FILM REVIEWS:
THE AMATEUR (USA 2025) ****
Directed by James Hawes
Written by Ken Nolan, Gary Spinelli and Robert Littell and directed with efficient technicality, the international hunt for a CIA decoder’s wife’s killers takes him through Europe.
The excellent espionage thriller has the feel of two cinema classics - Francois Truffaut’s THE BRIDE WORE BLACK and Fred Zinneman’s THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.
The premise is simple enough, but the elaborate details make this devilish tale work. A CIA decoder who works way below floor level in the CIA building takes on the 7th-floor CIA executives when he discovers a cover-up. When his supervisors at the CIA refuse to take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a decoder takes matters into his own hands. All Charlie Heller (Academy Award Winner Rami Malick) wants is to personally confront and kill the terrorists that held his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) hostage in London and then killed her. Heller hunts them down one by one, using more of his brains than brawn.
In Truffaut’s THE BRIDE WORE BLCK, Jeanne Moreau’s childhood sweetheart and groom is accidentally shot dead on the wedding church steps. Her only purpose in life is then to hunt down and kill each of those responsible for her sweetheart’s death which includes getting herself convinced and out into prison so that she can kill the last of her husband’s killers whois a evict. In THE AMATEUR, Charlie’s life is meaningless now that his wife Sarah is dead, and he has the same purpose as THE BRIDE WORE BLACK, which is to hunt down each of his wife’s killers. The hunt feels similar in tone to Zinneman’s THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, in which planning (in the film to assassinate Charles De Gaul) is of the utmost importance in achieving the goal.
The film is called THE AMATEUR because the story protagonist is not a CIA-trained professional. He undergoes CIA training to at least learn how to fight and use a gun, under the supervision of one mean trainer played by Lawrence Fishb
Though THE AMATEUR is not an action film but a suspense thriller, some action set pieces are still present. As Heller is not a brawny fighting action hero, the action set pieces involve him trying to escape those hunting him down - they being either the CIA agents under the corrupt chef or the wife’s killers themselves.
Rami Malek is also an excellent actor who is able to convey great emotion, especially involving the death of his beloved. He also possesses an impeccable body physique and shown in one scene where Heller takes his shirt off. But Heller is all brain, gifted in making explosives handmade as well as outsmarting those after him. The one scene where he unpicks a room lock using a YouTube video is a case in point. The one fight scene Heller has is with a female operative, Gretchen, who eventually gets killed fleeing from him and is hit by an oncoming vehicle.
Two fast-paced thrillers open this week. THE AMATEUR, which opens on Friday the 11th, will face fierce competition to the lighter DROP, which is almost as good as, though not better than, THE AMATEUR.
Trailer:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Indonesia/Singapore/Philippines/France/Qatar/Germany/Poland 2022) ***1/2
Directed by Makbul Mubarak
Eighteen-year-old housekeeper Rakib (Kevin Ardilova) has been living idly in a gloomy rural mansion when Purna, the lord of the house, unexpectedly returns. A retired general, Purna aims at winning the local mayoral election, running a campaign focused on modernization and development, which involves evicting poor farmers in order to build a power plant. With his father in prison and his brother working abroad, there is a void in Rakib’s life that Purna suddenly promises to fill. The film is basically a two-handler, one innocent hero and the other a guilty villain, with a solid confrontation at the very end. Director Mubabrak proves himself an excellent director in his debut feature, his camera both doggedly tagging his characters while accomplishing some magnificent night shots as well. Through the capsule examinations of these two, one can see the problem balloon into the political and social problems of the country Indonesia, which I have noted as I have close relatives living in Jakarta. AUTOBIOGRAPHY is the kind of excellent work that would unlikely receive a commercial release in North America.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY was Indonesia’s 2023 Oscar submission for Best International Feature. It makes it North American premiere, including Canada, on Film Movement Plus on April 11, 2025.
Trailer:
CALL OF THE VOID (USA 2024) **
Directed by James B. Cox
CALL OF THE VOID is set in the Appalachian Mountain range in the United States. The recent drama APPALACHIAN DOG, by coincidence, is another film set in the same area. The Appalachian Mountain range is a bleak and deserted area. The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are the mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range and its surrounding terrain. CALL OF THE VOID featured Appalachian folk songs, which are performed by the cast of the film. It is doubtful if the film was actually shot there as the credits list the filming locations as Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA.
CALL OF THE VOID stars Caitlin Carver (Chicago Fire, I Tonya, Netflix’s Dear White People), Mina Sundwall (Netflix’s Lost In Space, Jesus Revolution), Christian Antidormi (Starz’s Spartacus, Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer), and Ethan Herisse (Nickel Boys, When They See Us). It was written and directed by James B. Cox (Hacked, Grey Matter, based on a short story by Stephen King).
After the tragic death of her brother (not seen on screen), Moray (Caitlin Carver) retreats to a remote mountain cabin to try and escape her work, her family, and her old life. However, her quiet retreat is quickly diverted by a college band of 4, comprising Lucy (Mina Sundial), Sterling (Richard Ellis). Cole (Christian Amtidormi) and Darryl (Ethan Herisse) move into the unit next door and a suspicious professor is studying a local phenomenon involving a mysterious hum. She discovers that the Hum is a gateway to something otherworldly, unnameable, and once heard--there is no return. The Hum is a sonic experience that asks the question: How can you escape your own senses? The hum feels like the ringing one often hears that comes and goes in one’s ears.
The film works best when Moray meets the band and interacts with them. The members appear weird, and indeed they are. There seems to be no main leader of the group, which the script should have identified. The bully of the group is clearly Sterling, and the black member Darryl is the one who not only bullied but also seems out of place and not wanting to be there. Things take a head when all decide to go hiking with each left on an isolated spot to meditate.
But as things develop, the story also becomes more difficult to follow and the lines between the good and bad members of the band begin to blur. And the mystery of the old professor presumed dead, by the name of Professor Blackwood (Ted Barton) also comes across as strange, not to mention the monster from the void.
The blend of psychological horror and actual horror comes across as a weird mix in a film that ends up with a muddled ending.
Gravitas Ventures will release CALL OF THE VOID on digital platforms on April 15, 2025.
THE DAD QUEST (lo me jo del mundo) (Mexico 2025) *
Directed by Salvador Espinosa
There is nothing really funny or dramatic about this new Spanish Mexican drama comedy, THE DAD QUEST written and directed by Tato Alexander and Mariano Vera and directed by Salvador Espinosa about a father and son (they are actually not related according to DNA tests. The Spanish title ‘lo me jo del mundo’ translated to ‘the world’s best thing’ in English,
When a father-son duo learns that they may not be biologically related, the two embark on a wild adventure through Mexico to find the truth.
The film begins as a comedy in the first 30 minutes, where the audience is shown how bumbling a father or husband Gallo (Michel Brown) can be. The trouble is that the character is not funny enough to elicit laughs but ends up annoying to the point of irritation. An example is when his wife wishes to tell him something important - which is the fact that he might not be Benitos’ (Martino Leonardi) dad. Gallo is downing sushi while listening to her. It is difficult for the audience to feel sympathy for a character. Other bouts of unfunny humour involve him ordering shush again when his son asks for pizza. The sushi thing is the film’s running joke, which might only be funny to the film's writers.
At the one-third mark of the movie, the film turns serious with bad news that Benito is not Gallo’s son. At this point, the duo takes it upon themselves to find Benito’s biological father. The many possible candidates take the two on a road trip around Mexico, which is neither amusing, dramatic, or funny. Or does anything make any sense? The word to describe all of these event is tedium, resulting in an incredibly boring film in which no one cares about any of the story’s characters. Does one care who Benito’s father really is or whether Benito will find his true father in the first place?
THE DAD QUEST (lo me jo del mundo) opens for streaming on Netflix this week.
Trailer:
DROP (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Christoper Landon.
A widowed mother, Violet’s (Meghann Fahy) first date in years takes a terrifying turn when she's bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone during their upscale dinner, leaving her questioning if her charming date, Henry (Brandon Sklenar), is behind the harassment.
DROP has two high-profile producers, Michael Bay and Jason Blum, both of whom have made positive imprints on the film. Bay is known for his action-packed franc shies like TRANSFORMERS, which deliver fast action set pieces, while Blum delivers horror-type suspense. Both filmmakers also have films characteristic of implausibility and enjoying DROP requires one to dispense with belief and just enjoy the nonsense. At best, the film can be described as a modern-day Hitchcockian suspense thriller. the Master, known often to combine suspense with his humour,
Director Christopher Landon also comes with high credentials, having directed the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY films and both the horror flicks HAPPY DAET DAY and HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U. after breaking into fame with his award-winning short ONLY CHILD. The film is penned by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach both of whom wrote FANTASY ISLAND and TRUTH OR DARE.
DROP is an efficiently produced suspense nail biter with a combination of action, suspense, humour and some romantic comedy added for good measure. The filmmakers know that the material is not to be taken seriously and thus deliver a film that works that way.
Most of the actors are relatively unknown or known, Fahy and Sklenar from THE WHITE LOTUS and WESTWORLD TV series, respectively and the basically two set film alluring down production costs. This allows for some money to be put in for some stunning special effects.
The title is a reference to the AirDrop feature on Apple's iPhone, which allows you to share pictures and videos with other phones within your proximity.
Some of the flaws that work for a more moderate budget included emptying out he restaurant when the windows of the top floor restaurant break. No other restaurant guests are seen at that point and only the key characters are present. All the characters appear to be tech-savvy.
The honour comes in various forms that include an over-enthusiastic annoying waiter that has the talent of always appearing at the wrong time. The nod to the HOME ALONE films is also apparent. Violet’s son, Toby, looks like Macaulay Culkin but with glasses. The humour can hardly be called laugh-out loud hilarious, but the humour is definitely an entertaining enough distraction.
The film also has a whodunit element. As the poster goes: Everyone is a suspect. The villains are exposed in due time, and the one who is least suspect,
DROP has got mainly positive reviews so far, and it is easy to see why. DROP is an entertaining thriller comedy with likeable characters that one can root for. Everyone has also gone on a first date in their lives and so everyone can relate to the two protagonists.
Trailer:
FROZEN HOT BOYS (Kaeng Hima Deuxd)(Thailand 2025) **
Directed by Tanakit Kittiapithan and Naruebordee Wechakum
From Thailand and shot in Thai, the film follows Jab, a notorious troublemaker from a juvenile detention centre, who unexpectedly finds himself leading a snow sculpture team. Under the guidance of Teacher Chom, a devious teacher with a hidden agenda, Jab and his gang of hot-blooded delinquents embark on a mission to win an international snow sculpting competition in Japan. Despite hailing from Thailand, where snow has never fallen (the terms hot and frozen are also two contradicting words) these underdogs are determined to defy the odds.
This is not the fruit film about a misfit coach inspiring a team of equally misfitted teammates to win a contest or competition. In fact, this premise has formed a genre in itself. The number of films in the genre is, at present, too numerous to count. Only the competition seems different - an ice sculpting one.
The film focuses not only on the coach but on one member of the team. Both of these characters are misfits and they deserve each other. The film is also as crazy as these two fits which can be both a good or bad thing.
The film is not to be taken seriously despite its triumph of the human will over adversity theme. The film is barely entertaining enough, verging on the point of silliness. It's a forgettable, guilty fun for those able to sit through the somewhat predictable silliness.
FROZEN HOT BOYS opens for streaming this week on Netflix.
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LITTLE, BIG, AND FAR (Austria/USA 2024) ***
Directed by Jim Cohen
Warning: LITTLE, BIG, AND FAR is an art movie that moves at such a slow pace that it takes great concentration to watch the film’s 2-hour entirety without dozing off. It is best to be in the right mind for some meditative stuff on essentials like the meaning of life. The film that often feels like a doc is not without its pleasures, but one has to work hard to attain them.
The film follows Karl, who is an Austrian astronomer, professor, and museum consultant, at a crossroads in life and work. At 70, he finds his jobs are at risk and his physicist wife distancing. Along with a colleague, Sarah, he also finds himself struggling with environmental crises reshaping their fields. Sarah, who specializes in “citizen-science,” has begun seeing Mateo, a young Ecuadorian astronomer who brings her to an old telescope in New Jersey, the site of an astonishing discovery about the origin of the universe. Karl revisits the Rosetta Mission, which landed a probe on a very distant comet. His wife, Eleanor, reflects on her attempt to witness a total eclipse in the American South and its unexpected political implications. As the historical touchstones of astronomy, his grandson’s future, and his own role as a dark sky advocate begin to spin above Karl’s head, he finds himself increasingly unmoored. After a conference in Greece, he decides not to return home and heads for a small island in hopes of finding a dark enough sky to reconnect with the stars. Abandoned at a remote mountain trail, he ascends and waits for darkness to fall.
It is hard to feel for Karl, who is set in his ways, but that is hardly the purpose of the film. One assumes that everyone in the audience will at one time reach their crossroads and thus contemplate their existence. Astronomy fans should find this film more intriguing than others.
Director Cohen has a different way of showing the magnificence of a total eclipse. The event that occurs in Texas is shown on the screen more of the spectators of the event than the eclipse itself. It is he people’s response to the phenomenon that Cohen deems more intriguing.
LITTLE, BIG AND FAR, which premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2024, opens in theatres on April 11th.
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO (UK 2024) ***1/2
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO is directed by Kevin Macdonald. The Scots director is one of the best documentary filmmakers at present with the minor masterpiece TOUCHING THE VOID (2003) and the Academy Award winning documentary ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER (1999). His is aided by co-director Sam Rice-Edwards for this doc.
The doc is not a biopic of the couple. The doc basically follows just two years in the life of the couple, right after John Lennon had broken up from the Beatles. The world often blames Yoko Ono for the band’s breakup.
The film follows John Lennon and Yoko Ono when they move from the U.K. to a Greenwich Village apartment while also tracing developments in American politics, like the presidency of Richard Nixon and opposition to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. It is centered around Lennon and Ono's "One to One" benefit concert for the children at Willowbrook. The film is centred around concert footage and audio from Lennon and Ono's "One to One" benefit concert held at Madison Square Garden in August 1972 on behalf of children at the Willowbrook institution in Staten Island.
The documentary shows John and Yoko in 2 important concerts in the United States. The other is the John Sinclair Freedom Rally.
The John Sinclair Freedom Rally was a protest and concert in response to the imprisonment of John Sinclair for possession of marijuana held on December 10, 1971, in the Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The event was filmed and released as Ten For Two. The reason behind the concert was the sentencing of Sinclair, who was given ten years in prison for the possession of two marijuana cigarettes. Shortly after the event, Sinclair was released. John and Yoko performed at this concert and the doc contains an important segment of John talking to his manager regarding this concert.
The doc also provides info that even Beatles fans might not be aware of. A few of these include the fact that Yoko was married to an American before John and had a son she is searching for in the doc searching for. But the audience is reminded of other facts that are well known, such as his concerts that denounce war and promote peace. The doc also provides Yoko Ono’s point of view on her life, such as how she felt about being the only female among The Beatles.
The doc ends with the birth of the couple’s son, Sean Ono Lennon. He is the one who oversaw audio mastering for the concert footage seen in the film.
Macdonald’s doc captures the atmosphere, spirit and emotions of John &Yoko’s period in New York City as well as their work and convictions. One feels totally immersed in the culture while being entertained by the music and performances. Yoko’s screeching, however, takes a bit of getting used to. The scenes of abuse at the Willowbrook institution are the most difficult to watch.
Trailer:
PETS (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard
PETS is the new Disney documentary that explores the extraordinary relationship between animals and their people around the world. Highlighting dogs, cats, pigs, goats, and birds of prey, PETS takes us on a lovely journey that celebrates love, loss, and licks along the way.
Directed by Ron Howard’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, this Disney doc is about domesticated animals. Disney is famous for wildlife documentaries like THE JUNGLE CAT, PENGUINS, BEAR, ELEPHANT and AFRICAN CATS. So, a welcome change is anticipated.
The dictionary defines a pet as a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure. In the Disney documentary of ‘pet’, an interviewee defines the term pet as an animal that has created a bond with a human being. Though the interviewee is a child, there is much truth in what she says.
PETS is a heart-warming documentary catered for a family audience. It shamelessly pulls at one’s heartstrings, and one should have a box of Kleenex handy. After all, pets deliver unconditional love but human beings also deliver unconditioned care for their pets. PETS plays like a documentary anthology with several pet stories strung together but with a loose connecting thread of children being interviewed.. It begins with a dog story followed by a cat story, then with a pig leading to a farm sanctuary, and then an eagle pet, climaxing with the topic of how to deal with a dearly loved pet’s death. Yes, that box of Kleenex would definitely be handy.
Besides the love and affection provided by pets, the trouble and pain involved are also revealed. Myself: I own a grand pet, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Lucy that is now almost 2 years old after getting her at 2 months from a breeder, The first few months of puppyhood is indeed a nigthmare. Cleaning the pee and poop all over one’s dwelling is pure torture. Puppies also bite everything and try to eat everything in sight. Then there is the jumping on any human. Still, the dogs have to be socially trained to deal with both humans and other animals. Dogs are largely featured as they are the most common of all pets, but cats and otters trance animals like miniature pigs are also looked at.
One of the more interesting segments deals with a Spanish owner who rescues a dog while travelling on his kayak. Initially sea sick, the dog eventually adapts. He also adopts a cat on the way and then a wife.
Dealing with the death of a pet is indeed a heart gun-wrenching experience. This last segment deals with both children and adults dealing with a pet’s loss. Pets live a much shorter life than humans, which is arguably a good or bad thing. Do Pets meet their owners in heaven? Children think so,
Director Howard makes the decision to use children to talk about their pets. The tactic enhances the authenticity and innocence of the love between the animal and human Kingdoms.
launches on Disney+ on April 11, 2025.
Trailer:
SHADOW OF GOD (Canada 2024) **
Directed by Michale Peterson
Easter sees the Resurrection of Christ, Easter Monday and Good Friday 3 days apart, 3 days between the crucifixion and his resurrection. The new Canadian horror movie arrives at Easter right in time with the subject of resurrection from the dead.
So, arriving just ahead of Easter is the new exorcism horror movie Shadow of the God, which appears to introduce a new twist in the trailer that just debuted: an elite exorcist, Father Mason Harper (Mark O’Brien) realizes he may be dealing with a holy entity. Unfortunately, a twist does not necessarily translate to a good thing, SHADOW OF GOD being a prime example.
The film begins with an exorcism in which Father Harper’s fellow Vatican exorcists is killed. During the exorcism, they try to extract the name of the demon, but without success. Father Harper returns to his childhood home to spend time with his childhood friend while he awaits orders from the Church. However, this small town holds dark secrets about Mason’s past and the religious organization once run by his father, Angus. Angus is supposedly dead, but he reappears, resurrected. Their past resurfaces. Though dead, Angus reappears, forcing a reunion between father and son. But Angus is different now, and before long, Mason suspects he’s possessed, and he is. Again, the demon does not identify itself but turns out to be the SHADOW OF GOD, and hence the film’s title. Thongs go absolutely amok from here - and not in a good way.
The fault lies in both Peterson’s direction and Tim Cairo’s script. The film is unfocused and all over the place. None of the story’s characters are worthy of the audience’s sympathy. The story also contains a covet of demon worshippers that appear from nowhere and then are totally destroyed in a minute. Despite some quite well-executed special effects, the film turns out to be quite boring and unimaginative from start to end.
SHADOW OF GOD is a Canadian film, shot largely in the province of Alberta. It opens for streaming on the horror streaming service Shudder on April the 11th, 2025.
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