular figure. Poor Things / AND Weirdo writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos tells the story of Bella Baxter, a Victorian woman who is brought back to life by an eccentric scientist. Emma Stone stars as Ms. Baxter, with Willem Dafoe as the brilliant madman. Both Stone and Dafoe will feature in AND , a rumored anthology that will tell three separate stories; each letter representing a different tale. Priscilla Sofia Coppola responds to Ban Luhrman’s Elvis biopic with her own take on the life of Priscilla Presley. Relative newcomer Cailee Spaeny stars as the titular figure, with Euphoria star Jacob Elordi as the King of Rock and Roll. Spaceman (Netflix) Adam Sandler looks to maintain his dramatic streak by starring as the first Czech astronaut. Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano also star. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 02) The multiverses collide again, and Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey must come together again to stop an even bigger threat than before. The Bikeriders Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Norman Reedus, Michael Shannon, and Jodie Comer lead writer/director Jeff Nichols’ story of a Midwestern motorcycle club. The Brutalist Vox Lux writer/director Brady Corbet recruits an all-star cast composed of Joel Edgerton, Vanessa Kirby, Marion Cotillard, Sebastian Stan, and Mark Rylance for his mysterious story of an architect immigrating to New York in 1947. The Color Purple (December 20) Fantasia Barrino takes over the role of Celie from Whoopi Goldberg in this musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s epic novel. The Holdovers Alexander Payne looks to make a comeback after the disappointment of Downsizing . He reunites with Sideways star Paul Giamatti for this small-scale story of several students and teachers who are stuck at school over the holidays. The Iron Claw Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White star as the Von Erich brothers in Sean Durkin’s retelling of the family dynasty, and their impact on the world of wrestling. The Killer (Netflix) David Fincher ( The Social Network, Gone Girl ) directs Michael Fassbender as an assassin who slowly begins to lose his mind. The Way of the Wind Revered auteur Terrence Malick retells several episodes in the life of Jesus Christ. The Zone of Interest Under the Skin writer/director Jonathan Glazer returns to feature filmmaking with an adaptation of Martin Amis’ novel about a Nazi officer who becomes enamored with the wife of a concentration camp commander. Wonka (December 15) Paul King, director of the Paddington films, provides a musical origin story of the famed candy maker (Timothée Chalamet). 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

Swan Song January 15, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Mahershala Ali has never been the lead in a motion picture. I’ll give you some time to open up his IMDb page and fact-check me on that one. Yes, I am correct in saying that two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali ( Moonlight & Green Book ) has never had a leading role in a film. Granted, he’s led a television show with the third season of True Detective and will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the vampire hunter, Blade. But up until Swan Song , Ali has always been relegated to a supporting role. It’s an unfortunate fact that an actor of Ali’s caliber has had to wait as long as he has to get the star treatment. And it’s a coincidence that Lupita Nyong’o, also an Academy Award winner ( 12 Years a Slave ), is opening her new film, The 355 , at the same time as Swan Song . Nyong'o's role in the female-led spy thriller is only her sixth in-person role since her 2013 Oscar win, with only two of those being lead roles (2019’s Us & Little Monsters ). It speaks to a larger, more systematic problem that these actors of color are not getting the leading roles they deserve. How many great performances and awards do these actors need to accumulate before they can get roles that match their talent? But that conservation is beyond this review’s scope and is best handled by people more qualified. So, let’s focus back on the topic at hand, which is Swan Song . Swan Song makes Ali’s first lead role a memorable one, as we get two of him for the price of one. How is this possible you ask? Well, human cloning has become a reality in the near future. For Cameron Turner (Ali), this presents an existential dilemma. He’s dying of a terminal illness, which he hasn’t told his wife (Naomie Harris), or his 8-year-old son. This cowardice grants him an incredibly rare opportunity provided by Dr. Scott (Glenn Close). The good doctor offers Cameron the opportunity to clone himself, sparing his family from the pain of losing a loved one. The clone will have all of Cameron’s memories and behaviors, and be completely indistinguishable. Before the real Cameron dies, the clone will take his place and live out his life as if nothing ever happened. Only the real Cameron will know the truth. But can a clone - even the most perfect one imaginable - seamlessly take the place of a human being? Marking his feature directorial debut after winning the 2016 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short, Benjamin Cleary looks to tackle that question. But he doesn’t address it as a sort of Turing Test where the stakes revolve around the family finding out the truth. Instead, Cleary goes around that cheap gimmick and looks at both the moral and ethical stances on the issue. The question isn’t if the clone can do what it’s supposed to do, but if it should . Is Cameron making the right decision by lying to his family to protect them? Is leaving his wife and son with a clone more of a betrayal than leaving them altogether? These are the questions that Cleary doesn’t decide for the viewer. Rather, he supplies you with the tools to come to your conclusion. It’s a slow burn with a lot going on, even if not a lot happens on screen. That's because all of the action takes place within your head as Cleary puts you into Cameron’s shoes. You’re constantly comparing his actions to the ones you think you would make. The best films bury themselves in your head while watching. You wrestle with them in the moment and continue to interact with them long after they’re over. And with the help of production designer Annie Beachamp, Cleary has created a near-future world that is perfectly believable. The production design may be the reason why Apple bought the film, as many of the sets share the same clean and sleek design that the tech giant uses for its storefronts. The futuristic technology within the film, such as holographic displays and virtual reality that doesn't require a headset, is so seamlessly blended in that you’re never aware this technology doesn’t exist yet. Other recent films such as Gemini Man have treated human cloning as the peak of human invention. But in Swan Song , it’s simply a part of life that has naturally sprung from technological progress. Mahershala Ali has never turned in a bad performance. At worst, he’s done fair work in poor films ( Alita: Battle Angel & Free State of Jones ). Here, Cleary serves him well. He’s incredibly compelling in his dual roles, pulling off the complex feat of differentiating the two Camerons just enough so that we can tell the difference, but also believe why the other characters can’t. Awkwafina plays a dying patient who’s already completed the cloning process. Lulu Wang’s The Farewell proved that Awkwafina can dig deeper than just lowbrow comedy, and this is a reminder of that fact. She shares some wonderful scenes with Ali, as both of their characters come to terms with the decision that they have made. The term “swan song” refers to the final performance of a public figure, such as an athlete or performer. As a title, it’s a fitting term that encapsulates so much of what the film is about. Luckily, the term doesn’t describe any of the talent associated with the film, as this is only the beginning of Benjamin Cleary’s promising career, and of this new phase of Mahershala Ali where his talent is front and center. 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