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25 Most Anticipated Films of 2025 January 27, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen The book of 2024 has been closed, and the first few pages for 2025 have already been written. But there’s still so much blank space left to discover, and lots of potential storylines to fill it. For the first time in half a decade, there isn’t an industry-altering pandemic or strike to disrupt the normal flow of business. With that comes a vast amount of optimism. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's lay down some ground rules. First, there must be some sort of verifiable evidence that a film is going to be released this year. It either must be in production, post-production, completed, or even mentioned in a reputable article that it’s on its way. I also won’t count any films that I’ve already seen, such as April and Eden , both of which I caught at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September. But enough of all that, let’s commence the fun. Here are twenty-five of my most anticipated movies of 2025! Honorable Mentions A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (dir. Kogonada) Árva (dir. László Nemes) Eddington (dir. Ari Aster) F1 (dir. Joseph Kosinski) Jupiter (dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev) Mother Brother Sister Mother (dir. Jim Jarmusch) The Bride (dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal) The Drama (dir. Kristofer Borgli) The Rivals of the Amziah King (dir. Andrew Patterson) The Silent Friend (dir. Ildiko Enyedi) 25. The Smashing Machine A24 has already excelled at the wrestling/fighting genre once with The Iron Claw , so it stands to reason that they should be able to do it again with The Smashing Machine . Dwayne Johnson has finally found a quality filmmaker in the form of Benny Safdie, flying solo for the first time since his split with Josh (also at A24 this year with Marty Supreme ). The sky is the limit for what the director and star can achieve with this endeavor, with Emily Blunt helping out in her first post- Oppenheimer role. 24. Hand of Dante With a cast composed of Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, and Martin Scorsese, Julian Schnabel’s crime drama will surely grab headlines wherever it debuts. Given that the former painter-turned-director has mostly had his sights set on stories within the artistic world, the antithetical nature of this project pleasantly raises my eyebrow. 23. Alpha Now that Coralie Fargeat just stormed Cannes with The Substance , the ball is back in Titane writer/director Julia Ducournau's court to unleash a tale of biological horror. Neon is once again backing her, with Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani starring. The rumored plot follows a teenager who is mistreated by classmates once they believe she carries an infectious disease. As with Titane and Raw , that information will likely be just the tip of the iceberg. 22. Die, My Love It's been seven years since Lynne Ramsay last graced the silver screen with You Were Never Really Here . That length of absence isn't unusual for her, which makes the prospect of potentially having two new films from her in 2025 all the more tantalizing. Die, My Love stars Jennifer Lawrence as a mother struggling to keep her sanity, and Polaris has real-life married couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara in a story about an ice photographer coming face-to-face with the devil. Given that the former project recently released images and specific plot details, it stands to reason that it'll be due this year and the latter will stay on the shelf for just a bit longer. 21. Mother Mary Working across several genres and production scales, writer/director David Lowery has yet to miss. His latest will follow a relationship between a fictional musician (Anne Hathaway) and a famous fashion designer (Micaela Coel). Described as an "epic pop melodrama" with original songs by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX, this sounds like the project that could bring Hathaway back to her peak and harness the untapped potential Coel illustrated in I May Destroy You . 20. Caught Stealing As much as the internet didn't want it to be true, The Whale was a massive success for director Darren Aronofsky. Now he's out of that drabby apartment living room and into the underbelly of New York City for his new film. Austin Butler is the man who must navigate those streets after he gets himself mixed up with a whole host of seedy characters. 19. Hope South Korean auteur Na Hong-jin hasn't been seen since he unleashed the horrifying The Wailing back in 2016. He's supposedly back with the first part of a new trilogy about a small village being invaded by aliens. Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender are a piece of this still secret puzzle that supposedly has a budget that could be the highest in the country's history. 18. Highest 2 Lowest Spike Lee is already 0/1 on English-language remakes of famous Asian films, his version of Oldboy was so terrible that 99% of filmmakers would steer very clear of that territory ever again. But Lee isn't like anybody else, and he's enlisted his most trusted accomplice, Denzel Washington, to pull off this remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 crime thriller. A24 and Apple TV+ are backing the project, a partnership that worked well when Joel Coen made his remake of The Tragedy of Macbeth in 2021. 17. Young Mother The brothers of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have been one of Belgium's finest exports for the past forty years. Their trademarked slices of social realism have netted them two Palme d'Ors and several other prizes at their beloved Cannes Film Festival. They'll likely be back again on the French Riviera with a story about five migrant mothers who must band together to build a better life for their children. 16. Sentimental Value The Norwegian band that brought you 2021's The Worst Person in the World is back together! Joachim Trier is in the director's chair, Eskil Vogt is in the writer's room with him, and Renate Reinsve is in front of the camera. Brought into the fold is Stellen Skarsgård as Reinsve's film director father, who offers her the lead role in his next film. Neon preemptively acquired North American rights to the project, signaling confidence in its worldwide prospects. 15. Frankenstein It makes sense that Guillermo del Toro, the filmmaker most in love with monsters, is finally getting the chance to adapt the story of the most famous one of all. He's recruited an A-list cast (Oscar Isaac as the mad doctor, Jacob Elordi as the monster) and crew to back up his vision, which Netflix is sparing no expense to bring to life. Expect this to be their big Oscar player going into the next awards season. 14. Marty Supreme Even with only one Safdie brother at the helm, A24 had enough confidence in this project to make it their biggest production to date (budget of $70-90 million) and give it a prime Christmas day release. Star Timothée Chalamet has dominated the holidays over the past two years with Wonka and A Complete Unknown , respectively. He'll have a stacked cast and an exciting writer/director to back him up for the threepeat. 13. Havoc Writer/director Gareth Evans is the mastermind behind the two The Raid films, both of which have a legitimate claim to be the best action movie of the past decade. Shot in 2021 and supposedly set to come this year, his latest action feature stars Tom Hardy as a “bruised detective who must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.” Evans’ latest film was 2018’s Apostle from Netflix, and he’ll team up with the streamer again for distribution. 12. After the Hunt As cinema's premier workaholic, Luca Guadagnino doesn't know when to stop. Julia Roberts will lead first-time writer Nora Garrett's fiery script as a college professor who must handle an accusation made by one of her students (Ayo Edebiri) against a colleague (Andrew Garfield). Expect plenty of twists and turns in this timely tale of power. 11. Wake Up Dead Man With both Knives Out and Glass Onion premiering on the first Saturday of the Toronto International Film Festival, we can confidently pencil in September 06 as the date that Rian Johnson will unveil the conclusion to his whodunnit trilogy. He outdid himself with the sequel, so we're in for something truly special as he goes for broke with a stacked supporting cast around Daniel Craig. 10. Nouvelle Vague / Blue Moon While several international filmmakers have transferred to the English language, few Westerners trek in the opposite direction. Richard Linklater will be doing just that with his French-language production centered around the creation of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless , one of the most influential films ever made. Linklater will be staying in the performing art world with his other film in the pipeline, which tells the story of how Lorenz Hart created and opened the famous play "Oklahoma!" Frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke will play Hart, with Andrew Scott as his famous creative partner Oscar Hammerstein II. 9. The Ballad of a Small Player For someone who seemed to appear out of nowhere with All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave , director Edward Berger has quickly strung together two of the finest films of the past few years. He's returning to Netflix to retain that hot streak, casting Colin Farrell, one of the hottest (both literally and figuratively) actors working today. Farrell will play a high-stakes gambler who must flee to Macau after he gets in over his head. With Conclave editor Nick Emerson and All Quiet on the Western Front cinematographer James Friend as part of the crew, the cards are looking well stacked for this project. 8. Jay Kelly True fans of Adam Sandler know that his most impressive performance to date was not in Punch-Drunk Love or Uncut Gems but in Noah Baumbach's 2017 film The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) . The actor and director have reunited for a "funny and emotional coming-of-age story about adults." Emily Mortimer co-wrote the screenplay with Baumbach and appears in the cast, which boasts no less than George Clooney, Laura Dern, Jim Broadbent, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, and Isla Fisher. 7. Untitled Kathyrn Bigelow White House Thriller It's been eight years since Kathryn Bigelow made a feature film, the financial failure of Detroit being the main cause. Before that, she was the preeminent filmmaker for dissecting American foreign policy, netting acclaim and awards for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty . Netflix has brought her back to the spotlight with a real-time thriller about how the White House responds to a ballistic missile threat. Jackie writer Noah Oppenheim wrote the script, with Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Clarke, and Greta Lee lining up the cast list. 6. Bugonia Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos have forged one of the most prosperous actor-director pairings with their three feature films of The Favourite , Poor Things , and Kinds of Kindness . As expected, they're reuniting again, this time bringing previous Lanthimos collaborators Jesse Plemons and Alicia Silverstone back into the fold for an English-language adaptation of the popular South Korean film Save the Green Planet . Succession and The Menu writer Will Tracy penned the script, which will combine well with Lanthimos’ bitingly deadpan satirism. 5. Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Film With a rumored budget of somewhere between $140 and $175 million, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest venture will drastically be the biggest tableau he's worked on. But those large sacks of money haven't prevented PTA from shrouding himself in his trademark levels of secrecy. All we know is that Leonardo DiCaprio leads a starry ensemble. Everything else, including the title to the premise, is a complete mystery. You know you're a master filmmaker when you can give your audience nothing and still have them lining up around the block months in advance. 4. Black Bag It wouldn't be a normal year in the movie world without another Steven Soderbergh offering. 2025 is an extra special year in that we get a double serving, the first being the theatrical release of Presence , which debuted back at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The latter entry will be an espionage thriller starring two of my favorite actors (Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett) as a married spy couple who must figure out if the other has double-crossed them. It'll mark the third collaboration between Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp, who previously wrote Kimi and Presence . 3. No Other Choice 2022's Decision to Leave was one of director Park Chan-wook's most commercially successful films. It was also a critical success, nabbing him the coveted Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. He'll likely return to that festival this year for his fifth appearance in competition with a Korean adaptation of the 1997 horror thriller novel The Ax . Lee Byung-hun will star as an unemployed man who, in an act of desperation, starts to kill all the other applicants for the new job he needs. 2. The Way of the Wind Now making its sixth consecutive appearance on this list, I've run out of different ways to describe my excitement for this film. They shot this movie in 2019, for Christ’s sake! I'm just going to get back to praying that my patience will be rewarded 1. The Phoenician Scheme Wes Anderson's latest production was initially announced as a smaller-scale dark espionage tale centered on a father-daughter relationship. But it seems the whimsical auteur couldn't help himself, with the bulk of his A-list troupe of actors being revealed as part of the full cast once filming finished. With T he French Dispatch being my favorite film ever, The Grand Budapest Hotel not far behind, and Asteroid City being one of the best films of 2023, I'm obviously a fan of Anderson working with a large ensemble. Whatever the size and scale will ultimately be, I'll be seated with a beaming smile. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. OUR SERVICES 2. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 3. USER REPRESENTATIONS 4. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES 5. USER-GENERATED CONTRIBUTIONS 6. CONTRIBUTION LICENSE 7. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND CONTENT 8. SERVICES MANAGEMENT 9. TERM AND TERMINATION 10. MODIFICATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS 11. GOVERNING LAW 12. DISPUTE RESOLUTION 13. CORRECTIONS 14. DISCLAIMER 15. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY 16. INDEMNIFICATION 17. USER DATA 18. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSACTIONS, AND SIGNATURES 19. CALIFORNIA USERS AND RESIDENTS 20. MISCELLANEOUS 21. CONTACT US 1. OUR SERVICES The information provided when using the Services is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Services from other locations do so on their initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. The Services are not tailored to comply with industry-specific regulations (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), etc.), so if your interactions would be subjected to such laws, you may not use the Services. You may not use the Services in a way that would violate the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). 2. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS Our intellectual property We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Services, including all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, text, photographs, and graphics in the Services (collectively, the "Content"), as well as the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the "Marks"). Our Content and Marks are protected by copyright and trademark laws (and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws) and treaties in the United States and around the world. The Content and Marks are provided in or through the Services "AS IS" for your personal, non-commercial use or internal business purpose only. Your use of our Services Subject to your compliance with these Legal Terms, including the "PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES" section below, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to: access the Services; and download or print a copy of any portion of the Content to which you have properly gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use or internal business purpose. Except as set out in this section or elsewhere in our Legal Terms, no part of the Services and no Content or Marks may be copied, reproduced, aggregated, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, distributed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose whatsoever, without our express prior written permission. If you wish to make any use of the Services, Content, or Marks other than as set out in this section or elsewhere in our Legal Terms, please address your request to: hunter@cinemadispatch.com. If we ever grant you permission to post, reproduce, or publicly display any part of our Services or Content, you must identify us as the owners or licensors of the Services, Content, or Marks and ensure that any copyright or proprietary notice appears or is visible on posting, reproducing, or displaying our Content. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in and to the Services, Content, and Marks. Any breach of these Intellectual Property Rights will constitute a material breach of our Legal Terms and your right to use our Services will terminate immediately. Your submissions Please review this section and the "PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES" section carefully before using our Services to understand the (a) rights you give us and (b) obligations you have when you post or upload any content through the Services. Submissions: By directly sending us any question, comment, suggestion, idea, feedback, or other information about the Services ("Submissions"), you agree to assign to us all intellectual property rights in such Submission. You agree that we shall own this Submission and be entitled to its unrestricted use and dissemination for any lawful purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you. You are responsible for what you post or upload: By sending us Submissions through any part of the Services you: confirm that you have read and agree with our "PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES" and will not post, send, publish, upload, or transmit through the Services any Submission that is illegal, harassing, hateful, harmful, defamatory, obscene, bullying, abusive, discriminatory, threatening to any person or group, sexually explicit, false, inaccurate, deceitful, or misleading; to the extent permissible by applicable law, waive any moral rights to any such Submission; warrant that any such Submission is original to you or that you have the necessary rights and licenses to submit such Submissions and that you have full authority to grant us the above-mentioned rights about your Submissions; and warrant and represent that your Submissions do not constitute confidential information. You are solely responsible for your Submissions and you expressly agree to reimburse us for any losses that we may suffer because you breach (a) this section, (b) any third party’s intellectual property rights, or (c) applicable law. 3. USER REPRESENTATIONS By using the Services, you represent and warrant that: (1) you have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these Legal Terms; (2) you are not a minor in the jurisdiction in which you reside; (3) you will not access the Services through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script or otherwise; (4) you will not use the Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose; and (5) your use of the Services will not violate any applicable law or regulation. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any current or future use of the Services (or any portion thereof). 4. PROHIBITED ACTIVITI ES You may not access or use the Services for any purpose other than that for which we make the Services available. The Services may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us. As a user of the Services, you agree not to: * Systematically retrieve data or other content from the Services to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from us. * Trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords. * Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Services, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on the use of the Services and/or the Content contained therein. * Disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Services. * Use any information obtained from the Services to harass, abuse, or harm another person. * Make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct. * Use the Services in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations. * Engage in unauthorized framing of or linking to the Services. * Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Services or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Services. * Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. * Delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any Content. * Attempt to impersonate another user or person or use the username of another user. * Upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) any material that acts as a passive or active information collection or transmission mechanism, including without limitation, clear graphics interchange formats ("gifs"), 1×1 pixels, web bugs, cookies, or other similar devices (sometimes referred to as "spyware" or "passive collection mechanisms" or "PCM"). * Interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on the Services or the networks or services connected to the Services. * Harass, annoy, intimidate, or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the Services to you. * Attempt to bypass any measures of the Services designed to prevent or restrict access to the Services, or any portion of the Services. * Copy or adapt the Services' software, including but not limited to Flash, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, or other code. * Except as permitted by applicable law, decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Services. * Except as may be the result of a standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Services, or use or launch any unauthorized script or other software. * Use a buying agent or purchasing agent to make purchases of the Services. * Make any unauthorized use of the Services, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means to send unsolicited emails, or create user accounts by automated means or under pretenses. * Use the Services as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Services and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise. * Sell or otherwise transfer your profile. * Use the Services to advertise or offer to sell goods and services. 5. USER-GENERATED CONTRIBUTIONS The Services does not offer users to submit or post content. We may provide you with the opportunity to create, submit, post, display, transmit, perform, publish, distribute, or broadcast content and materials to us or on the Services, including but not limited to text, writings, video, audio, photographs, graphics, comments, suggestions, or personal information or other material (collectively, "Contributions"). Contributions may be viewable by other users of the Services and through third-party websites. When you create or make available any Contributions, you thereby represent and warrant that: * The creation, distribution, transmission, public display, or performance, and the accessing, downloading, or copying of your Contributions do not and will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or moral rights of any third party. * You are the creator and owner of or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, releases, and permissions to use and to authorize us, the Services, and other users of the Services to use your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Services and these Legal Terms. * You have the written consent, release, and/or permission of every identifiable person in your Contributions to use the name or likeness of every such identifiable person to enable inclusion and use of your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Services and these Legal Terms. * Your Contributions are not false, inaccurate, or misleading. * Your Contributions are not unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, pyramid schemes, chain letters, spam, mass mailings, or other forms of solicitation. * Your Contributions are not obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable (as determined by us). * Your Contributions do not ridicule, mock, disparage, intimidate, or abuse anyone. * Your Contributions are not used to harass or threaten (in the legal sense of those terms) any other person or to promote violence against a specific person or class of people. * Your Contributions do not violate any applicable law, regulation, or rule. * Your Contributions do not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party. * Your Contributions do not violate any applicable law concerning child pornography, or otherwise intended to protect the health or well-being of minors. * Your Contributions do not include any offensive comments that are connected to race, national origin, gender, sexual preference, or physical handicap. * Your Contributions do not otherwise violate, or link to material that violates any provision of these Legal Terms, or any applicable law or regulation. * Any use of the Services in violation of the foregoing violates these Legal Terms and may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Services. 6. CONTRIBUTION LICENSE You and Services agree that we may access, store, process, and use any information and personal data that you provide and your choices (including settings). By submitting suggestions or other feedback regarding the Services, you agree that we can use and share such feedback for any purpose without compensation to you. We do not assert any ownership over your Contributions. You retain full ownership of all of your Contributions and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your Contributions. We are not liable for any statements or representations in your Contributions provided by you in any area of the Services. You are solely responsible for your Contributions to the Services and you expressly agree to exonerate us from any responsibility and to refrain from any legal action against us regarding your Contributions. 7. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND CONTENT The Services may contain (or you may be sent via the Site) links to other websites ("Third-Party Websites") as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software, and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties ("Third-Party Content"). Such Third-Party Websites and Third-Party Content are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third-Party Websites accessed through the Services or any Third-Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Services, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third-Party Websites or the Third-Party Content. Inclusion of, linking to, or permitting the use or installation of any Third-Party Websites or any Third-Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Services and access the Third-Party Websites or to use or install any Third-Party Content, you do so at your own risk, and you should be aware these Legal Terms no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any website to which you navigate from the Services or relate to any applications you use or install from the Services. Any purchases you make through Third-Party Websites will be through other websites and from other companies, and we take no responsibility whatsoever about such purchases which are exclusively between you and the applicable third party. You agree and acknowledge that we do not endorse the products or services offered on Third-Party Websites and you shall hold us blameless from any harm caused by your purchase of such products or services. Additionally, you shall hold us blameless from any losses sustained by you or harm caused to you relating to or resulting in any way from any Third-Party Content or any contact with Third-Party Websites. 8. SERVICE S MANAGEMENT We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to (1) monitor the Services for violations of these Legal Terms; (2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or these Legal Terms, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities; (3) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your Contributions or any portion thereof; (4) in our sole discretion and without limitation, notice, or liability, to remove from the Services or otherwise disable all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems, and (5) otherwise manage the Services in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Services. 9. TERM AND TERMINATION These Legal Terms shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Services. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE LEGAL TERMS, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES (INCLUDING BLOCKING CERTAIN IP ADDRESSES), TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR NO REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THESE LEGAL TERMS OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR USE OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SERVICES OR DELETE ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION THAT YOU POSTED AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING, AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION. If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your accoun t, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress. 10. MODIFICATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS We reserve the right to change, modify, or remove the contents of the Services at any time or for any reason at our sole discretion without notice. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our Services. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension, or discontinuance of the Services. We cannot guarantee the Services will be available at all times. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Services, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors. We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Services at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Services during any downtime or discontinuance of the Services. Nothing in these Legal Terms will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Services or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith. 11. GOVERNING LAW These Legal Terms and your use of the Services are governed by and construed by the laws of the State of Minnesota applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the State of Minnesota, without regard to its conflict of law principles. 12. DISPUTE RESOLUTION Informal Negotiations To expedite resolution and control the cost of any dispute, controversy, or claim related to these Legal Terms (each a "Dispute" and collectively, the "Disputes") brought by either you or us (individually, a "Party" and collectively, the "Parties"), the Parties agree to first attempt to negotiate any Dispute (except those Disputes expressly provided below) informally for at least thirty (30) days before initiating the arbitration. Such informal negotiations commence upon written notice from one Party to the other Party. Binding Arbitration If the Parties are unable to resolve a Dispute through informal negotiations, the Dispute (except those Disputes expressly excluded below) will be finally and exclusively resolved by binding arbitration. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT THIS PROVISION, YOU WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") and, where appropriate, the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes ("AAA Consumer Rules"), both of which are available at the American Arbitration Association (AAA) website. Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Consumer Rules and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules. The arbitration may be conducted in person, through the submission of documents, by phone, or online. The arbitrator will decide in writing but need not provide a statement of reasons unless requested by either Party. The arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. Except where otherwise required by the applicable AAA rules or applicable law, the arbitration will take place in Scott, Minnesota. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Parties may litigate in court to compel arbitration, stay proceedings pending arbitration, or confirm, modify, vacate, or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator. If for any reason, a Dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, the Dispute shall be commenced or prosecuted in the state and federal courts located in Scott, Minnesota, and the Parties hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction, and forum non conveniens concerning venue and jurisdiction in such state and federal courts. Application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) are excluded from these Legal Terms. In no event shall any Dispute brought by either Party related in any way to the Services be commenced more than one (1) year after the cause of action arose. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and the Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court. Restrictions The Parties agree that any arbitration shall be limited to the Dispute between the Parties individually. To the full extent permitted by law, (a) no arbitration shall be joined with any other proceeding; (b) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be arbitrated on a class-action basis or to utilize class-action procedures; and (c) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be brought in a purported representative capacity on behalf of the general public or any other persons. Exceptions to Informal Negotiations and Arbitration The Parties agree that the following Disputes are not subject to the above provisions concerning informal negotiations binding arbitration: (a) any Disputes seeking to enforce or protect, or concerning the validity of, any of the intellectual property rights of a Party; (b) any Dispute related to, or arising from, allegations of theft, piracy, invasion of privacy, or unauthorized use; and (c) any claim for injunctive relief. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and the Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court. 13. CORRECTIONS There may be information on the Services that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, including descriptions, pricing, availability, and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update the information on the Services at any time, without prior notice. 14. DISCLAIMER THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES AND YOUR USE THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SERVICES' CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY WEBSITES OR MOBILE APPLICATIONS LINKED TO THE SERVICES AND WE WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (1) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT AND MATERIALS, (2) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES, (3) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN, (4) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SERVICES, (5) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE WHICH MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SERVICES BY ANY THIRD PARTY, AND/OR (6) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT AND MATERIALS OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SERVICES. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE SERVICES, ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE OR MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING, AND WE WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE. 15. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY IN NO EVENT WILL WE OR OUR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT, LOST REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. 16. INDEMNIFICATION You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates, and all of our respective officers, agents, partners, and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of (1) use of the Services; (2) breach of these Legal Terms; (3) any breach of your representations and warranties outlined in these Legal Terms; (4) your violation of the rights of a third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights; or (5) any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Services with whom you connected via the Services. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, with our defense of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it. 17 . USER DATA We will maintain certain data that you transmit to the Services to manage the performance of the Services, as well as data relating to your use of the Services. Although we perform routine backups of data, you are solely responsible for all data that you transmit or that relates to any activity you have undertaken using the Services. You agree that we shall have no liability to you for any loss or corruption of any such data, and you hereby waive any right of action against us arising from any such loss or corruption of such data. 18. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSACTIONS, AND SIGNATURES Visiting the Services, sending us emails, and completing online forms constitute electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically, via email, and on the Services, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing. YOU HEREBY AGREE TO THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES, CONTRACTS, ORDERS, AND OTHER RECORDS, AND ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF NOTICES, POLICIES, AND RECORDS OF TRANSACTIONS INITIATED OR COMPLETED BY US OR VIA THE SERVICES. You hereby waive any rights or requirements under any statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, or other laws in any jurisdiction which require an original signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records, or to payments or the granting of credits by any means other than electronic means. 19. CALIFORNIA USERS AND RESIDENTS If any complaint with us is not satisfactorily resolved, you can contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834 or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 or (916) 445-1254. 20. MISCELLANEOUS These Legal Terms and any policies or operating rules posted by us on the Services or with respect to the Services constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Legal Terms shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These Legal Terms operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. We may assign any or all of our rights and obligations to others at any time. We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, delay, or failure to act caused by any cause beyond our reasonable control. If any provision or part of a provision of these Legal Terms is determined to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Legal Terms and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. There is no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship created between you and us as a result of these Legal Terms or use of the Services. You agree that these Legal Terms will not be construed against us by having drafted them. You hereby waive any defenses you may have based on the electronic form of these Legal Terms and the lack of signing by the parties hereto to execute these Legal Terms. 21. CONTACT US To resolve a complaint regarding the Services or to receive further information regarding the use of the Services, please contact us at: hunter@cinemadispatch.com

Sundance 2023 Preview January 19, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen After months of Oscar movies from leading auteurs, the Sundance Film Festival offers a nice break to discover some of the brightest talent of the future. The festival has also been one of the most accessible since the start of the pandemic, with the entire 2021 and 2022 lineups being available online throughout the world. Unfortunately, that amount of openness is being slightly pulled back for the 2023 edition, with some of the "bigger" films being in-person only. No matter, there are still plenty of exciting films that I plan to catch as part of the online platform from January 24-29. You can read about each one below, and pay attention to this site for reviews and other coverage. *Descriptions and images for all films supplied by the Sundance Film Festival program* Bad Behaviour Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) seeks enlightenment. The former child actress makes a pilgrimage to join her guru, Elon Bello (Ben Whishaw), for a silent retreat at a beautiful mountain resort with a Tesla-crammed parking lot. Before she shuts off her phone to the world, Lucy reaches out to her daughter, Dylan — a stunt person training for a dangerous fight scene — to interrupt her concentration and announce that she will be unavailable and out of range, and that she is very worried about her, and that she might extend her stay. It is codependent, bad behavior. When a young model/DJ/influencer at the retreat is paired up with Lucy to do a mother/daughter role-playing exercise, hellfire stokes Lucy’s bad behavior to an astonishing low. Run Rabbit Run Fertility doctor Sarah begins her beloved daughter Mia’s seventh birthday expecting nothing amiss. But as an ominous wind swirls in, Sarah’s carefully controlled world begins to alter. Mia begins behaving oddly and a rabbit appears outside their front door — a mysterious birthday gift that delights Mia but seems to deeply disconcert Sarah. As days pass, Mia becomes increasingly not herself, demanding to see Sarah’s long-estranged, hospitalized mother (the grandmother she’s never met before) and fraying Sarah’s nerves as the child’s bizarre tantrums begin to point her toward Sarah’s own dark history. As a ghost from her past re-enters Sarah’s life, she struggles to cling to her distant young daughter. Magazine Dreams Killian Maddox (Jonathan majors) lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy appointments and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he harbors a crush on a friendly cashier. Though Killian’s struggles to read social cues and maintain control of his volatile temper amplify his sense of disconnection amid a hostile world, nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of bodybuilding superstardom, not even the doctors who warn that he’s causing permanent damage to his body with his quest. The Starling Girl Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy — the church dance group — is tempered by worry that her love of dance is actually sinful, and she’s caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and an instinctive resistance to her mom’s insistence that the time has come to begin courting. She finds respite from her confusion in the encouragement of her youth pastor Owen, who is likewise drawn to the blossoming Jem’s attention. Theater Camp As summer rolls around again, kids are gathering from all over to attend AdirondACTS, a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York that’s a haven for budding performers. After its indomitable founder Joan (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma, her clueless “crypto-bro” son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is tasked with keeping the thespian paradise running. With financial ruin looming, Troy must join forces with Amos (Ben Platt), Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), and their band of eccentric teachers to come up with a solution before the curtain rises on opening night. Fair Play Hot off the heels of their new engagement, thriving New York couple Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) can’t get enough of each other. When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, supportive exchanges between the lovers begin to sour into something more sinister. As the power dynamics irrevocably shift in their relationship, Luke and Emily must face the true price of success and the unnerving limits of ambition. Sometimes I Think About Dying Lost on the dreary Oregon coast, Fran (Daisy Ridley) wastes her daylight hours in the solitude of a cubicle, listening to the constant hum of officemates, occasionally daydreaming to pass the time. She is ghosting through life unable to pop her bubble of isolation. And then Robert starts up at the company. He is new to town and the dynamics of the office. He is a naturally friendly person who keeps trying to chat with Fran. Though it goes against every fiber of her being, she may have to give this guy a chance. Cat Person Margot (Emilia Jones), a college student working concessions at an art house theater, meets frequent filmgoer — and rather older local — Robert (Nicholas Braun), on the job. Flirtation across the counter evolves into continuous texting. As the two inch toward romance, shifts between them, awkward moments, red flags, and discomforts pile up. Margot feels both attached and reticent, as her gnawing hesitations blossom into vivid daydreams where Robert realizes his most threatening potential. As her distrust and uncertainty mount, an evening, their relationship, and possibly their lives unravel. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Twin Cities Film Fest 2025 Preview October 14, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen From late August through mid-September, the fall film festival corridor reaches its apex of influence and popularity with the overlapping of the trifecta that is the Venice International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Dozens of A-list movie stars and auteurs debut their newest projects, walking the red carpet and shaking hands to attract as much attention as possible. It’s all a game, with the victor being showered with praise in the form of box office earnings and industry awards. While those headlining festivals are mostly exclusive events, a democratization of this process begins in October with the blitz of the regional festivals. All across the country (and the world), smaller festivals gather a collection of the best that world cinema has to offer, curating for local tastes and building narratives that carry on throughout the rest of the year. Notable festivals that take place during this time include the New York Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and AFI Fest. Also a part of that mix is the Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF), now celebrating its “Sweet 16” anniversary with its lineup of blockbusters and headliners. Distributor Focus Features retains its opening night slot for the third year in a row after The Holdovers and Conclave , respectively. Both of those films placed for the Best Feature Film Award, something that this year’s selection, Hamnet , could very likely do, considering its rave reviews and awarding of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tissues will be needed for the audience of this tear-jerker, which features Oscar-worthy performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. It will then be released in theaters around the Thanksgiving holiday. Also from Focus Features is Bugonia , the newest collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone, whose previous works include The Favourite , Poor Things , and Kinds of Kindness . Stone plays a CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed young men who believe that she is an alien who has been sent to destroy the planet. Amazon MGM Studios will bring Hedda , writer/director Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, starring Tessa Thompson. Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, and Keanu Reeves headline Ansari’s directorial debut, Good Fortune , which will play at the Edina Mann 4 Theatre as part of the festival’s new partnership to expand its programming capabilities. Searchlight Pictures will be pulling double duty during the festival’s final days with the dramedies Rental Family and Is This Thing On? . In the lineup press release, Executive Director Jatin Setia said that he wanted to “put a brighter spotlight on the independent spirit.” That sentiment is illustrated by the selection of The Floaters as the Spotlight Centerpiece. Marking its Minnesota Premiere at the festival, the indie dramedy features an eclectic cast of performers like Jackie Tohn, Seth Green, Aya Cash, and Steve Guttenberg. Director Rachel Israel and producer Shai Korman will conduct a Q&A following the screening. The Closing Night Gala, Lost & Found in Cleveland , will also bring together its cast and crew, including directors Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman, as well as actors Santino Fontana and Benjamin Steinhauser. The festival received a record number of submissions this year, with over 150 films set to screen at the Marcus West End Cinema, Edina Mann 4 Theatre, or virtually via the TCFF streams platform. The selection runs from October 16 to the 25th, with information about scheduling and tickets available at twincitiesfilmfest.org . More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

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 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes 2023 Recap June 1, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The Cannes Film Festival, renowned for its celebration of the art of cinema, serves as an annual rendezvous for filmmakers, artists, and film enthusiasts from around the world. As the curtains drew back on the esteemed event, it bestowed upon us a plethora of remarkable films that pushed the boundaries of storytelling and left an indelible mark on our collective cinematic consciousness. In this article, I’ll embark on a captivating recounting of the thirteen films I saw in this year’s edition. From intimate character studies to sweeping epics, the selection was a testament to the diverse voices and visions that grace the silver screen. Each film presented its unique tale, captivating audiences with its artistic merits and thought-provoking narratives. 13. The Old Oak Painfully flat and oversimplified, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty’s umpteenth partnership spends way too much time speechifying instead of building characters. The message boils down to racism = bad, and it ends without resolving either the main plot or the secondary subplot. For someone as adept at social realism as Ken Loach, this is a glaring misfire that makes me worried if it will be his whimpering swan song. 12. Black Flies You might as well walk into this movie with a headache because you're going to get one five minutes in. You might as well not watch this movie if you're squeamish with blood and needles. You might as well not watch this movie if you want to watch interesting characters in an original story filled with ideas you haven’t seen before. You might as well not watch this movie. 11. Last Summer There’s nothing like climbing the steps of the Grand Théâtre Lumière at 7 am to watch a movie about an affair between a middle-aged woman and her teenage stepson. Infamous provocateur Catherin Breillat’s first film in a decade is not as button-pushing as her reputation or the plot summary would imply. Instead, it mutley looks under the surface at the psychological damage caused by the physical actions. 10. Banel & Adama I’ve always had a blind spot for African cinema, so I felt compelled to let this be a mini-introduction. Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut film is confidently produced, with striking images and a welcoming lesson of a slice of African culture. The story may be too simple even for its 80-minute runtime, but the building blocks are there for further bites at the apple. 9. A Brighter Tomorrow With his version of Bardo , Nanni Moretti provides a humourous meta-commentary on his personal and professional life, as well as the state of modern filmmaking, complete with discussions about the lack of auteurship and Netflix’s anonymous releases. While it may not be all that innovative or groundbreaking, it's still light and breezy enough to be a good time. 8. May December Grab your marshmallows and graham crackers because Todd Haynes is bringing the camp! I give major props to everyone involved in this production for their ability to keep the silliness of this story a secret. This is “trash” handled by masters of the craft, with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore understanding the assignment. I'm hoping the Netflix acquisition will allow a new generation of cinephiles to be welcomed into the diverse world of Todd Haynes. 7. About Dry Grasses A runtime of 197 minutes is nothing unusual for Turkish Cannes all-star Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who fills his Chekovian dramedy with endless moments of beauty and frustration. It’s a film that definitely requires multiple watches to fully comprehend its ideas, but I don’t think this initial watch instilled the ambition needed to consider doing that. 6. Perfect Days Wim Wenders’ best narrative feature in decades is a lesson in the serenity of doing the mundane, and the bliss we could all achieve if we didn't overcomplicate everything we do. Similar to the recent Sight and Sound crowned Jeanne Dielman , it’s a story that sounds terrible on paper. And yet, its uber-simplicity does wonders to lull you into a state of meditation. For the best results, watch this on a calm summer day with some tea. 5. Anatomy of a Fall While Johnathan Glazer kept Sandra Hüller at a distance in The Zone of Interest , writer/director Justine Triet has front and center within her Hitchcockian courtroom drama. It may be missing something special that would have made me fall in love with it, but it still contains a densely layered mystery that keeps you guessing throughout its 150-minute runtime. 4. Firebrand Karim Aïnouz’s tale of Catherine Parr and Henry VIII may not contain much directorial flair (begging the question of why it was here in the first place), but the fiery (pun intended) performances by Alicia Vikander and Jude Law keep things smoldering (again, pun intended). Historians will have a field day with its inaccuracies, which allow for a nontraditional and modern approach to a story that has become more relevant in the centuries since. 3. Monster Hirokazu Kore-eda brings Rashomon into the modern age with Monster , a movie that is both more gentle and deadly than its title implies. For the first time in his career, the revered Japanese auteur doesn’t write the script, deferring that duty to Yûji Sakamoto. While I hope this separation of responsibilities doesn’t become a trend, Kore-eda crafts an endearing story about differing perspectives and the misconceptions we surround ourselves with. 2. Asteroid City 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’m come to love, with the bonus of seeing an auteur continue to find new ways to channel what they do best. Full Review 1. The Zone of Interest 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 More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Biggest Flops in TIFF History September 2, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen Every September, the city of Toronto becomes a hub of cinematic celebration as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) rolls out the red carpet for a myriad of films from around the world. A prestigious event that has launched countless Oscar campaigns and propelled numerous films into the limelight, TIFF is a cinematic playground where dreams are realized and reputations are solidified. However, amidst the glamour and fervor, there exists a lesser-explored facet of the festival – a realm of disappointment and missed opportunities. In this list, I’ll delve beyond the flashing cameras and standing ovations to shed light on the movies that, for various reasons, failed to strike the right chord with audiences and critics alike. The rules for this list are simple: The film must have had its world premiere at the festival The film must have had a certain amount of buzz around it. If a movie fails and no one was anticipating it, then it’s not really a bomb. The film must have massively underperformed on expectations, both critically and financially The Fifth Estate (2013) Benedict Cumberbatch was on the rise in the early 2010s with roles in War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , and the television series Sherlock . 2013 was bound to be his breakout year as he had FIVE films set to be released that year: Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, August: Osage County , and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug . Three of those would play at that year’s TIFF, with The Fifth Estate opening the festival. The bright lights didn’t serve it well, as Bill Condon’s take on Julian Assage and WikiLeaks was met with mixed-negative reviews on account of its by-the-numbers storytelling and refusal to take a stance on the issue. 12 Years a Slave lit up the room a few days later, as did Ron Howard’s Rush , starring Cumberbatch’s The Fifth Estate co-star Daniel Brühl. Everyone was able to move on quickly, with the film grossing less than $3 million at the US box office a month later. Men, Women, and Children (2014) Jason Reitman was the most in-demand young director in Hollywood after the one-two punch of Juno and Up in the Air . Things went south rather quickly once he decided to make a movie about the perils of social media. Time Out ’s Joshua Rothkopf called it “the first Reitman film to make the 36-year-old director seem about 400 years old.” An outstanding cast consisting of Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Kaitlyn Dever, Ansel Elgort, and Timothée Chalamet was wasted in an out-of-touch and preachy story. The savage reviews killed the already minuscule audience interest in the film, with its $300,000 haul being one of the lowest ever for a film opening in >600 theaters. The Cobbler (2014) One TIFF, two Adam Sandler movies! It’s hard to criticize his choices (at least on paper), as both his 2014 films came from directors with a certain amount of pedigree. The latter was helmed by Tom McCarthy, who hadn’t missed yet between The Station Agent, The Visitor , and Win Win . Nothing worked this time around, with the terrible plotting and creepy undertones stripping the film of having the whimsical tone it wanted. It took the title of Sandler’s biggest bomb away from Men, Women, and Children when it was released six months later, only grossing a mere $24,000 on its opening weekend. A film failing that epically would have killed 99% of directors' careers. But somehow Tom McCarthy would pivot and return to TIFF in 2015 with Spotlight , finishing in the runners-up position for the People’s Choice Award and ultimately winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Kings (2017) Turkish writer/director Deniz Gamze Ergüven spent four years developing her script centering on the 1992 Los Angeles riots. She was finally able to get the film made a decade later once her debut feature Mustang was nominated for Best International Feature. She would experience a sophomore slump with her English-language debut, with critics finding the film messy and underdeveloped. Even with the star power of Halle Berry and Daniel Craig, the film wouldn’t be released until the next spring to no fanfare. Life Itself (2018) Amazon Studios was riding high off the awards success of Manchester by the Sea in early 2017 and wanted to continue in that sphere. Seeing the success of This Is Us on NBC, they snatched up writer/director Dan Fogelman’s next film for $10 million in late 2017. They remained confident when deciding to launch it at TIFF, premiering it at both Roy Thomsen Hall and the Elgin Theatre. All those rose-tinted hopes and dreams came crashing down once people saw the finished product. The overwrought and convoluted soap opera incited more ironic laughter than tears within the audience. The film debuted in theaters two weeks later, where it became the second-lowest opening ever in >2500 theaters with only $2 million. The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018) French Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan had already won the Jury Prize and Grand Prix at Cannes, as well as the César award for Best Director before he turned 30. The problem with that much success at such a young age is that you can go only down from there. Such was the case for his English-language debut about a famous actor having a correspondence with a young fan. The film spent almost two years in post-production, causing Dolan to miss the Cannes deadline. He chose to debut at TIFF instead, where he was met with the worst reviews of his career. The rumors of the film being trimmed down from a four-hour cut seemed to be true as entire characters and storylines were excised, lending to a rushed and underdeveloped plot about celebrity culture. It sat on a shelf for another year before limping into theaters in December 2019. Lucy in the Sky (2019) TIFF has a habit of showing their hands based on how they schedule their world premieres, with the better ones earlier in the festival and the not-so-good ones near the end when most of the press has left. Noah Hawley’s directorial debut, loosely inspired by the life of NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak, found itself in the latter camp, scheduled for a final Thursday night premiere. Whatever press was still left probably wished they had already left, as Hawley’s pretentious directorial choices and Natalie Portman’s wonky Texas accent were nails on a chalkboard. Distributor Fox Searchlight had other priorities at that TIFF with Jojo Rabbit and was still transitioning out of the Disney buyout of 21st Century Fox. Lucy in the Sky was released in theaters a few weeks later, grossing an abysmal $300,000 against a $25 million budget. Coincidentally (or maybe not), Hawley’s planned Star Trek film was canceled a few months later. The Goldfinch (2019) Amazon didn’t let the failure of Life Itself deter them from returning to TIFF the next year. This time they partnered with Warner Bros. on distribution and picked a safer project by adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Donna Tartt. With Brooklyn director John Crowley at the helm, Roger Deakins as DP, and an all-star cast, it seemed this would be the streamer’s return to the awards race. But the film ended up having a worse death than its predecessor. Early test screenings were disastrous, prompting the studio to lower the marketing budget. Despite that, they still took it to TIFF, where the reviews matched their expectations. A $2.6 million opening the following weekend led to losses of over $50 million when all was said and done. To add insult to injury, Tartt was so infuriated by the adaptation that she fired her agent for allowing it to happen and has rejected any talk of her work being adapted again. Dear Evan Hansen (2021) After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 edition of the festival to be a mix of drive-in and digital screenings, TIFF needed to put on a grand show to welcome everyone back to “normalcy” in 2021. Universal was more than willing to have Dear Evan Hansen be the opening night act on account of director Steven Chbosky delivering festival favorite The Perks of Being a Wallflower years earlier. But anyone who watched the trailers for the film in the summer knew that this project was doomed from the start. The 27-year-old Ben Platt was already too old for the part and enough discourse over the material’s attitude towards mental health had circulated online. Neither critics nor audiences were satisfied, leading to poor reviews and a lackluster box office gross. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Ranking the Films of Michael Haneke March 23, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen In contemporary cinema, few directors wield the same level of unyielding intellect and unapologetic exploration of the human condition as Michael Haneke. With a career spanning over four decades, Haneke has carved out a niche for himself as a master of discomfort, challenging audiences to confront the unsettling truths that lurk beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. His stories are parables; critiquing topics such as violence, sex, authority, guilt, and death. Since making his debut in 1989, the Austrian filmmaker has become one of the most decorated filmmakers in modern cinema. He’s premiered nearly all his feature films at the Cannes Film Festival; raking in two Palme d’Ors, the Grand Prix, and the award for Best Director. His penultimate film, Amour , went on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Feature, with Haneke himself being nominated for his direction and screenplay. While this is a ranking of his filmography, it would be dishonest to consider it a review of his “worst to best” films, as he has no bad films (well, except for one). For transparency, I have not seen his Glaciation trilogy consisting of The Seventh Continent (1989), Benny's Video (1992), and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994). Once I see those, then his filmography will be completed. But let’s not focus on what’s absent, instead let’s dive into this ranking of cinema’s most enigmatic auteur. 8. Time of the Wolf (2003) I can't believe someone this talented wrote and directed this piece of trash. Despite being near the height of his powers, Haneke veered his sights on the lowest hanging fruit there is for a lesson on human cruelty: the apocalypse. In all of his other films, Haneke spins his message into an intricate web that obscures truth, leaving the viewer to look at themselves to fill in the rest. Here, he angrily draws the picture for you while repeatedly shouting "Do you get it now!?" 7. Happy End (2017) Happy End is an amalgamation of Haneke's classic tropes: unrelenting bleakness, slow-paced long takes, unresolved narratives, and, of course, suicide. But the one usually dependable ingredient Haneke forgot to add was a reason why we should take an interest in these people. Apart from Jean-Louis Trintignant's character, every personal narrative fails to rise above the surface. They're all (partially) connected, but need help to play off each other well, and by themselves. 6. The Piano Teacher (2001) While many may argue that its material is purely for shock value, Haneke lets his sadism tell a compelling of desire and repression. Complicated characters such as these, both wonderfully played by Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel, don’t have to be fully explained. Haneke refuses to sensationalize anything, challenging viewers to confront their notions of intimacy and power dynamics. 5. Amour (2012) As a great companion piece to The Father , Haneke’s second Palme d’Or-winning film is poignant in its exploration of love at the end of life’s road. Autonomy and dignity are stripped away from Anne as her body deteriorates, with the only role her husband able to play is a witness. But even if the ending isn’t pretty, Haneke and the actors perpetually allude to a life worth living with the person you love. 4. Caché (2005) A pleasant (or should I say unpleasant because this movie is - as always with Haneke - very depressing) rebound for Haneke following the abomination that is Time of the Wolf , Caché (Hidden) is a thriller stripped of the usual cinematic tricks. It becomes the ultimate "What would you do?" scenario. Would you go down the rabbit hole, or leave it alone and hope nothing else happens? Haneke assures us that no choice will leave us with a happy ending. 3. The White Ribbon (2009) Leave it to Haneke to create a mystery film that gives absolutely no answers to any of your burning questions. It's deeply troubling to only be on the reactionary side of events, without explaining why any of this is happening. He observes the simple roots of authoritarianism, which eventually led to the rise of the Nazi party. As people's sense of safety begins to crumble, so does their guard against tyranny. Opportunities are seized by those in power, and we are worse off because of it. And in a cruelly hilarious way, it's probably his most uplifting message to date. 2. Funny Games (1997) “Anyone who leaves the cinema doesn't need the film, and anybody who stays does." To give a movie a glowing rating would indicate that I really liked it. In the case of Funny Games , the opposite is true. I hated this movie. I hated every interaction. I hated every character. I hated every line of dialogue. I hated every little thing that happened. And in all that hatred, I surrendered myself to Haneke's sadistic lesson. He's the anti-Quentin Tarantino, delivering violence in the most unsatisfying and grisly way possible. It's unbearable to watch as Haneke twists the knife even more with his cinematic tricks. 1. Code Unknown (2000) An interconnected mystery film that offers no answers (are you sensing a pattern?), Code Unknown frustratingly fits into Michael Haneke's twisted filmography. Told in a series of vignettes that both are and aren't connected (but all of which are told in unbroken long takes), Haneke presents a puzzle with only half the pieces available. While the chronology is tossed off without remorse, Haneke's contempt for humanity is pinpointed. Racism, domestic abuse, and abandonment are touched on through third parties, with Haneke casting doubt upon his bystanders. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

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Top 10 Steven Spielberg Films November 23, 2022 By: Hunter Friesen Like The Mad Titan Thanos, Steven Spielberg has seemingly made it his mission to collect the stones of nearly every genre known to cinema. Throughout his nearly fifty-year feature film career, he’s already conquered monster movies ( Jaws ), science-fiction ( E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ), adventure ( Indiana Jones ), war ( Saving Private Ryan ), musical ( West Side Story ), and biopics ( Schindler’s List & Lincoln ). He’s also been dubbed The King of Entertainment and remains the highest-grossing director of all time with a cumulative global box office gross of $10.62 billion. In honor of the nationwide release of his newest film, The Fabelmans , here’s a look at my ten favorite Spielberg films, all of which hold a special place in my heart and mind. 10. Raiders of the Lost Ark Honestly, I'm pretty sure this movie was just a series of bets between Spielberg and George Lucas to see if they could film a certain set piece, and I don't think they lost a single one. Taking inspiration from the Saturday morning matinees of his youth, Spielberg captures the youthful spirit of adventure and danger through ingenious practical action sequences that still tower over anything crafted today. Ranked #2 behind Atticus Finch in the AFI’s list of Top 100 Heroes, Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones is a modern-day swashbuckling pirate who finds himself in over his head but is just iron-willed enough to live for another adventure. 9. The Fabelmans The Fabelmans is a collection of Spielberg's greatest hits, all delivered to their greatest effect Just as he’s done with nearly every genre, Spielberg conquers the recent trend of directors making autobiographies and how they fell in love with cinema. There’s laughter, tears, and wonder as Spielberg recounts his early days growing up in Arizona with his artistic mother and scientific father. Newcomer Gabriel LaBelle acts as the Spielberg stand-in, with his great performance likely being the first of many. Full Review 8. West Side Story Spielberg emerged as the predictable winner of The Great Musical War of 2021. Perfectly melding the work of Bernstein and Sondheim with the newfound talents of DeBose, Faist, and Zegler, the new West Side Story makes the case for why some remakes should be allowed to happen. Because sometimes, they can meet or surpass the original, such as how this one does by bringing classic cinema into the modern world. Full Review 7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade A sequel ranked over the original? Blasphemy! There is one clear reason why I am ranking The Last Crusade over Raiders of the Lost Ark (and obviously above Temple of Doom ): Sean Connery. The addition of the original James Bond provides a nice familial fold against the usual ruggedness of the Indiana Jones character. We only hear the voice of the old man in the film’s magnificent opening sequence, just enough to get us excited for his later introduction. The film also gets the slight edge because of its ability to scare the hell out of me as a child, with the “He chose…poorly” scene having a rent-free space in my head for eternity. 6. Catch Me If You Can As the latter in a double-bill with Minority Report in 2002, Spielberg’s caper is an infectiously entertaining time that sneakily lays claim as one of the best Christmas movies. A central theme throughout Spielberg’s filmography is the strained relationship between fathers and sons, and no film has that more in the foreground than Catch Me If You Can . Christopher Walken’s Oscar-nominated performance is one of the finest Spielberg ever directed, with DiCaprio providing the necessary emotional arc of a kid finding his way in the world. It also helps to have a top-notch Tom Hanks, complete with the best knock-knock joke known to man . 5. The Post Effortlessly entertaining and ever-timely, The Post is another showcase on each level of directing, writing, and acting. At the helm of this self-important tale is Spielberg with his endlessly maneuvering handheld camera. Like his nimble work at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan , Spielberg careens around corners and peers into meetings, placing us as a fly on the wall within The Washington Post. It may be the best of the partnership of Spielberg-Hanks-Kaminski-Williams-Kahn. It's perfect as a history lesson and a modern-day allegory, invigorating the message that democracy dies in darkness. 4. Saving Private Ryan The firm ideals of bravery and good ol' American patriotism are not traditionally found within Saving Private Ryan . Instead, Steven Spielberg, along with screenwriter Robert Rodat, offers something not usually found within a war film: humanity. While still an action film at its heart, the mind of the film is centered on philosophy, as opposed to pure entertainment. The titular mission of extracting Pvt. James Ryan isn't an honorable one. It doesn't take a genius to see the flawed math of risking the lives of eight men to save one. Spielberg and Rodat don't dance around that thought, and also find time to analyze the themes of doing your duty and the futility of war. Within the film, there are no individual heroes, only real men fighting to keep themselves alive for just another moment. The opening set piece is one of the greatest ever produced, with chaotic camerawork, editing, and sound design. It's no wonder no film has attempted to portray D-day since, as Spielberg has set the bar at an unassailable height. 3. Schindler's List Like The Father and Requiem for a Dream , Spielberg’s often regarded magnum opus is a film that will only ever want to watch once. Its morally serious story of the Holocaust is one of the most upsetting cinematic experiences ever created. But it is so incredibly well done and engrossing that it demands to be seen. And with the seemingly recent rapid rise of antisemitism, it now demands to be reseen by all. 2. Lincoln Just as Martin Scorsese did with Casino , Lincoln is part biopic, part history lesson on what it takes to pass anything in Congress, especially one of the most important amendments in our nation's history. Screenwriter Tony Kushner pushes past our preconceptions of the nobility that is involved in lawmaking. DP Janusz Kaminski and Production Designer Rick Carter take that rat's nest saying and apply it to their visual style. Instead of grand marble and strong architecture, the White House and House of Representatives are dingy, dimly lit, and a mute brown swamp full of colorful characters. At the top of the pedestal is Daniel Day-Lewis's performance. Day-Lewis doesn't play Abraham Lincoln, he is Abraham Lincoln. Even for one of the most recognizable actors in cinema, it's nearly impossible to see Day-Lewis in the role. There isn't a moment that you're not in complete awe of what you're seeing on the screen. 1. Munich Dare I say that this is Spielberg's best movie? Yes, I shall dare. For 165 minutes, Spielberg has both our hearts and minds engulfed in this story of vengeance. Or is it justice? The thrills come from the multiple assassinations as Spielberg and co. show off their master craftsmanship. Even though it's a thriller at its core, Munich carries much more than just bullets and bombs. The script by Kushner and Roth is filled with moral ambiguity and ethical conundrums that can be savored for the entire runtime, and then some. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

MSPIFF 2023 Recap April 29, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF, or “Ms. Piff” as it’s said here) is a much-awaited annual event for cinephiles in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Every year, the festival showcases a diverse selection of films from around the world, ranging from documentaries to independent films, and even cult classics. As a movie enthusiast, I had the opportunity to attend the festival this year and watch several films. In this article, I will be ranking the films I saw at the MSP Film Festival. From thought-provoking dramas to hilarious comedies, these films left a lasting impression on me, and I hope to provide you with an insight into the best of the festival. 9. Dreamin' Wild Writer/director Bill Pohlad’s sophomore feature may be a slightly inferior carbon copy of his debut outing Love & Mercy . Still, his love and appreciation for the Emerson musical duo is always evident, almost as if he made the movie more for them than the paying audiences. That emotional reverence is what I walked away from the movie feeling the most, which is more than I can say about the majority of biopics these days. Full Review 8. The Beasts The central themes within The Beasts are both specific to its setting and universal within every country on Earth. It’s what makes it both compelling to a worldwide audience, and also why it lacks depth below the surface. The back-and-forth arguing and vitriol pads out most of the runtime until the expected climactic moment, where writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen allows himself to flourish with a creative perspective shift. The production values and directorial skill are always abundant, with the actors relishing in the extended scenes and long takes. If only there was more meat on this skeleton of a story. 7. Showing Up In its low-key nature, Showing Up can be a comforting ode to small artists persevering to put their creations into the world. 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. I’ve seen this movie twice now, and I wouldn’t be that opposed to another watch somewhere down the road. Full Review 6. Somewhere in Queens After so many years of being lost in the Ice Age films, comedian Ray Romano returns to his Italian-American roots with Somewhere in Queens. The idea of a parent molding their child into a reflection of themselves may not be the most unique theme, but Romano finds both the humor and heart within the situation. Laurie Metcalf plays the mother, bringing great comedic energy and some surprising pathos to a character that easily could have been a throwaway cutout. 5. Polite Society Polite Society is an impressive debut from all those involved (writer/director Nida Manzoor and star Priya Kansara), as it’s only slightly undone by minor problems that are symptoms of its ambitions. It’s both a takedown and love letter to the works of Jane Austen, making a delectable time out of having its cake and eating it too. Full Review 4. R.M.N. Featuring five different spoken languages (Romanian, Hungarian, German, French, and English) and characters from all different walks of life, Cristian Mungiu’s newest visual essay tells a universal story within one specific Transylvanian village. As is tradition for Mungiu, each scene is realized in unbroken takes, with the climactic town-hall meeting unfolding across 17 minutes and featuring dozens of characters. While there are no clichés, this is a story that has been told time and time again, unfortunately, led by the least interesting character of the ensemble. The naturalism is abruptly broken by the ambiguous final shot, leaving you with a disquieting outlook on this specific village, as well as the entire world. 3. Tori and Lokita The newest film from the Belgian brotherly duo of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne finds them once again examining the miscarriages of social justice within their native country. Their handheld long takes and lack of score capture the harsh reality of society. There’s also a propulsive energy to the film, with the semi-criminal elements keeping the 85-minute feature (a staple length for the brothers) moving at a brisk pace. The realism of the situation and themes are slightly undone by the script, which paints everything in such mutually exclusive strokes. But there is power in those overbearing moments, as you’re left with another stark reminder of how the laws of the Western world provide little aid to those who need them the most. 2. BlackBerry Time has not been an ally for the BlackBerry phone, but I believe it will be for this movie. While the other movies in this growing subgenre built themselves largely around the iconography of the brand, Johnson always has his sights set on the people behind the machine, which is what makes this specific story that much more compelling and rewatchable. Full Review 1. Cairo Conspiracy Corruption runs rampant in the holiest of places within Cairo Conspiracy , as faith is used to broker further advances of power. Writer/director Tarik Saleh tells an overlapping story of politics and religion, molding his message within the old-fashioned espionage thriller genre to fantastic results. It’s both entertaining and enlightening, leaving you with something to ponder long after the credits roll. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen