NYFF Review: The Secret Agent (2025)

In 1977, Marcelo, a technology teacher, moves from São Paulo to Recife during Carnival to escape his violent past and start over. He finds the city full of chaos, and his neighbors begin to spy on him.

New York Film Festival Review

The Secret Agent is directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho director of Neighboring Sounds (2012), Aquarius (2016) and Barcurau (2019).

Much like last year’s I’m Still Here (2024), The Secret Agent also takes place during the Brazilian military dictatorship. The main difference here however are I’m Still Here (2024) took place early on during the dictatorship and it’s based on a true story, The Secret Agent takes place during the final years of the dictatorship and it’s not based on a true story. Just like I’m Still Here (2024), The Secret Agent is an incredibly powerful film that has much love, human feel, importance and even celebration of the Brazilian people poured into it. Which gives us some absolutely beautiful final results.

The performances are all fantastic, every single cast member of the film gives this honest and beautiful performance that truly never leaves your mind. There’s so much attention to detail with the body language of each of the cast and their natural conversations that it almost feels like you are right there sitting with them. Tânia Maria as Dona Sebastiana is perhaps my favorite of the supporting cast simply because of her entrance to the film, confident performance and the moments towards the end of the film where we hear about her experiences.

Wagner Moura being the best example of this, he plays Armando/Marcelo Alves, a former teacher who is caught in political turmoil. To say Moura knocks it out of the park would be the understatement of the year, his performance captures everything that’s needed to make a performance like this work. He captures the atmosphere the film is going for masterfully, he gives this subtle and powerful performance that leads to some gut punching raw moments that can only be described as masterful. Even before Armando/Marcelo’s backstory is fully revealed we can already see moments where he conveys this deep sense of pain and mystery, once we do get the full backstory we see how clever and brilliantly written the buildup really was. Moura is also just incredibly captivating to watch, effortlessly commands the screen and completely captures the many different type of moods the film’s atmosphere goes for, all of this combined together gives us one of the very best performances of the year.

The writing is absolutely outstanding, Filho does such an incredible job of giving all of these characters unique personalities and show how all of these characters connect. There is this theme of oppression constantly chasing them, it chases Armando/Marcelo constantly throughout the film. Even in the film’s happier moments that are supposed to be for celebration you can feel the characters still on edge because at any given moment their lives (which have already been put into a difficult situation) could get even worse.

The technical aspects of the film are jaw dropping. The absolutely gorgeous cinematography from cinematographer Evgenia Alexandrova captures this raw and almost 70s and 80s style of neo noir that is incredibly appealing to the eye. The score from Tomaz Alves Souza and Mateus Alves combined with the editing from editors Eduardo Serrano and Matheus Farias give us one of the film’s very best scenes. It’s a tense scene that constantly goes back and forth between the characters involved, the editing is fast and sharp, the score is this quiet yet striking piece that builds the tension as it goes on and the atmosphere is top notch. There’s a lot of striking shots throughout the film that leave you in a sense of surprise and thought, there’s so much attention to detail here that really makes you engage with the film and its story.

Finally there’s the many other themes, I’ve already said before that there’s the theme of oppression but there’s also one of celebration of the Brazilian people. A celebration of how all of these people who were going through some of the most evil and disturbing actions stood by each other and celebrated the tiny moments, there’s this sense of togetherness and support that is genuinely beautiful. Lastly there’s the theme of how Brazil has changed over the years, the film at times goes back and forth from the past and the present day where two students are researching the events of the film. We do see the changes over the years but we also see how the oppression impacted the later generations. The film does have this hopeful end note, which brings this beauty yet sadness to the film that ends up making The Secret Agent one of the most important films of 2025.

Overall The Secret Agent is a powerhouse film that is truly one of the year’s best. It’s an incredibly impactful film that explores oppression, celebration and memories.

The Secret Agent releases November 26th in theaters.

10/10 A+

NYFF Review: Sprinsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025)

On the cusp of global superstardom, New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past as he records the album “Nebraska” in the early 1980s.

New York Film Festival Review

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is directed by Scott Cooper director of Crazy Heart (2009), Out Of The Furnace (2013), Black Mass (2015), Hostiles (2017), Antlers (2021) and The Pale Blue Eye (2022).

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is very different from the usual music biopic, for one thing the film mainly focuses on the conception of Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska and the struggles he went through making it. There are some flashbacks to his childhood as well but those are more so sprinkled in between and help paint the picture of what the film is telling us. All of this combined with the feel of being in Springsteen’s mind, the excellent performances and the film tackling mental health helps the film feel incredibly striking.

First and foremost we have the performances that are all very well done. Jeremy Allen White completely disappears in the role of Bruce Springsteen, not only does he capture Bruce’s voice incredibly well but he delivers this vulnerable and balance performance of striking depth and power. The quiet moments of him just staring tell so much without uttering a word, he bounces off of the rest of the cast masterfully and with his performance truly paints this beautiful picture of Bruce and what he was going through during this period of time. Jeremy Allen White really shows how excellent he is as an actor here and goes all out with playing Springsteen, during the later half of the film we see the vulnerability and the pain he’s going through which easily brings the viewer into the film. With this, Jeremy Allen White gives one of the most raw and beautiful performances of the year.

Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau Bruce’s manager is just as fantastic, Strong really ties into the whole mental health part of the film where he is a honest friend to Bruce during his roughest moments. The conversations between the two not only show how incredible Jeremy Strong is as an actor, but shows some of the film’s most beautiful and honest moments. I would be lying if I said that some of these moments almost made me cry, they depict the action and feel of friends letting you know that they are always there and will do the best they possibly can to help you. That’s something Jeremy Strong’s performance truly gives off and it works so incredibly well, while yes he does typical manager stuff during some parts of the film. He still absolutely cares for Bruce and the bond between the two truly is one of the film’s strongest assets.

Paul Walter Hauser gives a solid comedic performance, the comedy does not overstay its welcome which is a smart move considering the themes the film tackles. Odessa Young is solid here, while she is not in the film all that much Bruce’s mental health does impact the two’s relationship and does tie into the whole theme of mental health. It’s one of those “your mind is destroying things you are most looking forward to” sort of moments that feel all to real for anyone who’s dealt with these sort of moments before. Finally there’s Stephen Graham who plays Bruce’s father, Bruce has a complicated relationship with him due to a number of factors and over the course of the film we see said reasons. But we also see that slowly but surely there’s some semblance of reconstructing a bond, Graham gives a very strong performance.

The writing is beautifully done, while it may feel a bit simple at times there truly is something powerful underneath it all. The film shows us the positives and negatives of being a music artist, while yes it’s wonderful it also comes with drawbacks such as the producers wanting what THEY think will be successful rather than letting said artist do what they want. This clearly upsets Springsteen as he wants the authentic version of his music, this is an issue in the music industry that is still quite present today especially with younger artists.

I have brought this up a lot of times now but the way the film tackles mental health is truly powerful, honest and quite beautiful. The film’s main theme here is sometimes you just need someone in your corner and to never be afraid to ask for help, seeing the scenes of Bruce being incredibly happy with Faye Romano (played by Odessa Young) one moment and then seeing their torn apart relationship due to Bruce’s struggles is heartbreaking and as I said before feels all to real. There’s one particular scene where Odessa Young’s dialogue is honest and truly captures a lot of the film’s themes incredibly well.

Luckily the film does end on a hopeful note, one that is an important message for many who struggle with these issues, it’s a truly beautiful film that shows the vulnerability of man and what he was going through at the time.

Overall Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is a fantastic film that you should check out whether you are a Bruce Springsteen fan, a music biopic fan or are interested in general! It’s a raw and beautiful watch.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere releases in theaters Friday.

9/10 A

Weapons (2025) Film Review

When all but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

Weapons is directed by Zach Cregger director of Miss March (2009), The Civil War on Drugs (2011) and Barbarian (2022).

Barbarian (2022) was one of many excellent horror films that came out in 2022. That year is widely considered to be one of the best years for the horror genre in recent memory due to the number of incredibly well received films by critics and fans. Barbarian (2022) was one of the most surprising of the bunch and put Zach Cregger on the map and many asked the question “what will he do next and how is he going to top this?”

Cregger answers with Weapons a film that is just as bizarre as Barbarian (2022) and even keeps a lot of the elements of what made Barbarian (2022) so thrilling and fascinating in the first place. The character writing is strong, the atmosphere is tense right from the beginning and the ending is truly insane and completely captures the world of this film.

The performances all around are fantastic, each of the cast brings something special to the film and their respective characters. The film is told in a nonlinear narrative with the film showing various characters perspectives. Julia Garner plays Justine an elementary who’s being blamed for the missing children, Garner gives a strong performance here and fits well with the rest of the cast especially with Josh Brolin. Garner definitely plays the most straightforward character out of the cast but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, she displays her acting talent incredibly well and during the more quiet moments she matches the film’s tense atmosphere.

Josh Brolin plays Archer the father of Matthew, one of the missing children. Brolin gives one of the best performances of the film, he delivers this strong balance of a worried parent and someone who is angry and looking for answers. We see some of that anger get released towards the end of the film where one scene in particular is genuinely hilarious, he works incredibly well with Julia Garner and the films atmosphere. There’s moments of where the film plays with Archer’s concern for Matthew and combines that with the darkness of the atmosphere, it makes for some genuinely terrifying moments that help build the film’s world. Plus it adds a lot of character to Archer with strong attention to detail.

Aiden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong and Austin Abrams are all fantastic in their roles, while they are not exactly given long and lengthy character arcs they are still written in this fun and raw way. Austin Abrams plays this homeless drug addict who just so happens to get caught up in the events going on, the main comedic moments come from Abrams’s performance. Abrams has well executed comedic timing and the tone is still thrilling, whenever he is on screen there is never a dull moment. Aiden Ehrenreich plays Paul who is a police officer and Justine’s ex-boyfriend, admittedly Ehrenreich’s character is the one who is given the short end of the stick when it comes to character writing. But still there are some solid moments with Austin Abrams. Benedict Wong plays Marcus, the school principal who gives one of the film’s most bizarre moments.

Finally there’s Amy Madigan who plays Gladys, as soon as she appears on screen there is this intimidation factor that sets in. Her performance is truly horrifying, strangely comedic and fits like a glove when it comes to the film’s atmosphere. It’s the type of performance where even when she is not on screen you still feel her presence looming over the film, its world and the other characters. The build up to her character is simple yet fascinating, the character building of Gladys is carefully put together with no lazy reveals just thrilling moment after thrilling moment. Madigan gives this performance an incredibly haunting feel that immediately brings the viewer into the film’s world.

The writing is incredibly well done, between the film’s several thrilling moments and the more humorous ones. They all combine together to create something truly terrifying, the void like atmosphere where sure the film’s world may seem gigantic but as you explore the film you get that feel of how contained it is. This all builds up for the final act where every turning every corner is terrifying in it’s own way, the writing allows all of this thanks to just how down to earth a lot of these moments are. Which only make later scenes all the more horrifying and powerful.

The cinematography from Larkin Seiple is incredibly well detailed and captured the film’s world perfectly, the score has this nice blend of quiet and booming moments and finally the film brings this entertainment campy factor into the mix that does not take away from the more serious moments of the film. The film’s final moments are flat out insane and is what the film was ultimately building up to, the chaos and atmosphere are in full force. It’s so much to the point where it starts to become genuinely funny which is not a bad thing at all, it perfectly captures all of the elements of the film incredibly well.

Overall Weapons is a fantastic experience that delivers in all fronts, Cregger captures so much in this film and makes you want to explore the film’s world even more.

Weapons is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

NYFF Review: Blue Moon (2025)

Lorenz Hart struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues. He attempts to maintain his composure during the premiere of “Oklahoma!”.

Blue Moon is directed by Richard Linklater director of Dazed And Confused (1993), The Before Trilogy (1995-2013), Boyhood (2014), Hit Man (2023) and many others.

Blue Moon is yet another fantastic film from director Richard Linklater, I really do appreciate how with each of his films he gives the viewer a much different experience. This film is an example of Linklater at his most humorous combined with some genuinely strong filmmaking that’s able to keep this beautiful balance to the end.

The performances are all fantastic here, even when certain members of the cast are not asked to do all that much they still land some quite memorable and often hilarious performances. Ethan Hawke plays Lorenz Hart and to cut to the chase, he gives one of the best performances of the year and quite honestly one of the best of his career. Everything that needed to be captured with his performance was and it’s absolutely glorious to watch unfold. Hawke captures the perfect amount of humor and drama needed to really make this all work, he plays off member of the cast masterfully. One moment in particular with Margaret Qualley towards the end of the film is one of the film’s very best moments and is a perfect example of why Hawke’s performance is so great. It’s a comedic yet focused performance that brings some of the best elements of a dramatic performance, this is one of those performances where the actor completely disappears into the role and just keeps getting better and better with every second. Ethan Hawke captures this comedic yet tragic portrayal of Lorenz Hart and absolutely nails it.

Andrew Scott who plays Richard Rogers has plenty of great scenes with Ethan Hawke, the conversations between the two are investing and have this nice balance of seriousness and humor. Bobby Canavale is a scene stealer with his brilliant and glove fitting like comedic timing that is bound to make the viewer laugh. Finally there’s Margaret Qualley who may not get the most screen time, but she still ends up giving such a beautiful and strong performance. She captures the film’s atmosphere with confidence and the previously mentioned scene between her and Ethan Hawke highlights the amount of fun and strength she brings to the film.

The writing is both humorous and sharp, the comedic timing from everyone involved is well done and the writing has a ton of musical theater references that any fan of musical theater will adore. The references themselves are cleverly used and do not overcrowd the film, there’s plenty of other types of humor that everyone can enjoy. The film has its vulgar moments but it’s to the point where it’s endearing and charming, in almost any other circumstance these moments could come off as out of place or they just fall flat. But due to the atmosphere that Linklater goes for and the clever and witty script by writer Robert Kaplow, everything fits together like a jigsaw puzzle.

The jazzy vibe combined with the film taking place in a singular bar is another part that really gives this film its identity. It especially works since hearing Lorenz Hart’s conversations with Eddie (played by Bobby Canavale) or any of the other customers at the bar actually feels like an unhinged night out at the bar, Linklater’s direction does such a fascinating job of showcasing all of these conversations no matter how big or small. You easily get the “life of the party” sense from Lorenz Hart and that shows almost immediately. His unhealthy fascination with Elizabeth Weiland (played by Margaret Qualley) leads to some hilarious back and forths between Hart, Eddie and the rest of the customers it’s all so brilliantly put together.

Overall Blue Moon is one of my favorite films of the year, it’s an absolute joy to watch and is backed by incredibly strong performances especially from Ethan Hawke.

Blue Moon releases tomorrow in theaters.

10/10 A+

NYFF Review: The Fence (2025

As supervisor Horn is welcoming his partner Léone into the hut he shares with engineer Cal, a man called Alboury appears outside. He is determined to stay there until they return the body of his brother to him, who was killed on the site.

New York Film Festival Review

The Fence is directed by Claire Denis director of The City (1999), Let The Sunshine In (2017), High Life (2018), Both Sides Of The Blade (2022), Stars At Noon (2022) and many others.

Claire Denis is a director I have so much respect for, she takes risks and sometimes they land and sometimes they don’t. Even when one of her films do not land they still have a decent amount to like, that’s absolutely the case with The Fence. A film in which it’s very clear that Denis has respect for the source material, but unfortunately due to the repetitive dialogue and the movie taking way too long to get going it ultimately does not have enough firepower to reach the finish line.

The main part holding this movie on its feet are the performances, each members of the cast brought something to the table and they all play their parts very well. Isaach de Bankolé plays this quiet yet determined man whose goal is to simply retrieve a body of a man who was killed due to another person’s outburst. He carries the emotional weight of the movie and although the dialogue between him and Matt Dillon does get repetitive, he still makes the most of the material he is given. Speaking of which Matt Dillon does pretty well here, there’s times where it does feel like some of the dialogue comes off as a cartoonish villain type of way, however his arguments with Tom Blyth and the repetitive yet somewhat thrilling negotiations with Bankolé is more than enough to make up for the weaker parts.

Mia McKenna-Bruce’s character Leonie unfortunately does not get a whole lot of development outside of being Horn’s (played by Matt Dillon) new wife, still she does give a pretty strong performance and even manages to take a not very interesting character and turn her into someone the viewer is at least intrigued by. Finally there’s Tom Blyth who plays Cal a character who goes from being calm to this drunken rage as well as being unhinged, Blyth does a really great job here and brings some thrilling atmosphere into the movie and is somewhat intimidating. Over the course of the movie we do get to see just how evil Cal is as a character and what led up to the innocent man’s death, Blyth plays this part incredibly well and really shows just how much of a great actor he really is.

As with most Claire Denis films the filming is quite beautiful, the location being in Senegal specifically in this site that was actually being converted into an industrial area. It creates this tension and atmosphere that are genuinely thrilling, the cinematography from Éric Gautier is very stage like (which does make sense due to the movie being based on Black Battles with Dogs) and I mean this in a good way, the use of shadows is beautiful and the movie itself just has this haunting yet kind beautiful filming feel going on.

The main things holding The Fence back are the dialogue, the pacing and taking way too long to get going. As I said before the dialogue ultimately becomes incredibly repetitive, there’s only so many times you can have Horn tell Alboury (played by Isaach de Bankolé) to “leave or come back tomorrow” before it starts getting incredibly old.

The pacing is incredibly sluggish and does not really result into anything fascinating, It’s a huge slow burn without the power results. The movie attempts to discuss the theme of neocolonialism but only barely explores it, sure there’s the whole evading responsibility part of it with Horn trying to sweep the “accident” under the rug. But unfortunately that’s all we really get out of it, none of these characters are given any major development at all and we are just kind of stuck with the little we are given.

Overall The Fence is not a bad movie, it’s just a very underwhelming one that does not have the power it needs to really stand on its own. I would say this should be looked at simply because of the performances.

The Fence currently has no release date.

5/10 C

NYFF Review: Scarlet (2025)

A sword-wielding princess embarks on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. She soon meets an idealistic young man who shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage.

New York Film Festival Review

Scarlet is directed by Mamoru Hosoda director of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018) and Belle (2021)

Mamoru Hosoda is a director who has delivered consistently with tons of great films that lead to some fantastic and mesmerizing experiences, however coming off of Hosoda’s previous film Belle (2021) his newest film Scarlet is quite a big disappointment. The film undeniably has some gorgeous animation that leads to some strong sequences and the final act ends up being a bit better than the movie’s rough middle portion. However Scarlet is ultimately a very watered down version of Willam Shakespeare’s Hamlet that does not add anything new or compelling.

The voice cast is all around great, with such a shallow script the cast does what they can a while there are some well done moments and the side characters get some admittedly cute moments. It’s Scarlet herself that just does not have enough character writing to make for an investing character, during the first 30 minutes or so we get some decent character building for her and then afterwards it almost feels like the movie completely stops. So many different themes and characters are thrown at the viewer that the movie loses focus on its main character, Hijiri is a fine enough secondary main character but the whole plot point with him is incredibly predictable and can be seen coming from a mile away.

The writing wants to be more than a watered down Hamlet but fails to do so in any unique or interesting way, there’s a pop song sequence that seemingly comes out of nowhere and takes the viewer completely out of the film. The villains of the story are shallowly written most of them are nothing more but bloodthirsty henchmen and Claudius the big bad of the movie does get a solid introduction but is not seen again until the movie is almost over making any sort of intrigue as a character next to impossible.

The animation is without a doubt the best part of the movie, as I said before it leads to some genuinely stunning moments and fun sequences. The attention to detail is sharp, clear and makes the movie’s world stand out a bit more. But that’s about as far as it goes, the animation can really only do so much when you have such a shallow script that fails to elaborate on any of its characters.

Scarlet is a disappointment, it’s a shame because there was potential for something great here. The right materials are here and the way the movie tackles life and death is genuinely interesting. But unfortunately the middle portion heavily lacks strong writing and is way to forgettable for its own good.

Scarlet releases in theaters December 12th (Limited) and February 6th (Wide)

5/10 C

Anemone (2025) Film Review

Hidden secrets and long-buried resentments come to light when two estranged brothers reunite at a primitive cabin deep in the woods of Northern England.

Anemone is directed by Ronan Day-Lewis (the son of Daniel Day-Lewis) which is his directorial debut.

I was happy as anyone could be when I saw that Daniel Day-Lewis one of the greatest living actors was coming out of retirement since his previous performance which was Phantom Thread (2017). His son Ronan being in the director’s chair brought this intrigue as well so I went into this very positively and unfortunately it ends up being one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

There is absolutely no denying that the performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean and the rest of the cast are fantastic plus the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. But the rest of the film unfortunately meanders and the story is just not strong enough to pull you in for the ride, the rest of the movie also fails to match Daniel Day-Lewis’s fantastic performance resulting in a very disappointing ride.

As I said earlier one of the best parts of the film is the performances, Daniel Day-Lewis being the clear as day standout who gives such a fantastic performance that at some points you almost forget you are watching a movie with such underwhelming story. There are two monologues that Lewis absolutely hits out of the park, I won’t spoil what exactly they are but one of them is haunting and the other is a traumatic experience that his character Ray went through. Both of these monologues are some of the movie’s best moments and actually capture the atmosphere of it all very well. Had the film leaned into these striking moments a lot more we might be having a whole different conversation about this movie (in a good way).

The rest of the cast are solid, although the character writing for Sean Bean’s character Jem is just not really there I do think Bean gives a great performance and captures the atmosphere the movie requires. Samantha Morton and Samuel Bottomley give good supporting performances but like Bean the character writing is just not there either.

The cinematography is the other piece holding the movie together, it’s absolutely stunning and it’s clear that cinematographer Ben Fordesman wanted to capture this thrilling yet beautiful sense of atmosphere which for the most part he does succeed. There is one particular moment during the movie’s final act that does capture this chaotic nature the cinematography was slowly but surely building up to and the execution actually leads to the movie being a bit more interesting (it’s a shame by that point the movie is almost over.)

Unfortunately the writing is just not there at all, while I do completely get what Ronan Day-Lewis was going for here. It just does not make for a compelling story. The focus is on this father and son conflict which is simple enough but not having the emotional force behind it and while being abstract with the visuals might have been neat first. The movie ends up pushing the line and ends up being way too abstract which mixing this with a father and son conflict that you are attempting to make feel raw as possible just does not mix well at all, the writing itself outside of the two monologues is also nothing to write home about. You can tell there is some sparks that are almost lighting up but not quite getting the power they need.

Finally there’s the direction from Ronan Day-Lewis, the direction is not bad. In fact it’s quite great for most of the movie, but there are moments where you can tell this is his directorial debut and while in some cases that’s not exactly a bad thing. Here it’s incredibly noticeable and does take away from some of the thrilling atmosphere the movie had going for it.

Overall despite my complaints I do think Ronan Day-Lewis does have promise as a director, Anemone is a bold effort that unfortunately does not work due to rough pacing, writing that needed a lot more power and not much of a compelling story.

Anemone is currently in theaters.

5/10 C

Kiss Of The Spider Woman (2025) Film Review

A political prisoner named Valentín shares a cell with a man named Molina. They form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts a Hollywood musical plot.

Kiss Of The Spider Woman is directed by Bill Condon director of Dream Girls (2006), Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2 (2011 and 2012), Beauty And The Beast (2017), The Good Liar (2019) and a few others. The film is based on the stage musical and is the second film based on the 1976 novel, the first film being the 1985 film of the same name.

I liked Kiss Of The Spider Woman a bit more than expected, Bill Condon’s directing career has not exactly been great in the last several years. But luckily he brings the magic he did with Dream Girls (2006) back here. While not everything in Kiss Of The Spider Woman lands, there is so much to absolutely love here that it ends up being such an experience from beginning to end.

The performances are by far the film’s best assets, starting with Diego Luna who gives an incredibly solid commanding performance, his chemistry with Tonatiuh (who we will get to in just a second) is filled to the brim with charm, his performance during the later half of the film only gets stronger as there are moments where his performance ends up being genuinely devastating, it’s one of those performances where you may think it can’t get any better but in this case you would be wrong.

Jennifer Lopez might not have the most screen time, however she makes the most of it and what follows is a genuinely well done performance. Her dancing is hypnotizing and oozes with style, Lopez captures the Old Hollywood feel incredibly well and captures the style and atmosphere the film requires effortlessly. Although I’m not exactly huge on the songs (they aren’t bad at all) she does a really beautiful job with her singing, even if you are not huge on the songs like I was. There is absolutely no denying that Lopez does a great job of capturing the feel of the songs and giving them their own story. Her characters also support the story very well and even help move the film at a bigger pace.

Finally there’s Tonatiuh who for me is the standout, everyone is going to walk away from this film having a different take on who was the standout and for me that’s Tonatiuh. As I said before the chemistry between Diego Luna and Tonatiuh is fascinating, the fun banter they both have during the film’s beginning is filled with charm. On his own much like Jennifer Lopez he perfectly captures the Old Hollywood style, he’s having the time of his life as well as this understanding of his characters. It’s such a beautiful element to see from an actor and it ends up working so incredibly well to his benefit, the obvious passion and one particular moment with Jennifer Lopez (which he has fantastic chemistry with) all lead this to be one of my favorite performances of the year. It may take time for some to warm up to his performance, but that’s mainly due to Tonatiuh saving the power of his performance for the later half, which ends up being worth the well done wait.

As I said before I’m not huge on the songs, however that does not make them bad (far from it) the song sequences are incredibly well done and mix especially well with the film’s cinematography. Cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler does a fascinating job of capturing the energetic choreography from the dance and music sequences, it’s filled with detail and color both of which help the film pop out a lot more. Due to this, even if the songs aren’t exactly the strongest, all of the technical aspects are able to push these sequences to the finish line and still be quite fantastic.

Lastly the film’s Old Hollywood feel is absolutely exciting, between each of our three main characters capturing the feel perfectly and combined with the technical aspects of the film there’s so much passionate style that director Bill Condon quite clearly poured into this film. I also do think the side to side transitions from the prison and the Hollywood musical are genuinely well done and heartbreaking in some cases.

Overall Kiss Of The Spider Woman is a strong film that is filled with fantastic performances that you will leave the theater loving! It’s a well directed and engaging film that Bill Condon and the rest of the cast and crew did such a passionate job with!

Kiss Of The Spider Woman releases tomorrow in theaters.

8/10 B+

The Shrouds (2025) Film Review

Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.

The Shrouds is directed by David Cronenberg director of Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), Crash (1996), A History Of Violence (2005), Crimes Of The Future (2022) and many others.

The Shrouds is a very different film from what Cronenberg usually does. You could argue this is body horror in a very different way, that way being that the film explores what happens after a body which has no life left and is slowly decaying is left alone after a funeral. The film ties this with technology and artificial intelligence surveillance over a decaying dead body, tech companies taking advantage of this and exploiting said body. The film also has this theme of dealing with grief in the digital world (I’ll get into this in a bit), all of this combined together makes one of the most interesting and best of Cronenberg’s work.

The performances are all fantastic across the board, Diane Kruger and Guy Pierce are fantastic who both get plenty of great moments. However it’s Vincent Cassel that really makes this film as powerful as it is, there’s this feel of Cassel playing Cronenberg its to the point where you would almost think this is actually biopic. Even if you take that away Cassel on his own gives a powerful performance that easily matches the film’s atmosphere. Whether it be moments of humor, sadness, grief and such Cassel is able to quickly adapt to these moments. There’s this sense of loneliness to Cassel’s character Karsh and how he communicates with the rest of the characters it’s to the point where he will use conversation about anything to cope and avoid pain. Karsh is a fascinating character that feels very real and a large part of that is thanks to the brilliant performance from Cassel.

The film’s themes are incredibly well done, how we use the basic premise of conversations about anything to cope and avoid pain (as mentioned earlier), plus how we deal with grief in the digital world. The film points out the major differences of grieving in the digital world and in the real world incredibly well, plus it shows the two clashing which brings in the AI and the companies pushing it way too far to the point where it feels dystopian. There’s this balance of digital grieving and real world grieving and the artificial intelligence companies break it.

The humor comes into play when the film points out how tacky or cheap the AI using the dead bodies looks, it’s this sort of humor that’s very cleverly written and in execution works wonders. For example the “gravetech” that the film takes a look at basically has the look and feel of a fast food restaurant screen, this is supposed to be THE next huge thing in the film’s world and yet it already feels outdated. These moments of humor that point out these facts are some of the film’s best and have this tone of “this will not replace the power that is the human emotion when it comes to losing loved ones.”

The film also has this beautiful therapy session feel, some may feel like because Cassel feels like he’s playing Cronenberg that the film may result in being closed off from the viewer. However that’s not the case here, in fact The Shrouds is a very inviting film that’s telling and showing you the ways people grieve and how you may grieve as well. Cronenberg is essentially giving the viewer somewhere to explore their pain and what causes it, the cinematography from Douglas Koch especially captures this with sharp and detailed shots that are hauntingly beautiful.

The Shrouds is one of David Cronenberg’s best films, it most certainly won’t be for everyone. However if this is indeed Cronenberg’s last film then The Shrouds feels all the more fitting and is such a powerful film to end on.

The Shrouds is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Urchin (2025) Film Review

Sleeping rough on the streets of London, Mike seems unable to escape the chaos of his impulsivity and substance abuse. He’s intelligent and charismatic, but when his addiction results in an act of unprovoked violence, he’s quickly arrested.

Urchin is directed Harris Dickinson which is his directorial debut.

To say Urchin is a quite impressive directorial debut would be an understatement, Harris Dickinson an actor who has built a solid lineup of performances (The Iron Claw, Babygirl, Beach Rats and Triangle Of Sadness.) has created something truly special here, Dickinson proves here that not only is he talented acting wise but he’s also incredibly talented behind the camera. The authenticity of Urchin and just how moving the film is really made it all the more worth it.

The performances all around are fantastic, Frank Dillane gives this authentic performance of someone who’s trying to get their life back on track. There’s moments of victory for Mike (played by Frank Dillane) and there’s moments of painful setbacks, Dillane is able to capture every single one of these moments in this powerful and detailed way that at times it’s both mesmerizing and hard to watch. There’s one particular scene here that displays the film’s joy incredibly well and is a scene that I actually did find myself shedding a tear. Megan Northam is also quite fantastic here as well, her chemistry with Frank Dillane is beautiful and the conversations the two have together have this authentic feel that remains throughout the film.

The main theme of Urchin is trying to get your life back together a message that I’m sure almost any person can get behind. The way the film goes about exploring this theme is very well done, as I said before the film shows both the moments of victory and moments of painful setbacks. It’s all shown in this authentic way that never goes off course, there’s moments of surrealism but they mesh incredibly well with the story being told. These moments give the film some more room of exploration for the viewer, moments of Mike’s relapse into drug addiction make for some sequences that are handled in this honest and respectful way.

The writing and direction from Harris Dickinson is absolutely fascinating, authentic is the word I would use to best describe it all. Dickinson paints a portrait of a man’s life that has its wins and losses, the cinematography from Josée Deshaies gives the film this raw in nature look and compliments Dickinson’s direction. Dickinson also brings this powerful human feel that the viewer quickly connects with, depicting struggles such as addiction, classicism and self destruction isn’t an easy task. But Dickinson handles each of these struggles with so much care and honesty that it ends up surprising the viewer.

Overall Urchin is a wonderful film that shows Harris Dickinson has a lot to offer as a director, if this is what he can accomplish with his directorial debut. Then I am eagerly waiting to see what he does next.

Urchin releases Friday in theaters!

9/10 A