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2023 Winners January 4, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen The end of the year is upon us and it’s time to see who’s left standing now that the dust has settled. Even compared to most years, 2023 didn’t leave many people with their legs still under them (two historic strikes and a neverending drought at the box office tend to do that). But there were a select few that were not only able to survive but thrive in these tough conditions. Take a look below at who came out on top this year. Ayo Edebiri Everywhere you looked in 2023, Ayo Edebiri was there. The burgeoning comedy star appeared in no less than five feature films ( Theater Camp , Bottoms, The Sweet East, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, TMNT: Mutant Mayhem ), two hit television series ( The Bear, Abbott Elementary ), and received the “Breakout Star” STARmeter Award from IMDb. She shows no signs of slowing down, joining the MCU with the upcoming Thunderbolts and being cast in the new James L. Brooks film. Horror Movies (Again) Another year, another reminder that horror movies reign supreme when it comes to raking in the dough. No wonder Jason Blum owns multiple multi-million dollar properties. His Five Nights at Freddy’s has accumulated almost $300 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. Not far behind was Scream VI, M3GAN, The Nun II , and Insidious: The Red Door , which quietly became the highest-grossing entry in the series. Corporate PR Just like Mr. Burns every corporate conglomerate could use a slick Hollywood picture to gloss over their evil rise to power. 2023 saw no shortage of them, almost all of them faring better than A Burns For All Seasons . Ben Affleck created an underdog narrative surrounding the richest sports brand and athlete in Air , Tetris showed the power of American optimism (and capitalism), and Flamin’ Hot didn’t let the truth get in the way of a feel-good story. They’re all propaganda, but at least they were entertaining pieces of propaganda. Movie Theaters (But only during Barbenheimer) It was a year of one bomb after another, with any movie with a price tag of over $200 million playing to crowds rivaling the size of a high school theater production. But then a shining light came midway through the year, one that had been foretold through memes and fanboyism (and fangirlism). Luckily, Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig delivered the goods with Oppenheimer and Barbie , respectively, and everyone and their mother got out of the hot summer sun and enjoyed themselves for a few hours. Re-Releases With so many movies flopping like a fish, theaters were happy to welcome back stuff that had already proven successful. The 25th anniversary of Titanic grossed $70 million worldwide this past Valentine’s Day, Return of the Jedi brought in a respectable $7 million, and Oldboy outgrossed its original domestic release with $2 million during its limited remaster. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Concert Films Ruling over the billboard charts and closing down cities with their concerts wasn’t enough for these pop stars. They wanted it all, and who could blame them when considering just how much people were dying to see their acts in the theater? Taylor Swift proved to be a bigger draw than Indiana Jones, Ethan Hunt, and Optimus Prime at the box office, and Beyoncé’s Renaissance topped its respective opening weekend. It wasn’t just the teenagers who got their fill as Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense grossed an impressive $5 million during its limited run. Sandra Hüller The German actress broke onto the scene at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival with Toni Erdmann . It was poetic when she was the talk of this year’s fest with her performances in the Palme d’Or and Grand Prize winner Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest , respectively. She portrayed intense characters in both films, just on opposite sides of the specific of good and evil. An Oscar nomination is highly likely, as well as a slew of offers for juicy parts in every major director’s next film. Jacob Elordi The Kissing Booth and Euphoria may have made him a sex symbol (not that he needed much help with that), but 2023 was the year that the Australian became an actor . He was able to use his appeal in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla , both netting him positive reviews. He’s already lined up a starring role in Paul Schrader’s upcoming Oh Canada . Video Game Adaptations Going from the controller to the projector used to be a death sentence for any video game property. Now it’s like printing your money, with Nintendo scoring $1.3 billion with The Super Mario Bros. Movie . And look, there’s Five Nights at Freddy’s again swimming in $300 million worth of cash. And then there was HBO’s The Last of Us , which scored record viewership and a bevy of Emmy nominations. Don’t be surprised to see Mario vs. Sonic as the top-grossing film of 2028. 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

First Man October 15, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen What do we as Americans really know about Neil Armstrong? Everyone can say that he was the first man to step foot on the moon, but what else? Most of us would be left blank and stuck realizing that we know so little about one of the most important American figures of the twentieth century. Stepping in to remedy this problem is director Damien Chazelle with his new film First Man . Instead of solely focusing on the moon landing, Chazelle decides to center the story on Armstrong. Spanning from 1961 to the 1969 landing, First Man daringly attempts to entertain and educate its audience about the trials and tribulations that one man went through in the name of human exploration. Hot off winning the Academy Award for Best Director in 2016 with La La Land , the thirty-three-year-old Chazelle again makes his case for being one of the best directors working today. He reteams with his La La Land cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, and the results are spectacular. The imagery of the film is engrossing and stirs a wide range of emotional responses. In order to give the film a 60’s look and feel, Chazelle opts to use a more grainy camera filter rather than the traditional smooth. He also uses a multitude of handheld close-ups to try and keep the story emotional and character-driven. As a space film, First Man more than delivers on the action and pushes the boundary on how movies can convey the overall experience of space travel. Chazelle shifts to IMAX cameras in space and fills the screen with both beauty and menace. The camera violently shakes as the rocket blasts off, engulfing us in the terrifying moment. Then everything steadies and the awe of outer space is revealed. It’s a balancing act that perfectly captures the immense danger that was involved in order to reach new heights. Chazelle also reteams with his regular composer Justin Hurwitz, who gives a compelling soundtrack that perfectly compliments the film. The best part comes during the lunar landing scene when a constant hard-charging drum beat takes over as the only sound we hear. Even though the outcome is already known, it’s still the most nerve-wracking part of the film. The one area where First Man struggles to make its mark is in the writing department. Josh Singer pens the script, based on the novel by James Hansen. The writing does well at establishing Armstrong in the beginning. He’s quiet and a bit standoffish, but also very loving. We see him as a family man, one who’s struggling to balance his piloting dreams with the welfare of his wife and kids. However, after the first act, not much time is spent on developing Armstrong’s character. The rest of the film centrally focuses on the mission in a straightforward way. The years go by, but we hardly see any change in his character. This lack of an arc goes against Chazelle’s intentions and undermines the great work he does to connect us to the characters. It also restricts the core theme of the film from being achieved as very little about Armstrong is actually revealed by the end. Marking his second time working with Chazelle, Ryan Gosling is spectacular as Neil Armstrong. Gosling plays against type and delivers a solemn and heroic performance. The camera is pressed to his face the whole time as we watch his perilous journey unfold on Earth as well as above it. Gosling controls each scene with his blank face and calmly keeps the audience connected to him. Playing Janet Armstrong is The Crown star Claire Foy, who trades in her British accent for a Texan one. Foy provides the emotion of the film as she plays the nervous wife who just wants to see her husband come home safely. She shares some great scenes with Gosling as their characters try to cope with the dangers of attempting history. Rounding out the A-list cast is Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, and Corey Stoll. Each one of them plays an important supporting character in Neil’s story. They all give commendable performances as they play well off of Gosling and Foy. Boldly going where no one has gone before, Damien Chazelle has changed the way space movies should be made. His expert use of all facets of production raises the bar for the future of commercial filmmaking. The combination of his powerful directing and the outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy lifts First Man off the ground and into the upper echelon of both space films and biopics. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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