Where & When: AMC The Americana at Brand 18, Glendale, CA. July 13, 2025 1:30 PM
Since his creation by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster eighty-seven years ago, Superman has endured as an iconic, super-powered, crime-fighting character that helped popularize the comic-book genre. Since 1940, he has appeared in numerous radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Now the latest film reboot, simply titled "Superman", has James Gunn behind it, the writer and director who boldly shook-up the formula of the genre (somewhat) with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy by taking us on a weird, wild ride with off-the-wall heroes and some unexpected dark humor. With this film, Gunn does mess around with our expectations of these very familiar characters. Some of these changes feels inspired while other transitions comes across as painfully awkward. But what this "Superman" has done successfully is brought a fresh excitement to this legendary hero's story and taking us on a thrilling, offbeat adventure we hadn't anticipated at all.
Assuming we are all well familiar with his backstory, the film begins with Superman (now played by David Corenswet), badly hurt and unable to make it on his own to his secret ice fortress in Antarctica, whistling. This calls for his super-powered dog, Krypto to race through the snow to help his master. We learn that Superman had lost his battle against a metahuman called the "Hammer of Boravia", who is under control by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), a wealthy tech wizard whose prime focus is to destroy the Man of Steel. After recovering with the help of his team of robotic helpers, Superman returns to Metropolis under his secret guise as Clark Kent, an unassuming reporter for the news organization, The Daily Planet. Clark might spar with his fellow reporter, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) at work but after hours, they are privately having a romantic affair with her fully aware of his true identity. Lois cares for her Superman but unsure if this relationship is really such a great idea.
Luthor is still determined to finish off Superman. After having another metahuman collaborator, The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) break into Superman's fortress, she discovers a message from our hero's parents (Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan) that was with him when he was sent to Earth as an infant from his doomed home planet, Krypton. The end of the communication had been damaged during the journey and Luthor uses his technology to repair the message, discovering that the parents had requested a malevolent plan for their son. Luthor broadcasts this disturbing recording to the world with the public quickly turning against Superman and the government demanding that he be locked up for questioning.
After being unceremoniously dropped from Marvel/Disney over some controversial jokes he had made in the past, Gunn was hired to breathe fresh new life into the DC Universe. The recent films over the last five years ("The Suicide Squad", "Black Adam", "The Flash", "Blue Beetle", "Shazam! Fury of the Gods") have all struggled at the box-office. "Superman" is the first big step and Gunn has certainly succeeded in launching an intriguing new direction for the comic-book series. The film is a visual wonder with a spectacular-looking Metropolis and riveting battles against odd looking creatures and mutated super-beings. I was very surprised to learn that the dog, Krypto was completely a CGI creation, leaving me impressed (and a little disturbed) over the endless possibilities of this technology.
In the previous movies, there was clear distinction between good and evil with Superman being a powerfully stoic, near-perfect figure that fought against sinister forces while representing solid American values. With "Superman", the spirit here is more shades of nonpartisan gray. The heroes of the Justice Gang, Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), who help Superman in his battle against Luthor, have no issues with killing anybody in their way when they feel necessary. But the noticeable difference about this Superman is that he's motivated by the unshakable belief of decency and that all life is valuable. Even that dirty squirrel deserves to be saved from a certain death.
As our latest "Superman", Corenswet, who had made supporting appearances in several films and television programs before Gunn had noticed him in Ryan Murphy's overripe Netflix series, "Hollywood", perfectly captures the classic image of our hero but his take features him as more vulnerable than he's appeared in the past. Superman is still a brave and amiable protector with midwestern values yet somewhat very naive to the self-involved mindset of this modern world. He's made to constantly question his beliefs by friend and foe, which in turn weakens him psychologically and causes him to lose in battle more than once. Luthor, Superman's longtime arch-nemesis, has been given a slight makeover that makes him an attractive, compelling presence than previously seen. Curiously modeled after Elon Musk, Hoult brings an oily charm to the vile billionaire inventor who seethes with irrational rage over the universal praise Superman receives from the public. Brosnahan's Lois Lane fares less well here. Many of the recent screen versions of Lane has made her a shrewd, fearlessly independent reporter. Brosnahan has a few opportunities to display some of this resourcefulness but she's basically on the sidelines here, given perfunctory chores to do during the attempts to save her man. And there's not much of a persuasive spark happening between this couple on screen either.
Considering the politically volatile times we're currently living in, "Superman" has managed to stir up accusations of being "woke". There is no doubt that Superman might be perceived as left-leaning yet there is no political agenda in this film beyond simply presenting this alien hero from Krypton in our present day and how he most likely would be received in it. The world has grown far less trusting of people who are considered to be "different" and the idea of a super-powered being from another planet making decisions for this entire planet would have the minds of conspiracy theorists going into manic overdrive.
But "Superman" has a warm, vibrant energy generating throughout this stylish, entertaining adventure. This is helped by Gunn effectively sticking to the core of what has made this classic comic-book star still appealing; a noble, kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of morality and justice. This is the kind of super-hero that we really need right now and anyone from any political affiliation should be able to get behind.
The latest from Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another" has Leonardo DiCaprio starring in a black comedy thriller, taking inspiration from the novel, "Vineland" by Thomas Pynchon. This is Anderson's second adaptation of a book by Pynchon ("Inherent Vice" was first back in 2014) and the story hasn't been fully revealed but we know that DiCaprio plays a hard-living revolutionary who is trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter (played by Chase Infiniti who last appeared in the series, "Presumed Innocent"). But he struggles to remember the password that is needed to assemble his fellow radical revolutionaries to assist him in rescuing her due to his many years of substance abuse. Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Alana Haim and Benicio del Toro also star.
I have to say that I was not a fan at all of Anderson's last feature, "Licorice Pizza". Yet I remain very optimistic about this upcoming film as I believe strongly that PTA is still one of our greatest contemporary filmmakers. "Punch-Drunk Love", "There Will Be Blood", "The Master" and "Phantom Thread" all appear on the recent NYT's "100 Best Movies of the 21st Century" (making him tied with Alfonso Cuarón and the Coen brothers for the second most films of this list at four and Christopher Nolan leading with five), revealing his outstanding ability in creating enduring, modern classics.
"One Battle After Another" is due in US theaters on September 26, 2025
The New York Times decided to make a list of the one hundred best movies from this current century. As there have only been twenty-five years to date, this task might not appear to be all that daunting. Yet when you consider such an extensive range and vast assortment of cinema created over this period, this project might be more of a challenge then it would seem. So to help decide which films were selected and ranked, five hundred filmmakers, actors, influential insiders and fans were asked to each vote for their personal top-ten favorites that were released since January 1, 2000. Then these votes were complied to create this listing of best movies which were revealed twenty at a time over five days that began on June 23rd.
Please click below for the complete list of films selected as the best of this current century:
I have seen ninety-three films from list and below are the trailers of my ten favorites from this selection of one hundred best movies of the twenty-first century (not in ranking order). This was extremely difficult to narrow down and I never would have been able to finish if I had added some great movies that didn't actually make it on this list:
Where & When: AMC The Grove, Los Angeles, CA. June 14, 2025 3:30 PM
The filmmaker, Celine Song dazzled us with her debut feature, "Past Lives", a compelling drama lightly inspired by real events in her life which went on to be critically acclaimed and awarded, receiving two Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.
With her follow-up, "Materialists", Song has once again focused on a love triangle, this time involving a woman who struggles between the familiar comfort of her financially struggling, former boyfriend and the enticing qualities of a handsome, extremely wealthy financier. This dramatic romance offers enlightened observations on the complications in trying to find love and intimacy in today's money-driven world. Yet "Materialists" is strangely designed like a romantic-comedy without actually using the formula, leaving us puzzled by what exactly is this film trying to be?
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a professional matchmaker who works for the dating service, Adore. And while she's very good at her job, Lucy is perfectly content being single herself with no interest in a relationship, having decided that if she ever marries, it will be to a man with a lot of money. During the wedding of her ninth successful match, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), the groom's brother. Rich, attractive and captivating yet still single, Lucy only sees a potential new client. But Harry wants to go on a date with her which she promptly declines. After managing to get Lucy to go out with him, Harry seduces her with his considerable charm and financial assets that leads them to a romantic connection.
Also at the wedding, Lucy runs into her ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor who is working as a caterer at the reception. They hadn't seen each other in some time since they broke-up and as they reconnect, the attraction is still quite palpable. During their five years together, Lucy and John were both trying to be actors yet she gave up on that profession and the relationship, deciding she no longer wanted to struggle and fight about money. And while this still remains true for Lucy, she begins to consider that money might not be the only solution to a perfect partnership.
I have heard some refer to "Materialists" as a romantic-comedy yet there's not a single joke nor comedic moment to be found in the film. What I think might lead people to believe this drama could be labeled as a rom-com is "Materialists" delivers the familiar trappings of the genre; ridiculously attractive people with a vast amount of wealth who are unable to find love with the ideal match, living in a New York presented with a glossy sheen (shot by Shabier Kirchner who also filmed Song's debut feature) that anyone who has ever been to the city knows does not exist. In fact, Carrie Bradshaw and her pals would fit quite comfortably in this world. This film would have actually benefited with a few pointed laughs and greater sense of fun, with the story at times becoming overwrought and far too somber. There is one disturbing, traumatic moment that happens to one of Lucy's clients, shifting the tone enough that nearly derails the film. But "Materialists" manages to recover enough to get us back on track to it's main objective with a stern yet light-hearted examination of love connections.
I have previously expressed my thoughts on the performative abilities of Ms. Johnson but I will just say that while the actress does deliver a serviceable performance here, she does not display the magnetic presence required that would have us believe that these two men would do almost anything to win her over. Evans and Pascal have built their careers as actors who captivate with their considerable charms and they do not disappoint here, creating some sense of chemistry with the woman in the middle.
"Materialists" might be a somewhat, dark drama in rom-com clothing yet still captures the difficulties of dating and relationships in these modern times with a light hearted touch. The film offers thoughtful and thought-provoking views about the contractual nature of marriage and calling out the silly notion that monetary comfort is not that important in a relationship as long as you have love. It reveals that because men don't want to marry a woman over thirty and a woman won't even consider dating a man under six feet tall is exactly why there's so many lonely, single people out there misguided in feeling that the use a matchmaker will actually help them find a potential partner.
Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà have teamed-up for a special presentation to bring long overdue recognition to one of the great performers of Italian films and world cinema: Monica Vitti. A striking beauty with a magnetic presence, Vitti has been hailed as an actor who transformed the screen with a modern sensibility as film shifted from glossy spectacle to gritty realism during the 1960's.
Born in Rome in 1931 as Maria Luisa Ceciarelli, she took her mother's maiden name when deciding to become an actress, getting bit parts on stage and in films before earning a significant role in "Le dritte", directed by Mario Amendola in 1958. Two years later, Vitti met filmmaker, Michelangelo Antonioni who cast her in "L'Avventura". This film about the disappearance of a young woman during a boating trip in the Mediterranean with the woman's lover and her best friend (played by Vitti) coming together to search for her went on to win the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and would make Vitti an international movie star. From this notable success, an artistic partnership began between Antonioni and Vitti with them going on to make three more groundbreaking films together: "La Notte", "L'Eclisse" and "Il deserto rosso (Red Desert)".
This is the first North American retrospective dedicated to the remarkable career of Vitti with fourteen of her essential films to be screened, several with new 4K restorations.
Please click below for the complete list of films, to purchase tickets and additional information:
Claire Denis, the distinguished French filmmaker, will be honored with a celebration of her work and career with an American Cinematheque retrospective beginning on June 4th through 7th which is also part of the Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair film festival.
While she was born in Paris, Denis was raised during her formative years in colonial West Africa as her father was a civil servant which he moved the family around every two years across the area. This experience would have a profound influence on her future career as a filmmaker as well as the old American films she would watch as a child.
By the time she returned to France as a teenager, Denis felt disconnected to her birth country. As as young woman, she searched for direction. She was briefly married to a photographer and studied various subjects before attending the prestigious film school, IDHEC (which is now La Fémis). After graduating in 1971, Denis would go on to be the assistant director for many acclaimed filmmakers which included Wim Wenders with Denis traveling to the US with the German director to film "Paris, Texas" and his return to Germany to make "Wings of Desire".
At this point, Denis was ready to call her own shots behind the camera and made "Chocolat" in 1988. This semi-autobiographical drama looks at a French woman reflecting on her childhood in Cameroon and her relationship with her family's African servant. This film, nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, brought her immediate acclaim.
Denis would go to have an extraordinary career with the now seventy-nine year old director having made sixteen feature films to date as well as numerous short films and documentaries. American Cinematheque will spotlight six of her movies which includes Denis' most acclaimed film, "Beau Travail", a 1999 drama loosely based on
Herman Melville's novella, "Billy Budd". The other films featured are "35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum)"; the erotic-horror drama, "Trouble Every Day"; "Les Salauds (Bastards)", an homage to film noir starring Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni; her first English-language film, "High Life", a sci-fi horror with Robert Pattinson and "White Material" which has Denis returning to Africa with Isabelle Huppert as the owner of a struggling coffee plantation trying to hold on to it during the eruption of a civil war.
Please click below for the complete list of films, to purchase tickets and additional information:
The Juliette Binoche-led Main Competition jury has selected Jafar Panahi's "It Was Just an Accident" for the top prize of the Palme d'Or at the close of the2025 Cannes Film Festival. The Iranian filmmaker is currently in exile from his home country and has used his cinema to bring voice to opposition to the Islamic Republic. This, in turn, has effectively gotten him "banned" from making films in Iran and previously imprisoned several times. This thriller, shot in secret, tells the story of five Iranian protestors who deal with a moral dilemma about whether or not to murder their former torturer. Following winning the Golden Bear at Berlin for "Taxi" in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for "The Circle" in 2000, Pahahi becomes only the fourth filmmaker to win top honors at all three festivals (the previous three are Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Robert Altman). And the film distributer, Neon has won bragging rights with Panahi's win as they will release the film and have acquired the Palme d’Or winners for six years in a row.
The runner-up winner or Grand Prix went to the latest from Joachim Trier, "Affeksjonsverdi (Sentimental Value)". The last time the Norwegian director was at the fest, he had won the Palme d'Or for "Verdens verste menneske (The Worst Person in the World)" back in 2021. Renate Reinsve (who won Best Actress for her role in the 2021 film) stars in this family drama centered on the estranged relationship between a father and his two daughters. The Jury Prize was a tie with "Sirât", Óliver Coro's drama about a father's search for his missing daughter in the deserts of southern Morocco and "Sound of Falling" from Mascha Schilinski with this German-set drama following four girls from different historical periods whose lives are interconnected, sharing the award.
The Brazilian filmmaker, Kleber Mendonça Filho received Best Director for his film, "The Secret Agent" and the star of this drama, Wagner Moura won Best Actor. Set in 1977, a teacher is caught in the political turmoil of the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Here are the winners of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival:
Palme d'Or: "یک تصادف ساده (It Was Just an Accident)"
Grand Prix: "Affeksjonsverdi (Sentimental Value)"
Jury Prize: (TIE) "Sirât" and "In die Sonne schauen (Sound of Falling)"
Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho, "O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent)"
Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, "Jeunes Mères (Young Mothers)"
Best Actress: Nadia Melliti, "La Petite Dernière (The Little Sister)"
Best Actor: Wagner Moura, "O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent)"
Camera d’Or: Hasan Hadi, "The President’s Cake"
Camera d’Or (Special Mention): Akinola Davies Jr., "My Father’s Shadow"
Special Award: Bi Gan, "狂野时代 (Resurrection)"
I can't believe we are already approaching June which means the summer movie season is just around the corner. These next three months are the most important for the film industry as it tends to account for about 40% of the annual box-office totals in the US. The first quarter of the year has been down significantly but there is optimism due to the recent successes of "A Minecraft Movie", "Sinners" and even "Thunderbolts" which has helped the box-office regain some lost ground by 16%.
This upcoming line-up of summer films appears, for the most part, overly cautious with Hollywood seeming to rely even more heavily on remakes, sequels and live-action versions of popular animated films to try and lure audiences back into theaters. But despite this safe, unadventurous slate, there are a few films that has managed to catch my attention that I am anticipating:
"ELIO"
Release date: June 20, 2025
With "Elio", Pixar/Disney will be releasing their first original animated movie since "Elemental" three years ago. This tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy named Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) who is convinced there is extraterrestrial life somewhere out there in the galaxy. After being beamed up to an alien communiverse, Elio accidentally becomes the ambassador of Earth where he must help divert an intergalactic crisis.
"F1"
Release date: June 27, 2025
Brad Pitt lends his star power to Formula One racing in "F1", a sports action drama from director, Joseph Kosinski who last brought us "Top Gun: Maverick". Pitt plays a successful Formula One driver who has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire. Years later, a team owner and friend (Javier Bardem) contacts him to mentor a promising young driver (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team.
"THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS"
Release date: July 25, 2025
The Fantastic Four, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961, were the first superhero team by Marvel Comics. But Marvel has struggled to get a decent cinematic version of this group to make it to the big screen. With "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" (the third attempt of these characters in a feature film), this version looks very promising. The story is set in a 1960s-inspired, parallel Earth with highly intelligent scientist, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and Reed's best friend, former astronaut, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) making up the Fantastic Four who were transformed into Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing respectively, who gained their superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission into space. They must stop the planet-devouring cosmic being, Galactus (Ralph Ineson) in order to save Earth.
"WEAPONS"
Release date: August 8, 2025
"Weapons" is a disturbing, horror mystery from Zach Cregger, a performer who found great critical and commercial success his first time as a writer/director with another horror film, "Barbarian" three years ago. One night, all of the children but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish at exactly the same time. The community is left frightened and confused by who or what could be behind the disappearance of their children. But they soon begin to look suspiciously at the teacher of the classroom, played by Julia Garner. Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan also star.
"AMERICANA"
Release date: August 22, 2025
"Americana", the feature debut by writer/director Tony Tost, made it's premiere at South by Southwest back in 2023 and is now finally getting it's theatrical release. Originally titled, "National Anthem", this brutal, dark comedy thriller revolves around numerous people who become connected through a fight to the death over a priceless, Native American ghost shirt that is believed to have spiritual powers. Sydney Sweeney and Paul Walter Hauser headline a cast that also features Simon Rex, Eric Dane and pop singer, Halsey.
"THE ROSES"
Release date: August 29, 2025
Way back in 1989, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner starred in a pitch-black marital comedy, "The War of the Roses" which was directed by Danny DeVito who also co-starred. Now this popular hit has been remade as "The Roses" and directed by Jay Roach (the "Austin Powers" film series; "Meet the Parents"). We have the inspired pairing of Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as Theo and Ivy Rose, a long-time married couple whose relationship quickly comes apart, progressively leading to more violent behavior. And while the film appears to be still quite dark, the comedy feels raunchier and more edgy which makes this version come across as a completely different movie than the original. SNL vets, Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg and Oscar-winner, Allison Janney are also along for the ride.
The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival, the first of the major fests to premiere important new works of cinema by some of the world's most prestigious filmmakers, will be held this year on May 13th through 24th. Cannes will open this year with "Leave One Day", a comedy by French filmmaker, Amelie Bonnin. This is the first time a debut feature film has been selected to open the festival. "Leave One Day" tells the story of a young woman who leaves behind her hometown to start a new life but must return due to a family emergency.
The Oscar-winning, French actress Juliette Binoche will serve as this year's President of the Jury who will select the winners of various prizes. Her fellow jurors are American actress, Halle Berry; Congolese filmmaker, Dieudo Hamadi; South Korean filmmaker, Hong Sang-soo; Indian filmmaker, Payal Kapadia; Mexican filmmaker, Carlos Reygadas; Italian actress, Alba Rohrwacher; Moroccan writer, Leïla Slimani and American actor, Jeremy Strong. Some of the films in the Main Competition include new works by acclaimed international filmmakers: Wes Anderson ("The Phoenician Scheme"); Richard Linklater ("Nouvelle Vague"); Ari Aster ("Eddington"); Jochim Trier ("Affeksjonsverdi (Sentimental Value)"); Kelly Reichardt ("The Mastermind"); Dominik Moll ("Dossier 137"); Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne ("Jeunes mères (The Young Mothers Home)"); Mario Martone ("Fuori"); Jafar Panahi ("It Was Just an Accident"); Lynne Ramsay ("Die, My Love") and Julia Ducournau ("Alpha").
Some highlights playing out of competition are Spike Lee's latest, "Highest 2 Lowest", which will make it's world premiere, and stars Denzel Washington (his fifth cinematic collaboration with Lee) in a revision of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller "High and Low". Tom Cruise and his possible last time as IMF agent, Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" will also screen at Cannes. Ethan Coen's second feature as a solo filmmaker, "Honey Don't!" will screen during the fest and the latest from Rebecca Zlotowski, "Vie privée (A Private Life)", a French psychological thriller which is notable for starring American actress, Jodie Foster who will appear only speaking the language. There is also a special screening of "Bono: Stories of Surrender", a documentary by Andrew Dominik about the lead vocalist of the Irish rock band, U2.
In Cannes Classics, which will screen restored prints, world cinema, tributes and documentaries on cinema, a restored 4K version of Charlie Chaplin's classic silent comedy, "The Gold Rush" will open this section, celebrating one hundred years since its release, while Stanley Kubrick's 1974 historical epic drama, "Barry Lyndon", also restored in 4K, will close.
The official double poster for the festival features Anouk Aimée on one and Jean-Louis Trintignant on the other from the movie, "A Man and a Woman" by Claude Lelouch, the winner of the Palme d'Or at the 19th Cannes Film Festival in 1966. And Robert De Niro will receive the festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or during the opening-night ceremony.
Where & When: AMC The Grove 14, Los Angeles, CA. April 12, 2025 10:00 PM
On the surface, "The Amateur" might appear to be your standard-issue, espionage action-thriller. Yet this rousing, fast-paced film, directed by James Hawes, best known for his work in British television, offers more emotional elements than are usually found in this genre. Rami Malek, the Oscar-winner for his strutting turn as rock star, Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody", stars as a highly intelligent CIA decoder who suffers an unimaginable tragedy and when he feels not enough is being done to capture the perpetrators, he's determined to take matters in his own hands.
Charlie Heller (Malek) is seeing his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) off on a business trip to London before he heads to work at the CIA. As a meticulous cryptographer, he discovers that his boss, Deputy Director Alex Moore (Holt McCallany) has been secretly involved in covering up planned drone strikes as suicide bombings. When he's called in to the office of the CIA Director (Julianne Nicholson), assuming it's regarding his restricted investigation, Charlie is informed that Sarah has been killed by a terrorist group.
Devastated and barely able to function, the grieving Charlie soon becomes consumed with vengeance. After doing his own investigation, narrowing down the suspects who were involved in his wife's murder, he presents his findings to Moore and his deputy, Caleb Horowitz (Danny Sapani). Telling him they're going to wait in order to take down their entire network, Charlie threatens to reveal the information he discovered unless Moore helps him train to hunt down these terrorists. He's reluctantly sent off to a CIA facility to train with Col. Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) while they search Charlie's home trying to track down the classified files he's hidden. Henderson determines that Charlie might be highly skilled with intel but he's no killer. But Charlie doesn't let that stop him, heading to Europe alone with the goal to find the people responsible and create his own version of revenge.
This is not the first time "The Amateur", based on a novel by Robert Littell, has been made as a film. It was first adapted back in 1981 as a Canadian feature directed by Charles Jarrott and starring John Savage, Christopher Plummer, and Marthe Keller. This modestly budgeted production received mediocre reviews and didn't make much of an impression at the box-office.
The new version of "The Amateur" is a pumped-up, Hollywood affair, taking us on an international scenic trip throughout several European cities, expertly shot by German cinematographer, Martin Ruhe. The detailed intrigue and exhilarating action sequences might be the driving force of the film but it is the strong character development and deeper human connections that help elevate this thriller beyond the expected beats of this style of film. Far from anybody's idea of an action star, Malek comes across believably as just an average tech guy, distraught, angry and ready to take matters into his own hands, knowing he's in way over his head yet remains determined to use his wits to see his preposterous mission through to the end.
While the plot might be formulaic and a bit overcooked, "The Amateur" is a well-crafted, thrilling adventure that keeps you fully engaged throughout the mind-boggling twists and turns. Between the shootings and explosions, the film gets extra points for creating heartfelt moments by characters you actually care about.
Val Kilmer, a gifted yet volatile performer who appeared in "Top Gun", "The Doors", "Heat" and "Batman Forever", has passed away on April 1st at the age of sixty-five. Kilmer had been struggling with throat cancer since 2015 and died from complications from pneumonia.
Born in Los Angeles, Kilmer was accepted into Juilliard School in drama and later appeared Off-Broadway in 1983. The following year he broke through after being cast as the lead in the latest comedy spoof by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker (the men behind "Airplane!") with "Top Secret!". Kilmer followed this up with "Real Genius", another comedy set in the world of science, directed by Martha Coolidge in 1985.
Kilmer shifted gears by appearing in "Top Gun", the military action-drama that help cement Tom Cruise as a movie star, in a supporting role that displayed the actor's dramatic intensity. The film was a huge success, helping Kilmer land other interesting roles. He starred in Ron Howard's fantasy-adventure, "Willow" where he co-starred with his future wife, Joanne Whalley in 1989 and then in the following year, Oliver Stone would have him portray the rock musician, Jim Morrison in the biopic, "The Doors" with the actor impressively singing the band's music. Other noteworthy films he appeared include "Thunderheart", "True Romance", the western, "Tombstone" (where he played Doc Holliday and received critical acclaim) and a supporting role in "Heat", the Michael Mann crime drama which paired Robert De Niro and Al Pacino for the first time on screen.
After Michael Keaton, who played the role for two films, dropped out of playing Batman, Kilmer was cast for the next adventure, "Batman Forever" with Joel Schumacher as the new director in 1995. The actor and the director clashed during the making of the film which began Kilmer's a reputation as "difficult". The reviews of "Batman Forever" (which also starred Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones and Nicole Kidman) were mixed but was still a box-office hit. Unhappy with the direction of film, Kilmer did not reprise his role in the follow-up feature (with George Clooney putting on the Bat-suit) although it doesn't seem he was encouraged since Schumacher was returning as director. He went on to star in "The Saint", "The Ghost and the Darkness", "At First Sight" and a remake of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" with Marlon Brando. This film was a very difficult production with the actors having personal issues, problems with each other and the original director, Richard Stanley who was fired and replaced with John Frankenheimer. Not surprisingly, the film would turn out to become a critical and box-office failure.
Kilmer would continue to do great work in film and on stage, creating a one-man show on writer, Mark Twain called "Citizen Twain" he began in 2012. During his treatment for cancer, he underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies which left him with a very raspy voice. For the long-awaited sequel to "Top Gun" released in 2022, Cruise insisted that Kilmer appear in the film as his character, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky although his voice would need to be enhanced somewhat with AI. Kilmer was married to Whalley for nine years, divorcing in 1996 and they had two children, Mercedes and Jack who are both working actors.
Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. March 10, 2025 3:40 PM
For the follow-up to his Best Picture Oscar-winning film, "Parasite, the South Korean filmmaker, Bong Joon Ho has continued exploring social themes involving class and politics with "Mickey 17". But this dark comedy travels deep into the future and set in an English-language, new-fashioned world. Since this is an absurdist fantasy, although with a heavy critique on our current political landscape, Bong lets his imagination run wild, creating a bleak, chaotic and wacky environment that remains thoroughly entertaining.
When we first met the seventeenth "reprinted" version of Mickey (played by a game Robert Pattinson), he prepares to meet his end once again after falling in an ice cave and about to be devoured by alien creature. Explaining how he ended up in this predicament, Mickey had signed up to leave an increasingly uninhabitable Earth as crewmember for a spaceship traveling to colonize the planet, Niflheim. But he also had another reason to get off the planet quickly as he and his friend, Timo (Steven Yeun) made a bad business deal and owe some nefarious men a lot of money they are unable to pay back.
While Timo is brought on board as a crew pilot, Mickey, failing to read the fine print, signed on as an "expendable worker". What this entails is that Mickey is essentially used as a human Guinea pig to test how the body will react to the foreign pathogens found on this new planet which will help doctors create cures and vaccines. This will also lead to a lethal demise for Mickey. But he is continuously regenerated as a photocopy of himself yet with memories of his former lives still firmly intact.
Since his first feature, "플란다스의 개 (Barking Dogs Never Bite)", released over twenty-five years ago, Bong has always injected his wickedly perverse yet playfully offbeat sense of humor throughout his films. Based on the novel, "Mickey7" by Edward Ashton, Bong freely strays from that writer's narrative, exploring deeper into the cost of capitalism while keeping the tone of "Mickey 17" tense yet hilariously silly. There is a jumble of genres at play here and the clashing of sci-fi, horror and slapstick comedy isn't always effective. Yet Bong is a gifted visionary with a provocative style, managing to keep this discordant tale engaging much of the time.
The last time we saw Pattinson on screen, he was playing the grim, costumed crime-fighter in "The Batman. With "Mickey 17", the actor reveals his less-seen, comedic gifts as the sweet yet incredibly dim, slack-jawed lab rat, reminding us once again of Pattinson's impressive range as a performer. It turns out that the planet's creatures in the cave had no interest in bringing harm to Mickey, actually helping him out of the icy cavern. He manages to make it back to the space station but since it was assumed that he was a goner, a Mickey 18 has been created. Yet while this new Mickey might look the same, he is far more astute and aggressive than the previous version. Since the rule is that there cannot not be multiples of any "expendable" existing at the same time, "18" tries to kill "17" but the former Mickey manages to convince the new clone that they would be better off working together and sharing duties. And Mickey's girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who also happens to be one of the ship's security agents, is thrilled to enjoy the benefits of having two variants of the same man.
Even in a new ecosystem, there is always someone who wants to grab hold on to power, forcing their will and use it for their own self-serving needs while convincing the population that it's for their best interest. Here we have Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), an ego-fueled, failed politician along with his Lady Macbeth, Ylfa (Toni Collette) clinging closely as a bug in his ear to guide her less sharp husband.
Their plan involves eliminating all of the native species on the planet (with Ylfa considering their tails a delicacy to be used for special sauces she's creating), calling them "creepers" and assuming they are nothing more than brainless creatures. However Mickey is aware they are far from unintelligent, with each alien being able to communicate with each other cerebrally. The two Mickeys are discovered following 18's attempt to assassinate the fascist Marshall. As punishment, they are forced out (with bombs strapped to their bodies to make sure they comply) to collect more creatures for their tails while the creatures are swarming the space station trying to rescue two held captive.
"Mickey 17" might not be considered one of Bong's masterworks, it's far too broad and unwieldy narratively speaking. But with striking camerawork by the great Darius Khondji (who also shot Bong's 2017 sci-fi fantasy, "Okja"), captivating visual effects and impressive performances, the film succeeds in taking us on weird, wild thrilling adventure.
The Oscars has always been the official end of award season, mainly because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was the very first organization to honor cinema almost one hundred years ago. The Academy is at an awkward moment in its time where it wants to preserve the long traditions of the ceremony yet still wants to be viewed as moving the show into the modern era. The Oscars just made itself available to stream live this year (on Hulu) so their pace of advancement is not exactly speedy.
The show kicked off with a montage from films set in Los Angeles, highlighting various spots throughout the city. Then we have nominee, Ariana Grande for "Wicked" performing a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" before her co-star, Cynthia Erivo does "Home" from "The Wiz". Then the two share the stage to conclude this mash-up with "Defying Gravity" from their musical based on L. Frank Baum's story. As the first time host, Conan O'Brien fit in quite nicely, bringing a good energy and kept the humor at caustic yet good-natured levels, and it's bit of a surprise he wasn't asked before. He started with a filmed take-off on "The Substance" and made some well-placed jokes on the nominated movies (""A Complete Unknown". "A Real Pain". "Nosferatu". These are some of the names I was called on the red carpet"). And O'Brien was talking about a dress code when he singled out Adam Sandler, sitting in the audience wearing his standard uniform of a hoodie and baggy gym shorts, creating a very funny moment.
The producers of this year's telecast wanted to shake up the routine but not too much. Instead of the acting categories, we had five actors come out to sing the praises of the costume designers and cinematographers. While it was a nice touch, it just wasn't as effective as when the previous acting winners honored the nominated actors. But the biggest misstep as far as I'm concerned was the decision to not have the nominated Best Original Songs performed on the show. In it's place we had O'Brien do "I Won't Waste Time" during the opening segment which was pretty funny. But a James Bond musical tribute to Honorary Oscar winning producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (which featured current pop artists, Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye doing popular Bond theme songs) and Queen Latifah honoring the late Quincy Jones (who had won an Honorary Oscar this year) with a rousing rendition of "Ease On Down The Road' from "The Wiz", while entertaining, failed to rise much above time filler. And the selection of the presenters was truly inspired with a nice mix of the legendary (Goldie Hawn, Mark Hamill, Daryl Hannah, Quentin Tarantino and an impressively spry, Mick Jagger) and contemporary (Andrew Garfield, Lily-Rose Depp, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Bowen Yang).
"Anora" had gone in with six nominations and went on to take home five Oscars including Best Picture. Mikey Madison win for Best Actress created the night's biggest upset by beating the favorite, Demi Moore for her performance in "The Substance" which oddly echoes the theme of the body horror film. Sean Baker personally received four awards this night with "Anora" for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing and the top prize, tying with Walt Disney for the most Oscars in a single year although the wins were for four different films. With its Best Picture win, "Anora" (which won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival) followed in the footsteps of the indie distributor, Neon’s last awards success; the Palme d’Or winning, South Korean drama, "Parasite", the unexpected winner of Best Picture back in 2019.
During his third acceptance speech, Baker encouraged filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen in order to keep theaters alive and well. My love of going to the movies came directly from my mother who took us regularly to the theater, probably at least once a week. And while this was really the only way to see a motion picture at the time, the thrill of the communal experience of watching a film surrounded with an audience was deeply instilled into me. A theater is really the only perfect setting for me to truly enjoy seeing a film.
Baker also addressed the importance of supporting independent cinema which is so vital in order to tell challenging and innovative stories that the Hollywood system is way too cautious to go anywhere near. As we quickly approach the 100th anniversary of the Oscars, now is the time to support your local theaters, especially the indie-owned screens that are particularly struggling and unfortunately closing at a rapid rate.
So come on people, get off your couches, take your kids and go to a movie theater! Otherwise, there may not be much to celebrate during the upcoming 100th Oscars ceremony.
Here is the complete list of winners of the 2025 Oscars:
Best Picture: "Anora"
Best Director: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, "Conclave"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, "The Brutalist"
Best Film Editing: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best International Feature Film: "I’m Still Here" (Brazil)
Best Documentary Feature Film: "No Other Land"
Best Documentary Short Film: "The Only Girl in the Orchestra"
Best Animated Feature Film: "Flow"
Best Animated Short Film: "In the Shadow of the Cypress"
Best Live Action Short Film: "I’m Not a Robot"
Best Original Song: "El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Production Design and Lee Sandales, Set Decoration, "Wicked"
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, "Wicked"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, "The Substance"
Best Sound: Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill, "Dune: Part Two"
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer, "Dune: Part Two"
"Dreams (Sex Love)", the third film in a trilogy by Norwegian writer/director, Dag Johan Haugerud, received the top prize of the Golden Bear at the close of this year's Berlin Film Festival. This story follows a passionate teenage girl who pours her intense feelings toward a teacher and follows the feature, "Sex" that premiered in Berlin last year and "Love" which was part of the competition at the Venice Film Festival last summer. Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro’s "The Blue Trail" took home the Silver Bear, which is the runner-up award. This drama imagines a future world where people over seventy-five years old are rounded up and placed in a type of concentration camp but the story follows a woman who escapes before arriving to this colony. And the Jury Prize was awarded to "The Message", from Argentine director Iván Fund, about guardians of a nine year old girl who exploit for profit her ability to communicate with animals.
Here is a partial list of winners of the 2025 Berlin Film Festival:
Golden Bear for Best Film: "Drømmer (Dreams)"
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: "The Blue Trail"
Silver Bear Jury Prize: "The Message"
Silver Bear for Best Director: Huo Meng, "Living the Land"
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Radu Jude, "Kontinental ’25"
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance: Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You"
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Andrew Scott, "Blue Moon"
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: The creative ensemble of "The Ice Tower"
Best Documentary: "Holding Liat"
Here are a few of the films I saw last year that I have no intention of ever watching again:
"BORDERLANDS"
I should start off by saying that I have never been a fan of movies based on video games. The few that I have seen I really haven't enjoyed at all. The problem I find is that there really isn't enough of a story to base an entire film around and the filmmakers tend not to expand the narrative elements nearly enough to make these video game stories truly cinematic. And the studios end up coasting largely on name recognition to get folks to turn out to theaters. I got lured into seeing the sci-fi action-comedy, "Borderlands" based on the trailer that featured an impressively eclectic cast that included Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis. Yet once again, I was tricked. "Borderlands" is a very expensive, poorly conceived, convoluted mess with several of the creative team jumping ship during or after production and even having their names removed from this project. It begins on the planet Pandora with a mercenary soldier named Roland (Hart) kidnaps a teen called Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) who happens to be the daughter of Atlas (Ramirez), a powerful corporate bigwig. He hires the bounty hunter, Lilith (Blanchett) to rescue his child. Tracking down Roland, Lilith discovers that Atlas actually wants Tina back against her will and she teams up with him to fight against Atlas' army, the Crimson Lance. Then the story goes further into some nonsense involving the secrets of advanced technology by a lost civilization of Pandora which Atlas believes is located in a mysterious vault that only Tina can open. Eli Roth is the credited director (with Tim Miller taking on reshoots) and wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie (writer, Craig Mazin had his name removed from the script). The end results makes the film feel completely disjointed, impaired by underdeveloped characters, a meandering plot and without a whiff of originality. "Borderlands" was a complete waste of the prestigious talent involved and the one hundred and one minutes of time I will never get back.
"I SAW THE TV GLOW"
"I Saw The TV Glow", Jane Schoenbrun's follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 debut, "We're All Going to the World's Fair", received a glowing reception by many critics with several placing this psychological-horror drama high on their Best of the Year lists. However, the appeal of this film was completely lost on me as my viewing experience was torturous and feeling like it was never going to end. This '90's-set story follows Owen (Justice Smith), a lonely and isolated teen who bonds with another loner at school, Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) over their love of a television show, "The Pink Opaque". The program involves two teenage girls who use their shared psychic abilities to fight a villain called Mr. Melancholy, who has the power to shift time and existence. Owen and Maddy deeply connect to this show, which in turn, helps them grow closer to each other. Family problems makes Maddy want to run away from home and asks Owen to go with her. After sincerely considering this offer, he decides to stay and Maddy disappears. "The Pink Opaque" is also cancelled around this time. Several years later, Maddy reappears with news that she's been living in their favorite show during her time away. Schoenbrun has tapped into the surrealist, experimental style of the great David Lynch yet "I Saw the TV Glow" feels more muddled and less engaging than a wonderfully puzzling Lynchian experience.
"LISA FRANKENSTEIN"
The romantic-horror comedy, "Lisa Frankenstein" might have been intended be an ode to the classic comedies of the '80's but only ends up being a tired and predictable modern comedy. Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is an odd, goth teenager still trying to cope with the loss of her mother to an axe murderer. And to make matters worse, her father (Joe Chrest) has remarried to Janet (Carla Gugino), a self-involved woman who doesn't care about Lisa, and they live together with her daughter, Taffy (Liza Soberano). Lisa spends her time at the local cemetery and speaks to the grave of a young Victorian man who was killed by lightning. Lightning winds up striking twice and this man (Cole Sprouse) is brought back from the dead as a mute zombie to become Lisa's perfect boyfriend. Zelda Williams (who happens to be the daughter of the late Robin Williams) makes her feature directorial debut with "Lisa Frankenstein" and displays no real gift behind the camera, sadly proving the argument about nepo babies. The shockingly bad screenplay was written by Oscar-winner, Diablo Cody who seemed to have scripted this in a time warp, trapped reliving worn out, comedic ideas about love and relationships. Painfully dull and uninspired, "Lisa Frankenstein" is an apparent comedy that never came to life, effectively dead on arrival.
"MADAME WEB"
Based on a little known, minor character in the Spider-Man comic book universe, the super-hero film, "Madame Web" has managed to do nothing to make us intrigued, let alone inspired, to want to see anymore of her. Dakota Johnson has once again been given a leading role as Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic who develops abilities of a clairvoyant following a near-death experience. This leads her to connecting to three young girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O'Connor) and protect them from shady businessman, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim). Also having limited psychic abilities and enhanced strength he obtained from a Peruvian spider, Sims has visions that these girls will be the cause of his demise. And that means he wants to end their lives before that can happen, forcing Cassandra to develop the use of her powers in order to save them. The director, S.J. Clarkson, who has had an extensive career working in British television, makes her feature film directorial debut with "Madame Web" and is in way over her head trying to get a handle on the comic-book genre. The hazy and shapeless screenplay assembled by Clarkson along with the team of Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker does the film no favors. I do not pretend to understand the allure of Johnson yet the offspring of the charismatic actors, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith continues to book jobs despite adding very little charm and appeal to her performances. With an incoherent story, underwhelming visual style and listless thrills, "Madame Web" finds success as another very expensive addition to the garbage heap of super-hero movies that failed to launch a hopeful franchise.
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"
