The Slovak director Miro Remo presents an alternative way of living in his film Better Go Mad in the Wild. In his fifth feature-length film, the director closely observes the twin brothers František and Ondřej Klišík. They live in the inner countryside of the Czech Republic, in the Sumava. The …
Lydia Tár is a b*tch. That’s what a student calls Cate Blanchett’s Lydia, the sociopathic lead of Todd Field’s visceral psychological thriller Tár. They’re not wrong. She is the sort of damaged soul that has hit the heights of her conducting profession, who flies so close to the sun and …
When Squid Game, the South Korean survival drama series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, debuted in 2021, it took the world by storm, topping Netflix’s most-watched list barely two weeks in, and at one point becoming “the most in-demand show in the world, with 79 times as much audience interest as …
Single-location mystery thrillers are one of the tried and true genres of stage and film. When executed well, they can be an edge-of-your-seat experience and a satisfying watch. Writer/Director Christopher Landon has a history of taking high-concept versions of setups like this and delivering a good time at the movies; …
In both film and television, Zombies have become an iconic part of the entertainment culture. Ever since 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, zombies have carved a niche for themselves. The tension, gore, and general terror of those stories have resonated with audiences. Recent examples, such as The Walking Dead …
German master crafter of epic-scope action films, Wolfgang Petersen, famous for his Academy-Award nominated 1982 World War II Das Boot, later in his life became a name in Hollywood for when you needed an author to sculpt a large-scale action film. Petersen ranges from the classic heartbreaking family movie The …
Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon has been one of the most fascinating workshops for the medium since their 2009 feature debut, The Secret of Kells. Wolfwalkers by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart is only their fifth feature since Kells. Nearly every work of theirs went on to get an Academy …
The British director Mike Leigh is one of the most quintessential British filmmakers. His style consists of improvisations, and the film’s shooting focuses on the natural reactions and emotions of his actor’s reminiscing of the theatrical approach to acting. His realistic approach offers a deep connection between the public and …
In recent years, few shows took the world by storm like 2023’s The Last of Us. Add in one of the hottest stars, Pedro Pascal, and the results provide a winning formula. Now, in 2025, the hit television show is back with season two. Expectations were at an all-time high, …
In 2021, while the world was still heavily facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sundance Film Festival introduced its hybrid version with drive-ins in different states of the country, an online option, and the traditional Park City venue in Utah. Coming off a year of complicated production for the film industry. …
In Yanuni, the Tribeca closer from Austrian director Richard Ladkani, ecocide and genocide are one and the same. From the vantage point of the occupied, the Ecocidal project is decidedly one of ethnic cleansing—it is only through the forceful killing and erasure of Indigenous peoples defending their homeland that the …
In her first full-length feature, Louise Hémon presents L’engloutie (The Girl in the Snow). A selection in the Quinzaine des Cineastes of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Hémon designs a vibey film. She narrates the story of Aimée (Galatea Bellugi), a volunteer teacher from an unspecified big French city. She …
In her debut feature, On Falling, the Portuguese director Laura Carreira uses her life experience to portray the migrant experience. Born in Porto, Portugal, but living in Edinburgh, Scotland, she presents a social drama about immigration. She narrates the story of Aurora (Joana Santos), a Portuguese woman living in the …
In their debut feature film, Esta Isla (This Island), Lorraine Jones Molina and Christian Carretero narrate a story about love and crime. Bebo (Zion Ortiz) is a working-class young man who lives on an island in Puerto Rico. He fishes in the sea with his brother Charlie (Xavier Morales). They …
In a meta-accomplishment that is owed kudos, Florian Zeller goes from The Father to The Son in a misguided misfire that attempts one idea: trauma is inherited from father to son. When Florian Zeller’s debut feature The Father premiered at Sundance in 2020, it was met with rapturous acclaim. It …
At the outset, F1 was already a hard film to review. Similar to Ezra Miller, the longtime actor Brad Pitt’s personal life has become a conflicting topic, especially since his family life hit the news. At the same time, F1 director Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick is one of the …
Comfort television can be a grey area for many viewers. What one may find comforting could be dull and trite to others. That’s what makes some television series hard to connect with for some viewers. Particularly, this can be attributed to shows about the entertainment industry. With the common TV-watcher …
Hacks season 4 has come to a close, and what a ride it has been! I admit, I lost faith early in the process, but the writers were able to pull off a solid season of television. The finale, Heaven, is a bit of a come-down after the highs of …
The veteran indie director Stephanie Laing (Irreplaceable You and Family Squares) teams up with Rose Byrne to present Tow. The film tells the true story of Amanda Ogle (Byrne), a woman who left her child, Avery (Elsie Fisher), to find a better life condition as a veterinary technician. However, she …
Director David Verbeek presents his latest film, The Wolf, the Fox, and the Leopard, at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Divided into chapters, the film narrates the story of a girl (Jessica Reynolds) who lives in the woods as a wolf. She behaves, eats, and walks like a wolf. Suddenly, …