FILM REVIEWS:
FALL FOR ME (Germany 2025) **
Directed by Sherry Hormann
FALL FOR ME is a German film shot in German and some Spanish, set in Mallorca, about German sisters.
Lilli visits her sister Valeria, surprised to learn she's engaged to a Frenchman, Manu. She spontaneously meets nightclub manager Tom, sparking an instant connection. A dark secret lurks behind the island's events.
This is a film about scammers, as the audience is told at the beginning that for a scam to work, it must be something that the victim or target really wants.
The scamming in the film takes its time to pop up, around the 30-minute mark, which means that the film is padded with little nonsense that can be both boring and annoying.
Described as an erotic thriller, the film turns up more as a tease than anything else. There are erotic shots of nipples through wet tops, but never any full nudity. The danger is also not as threatening as it sounds, while the film moves at too slow a pace to be a satisfying thriller. Positive for the movie, however, are the stunning surroundings of Mallorca (the seas and cliffs) the film is shot and the story is set.
FALL FOR ME opens for streaming on Netflix this week.
Trailer:
GOLD RUSH GANG (Thailand 2025) **
Directed by Wisit Sasanatieng
GOLD RUSH GANG follows a real folk legend—Ko-Wah Thungsong—into a modern epic. The story draws on real events and local history, heightening its authenticity and cultural resonance.
Set in post–World War II Southern Thailand, the story follows Ko-Wah Thungsong, a legendary bandit akin to a Thai Robin Hood. He leads a motley crew of skilled misfits as they attempt to hijack a Japanese Army train carrying a fortune in gold. Their mission: to use the loot to drive out the invaders and return prosperity to their people.
Supposedly based on a real-life figure and real events, what transpires on-screen looks so silly and manipulative that credibility is shot out the window. The Robin Hood-style action comedy can hardly be called exciting or even remotely funny. The subplot of the romance is also contrived, if anything else.
One can hardly be excited when one has a band of bandits on horses using weapons like little axes and crossbows fighting against a hundred time their number of Japanese soldiers, all armed with military hardware. Yet no bandit is killed.
The film is in Thai and written by the director and Phetthai Vongkhamlao, the actor playing Ko-Wah.
GOLD RUSH GANG is open for streaming on Netflix this week.
Trailer:
RELAY (2025) ***½
Directed by David MacKenzie
The title of the film RELAY comes from a communications service used in the film called ‘relay’, used in covert operations. The use of relay is of utmost importance in the operation of the protagonist's work.
The "relay" in the title is a statewide or regional phone relay system—often termed the "Tri-State Relay"—that connects callers using assistive devices (like typed text) with operators who speak the messages aloud and vice versa. In the film RELAY, Ash (played by Riz Ahmed), a shadowy "fixer" helping whistleblowers return stolen documents in exchange for guaranteed safety, exploits this service to remain anonymous. He types messages on a special assistive device (that looks like a typewriter with a skinny digital screen), which then gets read aloud by relay operators to the recipients, with no identifying information retained or traceable back to him. It is a shrewd means of communication in a hyper-surveilled world: the service doesn’t log caller information or preserve records, so Ash’s voice, number, and location remain hidden, even when brokering dangerous exchanges between whistleblowers and corporations. It is central to both the plot and tone—enabling the fixer, Ash, to orchestrate secret exchanges under high stakes, while also reinforcing the film’s mood of paranoia and emotional distance.
Ash (also known as Tom in the film) is a reclusive “fixer” who mediates covert deals between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations—while preserving complete anonymity. He conducts communications via a public telephone relay service (designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), leveraging its operator-mediated anonymity to stay off the grid.
When Sarah (Lily James), a former biotech scientist, reaches out, offering secret files about dangerous genetically modified wheat in exchange for her safety, Ash embarks on a high-stakes game. Together, they navigate a tense cat-and-mouse chase, pursued by corporate operatives led by Dawson (Sam Worthington).
The film has the feel of classics in the mystery/noir genre like THE CONVERSATION, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1971 classic, and the more recent MICHAEL CLAYTON.
Academy Award Winner Riz Ahmed is once again excellent in the role, mostly without much dialogue in the first half. The use of the relay to promote intrigue and also humour and tension is marvellous.
There is an expert twist at the end (not revealed as a spoiler in this review) that should get the audience delighted. A little slow-paced, but the reward comes with patience and the wait for the conclusion. Also working well is the emotional state and personality of Ash, which makes the film more relatable.
Scottish director David MacKenzie proves himself once again an apt and rewarding director. His previous HELL OR HIGH WATER was his career best, and the upcoming FUZE, to be screened at TIF,F is his new film to watch.
RELAY premiered in Toronto at TIFF last year and is in theatres this week.
Trailer:
THE TRUTH ABOUT JUSSIE SMOLLETT? (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Gagan Rehill
THE TRUTH ABOUT JUSSIE SMOLLETT? features Smollett interview plus talks with police, lawyers and investigators claiming new case evidence. Viewers can judge who's telling the truth about the Jussie Smollett case.
Jussie Smollett is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991, debuting in The Mighty Ducks (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire, for which he is best known. But it is not his career that is focused on in the doc, as the actor did something criminal that is more interesting and which is what makes this new Netflix original documentary.
In January 2019, Smollett claimed to have been a victim of a hate crime, but police later determined that he had staged the attack with two acquaintances. He was initially charged with filing a false police report, but charges were dropped after he completed community service and forfeited $10,000. In 2020, a special prosecutor re-indicted him, and he was convicted on five counts in December 2021. He was sentenced to jail in March 2022, although his release was ordered after six days. The sentence was upheld on appeal in 2023, but the Illinois Supreme Court later reversed the conviction in 2024 on the basis that he had fulfilled the plea agreement made in 2019.
The ultimate answer to the question on the truth of the hate crime is left unanswered and left to the audience to decide based primarily on Smollett’s testimonies and interviews. The doc is interesting enough as its subject and what had happened to him.
The doc plays like a detective mystery in parts when the cops question irregularities in Jussie’s attack. Why was he still carrying the sandwich after the attack? Anyone would not have. Why did he fold the noose so efficiently, like a prop when taking it away from his head? The camera footage and hunting down of the suspects are also interesting parts of the doc.
THE TRUTH ABOUT JUSSIE SMOLLETT opens on Netflix Friday, August 22nd.
Trailer:
