Expectations were low. My relationship with this saga has been, I admit, troubled: mixed feelings regarding the original film and manifestly negative regarding the second chapter. Despite being aware that this third entry, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, has received the warmest reception of the entire franchise so …
I walked into the theater to see Zootopia 2 in a state of almost blessed ignorance. I religiously avoided every trailer, looked away from every promotional image, and stayed far away from the social media buzz. I knew nothing about the critical reception or the general audience sentiment. My only …
Rose Byrne’s magnificent performance grounds this takedown of modern motherhood (not parenthood) under capitalism, but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is really about the flaws of modern American society. Its unmissable message is that America is completely ruled by its addictions and its impossible desire to get without …
H For Hawk, based on Helen MacDonald’s eloquent memoir about grief, is a moving guide to processing loss. The film and the book follow Helen unravelling mind as she tries to distract herself after the death of her father by adopting a goshawk. Academic Helen (Claire Foy) is not the …
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut feature A Useful Ghost exhibits a hooky high concept, one that’s centered on a woman who dies of dust pollution and gets reunited with her grieving husband by possessing a vacuum cleaner, much to the chagrin of her in-laws. The director dresses this concept, essentially a loose …
Screening in the Before Midnight section of the 2025 QCinema International Film Festival, Dutch filmmaker Morgan Knibbe’s sophomore feature The Garden of Earthly Delights portrays a gritty, neon-tinged Manila inferno centered on a young queer protagonist played by first-time actor JP Rodriguez. A teenager named Ginto descends deep into the …
Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1982 debut novel, A Pale View of Hills, is an elegant and nuanced examination of identity for post-war Japan. Kei Ishikawa’s ambitious but unsubtle adaptation can’t capture the spirit of his gorgeous writing. The novel and the film are narrated by Etsuko, who appears in two timelines. In …
The Choral is the kind of movie at which the British film industry excels: made for audiences who like their stories flavoured strongly with nostalgia, and who like to read between the lines for their hard-hitting topics. These movies tend to play better overseas, where the historical trappings and the …
Richard Linklater brought two films to the festival crowds this year. The first being Blue Moon, a drama about the tragic Lorenz Hart, whose professional relationship with Richard Rodgers has mostly been lost to history. The second is Nouvelle Vague, a loving ode to French New Wave cinema. Both are …
After one year of waiting with bated breath to view the powerhouses of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo respectively reprising their roles as Glinda and Elphaba on the big screen, it almost seemed unbearable for fans and converted audiences alike. Audiences need not have feared as the Wicked: For Good immersed …
In November 2024, the film version of the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked finally hit theaters. The Broadway musical from Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman is an adaptation of the book of the same title by Gregory Maguire. The film by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians & In the Heights) …
Gotham is still reeling from Joker’s attack on the city last year. Crime hasn’t gotten any better even with Batman swinging around and the city is like a fire looking for a match. And the Riddler is set to be that match. Backed by the Servants of Freedom, a paramilitary …
The Fence is Claire Denis’ isolated adaptation of Bernard-Marie Koltès’s play Black Battles with Dogs, which subtly explores masculinity and colonialism. Set predominantly in one location over one night, The Fence never loses its stage show sensibilities, even if that forces Denis to reject her trademark visual lyricism. Set on …
Dragonfly is based on a simple idea: how dangerous it is to trust anyone while you’re weakened, whether through old age, disability or both. Unfortunately it is also so worried that we won’t understand the nuances of this very good idea that it overdoes things, and collapses. This is very …
In their last months of high school, two cisgender boys pretend to be transgender to get into the girls’ changing room. The concept sounds like a dangerous right-wing rhetoric, but She’s the He is a sweet coming-of-age comedy made by a predominantly trans and nonbinary cast and crew. Alex (Nico …
Travel back to 1930s Cairo in this exclusive interview with Mido Hamada, who discusses his role as the skeptical Head of Security Mamoud in the new murder mystery film Murder at the Embassy with Mischa Barton. It’s the second installment in the Miranda Green series and is a delightfully fun …
Despite the small territorial space, Iceland has been a potent force for cinema in recent decades. The little island in the Arctic gave us names like Rúnar Rúnarsson and Hylnur Pálmason. Both of them are popular presences at events like the Cannes Film Festival. Rúnarsson presented his When The Light …
Starting with Toy Story 2 in 1999, each new entry in the franchise was accompanied by a teaser trailer that had little to do with the actual movie. Toy Story 2’s teaser was released in June of 1999, featuring Little Green Men staring at a crane, revealing the film’s logo, …
My viewing of The Running Man was, honestly, one of the “blindest” I’ve had all year. I wasn’t familiar with the original novel by Stephen King, nor the first 1987 film adaptation. I managed to completely avoid any images, clips, or even reactions to this new release. My expectations, however, …
Radar festival is the best one-day city festival outside of London and to have it return – stronger than quite possibly ever – with this first wave of announcements signifies its intent to stay – after being on the wrong side of political pressure around Bob Vylan headlining a week …