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 …
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) …
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, …
Continuing his prolific year, the Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude releases his second high-profile work of the year, his highly anticipated Dracula. Previously known as Dracula Park, its production name has had the growing hype since Jude’s last fiction work: Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World. …
A week before its original Sundance premiere, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions by Kahlil Joseph had its participation withdrawn from the festival by its investor, Participant Media. The financer alleged the director showed a secret cut of the project to critics at the CAA screening room, justifying their intervention in the …
Writer-director-cinematographer-editor-composer Mark Jenkin has an idiosyncratic vision for Rose of Nevada, not just in how many of the behind the camera jobs he does himself, but also in how his corner of England is portrayed onscreen. For Mr. Jenkin is not English but Cornish (and you better believe there’s a …
The new Disney+ series Marvel Zombies builds on a single episode from season one of What If…?, What If…Zombies?, which first imagined a world where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had become its greatest threat. Directed by Bryan Andrews and written by Zeb Wells, the four-episode miniseries introduces a new group of …
There are certain movies which only exist because someone has needed to make them. They are too weird to be mainstream and too proud of their unusual style to truly be weird. This is by no means a complaint. When people lean very hard into style over substance it is …
In 2023, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) released a list of the fifty greatest Canadian films ever. At the top of the list, it was not the name of David Cronenberg, Sarah Polley, Jean-Marc Vallée, or Atom Egoyan. It was Zacharias Kunuk with his historical 2001 film, Atanarjuat: The Fast …
I stumbled upon Demon Slayer when it first premiered in America back in 2019, thanks to a friend who was obsessed with anime. While I cut my teeth on series such as Pokémon, Digimon, and Sailor Moon as an adolescent, it had been decades since I actively chose an anime to watch in my …
I’ve been a fan of the Percy Jackson series for as long as I can remember. Back when The Lightning Thief hit my school library shelves, I devoured it and every subsequent book, all the way to The Last Olympian in 2009. Greek mythology, science fiction, and fantasy were my …
The experimental director and visual artist Ben Rivers is a respected name in the film festival circuit. The director debuts his works in principal events, such as the Locarno Film Festival, where he premiered his 2024 film Bogancloch and his new work, Mare’s Nest, both in the Concorso Internazionale. In …
Frankenstein is a masterpiece, an instant classic and a complete and utter triumph. It sticks very close to the source material while managing to be something fresh and new, it maintains its historic setting while never forgetting the current moment, and it all hangs on two extraordinary central performances that …
Canadian filmmaker Jody Wilson’s feature debut The Bearded Girl centers on a sideshow in Paradise County, where Cleo (Anwen O’Driscoll) is expected to follow in her mother, Lady Andre’s (Jessica Paré) footsteps and continue the proud tradition of bearded women. However, Cleo’s mother remains a controlling influence over their sideshow …
KPop Demon Hunters, the latest musical adventure from Sony Pictures Animation, is, in many respects, a global hit. Released in mid-June, the title is officially the most-watched animated movie of all time on Netflix, its distributor. Currently, the film sits comfortably at No. 2 on the streaming service’s Global Top …
It feels like every movie I’ve seen at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival turns into an instant favorite, from A Grand Mockery, a hypnotic Super 8mm avant-garde trip from Sam Dixon and Adam C. Briggs, to Anything That Moves, an inventively transgressive Giallo/Bomba picture courtesy of Alex Phillips. Every …
With the success of 2005’s Fantastic Four, a sequel seemed like a rather obvious feat. That is, especially in an era when superhero movies were emerging. Grossing over 330 million dollars worldwide (a massive hit for the time), a sequel was inevitable. Even against lackluster reviews, audiences wanted to see …
2025’s Fantastic Four: First Steps hopes to reignite the love for The Marvel Cinematic Universe. That film aims to continue the larger story at play, while also reintroducing classic heroes into an ever-expanding framework. It’s a tall order due to the history of these characters and their previous lackluster adaptations. …
Following up on a surprisingly entertaining origin story, The Old Guard 2 attempts to expand the universe created by Greg Rucka (writer of the original The Old Guard comic and film) and once again directed for the screen – this time under the hand of Victoria Mahoney (Yelling to the …