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The Instigators August 1, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Through the power of content quotas and streaming service overload, the phrase “it’s a streaming movie” has replaced “it’s a VOD movie” as the description of choice for all the disposable movies that choose to circumvent the physicality of the multiplex. That doesn’t apply to every streaming movie, as the lucky few (aka “the good ones”) get special treatment from their creators, usually in the form of modest theatrical footprints similar to The Irishman , Killers of the Flower Moon , and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery . No, when we’re using “streaming” as a pejorative, we’re talking about the films on Netflix’s Most Popular Films list: Red Notice , The Adam Project , Bird Box , The Mother , and The Gray Man . Sure, the quality is much better than we used to get during the VOD heydays, but to what end? If everyone watches your film - but no one remembers it - does it really count as a hit? Doug Liman’s The Instigators , his second streaming movie of the year after Amazon’s middle-of-the-road Road House remake earlier this spring, fits that “competent, yet forgettable” mold to perfection. I’d totally believe it if Apple boasts about it being one of their highest-performing titles come the end of this year, all while no viewer could pass a memory test about the plot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5oqpxi3U7M Luckily, writers Chuck MacLean (creator of the very pro-Boston series City on a Hill ) and Casey Affleck ( Dunkin’ Donuts second-biggest fan behind his brother) aren’t concerned with wasting our time with such trivial things as building events or character groundwork. The ticking time bomb encompassing the studio logos is replaced by the ticking of the clock on the wall within Dr. Rivera’s (Hong Chau) shabby office, where Rory (Matt Damon) is declaring that he needs to do something big or else he’s going “cash in all his chips.” That explosive action comes from a job offer from two local crime bosses (Michael Stuhlbarg and Alfred Molina). It’s simple: sneak in through the hotel kitchen hosting Mayor Miccelli’s (Ron Perlman) reelection party and steal the campaign donations in the safe in the back office. Of course, no heist plan ever goes according to plan (wouldn’t that be nice for a change?), which leaves Rory and his equally down-on-his-luck middle-aged partner Cobby (Affleck) on the run from every cop within the New England region. The derogatory aspects of this “streaming film” come from the visuals, with the digital flatness and shoddy visual effects benefiting from the smallest screen possible. Liman has always prided himself on his scrappy indie filmmaking roots of Swingers and The Bourne Identity . That pedigree has certainly faded over the years, especially with Steven Soderbergh showcasing the benefits of digital filmmaking with his bevy of streaming films. A lot of comparisons between this and Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move could be made, none of them positive for the former. Damon and Affleck make a great pair, their decades-long friendship creating some instant sparks between their mismatched pair. Cobby is the more seasoned of the two, something he never lets each of them forget as he constantly runs his mouth about the absurdity of their situation. Their characters may not be all that interesting, with the running joke of Rory exploring his feelings while committing a crime being spread too thin, but the actors make it all entertaining enough. There’s also Jack Harlow, Ving Rhames, Paul Walter Hauser, and Toby Jones in smaller supporting roles that make this cast much more stacked than it has any right to be. One side of my brain is saying that a film with this much talent in front and behind the camera should be a lot better, while the other half knows that they almost always aren’t when they’re assembled for a product largely meant to bolster a digital catalog. Call it disappointment, call it an acceptance of the market. Either way, no one involved will look bad, and no one who watches it will feel their time totally wasted, so everyone will just go about their business as if nothing happened. Apple Original Films will release The Instigators in select theaters on August 02nd, followed by its streaming premiere on August 9th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Captain Marvel March 14, 2019 By: Button Hunter Friesen Marking the twenty-first chapter in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel has finally bowed out in theatres after a mountain of hype had built up for close to a year. Much like Black Panther was the first MCU film to feature a predominantly black cast, Captain Marvel is the first film to feature a female as the lead character. But unlike the huge critical success and cultural movement that the former was, Captain Marvel disappoints on both levels of filmmaking and fan service. What should be an enjoyable and inspirational tale ends up being a tepid blockbuster that sorely lacks in the areas that have made the Marvel brand so entertainingly great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1BCujX3pw8 Captain Marvel is directed by partners Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who have previously worked on smaller indie films, most notably Half Nelson . Now with a budget of $152 million, the lack of experience that the pair have with tentpole films glaringly shows. Many of the action scenes are by the numbers as they devolve into a series of quick camera cuts and choppy editing. Not helping the action is the computer and the practical effects. Apart from the de-aging of Samuel L. Jackson, which looks incredible, the visuals look a bit outdated, almost like the film was made ten years ago. To recreate the feel of the 1990s setting, Boden and Fleck rely heavily on nostalgic product placements and callbacks. Blockbuster Video, internet cafes, pagers, and an endless line of fashionable toys are paraded throughout the film to try to get a response from the audience. It reminded me of the same shallow technique that was used to death in Ready Player One, where inessential references are repeatedly made instead of constructive jokes. Probably the biggest problem with Captain Marvel is the incoherent and bland story that offers the audience little to care about. Right away, the film introduces the conflict between the Kree and the Skrull, two factions who have been at war for eternity. Basic facts are given, such as a roster of important characters, but other relevant information, such as the war’s importance and purpose, is left out. Even as the conflict gradually becomes the main part of the narrative, these necessary explanations are never touched on. This lack of information strips the film of any real stakes within the MCU. Not that low stakes is an outright bad thing. Ant-Man has next to no overall effect on the other films within the universe. But the franchise still works anyway, as it makes you care about its great characters. That central quality is also missing from Captain Marvel , which is surprising considering both Boden and Fleck have built their careers on their prowess for layered human drama. Despite being her origin story, the character of Captain Marvel turns out to be the least interesting person in the film. Her storyline is quite straightforward and consists of a lot of on-the-nose messaging that feels shoehorned in. Tonally, this film falls in line with the rest of the MCU. Comedy is mixed in with drama, but not as seamlessly as you would expect. Many of the jokes don’t land or feel too forced into awkward positions. A disappointing feeling repeatedly panged me every time a pivotal scene was undercut by a joke that really didn’t work. Brie Larson does a thoroughly average job as the titular hero. Her performance contains scant amounts of energy, which can partly be blamed on the lackluster script she had to work with. Fortunately, Larson does show a ton of confidence and a knack for comedic timing in her limited number of quality scenes Samuel L. Jackson is great as Nick Fury, who at the moment is only an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He brings his usual boisterous flair to the role and is able to make up for the downbeat energy exuded by the rest of the cast. Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, and Annette Bening fill out the rest of the supporting cast. Each one of them does a fine job, but these roles are hardly anything compared to the other work they have done. Is Captain Marvel a good movie? No. Is it a bad movie? Also no. This is an average film that comes and goes while doing everything you expect and nothing more. In the grand scheme of things, this film is just a quick jolt of superhero energy to keep audiences satisfied until Avengers: Endgame. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release Captain Marvel in theaters nationwide on March 08th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Misericordia March 27, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen If nothing else, Misericordia is about the dangers of being the hottest person in a small town, and that nothing good happens after 2:00 am. It all starts when Jérémie (Félix Kysyl), now in his mid-30s and living in Toulouse, returns to the village where he grew up. Shot from the backseat of his car looking through the windshield, his arrival is marked by wandering stares from the locals standing on the street corners. He's here for the funeral of his former boss and supposed lover, the local baker who now leaves a void in the community. Left behind are the baker's widow, Martine (Catherine Frot), and adult son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand). The former is happy to see Jérémie in her time of mourning, the latter is icy based on some implied fallout during the boys' youth. Jérémie's initially planned short stay quickly turns into multiple days, allowing for the polite indifference from Vincent and some of the other locals to erode and be replaced by festering rage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wk2SgBIoF4 The exact nature of Jérémie's game is hard to define. Just like Claire Mathon's rain-soaked cinematography, writer/director Alain Guiraudie keeps us in the fog throughout much of the runtime. Jérémie doesn't seem to have much to return to in Toulouse, nor can he hope to gain much in this village. But that won't stop him from trying, with his greatest asset being his skill as a flirt. For as much as boiling anger seems to permeate through each scene, Guiraudie finds the humorous absurdity of all this backwardness. Everyone seems to simultaneously want to sleep with each other, the rotation also including Vincent's friend Walter (David Ayala) and the village priest Father Philippe (Jacques Develay). Something that Jérémie isn't good at is covering up a murder, which he commits against someone in the village. He plays a game of two lies and a truth with everyone, including the local police. The truth makes the lies seem a little more credible, although he always has the same look on his face as a little kid who sweeps all of his trash under the bed instead of throwing it out as his parents told him to. Guiraudie captures every side-eye glance and judgmental stare of the supporting cast as Jérémie continually tries to dig himself out of this mess. There isn't tension and suspense in the traditional form, mostly a curiosity about how this web will get even more tangled. The performances are all well-done and understated, keeping things on a glacially paced path. Things don't go as you would expect, nor do they resolve themselves in a clean fashion. At only 100 minutes, it's watchable and entertaining enough, although it perpetually stops just shy of being great. Janus Films will release Misericordia in select theaters on March 21st. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Novocaine March 8, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Whether we like it or not (“masochist” is the word of the day), pain serves an essential purpose in our lives. Those unpleasant pangs are a survival mechanism our bodies use to keep us away from all the harmful things the world throws at us. Everyone can remember the first time they placed their hand on the stove as a kid, and those feelings ensured we never did it again. But what if pain didn’t exist? At first, we’d all jump at the chance to feel like Superman, taking all those horrible things that used to hurt us in stride. However, one only has to gaze over at David Cronenberg’s 2022 film Crimes of the Future to know that a world without pain is one without guardrails. In Cronenberg’s dystopian tale, people openly perform surgery on themselves, splice organs for art, and attempt to morph themselves into a new level of evolution. It’s nearly impossible for anyone to know when they’ve gone too far when all the warnings have been shut off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PyOIlJEdqA In Novocaine , Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) has CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis), a rare genetic disorder where he is incapable of feeling pain or temperature. He lives his mild-mannered life as a bank manager with the utmost safety. Tennis balls are on every corner he could bump into, and all of his digestive needs are met through smoothies, as solid foods could lead him to bite his tongue off. It’s these early moments where Lars Jacobson’s script illustrates that it has more on its mind than just the silly antics that the trailers solely focused on. Studies have shown that most people with CIPA don’t live past thirty, and their quality of life is quite poor on account of the increased anxiety that they endure. It can lead a person to become a hermit, shielding themselves from everything in an attempt to see another day. Like any twentysomething guy who spends almost all of his free time playing video games, the thing that gets him to come out of his shell is a girl. Sherry (Amber Midthunder) is one of the tellers at the bank Nathan works at, and she takes an interest in his awkward personality and odd case. But just as things are about to get serious between the pair, the bank is robbed, and Sherry is taken hostage. Fearing that he’s going to lose the one good thing that’s ever happened to him in his miserable life, Nathan becomes a vigilante, using his condition for his own benefit. From this point, all those injuries that Nathan’s spent his whole life avoiding become the punch-line to the wall-to-wall set pieces. While Cronenberg made a body horror feature, the directing duo Dan Berk and Robert Olsen have made a body comedy feature. At one point during a brawl in a kitchen with one of the robbers, a gun falls into a deep fryer. Sensing that he’s got no other option, Nathan plunges his hand into the oil and grabs the gun. He later gets impaled with a crossbow bolt, which is treated more as a minor annoyance than a serious injury. These gags are all well executed, even if they become entirely repetitive the more we progress through the story. Quaid is a capable lead, recently being promoted from television and supporting roles. His comedic sense makes up for a lot of the dead weight his costars pack on, which includes punchable crooks, Jacob Batalon in his signature role as the best friend to the hero, and cops that are getting too old for this shit. This probably could have been a streaming movie, but then you’d be robbed of all the communal laughing and squirming to all the mishaps, which is worth just enough to cover the admission price. Paramount Pictures will release Novocaine in theaters nationwide on March 14th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

TIFF25 Dispatch - Cannes Catchup September 15, 2025 By: Button Tyler Banark While the 2025 Cannes Film Festival showcased numerous films, many of them were unavailable to be seen within the three days I was allotted. Luckily, Toronto catches on to the titles that made the most waves (interpret that however you may like). While I caught big titles like Sound of Falling , Sentimental Value , Eddington , and The Phoenician Scheme , this year’s heaviest hitters were found in films such as Sirât , The Secret Agent , and the Palme d’Or-winning It Was Just an Accident . Luck is on my side, as the latter titles came to TIFF, so I spent my first day playing catch-up with the films I missed. Sirat Starting as a slow burn and ending as a twisted mind game that'll have you on the edge of your seat, Sirât is one of the most shocking movies of the year and makes its case as to why it was one of the two recipients for the Jury Prize. Óliver Laxe crafts a shocking film that is sure to haunt viewers long after finishing it. Initially, we see crowds of people gathering in a desert to rave. In the midst of it are Luis and his son Esteban, who are looking for their missing daughter/sister, whom they believe is at the rave. They tag along with a group of ravegoers who help them find her. Laxe will have you believe the movie is a grim road trip. However, a flip switches at a certain death, and from then on, Sirât upsets an established order, and everything becomes chaos. As Luis and the crew navigate the Moroccan desert, it becomes a battle of man versus the elements. Nothing will prepare audiences for what’s to come in Sirât . Once it gets to the halfway point, it’s all-out mayhem! (4/5) The Secret Agent Wagner Moura has become a rising name in the South American side of the industry. Better known for voicing the Wolf/Death in 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and playing Joel in last year’s Civil War , his hot streak looks to continue. In May, he won Best Actor at Cannes for his performance in the Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent , a film with a jumbled narrative and an imbalanced quality-to-quantity ratio. It ’s very stylistic, as director Kleber Mendonça Filho doesn’t shy away from making the movie more visually entertaining than substance-driven. The pacing is excruciating as the 2.5-hour runtime doesn't justify its being, and a certain plot point doesn't help the movie get a leg up (if you know, you know). Moura truly is the beating heart, and it feels like he had too much weight to carry for this movie. The Secret Agent could’ve been something brilliant, but unfortunately, it’s muddled and goes out without much fanfare. (2.5/5) It Was Just an Accident This year’s recipient of the Palme d'Or, It Was Just an Accident, was a well-executed Iranian dark comedy. Far from what I was expecting it to be, the movie was a great time, even if the script's intentions were often questionable. Jafar Panahi’s film explores the fine line between justice and revenge. We see Vahid Mobasseri’s Vahid kidnap a man who tortured him for years. As he recruits a photographer, her friend, and a newlywed couple, they face a dilemma that’s bigger than all of them. They all know the man Vahid holds prisoner, but they disagree over how to proceed. To make matters worse, the man has a pregnant wife and daughter who fend for themselves. Panahi’s script raises pertinent questions about the limits of seeking justice and revenge. Is there a right or wrong way to get justice? At what point does getting justice become vengeance? These are all the questions Panahi poses as the plot unfolds. While his intentions are unclear, as if he’s trying to educate, inform, or persuade audiences with this story, Panahi knows when to get serious and sprinkle comedy. The humor is rightfully dark, but it fits the overall tone and objective he’s looking to obtain. At the end of the day, It Was Just an Accident makes it evident that its praise was…to simply put it, no accident. (3.5/5) You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

You Hurt My Feelings May 24, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen After brief stops in television (directing episodes for Mrs. Fletcher , Extrapolations , and Lucky Hank ) and the Middle Ages (penning the “The Truth according to Marguerite de Carrouges” portion of The Last Duel ), writer/director Nicole Holofcener returns to her New York roots for You Hurt My Feelings , now bowing in theaters after premiering at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival. The older we get, the more we come to realize that the childhood saying “honesty is the best policy” is not the unbreakable rule that we were led to believe. Sure, you should strive to be honest with people, especially those you care about the most. But the real world never invites simplicity, so we have to bend the truth a little to get by with as little damage as possible. What’s the worst that could happen anyway? The obviously clichéd answer to that question is that a lot of catastrophic events would happen, either physically or emotionally (see Dancer in the Dark or The Hunt ). But in all her deftness, Holofcener doesn’t reach for fire and brimstone. Instead, she puts a magnifying glass on a couple that has built a strong foundation, mining relevant truths out of their small-scale situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20GWk5cWPBs The specimens are Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Don (Tobias Menzies). Beth is a semi-successful writer who is putting the finishing touches on her new mystery fiction novel, which acts as a slight departure from her usual non-fiction work. Don is a therapist who seems to have lost his edge. He looks and sounds so tired that even the endlessly squabbling couple that he regularly sees (real-life partners David Cross and Amber Tamblyn) takes pity on him. Beth has been using Don as a writing resource these past few months, and he’s had nothing but praise for her work. That is, until the nuclear bomb goes off (metaphorically, of course). Beth and her sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins) stumble upon Don and Sarah’s husband Mark at a specialized sock store (this is New York after all). They decide to sneak up on the men, but they end up getting more than they bargained for as they overhear Don telling Mark that he doesn’t think Beth’s new novel is good. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her, but he also feels the strain of letting her on with constant false encouragement. Don’s admittance puts in doubt everything else he’s said over the years, as well as Beth’s belief in her skills as an author. But it’s not like Beth is a total victim here, as the shoe is often on the other foot. She’s always saying how her son’s upcoming work will be great, and that cosmetic surgery is a good idea for Don. Holofcener could have taken the Green Book approach to her story, filling it with well-worn and clearly structured beats and ideas. But she’s smarter than that, as both she and we know this isn’t some problem that can ever really be solved. Most of us have to come to realize that a lot of our lives are comprised of filler words and feelings, with only a few times where we share our honest selves with others. And if that truth hurts, then sometimes it’s best to just keep the peace. Louis-Dreyfus and Menzies have great chemistry together. Their calmness with each other sells their long-standing marriage, as well as pushing past some of the overly simplified final few scenes. While clearly not alike in terms of style, You Hurt My Feelings reminded me of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster from 2016. Both movies take a stab at the long-standing battle between love and honesty without getting bogged down by solutions we’ve been fed all our lives. They also provide excellent counter-programming during the summer, acting as a refreshing cool down from the noise and explosions in the other rooms. A24 will release You Hurt My Feelings in select theaters on May 26th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Beekeeper January 10, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s only the second week of January, and 2024 already has its best bad movie of the year. The Beekeeper is a downright terrible on any “objective” scale; cheesily written, stupidly conceived, overly serious, acting so hammy it might as well be served for Christmas dinner, and a mountain of ludicrous twists and turns that leave you howling in disbelief. It’s everything I wanted and more in January, a month known for being a haven to the unwanted offspring of major studios (see Monster Trucks , Dolittle , and the already-forgotten Night Swim ). Jason Statham plays… Jason Statham (obviously). But more specifically, he plays Adam Clay, who is both a retired and current beekeeper. How does that work, you ask? Well, he’s a current beekeeper in the literal sense that he keeps bees on a farm, one owned by Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad). Both of them have their own little slice of heaven, a quiet life cut off from the modern world. But that heaven becomes hell once Eloise is the victim of an online scam. You know, those emails you get from a Nigerian Prince who will pay you $1 million in the future if you just send him $10,000 today? Except this time the predator is not a foreign dignitary, but a bunch of “crypto bros” who’ve watched The Wolf of Wall Street too many times without getting the point. They steal everything, including the $2 million in an account Eloise manages for a children’s charity (those bastards!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzINZZ6iqxY This is where Adam being a retired beekeeper comes into play. A beekeeper is a sort of super assassin given carte blanche by the US government to carry out whatever acts they determine are necessary to “maintain the hive.” Things were always professional with Adam, but now they’ve made it personal. And when a beekeeper has their sights set on you, it’s near-certain the only way to escape is through a body bag. Having a James Bond/John Wick super-spy called a “beekeeper” is only the tip of the iceberg in the mountain of lunacy that is Kurt Wimmer’s script. I’d challenge you to take a shot every time Statham drops the word “the hive” or says “I’m just a beekeeper,” but that would make me liable for an alcohol-related death. To be honest, cutting a shot down to just a sip would still be dangerous. Wimmer must also be a card-carrying member of AARP, as the movie stops dead in its tracks for Statham to speechify about how scamming the elderly is worse than robbing children, as kids have their parents to look after them. There’s even a one-liner about estate planning before a bad guy gets flung to his death. Wimmer and director David Ayer (yes, the director of Suicide Squad , which this movie proudly advertises as a badge of honor) try to craft a message around Adam being a Robin Hood figure who is fighting for the little guys. Though the concept of a relentless killing machine chopping his way through a bunch of preppy douchebags for “the people” is so hilariously undercooked and poorly thought out that it nears parody. A second-act twist about the real occupation of a supporting character does muddy the morality and almost makes Wimmer and Ayer’s stance feel a little dangerous, but the threat of a Joker -esque situation that rallies the incels is nonexistent on account of the shark-jumping that immediately proceeds it. There’s no need to comment on Statham’s performance, as you get exactly what you expected (and likely came for). Jeremy Irons is too old for this shit and is having fun with that fact, lighting up every scene he shares with Josh Hutcherson, playing the most punchable little shit to hit the screen in quite some time. Even Minnie Driver shows up for ninety seconds to widen her eyes and act terrified once she learns that a beekeeper is on the loose. The Beekeeper is what mindless action movies should strive for, although I’m not sure Wimmer and Ayer would be able to share how they’ve crafted a movie that is both self-aware and totally oblivious to being so bad it’s good. Hey, even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while. Amazon MGM Studios will release The Beekeeper in theaters nationwide on January 12th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Sometimes I Think About Dying January 26, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen 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 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idtCErzXixE 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 that later on, 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. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Oscilloscope will release Sometimes I Think About Dying in select theaters on January 26th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Late Night with the Devil April 8, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark On brief occasions, I’ll bring a notebook and pen to take notes while watching a movie. It’s been since November when I last did it for David Fincher’s The Killer . I don’t know what came over me to decide to do this again for Late Night with the Devil , but it turned out to be the right decision, as this film was a lot. It would be a massive understatement to say it was a good time because this is the best new horror movie I’ve seen since Midsommar . It acts as a fresh, spine-tingling fright fest that gets under viewers’ skins and breathes life back into found footage filmmaking. Found-footage filmmaking has evolved quite a bit since it started as a trip into the woods caught on film in 1999’s The Blair Witch Project . Capitalized by the horror genre, notably in the Paranormal Activity franchise, the style crept into sci-fi thrillers like Cloverfield and Chronicle . With Late Night with the Devil , the game has officially changed, promoting the gaze into the lens of a broadcast late-night talk show called Night Owls . Continually competing with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hopes that their upcoming Halloween special will give them an edge. His guests for the episode include psychic Christou, magician-turned-skeptic Carmichael the Conjurer, parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, and her patient Lilly. What unfolds with these guests leads to chaos and forces Jack to revisit his shady past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvt-mauboTc Late Night with the Devil cleverly finds ways to incorporate its found-footage DNA, allowing it to serve as a unique narrative tool. The structure is only used while the show is airing, which then shifts to a black-and-white handheld documentary gaze during the commercial breaks. Most of these documentary segments are stuffed in the beginning to serve as exposition, almost as a small price to unlock this grandiose puzzle. There is never a reliance on jump scares; rather, directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes focus on the fear of the unknown and what’s going to happen next. Many of those feelings come when June and Lilly conjure a demon named Mr. Wriggles, which takes over Lilly’s body and violently contorts it until you can hear her bones crack and skin peel. Of course, the sight of a little girl being possessed by a demon has become a common occurrence (see The Exorcist: Believer just last October), but it’s unique enough here thanks to Ingrid Torelli’s acting. And if that doesn’t send chills down your spine, the entire third act will with its all-out attitude of twisted material. Known for his versatility as a character actor in major blockbusters, including The Dark Knight , the Ant-Man trilogy, Blade Runner 2049 , Dune , The Suicide Squad , and Oppenheimer , Dastmalchian is finally given the time to shine in one of his rare lead performances. He brings both depth and nuance to Jack, convincing the audience of his internal struggles, all while wreaking havoc right in front of them. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made my end-of-year Best Lead Actor ballot. The Cairnes’ script strongly comments on how far people are willing to go to achieve something, even in the face of dire consequences. There’s a moment where Jack sees Night Owls as a success, but even then, he succumbs to the realization that he’s flown too close to the sun. In the end, that’s what Late Night with the Devil is about, and in return, Jack is doomed to a lifetime of being haunted by this mistake. By the time this sinks in with audiences, there’s one thing left to give Jack (and the movie as a whole)...thunderous applause. IFC Films will release Late Night with the Devil in theaters nationwide on March 22nd. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

The Apprentice June 1, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Whether we like it or not, a Donald Trump biopic was always going to be one of the hottest projects to be eventually announced. The headlines practically write themselves, and the free publicity from all the controversy would be too much for any producer to resist. But what filmmaker would have the audacity and enough screws loose to saddle themselves with such a divisive project? The Vegas odds would have most likely leaned on Adam McKay mining the same territory that he did with Dick Cheney in Vice . Or maybe HBO would have tapped company man Jay Roach to make a prestige made-for-television movie to help maintain their brand. Oliver Stone recently said he had “one more” in him during an interview with IndieWire after the Cannes premiere of his new documentary Lula . Stone has always fashioned himself as a mainstream provocateur and has had a fascination with Republican presidents ( Nixon , W. ), so what better way to go out than with the most attention-grabbing Republican president in history? Well, all the smart money bets would have been dead wrong, as Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi, helmer of the Swedish fairytale Border and the Iranian crime thriller Holy Spider , turned out to be the one given the keys to the kingdom. But as it turns out, the most unlikely candidate for the job actually pulls it off quite well, with Abbasi and writer Gabriel Sherman (working off his original screenplay) excellently threading that dangerous gap between airless history lesson and alluring endorsement. An important disclaimer is the first to appear on the black screen: the people you will see on-screen are real; their stories might have been fictionalized. The text isn’t meant to be read in a winking fashion or seen as some sort of excuse by the filmmakers for missing a few details here and there. It’s more of a stage setter to understand the figure at the heart of this story, a man we have all come to know as a serial manipulator of his origin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXEN0WNJUg The story then takes off in New York, circa the 1970s. The Trump family business is currently facing a Justice Department discrimination lawsuit for its dilapidated rental units, and young Donald (Sebastian Stan) is desperately seeking a way into the upper echelons of New York royalty. A chance meeting at the swanky Le Club with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) immediately becomes the answer to Donald’s troubles, as the infamous lawyer, who would be the main inspiration for Mr. Burns in The Simpsons , takes a shine to the lovable loser energy that Donald exudes. Cohn gives three simple commandments for Donald to follow: (1) Always be on the attack, (2) Never settle and always be ready to counterattack, and (3) Never accept defeat and always claim victory. Do these tactics sound familiar to you? Armed with these principles and the tenacity to make them work at any cost, Cohn slowly morphs Trump from that sadsack kid with a dream into the person we know today. Hey, at least we have someone else to throw on the pile of blame now. The legend of Roy Cohn in popular culture has been dominated by Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America , with the role most famously played by Nathan Lane in the 2018 Broadway revival and Al Pacino in the 2003 HBO miniseries. Their Cohn is brash and larger-than-life, spitting in the face of his terminal AIDS diagnosis. Sherman and Strong opt for something subtler, a quietly menacing presence that coldly seduces you. His head pops out like a turtle after every other fourth word, and he may as well have been voiced by Ray Romano, but the power he wields at every moment cannot be denied. There’s a reason that Donald hung on to his every word and loved him like a father. Stan also shifts away from the umpteen portrayals of Trump we’ve seen over the past decade. His performance is absent of all the exaggerated impressionistic ticks of Alec Baldwin on SNL , instead leaning on his inner battle between superiority and insecurity to drive the physical energy. The hair and prosthetics are never necessary to the performance, only there to seal the deal for any still images. Abbasi does make prominent use of differing visuals within the film, opting for a grainier look during the 1970s that morphs into a retro VHS aesthetic in the ‘80s. Kasper Tuxen’s camera is perpetually in documentary (or mockumentary) mode, supplying much of the humor with some nicely timed zooms and visual gags. But then the high-drama string score will remind you of the implications of this buffoonery. Coupling those two technical aspects with the presence of Strong does make for some strong (no pun intended) comparisons to Succession , which definitely isn’t a bad thing in this case. There is still some biopic-y writing (they literally stumble into saying "the art of the deal" at one point) and Maria Bakalova’s presence as Ivana Trump mostly gets sidelined to the archetype of “long-suffering wife.” But those faults could have been only the tip of the iceberg in the multitude of other versions of this project that were likely in the pipeline. I didn’t have it on my 2024 bingo card that the most accurate adjectives to describe a Donald Trump biopic would be “restrained” and “insightful.” This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Briarcliff Entertainment will release The Apprentice in theaters nationwide on October 11th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey September 16, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen True to its title, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is big and bold. Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie embark on a journey through space and time, weaving in and out of their respective past and present lives, looking back on successes and failures with the gift of hindsight. Farrell gets to perform again in his high school musical, trying to win the heart of his crush. Robbie has to rekindle her relationship with her mother just before and after she dies alone in the hospital. That doesn’t exactly sound like a fair deal… But this film is not beautiful. In fact, it’s quite ugly. Not from a visual standpoint, as DP Benjamin Loeb effectively employs all the colors of the rainbow for the eye-popping production design by Katie Byron (she worked on the equally vibrant Don’t Worry Darling ). A bright red door beckons our leads down their first whimsical wormhole, blue and yellow umbrellas protect the soaked attendees of a wedding, and Farrell’s dark green cardigan blends well with the lush fields and trees. The only complaint I had was the sight of Burger King being used as the meet-cute launch pad for this adventure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t9cPtA9St0 However, my opinion about how nothing good ever comes from a Burger King remains true, as this treacly story makes a case for why we shouldn’t treat everyone’s life story as something special. I can only assume that writer Seth Reiss picked up one of those sappy self-help inspirational quote books and challenged himself to place each one into a script. It worked for him, pulling in two A-listers and a major studio to fork over tens of millions of dollars to make those pieces of paper into a visual reality. But we’re the ones who have to pay a higher price, and I’m not just talking about the $10 ticket price. Despite their insanely good looks, David (Farrell) and Sarah (Robbie) have been single almost their entire lives. He’s too afraid of being heartbroken, a nearly fifty-year-old man still being called by his parents about getting out there and meeting the right person. She’s afraid to break other people’s hearts, a serial cheater who would rather pull the ripcord than plunge deeper into commitment. Both of them rent a car from the aptly titled “Car Rental Agency” run by a German-accented Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline. The GPS has a mind of its own, taking them on a detour towards a series of mysterious doors that serve as a portal into their memories. You know the old saying: Once you’ve gone through one time-traveling door, you’ve been through them all. That’s certainly true here, with each of Farrell and Robbie’s stops offering the same sentimental lessons on life, death, and the opportunities that can only be seized by opening ourselves to risk. Director Kogonada supplies a deft touch, but his humanistic instincts that were wonderfully displayed in his first features of Columbus and After Yang have been buried under the implicit studio requirement that everything stays neat. Seeing his name along with Joe Hisaishi as the credited composer made me even more depressed, as a more personal collaboration would likely yield amazing results. My main takeaway from A Big Bold Beautiful Journey was that the screening room in the new Bill Pohlad Cinema at the FilmNorth building more than lived up to its touted status as the most high-tech and pristine screening room in Minnesota. The images were sharp, the sound design was precise, and the 50-person seating capacity positively lent to an intimate atmosphere. It was unfortunate every time I refocused myself to watch the film projected in front of me, a reminder that not all movies enhance the theatrical experience. Sony Pictures Releasing will release A Big Bold Beautiful Journey in theaters nationwide on September 19th. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen

Blitz November 1, 2024 By: Button Hunter Friesen Blitz opens with a crew of London firefighters fighting tooth and nail to put out a house fire. The heat and smoke are almost too much for any man to bear, with wooden beams and piles of brick crumbling down upon them. They eventually start to get a handle on the blaze, although there isn't much cause for celebration as they must now begin their recovery operation for those who are dead or wounded. A moment of silence bridges those tasks, interrupted by the hissing of another Nazi bomber flying overhead. More bombs rain from the sky, signaling another beginning to the cycle of death and destruction that Hitler has inflicted upon England's capital. Lasting for nearly nine months between 1940 and 1941 and known as The Blitz, it comes as no surprise that a big-screen adaptation of this iconic moment in British history has been commissioned and released during the thick of this year's Oscar race. What comes as a surprise is that the visual artist turned filmmaker Steve McQueen is responsible for telling the story, as the likes of Sam Mendes, Joe Wright, and Tom Hooper (before Cats ) would have probably topped the betting odds. Despite being a recipient of the Oscar for Best Motion Picture (the first black filmmaker to be awarded) for 12 Years a Slave , McQueen has always steered at least a few steps away from the stuffier material that follows that kind of success. Even something like his recent World War II documentary, Occupied City , defies the prestige trappings with its 240-minute runtime and ruminative nature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZwykQK9aZo While that opening scene and a few others that follow certainly find themselves akin to many of the viscerally demanding moments littered throughout McQueen's filmography, Blitz marks his most radical departure from form to date, opting for a more classical story filled with the sights and sounds that have come to define this genre for almost a century. That's not an inherently bad thing, as no artist should feel threatened to seclude themselves in a single box. I'm also not accusing McQueen of pandering to the awards bodies. But there is a feeling that the more typical McQueen approach would have given this film the little extra provocativeness it needed to be anything more than just politely good enough. Anchoring this sprawling story is Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and her nine-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan). With the frequency of the bombings reaching their peak and inching their way toward their street, Rita decides to send George away to the countryside, much to his reluctance. He rebels by jumping from the outward-bound train, dodging the authorities as he makes the trek back to London. Several other side quests emerge along his way in the form of a trio of delinquent brothers, a Nigerian immigrant police officer just trying to preserve cool heads amongst the shellshocked masses, and a group of bandits led by their bipolar chief (Stephen Graham). It all feels like it's out of a Charles Dickens novel, although some of these branches certainly feel as if they were planted from entirely different films. McQueen mounts a directorial showcase with each vignette, delivering several stunning sequences set across the spectrum of carnage and beauty. Moments that capture the macroeconomic scale of London during this moment have an awe-inspiring terror to them. People bang on gated stores as explosions rattle only a few blocks down, parents in a daze on the street as they call out for their missing children. The scale and production detail are immaculate across every department, especially Adam Stockhausen’s production design and Yorick Le Saux's cinematography. Similar to his work in Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Little Women , Le Saux invites us into each frame with warm hues and gradually cools down as the sun begins to set and the sounds of engines pierce through the sky. It's when things start to get a little more microscopic that McQueen fumbles. George may be able to run away from those pursuing him, but he can't escape the fact that he's a mixed-race boy during a time of rising xenophobia and intolerance. It's alluded to through flashback that his father was forcefully removed from the country, a practice that a majority of the white Londoners seem to support. And even in a time when all of England should be gathered together against a common enemy on their front doorstep, many still view their neighbors as less than themselves. McQueen has always been a blunt filmmaker when it comes to his themes, yet he always found a way to weave them into the narrative tapestry seamlessly. Things are much more segmented this time around, with several moments overplaying their hand and grinding the action to a halt. No actress can escape the Hollywood demand that they play a doting mother, with Ronan making her debut in that role here. And similar to anyone of her high caliber who's been placed in this scenario, she rises far above what she's been provided. She's always the best in show amongst this cast, with Heffernan coming into his own the more the film progresses. Many of the performers don't have that luxury of time, leaving them in a hurried state of needing to act as much as possible. Although he manages to make a good impression, Harris Dickinson gets the brunt of that treatment, appearing so seldomly that one is forced to assume that this 120-minute film is the result of a lot of pruning. McQueen has certainly earned himself the right to an extended runtime, and this conceptually grand story liekly would have benefited from it. A good film is still a good film, although it still tastes a little bitter when you know it could have easily been better. This review was originally published from a screening at the 2024 Twin Cities Film Fest. Apple Original Films will release Blitz in select theaters on November 01st, followed by its streaming premiere on November 22nd. More Reviews The Super Mario Galaxy Movie March 31, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen The Drama April 1, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Project Hail Mary March 10, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice March 25, 2026 By: Hunter Friesen Hunter Friesen