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Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre March 3, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen You'll probably spend more time trying to pronounce "Ruse de Guerre" than thinking about the action... or the humor... or the characters... or the actual plot. Much like every entry within writer/director Guy Ritchie's increasingly diverse filmography, Operation Fortune is semi-stylish and entertaining in the moment, offering just enough guns going bang and characters cracking jokes to keep your butt in the seat. But any post-screening test would be immediately failed, as what goes in one ear comes right out the other. In his fifth collaboration with Ritchie, the most recent being the better-than-expected pandemic-released Wrath of Man , Jason Statham plays... Jason Statham. Technically he plays the comically named Orson Fortune, an ass-kicking, globe-trotting super spy that you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish from at least a dozen of his earlier roles. Fortune has a handler named Nathan (Cary Elwes), who's been tasked with a mission by high command to retrieve a stolen McGuffin named "The Handle," which promises to cause global havoc now that it’s fallen into the wrong hands. Nathan and Fortune aren't alone, as they've assembled a support team including sharp-shooting muscle J.J. (Bugzy Malone, no relation to the famous gangster) and hacker Sarah (Aubrey Plaza). But no real ruse would be complete without a bit of winking fourth wall breaks, as Josh Harnett plays movie star Danny Francesco, who gets recruited to lure in mega-fan arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). Even more characters become involved, such as Ukrainian gangsters (who are identified differently by ADR and clumsily edited down to avoid insult to injury with the ongoing war, which was one of the main reasons for the film being pulled from its original January 2022 release date), a rogue British task force, and Silicon Valley tech zillionaires. There's no time to play catch up within Ritchie's script, which he co-wrote with his usual writing partners Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. The nothing-you-haven't-seen-before plot moves forward at an alarming rate, only ever so briefly stopping from time to time to recap what just happened through some hearty exposition. Ritchie is a confident and competent enough director to make up for most of the nothingness on the page, with some unique camera angles and edited fight sequences being a mini highlight. And Hugh Grant and Aubrey Plaza are chewing the scenery nicely. Their presence does elevate the fun more than the gruffness of Statham. Hartnett's performance may not be of the highest quality, but he's clearly having the most fun in the cast. In a move usually reserved for James Bond and early MCU movies, Operation Fortune was released overseas before making its way to the states. Normally this would be a small victory for international cinephiles, but in this case, I'd say there are no winners or losers as I'm sure no one will remember what the battle was fought over. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

A Man Called Otto January 11, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In the realm of professional basketball (NBA), there’s always a bit of controversy surrounding the award for Most Valuable Player (MVP). There are no clear-cut criteria for how the award should be given to a player, begging the question: how do you define the term “most valuable”? For some people, “most valuable” means the most impactful player on a great team (people want to vote for winners). For others, it simply means the player who played the best during the season, no matter if their team is good or bad (Russell Westbrook averaged a historical triple-double during the 2016-2017 season, despite his team barely making the playoffs). And for the real purists, “most valuable” should always go to the player that would hurt their team the most if they didn’t play. Objectors to this mindset claim that LeBron James would then just win every year, as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 40 more games in both of the seasons after he left the team. All of these mindsets can also be extended to the acting Oscar races, specifically this year’s race for Best Leading Actor. Voters that think Best Actor should go to the best performance in a great movie will likely side with Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin . The voters that think the award should go to the best performance, regardless of the film’s quality, will likely be split between Brendan Fraser in The Whale or Austin Butler in Elvis . And I suppose the purists that think the award should go to the actor that saves their film the most might be inclined to look toward Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto because no one else in that titular role would have been able to make something out of nothing like Hanks does. Thinking of Tom Hanks, a.k.a. America's dad, as a grumpy old widower sounds like an impossible endeavor. After all, this is the same man that preached simple goodness in Forrest Gump , spread childlike wonder in Saving Mr. Banks , and literally played Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood . But Hanks has no trouble shifting towards the side of bitterness and resentment. Of course, this old grump still has a heart of gold tucked underneath a cold exterior, so it’s not like Hanks is going totally outside his comfort zone. Otto serves as the unofficial meter maid, recyclable sorter, grievance giver, and overall Debbie Downer of the little row-house development he inhabits with his neighbors, who all try their best to stay out of his way in fear of being berated. Someone that won’t just roll over like the rest is Marisol (a wonderful scene-stealing Mariana Treviño), who just moved into the neighborhood with her husband and two kids, with a third on the way. Marisol’s good nature and excellent cooking chip away at Otto’s gruffness over time, and an unlikely relationship begins to form. The way in which A Man Called Otto goes about its business should come as no surprise to any viewer. Screenwriter David Magee (pulling off triple duty this year with this and The School for Good and Evil as well as Lady Chatterley’s Lover ), takes an overzealous approach to using a sander to smooth out the dark edges within the bestselling novel and 2016 Swedish film A Man Called Ove . There are a few cloying moments meant to tug at the heartstrings, and some heavier themes that are mentioned rather than examined. Director Marc Forster tries to rationalize Otto’s behavior with frequent flashbacks to his younger days, where he’s played by Tom’s real-life son Truman. The physical resemblance might be there for Truman, but the acting chops certainly are not, making the connection between the younger and older versions of Otto fuzzy at best. A Man Called Otto is a family affair for the Hanks clan, with Rita serving as producer and dishing a few songs on the radio. Even wild Chet gets a cameo with his “White Boy Summer” blasting from the car of a trashy side character. It’s doubtful that any family watching A Man Called Otto will get as much out of it as the Hanks’, but I also doubt any family will also be harmed by it either. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Bikeriders June 20, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen “Do I really talk like that?” was a phrase I thought to myself several times throughout The Bikeriders ; its actors laying on their Midwestern accents so thick that I suspect this was secretly directed by the Coen brothers. Of course, you never really know how you sound until you hear a recording of yourself, so maybe this is writer/director Jeff Nichols’ way of playing back the tape. Jodie Comer plunges so deep into self-parody that her all-capital-letters “Chi-CAH-go” way of speaking eventually starts to work. Fellow Brit Tom Hardy tries to mine something from a combination of Al Capone, which he played in a gladly forgotten 2020 film , and his Southern bootlegging character from Lawless . It’s a formula for distraction rather than introspection, with us always on the outside focusing on the actor rather than the character. Johnny (Hardy) wasn’t born with a fascination for motorcycles, it came to him as a “literally me” styled epiphany when he sat down with a TV dinner in his Chicago home and caught a few minutes of The Wild One . The sight of Marlon Brando donned in leather and uttering the phrase “Whaddya got?” when asked what he’s rebelling against lit a fuse in Johnny’s head. He started The Vandals, your typical Harley-Davidson riding, leather and jeans-wearing club of grown men just looking to feel the wind in their hair and drink enough beer to forget about their daily lives. For a while it was paradise, and then it wasn’t. The narrative structure of the rise and fall of a group of people has been done several times before, most notably in the crime films of Martin Scorsese ( Goodfellas , Casino , The Wolf of Wall Street ) and those he influenced (early Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell). Nichols has never been known to dabble in that type of commerciality, often opting for a more poetic lens to capture the subcultures of the southern-fried United States. That lyricism is diluted quite a bit for The Bikeriders , but there’s still just enough of an effect to keep this from totally being another by-the-numbers crime movie. Nichols has a humanistic curiosity about why these bums who hate rules would form a club that charges dues. One of its more senior members, Brucie (Damon Herriman), explains that he just likes to be a part of something, and all these people who used to have nobody now have people looking out for them. One of those members who couldn’t care less about others is Benny (Austin Butler). If Johnny took inspiration from Brando, then Benny comes from James Dean. He gets not one, but two movie star entrances, the first with his back to the camera as he gets into a brawl with some irritable locals, and the second where he’s hunched over at a pool table and locks eyes with Kathy (Comer) from across the room. He’s a smoldering drifter, which explains his lack of an accent and disregard for being tied down to one place. It also makes him a pretty uninteresting character, with Butler’s looks doing almost all the heavy lifting. Kathy’s love for Benny plays into the dynamic that we want what we can’t have. Her explanation for why she stuck around with him and the gang for almost a decade comes through the framing of a photographer named Danny (inspired by the true story of Danny Lyons, played here by Mike Faist) who is documenting the journey of The Vandals. Their conversations serve more as a workaround to get Comer to narrate the movie, with her dynamic with Danny never coming to mean much else. The Vandal's supporting players are also kicked a bit to the curb, consisting of veteran players like Micahel Shannon (appearing in his fifth of Nichols’ six feature films), Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, and Emory Cohen. A few scenes pop up here and there to give them some flavor, such as Shannon opening up about not serving in Vietnam, but, for the most part, they’re less interesting cogs in this machine. Nichols does keep that engine running at all times, the period-accurate needle drops and roaring of the bikes creating a testosterone-fueled symphony. It’s all good and fun on the surface, there’s just not enough under the hood to make it into the beast it strives to be. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Marvels November 8, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Marvels comes to us suffering from a clear case of the “yes… buts.” It’s a rapidly progressive disease that’s been plaguing many MCU projects now that we’ve reached the middle age of this mega-franchise. Let’s run down all the places this disease is showing. Yes, the special effects look better than the unfinished slop within Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania … but they still somehow look worse than the majority of what's come before. Yes, the central trio of Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani share great chemistry together… but much of their time is spent delivering inanely convoluted exposition about why this movie needs to exist. Yes, the fight choreography is pretty creative when the heroes fully harness their powers… but it gets pretty choppy whenever the camera isn’t in a wide shot. Yes, the main villain has a semi-compelling justification for her actions… but that reasoning happens offscreen and her plan involves yet another skybeam. This list could fill the rest of this review… but that would be as interesting as having yet another debate over whether superhero fatigue is real or not (see what I did there?). I hope you aced your Kree and Skrull history exams because you’re going to need all your knowledge to understand the machinations of what’s happening here. I'm not up to date on current events (a symptom of not caring about the television shows), so there may be some tiny gaps in this retelling. But I doubt there are many people left that could fully comprehend and connect the dots anymore. There’s been a war between the Kree and Skrull that has left both sides in ruin: The Kree’s homeworld is desolate and the Skrull are discriminated refugees. The leader of the Kree, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), has come upon a powerful bengal that gives her the strength of a god, more than enough to rally her armies and steal the natural resources of the neighboring planets. The uncovering of this bengal has created a wormhole in time and space, entangling the powers of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). This trio must overcome the learning curve and work together if they want to stop Dar-Benn and save the countless lives being affected by her reign. Talented indie director Nia DaCosta takes over from duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who always seemed out of their element in a $150+ million behemoth. DaCosta fares a little better at the helm, keeping things zippy as we move from one planet to another, some of which I would have liked to spend a little more time at. She does have the benefit of a warmly welcomed shortened runtime (105 minutes) and no need to tell a boilerplate origin story for any of these characters. Even with all those “character building” requirements out of the way, the character of Captain Marvel still remains blandly two-dimensional. She has the same curse as DC’s Superman: Too powerful to feel like any villain is a threat, which forces the writers (DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik) to create a potential universe-ending catastrophe, which has become so tiring at this point. Larson has a clear grasp on the smaller character moments, even overcoming some of the shoddy greenscreens that she’s forced to deliver them on. But her attempts at humorous quips and iconic lines feel forced, almost as if she’s still not comfortable fully embracing this persona. Someone who has welcomed her cape is Iman Vellani. She’s Peter Parker to Larson’s Tony Stark, a bright young hero who wants to do good in the world, but just doesn’t know what her place is. There are a few moments clearly inspired by her show, a necessary boost of youthful energy to lift the spirits of the more professional adults. Parris (reuniting with DaCosta after Candyman ) greatly benefits from the work she put into WandaVision , with this being a further fleshing out of her character. All that can be said about The Marvels is that it is passably fine. It’s not bad enough to be a catalyst in the downfall of the MCU, nor it is good enough to be its savior (not that one movie should bear that unfathomable struggle). It inoffensively slots in with the rest of the forgettable middle-of-the-pack entries, rarely to be talked about again. Mission accomplished, I guess? More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Paris, 13th District July 15, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Paris, 13th District had its World Premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. IFC Films will release it in theaters on April 15, 2022. A call center representative, teacher, real estate agent, and online webcam model somehow find their lives coming together in the new Jacques Audiard film, Paris, 13th District ( Les Olympiades ). Audiard has taken a special interest in the lives of resilient people set within his native country. The films Dheepan and A Prophet don't showcase France at its best, instead, they shine a light on the many problems Audiard sees. After taking a detour into the English language for the unfairly ignored The Sisters Brothers Audiard (along with co-writer Céline Sciamma of Portrait of a Lady on Fire fame) once again sets his sights on modern French society, this time through the gaze of not one, but four main characters. Our protagonists (or antagonists depending on your viewpoint) all reside within the titular district of Paris, a highly populated sector known for its mixture of modern and traditional architecture. Émilie is a phone operator at a cell phone service call center who is stuck in a rut both professionally and romantically. She’s a disappointment to her Taiwanese immigrant parents, who often call to tell her about her sister’s experience as a doctor in England. Luckily, her romantic prospects improve with the arrival of Camille, a lonely schoolteacher who is inquiring about the vacant room in her apartment. Carnal feelings impulsively take over their relationship, something Émilie prefers as she lives by the motto “fuc* first, talk later.” At the same time, Nora is a real estate agent trying to reinvent herself by going back to school, despite being a dozen years older than her fellow students. Further compounding her misfit status is her striking resemblance to famous webcam model Amber Sweet. She soon receives the unwanted attention of lustful boys, forcing her to retreat from academic prospects. With morbid curiosity, Nora decides to meet her doppelganger and see if they share anything besides just looks. Like Paul Thomas Anderson in Magnolia or Robert Altman in Short Cuts , Audiard acts as a puppet master, crossing and pulling the strings of his characters. Being that there are only four main characters compared to dozens within Anderson and Altman’s films, the interactions are more frequent. Audiard is interested in exploring the idea of opposites attracting, which brings out both the best and worst in each other. These characters carry a lot of baggage with them, which often gets saddled onto their partner in an acrimonious fashion. Audiard and Sciamma take an authentic approach to these moments, with characters getting in heated arguments that sometimes lead to break-ups, and sometimes lead to sex. The film is quite sexually explicit, with each actor bearing it all for the black-and-white screen. Except for the exceptional Noémie Merlant, the cast consists of relative unknowns, a fact that never crossed my mind as they have the chops of veterans. Speaking of black-and-white, the grainy cinematography by Paul Guillaume strips down the film to its rawest form. Like Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie , the lack of color works to center our focus on the actors and their condensed surroundings. While the beautiful cinematography could be guessed from still images, what is most surprising is the great electronic score by French musical artist Rone. Mixing pop beats with fluttery strings, the score embodies the clash between modernity and tradition that is present within the characters and the city itself. Not without its problems, Paris, 13th District often gets too attached to the trio of Émilie, Camille, and Nora, leaving Amber with a lower supporting status, despite her having the only sequence of the film shot in color. Frustratingly, Jehnny Beth’s great work as the most interesting character isn’t given the attention that most surely deserves. As filled with millennial insight as it is filled with nudity, Paris,13th District is a lighter affair from the dependable Jacques Audiard. Barring a few small setbacks within the script, the film is an arthouse delight that will connect with younger viewers, possibly more than they want it to. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Don't Worry Darling September 23, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen No film has ever pushed the quote “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” more to the limit than Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling . So much has happened over the past few months that Cosmopolitan was able to make a full in-depth timeline , which is still ongoing. It wouldn’t be an understatement to expect the film to get its own Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse sometime in the future. And it also wouldn’t be an understatement to think that Wilde wants that documentary to happen so people will have something to remember Don’t Worry Darling , because the movie itself is nothing more than middling. It’s a Mad Men world for Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) as they start their new lives in the sun-drenched valley paradise known as Victory. Where it’s precisely located and how it got there is never explained, nor is it allowed to be questioned. The only strings attached to this haven are that you never ask anything, such as how the men spend their time, where the food comes from, or why everyone has the same memories before they got here. Your only duty is to conform, be supportive, and worship the project’s leader, Frank (Chris Pine), whose viewed and behaves like the second coming of Christ. For Alice, these duties unlock everything she’s ever wanted. She has a great husband, a great house, and great friends. It’s all so perfect. This is why things seem so odd when her neighbor, Margaret (KiKi Layne), begins questioning everything. Just as if she was transmitting the common cold, Margaret’s skepticism makes its way into Alice’s head, leading her down a dark path to learning the truth about this modern utopia. On a purely productional level, Don’t Worry Darling is quite the accomplishment for Wilde. The period-accurate clothes and needle drops are a far cry from the modern teenage angst she announced her auteur status within Booksmart . The influences of Stanley Kubrick and Darren Aronofksy are easy to spot with the impressive sound and camera work. Those qualities should come as no surprise considering Wilde recruited regular Aronofsky cinematographer Matthew Libatique to lens her film. As a director, she lets the hysteria build and builds, waiting for us to beg for it to be released. But when that moment comes for Wilde to make her big swing, she manages to only hit a single instead of the expected home run. Because just like the town of Victory itself, Don’t Worry Darling often comes across as empty despite being littered with pretty sights (there’s even an unintentionally fitting scene where Alice cracks eggs, only for it to be revealed they’re empty). Reteaming with her Booksmart writer, Katie Silberman, Wilde’s interrogation of women’s societal roles and the men that oppress them is nothing that hasn’t been done before. Hell, works such as The Stepford Wives , The Truman Show , and even WandaVision have asked similar questions using a similar concept. Even though it’s all impressively done, there’s always this nagging feeling of being there, done that. That feeling also permeates the casting of Harry Styles as Jack, who’s been written as British, most likely to cover over Styles' inability to pick which accent he should be using. A stunt cast such as this may help the box office numbers, but it doesn’t help Florence Pugh, who’s left all alone to keep this ship from sinking under the weight of its ill-advised ambitions. Pugh seemingly can do no wrong, whether it be large-scale work in Black Widow or on a smaller level in Fighting with My Family . And considering the impressive work she did pulling apart at the seams for Ari Aster in Midsommar , this performance comes across as child’s play for her. Luckily, she has an equal in Chris Pine as the charismatic Frank. Pine has always been an actor that was cursed by his good looks, as it meant he was forced to play leading parts when he works much better as a character actor. Brad Pitt is another actor in a similar situation. In the brief scenes he shares with Pugh, Pine brings that tech-guru/crypto-bro smarmy charm that makes you believe why people worship him, while at the same time, you just want to punch him in his perfect teeth. If your intention of seeing Don’t Worry Darling is to look at beautiful people in beautiful clothes living in beautiful houses, Olivia Wilde supplies that in spades. But if you intend to see something that digs a little deeper under the surface and provokes ideas that haven't been explored by numerous other (and better) films, then you may want to start worrying. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Lost King March 21, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Lost King had its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films will release the film in theaters on March 24. 2013's Philomena was the stealth contender of that year's Oscar race as it slowly built up a head of steam from its Venice and Toronto International Film Festival screenings. Judi Dench seemed to be the only initial likely contender from the creative team, who was ready to get out of her "slump" after receiving six acting nominations between 1997 and 2006. Lo and behold, the film overperformed with additional nods for Best Original Score (coming at a time when Alexandre Desplat couldn't be kept out of the Oscar mix), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. The nominations were the victory, with the film expectedly going home empty-handed after that. Now ten years later (or nine if you saw the film at the Toronto International Film Festival as I did, or live in the United Kingdom, where it was released back in October), the entire creative team of director Stephen Frears, co-writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, and composer Desplat, have reunited for another history lesson centering around forgotten figures. But while Philomena shined a light on the recent past with a mother in search of her lost son, The Lost King aptly follows a woman on her quest to unearth the nearly 700-year-old remains of Richard III. Substituting for Judi Dench is Sally Hawkins, with Coogan continuing as the supportive co-star along the journey. Little known to much of the non-literary world, including Philippa Langley (Hawkins), is that Shakespeare's titular play about King Richard III is one of the biggest hit pieces ever set on the stage. Unlike the bloodlust and madness The Bard infused within his tragic tale, Richard's reign was filled with more modestly good occurrences, such as implementing the "innocent until proven guilty" legal system, and the more widespread adoption of the printing press. These accomplishments don't merit his status as one of the best in the history of the monarchy, but it also makes his shameful legacy look extremely unfair compared to other rulers. As she digs deeper down the rabbit hole of conflicting theories about Richard's life, Philippa stumbles upon a fan club whose main goal is the uplifting of his name, which would be accomplished by the finding of his lost remains and a royal burial with a coat of arms. Frears has never had a distinct style as a director, which may be why the presenter at TIFF confused his filmography with that of fellow countrymen Tom Hooper. But while Hooper's quirks may have won him Best Director and Best Picture for The King's Speech , they've also landed him in director's jail for Cats , where he still resides to this day. His lack of gimmicks has allowed him to be steady-as-she-goes for over thirty years now, never being constrained to a single genre or delivering a dud so monstrous that the ship runs off course. The Lost King , however, may have needed a little more personality from the person in the director's chair, as the "excitement" it tries to produce barely registers. Only out-and-proud history nuts (like me) will find much to walk away with, even if Desplat's overdone thriller-esque score is trying its best to lift up the pace. Still, the quiet nature of Frears' work matches Hawkins, who does well to exude a confident nature in the face of many obstacles, which include chronic fatigue syndrome and the dismissal of her search by several people. The "villains" of this story come off a bit cartoonish, but they seem a bit more believable when compared to the moments when Philippa is greeted by the ghost of Richard III. The Lost King is a by-the-numbers semi-pleasant British piece, directed and acted with a slight amount of class and wit. It's by no means a must-see, but it's just charming enough to meet the standards of all those involved. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Great Musical War of 2021 December 28, 2021 By: Hunter Friesen Besides the expected superhero films, the genre that seemed to be all the rage in 2021 was the movie musical. With Broadway shut down for a majority of the year due to the ongoing pandemic, the movies had to pick up the slack when it came to delivering the musical joy that audiences crave. 2021 saw several different variations of the movie musical, featuring original concepts ( Annette ), musical interpretations of classic tales ( Cinderella ), Broadway adaptations ( In the Heights , Tick, Tick… Boom! & Dear Evan Hansen ), and new adaptations of Broadway shows (Steven Spielberg's West Side Story ). Like Darwin's law of natural selection, some came and went with a whisper, and some were enjoyed and may become classics of the genre in the future. In this article, we'll look at why so many musicals were released this year and how each one fared in both a critical and commercial sense. Why were there so many musicals in 2021? When analyzing a trend, the first question that needs to be asked is why it happened in the first place. It's not like musicals are some newfound genre, like found footage movies. Musicals used to have the same market dominance that the superhero genre holds today. In 1930 alone, Hollywood released 100 musicals, most of them offering escapism from the doldrums of the Great Depression. There was even an Academy Award for Best Dance Direction from 1935 to 1937. As time went on, the number of musicals grew thinner, while their quality grew much bigger. Lavish and extravagant productions of well-known properties were made to compete with the growing popularity of television, with West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins , and The Sound of Music being some of the highest-grossing films of their respective year. Eventually, the market turned away from escapism and more towards realism. The big-budget hits of the past were now becoming hugely expensive bombs, as Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly! , and Paint Your Wagon all lost millions within the span of a few years. Apart from Disney animation and a few hits here and there ( Grease ), the musical genre took a backseat role for a few decades. That is, until the 2010s when studios were chasing pre-branded hits. Mamma Mia! grossed over half a billion dollars in 2008, and its 2018 sequel grossed nearly $400 million. These impressive results encouraged studios to mine for Broadway intellectual property and bring it to the big screen. Tom Hooper's (whose Cats adaptation was interestingly the last musical to be released before the pandemic) Les Misérables nabbed several Oscar nominations (including a Best Supporting Actress win for Anne Hathaway) along with $438 million worldwide. Into the Woods made half of that and gave Meryl Streep another acting nomination to add to her record tally. But it wasn't just Broadway adaptations that were becoming hits. Original titles, such as La La Land and The Greatest Showman , made millions mainly because of their soundtracks. With the rise of music streaming, a hit song could make cultural waves even before the movie came out. The soundtrack for La La Land reached number 2 on the US Billboard 200, and the album for The Greatest Showman was the best-selling album of 2018. Along with the market's driving forces, the other reason why there are so many musicals this year is a more obvious one: the pandemic. By the time everything went to hell in March 2020, nearly every studio had at least one, if not multiple, musicals somewhere along the pipeline. Plans were thrown into chaos, and many movies, like West Side Story and In the Heights , could not recoup their costs solely through streaming. They had to play the most boring game imaginable, which was the waiting game. And so, many other musicals followed suit, condensing the steady stream of releases into a cascading waterfall. Musicals were no longer competing with other genres; they were now competing with themselves. This in-fighting bred a more fierce competition style, making 2021 a war for the finite amount of consumer time and money. Now that the dust has finally settled, let's take a look at how each of the 2021 releases fared... In the Heights Before there was Hamilton , there was In the Heights . Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Broadway musical about Hispanic and Latino characters living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights won the Tony Award for Best Musical and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Universal Studios was initially set to adapt the musical back in 2008 but had to wait another decade for things to come together finally. A victim of the pandemic, the film was originally set to debut in the summer of 2020. It eventually was seen by audiences with a simultaneous HBO Max release in June of this year. The critical acclaim was through the roof, especially for Jon M. Chu's direction and Olga Merediz's supporting performance. Unfortunately, the film was a box office bomb, grossing a meager $43 million on a $55 million budget. That tepid response seems to have cratered the film's awards chances, with a Golden Globe nomination for Anthony Ramos seemingly being the best the film will net over the season. Annette Coming from the mind of Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, and director Leos Carax of Holy Motors fame, Annette is a truly unique vision. Starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as parents of a child with a unique gift, the film is more of a psychological drama than an escapist fantasy. It's a wild ride that divided critics and audiences, with the Cannes Film Festival awarding Carax the Best Director prize. While Amazon (who financed and released the film) will be a bit disappointed with the awards results, those familiar with Carax's filmography won't be shocked to see that the awards trajectory of Annette has (and will be) mostly relegated to critics' circles. The idiosyncratic Cahiers du Cinéma named the film the second-best of 2021 (behind First Cow ), and the Golden Globes gave a surprise nomination to Cotillard. Time will tell if this becomes a cult classic down the road. Come From Away Of all the historical events one could do a musical about, the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be one of the last to come to mind. But that hurdle didn't stop Irene Sankoff and David Hein from writing this musical about the true story of 7,000 passengers who become stranded in a small town in Newfoundland. Similar to Disney's Hamilton , Apple TV+ released this as a stage recording on September 10th. Critics immensely enjoyed the material, heaping praise for its ability to find joy and compassion in such a tragic time. Everybody's Talking About Jamie Going under the radar for the majority of audiences worldwide, this adaptation of the British stage musical (itself an adaptation of a BBC documentary) received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. Much of Everybody's Talking About Jamie's quiet release had to do with the pandemic, as its original date of October 2020 was scuttled due to the effects of COVID-19. Disney eventually sold it off to Amazon, who unceremoniously dumped it in early September. Following the true story of a 16-year-old boy fulfilling his dream of becoming a drag queen, the film has an infectiously giddy spirit as it sends a heartwarming message of inclusion for LGBTQ audiences and anyone who has had to deal with stigmatization. The British Independent Film Awards nominated Max Harwood for Best Breakthrough Performance for his titular role, along with the film's costumes and make-up. Cinderella It's a tale as old as time and one that has been told several times before in a much better fashion, according to both critics and audiences. Despite offering a few updates to the classic material, such as Billy Porter as the nonbinary fairy godmother, Kay Cannon's ( Blockers ) adaptation of Cinderella was flatlined by poor performances and character development. This was another Amazon disappointment, even though it was the most-streamed musical of the year as of its Labor Day weekend release. By the time the next rendition of this princess is released, this one will surely be forgotten. Dear Evan Hansen This adaptation of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical was mired with controversy since its inception through the casting of 27-year-old Ben Platt to reprise the role of the titular 17-year-old. There was also the problem of Stephen Chbosky's Dear Evan Hansen being unfaithful to the material and the lackluster handling of the touchy subject matters of suicide, depression, and self-discovery. The film had its world premiere as the Opening Night Gala Presentation for the Toronto International Film Festival, a decision that festival director Cameron Bailey may regret. Upon release, it was savagely ridiculed by critics and fans, grossing only $18 million worldwide, a far cry from the lofty expectation Universal had. Even the Golden Globes, who have come through for misbegotten films in the past, stayed far away from this disaster, refusing to give it a single nomination. " You Will Be Found" may be one of the most acclaimed songs from the soundtrack, but the only place this movie will be found is on several critics' worst-of-the-year lists. Diana Despite The Crown and Spencer taking up most of the oxygen about the life of Diana Spencer, Netflix felt that there was still room for a musical rendition about the life of the Princess of Wales. Their hunch proved to be incorrect, as this stage recording of the short-lived Broadway production was met with harsh criticism from critics, some of which went so far as to claim it was so bad, it's good. Other critics felt it was extremely immoral and disrespectful to Diana's life, and as a result, audiences stayed far, far away. Tick, Tick... Boom! The world got not one but two Lin-Manuel Miranda projects this year as the Hamilton and In the Heights creator made his feature film directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical telling of the life of Jonathan Larson, who wrote the famed production of Rent . Andrew Garfield received some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of Larson, bringing panicked energy as he attempted to jump-start his career with a show that consumed most of his life in 1990s New York City. By depicting the turbulent creative process, Miranda has made a love letter to all those who have poured their hearts and souls into their work. And unlike the fates of so many other musicals this year, this one has serious awards prospects. Garfield is firmly in the Best Actor race, and so is Steven Levenson's script and the film's editing. With a locked ten nominees for Best Picture starting this year, Tick, Tick… Boom! may find itself in good company come nomination morning. West Side Story Another pandemic victim that sat on the shelf for nearly a year, Steven Spielberg's first foray into the musical genre has been touted as one of the year's best films. Despite adapting one of the most beloved stage musicals (which was turned into a Best Picture-winning film in 1961), Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner found a new way to harmonize the past and the present, giving the original material fresh life. West Side Story also made stars out of new and exciting talents such as Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, and David Alvarez. Alongside Belfast and The Power of the Dog , Spielberg's film is a serious contender to win Best Picture and will more than likely be the nomination leader come Oscar nomination morning. Cyrano Unlike the majority of the films that were delayed due to the pandemic, this adaptation of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac did not commence production until October 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing. Famed literary director Joe Wright ( Atonement ) helmed the musical, with multiple Emmy winner Peter Dinklage portraying the titular wordsmith. Reviews from the film's festival run have been quite positive for Dinklage, who garnered some of the best reviews of his career, and the craftsmanship from Wright despite having to operate under such restricting circumstances. United Artists Releasing holds domestic distribution and is playing a high-risk, high-reward game by giving the film a qualifying release, followed by a limited national release in mid-January. So far, the strategy seems to be working as both the film and Dinklage have picked up several critics group nominations, including Best Actor nominations from both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice. In a year with so many movie musicals, Cyrano 's late-release strategy is helping it to stand out and carry the movie musical genre's momentum into 2022, where hopefully we'll continue to see a trend of more of these films continue to get released. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

TIFF25 Dispatch - Cannes Catchup September 15, 2025 By: Button Tyler Banark While the 2025 Cannes Film Festival showcased numerous films, many of them were unavailable to be seen within the three days I was allotted. Luckily, Toronto catches on to the titles that made the most waves (interpret that however you may like). While I caught big titles like Sound of Falling , Sentimental Value , Eddington , and The Phoenician Scheme , this year’s heaviest hitters were found in films such as Sirât , The Secret Agent , and the Palme d’Or-winning It Was Just an Accident . Luck is on my side, as the latter titles came to TIFF, so I spent my first day playing catch-up with the films I missed. Sirat Starting as a slow burn and ending as a twisted mind game that'll have you on the edge of your seat, Sirât is one of the most shocking movies of the year and makes its case as to why it was one of the two recipients for the Jury Prize. Óliver Laxe crafts a shocking film that is sure to haunt viewers long after finishing it. Initially, we see crowds of people gathering in a desert to rave. In the midst of it are Luis and his son Esteban, who are looking for their missing daughter/sister, whom they believe is at the rave. They tag along with a group of ravegoers who help them find her. Laxe will have you believe the movie is a grim road trip. However, a flip switches at a certain death, and from then on, Sirât upsets an established order, and everything becomes chaos. As Luis and the crew navigate the Moroccan desert, it becomes a battle of man versus the elements. Nothing will prepare audiences for what’s to come in Sirât . Once it gets to the halfway point, it’s all-out mayhem! (4/5) The Secret Agent Wagner Moura has become a rising name in the South American side of the industry. Better known for voicing the Wolf/Death in 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and playing Joel in last year’s Civil War , his hot streak looks to continue. In May, he won Best Actor at Cannes for his performance in the Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent , a film with a jumbled narrative and an imbalanced quality-to-quantity ratio. It ’s very stylistic, as director Kleber Mendonça Filho doesn’t shy away from making the movie more visually entertaining than substance-driven. The pacing is excruciating as the 2.5-hour runtime doesn't justify its being, and a certain plot point doesn't help the movie get a leg up (if you know, you know). Moura truly is the beating heart, and it feels like he had too much weight to carry for this movie. The Secret Agent could’ve been something brilliant, but unfortunately, it’s muddled and goes out without much fanfare. (2.5/5) It Was Just an Accident This year’s recipient of the Palme d'Or, It Was Just an Accident, was a well-executed Iranian dark comedy. Far from what I was expecting it to be, the movie was a great time, even if the script's intentions were often questionable. Jafar Panahi’s film explores the fine line between justice and revenge. We see Vahid Mobasseri’s Vahid kidnap a man who tortured him for years. As he recruits a photographer, her friend, and a newlywed couple, they face a dilemma that’s bigger than all of them. They all know the man Vahid holds prisoner, but they disagree over how to proceed. To make matters worse, the man has a pregnant wife and daughter who fend for themselves. Panahi’s script raises pertinent questions about the limits of seeking justice and revenge. Is there a right or wrong way to get justice? At what point does getting justice become vengeance? These are all the questions Panahi poses as the plot unfolds. While his intentions are unclear, as if he’s trying to educate, inform, or persuade audiences with this story, Panahi knows when to get serious and sprinkle comedy. The humor is rightfully dark, but it fits the overall tone and objective he’s looking to obtain. At the end of the day, It Was Just an Accident makes it evident that its praise was…to simply put it, no accident. (3.5/5) You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Whale September 12, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Whale had its North American Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. A24 will release it in theaters on December 09. There’s a lot to be both worried about and interested in The Whale . For starters, Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, while met with critical acclaim, has been the center of several think pieces on the use of “fat suits” within performance art. The use of suits has often been used to mock a certain character, almost making a spectacle out of their obesity. But there is some nuance to this issue, as the goal of using the suit on Brendan Fraser in The Whale is much more admirable than say Mike Meyers wearing it as Fat Bastard in the Austin Powers movies, or Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor . Fraser’s donning of heavy prosthetics and makeup adds to his character’s physical and emotional downfall and isn’t a cheap tactic to get the audience's attention. I’ll admit, it is nearly impossible to look away from him, especially when he stands up and makes his way around his dingy apartment, which has been rigged up to cater to his physical needs. The Whale also marks the return of director Darren Aronofsky following a brief sabbatical after the extreme divisiveness of 2017’s Mother! , which included an F Cinemascore, a few undeserved Razzie nominations, and spots on a few critic’s (mine included) end-of-year Top-10 lists. Given Aronofsky’s other works Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler , and Black Swan , claiming that The Whale is his most emotionally devastating film yet is quite the statement. And like all his films, The Whale contains both theatricality and cinematic flair. Sometimes they clash together for scenes that feel artificial and emotionally manipulative, and sometimes they come together to create something revelatory, such as the final scene, where not a single dry eye was left in the theater. Fraser stars as Charlie. He works as an online university English teacher to hide his appearance, doing so by claiming his webcam is always broken. He’s been holed up in his apartment for years now, eating himself away because of the depression he feels over the sudden death of his partner Alan. The only human contact he has is with his nurse Liz (Hong Chau), whose reminders of how his unhealthy lifestyle is rapidly dwindling his remaining years fall on deaf ears. Eventually, more people come into Charlie’s tragic life, including his seventeen-year-old daughter Ellie, now estranged from him after he left her and her mother for Alan. And there’s also Thomas, a member of a local church who wants to help Charlie find God before he perishes. Along with last year’s No Sudden Move and his ongoing work in the cult series Doom Patrol , Fraser has entered a new renaissance period of his career. He may no longer be the blockbuster leading man he once was, but he’s proven to be game for whatever the material asks of him. The role of Charlie is a demanding one, forcing Fraser to be physically limited and emotionally open. He earns so much of our sympathy, beckoning for some basic respect for his situation and for compassion to overcome hate. He also is able to ably dodge some of the material’s excessiveness, which sometimes gets in the way of the younger performers of Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins. There’s a profound amount of beauty within The Whale , often unlocked by Fraser’s mesmerizing performance and Rob Simonsen’s score. Aronofksy has continually been able to revitalize (Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream ) and or solidify (Natalie Portman in Black Swan ) the career of his leading stars, and he’s done so again with The Whale . More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2023 Predictions - Part 4: The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers April 11, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, the Cannes Film Festival always attracts the attention of cinephiles and industry professionals alike. Each year, the festival presents a diverse lineup of films that represent the best of international cinema, including both established and emerging filmmakers. With the 76th edition of the festival set to take place in May, film enthusiasts around the world are eagerly anticipating the announcement of the official selection on April 13th. While the festival organizers keep their cards close to their chest, there are already some strong players emerging as likely contenders for the coveted Cannes spotlights. In this four-part series, I’ll take a closer look at some of the films that are generating buzz and predict which ones are likely to make it to the Croisette this year. Each part will represent a category of films, which are: The Festival Masters Hollywood Makes a Splash The Festival Mainstays The Irregulars and Up-and-Comers The fourth and final part of my prediction series has us looking deeper into the fog. The directors listed are usually the most hungry and ambitious, as they are still looking to make a name for themselves at both the festival and within the world of cinema at large. Their projects may also still have a lot of questions, such as production status or release strategies. But miracles have happened and many of these deserve a coveted spot, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Which of these films are you most interested in? I'll be keeping you all posted on my adventures and sharing my thoughts on the films that I see. Stay tuned for more updates! The Iron Claw Indie filmmaker Sean Durkin has already impressed both domestic and international critics with his spellbinding psychological exercises. His feature debut of Martha Marcy May Marlene made the trek to the Croisette after its premiere at Sundance, and his next film (distributed by A24) seems Cannes-appropriate. Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White star as the Von Erichs, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a great impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day. Club Zero Little Joe director Jessica Hausner had her last film stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing it from being ready in time for last year’s festival. Things are looking much better this year, with Hausner ready to make her second appearance in the competition. She teamed up once again with her usual co-writer Géraldine Bajard in this story about a teacher (Mia Wasikowska) who takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students - a relationship that eventually takes a dangerous turn. Memory Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco has split his time between Cannes and Venice when it comes to premiering his films. His last two works have made the Italian festival their home, but Fremeux may be able to tempt him to return to the Croisette due to the star wattage of Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard leading his new film. How Do You Live? With a planned July release date in his native Japan, all signs point to Hayao Miyazaki debuting his latest (and presumably) final film at Cannes. Despite several of his previous films playing at the festival, How Do You Live would mark his first film to premiere before its theatrical release. The titular book has long influenced Miyazaki, who cites it as his favorite childhood read. It’ll tell the story of a teenage boy and the interactions he has with his friends and uncle. Eureka A part of the New Argentine Cinema movement, Lisandro Alonso and his films have moved at a deliberate pace. He’s only directed six feature-length films since 2001, with nearly all of them playing at Cannes. His most recent film, Jauja won the FIPRESCI Prize as part of the 2014 Un Certain Regard selection. He’ll be reteaming with Viggo Mortensen for a story about a man on the search for his daughter after she has been kidnapped. No word has been given on production status, so it remains a mystery if the film is ready. Salem Jean-Bernard Marlin made a name for himself in 2018 with his Shéhérazade , netting him the award for Best First Feature at that year’s César Awards after its premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week. His next feature will continue to be set in the ganglands of France as it centers on a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who can save his Marseille community from an apocalyptic curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath. Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet made her festival debut in 2019 with Sibyl , which was met with mixed reviews. Those reactions would be cause for demotion to one of the sidebars for most filmmakers, but Triet is packing a punch in her sophomore effort with Toni Erdmann star Sandra Hüller leading as a mother accused of killing her husband. Her blind son is the sole witness to the murder, putting him in a grave moral dilemma. Strangers After taking a slight detour in television, 45 Days and Lean on Pete writer/director Andrew Haigh is back to feature filmmaking, and he’s brought together an all-star UK cast to mark the occasion. Andrew Scott will lead the film as a screenwriter who has a chance encounter with his neighbor (Paul Mescal), which pulls him back into his childhood home, where his long-dead parents are mysteriously still alive (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). Haigh has premiered films at both Venice and Berlin, so it may be time he heads to Cannes, whether it be in competition or one of the sidebars. Occupied City Documentary films may not always pack the biggest red carpet potential, but plenty of them have broken out, notably Michael Moore’s Palme d’Or winning Fahrenheit 9/11 . Steve McQueen will try to recreate that success with his retelling of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam from 1940-1945. Carrying a blockbuster budget of $5 million, joint distributors A24 and Film4 will likely want a big splashy premiere. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Bardo November 25, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen No one can ever blame Alejandro G. Iñárritu for not trying hard enough. Be it the juggling of multiple storylines across multiple languages in Amores Perros and Babel , the one-take trickery within Birdman , or the on-location shooting in frigid temperatures for The Revenant , Iñárritu has never been one to take the easy road. With Bardo , another entry in the ever-growing and possibly soon-to-be fatigued genre of director autobiographies, the two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director rivals only Charlie Chaplin and his fellow countrymen Alfonso Cuarón in terms of how many facets of production he has fingerprints all over. Serving as the director, writer, producer, editor, and composer, and basis for the entire narrative, there isn’t a single moment where Iñárritu’s presence isn’t front and center, resulting in the year’s most technically accomplished and uber-pretentious (you decide the connotation of that term) piece of filmmaking. Bardo , or Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths as it's officially called (here’s hoping Iñárritu stops with these elongated titles, Birdman was enough), marks Iñárritu’s first feature film since 2015. Of course, who can blame him for wanting to step away from it all after the immense logistical pressures of constructing Birdman and The Revenant ? But more than just returning to making films, Bardo also represents the Mexican director's return to his native country since his 2000 debut of Amores Perros . Unlike most directors, like Kenneth Branagh with Belfast or Steven Spielberg with The Fabelmans , Iñárritu’s view of his personal life isn’t through rose-tinted glasses. The character named Silverio Gama serves as the Iñárritu stand-in. He’s one of the most revered journalists and documentary filmmakers in Mexico and the United States. But fame in both lands is a double-edged sword, with many of his critics, himself included, finding him too gringo for Mexico, and too Latin for America. “Success has been my biggest failure,” Silverio claims as he prepares to accept an honorary award that will surely churn that existential divide even more. Just as it is within other memory-based films like The Tree of Life or 8 1/2 , the plot within Bardo isn’t really all that important. Much of the film is told out of chronological order, looping around in a circle as aspects from early scenes get reworked into later ones. And much of it isn’t literal either, with plenty of symbolic moments, such as a reenactment of a 19th-century battle or a newborn baby asking to be put back in the womb because “the world is too fucked up” (yes, you read that right), used as grand representations for personal turmoil and existentialism. Is any of it really that deep or insightful? No. And should I have a ton of sympathy for an ultra-successful celebrity that’s going through a glorified midlife crisis? Also no. But there is great beauty within Bardo’s falseness. Replacing regular DP Emmanuel Lubezki (who went off to help David O. Russell make his first feature since 2015 in Amsterdam ) is the equally legendary Darius Khondji, doubly present this year with James Gray’s Armageddon Time . Iñárritu and the Iranian cinematographer concoct some of the most mesmerizing images of the year, taking inspiration from Terrence Malick’s insistence on natural lighting. Many of the most stunning moments are told in Iñárritu’s signature long takes, with the highlight being a dance sequence where the camera weaves around a sea of people as it follows Silverio letting loose. On a technical level, this often feels like Iñárritu’s most ambitious film yet, which obviously is quite the statement. But just like Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front , this must-see theatrical experience will be mostly limited to television screens as Netflix holds the distribution rights. Bardo is a work of staggering beauty, looping around in circles as it makes you ask questions about how we got here, what's going on, and what's going to happen next. Fans (such as myself) will latch on to this singular vision and ponder the meaning behind it all, while detractors will immediately turn it off on account of its obtuse pretentiousness. And, like any great work of art, both sides will be correct in their stances. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen