2025 was a year filled with some great movies. Unfortunately not everything I saw managed to leave a deep, memorable impression upon me. Here are a few films that really did not work for me:
"DIE MY LOVE"
First, let me state that I think Lynne Ramsay is one of our more provocative filmmakers working today, a compelling artist with an uncompromising vision which has regrettably lead to her having made only five feature films to date since her acclaimed debut, "Ratcatcher" back in 1999. The latest from Ramsay, "Die My Love", based on the novel by Ariana Harwicz, deals with a new mother who begins to suffer from postpartum depression and psychosis, has moments that are magnificently performed and visually stunning, thanks to the camerawork by Seamus McGarvey, reteaming for the first time with Ramsay since "We Need to Talk About Kevin". Yet this heavily stylized drama fails to generate much of an emotional connection. Jennifer Lawrence, in an amazingly raw and feral performance, plays Grace who we meet with her boyfriend, Jackson (Robert Pattinson) as they explore a rundown ranch in Montana that he inherited from an uncle. With Grace pregnant, they decide to move in to start their new life. As their relationship was happy and playful, it begins to change not long after their baby's birth. Grace's behavior becomes progressively more erratic, manic and highly unpredictable, deeply concerning Jackson and his recently widowed mother (Sissy Spacek). As we watch Grace spiral out of control, lost in mental collapse and the trauma of parenthood, it becomes more unbearable as we are never given a clear understanding of what exactly is happening to her. Unfortunately, "Die My Love" stays too much on the surface, never really digging deep enough to actually make us feel Grace's anguish, desires and pain.
"HONEY DON'T!"
In the second of their planned lesbian B-movie trilogy, director, Ethan Coen and co-writer, Tricia Cooke have delivered "Honey Don't!", another black comedy, this time involving a private investigator in Northern California trying to solve a series of mysterious deaths. I found this poorly conceived, joke deprived, comedic thriller in even worse shape than their last endeavor, "Drive-Away Dolls". Margaret Qualley returns this time to play Honey O'Donahue, a sexy detective in a tight skirt and click-clack heels. She gets wrapped up in this case when a potential client (Kara Petersen) contacted her, afraid and looking for help, and ends up murdered the next day. A local homicide detective (Charlie Day) is more interested in trying to get a date with Honey than investigating so she'll have to do the heavy lifting to figure out what happened. She's soon on the trail to the Four-Way Temple where the Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) is far more interested in bedding his female parishioners than leading them to salvation. More death, a French femme fatale (Lera Abova) and a horny police officer (Aubrey Plaza) all crosses Honey's path on the way to her trying to unravel this mystery. Slight and lazy in plot and style, "Honey Don't" is a repellent modern noir filled with unsavory characters and not nearly enough laughs to make this even remotely palatable.
"SNOW WHITE"
I, for one, am tired of the live-action versions of the Disney animated classics that the studio keeps forcing upon us. Each one tries to expand upon the beautiful simplicity of these cartoons, adding nothing creative or visually inspired and only offering pointless and inept recreations. The latest, "Snow White", based on Disney's first full-length animated feature film, might possibly be the worst of them all. Named for a snowstorm on the day of her birth, Snow White (played by Emilia Faucher as a child) is a princess born to the good King (Hadley Fraser) and Queen (Lorena Andrea) of an enchanted land. After the Queen dies from an illness, the King remarries a new Queen (a bland Gal Gadot) but he disappears following sailing off to fight in a conflict. The new Queen turns out to be a beauty obsessed, evil sorceress, allowing the kingdom to fall into financial ruin and forcing Snow White (now played by Rachel Zegler) to become a maid. The Queen, angered after she frees Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) who was imprisoned for stealing food and being named "the fairest of them all" by the Magic Mirror (voiced by Patrick Page), orders the huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill Snow White. Unable to commit the act, he has her flee into the forest. A frightened Snow White stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned cottage but the home actually belongs to seven "miners" (generated by CGI) who allow her to stay for her safety. This version, directed by Marc Webb, is an artless affair with dreary, banal visuals which includes unpleasantly creepy looking dwarfs. In an effort to give this German fairytale a modernized spin, the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson has made an empowered Snow White who eventually fights back against the evil Queen. But having Jonathan to not be a prince yet awakens her from the spell of the poisoned apple with a kiss and then fights by Snow White's side just feels even more awkward. And since this is a musical, the new songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul fail to enhance these dour proceedings. Yet thankfully they did use four of the beloved songs from the original film. Despite the silly claims that several of the controversies surrounding this film had derailed its potential success, "Snow White" managed to be awful and forgettable all on its own.
"THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10"
"The Woman in Cabin 10" is a polished looking, psychological thriller, directed by Simon Stone and Farhan Rana Rajpoot, that offers nothing we haven't seen before yet executed in a way that building a compelling mystery or offering some logical thrills are never considered. British investigative reporter, Laura Blacklock (Keira Knightley), who goes by "Lo", has been trying to recover following seeing one of her sources murdered and realizes the best way for her to truly mend is to get back to work. She's given a puff piece to write about a new charitable foundation by an ill, billionaire Anne Bullmer (Lisa Loven Kongsli) with a fundraising gala on her luxury yacht sailing to Norway. Also on board are Bullmer's husband, Richard (Guy Pearce), a gaggle of wealthy "friends" (which includes Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings and Hannah Waddingham) and Ben (David Ajala), Lo's former boyfriend who just happens to be a photographer for the Bullmers. One night, Lo is awakened by a woman's scream and sees someone go overboard from the cabin next door. After informing the crew, she's told that everyone on the ship is accounted for and there was no one assigned to that room. Lo insists, having personally spoken to this woman, but no one believes her. She begins her own investigation, leading to her becoming a target. This film is based on a book by Ruth Ware and the screenplay by Stone, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse veers wildly from this source material with added action sequences and odd situations that only manages to create more confusion to this story. It's nice to see Knightley back in a leading film role but her time as well as the rest of the solid cast are completely wasted in this muddled whodunit. "The Woman in Cabin 10" is simply implausible from the stumbling beginning to the over-the-top, ridiculous ending.
The upheaval of cinema in general and the film industry as a whole unfortunately continued throughout the previous year. From theaters still struggling to get audiences into seats that were not for big-budgeted sequels or remakes to Netflix and Paramount in a nasty battle over trying to swallow another studio, Warner Bros. which, if either is successful, will leave one less movie company and definitely many more job losses and even fewer films making it into a local movie house. And don't even get me started on AI.
But being an optimist, I remain hopeful that the business will continue to thrive and flourish. My hopefulness is guided largely due to many of the types of films that found both critical praise and box-office glory in movie theaters in 2025: bold and stylish feature films that offered fresh perspectives and unexpected exhilarations that actually gave folks a compelling reason to leave the comfort of their homes. I believe this trend will continue and an even bigger year in film is on the horizon. So here is my opportunity to celebrate my favorite films of 2025, listed in alphabetical order:
"BUGONIA"
With their fourth collaboration together, "Bugonia", Emma Stone and director, Yorgos Lanthimos have created an outlandishly twisted yet profoundly clever pitch black comedy about a ruthless CEO kidnapped by two men who believe she is an alien. Stone plays Michelle Fuller, the head of the pharmaceutical conglomerate, Auxolith who likes to believe that she's enlightened yet passively maintains the standard toxic workplace environment. She is taken hostage by Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his autistic cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis) with the sole purpose of getting her to admit that she's actually from another planet that is causing harm to Earth. Chained in their basement and routinely tortured, Teddy, a high-strung, conspiracy theorist, will not let up until he gets a confession. But as the days pass, Michelle, remaining cool and calm, begins to chip away at the confidence of their plan with Teddy becoming more unhinged and Don starting to question the situation they are in. Inspired by the 2003 South Korean film, "Save The Green Planet!" (which is expertly adapted by Will Tracy), Lanthimos uses mordant wit, uneasy quirkiness and shocking bursts of gory violence to propel his version of this story forward. The verbal dueling by Stone and Plemons, both doing peak work, is absolutely fascinating to watch. "Bugonia" has a lot to say, touching on environmental concerns, capitalism and big pharma to name the obvious ones, and brilliantly does it in a way that is provocative, oddly hilarious and very bleak.
"BLUE MOON"/"NOUVELLE VAGUE"
Richard Linklater managed to have made two great films released last year with both reflecting back on a couple of highly praised, creative talents: one at the very start of his prestigious career and the other in the unfortunate decline of the occupation he once thrived in.
"Blue Moon" looks back on one day (March 31, 1943 to be exact) in the life of Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), a celebrated lyricist and one half of the popular songwriting team of stage and screen, Rodgers and Hart. After leaving the world premiere of the new musical, "Oklahoma!" early, Hart arrives to Sardi's restaurant where the afterparty will be held. With his heavy drinking somewhat in control, the chatty and sardonic Hart complains to the bartender (Bobby Cannavale) about the show, which he was supposed to help write with his creative partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) but didn't believe in its potential, while trying to get a drink served to him. Rodgers put the musical together with a new lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney) which Hart resents, mostly because the show has received raves. During the party, Hart hopes he can coax his long-time partner into working on a revival or even a new musical together. Linklater and Hawke previously found great success with their "Before" trilogy of films which consisted of just conversations between a couple and "Blue Moon" expands upon this in their latest collaboration with a dialogue-driven, drama that is remarkably heartfelt and candid. Hawke, in one of his best screen performances, carries this film as the boisterous Hart holds court, having conversations filled with sparkling bon mots and delivering melodic monologues. Yet there is an overwhelming sadness that hangs over him that he's not completely able to conceal.
"Nouvelle Vague" (which translates to "new wave") tells the incredible story of how Jean-Luc Godard broke all the rules to make his first feature film, "Breathless". Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) was a film critic for the influential French magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma. Some of his fellow critics, Éric Rohmer (Côme Thieulin), Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) and François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) (with his directorial debut, "The 400 Blows" just making its premiere at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival) had moved into filmmaking and decides he's ready to create a movie too. Starting with a brief outline written by Truffaut, Godard sets about hiring his cast and crew. He finds former boxer, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) as his lead and convinces Hollywood starlet, Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch), who was in Paris to promote her latest film, to join his project. Young, brash and with a healthy ego, Godard embraces a guerilla filmmaking style that ignores continuity, rewriting the script constantly or simply disregarding it altogether and having very short shooting days. Filmed in shimmering black and white by David Chambille and with a translated screenplay by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo, "Nouvelle Vague" is almost entirely spoken in French, a language that Linklater does not speak. The Texan filmmaker has crafted a loving tribute to the French New Wave movement and particularly to Godard who inspired him to just go out and make his first movie anyway he could. An enchanting celebration of independent cinema, Linklater beautifully captures with "Nouvelle Vague" the importance of following and trusting your instincts in the name of creating art.
"EDDINGTON"
"Eddington" is the latest from the king of "emotional horror", Ari Aster. The writer/director continues his vividly surreal exploration into family trauma and psychological deterioration. This story takes place in the fictional small town of Eddington, New Mexico during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The local sheriff, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) doesn't believe in the lockdown or mask mandate, feeling that it violates his rights. But many in the town disagrees with him including the Mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) who insists he follow the guidelines. Frustrated, the sheriff decides to run for mayor against Ted who is up for re-election. But Joe's unstable wife (Emma Stone) is not happy with his abrupt decision. Then the film takes a progressively weirder shift into darker territory involving Black Lives Matter protests, cultism, conspiracy theories, sexual abuse and cold-blooded murder. This is a lot to take in and much of it is intended to be very divisive. Yet Aster is in full control of "Eddington", audaciously creating tension and discomfort in this drama that's inspired and messy. There is no denying that Aster is a challenging filmmaker, tackling harrowing, difficult subjects in his now trademark offbeat style, that is clearly an acquired taste. But his brutally dour cinema is thought provoking and captivating with "Eddington" another interesting addition to Aster's oeuvre.
"FRANKENSTEIN"
I must admit I didn't think another cinematic rendering of Mary Shelley's gothic novel was really necessary. Yet in the masterful hands of Guillermo del Toro, "Frankenstein" is a dazzling visual spectacle, exquisitely presenting this illustrious horror tale in a manner that hasn't really been seen before. Told in two parts: first from the doctor's viewpoint and then from his creation's perspective. After his mother (Mia Goth) dies while giving birth to his younger brother when he was a child, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) becomes a surgeon obsessed with trying to "cure" death through science. Expelled from college for attempting to reanimate corpses, Victor meets Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), a wealthy merchant who witnessed the trial. Harlander offers him unlimited funding and a private location to continue his experiments but under one condition which he would disclose at a later date. With the help of his brother, William (Felix Kammerer), Victor advances by assembling a "man" using body parts from dead soldiers. On the day of the trial, Harlander reveals the condition which Victor promptly refuses and the merchant accidently dies trying to stop the experiment. The creature (Jacob Elordi) is successfully brought to life. Frustrated by a lack of intellectual abilities and fearful of its incredible strength, the doctor tries to destroy his creation. Unable to die, the creature runs away, hiding out on a family's farm. The blind grandfather (David Bradley) befriends the monster, teaching it how to speak and read. And then the creature decides to track down his "father". The director had long professed his desire of making his version of "Frankenstein" and this dream project is a relatively faithful adaptation that is beautifully rendered (with stellar camerawork by Dan Laustsen and breathtaking production design by Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau), capably performed (with Goth also appearing as William's fiancé, Elizabeth who manages to comes between Frankenstein and his monster) and intoxicatingly entertaining.
"HEDDA"
"Hedda Gabler" was a play written by Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen back in 1891. And while it received negative feedback at the time of it's initial stage production, this drama about an aristocratic woman feeling trapped in her marriage who manipulates those around her has gone on to be considered a theatrical masterpiece and one of the great dramatic roles in theater. This play has been adapted for the screen several times since then and the latest, "Hedda" from writer/director, Nia DaCosta strikingly reimagines Ibsen's play into a thrilling contemporary drama elevated by commanding performances from Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss. Set in 1950s England, the story opens with police interrogating Hedda Gabler Tesman (Thompson) following a shooting at her estate. We then flashback to the events leading up to this unfortunate mishap with Hedda preparing for a lavish party to help her new husband, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), a financially struggling academic hoping to secure a lucrative promotion from Professor Greenwood (Finbar Lynch). But Dr. Eileen Lovborg (Hoss) is also a rival for this position who has been invited to the party and, unbeknownst to George, is Hedda's former lover. While DaCosta's Hedda may still be a sly, bored newlywed who entered into a loveless marriage in pursuit of potential wealth but she is now a queer Black woman, still desperately holding a torch for her ex-lover and more than willing to destroy her if she can't have her. This creates fresh tension to this compelling drama with other notable changes include Thea (Imogen Poots), still a former classmate of Hedda's yet now a rival for Eileen's affections. "Hedda" is a vivid retelling that cleverly twists the emotional and psychological power struggles in this well-known classic with a modern sensibility that unexpectedly includes race, gender and sexuality.
"MARTY SUPREME"
For his first film after creatively splitting with his brother, Benny, Josh Safdie has taken us into the world of professional ping-pong with "Marty Supreme". Loosely based on the life of table tennis champion, Marty Reisman, Safdie and co-writer, Ronald Bronstein has concocted a frenzied, fictionalized account of his wild and outrageous exploits. In 1952 New York City, Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has set himself a goal to become the greatest table tennis player in the world. Unwilling to let a lack of funds stop him from heading to England to compete in the British Open, Marty borrows the money from his uncle's shoe store where he works. Staying at the player's barracks is not suitable for him so Marty cons his way into a room at the Ritz London where he meets former Hollywood actress, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow). He talks his way into an affair with her and despite Kay being married to Milton Rockwell (Kevin O'Leary from the tv show, "Shark Tank") a wealthy executive of a pen company, that doesn't stop Marty from going to him for sponsorship. After losing against Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi), a deaf Japanese player in the finals, Rockwell offers Marty a chance for a rematch during an exhibition in Tokyo before the World Championships. But Marty refuses the deal after learning he would be expected to throw the game. With propulsive energy and an offbeat, unpredictable storyline, "Marty Supreme" takes you on a weird ride filled with quirky, comedic moments and shocking violence. As an emotionally detached, bamboozling grifter, there doesn't seem to be much to admire about this wannabe table tennis champ. Yet through the fully committed performance by Chalamet, he's able to make Marty not only irresistibly charismatic but you even find yourself rooting for him to somehow succeed with his endless schemes. "Marty Supreme" is a riveting character study (with galvanic appearances by a diverse group of performers that includes Odessa A'zion, Fran Drescher, Tyler Okonma or better known as musician, Tyler the Creator, fashion designer, Isaac Mizrahi and film director, Abel Ferrara) with a heightened narrative structure that boldly defies expectations.
"ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER"
Since his breakthrough with "Boogie Nights" back in 1997, Paul Thomas Anderson has continued to prove that he's one of the best contemporary filmmakers working today. With his tenth feature film as a writer and director, "One Battle After Another", Anderson (loosely adapting another Thomas Pynchon novel, "Vineland") has masterfully created a dark comedic action-thriller involving a former revolutionary forced back into combative battle when he and his teenage daughter are pursued by a venomous military officer. The story begins with meeting the members of a far-left military group, the French 75 lead by lovers, "Ghetto" Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (a dynamic Teyana Taylor). Their violent activities gains the attention of commanding officer, Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) who captures Perfidia and compromises her to provide him information about their group. A racist, race fetishist, Lockjaw also engages with her to abuse him sexually. Perfidia later gives birth to Bob's child but doesn't want to give up the thrill she gets fighting for revolution, abandoning him and their baby. Years later, Lockjaw, promoted to colonel, begins to track down the former members of the French 75 when Perfidia is forced to inform on them after being arrested again and goes into witness protection, eventually coming for Pat. After a warning, he's on the run with his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), getting assistance from her karate instructor and community activist, Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro). Sprawling with ideas, Anderson has cleverly assembled his film in a way that doesn't seem like it would work together. We have the long-standing fight between equity and injustice, counterculture rebellion, breathtaking car chase sequences, white nationalism and some screwball comedy antics thrown in for good measure. But at the heart of this film is a father and daughter love story. As they fight to stay alive, Pat and Willa, whose relationship has been strained largely due to him being stoned all the time, manages to find a deeper, closer connection. "One Battle After Another" succeeds because PTA maintains his subversive indie spirit while still achieving a mass appeal entertainment.
"SINNERS"
On the surface, "Sinners" might appear to be just another horror movie. But writer/director, Ryan Coogler had something far more audacious on his mind, using the genre to address social and political themes inventively with a commanding visual style. After spending some time in Chicago associating with the Mob, the identical twins, Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore (both impressively played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown in Mississippi with a plan. They are going to run their own business by opening a juke joint. They offer their young, musician cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton) a chance to perform there despite the warnings of his pastor father who rages about the sin of playing the blues. They track other friends to help including Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke's estranged wife and luring a local music legend, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to also perform. But during their raucous opening night, they are paid a visit by three strangers: an Irish-immigrant vampire named Remmick (Jack O'Connell) and a racist married couple (Peter Dreimanis, Lola Kirke) he turned. They are musicians and want to be let inside but are turned away, with a strong sense that there is something off about them. Still lurking around, Stack's former girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a White passing Black woman, goes out to investigate this group. She is bitten and after going back inside of the club, horrifying chaos and rampant bloodshed goes on through the night. Coogler explores in "Sinners" the long, complex history of racial oppression and the misappropriating of African-American artistry by viewing it through a vampiric theme and how music, particularly the blues, was used to help galvanize and heal through these dark times. But he never loses sight of this also being an entertainment, delivering blood-soaked frights and stirring musical numbers. With razor sharp imagery from cinematographer, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, a rousing musical score by Coogler's long-time collaborator, Ludwig Göransson and an excellent cast, "Sinners" is an innovative, groundbreaking horror drama that transcends through exceptional storytelling and authentic characterizations.
"TRAIN DREAMS"
Based on the novella by Denis Johnson, "Train Dreams", from director, Clint Bentley, artfully recounts the story of a quiet, working man, who doesn't do anything particularly special and copes with several tragedies during his life, in a way that is intimate, haunting and deeply moving. Told through genial narration by actor, Will Patton, we meet Robert Grainier (a sublime Joel Edgerton) who takes up railroad construction and seasonal logging work in Washington state. After seeing a Chinese laborer killed by his co-workers for no clear reason, Robert continues to be haunted by this memory. He witnesses other disturbing and deadly situations while working on these jobs. An orphan and later adopted by a family, Robert lived his life largely in isolation. But that changed after meeting Gladys (Felicity Jones) at church. They soon marry, build their home and have a child. Robert's work keeps him away from his family for months at a time, creating some tension between him and Gladys, which leads to a distressing situation when a wildfire sweeps through the area. Bentley and co-writer, Greg Kwedar has taken Johnson's story and skillfully crafted a meditative and impassioned drama, poetically offering insight into the human condition. "Train Dreams" is a tremendously graceful and understated masterwork (enhanced by the luminous camerawork of Adolpho Veloso) that lingers with you long after viewing the film.
Honorable Mentions: "Black Bag", "Friendship", "Caught Stealing", "A House of Dynamite", "Is This Thing On?", "K-Pop Hunters", "Lurker", "The Mastermind", "Mickey 17", "No Other Choice", "Sentimental Value", "Superman", "Thunderbolts*", "Twinless", "Weapons", "Zootopia 2"
Where & When: Landmark Theatres Sunset, West Hollywood, CA. December 16, 2025 4:20 PM
Available to stream now on Netflix
The extraordinary British actor, Kate Winslet has delivered many outstanding screen performances in such wide-ranging films as "Heavenly Creatures", "Sense and Sensibility", "Titanic", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "The Holiday" and "The Reader" which she would win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Now she has made the move to work behind the camera with her directorial debut, "Goodbye June". This comedic drama deals with a dysfunctional family who must come together to help their ailing matriarch through her difficult time. With a rich history of playing strong-willed, complicated characters and appearing in many indie and experimental cinema, it would be expected that Winslet eagerly wanted to take us on an unconventional journey into the lives of this unstable family.
But "Goodbye June" is disappointingly trite and surprisingly timid, never pushing these anxious and eccentric characters far enough to the edge to make this family's story feel essential.
One morning, June (Helen Mirren) is boiling water to make tea. Having difficulty breathing, she collapses to the floor with her son, Connor (Johnny Flynn) rushing to get his mother to the hospital. With his doddering father, Bernie (Timothy Spall) in tow, Connor has the task of contacting his three older sisters; the career-oriented mother, Julia (Winslet) who is handling work and family while her husband is out of the country for his job; Molly (Andrea Riseborough), an overwhelmed, stay-at-home mother who has her kind but scattered husband (Stephen Merchant) on hand yet he isn't much help and Helen (Toni Collette), an unmarried, new-age spiritualist guiding on a retreat out of the country.
When they all arrive to the hospital, the doctors (Jeremy Swift, Raza Jaffrey) inform the family that June's cancer has aggressively returned and inoperable. Not given much time, the distraught family decides to make sure that June has at least one more special Christmas with her entire clan. But this holiday gathering will prove to be a challenge to pull off since Julia and Molly are barely speaking due to a long simmering tension between them. Connor begins to struggle with his life choices because of this latest crisis and Bernie is in denial to his wife's critical situation while June's health starts to rapidly decline.
Winslet decided to direct "Goodbye June" after reading the screenplay by Anders, who also happens to be her son with former husband, Sam Mendes, the acclaimed director of screen and stage. Not wanting to let this story be told by someone outside of the family, this film is based loosely on Anders' experiences coping with his maternal grandmother's ordeal with ovarian cancer. The script captures the trauma, fear and stress of an impending loss with considerate precision yet the characterizations are far too broad and uncompelling. But Winslet wisely assembled a starry cast of friends and colleagues to fill these roles, masterful talents that are more than capable of making these family members appealing and poignant, allowing for her first time in the director's chair to be slightly easier and helping to elevate the film in the process.
"Goodbye June" is a film filled with anguished emotions, watching a family trying to put aside their personal grievances towards each other in order to provide an united front in the face of tragedy. Yet the catharsis we are expecting doesn't feel well earned. When we discover what the actual conflict between the two feuding sisters is really about, the reason is far more exasperating than meaningful. And we don't know for sure that Connor had been struggling with his sexuality until literally the end of the movie although it was vaguely implied earlier during a quiet moment with his mother's nurse, aptly named Angel played by Fisayo Akinade.
Winslet is successful in creating a warm, lighthearted yet uneasy atmosphere with "Goodbye June". But there seems like there could have been a far darker and funnier movie at play, one with a few unexpected twists that might have made this family drama come across as more impactful and less formulaic.
When the year of 2024 began, the outlook was not particularly optimistic for the movies. The Hollywood labor strikes had created major production delays, meaning that there would be fewer wide releases available and the films that were released throughout the beginning of the year were pretty much ignored. But the summer turned things around with several blockbuster hits, followed by a string of more box-office successes into the fall and winter. Ultimately, it was another solid year for cinema with revenue down only 3% from the previous year. And despite the apparent limited supply, I found there to be many exciting and stimulating movies released over the course of the year that I thoroughly enjoyed. Here is my list of favorite films of 2024 I saw in alphabetical order:
"ANORA"
Who could have imagined that a dark, romantic screwball comedy involving a New York sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch would be charming, witty, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny? Yet in the hands of writer/director, Sean Baker, who has made a career of creating impressive, indie works about the lives of marginalized people, has brilliantly achieved this feat with "Anora". In a breakout performance, Mickey Madison plays Anora (who prefers to go by "Ani"), a twenty-three year old stripper trying to make a living by getting men to pay for lap dances. One night, Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn) comes to the club and they make a connection. After later having her come to his lavish mansion in Brooklyn and paying her for sex, Vanya offers Ani $15K to spend the week with him. They pass the time by having fun, lots of sex and a trip to Las Vegas with his entourage. At the end of the week, Vanya decides he doesn't want to go back to Russia to work for his father and asks Ani to marry him in order to stay. Ani is obviously skeptical yet after Vanya tells her he's in love, she choses to believe him. The couple are quickly married and begin a domesticated life. However, when word gets back to Vanya's parents (Aleksei Serebryakov, Darya Ekamasova), they summon Toros (Karren Karagulian), a handler hired to watch after their wild child son, to bring an end to this marriage. Like he has with most of his films, Baker takes us on a wild, unpredictable ride, this time by bringing a contemporary spin to the wacky comedy style of early Hollywood. "Anora" is singularly odd, delightfully funny and absolutely one of my favorite films of last year.
"CONCLAVE"
Who would have thought that the selection of a new Catholic pope could be filled with intrigue, deception and danger? With "Conclave", the first English-language feature from the Oscar nominated German filmmaker, Edward Berger, we are taken behind the scenes into the secret meetings involving the search for a pope that manages to be genuinely thrilling and surprisingly intense. After the current pope dies from a heart attack, the process begins to elect his successor. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is the Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, set about organizing the papal conclave in Rome. There are four main candidates, each with different political views involving which direction to take the church, ranging from more liberal, social conservative and staunch traditionalist. No candidate receives the required two-thirds majority following the first ballot, although the conservative Joshua Adeyemi of Nigeria has a slight edge while Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) from the US and the British Lawrence split the liberal vote. The unexpected arrival of Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz) from Mexico, who had been secretly named cardinal only one year earlier, creates a bit of a stir. As they continue the voting, dark secrets are revealed involving candidates, Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Adeyemi, causing them to gradually lose their ranking while Benitez begins to slowly yet steadily gain votes. Based on a novel by Robert Harris and with a sturdy screenplay by Peter Straughan, Berger has crafted a beautifully staged, contemplative mystery that offers a nuanced exploration into the Catholic Church's internal politics. The entire cast is exceptionally good, particularly Fiennes as a soothing voice of calm and reason during the complicated proceedings, expertly holding the film together with his compelling performance. With a twist ending that some found shocking while others dismissed as silly, "Conclave" is a thought-provoking melodrama that also manages to be a perfect escapist entertainment.
"EMILIA PÉREZ"
"Emilia Pérez" , the latest from the revered French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard, is difficult to categorize because of it's shifting tones and astonishing mix of genres. Yet because of the divergency, this Spanish-language, dramatic-comedy, musical fantasia is one of the most brilliantly audacious and deliciously twisted films of the year. Based on an opera written by Audiard (and loosely adapted from Boris Razon's 2018 novel "Écoute"), the film tells the story of a young attorney (Zoe Saldaña) who is lured into helping a cruel drug cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) transition into a woman. There is no question that "Emilia Pérez" is polarizing with the film being savagely criticized due to some strongly objecting in their view to the filmmaker's cultural misrepresentation, stereotypes, poor Spanish dialogue, and song lyrics. And while I can certainly understand why some viewers might feel this way, I do not belive that was at all the intention of this film. Audiard (who does not actually speak Spanish) unapologetically dares to challenge with his artistry, boldly delving into a world of dark themes and provocative ideas that was intended to make some members of the audience uncomfortable.
"HARD TRUTHS"
The British filmmaker, Mike Leigh has reteamed with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, the star of his 1996 drama, "Secret & Lies" twenty-eight years later in "Hard Truths", a masterful work about an extremely anxious woman and the complications this creates in the relationships with her family. Depressed and mad at the world, Patsy (Jean-Baptiste) seems to go out of her way to make sure that everyone she encounters ends up as unhappy and miserable as herself. But those who are forced to continuously endure her wraith are Patsy's mild-mannered husband, Curtley (David Webber) and their unmotivated adult son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) who both tend to just shut down in her hostile presence. The only one who can remotely reach through to Patsy is her good-natured sister, Chantelle (Michele Austin) by trying to remain patient and understanding during her suffering sibling's irrational rants. The eighty-one year old Leigh has made his impressive career by using lengthy rehearsals and improvisation techniques with his actors to help build characters and the narrative for each of his films. With "Hard Truths" (which could possibly be Leigh's final feature), the director has crafted another vivid character study with monumental performances that manages to be reflective, deeply moving and surprisingly hilarious.
"HIS THREE DAUGHTERS"
Azazel Jacobs' "His Three Daughters" is an arduous yet profoundly affecting drama involving three sisters trying to cope with the impending loss of their dying father which in turn forces to the surface their own buried, prickly relationship with each other. As their father, Vincent (Jay O. Sanders) is in hospice care at home nearing the end of his battle with cancer, his daughters, Katie (Carrie Coon) and Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) arrive from their homes out of state to his small apartment in New York. They have come to offer support during his final days to their step-sister, Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) who has been living with him for years. It begins with the eldest and controlling, Katie complaining about Rachel smoking weed in the house, insisting she smoke outside, and the lack of food in the house. Then she becomes concerned with Rachel taking over the ownership of the family's longtime rent-controlled apartment once their father is gone. The more earthy, passive-aggressive Christina just wants to maintain peace and calm between each other during this difficult time while Rachel prefers to simply retreat to her room and remain stoned most of the day. Lead by extraordinary performances by the three actresses, Jacobs brilliantly captures the complications of family dynamics, particularly during a time of crisis and grieving, in a way that's heartfelt and emotionally compelling.
"HIT MAN"
The actor Glen Powell had been paying his dues by doing the work, slowly rising up the ranks over the years by making an impression with various supporting roles in television and film. His first breakout moment came playing astronaut, John Glenn in "Hidden Figures" back in 2016. Then he had an even bigger moment seven years later with a significant part in the mega-hit sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick". Powell would go to star in the sleeper hit romantic-comedy, "Anyone But You" and in another successful sequel, "Twisters". But it was the charismatic actor connecting with fellow Texan, filmmaker Richard Linklater when he was cast as part of an ensemble cast in his 2016 comedy, "Everybody Wants Some" that led to the fantastic romantic-thriller, "Hit Man" which Powell not only stars but co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater. Based on a magazine article by Skip Hollandsworth, Powell plays Gary Johnson, an unassuming professor of psychology. Aiding the police department with their sting operations, Gary unexpectedly gets pulled into duty to play a fake hitman to prevent a murder-for-hire plot after the undercover cop assigned gets suspended. He does well and given the job, using his skills to research suspects in advance in order to create the perfect hitman persona for each case. This leads to Gary becoming more confident in his personal life. But he runs into a big conflict-of-interest when he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a wife looking for someone to kill her abusive husband. Unwisely, Gary begins an affair with the beautiful woman without revealing who he really is, leading to a messy and further complicated situation. Darkly comedic and thoroughly entertaining, "Hit Man" is a perfect showcase for Powell, revealing that he has the beguiling charm and solid acting chops to become the next major movie star.
"MARIA"
With the third film of Pablo Larraín's trilogy of important 20th-century women, "Maria" examines Maria Callas, considered by many to be the world's greatest opera singer, during the final week of her life while she was living in Paris. A spectacular Angelina Jolie plays Callas who at this point has been in declining health, abusing sedatives and has lost much of her tremendous singing voice. She spends her days isolated in her apartment with devoted employees, Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), the butler and housemaid, Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) who both struggle to get her to take care of herself and see a doctor. Callas announces to them that she has a reporter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) coming to the house to interview her yet it's unclear if it's factual or she's only hallucinating due to the medication. But she is secretly meeting with a conductor (Stephen Ashfield) for private lessons to know if she can ever perform again. Thanks to Jolie's fully committed, regal performance and Edward Lachman's immaculate camerawork, I think "Maria" is the best of Larrain's films of three incredibly fascinating women. And despite the tragedy of the impending end of a great talent, the director manages to keep you fully engaged with a subdued yet thrilling drama that will haunt you long after seeing the film.
"NICKEL BOYS"
The filmmaker RaMell Ross has taken Colson Whitehead's harrowing, Pulitzer prize-winning novel, "Nickel Boys" and expectedly made a somber, deeply moving drama. Yet Ross has elevated this story by unexpectedly crafting an experimental film with a highly inventive visual style. Told with a nonlinear narrative and shot primarily from a first person perspective (with remarkable camerawork by Jomo Fray), the story follows Elwood (Ethan Herisse), a bright young man with a promising future, who ends up at a notorious Florida reform school after being falsely accused of a crime. Since this is the Jim Crow-era of the 1960's, the Nickel Academy is segregated with the White students are treated well and have clean accommodations while the Black students live in harsh conditions and are regularly abused. And instead of educating these boys, the school makes money off of them by sending them out as forced labor. While at the Academy, Elwood befriends Turner (Brandon Wilson), a fellow student who is well aware that this school is extremely dangerous, questioning if they will make it out alive. With an outstanding cast (particularly Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor playing Elwood's grandmother), what "Nickel Boys" does quite effectively is to have the audience feel like they are living through someone else's experiences.
"PROBLEMISTA"
Julio Torres began his professional career being hired to write for "Saturday Night Live" back in 2016, working with the team for four years. That led to the Salvadoran born comedian developing a Spanish-language comedy series for HBO, "Los Espookys" along with former "SNL" cast member, Fred Armisen which lasted two seasons. And last year Torres released his feature film directorial debut, "Problemista", a wonderfully weird comedy he also wrote that cleverly takes on the struggles of an immigrant trying to achieve the American dream. Torres plays Alejandro, a young man from El Salvador who has come to New York City in pursuit of becoming a toy designer. Failing to get a desired internship, Alejandro must find a sponsor before his work visa expires. Enter Elizabeth (a hilariously scary, Tilda Swinton), an art critic who meets him during a brief time that he worked under-the-table at a cryogenic freezing lab where her artist husband (the rapper, RZA) is being stored. She dangles over Alejandro the possibility of sponsoring him if he will work (unpaid) to assist her putting together a show of her husband's art. However, Elizabeth is a complete nightmare: demanding, unreasonable and most certainly, a bit insane. In between the whimsically, surreal imagery and strange, offbeat characters, Torres has something meaningful to say about the confounding bureaucracy and economic hardships that immigrants face trying to succeed in this country. The inspired blending of timely, social commentary and playful, absurdist humor makes "Problemista" one of my favorite recent comedies.
"A REAL PAIN"
Besides his acclaimed work as an actor, Jesse Eisenberg has had other creative outlets. He has written several plays, a couple of podcasts and made his feature film directorial debut two years ago. The indie drama, "When You Finish Saving the World" was met with modest reviews with critics appreciating his abilities as a storyteller yet finding some of the characters too broad and overbearing. With his latest work behind the camera, the offbeat yet endearing "A Real Pain", Eisenberg has found a winning balance between his idiosyncratic tendencies and a wider commercial appeal. Eisenberg (who also wrote the screenplay) stars as David Kaplan who plans a visit to Poland with a heritage tour group. While there, he'll visit the childhood home of his late grandmother, hoping to experience a deeper connection with his Jewish ancestry. David invites his cousin, Benji (Kieran Culkin) along on the trip. They were very close as children yet recently there has been some distance and estrangement between them with David hoping this excursion will provide a road to reconnection. But they are two very different types of people with David more neurotic and reserved while Benji is free-spirited and outspoken. This story may be filled with pain and trauma yet Eisenberg expertly crafted an ingenious way to make "A Real Pain" poignant and hilariously funny.
Honorable Mention: "As We Imagine As Light", "Blitz", "The Brutalist", "Civil War" , "A Complete Unknown" , "Femme", "I'm Still Here", "Kinds of Kindness", "Love Lies Bleeding", "Nightbitch", "The Order", "The Piano Lesson", "September 5", "The Wild Robot"
With "Emilia Pérez" collecting thirteen Academy Award nominations, producers, Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat continue with their winning streak of supporting provocative and innovative indie cinema through their company, Why Not Productions over the last thirty years. Their critically acclaimed films have had an undeniable global impact on the art of cinema.
To celebrate these producers and their works, "Why Not Cinema?!" is a retrospective that will feature films by a collection of international auteurs including Gregg Araki ("The Doom Generation"), Claire Denis ("White Material"), Ken Loach ("I, Daniel Blake"), Lynne Ramsay ("You Were Never Really Here"), Christian Mungiu ("Beyond the Hills"), Armaud Desplechin ("My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument", "Kings and Queen"), Alexandre Rockwell ("In The Soup"), Andrey Zvyagintsev ("Loveless") and Jacques Audiard's "Emilia Pérez".
This series will run in New York at Netflix's Paris Theater from February 1st through February 12th and in their Los Angeles location at the Egyptian Theater February 6th to 10th.
For screening dates and to purchase tickets, please click below:
Where & When: TIFF: Visa Screening Room at Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, Ontario Canada September 10, 2024 11:30 AM
Available to stream now on Netflix
The French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard began his career as a screenwriter, co-writing over ten feature films before moving behind the camera. His first feature, "Regarde les hommes tomber (See How They Fall)" in 1993 was well-received, earning the director three César Awards (France's Oscars) including for Best First Work. Audiard's subsequent features are bold and daring works that would go on to be critically acclaimed internationally and award-winning with him collecting eleven César Awards to date and winning the top prize of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. While most of his films would be contemporary and set in his native country, Audiard would recently become a cinematic world traveler, creating works further outside from his own experiences. First, there was "Dheepan" (which won the Palme d'Or) involving a Sri Lankan soldier during the country's civil war who creates a new identity in order to securely achieve political asylum in France. Then he ventured to America with his first English-language film, "The Sisters Brothers", a nineteenth century western about assassin-for-hire brothers in search of gold.
With his latest, "Emilia Pérez" (a Jury Prize winner at this year's Cannes), a story set in Mexico about a male drug-dealer who transitions into a female, Audiard continues to goes further into transcending our expectations of cinematic storytelling. An unconventional yet riveting melodrama that catches you by surprise, managing to be equally captivating and disturbing.
Our story begins with Rita Castro (Zoe Saldaña), a defense attorney in the middle of a murder trial uncomfortably defending someone she knows is guilty. After winning the case, she is approached with a mysterious proposition by an anonymous client. The client turns out to be Juan Del Monte, a notorious cartel kingpin known as "Manitas" (Karla Sofía Gascón) who wants her help arranging for him to have surgery to change his gender. Learning about his years of struggling with his gender identity, Rita agrees to this strange yet lucrative offer. After finding the right doctors to discreetly perform the operation, her final task is to move Del Monte's wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez) with their two children to Switzerland for their safety before she learns that her husband has "died".
A few years later, Rita runs into a woman at a dinner party in London who is also from Mexico. It is "Manitas" who has been reborn as "Emilia Pérez" (also played by Gascón) and is insisting on Rita's help once again. Desperately missing her family, Emilia wants Rita to bring Jessi back to Mexico City under the guise that she is her husband's distant cousin wanting to help her raise the children. Skeptical yet wanting to return to Mexico, Jessi agrees to this plan.
While happy to be reunited with her family, Emilia is confronted by her criminal past and that guilt leads to her beginning a non-profit to help identify the bodies of cartel victims, some she may have been directly responsible for their murders. One woman, Epifanía (Adriana Paz) is contacted by Emilia when the remains of her missing husband have been identified. But she's shocked when Epifanía is simply relieved that her abusive husband is actually dead. They begin a friendship which surprisingly turns romantic.
Did I mention that "Emilia Pérez" is also a musical? Audiard unexpectedly uses song (French composer, Clément Ducol and pop musician, Camille Dalmais co-wrote the music) and dance (Damien Jalet choreographed) to heighten the already compelling dramatic narrative. But unlike the recent comic-book sequel, "Joker: Folie à Deux" which added musical numbers to the dark drama that came across as a labored effect, the original songs here perfectly captures each character's anguished fears, secret pain and burning desires.
The Spanish-born Gascón came out as trans in 2018 after performing as an actor for many years in Mexico as Juan Carlos Gascón. Capturing the shrewd menace of "Manitas" while revealing a somewhat softer antagonist as Emilia, the actress convinces in this dual role, commanding the screen with a mesmerizing presence. It would seem she has used some of her own personal experiences into her performance, sharing with her character the challenges of transitioning in order to live authentically.
The veteran Saldaña, who has made her name with her Hollywood work in the sc-fi franchise films, "Avatar", "Star Trek" and "Guardians of the Galaxy", has an opportunity to reveal another side of herself as a performer. Starting off her career wanting to do ballet, she had to abandon this dream by not having the feet for this highly technical form of dance. But Saldaña would make her film debut as a ballet student in "Center Stage" back in 2000. She dazzles here, singing and dancing as a lawyer caught in a moral compromise between wanting to help make a better society and defending the criminal element.
Gomez might be better known as a pop singer but she began as a child actress finding fame on the Disney Channel and more recently has impressed with her comedic turn in the series, "Only Murder in the Building". Playing against type, Gomez is completely convincing as the pampered, bleach-blond mob wife who's grasping at whatever she can in order to survive. Along with Paz, these diverse actresses also shared a well-deserved prize for Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival, working together seamlessly.
When Jessi starts up an affair with Gustavo (Édgar Ramírez), she wants to marry him and move away with the children. An enraged Emilia refuses to allow her to take them, leading to a violently explosive, bombastic finale. Operatic at it's core, "Emilia Pérez" is a visually striking fantasia rooted in a realistic milieu. The mix of genres may not always mesh together seamlessly throughout the film but Audiard has been a cinematic craftsman who desires to provoke and challenge, completely uninterested in easy convention. Wildly audacious and thrillingly entertaining, "Emilia Pérez" is absolutely one of my favorite films I've seen this year.
"Woman of the Hour", the feature directorial debut by actress, Anna Kendrick, examines Rodney Alcala who went on a horrifying, murder spree throughout the 1970's, killing numerous, innocent women before finally being caught and convicted in 1980. But it's his brazen appearance on the popular television program, "The Dating Game" where he was a contestant in search of potential date that is the focus of this film. Kendrick plays the game show bachelorette who falls for his slippery charm yet grows more uneasy with Alcala as she speaks to him at length. The compelling yet uneven "Woman of the Hour" may fall under the true-crime stories that are wildly popular right now yet this film's real aim is to sharply address how casual sexism and systemic misogyny, which was never questioned nor considered during this time, allowed Alcala's murderous rampage to continue far longer than it really should have.
Kendrick plays Cheryl Bradshaw, a nice, midwestern girl who has come to Los Angeles to try and make it as an actor. After many failed auditions and money running out, Cheryl tells her agent she might have to give up her dream and move back home. But the agent convinces a reluctant Cheryl to appear on "The Dating Game", proclaiming that Sally Field got her big break after appearing on the program. When Cheryl arrives for the live taping of the show, the pompous host, Ed Burke (Tony Hale) is unimpressed, having the crew put her in something that will make appear more appealing.
As she queries each of the scripted questions to the three bachelors hidden behind a partition, their answers aren't igniting many magical sparks between them and the bachelorette, potentially creating a dull episode of television. During a commercial break, a make-up artist suggests to Cheryl she should come up with some better questions and she proceeds to do just that. This begins lively and challenging conversation between Cheryl and these contestants, much to Burke's displeasure, which leaves only one clear choice for the bachelorette. And that selection was unfortunately Alcala, played by Daniel Zovatto, who manages to find the right balance between being charmingly smooth, emotionally sensitive and frightfully deranged.
While "Woman of the Hour" is based on actual events, much of this story here has been fictionalized including most of the characters and what happened during and after Alcala's appearance on "The Dating Game". Some of the reasoning for these changes were to protect the known victims and (which tends to be common in these fact based movies) to heighten the narrative for dramatic effect.
One clear moment of this action is the appearance of an invented character named Laura (played by Nicolette Robinson) who is in the audience during the taping of the show and recognizes Alcala as the man she is certain killed her friend after they met him on a beach. As she frantically tries to get ahold of anyone connected to the show, Laura is essentially dismissed with no one willing to take her seriously. This seemed to be on-going problem in real-life as many people tried to get the police to look at Alcala over the years yet their pleas would fall on deaf ears. He was even arrested for assaulting two girls but would later be released on parole, allowing him to continue his reign of terror.
As a first time director, Kendrick displays great promise behind the camera. She and her cinematographer, Zach Kuperstein perfectly captures the mood and vibe of sunny Los Angeles during this era, filling the screen with warm lighting and kitschy style. Kendrick also delivers a fine performance as Bradshaw, revealing her struggles, like many women of this time, with feeling obligated in appeasing unworthy, boorish men and standing ground in her own agency without giving in to the strong urge to submit to their desires. Intercut throughout the film, we see flashbacks of Alcala setting up some of the crimes he would go on to commit. He met these young women under several circumstances, usually complementing them and pretending to simply want to photograph them. Then after driving the woman to a far, secluded area and when they are comfortable and at their most vulnerable, Alcala assaults, tortures and ultimately kills his victim.
Kendrick does not explicitly detail or reveal the actual murders, preferring to keep the violence largely off screen. The focus seemed intended to be on the lives of these victims yet we still don't really get a clear enough view of who these women were, with these scenes being far too brief and at times the crimes seem too much like a set up for a slasher film which I'm certain is not the filmmaker's intention.
Artfully conceived and effectively suspenseful, "Woman of the Hour" is an admirable first film by Kendrick. While this drama isn't entirely cohesive in it's narrative execution due to its fractured structure, the film remains a potent thriller, crackling with deep-seated tension and driven by top-notch performances. I'm looking forward in seeing what Kendrick will do next as a director.
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