Search Results

'Night of the Living Dead': The First Liberal Horror Film March 22, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen The 1960s and 1970s marked an era of transformation within cinema. No longer did the studio system out in Hollywood dominate the industry as it had in the previous decades. A new era of auteur-driven cinema was burgeoning around the world, starting in Europe with François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard in The French New Wave. America finally showed up to the party in the 1960s, as directors John Cassavetes, Mike Nichols, and Arthur Penn made films for a different generation of moviegoers, a generation that was at the forefront of social change. Also adding him to this exclusive list is George Romero. At first glance, you would think Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was nothing more than a cheap horror movie looking to make a quick buck and fade from existence. But through ingenious directing and writing, Romero and co-screenwriter John Russo were able to elevate the horror genre and tell a compelling story that incorporates elements from today’s society. First and foremost, Night of the Living Dead is a B-picture that was part of thedime-a-dozen crowd back in the drive-in era. It has an ultra-low budget and is almost filled with no-name amateur actors. For 99% of films, those characteristics would be the death knells, but Night of the Living Dead is part of that 1% where its “faults” are part of its charm. I’m also not trying to say having a low budget and no movie stars is a bad thing. Even with the low budget, Romero shows off technical prowess with his grainy camera. He incites genuine fear with tilted close-ups and manipulation of the sound effects. The musical score (if you can even call it a “score”) fades in and out of the movie as it intercuts with the horrifying diegetic sound effects. This technique peaks with the infamous trowel scene where the camera shakes and careens as we follow a zombie child as she murders her mother, whose screams are amplified as she is repeatedly impaled by a blunt object. It’s a terrifying scene to watch because of the technical and shock-value aspects. It’s inspirational to see someone make an effective movie for little money. At a timewhen Hollywood was spending tens of millions of dollars on giant productions, someone was able to make something just as good (if not better), for a fraction of the cost. Even though the word “zombie” is never used within the film, Romero also laid out the groundwork for the ever-popular zombie subgenre. The idea of going for the head, burning them with fire, and zombies eating brains are a few of the ideas that he either originated or popularized. But what makes this film stand out from the rest after all these years is the socialmessaging that works in conjunction with the horror elements. Throughout his career, Romero often cast African-Americans as the heroes in his movies, going against the stereotype at the time where the black character dies first. For our hero, Ben, the horror comes from two different fronts. The first is obvious as the world is being attacked by zombies. The second is a problem one wouldn’t think he'd have to face in a world-gone-mad scenario, which is that he is a black man being discriminated against by other white survivors. Despite being the calmest and skilled survivor of the group, Ben is still regarded assecond-class by the whites who are also trapped in the house. Ben must battle for his life against the zombies and his humanity against the prejudiced survivors. Romero shows the deep prejudice that America shows for African-Americans as Ben is never fully given the respect he deserves by his group members. Romero caps this point off with the shocking ending. An earlier line from the filmdescribes the zombies as “...looking like people, but acting like animals . " As the sole survivor after a night of endless death, Ben is about to leave the house and regroup with the local police. As he climbs out the window, the police shoot and kill him, thinking him a zombie. That description of the zombies earlier can be seen both literally and metaphorically as a way that white people have put down black people for centuries. The police treat Ben’s death like putting down an animal, laughing and walking away as nothing happened. It’s an infuriating way for ourhero to meet his demise. As entertaining and as it is timeless, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead shows that society can be even scarier than zombies. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Anora June 7, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Cannes Review Roundup June 8, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Another Cannes Film Festival is in the books, which means it’s time to decompress from all the commotion and gather my thoughts on everything I saw. This year I watched a personal best of fifteen films within the Official Competition lineup during my three-day stint, an almost Olympian feat that will likely force me to upgrade my contact prescription for my already deteriorated eyes. Full reviews for Megalopolis , Kinds of Kindness , The Apprentice , The Substance , Emilia Perez , and Anora have already been published. This article will serve as a catch-all for everything else, with the films listed chronologically according to my schedule. But make no mistake, while these films are being given short-take reviews, that does not mean they hold a smaller presence within my memory, as the festival always has a knack for unveiling works that bury themselves deep into your conscious, revealing slowly over the proceeding months. Grand Tour Director Miguel Gomes’ film is a work lost in time and space, both in its story and filmmaking. Its titular tour of South Asia is captured through almost silent era techniques, with ultra-grainy black-and-white cinematography and a dream-like story of two traversing lovers. Mixed into this historical story is modern documentary footage of the same locations, a juxtaposition of the land and its people in the century since. I’ll admit, the biggest reason I sought this out was because it was the only opportunity I had to see something in the famed Grand Theatre Lumiere. I’ll be in a better headspace when I catch up with it again when it most likely reaches the States next year. (3/5) Bird Bird gradually warms your heart as it navigates the gutters of England, a favorite spot for Cannes regular Andrea Arnold. I do wish that Arnold had attempted to stretch herself a little more creatively over the first ⅔ of the runtime. The “been there, done that” attitude does get broken up by a surprising element, one that I didn't entirely agree with. But I can’t deny that it had some emotional effect. Nykiya Adams delivers a great performance in her debut, with Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski as their usual freaky selves. There’s also a fun Saltburn reference that got a lot of laughs, although it was definitely unintentional as this was shot before Fennell’s film was released. (3.5/5) The Shrouds Was this supposed to be a comedy? Because it’s so poorly written and performed that at times I couldn’t tell. I did get the feeling that Cronenberg was initially aware of the unintentionally comedic concept of a man creating an app that lets you watch your loved ones decompose in their graves, but then it all is steered down such a self-serious road that you can’t help but laugh at it. Cronenberg throws a lot of ideas and plot developments at the well, most of them way too autobiographical for us to comprehend. Crimes of the Future was my biggest disappointment at Cannes 2022, with this easily (re)laying claim to that title. Is there an award that’s the opposite of the Palme d’Or? (2/5) Oh, Canada A typical Paul Shrader film as it tackles a man wrecked by the guilt of his past. But it’s not all doom and gloom within a world of crime, as Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’ novel has a more melancholic glimpse into a life roughly lived. Where has this version of Richard Gere been all these years?!? Some bizarre directorial choices, such as Jacob Elordi and Gere swapping places in their respective timelines and Uma Thurman cast as multiple characters, prevent this from being a definitive film that Schrader could potentially go out on. (3.5/5) Limonov: The Ballad Cannes' new favorite Russian ambassador Kirill Serebrennikov delivers a biopic with a lot of style, but not much substance, at least not in the forms my Western brain could comprehend. The clash of hemispheres makes for a jarringly interesting experience, with Ben Whishaw’s stunning titular performance almost convincing you he’s playing a layered character. A fascinating disappointment that I’d be welcome to revisit once I dive into Serebrennikov’s previous works. (3/5) Beating Hearts How does a musical work without any songs? Pretty, actually. Gilles Lellouche directors the hell out of this epic gangster drama, crafting a romantic odyssey with the visual flair of West Side Story and the grit of La Haine . Both sets of our star-crossed lovers are wonderful together. (3.5/5) The Girl with the Needle My personal Palme d’Or winner! Magnus von Horn descends us into a haunting time in Denmark, drip-feeding dread through his claustrophobic 4:3 camerawork. The blacks are as dark as night, and the whites are blindingly bright, a combination that resembles the horror of The Lighthouse with the bleak beauty of Cold War . Lovers of ultra-depressing European arthouse pieces keep on winning! (4/5) The Seed of the Sacred Fig Without a doubt the most important film of the festival, Mohammad Rasoulof’s statement about his native land both directly and indirectly dismantles the current Iranian regime through gripping imagery and performances. It succeeds as both a political statement and a taut thriller, although it leans a little too much on the latter in its final stages and oddly opts for metaphors after it has already effectively communicated so literally. (3.5/5) All We Imagine as Light As the first Indian film in the Official Competition in almost thirty years, Payal Kapadia’s sophomore feature certainly had a lot to live up to. It’s a quietly powerful film about the people that inhabit Mumbai, a city that never seems to sleep. It takes its time to reveal itself, but fully hits the landing once it all comes together in the final stages. The score and luminous cinematography were both among the best of the festival. (3.5/5) More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Passages August 4, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Passages opens with Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a German filmmaker living in Paris, working on the set of his next film. It’s immediately apparent that he’s a control freak… and an asshole. He’s critical of everything that’s going on, from the position of his actor’s arms as he walks down the stairs to the amount of wine in an extra’s glass. He probably thinks of himself as Stanley Kubrick, except there isn’t enough brilliance to make up for the callousness. That attitude on the set doesn’t take a break once he goes home to his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw). The couple go to the film’s wrap party at a dance club. Being the more introverted one, Martin goes home early, leaving Tomas to his own devices. He crosses paths with Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) on the dance floor, and the two eventually go home together to have sex. Rebuking the natural secrecy of an affair in an effort to quench his desire for control, Tomas tells Martin all about it the next morning. Tomas wants the best of both worlds: to be in a steady marriage with Martin and to have an exciting new fling with a woman. These three characters are now intertwined, yet it’s obvious only one of them is pulling the strings. Similar to his 2014 film Love is Strange , writer/director Ira Sachs (co-writing with his regular partner Mauricio Zacharias) delves into the thorniness of longstanding relationships, and how there isn’t a clear-cut way to get through it. Tomas thinks he can get what he wants, yet it seems he actually doesn’t know what he wants in the first place. He says “I love you” and engages in sex when it works for him, and never seems to have the ability or desire to understand the other party in that transaction. One of the main problems of the film is that it spends too much time spinning its wheels around this toxic trio. It eventually gets tiring to watch Tomas act selfishly and be begrudgingly forgiven by Martin or Agathe. Sure, that cycle may be a portal to connect with the victims, but it’s also not something wholly original. It’s not a coincidence that the best scene of the film is near the end where Martin and Agathe finally break the circle and sit down to talk directly. Whishaw and Exarchopoulos are both calm and collected throughout much of the film. They each are trying to convince themselves that this new reality can work, but it’s clear no one is coming out better than they used to be. And even in his cruelty, Rogowski is captivating, showing just enough promise to illustrate why he would be accepted into someone else’s life. Filled with as much as explicit sex (although striking it with an NC-17 rating was a displeasing illustration of how the MPAA views homosexuality) as it has insight into complicated relationships, Passages is another worthwhile effort from the dependable Ira Sachs. It’s a ménage à trois for the modern age, mixing confrontation and carnality to perceptive results. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part February 11, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen Back in 2014, The LEGO Movie had to overcome the enormous challenge of adapting a storyless toy brand into a compelling blockbuster. Through expert use of wit and charm, the film became a rightful smash hit that could be enjoyed equally among children and adults. And, for better or worse, it introduced the world to the incredibly memorable song “Everything is Awesome.” Opening exactly where the original left off, the Duplos have attacked Bricksburg and transformed the land into an apocalyptic Mad Max -like wasteland. Despite the darkness of the situation, Emmett maintains his cheery attitude, making him an outsider amongst the tougher community members. In the midst of an attack, Lucy is captured and taken to the Sistar System. With both his home and friends taken from him, Emmett sets out to save Lucy and become the tough guy he thinks he needs to be. Mike Mitchell takes over the directing chair from the original pair of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Mitchell doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and very much stays in the same lane as the first film. He keeps the pace frenetic and is able to cram a large amount of story within a 106-minute runtime. This fast pace works well at keeping the jokes fresh, but it does wear the story thin near the beginning of the third act. Fortunately, the film quickly recovers and delivers a beautiful ending. Supporting the vast amount of set pieces and action sequences is some great animation that is slightly improved over the first film. Computerized effects are used in restraint in favor of more practical-looking effects. And even when used, the computer effects are creative and fit well within the story. Even though they passed on directing, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller returned as scriptwriters for this sequel. The pair proves yet again that they have a natural talent for witty dialogue that works best when it's able to parody itself. The script for this film closely resembles the first as it preaches the value of being yourself and accepting others. This retread of familiar material does strip the story of surprising moments, but the rapid-fire meta jokes about this fact make up for the conventionality. One thing this sequel does better than the original is flesh out the real-world story of the brother and sister that control what happens in the LEGO world. The addition of this element provides some touching moments that connect well with anybody who remembers having fights with their sibling over childhood toys. With both returners and newcomers, the voice cast does a great job at supplying the laughs and heart-tugging moments. Chris Pratt is exceptional as Emmett. His upbeat voice and ability to connect emotionally with the audience make him a fantastic leading character. Elizabeth Banks does a great job as Lucy, whose imprisonment forces her to look at a mirror and decide who she really is. Will Arnett is still perfect as Batman, who is still full of himself and offers hilarious material in a supporting role. Tiffany Haddish is the standout as Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi. Along with being uproariously funny, Haddish surprisingly lends her voice to some new songs, most notably “Gotham City Guys.” Five years after the original, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part surpasses all expectations and captures lighting in a bottle again. With heart and humor to spare, this tale for all ages is yet another awesome experience that is able to take its small pieces and build something extraordinarily larger than life. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Twin Cities Film Fest 2023 Preview October 18, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen As autumn paints the Minnesota landscape with fiery hues, it's time once again to immerse ourselves in the world of storytelling through film. The Twin Cities Film Fest 2023 seeks to showcase both established and emerging talent in the world of cinema. Here are six films in this year's lineup that have me the most intrigued. Note: Alexander Payne's The Holdovers and Christos Nikou's Fingernails are also part of the official selection. Because I saw both of these films at TIFF, they will not be included in this list. All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (10/21) A decades-spanning exploration of a woman's life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us. The film world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will also screen at the New York Film Festival. A24 will release the film in theaters beginning November 03. All of Us Strangers (10/21) A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with a mysterious neighbor as he then discovers his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before. Written for the screen and directed by Andrew Haigh ( 45 Years ). Starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and will also screen at the New York Film Festival, London Film Festival, and Chicago Film Festival. Searchlight Pictures will release the film in theaters beginning December 22. The Taste of Things (10/22) It tells the story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet she has been working for over the last 20 years. Director Trân Anh Hùng won the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film was also recently selected to represent France in the international feature film race at this year’s Oscar ceremony. An IFC release. Foe (10/23) Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Directed by Garth Davis ( Lion ). Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre. Amazon Studios will release the film in theaters beginning October 06. The Teacher's Lounge (10/25) When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. It later won four awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress) at the German Film Awards. It will represent Germany in the international feature film race at this year’s Oscar ceremony. American Fiction (10/28) Author Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is peeved because his latest offering hasn't caught fire with publishers, while a tome called We's Lives in Da Ghetto by Sintara Golden hits the bestseller lists, leaving Monk seething. Cord Jefferson's directorial debut had its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, winning the coveted People's Choice Award. Jefferson adapted the story from the novel by Percival Everett. Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Issa Rae star. Downtown Owl (10/28) Based on the novel by Chuck Klosterman and partially filmed in the Twin Cities area, Downtown Owl is a sparkle-dark Reagan Era comedy set in the fictional town of Owl, North Dakota in the leading days up to the region's blizzard in Minnesota's century. Directed by Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe. Written for the screen by Hamish Linklater. Starring Lily Rabe, Vanessa Hudgens, Ed Harris, Finn Wittrock, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Henry Golding. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Eden September 10, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark Eden had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release it in theaters on August 22, 2025. Ron Howard’s recent track record has been met with absolute inconsistency. It seems as though since his Best Picture-winning film A Beautiful Mind , he hasn’t hit a home run or at least gotten more than a double. He’s known to be a “safe” director, which is the case as many of his movies, especially recent ones, don’t shoot for the moon or offer any new substance. The worriers should be pleased that Eden looks to end this streak, as it’s Howard’s best movie in years, as well as his darkest one ever. It is a gritty thriller that sees a stacked cast consisting of Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, and Ana de Armas play a game of survival of the fittest that is sure to be jaw-dropping for all viewers. Set in the late 1920s, Eden follows three groups of Germans who fled their country to the island of Floreana in the Galápagos Islands. Law and Kirby play a doctor and his handicapped wife, looking to find solace on the island as the first to do so in an attempt to escape from society. Sweeney and Brühl are a couple with a young son looking for a new start, while de Armas is an enigmatic socialite looking to build the nicest hotel in the southern hemisphere. The three groups find themselves at odds when looking to establish dominance and power amongst each other. Everything that happens from there is sheer bedlam as each group plays mind games to try and turn certain characters against each other. To say things get dark for a Howard movie would be a gross understatement, but it’s best to leave audiences knowing as little about it as possible beforehand. Right out of the gate, the cast delivers strong performances, from the subtle Kirby and Law to the loud and expressive Brühl and Sweeney. However, de Armas is the MVP of it all, taking on a character far from what we’ve previously seen from her. The Baroness is an evil, manipulative woman whose welcoming demeanor comes off as fittingly reckless and untrustworthy. When we first meet her, she’s being carried off the boat by two servants who are to help her build the hotel. The way de Armas toys with the other island residents and her helpers is devious, and she executes the character’s intentions phenomenally. She’s always been able to adapt to different accents, as she dons an unmistakable German one mixed with other parts of Europe. Sweeney is another contending standout as she gives another fierce performance (similar to her recent horror flick Immaculate ). Howard’s direction and translation of his and Noah Pink’s script are impeccable. Throughout the plot, audiences can never tell whether the characters are playing chess or checkers, with motivations constantly fluctuating. The plot is well-planned and thought out, and the production value fits tremendously. There are some speed bumps in its cinematography and score. DP Mathias Herndl has difficulties shooting this movie, with the coloring giving a grainy color scheme, and the camerawork takes time to find its footing. Hans Zimmer’s score is routine, which unfortunately falls in line with the majority of his work as of late (the Dune films serving as the exception) Of everything Howard has made thus far, Eden is one of his boldest films, not simply because of its haunted qualities. It speaks volumes and provides a resonant tale, as his best works do. Eden is no different by showcasing how ugly humanity can be in the face of fight-or-die situations. The cast he assembled is one of the year’s best, and it will surely be a conversation topic once it’s picked up for distribution and seen by audiences everywhere. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Till October 22, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Till screened at the 2022 Twin Cities Film Fest. United Artists Releasing will release it in theaters on October 28. One of the most prominent things that creeps through the first act of Till is the sense of impending doom. We open on Mamie and Emmett Till shopping in a department store in 1955 Chicago. They’re buying the necessary things so that Emmett can visit his distant family down in Mississippi. He’s pleading with his mom to buy him a nice wallet to show off to his cousins, who’ve never had much contact with the big city, something that Emmett exemplifies with his effortless charm and nice clothes. At face value, these scenes are full of the usual joy and innocence that would come with any scene where a parent lets their child spread their wings and fly out into the world. But co-writer/director Chinonye Chukwu knows that context is key, as history tells us that Emmett would be kidnapped and lynched by two white men only one week into his visit to Mississippi. So while everything is light and joyful on the surface, there’s a biting feeling deep inside preparing you for what’s to come. Emmett’s murder would become one of the most publicized and important moments of the American civil rights movement. Knowing that his tale would be swept under the rug just like any other story of white-on-black violence, Mamie had her son’s beaten and bloated body put on display so that millions could not forget what had been done. It was a controversial move, but one that has kept Emmett’s legacy alive decades later, and shined a brighter light on the issue of lynchings in the American south. Even if she doesn’t fully illustrate the viciousness inflicted upon Emmett (a long shot of the scene of the crime with distant screams is all we get), Chukwu doesn’t shy away from the aftermath. The body is put on display to both the characters and the viewers, with the first sight of it sending shivers down the spine. But the appearance of the body creates a divide, as it seems to come from a much rougher film than what this ultimately becomes. As time goes by, the glossy biopic trappings begin to set in, most annoyingly present when Abel Korzeniowski’s mismatched score barges its way in. Things are played by the book, stretched across a 130-minute runtime filled with the usual rage-inducing courtroom scenes and a few odd winks to other moments within the movement. Fortunately, with Danielle Deadwyler front and center, much of those negative thoughts drift away. Given a lead role after years in much smaller ones ( The Harder They Fall , HBO’s Watchmen ), Deadwyler delivers a performance that is both heartbreaking and uplifting. With several long takes gifted by Chukwu, she displays powerful courage in the face of danger. She’ll deservedly be a force to be reckoned with come this Oscar season. If only she was served in a better film that followed through on its early promises of nuance. But even with its late-act shortcomings, Till remains an important retelling of history that is, sadly, just as relevant in the present as it was in the past. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The New Mutants August 31, 2020 By: Button Hunter Friesen Filmed way back in the bygone time of 2017, The New Mutants - the newest entry into the now-scrapped X-Men Cinematic Universe - has had its fair share of trouble getting to theaters. Originally set for release in April 2018, the movie has had a record of seven date changes, making it a running joke that it would never see the light of day. Defying the naysayers, The New Mutants has finally hit theaters right in the middle of a pandemic. Set in a remote research facility, The New Mutants follows five teenagers as they discover their newfound powers. The stern Dr. Reyes looks after the young mutants and tries to help them control their raw powers. We follow the newest member of the group, Danielle Moonstar, who was placed there after a mysterious natural disaster wiped out her entire reservation. After some time, the five realize that there’s more behind this facility than meets the eye. To save themselves and right the wrongs of the past, the group must work together to harness their powers and become something bigger than themselves. The New Mutants is directed by Josh Boone, who last made a critical and commercial splash with his adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars . Billed as an action/horror/drama, The New Mutants fails on all three of those genre levels. Thanks to Boone’s inability to grasp onto his material, the various tones of the movie go together like oil & water rather than peanut butter & jelly. The action is sparse throughout the first 80 minutes, only showing us glimpses of each person’s unique power. The final 15 minutes end on an action set piece that unleashes all that the movie has been building up, which isn’t much. The intentionally dark and snowy setting acts as a smokescreen to cover up the poor digital effects and blocking. Fairing even worse than the action is the horror element. It’s been reported that the studio demanded reshoots to add more horror after the mega-success of IT . Neutered by a PG-13 rating, the scares in this movie are comparable to the ones found in a January dumpster movie aimed solely at young teenagers. For nearly the entire runtime, we’re subjected to a rinse-repeat cycle of jump scares and sound blasts that only mildly startle us but never come close to scaring us. Even the main villains - gangly creatures dressed in tuxedos that look almost too similar to Slenderman - come across as more laughable than creepy. But even the failings in the action and horror departments don’t come close to the movie’s biggest crime, which is how boring it is. For being set in a superhero universe, very little of this movie is connected to the larger world. Except for a few namedrops and the fact that our main characters are called mutants, this could have been set in any other YA universe and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The uninteresting plot offers a few biting questions to chew on. If you have even an inkling of knowledge about the X-Men Universe, then these questions will be a breeze to answer. But, immediately knowing these answers is a double-edged sword as you now have to impatiently wait an hour for the movie to reveal them in the dullest way possible. Maybe the only person who can come out of this mess with some credibility is Blu Hunt and her performance as our lead character, Danielle. Hunt does fall into the teenage actor trap of overdoing it, but overall she does a commendable job of being the audience’s viewpoint into this story. Three of our five main characters have accents and each of them vies for the award of least convincing. The winner of that goes to American-born Anya Taylor-Joy in her attempt at portraying a Russian. Charlie Heaton’s Kentucky drawl comes in at a close second place, while the British Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame does alright with her Scottish accent. As an action movie, The New Mutants is a failure. As a horror movie, it’s a failure. Even as a piece of entertainment, it’s a failure. This is nothing more than a cheap cash grab whose only purpose is to make a quick buck off brand recognition alone. The only time I’ll ever think about this movie again is when I have to decide where to place it on my worst-of-the-year list. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Last Night in Soho November 1, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Zippy editing, deadpan comedy from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and a killer soundtrack. These are the characteristics that have come to define the filmography of Edgar Wright. The world first got a glimpse of those three things in 2006 with Wright’s feature debut, Shaun of the Dead . Other features followed, such as the cult classics of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver , giving Wright a dedicated following of fans that will always be itching to see what the stylish British director does next. For his next trick, Wright has done away with two of those three trademarks. He’s keeping the soundtrack, but trading away the duo of Pegg and Frost for Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as trading in humor for horror. The title of Last Night in Soho refers to the famous entertainment district located in London’s West End. From nightclubs to pubs to other seedier establishments, there’s always something to entice your interests. For Eloise Turner (McKenzie), that’s the London College of Fashion. She has big dreams to be a designer like her late mother, but her outsider persona doesn’t mesh well with her urban classmates. Eloise finds solace in her antique off-campus apartment, where she's free to play her 60s music and dream about a better time. Her dreams quickly become reality, as Eloise magically gets transported back to 60s London, where she is mysteriously linked to the life of up-and-coming singer, Sandie (Taylor-Joy). These nighttime adventures allow Eloise to live the life she’s always wanted. But the honeymoon period doesn’t last for long, as these dreams gradually devolve into nightmares. The question of what is reality and what is dream begins to get muddled, and the glamorous white lights begin to run red with blood. Coincidentally, 2021 has been the year of nostalgia for 1960s London as both this film and Disney’s Cruella prominently feature the setting. But while the dalmatian-laced feature carried tacky set pieces and a soundtrack that felt like someone just pressed shuffle on a “Best of the 1960s” Spotify playlist, Wright’s film has much more reverence for the era. The dream-like sections of the film reinvigorate your love for cinema, as Wright displays some inventive camerawork throughout his extended tracking shots that weave their way throughout some of London’s historic establishments. The glittering lights and costumes are candy for eyes, and the hits of “Downtown” and “Got My Mind Set on You” serenade the ears. From a production standpoint, this is Wright’s most accomplished work. Eloise and Wright seemed to be linked to the same fate, as the moment her fortune begins to darken also marks the same point where Wright begins to falter. Once you take away that swinging style, the film topples over as it doesn’t have any legs to stand on in terms of substance. For some people, that may not be a bad thing as Wright’s style goes a long way. But it often feels like empty calories that don’t equal the sum of their parts. Wright, along with co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns ( 1917 ), makes a statement about sexism and toxic men. But specific ideas are scarce and it all plays as more of a generalized blanket observation on the unfair inequality of gender, something any woman learns at some point (hopefully not first-hand). There is no central villain to this story, with Sandy’s pimp and abuser, Jack (played by the handsomely sinister Matt Smith), being too surface-level to be perceived as an actual person, just an idea. For a while, the villains are the ghoulish spirits of controlling men. But our fear of them diminishes each time they appear, which happens much more than it should, a common problem within this 116-minute film that feels every bit as long as it is. Eventually, there are so many twists and turns that you, as well as Wright, don’t know how to feel about these characters, ending the film on a confounding question-mark rather than an exclamation point. Last Night in Soho gloriously indulges in the technical eccentricities that have come to define Edgar Wright. For fans of his work, it is quite a treat to see how far he has come as a craftsman. But all that glitter is not gold, as there's not much underneath the sheen to make this feel anything different than a mild disappointment. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F July 2, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen With Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F , Eddie Murphy has joined Adam Sandler and Millie Bobby Brown in Netflix’s flock of golden geese. This marks his third film with the streamer in the last five years, the previous two being career-revitalizer Dolemite Is My Name and the worst film of last year, You People . Also mixed in are two Prime Video exclusives ( Coming 2 America and Candy Cane Lane ), with another one titled The Pickup currently in post-production. If you take a gander at Murphy’s IMDb page, you can see that he hasn’t been in a theatrically released film since 2016’s Mr. Church , which almost doesn’t count since it never got above a couple hundred theaters. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with starring in streaming movies, especially when someone like Netflix is seemingly the only one willing to greenlight Dolemite Is My Name after years of development hell and throw $150 million at a Beverly Hills Cop film after a thirty-year break. But for how smart they are as business decisions in this modern film industry, the creative output that comes from them is sorely lacking. “Good enough” feels like the mantra, something I mentioned in last week’s review of Netflix’s A Family Affair . It seems that Netflix and others have taken the lower barrier of entry for audiences as an excuse not to try as hard. How much would you really care about the experience of watching a film if it didn’t make you leave the couch? Certainly less than if you had to drive to the theater and fork over $10. Everything and everyone just feels like they’re just going through the motions in Axel F . Axel once again has to leave Detroit, a place he destroys more than the criminals he chases, and go to Beverly Hills. This time he’s flying west to save his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige) after she defends a wrongfully convicted cop killer and is threatened by those actually responsible for the murder. Also returning are old costars Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, and Bronson Pinchot; each of them inadvertently being an advertisement for whatever products Murphy uses to defy aging (seriously, he looks phenomenal for 62). Joining the mix is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a fellow cop and Kevin Bacon as the chief of a new shady task force. “The world has changed” and “in today’s climate” are phrases used a couple of times to try and push the theme of Axel being lost in time just as much as he is often lost in his surroundings. The attempts are heavy-handed, yet never effective as Axel hardly seems to change as a person throughout the film. His relationship with his daughter stems wholly from everything that happened offscreen between Beverly Hills Cop III and now. There’s also the theme of mortality in the line of duty, something that’s already been done in the other Jerry Bruckheimer-produced cop-based sequels, Bad Boys For Life and Bad Boys: Ride or Die . Being that this is a Bruckheimer production, the action is bombastic. First-time director Mark Molloy is often hampered by bad special effects and drab photography. The extended opening chase scene involving a snow plow in Detroit is quite fun, but a later one with a helicopter is garish. Murphy is always having fun with the material, throwing out the same level of one-liners and energy he’s had for decades. There’s never a movie where his presence isn’t welcome, it’s just that most of them (this one included) don’t have any other reasons to care. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Wizard of the Kremlin September 5, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Wizard of the Kremlin had its North American Premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking US distribution. Zigging and zagging between an international remake of Les Vampires in Irma Vep , the exploits of the most wanted man in the world, Carlos the Jackal, in Carlos , and a Cuban espionage ring in Wasp Network , writer/director Olivier Assayas’ fascination with the theme of globalization knows no bounds. After taking some time off from the subject during the COVID-19 pandemic to look inward with Suspended Time , Assayas has saddled himself with his biggest subject yet in The Wizard of the Kremlin , a decades-spanning look at the rise of modern Russia and Vladimir Putin. However, Putin is not the central or most important figure in this tale, which comes with a forewarning about how none of this should be misconstrued as pure fact. Our titular “hero” in this story is Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), a soft-spoken and unassuming spin doctor who secretly held the world in his grasp. He’s now retired to his wintry chalet, giving him plenty of time to host and recount his career to an American foreign correspondent named Rowland (Jeffrey Wright). Their initial meeting is spurred by a mutual admiration for Bolshevik writer Yevgeny Zamyatin, who laid the groundwork for George Orwell’s 1984 . Baranov’s tale starts in the early 1990s when counter-culturalists ran amok, the Soviet Union was dismantled, and Moscow citizens were able to breathe a little easier. But politics and cultural movements hang by a pendulum. Time has allowed some people to look back on Stalin’s tenure through rosier glasses, a time when Russia was at the forefront of geopolitics and thought of as a superpower on par with the United States. Jude Law appears halfway through the 156-minute mini-slog as Putin, the iron fist to Dano’s reserved wit. As exciting as the revitalization of a modern empire might sound (at least to me), Assayas’ film lacks the energy required to keep this engaging and memorable. The central structure of Baranov’s monologue to Rowland lacks any sense of discovery, mostly because Rowland seems to already know all of this. They chat for a while in one room, and then walk to another place on the estate to talk some more. Dano’s narration is long and laborious, taking us through thinly defined episodes that have as much dramatic weight and insight as the chapters in a high school history textbook. The cast sometimes brings up the energy, such as Tom Sturridge as the flashy Dmitri Sidorov, who steals Baranov’s first love, Ksenia (a woefully underused Alicia Vikander), with promises of endless revelry. The weight and presence that Law instills within his portrayal of Putin is just as impressively convincing as the makeup. We may never get to see him bare-chested like the real Russian president, but he does go water skiing and prepares a delectable barbecue dinner. None of the famous faces speaks with a Russian accent, with a vague British tone being used as shorthand. Baranov is persuaded to join Putin’s rising regime when he’s told to “stop making up stories, and start inventing reality.” Assayas clearly sees a link between Putin’s rise to power and Donald Trump’s, with Baranov being his Roy Cohn. Unfortunately, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn’t have the same level of entertainment and enlightenment as last year’s The Apprentice , leaving its credible points of comparison to land with a thud. More Reviews Wicked: For Good November 19, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Rental Family September 7, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Jay Kelly November 20, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Train Dreams November 21, 2025 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen