Search Results

Here October 29, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen The right concept meets the right creative person in Here , the film that finally breaks Robert Zemeckis from the hellish CGI hole he dug himself with his previous three features of Welcome to Marwen , The Witches , and the Disney+ Pinocchio . I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself though, as that wish has come true in monkey paw fashion, with Zemeckis veering his sights on the next step in the technological evolutionary cycle: artificial intelligence. It only makes sense that the two words that have invaded every aspect of our lives in such a short time finds its way onto the silver screen. And, most surprisingly, it’s only one of a handful of notable gimmicks that run amok in this intergenerational story that will surely be a sweeper at this year’s AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. The rabbit hole concept of place and time are at the heart of this story, itself adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire. What would you see if you could turn back time on one single spot? Did dinosaurs roam proudly? Did Native Americans hunt and gather on this land? Did the first colonial settlers lay claim to it? All that and more happened in the living room of Richard (Tom Hanks) and Margaret (Robin Wright), a baby boomer couple who serve as the anchor throughout the millennia. Small windows into the past are interspersed throughout: Benjamin Franklin’s son planting his estate on the land, an aviation enthusiast who buys the property at the turn of the twentieth century, the couple who invent the La-Z-Boy recliner in the living room, and a present-day African-American couple dealing with the pandemic and raising a son in politically charged times. All of this freely flows nonlinearly, the dots of each timeframe being connected by literal rectangular frames that similarly overlap each other to the source material. The camera is fixed in an observational position within one corner of the room, never moving for a moment. It’s a way for Zemeckis and his Forrest Gump writer Eric Roth to zoom out from all the commotion of details and take a big-picture look at how we’re part of the circle of life. It’s a bold concept tangentially akin to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood , although Zemeckis opts for the shortcut of visual effects here. Hanks and Wright first appear in the frame as their characters at seventeen years old, their faces de-aged by artificial intelligence and their bodies slightly animated to hide away all the mileage. It’s certainly a showcase for how far the technology has come over the years, more convincing than what Martin Scorsese tried to do with The Irishman and Ang Lee with Gemini Man , mostly due to Hanks and Wright still carrying a youthful energy. But it’s still an uncanny valley, and at no point can you fully buy famous actors in their sixties playing characters under the legal drinking age. With the implication of imagery and traditional editing stripped away, the actors are forced to pick up the slack. They perform their parts as if they are in a black box theatre production, a scenario that might not have been foreign to them as the sets often look shoddily digitally created through green screens. Details about their lives and circumstances are announced with such cornily dramatic effect that’d be impossible to forget, which would have probably been a real threat considering such little time is spent with certain characters. How else can Michelle Dockery illustrate an entire chapter in the adult life of her character, the wife of the aviator, in just a few short minutes without overacting? The drubbing of the message doesn’t take away from its effectiveness, especially as Alan Silvestri’s heart-tugging score works overtime. Richard allows his dreams to fall by the wayside due to words like downsizing, taxes, and mortgages. As time flies by, those things seem less and less important, with only the people closest to him and the memories he shared being what’s left behind. Even though we say “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” to every person older than us insisting that we cherish the time that we have, we never really seem to properly do that. For some people, this might be the wake-up call they’ve always needed. For others, it’s just another hokey life lesson from people that the world has passed by. Even if you think you might fall in line with the latter camp, the concept, and potential to be touched by its message, is simply too great to nonchalantly pass up. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The 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 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Twin Cities Film Fest 2024 Preview October 11, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen With the conclusion of the fall festival trio of the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival, it’s time for the regional festivals to step up to the plate. Throughout the next four to six weeks, festivals all over the country will bring together a collection of the best that world cinema has to offer this year. Many of these festivals are nearly as famous and prestigious as the ones that birth those films, with two examples being the New York Film Festival and AFI Fest Now celebrating its 15th year, the Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) provides that central space of celebration for cinephiles within the state of Minnesota. The festival recently announced its full lineup , which featured its usual mixture of awards season contenders from large studios, smaller films that have made a name for themselves throughout the festival circuit, and productions that shine a spotlight on local artists. Opening the festival is Conclave , Focus Features’ papal thriller from Edward Berger, director of the recent Netflix adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front . Ralph Fiennes leads an all-star cast comprised of Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. I was able to see the film at TIFF and greatly admired it, so I hope that my positivity spreads to the Minnesota crowd. Searchlight Pictures will be pulling double duty at the festival with Nightbitch and A Real Pain . The former premiered at TIFF, while the latter debuted at Sundance all the way back in January. Amazon MGM studios won’t be outdone as they also bring two notable titles from their catalog. Premiering on the first weekend is Unstoppable , the true underdog story of one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles starring Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, and Don Cheadle. RaMell Ross’s avant-garde adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel Nickel Boys will be seen on the final day of the festival. Screening immediately after that and rounding out the big studio features will be Steve McQueen’s World War II film Blitz , which premieres at the BFI London Film Festival in a few days. Stopping here as part of its regional tour since its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival is La Cocina , which tells the story of the lives of the employees working at a New York restaurant. Winner of the Best Director prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is On Becoming a Guinea Fowl , which A24 will show midway through the festival ahead of its December release. The Centerpiece film of this year’s edition will be Magpie , a thriller about a married couple whose relationship begins to fracture when a glamorous movie star enters their lives. Writer Tom Bateman and star Daisy Ridley will be in attendance to introduce the film and receive the TCFF Indie Vision Awards. Also awarded will be Josh Duhamel, who will receive the NorthStar Award and headline an “In Conversation” event. The top prize at the festival is the Best Feature Film Award. Previous winners over the years have been Marriage Story , Women Talking , American Fiction , Green Book , and Moonlight . Officially closing the festival will be a sneak preview of the Minnesota-connected feature Days When the Rain Came . Writer and actress Marisa Coughlan will be present for a post-film discussion alongside actors Beau Bridges and Eliza Coupe. A new prize this year is the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA) Critics Prize, of which I will be heading the selection process. Myself and a few other critics from the organization will glean through the lineup and award a standout film with the special prize. Films that will be a part of this process are: Boundary Waters, Schiroka: In Lies We Trust, We Strangers, Luther: Never Too Much, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Bob Trevino Likes It, All We Carry, Camp Ricstar, Band on the Run , and Queen of the Ring . It’s an eclectic mix of films, including several from local filmmakers. I look forward to seeing what all these works have in store, and giving a boost to one that stood out from the crowd. More than 140 films will be screened during the ten-day event, with almost half of them simultaneously streaming via the TCFF Streams platform. Details for the lineup and other events can be found at the festival website ( twincitiesfilmfest.org ). Expect full reviews for several of the studio titles listed above, and a recap article at the conclusion of the festival. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Holdovers September 12, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Holdovers had its International Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Focus Features will release it in theaters on October 27. Between its retro production titles, popping sound, dissolved editing, and grainy cinematography, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is not just a film that is set in 1970, it looks and feels like it was made during that time. The Omaha-born writer/director (only directing in this outing) returns from a six-year hiatus after the disappointing Downsizing , delivering one of his best films through a great story and equally great characters. The titular band of misfits at Barton Academy are those that have been left behind during the two-week holiday break. They’re the ones who can’t go home to their families, either because they don’t have one or they’re not welcome. The curmudgeonly history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) presides over them. He’s been handed this shit detail because none of the other teachers like him (the students share that sentiment), and because he’s also all alone. The worst of his troublemaking leftovers is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). He has a supernatural talent for getting into trouble and pushing Paul’s buttons. But he’s also a very gifted student, consistently getting the top score in class, a nearly impossible feat due to the rigors of the course and Paul’s tortuous teaching style. Also left with Paul and Angus is the school’s cook Mary. She’s decided to stay put to be with the memory of her son, as he was enrolled in the school before being drafted and killed in Vietnam a few months back. These three unlikely companions form a holiday family, going on misadventures together and learning something about each other and themselves. Nothing about writer David Hemingson’s past indicated that he would make such a bitingly funny and introspective script, let alone on the first try, at least in the realm of feature films. He’s written for a couple of television shows, none too noteworthy except for the shortlived Kitchen Confidential starring pre-fame Bradley Cooper. Paul’s insulting Latin phrases and general disregard for his students’ confidence puts up a tough exterior, one that will take a large tool and persistence to crack. Giamatti is masterful with his barbs, getting under your skin with ease as you consistently plead “Why can’t you just be nice?” Yet he’s always likable, with the later sections of the movie interestingly pulling back the layers of his past. Much of that later warmth also comes from Sessa and Randolph’s performances. Sessa delivers an astounding debut performance, overcoming many of the rookie tropes. The pain of Randolph’s character is felt in every scene, but she refuses to make it her whole personality. She’s hilarious when she checks Giamatti’s callousness, and provides the warmth Angus needs at this difficult time. I expect and fully support Oscar campaigns for each of these performers. Through his directorial choices, Payne makes The Holdovers into a Christmas classic for adults. The cinematography glows like a warm fire and the relaxed pacing allows these characters to breathe. This is a melancholic film, with Payne knowing that the holidays are not full of yuletide cheer for everyone. But there are still seasons greetings to be had, just enough to make you want to be a better person and stay close to those that matter most. What more could you ask for in times like these? More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Master Gardener May 17, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Master Gardener , the latest continuation of Paul Schrader’s “tormented souls with a past” series, opens as predictably as one would expect. A black-clothed man sits at his lamp-lit desk, writing down his daily thoughts in a journal while downing a glass of whiskey. The man talks about gardening as “the belief in the future, that the plans you make and execute will come through.” The man, in this case, is Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton, taking over from Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac as Schrader’s lonely jaded protagonist). He’s the head gardener for Gracewood Gardens, a renowned botanical heaven run by the estate of Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). Despite being located within the heart of New Orleans, Gracewood feels like it’s cut off from the rest of the world. There’s a stillness in the air as the ritualistic gardening processes are performed year in and year out. But that sense of serenity begins to waver with the arrival of Norma’s grandniece Maya (Quintessa Swindell, last seen in front of umpteen greenscreens for Black Adam ). Life has not been kind to Maya, nor has she made the right decisions as of late. Norma assigns her as Narvel’s appreciative, in the hopes that the diligence of the master will rub off onto the student. If First Reformed was Schrader’s take on the climate crisis, and The Card Counter was about unregulated military cruelty, then Master Gardener is about the rise of the Alt-Right. Except for Norma, no one knows about Narvel’s past, which can all but be explained with one look at the litany of crosses, iron eagles, and swastikas tattooed all over his body. Narvel may be a completely different person now, but like his tattoos, the sins of his former self will always be with him. Similar to what he did for Oscar Isaac’s character in The Card Counter , Schrader offers glimpses of those bad days with brief flashbacks. But unlike The Card Counter , which delivered those windows through uncanny and inventive filmmaking, Master Gardener spells it all out without much fanfare. There’s an alarming lack of nuance in both the specific beats of the plot and the way Schrader delivers them, always keeping us at an arm's length distance and with a raised eyebrow. The world and its characters feel much shallower this time around, with the “climax” being completely unsubstantiated and unceremonious. Edgerton is more than capable of picking up this slack, especially in the first half as his narration and stoicism command the screen. His interactions with Weaver, who is as enchanting and domineering as the red dress she often dons, are hypnotically enticing. Even the occasional overly flowery (pun intended) line of dialogue (of which there are many) is sold with at least a little bit of authenticity. Just as MCU films can only really be recommended to already-established MCU fans at this point, Master Gardener is a film that I can only recommend to those that have an understanding and appreciation for Schrader’s previous works. And even then, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for much. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery September 10, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery had its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release it in theaters on November 23, followed by its streaming premiere on December 23. The Last Jedi haters are rolling in their graves, as Rian Johnson has pulled off another incomprehensible feat with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery . A sequel to 2019’s Knives Out , a great igniter to the revitalization of the whodunit genre, was always going to be a tricky obstacle to overcome. In stepped Netflix, who gave Johnson the necessary blank check to indulge in his wildest fantasies. And because of that, he has crafted a whodunnit that is grander, funnier, stranger, and perhaps better than the original. The Thrombey family has been dealt with and a whole new cast of characters has been assembled within Glass Onion . None of these people are bound by blood. Instead, they are all old friends that go by the “Disruptors.” The leader of the group is Miles Bron (Edward Norton), whose billion-dollar fortune allows him to live on a private Greek island. Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.) is the lead scientist at Bron’s company. There’s also Senate candidate and family woman Claire (Kathryn Hahn), airheaded fashion model Birdie (Kate Hudson), gun-toting Duke (Dave Bautista), and his much younger girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). The black sheep of the group is Andi (Janelle Monáe), who was excommunicated after she lost a lengthy lawsuit against all of them for stealing her business idea. Every year, the group (minus Andi) receives a puzzle box invitation for a weekend getaway on Miles’ island. This year, however, invitations have also been sent to Andi and to Mr. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), whose mind is turning into mush as the COVID-19 pandemic has him shut inside without a case to crack. As you expect, the fireworks begin to go off once all these characters are assembled in one location. Long-held secrets are spilled, violence is enacted, and everyone is a suspect. As is the location and budget, the mystery here is much larger than in the original film. Double crosses become triple crosses, which then become quadruple crosses. As another testament to his dominance over his genre contemporaries, Johnson’s ability to control the material as both a writer and director are unparalleled. Through slick editing and a tactical sense of pacing, he’s created another murder mystery where the placing of the puzzle pieces is just as satisfying as seeing the whole picture. Monáe takes over the Ana de Armas role from the first Knives Out . She’s Blanc’s intelligence, laying out the details of each of these theory characters, and what motives they may have to harm another. Talking specifically about how she effortlessly overcomes the challenge of her role would require going into spoilers, so you’re just going to have to take me at my word that she’s incredible. The rest of the cast doesn’t have as much pressure on their shoulders, but they still shine when they need to. Norton is his signature smarmy self, complete with a flashback scene of him donning Frank Mackey’s outfit from Magnolia (a decision I can only imagine was explicitly targeted toward me). Hudson gets many of the laugh-out-loud moments, and Hahn chews the scenery as usual. Of course, Craig leads the pack, whose enthusiasm for the role is immediately infectious. Watching an actor known for playing the most serious iteration of James Bond don a pinstripe swimsuit and spew information with a comically overdone Southern accent is such a sight to behold. Luckily, Craig’s relationship with this character is much more positive than Bond, so the future is bright for further travels around the world. Glass Onion skillfully embraces and overcomes the usual dangers of doing the same thing as the original, just on a bigger scale. As the first of two planned sequels by Netflix, I can only imagine what Johnson is going to serve up next. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Eileen December 7, 2023 By: Button Tyler Banark More than any year in recent memory, 2023 has been a time for the great debate of when a long movie becomes too long. With three-hour feats like Oppenheimer , Killers of the Flower Moon , and Beau is Afraid taking up the big screen, runtimes and pacing have been common topics for dissection and discussion. On paper, Eileen should have nothing to do with those already mentioned on account of its 100-minute runtime and tiny cast. And yet, it feels even longer than those, seemingly a three-hour movie stuck in the body of a ninety-minute one. Based on the 2015 crime novel of the same name, Eileen follows the titular character (Thomasin McKenzie) as she works at a juvenile detention center in 1960s Boston. She’s a quiet young woman who isn’t in love with her job (or much of anything for that matter), but it does provide an escape from her miserable home life where she takes care of her widowed, deadbeat alcoholic father (Shea Whigham). Her life becomes anything but quiet when she meets a new co-worker at the prison, Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), the free-spirited doctor who takes Eileen under her wing. Things are good at first, flirty even. But the more time they spend together, the more Eileen becomes roped into something that Rebecca is hiding under the surface. Again, on paper, that’s a simple synopsis I can enjoy rather quickly. The result ends up being the exact opposite, as everything that unfolds either feels out of place or is an attempt at a mind blowing plot twist. Take a scene where Eileen and Rebecca are approached by a couple of men while at a bar. Rebecca turns to Eileen and asks her if she wants to dance, calling Eileen by her name instead as an act of seeming playfulness. It’s a moment that doesn’t get brought up afterward, nor does the movie care to explain why this happened. Pacing is another one of the biggest reasons Eileen doesn’t work. Scenes are rushed or cut down right as things are about to go somewhere, while others test patience. The first half hour features a moment when Eileen fantasizes an encounter with a young correctional officer. But right as the temperature starts to climb, it cuts to the next scene. Fast forward to the last half hour and you’ve got Eileen and Rebecca getting involved in a lethargically paced dark situation. Although McKenzie and Hathaway are the prominent stars, their performances feel shallow. McKenzie, in particular, has left me confused these past few years. She’s previously given standout performances, most notably in 2019’s Jojo Rabbit and 2021’s Last Night in Soho . At the same time, there’s stuff like M. Night Shyamalan’s Old , where she’s out of place with her American accent and line deliveries that seem to come off of a cue card. Eileen falls similarly to Old , leaving her unable to adapt to the environment while donning an unconvincing Boston accent. Hathaway isn’t unlocking anything new or exciting, with Rebecca feeling somewhat familiar to her previous showy roles. It’s a shame that her and McKenzie do have chemistry and play it up, yet it’s never satisfyingly explored beyond the titillating surface. The same treatment goes to Whigham, who’s character’s inherent complexity from alcoholism and dejection is reduced to just a string of drunken mumbles. Adding insult to injury for these dull characters is dull visuals. Ari Wegner’s cinematography displays poor lighting and uninspired camera, with the kaleidoscopic shots prominently sold in the trailer left either underutilized to the point of total absence. Also featured is a weighted score by Richard Reed Parry, most notably known as a core member of Arcade Fire. There’s a tonal imbalance between gritty noir and modern thriller, something reflected in director William Oldroyd’s handling of the material. With its bothersome pacing and unfulfilling performances from its talented cast, Eileen is undoubtedly one of the worst of the year. I don’t think McKenzie or Hathaway have been in a movie as bad as this, one that has its sights set on undermining their talent at every turn until they have nothing left. That’s all Eileen really is: a whole lot of nothing. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

You People January 25, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen In a recent interview she did with Indiewire centered around the world of You Hurt My Feelings at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival, star Julia Louis-Dreyfus had an astute observation about the power of film editing: “...when it comes to timing, both for drama and comedy but specifically for comedy if it’s not in place, it can be a butchery. It can be total nails on a chalkboard if you’re not with the right person.” If only she had shared that wisdom sooner with You People editor Jamie Nelsen and director Kenya Barris… Barris, co-writing with star Jonah Hill, makes his feature directorial debut with this film. He’s already spent years on television as the creator of the hit ABC sitcom Black-ish (along with its subsequent spin-offs Mixed-ish and Grown-ish ), as well as the Netflix series #BlackAF . Much of that sitcom energy spills into You People , with almost all of the scenes playing out as individual components that are awkwardly stitched together to deliver a less-than-compelling narrative. You People is essentially an unofficial remake of 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner , except with none of the seriousness and intention to actually make a difference. The story, while believable in concept, is delivered with such simplicity that it might as well be titled You People Have Got to be Kidding Me?!?!? Things start off sweet as the white, Jewish Ezra (Jonah Hill) and the black, Muslim Amira (Lauren London) fall in love despite their many outward differences. Standing in the way of their love fully blossoming into marriage are their parents, namely Ezra’s mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Amira’s father (Eddie Murphy), who both can’t get over the fact that their child is marrying someone of a different race. Much of the “humor” within You People is that the characters don’t want to outwardly offend others by bringing up what they're really thinking, so they dance around the subject with endless rambling. It’s as if you’re binging five episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David gets himself into a bad situation and makes it worse by trying to talk his way out of it. Except here there are no Larrys as Barris and Hill don’t outwardly vilify their characters, keeping the conflicts superficial. All you get is an excessive amount of second-hand embarrassment and little first-rate sense of stakes or personal investment. If any of the characters sat down for more than five minutes and talked honestly, then none of this would be a problem. It seems like that was the intention that Barris and Hill had with their script, to show that all these racial problems could be solved with some understanding and truthfulness. But if Green Book erroneously taught us anything a few years ago, it’s that this problem doesn’t just go away with a quick heart-to-heart as it does here. Even Eddie Murphy, who can usually be depended on to spin comedy gold out of straw, can’t salvage what he’s given here. He’s given a movie star entrance as James Brown plays overhead, but then just sits back and bemoans about Ezra being white for the next ninety minutes. Louis-Dreyfus is probably worse served as she’s forced to recycle the same “older white woman who’s not in touch with today’s racial climate” bit on and on until it almost becomes offensive to comedy. You People tries way too hard to do way too little, becoming a “film for everyone” that no one will enjoy. Barris abruptly exited his $100 million multi-year deal with Netflix in 2021 for another lucrative pact over at Paramount. Somewhere in a Hollywood bar right now there are two executives, one from Netflix and the other from Paramount drinking together, except one is downing shots much happier than the other. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Sometimes I Think About Dying January 26, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Sometimes I Think About Dying had its World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Oscilloscope will release the film in theaters on January 26, 2024. Those who have worked in an office setting will find plenty to admire and shudder about in Sometimes I Think About Dying , director Rachel Lambert’s adaptation of the 2019 short film of the same name. Lambert essentially sticks a camera within a small-sized office on the Oregon coast, acting as a fly on the wall as a group of strangers fills their ho-hum days with small talk and routine socializing. Except there’s one person in the office who seems incapable of engaging in that sort of mindless thing. Fran (Daisy Ridley), always dressed in plain clothes and found sitting at her desk adjusting spreadsheets, can go for days without talking to anyone. This prolonged silence isn’t because she dislikes her coworkers, but more of a defense mechanism to keep people from finding out what’s underneath. Things change suddenly when a new employee, Robert, comes to town. He seems to be a translator between Fran and the rest of the world, slowly pulling her out of her shell. One of the things revealed early on comes from the name of the film, which is that Fran sometimes drifts off into space during the day. But she doesn’t fantasize about romantic endeavors or if they forget to turn the stove off. No, she thinks about all the different ways she could die, such as hanging from the large crane outside her office window or being consumed by insects in the nearby forest. Lambert, collaborating with cinematographer Dustin Lane and production designer Robert Brekco, stages these fantasies with surreal beauty. They may only be brief glimpses, but they stick with you long after. Lane’s camera never moves, often keeping the background out of focus as Fran eavesdrops on her coworkers. These moments can go on for extended periods, acting as a way to slowly enter the world of Fran. But it also feels like there’s not a ton on the page like it needs to be stretched in order to fit within the required feature runtime. Ridley does deliver one of her best performances as Fran, ditching the movie star swagger of the Star Wars films in favor of an extremely stripped-down inhabitation of a character. She speaks maybe five lines within the first thirty minutes, yet you’re endlessly fascinated with learning more about her. It is unfortunate later on when those simple questions aren’t answered, leaving you just as unsatisfied as when you started. Sometimes I Think About Dying is a small movie with a small scope, buoyed by some intriguing visuals and a standout performance from an actress who looks ready to take on this new side of her career. As a twelve-minute short film, it’s a bit too short. And as a ninety-minute feature film, it's a bit too long. Somewhere out there is a perfect 45-60 minute version of this story. But it’s not here right now, which is a shame. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Top 10 Films of 2023 (So-Far) July 1, 2023 By: Hunter Friesen Half of 2023 has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, I had seen 67 new releases in six months. I can’t say that there’s been a bountiful amount of great work to bask in, but there’s always a small amount of stuff that deserves to be cherished. So, to give credit where it’s due, here’s my list of the ten best films I’ve seen in 2023 (so far). *Because some of the films I’ve seen so far were at film festivals, I will only be ranking the films that have received a general release in theaters or on streaming* 10. 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. 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. 9. 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. 8. Air Air is the cinematic equivalent of the final moments of an NBA game. Not every play goes as perfectly as it was drawn up, and there are a lot of mistakes that could have been ironed out in practice. But the sheer athleticism of the players/actors is something to marvel at. And when they take their shots, they make them count. Because both they and we know that when the ball goes through the hoop, and those feelings of victory come striding to the surface, everything that came before that ceases to matter. Full Review 7. 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 6. 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. 5. John Wick: Chapter 4 Although I said the character of John Wick has drastically changed over time, the John Wick series has maintained that underdog energy since its initial entry, even though the budgets have increased nearly sixfold. Each sequel tries its hardest to outdo the previous one, offering an improvement on what’s already been done and creating something entirely new. I know it will be done, but I don't know how they’re going to top this in John Wick: Chapter 5 . Full Review 4. Enys Men Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men is the kind of film you stumble upon late at night as a kid where you have no idea what you’re watching and if it was any good, but you couldn’t help but be endlessly transfixed by it. Just as Ari Aster and Robert Eggers have amassed cult followings for their new-wave style of horror, Jenkin deserves the same for his now-signature trips down the psychological rabbit hole. The beckoning of Hollywood doesn’t seem to be having much effect on him, promising more distinctly singular work from this up-and-coming artist. Full Review 3. Chevalier Stuffy, overly serious, slow, and pretentious are all words most often used to describe period pieces. And yet, none of those words can be applied to Stephen Williams' Chevalier , which would have been one of the best movies of 2022 had Searchlight chosen to release it within the bloodbath that is Oscar season. Thankfully, they're smarter than me and waited until 2023, where it now sits firmly on this list among the greats. Full Review 2. Past Lives Perspective and perception are the keys to writer/director Celine Song’s screenplay, which uses a vast amount of space and time to tell an epically intimate story. Nora (Greta Lee) explains in-yun to Arthur (John Magaro) midway through the film. It’s the Korean concept of fate, suggesting that people are destined to meet if their past lives overlapped. Nora shrugs off the idea by saying it’s just “something Korean people say to seduce someone.” While Nora may not take that concept to heart, Song’s use of it within her film had me seduced in the moment, and will likely have me for the rest of time. Full Review 1. 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 More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Monkey February 17, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The tagline for The Monkey , the new film by writer/director Oz Perkins, says that "everybody dies, and that's fucked up." You know what else is fucked up? Watching a filmmaker you've admired over the years torch all that goodwill with the same hellbent rage that Adam Scott has for the titular toy monkey during the film's cold open. This is not Longlegs , both in terms of the tone and overall quality. How and why Scott came to hate this monkey is a bit of a mystery. Even he's not exactly sure what it does, only that bad things happen whenever you turn the key on its back and let it bang its drum. And the definition of "bad" here isn't just a stubbed toe or missing the bus. It's the kind of bad that results in an extremely gruesome death in a series of events that would even make Rube Goldberg blush. The simplicity and inevitably of the threat that this primate possesses is where Perkins - adapting from the 1980 short story of the same name by Stephen King - finds his kernel of truth about the balance between life and death. Any of us could die at any time by any combination of causes. "It's like life" reads the box that the monkey comes nicely wrapped in, a sentiment echoed by the mother (Tatiana Maslany) of twin brothers Hal and Bill (played by Christian Convery as kids, and Theo James as adults). The boys learn firsthand on several instances the cruel power that life has to give and take away from you at any moment. Like me, just being aware of the concept of the Final Destination and Dumb Ways to Die franchises gives you more than enough familiarity with this concept. Perkins doesn't offer much of anything beyond the surface-level observations, opting for the comedy-horror tonal balance to do much of the heavy lifting. But between several horribly unfunny and/or funnily unscary sequences, the only facial expression you'll be making is one of annoyance. That weightless unpleasantness also applies to the deaths that litter the runtime. While everything that is happening to the people around the boys is horrifying, Perkins always dons a dastardly smile. A falling shotgun here, a slippery kitchen knife there, it's all supposed to make you simultaneously wince and howl with laughter. The suspense of the unknown in Longlegs has been replaced with the suspense of the inevitable. Granted, that is the point. It just makes everything feel so tedious, with a filmmaker taking us on several extra laps around a track that wasn't that good the first time. What is good is James' dual performance. Most of his time is spent as Hal, the smaller of the twins who constantly gets bullied and belittled. His ruggedly good looks and tall frame are submerged under glasses and a sheepish demeanor. Between him, the physical monkey doll, and the frames concocted by Nico Aguilar, The Monkey does at least have some visual splendors to enjoy. But the occasional treats for my eyes do not make up for the wretched experience that the rest of my body and soul were put through. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

A Thousand and One March 30, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Through the grainy filter capturing the hustle and bustle of the streets of Harlem, writer/director A.V. Rockwell, making her feature directorial debut, showcases her skillfulness at creating a lived-in setting for her story. Initially set in the mid-1990s, you see people with beepers, boom boxes, gold chains, and ripped jeans. The World Trade Centers are still standing, signaling how different of an era this was. But not everything has changed since then, with the aggressive “anti-crime” (a code word for racial profiling) politics of former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg being a consistent threat over the decades. People get stopped for random frisks, neighborhoods become gentrified, and the police presence is always felt. Inez (singer Teyana Taylor) is one of those people living on the fringes of this world. She just got back from an extended stay at Rikers Prison and is in the process of figuring out how to move on. One of the first people she sees from across the street is her sort-of young son, Terry (it’s complicated), who’s been shuffling around foster homes since she left. Inez is a child of the foster care system as well, and she’s a lot of herself within Terry. She knows that he’ll end up just like her if he continues to be stuck on this path. To break the chain, Inez illegally “kidnaps” Terry from his foster home and moves him uptown, giving him a new name, Daryl, and a fake birth certificate in the process. Years eventually go by, with Inez and Terry making the most out of their makeshift situation. But Inez knows this lie will come crashing down once someone starts to wiggle that bottom block. Similar to how she creates the world around her characters, Rockwell has the world push back against them. Inez is always having to fight for what she has, whether it's the landlord’s shady attempts at getting her to leave so he can flip the building or being unable to support herself through a job she cares about like hairstyling. Years and years of that wear on her, with Taylor being a great illustrator of this. Those hardships burrow into Terry as well, with Rockwell taking the Moonlight approach of having three different actors (Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross) play the boy between the ages of six and seventeen. The choice may not work as well compared to what Barry Jenkins did for his Best Picture-winning film, but all three performers here find a connective thread that they weave together. While the influence of Moonlight becomes more heavily evident as A Thousand and One marches on with its slightly overextended 116-minute runtime, none of it feels like a secondhand imitation. Eric K. Yue’s beautiful cinematography and Gary Gunn’s fluttery score give warmth in the most tender moments. The coldness is always present as well, being an aching reminder of how close to the edge these characters live. A Thousand and One tells a story of the past and the future, with each character having to reckon with where they stand in their timeline. Rockwell has delivered an impressive debut, worthy of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize awarded to her at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Between her career behind the camera and Taylor’s in front of it, there’s an immense amount of talent on the rise. More Reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple January 13, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Rip January 16, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Dead Man's Wire January 14, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Chronology of Water January 9, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen