Wolfs September 26, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen In Wolfs , both George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s characters go unnamed. It’s a requirement of the trade, both of them holding the title of “fixer,” someone you call when you’re in a jam and need help. A person who finds themself in this occupation needs to have a certain type of monasticism, explains Clooney’s character. They have no name, possessions, or past. They are a ghost… a lone wolf among a city full of sheep. The city in this scenario is New York, a familiar stomping ground for writer/director Jon Watts after his trilogy of MCU Spider-Man films. Here, he finally gets to turn the brightness down and send some characters to the morgue, although that Marvel-y banter has stuck around in his DNA. Prominent DA Margaret (Amy Ryan) is enjoying a night on the town. She picks up a young man (Austin Abrams) at the bar, gets a penthouse suite for the two of them, and starts drinking her troubles away. Except, new trouble arises when the man falls off the bed and crashes through the glass table, killing him. She can’t call the police, as the scandal would ruin her career. So, she calls the unnamed contact on her phone, with Clooney appearing at her door with assurances that he’ll make everything disappear. The swanky hotel fears a scandal just as much as Margaret does, which is why they send in their fixer (Pitt). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLJUPjiRbAM Just as it is annoying to find out that your Airbnb host double-booked you with another person during your weekend getaway, so is it for these two solitary professionals. But the only way to get the job done is to work together, a task that gets exponentially harder once drugs are discovered and the supposedly dead man suddenly wakes up. A lot of the early pages in Watts’ script are meant for blowing smoke up the asses of the two fixers. Several speeches about how they are one of a kind and that no one can do what they do. Of course, that whole angle gets demolished pretty quickly as these two are pretty much a mirror of each other. They dress in the same slick black outfits, talk in the same confidently hushed tone, and have bad backs. One could surmise this ironic humor is meant for Pitt and Clooney just as much as it is for the characters. They’re two identical movie stars from the same generation who could easily swap roles without much difference in outcome. I’d guess that Clooney would have nailed Moneyball just as much as Pitt did, and vice versa for Gravity . Luckily, the animosity and distrust between these two clones aren’t shared by Pitt and Clooney. Four movies together and a lifelong friendship go a long way to sell their instant chemistry here. The wisecracks and insults they share get tiring very quickly, but they always work on a basic level because of the infectious love the two of them have for each other. It’s Newman and Redford for the modern age, with some crime caper elements to keep the studio-mandated plot chugging along. Everything Everywhere All at Once cinematographer Larkin Seiple makes this look good for a streaming film, which is a backhanded way of saying it doesn’t look like a pile of digital garbage. Yes, there is a car commercial sheen to this that cannot be ignored, but the smoky shadows and nighttime gloominess of late winter New York sell the intriguing underworld that these characters dabble in. Theodore Shapiro provides a lofi techno soundtrack that’ll go great with any study session. None of this amounts to much of anything that will be memorable. I haven’t thought about it at all in the 24-hour gap between watching it and writing this review. It’s fun in the present and harnesses the power of movie stars in a time when that magic has steadily faded. For that, it gets a half-thumbs-up seal of approval. Apple Original Films will release Wolfs in select theaters on September 20th, followed by its streaming premiere on September 27th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Mother, Couch July 3, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen “It was all very simple; they were looking for a dresser. Blood wouldn’t spill till later.” These words scrawl across an almost Toy Story -esque cloudy background before the camera pans down to your typical furniture store. It’s a foreboding string of words, one that prompts several questions. What’s the significance of the dresser? Why is blood going to be spilled at a furniture store? Whose blood is it going to be? Writer/director Niclas Larsson wants you to hang on to these questions for dear life throughout his oddball feature debut, one that packs quite a sizable cast consisting of Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans, Taylor Russell, Lara Flynn Boyle, F. Murray Abraham, and Ellen Burstyn. Instead of doing as Larsson says, we’re often left scratching our heads and asking, “What’s going on?” and “Who cares?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znu2_4vAD4s But it is not all lies that Larsson peddles, as there is truth in his first introductory sentence. Things did start very simply, with David (McGregor) and Gruffudd (Ifans) helping their mother (Burstyn) shop for a specific dresser in a now-closing furniture store. David is on the clock as he’s supposed to be helping set up his daughter’s birthday party. And yet this dresser can’t be found, and neither can his mother in this maze of a store. He wants to cut his losses and just leave, but she says she’s not getting up from the couch she’s plopping herself down on. After a few seconds of silence, David starts to realize that she’s deadly serious. Minutes of coaxing turn into hours, in which each passing moment becomes increasingly unhinged. While hidden from the internet and any of the press materials, an exclamation point is added to the title when it flashes on the screen after the opening credits. In addition to being part of the confusion about the punctuation surrounding the title (I’ve seen a clean split between Mother Couch and Mother, Couch ), that extra element at the end creates an undeniable link to Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! . Both films hid their true meanings behind metaphors and stand-ins, only for all to be revealed through an extended sequence of batshit insanity. Aronofsky’s work may have been extremely on-the-nose and pointed towards an easy target, but it did always contain a certain level of excitement on both a literal and figurative level. No such thrills exist in Larsson’s film, with endless visual teasing and dialogue exchanges that dance around the central mystery, quickly overstaying their welcome. Everyone other than David seems to have a grasp on what’s truly going on, almost as if this is all some elaborate social experiment. The physical space certainly makes it feel that way; the confoundingly laid-out hallways and storage rooms create a maze for these helpless mice to traverse through. If the cast were just as unsure about the material as we are, they hide it well behind their solid performances. McGregor gets to let loose as he has over the past few years on television ( Fargo , Halston ), keeping hold of his Scottish accent and running around like a chicken with its head cut off as Christopher Bear’s Punch-Drunk Love -styled score ratchets up the tension. Taylor Russell’s character seems to only speak in double entendre, and F. Murray Abraham is diabolical as the twin store owners. All of it’s interesting on paper, with only a very small amount of it translating to the screen. Larsson may have had a lot of confidence in what he was doing, but I’m pretty sure he’s the only one who will get anything out of this. Film Movement will release Mother, Couch in select theaters on July 05th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Presence September 6, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen To label Presence as a horror film feels a bit misleading, as is the indication of quality with the flag for the film’s January release having already been firmly planted by distributor Neon. The scares are never in your face, although the camera (also helmed by Soderbergh under his now-famous pseudonym Peter Andrews) does get quite close to the actors. That’s because the camera is a character, not just in the metaphorical sense, but in the literal sense that the camera acts as the first-person perspective for a character. This character can’t be seen or heard by anyone else in the cast, as they are a ghost roaming the halls and rooms within an upscale house residing in a suburban neighborhood. The story is told entirely from their perspective, a silent protagonist who observes everything, yet (mostly) takes no action. This bold experiment is another in a long line of Soderbergh’s forays into altering the perception of what stories should be told in this age of digital cinema. iPhones were used as cameras for his one-two-punch of Unsane and High Flying Bird , and Mosaic allowed the audience to experience the mystery through an app. But while those projects were meant to radicalize the process of making films, Presence opts to change what’s right in front of your eyes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfSNmYhV8Xc There’s a Michael Haneke-esque feeling of tension and voyeurism to every scene, each unfolding in a single take and being broken up with cuts to black. Some of the characters can feel that they are being watched, while others are totally oblivious to it. The most sensitive is teenage Chloe (Callina Liang), the youngest in the newly moved-in family. She’s dealing with the trauma of recently losing two of her friends, both of them dying under mysterious circumstances. Her feelings of unease are only exacerbated by the happenings around the house, such as doors creaking shut and objects suddenly falling off shelves. The rest of the unit is either in some stage of denial or acceptance of what’s going on around them. None of them know the 5 Ws and H for this entity, but they all realize deep down that something is happening. The initial buildup to the mystery is where Soderbergh and veteran screenwriter David Koepp (also the writer for Soderbergh’s Kimi and upcoming Black Bag ) flex their creative muscles to their fullest potential. As the homeward-bound camera weaves its way around, we gather snippets of the dynamics between the family. Mom (Lucy Liu) is controlling and pushy, obviously showing greater favor to the oldest son (Eddy Maday), while the dad (Chris Sullivan) tries to keep the peace. Secrets and subplots start interweaving from there, with mundane lines of dialogue from one scene acting as the hidden puzzle piece to unlock something later. Even at 85 minutes, nothing about Presence can be described as brisk, with the latter half of the film not following through with as much vigor as the setups would promise. A few reveals and twists are not as satisfying as they should be, with a little bit of an “Is that it?” energy permeating the entire experience as you walk out of the theater. The actors are all fine, especially Liang and Sullivan, with their characters sharing a deeper bond, and the technical experiment is perpetually interesting. This is more than a VR experience, although it could be a more than worthwhile starting point for something of that caliber in the future. This review was originally published from the international premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Neon will release Presence in select theaters on January 24th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Josephine February 7, 2026 By: Button Hunter Friesen By being located high up in the Utah mountains (or, starting next year, the Colorado mountains), intentionally positioned as far away as possible from the red carpets and bright lights of Hollywood, the Sundance Film Festival has always put itself in the best position to be the guiding light for the next generation of independent American filmmakers. In its early days, the festival ushered in the talents of Steven Soderbergh ( Sex, Lies, and Videotape ), Quentin Tarantino ( Reservoir Dogs ), Todd Haynes ( Poison ), and Gregg Araki ( The Doom Generation ). In more modern times, industry leaders like Ryan Coogler ( Fruitvale Station ), Damien Chazelle ( Whiplash ), Jordan Peele ( Get Out ), Ari Aster ( Hereditary ), and Celine Song ( Past Lives ) have each made their breakthroughs amid snowfall and frigid temperatures. As part of this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition is Josephine , a film that feels destined to launch its writer/director, Beth de Araújo, into the same realm of acclaim as the previously mentioned names. It’s a film that the festival has been backing for many years, initially taking the project under its wing as part of the 2018 Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing Lab. After delays stemming from the pandemic and normal industry turmoil, the finished product has finally been unveiled. de Araújo clearly has used the years to refine and finely calibrate her story. A child’s life is fully filtered through their parents, every day being filled with interactions that become pieces of the puzzle to them as a human being. When we’re first introduced to the titular Josephine (Mason Reeves), we see the world through her eyes, similar to that of what RaMell Ross instilled in Nickel Boys . She’s going out to Golden Gate Park with her dad (Channing Tatum) for soccer practice . She’s at the exact age where she wants to appear grown up, repeatedly exclaiming that such things “are for babies!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8z1dvMBRU In the park, Josephine will get her first unvarnished experience of the real world. In a playful race against her dad, she hides in a bush, waiting to jump out and scare him. On the other side of the trail, she watches as a woman walks into the park bathroom. A man then follows her in, drags her out, knocks her unconscious, and proceeds to rape her. The assailant is caught a few moments later, but that’s not the end of this. The coldness of my description of the climactic events matches that of de Araújo’s presentation. With Josephine’s eyes serving as the camera, we watch as the act unfolds in real-time. It’s one of several moments where a lingering camera is used to amplify tension and horror with clinical precision. Josephine’s life has now become bifurcated between the before and after of the event. Her childlike innocence has been short-lived, with her father and mother (Gemma Chan) having to guide her through the next phase. The parents have differing opinions, with mom wanting Josephine to see a psychiatrist, and dad putting her into a self-defense class. de Araújo plays down the middle of both sides, seeing the repercussions that come from running and facing your fears, especially when you’re too young to fully comprehend what’s happening. Time will eventually heal this wound, but an aching scar will be left. Reeves is a transcendent performer, never letting the layers of artificiality that inherently come with film inhibit her from finding the emotional truth. Tatum and Chan are also excellent, two parents clinging to each other as they’ve been shot into the void. If, for some odd and cruel reason, you were forced to only watch one film from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, make sure it is this one. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Sumerian Pictures will release Josephine in theaters at a later date. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Terminator: Dark Fate November 7, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen No matter what our differences may be when it comes to politics and social issues, we as humans can all agree that the Terminator franchise has been downright awful for almost thirty years. Since the innovative T2 by James Cameron, the three sequels by lesser filmmakers have buried this once-popular series in a grave of mediocrity. And once again to milk more money out of nostalgic and hopeful fans, the franchise has been quasi-rebooted into the form of Terminator: Dark Fate . Set in a present where Judgement Day never happened, Dark Fate opens in Mexico City as two robots from opposite sides arrive from the future. Their target is Dani Ramos, an important figure who will someday lead the human resistance against the robot overlords. The human-robot hybrid sent to protect her is Grace, and the robot sent to kill her is the Rev-9, a shape-shifting terminator similar to that of the T-1000. As Grace fights to protect Dani, she is eventually joined by Sarah, who helps the pair go on the run from the relentless killing machine hunting them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxy8udgWRmo Directed by Tim Miller of Deadpool fame, Dark Fate is a downhill action flick where the ride starts at the top and continues to sink lower as time goes on. The beginning action set pieces are ripped straight from T2: Judgement Day as the two robots track down their target and eventually meet for a fight. This initial scene is by far the best in the movie as each robot gets to show off its unique powers. Miller also lets the scene play out with minimal editing and great stunt work that highlights the quality of special effects. Once this scene is over, Miller has foolishly played his whole hand and left nothing else for the remaining ninety minutes. The action becomes a recycled mess as each subsequent scene takes place in dimly lit areas that try to hide the flaws. Nothing new is introduced about the humans or robots, and it all melds together into a blob of standard movie action tropes. With three screenwriters and five credited story contributors, Dark Fate has way too many cooks in the kitchen that end up canceling each other out. The plot is incoherent, which has now become a staple of the Terminator sequels. Time travel is a finicky business once you start to think about it, but this movie has serious logistical problems straight from the start. These huge, gaping plot holes negate any emotional connection to the story and make every plot twist easy to see from a mile away. The overstuffed writer's room also led to some insufferable dialogue choices. The usual franchise catchphrases are all here, only this time they’re painfully inserted and delivered to the point of parody. There’s also an incessant need for every other sentence to be a profound statement, especially any line from Dani or Sarah. In a seemingly desperate move, the producers brought back Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. The character and Hamilton’s performance are the film’s biggest assets, even as she struggles to work with the amateur material given to her. Mackenzie Davis is pretty good as Grace, the robot-human hybrid from the future. Like all robot characters from the franchise, she brings great physicality to her performance. Unfortunately, she doesn’t bring much emotion to her human half, stifling any connection to her character. Relative newcomer Natalia Reyes plays Dani and falls into the usual rookie trap of overacting. At the start, she does fine work, but as the film gets more dramatic, Reyes overleans into her one-note performance. Lastly, Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the T-800 Terminator. It’s no surprise that the Austrian is great in the role that he can play in his sleep by now, as he makes a nice pair with Hamilton and is the only reason some of the comedic moments work. Dark Fate is the best sequel since Terminator 2: Judgement Day , but that's such a low bar to jump over that it isn't saying much. It's like a student got three straight F's on their exams and then got a C-. It’s still not good, but at least they didn’t fail this time and are somewhat moving in the right direction. Paramount Pictures will release Terminator: Dark Fate in theaters nationwide on November 01st. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Late Night with the Devil April 8, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark On brief occasions, I’ll bring a notebook and pen to take notes while watching a movie. It’s been since November when I last did it for David Fincher’s The Killer . I don’t know what came over me to decide to do this again for Late Night with the Devil , but it turned out to be the right decision, as this film was a lot. It would be a massive understatement to say it was a good time because this is the best new horror movie I’ve seen since Midsommar . It acts as a fresh, spine-tingling fright fest that gets under viewers’ skins and breathes life back into found footage filmmaking. Found-footage filmmaking has evolved quite a bit since it started as a trip into the woods caught on film in 1999’s The Blair Witch Project . Capitalized by the horror genre, notably in the Paranormal Activity franchise, the style crept into sci-fi thrillers like Cloverfield and Chronicle . With Late Night with the Devil , the game has officially changed, promoting the gaze into the lens of a broadcast late-night talk show called Night Owls . Continually competing with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hopes that their upcoming Halloween special will give them an edge. His guests for the episode include psychic Christou, magician-turned-skeptic Carmichael the Conjurer, parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, and her patient Lilly. What unfolds with these guests leads to chaos and forces Jack to revisit his shady past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvt-mauboTc Late Night with the Devil cleverly finds ways to incorporate its found-footage DNA, allowing it to serve as a unique narrative tool. The structure is only used while the show is airing, which then shifts to a black-and-white handheld documentary gaze during the commercial breaks. Most of these documentary segments are stuffed in the beginning to serve as exposition, almost as a small price to unlock this grandiose puzzle. There is never a reliance on jump scares; rather, directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes focus on the fear of the unknown and what’s going to happen next. Many of those feelings come when June and Lilly conjure a demon named Mr. Wriggles, which takes over Lilly’s body and violently contorts it until you can hear her bones crack and skin peel. Of course, the sight of a little girl being possessed by a demon has become a common occurrence (see The Exorcist: Believer just last October), but it’s unique enough here thanks to Ingrid Torelli’s acting. And if that doesn’t send chills down your spine, the entire third act will with its all-out attitude of twisted material. Known for his versatility as a character actor in major blockbusters, including The Dark Knight , the Ant-Man trilogy, Blade Runner 2049 , Dune , The Suicide Squad , and Oppenheimer , Dastmalchian is finally given the time to shine in one of his rare lead performances. He brings both depth and nuance to Jack, convincing the audience of his internal struggles, all while wreaking havoc right in front of them. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made my end-of-year Best Lead Actor ballot. The Cairnes’ script strongly comments on how far people are willing to go to achieve something, even in the face of dire consequences. There’s a moment where Jack sees Night Owls as a success, but even then, he succumbs to the realization that he’s flown too close to the sun. In the end, that’s what Late Night with the Devil is about, and in return, Jack is doomed to a lifetime of being haunted by this mistake. By the time this sinks in with audiences, there’s one thing left to give Jack (and the movie as a whole)...thunderous applause. IFC Films will release Late Night with the Devil in theaters nationwide on March 22nd. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Morbius April 4, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen I have made a deal with the devil. The trailer for Morbius has been stalking me ever since it first appeared in January 2020. It didn’t matter what YouTube video or movie I was watching in the cinema, the trailer would always follow me there. International arthouse movie? Morbius trailer would play there. Romantic comedy? Morbius trailer would be there too. Animated kids film? You guessed it, the Morbius trailer. After two years of agony, I’d had enough. I called up the Lord of Darkness and begged him to release me from this eternal punishment. He made me an offer for that request. His asking price: sell my soul or buy a ticket to the full version of Morbius . I chose the cheaper option (or so I thought), which was to put money in Sony’s pocket and buy a ticket to Morbius . And now after seeing the final product, I wish I had sold my soul instead. Morbius gives vampires a bad name, which is saying something since the famed bloodsuckers have had quite a tumultuous cinematic career. Besides the Dracula adaptations, there’s been a lot of crummy vampire stories, including multiple editions of the Underworld and Twilight franchises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ6iiRrz1SY I will say that it’s tough to categorize Morbius as a vampire movie since I honestly don’t know if the titular character is actually a vampire. Dr. Michael Morbius gets vampiric qualities after he mixes his DNA with that of a vampire bat. For some reason, this gives him superhuman speed and strength and also changes his diet from regular human food to human blood. His search for a cure has brought him a remedy that might be worse than the disease. And while it’s hard to tell if Morbius is a vampire movie, it’s even more difficult to tell if it’s a Marvel movie. Sony desperately wants you to think it is, as their trailers tout themselves as the studio that brought you the recent Spider-Man films. That may be a true statement, but it’s only half true, as Sony is part of the studio partnership with Disney that produces those films. And judging by each studio’s individual output, it’s clear that Disney does the heavy lifting in the relationship. So no, this is not a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, which means you don’t have to subject yourself to torture just to know how it will interconnect with the other pieces. The Disney+ Marvel shows are already torture enough. Sony may wave the Marvel flag to lure you into seeing this film, but there’s none of the Marvel charm or showmanship present within the film itself. There’s no thrill to this story, no reason in wanting to know what happens next. The stakes are nonexistent, as the only thing Michael must do is keep his bloodlust to a minimum and find a cure for his newfound condition. Honestly, after so many superhero films with apocalyptic scenarios, the lives of a few nameless side characters don’t interest me in the slightest. Of course, there is action in this “superhero” film to keep your brain occupied, even if it is the blandest and most murky action I’ve ever seen. I was so bored during the set pieces, that I amused myself by performing an experiment. I would watch half the scene with my glasses on, and then the other half with them off. In the end, it didn’t matter since everything is just a muddled mess of CGI. Trying to make out what is happening, especially during the tedious finale, is a fool’s errand that offers no reward. Poor Jared Leto has gone and ruined another comic book movie, just like he did with his “interpretation” of the Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad . I’ll give Leto credit for saying that he always brings 110% to what he’s doing, which can be seen quite prominently in his offensive performance in last year’s House of Gucci . It’s just that what he’s doing tends to be wrong on almost every level. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he drank real human blood to prepare himself for this role. From the bottom of my heart, I implore you not to watch Morbius . Because if Sony makes enough money from this to greenlight a sequel, I’m going to go insane as the trailer for Morbius 2 will undoubtedly stalk me like its predecessor. And if that does happen, I won’t make the same mistake twice and buy a ticket to it. I’d rather just sell my soul. Sony Pictures Releasing will release Morbius in theaters nationwide on April 01st. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Asteroid City June 12, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen By far the strangest movie in his eclectic filmography, Asteroid City is Wes Anderson’s return to America in over a decade, having spent time in fictional Eastern Europe for The Grand Budapest Hotel , Japan for Isle of Dogs , and well… France for The French Dispatch . The fanciful writer/director takes us into the scenic deserts of the 1950s American southwest, specifically the titular sleepy tourist town that serves as the meeting point for all of the eccentric characters. The half-built town, complete with the stereotypical bar-stool diner and motel, is the destination for those attending the annual Junior Stargazer / Space Cadet convention. It’s a place where the best, brightest, and most awkward kids in America show off their new inventions, including a jetpack, raygun, and overhead projector for the moon, which, in one of many hilarious throwaway lines, is said to have huge potential in the future of interstellar advertising. Arriving in a putter under the beaming sun is Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a war photographer with a genius son and young triplet girls. This event is only a brief stop on his way to see his father-in-law (Tom Hanks, proving as always to be a wonderful addition to any cast), who’s the only other person that knows of Augie’s wife’s recent demise. Also in attendance is a group of other precocious children and their host of parents (Scarlett Johansson, Liev Schreiber, Steve Park, Hope Davis, etc.) Eventually, this event designed to look up at the stars comes in contact with something from there, which reshapes how our characters interact with each other and themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FXCSXuGTF4 As I said in the opening sentence, this is Anderson’s weirdest movie to date, always keeping your eyebrow in a raised position. To avoid spoiling events beyond what is shown in the trailer, I’ll only mention that Anderson’s screenplay (written in conjunction with his usual partner Roman Coppola) emulates a certain Christopher Nolan movie that has to do with dreams. How else are you going to be able to fit in all the names within this all-star cast, including regular players Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum? The term “this is the most Wes Anderson movie Wes Anderson has ever made” has been used to describe nearly every new entry in his filmography. That cycle doesn’t stop with Asteroid City , as the traits you’ve come to love (or hate) are all here: symmetrical framing, varying aspect ratios, color and black & white cinematography, and steady camera movements. Anderson’s usual designer, Adam Stockhausen, once again creates a doll-house world filled with too many sights and sounds to be absorbed in one viewing. Sure, there may now be umpteen TikTok and A.I. generated videos replicating Anderson’s distinct style, but all of them contain just the window dressing of a Wes Anderson movie, and not the emotion. Just as his box of tricks has constantly evolved, so has Anderson’s ability to find the heart in his richly defined characters. 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 Wes 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. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Focus Features will release Asteroid City in select theaters on June 16th, followed by a nationwide expansion on June 23rd. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio December 4, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Like humanity’s search for the missing link or the cure for cancer, filmmakers have endlessly sought to adapt Italian author Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio . Of course, Disney practically cornered the market with their 1940 animated musical version, which still haunts children to this day thanks to the Pleasure Island sequence. Decades would pass, with Robert Benigni - hot off the immense international success of Life is Beautiful - writing, directing, and starring in a 2002 live-action adaptation. The film would be a colossal critical and financial failure, practically locking Benigni in filmmaker jail for the rest of his career. But it didn’t stop him from appearing in another version later in 2019, this time solely in the role of Geppetto for writer/director Matteo Garrone’s version (which received two surprise Oscar nominations for its costumes and makeup). We also can’t forget the adjacent stories, such as Stanley Kubrick/Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence , or the projects that never got off the ground, such as ones from Sam Mendes and Paul Thomas Anderson/Robert Downey Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od2NW1sfRdA Now in 2022, we have two more adaptations, with Robert Zemeckis’ live-action Disney+ version following the same disastrous fate as Begnini’s, and Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated Netflix, sticking closer to the original text. All this is to say: After so many Pinocchio adaptations, how much can del Toro’s version reinvent the wheel and stick out from the crowd? Well, for starters, this version of Pinocchio might look appealing to children on the outside, but inside it harbors themes of loss, regret, fascism (a del Toro specialty), and mortality. Of course, it still carries a PG rating, so things never cross the line where you have to shield the eyes of the younger ones. But everybody has at least one or two memories of an animated film scaring the hell out of them, so why not let this be one of those times for today’s children? We are first introduced to Geppetto at the foot of his son Carlo’s grave. Through some flashbacks, we understand why he loved his son so much, and how he feels betrayed by God for taking him away. In a drunken stupor, he makes a wooden puppet, which is then granted life by the Wood Sprite, a terrifying version of the Blue Fairy. Pinocchio has a never-ending thirst for knowledge, which leads him to often disobey his papa’s commands. He soon gets conned into joining the circus by an evil carny and his pet monkey (with Cate Blanchett providing the primate noises), and also is recruited into the Italian army by a Nazi leader after it's discovered he’s incapable of dying. Already experienced at guiding live-action directors into the world of animation after doing so with Wes Anderson on Fantastic Mr. Fox , co-director Mark Gustafson aids del Toro in blending the macabre with the cheerful. The attention to detail is immaculate, with the painstakingly crafted sets and character movements given their time to shine. Also crammed into this slightly overstretched 120-minute version is a handful of songs, which often raises the question of whether or not this is a musical. None of the musical moments deserve to be remembered, even though they are delivered capably by the talented voice cast. Del Toro’s love for the material is always present, and so are the influences he has taken throughout his filmography, particularly Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water . That adoration can sometimes be infectious, even if this is well-worn material that probably didn’t need another retelling. Netflix will release Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio in select theaters on November 9th, followed by its streaming premiere on December 9th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Showing Up July 17, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen As Woody Allen once said: “80% of success is just showing up.” But for the character of Lizzy (Michelle Williams) in Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up , which premiered in competition recently at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, showing up doesn’t seem to be leading to much. She has a sort of career at a small arts college in Portland, complete with her mother as her boss and Andre 3000 as the flirty pottery expert. Her cat owns her personal life with around-the-clock needs for attention, and her neighbor/landlord, Jo (Hong Chau), still hasn’t fixed her water heater after two weeks of constant requests. Is Woody Allen wrong, or is this all her life is cracked up to be? Either way, it’s not a comforting thought. Reichardt’s work has been infrequent, yet always well-reviewed. 2008’s Wendy and Lucy marked the first of many collaborations between the director and Williams, followed by Meek’s Cutoff and Certain Women . But even with those great reviews, Reichardt’s films have never lit the box office on fire. First Cow , seemingly an epic in comparison to her other work, was prevented from having a chance due to its unlucky release during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wELPTxJ2YZY Maybe as an act of self-commentary, all of that can also be said of Lizzy in Showing Up . Sculpting intimate creations, Lizzy’s work has always been appreciated but never put on the same pedestal as her contemporaries, such as Jo and her unwieldy creations. Lizzy is struggling to meet the deadline for her new exhibit, and questions whether she should even attempt to show up. In its low-key nature, Showing Up can be a comforting ode to small artists persevering to put their creations into the world. Just as Reichardt often sleeps on people’s couches and teaches at Bard College (all of which was revealed by Michelle Williams), Lizzy has to put up with no hot water and a never-ending litany of problems to finish her work. And taking the connecting through-line of the bond between humans and animals from First Cow , Reichardt finds a way for Lizzy’s life to be upended, and ultimately transformed, by a pigeon that injures itself by crashing into her window. Both sides of the debate will correctly say that not much happens in Showing Up . But for those who are familiar with Reichardt's work, is that much of a surprise? Plot has never been on the priority list. Ditto to pacing, as Reichardt, serving as her editor as always, lets the credits roll in extended fashion across the first several minutes, and makes time for Williams to meticulously craft the arms to one of her sculptures in an unbroken take. With that slow pacing, Reichardt has often been able to mine deep and expose the hidden feelings that faster-paced works can’t. Not many could carefully tell the uplifting and heartbreaking friendship within First Cow . Showing Up tries to find a similar vein but doesn’t deliver the same refined, fulfilling message about the way unforeseen people and circumstances shape our lives. Unlike Lizzy’s clay creations that start as wet messes and end up as fully formed creations, Reichardt’s work stops just short of the kiln and ends up feeling more like a shallow puddle of good ideas. Showing Up won’t win Reichardt any new fans, but it could potentially offer another helping of what her supporters love so much. For them, Reichart has supplied the goods; now it’s time for them to show up. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. A24 will release Showing Up in select theaters on April 07th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Stars at Noon June 1, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Despite being one of France’s leading auteurs, Claire Denis's best works have ventured away from her native country. From her directorial debut, Chocolat , to Beau Travail to White Material , Denis has infused her material with her experiences from her upbringing as a West African colonist as a young girl. Because of that life, Denis has always found herself an outsider in French cinema, which bleeds into her characters and the circumstances they find themselves in. Who else would come up with the idea of the “Fuck box” in High Life ? And while still emulating that same feeling of otherness as she transplants two white people into Central America for Stars at Noon , Denis’ English-language feature is a poorly made and uninteresting story of love in the wrong place and time. Set in either the 1980s or modern-day, depending on what logline you’re given (even though the presence of smartphones and COVID-19 kind of makes the 1980s setting a bit of a stretch), Stars at Noon is an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novel of the same name. While the timeline of the events is different, the plot remains the same, which also inspires several questions. If the events have been changed to the modern-day, why has the ultra-80s plot of the CIA meddling with Central American politics in fear of communism remained unchanged? Maybe Denis is trying to infuse her trademarked otherworldliness into this story, even if it backfires completely and strips away any of her usual political and cultural bite? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg3EQ1_zRow That same tactic seems to have inspired the editing, which, according to reports, was rushed to be submitted in time for the festival. Just based on the eye test, those reports seem to have been true, with scenes being so fragmented they might as well have been transported out of a Terrence Malick film. Margate Qualley plays Trish, a failed journalist stuck in Nicaragua. To make ends meet, she enters into sexually charged relationships with influential figures. Her dead-end way of life soon gets turned around by the sudden appearance of Daniel (Joe Alwyn), another journalist. Daniel’s exact line of journalism is a complete mystery, but he’s got enough money and good looks to become Trish’s next fling. Despite the story saying that the two characters immediately hit it off and fall madly in love, it’s impossible to see that on the screen due to the serious lack of chemistry between the two stars. Reportedly, Alwyn was Denis’ third choice for the role of Daniel after originally casting Robert Pattinson and Taron Egerton. Having either of those two in the role would have spiced things up, but it’s doubtful they could have saved this mess. None of this is to say Denis doesn’t try to make the sparks fly between her two love birds. Approximately eight sex scenes are peppered throughout, each one seemingly being used as a life preserver to sustain waning audience interest. To Qualley and Alwyn’s benefit, no one could make bricks from straw with the dialogue handed to them. During sex scene #5 , Alwyn’s passionless reading of the line “Suck me” seemed to have broken the minds of the uninterested Cannes audience, with unintentional laughter spreading like wildfire throughout the crowd. There’s also the embarrassing Zoom cameo by John C. Reilly, who’s clearly talking to a screen in his backyard, and the odd introduction and relationship of Benny Safdie as a CIA agent tasked with uncovering Daniel’s work, which is never truly revealed. It’s a rare instance of nothing working as well as it should. Because of its down-to-the-wire production timeline, all non-Cannes viewers may benefit from the film being possibly re-worked before general release. But until then, Denis’ return to Cannes after all these years has resulted in a hugely disappointing and slightly embarrassing work that wastes a wonderful opportunity to combine the talents of all those involved. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. A24 will release Stars at Noon in select theaters on October 14th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Onward March 20, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen Set on an Earth where the magical and mythological exist together, Pixar’s newest animated film, Onward , tells the tale of two elven brothers. The story begins on the 16th birthday of the younger brother, Ian Lightfoot, who was never able to meet his dad as he had died before he was born. As a surprise gift for his now grown-up son, the father left a staff that, when combined with a spell, will bring him back to life for a full day. Unfortunately, the spell doesn’t go as intended and only reanimates the lower half of the father. To bring back the other half, a rare gem must be acquired that is hidden deep within a mystical mountain. With only twenty-four hours available, Ian and his older brother, Barley, must set out on a quest to fulfill the spell and bring back their dad for one last moment of bonding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5QmllRCn4 Onward is directed by Dan Scanlon, a Pixar veteran and second-time director who previously helmed Monsters University . Despite his best efforts, Scanlon still doesn’t seem to have the same directorial knack that many others before him have possessed. Scanlon’s pacing of the film is both rushed and predictable, with the middle third being the most egregious example of this folly, as it rehashes the same beats over and over again. The final third can pick things up a little, but it too falls into the recent trend by Pixar to substitute light and noise for simple storytelling. Fortunately, Scanlon’s supplementary material helps distract from his shortcomings. The animation is breathtaking as usual, and the score by Mychael and Jeff Dana is wonderful as it balances both the epic and whimsical tone of the film. Scanlon lends his hand to the script, which is also co-written by Jason Headley and Keith Bunin. Similar to the directing, the writing in the first half does no favors as it rushes from location to location with nothing but the basic plot on its mind. A sense of emotional complexity that is usually found within Pixar’s narratives is sorely absent here. But once the halfway mark hits, the film vastly improves as the emotional core of the story hits like a ton of bricks. The writing trio reminds you once again of the magic that Pixar wields as the earlier and underdeveloped themes of brotherhood and fatherhood are given new life in only a few short minutes. As a sibling with a younger brother, the sentimentality of the story hit deep, leaving me in more of an emotional wreck than I was prepared for. Like all Pixar films, the impeccable voice work among the cast works hand-in-hand with the writing to develop the characters. Tom Holland voices our main hero, Ian. It’s a bit of perfect casting by Pixar to have Holland play the shy, awkward character that must learn to control his newfound powers. Holland's experience from his web-slinging days allows him to play to his strengths. With the LEGO franchise and now this movie, Chris Pratt is starting to stake his claim as one of the best voice actors working today. Pratt plays the more rambunctious brother, Barley. His natural charisma enhances the material and creates some of the film’s funniest moments. And as a bit of a bonus, the casting of Holland and Pratt in the lead roles gives us a glimpse of what a possible Spider-Man and Star-Lord buddy movie would look like. While it may not be the finest work Pixar has ever done, the abundance of heartwarming magic found within Onward makes it an enjoyable tale for all ages. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Onward in theaters nationwide on March 06th. More Reviews Primetime September 22, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Unabomber September 24, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Look Back September 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Elsinore September 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen