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The Phoenician Scheme

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The Phoenician Scheme Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed Directed by Wes Anderson Wes Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of our time, a visionary director and writer who infuses satirical deadpan humor with dazzling set designs, unique filming style and ensemble casts that seem to be created by the cinematic gods above. Each film feels unique but also fits together like a giant puzzle, where you'd believe that each film is in the same cinematic universe if not for seeing many of the same actors playing vastly different roles. In a world where comedy seems to be a dying art in cinema, he is the last vestige of humor that gives hope there's still a world where this medium can work. There's no cheap sexual humor, no flatulence jokes, nothing for shock value or cheap giggles: all the jokes are hard-earned, and incredibly intelligent even in its outlandishness (such as offering hand grenades like most people offer gum). Throughout his illust...
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Dangerous Animals

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Dangerous Animals Starring Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, Ella Newton Directed by Sean Byrne Australia has many hidden dangers: The Eastern Brown Snake, Inland Taipan, Death Adder, the Sydney Funnel-web spider, and the great white shark among others. It's also the cinematic home of Mick Taylor, the deranged serial killer from the "Wolf Creek" films and television series - a man who lives a solo life in the Outback and abducts and kills tourists. The two films were critically acclaimed and made a household name out of its villain's star, John Jarratt (at least in the horror community anyway) due to its violent nature and hopeless outlook. So when you combine a serial killer like Taylor and mix in some terrifying sharks in another desolate hopeless location, you got the ingredients for another terrifying film - but the only terrifying thing about "Dangerous Animals" is the chum it expects you to guzzle down in its formulaic, predictable, and down...
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Ballerina: From the World of John Wick

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Ballerina: From the World of John Wick Starring Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Keanu Reeves Directed by Len Wiseman Back in 2014, Keanu Reeves was still a respected actor, but his roles were very few and far between. Then there was a little action movie called "John Wick," and Reeves was thrust once again into the good graces of the world, and has enjoyed his "Keanussance" since then. The small-budget movie has gone on to spawn three sequels, each one more successful than the last, and has given birth to the best modern-day action franchise. Each movie is stylistic, filled with intense action sequences, and some of the most talked-about moments in film (who can forget the dragon's breath scene from "John Wick 4?") - so it's almost impossible to keep the momentum going, but they do so with the franchise's first spin-off, "Ballerina." While not as intense or well-put-together as the flagship series, "Ballerina" ...
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Juliet & Romeo

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Juliet & Romeo Starring Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Rebel Wilson Directed by Timothy Scott Bogart Musicals are fantastic when they're done right. "Wicked," "The Greatest Showman," "La La Land," "The Sound of Music," "Fiddler on the Roof" and many more fall into this category - musicals that will and have withstood the test of time and provide some of the best songs set to film ever. Then there are the muddling musicals that come out every year - "Mean Girls," "Journey to Bethlehem," "Spirited" and "Dear Evan Hanson" exist in the zeitgeist but are either maligned for great reason or so bland they're forgettable. 2025 has delivered its first such musical with "Juliet & Romeo," a re-telling of the classic Shakespeare story set to pop music that tries to remake the wheel but ends up spinning in place. In Verona, a war has waged between the Montagues and the Capul...
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Bring Her Back

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Bring Her Back Starring Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips Directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou Twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou have made a name for themselves on YouTube as the duo RackaRacka, producing horror comedy content that've garnered them numerous awards. They expanded their reach to the big screen in 2023's "Talk to Me," and their talent for horror showed brightly, producing one of the most unnerving, scary, and even darkly comedic at times, movies of the year. Everyone was excited to see what they'd come up with next, and whether or not they'd be one-trick ponies. With "Bring Her Back," the twins prove once again that they're not a one-and-done, producing yet another knockout horror movie that will crawl under your skin due to four impeccable performances, practical effects that will freeze your blood, and a slow-burn story that escalates to unfathomable levels by the film's denoue...
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Friendship

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Friendship Starring Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer Directed by Andrew DeYoung There's an epidemic hitting America, and that's called the "male loneliness epidemic." It refers to the observation that men are disproportionately impacted by loneliness, as generally it's harder for men to find good friends as opposed to women. Men, typically, are focused on career, family, and economy and delve so much into their hobbies that they don't really take the time to make friends of the same gender. "Friendship" is a movie that focuses on that, but also shows what happens when you go completely overboard and find yourself unhealthily obsessed with a friend. Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) is a man living in solitude - he works his typical 9-5, doesn't really interact with people, and has a strained marriage to his cancer-surviving wife Tami (Kate Mara) and an uneven relationship with his son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Tami talks about ...
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Lilo & Stitch

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Lilo & Stitch Starring Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis Directed by Dean Fleisher Camp Back in the early 2000s Disney took some serious risks with its movies, and some didn't pay off as much as they wanted ("Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "Treasure Planet"), while others re-vitalized the company. One was "The Emperor's New Groove" which - to me - is still criminally underrated and one of my favorite Disney movies of the recent decades, and the other was "Lilo & Stitch" - a story taking place in Hawaii about two sisters who encounter an alien being that disguises itself as a dog and lives among them, and learning the meaning of "ohana." Even now, twenty-three years later, we all know what "ohana" means - ohana means family, and family means nobody is left behind or forgotten." The film earned over $270 million worldwide and Stitch became a Disney icon that still sells ma...
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