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Awards Update: Post-Cannes Realignment June 18, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen Welcome to an ongoing series where I cover the 2024/2025 awards season. On a regular basis, I will update my Oscar predictions, taking into account the new information that has been received since the last update. Full predictions in every category can be found on the Home and Awards page. Two of the Big Five (plus Telluride as the unofficial sixth member) film festivals have concluded for the year, which means it's time to take stock of where we are in the Oscar race. The chants of "U-S-A!" rang throughout the Palais a few Saturdays ago as Sean Baker’s New York-set Anora took home the Palme d’Or, the first American film to reign victorious since Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life in 2011. Having attended the festival and seen the film for myself, I can say that Anora is Baker’s best shot yet to gain some Oscar recognition. It’s his most commercial film, a laugh-out-loud comedy that manages to instill some social and political commentary along the way. It’s also overlong and not his most incisive work, but the sheer amount of fun it incites makes up for that. Given the recently announced October 18 release date by Neon, the film will most likely replicate the rollout strategy of Red Rocket . Splashy appearances at Telluride and the New York Film Festival are almost a given, with the biggest question being the possibility of a stop at TIFF. You’d have to go back to 2008’s The Class to find a Palme d’Or winner that didn’t make an appearance at TIFF, with, coincidentally, The Tree of Life being the exception as it released in theaters in June. You’d then have to go back to 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to find a film that premiered in Cannes and then went on to win the TIFF People’s Choice Award. Parasite came close in 2019 as it won the Palme d’Or and then placed in the second runner-up position at TIFF. Given my audience’s reaction to Anora , and that of critics, I think there’s a strong possibility that it places well at TIFF, if it decides to show. Neon has taken each of their four previous Palme d’Or winners ( Parasite , Titane , Triangle of Sadness , Anatomy of a Fall ) to TIFF, with three of them earning a Best Picture nomination later down the line ( Titane was never going to be serious Oscar player). As for nomination outcomes Anora could replicate, I’d look towards the strictly above-the-line, overall low-nomination players such as Licorice Pizza , Women Talking , and Past Lives . An Original Screenplay nomination feels like a lock at this point, with Best Director being in the mix. I was hesitant about both Jonathan Glazer and Justine Triet last year, so Baker finding his way into the final five would not surprise me. Staying within the winner’s circle, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light marked a triumphant return for India to the Croisette after a nearly thirty-year absence. Janus Films holds the domestic distribution rights, the same company that guided Drive My Car ’s hugely successful and influential underdog campaign in 2021. The reactions out of Cannes for Kapadia’s film are just as high as they were for Hamaguchi’s. We’ll just have to wait and see how much the critical enthusiasm for the film survives until later in the year, as Drive My Car didn’t announce itself as a serious Oscar player until it won the Best Picture prize from all three major U.S. critics groups (LAFCA, NYFCC, NSFC). There’s also the problem of Kapadia not being a popular figure by the Indian government , which dampens the film’s chances of being submitted for Best International Feature. The French/Mexican production Emilia Perez will surely find itself submitted by the former country, save for the unlikely possibility of another French film stealing the spotlight during the fall festivals. Netflix made the splashiest acquisition of the festival when it scooped up the domestic distribution rights, a move that bodes well for the number of eyeballs that will be fixated on this Spanish-language crime musical. At the moment, I’m still questioning what kind of Oscar player it will be. I could equally see a scenario where it nabs a half-dozen nominations, including Best Picture, and a scenario where it just finds itself with a single ho-hum placement in Best International Feature. While I certainly didn’t envision Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness to be as dominant as The Favourite and Poor Things , I did think the vibe would have been a little more Oscar-friendly. The good-but-not-great reactions and quick release don’t bode well for the film, which is making me lower its overall nomination total from six (including Best Picture), to just a namecheck nomination in Best Original Screenplay, which I’ll likely drop once the fall festivals reveal more contenders. I can confidently say that Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis will not be an Oscar player in any category, as most of the negative aspects of my mixed review stemmed from the film’s poor production values and acting. Its recent acquisition by Lionsgate doesn’t add any strength to its chances, but it does make me happy that more people will be able to see it. Still stuck in destitution hell is Ali Abassi’s Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice , of which I was a big fan. I’d still be a bit skeptical of the film’s awards chances if it had landed a distribution deal at the festival, so the lack of one really puts a dent in any hope one might have for it. Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig was certainly my Palme d’Or prediction going into the final day, so walking away only with a Special Prize of the Jury certainly felt like a disappointment. I’m sure Neon felt the same way as they picked up the film midway through the festival. The critical reception is still quite high, so there’s a chance it could find some critics' group love later in the year. Iran will not be submitting it for Best International Feature, and I’m not sure Neon will be giving it the push it needs now that its eggs are firmly in the Anora basket. The rest of the summer season will be spent evaluating likely below-the-line players such as Twisters , Deadpool & Wolverine , and Alien: Romulus . We’ll also be getting a steady dripping of fall festival rumors and lineup announcements. I’ll have another update in a few months before the fall festivals commence. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen

Ricky Stanicky March 6, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen After climbing the top of the mountain with the Best Picture-winning Green Book and disastrously trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle with The Greatest Beer Run Ever (while not good, also not as bad as the reviews would lead you to believe), writer/director Peter Farrelly has returned to what he knows best: the lowest of lowbrow comedy. Hey, the world has and will always need garbage collectors. It’s a respectable profession in the real world and can be one within cinema as long as you bring a certain kind of panache to it. Farrelly used to have that in his earlier days with his brother Bobby, an indescribable reverent for his characters through insanely grotesque and politically incorrect humor. You couldn’t pass through a junior high lunchroom without hearing someone quote Dumb and Dumber or There’s Something About Mary . But nowadays, the stenchy punchlines and childlike antics feel worn out. You’ve (hopefully) grown up, but these guys haven’t, and I’m not sure what new audience they think is out there to pick up the pieces. Ricky Stanicky feels like that last grasp for the fans of yesteryear, the ones that Farrelly thinks he left behind with his last two features. It’s the kind of movie whose first joke is a kid dressed as a dog with a boner for Halloween who is holding a giant bag of poop that’s about to set on fire. Those first fifteen seconds are a good enough sample for you to decide just how far you’re going to crawl down this garbage chute. The good news is that the first act is by far the roughest stretch, with the rest becoming smooth sailing in comparison. That flaming poop prank ends up burning down half of a house instead of just a front step; leaving Dean (Zac Efron), JT (Andrew Santino), and Wes (Jermaine Fowler) in a world of trouble once someone finds out who did it. Some tampering with the evidence by Dean makes their friend Ricky Stanicky the main suspect. However, Ricky isn’t a real person, he’s just someone they made up to use as a get-out jail-free card. And even twenty years later, they’re still cashing those checks. A coworker’s wedding they don’t want to attend? Ricky is getting out of rehab and they need to pick him up. JT’s baby shower? Ricky is about to have surgery and they need to be by his side. And while everyone thinks they’re being good friends, the trio fulfills their childhood fantasies while avoiding any of the boring chores of adult life. Wait, skipping out on your own son’s baby shower? These guys must really be scumbags, right? Well, yes and no. Farrelly wants you to know that he thinks these guys are degenerates in principle. Of course, lying to your spouses repeatedly for years is bad. But what if, in some twisted way that really only worked in the '90s (and it was a bit of a stretch then too), these guys learned some overly simplistic lesson about growing up and accepting responsibility? Still not good enough? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Any platitudes that Farrelly and his five other credited screenwriters try to churn out of this are extremely underdeveloped, making the efforts to excuse this behavior almost laughable to the point of parody. But no one is going into this material for life lessons. It’s the “Warning: An R-rated Comedy” tagline that’s pulling in the tickets, or in this case, clicks since this is a Prime Video exclusive. That’s where John Cena comes in, doing most of the heavy lifting as a “man who’s been addicted to steroids since the age of two.” He’s a scummy actor the trio hires to become Ricky for a day after their families start doubting his existence. But he takes it too far, going full method and becoming Ricky forever. Cena is a skilled comedic actor, and he takes full advantage of the less-than-savory tasks he’s required to do, one of which requires him to sing X-rated covers of famous ‘80s songs. Seeing how far he’s willing to go makes up for a lot of other rougher stretches. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Films of 2023 December 31, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen If you could use one word to describe this list, it would be “predictable.” That word comes with both positive and negative connotations. On the bright side, it means that several of the films that had high places in my Most Anticipated of 2023 list from the beginning of the year were able to meet, or even exceed, my expectations. That also means there were fewer surprises, movies that were true hidden gems just waiting for me to discover them. I can’t see every movie in the year it is released, so I’m sure something will come out of nowhere down the road. And please don’t assume that I think 2023 was a bad year for movies, as that couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone who says that a certain year was a bad year for movies clearly hasn’t seen enough. Some years are better than others, but none are ever bad if you dig deep. I’ll admit as a caveat this was a pretty bad year for the blockbusters that have come to dominate the multiplex this past decade, many of which took up several spots in my Worst of 2023 list. But if you ventured to the back of the multiplex, your local arthouse theater (assuming it’s still standing after the pandemic), or beyond the attention-grabbing titles on streaming, you’d be exposed to some truly great stuff. 2023 turned out to be the best year for movies since I started taking this site seriously, with a record number of 60 positive reviews (>=3.5 stars) being written. But I can’t (and don’t want to) talk about all 60 movies I thought were good, I want to talk about the 10 I thought were the best, plus 5 honorable mentions for good measure. Without further ado, join me as I recount the works of art (not content) that left the biggest impression on me as a cinephile. Honorable Mentions Enys Men Chevalier Past Lives Poor Things The Boys in the Boat 10. Monster Hirokazu Kore-eda makes his third consecutive appearance on this list following The Truth in 2020 and Broker in 2022. The Japanese writer/director has always found the most tender ways to navigate the moral quandaries that often surround us. Deferring his writing credit for the first time in decades, Kore-eda brings Rashomon into the modern age with Monster , a movie that is both more gentle and deadly than its title implies. The script comes from Yûji Sakamoto, with that separation of duty not turning out to be a bug as the pair craft an endearing story about differing perspectives and the misconceptions we surround ourselves with. Legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who tragically passed away earlier this year, delivers one of his best works through his fluttery piano. 9. The Taste of Things There’s little drama or stakes within The Taste of Things , which is one of its best features. There are plenty of movies ( Burnt ) and television shows ( The Bear ) that showcase the anxiety-inducing highwire act that cooking can be. There is great skill under pressure here, but writer/director Tran Anh Hung is more interested in the slowly drawn method and how it all comes together when you are comfortable in your element. Time seems to stand still, your body and mind totally connected as one. It’s like a conductor guiding a symphony, every note being hit perfectly with reassuring calmness. There continues to be a need for stories that reflect the increasing bleakness of this world. But that means there’s more room for projects that remind us of the beauty in the timeless things we all experience and often take for granted. The Taste of Things is one of those films as it illustrates both the simplicity and complexity of sustaining ourselves through food. Just make sure to plan your meals carefully before and after seeing it. You owe your stomach (and other senses) that much. Full Review 8. The Holdovers Between its retro production titles, popping sound, dissolved editing, and grainy cinematography, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is not just a film that is set in 1970, it looks and feels like it was made during that time. The Omaha-born writer/director (only directing in this outing) returns from a six-year hiatus after the disappointing Downsizing , delivering one of his best films through a great story and equally great characters. This is a Christmas classic for adults. It's a melancholic film, with Payne knowing that the holidays are not full of yuletide cheer for everyone. But there are still seasons greetings to be had, just enough to make you want to be a better person and stay close to those that matter most. What more could you ask for in times like these? Full Review 7. Asteroid City Asteroid City is Wes Anderson’s weirdest movie to date, always keeping your eyebrow in a raised position. While on their methodically placed tracks, each character veers off in different directions, exploring the fear of death, finding connections in a barren land, cutting through the messiness of life, and paying homage to those kitschy B-movies you grew up watching late at night on the public access channel. At this point in his filmography, you’ve probably made up your mind about Anderson. I’m somewhat of an apologist, with those instantly recognizable production qualities and whimsical tones being music to my ears (and eyes). Asteroid City is another healthy dose of what I’ve come to love, with the bonus of seeing an auteur continue to find new ways to channel what they do best. Full Review 6. Killers of the Flower Moon What is surprising about Killers of the Flower Moon is Scorsese’s ability to bring in the qualities of his lesser-known films, which is the capacity to take a step back and observe a culture. There’s a delicate balance between getting in the thick of the action and letting it wash over from a distance. For every street race and moment of shocking violence, there’s a chance to witness a piece of this land and its people. There are key moments where an Osage wedding or ceremonial tradition is recreated, shedding light on what’s ultimately at stake. Excess is the name of the game within Scorsese’s filmography, and Killers of the Flower Moon has that in spades. But it’s not the flashy kind of excess that we’re used to seeing, it’s an excess that overwhelms your soul just as much as your senses. As the debate over what is and isn’t cinema rages on (and I pray to God it ends soon), let this be a clear illustration of what it can be: something powerful enough to enrapture you in the present and pleasantly linger with you long into the future. Full Review 5. Napoleon With his vast historical drama background that includes the likes of The Duellists, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven , and The Last Duel , director Ridley Scott knows a thing or two about setting the stage for global conflicts. Even at the age of 85, he’s never taken a moment to slow down, crafting projects that seem to only get bigger the older he gets. It’s no surprise that both he and fellow octogenarian director Martin Scorsese ( Killers of the Flower Moon ) have found themselves at Apple with their latest historical dramas, the streaming giant plunking down $200 million for each project. While it may not have been the wisest financial decision, it was a fortuitous one for the art of epic filmmaking. The world still properly bemoans what could have been had Stanley Kubrick been allowed to make his Napoleon biopic. There are surely semblances of it in Scott’s film, which continues his string of blockbusters propelled by smart filmmaking and collaborative artistry. It’s timely and timeless in its craft and examination of history, ready to raise the bar just that much higher for later entries in the genre. Full Review 4. Maestro “A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.” This quote by Leonard Bernstein flashes before Maestro commences. It’s a mission statement for writer/director/producer/star Bradley Cooper, who’s made it his life’s work to bring this story to the silver screen. It’s a warning to any Bernstein acolytes who come to this seeking untold answers about the famed conductor’s artistry. And it’s also a blessing to anyone bemoaning another musician biopic, the likes of which have haunted our multiplexes the past few years with their cookie-cutter rise-and-fall stories. For something that has and will continue to be labeled as “Oscar bait,” Maestro is, more than anything, a confidently unique entry in a well-worn genre. It makes A Star Is Born seem like only the appetizer, and this is the main course. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to label Cooper as this generation’s Warren Beatty: a movie star interested in grown-up stories whose oversized ambition is matched by their incredible skill both in front and behind the camera. If there’s anything modern cinema needs more of right now, it’s someone like that. Full Review 3. The Killer The Killer is a descent into bloody madness told by a director in complete control of their craft. Every frame is perfectly lit, every cut perfectly placed and executed, and every piece of sound is perfectly engineered to rattle your bones. It’s a pulpy uncomplicated story about revenge being a dish best served cold. For anyone who enjoys the Hitman video game series and laments the two laughably bad movie adaptations, this is the answer to all your prayers. This is Fincher at his most surface level, playfully cutting loose from ambition and delivering his best film to date (yeah, I said it). Don’t expect to learn any life lessons, or have your perspective changed on an issue. Just sit back and be entertained. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a straightforward process being executed with pinpoint precision, and both our protagonist and Fincher accomplish their mission to outstanding results. Full Review 2. The Zone of Interest There isn’t a single moment in The Zone of Interest that takes place within Auschwitz, but its presence is always felt. The family will be sunbathing in the garden when a faint gunshot goes off on the other side of the wall. Both you and the characters know what that sound means, but only you care about the implications of it. For the family, those gunshots are just as much a part of everyday life as the birds chirping in the trees above. They go about their daily lives without a hitch, leaving you stranded in the fear of your imagination. Sickening in the most calculated way possible, The Zone of Interest is Jonathan Glazer's ode to Stanley Kubrick. He answers the question of how evil can exist unchecked, holding all of your senses in a sterilized vice. Be sure to soak it all in during your first watch, because I doubt you'll ever want to view the world this way again. Full Review 1. Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan cited Oliver Stone’s 1991 masterpiece JFK as one of his main inspirations when adapting this material. He drops you into the middle of the action from frame one and keeps you there. Separate timelines begin to form, each folding into each other with increasing frequency. There’s the future besmirching of Oppenheimer’s legacy; the prideful past where we see his rise; and the roaring present where he must develop the atomic bomb before the Nazis. Similar to Dunkirk , Nolan, and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema define these periods through the imagery. Whether it’s in bright color or stark black-and-white, what you’re seeing is always a work of beauty. Never has IMAX been used to capture the small moments with as much gravitas as the climatic detonation. Oppenheimer is as entertaining as it is enlightening, emboldened by Nolan’s unparalleled vision and craftsmanship. It’s possibly his magnum opus, grabbing hold of history with fiery conviction, never letting you go until you’ve experienced all that cinema has to offer. Full Review More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Smile 2 October 16, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s crazy that Smile 2 so casually assumes that you haven’t seen Smile , the $200 million smash hit and global marketing sensation. How else could one explain the gumption that writer/director Parker Finn has to repeat all of the beats to his previous film, even down to the exact same twists and explanations for what is going on? There could be a slight excuse if this was released several years later and given a semicolon title like Smile: Rebirth or Smile: A New Chapter . But no, this is literally Smile 2 and it’s only been two years (or one day for someone like me who watched the first film in preparation), so we’re all left to experience déjà vu. Finn is a talented craftsman, engineering some decent setpieces through brilliant camerawork and sound design. His use of creeping camera pans is commendable, stirring up the tension as he allows our minds to create temporarily unseen terror. The opening sequence exemplifies all of this, taking place almost immediately after the ending of the first film. Joel (Kyle Gallner) is afflicted with the curse that besieged Rose, needing to rid himself of it through either murder or suicide. He attempts one of those options in an extended long take that traverses in and out of a drug house, capping with the other option. Time goes by and the location changes, but the circumstances remain the same. Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is your average pop star attempting to make a comeback world tour after a falling out through drugs and alcohol. She still has a drug dealer, but only for Vicodin to help with her back pain caused by a car accident that killed her then-boyfriend. What begins as a suspected bad drug trip turns into something much more sinister once the dealer sports an eerie smile and bashes his face in with a barbell plate. The chain of haunting ensues, ranging from terrible visions to… well, pretty much just visions. If you were to list all of the terrible things that happened to Skye in this film, the large majority of them didn’t actually happen. The stakes get increasingly lowered each time something gets interrupted by Skye jolting awake only to realize it was all just a dream. It’s no different than the age-old complaint of the Marvel movies undercutting every emotional moment with a joke. But even in those dreams, the scares aren’t conveyed as effectively as they were the first time. For as much as Finn knows how to set something up, he opts for the balloon-popping jumpscare nearly every time. If you listen for the silencing audio cue, you can guess when it’s going to come without fail. It takes a lot of skill to scare people, and a whole lot less to startle them. Finn has what it takes to truly scare you, and there were several moments here where I could almost taste it. There are inklings of other themes outside of the well-worn topic of trauma that the first film embraced so enthusiastically. The pressures of fame compress Skye at every moment, with hundreds of people depending on her at every moment. She never smiles outside of performing, hoping that faking it will eventually lead her to making it. The increased production budget, most likely supplied through the blatant product placement of Voss Water, allows for some of those intricately choreographed stage shows to highlight the physical and mental demands placed on those just looking to entertain us. Of course, if you want to see the total unraveling of a popstar due to the metaphysical darkness that lurks behind every corner, you’re better off with Vox Lux , which should be all the rage now with the director’s new film, The Brutalist , making waves on the festival circuit. Smile 2 saves its best idea and single shot for the absolute end, presenting a unique idea for what could be in store for Smile 3 . If only Finn had decided to expedite that process and save us the two tedious hours to get there. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Electric State March 12, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Have you ever wondered why Netflix keeps hiking up the price of its streaming service? Beyond the simple answer that they can do whatever they want now that they’re the top dog in streaming (What are you gonna do? Go over to Peacock?), all that extra cash is needed to fund their quarterly ventures into blockbuster filmmaking. Q1 2025’s splashy title for the next investor meeting is The Electric State , which reportedly comes at a cost of $320 million, putting it within shouting distance of some of the most expensive movies ever made. This comes as no surprise considering directors Anthony and Joe Russo are at the helm. They’ve displayed their expertise in creating entertainment out of the GDPs of small island nations numerous times before with their Captain America and Avengers films. Seeing all those box office dollars flowing like Niagara Falls, Netflix quickly snatched up the brothers, but not before they took forgettable detours to rival streamers Apple TV+ and Amazon with Cherry and Citadel , respectively. The Gray Man didn’t start the franchise that Netflix desperately needed, even with Captain America himself Chris Evans as a headliner. And now with Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon films and Red Notice failing to do the same, the steamer is back to the Russos in another attempt to become one of the big boy studios. But just as one could tell once video games and other tie-ins were announced before the film had even been seen by the public, the desperation for this film to be in the first of a franchise permeates through each unremarkable frame, cloying emotional moment, and generic punchline. The Russos may be great at getting stuff over the finish line, but this is another reminder that they’re pretty inept when it comes to starting from scratch. Loosely adapting from the 2018 illustrated novel by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag of the same name, the Russos and their ever-dependable screenwriting team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely center the story around Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), a teenage girl all alone after her family was killed in a car crash. While she was in the hospital recovering, humanity waged a war against the worker robots that Walt Disney created back in the 1950s to lighten our load. These bots wanted personal freedom, something we weren’t willing to accommodate. Humans won the war thanks to the obviously evil techno billionaire Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), and all robots were deemed illegal and cast off to the Exclusionary Zone in the deserts of the southwest. As it turns out, Michelle’s brother is alive, his unconscious brain being used as the battery that powers the entire neural network that Skate’s corporation uses to control the masses. Yes, this plot is pretty much as dumb on celluloid as on paper. To break him out of his prison, Michelle will have to break the downtrodden veteran robots out of their prison, led by an animatronic Mr. Peanut. It’s obvious that the war chest Netflix threw at this production didn’t go the screenplay, a dime-a-dozen story of a messianic teenager who leads the unlikely forces of good against an evil domineering superpower. Even the relationship between Michelle and her brother is delivered in shorthand flashback scenes where the siblings only speak in big emotions as Alan Silvestri’s score reaches for the heavens. Silvestri is famous for being Robert Zemeckis’ go-to composer, a director who could have brought something interesting to this material if it were published back in his heyday. The effects/animatronics are very impressive, with robots of all shapes and sizes given a unique design and personality, providing several opportunities for famous actors to appear as voiceovers. Ke Huy Quan as a makeshift Windows PC and Jenny Slate as Penny Pal the Mailwoman are notable highlights. Unsurprisingly, Chris Pratt has great chemistry with his CGI robot sidekick Herman, exceptionally and sneakily voiced by Anthony Mackie. There’s also blink-and-you-miss-it roles for Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, Hank Azaria, and Colman Domingo. Watching all of this never come to fruition was not an enjoyable experience, but it wasn’t a total waste of time, either. This is a prototypical four-quadrant film aimed to attract the maximum amount of eyeballs from around the world. While I don’t think anyone will be offended by what it offers, I also doubt anyone will be wholly pleased. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Flash June 5, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen One of the first things you’ll notice about The Flash is how much of a lighter affair it is compared to Zack Snyder’s vision. I mean that on both a metaphorical and literal level, as director Andy Muschietti opens his film with the titular hero in such a ludicrously stupid situation, it almost has to be interpreted as a middle finger to Snyder’s doom and gloom. Carrying over from that dark place is Ben Affleck’s Batman, who looks a little ridiculous in the full daylight (almost as if his entire aesthetic was created with a different visual style in mind…) and still doesn’t have the time to put up with Flash’s personality (you and me both). But even if the tone and colors have been lifted from the shadows, the stakes are still as high as ever. Zack Snyder’s Justice League gave us a glimpse of Flash’s ability to enter the Speed Force and reverse the flow of time, which he did to save the entire world from Darkseid’s Mother Boxes. Being a jittery and perpetually inquisitive person, Barry extends that logic into the implication that he could go back far enough in time to save his mother from being murdered, for which his father was falsely blamed. It’s an extremely dangerous gamble, as even the slightest alteration could have unforeseen consequences on not just his own timeline, but innumerable timelines spread across the space-time continuum (the new industry-approved term is “multiverse,” which I’m sure you're very familiar with by now). To Barry, the risk is worth the reward. But instead of going back in time to make a paradise, he makes a new hell on earth. Because of his actions, the world has been rendered without metahumans, meaning no Superman, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman. But it does have a General Zod, who now stands unopposed in his destruction of Earth. Thankfully, the exclusion of metahumans doesn’t apply to Batman, who’s now in the form of Michael Keaton. Every comic-book franchise, whether live-action or animated, has dabbled in the multiverse at this point. There are some that haven’t gone far enough with it ( Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ), and some that have done it just right ( Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ). The Flash takes its concept and gives way to its worst impulses. The opportunity for endless possibilities is mostly spent on jingling car keys in front of your face in the form of cameos, line readings, and music stings that you recognize, many of which dramatically undercut the physical and emotional stakes of the situation. This is The Rise of Skywalker all over again, so desperate in its attempt for you to like it by flashing as many pleasure-inducing sights as possible that you don’t have time to think about what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s not like what’s on the surface hiding that rotten core isn’t good either. Ezra Miller continues to be the kid in high school who tried way too hard to be the class clown, devolving every “humorous” moment into an eye-rolling groan fest. I understand how it’s nearly impossible to look at them and not think about his heinous off-screen persona, but it’s also nearly impossible to like them on-screen. What’s their appeal? Being annoying? And now there are two of them! It also can’t be understated how undercooked several visual-effect-heavy sequences look. Characters move around weightlessly, CGI doubles look as natural as the actors from Tom Hooper’s Cats , and some “unbroken takes” might as well qualify for the Best Animated Short Film category at the Oscars (although I would harshly refrain from using the term “best”). Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania still takes the cake for the worst-looking blockbuster in recent memory, but this gives it a run for its money. To give Muschietti a smidge of credit, he does come up with some inventive ways to show off Flash’s powers without just ripping off the Quicksilver scenes from the X-Men movies. The distortions of time and physics may put physicists in a coma, but it’s mildly interesting to see how bad guys can be dispatched within the blink of an eye. The Flash is the straw (a heavy one nonetheless) that breaks the camel’s back when it comes to multiverses in blockbuster franchises. Instead of using its unlimited potential to deliver something unique, it sinks to the lowest form of pandering by just waving around what you already know. What’s the point of boasting about the oceanfront view if you’re only ever going to swim in the kiddie pool? More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Awards Update: Chucking At The Wall And Seeing What Sticks May 11, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen Welcome to an ongoing series where I cover the 2024/2025 awards season. On a regular basis, I will update my Oscar predictions, taking into account the new information that has been received since the last update. Full predictions in every category can be found on the Home and Awards page. Christopher Nolan’s ascendancy to Oscar glory with Oppenheimer might have only happened two months ago, but that doesn’t mean the awards train has stopped altogether. As the old saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. Of course, there is such a thing as opening the door too early, but there’s also a great deal of fun to be had at this time of the year when almost anything is possible. The final few months of any awards season can start to feel repetitive, with the same group of nominees and winners appearing at every successive awards show. And now the puzzle pieces are completely scattered, leaving their final configuration up to anyone’s imagination. Who could have predicted the resurgence of CODA in 2021, or the meteoric sustainability of Everything Everywhere All at Once the following year? How many of us truly thought at this point last year that the famously anti-audience Jonathan Glazer would become such a stalwart contender with The Zone of Interest ? Speaking of The Zone of Interest , its birthplace, the Cannes Film Festival, is just around the corner. Historically located on the French Riviera, the festival’s Oscar influence has greatly expanded over the years, with notable premieres including Cold War , Parasite , Another Round * , Drive My Car , Triangle of Sadness , and Anatomy of a Fall . It’s no surprise that the world’s most prominent international film festival has courted increased favor from the ever-growingly diverse AMPAS voting body. So, what’s on the horizon at this year’s edition? Hot off his very successful Poor Things , Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe for Kinds of Kindness , an anthology film rumored to return to the Greek director’s darker roots. While I don’t think the film will reach the heavyweight status of The Favourite and Poor Things , the Academy’s overwhelming passion for Lanthimos’ work signals a willingness to weather the weirdness. I have my eye on Dafoe and Hong Chau getting some overdue narrative buzz. Also overdue are Paul Schrader, Uma Thurman, and Richard Gere, who have Oh, Canada . There’s also David Cronenberg with The Shrouds , which is said to be his most personal work yet. On the international front is Paolo Sorrentino with the stunningly black-and-white Parthenope , Jacques Audiard with the Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana-led Emilia Perez , and Jia Zhangke’s cryptically long-gestating Caught by the Tides . Almost all of our recent international Best Director nominees have come from Cannes, so it stands to reason that someone in this competition lineup will pop. 2024 is the year of question marks, and no bigger question at Cannes is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis . Early buzz from industry screenings tells the tale of an enormous film too unusual for the Oscars, so Coppola will need to lean on the critics (and festival jury) to put some wind back in his sails. I’m skeptical about any above-the-line nominations, but could maybe see some movement in the craft categories. Of course, the question of which distributor takes its domestic rights is almost as important as its overall reception. Sticking with the theme of questions, we have a lot of those once we veer our sights later into the year. Warner Bros. has a trio of sequels to huge Oscar hits in Dune: Part Two , Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (premiering out-of-competition at Cannes), and Joker: Folie à Deux . Dune: Part Two seems safe to repeat or improve on its previous iteration’s nomination tally on account of its improved critical and commercial success. I have a little more confidence in Todd Phillips to capture lighting in a bottle again, mostly due to his sequel seemingly pushing itself (and the comic-book genre) in a different direction. The trailer also displayed some immaculate craftsmanship, giving strength to a potential Best Picture repeat. Since the expansion of the Best Picture category to a locked ten system, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remains the only film to receive more than three overall nominations and not be nominated for Best Picture. Another Oscar-hungry sequel is Gladiator II . Ridley Scott has been hot and cold (mostly cold) with awards since the turn of the century, but the prestige and hype surrounding this project might inspire a decent haul of craft nominations. Other substantial below-the-line players include Wicked , Twisters , and Nosferatu . Looking further into the above-the-line categories, the potentially biggest player is Steve McQueen’s Blitz about the London bombings during World War II. McQueen may have already claimed Best Picture with 12 Years a Slave , but he didn’t receive Best Director. He’s got Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, and Stephen Graham leading his cast. Focus Features has its own historical prestige project in Conclave , directed by Edward Berger ( All Quiet on the Western Front ) and starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Stanley Tucci. Despite being a legend in the industry, Fiennes hasn’t been nominated in over twenty-five years, a fact that I think will play very well into his Lead Actor campaign. My biggest no guts, no glory predictions this year revolve around Mike Leigh and his film Hard Truths . It didn’t show up on the Cannes lineup, signaling a debut in the fall. Leigh has seven career nominations to his name, and he’s reuniting with his Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Other competitors in the Lead Actress category will likely be Angelina Jolie for Pablo Larraín’s Maria and Jessica Lange in the film adaption of Long Day’s Journey Into Night . Being that it’s only May, I expect almost half of my initial predictions to be wrong. That’s just the way the game is played. Luckily, I’ll be in Cannes in a few weeks to check out the contenders premiering there, and then be in the thick of the summer blockbuster season. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen

I Wanna Dance with Somebody December 21, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen INT. STAGE - THE SET OF “20 QUESTIONS” Announcer (A): Hello, and welcome to 20 Questions , the popular game that everyone loves to play! The rules are simple: We select a subject and something specific within that subject, and our contestant races to identify that specific item in twenty questions or less. If the contestant succeeds, they will walk away with $10,000. Sounds easy enough! Now, let’s meet the lucky lad who will be playing today! Hunter (H): Hello, my name is Hunter and I consider myself a big movie buff. A: Well Hunter, it's your lucky day, as the theme for today’s game is movies! Hunter does a fist pump under the desk he’s sitting at. A: We’re going to give you a specific genre of movies, and you have to figure out which movie we’re looking for in twenty questions or less. H: Sounds great Mr. Announcer. I’m ready to receive my $10,000! A: Alright, well let's get the game started. Your specific genre is… musician biopics . H (under his breath): Oh crap… A: You may begin asking questions! Q1: Alright, well, does this start at the end of the protagonist’s journey, and then proceed to be told as one long flashback? A: Yes Q2: Do the parents of the protagonist have a strained relationship, giving the protagonist unresolved trauma? A: Yes Q3: And does the protagonist make many of the same mistakes as their parents, even though they swore they wouldn’t be like them? A: Yes Q4: Do things start out rough at the protagonist’s first big public appearance like they stand too close to the microphone or they almost faint before they walk on stage? A: Yes Q5: But they immediately pull themselves together, and deliver a knock-out performance that stuns the crowd, which coincidentally includes a big-time agent/manager/producer? A: Yes Q6: Once they're signed to a contract, does the protagonist enjoy immediate success, thrusting them into an unfamiliar world of high expectations? A: Yes Q7: And is this successful period covered with a montage containing shots of positive newspaper headlines, screaming crowds, and lots of expensive items, all while one of their most famous songs plays? A: Yes Q8: After a while, does the protagonist meet an outsider who begins to corrupt their good-natured morals? A: Yes Q9: Do the family and friends of the protagonist try to convince them that this outsider is a bad influence, and will probably ruin their career? A: Yes Q10: But the protagonist doesn’t listen to any of them, as they’re blinded by either love or a need to rebel against what people expect of them? A: Yes Q11: Does the protagonist eventually start to struggle with the pressures of fame, leading them to rely on drugs and alcohol to maintain the pace? A: Yes Q12: And does this addiction disrupt their talents, leading to some backlash from their fans? A: Yes Q13: Do the family and friends that have been with the protagonist since the beginning of the movie stage an intervention about their addiction? A: Yes Q14: And does the protagonist then lash out by repeatedly saying “I’m fine” or “I have it under control”? A: Yes Q15: Then the protagonist goes to rehab, starting the recovery process by going back to their roots of why they loved singing in the first place? A: Yes Q16: Do we then get to the end of the movie, where the protagonist makes a comeback by performing another one of their most famous songs? A: Yes Q17: Does the movie then fade to black once they finish the song, revealing a postscript that describes the tragic fate of the protagonist, and how their music was so important? A: Yes Q18: After the postscript, does a clip montage of the real protagonist play over the credits, validating the impression done by the lead actor or actress? A: Yes Q19: Will this lead performer be described as a “star-in-the-making” or a “revelation,” and be considered for an Oscar? A: Yes Q20: But, despite the lead performance being praised, will everyone agree that the movie is just an airbrushed retelling of the protagonist's Wikipedia page and that it played loose with the facts? A: Yes, and that was your final question, so you need to guess which movie we’re looking for. H: Well gosh, I haven’t really narrowed it down. It could be… Walk the Line, Bohemian Rhapsody , Born to be Blue, Beyond the Sea, I Saw the Light, Judy, Coalminer’s Daughter, Ray, Elvis, Respect, Get on Up , or The United States vs. Billie Holiday , Stardust , or twenty other movies I can’t think of right now. A: Well, I’m going to have to ask you to only guess one. H: Alright, I’m guessing that the movie you’re looking for is Bohemian Rhapsody . A: Oh, I’m sorry but the answer we wanted was Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody ! You actually saw that movie last night. H: Dang! You’re right, I did see that movie last night! I’ve completely forgotten about it and it’s not even been 24 hours. A: Don’t feel too hard on yourself. Everyone is going to forget about that movie by next week. H: Yeah, you’re probably right. A: And that’s going to do it for us here at 20 Questions ! We hope you all at home had fun playing along, even though we doubt you were able to come up with the answer as well. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2025 Recap May 27, 2025 By: Tyler Banark This year, I was honored to attend the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. It was my first time attending the festival and being in Europe, and it truly was a wonderful experience. The sights, views, and movies were all something to behold and made me grateful that I could be in the presence of great people working in the industry. I saw eight films during the last three days, so here are my brief thoughts on everything I saw on the Croisette, in the order I watched them in. Sound of Falling One of the most hyped-up non-English-language movies of the festival, Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling , will likely be on many people’s radar later this year. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as everyone else at the festival. It was boring, and I had no idea what it wanted to be. It does try to make a valid commentary on childhood trauma across different generations, but it gets convoluted in doing so. It also ended suddenly as I got into the moment and was eager to see where it would go. How this movie tied for the Jury Prize (third place) is beyond me. I would advise avoiding it. (2/5) The History of Sound The History of Sound sees Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, two actors at the top of their game, collide in a love story driven by folk music. The two are excellent, but the rest of Oliver Hermanus’ film is dull as it tries to mask itself with performances and enticing music moments.. There is a great movie somewhere underneath this movie’s surface, but whether that core can be reached is a stretch to see and may require a second viewing. For now, The History of Sound is a miss for Hermanus. (2.5/5) Eddington Eddington is a daring and complex film that challenges viewers to reflect on the societal divisions exacerbated by the pandemic. Its potent performances and atmospheric direction make it a standout entry in Aster's filmography, even if its political messaging occasionally lacks precision. It's the latest example of that and is a compelling film that provokes discussion and introspection about the pandemic, no matter how comforting or discomforting it may be. (4/5) Resurrection Bi Gan’s latest epic, Resurrection , is the big movie of the year that people will either love or not get. It’s best to go into it knowing little of the plot other than it falls into the genre of a love letter to cinema. Resurrection sees Gan passionate as ever, as it’s a visual feast. Bookended with a remarkable opening sequence and a final twenty minutes that will stun audiences, Gan should have audiences wrapped around his finger. (4/5) Sentimental Value Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World sees him slowly reaching the Western Hemisphere. He’s back with Renate Reinsve and has Stellan Skarsgård on board. But in terms of Hollywood, he recruited American actors Elle Fanning and Cory Michael Smith in supporting roles. The actors make Sentimental Value what it is as we see a father look to reconnect with his adult daughter, but an American actress poses a threat. If Sentimental Value is looking to accomplish anything, it’s being a heavy awards season contender as the leading trio is all wonderful. If there are any flaws, it’s in the pacing, as it tends to drag for much of the movie’s runtime. Nevertheless, be on the lookout for this soon. (3.5/5) Die, My Love Lynne Ramsay’s long-awaited return to the silver screen is a bleak slice-of-life film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as a lowly couple living in the countryside of Montana. Lawrence performs daringly as she’s in a weird phase of looking to reinvent herself. As a fan of hers, I’m all for it, but I don’t know if others will see it that way. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see Lawrence back in the limelight, but I don't know if this will work for her due to the subject matter of the love. It’s a raw, physical performance, and she can do it. But when the rest of the movie isn’t as consistent as she is, where will the general viewers fall? (3/5) Honey Don't! The second film in Ethan Coen’s follow-up lesbian trilogy after last year’s Drive-Away Dolls , to Honey Don’t is another step down for his solo director career. While watching this film, I realized which past Coen brothers projects were helmed mainly by him and which were done by Joel. Margaret Qualley is looking to be his muse as she leads this queer crime comedy, and she owns the screen. She fits the mold of the Coen aesthetic, and is far from the most significant issue I had with Honey Don’t. The writing is the suspect here as Coen co-wrote this with his wife Tricia Cooke, and it leaves audiences unamused with lamely written characters. The only good thing to come out of the script is the humor. Still, even that didn’t do much to save. He wastes a stacked cast of Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Chris Evans, and Talia Ryder with ho-hum character development, making the previously mentioned typecast. If there’s anything Ethan Coen should take away from Honey Don’t , it’s that he needs to reunite with Joel. (3/5) The Phoenician Scheme Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme sees the director at a crossroads. His style is unique and can't be replicated, no matter how much people try. However, the relationship between Asteroid City and The French Dispatch has become stale in the past few years . Luckily, moviegoers and Wes heads can put this fear to rest as The Phoenician Scheme is a bold, genre-blending espionage comedy that both honors and subverts his signature style. For a while now, Anderson has been making the narrative approach of having a story within a story. And while it worked at first, it slowly got boring. Have no fear, as The Phoenician Scheme reverts to that and gives a direct plot that feels like a breath of fresh air for viewers like me. (4/5) More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Films of 2024 December 28, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen In my Best of 2023 list, I described my choices as "predictable," taking both a positive and negative stance on that scenario. Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised that historical dramas by Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan, a David Fincher hitman thriller, and a Wes Anderson comedy would end up being some of my favorites of the year. 2024 ended up being very different, with many of the titles on this list coming clear out of left field. Could that be a sign that the usual heavy hitters are on their way down, or that last year's SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have walloped the industry with more than just a temporary blow? Perhaps. But it could also mean that there are so many of those medium and small films out there, many ready to change your life if you just give them a chance. The only currency that matters in cinema is the experience you have in your seat and in the time that follows. All ten of the films featured in this list (and the extra ten honorable mentions) are boundlessly wealthy in that department, which is why I'm so excited to talk about them one more time before the book is closed. Honorable Mentions: A Complete Unknown , Dune: Part Two , I'm Still Here, Kinds of Kindness , Nickel Boys , Nosferatu , Saturday Night , September 5, The Apprentice , The Order 10. Maria Pablo Larraín concludes his biopic trilogy not with a story about a figure at the end of an era, but at the end of their life. This Maria Callas-led capper is further separated from the previous two efforts, the frenzied claustrophobia substituted with something more hauntingly elegiac, with Ed Lachmann's warm cinematographer and Guy Hendrix Dyas' sumptuous production design proving that pretty surroundings don't equal a pretty life. Angelina Jolie reminds us of her immense screen presence and poise as a performer, guiding us through Callas' tumultuous past and present. Full Review 9. The Substance If there’s one thing writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature hates more than attached limbs and unspilled blood, it’s subtlety. She knows that if you’re not going to be first or the most insightful, then you might as well make damn sure you’re going to the most audaciously unforgettable. With Julia Ducournau and Fargeat rising through the ranks of international cinema, the no-holds-barred corner that they occupy is looking like a mighty fine place to camp out for a while. Full Review 8. We Live in Time Featuring two of the most charming performances of the year by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, We Live in Time is the kind of heart-tugging romantic drama that they don't make anymore. Cutting back and forth in time, screenwriter Nick Payne pieces together the story of a relationship, the trials and tribulations that drive humans to seek companionship with each other. Director John Crowley, excellently rebounding from The Goldfinch , makes sure none of this seems corny or overblown, applying a deft touch that authentically incites tears of laughter and sadness. 7. Emilia Pérez To try and categorize the filmography of French maestro Jacques Audiard into one box would be an act of futility, a sentiment that extends to his newest Mexican-set film. Is it a musical? Is it a crime thriller? Is it a life-affirming melodrama? It’s all and none of those things, harnessing the unique power of each genre to create a film bursting with bombast. Karla Sofía Gascón is a true discovery in the titular role, as are the musical talents of Zoe Saldaña that are rarely able to be shown outside of her CGI-heavy work. Full Review 6. Evil Does Not Exist Arthouse superstar Ryûsuke Hamaguchi makes his most outspoken work with Evil Does Not Exist . The relative leanness of Drive My Car has been dialed down to a quiet tranquility. Those who embrace the molasses will find themselves powerfully transported, a task that becomes much simpler with the aid of Eiko Ishibashi’s magnificent score. Despite being clear in his message, Hamaguchi never eviscerates the villains of this story, delivering an ecological parable that intricately paints in shades of grey. 5. The Girl with the Needle An ultra-grim fairy tale comes to life in writer/director Magnus von Horn’s loose retelling of Denmark’s most heinous and prolific serial killer. The depressing gloom of post-WWI Copenhagen is lensed in claustrophobic black-and-white, and the dread drip-fed through abstract visuals and a deeply haunting score. Vic Carmen Stone and Trine Dyrholm are standouts in their lead roles, guiding not just through this literal story, but also the universal lesson of the nightmares women have endured throughout history. 4. The End Even in the darkest depths of the Earth at the end of humanity, you can still find a reason to sing and dance. Co-writer/director Joshua Oppenheimer, famed for his one-two documentary punch of The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence , makes sure his fiction feature debut is as bold and audacious as one would expect. The Golden Age influences of Jacques Demy and Vincent Minnelli supply the bravura, the cast's confidence more important than their physical abilities. This is an absurdist concept with humorous moments, but it’s also so sincere that you can’t simply excuse it as another "eat the rich" story. These are rich characters, both emotionally and financially, with their inner delusions offering a complex lesson on how we handle the horrors that are right in front of us. Full Review 3. Conclave For someone who seemed to appear out of nowhere with All Quiet on the Western Front , director Edward Berger has quickly strung together two of the finest films of the past few years. Conclave is a soap opera with as much page-turning substance as it has a prestige-like style, with Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan keeping the balance between thrills and social critique just as pristine as it was in Robert Harris’ novel. Longstanding acting royalty fills the cast, each of them maintaining a quiet dignity as a web of lies and deceit begins to unspool right in front of them. Full Review 2. The Brutalist The Brutalist is a full-course cinema meal, requiring an afternoon to consume and much longer to digest. It’s easy to savor every moment of it in real-time because of its boundless beauty, and just as easy over time thanks to its long lingering themes on the ideals that modern America convinced itself it was built upon. With a record-breaking runtime of 215 minutes (including an intermission!), each scene flows with more freedom and weight, all of them simultaneously epic and intimate as the camera glacially passes through the years. With three features to his name as a director, Brady Corbet has become one of the most formidable artists of his generation, challenging his audience to see the darkness that our world invites. Full Review 1. The Beast First watched in September 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival (and rewatched in April of this year as part of the film's US release), Bertrand Bonello's sci-fi epic was the clear wire-to-wire winner of the year. Bonello displays a mastery of tone and vision across his 146-minute adaptation of Henry James' genre-defying novella. There’s passion, fear, humor, drama, and everything in between as Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play characters in three different periods - 1910, 2014, 2044 - as they navigate the unknowable connection they feel for each other. It's a greatly demanding work exploring the fear of opening oneself up to risk and the unknown, something that modern audiences have continually proven to be less adept at overcoming. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Death of a Unicorn March 25, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen A few weeks ago, I panned the A24 film Opus because of its derivativeness. It was nothing more than a half-assed copycat of the "regular person finds themselves surrounded by a cult" movies we've been avalanched by over the years. And now, as if they didn't learn their lesson (or didn't care), the studio is back again with another venture down a well-trodden road, this time making the lateral movement into the territory of eat-the-rich and late-stage capitalism. From first-time writer/director Alex Scharfman, Death of a Unicorn is exactly the type of movie you'd expect based on the trailer; or if you've seen any of the combinations of Glass Onion , Parasite , The Menu , or Triangle of Sadness . You've got your obviously corrupt wealthy family the Leopolds, pharmaceutical billionaires who've secluded themselves in the Canadian Rockies under the guise of philanthropy. The leader of the pack is the terminally ill Odell (Richard E. Grant), watched over by his wife (Téa Leoni) and buffoonish son Shep (Will Poulter). Beleaguered father Elliot (Paul Rudd) is sent to handle some paperwork before Odell passes, his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) in tow in an effort for them to use the weekend as a way to reconnect after the death of his wife/her mother. But even in this tranquil slice of natural paradise, death still seems to follow the duo. They strike a horse with their rental car, leaving Elliot to bludgeon it out of its misery with a tire iron. Except this horse is much bigger than expected, has a glowing horn attached to its head, and has magic blood that cured Elliot's vision and Ridley's acne when it splattered on them. Nobody can get themselves to admit what they all think it is, except until Ridley just comes out and says "It's a fucking unicorn!" Of course, when nature hands humanity a gift, we immediately look to exploit it for the wealthy. Odell calls up his fellow members of the 1% of the 1% club, making millions per minute as he promises vials of blood, horn shavings, and all the different kinds of cuts of unicorn meat. Scharfman's script hits all the familiar beats through these initial proceedings. We're supposed to laugh at the absurdity of it all, except that the jokes just aren't funny enough, and the collective public mood isn't game for something like this anymore. That's not to say the material is unfunny, as actors like Poulter and Barry star Anthony Carrigan, appearing as the Leopold's mistreated butler, spin this straw into a few light chuckles here and there. There's also some slight amusement to be had in witnessing the violent dismemberment of bad people at the hands (or, in this case, hoofs and horns) of unicorns. Killing one of their own will not go unpunished by these mystical creatures, a warning Ridley tries to instill after she uses her art history degree to do some research. But as the people we want to die get picked off one by one, we're only left with the people that we're supposed to be rooting for. Except Rudd and Ortega are underused and flat, leaving not much room to care about their problems. A horror movie filled with purely guilty pleasures is fine by itself, just don't try to sell me spoonfuls of social commentary and trauma if you aren't going to put in the effort to make it taste good. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2023 Predictions - Part 2: Hollywood Makes a Splash Overseas April 5, 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 second part encompasses the biggest fish in the pond, which are the Hollywood blockbusters from the major studios. Cannes may be a Mecca for international cinema, but that doesn’t mean they exclude the big boys. The festival thrives on star power, and nothing rolls out the red carpet more than a blockbuster with lots of names attached to it. Both Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis started their journeys on the Croisette, as well as Mad Max: Fury Road and The Da Vinci Code in the years prior. Let’s take a look at which big tent poles might debut in the Palais. 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! Asteroid City With Asteroid City a certainty to debut on the French Riviera, Cannes now replaces Berlin as the film festival to debut the most Anderson films. Moonrise Kingdom opened the festival in 2012, and The French Dispatch sat on a shelf throughout the pandemic to ensure it debuted at the 2021 edition. Cannes thrives on star power to fill its historic red carpet, and Anderson’s films have plenty to spare. His newest cast will feature no less than Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, and Jeffrey Wright. May December A rumor has been slowly spreading over the past few years that Todd Haynes’ Carol was a near lock to win the Palme d’Or in 2015, but was snubbed at the last minute by jury member Xavier Dolan. The film had to settle for a joint Best Actress prize for Rooney Mara. His newest film finished production in November, reuniting him with Julianne Moore, and bringing Natalie Portman back into the fold. Poor Things Coming off the blazing Oscar success of The Favourite , all eyes are on what Yorgos Lanthimos will do next. He’s keeping his partnership with leading lady Emma Stone and screenwriter Tony McNamara for Poor Things , which will be set in Victorian England and about a mad scientist who brings a woman back to life. Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, and Margaret Qualley mix into the supporting cast. Lanthimos’ unique arthouse sensibilities have matched well with Cannes in the past, with Dogtooth, The Lobster , and The Killing of a Sacred Deer , all winning various prizes. Now that Oscar buzz follows Lanthimos wherever he goes, Searchlight Pictures will have to make a decision of sending the film to a festival with an already established fandom for Lanthimos or wait and debut it in the fall with the rest of the Oscar bunch. Killers of the Flower Moon With extensive reshoots and release date delays, Martin Scorsese’s epic western has become one of his longest projects to get to audiences. Rumors started to swirl late last year that the film was eyeing a premiere on the Riviera, followed by a fall festival tour. With CODA becoming the first streaming film to win Best Picture, Apple will do everything in its power to repeat that success. The Little Mermaid The timing lines up perfectly for Disney to use the festival as a launching pad for the international release of their newest live-action remake. The film packs plenty of buzzy names such as Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy and an acclaimed director in Rob Marshall. Hitman While we’ll have to wait almost another two decades for Richard Linklater’s ambitious adaptation of Merrily We Roll Along , the famed Texan filmmaker has something up his sleeve to tide us over. Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell, a frequent collaborator of Linklater’s, co-wrote the screenplay with him for this story of a hitman who turns the tables on those who hire him. It’s been twenty years since Linklater last competed on the Croisette (2005’s Fast Food Nation ), so it might be time for him to be brought back into the fold. Oppenheimer Very few filmmakers carry as much name value as Christopher Nolan, who will be potentially delivering a more stripped-down story about the trials and tribulations of the titular father of the atomic bomb. Nolan has never shown one of his films at Cannes, but he did introduce his 70mm restoration of 2001: A Space Odyssey before it was pushed into theaters. If Nolan does decide to bring his material this time, then a glitzy out-of-competition premiere would be the most likely route taken. The Bikeriders Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Jodie Comer, Norman Reedus, and Boyd Holbrook star as members of a Midwestern motorcycle club in writer/director Jeff Nichols’ return to feature filmmaking after a brief hiatus. Nichols served on the jury last year and brought both Mud and Loving to the Croisette. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Cannes thrives on a small batch of Hollywood blockbusters looking to make a splashy international premiere, as evidenced by Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis grabbing headlines last year. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuted at the festival back in 2008, so there is precedent for the famed archaeologist to stop by. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen