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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 20 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

300 LETTERS (300 Cartas)(Argentina/UK/Germany 2025) ***
Directed by Lucas Sanata Ana

Who is cuter?   Who is more f***d up?

Jero (Cristian Mariani) and Tom (Gastón Frías) are the young gay couple that everyone wants to be.  On the day of the first anniversary of their meeting, Jero returns home to find that Tom has abandoned him, leaving him a box of 300 letters in pink envelopes in a pink box as his only explanation.  Jero is to read each letter, written by Tom, and in order, not skipping any, to find the reason Tom has left him.

300 LETTERS is described as an anti-romantic comedy.  The term refers to a film that subverts or rejects the usual conventions of a romantic comedy.

An anti–rom-com flips that formula by showing:

messy, realistic, or even cynical relations

flawed characters who may not end up together,

darker or bittersweet tones instead of cheerful ones,

and a critique of romantic clichés or societal expectations about love.

Examples of anti-romcoms are MARRIAGE STORY, THE LOBSTER, AND (500) DAYS OF SUMMER.  Yes, these are really good films that hit the subject on target.

Gay romcoms are typically more daring than straight ones.  Jero and Tom meet and they both cum from French kissing and jerking each other off in Jero’s courtyard.  Then they enter the house to continue sex, where Tom rides Jero while kissing.  These two scenes are not erotic enough, unless one is a straight person.

As the first letter, #001 is read by Jero, dressed to him as “Dear Jero”,  Jero, as well as the audience, begins to learn about their relationship, one letter at a time, from Tom’s point of view.  The first letter records their first encounter and meeting, full of sex.  But as Tom says in the letter, the sex would lie on the list of his best sexual encounters, but it is all sex, and nothing else.  The first letter takes 15 minutes of screen time while the following letters take much less time, of course, or this film will never end.  The audience and Jero learn a different Tom than the one Jero knows.  The thing that can be learnt about the relationship is that there is too much sex and not much else.  At the film’s halfway mark, it is at letter number 41.

For a comedy, many lessons can be learned here about relationships, whether gay or straight. For one, great sex isn’t enough for a relationship to hold, though it helps immensely.  More important is respect.  The fact that Tom writes of Jero’s and his prose al emotions without Jero’s permission naturally pisses Jero off, as would most people in the same boat.  In Jero and Tom’s relationship, neither is willing to sacrifice and do more for the other than himself.

300 Letters world premiered at the 2025 Roze Filmdagen Film Festival, held its US Premiere at Wicked Queer: Boston's LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and went on to hold a healthy festival life with screenings at Frameline San Francisco, Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and FilmOut San Diego. The film is set to screen at Outshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Out Here Daytona Film Fest, and Way Out West Film Fest this Fall.

300 LETTERS opens on VOD, digital from Cinephobia Releasing on November 11.

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DIE MY LOVE (USA 2025) ****
Directed by Lynne Ramsay

 Love.... a fate worse than death?

Lynne Ramsay's DIE MY LOVE arrives for theatrical release after its Cannes Premiere without it being picked up by their year’s Toronto International Film Festival, likely for its violent and raw emotional content.

The film is based on the Spanish 2012 novel set in rural France, (Matate amor) by Ariana Harwicz.  The script is co-written by Ramsay with Enda Walsh and Alice Birch.

Grace (Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson), a young couple who move from New York City to Jackson’s rural childhood home in Montana, are in search of a quieter life. As they adjust to their new surroundings and become parents, Grace begins to struggle with feelings of isolation and psychological distress. Her deteriorating mental health gradually drives their marriage into unsettling and unpredictable territory.

The story unfolds in a non-linear chronological fashion, which can be a tad confusing.  At the two-thirds mark of the film, Jackson asks Grace in the field: “Let’s get married.”  This is followed by the wedding scene, where Grace exhibits bout os craziness while drinking too much.  She is seen with the baby in the stroller, so one assumes that she had the baby before the wedding, which explains the probable cause of her madness.

There is the ultimate question of the cause of Grace’s madness.  Among the present ones listed are PTSD, Anxiety, psychotic disorders, and eating disorders, among many.  In one Monty Python skit, a Monty Python member joked: “Is plain mad not good enough for you?”   In DIE FOR LOVE, the cause of Grace’s madness is hinted at in one party scene where she is warned of Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression.  This is a mood disorder that may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women.  Symptoms that Grace undergoes include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

But it is not the cause of madness that writer/director Ramsay is interested in.  In her best movie, the 2011 WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, Kevin's mother (Tilda Swinton) struggles to love her strange child (played as a grown-up, Ezra Miller) despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up.  But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined, which is to shoot his classmates in the gym as the film comes to a close.  In the very last scene, when the mother visits him, Kevin tells his mother he has finally realized the reason for the gym massacre.  When asked the reason, Kevin replies:  “I have forgotten.”  In DIE FOR LOVE, the mad madness is displayed on screen with all its horror, destruction and damage, with no excuse for it.

Director Ramsay stylized visuals such as the burning of the woods, depicting Grace’s instability, which bookend the film, tend to distract more than make a point.  Cinematography is great, though.  Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey reunited with Ramsay after WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.

DIE MY LOVE opens in theatres on November 7th.

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NUREMBERG (USA 2025) ****

Directed by James Vanderbilt

 

 

Review to be posted week of opening.

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TRAIN DREAMS (USA 2025) ***** Top 10

Directed by Clint Bentley

 

Once in a while comes a quiet little film that could be described to be about nothing, that surprises and becomes one of the most moving films of the year.  TRAIN DREAMS is a 2025 American drama film directed by Clint Bentley, who co-wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar, based on the 2011 novella of the same name by Denis Johnson. The film stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy.

Logger Robert Grainier (Edgerton) works to develop the railroad across the United States, causing him to spend vast time away from his wife (Jones) and daughter, and he is struggling with his place in a changing world.

The story traces the life of Robert Grainier, an orphan raised in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in early 20th-century America.  There is a discomforting scene when the audience sees the boy alone, travelling on a train across the country.  He works as a logger and railroad-construction labourer, helping build tracks, clearing timber, and grappling with the forces of change around him.  This is where Robert, the quiet man, meets his wife, Gladys, the woman who makes the first move. Robert was only surprised by the fact that she his attracted to him.  He falls in love with her, and his whole life is changed.  They build a home, have a daughter, but his work often takes him away, and his life is marked by separation, trauma, and the shifting world of industry and wilderness.   Then fate rears its ugly head in terms of what audiences now experience because of global warming.  Wild forest fires!  Robert is separated from his wife as a result of working away when the fires happen.  Distraught, he spends time and effort on each of his wife and daughter, the loss taking a raw and lasting emotional toll on the man.

The film explores how one “ordinary” life can be rich with meaning: its challenges, losses, connections, and the interplay between humanity and the natural world.

Edgerton delivers a controlled yet powerful performance that should not be overlooked for the character’s lack of dialogue.

TRAIN DREAMS is quietly melancholy, finding beauty in nature and fate that often humans never have any control over, a film about a man on his own, orphaned as a child, who dies returning to the dust of the Earth.  He has not achieved milestones in his life, is not a hero (he observes a racist killing and does nothing), but is just an ordinary man living his life in an extraordinary film.  TRAIN DREAMS is one of the year’s Top 10 films.  Among its accolades, the film received nominations for Best Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2025 Gotham Film Awards.

TRAIN DREAMS had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, and is scheduled to be released in select cinemas in the United States and Canada on November 7, 2025, before its streaming debut on Netflix on November 21, 2025.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 19 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

AILEEN: QUEEN OF THE SERIAL KILLERS  (USA 2025) ***

Directed by Emily Turner

 

Aileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer.  Between 1989 and 1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, Wuornos shot and robbed seven of her male clients. She claimed that her victims had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that the homicides were committed in self-defence.  Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders and was executed in 2002 after spending more than ten years on Florida's death row. This is not the first movie made about Aileen,

In the feature film MONSTER (2003), Wuornos' story is described from her first murder until her execution; for her portrayal of Wuornos, Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress.  The second movie, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, is a 1992 documentary film about Aileen Wuornos, made by Nick Broomfield.  It documents Broomfield's attempts to interview Wuornos, which involves a long process of mediation through her adoptive mother, Arlene Pralle, and her lawyer, Steve Glazer.  The film was used by the defence in the Wuornos trial in 2001 to highlight the incompetence of Wuornos' original lawyer.  It was through this process that Broomfield decided to make another film, Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer.  Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer is a 2003 feature-length documentary film about Aileen Wuornos, made by Nick Broomfield as a follow-up to his 1992 film Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer.  The film focuses on Wuornos' declining mental state and the questionable judgment to execute her despite her being of unsound mind.

Now streaming on Netflix, the documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, directed by Emily Turner, reexamines Wuornos’ life and crimes nearly 40 years after they occurred.   Produced by the BBC Studios Documentary Unit in collaboration with NBC News Studios, the documentary features powerful audio interviews with those who knew her best, along with archival footage from former Dateline correspondent Michele Gillen. It also includes prison interviews with Wuornos herself, offering new insights into her crimes.

The film begins with a nasty introduction of Aileen, the seal killer queen.  She is described by voiceover as vile and ugly, someone you would not want to meet in a dark alley.  The voiceover then informs that she is gay, a hitchhiker, and a killer of white men.

But when the audience first sees her, in her first appearance to the audience as she is taken out of her cell to meet her interviewers, Aileen is quite pretty to look at, with a hubby personality.  She tells them that they will make millions.  She intends to tell the truth, the story of her life, to make it good with God, she says.  And so this true crime documentary will tell Aileen's story.

Seven men were killed in a period of 12 months.  The rage of the killer can be seen as increasing.  The truck and the victim far often far apart.  All the victims were white, middle-aged men.  There was blonde hair and condoms found at the crime scenes.

Different from Nick Broomfeld’s two docs and Charles Theron’s MONSTER, this one is a more sympathetic look at Aileen, giving her more say while probing her so-called corrupted trial, while also emphasizing her claim of innocence while being a born-again Christian.

AILEEN: QUEEN OF THE SERIAL KILLERS opens for streaming this week on Netflix.

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I REALLY LOVE MY HUSBAND (USA 2025) **
Directed by GG Hawkins

 

I REALLY LOVE MY HUSBAND is a couples relationship sex comedy, the type that used to flood theatres in the 60’s and 70’s.  A few of the best ones include BLUME IN LOVE, THE HEARTBREAK KID,  BONB AND CAROL AND TED AND ALICE, A NEW LEAF, just to name a few.

The premise of I REALLY LOVE MY HUSBAND involves the couple Teresa (Madison Lanesey) and her trophy husband, Drew (TravisQuentin Young).  Teresa tells everyone she meets that she really loves her husband.  She even tells her ex this on her cell phone during her wedding day.  But does she?  Saying and meaning it are two different things, as the film examines.  Just as women can get really weird in relationships, as Jeannie Berlin did in THE HEARTBREAK KID, he makes curly wurlies with the hair on her new husband’s chest during sex on their wedding day,  Teresa has her own set of idiosyncrasies. Her behavior takes a turn when she suggests a threesome at the Bocas Del Toro resort in Panama during their honeymoon.  Paz (Arta Gee) is Teresa’s non-binary pick, which means Paz would be attractive to either of them.

But this is as far as the success of the film goes.

Teresa and Drew turn out to be a terribly annoying couple - the couple one would typically avoid when on vacation.  All they do is think and talk about themselves.  Teresa is also wishy-washy, talking all the time with weird mannerisms, though a few of these are quite funny.  Few is over-nice and accommodating, not too believable as a husband until he finally freaks out at her.

The refreshing premise of a non-binary third-party threesome is largely wasted in a film that is not funny enough and does not have enough jokes poking at the couple's relationship.  It does not help that the script does not attempt to make the couple more likeable for the audience to feel more sympathetic towards them.

On the positive side, I REALLY LOVE MY HUSBAND has an unexpected ending that almost saves he picture.  Director GG Hawkins’ film shows promise in parts, and one should give him a chance to do better in his next project.  The film is available; able on Digital and VOD on November 4th.

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INDERA (Malaysia 2024) ****

Directed by Woo Ming Jin

 

Merging horror with Malaysian culture, tradition, and politics, INDERA is set against the backdrop of a real-life standoff between the government's police forces and villagers deep in rural Malaysia, where spirits and demons are as dangerous as guns and knives. 

There is much to enjoy in watching the Malaysian folk horror INDERA.  Especially if one has knowledge or lives in or close to Malaysia.  The film makes use of folklore, natural surroundings, and political climate to effect a realistic and engrossing tale of family.

The family on display is Joe (Shaheizy Sam), a handyman doing his best to raise his young, non-verbal daughter Sofia (Samara Kenzo) in the wake of his wife’s tragic death.  Penniless and evicted, he takes on the position of caretaker for an older Javanese woman (Ruminah Sidek), who claims she can help Sophia speak again.  But as her unorthodox treatment progresses, Joe and Sophia begin experiencing terrifying visions that threaten their grip on reality. 

For a film from Malaysia, director Woo (Malaysia has a population consisting of a majority Malays with Chinese concentrated in the towns and cities), the film boasts strong Hitchcock undertones in terms of audience participation and the use of shots and camera techniques to invoke suspense and mystery.  At best, it is a searing vision of folk horror rich in traditions and culture.

Sofia is told and warned of the two rules of staying at the Javanese woman’s.  No one must get close to the old hole, a well that used to be the latrine of the Javanese.  The other is to ignore and not turn back when she hears her name being called..

The film’s setting is 1985 in the Lenggong Valley.  At the start of the film, Joe is questioned by the local police and admonished about the current curfew.  In 1985, there was a curfew in parts of West Malaysia, but it wasn’t nationwide.  The curfew is due to clashes between the government and Islamic forces.  This clash refers to the Memali Incident (1985), a deadly confrontation between Malaysian police and followers of an Islamic cleric, Ibrahim Libya, in Kedah. It exposed deep political and religious tensions in Malaysia and remains a controversial chapter in the nation’s history.  The government wanted to prevent a similar Jalan Perijuk in Indonesia, an incident heard on the radio in the film, a major religious clash there.  The Lenggong Valley setting of the film is in northern Perak, West Malaysia — a small rural town famous for its prehistoric archaeology and scenic valley.

Despite all the political and geographical relevance, the film builds the relationship between the mute daughter and her father, a strong point in engaging the audience's attention in the film.   Director Woo builds the suspense and misery at an excellent pace.  Though one might describe the film as a slow burn, the sense of anticipation makes the film totally engrossing, and there is never a dull moment.  One also feels for Joe.  He promises his dead wife that he will take care of their daughter, but he is broke and has to take work from the Javanese woman, much to the detriment of his daughter, Sofia.

INDERA is the best Halloween film this year and opens on October 31st on VOD and Digital.

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KOLN ’75 (Germany/Poland/Belgium 2025) ****

Directed by Ido Fluk

 

The film follows Vera Brandes, who, in 1975 and at the age of 18, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett.  Köln is Cologne in German.

At its best, the film shows two sides of staging a concert, from the performer’s and the promoter’s points of view.  The anguish, trauma of staging a grand performance, even if one might be talented as Keith Garrett is on full display.  Garret is in depression, suffers from physical conditions like a bad back, and is unable to sleep before the concert.  In full view are also his mood swings, refusing to play except on the Grand Imperial piano.   A big positive of the film, which is seldom seen in concert films, is the hard work a promoter has to go through in order to stage a big event.  This is emphasized by the fact that the promoter, Vera Blande’s is of the age of 17.  She is disowned by her parents.  At one point, the father slaps her so hard across the face that she bled.

This occurs in the film’s most dramatic segment when the parents read firsthand in the newspapers of their daughter being classified as a jazz bunny promoting jazz.  In the confrontation scene, she asks her father: ‘Is this the wrong moment to ask for a 100,000 DM loan to stage the concert?’    There is also an impressive staged segment when Vera’s brother tells her that he will help her only because he hates his father more than he hates her.

Director Fluk ditches conventional filmmaking in his storytelling.  He has a renegade reporter, Michael Watts (Michael Chernus), at many points in the film talking directly to the camera.  He is the only character in the film who does so, serving to replace what could have been done as a voiceover.  This tactic works as it jolts the audience into thinking of the film at a different level, and what Watts says to the audience is also funny, not to say it makes sense.  Director Fluk also shifts focus from one character to another, for example, from Watts and then to Vera Blandes, with the effect that the story can be seen from two different views.

The film’s main flaw is the age disparity between the lead actress, who plays a 17-year-old, and the character she portrays.  The lead actress, Mala Emde, does not look at all below 20, and when checked, her age is 29.  Worst still, is the fact that the dialogue emphasizes not once but so many times how young this jazz promoter is.  The age is also crucial in the story as the storyteller is supposed to show how this young jazz burner at the age of 17 accomplished the amazing feat of organizing the opera house concert for  Keith Garrett.  Ignoring this flaw, KOLN 75 would have been on my Top 10 list for 2025 Best Feature Films.  But given the age limitation of actress Mala Erode, she delivers a remarkable performance.

KOLN 75 opens in theatres on Friday, October 31st.

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THE RATS: A WITCHER TALE (USA 2025) **

Directed by Mairzee Almas

 

The Witcher is a fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. It is based on the book series[a] by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Princess Ciri. It stars Henry Cavill, Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan.

There have been 4 series, with number 4 recently released on Netflix.  But there is a failed spinoff, now released as a movie, just after series 4 was dropped. 

THE RATS: A WITCHER TALE stars Dolph Lundgren as a Witcher known as Brehen alongside the group of street-smart criminals known as The Rats, first introduced in The Witcher season 3. The 80-minute movie acts as both a prequel to The Witcher season 4 as well as briefly covering what happens next for Ciri.  Cavill and Hemsworth are not in this one.

In the film, the rats plan to pull off a daring heist.  This gang of misfit outlaws will have to do something they’ve never done before: trust each other — and a washed-up Witcher.  Because of the nature of the vault/arena involved, they need the help of a witcher (monster-hunter) — one who is no longer at his prime.  The film attempts to explore which it partly succeeds, of their backstories and relationships, especially the dynamic between the Rats and the witcher they enlist. 

The film is a poor man’s Robin Hood set in a medieval fantasy land in which the gang largely keeps its spoils to itself.  The film is strictly for fans of the series.  The blend of harmless action-adventure comes with some bouts of violence.

THE RATS: A WITCHER TALE opens for streaming this week on Netflix.

URCHIN (UK 2025) ****

Directed by Harris Dickinson

 

URCHIN is the impressive directorial debut of British actor, the handsome Harris Dickinson (star of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, BEACH RATS, and WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING) that premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard Section.

The URCHIN in the title is the modern-day definition of an urchin, usually referring  to a poor, ragged, or mischievous child, often seen wandering the streets, like a “street urchin.”  But the urchin in the story is 39-year-old Mike (Frank Dillane), a school dropout who goes about life like a child.  When the film opens, Mike is living on the streets of London, hiding his entire belongings in a backpack behind a rubbish dumpster.

As fate has it, he is desperate for money to buy food and robs and assaults a good Samaritan passerby, resulting in his arrest and imprisonment for 8 months.  A bit too much to pay for a stolen watch, he muses.  When released, he meets a disinterested welfare worker who offers him a less than a year stay in a hostel, warning him that he is likely on his own after that, as he is neither disabled nor in the special need category, and would be low in priority for help.  At this stage, the film looks like a Ken Loach film about social services criticism, but the film heads towards a different direction.  It shows the perils, temptations, and trials that a street person with only just so much help goes through.  It is a well-thought-out work written and directed by Dickinson, aided by a superb performance by Dillane, making URCHIN a superb first feature.  Dillane trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (R.A.D.A.), graduating in 2013.   As a child, he played Christopher Henderson in 'Welcome to Sarajevo' (Channel 4/Miramax/Dragon Pictures) directed by Michael Winterbottom. Aged sixteen, Frank played Tom Riddle in 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,' directed by David Yates.

The premise of the film reads: A young addict, Mike (Dillane), living on the streets of London, is given a shot at redemption, but his road to recovery soon curdles into a strange odyssey from which he may never escape.  Mike is sober when the film opens, but falls into drugs again, beginning with trying ‘K’ for the first time.

Director Dickson gets his audience to both sympathize and then feel the complete opposite. disgust for Mike -  a rare feat that he accomplishes, turning the tables a few times during the film, with credit also going to actor Dillane.  The film shows that the man needs guidance, as is revealed several times in the film.   Even the character confesses:  “I like to be told what to do.”   Even his dreams of being a manager of a chauffeur company sound not only far-fetched but an impossible goal to reach.  His self-destructive nature, leading to a fallout with his romantic, short-lived relationship, also shows his childish nature.  Part of the reason can be seen as a lack of fundamental education and the lack of a father figure.

Director Dickson also uses surreal images with saturated colour to depict Mike’s mental state, and once again at the film’s end.

URCHIN deservedly won the Dickinson Cannes Fipresci Prize in the United States Certain Regard Section at Cannes this year.  The film opens on October 31st at the TIFF Lightbox.

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THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk

 

The magic question debated at the start of the film is whether the then drought and record hot weather of the 80’s is due to global warming, which is caused by the Greenhouse effect.  It is good to know, as the doc explains, the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is the natural process by which certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat, keeping the planet warm enough to support life.

Here’s how it works step by step:

The Sun’s energy reaches Earth in the form of sunlight.

Some of this energy is absorbed by the Earth’s surface, warming it.

The Earth then releases heat (in the form of infrared radiation) back into space.

Greenhouse gases—such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), water vapour (H₂O), and nitrous oxide (N₂O)—trap some of this heat and prevent it from escaping.

This trapped heat keeps the Earth’s surface warmer than it would be if all the heat escaped into space.  Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s average temperature would be about –18°C (0°F) instead of the comfortable +15°C (59°F) we have now.  But now more harm had evolved.

“Dummies, Better listen!  This is the greenhouse effect,”  says an expert on TV in the first 15 minutes of the doc.  If only that idiot dummy orange face one would listen, instead of cancelling the global warming bill.  President George Bush said it.  “It is simple.  We can do it

The doc goes across different presidencies.

It begins with Jimmy Carter in Part 1: entitled “What sacrifices can we make?”

Part 2:  “Which George Bush are we looking at?”  Well, Bush won the election in 1988, as he promised to do something about the environment.

Part 3:  "Is science for sale? "

Once agin, the doc proves the fallacy and hypocrisy of the White House  While the doc offers a good summary of all the events that have taken place in the past regarding the issue, including the catastrophic Exxon oil spill an the company’s coverup of its devastation effects, the tension could be stronger or more focused around fewer key characters/events. (such as the fight between Bill Reilly and John Sununu. The villain of the piece is clearly Sununu , and the hero is Reilly.

Reilly says at one point in the film, a point that hits the nail on its head: "This is all very depressing!"  as the United States White House has failed to do anything about it, all initially spurred by Sununu.

THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT opens for streaming on October 31st on Netflix.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 18 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

ANNIVERSARY (USA 2025) **
Directed by Jan Komasa

 

Lionsgate gets serious with three serious productions this month.  One is ANNIVERSARY, and the others are the recent KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN and GOOD FORTUNE.  Lionsgate breaks the mold of their typical action and horror flicks.

ANNIVERSARY sees a family, parents, three daughters, and their son meet over several gatherings beginning with an anniversary, followed by Thanksgiving, then the father’s birthday, and at the end, another anniversary.  Events evolve, causing drifts in political views, and the family faces problems trying to stay together as a whole.

The strong political leaning of the film is apparent from the very beginning, where the audience sees Ellen (Diane Lane, who also co-produced the film) giving a speech on how she is neither liberal nor conservative and prefers not to be inhibited by her work.  “Sounds like America? “ she adds.

ANNIVERSARY blends two genres together - political thriller/drama and family drama.

In this film, aimed at being a gripping thriller, a close-knit family is caught in the turmoil of a controversial rising movement known as “The Change.”  Ellen and Paul (Diane Lane and Kyle Chandler) witness their lives fall apart when Ellen’s former student, Liz (Phoebe Dynevor), reappears and starts dating their son, Josh (Dylan O’Brien).  As Liz becomes a part of the Taylor family, tensions rise and loyalties are tested.  Liz was a former student of Ellen in University where their ideas clashed.  Liz now has a written book called “The Change’  signifying no more political parties but one America.  Americans are frazzled and angry. Americans take sides.  Liz is pro-change, while the family is anti-change.  Ellen accuses Liz of using Josh and her family to further her cause.  At one crucial moment in the film, Ellen threatens Liz with a kitchen knife, saying that she will kill her if she influences another one of her family. Liz’s role in “The Change” brings simmering conflicts to the surface, unraveling the fabric of the family just as the nation itself stands on edge during an alarming and challenging time of uncertainty.

Despite the high aims of the movie tackling political issues, the way in which the approach is taken feels manipulative and cheesy.  The blending of the family drama and divisions enhances the cheesiness.  The setup has echoes of “infiltration” narratives—someone from the past re-enters a seemingly stable family with hidden motives.

The main problem of the film is the balance of the family’s personal emotional stakes at hand and broader ideological themes that have been brought up.  The drama seems overdone and the action setups manipulative, an imbalance leading to parts feeling didactic or emotionally hollow.

One feels sorry for the cast who try so hard to make the project work.  The ensemble cast is led by Diane Lane, followed by Kyle Chandler, Zoey Deutch, Phoebe Dynevor, Dylan O’Brien, and McKenna Grace, doing their best the project credibility.  Standing out is actor Dylan O’Brien playing Josh, the chief asshole who gets his comeuppance at the end/

ANNIVERSARY opens in theatres across Canada on Wednesday, October 29th.

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BLUE MOON (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Richard Linklater

 

BLUE MOON is the famous song written by Lorenz Hart, the subject of the new Richard Linklater film  BLUE MOON.  The film takes its title from the song by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart.  “Blue moon, you saw me standing alone…”

“He was alert and dynamic and fun to be around,” stated Oscar Hammerstein II.

“He was the saddest man I ever knew,”  said Mable Mercer. (an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret.)

  Lorenz Hart (died Nov. 22, 1943, New York City) was a U.S. song lyricist whose commercial popular songs incorporated the careful techniques and verbal refinements of serious poetry.  His 25-year collaboration with composer Richard Rodgers resulted in approximately 1,000 songs, ranging from the simple exuberance of “With a Song in My Heart” (1929) to the glib sophistication of “The Lady Is a Tramp” (1937).  The film opens with his leaving Sardi’s and collapsing on the street, uttering the word” Fuck” before passing out.  The film then flashes back months earlier.

  The setting is March 31, 1943.  It is the opening night of the Broadway musical Oklahoma! – the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) and his new lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (Simon Delaney), following Rodgers’ split with Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) after 24 years together.  Rodgers and Hammerstein made the Best musical duo in musical history, including hits like THE SOUND OF MUSIC and SOUTH PACIFIC.

In BLUE MOON, director Richard Linklater crafts a riveting chamber piece set in real time at Sardi’s on the historic night in 1943 of Richard Rodgers’ (Andrew Scott) greatest triumph: the premiere of Oklahoma!  There is the closing number of the musical with the hit song ‘Oklahoma!” also featured at the start of the film.  Richard Linklater directs from Robert Kaplow’s script, based on Hart and Weiland’s letters.  Ethan Hawke delivers a charming, lived-in performance as the troubled Rodgers’ former collaborator, lyricist Lorenz Hart, an alcoholic and marginally closeted raconteur grappling with the fact that Rodgers’ biggest success now belongs to a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein.

As flowers and accolades pour into the restaurant, heralding a new era of American musicals, Hart holds court at the bar, regaling a plainspoken bartender (Bobby Cannavale) and a young, aspiring composer and military officer with stories. His current fixation is a 20-year-old Yale student, Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), whom he reveres with a fervour that drifts between romantic longing and aesthetic worship.

The film is punctuated with many of Hart’s compositions, many played by the pianists at Sardi’s.  The songs include, of course, “Blue Moon” and other recognizable songs.

Andrew Scott won the Best Supporting Performance at Berlin 2025.  But the acting by Ethan Hawke deserves mention for his outstanding performance that should win him an Oscar nod.  But the emphasis of Hart’s height is a bit too pronounced. His reactions after taking a shot at the bar are priceless.  BLUE MOON marks another successful collaboration of Hawke with director Linklater.

BLUE MOON had its Toronto premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, and opens in theatres on October 24th.

Trailer: 

BUGONIA (UK/USA/Canada/Ireland 2025) ***

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

 

This review contains spoilers, in the paragraph that is highlighted and in italics.  Please skip the paragraph if you intend to watch the film.

The premise of BUGONIA has two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

The two conspiracy-obsessed young men are Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Donny (Aidan Delbis), who believe that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company, is actually an alien from the Andromeda species who intends to destroy Earth.

Because of these beliefs, they kidnap her, the two of them masked and assault her outside her elaborate residence.  They shave her head, believing that her hair is somehow meant to communicate with the mothership.  If all this sounds outrageous, it is, and it is never explained how they came to such beliefs.  Fuller plays along in order to escape, and her transportation, as she tells them, is thought to be a locked closet seems all too silly to be true.  But Teddy Believes.

The film blends science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and satire — exploring themes of conspiracy, grief, corporate power, the environmental crisis, alienation, and what happens when belief or paranoia becomes extreme. Roge

BUGONIA, a Yorgos Lanthimos film, is as weird and f**ked up as most of his early films like THE LOSBTSR, THE KILLING OF A SCARED DEER (his best film), and KINDS OF KINDNESS.  Strictly for Lanthimos fans, as those unfamiliar with his work will be just too overwhelmed to make head or tail of all that is going on.  

Lanthimos knows the film is not to be taken too seriously, though he goes all serious during the first half.  He goes all put with ridiculous alien costumes (big oversized furry baggy attire) with odd colours and sets.  Even the locked closet being the transportation of the alien, turns out to be true in a twist of the plot.  Now thing one can say about a Lanthimos film, it is never boring, though the film is a bit of a slow burn at the start.

The excellent Jesse Plemons plays the main character, Teddy, in the film, after having lost a whole bunch of weight, though he is still recognizable.  He was in KINDS OF KINDNESS, as in this one.  He seems to have taken over Lanthimos’ favourite actor, Collin Farrell.  Plemons plays his character straight to counteract the outrageous plot and character Lanthimos has built around Teddy.

BUGONIA is actually a remake/adaptation of the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon-hwan.  It'd be more than interesting to watch the original Korean film to see how Lanthimos’ film compares. The Korean director Jang was originally slotted to direct this film before Lanthimos came on board.

At the end, one would be too mesmerized by this absurdist film to decide whether it was good or not, or whether one was entertained by it or not.

BULGONIA opens with a special limited engagement on October 24th, ahead of a wide expansion on October 31st.

Trailer: 

DRACULA (Romania/Austria/Luxembourg/Brazil 2025) ***
Directed by Radu Jude

 

Romanian director known for hosting excesses and vulgarity, known for his hits THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD  and BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN, comes up with his latest version and interpretation of the DRACULA myth.  This is a very Romanian look at the myth, linked to folklore and absurdity.

Dracula is a 2025 satirical comedy-drama film written and directed by Radu Jude. The film title is inspired by Bram Stoker's Gothic horror novel, Dracula. Set in contemporary Transylvania, it explores the legend of Dracula through Romanian lenses.

Radu Jude’s DRACULA is not the typical DRACULA film.  The use of AI as both theme and tool is timely, provocative, and innovative, though the non-linearity of the film (in every aspect) can be quite overwhelming to the average viewer. 

The main narrative thread involves a creatively blocked director who turns to a (fake) AI chatbot to help him craft his next film, which is about Dracula.  What follows is a sequence of 14-15 vignettes of varying tone and absurdity — some vampire horror, some absurd comedy, some commentary — all referencing Dracula myth, film, folklore, kitsch, and AI.

The setting includes Transylvanian landscapes and medieval locations (e.g., Sighişoara, Bethlen Castle, Bucharest’s Griviţa Roşie district) and uses them for both real footage and AI-generated image montages.

One vignette has a truck driver in the country giving a ride to a young lass. A couple of times! When he confesses that he has been married for two years, she jumps out of the truck. AI-generated images show her landing in front of the truck,k which stops abruptly. The driver discovers a stake through her out, pushes her back in the truck, and drives her around. Another has Uncle Sandu and Vampire, two restaurant performers escaping through the city streets while his dinner guests hunt them down.

It is a rocky roller-coaster ride, to say the least, and whether one comes off it entertained is questionable.  A lot of nudity, crude language, images of penises and bare breasts - what is morally present and can be expected in a Radu Jude’s film.

If Radu Jude’s DRACULA is your cup of tea, then Radu Jude’s next film, FRANKENSTEIN IN ROMANIA, should be worth a look.

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 10 August 2025, where it was nominated for Golden Leopard.  The film has a one-day-only special screening this coming Wednesday, 29th October at the TIFF Lightbox.

Trailer: 

THE ELIXIR (Indonesia 2025) **
Directed by Kimo Stamboel

 

THE ELIXER is an Indonesian zombie movie, set in Indonesia, a country famous for its folklore horror movies.  THE ELIXER is set in the countryside outside Jakarta.

For centuries, the elixir primarily meant an ingredient used in alchemy, either referring to a liquid which purportedly converts lead to gold, or a substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.  That which would indefinitely prolong life (more fully elixir vitae, "elixir of life") was considered to be closely related to, or even identical with, the substance for transmuting metals.  

The film begins with a runaway car crashing into a circumcision ceremony, injuring many of the guests, before the driver is discovered to be a blood sucking zombie attacking the guest who opened the crashed car door to confront the driver.  The film moves back in time to explain the series of events leading to this crash, the story of the film, which goes on after a third of the film’s 2-hour running time.

For a movie running at 2 hours, it is surprising that this fast-moving film is quite boring.  Despite huge, energetic action set pieces and elaborate family interactions, no one really cares what happens.  It is also strange that the family seems to be the only ones that survive the zombies the longest, whereas everyone else perishes in an instant.

The story kicks off when the patriarch of a herbal‐medicine company tries to innovate a new “youth elixir” (a potion promising eternal youth) and inadvertently triggers a zombie outbreak.  Sadimin: The father of the family and also the company head drinks the experimental elixir and transforms into a zombie monster. Once he bites a victim, the victim becomes a zombie, and a chain reaction occurs, leading to a whole load of villagers turning into flesh-eating zombies in mere minutes.  The desire to remain young while turning into a monster at the start of the film is reminiscent of he excellent film THE SUBSTANCE, but the similarity ends there.  THE ELIXIR turns into the run-of-the-mill zombie movie with all the usual cliches.  In this zombie movie, rain seems to stop the creatures from attacking their victims.

The story adds some family conflicts into the equation.,  The father’s wife is his daughter’s best friend in school, and the daughter, Karin, despises Kenes as a result.  But, as cliches go, their differences have to be put aside to survive the zombie apocalypse.  Karina has a son, who does not seem to be able to walk or run on his ow,n even though he is a big boy, and is carried by his father or mother whenever zombies attack.

The only positive point about the move is the zombie flick set in an Indonesian non-Western setting.  Despite the poor acting and silly storyline, the individual action set pieces are effectively staged.  The film also shows that eternal youth and sexual performance are very much desired in any setting.

THE ELIXIR is a Netflix original horror film and opens for streaming this Thursday on Netflix.

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LAST STOP: ROCAFORT STATION (Estación Rocafort)(Spain 2024) ***½

Directed by Luis Prieto

 

In LAST STOP: ROCAFORT ST., the darkest legend of Barcelona emerges like the wind from the metro entrance and chases you through the city, the scenario of a horror story that no one will want to believe when they hear it.

The horror film begins with a family held hostage by the Yellow Line serial killer in the underground tunnel.  The station is Rocafort Station in Barcelona.  A cop, Roman, wrestles the killer to the ground after the killer has shot the father and mother.  The gun goes off, and the daughter is shot, while the killer is arrested and presently in prison, Roman is now off the force and heavily drinks to forget the past.  The film moves forward to Laura, a Metro employee assigned to Rocafort Station.   There, she witnesses a suicide.  Right after that, she witnesses hallucinations and cannot tell reality from her nightmares.  She wants to be re-assigned to another station, but her supervisor refuses.  Apparently, no one wants to work at this reputed haunted station.

A haunted station is almost the perfect setting for a horror movie.  One wonders the reason it has not been done before.  The labyrinth of tunnels is spooky and eerie.  There are plenty of opportunities for jump scares, which director Prieto uses a few times.

In case one is wondering about Rocafort station, there is such a station in Barcelona.  It was opened in 1926 and has had a reputation of being haunted ever since.

During the work week in Barcelona, 1.3 million passengers a day travel along the 76 miles of the metro, on which 161 trains run at rush hour along the 8 lines that comprise it. Throughout the metro network, there are 161 stations open to the public. Of all those people, some never see the light of day again, and the rest don’t want to know….

The station is an urban legend  The perception of Rocafort Station as a cursed place has deeply rooted itself in Barcelona.  Workers from Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) avoid being assigned to this station due to legends that speak of mysterious voices in the tunnels around midnight.  The station, with its flickering lights and dimly lit corridors, has been the perfect setting for local horror stories like the one in this film..  According to these legends, Rocafort has a malevolent influence that lures the desperate to their end. This reputation has generated numerous urban tales, consolidating the station’s image as a place surrounded by mystery and fear.

Newly assigned to work at Rocafort St., one of Barcelona’s quietest subway stops, Laura quickly realizes something is deeply wrong beneath the tracks. Whispers of an urban legend swirl sinisterly around the station, and she soon finds herself haunted by a string of unexplained deaths all pointing to Rocafort. When she enlists a disgraced ex-cop to help uncover the truth, the mystery turns deadly. Whatever evil lurks inside the labyrinth of tunnels preys unrelentingly on fear – and now, it’s coming for her. 

Director Prieto makes full use of the mystery, menace, and history of the reputed haunted Rocafort Station to enhance a story of ghosts and murder.  One complaint audiences might have is that the film ends after all the mystery is explained, but not with a happy ending.

LAST STOP: ROCAFORT STATION (Estación Rocafort) premieres on VOD and Digital Platforms on October 24th.

Trailer:

QUEENS OF THE DEAD (2025) ***
Directed by Tina Romero

 

The film’s beginning follows a drag queen as she enters a church to pray, offer tithes, and see a customer, before she is bitten by a zombie.  She is totally camp, playing it out as one total bitch, but one who is fun to observe and laugh at and with.

 This is when a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn.  Brooklyn, where the drag queens rule.  The film does not explain how these zombies came to be, nor does it matter anyhow, as any reason would have sufficed anyway.

Meanwhile, in the world of drag queens, it is the night of a giant warehouse party, where an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead.  When the first killing occurs in the club, the queens try to call 9-1-1, but an Amber Alert is on.

Is the film terrifying?  It is, if you dread watching drag queen stuttering around like peacocks with their limp wrists and effeminate ways.  But they are as camp as they are entertaining, if one likes this sort of thing.  QUEENS OF THE DEAD is a horror film not to be taken lightly, but with humour and lots of camp.

The drag queens need to escape the zombies.  How?  The answer lies in the 28 DAYS LATER zombie movies with the same solution: there is a boat to be caught to take these assorted queens to a safe place, and they must get to the boat, as instructed by the Margaret Cho character playing a lesbian bitch fighter.

If the name Tina Romero sounds familiar because of the director’s last name, it's because Tina is the daughter of George Romero, the horror director who basically invented the zombie, not to say zombie movies.  In real life, Tina Romero is a filmmaker, writer, and DJ living in New York City. After earning her BA in Cinema Studies at Wellesley College, she attended the NYU Tisch Graduate Film program, where she won the Warner Bros. Film Award for her accomplishments in filmmaking. Tina’s greatest influence, in film and in life, is her father, George A. Romero.

QUEENS OF THE DEAD premieres on Shudder on October 24th, the week of Halloween and serves as an alternative to the normal horror flick.

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REGRETTING YOU (USA 2025) **
Directed by Josh Boone

 

Regretting You is a 2025 romantic drama film directed by Josh Boone (romcom expert who directed romance films like THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and STUCK IN LOVE) from a screenplay by Susan McMartin. It is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover.

The following paragraph is a summary of the story, and it contains spoilers.  The paragraph is in italics, so skip it if you do not wish to learn of the plot.

At the core of Regretting You is Morgan Grant, who becomes pregnant as a teenager, putting aside her own dreams to raise her daughter, Clara. Now, at 34, she’s lived a life molded by responsibility and sacrifice, constantly striving to protect Clara from making similar mistakes. Her husband, Chris, serves as the family’s calming influence, but when Chris dies in a sudden car accident, everything unravels.  Chris wasn’t alone in the car—he was with Jenny, Morgan’s sister, and that’s where the real emotional quake starts. Not only is Jenny dead, but it comes to light that she and Chris were having an affair—a revelation that shakes Morgan to her core. Morgan, grappling with both grief and betrayal, is forced to keep this devastating secret from Clara, adding more strain to an already difficult mother-daughter relationship. Meanwhile, Clara, dealing with the loss of her father and believing her mother is keeping secrets, finds solace in her own budding romance with a boy named Miller Adams, much to Morgan’s disapproval. The novel shifts between Morgan’s and Clara’s points of view, each grappling with their own versions of pain and growth. Clara’s struggles are those of a teenager—angst, first love, rebellion—while Morgan’s are those of a woman whose world has been turned upside down by betrayal and loss. Their paths, though entwined, diverge as they both seek ways to heal, only to find more secrets buried beneath the surface.

Despite attempts at twists and turns in the story, it still comes across as manipulative, especially towards the privileged white female.  Why does everything good and all dreams come true for this spoiled teen?  Also, what happened to baby Eli during the last half hour when all hell broke loose?

The treatment of the male gender is fully at the whim and fancies of their counterpart, the female, in this strongly female-slanted story.  The story is told from two female points of view, from mother Morgan and her daughter Clara, nicknamed Clara Bear.  Though Chris is supposed to have influence on the family, Scott Eastwood has little screen time, except to show off his muscular build, obviously for female pleasure.  Cutie pie Dave Franco, playing Uncle Jonah, also plays for the female eye, as does the young actor Mason Thames (HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON), portraying Miller Adams, Clara’s romance.

REGRETTING YOU is a female slanted romantic drama dealing with grief, regret, and love, the kind of stuck general audiences love to loop up.  The film, which opens in theatres this weekend, should do well at the box office.

 

Trailer: 

SHELBY OAKS (USA 2024) **
Directed by Chris Stuckmann

 

It was twelve years back when a YouTube paranormal investigation team called the Paranormal Paranoids disappeared while filming in the abandoned ghost-town of Shelby Oaks, Ohio.  Their leader, Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn), is missing, and the case remains unsolved.

Riley’s sister Mia (Camille Sullivan), the main subject, has still not given up hope of finding her sister and solving the mystery.. She becomes involved in a documentary/investigation of her own to find out what happened to Riley.

As Mia digs deeper, she uncovers disturbing footage, a dark legacy, and realizes that the “imaginary demon” or supernatural entity she and Riley believed in as kids may have been real.

The film blends documentary/found-footage style segments (early on, as in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT) with more traditional narrative horror sequences.  The supernatural threat becomes more overt as the story progresses towards the second third.

In the Q&A following the film’s promo screenings, director/writer Stuckmann makes the bold comment that he believes every new director would come from the YouTube / TikTok generation.  This is a very sweeping statement based on his own, likely limited experience.  During the Q&A, Stuckmann can hardly speak proper sentences without the excess use of the word ‘like’, giving off the impression that he cannot write in good English prose and perhaps not too intelligently.  His film reflects the flaw of lacking a strong narrative, though Stuckmann does well with individual segments.

The best thing about Stuckmann’s film is his creation of the hut in the woods, similar to Hansel and Greta’s witch’s shack in the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale.  Mia soon discovers that the old woman in the hut has imprisoned Riley, who is now not the same Riley that Mia knew.  This is perfectly creepy and scary,y Grimm’s fairy tale territory.  Director Stuckmann also evokes some funny comedy during this segment.

 

SHELBY OAKS is an occasionally impressive first feature with some genuine scares, but it suffers from inconsistency (should supernatural forces exist or not?) and the lack of a strong narrative.  SHELBY OAKS opens in Theatres this week.

Trailer: 

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Scott Cooper

 

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE is a 2025 American biographical musical drama film starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. Written and directed by Scott Cooper, and based on the 2023 book Deliver Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes, it chronicles Springsteen's personal and professional struggles during the conception of his 1982 album Nebraska. 

The film’s main subject is Springsteen and his 1982 album Nebraska, as well as what he, his manager, and band went through to get it made.  Springsteen lost his romance and went into depression while fighting for what he wanted for the album, which took a major toll on his emotional balance.   There is no talk on drugs or alcohol, so one must give The Boss credit for that.  He insisted on no singles, no press, and no tour for the album.  The album had difficulty being made by the record label, but his manager fought for him.  It did become Number 3 on the charts in the United States when released.

Retrospectively, critics regard Nebraska as a timeless record and one of Springsteen's finest works. The album has appeared on numerous lists of the greatest albums of all time. It is recognized as one of the first do-it-yourself (DIY) home recordings by a major artist and has had a significant influence on the indie rock and underground music scenes. 

On its original release, the critical reception to Nebraska was mostly positive. It was hailed by critics for its boldness and individuality, being called an unexpected,  brave, and artistically daring record. Its stylistic departure from Springsteen's previous works came as a shock to some critics

The best performance in the film belongs to English actor Stephen Graham, who recently won an Emmy for the Netflix series ADOLESCENCE and will be seen in the upcoming GOOD BOY, where he plays a geeky, troubled kidnapper.  Graham ditches his English accent and plays the complex and troubled American father perfectly.  Jeremy Allen White, who looks like Dustin Hoffman in several segments due to the camera angles, also deserves praise for playing Springsteen.

One thing to note is that this is not the typical biopic like the recent ones on Elvis Presley and Elton John.  This is a dramatic portrayal of Bruce Springsteen as an artist fighting his personal demons, which include his depression, outbursts, and failed romances.  There is little seen of the Boss performing on stage, though there is emphasis on the songs he had written, in which one can appreciate his hard-to-recognize talent.

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE is not the kind of film his fans would expect, but it is not that bad a movie anyway.  It has a hefty $55 million budget and this film, though not bad has a possibility of being a dud judging form recent duds like Dwayne Johnson’s arguablybest dramatic movie, the recent THE SMASHING MACHONE that no one went to see as well as Jennifer Lopez’s musical KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN with great performances and choreography that made less that $1 million domestically in the U.S. opening weekend.

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE opens everywhere in theatres this week, October 20th.

Trailer:

 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 12 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER (Germany/UK 2025) ***
Directed by Edward Berger

 

German director Edward Berger's last two recent films, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT  and CONCLAVE, have not only won loads of accolades but have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.  His newest entry tackles a more depressing subject, and it would be a surprise if the Academy voters would pick this one again for a Best Picture nomination.  For one, BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER is not a very easily likable film, and neither i its central character, a loser who is down on his luck.  He is not actually a small player, as he does bet everything he has at one point on one single bet.  The ‘small’, of course, could refer to something else.

The film opens with a shot of a city filled with bright lights and casinos.  No, it is not Las Vegas.  The audience is told that it is M<acau. The city is most famous for gambling in the universe.      

There are differences between Macau and Vegas, of course, and the audience's shoulders have some fun observing the difference on screen, like they serve tea instead of drinks in Macau.

The film follows Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), a high-stakes gambler who is trying to lie low in Macau after his past misdeeds and mounting debts begin to catch up with him.  Doyle lives under a veneer of sophistication and confidence, spending his days and nights on casino floors, drinking heavily, gambling, and trying to maintain control of both his finances and his identity.  As his debt burden grows (he is banned from the hotel that he is initially residing at, and moves to another, less strict one that would advance him loans)  and his world starts to unravel, he encounters Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a mysterious casino employee/moneylender with her own secrets.  Also tracking him is Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton), a private investigator/outsider who confronts him with what he’s been hiding and the consequences of his actions. 

As Doyle tries to claw his way toward redemption (or at least survival), boundaries between reality and illusion begin to blur; the narrative often leans into metaphor, psychological disintegration, and hints of the supernatural.

Berger is a great stager of scenes, as can be observed in his previous films.  In this film, the glamour and spectacle of the casinos are all on display.  His best filmed segment is actually the one after the closing credits role, an elaborate dance sequence between Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton.

Farrell excels in his role as the loser/gambler.  If Nicholas Cage won an Oscar for a similar role in Mike Figgis’ LEAVING LAS VEGAS, Farrell might have a good chance here.

The film is based on Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel The Ballad of a Small Player.   The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival on 29 August 2025, and was released in select cinemas in the United States on 15 October 2025, before being released in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2025, before its streaming debut on Netflix on 29 October 2025.

Trailer: 

 

EVERYBODY LOVES ME WHEN I’MDEAD (Thailand 2025) **½
Directed by Nithiwat Tharatorn

 

The title of the new Thai crime drama EVERYBODY LOVES ME WHEN I’M DEAD comes about because once dead, one could have a dormant bank account, which means the ‘everybody’ has a chance to draw out the money, without any notice if done cleverly enough.

This is the premise of the film.  The everybody are two friends and workers at a Thai bank, Toh and Petch,  The story centres on Toh, a vice-manager at a bank, who is under financial pressure—he is trying to afford his daughter’s schooling in a prestigious school that demands donations in oder for admission, as well as maintain his family’s lifestyle, while also fearing his job may become obsolete.   The obsolescence is explained as the result of AI, a theme common in many films currently.  Toh’s junior colleague, Petch, discovers that a long-dormant bank account, belonging to a deceased woman named Jit, contains 30 million baht.  This translates to around 1.3 million Canadian dollars, a hefty sum.  Because nobody is claiming it, Petch persuades Toh that the money is essentially “unowned.”  Tech is under pressure from gangsters as his recently deceased father owed them a whole load of money.

Initially reluctant, Toh eventually gives in. They begin withdrawing small amounts, rationalizing that it's “no one’s money.”  Both represent relatively innocent men forced away, as well as tempted to step on the money.  But once the heist is underway, they attract dangerous attention from gangsters and criminals who want the same funds.

In the first half of the film, the interaction of the characters and the story’s premise is established to little fanfare.  All goes according to what one might expect without any surprises, meaning a little slow and boring initial half of the film.  The film runs over 2 hours, so an hour takes its time to pass before director Tharatorn ups the ante with some violence that includes a gangster stomping on his hand and cursing the upper half of his arm with a sharp knife.  The latter is enough to make anyone cringe.

As the stakes rise, alliances break, betrayals occur, violence escalates, and the plan unravels, turning the lives of all involved into a tragic downward spiral.  The film has a depressing tone with little hope for the two hard-up-for-money bank employees.  The message of greed and desperation is all too common, but one that needs to be emphasized in the film.

The film offers little redemption for both Toh and Petch.  Though director Tharatorn brings this film logically to its conclusion, one might complain of the overall bleak nature of the film.  The film also highlights the sleaze of city life, as in one scene when TYoh drives past a massage parlour with young girls posing through a window.

EVERYBODY LOVES ME WHEN I’M DEAD opens for streaming this week on Netflix, Tuesday, October 14th.  It makes a change from all the Thai horror films and martial-arts action flicks.

Trailer: 

 

GOOD FORTUNE (USA 2025) **
Directed by Aziz Ansari

A combination of body swapping and angel earning wings genre that avoids strong messages but results in amusing at most missed comedy.

(Review to be posted weekend)

INSIDE FURIOZA (Poland 2025) **½

Directed by Cyprian T. Olencki

 

INSIDE FURIOZA is the sequel to the 2021 FURIOZA, each film running close to a little over 2 hours.  INSIDE FURIOZA is very confusing if one is unfamiliar with the first film or its characters, despite a 2 and a two-minute intro to the film.

For FURIOZA, an event from the past separates the fate of three friends. Unexpectedly, in the life of David (Mateusz Banasiuk), she appears again. Dzika (Weronika Ksiazkiewicz) - once the love of his life, now an experienced policewoman, makes him an offer that cannot be rejected. Either he becomes a police informant, or his brother (Wojciech Zielinski) will go to prison with a long-term sentence. Pressed against the wall, David finally succumbs, and his main goal becomes to infiltrate in an organized criminal group. Hitting the middle of a war for influence and money, he will have to face constant suspicion from Golden's old friend (Mateusz Damiecki). He will soon discover that the world from which he tried to free himself draws him in with redoubled strength.

In INSIDE FURIOZA, also called FURIOZA 2 and also called FURIOZA AGAIN, the story picks up in the wake of a murder; a new leader named Golden takes control of the Furioza hooligan gang and steers it toward expanded criminal activity across borders.  After a plan to overthrow the gang’s ultras leader goes horribly wrong, Golden seizes power and unleashes violence and chaos in the city.

With respect to the original, the stakes escalate in the underworld with organized crime, gang wars, and moral conflict.

The film is ultra-violent, and on the positive side, the performances are convincing, the action chase sequences, particularly the opening car chase on the highway well executed.  On the negative side, the film is too long, and it is hard to follow the story unless one is familiar with the plot prior to watching the film.

FURIOZA has nothing to do wth the MAD MAX films, though they share the gang violence and action.

INSIDE FURIOZA opens for streaming on Netflix this week.  The film should satisfy action fans.

Trailer: 

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (USA 2025) ***½

Directed by Bill Condon

The setting is Argentina, 1983, where the military dictatorship has killed and imprisoned some 30,000 political opponents.  The first act introduces the two prisoners sharing the same cell.  Usually, the introductory phase of any story could be laboured, but in this film, the introductions are spirited and ultra-dramatic.  The first screen adaptation, however, is set in a Brazilian prison during the 1970s military dictatorship.

Argentina, 1983. With the country’s military dictatorship waging a brutal war against its political opponents, prisoners Molina (Tonatiuh) and Valentin (Diego Luna) are cellmates in a prison where fear runs rampant.  Molina is a window dresser, incarcerated for public indecency with a male.  He likes to chit-chat and decorate the walls with movie posters.  Valentin is different, a leftist activist who likes to read political books and ponder.  He doesn’t know that Molina has been tasked to spy on him, in return for favours like roast chicken and chocolate. Meanwhile, Molina provides escapism for both of them by recounting the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favourite screen diva (Jennifer Lopez). 

As the cinematic story begins to blend with their real lives, Molina’s and Valentin’s bond grows stronger, first as friends – and then as more.  Yet Molina is still being pressured to deliver some intel on Valentin.

The first screen adaptation  (same title) before the musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb is a 1985 drama film directed by Héctor Babenco from a screenplay by Leonard Schrader, based on the 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig. It starred William Hurt, Raúl Julia, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, and Denise Dumon.  This film was a huge hit, so this new adaptation by Bill Condon  (KINSEY, GODS AND MONSTERS) has tough shoes to fill.  Babenco went on to be the first Brazilian director to be nominated for an Academy Award.  That film also won Hurt the Best Actor for BFATA and the Golden Globe.  The film also featured the hot Brazilian actress Sonia Braga.  It is interesting to note that as Babenco’s SPIDERWOMAN is largely Brazilian, his prison is a Brazilian prison, while the book’s and this latest film adaptation is an Argentinian prison.  In fact, this film ends with the political prisoners relating in Argentina.

The dances are magnificently choreographed, with Jennifer Lopez doing justice to the Latino dances.  The choreography is no Bob Fosse masterpieces as in his CABARET with Ebb and Kander, but the dances are still fantastic.  Director Condon directs the dances in one take, which enhances the magnificence as opposed to the dances in Baz Luhrmann’s STRICTLY BALLROOM, MOULIN ROUGE, or his ELVIS films, in which the choreography is broken up into too many cuts, with edits appearing less than every 12 seconds, thus chopping up all the dances.

For Fred and Chita……  These words appear on the screen, indicating the persons the film is dedicated to.  The film is dedicated to the memories of Ebb (who died in 2004), McNally (who died in 2020 from COVID-19), and Chita Rivera (who originated the title role on stage and died in 2024).

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN opens October 17 across Canada!  At the time of writing, the film has had he most disastrous opening weekend this year, grossing a domestic less than $1 million domestically at the box office.  Another dud for Lionsgate!

 Trailer: 

OTHER (France 2025) ***
Directed by David Moreau

 

David Moreau’s OTHER is a mystery/horror/thriller, pretty much like his previous 2024 film MadS.  Less ambitious than MadS, which was done in one long continuous take, director Moreau removes this filming constraint in his latest effort.  There are differences.  The former was an intense fast fast-paced horror film, while the latter is a slow burn that takes place generally in a big, empty house.  (Or is it not empty?)  The one similarity of both films is that one can expect the unexpected.  The former has a surprise end-of-the-world scenario at the end of the film, and there is a not-to-be-revealed surprise in OTHER as well.

OTHER has a female protagonist compared to the young male one in MadS.

With scenes of the female in a large dilapidated house, director Moteau cannot help himself by having a few scenes with his beautiful actress in scanty clad attire. At least, he does not resort to jump scares, which these days are used too much with annoyance.

The film can be divided into three acts.  The first is the setup where the audience is introduced to the female and her beau, Charlie.  The second has the setup where the film scares the audience with a masked killer, a wild animal, and other devices.  The third act is a violent one, with one scene where the female has her fingers stuck in the spikes of barbed wire as she scales a barbed wire fence.  Another scene has her pull out the spikes.  Be prepared to cringe a number of times.

The main flaw of the film is the upended conclusion in which the audience is left to interpret what is actually going on.  The end is more frustrating than innovative.  One does not go watch a horror film to think, but just to be entertained and scared silly.   Other than that, Moreau’s film is well shot, well performed, and displays promise.

One thing to note is that OTHER, a French film from France that is shot in English.  Like MadS, which was shot in French, both films could be relocated to any part of the world and shot in any language without much difference.

OTHER, like MadS, is a Shudder streaming exclusive and opens for streaming on the horror network on October 17th.

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THE PERFECT NEIGHBOUR (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir

 

The true crime drama documentary is one of moviegoers' favourite genres, and one that has been capitalised on by Netflix.  Netflix produced an average of at least two true crime dramas every three weeks, and subscribers highly watch them. THE PERFECT NEIGHBOUR is the latest Netflix true crime drama, and it is a timely one, as it not only covers issues of race and law but also of troubles that neighbours often have with each other.  Everyone has a neighbour, which means that everyone could have some trouble at some time or another with their neighbours.  This makes THE PERFECT NEIGHBOUR, or rather the imperfect neighbour, a perfect watch.

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOUR involves an incident as recent as last year, 2023.  On June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida, 35-year-old Ajike "AJ" Shantrell Owens was shot and killed by her neighbour, 58-year-old Susan Lorincz. Owens was knocking on Lorincz's door after altercations occurred between Owens' children and Lorincz in a field nearby.  Lorincz shot Owens through the door.  Police were already responding to "a trespassing call" when they received another 911 call about a shooting at the same address. They found Owens injured and took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The case garnered national attention and sparked debate surrounding stand-your-ground laws. In August 2024, Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter, and in November 2024, she was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2025, the shooting was the basis for the documentary film 

It is important to have knowledge of the stand your ground law, especially when guns are permitted in the United States.  This true crime doc utilises this law to defend the attacker.  A stand-your-ground law, sometimes called a "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law, provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defence). Under such a law, people have no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense, so long as they are in a place where they are lawfully present. It is also good to know the alternative.  The alternative to stand your ground is "duty to retreat". In jurisdictions that implement a duty to retreat, even a person who is unlawfully attacked (or who is defending someone who is unlawfully attacked) may not use deadly force if it is possible to instead avoid the danger with complete safety by retreating.

The film reconstructs the conflicts =, beginning with the initial incident of a sign thrown by Ajike at Lorincz, the one that was probably the catalyst of all the incidents that followed.  The film offers afirsthand experience feel as the film features through police bodycam footage, 911 calls, and on-scene transcripts — with minimal narration or interview framing — allowing the events to unfold through the raw materials of the case

Through its subject, the effective re-constructed true crime drama raises broader questions about race, power, fear, and how certain legal frameworks may enable violence.

Trailer: 

THE SUMMER BOOK (also called The Summer House)(UK/Finland/USA 2024) ****
Directed by Charlie McDowell

 

Can a film be too charming?  The film’s main character is a summer house set at the edge of an Island by the Coast of Finland.  The opening shot shows the partly melted ice on the rocks at the shore where the waves swell toward the rocks.  The camera moves to an old house close by. THE SUMMER BOOK is based on the beloved novel with the same name.  One scene has the 9-year-old daughter approaching her father in the kitchen of the house.  “I know what you hate about the sea,”  she says.  She then throws a bunch of seaweed and her dad and runs away.  Another scene has Sophie’s grandmother leaving the shack, followed by Sophie, who asks what she is doing.  Listening is her answer, to which Sophie remains silent, only to have the audience listen to the sounds of nature in the early morning of nature.  It is seldom that a film resorts to the beauty of sound to evoke a sense of peace and solitude.  Who would not want to live in a house by the sea, where the tide comes in and out daily?

Nine-year-old Sophia (Emily Matthews) spends the summers at her family’s seasonal home on a tranquil isle in the Gulf of Finland, but this will be the first summer without her mother.  Her father (Anders Danielsen Lie) remains numbed by grief, while her grandmother (Glenn Close) guides her on a giddy, winding path towards young adulthood. With a sense of infinite possibility and a tender regard for the wonders of the natural world,  Sophia and her grandmother explore the terrain, celebrate midsommar, and test the limits of faith in the face of life’s many storms.

THE SUMMER BOOK is a Glenn Close movie, the actress who is generous enough to let her co-star, 9-year-old Matthews, shine in the film.  This is one of Close’s rare roles in which she does not play nasty.  Close is famous for her nasty roles as in HILLBILLY ELEGY, DANGEROUS LIASONS, and most notably FATAL ATTRACTION.  She has been nominated 8 times for an Academy Award and was robbed of the prize in her last nomination in HILLBILLY ELEGY to the Korean actress from MANARI. She played really nastily in that film, but apparently the Academy is not in favour of nasty.

The film could be, but certainly does not feel like a slow burn.  There is not much plot or story, but there is sometimes more than narrative in a solid movie, THE SUMMER BOOK being one of those rare films.  This is a contemplative film filled with mood, imagery, with some stunning shots by cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, silence, gestures, and behaviour highlighted by detailed performances by the cast of 3.

Adapted from Tove Jansson’s beloved novel, The Summer Book is a welcome, different, and delicate account of growing up and growing old, beautifully filmed on 16mm in majestic natural light.

THE SUMMER BOOK premieres and is available on digital October 21st.

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THE TIME THAT REMAINS (Philippines 2025) **½

Directed by Adolfo Alix Jr.

 

THE TIME THAT REMAINS is a Filipino romantic-fantasy combining multiple genres, including drama, romance, fantasy, vampirism, and melodrama.

The premise of the film, according to Netflix, where the film premieres this week, is:  “Surrounded by a string of deaths, an older woman relives her romance with a mysterious, ageless lover as an inspector closes in on their dark secret.” Netflix

Please note that this review contains spoilers that are necessary for the review.  But the number of spoilers will be kept to a minimum and revealed only when necessary.

The film begins with a mass murder in a house.  Everyone is killed except for an old woman, who survives and is taken to the hospital.  The cops are puzzled.

The story features three main characters, each with their individual stories and problems, of course.  The stories are intertwined and all the stories culminate in a climax that proves a happy ending, or sort of, anyway, for the three and other supporting characters.

One of the main characters is Lilia, the older woman who, after being shot during a break-in at her home, is hospitalized.  Lilia is not the woman that she seems.  While in the hospital, she forms a bond with a nurse, Isabela, who becomes curious about Lilia’s mysterious past and her relationship with Matias, a man who has not aged in decades.   Lilia refuses to tell Isabela her life story.  Matias is not an ordinary man: he has supernatural, vampiric traits (he can transform, feed on blood, and possibly shapeshift into a cat).   They share a love relationship. They first met during earlier periods in Lilia’s life (including during Japanese occupation), and Matias has followed her through decades. Lilia, at times, resists immortal life; she remains mortal, aging, while he stays the same.

The second main character is the nurse, Isabela.  She is a hardworking and kind nurse who is harassed by her ex, who wants money and never stops leaving her alone.  In the meantime, Isabela is hoping to immigrate to Toronto, Canada.  As Isabela listens to the old lady’s story, she is touched by the love that is missing in her life.

The third character is the cop involved with the mass murder in the house.  The inspector is obsessed with this case and has traced the killings down to a serial killer.  So obsessed is he that he gets himself fired for overdoing his investigation.

THE TIME THAT REMAINS also covers multiple key Filipino issues.  One issue is the colonial one, where in the past, the Philippines was raided by the Spanish.  This is considered the root cause of Matias’ problem.   The issue of eternity and mortality is also examined.  Matias offers Lilia everlasting life with no pain and no death.  There is also the issue of relationships that can survive through the ages, and how tragedy never affects true love.

The film is, unfortunately, marred by over-stretched melodrama (a key complaint in Filipino movies) with a soundtrack and a lengthy deathbed scene.  Running at 2 hours, the film could’ve been shortened for more bite and effectiveness.

THE TIME THAT REMAINS is still a worthy piece of storytelling and melodrama for the undemanding moviegoer.  It premieres on Netflix this week.

Trailer:

THE TWITS (UK/USA 2025) **½

Directed by Roald Dahl

 

THE TWITS is minor Road Dahl.

The film begins with the audience being introduced to THE TWITS, a mean, ugly couple who’ve been married for 47y years and who hate everything and everybody, including themselves.  But they are still together because they share the love of the amusement park in their backyard.

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world who also happen to own and operate the most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world, Twitlandia. But when the Twits rise to power in their town, two brave orphans and a family of magical animals are forced to become as tricky as the Twits to save the city. A hysterically funny, wild ride of a film (chock-full of the Twits' beloved tricks--from the Wormy Spaghetti to the Dreaded Shrinks), The Twits is also a story for our times, about the never-ending battle between cruelty and empathy.

If the film or story sounds familiar to the film THE CROODS, it is because the regional script was written by John Cleese and out away before surfacing in the film THE CROODS.

The Americanization of the story, despite the cricket insects at the beginning of the film speaking with a British accent, does not really work, nor does the blend of the theme of cruelty and empathy. The film ends up minor a Roald Dahl work.  It is also not that funny!

THE TWITS opens for streaming on Netflix this week.

THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE (USA 2024) ***

Directed by Jody Stelzig

A "weed hacker" is an informal or incorrect term for a string trimmer, also commonly called a weed whacker, weed eater, or whipper snipper. It is a garden power tool that uses a spinning monofilament line to cut grass and weeds in hard-to-reach areas like the edges of a lawn, around trees, or along fences.  In the horror comedy film within a film, the weedhacker ’s string is not seen, but what can be seen are whirring blades.  Blades that kill!

The film aims to capitalize on the gruesome murders that polarized the film THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, as both films are set in Texas, in remote Texas, both have the word massacre, and both have the weapon of a cutting tool.  The film notably features Allen Danziger (from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) as Sheriff Danzinshoos. The film was co-created by Allen Danziger and Ray Spivey, written and produced by Ray Spivey, executive produced by Allen Danziger, and directed by Jody Stelzig.

How many remakes of a bad horror movie can one make? The cast and crew of THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE boldly film where gruesome murders occurred 10 years ago, and the masked killer, nicknamed Poker Face, was never found. Bad acting, bounced payroll checks, and the killer's return threaten what is surely to become their worst movie ever.

The film begins with a sudden kill in which one brother kills the other over some marijuana.  The killing does not make much sense, but neither does the entire film.  Aimed at least to be a silly comedy, that it is, though the film turns out to be amusing at best. -  a low-budget derivative horror comedy with a few satirical edges.

Gruesome murders involving a college kid and girls occurred 10 years before the setting of the present.  The male student, Wonder Willie, disappears, and it is assumed that he killed all the girls, of which only one survived.  10years later, a crew returns to make another remake of the killings with Wonder Willie present and a reporter who was one of the survivors of the massacre 10 years ago.  The killers are the family of the Guters, the family that made the town the marijuana capital of Texas.  Everyone in the city is involved with the Guters.  Wonder Willie and Candy find themselves new targets for the Gutters' new spree of killings, in which the film crew is done away with one by one.

The killings are executed in a light, violent fashion, mostly with speed and efficiency, and lots of blood.  The dialogue is corny as hell, but it is meant to be so.  There are a few parodies that work.  One is the realization that Wonder Willie and Candy are in a romantic relationship.  The music turns romantic-like, but the couple suddenly realizes what is happening, and in embarrassment, turns away, thus killing the cliche.

The performances are all done effectively enough by an all non-star cast. The film could have been funnier or scarier.  It seems that this horror comedy compromises both the comedy and the horror elements.  The film’s campiness and cheesiness work, though.

THE WEEDHACKER opens on digital platforms on October 17th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 08 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

ANNIVERSARY (USA 2025) **
Directed by Jan Komasa

 

Review to be posted week of release

ANNIVERSARY opens in theatres across Canada on Wednesday, October 29th.

Trailer: 

 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 October 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

CARMELO (Brazil 2025) ***
Directed by Diego Freitas

 

In case one is wondering Carmelo is the name of a stray dog - the canine hero of the new Netflix movie CARMELO.

Netflix has been criticized for putting out quantity vs. quality.  But before one is ready to judge, it should be noted that Netflix has the streaming service cornered in terms of market share, and its stock price has been going up, up, up.  Their new film, CARMELO, in case one is wondering, is a dog movie.  But a dog movie has a little difference, being set in São Paulo.  And who can complain about a movie featuring a super adorable mutt?  According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 45.5% of U.S. households own at least one dog.  And in Canada, around 35% of people own dogs (i.e., 35% of households or individuals, depending on the study).  The film will undoubtedly attract dog owners, and as listed in the statistics, that is a good share of the target audience that will show interest in viewing the film.

The film starts with a car with a dog abandoned in a cardboard box on a highway.  Thus endearing stray dog embarks on an extraordinary journey, forging unlikely friendships and overcoming obstacles.

Amendoim (the dog in CARMELO) is a “vira-lata caramelo” — a Brazilian mixed-breed (caramel-colored mutt), not a recognized purebred.  It looks like a small version of the Rhodesian Ridgeback without the ridge on the back.  News pieces and Brazilian outlets say the production found/adopted a stray puppy (Amendoim) during casting.

For Brazilian flair, the film features a Brazilian street food dish called.  Advice: Look up the recipe and make it.  It is simple to make, though time-consuming, and is an excellent friend pastry.

Dog films always make audiences bawl their eyes out.  In CARMELO, director Freitas ups the ante with a story that includes Pedro discovering he has a brain tumor and hiding the terminal illness from everyone, including his mother.  How can he sense it, though, and always like his head to acknowledge it?  An element of ramose is also added into the narrative with a dog rescuer falling for Pedro.  The worst thing for Pedro is that the best things in his life are occurring right at the time of his advancing cancer.  He has not only found a dog friend for life, but also got the job of his dreams, being the chef in a respected restaurant, and found a devoted girlfriend, all at the same time.  All these events make the film even more emotional for a doggie movie.  But if one wants to fault the movie, just watch CARMELO, the dog, and all can be forgiven, as that dog is so cute.

CARMELO demonstrates that an extraordinary film can be made from a simple story told with artistic simplicity, with a dash of spirit and emotions, and in this case, canine emotions.  Netflix has come up with quantity and quality with CARMELO.

CARLMELO is a Netflix original Brazilian film and opens for screening this week on Netflix.

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NOVELLE VAGUE (FRANCE 2025) ****
Directed by Richard Linklater 

Having spent several years writing for Cahiers du cinéma, Godard (Guillaume Marbeck), not yet 30, declares, “The best way to criticize a film is to make one.” So off he goes, convincing George de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst) to fund a low-budget independent feature and whipping up a treatment — there was never a proper script — with fellow New Waver François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) based on a news item about a gangster and his girlfriend.  A meticulously and handsomely delivered black and white homage to the French New Wave aka NOUVELLE VAGUE, sees the homage paid through the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s A BOUT DE SOUFFLE, also known in English as BREATHLESS.  Cinephiles will definitely delight in all the film references as well as the depiction of New Wave greats like directors Claude Chabrol, Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda and husband Jacques Demy.  The film also depicts the idiosyncrasies of Godard, who shot BREATHELESS sans script and sand continuity, much to the chagrin of his financial backers, makeup artist and collaborators.  Seberg wanted to quit many times, but Belmondo finds all this absolutely amusing.

Trailer: 

ROOFMAN (USA 2025) ***½

Directed by Derek Cianfrance

 

ROOFMAN is the true story of a thief/robber named Jeffrey, aka ROOFMAN, who enters many McDonald’s through the roof, and hence the nickname.  A US military veteran unable to make ends meet, Jeffrey (Channing Tatum) gets caught robbing McDonald’s restaurants to provide for his kids. He’s tried, sentenced, incarcerated — and promptly breaks out.  While on the run, he finds his way into a Toys “R” Us, where he crafts a makeshift hideout behind a wall. Months pass, the manhunt is all but forgotten, and Jeffrey finds himself falling for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), one of the store’s employees. A connection is forged, though Leigh knows nothing of Jeffrey’s criminal status nor his current residence inside her workplace.  Director Cianfartnce, who also co-wrote the script, ups the ante on charm with the film’s subject’s personality of always being a good guy, meeting the story.  The film plays as a romance, a comedy with a few very funny parts and a bit of a thriller.  Everyone loves to root for an underdog, especially with one as nice as Roofman, Jeff.  ROOFMAN is better and more entertaining than the film looks.

 

SOLVENT (Austria 2025) ***
Directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner

 

An American expat joins a team of experts searching an abandoned Austrian farmhouse for historical Nazi documents that may be hidden within it. However, when they discover a secret buried deep in the home's bowels, the team is forced to confront an ancient, insatiable evil intent on consuming them and everything they hold dear.

Some of the pipe shots were taken in the plumbing system of Castle Leopoldskron in Salzburg, the filming location of “THE SOUND OF MUSIC.  But that is not the only thing common.  Both films examined Austria’s part in Nazism (Captain Von Trapp refuses to have or his family to have anything to do with the regime).  SOLVENT engages with Austria’s struggle with its Nazi legacy, the idea of buried sins, and how past atrocities can seep into the present.  There is also a weird inclusion of the Palestinian war in one segment.

The film intersperses various filming techniques, such as archival footage, B-roll, sound design, and disorienting editing to amplify psychological unease.

The film is not without humour, and the humour is unique in a weird way.  When Christina is left in the basement with the pipe, she suddenly emerges all fucked up and kills off a fellow crew member, totally unexpectedly, but in a sort of hilarious way.   Each of the characters that appear is also an oddity or misfit.  The biggest goof is nicknamed Fish Folk, one of the crew whose grandfather owns the farmhouse.  The question is whether the grandfather was a Nazi, which is assumed by the team.  But a neighbour, who suddenly shows up during the search, claims that everyone is called a Nazi for any silly reason.

Written and directed by boundary-pushing filmmaker and actor Johannes Grenzfurthner (MASKING THRESHOLD), SOLVENT is a journey in horror as weird and odd as it is entertaining, told documentary style and narrated in the first person, unceasingly not only the incumbent horror but the black humour with it.  A curiosity piece that works.  The director aims to have the audience experience, firsthand hand the origin of evil.  The film also gets quite nasty at times, showing what can be done, all vulgar things, with the pipe in the farmhouse.  Included for one’s ‘pleasure’ are masturbation scenes which show no shyness in showing a naked penis on screen.  At best, there are a few laugh-out-loud scenes.

The reason the film is called SOLVENT is explained at the start of the film, which contains lots of quotes, though one may argue the validity of the quotations.

The film’s camera techniques look like a combination of cinema verité, found footage, and grainy celluloid that does not always work.  Not only is the narrative difficult to decipher at times, but it is also difficult to see too, what is going on.

The film has won several awards at various international film festivals, including Best Horror at the South African horrorfest and Nightmares film festivals.

SOLVENT is an Austrian film shot in both German and English. It premieres on VOD & DIGITAL on October 10, 2025.

 Trailer: 

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 (UK/USA 2025) ***
Directed by Simon Stone

 

Everyone loves a murder mystery, and THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 is a murder mystery/psychological thriller that takes place on a luxury cruise ship.  It is based i the 2016 novel by Ruth Ware,

`The film follows Lo Blacklock (Kirra Knightley), a travel journalist, who is covering the maiden voyage of a luxurious yacht.  During the cruise, Lo believes she witnesses a woman (the one supposedly in Cabin 10) being thrown overboard in the night.  However, when she reports it, she’s told that no one is missing — all passengers and crew are accounted for.  Despite others dismissing her claims, Lo persists in trying to uncover the truth, which puts her own safety at risk.

There are Hitchcock overtones in the film.  When reporting the missing woman in Cabin 10, as in Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST, she is told, as Cary Grant’s Richard Thornhill was, that it was all in the imagination and no one was in the house/cabin that was reported.  Though it is reported in many of the reviews of the film that one could have identified the culprit in the whodunit, Hicthcocks always said that it made sense to know who the killer is in a mystery, so that every move the killer would make would have created suspense.  But the murderer on a ship was best tackled in Herbert Ross’ famous 1973 whodunit THE LAST OF SHEILA, when the guests are invited on a yacht, and the host knew that his wife’s killer in a hit-and-run was one of them.

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 has enough mystery, though not so much suspense, to satisfy the average whodunit genre fan.

The film opens for streaming on Netflix on Friday, October 10th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 27 September 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

GOOD BOY (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Ben Leonberg

 

GOOD BOY is Todd’s pet dog, Indy.  GOOD BOY is a horror film told from a dog’s perspective.

The canine hero, Indy, finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner—and best friend—Todd (Shane Jensen), leaving city life for a long-vacant family home in the country. From the start, two things are abundantly clear: Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering. After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death. When Todd begins succumbing to the dark forces swirling around the house, Indy must battle a malevolence intent on dragging his beloved Todd into the afterlife.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 45.5% of U.S. households own at least one dog.  And in Canada, around 35% of people own dogs (i.e., 35% of households or individuals, depending on the study).  The film will undoubtedly attract dog owners, and as listed in the statistics, that is a good share of the target audience that will show interest in viewing the film.

The film shows different stages in Indy’s life, likely from the director’s own photos and old videos.  Indy is indeed a cute puppy and even as a full-grown dog at 35 pounds.  There are shots of Indy getting his tummy rubbed, playing as a puppy, and just goofing around as dogs do.  The film is obviously aimed at dog lovers, myself included, a Rhodesian Ridgeback owner.

From Indy’s point of view, the audience sees the dog reuniting with his owner, Todd, as he is discharged from the hospital.  Indy is also given the brush off (poor dog!) when Todd is ill in bed.  But the sickness in that Todd has is not explained or given any details.  The only thing the audience sees is the blood he coughs out.  Those in the medical field would know that the symptoms could be due to: Tuberculosis (TB) – one of the classic causes, especially untreated or advanced cases; Bronchiectasis – damaged and widened airways that bleed easily or Lung cancer – tumours can erode into blood vessels.  But the film also hints at, but never makes sure that there might be a supernatural element involved, as there is always black glue around.

The audience also observes a dog’s life, and it is often not pretty.  Indy loves his master but has to succumb to his burst of anger due to his illness.

Todd’s health causes his sister, Vera, concern.  Vera is occasionally seen calling Todd on his cell phone, as observed by Indy.

Unfortunately, there is not much story or plot that goes into the story.  The premise of filming at dog eye level from a dog’s point of view is a novel idea, and the film benefits primarily from being a curiosity piece.  Despite the short running time of under 90 minutes, the film lags in the middle, and many plot points are left unexplained.

GOOD BOY opens in theatres on October 3rd. (Revue Cinema in Toronto)

Trailer: 

KILLING FAITH (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Ned Crawley

 

KILLING FAITH combines several different film genres like the western, supernatural religious thriller, mystery, slavery, and horror in a film where everything goes, and where twists and turns can appear as surprisingly as new characters do.

The setting is the American West in 1849, as the credits inform.  The frontier region, which is the Arizona Territory (the film is shot around Santa Fe, New Mexico), is ravaged by plague, superstition, but mostly feared are the Indians (the awful description of the scalping process is described in the dialogue) and worse, the white man who can do far worse than the Indians.

Arriving into the story is an African American just freed salve black woman named Sarah (DeWanda Wise) and her white daughter, who is feared as everything she touches dies.  The girl is first seen touching a horse.  Sarah shouted to her: ‘Don’t! '  But she does, and the horse collapses.  Apparently, the story of the girl has reached far and wide and the girl is both feared and sought.   In the town, Sarah and her daughter are warned never to enter the town again.   In the town, Sarah seeks the services of a protector/escort as she and her daughter want to travel to see a preacher whom she hopes can cure her daughter of what she believes is possession.  Sarah meets a doctor, Dr. Bender (Guy Pearce), who agrees to be paid to accompany them.  He thinks what is happening could be due to a sickness rather than a possession.  The girl wears gloves so that she does not touch any living creature.

The mystery that pervades the film is whether the girl is ill or possessed.  The answer is only revealed in the final frame, and not to be revealed in this review.

The majority of the film is a road adventure of the three as they venture for 5 days to reach their destination, where they encounter different characters, some stealing the girl in the process, with disastrous results when the girl unleashes the fury within her.

The film concludes with them meeting a preacher, called Preacher Ross, in a wheelchair, played by Bill Pullman in a performance he had never delivered before with such evil and wicked relish.  Pullman is having great fun overdoing his performance,e and it works as his character brings much life into the story. 

The film contains a few very gory scenes, like the one segment where the doctor has to free himself from handcuffs by breaking his hands.  There is also more violent content that includes sexual assault and other grisly images, not to mention strong language in the dialogue.  There is also drug use as the doctor frequently sniffs ether, which, as a doctor, he can get hold of.

The film also plays with the underlying conflict between belief, fear, superstition, and science, while not taking sides.

KILLING FAITH is as entertaining as it is strange, with actor Guy Pearce in another strange starring role.  Pearce seems to be attracted to portraying odd characters lately.

KILLING FAITH opens in theatres on October 3rd.

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MONSTERS WITHIN (USA 2025) **
Directed by Devin Montgomery

 

MONSTERS WITHIN is a moody piece of male brooding, a directorial feature debut by Devin Montgomery, who also stars as the troubled war veteran who returns to his small American town.  Montgomery must think he is the new James Dean, but he is as bad an actor as a director and scriptwriter.

The premise is that whoever looks interesting enough on paper.

Life brings Luke Wolf (Montgomery), a war veteran, back to his hometown, where his sister, Ellie (Daniella Montgomery), is, who has Down Syndrome. Luke had an affectionate bond with his sister before she passed.  She had given him a glass angel to protect him, something that he always carries around.  Things are different as Luke faces his monsters.

There is some truth to the story and the actors on screen.  The character of "Elle," who is the main character's sister and the heart and soul of the movie, is played by Devin Montgomery's actual sister, Daniella Montgomery.  She has performed at several events for the Down Syndrome Associations and Special Needs choir in Oklahoma. The story of the bond between a brother and sister, with one having special needs, being portrayed as authentically and real as possible, was very important to both Devin and Daniella Montgomery.

Montgomery has no shame in writing long monologues where he speaks his mind, forcing the audience to listen often to some bad writing.  The word shit punctuates the dialogue ever so often, and if Luke runs out of things to say, he will scream at the top of his voice to depict aggression and frustration.  Montgomery, as director, fares not much better in his role.  Luke meets a girl at the local bar and chats her up.  The scene is intercut with another scene of the two having hot sex.  The film then moves to the end of the night when the bar closes and Luke brings her home for sex, which the audience has already witnessed. There is no point in the intercut segments.  The music mixing also leaves far to be desired with long bout of soundtrack dragged along in order for a scene to properly end.  But the one segment that is the worst to watch is the one in which Montgomery, the director, gives Montgomery, the actor, a whole 5 minutes to cry on screen,

The film also shifts in the last 30 minutes into a slasher/horror film after Luke’s girl is kidnapped by her ex-lover, who seems to have tracked her down forthe  money he had gotten from him. 

It is surprising thoug,h that MONSTERS WITHIN has gone on to win awards in several film festivals. 

MONSTERS WITHIN has the release date of October 3rd, 2025, on @primevideo and @fandango at Home.

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ORWELL: 2+2 = 5  (USA/France 2025) ***
Directed by Raoul Peck

 

ORWELL: 2+2 = 5 is high high-profile documentary produced by heavyweights Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE; ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM) and Raoul Peck (I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO; ERNEST COLE: LOST AND FOUND), who also directs the doc.

George Orwell, born George Blair, is an English writer famous for 1984 and ANIMAL FARM.  He started to write 1984 on the Scottish isle of Jura in 1948.  This doc is a blend of Orwell: his life and works with current events that include Trump’s fascist rule, the Ukraine invasion by Russia and the Palestinian/Israel War.

The doc includes old photos of Orwell as a baby and as a boy in school.  He belonged to the poorer end of the middle class.  His father, having the same status, assumed a higher status by taking a military post in the British colonized countries.  Orwell hated those in authoritarian power, as evident in his two most famous works, 1984 and ANIMAL FARM.  Orwell’s writing drew from his personal experience of poverty in Down and Out in Paris and London, of colonialism in Burmese Days, and of revolutionary uprising in Homage to Catalonia.  Most notable: At age 46, nearing death from tuberculosis, the last sentence he wrote was: “All that matters has already been written.”

The doc is most entertaining with clips of related movies, particularly Michael Radford’s 1984, which starred John Hurt as Orwell.  More than a dozen films are featured, particularly from multiple different adaptations of 1984 and ANIMAL FARM

The doc,  totally from director Peck’s point of view, which is both a little bit much and personal, evokes a very depressing look at today’s world, at what it has become.   The doc concludes with a solution for what can be done.  This is reflected in organized protests by the people, like the Black Lives Matter walk.  But these solutions are difficult to come by and take lots of time and dedication from the people involved.

ROCKSTAR: DUKI FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (Rockstar: DUKI desde el fin del mundo)(Argentina 2025) ***

Directed by Alejandro Hartmann

 

The documentary offers an intimate and unfiltered portrait of Duki’s personal life and career.  It traces his evolution from a freestyler in Buenos Aires (competing in rap battles) to becoming an internationally recognized hitmaker. The film also examines the duality of his identity — who is Mauro (the person) vs. who is DUKI (the stage persona) — and explores how fame and artistic expectations impact him.

The documentary begins with Duki (Mauro Lombardo) reflecting on his childhood in Buenos Aires.  Old home videos and interviews with family show a shy kid who found escape in music. His teenage years are portrayed through the rise of freestyle rap battles in Argentina, particularly El Quinto Escalón, the underground competition that launched him into the spotlight.

The doc is a mix of his interviews, archive footage of his life, and his concert performances.

The main difference between this documentary and other biopic documentaries, such as those about Elton John or Elvis Presley, and many others, is that this one features the artist at the age of 27.  Duki himself says,” At 27, I have it all.”  The audience sees all his ups and downs, concert performances, and quiet moments all condensed into 27 years.  Though the name might not be familiar, he is an internationally famous artist; his story is familiar.  An Ok doc, on a reflection on life and concert performances.

The doc opens on Netflix (streaming) on October 2, 2025

 

THE SMASHING MACHINE (USA 20225) ****

Directed by Benny Safdie

 

Arguably one of the best sports dramas ever made since RAGING BULL, THE SMASHING MACHINE from director Benny Safdie (GOOD TIME and UNCUT GEMS) plays pagans the typical Hollywood feel-good sports boxing romantic action drama, Sylvester Stallone’s ROCKY.   THE SMASHING MACHINE charts the downfall of the couple’s romance rather than the buildup and happy ending of Rocky’s romance.  The film is based on the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.  Both film works in different ways.

THE SMASHING MACHINE  is the powerful story of pioneering mixed martial arts/UFC fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson).  Kerr helped grow the sport’s popularity in its early days, but the fights’ brutal demands took a toll, eventually leading to painkiller addiction. The constant need to travel, since the most lucrative early matches were always in Japan, didn’t help either.

The film begins wth a voiceover by Mark Kerr as he enters the ring for his first UFC fight.  Kerr pins his opponent to the floor and delivers multiple violent blows to his head, beating his opponent’s face to a bloody pulp, hence the film’s title, THE SMASHING MACHINE.  “Is he all right?” Kerr asks ironically.   Of course, there are also segments when Kerr gets punishment as well.  Boxing sports films are often bloody, like RAGING BULL and ROCKY, and THE SMASHING MACHINE is no different.

 

Dwayne Johnson, best known for his countless action-comedy roles, plays drama and sports here.  Johnson has hair in this film, just like Mark Kerr, the character he plays.  With his hair, Johnson is totally unrecognizable here with his different look.  It is only when he shaves his head in the last 30 minutes of the film that Johnson looks like ‘The Rock’, his usual self.  Johnson undoubtedly delivers the best of his career and does his co-star Emily Blunt.

The film contains one of the best argumentative confrontational scenes between the couple, Mark and Dawn.  The couple’s fight scene works well because both deliver realistic and valid argument points.   The best couples' confrontational scenes are:  Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in MARRIAGE STORY; Diane Ketin and Al Pacino in THE GODFATHER: PART II, and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in REVOLUTION ROAD.  Johnson and Blunt now add to the list.

THE SMASHING MACHINE, a fictionalized story of Mark Kerr, is shot quasi-documentary style, with his romance with Dawn Staples dramatized.  The film is aided by superb performances by both Johnson and Blunt, who might just win Academy Award nominations for their roles.  Entertaining,  dramatic and and engrossing watch, THE SMASHING MACHINE is yet another of director Benny Safdie’s successes.

The film ends with a 5- minute sequence of the real Mark Kerr on screen as opposed to just the customary image comparisons in other sports biopics.

THE SMASHING MACHINE premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Lion.  It was also screened having its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.  It opens in theatres October 3rd, Friday.

Trailer: 

STEVE (UK/Ireland 2025) ***** Top10

Directed by Tim  Mielants 

 

Reminiscent of the French classroom drama and Cesar Award Winning Best Picture,  ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS), done cinema-verite/doc style, or a more maverick styled TO SIR WITH LOVE, the film follows a head teacher STEVE (Cillian Murphy) working in troubled school of boys, somewhat before they become residents in a borstal, s in the film SCUM.   

Steve (Murphy) is the passionate head of a crumbling “last chance” reform school for teenage boys. With meagre resources, overstretched staff, and a mounting sense of futility, Steve must navigate one pivotal and precarious day made more tense by the arrival of a documentary news crew profiling the school, and the result may prove to be more exposé than commendation. The school is part institution and part last-ditch social experiment conducted in a shoddy rural manor house run by tired yet dedicated adults who believe their students still have something to offer the world.   How the students and staff feel and go through are highlighted by both the incidents on screen as well as their own words as they talk to interviewers on camera, for a film.     In one of the emotional scenes in the film, the vice head school teacher says of the students that she is a warden, teacher, and mother to them, and that they are simply adorable.

The boys, meanwhile, navigate an uneasy border between volatility and vulnerability. Mielants' score top marks in his storytelling technique using a combo of flashbacks and forwards, added by Murphy’s and Emily Watson’s stunning performances.  He films the incidents that sequentially as they appear on screen so that the actors know exactly how the film should unfold.

Despite the mixed reviews this film’s scored, STEVE is still one of my favourite and most emotional films that I have seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.  A definite must-see, and the film ranks as one of my Top 10 of 2025.

Trailer: 

WAYWARD (Canada 2025) ***½

Directed Various directors, including Mae Martin

 

WAYWARD is a Canadian-made limited series from Netflix.  

At the Toronto International Film Festival in the Primetime (TV) Section, the first 2 episodes of an 8-episode limited series were premiered, introduced by Mae Martin and Ryan Scott.  Martin acted as the show runner on the series alongside Ryan Scott, serving as executive producer.  And the two episodes were entertaining as they were thrilling and impressive.

WAYWARD follows rebellious teens Abby (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) in their early teens as they skip classes, get high, and listen to their Disk-mans, unaware that their parents are scheming to remedy their “bad” behaviour by involuntarily admitting them to a mysterious correctional school.  As Abby and Leila innocently enjoy their final days of slacker freedom, detective Alex Dempsey (Martin) arrives in the town of Tall Pines with their wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon), who grew up there and feels drawn to return in her final months of pregnancy.   

Tall Pines (the title of the first episode) is the kind of place where everyone knows your name, and homemade preserves are left on your front porch by neighbours, a gesture Laura finds comforting and Alex finds jarring.   It is a creepy place, and the film has an exciting mystery air reminiscent of THE STEPFORD WIVES and the recent WEAPONS.  In case one is wondering, Martin is non-binary, playing a husband.  The first two episodes are nothing but excellent, making one eager to watch the rest of the series.  The third episode, titled ESCAPE, has the two on an escape from Tall Pines Academy.

Besides the well-known name Mae Martin, the series features Toni Collette as Evelyn Wade, head teacher at Tall Pines Academy, and Sarah Gadon as Laura Redman, Alex's pregnant wife, a former Tall Pines student, a fact that Alex is unaware of.  Of the supporting cast, Byron Mann as Brian, Abbie's strict father, and Jenny Raven as Carla, Abbie's mother, stand out.

Choice dialogue lines punctuate the series:

“I can’t wait for you to meet the new you.” 

“Children go in.  Something else comes out!”

“Something is not right in this town.”

“The only way out of this place is through that door.”

“She is one of them.”

The most intense is Episode 5 - the sex shocking sex scene and the Academy shutdown.  The sex scene might be the reason the public gave a below 50% rating to the series, whereas critics awarded a higher over 70%.

WAYWARD is an impressive, well-paced, mysterious Canadian thriller filmed largely in Ontario with new twists and turns appearing in each of the 8 excellent episodes.

All 8 episodes are currently running on Netflix beginning this week, and one can binge-watch the entire series or watch them at one’s discretion.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 20 September 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

AMOUR APOCALYPSE (Peak Everything) (Canada 2025) **
Directed by Anne Emond

Director Anne Emond tackles male trauma with her forty-year-old protagonist suffering from insecurity and a need for acceptance.  Despite his regimen of exercise and antidepressants, Adam (Hivon), proprietor of a Quebec kennel, cannot help but despair over the ever-escalating climate catastrophe. One night, while feeling especially hopeless, he calls the tech support line for his newly acquired therapeutic desk lamp, believing it to be a crisis help line. He gets lucky: on the other end is Tina (Perabo), who's relieved to talk about something more meaningful than assembly instructions.  This is a romantic comedy tackled with nuances and from a different angle.  But Director Emond’s pace is too slow to match the premise.  The pair connect over their shared existential worries and, when an earthquake rocks Tina's Ontario town, Adam takes the opportunity to drive there and help this woman he's never seen. Environmental dread brought these two together on the phone, so it's only fitting that a natural disaster prompts them to meet.  This sets the couple off on a path of romance and adventure.

The film is a strange love story of sorts.   Director Emond gets her character, Adam, to cry, mope, and come to terms with himself.  Her female characters, those that Adam encounters, like Tina and his kennel helper, have stronger personalities.  It is hard to identify with a protagonist with self-worth issues, but the film feels too like one with too much of a female slant.

AMOUR APOCALYPSE (Peak Everything) premiered at Cannes this year, followed by a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.  It opens this week in theatres.

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ELEANOR THE GREAT (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Scarlett Johansson

 

Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with ELEANOR THE GREAT, a comedy/drama starring June Squibb as the 94-year-old named Eleanor, who relocates from Florida to Manhattan after a devastating loss of her best friend, Bessie (Rita Zohar), and roommate of over a decade, only to discover how hard it is to make new friends… until she tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. 

  Eleanor hopes to reconnect with her family in Manhattan.  Instead, she finds herself living with a daughter (Jessica Hecht) who thinks her mother should be in a retirement home, and a grandson (Will Price) who loves his grandmother but is busy with his own friends.  Eleanor now feels adrift and invisible.  Squibb portrays Eleanor initially as bitter with lots of snide remarks, but her barrier to friendship gradually and eventually breaks down.

Things get worse after helping another senior with her stuck zipper; she is given a compliment.  "You are very kind.  We have to look out for each other.”

During a visit to the Manhattan Jewish Community Center, Eleanor stumbles her way into a support group for Holocaust survivors and, joining their circle, begins to tell her own story.   “Come on.  The first time is always the hardest.”  Eleanor is encouraged by her first friend she meets in Manhattan.  Except, unbeknownst to everyone listening, it isn't Eleanor’s story — it’s Bessie’s.  The story snares the attention of journalism student Nina (Erin Kellyman), who wants to feature Eleanor in an article.  Never one to turn away attention, Eleanor begins to forge a close bond with Nina. But how long will it take before the truth shatters that bond?   What happens then will not be released as a spoiler, but needs to be seen for the film to be appreciated.

The film has two key issues as its theme.  One is the subject of the resilience of one in old age, an issue actress June Squibb has dealt with many times, as in her last films (THELMA), and the other is the Jewish religion leaning towards the holocaust.

The film contains a few prized and sensitive moments.  One is the rendering of the Stephen Sondheim song: “I am still Here”, crooned by a senior, after which she shrugs in disbelief.

It is of interest to note that the reason director Johansson and actress Squibb were attracted to the subject of Jews and the holocaust survivors.  Squibb is one who’s converted to Judaism, and American-born actress/director Johansson (her father worked as an architect in Copenhagen, though her grandfather was Swedish) has Jewish roots on her mother’s side, with the surname of Schlamberg, her mother’s family fleeing Poland and Russia.

ELEANOR THE GREAT is not a great film and holds few surprises, but it is a decent, well-intentioned cautionary tale by Squibb and Johansson that should entertain while providing a lesson or two.

ELEANOR THE GREAT premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025, followed by a debut at the Toronto International Film Festival a fortnight ago, and opens in theatres September 26th.

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ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (USA 2025) ****
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

 

The film comes right on with today’s headlines of immigrant and alien workers in the United States.  The story takes the Mexican worker problem to a different level, with established networks functioning in the United States.

The main character is Bob Ferguson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who used to be part of a radical revolutionary group.  The film opens with him and his activities, including dealing with his enemy, Mr. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), and his girl (Regina Hall).  Now Bob lives off-grid with his daughter, in a state of paranoia, trying to avoid his past. But the reemergence of the enemy forces him into action.

The film is loosely based on Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland (1990), which director Anderson developed for years before pre-production began on the film.  But having trouble, he set aside the idea of an adaptation and wrote a series of separate stories. One Battle After Another emerged as a combination of those independent stories with some elements of Vineland, particularly the father-daughter dynamic.  It should be noted that the film, as a result, is quite different from the novel.  Even the names of the characters are changed.  Which is better is up for debate, but the general story in the film is consistent with the series of unfolding events that are more suited to an action thriller.  The main plot of the film is the kidnapping and rescue of Bob’s daughter while covering issues such as the aftermath of the idealism of what happens to revolutionaries or radicals when the movements fade, when the social momentum diminishes. How do they survive, change, betray, or get compromised?

Director Anderson has proved himself apt at genres such as satire, black humour, and drama, all of which are blended into this action thriller.  The action sequences are fast-paced, examples being the raid of immigrant workers and the car chase at the end, with some amazing camerawork on display.  This is that rare action thriller in which the hero is not a super fighter.  The visuals and pacing are also energetic, with cinematography by both Anderson and  Michael Bauman.

The film is anchored by a central, award-winning performance by Academy Award Winner Leonardo DiCaprio.  Other performances are also top-notch notch especially Sean Penn’s and Regina Hall’s. right down to a one-minute memorable one by an unknown no-binary.

This is one film that, though totally engrossing from start to finish, should be watched on the big screen, on IMAX if possible.  Watching the film streaming, for example, will allow the audience to take breaks, thus compromising the momentum of the otherwise fast-paced movie.  The film opens in theatres in different formats, including iMAX, on September 26th, 2025.  One of P.T. Anderson’s best, showing his versatility in the making of this fast-paced action thriller.

Anderson’s highest-grossing film, the 2007 THERE WILL BE BLOOD, grossed $77 million, so the success of this 162-minute, $140 million costing film hinges on the drawing power of Leonardo DiCaprio.  It is Anderson’s first film in IMAX.

Trailer: 

 

PLAINCLOTHES (USA 2025) **½

Directed by Carmen Emmi

 

PLAINCLOTHES refers to Lucas, the film’s protagonist, who has the job of a plainclothes police officer.  His assignment is morally troubling to him as he works on operations to entrap and arrest gay men, acting as bait in public bathrooms.   The film is set in the 1990s, when a lot of these operations were done.

No surprise that Lucas is closeted himself. His identity is in conflict with his work and what society around him expects, which provides for some drama in the film.  During one of the assignments, he meets an older man, Andrew, one of his intended targets, and develops a romantic/sexual attraction that challenges the boundaries of his assignment and forces him to reckon with his feelings, his duty, and the risk of exposure.

The film is told in 3 segments, all intercut with each other.  The segments are: Lucas at work; Lucas at his mother’s New Year's Eve party, and the encounter between Lucas and Andrew.

Director Emmi, for his first feature, tries hard to create an edgy film but fails.  Emmi includes three intercut story segments, which results in a disjointed narrative in which the suspense that has been built up is suddenly abrupt.  His use of jarring images amidst handheld cameras is also more annoying than artful.   Lucas’s facial hair in the New Year’s Eve party scene is at least, to help  sort, which segment is on the screen, as it can get confusing to the audience which segment is going on.

Director Emmi builds up good suspense, especially in the scenes where Lucas is working undercover.

Other than the premise of the plainclothes Lucas entrapping gay men in the toilets, this story serves no new territory.  Coming out, family and girlfriend pressures, first sexual encounter, persecution of gays in toilets in the 90’s, secrecy, shame, leading of a double life are all issues that have been worked on before, in other films.

PLAINCLOTHES opens at the TIFF Lightbox on Friday, September 26th.

 

SUSPENDED TIME (HORS DU TEMPS) (France 2024) **1/2
Directed by Olivier Assayas

 

The film SUSPENDED TIME is so called as it is as if time stood still during the lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The film is set during the April 2020 lockdown.  It follows two brothers, Paul (a film director) and Etienne (a music journalist), who are confined together in their childhood home in the French countryside. They’re joined by their respective romantic partners, Morgane and Carole.   The old house is large, its rooms, objects, and the surrounding landscape trigger memories and reflections: of parents, neighbours, absences, childhood, past relations, much of which is revealed through the film’s voiceover.

As society recedes in the spring of 2020, film director Paul Berger (Vincent Macaigne) returns to his childhood home in the provincial Chevreuse Valley. Still processing the legacy of his parents and feeling out the uncertain shape of the world to come, Paul hunkers down with his documentary filmmaker girlfriend Carole (Nora Hamzawi), his music journalist brother Etienne (Micha Lescot), and Etienne’s new girlfriend Morgan (Nine d’Urso). Squabbling over the minutiae of health protocols and the morality of a hermetic lifestyle mediated by ubiquitous online shopping, the makeshift household finds new ways to lacerate familiar wounds.

Yet Paul also finds a surprising refuge in the compulsory quietude of pandemic life, an opportunity to reconnect with the books and art and enchanted forests of his youth. A scabrous French comedy from master filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Suspended Time is a sharply personal and fiercely neurotic ode to the eternal expanse of memory and the allure of life beyond our personal screens.

Though SUSPENDED TIME attempts to project what it would be like to isolate during the Pandemic, what transpires on screen is not what the general public would go through.  In the film, the two brothers and their respective partners stay in a beautiful countryside house and experience the beauty of the outside.  They undoubtedly isolate, but the isolation feels more like a secluded holiday than any imprisonment due to COVID-19.  Another point is that the filmmaker and the journalist talk a lot about art and their experiences, which are way above those of many of the audience.  In the evening scene, when they play a tune to be identified or the film the tune was taken from, much of what is played cannot be recognized by the average moviegoer.

The two brothers, Paul and Etienne, get on each other’s nerves, which results in one shouting match.  Paul is more annoying, and watching these two on film can require a bit of patience.

Yet Assayas’s film is not without charm.  Though nothing much happens, and the nuances of the characters begin to bother each other, for example, the volume of the music or what they want to do, like read or watch a movie, there are cute observations where one can laugh at the follies of humans.

The film contains lots of voiceover that gives the audience more perspective of what is going on and how the characters react and feel.  The tactic was used very much in Francois Truffaut’s DEUX ANGLAISES ET LE CONTINENT and this film feels like Truffaut’s classic.

SUSPENDED TIME opened only in the United States recently and will premiere in Canada, being available on Digital September 30th.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 17 September 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

HIM (USA 2025) **
Directed by Justin Tipping

 

HIM arrives with the Jordan Peele tag.  Peele is a renowned director of horror hits, breaking into international horror cinema with GET OUT, his best film , followed by US nd NOPE.  It should be noted that HIM is not directed by Peele, so watch it. HIM is priced by Peeke under his Monkeypaw production company.

Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) was destined for football glory until an attack by an obsessed fan threatened to end his career before it began.  Just when hope fades, his idol, legendary quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), invites him to train at his private compound. But what starts as the opportunity of a lifetime soon twists into something far more dangerous, as Cam discovers the true cost of chasing greatness.

The film unfolds in chapters, from Day 1 to Day 6, according to the training schedule of the hopeful greatest player of all time, Cam (short for Camron).  Unfortunately, the film is all over the place, not making much sense, and with a let-down climax, which is a violent blood fest, that makes little sense.  Each chapter from Day 1 to 6 has a title like Leadership, Vision, Sacrifice, and so on.  Unfortunately, each title has nothing much to do with each title except for the last title sacrifice when Cam is confronted with the choice of sacrificing everything for fame or bearing the consequences, an offer he cannot refuse.  Actually, he can, but with dire consequences.

HIM is neither scary nor suspenseful, but bloody and violent.  The premise of sacrifice for the ultimate gain is simple enough and moves towards a climax with new characters, while not making much sense.

HIM opens in theatres on Friday, the 18th September.

Trailer: 

THE HISTORY OF SOUND (USA/UK 2025

Directed by 

(to be posted weekend)

 

JUST BREATHE (USA 2024) ***

Written and directed by Paul P. Pompa II

 

When the advice “Just breathe” is given to someone, that someone is either:

• suffering from some panic anxiety
• lost it and needs to cool his or her temper.

The title JUST BREATHE refers to the latter, as when the film begins, the protagonist Nick has just been fired from his job for punching up his supervisor (not seen on screen).  This causes problems with him and his girl, Mel. Nick intends to propose to her and sets up an expensive dinner date at a posh restaurant, only to overhear two servers laughing at their country bumpkin ways in the bathroom.  Nick beats one of them to a comatose state, resulting in his arrest and imprisonment.  In the meantime, Mel loses her apartment, and they break up.  But Nick pursues her and pursues her despite his angry temperament.

The above scenario is a perfect classic case study for anger management.  Nick knows better but cannot control himself.  So what can he do?

JUST BREATHE aims at being a tense crime thriller that combines raw intensity with profound emotional depth, resulting in a compelling narrative that lingers long after the credits roll.  The film follows Nick Bianco (Kyle Gallner), who plans to rebuild his life and win back the love of his life after a year spent in prison for assault. Upon his release, Nick learns that the target of his affections has another admirer, Chester (Shawn Ashmore), his no-nonsense parole officer. Nick soon finds himself caught in a gripping rivalry that threatens not only his second chance at love but also his chance to stay out of prison.

JUST BREATHE works during the first half of the film when the audience is unsure where the story leads and when the premises are set up.  Once done, the film falls into cliche territory (during the second half), so that what transpires is expected with little surprises after, though the ending is neatly closed.

The film covers issues like anger management, father and son relationship,  a couple’s relationship amidst insurmountable troubles, and a fate that does not good to anyone in the story.

Actor Kyle Gallner is sufficiently credible in the title role, playing a character that one both loves and hates.  The villain of the piece is Chester, Nick’s parole officer, who is also involved with shady activities in the clichéd storyline.  The casting of a clean-cut Ashmore aids in the storytelling.

There is hardly any action or suspense in what is basically a story of the redemption of a guy given the bad hand of fate, as well as a destructive personality.  It is a hard sell for a movie, and it is a surprise that the movie got the go-ahead.

JUST BREATHE is entertaining enough as a low-budget film for undemanding audiences.  The difficulty of rooting for such a choleric protagonist who is self-destructive and uncontrollable is another flaw in a film where it is generally the case that a protagonist is a likable one.

JUST BREATHE will hit on-demand & digital on September 16, 2025. 

SAME DAY WITH SOMEONE (Thailand 2025) **
Directed by Rangsima Aukkarawiwat and Yanyong Kuruangkura

  

Definitely a first in the time loop genre, SAME DAY WITH SOMEONE combines the romantic comedy genre with the time loop premise in this new Thai film opening on Netflix this week.

Mesa, when a child asks the Red Ribbon Goddess for wishes like happiness and romance.  The Goddess seems to accommodate her requests so that she is at present, grown up, totally happy with everything.  When questioned about her success, she says that there are good days followed by bad days, and that makes life what it is.  But for Mesa, there are no bad days.  Until…..

Same Day With Someone is a Thai romantic comedy / magical realism film (on Netflix) about a museum curator named Mesa who ends up stuck in a time loop.  Mesa is living what seems to be a perfect life—good job, relationship, social standing—but one day everything goes wrong.  On that disastrous day, a priceless artifact, the Sirir Stone she was supposed to protect in her new museum, is broken, and her fiancé breaks up with her.  After wishing to forget that terrible day, she finds herself reliving it over and over.   The stone is supposed to be a bridge between Chinlin and Thailand.

For information: Chinlin or Kim Lin ('golden/wealthy neighbour) was an ancient political entity in modern lower central Thailand that existed from the 9 CE to the 3rd century.   In the film, when the Sirisila stone is broken, the visiting Ambassador of Chinlin storms out of the museum’s opening day, causing a rift between Chinlin and Thailand.  Which Mesa needs to mend?  Also interesting to note is that he location of Chin Lin remains unclear.  It was first mentioned around 9 – 22 CE during the late Western Han period

As in all time loop movies, as the cycle repeats, Mesa must figure out how to break free of it.   Along the way there are romantic elements (notably with a character named Ben), comedic moments, and personal growth.  One slight variant is that Mesa tells her friend Ben about the time loop, and Ben manages somehow to be in Mesa’s time loop together with her.  A romance begins.

How does he time loop originate?  After Mesa experiences the worst day in her life, after her fiancée, Pue, broke up.

With her and the disaster at the museum opening, she wishes that the next day would never come.  Mesa is then stuck in a time loop of the same day.  This is before all the misfortunes happen, so Mesa tries to prevent them.

The film is not that interesting for a time loop film, unable to reach the heights of GROUNDHOG DAY or any of the other time loop films.  It does not help that the main character, Mesa, is totally annoying, getting what she wants half the time.. Giggling or sulking, Mesa is one spoilt child, to put it mildly.

SAME DAY WITH SOMEONE opens for streaming this week on Netflix.

Trailer: 

SHE SAID MAYBE (Germany 2025) **½

Directed by Buket Alakus and Ngo The Chau

 

A German-raised woman named Mavi learns of her Turkish noble heritage and enters a world of luxury, challenging her relationship as she navigates her newfound identity.

SHE SAID MAYBE is a romantic comedy.  As far as romantic comedies go, there is always an obstacle to a happy ending.  In the new Netflix German comedy, the obstacle is taken to extremes.

Mavi and Can appear at the film’s start to be a perfect couple.  Both are very good-looking. Can is a successful lawyer in his father’s firm, while she is a talented architect just gaining recognition in s top architecture magazine.  After two years, Can intends to propose to Mavi.

The first proposal goes haywire on a zip-lining mishap, so Can is tempted to propose to her in Istanbul.

There are family secrets that translate to obstacles in a romantic comedy.  This comes in the form of Mavi’s new wealthy family in Turkey, which she does not know about.  Yes, the problem of thrice and famous!

The rom com is light ok entertaining with lots of scenic sights of Istanbul.  This is a rich couple that spends time mostly on yachts and in expensive restaurants, where the reality of the ordinary folk is totally ignored.  Throw caution to the wind to enjoy this one.

Trailer: 

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 (USA 2025) **

Directed by Renny Harlin

 

Horror movies are easy and cheaply produced, and usually make a good profit.  The evidence can be observed by franchises like FRIDAY THE 13th, HALLOWEEN, SCREAM, and the recent CONJURING, just to name a few.  At the bottom of the list is THE STRANGERS.  Studios shamefully milk the successes to the hilt.  But who can blame them?  The films all make a good buck.  The latest CONJURING movie is a prime example.  Lionsgate, the company that is now under the dumps, used to be the King of franchises like the TWILIGHT and DIVERGENT series, and is now hoping to get on the bandwagon with THE STRANGERS. (Personally, I hope they do well, as I do still hold their stock.)

THE STRANGERS film series consists of American psychological horror films. Based on an original story by Bryan Bertino, the plot centres around three masked psycho-sociopathic home invaders who prey on the innocent owners.  Though the first film was marketed as "based on a true story", this was a slight misdirect as the filmmaker stated that he wrote the concept from a series of break-in burglaries that took place in his neighbourhood when he was growing up, as well as borrowing elements from the Manson Family Tate murders.  Continuing this marketing technique, a "based on a true story" tag was also included at the beginning of the sequels.  Talk about abuse and misleading statements.

The only common element in all the franchises is the trio of 3 masked home invader killers.  The victims change.  The locations change.  All this makes one wonder about the connection among the different films.

If one is really fixed on THE STRANGERS series, then stay till the end of the closing credits.  There are clips of what is to come.  What can be seen is cheesy, but fans might be thrilled.

Renny Harlin is a well-known Hollywood director of hits such as Sylvester Stallone’s CLIFFHANGER.  He is desperate for a hit, despite his old age, and some of his zest can be observed  at several points in the film.

THE STRANGERS: Chapter 2 is the second installment in a new Strangers trilogy (after Chapter 1).   The protagonist, Maya, wakes up in a hospital after surviving the brutal attack at the end of Chapter 1. But she soon realizes the masked killers (the Strangers) are not done with her.

The killers, wearing masks (Dollface, pin-up girl, scarecrow), knowing Maya is still alive, begin to pursue her again to “finish what they started.  This film takes Maya outside the home setting, to the hospital, and about town.

Director Harlin hs Maya escaping and is rescued by car by other strangers, causing her to wonder if her rescuers are the masked killers.  This tactic is used twice in the film, but the film still fails to generate any surprises or wonder.  The magic question is whether audiences will say enough is enough after Chapter 2.

Lionsgate is hoping big for THE STRANGERS.  But judging from the competition of horror films out there and the ease of competition entry, Lionsgate should be prepared for contingency plans.

Trailer: