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Sorry, Baby | Review by: Gal Balaban

  Eva Victor’s revelatory debut film is raw, uncomfortable, and belly-laughing levels of funny. It provides a deeply personal look into a topic that’s far too real, and not only demands but earns the full attention and empathy of all watching. Victor’s leading performance as Agnes feels real and pierces into your heart, while their charm and comedic timing are always outstanding. Naomi Ackie gives a sweet turn as Agnes’ best friend Lydie, while Lucas Hedges also shines here, as well as John Carroll Lynch in an unforgettable minor role. Victor’s direction and storytelling brilliantly unveil the truth about this film in the first act, while the script continues to surprise you. The humor is sometimes informed by the serious or the awkward. The laughs hit so hard you’ll feel like you’re on your toes — the moment you feel a line will probably be the funniest and most memorable in the movie, its topped moments later. The film’s unflinching look at sexual violence and the culture around ...
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Eddington | Review by: Benji Wiseman

There was a point in Ari Aster’s Eddington, when I was dreading the fact that I had to sit through another hour of this. It is the moment when it felt certain that I was watching an Ari Aster movie. Few American directors, let alone ones with mainstream success, are more willing to fully embrace discomfort than Aster, the bad vibe cultivator behind Hereditary (2017), Midsommar (2019), and Beau is Afraid (2023) . His latest film Eddington, takes on the not-so-herculean task of finding bad vibes in the American experience circa June, 2020. Mission accomplished.  Eddington is set in the fictional small town of Eddington, New Mexico. Where three months of limited human interaction, doomscrolling, and burgeoning national outrage over the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, have taken a toll on the townspeople. At the centre of the film is the clash between Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a moderate liberal, and conservative Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoe...

KPop Demon Hunters | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

  Ummm… Did Sony and Netflix just make me a fan of K-Pop music? Bursting at the seams with neon-infused style, and with a soundtrack that’ll quickly work its way into your regular playlist, KPop Demon Hunters is Netflix’s best new movie so far this year.  Word-of-mouth worked wonders in this movie’s favour, because upon first hearing about it, my interest was almost non-existent. Well, here I am keeping that word-of-mouth going, telling you to go watch it. Even if, like me, you have no interest in K-Pop culture, this has such an infectious energy and ultra-cool style, that it becomes so much more than its wacky title implies. It seamlessly weaves Korean music fandom and pop culture around an epic story of good vs. evil. The music flows flawlessly into the action and narrative, allowing two genres that should seemingly clash sing in harmony.  Its animation style is aligned with some of Sony’s other projects like the Spider-Verse movies or The Mitchells vs. the Machines. De...

Superman | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

  Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s James Gunn flying into theatres with his shiny new DCU in tow. Superman reinvigorates the Man of Steel with a complete 180 from Zack Snyder’s vision. This is an exciting, colourful, silly, emotional and just plain fun comic book movie. It’s also, most importantly, a bright beacon of hope for the future of this franchise.  The highest praise I can give Superman, is that it doesn’t just feel like a comic book movie - it feels like a comic that’s been brought to life. There are frequent moments, from action sequences to single frames of stellar production design, where I could practically see the source material leaping from page to screen. Unlike other pricey studio releases this year (Snow White’s $270 million, The Electric State’s $320 million) Superman is a big movie that genuinely fits the bill. This is exactly what a big budget superhero movie should look and sound like. There’s plenty of CGI, as you’d expect from a comic book movie, ...

Superman | Review by: Gal Balaban

  James Gunn’s reboot of one of the most recognizable and beloved stories and characters in pop culture history wisely ditches the origin story and hits the ground running, and the momentum never quite slows down. We’re thrown into a world where Clark is already Superman, dating Lois, and surrounded by Metahumans, and the movie greatly benefits for it. David Corenswet, first and foremost, is wonderful as the titular hero, giving us someone more tangible and relatable to aspire to, while actors like Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill played the character as larger-than-life figures bigger than any normal person could ever imagine to understand. This story is all about Superman’s flaws and embracing of his unique identity, as well as his immovable faith in humanity, even we can’t see it in ourselves or continue to turn on the guy. Corenswet’s performance is oozing with superstar levels of charm while bringing the character down to earth — no pun intended — while the script does the a...

Jurassic World Rebirth | Review by: Gal Balaban

  The  Jurassic  franchise began in 1993 with what’s still considered to be one of the greatest and most iconic movies ever made. Today, it continues to prove that its run its course and serves no purpose besides Universal’s cash cow. Only three years after  Jurassic World Dominion  supposedly marked the end of the franchise,  Jurassic World Rebirth  attempts to mark a new era for these films with a new age of global human-dino dynamics, and a new group of characters. Instead of utilizing this fresh start potential to breathe new light or direction,  Rebirth  is exactly what I feared — an unnecessary piece of nonsense that recycles the same tropes and quickly gets exhausting to watch. The characters are wooden and we aren’t given much material in order to understand or interact with them. Mahershala Ali is the definitive standout, always giving a lot of heart and likability to his role. However, a family that becomes a major subplot in the fi...

Head of State | Review by: Stefano Bove

John Cena and Idris Elba team up again in another hilarious buddy comedy. The suicide Squad duo reignite that love/hate relationship that made the film work but this time, they are not working for the government they are the government. Cena and Elba star as the US President and the UK Prime Minister, respectively. PM Sam Clarke (Elba) is a six year veteran in office and President Will Derringer (Cena) is an ex-action star turned politician. You can see how this can create immediate tension in the funniest of ways between our two leads with many subtle jabs at each other and the current political climate in the world. It is interesting to see how politics in the US has influenced the media over the years.  Traditionally, a US President in films has always been portrayed as smart and stern but Prime Minister Clarke definitely comes off as more dependable and knowledgeable, at least at first. President Derringer has a lot of people to impress in his new role; The Prime Minister,...