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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 06 January 2026

This article will be updated as more shorts become available.

LA JEUNE FILLE QUI PLEURAIT DES PERLES (The Girl Who Cried Pearls)(Canada 2025) ****

Directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

 

Stop-motion animation, time-consuming but worth every moment, is animation art in its purest form.  In this endearing tale from Montreal, Canada, at the dawn of the 20th century, a poor boy falls in love with a girl whose sorrow is transformed into pearls.  He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more.  Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune.  The choice could damn his soul. From the Oscar-nominated team of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), this meticulously crafted film is a testament to the craft mentioned with handmade puppets, mesmerizing narration by Canadian actor Colm Feore, and a haunting score by Patrick Watson. The Girl Who Cried Pearls is a timeless parable of desire, deception, and the price of innocence.   It helps that one can identify with a young, innocent boy down on his luck, without fate having dealt him a bad hand.  Watching this cautionary moral taleufold is pure delight!

 

 

THE EXTREMIST (Latvia/USA 2025) ****
Directed by Aleksandr Molochnikov

 

A 17-minute short based on a true story from The New Yorker!  On November 16, 2023, Sasha Skochilenko, a thirty-three-year-old artist, poet, and musician, stood in court to give what is known in the Russian judicial system as the “last word”—final remarks of the accused before the judge delivers a verdict.  The final remarks form the epic conclusion of this drama.  Extremist was written and directed by Aleksandr Molochnikov as a Columbia University student film project, and it won the BAFTA student film award.  The film dramatizes the real-life case of Aleksandra Skochilenko and follows a young artist (portrayed by Viktoriya Miroshnichenko) whose act of protest, in which she replaces supermarket price tags with anti-war messages, leads to her arrest and prosecution.  Sasha is also shown to be in an open lesbian relationship, with her relationship problems also surfacing because of her activism.  Still, her partner vouches and carries on her work, despite arguing at one point that Sasha never consults her on her actions.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 01 January 2026

FILM REVIEWS:

 

THE CHORAL (UK/USA 2025) ****
Directed by Nicholas Hytner

 

A choral society's male members enlist in World War I, leaving the demanding Dr Guthrie (Academy Award Nominee Ralph Fiennes from CONCLAVE) to recruit teenagers.  Together, they experience the joy of singing while the young boys grapple with their impending conscription into the army.

If the film about forming and survival of a choral (choir) during WWI sounds boring or uneventful, this film, THE CHORAL, written by Alan Bennett and directed by Nicholas Hytner (THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE), serves to prove otherwise.  The importance of music is clearly established at the start of the film, through the more elderly population.  Music transcends everything, including war.  The choral master worked in Germany for several years and therefore faces prejudice against his hiring for the task.

The film is set in a fictional town in Yorkshire.  It is all very English, and if one loves a good English film with story and morals included, THE CHORAL is the one to watch.  From the beginning scenes, the sight of two lads on their bicycles riding down the winding lanes in the country is simply stunning English beauty.

Director Hytner and writer Bennett capture emotions in key scenes as well as simple ones.  At the film’s start, a postman delivers telegrams to soldiers who have died in action. As he delivers one to a mother, with the words: “I’m sorry, missus,”  the mother holds the postman’s head, giving him a kiss on the forehead with tears rolling down her face.  It is a key moment illustrating the power of emotion that radiates from the work of these two artists, which is also observable in other parts of the film.

Every part of a choir is shown in all its glory and importance.  When auditioning for the new choral master, the choral master says: Everyone is to audition.  "But we are in the committee, and I’m not prepared to argue one," says one.  “The scales will do,” replies the choral master.  As different auditions are heard, the audience will be mesmerised by the expressions and songs chosen.  This is my favourite segment in the film.

German composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Handel being unacceptable, Dr Guthrie proposes to stage a radical new production of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, its theme of death reflecting the current pains of war.  He gets permission from Elgar (played with gusto by Simon Russell Beale) himself for this performance, though not until his daringly interpretive new variations are discovered by the angry Elgar.

The film contains a few excellent quotes, such as: Artists are like that. (referring to one knowing another’s talent)  They know each other. The film also contains excellent scenes.  The best of it is the choral master’s pep talk with Clyde (Jacob Dudman), a young soldier returning from the war prematurely for loss of his right arm.  Clyde can sing but does not want to be in the choral.  Life has dealt him a consolation prize - his voice, but otherwise, the loss of a limb and heartbrokenness (his girl now feels differently towards him).  It is an excellent written scene, full of raw emotion and openness, and delivered with great effect, demonstrating the oneness between theatre and cinema.

THE CHORAL screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and opens on January 9th.  Absolute delight!

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THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER (USA 2025 ) ***

Directed by Kristen Stewart

THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER is a biographical psychological drama film and the feature directorial debut of Kristen Stewart, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s acclaimed 2011 memoir of the same name.

At the addiction meetings, Lidia (Imogene Poots)  is told to talk about it and that that will help.  “I am not talking,” she tells the group leader.  Then, there are the scenes of overdose, when she lies on the floor, and the medics are trying to revive her.  Her arm and veins are shown as she is about to perform an injection.  Her sweaty face, bad complexion, and all are shown in close-ups.  If there is any consolation from these disturbing scenes, they are occasionally accompanied by uplifting music.  While her parents claim that she is doing so well, director Stewart flashes back to her vomiting into the toilet bowl.  (Is the vomiting due to the drug taking or her pregnancy?)

Her indecisiveness is no help either.  She punches her boyfriend because he is not nice and does nothing.  She does not know what to do.  She talks to herself.

The sexual abuse by her father is shown in horrible ways.   The way he fucks her is shown in a lengthy and disturbing segment that one can only wish they could turn away from.  The father alternates between a few moments of tenderness and screaming at her at the top of his voice.

Director Stewart’s film is a difficult watch.  It is no easy watch to experience the trauma of an abused individual,l whether the abuse comes from within or from the outside.  From Stewart’s fragmentation use of editing, for example, the audience sees a scene and the next edit with the same scene but occurring a few seconds before, she creates the effect of how Lidia feels and acts as she is bipolar and high.  But there is redemption, which slowly emerges during the second half of the film.

A young woman finds her voice through the written word and her salvation as a swimmer, ultimately becoming a triumphant teacher, mother, and singular modern writer.

The term chronology means the arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence.  The film does not evolve in the same way as the meaning of the word, in relation to water.  It is, in fact, a raw, nonlinear life story of Lidia Yuknavitch—from her traumatic childhood and escape into competitive swimming, to fractured relationships, addiction, sexuality, the loss of a child, and ultimately finding her voice as a writer. Rather than following a straightforward narrative, the film uses a fluid, memory-like structure to evoke how trauma, loss, and memory intermingle, transforming suffering into art.

The film mirrors the memoir’s style, with memories and experiences overlapping like waves—showing life as fragmented yet connected. Water (especially her life as a swimmer) functions as a powerful motif for escape, transformation, and emotional depth throughout the film.

But director Stewart’s artsy style can be overpowering at times, to the point that one wonders what all the fuss is about.  Yet, one has to give Stewart credit for trying,

Kristen Stewart has an active and successful career in show business since an early age.  This film marks her impressive directorial debut.  THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025. The film received positive reviews from critics.  It opens in theatres on January 7th, 2026

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FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER (USA 2025) ***

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

 

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER is a 2025 comedy-drama anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch.  Starring an ensemble cast that includes Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Sarah Greene, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat, it follows three estranged family relationships in three different countries around the world.  The anthology stories are told one after another, not intercut.  Intercutting stories often disrupts continuity and destroys whatever has been built up in a segment before switching to the next story. Jarmusch is a filmmaker with a certain style, an odd one like panning a row of residences as a car drives by, for example.  Though his films are never the best of the year, they are still an event to look forward to.  I will never miss a Jim Jarmusch film.  And FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER is one that Jarmusch fans should not miss.

The three stories are all equally interesting, but the last one is the least engaging for one reason: the actors are less proficient than the stars who perform in the first two stories, like John Waits and Adam Driver in the first, and Cate Blanchett.  The decision to have the stories set in different cities around the world is an excellent one, giving the film variation and change.

The three stories are called FATHER, the first, MOTHER, the second, and SISTER BROTHER, the final.  The best is the second, primarily for the reason that it has Charlotte Rampling as Mother, Cate Blanchett as Timothea, and Vicky Krieps as the other sister.  The stores are set in different countries, from the United States to Dublin to Paris, respectively.

Somewhere in a countryside town in the United States, Jeff and Emily drive on a snowy road to a reunion with their estranged and reclusive father. While Emily has no idea how he has enough money to survive without social security following the passing of their mother, Jeff appears to be secretly supporting his father. Further concerned with his loneliness, Jeff brings a box full of expensive groceries. The father appears to hide his real financial state, displaying an old car in the house entrance and messing up the house on purpose, until Emily spots a Rolex, although he pretends it's a fake replica. Seeming not to care about their lives, he forgets about Jeff's recent divorce. After their departure, the father cleans the house and drives in his actual functional car to meet a friend nearby.

Somewhere in Dublin, an elderly, famous writer awaits her annual tea gathering with her two daughters, Timothea and Lilith. The reunion marks the only day in the year they actually see each other, although they all live in Dublin. Timothea's car malfunctions on the way, and in despair, she tries to contact the insurance, but drives to her mother's home to avoid being late. Lilith asks her friend, Jeanette, to pretend she is an Uber driver, avoiding further explanations of her financial state to her mother and sister. During the tea, the mother inquires about their lives, and after some hesitation Timothea announces that she has been promoted to a new position on the city's council for preservation of historic buildings, but is interrupted by Lilith, who announces she also has good news about the new "influencers" of her community, although neither her mother or her sister appears to know what an influencer is. Lilith is spotted with a Rolex, but insists it's a fake replica. In the bathroom, Timothea appears to be overwhelmed by emotion. As the tea ends, Lilith asks her mother to call an uber and the trio waits for the car in silence by the front door.

Somewhere in Paris, Skye and her brother Billy reunite following the passing of their parents in a plane crash in the Azores, and, while driving to their old home, they try to reconnect through memories. At the now-empty apartment, Billy shares with Skye old photos, drawings of their childhood, and an old Rolex of their father's, as well as multiple fake IDs and a fake marriage certificate. The landlord, Madame Gautier, interrupts them, revealing that she personally prevented the insurance company from seizing their parents' belongings, even though they died owing three months of rent. Driving through Paris once again, they head to a warehouse, taking a final look at their parents' old furniture.

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2025, where it won the Golden Lion.  It was theatrically released in the United States by Mubi on December 24.  The film opens in Canadian cinemas on January 9, 2026 (English-language release widely across Canada).

Trailer: 

HOMEGROWN (USA 2024) ***

Directed by Michael Premo

 

It is timely with the doc HOMEGROWN being released in North America on the 5th Anniversary of the insurgent attack on the U.S. Capitol— on January 6, 2026 

HOMEGROWN  brings raw intimacy and unprecedented access to a political moment still unfolding. Shot across battleground communities and key flashpoints of national tension, the documentary reveals the lived experiences of people whose determination to turn their beliefs into action places them on the front lines of America’s political divide.

The film follows three conservative activists—a newly politicized father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran organizing conservatives in New York City, and an activist from Texas—crisscrossing the country in the summer of 2020, campaigning for Donald Trump. When they become convinced that the election is stolen, they take their fight to the streets. The result is a chilling portrait of the growing unrest pushing American democracy to the brink.

How bad, ill-informed and moronic are the true Trump supporters?  This doc focuses of three such supporters, a doc that would surely shock, if not anger, those who have seen the American democracy crumble and manipulated under President Donald Trump.  Michael Premo, director of the documentary Homegrown, spent years embedded with people who later participated in January 6 and has continued to follow how they interpret that day—and its aftermath—over time. His work offers firsthand insight into how pardons are understood not just as legal relief, but as political validation, narrative reinforcement, and in some cases, fuel for continued grievance.

The first featured is Chris Quaglin, 38.  Chris was a husband and father-to-be from New Jersey who became deeply involved in the movement.  He joined the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.  He injured a police officer when he choked and tackled him to the ground. Quaglin assaulted other officers with stolen police shields, metal bike racks and pepper spray as he clashed with police for roughly three hours. “What an outrage. What a disgrace,” the judge said. who sentenced him to 12 years in prison,  Trump pardoned the menace when he became President.

The second subject is  Randy Ireland, a  U.S. Air Force veteran who served between the two Gulf Wars and later became involved in organizing right-wing activism.  The leader within the Proud Boys movement in New York, he appears on-camera as a proud, self-described former leader (the Proud Boys are a far-right group known for political violence and involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack).  A Brooklyn, New York resident whom the director describes as someone the film portrays as not personally racist, despite his involvement with far-right activism and debates within that milieu.

The third is the most interesting.  Thad Cisneros is the most ideologically complex of the three Latino, Navy veteran, paleoconservative, associated with Proud Boys–aligned activism, but openly critical of parts of the movement.  Different from the other two, he expresses sympathy for Black Lives Matter and often engages in dialogue with political opponents. Motivated more by anti-establishment and anti-interventionist beliefs than racial grievance, he often questions authority, policing, and U.S. foreign wars.  In the doc, he is portrayed as contradictory, searching, and willing to cross ideological lines.

HOMEGROWN, the timely doc concentrating on three Trump over zealous right-wing activists, with intimate access and never-before-seen footage of events, including scenes around the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capito,l is as disturbing as any doc, showing how citizens can be radicalized through misinformation, conspiracy theories and their individual motivations resilient in the chaos the U.S. is facing today.  The one conclusion that can be drawn is how fucked up Americans really are.

HOMEGROWN is a very timely, disturbing and unforgettable documentary that captures key candid moments of the insurrection on Capitol Hill.  A definite must-see for Trump supporters to see how they are perceived.

Here is how to watch HOMEGROWN in Canada.  Beginning January 6, Homegrown will be available to rent via the Direct To Audience℠ (DTA) platform GATHR. Audiences can head before Jan 6th,  to Homegrown.film to preorder the film and learn more.

Trailer: 

THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR (Canada/Chile 2024) **½

Directed by Johnny Ma

 

Winnipeg appears to be a favourite setting and site for Canadian films lately.  Late years entry for the Canadian entry for the Academy Award for best International feature (though it did not make the shortlist), but the Winner won the Toronto Film Critics’ Association Best Canadian Feature, UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE and this film, THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR are both shot in Winnepg/

Two Canadian films will be released close to each other, b both of which share similar themes with a difference.  The films referred to are THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR, th film reviewed in this article and MONTREAL, MA BELLE.   The identical themes in both films are the mother-daughter estranged relationship.  Also, one is gay and hidden, making the telaStionship even more troublesome.  In MONTREAL MY BALLE, it is the mother, played by Joan Chen, who is gay, and in THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR, it is the daughter who hides her same sex orientation.

The beginning of THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR is the most original segment in the whole movie.  The daughter sees a bear near a huge dumpster in the dead of winter, screams and slips.  She is inn hospital.  Was she attacked by the bear, or did she just slip on the ice?  The girl is in a coma.  As it turns out, director Johnny is the subject of the daughter to the mother.

Sara (Kim Ho-jung), a woman from South Korea, travels to Canada after her daughter Sumi (Leere Park), who had emigrated to Winnipeg some years earlier, is injured in a fall that leaves her comatose. Upon arrival, Sara discovers how little she truly knew about her daughter's life.

Sara despairs about her daughter’s single status, so she immediately starts catfishing the pleasant Min (Jonathan Kim) to be Sumi’s boyfriend — once she wakes up, of course — and also gets unwittingly entangled with Min’s estranged father, Sam (Won-Jae Lee), who runs a Korean restaurant in the city. As Sam and the widowed Sara connect over their mutual melancholies, a chance meeting with Sumi’s co-worker Amaya (Amara Pedroso Saquel) leads Sara to learn more about the life from which her daughter has chosen to exclude her.

Despite the common theme the film has with MONTREAL, MA BELLE, the themes of a meddling mother, a mother visiting Canada for the first time, and matchmaking are not new ideas.  The audience can also find it difficult to sympathise with a bumbling, meddling mother who does harm, m like destroy another relationship, and lie her way around.  Director Ma’s film is a quiet, pleasant one, but nothing fresh is0one display and watching the film plod along is a rather boring experience.  One word, ‘meh’, can be used to describe the film.  There is also a little tour of Winnipeg, of its budding, snowy and wintry streets that makes the film more like an advertisement for the Manitoba Tourist Board.

Performances are ok, and Kim’s performance seems like director Ma is directing it.

At Cinéfest, THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR won the award for Outstanding Canadian Feature.  The film is scheduled for a **general theatrical release in Canada on January 9, 2026.

Trailer: 

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION (USA 2025) **
Directed by Brett Haley

 

Rom coms are the least of my favourite movie genres.  Typically, they are too predictable.  The two first meet under unlikely circumstances, then fall into a possible romantic relationship.  Then there is the obstacle, often concerning the past or some misunderstandigthat causes the two to argue and rift apart.  But only to come together for a happy ending that often involves something ridiculous, like chasing the other before the plane takes off.  But the Rock Hudson Doris Day matchup here is always a delight, with films like PILLOW TALK being a minor classic.  This new rom-com from Netflix is based on People We Meet on Vacation, a romance novel by Emily Henry, published May 11, 2021, by Berkley Books, known as You and Me on Vacation in the UK and Australia. The book is a New York Times bestseller, and it would be interesting to see how the story is adapted for film.

People We Meet on Vacation is told in a nonlinear narrative (both novel and film), interspersing its protagonist's present vacation with flashbacks from past trips. It follows Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) and Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth), two best friends who are opposites in every way.  When the two first meet, they share a road trip, and he has a girlfriend.  She is an outgoing, wanderlust-filled wild child, while he is mild-mannered and introverted.  From the car/road trip, Poppy is shown to be terribly annoying, while Alex grins and bears it.  Poppy spills food all over in the car, listens to loud and annoying music and chatters nonstop about nonsense.  No one in their right mind would want a car companion like Poppy.  Every summer, they come together for a week-long vacation, until a trip to Croatia causes them to stop speaking for two years.  One can immediately predict that these two, Alex and Poppy, will live happily ever after, despite their initial hiccups. 

Linfield is not the more famous Irish town, but a small town in Ohio, US, where Poppy and Alex are originally from.

How does PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION compare to say, the Rock Hudson Doris Day romantic comedies?  For one, the latter are much funnier. Doris Day always plays the prude female, which is always so funny, with her expressions like “Ooooooo,” when she gets into an embarrassing situation.  Everyone knows Rock Hudson is gay, which makes their films funnier.  In PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, the jokes are not funny and the jokes that Poppy cracks are more annoying to both Alex and the audience.  And the film is already too predictable anyway.  It does not help that the supporting characters, like Jameela Jamil with her plastic surgery, huge lips playing Poppy’s boss, Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith, are just as annoying, if not more.

 The story is a variation of the old rom-com with Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn, SAME TIME NEXT YEAR (1978), directed byRobert Mulligan, showing how their love develops.  Only trouble is that the journey there is laddled with unfunny jokes and boring encounters.

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, the rom com has so far, obtained n the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 17 critics' reviews are positive.  So, despite my bias against rom coms, this might be an entertaining bet for many.  The film opens for streaming on Netflix on January 9th.

Trailer: 

PRIMATE (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Johannes Roberts

A tropical vacation goes awry when Ben, a family's adopted chimpanzee, is bitten by a rabid animal and suddenly becomes violent.

PRIMATE begins with a description of rabies and what rabies can inflict.  It is a way filmmakers attempt to create credibility in a horror movie.

Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals, such as chimpanzees, as seen in the film. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink.  The characters in the story escape from the rabies chimp by treading water in the middle of the i house swimming pool, making the fact that th chimp cannot swim and is also afraid of water.  So, this part is true.   

Early symptoms can include fever and abnormal sensations at the site of exposure, which are followed by nausea, vomiting, violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and/or loss of consciousness.   All the symptoms except for the fear of water are used in the film.  The time period between contracting the disease and the start of symptoms is usually one to three months, but can vary from less than one week to more than one year. The effect is immediate in the movie, with Ben experiencing the symptoms right after being bitten by an infected mongoose.

The film depicts a stunning Hawaii, where some of the characters are vacationing and where Lucy, the protagonist, is returning other poem, to see her deaf mute father and younger sister.

The deaf mute father injects a bit of variation into the movie.  The handicap is used for both antipationa nd also for a bit of humour, judging from the laughs coming from the audience at the promoscreenong.  Kucy is screaming when attacked by the chimp, while the father is oblivious to the occurrence, unable to hear anything.

The film succeeds in satisfying action-horror fans with formulaic action set pieces and a standard storyline, complete with an ending that is ripe for a sequel.  PRIMATE is essentially an expensive Hollywood B-movie with the terrorising beast being a chimp with a severe case of rabies.  Whether a rabid monkey is able to go through the lengths shown in the film at terrorising its human victims, or whether the monkey has sufficient strength, is immaterial, so long as jump scares abound and audiences are on the edge of their seats. 

Johannes Roberts is an English filmmaker, best known for directing the horror films including Other Side of the Door (2016), 47 Meters Down (2017), The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) and PRIMATE in 2025.  At best, director Roberts can be credited for delivering one lean, mean, no-nonsense effective chiller.

January is the perfect month to open horror flicks.  PRIMATE from Paramount opens widely in theatres on January 9th.

Trailer: 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 20 December 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

 

CACTUS PEARS (original Marathi title: Sabar Bonda) (India/Canada/UK 2025) ***
Directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

 

CACTUS PEARS is a 2025 Indian drama/romance film that tells a tender, character-driven story about love, identity, and cultural expectations.  The film is directed and written by  Rohan Parashuram Kanawade and stars Bhushaan Manoj (Anand), Suraaj Suman (Balya), and Jayshri Jagtap.

There are not many gay films from India, a place where homosexuality is often met with disgust and violence.  This gay film, from India, offers the world a look at how being gay is treated in rural India.

Urban areas (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai) tend to be more accepting, with Pride events, LGBTQ+ organizations, and media visibility.  Rural and conservative regions often remain hostile.  In the film where Amand gets back to his village for his father’s funeral,  there is talk of his non-marriage status.   He is told to tell the villagers that the girl cheated on him and married someone else.   It can be seen the same problems many LGBTQ+ people face:  family pressure to marry heterosexually.  The occasional harassment or violence is absent, but can be noticed to be inherent in the atmosphere. Same-sex marriage is still not legal in India.

The protagonist is Anand, a 30-something call-centre worker from Mumbai.   After the death of his father, he returns to his ancestral village for a 10-day mourning period with his mother. Once there, as tradition dictates, lengthy funeral rites are being prepared. Going back is not easy for a man who fled rural life for the city in order to live his homosexuality more freely. It doesn't take long, despite the tragic circumstances, for everyone to start asking intrusive questions and wondering whether Anand is thinking about marrying a woman soon... Fortunately, he can count on his mother's kindness, as she loves him just as he is.  Anand reconnects with his childhood friend Balya, a local farmer who is also navigating his own pressures around marriage and expectations.  Over the course of the mourning period, the two men spend time together, rediscover their bond, and grow closer emotionally and physically.

The story’s time span is the 10 days that Anand sends for his father's death ritual.  When he rekindles an affair with Balya, the tenth day approaches, and Anand has to make his decision.  Balya wishes to move to Mumbai with Anand.  But Anand’s family says the house is too small, and Anand’s uncle is against it.  There, it turns out, that Anand has come out to his father and mother and not to the others who do not know that Anand is gay.

The film is called CACTUS PEARS because the sweet pear with its red flesh resembles the forbidden fruit of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Balya gives Amand a cactus pear, and he peels away the flesh and eats the fruit, enjoying its sweetness, thus entering into the temptation of the flesh.

The film, unlike many other queer films from the west, though a very slow burn, but is to be praised for its sensitive portrayal of queer life in a society with traditional expectations.  There is no sex scene but a mild frottage scene between the two men.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema – Dramatic) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, marking a historic moment as the first Marathi-language film to compete there.  The film opens in theatreson  January 2nd, 2026.

Trailer: 

DJ AHMET (North Macedonia, Czech Republic/Serbia, Croatia 2025) ***
Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski

 

DJ AHMET (North Macedonia, Czech Republic/Serbia, Croatia 2025) ***
Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski

 

Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else.

In the classic Taviani Brothers 1977 film PADRE, PADRONE, there is the unforgettable scene in which the father removes his son Gavino from the classroom to force him to work as a shepherd.  The act is driven by the father’s authoritarian control and belief that education is useless for their rural, traditional life in Sardinia.

In the film DJ AHMET, the protagonist faces the same dilemma; even though the father does not physically remove his son from the classroom, there is a message to Ahmet that his father is there to fetch him.  His father later tells him that he has spoken to the headmaster to stop his schooling,

In the same way as in PADRE PADRONE, where the father needs Gavino’s labour and wants to assert dominance, cutting him off from schooling so he will grow up obedient and bound to the land.  Ahmet is also to tend sheep as well as to look after his younger brother, who is unable to speak. This moment is crucial in the film because it marks the beginning of Ahmet’s isolation, illiteracy, and psychological oppression, which the story later contrasts with his struggle for independence in the area of music.

All things considered, the film is a coming-of-age drama that centres on Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy living in a remote Yörük/Turkic village in rural North Macedonia.  Caught between his family duties, conservative community expectations, and personal dreams, Ahmet finds refuge and identity in music, particularly electronic beats, which offer him an escape from the strict, tradition-bound world he’s grown up in.  At its core, the story explores youthful rebellion, cultural tradition vs modernity, and first love. Ahmet dreams of being a DJ while tending sheep and helping his family, and his passion for music deepens when he falls for Aya, a girl who shares his love of rhythm but is already promised to someone else. Their connection and Ahmet’s pursuit of music become a symbol of self-expression and liberation amidst societal pressures

The comedy in the film is sincere and honest in form, as seen when Ahemt tastes his girl’s baklava for the first time, and they both giggle; she tells him that he does not know how to lie.

In DJ AHMET, director Unkovski explores the delicate balance between tradition and self-expression, particularly within a small, close-knit community. The tension that ariseswhen individual desires clash with the expectations of the collective. is captured.   There is also a nod to Mike Nichols’ THE GRADUATE in the way Ahmet hicks Aya’s arranged wedding.  Though the two films are highly different, the scene of the bus pulling away reminds the film of the ending of THE GRADUATE.  But there are twists in the plot regarding the father’s change of heart, which makes a nice conclusion to the film.

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THE DUTCHMAN (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Andre Holland

 

The psychological horror thriller begins with a voiceover claiming the two personas that inhabit a black man, Clay, the subject of the movie.

THE DUTCHMAN is based on the play of the same name, but the film takes the play out into the open on location, so that the staginess is removed.  The movie plays like a variation of the film FATAL ATTRACTION.  Clay meets a psycho femme fatale who blackmails him into taking her to a fundraising party in which he is delivering a speech.  She blackmails him by keeping his sperm in a condom so that she can claim that he had raped her.  To make matters worse, Clay’s estranged wife is attending the party.

Clay (André Holland), a successful but troubled black businessman, attends therapy sessions with his wife, Kaya, in an attempt to salvage their marriage. But their mysterious therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson)  is not all that he seems, and begins to unexpectedly appear to Clay outside of their sessions. On a New York subway train, Clay encounters Lula (Kate Mara), a seductive but sinister white stranger who slowly begins to unravel his life.  Clay must discover the truth behind this encounter to get back to his wife (Zazie Beetz), heal his fractured soul, and survive the night. In this psychological thriller - a modern adaptation of the 1964 Obie Award-winning play - The Dutchman brings a contemporary edge to the original, exploring themes of race and identity in America.

Director Holland makes his film at a steady and solid pace, keeping the tension always at a high, and makes his film an engrossing one.  His Clay is a vulnerable one that the audience can root for, despite his human flaws and failings.

The question is, why is the film called THE DUTCHMAN?  The film The Dutchman takes its title from the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship condemned to sail endlessly and never make port.  In the context of the film, the title is metaphorical rather than literal: The Flying Dutchman myth represents eternal wandering, punishment, and being trapped in a

In the film, the central character, Clay, is similarly adrift—emotionally, morally, and psychologically—unable to escape the consequences of past actions. The title underscores themes of isolation, fate, and inescapability, suggesting a person condemned to move forward without resolution or redemption.

  As the film veers towards its conclusion, one looks at the question of whether Clay can work and earn redemption.  Clay realizes the error of his ways, and finally admits the error of his ways to his wife, but then has to deal with Lula.  The film also steers towards surrealism (there is Sa alvador Dali postern the train) so that one wonders if all his torment is real or in his mind.

Nevertheless. THE DUTCHMAN is a n intriguiging enoigh film, as the play it is based on also is, with a nuanced and excellent performance by director Andre Holland, who plays Cla,y as well as an unforgettable performance by character actor Stephen McKinley Henderson as Dr. Amiri.

THE DUTCHMAN premiered at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in March and is scheduled to open in theatres on January 2, 2026.

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THE PLAGUE (USA/Romania 2025) ***½

Directed by Charlie Polinger

THE PLAGUE made a splash when it premiered at Cannes in 2025, but obviously not enough for TIFF to pick it up.  But the film finally gets a release, ironically at the TIFF Lightbox on January 2nd.  It is the first feature from the director, championed by star Joel Edgerton.  The film can best be described as a horror-thriller genre film with LORD OF THE FLIES overtones.  What is immediately noticeable at the film’s start is the sound/music mixing and the fluid camerawork that sets the film out, despite it being a rather slow burn, and with a violent conclusion, not to be revealed in this review.

THE PLAGUE could be considered to be too harsh a title for this film, as the illness is seen as a bad rash on the screen that does not cause death.  But for the real definition of a plague, it is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, spread by infected fleas from rodents or direct contact, with three forms: bubonic (swollen lymph nodes), pneumonic (lungs), and septicemic (blood), often fatal if untreated but curable with prompt antibiotics, infamous for past pandemics like the Black Death, and still occurring today in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. But the film title should be sufficient to arouse possible audience interest, which, in actuality, is not a bad film at all and a worthy debut from a first-time director.

The film is a psychological drama thriller that focuses on a socially anxious 12-year-old boy who is pulled into a cruel tradition at an all-boys water polo camp.  The subject is Ben, played byEverett Blunck,   Edgerton, who plays the camp coach who is aware of the bullying that is going on, and can only do so much to contain the impending disaster that occurs from the situation.   The audience can only watch and pray,

Ben is initiallyteased by not being able to pronounce certain words.  But the main victim is another kid who has developed a severe rash over his body. No other polo team member wants to be close to him for fear of catching it.  But the kid is also a bit of an anomaly and a very weird one at that.  Ben befriends him with disastrous results.

It is good to note that initially, when Joel Edgerton received the script from Charlie Polinger, he wanted to direct the film.  However, Polinger wanted to, with Edgerton instead offering to help get it made.  In the press notes, it is said that Polinger set out to "capture a social dread and vulnerability of your body and something you don't see as much with boys because it requires a certain vulnerability to be an object of terror in that way, and cites The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Beau Travail as primary sources of inspiration.

THE PLAGUE had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025, and is scheduled to be given a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 24, 2025, expanding nationwide, including the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, on January 2, 2026.

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Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 15 December 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

10DANCE (Japan 2025) **

Directed by Keishi Otomo 

                 

The recent 2025 film KOKUBO directed by Lee Sang-il is a gripping tale of friendship and rivalry in the world of Kamigata kabuki.  The film 10DANCE bears a close resemblance to the film. The story of KOKUBO opens in Nagasaki in 1964, when kabuki is so controlled that all the female roles are played by males.  As such, the two male actors are extremely good-looking, with the film bearing lots of homo-eroticism.   The film bears a close resemblance to the film 10Dance as it also features two good-looking Japanese actors, this time set in the world of dance (ballroom and Latino) where homo-eroticism runs high.

Netflix’s new 10DANCE is about two talented but very different dancers who push each other to become better on and off the dance floor — ultimately discovering a deep emotional and romantic bond through their shared pursuit of excellence.

The two males include Shinya Suzuki, who is Japan’s Latin dance champion, known for his fiery competitiveness. The other is Shinya Sugiki, a top Standard ballroom dancer, precise and composed — and often compared to Suzuki because their names are so similar, which irritates Suzuki.

Sugiki proposes they team up to compete in the 10-Dance Competition, a prestigious contest where dancers must master five Latin and five Standard ballroom styles. Metacritic

Suzuki initially refuses, but Sugiki’s provocative challenge sparks his competitive spirit, and he reluctantly agrees to train together.  As they practice intensely, their opposite personalities and styles lead to clashes, but over time, they develop mutual respect, understanding, and emotional intimacy.

The homo-eroticism is first observed when the two males dance together.  Shinya pulls away coming that Sugiki has rubbed his coach against his.  But after, when he shows the other the Latino moves, he pulls off his shirt and puts Sugiki’s hands on his toned and muscled body.

The two films share the common trait of the disciple who goes into the art.  But 10DANCE plus too much with the love connection between the two males - a case of too much teasing and too little to show for it.  The film, though displaying a lot of cool dance moves, does not really succeed as a dance movie either

10DANCE is adapted from a popular Boys’ Love (BL) manga by Satō Inoue. It is a Netflix original film opening for streaming this week.

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ANACONDA (USA 2025) 
Directed by Tom Gormiocan

ANACONDA was a 1997 action-adventure horror film directed by Luis Llosa and written by Chris Broodryk.  The film starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, and Owen Wilson. An international co-production between the United States and Brazil, the film focused on a documentary film crew in the Amazon rainforest that is led by a snake hunter who is hunting down a giant, legendary green anaconda.  The film was a box-office success, spawning several sequels, a fact that this latest 2025 ANACONDA film fails to admit.

This 2025 ANACONDA  is an upcoming American action comedy film serving as a meta-reboot of the 1997 film Anaconda.  It is directed by Tom Gormican, and written by Gormican and Kevin Etten. The film stars Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello.

Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd), seeking to recapture their youth, travel to the Amazon to film an amateur remake of the 1997 film Anaconda. Their project, involving two others, unravels when a real giant anaconda emerges, turning the light-hearted shoot into a perilous fight to stay alive.

The film is filled with rubbish, some good and some not so good.  One is the notion that a human’s urine is an antidote for a tarantula’s sting, as Jack Black’s Doug gets stung by one.  Tarantulas are venomous, not poisonous (venom is injected; poison is ingested).  Most tarantula bites are mild, comparable to a bee sting. The idea of the urine comes from old folk remedies (similar myths exist for jellyfish stings), but it is not supported by science.  Human urine is ineffective and potentially harmful as a treatment.  The idea is put forward in the film to start a running joke regarding Zahn’s character being unable to urinate in public or stand up.   The joke generates light humour though.

Another bit of rubbish comes from the comedic setup of Jack Black being set as bait for the anaconda.  He is thought to be deceased.  A dead squirrel is stuffed into his mouth, and an unconscious boar is tied piggybacked to him with its head above his.  When the anaconda strikes, Black revives, as does the boar.  Black runs for his life, screaming, “What the hell!” spitting out the dead squirrel from his mouth.  Despite this silliness, the setup is actually so stupid it is just plain laugh-out-loud hilarious.  This one works enough to forgive the idiotic whole comedic idea.

ANACONDA parodies the original film that starred Ice Cube and Je-Lo.  There are parodies of other films and of indie films breaking into film festivals.  The parodies are funny enough, though there are a little too many of them for comfort.  The film contains a solid and excellent surprise twist at the end, which should satisfy audiences and have them forgive the film for its flaws, including the film’s slow beginning.

ANACONDA is a good enough silly comedy horror for Christmas that should satisfy horror fans, and as for family, there are lots of swear words that the little ones should not be hearing.

ANACONDA opens Christmas Day.

 

 

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AVATAR FIRE AND ASH (USA 2025) ***
Directed by James Cameron

 

The third film in the AVATAR film franchise, this 3-hour and 15-minute saga is quite a chore to sit through for reasons of pure length, despite some awesome visuals, courtesy of the James Cameron crew.  AVATAR FIRE AND ASH is meant to be a standalone film, though it would be useful to at least know a bit of the background of the blue creatures on display.

What is more important is just the history as shown in the first AVATAR film released in 2009.  The story focuses on an epic conflict on Pandora, an inhabited Earth-sized moon of Polyphemus, one of three gas giants orbiting Alpha Centauri A. On Pandora, human colonists and the sentient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of Pandora, the Na'vi, engage in a war over the planet's resources (such as unobtanium) and the latter's continued existence.  The film's title refers to the remotely controlled, genetically engineered human-Na'vi bodies used by the film's human characters to interact with the natives.  The protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is a paraplegic young man who travels to Pandora from Earth. Assisting the corporate monolith known as the Resources Development Administration (RDA), he is given an avatar which he uses to interact with the story's heroine, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña, as well as her clan, known as the Omatikaya.

In FIRE AND ASH, it is a year after settling in with the Metkayina lan, Jake and Neytiri's family grapples with grief after Neteyam's death.  (This occurs in the second film and is mentioned in this one.)  They encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang, who has allied with Jake's enemy, Quaritch, as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences.

The AVATAR franchise is the most expensive of all the Hollywood film franchises, and so far, more than $1 billion has been spent.  But the first holds the record of the highest-grossing film of all time, and the films have more than made their costs in terms of profit.

The film should be seen in 3D iMax, which is how this reviewer saw the film.  The film takes a half hour to re-familiarize the audience with the Na'vi tribe, as the audience is spared no less wonder than to glide through the waters and air of the tribe, often riding different forms of creatures.  Jack Sully is seen with his family, and nothing much else happens.  The first action set piece occurs only at the half-hour mark of the film when the tribe is attacked.  Director Cameron resorts to old-fashioned action, with an ending involving a one-on-one climactic fight to the death between the main hero and villain, which is between Jake and Quaritch.  There is a twist in the ending, which is neat. creating a spin to the normal climactic fight.   Other than that, there is nothing particularly new in terms of action and emotions of family conflict and bonding.

AVATAR FIRE AND ASH is the weakest of the three films, though it is still quite an amazing science fiction flick in terms of visuals and special effects.  Future films?  Avatar 4 (2029): The fourth film. and Avatar 5 (2031): The fifth and final one.

AVATAR FIRE AND ASH is a Christmas movie opening on the 19th.

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THE GREAT FLOOD (South Korea 2925) ***
Directed by Kim Byung-woo

 

In the new sci-fi disaster Korean film THE GREAT FLOOD, it is the end of the world that arrives as a great flood.  The question in movies like this is whether credibility can be held.

Firstly get floods have been believed as in the Bible as in Noah and the ark that God cleansed the world with a big flood with a rainbow promising that He will never do that again,  A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeval cosmic ocean, which appears in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, for example, in preparation for rebirth.

In THE GREAT FLOOD, the premise is an asteroid that hits Antarctica, causing massive flooding. 

A great flood engulfs the world. In the midst of a massive catastrophe, water rises inside an apartment building. With no hope in sight, the one person, An-na, needed to enact a plan to help the remnants of humanity evolve and return to Earth, but instead fights desperately to save her child from the rising waters.   Amid the chaos and shrinking hope for survival, An-na faces a dilemma: she is also uniquely linked to a crucial mission that might hold the key to humanity’s future, forcing her to choose between saving her child and fulfilling a larger purpose.  Though the film can be described as an action, drama, science fiction, and disaster storytelling, it is this theme that stretches the film towards some emotional storytelling.  Whether this tactic works is up to the individual viewer, as some might find the dream takes away the spectacle that is on display.  But the special effects of the flood distaste is very impressive, nonetheless, which makes the movie, despite some flaws.

Co-written and directed by Kim Byung-woo and starring Kim Da-mi and Park Hae-soo, the film depicts and thus concentrates on the desperate struggle of those who have pinned their hopes on humanity's last days in a flooded apartment building.

THE GREAT FLOOD had its world premiere at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in the Korean Cinema Today - Special Premiere section on September 18, 2025. The film will be available for global streaming on Netflix on December 19, 2025, following its festival release.

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GOODBYE JUNE (UK/USA 2025) ***

 

Directed by Kate Winslet

 

 

GOODBYE JUNE is a family drama dealing with grief, reconciliation and yes, love, in a Christmas setting (the mother, June, is inhospitable two weeks before Christmas) as family members gather together to evaluate the situation,

One would have very high expectations for Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, given the actress's collaborations with major directors.  Winslet has worked with directors like Peter Jackson (in HEAVENLY BODIES), James Cameron (in TITANIC and AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER),  Michel Gondry in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND) and Sam Mendes (REVOLUTIONARY ROAD), among others.

Winslet’s directorial debut is a layered family drama set in a British Christmas setting, though flawed by melodrama and sentimentality, it boasts an impressive cast of actors delivering performances worth watching.

The impressive cast includes:

Toni Collette as Helen, June & Bernie's first daughter.  Collette’s Helen is similar to the cult leader villain she plays in the recent Netflix series WAYWARD

Johnny Flynn as Connor, June & Bernie's son

Andrea Riseborough as Molly, June & Bernie's third daughter.  Molly is the most annoying character and sibling, swearing and blaming others for everything that goes wrong.

Timothy Spall as Bernie, June's husband.  Spall is again an excellent actor, and he plays the frail husband who still manages to annoy everyone,

Kate Winslet as Julia, June & Bernie's second daughter.  Julia is the one who, it seems, tries to hold the family members together. I guess Winstel gave herself the best character to play.

Helen Mirren as June, Bernie's wife and the mother of their children.  Mirren delivers a brave performance as the dying mother, looking old, frail, but respectful

It should be noted that Winslet selected several department heads who were newcomers, including composer Ben Harlan, production designer Alison Harvey, and costume designer Grace Clark, reflecting her desire to give opportunities to emerging talent. Winslet also adopted unconventional filming methods, such as using small microphones on actors instead of traditional boom equipment, to create a more intimate atmosphere on set.

GOODBYE JUNE was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom and the United States on 12 December 2025, and had its streaming on Netflix from 24 December.

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THE HOUSEMAID (USA 2025) ****
Directed by Paul Feig

 

Lionsgate has been the underdog movie studio for a long time.  Not since the TWILIGHT, DIVERGENCE, and the HUNGER GAMES franchises has it come close to elevating the now depressed $7 a share from its high of over $30 a share way back when.  The NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON’T made a decent sum, though Lionsgate gave film critics no press screenings.  Be that as it may, Lionsgate has tried hard, and the Christmas delivery of the female thriller THE HOUSEMAID is one decent entry that is worth seeing.  It is good to note that Lionsgate is attempting a comeback with a new version of THE HUNGER GAMES later this 2026.  The trailer is played when THE HOUSEMAID is screened.

There are significant changes between the book THE HOUSEMAID and the film directed by Paul Feig.  Films have a need to dramatize and have incidents more flashy, while books can contemplate moods, thought and emotions more effectively than films.  As expected, the psychological drama that the main subject feels, and the incidents, imagined or real, are blurred, most of which is shortened in the film.  The disposal of the villain in the film (not to be revealed in this review) is also more dramatic than in the book, where the villain dies a slow death compared to a sudden, tragic one in the film.

That being said, Paul Feig’s film appears a bit cheesy, occasionally, though on ene say that Feig moves his film at a solid pace, with never a dull moment.  Impressive is the way this female strong film (Feig has proven himself apt at this kind of films as evident in BRIDESMAIDS) that even males will also enjoy THE HOUSEMAID (including the two males I saw the film with).

At best, the film plays with the premise of who the victim in the story is.  Is the victim really is?  Is the villain the housemaid?  The story blurs the line as the film unfolds.  It is safe to say that director Feig keeps the real twist in the plot till thevery end of the film.

The huge house that is the story’s setting is also one of the story’s characters.  The audience is given a grand tour of the house at the beginning of the film, from exterior to interior.  One would be surprised that there is only one gardener and one maid to take care of the entire property.

Sydney Sweeney is superb as the main protagonist, abused and threatened,  again playing a similar role in her boxing movie CHRIST, in which Christy endured tremendous psychological and physical abuse from her husband, played by Ben Foster.  The two female roles, the other played by Seyfrie,d are strong while sympathetic,c and the male lead is surely a pleasant sight for the female gender.  The film is a female revenge thriller that females should adore.

THE HOUSEMAID made a decent $20.6 million (Lionsgate executives should be pleased) in its opening weekend and should continue to do well, it being the only psychological thriller and a female one at that, through the festive season.

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IS THIS THING ON? (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Bradley Cooper

 

IS THIS THING ON? plays like the opposite kind of romance, a kind of story of a falling out of love, as Bradley Cooper’s most successful hit, A STAR IS BORN, which starred the director opposite Lady Gaga.  IS THIS THING ON? The phrase often used by comics on stage, wondering if the microphone is switched on so that he or she can be heard, looks like, even from the trailer, like a comedy, but the film is more a relationship drama with a few bouts of humour dished in.

The film is impressive in its creation of atmosphere, especially in the way stand-up comics hang out, react and basically interact with each other.  There is more camaraderie than competition, as they all share the same fear of being on stage performing, especially if, even worse, they have a bad day, and the audience does not laugh.  It is the New York City scene and the standups are all real stand-ups, according to actor Will Arnett who was present at the Q&A after the promo screening of the film in Toronto, Ontario.

Will Arnett and Laura Dern are both excellent in their performances as the troubled couple.  Arnett looks hassled, tired and stressed most of the time, just like one who suffered from a marriage breakdown.  When the film opens, Alex Kovacs is already separated from his wife, Tess.  He lives in a different residence, in his own apartment, sharing custody with his two sons, Irish twins, from his wife.  ("Irish twins" is a term for two siblings born to the same mother within 12 months of each other. The phrase originated in the 1800s as a derogatory stereotype of large Irish Catholic families but has become a more casual term for siblings with a very close age gap, even though they are from separate pregnancies and not actual twins.)  They share the same group of friends, one of which is played by a bearded, almost unrecognisable Bradley Cooper. Alex happens upon an open mike at a local bar, and because he does not wish to pay the $15 cover, he signs on as a performer.  And loves the gig.  All he does is add a bit of humour as he talks about his problems in marriage.

The film is meticulous in its details.  One can see Alex as he grows more interested in stand-up comedy.  Alex starts to prepare material and even looks more nervous than usual.  He keeps the stand-up acts secret from his wife.  The standup routines work to help Alex rebuild and process his pain.  In the meantime, Tess has not gotten over what she has given up in sacrifice for her marriage,

All hell breaks loose when his wife shows up unannounced and unknowingly at one bar where Alex is performing. She is aghast that their personal life is on display in Alex’s material, though some sensitive parts move her.  This is the point where the film gets more serious, and one realises that what has occurred before is just the set-up.

The unexpected arrival of the wife at Alex’s performance is cliched territory in relationship films.  But according to Arnett, this actually happened, though it seems so unlikely.  Arnett also talked about how he pursued the material for the film that was finally made.

The couple needs to figure out how to live apart, raise their two boys, and maintain friendships and identities.

IS THIS THING ON? is marked as a Christmas movie that opens in theatres on December 19th.

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MARTY SUPREME (USA 2025) ***** Top 10

Directed by Josh Safdie

 

A table tennis (aka ping pong) drama set in New York City during the 1950s, where table tennis star Marty goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.

MARTY SUPREME looks and feels like a biopic of a real sports champion.  But the film is touted as a fictionalised original.  But the real reason the film feels like a documentary biopic is that the script, written by director Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, is based on professional table tennis player Marty Reisman.   For that obvious reason, the film has the name MARTY in the title.

The film feels very real and gritty.  Director Safdie knows his material for the main reason that he was a table tennis fanatic in his youth.  Safdie's interest in table tennis began in his youth, as his grandparents often had "eccentric Jewish immigrant Lower East Side characters", playing the sport at their house.  The film project began this way.  In 2018, his wife and executive producer on the film, Sara Rossein, bought a copy of Marty Reisman's 1974 autobiography The Money Player, thinking Safdie would enjoy it.  Safdie was in conversation with Timothée Chalamet at the time, as they had recently become friends, and presented him with the project by focusing on Reisman's physical similarities to the actor.  Chalamet accepted the role and began taking ping pong lessons that same year.

The film’s Marty is the kind of character that it's all mouth, promising the world to himself and his girl, but running into shit trouble most of the time.  Marty can be considered a loser with dreams too high to achieve, but not for want of trying.  His character is also ‘kind of’ disgusting, getting his already married to someone else, girl pregnant, and not admitting to her that the baby is his, while sweet-talking his best friend to lend him money to help him on.  He also woos a famous theatrical actress, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), into sex, while conning her husband, Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary), to sponsor his table tennis.  This is one rare film where the director succeeds in getting the audience to dislike the protagonist and then root for him after.

Three main factors propel this film to the top 10 best films list of 2025.  These are: the excitement of the table tennis matches, the expert casting of its characters, and the impressive build-up of momentum and pacing of the film, which includes two climaxes in the film at the end.

Chamalet took ping pong lessons, and it shows.  The matches are well executed and totally believable, not to say exciting to watch.  The casting of Kevin O’Leary as Rockwell is nothing more than inspirational casting, as is director Abel Fererra as the mobster who owns the black dog.  But the casting of the Indian actor (could not find his name even using AI) playing the British ping pong organiser who looks like an exact replica of French actor Louis De Funes (the Jacob Rabbi and FANTOMAS) movies is phenomenal.  De Funes always plays characters who are pompous, full of themselves, but nothing less than a bumbling idiot.  The two climaxes are the ping pong showdown at the end and the action set piece where the mobster and Marty close down on the kidnapper of the black dog.

MARTY SUPREME opens on Christmas Day.

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NO OTHER CHOICE )South Korea 2025) ***½

Directed by Park Chan-wook

The film starts with a family group hug, and Man-soo has it all: a loving wife, two talented children, and two happy dogs.  He even bought the beautiful forest-enclosed house where he grew up.  Then, after 25 years of dedicated work for Solar Paper — where he was awarded Pulp Man of the Year in 2019 — Man-soo is suddenly given the axe.  Soon, he is falling behind on his mortgage payments, and his wife Mi-ri insists they put the house up for sale.  Man-soo is desperate to scoop a coveted position with Moon Paper, but he knows other job seekers match his pedigree. So he hatches a plan: invent a phoney paper company, reach out to each of his rivals, lure them into a meeting… and, one by one, dispatch the competition.  It is a wicked and occasionally hilarious satire based on the novel THE AX by Donald Werstlake. Director Chan’s film takes its time to establish the plot, but it is all worth it in this deliciously wicked thriller.

REBUILDING (USA 2025) ****

Directed by Max Walker-Silverman

 

After a wildfire, Dusty (a sombre Josh O’Connor), a reserved divorced rancher, is relocated to a temporary trailer park alongside other displaced locals. Through his daughter’s determined optimism and a newfound sense of community, Dusty learns to accept help and open up to the possibility of starting over.  REBUILDING is about rebuilding,

Rebuilding is a 2025 American drama film written and directed by Max Walker-Silverman, starring Josh O’Connor as Dusty, Callie Rose LaTorre as the daughter, CallienRose, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis and Amy Madigan as the grandmother.

After wildfires take his ranch, cowboy Dusty winds up in a FEMA camp, finding community with others who lost homes, after reuniting with his daughter and ex-wife.

The film illustrates that not only are performances crucial to a film telling its story, but the director’s camera captures the most appropriate moments, like Callie Rose’s quiet smile, or the grandmother plucking a kiss on Callie Rose’s forehead.

It is the little things that matter most.  When the two old lady neighbours are required to fill out forms online, they tell Dusty, “But we don’t have a computer.  Dusty looks at her daughter, Callie Rose, who is computer savvy.  The silence and quiet say it all.  It is a very emotional moment created with much thought and cue, without much shouting or dialogue.  This is what makes REBUILDING such an endearing and emotional film.

REBUILDING had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, and will be released at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Canada December 19th.

Trailer: 

 

SERIOUS PEOPLE (USA 2025) **
Directed by Pasqual Gutierrez anBen Mullinkosson

 

SERIOUS PEOPLE, the new indie film opening just before the Christmas movies and going straight to VOD (hard to compete with the major films and studios) is a satirical film about a busy music video director, Pasqual, who is expecting his first child and hires a lookalike named Miguel to stand in for him at work to manage his work-life balance, leading to chaos as Miguel's inexperience clashes with the demanding industry, exploring themes of identity, parenthood, and the absurdities of LA culture.

The film follows a group of emotionally guarded, intellectually driven adults whose carefully constructed lives begin to unravel when personal crises force them to confront feelings they’ve long suppressed.  The film centres on characters who pride themselves on being rational, successful, and “put-together,” yet struggle with intimacy, vulnerability, and moral compromise.   It takes a while for the audience to connect with these people, if they ever do.. As their relationships intersect—through work, friendship, or family—their sense of control is tested by unexpected events that expose insecurity, regret, and longing beneath their serious façades.

It is supposed to be a faux-documentary, "fly-on-the-wall" comedy that pokes fun at creative egos and the struggle to be present in both personal and professional lives, featuring a cast playing exaggerated versions of themselves. 

The film is a very personal one and perhaps too personal for everyone’s tastes.  It looks in detail at Pasqual’s life.  He assumes that his audience will take to and understand all his problems and difficulties, but this may very much not be the case.  If one is not connected to the filming industry, all that takes place may all seem too far-fetched, irrelevant, and an utter bore.  Would one really care if an unknown filmmaker’s shooting schedule clashes with the delivery ofnhis first born.  Let him sort out his own problems, and let the audience be the other way.

The film’s restrained and introspective tone, focusing more on psychological depth and subtle tension than on plot twists or spectacle, caters to the more indie art-house than the commercial crowd.

SERIOUS PEOPLE has a VOD releaseon  December 12th.

Trailer: 

 

SONG SUNG BLUE (USA 2025) ***½
Directed by Craig Brewer

 

SONG SUNG BLUE is the beloved Neil Diamond song that everyone knows the tune of.  Song Sung Blue is also a 2025 American biographical musical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Craig Brewer. It is based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name by Greg Kohs. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson (nominated for a deserved Golden Globe nomination this year) as Mike and Claire Sardina, who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder.

This is a film about the Neil Diamond tribute husband and wife duo who call themselves Lightning and Thunder.  They performed to great acclaim until they had to take a break owing to unforeseen circumstances, which the film mainly highlights. On the afternoon of May 10, 1999, the then-37-year-old was gardening in front of her South Side home when, out of nowhere, a car bulldozed into her, pinned her up against her house, and severed her left foot.  Lighting & Thunder's performance schedule is finally heating up again after years of suffering from the accident that took Thunder's leg and the devastation of September 11, which greatly reduced bookings. Luckily, it was only a matter of time before fans said "Hello Again" to this quirky, talented twosome.   But Lightning passed away from a head injury in 2006, which forms the conclusion of the film.

“I believe in you, Mike.  I always have,” says his dentist and manager.

The down following the accident is shown in all its intensity.  Claire does not want to continue the duo.  “What is the duo supposed to do if the other one doesn’t want to sing?” says Mike.  Claire is all drugged up, grouchy, and refuses to go for her therapy. She makes jokes like “….. to get back on your feet,” etc. The frustration reached its peak in one heated argument between Claire and Mike in the living room, a scene that will bring tears to one’s eyes.

“People don’t get it.  I love her, and I am losing her,” Mike confidentially talks to his daughter, who is watching to ensure her father stays off the wagon.

The film contains a scene directly lifted out of Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece. LIMELIGHT  It is the one in which Claire Bloom, crippled suddenly,y gets up from her wheelchair and, for the first time, walks towards Charles Chaplin, both facing the camera.  In this movie, Kate Hudson gets up from her chair and walks with Jackson, both facing the camera.  It is still a touching one and also a great homage paid to Chaplin.  Both women are offering encouraging words to their distraught companion.

SONG SUNG BLUE is a first-class Hollywood dramatisation of the duo’s story.   It allows audiences to see and feel as the documentary can only achieve so much. Performances are extraordinary, from both Jackson and Hudson.  The film shows both the highs (the performances of the Neil Diamond songs) and the lows (coming to terms with the hardships fate dealt them).

SONG SUNG BLUE had its premiere at the AFI Film Festival on October 26, 2025, and will be released in the United States and Canada by Focus Features on Christmas Day.

Trailer: 

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Derek Drymon

 

The SpongeBob SquarePants franchise is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon.  They are a household name in countries the world over.  Their new Christmas movie is bound to be a great hit, so hopes are very high.

It should be noted that SpongeBob SquarePants received widespread critical acclaim in its early years, with praise given to its characters, surreal humour, writing, visuals, animation, and Hawaiian-influenced soundtrack, with the show's first three seasons often referred to as its "golden era".  However, the series has also received criticism for a perceived decline in quality, particularly after Hillenburg departed from the series starting with its fourth season onward.  Since its debut, the series has also had five theatrical feature films (starting with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in 2004), two feature films for streaming, a Broadway musical, a comic book series, and numerous video games.

The premise of this film, not that it matters, since all the audience likely wants is a goofy laugh-out loud good time, goes like this: Desperate to become a "big guy", SpongeBob (Tom Kenny), SpongeBob, setting out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs (veteran Clancy Brown), travels to the deepest depths of the ocean to follow the Flying Dutchman (voiced by STAR WARS Mark Hamill).

The film was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Brady and series creatives Marc Ceccarelli and Kaz. It was first developed as a direct-to-streaming film, but the project was retooled into a theatrical feature by February 2022.  The rest is history,

Determined to find him, SpongeBob teams up with Patrick Star and ventures far beyond Bikini Bottom into strange and dangerous new realms. Along the way, the journey tests SpongeBob’s courage and optimism, forcing him to confront his fears while proving how deep his loyalty and love for Gary truly run.

The film blends the franchise’s trademark absurd humour, colourful visuals, and musical energy with a heartfelt story about friendship, responsibility, and growing up, making it accessible to longtime fans and newcomers alike.  The need for SpongeBob to be recognised as ‘big’ as many smack kids obviously also wish, is funny.  The main reason is actually thistle can actually be tall enough to ride his desired roller coaster.  He grows up taller and makes the mark, but discovers he does not have what it takes to ride the roller coaster.  In the film’s climax, he has to revisit the roller-coaster fear.

The humour is extremely goofy, so goofy that it often makes no sense, but the kids at the promo screening seem to love it.

It should be noted that the film will be accompanied by an animated short film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey. That short was previously scheduled for May 23, 2025.  The short tries too hard to prove itself and comes off as a misfire.  This paves the way for an improvement, which means the main feature stands a better chance by comparison.

THE SPONGEBOB MOPVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS is a Christmas movie opening a week earlier on December 19th.

Trailer: 

 

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (Palestine 2025) ***
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania.

 

This review contains certain spoilers, which are necessary to understand and provide some insight into the making of this film.  The spoilers are indicated in just one paragraph in bold italics, so the paragraph may be skipped.

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (described as a doc-drama) tells the real story of Hind Rajab, a very young Palestinian girl (5 or 6 years old, depending on the source) who was trapped in a car during a military attack in Gaza.  During this ordeal, she makes a long phone call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (the Red Crescent rescue service).  The film uses the actual audio recordings of her call — her voice pleading, frightened, begging for help. Alongside that real audio, the film dramatises what was going on in the Red Crescent dispatch centre: rescuers coordinating, trying to get an ambulance in, waiting for permission, in a very tense and bureaucratic setting.

The film is set as recently as January 29, 2024.  The Israeli army orders the evacuation of the Tel Al-Hawa Palestinian neighbourhood.  The setting is at the Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Call Centre in the West Bank, 52 miles outside Gaza.  A call involving the film’s title involves Ramallah and Nesreen.

At the start of the film, titles indicate that what is about to be seen is based on true events, with dramatisation of the events with real call recordings.  Unfortunately, the dramatisation seems too manipulative.  The little girl in the car with the tea family around her is talking to the call centre, as the car was shot by tanks.   The conflict between Ramallah and his boss is heightened, he telling him that the rescue has first toe coordinated to ensure a safe route to the girl.  The two argue.  While on the phone with the girl, the call centre asked her a few irrelevant questions like what her name is, who else is in the car, their names and their relations.  These prolong the film’s call with the girl, stretching both credibility and patience.  One scene has a caller talking to the girl, the caller with a wavering voice and tears in her eyes, a bit of all too obvious over-dramatisation.   The caller later says that if she has a daughter, she would call her Hannod.  Really???

The overuse of the oscilloscope display to depict voice signals is noticeable.  The voice signals also display the film’s opening credits.

Tragically, Hind and the rescue workers who went out for her were later found dead.

The director has said she made the film to make Hind’s voice “resonate across borders” and to ensure her story is not forgotten.  Some critics have raised ethical questions about using a child's real trauma in a film, but Ben Hania defends it — she says Hind’s mother supported the project, and that giving her voice a lasting presence was important.

Despite the film’s good intentions of making world audiences aware of the urgency of the situation in the Gaza Strip, the film cannot hide its lack of narrative and material, which is insufficient to hold interest for a mere 90 minutes.

The film premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival in September 2025 and was met with a historic 23-minute standing ovation.

Trailer: 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 10 December 2025

BEST 10 FILMS 2025

 

In order:

 

1. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

The film that is on everyone’s Top 10 list.  Great action comedy in which the protagonist is not an action fighter but someone hiding and running away for half the movie.  Director PT Anderson’s best and most successful box-office hit,

 

 

2. MARTY SUPREME

A remarkable ping pong film with excellent ping pong matches on screen.  The detailed script, which is a period piece, is excellent, capturing the politics of ping pong among the Asin countries like Japan.

 

 

3. THE SECRET AGENT

A black comedy that is fresh and unpredictable in what can be described as a disciplined script. Lots of parodying, especially of the 1970s JAWS and Jean-Paul Belmondo, THAT MAN IN RIO films. 

 

 

4. WEAPONS

The most fucked up film of the year, which consists of a script that not only shows the different points of view of the different characters, but also how each plays a part in the story. Totally fun and yes, fucked up!

 

 

 

5, TRAIN DREAMS

A melancholic, quiet, and pensive film with an endearing performance from Joel Edgerton.  The story of loss, grief, and coping with a raw emotion that hits the heart,

 

6. MISERICORDA

A brilliant gay film from the director of STRANGER BY THE LAKE.  A gay man returns to his village for a funeral and creates havoc after being unable to control his sexual emotions.  He is not the only gay man in the village, and the other one saves him from the cops.

 

 

7. SIRAT

(photo to be posted)

A roller coaster ride following a man in search of his daughter in the deserts of Morocco.  The suspense scenes are reminiscent of Henri Georges Clozot’s LE SALAIRE DE LA PEUR and the mines segment of the Danish film THIS LAND OF MINE.

 

 

8. A POET

A film that features the weirdest hero yet.  A diminutive loser of a man champions a young poet while everyone else accuses him of sexual abuse.  Fresh, weird, uncomfortable, but extremely well done movie.

 

9. BUGOVIA

Another weird one from Yorgos Lanthimos with his protege Emma Stone and another new protege.   Jesse Plemons who has lost a whole bunch of weight in this role.  Nothing is what it seems in this movie, which can be said to apply to any Lanthimos movie.

 

 

10. HAMNET

More of a performance film than anything else, but the period atmosphere and sets must be highlighted in what is an exceptionally staged film

 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 07 December 2025

The clear winner is ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, in three categories.

See nominations below with the Winners in Bold:

TFCA Awards 

 

Annually in December, the Toronto Film Critics Association votes for the best of the best in film, meticulously arguing to select their choices.

 

Here is the complete list of nominees and the winners in bold:

 

Best Picture      

      

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Oliver Laxe, Sirāt

Original Screenplay

Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein

Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt

Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Adapted Screenplay

Hamnet – Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell

No Other Choice - Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, Jayhe Lee

One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson

Outstanding Lead Performance

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Nina Hoss, Hedda

Amy Madigan, Weapons

Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Breakthrough Performance

Miles Caton, Sinners

Chase Infinti, One Battle After Another

Abou Sangaré, Souleymane’s Story

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Canadian Film

Deragh Campbell, Measures for a Funeral

Vincent Cassel, The Shrouds

Joan Chen, Montreal, My Beautiful

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Canadian Film

Charlotte Aubin, Montreal, My Beautiful

Troy Kotsur, In Cold Light

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Sweet Angel Baby

Allan King Documentary Award

Come See Me in the Good Light

Orwell: 2+2=5

The Tale of Silyan

Animated Feature

Endless Cookie

KPop Demon Hunters

Space Cadet

International Feature

It Was Just an Accident

The Secret Agent

Sirāt

First Feature

Blue Heron

Eephus

Sorry Baby

 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 01 December 2025

COVER-UP (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus

 

This is a doc about a brave and risk-taking reporter nicknamed Sy who exposes the deeds of the wicked.  “It’s complicated to know who to trust. I barely trust you guys,” says Seymour Hersh. He’s speaking to the directors, Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, about his career as an investigative reporter.   The film goes back and forth with Hersh’s interview.  He is shown with all candidness, displaying eagerness, energy, anger, and anger as the director pushes his boundaries.  Time after time, Hersh has exposed brutal realities that governments and corporations wanted to cover up.  He shares behind-the-scenes details of how he reported the My Lai massacre, Watergate, the operation of CIA spying on Americans, and the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, to name a few of his major headlines.   Every step of the way, he faced fierce pushback from powerful interests.  President Nixon is heard on tape saying, “This fellow Hersh is a son of a bitch.”  As they say, Hersch might be a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch.   One often hears about the cover-ups, but this doc combines news of cover-ups with the man behind them.

I WISH YOU HAD TOLD ME (Sana Sinai Mo) (Philippines 2025) **
Directed by Shaira Advincula

 

When a young missionary uncovers his late father's long-held secret, he travels from the Philippines to Spain in search of his dad's forbidden love.

The film begins with hen young missionary attending his father’s funeral service, where praise is bestowed upon him before a lady makes her appearance, accusing the dead man of having nuked more cocks than anyone else.  Despite this fast beginning, the rest of the film is a surprising slow burn as his son discovers secrets about his after and comes to terms with the secret.

The missionary ends up in Portugal but makes a trip to Spain to meet his late father’s pen pal.  This is where the story heads.  But not really surprises, really.

I WISH YOU HAD TOLD ME is a well-intentioned Filipino LGBTQ+ drama about family secrets and intimate emotions that, like many Filipino tearjerkers, end up too melodramatic for their own good.  There is no real ash material here - discovering one’s father is gay is a premise that has been seen in a few other American films before.  The film is well performed, in one can be described as a decent though mediocre drama.

The film deals with emotion, grief, and acceptance, and can hardly be described as a feel-good movie.

I WISH YOU HAD TOLD ME premieres on Netflix this week.  A Ok watch!

Trailer:  

LOVE + WINE (South Africa 20225) ***
Directed by Amanda Lane

 

California is known for its Californian wines and its Hollywood romantic comedies.  But how about South Africa?  The country has a solid fair share of romantic comedies, mostly commissioned by Netflix, and it also has a bustling wine industry.  Netflix’s rom-com LOVE + WINE (the title says it all) demonstrates both.  The film is a rom-com set in the scenic vineyards and wine-estate region of the Cape Winelands, South Africa, including real locations like the estate Quoin Rock Wine Estate and coastal areas around Cape Town.

There are actually two romances going on in the film’s premise of role switching.  They involve he rich heir of the billionaire wine estate owner Ovee and the other, his childhood friend, Nathi, who is his driver.  The film’s premise involves a bet on getting girls leads them to swap identities, but then things get too complicated.  If the idea sounds familiar, it has just been done in the Seth Rogen film, GOOD FORTUNE, which was just so-so.  LOVE + WINE is also just so-so.  The not-too ingenious plot is at least helped by some South African flair, though the film leads to the typical Hollywood ending.

The film plays on the familiar romantic-comedy tropes of mistaken identity, social class differences, and the “rich person pretending to be common” plot — but even though it is charming in a feel-good way, the film is too forced and cliched.

LOVE + WINE premieres for streaming this week on Netflix.  There are two other rom-com originals this week on Netflix, both with a Christmas setting  - JINGLE BELL HEIST and MY SECRET SANTA, with the former being the best of the three.

 

Trailer: 

MY SECRET SANTA (USA 2025) **

Directed by Mike Rohl

 

Some films are subtle, and others are right out in the face.  In the case of MY SECRET SANTA, the title says it all; the film belongs to the second category.  First, it is right in one’s face that this is a female film.  It is a single mother and her teen daughter who are the focus of the story.  No mention of the husband.  It is a Christmas film, as evident by the Christmassy song heard at the opening credits and the Christmas decorations shown all around.  The mother is fired during Christmas as the store is downsizing its Christmas cookies.

The centres on Taylor, a struggling single mom whose daughter gets accepted into an exclusive snowboarding program at a ski resort.  To afford the tuition, Taylor — desperate for a job — secretly disguises herself as an elderly man named “Hugh” and takes a seasonal job as Santa Claus at a resort.  While working as “Santa,” she meets Matthew, the resort owner’s son. As she and Matthew start to develop feelings, the deception — her secret identity — threatens to unravel everything.

The movie is a holiday-themed romantic comedy — mixing festive charm, humour (including the disguise/gender-swap comedy), family stakes, and romance.

As this is a rom-com movie, the first thing is how the couple (Taylor and Matthew) will meet.  The random meeting at a record store is quite a lame one, even though she reveals that it was one of the band members (Screaming Kittens) in a record that he really liked.

Then the couple has to dislike each other. He is filthy rich, and she is as poor as a church mouse.  Taylor gets a job as Santa in his hotel store, the Sun Peaks Ski resort.  So he does not recognise her as Santa, and she is also speaking in a very low voice.  This is also the school that the daughter, Zoey, wishes to attend.

A few side jokes.  The landlady (remember that this is a female slanted film) has a thing for Taylor’s Santa, who she believes is her father.  Ryan Eggold, who plays Matthew, looks like a poor man’s version of Jake Gyllenhaal.  Alexandra Breckenridge does her best despite the rather lame script.  Both actors have a history of winning acting awards, primarily in short films.

As far as Christmas rom coms go, Netflix had another one that opened last week, an American one set and filmed in London (Shh…  Don’t let Trump know) that is fresher, funnier, and more endearing.  MY SECRET SANTA is too predictable, gearing towards its obvious happy ending, despite the festive setting.   Taylor is also dating averse.    The humour is too slight to be funny, and there is hardly any laugh-out-loud dialogue either.  The romance is gentle but not especially deep.  The disguise premise occasionally feels stretched.

The only good thing about the film (besides it being short at 90 minutes) is that it gave a good chance to the two budding actors, Eggold and Breckenridge, to show their wares.  But there is little opportunity to shine in the film.

MY SECRET SANTA is a Netflix original film that opens for streaming this week.

Trailer: 

THE NEW YORKER AT 100 (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Marshall Curry

 

THE NEW YORKER AT 100 is a 2025 American documentary film that explores the history of The New Yorker magazine, which celebrated its 100th year of publication in 2025.  premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival in August 2025.

The film’s introduction to the magazine explains it as an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry.  It was founded on February 21, 1925, (as shown in the doc with the magazine cover) by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for The New York Times. 

The film celebrates the 100-year history of The New Yorker magazine, exploring its evolution from its founding in 1925 to the present.  It offers unprecedented access to the magazine’s inner workings: its editors, writers, fact-checkers, cartoonists, and other contributors as they work toward producing the special 100th-anniversary issue. 

At best, viewers get a glimpse of the intense process of fact-checking, editing, cartoon selection — the labor and thoughtfulness that go into producing each issue.  Through archival materials and interviews with longtime contributors, the film traces the magazine’s history — while also capturing the concerns and dedication of current staff navigating journalism in the modern era.

Director Curry intercuts the film’s history with its current workings, showing the amount of diligence and detailed scrutiny that goes into a successful magazine. 

The cover needs to speak for the moment as well as to be a piece of art, says the art director of The New Yorker, as the cover of the 100th anniversary of The New Yorker is contemplated.  The cover would set the personality of the issue.

The immediate question trailing this doc is whether the doc is a marketing instrument for the magazine or it is a reflexive and critical piece of the magazine.  The doc does not stop at any praise for the magazine from the ideas put forward by its talented team of writers (first wooden satellite?  for example) to the scrutiny of factual accuracy (the name of three cats? for example).  But at least director Curry keeps the film entertaining despite its marketing bias.  The New Yorker has survived as a publication where too many others have failed due to the cu

rrrent times of the internet and free news.  The mag has a niche, as declared at the start of the film, its humour and wealthy clientele. 

THE NEW YORKER AT 100 premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival in August 2025 and opens for streaming on Netflix this week on Friday, December 5th.

 

Trailer:  

THE SECRET AGENT (O AGENT SCRETO) (Brazil/France/Germany 2025) ***** Top 10

Directed by  Kleber Mendonça Filho

 

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife ( seaside town in Brazil) during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son, but soon realises that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.  Marcelo is told by the police chief that perhaps 100 people will die during the carnival, a joke that carries on throughout the movie.  Marcelo’s past is catching up with him, but he hopes to bring his life to a close with the satisfaction of spending the rest of his life with his son.  His son is presently staying with Marcelo’s parents, who care very much about the boy.

Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who also wrote the script for the film, is a familiar name to many cinephiles and film critics, making his name in his 2012 multiple award-winning NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS, also set in his birthplace of Recife in North East Brazil and also his recent 2023 documentary PORTRAITS OF GHOSTS.  THE SECRET AGENT is a film the director reportedly wanted to make for years, and it is not only an excellent film but one of the best to hit screens at both TIFF and in theatres.

The film pays homage to several films of the 70s when the film is set (actually 1977).  Most noticeable is the 1975 Steven Spielberg’s JAWS.  Recife is also a seaside town.  Other films that can be noticed in Filho’s film include actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, most likely in Philippe De Broca’s 1964 film THAT MAN IN RIO.

The film suffers from a rather overlong epilogue with a conversation taking place between two individuals in a hospital, a bit of a let-down after a spy-like chase through the streets.

Trailer: 

THE WAILING (El Llanto) (Argentina/Spain/France 2024) ***
Directed by Pedro Martín-Calero

 

THE WAILING is a slow-burning movie, but by no means boring. of a psychological horror thriller, with a premise somewhat similar to the horror cult IT FOLLOWS.  A group of young people inadvertently resurrects a seemingly invisible evil.  The story spans different times, places, and victims.

The film begins with Andrea.  Andrea, a university student in present-day Madrid, lives a seemingly normal life until one day when her boyfriend is killed in a shocking act of violence. She soon begins to notice a mysterious entity that follows her no matter where she turns. Twenty years prior, Marie, a woman in Buenos Aires, suffered the same fate.  Camila, a documentarian, learns of the threat these women faced, but no one will believe her.  Across time and space, these three unconnected women are bound together by an inescapable terror in Martin-Calero’s feature film debut, for which he was nominated for a Best New Director Goya Award in 2025.

The film begins with as stated:

Andrea, 2022, Madrid

Andrea is presumed to be followed by some entity that no one, including herself, knows anything about.  For those who watched the 2015 horror flick IT FOLLOWS, an identical premise is found, though in IT FOLLOWS, the purpose of the entity following is there, to seek a vessel.  In THE WAILING, a figure, the entity is only seen in videos or in photos taken by the camera of a cell phone. The entry follows Andrea in Madrid but somehow gets to Sydney (how?  No one knows.  Perhaps some superpower the entity possesses?) to kill Andrea’s boyfriend while they are speaking on the cell phone.  An additional subplot was added, that which Andrea discovers she had been adopted and that her mother, recently released from prison for murder, has died in an apartment.

 

The film shifts to:

Camilla, La Plata 1988

 

Camilla is a film student who films Marie, unknown to her, a woman with many problems.  Marie is a free spirit who suspects that she is being controlled by an unknown force.  The two finally meet with disastrous results.

 

The film has played and won accolades across many international film festivals.  These include:

Goya Awards (2025) | Nominee, Best New Director

San Sebastian International Film Festival (2024) |Winner, Silver Seashell, Best Director, Nominee, Golden Seashell, Best Film

Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards (2024) | Nominated, Best Film in Co-production with Argentina

Sitges Film Festival (2024) | Official Selection

BFI London Film Festival (2024) | Official Selection

Tokyo International Film Festival (2024) | Official Selection

The story shifts to Marie, as seen at the start of the film.

THE WAILING is a better film than the one (IT FLLOWS) it followed, as THE WAILING skips the traditional happy ending normally inserted for good measure, but it still has a twisty shock ending.

A totally female horror film all the way and a solid one at that.  Well-written, well-directed, and aptly performed by the three main leads, THE WAILING, shot mainly in Spanish and French, is definitely worth seeing, especially for horror fans.

 

THE WAILING, the Spanish horror premieres on VOD and Digital on December 5th, 2025.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 28 November 2025

DUST BUNNY(USA 2025) ***½

Directed by Bryan Fuller

 

Like many children, Aurora (Sophie Sloan) fearfully believes a monster lurks beneath her bed. And she has good reason to: her foster parents have been eaten by one. Fortunately, she arrives at a practical solution. She will hire the enigmatic hit man who lives next door (Mads Mikkelsen) to slay the beast. But procuring her neighbour’s services will not be easy, for he believes her family was mistakenly dispatched by an assassin’s bullets that were meant for him.

So what is a dust bunny, and why is the film entitled such?  Dust bunnies (or dustbunnies) are small clumps of dust that form under furniture and in corners that are not cleaned regularly. They are made of hair, lint, flakes of dead skin, spider webs, dust, and sometimes light rubbish and debris and are held together by static electricity and felt-like entanglement.  The DUST BUNNY in the film is the monster under Aurora’s bed, assumed, used as an analogy for the accretion of cosmic matter in planetoids.

The film boasts two stars who love to take on weird character roles.  One is the Dane actor Mads Mikkelsen (THE LAST VIKING, LAST CALL, THE PROMISED LAND) and Sigourney Weaver (ALIENS, WORKING GIRL).  But it is the writer/director  Bryan Fuller who is the architect of this somewhat fresh take of adult and child horror that meshes together reality and horror imagination.

Bryan Fuller is an American writer, TV producer, and film director, best known for creating the television series Pushing Daisies (2007–2009) and Hannibal (2013–2015). Fuller is also known for his work as a showrunner for the first season of the show American Gods (2017–2021), a writer on the Star Trek television series Voyager (1997–2001) and Deep Space Nine (1997).  He also wrote the recent PREDATOR: BADLANDS, though credited for "additional literary material (not on-screen).

What is admirable about the film is the blend of fantasy and reality.  Aurora believes that the hit man kills monsters, thus hiring him with her limited child funds to kill the monster under her bed.  She follows the hitman, her neighbour, one night to Chinatown, where he kills some evil people that he calls monsters.  She sees him fighting the lion as in a lion dance and believes he can kill monsters.  During their meeting, he believes that she is imagining the monster under her bed, but it turns out that the monster is real, and the monster erupts to eat people who have their feet on the floor.

The film’s last 30 minutes turn up to be a large action set-piece, complete with special effects and a large encounter between monster and victim(s).  All this could be taken as a giant metaphor as well as tongue-in-cheek, and Sigourney Weaver is excellent at playing tongue-in-cheek.

DUST BUNNY, though uneven at times, has a fairy tale, nightmarish feel with emotional undercurrents, and its balancing act between horror and wonder is impressive.

DUST BUNNY had its world premiere at the.2025 Toronto International Film Festival in its Midnight Madness program on September 9, 2025 and its U.S. premiere at American Cinematheque’s Beyond Fest on September 30, 2025.  The film opens widely in theatres on December 12th.

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ELLA McCAY (USA 2025) ***

Directed by James L. Brooks

 

Set in an unnamed state,  an idealistic 34-year-old lieutenant governor, Ella McCay (Emma MacKey) juggles familial issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over the job of her mentor, the state's longtime incumbent governor (Albert Brooks), who suddenly accepts a cabinet position in the incoming Obama administration.

The film takes a while to get a solid footing.  The first 30 minutes of the film have the look of dealing with privileged white folk problems that only relate to the upper tier of American society, but the story slowly gets to the audience as the material slowly moves into more universal issues like family drama, doing good,, relationship problems and ambition.

The film explores how Ella tries to manage the high-stakes demands of political leadership while navigating complicated and emotionally charged family dynamics.  The family problems deal with Ella’s father (Woody Harrelson) and younger brother, creating two of the film’s subplots.  Ella is totally disgusted wither father’s sexual behaviour, sleeping around while her mother (Rebecca Hall) keeps forgiving him because she loves him.  Ella loves her agro-phobic younger brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), who’s not gotten over a failed love proposal with Susan (Ayo Edebiri).  These two form the most awkward couple seen in any movie this year, but there is something really sincere in their emotions which writer/director Brooks taps effectively and to the fullest, making their story a real term of endearment.

With all the family problems, not to mention her marriage and political chaos, Ella confides in Aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis).  Aunt Helen is the one who keeps the family together.

The entire plot is nicely put into perspective with narration by Julie Kavner, a worker in Ella’s office.  This is a sharp and observant drama comedy related to today’s times.  There is one thing Trump should take notice. The line that states that it is easy blame reporting on one’s mistakes.

The film’s political setting is interesting to note.  Director Brooks does not judge the American system, though it must be tempting for him to do so.  The political setting highlights the personal trauma that Ella goes through, and it is tremendous.  Ella has to weigh what is more important.

The casting director should be praised for eclectic casting, especially with Kumail Nanjiani (THE BIG SICK) and Ayo Edebiri (AFTER THE HUNT).  The two Indians are quite good, bringing humour and pathos to their roles.

ELLA MCCAY is a James L.Brooks film.  Brooks made his name with three big hits: TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, AS GOOD AS IT GETS and BROADCAST NEWS.  ELLA MCCAY is more of the same, good, solid writing and direction, though a bit mushy, especially at the end.  There is also a long monologue by Ella, which demonstrates the director’s indulgence.   Take the film’s last line: There is no word that is opposite to trauma, but the word hope comes a close second.

Despite the horrendous reviews the film has received so far, it is actually not that bad!

ELLA MCCAY opens in theatres December 12th.

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THE FAKENAPPING (Saudi Arabia 2025) **
Directed by Amine Lakhnech

 

The story follows Sattam, a down-on-his-luck entrepreneur and struggling dad who’s drowning in debt and bad luck. Desperate to solve his financial problems, he comes up with an absurd idea: he decides to “kidnap” his own father to demand money from him and pay off what he owes.

The beginning of the film has Sattam being chased and then threatened by the man, a loan shark he had borrowed money from, Mr Amo Atek.

Sattam has a father who owns a company; Sattam intends to kidnap his dad and then force him to pay the ransom.  This is where the FAKENAPPING comes to play.  What should’ve been a simple scam quickly spirals out of control as Sattam’s equally hopeless friends get involved and a ruthless loan shark starts closing in. Their bad timing, lies, and terrible decisions lead to a series of comical though hardlyfunny chaotic moments.  Although it centres on a false kidnapping, the film treats the plot as a lighthearted, farcical comedy, blending slapstick, misunderstanding, and social commentary about pride, financial pressure, and family dynamics.  Though well-intentioned with good motives, the film is less an entertaining watch than just going through the motions with the incidents in the story.

It does not help one bit if the protagonist, Sattam, has no redeeming qualities that the audience can identify with.  For one, Sattam has that annoying childish grin, making him look like an Arabic Mr Bean.  At least this part works, as the film is being billed as a comedy.  He has borrowed money but pretends he has lots of it to his mother and daughter.  And he borrows Peter to pay Paul, involving often little scams.   Sattam has no shame in lying, and even his own father has refused to help him out, as Sattam is too proud to work as a labourer.

THE FAKENAPPING, filmed inArabic, opens on Netflix this week for streaming.

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INFLUENCERS (USA/Canada 2025) ***⅓

Directed by Kurtis David Harder

 

At best, one can say that both INFLUENCER and INFLUENCERS films both offer nods to the films of Patricia Highgate and Alfred Hitchcock.  The films feature good-looking characters with villains that are cunning, rather clever, but downright evil.  The films are set in exotic locations, in this case, Bali, Indonesia, for INFLUENCERS.   There are nice pop-up twists in the plot, with a few arising from the original INFLUENCER.  INFLUENCERS is also set in the current time,s where social media, influencer followings and living it up are key goals for many people, even to those who cannot attain them.  Thus arises the character of CW, which stands for Catherine Weaver, a nasty bitch who lures influencers to their death, steals their identities and lives it up, following one victim after another.  Until fate catches up with her.  Which happens twice,e both in the first and in the second film.

It would be good to know what happened in the first movie before watching the sequel.   For this reason, Shudder is releasing both on its streaming service.

This is what happens in the first movie.  Madison is an influencer who has been using her vacation in Thailand as a way to promote herself and several advertisers online. The reality is that Madison spends most of her time in her hotel eating food and is upset that her boyfriend Ryan did not come with her.  Madison is befriended by CW, who takes her on a tour of hotspots.  It is slowly revealed that CW lures different influencers to a remote Thai island and leaves them there to die, thus stealing their identity.  When Ryan suddenly shows up, Madison has to deal with the outcome of her deeds.

In INFLUENCERS, in Southern France, CW and her French girlfriend Diane are celebrating their first anniversary as a couple when they are bumped from their hotel room and forced stay in a smaller one because of a popular British influencer, Charlotte, who befriends Diane and won't leave the couple alone, which irritates CW, who wants to put an end to that  CW murders Charlotte and Charlotte’s girlfriend before Madison, who survives the first film discovers what CW is up to and hunts her down.  This occurs at the one-hour mark of the film.  Interest and curiosity are enough to glue audiences to the screen as another influencer, this time a male played by Canadian Jonathan Whitesel,l discovers CW and threatens her.

Writer/director Kurtis David Harder is one of the hardest-working directors today.  Born in Calgary, Alberta, Harder has directed at least five feature films.  Harder made his feature-length debut with Cody Fitz.   His second feature film, Incontrol, was released in 2017.   Harder wrote the first draft of the screenplay for Incontrol in 2013.  Another feature film, Spiral, was released in 2019.  In 2022, he directed the feature film Influencer (2022), which was acquired and released by Shudder.  Influencer had its world premiere on October 16, 2022, at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.[13] Brandon Yu of The New York Times wrote, "Harder has made good and entertaining use of a premise that could have become a simple gimmick, and Naud and Saper prove strong leads as their characters try to read each other between the lines.  A sequel titled INFLUENCERS premiered at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2025. Cassandra Naud reprised her role from the first film.  It was also the closing film at FrightFest, where it made its UK premiere in August 2025.  The film will be released on Shudder on December 12, 2025, after screening as the closing night film at Blood in the Snow in Toronto.

INFLUENCERS is a satisfying, sophisticated young adult sexy horror thriller set in a social media setting with shades of Patrica Highgate and Hitchcock.

LOST IN THE SPOTLIGHT (original title: Lupa Daratan)) (Indonesia 2025) ***
Directed by Ernest Prakasa

 

The light comedy drama follows the exploits of an actor, Vino Agustian (played by Vino G. Bastian), a somewhat middle-aged, good-looking actor who is quite full of himself, making himself look a fool some of the time.  When the film opens, he has just won the 2024 Best Actor award.  His acceptance speech involves him giving credit to the other nominees and then saying that the next year, he assures that one of them will win, then adding  the comical line, “if I am not around.”  The camera edits catch the somewhat disgustedlooks from the other nominees -  annoyed and then forcing out a smile.  The film is quite silly, but the parody is right, and all turns out quite entertaining.  One can tell that something is turning bad for actor Vino.  And it does.

Vino Agustian is a narcissistic and beloved actor whose life and career suddenly take a shocking turn just as he’s about to land the biggest role of his life.  At the peak of his success, he inexplicably loses his acting ability—forgetting lines, failing to tap into emotion, and generally being unable to perform.

As Vino’s confidence collapses and public pressure mounts, the film tracks his emotional journey of self-reflection and rediscovery.  Through a mix of humour and heartfelt moments, actor Vito is forced to confront his ego, identity, and what truly matters beyond fame and talent.  Through light-hearted comedy instead of drama, the film offers a decent and heartfelt look at how a performer copes when the very thing that defined him disappears.

LOST IN THE SPOTLIGHT (Lupa Daratan) will stream on Netflix beginning December 11, 2025.

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PETER HUJAR’S DAY (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Ira Sachs

 

The film is set in December 1974 in New York City and is about the photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda, with Sachs telling IndieWire it is "a film about what it is to be an artist among artists in a city where no one was making any money".

There are a few celebrities one should be familiar with when watching this film.  This puts their reputation in place for a greater appreciation of their effect on the film’s subject.

One is Susan Sontag.  Susan Lee Sontag (January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer and critic.  She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp' ", in 1964.  Sontag was active in writing and speaking about, or travelling to, areas of conflict, including during the Vietnam War and the Siege of Sarajevo. She wrote extensively about literature, cinema, photography, media, illness, war, human rights, and left-wing politics.  Her essays and speeches drew backlash and controversy, and she has been called "one of the most influential critics of her generation.”

The other is the subject, Peter Hujar.  Peter Hujar (October 11, 1934 – November 26, 1987) was an American photographer best known for his black-and-white portraits.  Hujar's work received only marginal public recognition during his lifetime, but he has since been recognized as a major American photographer of the 1970s and 1980s.

Another is Linda Rosenkrantz.  Linda Rosenkrantz was born and raised up in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Samuel, a garment industry executive, and Frances, an artist. She is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and the University of Michigan.  In 1974, Linda Rosenkrantz embarked on another tape-centric project. She asked a number of her friends and acquaintances, including artist Chuck Close and photographer Peter Hujar, to write down everything they did on one particular day, then to meet with her to report and record in conversation the events of their day. Forty years later, in 2021, a transcript of the Hujar chapter was published in book form by Magic Hour Press as Peter Hujar's Day.  The book was adapted into a film, Peter Hujar's Day, directed by Ira Sachs and starring Ben Whishaw as Peter Hujar and Rebecca Hall as Rosenkrantz.[

Director Ira Sachs is a gay filmmaker, and so is his subject Peter Hujar.  Hujar does talk about sucking cock at one point in the film.  Sachs makes impressive, often gay themed indie films.  

The film is obviously not for everybody.  It is a two-handler with all talk - and talk that might not appeal to or interest everybody, even though the talk might intrigue those interested in photography or writers.  The film is all about, as intended, a day in the life of the photographer, which can be described as getting up, preparing for an interview and then going back to bed.  Peter talks about his musings, and Linda, who has not much to say in the film, basically reads and makes sight comments.  It is all about PETER HUJAR’S DAY.

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RESURRECTION (China/France 2025) **
Directed by Bi Gan

 

In a future where humanity has surrendered its ability to dream in exchange for immortality, an outcast (Jackson Yee) finds illusion, nightmarish visions, and beauty in an intoxicating world of his own making.

If the above premise sounds like an artsy-fartsy film. RESURRECTION, touted as a science fiction drama written and directed by Bi Gan, surely is, and a complete mess of a meandering narrative that it is.  The film runs an unbearable 160 minutes, and though the cinematography is stunning, reminiscent of the Wong Kar-wei classics, the film is a chore if not a torture to sit through.

So who is this filmmaker known as Bi Gan?  Apparently, he is a rising art and drama director.  Bi’s feature directorial debut, KAILI BLUES (2015), earned him Best New Director at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards, Best Emerging Director at the 68th Locarno Film Festival (Locarno being a venue for a lot of art films), and the Montgolfière d’Or at the 37th Three Continents Festival in Nantes. His follow-up feature, LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (2018), was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the 71st Festival de Cannes and earned him a Best Director nomination at the 55th Golden Horse Awards.  RESURRECTION is Bu Gan’s third movie, and despite its flaws,  it premiered in Competition at the 78th Festival de Cannes and was presented with a Special Award by the jury.

The movie is set in a future world where humanity has abandoned the ability to dream. The beginning of the film is basically a silent film, complete with titles, to indicate what is happening. The central characters are Shu Qi as “Miss Shu” and Jackson Yee as a mysterious “inhuman creature” (or “dream-entity”). Miss Shu discovers that this creature is one of the few beings still able to dream — something lost to almost all of humanity.  The film moves into romantic drama on an extra weird level, in which vampires suddenly appear on the floor.

The film, already at the 2-hour mark, stretches its way past the tolerance level with the two lovers on a boat moving off the dock and then goes on and on and on, as if never-ending.

The film’s narrative is not straightforward.  Resurrection is divided into six chapters, each corresponding to one of the five human senses — supposedly, though never made clear, sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch — plus the “mind.”

RESURRECTION can be more accurately described as an experience than a conventional story: a “dream made film,” where one feels rather than one can understand.  Act its best, it is a bold and ambitious film, successful or not, which is debatable.

The film is shot in Mandarin and a little Cantonese.

All flaws aside, Bi Gan is still a gifted filmmaker and a talent to be reckoned with.  It would be excellent if he delivers a more disciplined work with a strong narrative, perhaps controlled by the studio executives.

RESURRECTION premiered in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025 — and won the festival’s Special Jury Prize.    The film opens in Toronto on December 12th.

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SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (USA/Canada 2025) ***
Directed by Mike P. Nelson

 

 

The SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT film franchise is a slasher horror film franchise in which the slasher is a killer in a Santa Claus costume.

The SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT franchise has gone through a whole slew of changes beginning with the first one made in1984.  There were altogether 7 films in all, with only the first two being released theatrically.  The others were straight to video.  Not included in these 7 films is the newest 2025 remake, which is the film being reviewed.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 2025 slasher film written and directed by Mike P. Nelson,   based on Silent Night, Deadly Night by Michael Hicke and Paul Caimi. It is the second remake of the 1984 film of the same name after Silent Night (2012), as well as the seventh overall installment of the Silent Night, Deadly Night series.

The only common element in all the films, including the 2025 version,n is the character Billy.  The 2025 version is supposed to be a remake of the original rather than a continuation of some sort, though it is quite different, as it includes a supernatural element, the spirit of Christmas, who is actually a very, very bad spirit.

The story of the first film is set in 1971, when 5-year-old Billy Chapman and his family visit a nursing home in Utah where his catatonic grandfather lives. When Billy's parents leave the room, his grandfather suddenly awakens and tells Billy to fear Santa Claus, as he punishes the naughty.  On the way back home, a criminal dressed in a Santa suit – who had just robbed a liquor store and killed the owner – attempts to carjack the family. As Billy's father tries to drive away, the criminal shoots him dead and attempts to sexually assault Billy's mother; when she hits him, he slits her throat with a switchblade. Billy flees and hides, leaving his baby brother Ricky in the car.

The 2025 version follows the same start except for a few differences.  The killer in the Santa suit kills both the father and mother immediately.  There is no brother Ricky.  And Santa is shot by someone not seen or mentioned.  Billy (played by Rohan Campbell) is the only common character.  Director/writer Nelson reveals bits of the plot as his film progresses, so that there is always something surprising to come.  The slasher film is necessarily violent, as is expected of such slasher films.  The supernatural element added in the remake serves to add another level of incredibility to the story, making slasher films more credible in the first place.  With the gore, blood and multiple killings, horror fans  can easily dismiss the implausibilities as long as their desire to see blood is satisfied.

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT opens in theatres on Friday. December 12th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 23 November 2025

 

JINGLE BELL HEIST (USA 2025) ***1/2
Directed by Michael Fimognarit

 

One good thing about CHRISTMAS DAY HESIT is that the film is set in London, the world’s renowned Christmas city.  Note that to give a more modern look, there's a shot of the more newly built Overground train instead of the Underground train moving along the railway tracks in London.  Written by Amy Reed and Abby McDonald, the film has a female slant, concentrating on one of the robbers, Sophie.

The story follows Sophia (played by Olivia Holt) — a resourceful retail worker struggling to make ends meet — and Nick O'Connor (played by Connor Swindells) — a down-on-his-luck repairman-turned-ex-security-consultant. Both are financially desperate when the Christmas season hits. With nothing to lose, the two independently plan to rob a luxurious London department store on Christmas Eve, each seeing it as their chance to escape hardship.

At the height of the holiday season, two strangers team up to rob one of London's most famous department stores while accidentally falling in love.  The “department-store” in Jingle Bell Heist was — at least for filming purposes — represented by Loughborough Hotel in Brixton, London.  The film’s production team dressed the hotel’s façade and ground-floor spaces to look like the fictional “Sterlings London Department Store.So while the story depicts a large, posh department store, the “store” in reality was a converted historic building — not a functioning retail department store.

The jokes are pleasant, not overtly funny, but still can manage a chuckle or two.  Example in the huge departmental store, with a layout similar to Harrods,  Sophie, who works there, encounters an irate customer who remarks: This place gets worse every day, to which a store clerk replies: Or the people.  Sophie replies: Or is it that they were always terrible?  The store manager who stands on he balcony overlooking the shoppers remarks:  Shopping and spending!  That is what Christmas is all about.

The filming locations are in the U.K., the film’s country of origin is the United States, which is obvious from the captioning spelling of the short form ‘mom’ instead of ‘mum’.  At least the script uses the correct British terms like ‘last orders’ for ‘last call’, and ‘tube’ for ‘subway’.  (Hey, I have spent over 2 dozen visits to London, even spending a number of Christmases there)  Unfortunately, in the film every everyone at the Sterlings store wishes each other Merry Christmas.  In London, everyone greets with Happy Christmas, not like in the United States.

For a Netflix Christmas movie, JINGLE BELL HEIST hits all the right notes.  Do not dismiss this film as the typical Christmas nonsense that new films are usually released at this time of year.  Though not the almost perfect Christmas film, it comes entertainingly close, and it does succeed as a romantic comedy, a heist job, and with a few messages put in for good measure.  There are a few good twists in the plot that should satisfy even the more demanding moviegoer.  The movie blends lighthearted romance and holiday spirit with suspense and moral complexity — the desperation of the protagonists makes their plan feel sympathetic rather than purely criminal.

JINGLE BELL HEIST opens for streaming this week on Netflix and makes an excellent festive fare.

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MEADOWLARKS (Canada 2025) **
Directed by Tasha Hubbard

 

 

MEADOWLARKS is based on director Hubbard’s  2017 documentary Birth of a Family.  Director Hubbard’s Meadowlarks is an emotional, fictionalised true drama that follows four siblings, separated by the Sixties Scoop, as they come together over a week.  Sixties Scoop refers to the term given for the then-common practice of removing Indigenous children from their families, often without consent, and placing them with the child welfare system.  There are no fewer than 3 Canadian films dealing with his topic at TIFF this year.  Instead of dealing of issues like how the siblings got to each other and reunite, how they got taken away, director Hubbard concentrates more on awkward small talk, gifts, and forced bonding events, the one brother and three sisters do their best to get to know one another after decades apart, their interactions, and how they come to terms with one another.  Unfortunately, Hubbard stays on melodrama and emotional theatrics to tell her story, resulting in forced sentiment and overlong hugging and screaming sessions that go on with dysfunctional families that one has already seen too much of.  The audience is also forced to sit through one of the siblings, Justine’s full rendition of her ‘throat singing’.

 

SAVAGE HUNT (USA 2025) **
Directed by Roel Reiné

 

SAVAGE HUNT is a savage man versus beast thriller (touted as a survival thriller) from celebrated Dutch action filmmaker Roel Reiné, who also did the music of the film.

Driven by what the press notes call edge-of-your-seat suspense, tension, and primal stakes, SAVAGE HUNT follows a vengeful tracker who is brought in to hunt down a large grizzly bear that had begun attacking humans when a new local resort is being built. 

The film’s touted to include scenes with a real grizzly bear.  But the bear is not in all the scenes, with some computer-generated or animated, and the attacks often look quite tacky.  In Hitchcock’s thriller, THE BIRDS, and in Spielberg’s JAWS, the first scene of a bird and of the shark only appears halfway through the movies, thus generating much audience anticipation.  In SAVAGE HUNT, the bear is seen in the first scene and again in too many scenes that the bear looks too cartoonish in parts.  But worse of all is the film’s continuity, not helped by the editing, which is really bad.  Often, the audience sees the bear attacking a human on the ground and then sees it standing upright, roaring, and then rolling again on the ground.  The bear attack scenes are shot with different camera angles of attack, which look disjointed.

The story takes place in the Montana wilderness, where the construction of a new resort and logging operations disrupt the natural habitat.  There are some beautiful shots of the Montana landscape, including the rivers, mountains, and wilderness, making Montana look like a tourist spot to visit.  But as modernization comes to the wild, the film’s premise proposes that the wild animals have nowhere to survive and therefore move closer to the towns.  Such is the main grizzly bear in the film, which is described as the grizzly of grizzlies.  If you think that this kind of bear that would eat scraps out of trash cans, this one would eat these grizzlies.  T segments of the bear mauling her victims are not that frightening, and in fact, it looks kind of fake, though the aftermath of the mauling is shown in nasty detail to make the film’s point.

The film’s main character is Joe Regan, a hardened tracker and skillful hunter with a troubled past, who hunts down the bear.  He has lost his son and his marriage as a result.  Other characters include a resort construction chief with his estranged ex-wife and daughter, whom he is trying to communicate with.  All these characters are essentially time fillers in a film with a thin narrative.

The film suffers from poorly executed action set pieces, though touted that a real grizzly was brought into the filming.  The continuity is much worse, and coupled with a cliched story of relationship-troubled characters, SAVAGE HUNT fails to entertain in more ways than one.

SAVAGE HUNT arrives on digital download and on-demand December 2, 2025, from Shout! Studios, a Radial Entertainment Company. 

Trailer: 

THE STRINGER: The Man who Took the Photo (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Bao Nguyen

 

This Netflix doc concerns one of the most famous war photographs taken of all time.  The photo shows a Vietnamese girl running naked from a napalm bomb, her skin peeling from her body as she ran.  Phan Thị Kim Phúc OOnt, referred to informally as the girl in the picture and the napalm girl, is a South Vietnamese-born Canadian woman best known as the child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, titled The Terror of War, taken at Trảng Bàng during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972.  The photo won Nick Ut the Pulitzer Prize, and the photo bore the reputation of peace, stopping the war.

But did Ut take the photo?

A stringer is a freelance reporter or photographer who contributes stories, photos, or videos to a news organization and is paid per piece rather than being on staff.

The Associated Press (AP) editor at the time claimed that it was his boss, Horst, who made him list the name Nick Ut as credit.   The film is that story.

The central premise of the film investigates whether the famous Vietnam War photograph known as The Terror of War — more commonly called “Napalm Girl” — was actually taken by Nguyễn Thành Nghệ, a Vietnamese freelance photographer (stringer), rather than by Nick Ut, the person long credited with it. The film follows a two-year investigative effort led by conflict photographer Gary Knight and a team of journalists, starting from a confession by a former Saigon photo editor. That editor — after more than 50 years — claimed he was haunted by the knowledge that the photo might have been miscredited.

The issue of photo/film credit might seem trivial to some.  But the film demonstrates otherwise.  Beyond authorship, the documentary argues this revelation raises questions about how war photography — and those who risked their lives to capture it — have been credited, especially local and freelance journalists whose contributions may have been overlooked or erased.

The feel of the film is gripping and urgent, making the doc an absorbing piece of investigative journalism.  The film challenges decades of established journalistic history by claiming that journalism for the photo may have been wrongly assigned.

But the truth is still up for debate.  Not everyone is convinced: The Associated Press (AP) — which long credited Nick Ut — has strongly rebutted the documentary’s claims. Multiple sources from 1972, including colleagues and witnesses, continue to support Ut’s authorship. AP’s stance: without conclusive new evidence, they believe Ut remains the rightful credit.

The question then is, when a stringer sells a photo, does he sell his rights as well?  If the rights are not mentioned, it could be argued that the rights had been sold as well.

`The film also raises broader, systemic questions about how local and freelance journalists — often working under dangerous, exploitative conditions — have been marginalized, their contributions erased or miscredited.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025 and has since been acquired by Netflix.  The film is currently streaming beginning this week on Netflix.

Trailer: