3 excellent films open this weekend. SIRAT, the TFCA's choice for Best International Feature, MY FATHER'S SHADOW and PILLION, a different take on a love story. Lots to enjoy for the Valentine's Day weekend.
VALENTINE'S DAY FILM REVIEWS:
AN AMERICAN PASTORAL (Une pastorale américaine)(France 2024) ***½
Directed by Auberi Edler
The future of Elizabethtown in Pennsylvania is at stake.
In a quiet Pennsylvania town, a storm is brewing over the soul of its public schools. What begins as a debate over library books quickly reveals a deeper battle -- one over religion, democracy, and the future of American education.
Set in Elizabethtown, nestled in the heart of Lancaster County, AN AMERICAN PASTORAL follows a high-stakes local school board race as it becomes a flashpoint for a national culture war. With far-right activists pushing a theocratic agenda and longtime public servants stepping down under threat, the town’s once-routine school board meetings erupt into scenes of conflict and division.
There are clearly two conflicting goals in this Vital, Gripping Doc Premiering via VOD/Digital on 2/13ps in the doc - the Republicans, who are shown as Christian Fundamentalists and the Democrats, who are fighting primarily for book freedom. It is disturbing to see how these two groups use the first amendments, twisted often, in their arguments suit their courses. Though director Edler shows the two different points of view, with each side given time have their say, though it is clear the side the Christian fundamentalists that Edler is against.
The doc contains many speeches that ring so true. The best of these is the one that says that in the Gospel according to St. Matthew in the Bible, it says that ‘anyone who walks in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.’ And the speech goes on to say that many would say that they will pray for you, while in truth, they want otherwise, and the speaker pleads for Christians never to say that they will pray for you. Another speaker, a well-known writer, Alex Newman, also brainwashes his listeners about how children are brainwashed by the government. Words mean a lot, and as the doc shows, they are often misinterpreted and used to the benefit of the speaker who would twist the words to his or her favour. One exasperated former school board member, Kristy Moore, voices her valid complaint a few times in the doc.
To forget the spew of romantic films opening on Valentine’s Day, AN AMERICAN PASTORAL, a Vital, Gripping Doc Premiering via VOD/Digital on February 13th, is a surprise thought-provoker.
Trailer:
CRIME 101 (USA 2026) ****
Directed by Bill Laxton
Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, Crime 101 weaves the tale of an elusive jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose string of heists along the 101 freeway has mystified police. When he eyes the score of a lifetime, his path crosses that of a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads. Convinced he has found a pattern, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) is closing in, raising the stakes even higher. As the heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are faced with life-defining choices--and the realisation that there can be no turning back. Adapted from Don Winslow's acclaimed novella of the same name, the film is written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals, The Imposter). Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte round out the cast.
The action set pieces, especially the car and motorbike chase, are impressive. The film gives a nod to Peter Yates' classic BULLITT as well as to THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, featuring a high-class jewel heist.
With the story focusing on the cop and the crook, one wonders how the film will end. Will the hardworking cop, played by Mark Ruffalo, get his guy, played by Hemsworth, or will the crook pull off his heist? The plot is reminiscent of Fred Zinneman's DAY OF THE JACKAL in which France's best cop, played by Michel Londsale puts his wits against the Jackal, played by Edward Fox, planning to assassinate de Gaulle.
One of the better action flicks opening this year, with 3 protagonists instead of one, directed by the one who made the awesome documentary THE IMPOSTOR
Trailer:
FINCH & MIDLAND (Canada 2025) ***½
Directed by Timothy Yeung
Finch and L+Midland refers to Finch Avenue and Midland Avenue, two roads that intersect in Scarborough in Ontario, Canada, a neighbourhood rich with Hong Kong immigrants. It is the setting of an anthology of 4 immigrant stories intercut together about middle-aged immigrants trying to make good, if not attaining the Canadian dream. The characters each face mid-life struggles: a former singer trying to reconnect with his daughter; a woman searching for love while caring for her elderly mother; a single mother working in a massage parlour while studying for a real estate licence; and a factory worker confronted with job loss and shifting identity. Through simplicity, humour, and charm, the film effectively explores themes of belonging, identity, sacrifice, cultural displacement, and the cost of chasing the “better life” in a new country, which in this case is Canada. Each story is equally interesting, and Director Yeung connects well with his audience through his characters.
JOE’S COLLEGE ROAD TRIP (USA 2026) ***
Directed by Tyler Perry
The story centres on Joe Simmons, the gruff, no-filter brother of Medea, who is tasked with taking his grandson B.J. on a cross-country college road trip. B.J.’s father, Brian, hopes the journey will help teach his son about the real world, Black history and life beyond his sheltered life before he starts college. What begins as a guided college tour quickly turns into a wild, tension-filled, and chaotic road trip full of misadventures, humour, and unexpected life lessons.
The new Tyler Perry film featuring Brian, his aunt Medea and father, Joe, is quite the riot. And all three characters are played by Tyler Perry. The film starts with the introduction of Joe. And it is not a pretty one. Joe swears, used to pimp, only attained third grade and would do anything, according to Medea, for a pork chop and ho. In contrast, BJ, Joe’s grandson, is educated in a white system and knows nothing about black life.
Tyler Perry as: Medea, the sister of Joe, the aunt of Brian, and the grandaunt of B.J.
Joe Simmons, the brother of Medea, the father of Brian, and the grandfather of B.J.
Brian Simmons, the father of B.J., the son of Joe, and the nephew of Medea.
While part of the Medea franchise, it is the first film to be about her brother Joe as he accompanies his grandson B.J. on his college road trip. Brian is convinced by Medea to let Joe take his son, B.J., on the trip. Hopefully, they both learn from each other.
The trip begins at the 30-minute mark of the movie, where BJ travels in Joe’s car, which has no seat belts. The reason for this is that Brian had cut out all the seat belts in his car, as Joe used to beat him with them.
Down the open road, generational differences and personality clashes lead to comedic and heartfelt moments, ultimately shaping both Joe and B.J.’s understanding of family, identity, and one another.
There’re few priceless comedic and action set pieces, like the onset in awhorehouse and the other in a primarily white bar,
The R-rated comedy about a grandfather and grandson whose road trip to visit colleges teaches them more about life — and each other — than they anticipated is entertaining enough, Medea style, with often no holds-barred material.
The question is, who can be funnier or more outrageous? Medea or Joe?
JOE’S COLLEGE ROAD TRIP opens for streaming on Netflix Friday, February 13th.
Trailer:
THE LAST SACRIFICE (UK 2024) ***½
Directed by Rupert Russell
Directed by Rupert Russell, the son of Ken Russell (THE MUSIC LOVERS, THE BOY FRIEND, THE DEVILS, TOMMY), THE LAST SACRIFICE uncovers the real-life witchcraft killing that inspired THE WICKER MAN and birthed the folk horror genre. This unsettling true-crime interrogation unlocks the perverse cultural undercurrents that shaped the genre from its murderous beginnings to its modern-day resurrection. This is a journey that gets under the skin of British polite society, that slays with pride, kills with prejudice, and exposes an island nation's dark heart to reveal that THE WICKER MAN is more fact than fiction.
The new horror crime drama is as intriguing and captivating as a curiosity piece. The film is made upon a whole lot of horror films like the Hammer horror films of the past, particularly of the 60s and 70s, as well as many doc series. THE LAST SACRIFICE is apparently about witches, which the film claims England exports. It all started with the real-life murder of a chap called Charles Walton living in the Cotswolds in England.
Charles Walton (12 May 1870 – 14 February 1945) was an Englishman who was found murdered on the evening of 14 February 1945 (St. Valentine's Day), at The Firs farm on the slopes of Meon Hill, Lower Quinton, in Warwickshire, England. The foremost police detective of the era, Chief Inspector Robert Fabian, supposedly the best detective in the whole of England, according to reputation, led the investigation into Walton's death. The chief suspect for the murder was the manager of The Firs, Alfred John Potter, for whom Walton was working on the day he died. However, there was insufficient evidence to convict Potter, and the case is currently the oldest unsolved murder in the Warwickshire Constabulary's records. The case has earned some notoriety in popular culture due to its supposed connection with the local belief in witchcraft.
On 14 February 1945, Walton left home with a pitchfork and a slash hook – a double-edged pruning implement with a sharpened straight edge on one side and a concave cutting edge on the other. Edith, Charles’s niece who was living with him, stated that Walton had left his purse at home on 14 February. He was witnessed passing through the churchyard between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. It was a gruesome murder. The murderer had beaten Walton over the head with his own stick, cut his neck open with the slash hook, and driven the prongs of the pitchfork into either side of his neck, pinning him to the ground. The handle of the pitchfork had then been wedged under a cross member of the hedge, and the slash hook had been buried in his neck.
THE LAST SACRIFICE should be seen, not only for the reason that it is quite the well put-together film, but also very nostalgic when the audience watches the old Hammer horror films that many loved and grew up with, including watching many segments involving horror masters Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
THE LAST SACRIFICE opens in Canada as a streaming premiere on Shudder on February 16, 2026. That’s when it becomes available to watch in Canada via Shudder’s service.
Trailer:
MONTREAL, MA BELLE (Montreal, My Beautiful)(Canada 2025) ***
Directed by Xiaodan He
This is Joan Chen’s daring new vehicle, plunging into the role of a 53-year-old, humble, dissatisfied wife with two children, coming out to her gay leanings. This is Joan Chen's, real age 65, film all the way, she being in almost every frame of the film.
Feng Xia (Chen), a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother living in Montreal, has spent her life shaped by duty — to her family, her culture, and a loveless marriage. But when she meets Camille, a spirited young Québécoise, a long-buried desire is awakened. In the balmy and joyful Montreal summer, Feng Xia takes the radical step of choosing herself — embarking on a journey of forbidden love and long-overdue self-discovery. Her awakening becomes a profound reckoning with identity, exile, and the steep cost of liberation.
Though explosive in its emotional material, director He keeps the tone of the film subtle and pensive, reflected by the city of Montreal, often filmed in soft hues. The film’s pace is unhurried and smooth, though never boring, as if something is not happening on screen, there is definitely emotion that is being felt by the characters. Feng Xia’s issues are slowly brought into the picture. When the film begins, she hardly speaks French, though the audience learns soon after that she is taking French lessons and can speak rather fluid French. Then, the family problems are introduced, with an occasionally overbearing husband who seems to enjoy sex without giving any consideration to his wife’s feelings. One of the bedroom scenes has Feng Zia storming out of bed, screaming, “You never care how I feel,” to her husband. The LGBT issue is then brought in when she goes on a dating app, and to one’s surprise, it is a gay app and she meets Camille, who is not without her own personal problems, Camille ha an ex who wants to come back together, while Camille has passed that chapter in life, and has a mother who wants to reunite with her daughter, but with other reasons. Feng Xia is caught up with all these issues, while quietly keeping a stiff upper lip. Or she might end up doing something bad, as she confessed to her psychiatrist early in the film. Among all this, there is the hanging issue of an immigrant being fitted into another culture. When she meets a new group of friends, she is asked where she is from, as they cannot tell one Asian from another.
Of course, it is a matter of time before Feng Xia’s secret is discovered by her family.
Actress Joan Chen herself is an immigrant from China, moving to America to launch her career. She was famous after the movie TAIPAN (and later in THE LAST EMPEROR) in which she played a mistress of a caucasian and was deemed a traitor back in her country. Chen understands the meaning of loneliness and displacement,
The film is shot in both Mandarin and French, dialogue often replaced by silence when emotions can still be expressed.
MONTREAL, MA BELLE (Montreal, My Beautiful) opens in theatres February 13th, 2026.
Trailer:
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN (Denmark/Czech/Germany 2025) ***½
Directed by David Borenstein
The doc begins with the setting in the dead of night, when a man scrambles across what might seem to be a path towards a border crossing. He is warned by what is apparently a cell phone app to be careful with the footage he is carrying out and to discard the security messenger app right after. He is told that what he is doing will make a big difference. This is Pasha, the Mr Nobody of the title in his fight against Putin’s propaganda in schools.
The setting of the doc is the Russian town of Karabash. Mr Nobody is from th town working in the largest school in the small town, mainly as a videographer, then loading all the propaganda files from the government. The history of the town is equally interesting. A study by the Chelyabinsk Oblast's regional government in 1994 found significant negative health effects in the town, including high rates of stunted growth and birth defects. The country's environmental ministry declared the area an environmental disaster zone in 1996. Despite this, a private company acquired the plant in 1998 and restarted its operations. In 2004, Russian Copper Company, a private company, acquired the plant. In 2015, a protest against the environmental and health effects of the town's copper smeltery was attended by approximately 500 people.
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN was shot over a period of two years by Pavel "Pasha" Talankin, the videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1. Pasha began seriously documenting his activities after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the government began requiring schools to hold regular "patriotic displays" and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students. At the same time, the government instituted a requirement to upload footage of these displays to a state-run portal to prove compliance, allowing Pasha cover to film meetings, lessons, and visitors to the school without attracting suspicion, He initially planned to resign to avoid supporting the Russian government, however, after getting in contact with director David Borenstein, he withdrew his resignation to keep gathering footage,
Pasha secretly fled Russia during the summer of 2024, aided by his producers and Borenstein, who worked to get him asylum in Europe, following evidence of police surveillance
The danger faced by Pasha is real. In April 2023, Putin signed a law that would punish traitors with life imprisonment. Pasha tests the state by playing, at the school assembly, the Unite State National Anthem as sung by Lady Gaga. His superiors warn him, saying that the school would have many enemies after. “So what?” is Pasha’s reply.
Pasha depicts Putin as a scumbag, the same word Putin uses to scold others with. With his well-groomed fat face, he is shown to be a complete liar, as he is, something that eludes President Trump, who also lies through his teeth.
What is seen in this docs nothing really surprising, but what is most interesting are the reactions of the students and fellow teachers. As also expected, but must be seen to be believed, is the fear everyone experiences and the need to obey so that they do not get into trouble.
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN opens in theatres Friday, 13th. The film is nominated for this year's Oscar for Best Documentary.
Trailer:
MY FATHER’S SHADOW (UK/Nigeria 2025) ****
Directed by Akinola Davies Jr.
Winner of the Caméra d’Or Special Mention at Cannes, MY FATHER’S SHADOW is a stunning debut set in 1993 Lagos; a lyrical, emotionally resonant story of two brothers reconnecting with their distant father over a single, transformative day.
A bit of the Geography of Lagos and Nigeria is key to appreciating the setting of the film. Lagos, or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. Set against the backdrop of the 1993 Nigerian presidential election, two young brothers spend a day in Lagos with their estranged father.
It all takes place in a single day. The sights of a third-world country's big city, with all its traffic, people, and chaos amid political turmoil, are effectively captured on film. The inspired segment is the bus ride, where a sudden outburst of different political debate opinions emerges from the passengers on the bus. They argue with all their differing points of view, and lo and behold! They all have to disembark the bus as it runs out of petrol. Petrol is scarce during the political unrest.
It should be noted that the Davies brothers developed the idea for the film over more than a decade, drawing inspiration from the loss of their father when they were both very young. In 2012, Wale wrote the first draft of the script, which centres on two brothers spending a day in Lagos with their father on the day of Nigeria's historic 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as a turning point in the nation’s contemporary history. Director Akinola Davies Jr. wrote the script with his brother, making the film autobiographical.
The film looks simple, but do not be fooled, as there is a tremendous amount of work, thought, and talent that went into this piece of work.
The influence of a father cannot be more importantly stressed in the film. In one scene, the father prevents one son from buying ice cream for himself unless he also buys one for his brother. He does not, so it goes without the ice cream. The heart-to-heart talk with one son also sends shivers down one’s spine. The physical absence of the mother is noticeable in the film, but the father stresses the importance of family to his sons, especially for the mother, who, though never seen, is said to be loved by him, and that both of them do the most for their sons. The father explains his absence as necessary for the family to stay as one. The scene where the two brothers share a meal on the plate with the meat, one for each sibling, is moving.
The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May, where it won the Special Mention for the Caméra d'Or. It is the first-ever Nigerian film to be selected for the festival's Official Selection. More notably, the film was also selected as the UK's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
Trailer:
PILLION (UK/Ireland 2025) ****
Directed by Harry Lighton
From writer-director Harry Lighton, making his feature debut, PILLION, unconventional love story, following two men who express desire in ways rarely depicted on the big screen. Based on the novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion stars Harry Melling as Colin, a timid traffic warden from the suburbs, and Alexander Skarsgård
A pillion by definition is the seat for a passenger behind the motorcyclist. This word is appropriately used as the title of the new BDSM gay romance film.
Colin, an introverted gay man, lives with his parents and works a menial job assigning parking tickets while pursuing his hobby of singing in a barbershop quartet. Colin and his quartet are pretty good, as one of the performances is captured in the story’s introduction. Yes, a musical interlude to contrast the dark BDSM theme of the romance,
The theme is one that many might not be familiar with. This is how the definition of BDSM goes. BDSM is an acronym for Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, and Sadism & Masochism, representing a consensual spectrum of erotic, role-playing, and physical practices focused on power exchange, trust, and communication. It involves activities like sensation play, restraints, and role-playing, with safety and, for example, safe words being paramount to distinguish it from abuse. For a couch, one is dominant while he otters submissive, and many activities can enhance the sexual act,
One evening at the pub, he slips a note by Ray, an incredibly handsome member of a local biker gang. The two meet on Christmas Day at a high street alleyway, where Ray wordlessly ushers Colin to perform oral sex. Despite a successful hookup, Ray says he isn't often around to see Colin again.
Trailer: n texts Ray, but receives no response for months. Eventually, Ray invites Colin to his home, where Colin is naively initiated into a strict BDSM relationship: Colin cooks, cleans, and shops, sleeps on the floor, and obeys Ray's every command. In return, Colin enjoys an intense but controlled sexual relationship with Ray. Acclimating to Ray's lifestyle, Colin shaves his head and joins the biker gang. Meanwhile, Colin's parents express worry about how little Colin knows about Ray.
PILLION is a different romantic film that opens around Valentine’s Day. The film is described in the press notes as a romantic black comedy. But more importantly, it is a film which rides its story outside the box, where a BDSM themed film turns both charming and still maintains its uncomfortable yet erotic sexiness.
The story in the book is set from the 70s to the present. Colin’s parents are not the stereotyped ones found in gay films, where they either accept the son’s homosexuality with uneasiness or deny it. In the film, they encourage it, with the parents inviting Ray over for dinner in order to know more about the biker. But things do not go as planned.
It should be noted that the film’s ending differs from the original novel, Box Hill (on which the movie is based), where in the book, Ray does die in a motorcycle accident. The film deliberately changes that plot point, not to be revealed in the review, but the ending is an improvement, making the audience think a bit more and yes, outside the box. PILLION is a brave and still powerful movie, a surprising first feature written and directed by Lighton.
PILLION opens February 13th. A must for gay audiences and for straight ones, see it if you dare, and it will be a worthwhile challenge.
Trailer:
SIRAT (Spain/France 2025) ****
Directed by Oliver Laxe
A winner of this year’s Cannes Competition Jury Prize, SIRAT (which means ‘path’ in Arabic) is at once a visceral and metaphysical excursion, in which a man desperately searches for his missing daughter amid a roving raver community in the harsh southern deserts of Morocco.
The title of the film SIRAT comes from the Sirat Bridge of the Islamic religion. The "Sirat bridge" is a bridge in Islamic belief that every person must cross on the Day of Judgment to enter Paradise (Jannah). It is described as a narrow path, thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword, that spans over Hell. This sentence is flashed on the screen at the start of the film. The speed and success with which people cross depend on their deeds; the righteous will pass swiftly, while the unrighteous will fall into Hell.
The film begins with a large party scene in which a multitude of people dance to the tune of electronic music in a rave in southern Morocco. A man (Sergi López) and his son give out flyers with the picture of a missing woman (their daughter and sister Mar) to the attendees of the dance party. A subgroup of ravers tells the man and the boy (Luis and Esteban) that another rave is taking place afterwards, deeper in the desert, and that the missing woman could be there. A group of soldiers dissolves the rave and orders Europeans to be evacuated. The ravers (Stef, Jade, Tonin, Bigui, and Josh) escape from the convoy line in two vans, and Luis and Esteban follow them in their smaller van together with their dog Pipa.
The film has nail-biting edge-of-your-seat moments, which are reminiscent of two films. One is the 1953 French film, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s LE SALAIRE DE LA PEUR, in which the characters drive trucks along rocky roads carrying dangerous explosives, a few blowing up. The other is the 2015 Danish film Martin Zandvliet’s LAND OF MINE, in which mines are suddenly triggered and blow the victims to bits. In SIRAT, the climactic scene where the characters are stuck in a mine field shares identical suspense and thrills.
Filming locations in the province of Teruel included the Rambla de Barrachina. Director Laxe stated that the production team faced intense heat and sandstorms while filming in Morocco.
In that scene, the various characters set up speakers and music in the desert. They dance; while in a trance, one of them, Jade, steps on a land mine and dies. Another, Tonin dies by stepping on another mine while trying to reach Jade. Realising they have stepped into a minefield, the remaining group members are determined to reach a presumably mine-free rocky area nearby. This segment is really unsettling as the situation is extremely explosive and unpredictable.
Though the film can hardly be described as entertaining, it provides a fresh, occasional, experimental, and emotional raw look at what it is to be human and how to relate with one another. The film is in full serious mode except for one comical segment where Tonin improves a musical number using his leg stump to perform a sort of puppetry show.
A must-see, the film is the TFCA’s choice for Best International’s Feature.
Trailer:
STATE OF FEAR (SALVE GERAL IRNANDADE)(Brazil 2026) ***½
Directed by Pedro Morelli
Brotherhood members face a crisis as key leaders transfer to maximum security prisons. Elisa, 18, the daughter of founder Edson, is kidnapped by corrupt police. Her aunt Cristina attempts a rescue while the faction orders "Salve Geral.” Salve Geral means Greetings Everyone. The title means Greetings, everyone, Brothers!
It should be noted that the film is a spin-off of the Netflix Brazil series Brotherhood (Irmandade). But prior knowledge of the series is not required,
The film begins with a high-profile attack at a police precinct in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The action set-piece is heightened with a copy in the precinct having a water broken, while celebrating her pregnancy by colleagues.
As São Paulo erupts in an unprecedented wave of violence, a lawyer with underworld ties must strike a deal with the police to rescue her kidnapped niece.
Multiple stories are going on all at once. The central issue is the brotherhood. Apparently, according to the opening titles, the Brotherhood is an established gang that is supposed not to be all bad, and at times, fighting corrupt cops. When riots break out across prisons across the country, as well as the precinct in Freguesia is attacked, the Brotherhood takes responsibility.
The first subjects are the pregnant cop and her beau, as they try to reach a hospital during the precinct attack. But it appears that the delivery has to take place in the cruiser. “Trust me. You can do this,” he tells her.
The story shifts to the lawyer who, with her daughter, picks up her lover, an escaped prisoner. As the daughter’s camera is snatched away, and the thief frames the prisoner because of his colour, the cops demand a ransom to release the daughter. The aunt, who is the lawyer, gets a call about the ransom.
As Aunt Cristina, a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood, tries to rescue Elisa.
The response of the Brotherhood is to order a “state of fear” — a coordinated wave of violent attacks on police stations and security forces that throws the city into widespread turmoil and chaos.
The multiple stories can get confusing, but it might take one to pause the film for a while (which I did) to put the whole story together, as well as to connect all the characters.
Still, STATE OF FEAR is an above average high octane action packed thriller with colourful characters and set in the exotic Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The film succeeds primarily for its intense visuals and sweeping single-shot sequences that heighten the urgency of the story. The story also questions what justice means to different people.
STATE OF FEAR is shot in Portuguese and opens on Netflix, a Netflix original on Wednesday, February 11th.
Trailer:
STATE OF FEAR (SALVE GERAL IRNANDADE)(Brazil 2026) ***½
Directed by Pedro Morelli
Brotherhood members face a crisis as key leaders transfer to maximum security prisons. The Brotherhood’s a gang organized group that operates in Brazil. Though many of the leaders are in prison, the Brotherhood still maintains power over the country, as the film demonstrates at the beginning. Elisa, 18, the daughter of founder Edson, is kidnapped by corrupt police. Her Aunt Cristina attempts a rescue while the faction orders "Salve Geral.” Salve Geral means Greetings Everyone, in particular Brotherhood. The title means Greetings, everyone, Brothers!
It should be noted that the film is a spin-off of the Netflix Brazil series Brotherhood (Irmandade). But prior knowledge of the series is not required to appreciate the film,
The film begins with a high-profile attack at a police precinct in São Paulo, Brazil. The action set-piece is heightened with a copy in the precinct having a water broken, while celebrating her pregnancy by colleagues.
As São Paulo erupts in an unprecedented wave of violence, a lawyer with underworld ties must strike a deal with the police to rescue her kidnapped niece.
Multiple stories are going on all at once. The central issue is the brotherhood. Apparently, according to the opening titles, the Brotherhood is an established gang that is supposed not to be all bad, and at times, fighting corrupt cops. When riots break out across prisons across the country, as well as in a local precinct that isattacked, the Brotherhood takes responsibility.
The first subjects are the pregnant cop and her beau, as they try to reach a hospital during the precinct attack. But it appears that the delivery has to take place in the cruiser. “Trust me. You can do this,” he tells her.
The story shifts to the lawyer who, with her daughter, picks up her lover, an escaped prisoner. As the daughter’s camera is snatched away, and the thief frames the prisoner because of his colour, the cops demand a ransom to release the daughter. The aunt, who is the lawyer, gets a call about the ransom.
As Aunt Cristina, a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood, tries to rescue Elisa.
The response of the Brotherhood is to order a “state of fear” — a coordinated wave of violent attacks on police stations and security forces that throws the city into widespread turmoil and chaos.
The multiple stories can get confusing, but it might take one to pause the film for a while (which I did) to put the whole story together and connect all the characters.
Still, STATE OF FEAR is an above-average, high-octane, action-packed thriller with colourful characters and set in the exotic Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The film succeeds primarily through its intense visuals and sweeping single-shot sequences, which heighten the urgency of the story. The story also questions what justice means to different people.
STATE OF FEAR is shot in Portuguese and opens on Netflix, a Netflix original, on Wednesday, February 11th.
Trailer:
THIS IS I (Japan 2026) ***½
Directed by Yusaku Matsumoto
THIS IS I is based on the true story of Ai Haruna. When the film opens, she is in the contest for Miss Trans in Pattaya, Thailand. She goes on to become the first Japanese to win the title.
Ai Haruna (born 21 July 1972) is a Japanese transgender TV personality and singer.
In October 2009, Haruna won the "Miss International Queen 2009" transgender beauty pageant held in Pattaya, Thailand, becoming the first Japanese contestant to win the title. On 24 August 2021, she appeared at the beginning of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics.
The Japanese drama film is an honest, sincere-looking film that sympathizes with the magically different. It tells the real-life inspired story of Haruna Ai, a Japanese entertainer and transgender icon, and her journey of self-discovery and pursuing her dream of becoming an idol. The story follows her struggles with identity and societal judgment from a young age, and the deep bond she forms with a doctor, Dr. Wada, who helps her along the way. Their friendship and mutual support are central to the emotional arc of the film.
In school, she has a crush on a fellow male student, and her love letters made public class much to her embarrassment. She tells a teacher she cannot take out any more, only to be told to act more like a man and stop so effeminately, but she does not even know the meaning of that term. She meets Dr Wada at a restaurant where thendoctoris being ridiculed for the same reason.
THIS IS I is a film that speaks to those who have been bullied and ridiculed for whatever reason. “I just want to be myself,” says Haruna at one point in the film. The audience feels for her.
The film could have been just made with the promise of the rise to fame of a pop idol who happens to be trans. Instead, the film is brave enough to include controversial issues like transgendering as well as display the underground gay culture of Osaka in the 70s. There are insights and displays of incidents not known to Western audiences, all of which lift the film above the ordinary. The bond between the doctor, Dr. Wafda, and Haruna is also one of the key elements in the story.
The film is especially timely since the most hated President of all time, Trump, has removed the rights of transgender Americans. Haruna, born as Kenji Ōnishi in the 1970s, grew up dreaming of becoming a pop idol at a time when openly expressing her gender identity was met with scorn. The film arrives as part of Netflix’s expanded international slate and carries particular significance now: it shines a spotlight on LGBTQ+ experiences in Japan at a moment when conversations about representation are resonating worldwide. The film runs a bit long at just over 2 hours, but the film moves fast due to its interesting premise.
THIS IS I opens on Netflix Tuesday, February 10th.
Trailer:
“WUTHERING HEIGHTS” (UK/USA 2026) **
Directed by Emerald Fennell
This latest version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Emily Brontë’s original 1847 novel that is considered one of the greatest English novels of all time, is given a free adaptation by writer/director Emerald Fennell - the reason the title “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” appears in quotation marks. Re-interpretation of a classic treads dangerous territory, and in the case of the 2026 film, it fails (explained in the review) in terms of what would be expected in an epic romance. The story is set in the Yorkshire Moors, and the word withering itself is a Yorkshire slang term that means to roar or to bluster, terms that describe the stormy nature and weather of the moors.
Filming occurred at Sky Studios Elstree, with location shooting in the Yorkshire Dales, including the valleys of Arkengarthdale and Swaledale, the village of Low Row, and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Linus Sandgren is the cinematographer who is to be commended for classic scenes like the dark Heathcliff riding his horse in the shadows of night.
The handsome Jacob Elordi, a white actor, plays Heathcliff. As everyone familiar with the novel knows, Heathcliff is a "dark-skinned gipsy" or "Lascar" in the novel, sparking controversy, but Elordi does a near-perfect job as the troubled lover who takes revenge on his childhood tormentors. The important role of Nelly is played by Hong Chau, an American Asian actress best known for her breakout role in DOWNSIZING. Margot Robbie is Catherine.
The film is a more straightforward retelling of the tale, without the layered flashbacks as told by Nelly in the book. Heathcliff is ‘found’ by Catherine in the film, rather than brought back by the father on one of his travels. The film is also sexually more explicit, a fact that takes away the classic feel and subtlety of the story. The Chemistry between the two leads, Margot Robbie and Jason Elordi, works well at least.
There is much cruelty and marital abuse in the story, a fact that director Fennell does not shy away from. There is also a BDSM scene spied upon by Catherine, a scene that will make many an audience uncomfortable, not only because of the content, but because of the liberty taken to update the story. There are also other explicit romantic and sensual scenes, including kissing and heightened physical contact, whereas in the book, there is more psychological cruelty.
The novel’s gothic tragedy, grounded in bleak moors, class conflict, obsession, and generational trauma are at least still felt in the film, despite the changes made in the simplified story.
There are original songs by British/Indian artist Charli XCX, last seen in the film THE MOMENT.
“WUTHERING HEIGHTS’ has so far obtained mixed reviews from critics. Director Fennell has repeatedly defended her film by saying that her film isn’t meant to be a literal, faithful retelling of the novel but rather her version of it. The film cost $80 million and was bought by Warner Bros after a bidding war.
“WUTHERING HEIGHTS” opens in theatres on Friday the 13th for Valentine’s Day.
Trailer:
Comments powered by CComment