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The Starling Girl February 6, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen The narrative beats within writer/director Laurel Parmet’s The Starling Girl may not be the most original, but that doesn’t lessen their impact. Elevated by an excellent leading turn by Eliza Scanlen, who continues her upward trajectory after successful supporting roles in hit films and television shows such as 2019’s Little Women and HBO’s Sharp Objects , Parmet’s feature debut offers a youthful examination of the struggle between personal ambitions and the confines of religious tolerance. Scanlen is the titular Starling girl (Jem Starling to be exact), playing younger than herself through wardrobe decisions and physical performance. The Starling family is among many within a Christian fundamentalist community nestled in the Kentucky plains. Jem's actions are in the service of what God and her community would want, such as leading a group prayer dance for her youth group. But just like every teenager, Jem starts to become drawn to the other sex, particularly her handsome youth pastor Owen (Lewis Pullman, last seen as the shy Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd in Top Gun: Maverick ), who happens to be ten years older than her and married. The attraction slowly becomes mutual, with the flirtation of danger being a catalyst for their desire for each other. Parmet’s script focuses both on the personal aspects of this complicated relationship and the societal judgment of it. As part of being a member of her community, Jem does not have the luxury of independence when choosing a romantic partner. Her devout mother and recovering alcoholic father have decided that Jem will be courted by Owen’s much younger brother Ben, despite there being no spark of affection between them. This loss of autonomy is painful to witness, mostly because Scanlen displays inner turmoil. Much of the film plays within the tropes of this specific story, as our character rebels against their societal expectations, leading to consequences in their relationship with themself and others. At 116 minutes, the pacing could have been greatly quickened, or at least some of it chopped off in bulk. Much of the material with Jem’s father, played finely by Jimmi Simpson, plays dangerously close to parody as the struggles with addiction are delivered with such heavy-handedness. If not for Scanlen’s performance, The Starling Girl would fall much further into the realm of obscurity, its middling writing and direction had it heading for. If not for anything else, Parmet’s film has given one of our brightest young talents room to shine. Those with a deeply religious background may find more depth to it, but they may also find it dryly conventional. This review was originally published from the world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Bleecker Street will release The Starling Girl in select theaters on May 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

All of Us Strangers October 23, 2023 By: Button Hunter Friesen Being alone isn’t solely confined to the physical world within writer/director Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers , an adaptation of the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada. The recluse at the center of this story is Adam (Andrew Scott), a middle-class screenwriter who relentlessly keeps himself holed up in his semi-decent London flat. But things aren’t all bad as Harry (Paul Mescal) shows up unannounced at Adam’s door. They seem to be the only two residents alive within this ghost town of an apartment complex, making their interaction feel almost like destiny, especially considering that both of them are queer. Despite Harry’s casualness, Adam isn’t someone who’s able to open himself up to other people. He’s been alone almost his entire life, as both his parents died in a car crash when he was twelve. He’s working on a script based on his closeted childhood, but the words just can’t seem to form on the page. Somehow, he’s able to do research by going back to his old childhood home outside of London, where both of his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) still reside as if they never died or aged a day since their demise. Both they and Adam are aware of this fantasy, yet they do not speak of it, almost as if keeping it unspoken retains its power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O97iSjvqBlY Aligning with Yamada’s novel, Haigh never commits to fully explaining this illusion. Is Adam crazy? Is he time-traveling? Is he just dreaming? Is this a manifestation of his script? All of those explanations are equally valid in the moment, yet none of them is important enough to warrant in-depth examination. To borrow a line from Christopher Nolan’s Tenet : “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” The only thing that matters here is the ethereal pull of Adam’s experience and how it offers an examination of life then and now. For all the warmth that comes with nostalgic memories of your past, there is also the cold, sobering rush of reality. Even in Adam’s fantasy, coming out to his parents doesn’t go over smoothly. Both of them have their mindsets trapped in the 1980s AIDS epidemic. Adam explains that there are no problems with being queer in modern society, and yet his and Harry’s story would indicate otherwise. Haigh elevates his craft with visual flourishes that aid the dreamlike nature of the film. Mirrors and reflections, both in their literal and metaphorical form, play an integral role in Adam’s journey between the worlds. There’s a gentle flow between the scenes, with frames dissolving and fading into each other. Cinematographer Jamie Ramsay recreates magic hour photography everywhere he aims his passive 35mm camera. That absorbing visual palette aids the performances of the core quartet. Scott reaches for a healthy dose of tears and pent-up regret, which balances nicely with the strategically outward pain from Mescal. Bell and Foy are affectionate as the enigmatic parental figures, always feeling like real characterizations of people who once lived and loved. All of Us Strangers is a ghost story that invites the viewer to project themselves onto the story just as much as it tells its own. There’s nothing easy about letting go of the past, and there’s nothing easy about what comes after. It’s not an uplifting message, but it’s an endearing one that we’ve all come to find truth in. This review was originally published from a screening at the 2023 Twin Cities Film Fest. Searchlight Pictures will release All of Us Strangers in select theaters on December 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 Smashing Machine September 29, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Smashing Machine could have had it all. It's got an interesting premise about the life story of Mark Kerr, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, whose blood, sweat, and tears laid the groundwork for all the glitz and glamour that current fighters have the privilege to bask in. It's got a headline performance from Dwayne Johnson, the world's biggest wrestling and movie star, hungry to sink his teeth into something meatier after years of work on stuff like Red Notice , Red One , and Red Alert (I'll let you figure out which one of those titles is fake). It's helmed by writer/director Benny Safdie, one-half of the Safdie brother duo with his elder brother Josh. Before their break-up, the pair got down and dirty with Good Time and Uncut Gems , offering a jittery look inside the psyches of those who like to go off the deep end. And above all of them in the hierarchy is distributor/producer A24, recently specializing in merging blockbuster talent with arthouse sensibilities. But instead of getting the best of all worlds, we get the middle of it. This is still a standard sports biopic, filled with the ups and downs brought upon by drugs, alcohol, and redemption. No amount of rough-around-the-edges production can mask that DNA, which begs the question of why Safdie and Johnson wanted to tell this story when there's already a 2002 documentary with the same name and scope. The answers are money, fame, and ego, the three most potent qualities in both the movie and wrestling industries. Where there's a scrappy indie that fills a niche, there needs to be a glossier Hollywood version that raises the viewership ceiling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRpnP3LZ99g There's also the fact that Johnson is probably the only person in history who could play Kerr without subjecting themselves to Bane's Venom Serum. Standing 6'3" and weighing 250 lbs, Kerr was a mountain of muscle, proportioned almost like an upside-down triangle. The fifty-three-year-old Johnson turns back the clock twenty years to replicate that physique, complete with bulging neck muscles and tree trunk arms. Kazu Hiro, the renowned makeup designer for transformative performances such as Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour , Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro , and Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell , adds a crinkled hairpiece and some facial prosthetics to complete the look. Johnson talks the talk as much as he walks the walk, using his professional wrestling background to lend insight into why someone would subject themselves to so much torture. Lest we forget, the early days of the UFC didn't promise million-dollar-plus purses and entourages. Kerr emerges from a fight covered in blood and bruises, only to be handed a check for $3000. He lived in a modest house in Phoenix, flew commercial to all his fights, maintained memberships at commercial gyms, and dealt with the hassle of insurance for all his pain medications. This is where the incentive to become "The Smashing Machine" comes into play, with fast knockouts keeping the door to his career open just a bit longer. He wears just as many scars as victories, each one a reminder of just how committed he is to being the best. It's the greatest feeling in the world because losing costs so much. Safdie plunges us right into the action, applying a docudrama approach through handheld camerawork and plenty of zooms. We follow along in a long take as Mark goes from the locker room to the ring, everyone in the halls gawking at his enormous frame. There are probably more moments within those confined spaces than on the stage, with introspection being more difficult than taking a knee to the head. Real-life mixed martial artist Ryan Bader plays Kerr's best friend and fellow fighter, Mark Coleman. His wooden line delivery is an intentionally smart choice, illustrating how a bond born through combat can't be expressed with words. Emily Blunt doesn't get the same treatment as Mark's girlfriend, Dawn. She's given the stereotypical role of "suffering partner," battling with Mark as he gets progressively buried by addiction and the threat of losing. It's hard to blame Safdie or Blunt for capturing the reality of the situation, but they go about it with the same rote scenarios we've seen time and time again. Little remarks become blow-ups, which eventually lead to reconciliations. If you're going to treat someone's story the same as everyone else's, then how am I supposed to perceive what was so special about them? A24 will release The Smashing Machine in theaters nationwide on October 3rd. 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 Amateur April 8, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen The Amateur opens with Charles Heller (Rami Malek) laying out a tarp in his garage, littering it with what we would perceive as a box of scraps. But to him, these trinkets are all pieces to a puzzle, a broken plane just begging to be repaired. It was bought by his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), as a birthday present, the couple living in a cozy farmhouse just outside of Washington DC. Charlie’s high IQ and knack for challenges make him the perfect decrypter for the CIA, buried five floors deep and into the muck of US foreign policy. He’s also the nerdy sort, the kind that sits at the lunch table with the rest of the brainiacs, solving brain teasers while gawking over at the field agents who go out and get their hands dirty. Those seeking adventure often find themselves in it, but never in the way they’d expect. For Charlie, that curl of the monkey’s paw comes when Sarah is killed in the midst of a botched terrorist hostage situation during her conference in London. The bosses at the CIA put the “greater good” over vengeance for Sarah, opting to let the terrorists walk for now in hopes that they’ll stir up the rest of the criminal nest. But Charlie can’t take the high road on this one, taking matters into his own hands through some convenient blackmail that unlocks an arsenal that would make Batman shiver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCWcK4c-F8Q Having already been unmemorably adapted for the screen back in 1981, Robert Littell’s novel is probably a great read on an airplane. Director James Hawes, riding pretty high after directing the entire first season of Slow Horses and the underrated Anthony Hopkins-starring drama One Life , maintains an engaging level of intrigue throughout his production. There’s a crispness to the proceedings as Charles hunts down the four responsible men one by one, taking him across various metropolitan areas within Europe. While the story of a man calculatingly seeking revenge on the men who harmed his significant other closely mirrors that of 2023’s The Killer , Hawes is nowhere near the level of David Fincher. The satisfaction of a completed cycle never reaches the point it needs to, largely due to the silliness of the mini-climaxes. This is a ludicrous premise, but an interrogation through the threat of pollen and the pressurized destruction of a glass swimming pool takes things down a distractingly skeptical road. Even more ludicrous, albeit amusingly, is the concept of the CIA publicly admitting to wrongdoings on foreign soil. Based on all the headlines over the past few weeks (or months… or years), I chuckled as Julianne Nicholson stood up at the podium as the CIA director and preached American values such as accountability and honor. Hawes and his screenwriting duo, Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, never waver on the emotional core of this story. After Sarah’s death, the return of her suitcase and the routine of Charlie’s last conversation with her take on a whole new meaning. I mentioned that it was ludicrous for all this to happen, but there’s never a moment when I doubt why Charlie would convince himself that he needs to do it. It might be because this is just a lateral movement from Mr. Robot , but Malek’s casting is top-notch. He doesn’t have the presence to be a traditional leading man, but a movie like this that relies less on bullets and machismo works in his favor. James Bond and Jason Bourne are both in a corporate-induced hibernation for the moment, so a lower-stakes espionage action thriller such as this flies pretty high at the moment. Along with Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag , it’s a nice appetizer before Ethan Hunt makes everything go boom in a few weeks. 20th Century Studios will release The Amateur in theaters nationwide on April 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

Materialists June 11, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen Materialists opened during the Paleolithic period of the Stone Age. A caveman brings tools and flowers to the woman he loves, hoping it’ll be enough to earn her affection. We may think that love gets purer the further you go back in time, but there has always been a business angle. Dowries, negotiations, and aligning kingdoms are the old ways of forming a union. Now there’s an algorithm for that, loaded with statistics like height, income, and political views. And for those that are more serious (or desperate) and have the funds to do so, there are services like Adore, which will assign a personal matchmaker to search for you. Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is one of those matchmakers, and a damn good one to be specific. She’s responsible for nine marriages, salvaging the most recent one by spinning the bride’s cold feet confession that part of the reason she’s marrying the groom is that it makes her sister jealous into a lesson about finding value and feeling valued. The key to her success is to treat dating as a business venture, using the same calculating mindset you’d find on Wall Street. “Market forces,” “competitive advantage,” and “strategic skills” are her phrases of choice. The results speak for themselves, and there’s no denying that this is the path that the dating landscape is rapidly progressing along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A_kmjtsJ7c It’s natural and odd that after writer/director Celine Song tenderly explored the concept of destiny and love in Past Lives , her follow-up takes a cold, hard look at the facts. There isn’t going to be a Prince Charming waiting in the wings, or a Cinderella who perfectly fits the glass slipper. Dating is a trial-and-error endeavor, with adaptability and compromise being the most important qualities. Song makes sure there are a lot of laughs to be had with all this nonsense. Lucy’s customers are demanding, neurotic, and impatient. A potential match must be this tall, be in this age range, like these certain songs/movies, and make at least this amount of money. Living in the Midwest all my life certainly didn’t prepare me for the astronomical figures that people expect to receive on the East Coast. But all of this is funny because they’re saying the quiet parts out loud, and deep down, we all know we do it too. The eternal bachelorette who has a knack for helping others find love is a trope as old as the romantic dramedy itself. Song may know how to reexamine it in the ways I just described, but she also knows how to harness its extremely potent traditional qualities. She also knows how to best steer the performers on all sides of this love triangle. Yes, Lucy gets more than she bargains for when she simultaneously finds affection in two separate places. Johnson is perpetually on a pendulum swinging back and forth. And after the swing (and miss) that was Madame Web , she was due for a major slide to the lighter side. We meet Pedro Pascal’s Harry as he charms his way through his brother’s wedding reception. He’s also obscenely rich, tall, and handsome. He’s what Lucy refers to as a “unicorn” in her line work - the man of every woman’s dreams. John (Chris Evans) has some of those qualities, but definitely not the financial ones. He’s your usual struggling actor with a part-time catering job who lives in a shitty apartment. But he’s real, and there’s a reason Lucy and he were together for five years before they broke up. We’ve seen characters with these archetypes before, but here they’re steeped in enough authenticity so you can’t just immediately pick a side. Materialists can also be too honest for their own good. There’s a darker element that gets introduced later in the story that drives part of Lucy’s decision-making about her personal life. Song handles it to the best of her ability, but its inclusion is habitually distracting from the other excellent qualities. Honesty is still the best policy, and Song continues to show that she’s a master of telling us how it is in the ways we want to hear it. A24 will release Materialists in theaters nationwide on June 13th. 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

Godzilla vs. Kong April 5, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen It’s a debate that has dominated lunchrooms and sleepovers for generations. Who would win in a gladiator death match: Godzilla or King Kong? In one corner stands a prehistoric sea monster covered in impenetrable scales and with the ability to breathe atomic fire. In the other corner is a 337-foot-tall gorilla that has battled dinosaurs and other monsters on his home of Skull Island. This battle is a part of the MonserVerse Cinematic Universe and has three films in the making, with 2014’s Godzilla kicking things off. After that came Kong’s introduction in 2017 with Kong: Skull Island . And then in 2019, it was time for Godzilla to show off once again in Godzilla: King of the Monsters . But why are King Kong and Godzilla fighting each other? The answer lies in the hands of an evil tech billionaire (it always does). Walter Simmons, president of the ironically named Apex Cybernetics, is hunting for the glory of being the man who protected the world from these titans. Like Lex Luthor’s plan in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , Simmons wants to pit the two titans against each other, and hopefully have one kill the other in the process. A few other side plots and revelations come to the surface (literally), but I’ll avoid that for the sake of spoilers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odM92ap8_c0 Director Adam Wingard has heard your complaints about the previous two Godzilla movies. Unlike Godzilla being kept away from the spotlight like in 2014, he’s in full daylight, wreaking havoc for all to see. The visual effects and sound work are quite gorgeous as we are awestruck by the might of this god-like creature. The experience can only get better as the screen gets bigger. Composer Tom Holkenborg, incorporating the world’s largest bass drum, provides another epic score just as he did a few weeks ago in Zack Snyder’s Justice League . And instead of the human characters getting the large majority of the screen time like in 2019, their storylines have been drastically reduced to allow for a more condensed runtime that favors fists over words. Wingard does give those fists some dramatic weight as he takes a page out of Peter Jackson’s playbook that was used in the 2005 King Kong film. Kong is the most developed character here as he is given a new way to express himself through sign language. Wingard also gives us several close-up shots of Kong’s face, which looks incredible. Despite being as tall as a skyscraper, Kong isn’t so different from you or me. He just wants to return to his home and figure out if there are any other super monkeys like him. The trimming of the humans does come with a price, as no character is given enough development to become memorable, and some just become unbearable. Humans merely exist to dump exposition and reveal enough information to keep the plot moving at a reasonable clip. But this problem is the lesser of two evils, as I (and I’m assuming you) didn’t go into this movie expecting Ingmar Bergman-level human drama. I came into this movie to see a giant ape punch a giant lizard in the face, and the movie more than delivers on that promise. For all you betting fans, there is a clear winner in this matchup. Obviously, I can’t tell you who wins, even though the outcome will already be public knowledge by the time this review comes out. The camera whips and pans around as we are given front-row seats to this matchup. It reminds me of the Rocky movies as our prizefighters duke it out with uppercuts, haymakers, and a flurry of combos. It’s gloriously over-the-top as Hong Kong acts as the boxing ring. The previous Godzilla movies tried to push the idea of the collateral damage caused by these titans, similar to how Superman was treated after beating Zod in Man of Steel . Wingard throws that idea out the window as he has his monsters push each other through buildings and use the environment to their advantage. The casualty rate for this fight has to be in the millions, but that thought never comes across in the movie or in your head. Godzilla vs. Kong is ludicrously stupid and silly in just the right way. The humans may be boring and forgettable, but that’s to be expected in a movie where the main attraction is an ape fighting a lizard. Find the biggest screen you possibly can, as it deserves the full attention of all your senses . Warner Bros. Pictures will release Godzilla vs. Kong in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max on March 31st. 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 United States vs. Billie Holiday March 4, 2021 By: Button Hunter Friesen Another awards season, another tortured celebrity biopic. Last year was Judy, and the year before that was Bohemian Rhapsody . A few years earlier was La Vie En Rose . Before that was Walk the Line , and before that was Ray , and so on and so on until the beginning of time. Why do these movies keep being made if they all use the same recycled formula? The answer is the Oscars. All of those movies I just listed won an Oscar for a leading performance by an actor portraying a real-life celebrity. Biopics are the baitiest of genres when it comes to the Oscars. There’s no purely objective way to critique a performance, but it sure is a lot easier to judge a performance by comparing it to a real person than it is to judge a fictional character. Is that lazy and unoriginal? Of course! But it works so well and requires a lot less effort than the alternatives. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Speaking of lazy and unoriginal, The United States vs. Billie Holiday is the newest entry into this tirelessly imitated genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USi-ppCfxEA Lee Daniels of Precious and The Butler fame directs this true story of the persecution singer Billie Holiday faced from the federal government because of her anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit”. Holiday also struggled with a heroin and alcohol addiction, something that the government constantly used as blackmail against her. The framing of this grand story surrounds an interview Holiday takes just before she dies. She’s questioned about many things, most notably why “Strange Fruit” was a song she was willing to kill her career, and eventually herself, for. It’s a question Holiday has no peace of mind to answer, as she’s already given her answer by living a life filled with hate and bigotry. Daniels treats Holiday as a martyr; someone who died because of the wickedness of others. While that approach has worked in several biopics before, the barrier that Daniels refuses to even attempt to overcome is to give his martyr some humanity. Unlike every other musician's drug addiction film, Daniels doesn’t seem all that interested in learning about the character of Holiday. He’s simply a con artist taking someone’s true pain for his personal gain. He offers little sympathy for Holiday’s condition, which can be seen by the endless barrage of close-ups of needles being stuck in arms. It becomes pure misery porn that doesn’t contextualize Holiday’s present with her past. Brief flashbacks here and there give glimpses into her childhood, one filled with whorehouses and abuse, that only aim to shock and traumatize the viewer. Similar to Daniels’ exploitative directing is the screenplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, which has the same quality as a high school play. There is nothing in this script to deviate from other biopics about black singers, such as Ray and Get On Up . It’s the same old story of success, tragedy, and redemption that you and I have seen a thousand times before and will see another thousand times again. Only this time, it’s just plain boring to watch as the two-hour runtime feels like three, and the message about racism and drug addiction boils down to “it’s bad, don't do it”. Sure, the cinematography and production design is top-notch. There’s one brief sequence seemingly done in one take that blew me away with its inventiveness and tonal ignorance. But all those window dressings mean nothing when the core is empty. So, who’s the person looking to win an Oscar for their titular portrayal? That would be Andra Day, already a Grammy nominee. Ms. Day has recently won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama and is looking to claim her spot in the Oscar race. Her performance is about the only thing that is worth praise, as she both acts and sings circles around her contemporaries. It’s absolutely stunning that this is her first lead role in a film. The rest of the supporting cast pale in comparison as Trevontae Rhodes is disappointing as conflicted federal agent Jimmy Fletcher and Garret Hedlund is downright embarrassing as bureau head Harry J. Anslinger, who acts like the identical twin of Dick Dastardly. The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a tiring and soapy entry into the never-ending genre of musician biopics. Except for a great Andra Day lead performance, this is an entirely forgettable and shameful attempt to cover such an iconic time and figure in American history. Hulu will release The United States vs. Billie Holiday on its streaming service on February 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

Devotion November 19, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen There have been several instances of two nearly identical movies released questionably close to each other. 1998 saw both the A Bug’s Life/Antz and Armageddon/Deep Impact debacles, with the former winning out in each scenario. And 2013 had both Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down , with the former winning again as it gained two sequels in London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen . Now in 2022, we have Top Gun: Maverick and Devotion , two aviation-centered films that star Glen Powell and feature a sequence where one fighter pilot has to save his buddy after they crash land in a snowy forest. And just like all the other examples, the former (clearly) wins out in this case, with Maverick soaring high above the clouds while Devotion never gets off the ground. To give both movies the benefit of the doubt, their similarities in both plot and release dates are due to circumstances mostly outside of their control. Maverick was shot in 2019 and ready to go in early 2020, but was held for release until this summer on account of Tom Cruise’s insistence on a full-scale theatrical release (a bet that paid off in full as the film became the highest-grosser of the year and Cruise’s career at $1.5 billion). Devotion didn’t sit on the shelf as long, with filming taking place in early 2021 and normal visual effects work taking place afterward. And to Devotion’s credit again, its story is based on actual people and events during the Korean War, while Maverick is entirely fictional. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCDEGP6VjYY But the one thing that Maverick has (in spades) that Devotion doesn’t is a sense of energy and thrill. That unparalleled theatrical experience is why Maverick will likely outgross franchise blockbuster staples like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water . Director J.D. Dillard doesn’t try to replicate that for Devotion , instead giving it a more dignified sense of importance through slower pacing and subtlety. It’s an admirable angle, at least on paper. But in execution, it strips the film of all forward momentum and makes the 138-minute runtime feel like 1380 minutes. Jonathan Majors stars as Jesse Brown, one of the only African-American aviators within the Navy. Jesse is the strong and silent type, mostly because he knows that standing up to anyone or lashing out in anger will destroy all his life’s work. Transferring in as his new wingman is Tom Hudner (Glen Powell, also an executive producer). The pair don’t become fast friends, but they do become brothers born in combat as they get shipped off to the frontlines of Korea as the threat of a third World War becomes evermore present. Like Dillard’s direction, Jack Crane and Jonathan Stewart’s stilted screenplay doesn’t play above the military tropes we’ve come to expect. There’s flyboy camaraderie, a racist bully, a mission with 1000/1 odds, and a spouse back at home getting teary-eyed as she reads letters on the front step. Majors and Powell do their best to inject a little life from time to time, but there’s nothing they can do to battle the mundanity of everything surrounding them. It’s hard to imagine who Devotion will fully satisfy. Enthusiasts of historical dramas (such as myself) will find it all too simplistic and clichéd; action junkies won’t walk away awed by the CGI-tainted flight set pieces, and Majors and Powell fans won’t get anything from their by-the-book characters. Just as the Korean War holds the moniker “America’s forgotten war,” Devotion will have to make do with being “America’s forgotten 2022 aviation film.” Sony Pictures Releasing will release Devotion in theaters nationwide on November 23rd. 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

Kung Fu Panda 4 March 10, 2024 By: Button Tyler Banark As time has proved, it’s a risky choice for a franchise to leap beyond a trilogy and into a fourth entry. For every John Wick: Chapter 4 , Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , there is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Bourne Ultimatum , and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides . DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 4 falls more into the latter bucket by providing the expected stunning visuals, yet also displaying an overfamiliar story that signals a franchise running out of steam and bound to implode. Kung Fu Panda 4 ’s biggest flaw is its script, penned by recurring writers Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, and newcomer Darren Lemke. While the three previous entries mixed plenty of laughs and memorable moments, there wasn’t a single laugh-out-loud moment here, not even for the younger members of the audience. It didn’t help that most of these attempted jokes are featured in a senseless plot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inKs4eeHiI Po has taken the next step in his journey by fulfilling the position of spiritual leader for the Valley of Peace. Because of this, he must step down as the Dragon Warrior and look to find a successor. As he does this, yet another power-hungry villain in The Chameleon (Viola Davis) threatens China by harnessing the powers of all of Po’s past villains. Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai all return, with Tai Lung being the only one in the spotlight since Ian McShane was the only original voice actor of the trio to come back. Also missing are Furious Five, with their absence being attributed to “other duties.” Of course, Jack Black returns as Po, a character he never seems to take for granted. He’s up to his usual antics, which is enough since seeing Black do his thing is enough of an enjoyable time. Viola Davis’ inclusion in the franchise is great on paper, but it’s not as great in execution, considering her character’s copied and pasted motivations. Although he’s not given much screentime, Dustin Hoffman still phones it in as Shifu, which also marks his first appearance in a studio film since 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) . Zimmer returns to the maestro’s corner, collaborating again with Steve Mazzaro. Although there are no outstanding pieces, the duo does provide an interestingly Eastern-sounding rendition of “Crazy Train” during a chase sequence. And that’s not the only cover song to be prominently featured, with Black and his band, Tenacious D, covering Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” during the end credits. It’s a better use of Black’s musical talent than “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros Movie . Kung Fu Panda 4 feels like an insult to the franchise, with almost every aspect being inferior to the previous entries. Even the DreamWorks opening credit logo lacked the personality it once had. From a franchise that has always been willing to take risks, this fourth outing is safe and forgettable. Audiences were wishing for more skadoosh, but they got more of a whimpering pow instead. Universal Pictures will release Kung Fu Panda 4 in theaters nationwide on March 8th. 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

White Noise December 12, 2022 By: Button Hunter Friesen What do Hitler, car crashes, Elvis, the fear of death, airborne toxic events, supermarkets, and the existence of an afterlife all have in common? Well, you’ll have to watch White Noise to fully answer that question. Except, I’ve seen White Noise , and I’m still very unsure of what the connection between all those things was. But in my endless confusion, I was still morbidly interested in what was going on, and how it would all come together. Things start simply (well, as simple as this story can be) with the birth of a new school year at College on the Hill, a smaller-sized intellectual institution for the betterment of its Ohio natives. One of its all-stars is Professor Jack Gladney (Adam Driver), who has pioneered the field of Hitler Studies, all despite him being physically incapable of speaking German. Jack’s lectures are more akin to rock concerts than your typical educational exercises, with his students hanging on to his every precisely choreographed line reading and body movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgwKZAMx_gM While his studies are almost exclusively international, Jack’s family is your typical American one. He and his wife Babette (Greta Gerwig) are each other’s fourth spouse, with their kids being a mixture of past and current relationships. The all-knowing Heinrich and inquisitive Steffie come from Jack’s previous marriages, persistent Denise is from Babbette’s past, and the youngest (and seemingly mute) Wilder is Jack and Babbette’s. This blended group hustle and bustle through their days, with maybe an extra ounce of existentialism, illustrated when Jack and Babbette playfully compete for who would be the saddest if the other partner were to die. Act two is when things literally go off the rails as a train full of toxic chemicals collides with a gasoline truck, exploding into a chemically-laced cloud of deadly proportions. The family is forced to evacuate their home, colliding with the rest of the town as they all try to outrun this new mysterious threat. The appearance of masks and quarantining may send shivers down the spines of a few too many audience members not yet over the ordeal of the COVID-19 pandemic, but writer/director Noah Baumbach grazes over much of that with a playful tone. The scenes of pandemonium are some of the director’s most accomplished technical work. His widescreen camera sways back and forth, capturing most of the action in long takes. With a reported budget of $80-100 million, almost more than double the sum of all of Baumbach’s previous films, the scale to which all of this occurs is quite astonishing, especially for a filmmaker who has always made complicated movies with such simple settings. White Noise is by far Baumbach’s most complicated film, as the pseudo-intellectual dialogue from Don DeLillo’s “unfilmable” novel flows like a waterpark on the fourth of July. Multiple conversations overlap each other Robert Altman style, with some moving so fast that you don’t have time to catch up before you’re shuttled off to something else. After a while, you kind of just want to tune it all out and treat it as… white noise. A reasonable explanation for such a large budget may have something to do with the cast. As we all know, Adam Driver's cost has increased considerably with his bevy of critical and commercial success. Even with all the filmmakers he’s explored over the years, including outstanding turns in Leos Carax’s Annette and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel last year, Driver has always found a home with Baumbach. White Noise marks their fifth collaboration and possibly their most humorous, even if they aren’t trying to be that funny. Completing this trio is Gerwig, wife and regular co-writer with Baumbach, who goes for something a little more heightened. There’s a lot to chew on within White Noise , with not much time to savor it. Baumbach has created the least accessible film, all while flexing his filmmaking muscles to their fullest potential. Second and third, and possibly fourth, rewatches will be required to take it all in. Luckily, that’s a task I’m more than game for and will be easy to execute because of the film’s release on Netflix. Netflix will release White Noise in select theaters on November 25th, followed by its streaming premiere on December 30th. 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

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera January 10, 2025 By: Button Hunter Friesen January has never been a month known for quality when it pertains to the yearly cinematic timeline. While everyone's eyeballs are trained on the artier Oscar contenders, the studios dump their unwanted offspring into the multiplexes (this time last year featured such "classics" as Nightswim, I.S.S., Founders Day , and Miller's Girl ). Every once in a while, you get a better-than-expected gem like my beloved The Beekeeper , an indulgent slice of junk food that hits the spot after months of vegetables. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera , the sequel to the 2018 crime film that has amassed a decent following over the years, aims to be that greasy burger you hate yourself for loving, although it leans a little too close to gas station quality rather than fast food. Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) has moved up in the world since we last saw him, graduating from the banks of Los Angeles to the diamond district of Europe. "It's the most secure building in continental Europe," says the concierge to Donnie as he goes undercover as a diamond seller to provide surveillance for his crew, a line that tells us all that we need to know about the outcome of this heist. 'Big Nick' O'Brien (Gerard Butler), on the other hand, is pissing his life away (both literally and figuratively) since Donnie outsmarted him. His divorce has been finalized, and his job security is hanging by a thread, giving him enough of a reason to embrace the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mantra and become part of Donnie's crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kmjAnvFw3I Sequels are about doing more than the original, which Pantera does in a literal sense. The locations are swankier, the stakes are higher, and the plan is more complicated. However, all the supporting details are less valuable than before. The cast is less interesting, and the plot is less comprehensible, leaving you yawning throughout the first half of this 148-minute beast. The only thing there's more of in those departments is the clichéd elements of previous heist films: people standing around the blueprint table explaining their roles, then later leaning over a balcony giving their backstory for why they got into this line of work. Those missteps can be slightly forgiven once the sun sets and the black ski masks are donned. Writer/director Christian Gudegast showed some remarkable chops as a first-time director of set pieces with the 2018 predecessor. He levels up his game here, trading in the loud bangs of gunfire for the silence of a job that goes according to plan. There's a great amount of tension as the crew shimmies across rooftops, moves through rooms undetected by security cameras, and places barriers at just the right angles to avoid motion detectors. Of course, things still go boom. Fast cars and machine guns become the weapons of choice, making this a gnarlier version of a Fast & Furious movie. Jackson Jr. and Butler match that brute explosiveness fairly well, although their chemistry works much better as antagonists as opposed to reluctant allies. All of this felt a little outdated in 2018, making it straight-up ancient in 2025. But that creakiness is part of the charm, flooding in rose-tinted memories of the heist movie of yesteryear. And as long as Michael Mann keeps taking his sweet time to deliver Heat 2 , these retrograde knockoffs are the best we're going to get, so we might as well be content with them. Lionsgate will release Den of Thieves 2: Pantera in theaters nationwide on January 10th. 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

BlacKkKlansman August 27, 2018 By: Button Hunter Friesen Spike Lee has always been one of the most outspoken directors for African-American rights. His no-holds-barred mentality put him on the map in 1989 with Do the Right Thing and again in 1992 for his epic biopic Malcolm X . However, the last decade has been rough for Lee as his films have been of lower quality, and he has struggled to click with the mainstream crowd. Fortunately for Lee and moviegoers, his new film, BlacKkKlansman , is a return to form as he delivers a thrilling crowd-pleaser that also isn’t afraid to attack race in American society. Taking place in 1979, Colorado Springs, the film follows the real-life story of Ron Stallworth, who has just become the first black cop in town. His hiring is met with hostility among the white officers, mostly those who like to create trouble for the fun of it. As a hot-headed rookie looking to make his mark and bring a little change, Ron decides to go after the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. Luckily for him, the Klan runs full ads in the paper to draw in recruits. Ron picks up the phone and disguises his voice to sound like a white man to get information. His disguise works, and he sets up a meeting with a recruiter. Obviously, Ron himself won't be able to go, so he sends white officer Flip Zimmerman to play his white self. From this point on, the story follows Ron and Flip running a tag team operation as they try to bring down one of the most hateful groups in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFc6I0rgmgY Over the past decade, we’ve gotten so used to Lee being overly loud and thunderous that it now feels a bit weird to see him show a decent amount of restraint when it comes to the volume of the message. He also paces the film really well for its 135-minute runtime. Action, comedy, and drama are interspersed, allowing the film to flow with great energy and rhythm. Although Spike shows some restraint, he doesn’t fully commit. At times, he falls back into his old over-the-top habits. One moment of this is at the beginning, when we are shown a fictional Klan propaganda film that serves no real purpose other than to make you hear endless racial expletives. For a script that has four credited writers, one of whom is Lee, the writing never feels fragmented. Right off the bat, the biggest compliment to the script is that it never is too preachy with its message. We do hear a lot about racism in America, but it never feels overdone. One thing that the writers struggle to do is blend together two different plots. We have the main investigation plot with Ron and Flip, but we’re also given a smaller romantic subplot between Ron and Patrice, an activist leader for black rights. Even though their romance does serve the purpose of highlighting racial tension in America, at times it feels shoehorned in and out of place. Another minor thing that comes up periodically throughout is the writing for the Klan characters. Each one of them is one-note and is treated as cartoonishly evil. It makes them entertaining to watch, but it also makes it hard to take them seriously when real-life or death stakes are presented. The best part of the film is its characters and the actors who inhabit them. John David Washington, son of frequent Spike Lee collaborator Denzel Washington, gives one of the best leading performances of the year (so far). Just like his father, John carries a sort of charisma that makes his character feel authentic. He realizes his role is quite serious, but he also takes plenty of time to have fun with his character. It makes him very entertaining to watch, especially when he’s playing “White Ron” over the phone. Adam Driver does exceptional supporting work as Flip. Just like Washington, Driver takes things seriously but also partakes in the fun every once in a while. He also gives his character a lot of depth, who is a lapsed Jew that is now starting to wrestle with his religious identity. Lastly, Topher Grace of That ‘70s Show fame is great as infamous real-life Klan leader David Duke. Grace brings a weasel-like attitude to his demented character and shares great chemistry with Washington as they engage with each other over the phone from time to time. Just like last year’s breakout hit Get Out , BlacKkKlansman is one of the rare occurrences where a film is both entertaining and able to send a powerful message about racism in America. Whether it be Spike Lee’s powerful directing or the captivating performances, there’s a lot to like here. Focus Features will release BlacKkKlansman in theaters nationwide on August 18th. 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