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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 conversation 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 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxftqrrlSqc 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 that 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. Apple Original Films will release Swan Song in select theaters and on streaming on December 17th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Good Nurse September 11, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen In this age of the true crime boom, it’s refreshing to watch something that doesn’t contain the usual fetishization of the criminal in an attempt to “get inside their head and understand them.” Or there’s the worse route, which is to make the show/movie capture the cultural zeitgeist by pandering to the TikTok crowd (I’m looking at you Dahmer , which has spawned the horrible “Jeffrey Dahmer Challenge”). Instead of doing any of those things, Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse wisely steers away from the crimes themselves and centers on the damaging causes and effects. The titular good nurse is Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain), a single mom who constantly struggles to balance the financial, physical, and emotional needs of herself and her two daughters. Despite having a heart condition that could easily kill her if she stresses herself too much, Amy works the graveyard shift at a New Jersey hospital, caring for the sick all throughout the night. After her shift, she goes home to see her daughters off to school and hopefully get a few hours of sleep before starting the cycle over again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DQevX-GZs One day, an angel appears in the form of Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne), a soft-spoken and caring new nurse who offers to help Amy. He lightens her workload, helps her take her meds, and is able to look after the kids at a moment's notice. For Amy, this almost seems too good to be true. As it turned out, it was. Cullen would be convicted of killing 29 patients across the dozens of hospitals he worked at, with almost all of the victims coming in with minor injuries and leaving for the morgue under mysterious circumstances. The Good Nurse never seems interested in answering the question “why did this monster kill all those people?” Rather, it takes the more interesting and socially relevant route of answering “how was this allowed to happen for so long?” Centering much of that discussion are two weary detectives (Noah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomugha) brought in to investigate after the first questionable death at Amy’s hospital. Slowly, they begin pulling on threads, uncovering an extensive history of medical cover-ups prioritizing dollars over lives. There is nothing uplifting in its message, but it is constantly enlightening. But that enlightenment doesn’t come easy, with director Tobias Lindholm ( The Hunt ) bringing much of his Mindhunter skills into play. The tension is razor sharp, terrifyingly crescendoing across the deliberately paced material. DP Jody Lee Lipes shoots everything in drab gray wide shots, keeping the action unfrayed from excessive style. It’s the simplicity of the filmmaking that makes it all the more unsettling as you're reminded this happened for years in plain sight without anyone noticing, or caring. As Cullen, Redmayne finally gets the villain role we’ve all been waiting for (let's pretend Jupiter Ascending never happened). His charming awkwardness is used to great effect to mask the darkness underneath, making it easily believable why so many would doubt his culpability. To be fair, the wheels do come off the wagon once he’s erroneously pushed toward more dramatic moments, such as a semi-cringe outburst near the end. On the other hand, Chastain can do the heavy lifting. She gives Amy an empathetic intensity, making even the most mundane moments feel important. The Good Nurse is a tension-filled and infuriating true-crime examination of a broken system and the twisted individual who saw the opportunity it gave him. It’s an elevation of the genre that has repeatedly found itself wallowing in exploitation, with two Oscar-caliber performances leading the charge. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release The Good Nurse in select theaters on October 19th, followed by its streaming premiere on October 26th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Sharper February 9, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka pray that you haven't done two things before you watch their new film, Sharper, on Apple TV+. The first is that you snubbed the marketing team and didn't watch the trailer, as it immediately spoils the film’s chronological order, deflating almost all of the tension the writing duo and director Benjamin Caron have tried to instill. The second thing is that you’ve never watched a movie with a twist (sorry Shyamalan), as experiencing just one in your lifetime will over-prepare you for what happens here. "If you're going to steal, steal a lot," says billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow) to Max (Sebastian Stan) after he tries to shake him down for a mere $1,000 through a fake police bust. Little does Richard know that Max has been taking his advice the whole time, as this charade was only one step in a larger plan to swindle unfathomable amounts of money. Part of the act is Madeline (Julianne Moore) cosplaying as Max's doting mother and a new romantic partner for Richard. Also in the mix is Richard's only son, the book-loving and hopeless romantic Tom (Justice Smith), and too-good-to-be-true new girl Sandra (Brianna Middleton), who's been brought into the fold and taught every trick of the trade by Max. Nothing is what it seems to be on the surface with these five characters, with double, triple, and quadruple-crosses being a personal and professional hazard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKHVHzCGmF0 Sharper may mark the feature directorial debut of Caron, but he's been a veteran of the stage by helming several Shakespeare projects for Kenneth Branagh's theater company and received two Emmy nominations for his directorial work on The Crown . Star Wars fans also appreciate him for his handling of the season finale of Andor last year. Because of this resume, it's no surprise that Sharper often packs the emotional punch of a stage production and looks as pristine as a prestige drama. A Quiet Place cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen shoots in crisp low-lighting, with Caron intimately blocking the actors within the luxurious sets as if he were still with Branagh's company. As shown in the opening title card, the term sharper is defined as "a cheat, one who lives by his/her wits." It is perpetually bizarre that these characters seem to have world-class offensive skills with their wits, but are horrendous at defense, allowing themselves to be caught off guard despite us, the audience, being able to spot everything from a mile away. Coincidences and instances of exclaiming "Oh come on!" run rampant, almost as if Gatewood and Tanaka kept writing themselves into a corner and were too far in to start again from scratch. The transparency of the twists doesn't do favors for the nonlinear structure, broken down into chapters told from a new perspective. Much of the whole puzzle has already been revealed by the final chapter, making it pretty easy to guess what the complete picture will be. Still, the actors are having fun with the chewy material. Between last year's Pam & Tommy and Fresh , Stan continues his streak of trashy scumbags. Moore, continuing her relationship with Apple after the quickly forgotten Lisey's Story television adaptation, gets to play both confident and vulnerable, which she unsurprisingly does with ease. But the real standout has to be Smith, delivering his best performance to date. Granted, the bar for that has been set quite low due to his work on the Jurassic World sequels and Detective Pikachu , but I also can't fully blame him for having to deal with the awful material provided to him. If you're a person who doesn't like for a movie (or its characters) to be smarter than you, then Sharper will be right up your alley. It’s mindless fun delivered with some class, occasionally teetering towards parody due to its overly serious ambitions. A24 and Apple Original Films will release Sharper in select theaters on February 10th, followed by its streaming premiere on February 17th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Chaos Walking March 11, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter , and Percy Jackson , Chaos Walking is the newest attempt to establish a lucrative franchise based on a series of popular teenage-audience books. But unlike those successful series, this Lionsgate release is more likely to fall in line with the other failures, such as The Golden Compass and The Mortal Instruments . Haven’t heard of this movie? Well, I wouldn’t blame you since Lionsgate has attempted to bury this money pit in the middle of the pandemic to save itself from further embarrassment. Filmed in 2017 and originally to be released in early 2019, the film underwent extensive (and expensive) reshoots after the first cut was deemed unwatchable. It was shelved for nearly two years until it crawled its way back from the grave into newly reopened theatres. So, is this movie as terrible as its reputation precedes it? No, but that’s not to say it isn’t bad. Similar to all YA novels, Chaos Walking takes place in a dystopian space colony in 2257. This planet is like Earth, except that there is something in the atmosphere called The Noise. An introvert's worst nightmare, The Noise makes it so that the thoughts of men are heard aloud, and is something our hero, orphaned Todd (Tom Holland), still has yet to control. Everything he thinks is broadcast to anyone within earshot, restricting any sense of privacy. No one knows why this is happening, and why women are not affected. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRf4ZgzHoVw The colony Todd lives in also has no women there, as he is told the Spackle - the native inhabitants of the planet - killed off. Obviously, what you’re told isn’t always what actually happened. Everything changes when a scout, Viola (Daisy Ridley), crashes on the planet. The leader of the colony decides to use her as bait to attract her command ship so he can ambush it and leave this godforsaken land. Naturally, Todd develops a crush on Viola, agreeing to help her escape to a deserted colony fitted with a communicator that she can use to warn her rescuers. If you wanted to know what Tom Holland was thinking all the time, this will be a supreme disappointment to you. The character is very bland, and so are his thoughts, which consist solely of him saying his name to calm himself down and suppressing his budding feelings for his newfound partner. Holland tries to use his Peter Parker charm to make the character at least bearable, but the script makes his efforts a waste. The word bland is the best way to describe everything about this movie. It might be a weird movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s interesting. There’s a lot of semi-world-building here as we are introduced to all sorts of details about the planet and its backstory. I say semi because the movie never gives away too much information, as they want you to pay more for that in the sequels, which are never going to happen. It’s also done at a rapid pace, moving from one location to another like we’re just skimming through the pages. Adapting his book, writer Patrick Ness seems more interested in setting up sequels than establishing an interesting base. Take, for instance, the Spackle, who look like all-black Martians and rightfully fought back against the colonizing humans. In this movie, we see them for one three-minute action scene. After that, they disappear completely and are never mentioned again. I was told by a friend that the Spackle are reintroduced in the third book, a fact that I audibly groaned at. I want to learn about these natives now, not these boring humans! Even for a $100 million (+ reshoots) blockbuster, Chaos Walking is sparsely light on meaningful action. Director Doug Liman had the potential to mash the sci-fi and western genres into something off the beaten path, but he instead stays in the same lane as his contemporaries. Like Star Wars , the guns shoot plasma, so the wounds are bloodless, and any serious violence is cut away. The one unique feature is the movie’s questionable hatred towards animals, as a horse is violently put down and a dog is drowned in the frame. I’m glad no one in the cinema could hear my thoughts while watching this movie because my head was full of a lot of questions and negative comments. By next month, Chaos Walking will feel like a distant memory, a fact that we should all rejoice in. It was nice to be back in the cinema after a long while, I just wish it wasn’t for this. Lionsgate will release Chaos Walking in theaters nationwide on March 05th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Broker May 31, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Revered Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda has been on a sort of international tour since he won the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters during the 2018 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Before then, he’d remained tied to his native Japan, beginning with his 1995 directorial debut, Maborosi . But after the golden laurels, he set his sights on making his English-language debut, The Truth , with Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, and Ethan Hawke. Also uncharacteristic was the film’s debut at the Venice International Film Festival, away from Cannes, where four of his last five films premiered. While it couldn't be considered a failure, the film was seen as a lesser work from a dependable master. So, as a possible rebound tactic, Kore-eda has returned to familiar territory with Broker , debuting in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. But Kore-eda hasn’t made a full return as he stops just short of Japan by setting and supplying his film with top-tier talent from South Korea. And with the help of his crew, many of whom come from Parasite, including lead actor Song Kang-ho, cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, and composer Jung Jae-il, Kore-eda has crafted a touching, if familiar, story about families forming in the most unlikely of circumstances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm3B-fDc9Xw A baby has been left in a deposit box used by mothers who can’t, or won’t, keep their babies. Two of the employees at the facility, Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won), have formed a partnership to circumvent the rules of the establishment by taking the babies into their protection and selling them under the table to needy couples. The act itself isn’t just about the money, even though it does help, since the going rate for a child is nearly $10,000. The pair sees themselves as saviors for these kids, as selling them off gets them to a proper home much quicker than the laborious state-run system. 1 in 40 mothers who drop off their babies never return, but So-young (Lee Ji-eun) is that one. She comes back to discover that her baby has been snatched by the pair, whom she labels as simple “brokers” looking to make a few extra dollars under people’s noses. Needing to keep her quiet and to lend some legitimacy to the sale (which So-young is still okay with), the brokers decide to cut her in on the deal. Purely based on this introductory premise, Kore-eda has laid a field filled with moral quandaries. Is it right to break the law and sell a child if it means they will potentially have a better life? Who is worse, the mother who disposes of the baby, or the people who sell the child? Who’s responsible for the child once the mother has disowned them? Kore-eda doesn’t stop there, as the plot thickens those arguments with supporting details and rationalizations from each character. So-young is revealed to have a troubled past, lending some credibility to the usual selfish act of giving up your child. Sang-hyun has had run-ins with the law, and Dong-soo grew up in a run-down orphanage where the chances of being adopted are slim to none. But even with all these character developments that should create an ethically questionable story, Kore-eda’s direction never makes you feel as if any of this is wrong or dangerous. Throughout the film, the gang is being tailed by two female police officers looking to catch them in the act. That danger of being caught never comes to the surface, with the cops being more of a humorous nuisance than a threat. Similar to his previous Cannes entry, Shoplifters , Kore-eda does make plenty of time to instill lessons on how we don’t often get to choose the family we have. A direct reference to Paul Thomas Anderson’s mosaic Magnolia tells all how the best-laid plans never truly turn out the way we envision. Even though each character may have their agenda behind the act, their shared journey is what binds them together. Dong-soo and So-young’s symbolic journey atop a Ferris wheel, coupled with the ivory keys of Jung Jae-il, makes for a tear-inducing moment. With a lighter tone and more melodrama, Broker doesn’t contain the precision of Kore-eda’s previous works. But that lightness makes for an accessible and emotionally rewarding experience. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Neon will release Broker in select theaters on December 26th, followed by a nationwide expansion on January 13th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Magpie October 23, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Early on in Magpie , Annette (Daisy Ridley) feels trapped in her home in the English countryside. Her husband, Ben (Shazad Latif), is chaperoning their young actress daughter, Matilda, during a movie shoot. Playing Matilda’s on-screen mother is Alicia (Matilda Lutz), an actress who’s been involved in several tabloid sexcapades. Paparazzi snaps some photographs of her and Ben together on set, and Ben’s phone constantly buzzes from Alicia’s texts when he’s home. Annette stares at herself in the mirror, seeing nothing but a blank face. She presses her hands upon the glass, incrementally applying pressure until the whole thing shatters. The floor is a mess with shards, a few of them still stuck in her hands. But she doesn't seem to notice as the blood starts to drip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3XPcvInmE This scene is emblematic of director Sam Yates’ approach to the material. A veteran stage director, most notably for 2023’s Vanya starring Andrew Scott, Yates has dabbled a few times in film with some shorts and television. Magpie marks his feature directorial debut, and the results could be the start of a promising career. Nothing about his work is flashy (“flat” would be the derogatory term), but his approach to the material builds a tightly wound atmosphere. The gloominess of the setting, both literally and emotionally, is reflected in the cinematography. Distance and uncomfortable closeness are mixed for a revolving door of claustrophobia, with quite a few of those shots being reminiscent of the POV shots that Jonathan Demme made so famous in The Silence of the Lambs . It’s tough to distinguish between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in Annette and Ben’s relationship, an intentional blurring of the lines by screenwriter Tom Bateman. Similar to Yates, he’s making his feature screenwriting debut here, having previously appeared as an actor in Kenneth Branagh’s two initial Hercule Poirot films (he met Ridley on the set of Murder on the Orient Express ) and other British productions. The idea for this story came from Ridley herself, influenced by her experience as an on-screen mother in The Marsh King’s Daughter (at least something came out of that movie). Annette doesn’t want to jump to conclusions about Ben and Alicia’s relationship. And yet, it’s the only thing she can do as she sits at home looking after her newborn. There are hints of depression and manic behavior within her due to Ben’s past behavior. Bateman initially plants this as a potential conversation starter about the pressures of motherhood and buried trauma. That all gets morphed into something much more kitschy as time progresses, with late revelations making me laugh both with and at the movie. It wants to please you, even if that doesn’t please the movie as a whole. Ridley is fierce in the lead, maintaining a steely presence that keeps you on edge. There’s both sympathy and guilty pleasure you put upon her as she grapples with her domestic situation. Latif and Lutz display great confidence in their increasingly villainous roles. The whole thing feels like a throwback, while also having its cake and eating it too, about so many modern topics. It’s a delectable cake, with just a bit too much sugar added. This review was originally published from a screening at the 2024 Twin Cities Film Fest. Shout! Studios will release Magpie in theaters nationwide on October 25th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen As much as I surprisingly enjoyed 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie , there was a feeling that it was the most corporatized version of itself. That’s not much of a surprise, as the corporate rights holder, Nintendo, is notorious for holding onto its intellectual property with an iron grip. It’s a lesson they initially had to learn the hard way, with 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros. being an unmitigated disaster, a disrespectful piece of adaptation equally hated by the creators and fans. In shame, the company halted any attempts for big-budget theatrical adaptations, finally opening the vault decades later with Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and The Super Mario Bros. Movie . Bowling with the guard rails up isn’t sexy, but it got the job done to the tune of $1.3 billion in box office earnings for the return of Mario to the silver screen, this time in a more appropriate animated form. Now that the job of launching this rocket ship of a cinematic franchise has been completed, it’s finally time for it to set its sights on new galaxies. True to its title, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie does just that, opening itself up to the limitless possibilities that the forty-year game franchise has unlocked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdL2GorGdKc The opening credits guide us through the cosmos, settling on the faraway Comet Observatory. There resides Princess Rosalina (voiced by Brie Larson), the protector of the Lumas, star-shaped creatures who sound and behave like children. As she reads them a bedtime story, an intruder appears. It’s Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie, whose work as an actor/writer/director has hopped between Oppenheimer , Happy Gilmore 2 , The Smashing Machine , and this, within the past few years), seeking to make his father proud by kidnapping a princess of his own. He emerges victorious, sending the Lumas into the unknown reaches of space to find a hero who can save Rosalina. Lucky for them, Mario and Luigi (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, respectively) have upped their game since the first film. They’ve been bestowed with the status of heroes to all who need them, adapting their powers to the right situations. A fun montage occurs as they solve problems around the Mushroom Kingdom, the map taking a strong resemblance to those in the games. Once the Lumas reach the brothers and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), they’re off on a galaxy-wide adventure to stop Bowser Jr. and restore order. There’s an assuredness to this film that the first one didn’t have. A little more respect is given to the audience as the franchise lore is broadened. Easter eggs appear in every frame, either a character from one of the many games or a collectible item that only true fans would recognize. I do not possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the games, and I was still overwhelmed by all that was being crammed in. Brian Tyler’s score is allowed more prominence, no longer burdened with having to share space with overdone tracks like “Holding Out for a Hero.” He instills many classic beats, each with a certain grandeur. The visuals are more robust, and the camera quickly follows along with the characters as they leap from one point to another. Also introduced is the trusty sidekick Yoshi, voiced by Donald Glover, who, because the character only communicates by saying his own name, now has the easiest gig in Hollywood since Vin Diesel ended his reign as Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Other notable additions are made, but the surprise is best left preserved for the theater. This is a children’s film that can equally appeal to adults. It is based on the generation-defining Wii game Super Mario Galaxy , which was released almost twenty years ago (that makes me feel old). Mario has been many things to many different people, and there’s a little bit of everything here. I can sense that grand machinations are in place at Nintendo and Illumination, and I’d kind of like to see it all come together. Universal Pictures will release The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in theaters nationwide on April 01st. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Decision to Leave May 26, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Phantom Thread meets Vertigo in Park Chan-wook’s deliciously twisted Decision to Leave . For many directors, that combination would come together as well as oil and water. But for the famed South Korean auteur, whose previous works of Oldboy and The Handmaiden (both awarded at Cannes, I predict this one will be as well) have exemplified his unparalleled ability to combine the traditional with the gonzo, it’s a heavenly pair that you immediately want more of. As the new hotshot detective within the Busan police force, Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is brought in to solve a mysterious new murder case. A climber has fallen from the top of the local mountain, and a strangely coincidental set of clues hints that it may not have been an accident. The victim’s Chinese immigrant wife, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), is brought in for questioning, a move that jeopardizes everything as Hae-jun develops a sort of crush on her. Seo-rae seems to know more than she lets on, but Hae-jun’s judgment is clouded by love, putting him at odds with the mounting evidence against her and the rest of the detectives. What ensues is a dangerous game of cat and mouse where the intentions of the players are often hidden, but the danger is always present. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmoy73lhs-s Just like every film in Chan-wook’s filmography, the direction, especially the camerawork and editing, is first-rate. It’s not uncommon for 360-degree twists, reversals, re-reversals, and smooth pans to take place in one continuous movement. One scene, in particular, is an entertainingly surreal set piece where the camera peers through the detective’s binoculars as he spies on a suspect, only for him to be transported to that location next to the person of interest. DP Kim Ji-yong (replacing regular cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung after he made the jump to Hollywood) loads each of his images with double (and sometimes triple) meanings, most notably present during a conversation scene in a stairwell. Though it always wears its film noir influences prominently on its sleeve, Decision to Leave is not merely a slave to the past. Chan-wook and frequent collaborator/co-writer Seo-kyeong Jeong inject the film with modern sensibilities. Smartphones, often the hindrance of many mystery films, are brilliantly employed. A language translating app is relied upon to bridge the gap between the two Hae-jun and Seo-rae, with subtle details sometimes being lost in translation. There are also delayed text messages and warped video/audio recordings that endlessly twist and turn the facts. You can sometimes feel lost while watching the film, as if you missed some important revelation that brings everything together. These are the moments where Chan-wook leans more on his Phantom Thread inspirations than his Hitchcockian ones. Much like Paul Thomas Anderson’s film, the characters within Decision to Leave can’t be tied down with simple explanations. Manipulation and intrigue are the names of the game, with the unspoken sexual tension tinging the edges of every scene. As the playfully dangerous duo, Hae-il and Wei are more than up to the task, with their unmatched chemistry doing wonders for the film’s emotional themes. Decision to Leave is often a paradox in itself. It’s classical, yet modern. Cold, yet sexy. Unsatisfying, yet enthralling. Luckily, it finds the near-perfect balance between all of those things, creating a wondrous genre exercise that must be seen to be wholly believed. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Mubi will release Decision to Leave in select theaters on October 14th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Is This Thing On? October 26, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Whether it was intentional or not, Bradley Cooper’s third outing as a director, Is This Thing On? , feels very much like a direct response to all the negative criticisms surrounding the extreme formalistic showmanship of his sophomore feature, Maestro . Jumping from the populist smash hit that was A Star Is Born into a 4:3, mostly black-and-white biography on a semi-closeted classical composer was always going to be a major leap, especially when the aggressive awards campaign pushed Cooper to be labeled as a try-hard, a dubious title that results in polite responses from the industry, but no genuine love from the public. Unfair as those criticisms were to Cooper and his monumental biographical achievement, Is This Thing On? is the right move at the right time, a strategic downshift into a less pressurized register, all while retaining an uncanny skill at producing respectful adult entertainment. Cooper’s first appearance in the film is not as the lead, but as a supporting character named Balls (yes, really). At a party he and his wife Christine (Andra Day) are hosting at their New York City loft apartment, he falls over and spills milk all over the carpet. His immediate laughter and everyone’s bemoaning signals that this is a common occurrence, likely a symptom of his need to be high all the time and a head-in-the-clouds mindset after being upgraded from an understudy in a local play. He is the comic relief to this story, the foil to bounce off the dramatic journey that fellow partygoers Alex and Tess Novak (Will Arnett and Laura Dern) are on in their marriage. Twenty-six years of partnership are at its end, with Alex taking an apartment in the city while Tess stays in their home with their “Irish twin” sons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4jx0Xgc_Pc Wandering the streets on a restless night, Alex stumbles upon the Comedy Cellar. Rather than pay the $15 cover charge, he signs himself up for the open mic night and improvises through a routine where he candidly lays out all his cards for the audience. That level of honesty is cheaper and more fun than therapy, so Alex decides to modestly pursue this avenue of self-expression. Having done similarly cathartic work on television in Flaked and BoJack Horseman , Arnett is adept at finding the balance between innocent humor and flawed darkness. There is a required level of awareness to be able to write and perform these self-deprecating jokes, but also a similar amount of cowardice to convince yourself to bear it all with complete strangers rather than your significant other. Meanwhile, Tess, after years of retirement due to motherhood, finds herself dipping back into the world of professional volleyball. She’s been offered a coaching position for the Olympic team, a decision that will push her to think of herself for the first time in years. Dern is positively magnetic, rediscovering her character’s individuality with an endearing attitude. Part of this narrative is inspired by the true story of John Bishop, a British man who turned to stand-up as a method of reconciliation after a breakup with his wife. Writing with Mark Chappell, Arnett and Cooper maintain that sense of grounding by forgoing the usual Hollywood-isms found in relationship dramas. There isn’t a big blow-up scene or a string of fights that eventually break the camel’s back, just a mutual understanding that it’s time to cut everyone’s losses. There’s a lot of humor in the logistics of this situation, as agreeing to a breakup doesn’t mean it immediately happens. Where will Alex sleep while he’s searching for a place to move to, and how will Tess manage her friendship with Alex’s parents, Jan and Marilyn (Ciarán Hinds and Christine Ebersole), who live just down the street from their house? The production is light on its feet, with Cooper being his own camera operator as he glides through the streets and cellar hallways. Long takes are used for both comedic and dramatic effect, with much of Arnett’s routines being captured in one swoop of close-ups. When Alex and Tess are walking to the subway from the initial party, a long pause of silence fills the air as their conversation hits its conclusion. They’re likely thinking about the same thing at that moment, but are both unable to fully express what they’re feeling. Convenience and contrivances for the sake of connecting the dots do come into play later on, with one pivotal scene featuring Peyton Manning as a volleyball coach, taking Tess on a date throughout the city. At some point, you do have to give yourself over to the fact that this is a movie, and shortcuts are necessary to truncate a year-long path down to two hours. Stuff like that rarely hurt Nancy Meyers or James L. Brooks in finding the truth of the human condition, and neither does it hinder Cooper, who can seemingly do no wrong once he has a man, a woman, and a camera. Searchlight Pictures will release Is This Thing On? in theaters nationwide on January 09th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice September 4, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen If you listen carefully, you can hear the collective sigh of relief of millions of Tim Burton and Beetlejuice fans from around the world the moment the opening credits of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice joyously commenced. Danny Elfman delivers a signature score as the camera weaves through the signature diorama of Winter River. This introduction is a microcosm of the subsequent one-hundred minutes: an unashamed retreading of everything that worked over thirty-five years ago and has become a part of popular culture lexicon ever since, done with enough respect and creative flair to be some of the most fun of the year. Ghostbusters II serves as the template for the opening sections, with a “where are they now” carousel setting the stage for how the famed characters have fared in the decades since. The once supernatural ally Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) now peddles the same ghostly schlock that Zach Baggins has cornered on cable television. How and why she got to this place is a mystery, as well as what her goal is to host a show that delegitimizes the supernatural. She’s got a buffoonish simp in her producer, Rory (Justin Theroux), which is about the only somewhat good thing she has going for her. Her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), doesn’t want anything to do with her, another instance in a long line of reminders that your childhood heroes turn out to be terrible parents. On top of that, her father was just killed in a freak shark attack, forcing the entire group, Delia included, to venture back to the signature haunted house on the top of the hill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoZqL9N6Rx4 Of course, all of this plot in the human world is just there to serve what’s going on in the underworld. The titular Mr. Juice is still heartbroken over Lydia, and now must hide from his vengeful ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci). The complicated and ever-shifting rules and circumstances of the afterlife bring these two stories together, with Lydia and Beetlejuice needing to rescue Astrid from being sent to the Great Beyond. Plot is not what you came to this movie for, and neither is it an important aspect in writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s game plan, which contains quite the animosity towards anything to do with PC culture. Burton also has a ball with pushing your preconceptions of what can be included in a PG-13 movie, with this one featuring an assortment of gore, cursing, and overall grossness. The effects are mostly practical, a challenge that Burton and his production team welcomed with open arms and flourished with. An animated sequence similar to The Corpse Bride and a silent horror recreation of the romantic origins between Beetlejuice and Delores are some of the standout moments that hit the nostalgia buttons so perfectly The cast is all having so much fun as well. Theroux and Willem Dafoe, as a dead Tom Cruise-esque actor turned underworld cop who takes his job a little too seriously, are the two standouts among the new additions. Their foolishness is matched only by their zeal for the zaniness surrounding them. Ryder and Keaton haven’t missed a beat in the time since, with the latter yet again being the outright champion despite having less screen time than you’d think. Bellucci is… there. She’s a symptom of the film’s disregard for plot and stakes, appearing out of nowhere and leaving without much of an afterthought. We can’t get everything we want, so it’s best to forgive those glaring gaps in depth since it created an opportunity for one of our most creative filmmakers to make something for himself and the people he cares about instead of just another executive who just wants to harness his aesthetic. We, as the audience, can only be as passionate about a film as the creatives behind it, with this one being so easy to love and laugh along with. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in theaters nationwide on September 06th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Ballerina June 4, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen A franchise needs to reach a healthy stage of maturity before it can begin to produce spin-offs from the main feed. It took Star Wars seven episodes before it sidestepped with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story . It took until the ninth installment of the Fast & Furious series to get the buddy adventures of Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw in Hobbs & Shaw . Besting both behemoth franchises is the John Wick series, which has produced its first spin-off (we're not going to count the short-lived Peacock series, The Continental ), Ballerina , after only four mainline entries. Franchise creator Derek Kolstad, director Chad Stahelski, and star Keanu Reeves are nowhere to be found here except during the end credits as part of the long list of producers. It's a testament to the world they've created that their physical absence doesn't fully knock over this tower of cards. It is perpetually teetering, as the trio has set such a high bar over the past decade that no newcomer could and should be expected to flawlessly meet or exceed it. Director Len Wiseman, finally given permission to grace the silver screen after a decade-long banishment to low-tier television following the calamity that was 2012's Total Recall reboot, does just that, giving us more of the same through slightly inferior methods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FSwsrFpkbw The production qualities are all still top-tier, with the sets and atmosphere beckoning us to dig deeper into its history and importance. But while we, the audience, see it all as decorative eye candy, the characters experience it as just lipstick on a pig being sent to the slaughterhouse. Violent actions breed violent consequences, which is what John Wick has had to reckon with since those goons decided to kill his puppy back in the first film. Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) had that choice forced upon her at a young age when her father was murdered by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) right in front of her. The Ruska Roma organization took her in and gave her the skills to transform from a victim to a victor. Vengeance lingered in her mind for all those years, acting as the fuel for her rageful fire. Through the inanimate nature of a bullet and the two sides of a coin, the analogy of choice is presented to Eve while she's working through her origin story. Revenge won't bring her father back, and will very likely lead her down a darker path of self-destruction. Returning from the previous two John Wick entries, writer Shay Hatten tries to use this conflict to instill tension over where Eve will fall on the spectrum of good & evil. The nuance becomes almost entirely lost when an abducted child becomes involved, and Eve must protect her from The Chancellor. No studio would allow its tentpole blockbuster to contain a scene of the hero being apathetic toward the mistreatment of a kid, so we know Eve will do the right thing and keep her safe. I’m not a sadistic freak, but just once I’d like a film to fully subvert this tiring trope. Apart from that stumble, the other concepts relating to the action are decent. Eve is physically weaker than her opponents, which means she has to be more resourceful when it comes to establishing an advantage. The combination of hand grenades thrown like snowballs and a military-grade flamethrower makes for some exciting set pieces. There's also the usual hand-to-hand and gun play, which de Armas handles well. Her acting may not be up to par, a common problem for any actor who tries to tackle the stilted dialogue they're given in this franchise. But she has the raw physicality and star presence to carry the lengthy fight sequences. Going back on what I said earlier, Reeves does appear as Wick in a cameo that likely acts as a teaser for a team-up movie down the line. I wouldn’t mind seeing de Armas and Reeves work together again in this series, as long as Stahelski is back at the helm. Each of the successive entries in the John Wick series has successfully improved upon the previous one, both in terms of scope and scale. Ballerina is the first to take a step back, a minor one nonetheless. But there are still certain aspects that are promising, so I’ll treat this like one of the lesser entries in the MCU that are meant to be connective tissue for the large-scale Avengers films. Lionsgate will release Ballerina in theaters nationwide on June 6th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 June 29, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s almost impossible to judge Kevin Costner’s grand return to the Western genre on its own terms, as Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 truly lives up to the foundational groundwork its title implies. The structure and pacing of television have never been more replicated in the cinema than this, save for maybe those The Chosen specials that sneakily top the box office every few months. Storylines are picked up and put down like a kid surrounded by toys, with their only moment of intersection coming in the form of a flyer with the words “HORIZON” printed across the top, acting as a calling to move to where it beckons. With a sprawling runtime of 181 minutes and nearly 181 names within the cast, there’s both plenty of time and plot elements to keep track of. The seemingly most important one leads us off at the titular town, a makeshift place nestled right at the bend in the river in the San Pedro Valley. The settlers founded their homes atop the graves of those who had come before and been murdered by the Apache. Ignoring that warning leads to more bloodshed, which Costner films with clear-cut brutality. The threat of death looms as large as the prospect of personal freedom, with the settlers feeling akin to their ancestors on the Mayflower. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYsReoZMj1k Costner and co-writer Jon Baird offer some time away from the white settlers, giving a glimpse into the politics within the Apache. An eye-for-eye mentality forms, dividing each camp between those who seek carnage and those who just want to survive. The one thing that remains constant is the fact that the wagons won’t ever stop, with two settlers arriving for each one killed. Where this angle goes is still up in the air, with this chapter only featuring the initial trading of blows. But considering Martin Scorsese just delivered what could be considered the seminal modern take on this topic in Killers of the Flower Moon , it’ll be hard for Costner to reach the bar. It takes nearly an hour for Costner to show up as his character Hayes Ellison, who gets entangled with a local sex worker (Abbey Lee), the child she cares for, and a Montana crime family hunting them down. As the only A-lister in this mammoth cast of semi-famous and unknown players, Costner’s presence makes you sit up a little straighter and lean forward. That shine from Yellowstone hasn’t worn off, although his romance with a woman thirty years younger than him doesn’t come across as sensually as he thinks it does. There isn’t a clear best and worst storyline, with all of them falling near the middle, give or take a few notches in either direction. However, it’s not exactly a fair fight as some characters appear much more than others. Sienna Miller and Costner are given multiple pass-throughs, while Isabelle Fuhrmann and the fourth-billed Giovanni Ribisi hardly have a line of dialogue. The final five minutes are reserved for a montage of what’s to come in the next chapter, which, I’ll admit, looked pretty decent. What also looks decent is J. Michael Muro’s photography. He perpetually captures the grandeur of the plains and desert rocks, creating a barren paradise where the danger is just as captivating as the reward. This is epic, old-fashioned filmmaking, the likes of which we haven’t seen before in a long time. The sense of Costner laying it all on the line permeates every moment, especially with John Debney’s sweeping score providing several enrapturing moments. The track “End of Massacre,” which featured heavily in the trailer, is one of the best of the year. Chapter 2 arrives in a little under six weeks, a blessing as I don’t think I’d be able to remember every character and plot point if I had to endure the traditional one-year wait. Although I’d probably never rewatch it just for itself, this first chapter is a serviceable beginning with just enough little nuggets here and there to sustain my interest. Warner Bros. Pictures will release Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 in theaters nationwide on June 28th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen