Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) are strays. Their lives both coexist from afar. Ansa works in a supermarket on a woeful zero-hour contract. Holappa works in construction, surrounded by management that doesn’t care …

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Australian outback is 2005’s intensely divisive Wolf Creek. The sinister picture that Wolf Creek paints of the Aussie wilderness could put off any …

A super-cop is resurrected to fight a growing threat in a futuristic society. Here’s the question: am I talking about Demolition Man or Robocop? Trick question: I’m talking about both of them today. Both are ridiculously fun …

Pieces is a gory, ridiculous horror movie from 1983. We don’t really get to know any of the characters well enough to care about them. The plot is all over the place. However, the kills and …

Film as a medium has always worked in nebulous service of the truth. Subjectivity, in particular, is one of its most prominent tools; the limitations of the frame allow for countless possibilities to express what …

A few months ago, Secret Invasion came and went to little avail and even littler remembrance. I decided then that I was done with new Marvel shows. (Not you Loki, you’re the exception). Now that …

Stuart, a disabled man who pushes away his caretakers, comes to understand the value of accepting help.   Nick Kush: On top of the refreshing representation it provides, Act of God creates a worthwhile dialogue about …

While watching The Creator, I couldn’t help but think of Kevin Feige’s hilarious comments about Chloé Zhao’s work on The Eternals. He’s been so Volume™-pilled that he may or may not have forgotten how the …

Wes Anderson recently quipped at the Venice Film Festival that he was a more confident filmmaker in the days of Bottle Rocket. Surely, the comment was made slightly in jest, but it is interesting to …

There’s a scene early on in My Sailor, My Love where shut-in Howard and newly-hired housekeeper Annie are tending to Howard’s long-neglected apple trees. As they place the fruit into baskets, they both reach for …

Life goes by in a blink of an eye. One second, we are young with (hopefully) years ahead of us. The next thing we know, we are middle-aged and dealing with work, family, and other …

During an exceptionally hot summer in Sweden, a Thai migrant worker has to navigate the forest and his increasingly quarrelsome relationship with his older brother, in order to find the blueberries needed to afford passage …

It’s hard not to sympathize with Hugh Jackman’s character in Prisoners. He’s a devoted father who just lost his young daughter. There’s no trace of her anywhere and the one suspect in custody isn’t talking. It’s enough …

This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has officially come and gone. With new films from all around the world having been released across the festival’s 10-day run, I thought it would be …

It’s been funny to see Knives Out essentially take the Hercule Poirot franchise’s lunch the last few years. That’s not to say Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie trilogy is an abject failure, but comparing the two …

Rounders is about a poker genius, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), on a mission to regain the money he lost to Russian gangster, Teddy “KGB” (John Malkovich). The games are all about subtlety and attention to detail. …

Introducing a young cast of first-time actors, Lay Me by the Shore follows a week in the life of Noah, a high school senior in his final days of school as he comes to terms …

When facing war, a political leader knows that there will be hard choices to make. They also know that lives will be lost. The new biopic, Golda, follows the late Golda Meir (Helen Mirren) during the Yom Kippur War. …

Every culture has its own coming-of-age ritual. It represents the bridge between childhood and the slow growth to adulthood. In the new Netflix movie, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Stacy Friedman (Sunny Sandler) is preparing for …

Editor’s note: A previous draft of this review for Mad Cats included the pun, “It’s not purrfect.” We apologize for even considering such a bad pun. We’ll do better in the future.   A movie …

Two ex-lovers cross paths at a train station.   Nick Kush: In a manner that only animation could express, Soft Animals is a very honest, funny, and occasionally gross (thanks to some wonderfully squishy sound design) depiction …

If there’s one thing to take away from New Life, it’s that John Rosman knows how to structure a screenplay. Rosman’s debut is the special kind of film that withholds just the right amount of …

Aside from the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the summer movie season has been a little odd, with many high-profile franchise entertainments underperforming. Included in that was Indiana Jones and the Dial of the Destiny, which hasn’t exactly …

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints tries hard to be a good historical crime drama, but falls flat trying to hit all the right plot points. It had romance, tension, forbidden love, crime, guns, and an attractive young couple …

You’ll never feel more confused about a hero than you will about the Stranger of High Plains Drifter. He’s a vile man who rapes women, kills men, and sneers at everyone he sees. He’d be the villain …