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Carry-On December 13, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Armed with enough competence to make it sufficiently entertaining and entirely forgettable, Carry-On joins the ranks of Don’t Look Up, Bird Box , and Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire as Netflix’s yearly holiday offering to bide your time for the few hours between opening presents and eating Christmas dinner. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery still reigns supreme in this hyper-specific genre, one that’s seen its fair share of big-name actors climb the yearly viewing charts. Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, and Danielle Deadwyler are the quartet up to bat this time in a story that almost all of us can relate to: Airport travel during the holidays absolutely sucks. But the suckage that this cast goes through pales in comparison to the average person like me and you. For starters, Ethan Kopek (Egerton) hates Christmas. I know, boo him! It’s a yearly reminder he’s not doing enough, like being a lowly TSA officer when he originally applied to the police academy. There’s also the surprise that his girlfriend Nora (Carson) gave him the gift of a positive pregnancy test. Oh, and a mysterious terrorist (Bateman) is threatening to kill Nora and everyone in the airport if Ethan doesn’t let a bomb slip through security. They say holiday-related stress can kill you, but I didn’t think it would be this aggressive. With a setup such as this - a law enforcement protagonist unluckily taken out of his element during the holidays by a calm and collected terrorist, one that will kill everyone he loves if they don't get their way - it doesn't take much media literacy to see the parallels between this story and Die Hard. Similarly to that action classic, our hero and villain don't speak face-to-face for a prolonged period of time. A Bluetooth earpiece acts as their mode of communication, the terrorist walking Ethan through every step as he sits at his security terminal. Lyle Vincent's camera keeps a shallow focus throughout these proceedings, pushing in on Egerton as he processes his limited options. Bateman's voice acts as sinister ASMR, although there's some playfulness in his casual demeanor about the whole thing. He's technically not a terrorist, just a "facilitator" performing a job for a high-paying client. It’s fun to see (and hear) the actor possess a character with callousness, with years of playing the straight man in whacky comedies prepping him for this descent. I also say that with full awareness not having seen Ozark has totally skewed my perception of him. Egerton is a capable lead, although his stressed and straighter-laced demeanor takes away a lot of his charm and makes him the least fun character in this cast. He’s at least served well by director Jaume Collet-Serra, who made a name for himself as the continuer of the post- Taken Liam Neeson action renaissance that saw him kick ass on planes ( Non-Stop ), trains ( The Commuter ), and automobiles ( Unknown ). There are no less than a handful of shots of Egerton sprinting throughout the airport terminal, dodging the scope of a sniper rifle and the suspicions of his coworkers as he tries to piece together this ticking bomb of a puzzle. Less catered is Danielle Deadwyler, the LAPD cop, in an overly stretched subplot, where she’s also on the hunt for this facilitator. A horrendously CGI car crash set piece is her one moment of physicality, a far cry from the more inspired chases within the chutes and ladders within the baggage claim machinery. More moments of visual eyesores such as that, and some heavy-handed Christmas needle drops make Carry-On too cheap, predictable, and anonymous to buddy up to the holiday action films it so desperately wants to impress. 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

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Robot Dreams March 18, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark In a scene midway through Robot Dreams , our two protagonists, aptly named Dog and Robot, explore Manhattan and rollerskate to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” Both the music and the pair’s unspoken bond continue from there, with many other activities filling the day. It’s a wonderful sequence of events, with that infinitely catchy song bringing joy to us and the characters as we watch them experience life through each other. It’s moments like these that show how much Robot Dreams speaks volumes, while never containing a single line of dialogue. It’s New York City in the 1980s! Punk rock is at its peak, boomboxes are a hot commodity, MTV actually plays music, and the Twin Towers overlook Manhattan. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, there’s Dog, a lonely canine longing for companionship. As he’s flipping through TV channels late one night, he comes across a commercial for a robot friend. It’s a moment of the right message reaching the right person at the right time, with Dog scurrying to his phone to place the order. He builds Robot with just as much enthusiasm once he arrives, and the two instantly become inseparable. That is, until a beach day goes wrong, as Robot becomes stuck after swimming and lying in the sun all day. Dog tries to get him to move, but the beach closes for the season, and Robot is stranded on the sand. During their time away from each other, Dog and Robot learn some hard lessons about friendship and how it can be found in the unlikeliest of places. The two are innocent, and neither of them could’ve prepared for their separation. Still, the audience holds out hope for them, and the movie accomplishes this thanks to writer-director Pablo Berger’s ability to convey an investing plot without the need for speaking. The animation industry is currently at a crossroads, with studios split between several different art styles, none of which are mutually exclusive. Robot Dreams provides an escape from the business of what you normally see, opting for a traditional hand-drawn style that allows the animators to add little idiosyncrasies for eagle-eyed viewers. Dog always has a hankering for a microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner. The sizzling sounds fill the air and the splattering of cheese on the microwave door. In another instance, Robot has a dream where he’s in a Wizard of Oz -esque landscape surrounded by giant, tap-dancing flowers that eventually take the shape of Dog’s face and change its angles as the scene progresses. It may not add much to the overall story, but it’s a neat creative choice that is worth the effort to see. Because of the absence of dialogue, the overall sound design picks up all of the slack. Berger and his team bring the city that never sleeps to life like never before. Car honks, sirens, subway noises, and even heavy foot traffic fill up the airwaves, yet never overcrowd during the musical sequences. The tap-dancing sounds precise, and Alfonso de Vilallonga’s flawless music adds another strong layer. The sound and animation may be strong suits for what makes Robot Dreams so amazing, but the story and plot are what bring it all home. From Dog and Robot joyfully rollerskating to Robot eventually being found on the beach and thrown into a junkyard, Berger does an impeccable job of caring for our central characters and understanding exactly what they’re going through. Better yet, Dog and Robot’s companionship could be up for interpretation as to how close they were. Were they lovers? Just friends? Perhaps a little bit of both? The ending is when the question of their relationship comes into play. Without going into much detail, “September” is heard again, and we see our two characters dancing the same routine they did in Central Park. Although I let out an audible “You’ve got to be kidding me” (again, no spoilers for why I said that), it’s for the best that this was the method the ribbon was tied. It’s a bit unfortunate that Robot Dreams found itself smack dab in the middle of an ultra-competitive year in the Best Animated Feature category. Although it lost to The Boy and the Heron (and equally likely would have lost to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ) , it was a worthy opponent. And while the film slowly rolls out across the country, all those who have already seen it will never stop reminiscing about the lasting impression it leaves. 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

Cannes 2023 Predictions - Part 1: The Festival Masters April 1, 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 This first part will cover films from people I like to call “Cannes Masters.” These are filmmakers that have either debuted several high-profile films at the festival and/or won an award such as the Palme d’Or. Cannes is a festival built upon relationships, and these auteurs have been steady as a rock for so many years. 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! Monster After making his Korean-language debut last year with Broker , Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to his native language with Monster. Plot details are scarce, with only an international teaser giving us glimpses into the story. Kore-eda has been a mainstay at the festival for over twenty years, with Shoplifters winning the Palme d’Or in 2018, so a return to the festival is nearly certain. About Dry Grasses As one of the most lauded filmmakers in modern festival history, Nuri Bilge Ceylan has more than earned himself a lifetime membership to the official competition. The Turkish director has won a Palme d’Or, The Grand Prize of Jury twice, and the Best Director award. His newest film will likely be another philosophical slow-burn, as it tells the story of a teacher who regains his perspective on life after he has been given mandatory duty in a small village. The Captain Matteo Garrone hopped on the Pinocchio trend before it was cool, delivering his own charmingly creepy version of the famed fairy tale in 2019. The film marked a break from Cannes after four consecutive films in competition, with Reality and Gomorra both winning the Grand Prize of the Jury. His new film, The Captain , will follow two men as they immigrate to Europe from Senegal. Kidnapped If Kidnapped is selected for the official competition, it would mark the fifth consecutive decade where Marco Bellocchio has a film competing for the Palme d’Or. He last made an appearance in 2021 with a documentary on his twin brother called Marx Can Wait and in 2019 with the crime biopic The Traitor . Announced to be his final film, Kidnapped is an adaptation of a story Steven Spielberg was set to make years prior, about a Jewish boy who was kidnapped and converted to Catholicism in 1858. The Old Oak The only certain things in life are death and taxes… and a Ken Loach film will compete for the Palme d’Or. The famed British director has had sixteen of his films in the Official Competition, a festival record he certainly expanded with his newest film, which sees him reteam with writer Paul Laverty for the thirteenth time. Together they’ll tell the story of a town in northern England adjusting to a wave of Syrian refugees. A Brighter Tomorrow Not even the career-worst review for Three Floors will be able to keep Nanni Moretti out of the competition. The Italian multi-hyphenate has had an extremely lucrative relationship with the festival, winning the Best Director award for Dear Diary in 1994 and the Palme d’Or for The Son’s Room in 2001. His new film is described to be a “complex and costly costumer” set in Rome between the 1950s and the 1970s amid the city’s circus world, but will also involve the world of cinema. Red Island Robin Campillo will likely return to the festival that awarded 2017’s BPM (Beats Per Minute) with the Grand Prize of the Jury along with the Queer Palm. He also has the Palme d’Or sitting on his trophy shelf for 2008’s The Class . His newest film will also be set in recent history as it follows the upbringing of a young boy during the French colonial rule of Madagascar in the 1960s/1970s. L'Empire Cahiers du Cinéma darling Bruno Dumont has been a staple of Cannes for nearly a decade, premiering his last four films at the festival, with the most recent being 2021’s France with Lea Seydoux. His new film will be a slight departure from his usual work as it takes place within the science fiction genre. Camille Cottin and Lyna Khoudri (one of the many stars within The French Dispatch ) headline as inhabitants of a small town that becomes a battleground for undercover extraterrestrial knights. The Perfumed Hill Hailing from Mauritania, Abderrahmane Sissako has released only three films this century, but they all premiered at Cannes, with 2014’s Timbuktu also being nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar. Production was supposed to begin in late 2019, but was first delayed by financial difficulties, and then by the pandemic. He will tell a globe-trotting story as a girl leaves her fiancé on the altar and suddenly moves from the Ivory Coast to China. 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

Wicked Little Letters March 28, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen What would you rather be: Polite and with a stick up your ass, or vulgar and sincere? To the delight of all stick sellers, 99% of the residents living in the 1920s seaside English town within Wicked Little Letters side with the former camp. It’s an area that is as conservative as they come, with all the men returning from The Great War wanting to settle down and have the women back in their place. “Hysteria and general tears” is what passes for a crime, with the only bit of controversy being the appointment of Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) as the first female police officer. That is, until the Irish Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley) moves in next door to Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and her strict parents (Timothy Spall and Gemma Jones). Rose and Edith are a tale of polar opposites. Rose is a free-spirit who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and swear like a sailor. She came over with a young daughter and an unmarried love interest. Edith is a Christian woman who never married and is always dutiful to her parents. So, when Edith and several of the town’s residents start receiving exceptionally hateful and foul letters, you can imagine who they all accuse. Writer Jonny Sweet has set the stage for a modern-day (at least when compared to the source material) Crucible . This time, instead of the free-spirits being labeled as witches, they’re barbaric heathens that die the slow death of social rejection. There are several helpings surrounding the debate of gender roles, specifically on women’s freedom during a pivotal moment in the twentieth century. It’s all very surface-level and done with a winking attitude, portraying all the men as domineering buffoons. Also hammered home several times over is the hilarity of swear words, especially within a setting that is the antithesis of vulgarity like Puritan England. The words “fuck,” “shit,” “whore,” and “cock” get more prominent use here than they did in a Martin Scorsese movie. While it’ll likely play like gangbusters at your local AARP-sponsored screening, everyone else not drawing from Social Security will shrug their shoulders after its second or third use. And by the thirtieth scene where the punch line is that someone says “fuck,” you’ll be more likely to say “fuck this” and leave. Colman and Buckley are clearly having fun with the roles, reveling in the opportunity to act together after never being able to share the same space in The Lost Daughter (they played the same character at different ages). The over-reliance on dirty words is made palatable thanks to the deliveries of the two actresses, each salivating at the chance to have characters that are given a modicum of agency during this period. There really isn’t much suspense about who the author of the letters is, with Sweet and director Thea Sharrock spelling it out in as bold a print as possible. It’s all light and fancy-free, almost too much for its own good. But a healthy movie ecosystem needs to offer products for the older crowds (see 80 for Brady and anything else Diane Keaton is doing these days), so take your grandparents out to the cinema before you go see Civil War . 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

Wolf Man January 15, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen If a person dies in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did they really die? That’s a question at the heart of co-writer/director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man , the second of his Universal Monster reboots after 2020’s “much better than it had any right to be” The Invisible Man . The opening prologue finds a young Blake taken on a hunting trip by his stern father (Sam Jaeger), the scars of the presumed death of his wife perpetually showing through his drill instructor demeanor. But instead of being the predators, the pair become prey as some beast stalks them throughout the Oregon wilderness. Thirty years later, Blake (Christopher Abbott) lives with his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) in San Francisco. A letter comes in the mail legally confirming the death of Blake’s dad, although his body was never recovered. All Blake knows is that he went into those same woods and never returned. There’s no logical explanation for his disappearance, leaving Blake’s mind to wander toward the conclusion that that thing is at the center of it all. But before that prologue, we’re treated to a quick close-up of a hornet engorging on an ant. Dozens of other ants try to intervene, but they’re helpless to stop this cruel act of nature. Blake also can’t stop himself from returning to his childhood home despite the painful memories and generational trauma it possesses. Nature is cruel in this part of the world, with no electricity or modes of communication, making the act of survival a deliberate task rather than a basic given. Even the things that don’t kill you still give off a feeling of dread. The wood on the trees crackles as it sways from the wind, and the leaves fall like bombs against the deafening silence. Whannell expertly used the power of sound to convey the threat of an invisible assailant in The Invisible Man . Here he repeats the lesson that hearing nothing is much scarier than hearing something. However, it’s hard to appreciate a sharp tool when it’s used to construct an overall lackluster product. Those drops in sound come during the dime-a-dozen moments when time stops just before a jump scare. The prey during those moments is Charlotte and Ginger, with Blake as the predator after he’s scratched by a beast. The infection slowly consumes him, altering his vision and heightening his sense of smell and hearing. The cycle of running and hiding ensues, the single location setting being stretched way past its effectiveness. Granted, it’s not hard to appreciate the practical makeup effects used to gruesomely illustrate Blake’s transformation from human to wolf. His fingernails are easily ripped off in favor of claws, his facial bones crunch as they accommodate his new set of teeth, and his skin becomes a sickly greyish-yellow. Whannell credited David Cronenberg’s The Fly as visual inspiration for his monster, both in the literal execution of the effects and the emotional toll it takes on the victim. There is a case to be made that all the weight and seriousness heaped upon these modern remakes strips away the B-movie charm these concepts were born and long appreciated for. The Invisible Man was able to toe that line rather well, but Wolf Man leans too far into the “dark and gritty” territory to be as fun or interesting as it should be. At least Robert Eggers just covered Dracula with Nosferatu and Guillermo del Toro is handling Frankenstein’s Monster for Netflix later this year, giving Whannell and Blumhouse enough time to go back to the drawing board before they embark on their next dark adventure. 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

She Said October 29, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen She Said screened at the 2022 Twin Cities Film Fest. Universal Pictures will release it in theaters on November 18. Of the hundreds of cinematic subgenres, investigative journalism seems to have the highest bar set by its predecessors. All the President’s Men set the stage with its punctual retelling of Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting of the Watergate scandal, which earned itself four Oscar wins from eight nominations. Then came the equally Oscar-coveted films The China Syndrome, Reds, The Killing Fields , and The Insider . Of course, then there was Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight , which, with its win for Best Picture, will perpetually be the model of comparison for any future movies in the genre. The Post and Bombshell , while good in their own right, cracked under the newly lifted weight of expectations. So, let’s get the inevitable question out of the way. Is She Said , Maria Schrader’s new film about The New York Times’s reporting on the Harvey Weinstein scandal, as good as Spotlight ? The answer to that question is “no.” But hold on a minute! Even with its deficiencies, this is still a more than worthy (and timely) addition to the genre, and the 2022 movie culture. Coming off her Outstanding Directing Emmy win for Netflix’s Unorthodox , Schrader delivers a tense thriller that never ceases to let up. From the get-go, we’re introduced to Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) as she’s publishing a story about a series of sexual assaults by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. While the story picks up traction, the intended result doesn’t come to fruition, sewing doubt about what can be done to stop this problem. Working on a similar story is Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan). Hers is about the perverse reign of Harvey Weinstein at Miramax Pictures, a figure and place synonymous with Oscar success and launching the careers of young actresses. But you don’t have to even peek under the covers to know that something is wrong, with several stars such as Rose McGowan and Ashely Judd coming out against Weinstein’s rampant sexual abuse. From there, the dots are connected to several other female employees within the Miramax machine, all of which were silenced by an intricate system designed to destroy anyone who opposes those in power. Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz ( Ida , Disobedience ), the film packs in quite a lot of details within its two-hour-plus runtime. We watch as Twohey and Kantor make phone calls, collect leads, corroborate stories, meet with superiors, and dodge disruptors. It’s an all-consuming process that endangers their work-life balance, which was already in jeopardy with Twohey’s newborn and Kantor’s two young kids. Weeks and months go by as the two try to unshroud events that everyone is terrified to speak about. Some of the ones that offer their side of the story are Zelda Perkins and Laura Madden, former assistants to Weinstein. Each is played by Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle, respectively, both delivering terrifically heartbreaking work within their limited screen time. While Lenkiewicz and Schrader are deftly able to handle those moments with the lesser-known victims, the same cannot be said for the bigger stars. A few cringe-worthy name drops, such as one mentioning Lena Dunham, and workarounds of showing the actual figures deflate some of the authenticity. And there is a slight sense of the script spinning its wheels as we cycle through similar stories and expository journalist jargon meant to keep us up to speed. Along with those mentioned in the introduction, She Said will be a film that is taught in journalism classes for years to come. Maybe a drinking game will be created out of all the tropes it crosses off the list? Even so, there’s power in its message and a bit of hopefulness within the heartbreak. 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

Queer September 10, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Queer had its North American Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. A24 will release it in theaters on November 27. Desperation and desire go hand-in-hand within Luca Guadagnino’s Queer , an adaptation of the legendary William S. Burroughs’ early short novel. These are qualities that the famed workaholic Italian director has found a knack for expressing, doing so in opposing fashions this year with the stylishly Hollywood-y Challengers and this magnetically opaque hedonistic journey. Everything is presented in its most sensual form through Guadagnino’s eyes and ears, with the destination this time being Mexico in the 1950s. World War II is over and those returning from Europe and the Pacific are looking for a little rest and relaxation. The American public still (and will continue to for decades) looks upon homosexuality as a disease, forcibly creating the neighboring southern country as a haven filled with life’s great pleasures. The streetlights cast beams of heaven down upon the men and women of the night, the bars are always open, and everyone’s thirst is perpetually unquenchable. But Guadagnino and production designer Stefano Baisi don’t stop there, replacing establishing shots with dreamy illustrations filled with miniatures and backdrops that seem much larger and more expressive than they ever could have been. This version of Mexico isn’t being viewed through an objective lens, it’s someone’s reconstruction of a long memory. That memory belongs to William Lee (Daniel Craig), one of those GIs who left America once he got off his Navy boat and never looked back. Donning a sharp outfit and an even sharper tongue, his days consist of bar trips, flirtations with the boys passing through, and consuming what drugs and alcohol he can get his hands on. It’s a fast and cheap lifestyle, one that comes to a halt once he lays eyes on fellow American Gene (Drew Starkey). The youngster arrives on the scene in slow motion and is engulfed by the blaring words of Nirvana’s Come As You Are . You can feel the temperature rising in the room rising just as much as it is within William’s loins, with this introduction being just the first of many moments where the anachronistic soundtrack and Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s camera concoct some of the most potently erotic sequences put to celluloid. That dichotomy between the audio and the visuals translates to William and Gene’s relationship, with the former trying to play younger and the latter containing much more maturity than his fresh face lets on. They have a unique honesty with each other, which Guadagnino transfers to the bedroom with as much raw authenticity as he had with Call Me by Your Name and last year’s All of Us Strangers . Craig is at his most appealingly charming here, mixing the sexual power of James Bond and the eccentricities of Benoit Blanc. He sees what he is through the mirror that is Starkey’s performance, the enigmaticness of Gene being his most appealing and perplexing quality. Burroughs’ novel was published in its unfinished form, something that Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes emulate within their project, even down to the literal runtime, which has been the subject of much scrutiny as it kept getting whittled down since its announcement. A question came to Guadagino during the North American premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival asking if the initial three-hour cut would ever see the light of day. The director shyly laughed and said that this was the film that he made, the hesitation in his voice almost signaling that he has as much desire to share his undiluted version as much as audiences want to consume it. The current 135-minute version is a shaggy mini-beast, hypnotically blending reality and dreams as it traverses from the urban hustle to the isolated jungles. Comparisons to Bardo may be appropriate in terms of trying to understand the imagery and intention behind each scene. There are moments when everything is frustratingly translucent, just escaping your grasp no matter how hard you try to grab ahold of it. But even in its haziness, there’s an alluring power that prevents your ignorance from clouding the enjoyment. 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

Good Fortune October 12, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Ariana Grande sang that, “Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve 'em.” The world is increasingly becoming a place of the haves and have-nots. The rich keep getting richer, and the poor keep getting poorer. No amount of rolled-up sleeves and picking yourself up by the bootstraps can solve that inequity. That is, unless an angel comes down from heaven and allows you to switch lives with a rich person. Then you’d be able to leave behind the hustle and grind of your old, painful life and live out your days as someone who can literally do whatever they want and never ponder how much it costs. This is the central concept of Good Fortune , comedian/actor Aziz Ansari’s feature debut as both screenwriter and director. It will literally take an act of divine intervention to get his character, Arj, off the metaphorical hamster wheel that he’s been on ever since he joined the gig economy. He drives up and down Los Angeles, delivering food through the Foodster app, dealing with equally frustrated restaurant staff and ungrateful customers who never leave a tip. His car is also his home, and the local gym locker room is his bathroom. Arj enters into a It’s a Wonderful Life kind of deal with the angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) when he realizes that he has nothing left to live for. Gabriel is the guardian angel for texting and driving, offering people that sixth sense to alert them when they’re swerving out of their lane or a pedestrian is about to cross in front of them. It’s not showy work, especially when the other angels brag about all the adventures they’ve been on, inspiring mortals to see the error of their ways and cherish life. Seeing Arj as an opportunity to better both of their situations, Gabriel decides to teach him a lesson by showing him that money doesn’t buy happiness. So he switches Arj’s life with that of Jeff’s (Seth Rogen), a private equity tech billionaire who got his “humble” beginnings from a multi-million dollar investment by his parents. Contrary to George Bailey, Arj sees absolutely no downside to his new life. He never wants to go back, which is kind of a problem since he has to consent to that for this experiment to end. And who could blame him? Ansari gets a lot of laughs out of exposing the fallacy of the long-held beliefs that the poor only have themselves to blame and that it's selfish to think materialistically. Jeff was rich because he was born into it, and, despite all his bragging, there’s nothing he can do to rise back up to that level. The central trio all display their comedic chops, with Ansari really leaning on the Reeves’ memeified energy at every turn. His happy-go-lucky demeanor is the highest it's ever been, and his delivery has never been this stilted, something that the later John Wick movies embraced for all its campy glory. He discovers hamburgers and chicken nuggets for the first time, eventually working down to cigarettes and marijuana. For all its humor, none of this rings as insightful. Every talking point has been exhausted, and every experience has been felt. There’s a divide between this film strictly being a goofy comedy and a moralistic lesson on appreciating what you have. Everything resolves itself almost offensively too easily, not reflecting the trickiness of the situation it sets up. Keke Palmer plays Elena, who's trying to organize a union at the big-box hardware store she works at. Her role is to deliver speeches to Arj about seeing the silver lining to the struggle, as that’s what gives people their identity. But if I had to choose between my comedy not having a substantive narrative or not being funny, I’d definitely choose the former. I’d like not to have to choose, but such is the situation with Good Fortune . It’s ninety-eight minutes long, has plenty of jokes, and displays enough confidence from Ansari as a writer/director that I’m eagerly anticipating what he does next. For that, I’ll say a quick prayer of thanks. 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

BlacKkKlansman August 27, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen Spike Lee has always been one of the most outspoken directors for African-American rights. His no holds barred mentality put him on the map in 1989 with Do the Right Thing and again in 1992 for his epic biopic Malcolm X . However, the last decade has been rough for Lee as his films have been of lower quality, and struggled to click with the mainstream crowd. Fortunately for Lee and moviegoers, his new film, BlacKkKlansman , is a return to form as he delivers a thrilling crowd-pleaser that also isn’t afraid to attack race in American society. Taking place in 1979 Colorado Springs, the film follows the real-life story of Ron Stallworth, who has just become the first black cop in town. His hiring is met with hostility among the white officers, mostly ones that like to create trouble for the fun of it. As a hot-headed rookie looking to make his mark and bring a little change, Ron decides to go after the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. Luckily for him, the Klan runs full ads in the paper to draw in recruits. Ron picks up the phone and disguises his voice to sound like a white man in order to get information. His disguise works and he sets up a meeting with a recruiter. Obviously, Ron himself won't be able to go, so he sends white officer Flip Zimmerman to play his white self. From this point on, the story follows Ron and Flip running a tag team operation as they try to bring down one of the most hateful groups in America. Over the past decade, we’ve gotten so used to Lee being overly loud and thunderous that it now feels a bit weird to see him show a decent amount of restraint when it comes to the volume of the message. He also paces the film really well for its 135-minute runtime. Action, comedy, and drama are interspersed, allowing the film to flow with great energy and rhythm. Although Spike shows some restraint, he doesn’t fully commit. At times he falls back into his old over the top habits. One moment of this is at the beginning when we are shown a fictional Klan propaganda film that serves no real purpose other than to make you hear endless racial expletives. For a script that has four credited writers, one of which is Lee, the writing never feels fragmented. Right off the bat, the biggest compliment to the script is that it never is too preachy with its message. We do hear a lot about racism in America, but it never feels overdone. One thing that the writers struggle to do is blend together two different plots. We have the main investigation plot with Ron and Flip, but we’re also given a smaller romantic subplot between Ron and Patrice, an activist leader for black rights. Even though their romance does serve the purpose of highlighting racial tension in America, at times it feels shoehorned in and out of place. Another minor thing that comes up periodically throughout is the writing for the Klan characters. Each one of them is one-note and are treated as cartoonishly evil. It makes them entertaining to watch, but it also makes it hard to take them seriously when real-life or death stakes are presented. The best part of the film is its characters and the actors that inhabit them. John David Washington, son of frequent Spike Lee collaborator Denzel Washington, gives one of the best leading performances of the year (so far). Just like his father, John carries a sort of charisma that makes his character feel authentic. He realizes his role is quite serious, but he also takes plenty of time to have fun with his character. It makes him very entertaining to watch, especially when he’s playing “White Ron” over the phone. Adam Driver does exceptional supporting work as Flip. Just like Washington, Driver takes things seriously but also partakes in the fun every once in a while. He also gives his character a lot of depth, who is a lapsed Jew that is now starting to wrestle with his religious identity. Lastly, Topher Grace of That ‘70s Show fame is great as infamous real-life Klan leader David Duke. Grace brings a weasel-like attitude to his demented character and shares great chemistry with Washington as they engage with each other over the phone from time to time. Just like last year’s breakout hit Get Out , BlacKkKlansman is one of the rare occurrences where a film is both entertaining and able to send a powerful message about racism in America. Whether it be Spike Lee’s powerful directing or the captivating performances, there’s a lot to like here. 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

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves March 26, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Bringing games (both video games and board games) to the silver screen has been one of the most challenging things to do within Hollywood. It takes real creativity to adapt the sprawling interactiveness of a gaming story and mold it into something that is to be solely watched. And you also have to show reverence for the material and its fans, while also making it palatable for anyone that is totally unfamiliar with it. There have been too many bad adaptations to count, with HBO’s The Last of Us potentially signaling that long-form television is the way to go. And if those challenges weren’t already hard enough, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves must do all of that without the structural support of an identifiable narrative, as the biggest reason for the game’s massive popularity and long-lasting appeal is the total freedom for players to shape their own stories. And yet, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, as well as their writing partner Michael Gilio, have crafted a highly entertaining movie with several in-jokes towards hardcore fans, while also not bewildering those only familiar with the property by name (such as myself). We open with Edgin (Chris Pine), the brains, and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), the muscle, imprisoned on an icy tundra. As the title suggests, they are thieves that have plundered along with their merry band of misfits. But, again, as the title suggests, they do have honor, as they take the Robin Hood approach of only stealing from the rich and never intentionally causing physical harm. Their capture comes after being betrayed by the evil Red Wizard Sofina, who has a grand plan that means doom for all of Neverwinter. Edgin and Holga recruit some new compatriots - Simon the sorcerer (Justice Smith), Doric the druid (Sophia Lillis), and Xenk the paladin (Regé-Jean Page) - as they hatch a plan to retrieve a valuable artifact that was stolen from them and put a stop to this evil threat. Don’t fret if you have no idea what the terms “druid” and “paladin” mean, as the well-filmed introductions to these characters do much of the heavy lifting. Just as they did with Game Night , Daley and Goldstein choreograph everything above and beyond the simple job description, with another signature long take adding a healthy dose of fuel to this fire of fun. There are still a few too many hearty helpings of flashbacks and exposition dumps, but it’s not anything out of the ordinary since there’s a lot for newcomers to catch up on. But there’s more than just technical wizardry that makes this tale of witches and wizards as entertaining as it is. The leads aren’t acting as if they’re too cool to play dress up, or that this is all for a quick buck. They all forge a comradery, emulating that same aura of kinetic fun in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy. Page is the scene-stealer as a mix between Ted Lasso and Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy , an altruistic and powerful warrior that doesn’t understand ironic humor. Comparing this film to Peter Jacksons’s The Lord of the Rings films would be an easy knock against it, as the shared DNA is quite evident (a few helicopter landscape shots seem almost copied and pasted). But no one has been able to live up to that trilogy ever since, not even Jackson himself when with his misbegotten Hobbit films. Dungeons & Dragons may be similar, but it’s not a carbon copy. It’s a fastball down the middle, offending neither party through its fun antics and breezy atmosphere. 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

Causeway September 11, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Causeway had its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Apple TV+ will release the film in theaters on October 28, followed by its streaming premiere on November 04. Above almost anything, Causeway marks Jennifer Lawrence’s return to her independent roots. Through all the Hunger Games, X-Men, and David O. Russell films (in which she had the smarts to turn down an appearance in Amsterdam ), it can be easy to forget that this is the same actress who burst onto the scene, and received her first Oscar nomination, in the tiny Sundance film Winter’s Bone . Now a dozen years later, she’s back to being actress Jennifer Lawrence, and not movie star Jennifer Lawrence. Causeway centers itself on the story of Lynsey, a recently discharged Army corps engineer who must stay at a recovery home after she received a traumatic brain injury from an IED blast. At first, she’s not able to hold a glass or string together a sentence without exerting herself beyond her newfound limits. But after some practice and patience from her caregiver (a wonderful Jayne Houdyshell in a brief role), she’s back on her feet and heading to her real home in New Orleans. But being back home is not the end of the road for Lynsey, as she must face much tougher challenges including childhood trauma and reintegrating with a society she left behind. Not wanting to overcome that obstacle, she strives to be redeployed, much to the distress of her doctor (Stephen McKinley Henderson), who rightfully notices that Lynsey is not altogether. So, she takes a job cleaning pools, which leads her to cross paths with a local car mechanic named James (Brian Tyree Henry). Noticing their similarities on the inside, the two strike up an interesting connection that goes deeper than something purely platonic or romantic. Causeway has been plagued by trouble since its inception. It was shot in the middle of 2019, followed by a flurry of reshoots after poor test screenings. Red, White, and Water was its original title, later changed to Causeway this year (a more appropriate, yet bland, title within the context of the story). And after several release date shifts, Apple picked up the film for distribution, their second partnership with A24 after The Tragedy of Macbeth this past year. Even with all those bumps along the way, first-time director Lila Neugebauer sensitively delivers a personal story that avoids much of the PTSD/trauma clichés we’ve come to expect. It is still a predictable movie in its outcome, but the means to get there are not the ones you’d usually find. There are several surprising choices Neugebauer and the team of screenwriters makes to give this film a semi-fresh take on the genre. A cello-filled score by Alex Somers beautifully accents much of the low-key nature of the film, creating more of an ambiance for Lawrence and Henry to do some of their best work. Neugebauer’s Broadway sensibilities keep their chemistry warm and palpable, with words seemingly playing a secondary role in how they communicate. A look or body movement does most of the talking, as does a moment of silence. There’s nothing life-changing or revolutionary about Causeway , even if it does sharpen the mold it stems from. But it does provide showcase roles for its central leads and is a promising start to a potentially fruitful cinematic career for Neugebauer. 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