Category: 2025 Movie Reviews
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Heel Review: Jan Komasa’s Twisted Psychological Thriller Explores Control, Generational Chaos, and the Cost of Forced Rehabilitation
Formerly titled Good Boy, Heel sees director Jan Komasa crafting a psychologically unsettling examination of control, morality, and generational conflict. When a reckless 19-year-old influencer obsessed with online “clout” wakes up chained in the basement of a seemingly respectable family, what begins as a disturbing kidnapping evolves into something far more complex: a warped attempt…
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2026 Oscar Best Picture Nominees Ranked by Their Most Memorable Scenes
With the 2026 Oscars fast approaching, the race for Best Picture remains one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. Rather than attempting to forecast a winner, this piece revisits all ten nominees through the lens of their most memorable scenes — the moments that define their emotional core. From the surreal revelations of Bugonia…
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Redux Redux Review: A Multiverse Thriller About Grief, Revenge, and the Illusion of Control
In Redux Redux, directors Kevin and Matthew McManus strip the multiverse thriller down to its emotional core. What begins as a time-travel revenge story quickly transforms into an unflinching character study about grief, obsession, and the illusion of control. Michaela McManus delivers a gripping lead performance as Irene Kelly, a mother who uses a mysterious…
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The Alabama Solution Review: How Alabama’s Prison Crisis Exposes the Design of Mass Incarceration
In The Alabama Solution, directors Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman turn their lens toward one of the most overcrowded and controversial prison systems in the United States. What begins as a portrait of Alabama’s carceral crisis expands into a broader examination of mass incarceration, prison labor, parole reform, and systemic neglect. Through contraband footage captured…
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Pillion (2025) Review: Harry Lighton’s Tender, Unorthodox Love Story About Power, Desire, and Self-Discovery
In Pillion (2025), director Harry Lighton explores queer love, power dynamics, and self-discovery within the world of a modern BDSM biker community. Anchored by performances from Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, this unorthodox romance challenges expectations of intimacy, consent, and emotional growth.
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Nirvanna the Band – the Show – the Movie Review: A Time-Traveling Cult Comedy About Friendship, Failure, and Creative Ambition
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol bring their long-running cult comedy to the big screen with Nirvanna the Band – The Show – The Movie, an inventive time-travel mockumentary that blends archival footage, absurd humor, and a surprisingly heartfelt exploration of friendship, ambition, and creative stagnation.
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My Father’s Shadow Review: A Coming-of-Age Story Set in Nigeria’s 1993 Crisis | Black History Month Spotlight
My Father’s Shadow marks a historic milestone as the first Nigerian film selected for Cannes, telling an intimate coming-of-age story set against Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election crisis. Through the eyes of two young brothers and their estranged father, Akinola Davies Jr.’s debut explores family, masculinity, and political memory. Part of our Black History Month spotlight…
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All That’s Left of You Review: Cherien Dabis’ Generational Portrait of Palestinian Loss and Resistance
In her five-star masterwork ‘All That’s Left of You,’ Cherien Dabis explores the intergenerational cycle of trauma and the ‘impossible calculus’ of survival. From the 1948 Nakba to a modern-day medical moral dilemma, this review examines how a family’s grief becomes a radical assertion of Palestinian identity.
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Top 30 Films of 2025: A Year Defined by Risk, Reckoning, and Reinvention
A personal ranking of the 30 films that defined my 2025 — shaped by risk-taking, reinvention, and moral reckoning. From intimate character studies to bold genre experiments, these are the films that lingered, challenged expectations, and revealed where cinema felt most alive this year.
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The Chronology of Water Review: Kristen Stewart’s Raw, Unfiltered Portrait of Trauma and Survival
Kristen Stewart’s feature directorial debut, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir, is a raw and uncompromising portrait of trauma, memory, and survival. The Chronology of Water follows Lidia, a competitive swimmer navigating abuse, fractured memories, and the complicated process of reclaiming autonomy through writing. Anchored by a career-defining performance from Imogen Poots, Stewart’s adaptation embraces…