BRING HER BACK was everything I hoped it would be. It will absolutely nauseate thousands of people. While many will recognize it's greatness, an equal amount will call it "a terrible movie" because it will so effectively fill them with intensely negative feelings throughout it's entire runtime, as it intends to do, and as most of the greatest horror movies of all time do. It is utterly brutal, and wholly unnerving, with the power to sicken and traumatize. There are plenty of movies that feature relentless amounts of brutal violence, but BRING HER BACK manages to disturb on a deeper level, likely by way of the great majority of it's brutality occurring amongst children (and, kids who are being manipulated by an adult, on top of everything else). It is painful to watch things unfold, and that's what makes it a truly effective horror film.

I took a chance on the directors' first film TALK TO ME when it hit theaters a couple of years ago, and was blown away. Not only was it fiercely original with it's concepts and it's vibe, but it was more fun than the majority of horror films, and got WAY more cruel and intense than I was expecting in its second half. When I saw the trailer for this, I knew it was highly likely they would be taking the cruelty even further, and that is precisely what they have done.

Casting lead Sally Hawkins in this role is the most brilliant casting utilization I have seen this year thus far. She is most commonly known as playing heartwarming characters (like Paddington's adoptive mother), but here, as the villain she is utterly terrifying - I think that knack for playing warm characters adds to the horror of her character immensely, and with these elements combined it leads to by far the best performance I've ever seen by her - fully gut-wrenching. All of the kids that fill out of the rest of the cast were phenomenal as well. I can't even imagine being Jonah Wren Phillips and playing the poster boy character Oliver - the role is so colossally intense, it makes me wonder if it's going to effect him in reality for the rest of his life - I feel like it will have to in some form.

Beyond all else, it's clear that the Philippou brothers are intelligent people. They know how to dig into the audiences psyche with such precision, and one of the key ways they do that is by keeping their films rich with a level of psychological depth that a great majority of horror films are missing nowadays. The movie is brimming with dramatic themes that are the type of things that deeply traumatize children in reality - taking this and rounding it out with some truly hellish supernatural ideas and visual horror, and you have the recipe for an absolutely devastating horror film. I was also impressed with the level of emotive resonance that this brutal film managed to conjure during its finale - I was on the verge of tearing up, and that is very rare for horror. The only reason I don't give it a 10 out of 10 is because I know it will simply be too dark and brutal for a huge chunk of the population, it doesn't exactly cater to repeat viewings.

This is the greatest movie I have seen in years. This is one of those films in which I cannot believe people haven't been talking about or referencing this for the entirety of my life. I had never heard of this until a couple of months ago, and I am very happy to report...this is an ultimate hidden gem.

I typically dislike movies that take place between 1920-1950 but this one takes place in the 30's and the way it's pulled off feels simultaneously realistic and surrealist at the same time. It's very impressive. The movie has a very strong, very unique aesthetic that is unlike anything else I have ever seen. Going along with that, the general tone of the movie is also extremely unique. Everything is hammed up just enough that it often feels a bit more dreamlike than realistic, but never so much that it ever becomes non-linear or hard to follow. I was fully intrigued by and immersed in the bizarre world this film created from the very beginning.

I was wholly enjoying the film through the majority of its runtime (the first 2 hours), as it primarily follows Karen Black's aspiring actress character as she steamrolls her way through a multitude of men, causing each of them to fall head over heals for her in an instant. There isn't much more failsafe than a good juicy tale about love/lust, and the unique nature of her character's naivety and allure was enough to carry the movie a lot of very entertaining places on its own. The supporting cast was especially dynamic, most notably the legend Donald Sutherland who normally plays a notably intelligent stand-up guy, here instead playing an absolute dunce and cuck, and one who astonishingly happens to be named HOMER SIMPSON, with literally no correlation or connection to the Homer Simpson that everyone our age knows and loves. (Reminds me of the kid named Harry Potter in Charles Band's TROLL from 1984). William Atherton also puts in a strikingly effective performance as the closest thing we get to a "hero" in this film, though as this movie will show you again and again, there are no heroes and no real winners in this world. Jackie Earle Haley, who most people our age would know as Rorschach in Watchmen, the pedophile in Little Children, or Freddy Kreuger in the universally panned Nightmare on Elm Street remake, makes his film debut here as a rambunctious little boy who is literally always dressed up as a girl and only functions as a mime, repeating lines that other characters have already spoken - it's very Lynchian, I would say, more so than anything else in the movie, and somehow seems to fit in alarmingly well with all the types of characters Haley would go on to play in the future.

Though the film feels like it is following a rather linear formula through the majority of its runtime, it is GENEROUSLY decorated with bizarre elements and concepts in every crevice that it can pack them into. Through the entire movie I felt like there was a lot of stuff with metaphorical reason that I was not fully picking up on, then I got to the film's finale and it absolutely melted my brain. It came out of nowhere like a battering ram to the face, and once it started bashing, it just kept hammering. And finally, towards the end of the stimulatory beating, something clicked and the entire movie all became one brilliantly cohesive masterpiece of allegorical storytelling. A transcendent film. Miraculous, perhaps. I can only think of one other film I've ever seen that I feel could have been inspired by this, and it is the most universally hated movie I have seen released in my adult life... that's Darren Aronofsky's "mother!". Mindblowing.

Eugene K's films are almost as hard to review as they are to describe. Though I am a big fan of what he's doing, I give movies numerical ratings with a "universal eye", and I know this movie would absolutely scramble the brain of and infuriate the average person. Like every Eugenius movie I've seen, The Code is an utter smorgasbord of chaos: there are moments of brilliance and profundity, and just as many moments, if not more, where it feels like the cast and the director are taking a big steamy dump all over the viewer's head, and I have respect for each and every one of those moments.

What draws me most to Eugene's films, outside of his innovative ideas and methods of filmmaking, is his casting. As he stated in the Q&A I observed after the screening, he intentionally works with very specific types of individuals. Dasha Nekrasova, Peter Vack, and Ivy Wolk, for example, are all extremely polarizing actors who are also the epitome of living, breathing "cult classics". What they bring to films exists outside of the realm of "acting" - it's more about who they really are, and how that translates through the filmic lens. I've always perceived Dasha as a straight succubus, and here that is played up far beyond any other role of hers that I've ever witnessed. IT'S CERTAINLY QUITE EFFECTIVE. Vack gives him most disciplined and cohesive performance. And Ivy Wolk is just seemingly allowed to be herself, and man is that wholly entertaining, LOL.

Though the movie is mostly funny, there are some segments that have the power to cause fear or discomfort in pretty obscure ways, but from my perspective, it's mostly just because Dasha is pretty genuinely scary in general, so every single time she's on the camera it's super intense. Actually, I ran into my old pal Ariel Pink at the screening, and afterwards he said he felt super terrified through the majority of the film - I thought that was pretty interesting.

Out of the 3 Eugenius films I've seen, I think this one is the least accessible, but it's also the most creative and the most interesting. Unless you're just looking for the absolute weirdest movies you can find, you'll probably want to start with his most mainstream endeavor SPREE starring Stranger Things icon Joe Keery. But, either way, if you're looking for up-and-coming filmmakers who are really molding a path for themselves by doing something truly unique, Eugene Kotlyarenko absolutely should be on your radar. And if you don't know who Ryan Trecartin is, you should probably watch I-Be Area after you're done with that. It SENT ME when they dropped the Trecartin reference in The Code - the spirit has been there all along.

One of the dorkiest movies I have watched in quite a while. Absolute dorkus stuff.

If it weren't for lead actress Grace Caroline Currey being such an immense hottie who took this dorkus script and made it twice as entertaining by giving it such an over-the-top performance throughout, this one would be really hard to get through. She was like "I'm gonna pretend this script isn't dumb as rocks - I'm gonna treat this like it's real, like I might really die". Co-star Virginia Gardner is basically the yin to her yang, laying down one unsellable moment after another; she gives equal parts unrealistic and straight cornhole. About a half hour into the movie, I was like "ok, how the heck are they going to stretch this out for another hour?", and I admit they did a good job of making it entertaining all the way through, but only by way of 2 reasons, 1. What I already stated: total hottie Gracie Currey giving it more than her all, and 2. Laughing at these dumb-butts making one imbecilic decision after another, after making the dumbest decisions of their life to begin with. There is a lot of really obvious green-screening and VFX, so the tension is never quite where it's meant to be, especially for how ABSURDLY melodramatic this movie is. On that note, I would say that my FAVORITE thing about the movie is how utterly melodramatic it is - it is SO over-the-top, it mildly enters that so-bad-it's-good territory. And, I would say, that is probably the main audience who this movie should appeal to: fans of "so bad it's good".

FALL features an overall concept that is so ridiculous it's laughable, which I RESPECT, and which is what got me to watch it in the first place. The fact that they actually MADE this movie is pretty insane. Like, who thought it was something they could pull off? I guess fans of CLIFFHANGER should see it? I repeat, if you want to see something merely for it's utter ridiculousness and for it's elements of "so bad it's good", then you should probably check this out.

The Surfer is exactly what I hoped it would be. If Larry Cohen were Australian, this feels like something we would have gotten out of him in the late 70's or early 80's. It has flashes of Wake In Fright, Bone, God Told Me To, and plenty of other exquisite B-movie gems. If you're the type of person who needs answers and wants a film's story linear and laid out for you, get up on your board and surf away from this one because "left open for interpretation" is putting it lightly.

Cage carries the film phenomenally in Cage's signature fashion - his progression (or decay) peels away seamlessly, and going along with that, the entire film has fantastic pacing - it is HIGHLY entertaining all the way through, from start to finish. If you're looking for a FUN film, this is 2025's best offering so far. With a perfect balance of cringe, laughs, and intrigue, The Surfer keeps your brain going. Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck) has a fully riveting presence as the film's co-star, as well.

I was a bit surprised by just how gorgeous of a film The Surfer actually is. The cinematography and editing are quite over the top, but never overdone. The filmmaker's are having as much fun shooting the film as they are with the script. It's also impressive how much dynamic they manage to get out of a movie that literally takes place entirely between one beach and the parking lot next to it.

While the final act of the film is most certainly the most loose and lawless part of the experience, and is sure to be the killer of joy for some, it had me respecting the film in a particular way in the end. It reminded me quite a bit of the fit of psychological thrillers that came out in the early-to-mid 2000's, many of which were great and many of which were not so great (i'm thinking films like Donnie Darko, Secret Window, Identity, and maybe...Haute Tension). The last movie I felt this way about was Serenity (2019) - another super weird one that I thought was pretty cool (but this is better).

Add this one to the list of new school Nicolas Cage classics. This is near-perfect B-movie. It only takes itself seriously enough to have a blast with itself. Ride the wave!

SINNERS is the epitome of MID, so much that it actually makes it WORSE than a "bad movie", because bad movies you can laugh at, or with, but just about every element of SINNERS is SO lukewarm that it is mostly nothing but dreadfully boring ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

I wanted to like this movie. I found it admirable that the director who grew to prominence through remakes and franchises went out on a limb to make something "original" - unfortunately once you make your way through the entire film, you realize there's barely a lick of creativity or inspiration throughout the entire thing.

I've also always been fond of Michael B. Jordan, but here he puts in hands down the worst performance I have ever seen by him. There was absolutely NO REASON for him to play twins, or for twins to even exist in the movie, as both of them have identical personalities (and entirely uninteresting ones, at that) - there is only ONE scene in the entire movie that utilizes the twins even existing, and it's completely pointless. The way Jordan rides an uneven line between old-timey and his modern rizz might work if the movie were meant to be thoroughly campy, but it's not. And that's actually the biggest problem with the entire movie. It takes itself WAY too seriously. In order to have a movie that takes itself this seriously be effective, you need locked-in directing, writing, editing, and acting - unfortunately NONE of these elements excelled in this film. They were all floating around 6-out-of-10 level quality, perhaps lower when it comes to directing and editing. While some of the side characters had really strong performances and presence (Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson), a majority of the cast brought "TV soap opera", but with a more disjointed flow. On the subject of flow, the pacing was the worst part of the entire movie. Just about every scene could have benefitted from serious cutting. I was telling myself the slow pace in the first half would certainly be for a reason, as I felt sure the second half would flip it and deliver intensity, but once I got to the second half, I just couldn't wait for it to end, because it kept getting worse.

I've seen people compare this to From Dusk Till Dawn and I have to say that is such an insult to From Dusk Till Dawn. For one, that movie intended to be fun action schlock, and it is from top to bottom. This movie, on the other hand, makes you sit through nearly a full hour and a half of stale poor man's drama, only to turn into a derivative vampire action film in the final act, and once you get there, all of a sudden the first two-thirds feel like they actually served no purpose at all. On occasion, SINNERS attempts satire, and in one scene only, surrealism that comes out of nowhere and feels completely out of place, and in all of these attempts it falls entirely flat.

Somehow, nearly all of the aesthetics and concepts in SINNERS feel so novelty that they feel like masks to cover up how uninspired and vapid the movie actually is. There's really not a single worthwhile or rewarding element to SINNERS that I can think of - I guess there was some pretty nice looking photography during the finale, but Nosferatu did it far better a few months ago and even that was a disappointing film in the big picture. I feel that I have once again been duped by planted hype through marketing ploys that only the richest of the rich can afford - I have no doubt that the team behind Black Panther, one of the most successful movies of the last decade, could attain whatever kind of reviews they want with the right amount of money. But, this movie was AN ABSOLUTE YAWN FEST - the worst movie I have seen in the theater in quite a while.

This movie belongs up there in a category with the best of modern surrealist auteurs such as Charlie Kaufman and his collaborators Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. INCEPTION does NOT have real layers - THIS MOVIE has REAL LAYERS. This is THE REAL INCEPTION.

Sebastian Stan continues proving his talent further and further. While he impressed me as Tommy Lee in the Pam & Tommy miniseries, and then even more so as Donald Trump in last year's The Apprentice film, I believe this takes the cake as his finest yet, and also the greatest movie he has fronted, to my knowledge.

This movie is a wonderful abyss that you could never possibly predict. It seems to continually unfold further and further, in and out of itself, sometimes kind of breaking the 4th wall in different subtle regards, and often feeling like some sort of commentary on itself, somehow. It is equal parts unnerving and charming, somehow increasingly so, simultaneously as it progresses. And it was a bit of an unexpected pleasure and bonus seeing the alluring Renate Reinsve in here, whom I was introduced to through the fantastic Norwegian drama The Worst Person In The World. And ever since I witnessed Adam Pearson (the man with the deformed face) in the incredible Under The Skin, I've been hooked in and captivated by his presence. I heard this entire movie was inspired by the director's experiences being around Pearson and how eye-opening it was to witness that someone with such an extreme disadvantage could be so immensely courteous and kind to literally everyone around him, and such good vibes - and hey, there's something so real and thus magic there.

It's hard to call this a perfect film, as it is so out-there and definitely not for everyone, but it's absolutely a must-see for fans of modern psychological classics such as Synecdoche New York, Adaptation, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

MY GOD. There is the horror genre in film, which nowadays is mostly littered with uninspired stories that are a duplicate of a duplicate of a duplicate of a duplicate, and THEN there are the rare films that depict TRUE HORROR. I'd often heard this film referenced for the past 22 years, generally as "a rough one", to put it lightly, but nothing could have prepared me for the mastery of this experience. It was UTTERLY TERRIFYING and perhaps the most tragic film I have ever seen. It is absolutely, to my knowledge, one of the bleakest films ever made, and the fact that it was a MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE is absolutely insane.

I chose to watch this now, after 22 years of hearing about it, for two primary reasons: 1. It was announced in the press this week that this movie is going to be remade soon. I wanted to see this dark cult classic for what it is before its legacy is potentially tainted by any sort of remake and any tumorous press & media that comes along with it. 2. Because it's about nuclear war occurring as the result of other countries making absurd political decisions, coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) what occurs in the film occurs as a result of the U. S. and Russian government's actions amidst turmoil between them. Though the film takes place in the U. K., it's called THREADS because it delves into how everything in the world is connected, and everything effects everything. With the idiotic and inhumane decisions our current U. S. administration is on an absolute rampage with, in which they are basically begging for colossal levels of violence, there couldn't be a SCARIER time to watch this movie. When the COVID-19 lockdown came out of nowhere, it was surreal and terrifying, but this encapsulates that feeling times 10,000. Your whole world transformed into living hell in an instant - it's the most realistic dystopian film I've ever seen. On top of the subject matter being unstoppably effective, the acting, directing, pacing, and stylistic editing choices are all locked-in in a manner in which you often forget you are watching a MOVIE at all. It all feels so real. When it does feel like "a movie", it feels like a documentary. I just can't even imagine seeing watching this on TV as a U. K. citizen in 1984 - without a doubt, I guarantee it was the most traumatizing thing a great majority of the people who watched it had ever seen on a television screen.

This movie is an absolute masterpiece and I still haven't been able to fully process that it's existed for my whole life, and even for one year before I was born, quietly waiting in the shadows for me to discover what might be the most devastating movie ever made. The first act locks you in, I had tears in my eyes for the entire second act if not fully crying, and the only reason the tears go away in the third act is because you are so overcome with death and the acceptance of death that its bleakness numbs you. It's not often that a movie this bleak has REPLAY VALUE but honestly it's so masterful, and so well paced, and I'm so shook by how good it was, that I almost feel like I need to see it again ASAP to believe that its real at all. I want to use the word "miracle" but it almost feels blasphemous to think or say since the content is some of the most hellish ever captured on celluloid. The only other thing I've ever watched that had a similar tone of true terror was the more recent limited series CHERNOBYL, but I think this is HEAVIER than that. If you can handle HEAVY, and you've never seen Threads, NOW IS THE TIME!

"There's no deceit in the cauliflower"

I can't believe I'd only known Charles Grodin as "the dad from Beethoven" for my entire life, up until today, when he had this legendary role in the bank all along (no, I haven't seen Midnight Run yet either).

The Heartbreak Kid is a fantastically painful film experience. I'm pretty sure this features the worst honeymoon of all time. Grodin plays an ultimate representation of male impulse - immediately acting on every little desire or frustration he feels, no matter how illogical. There are so many very real things that I know married couples think about, but don't act upon, but here - Grodin acts upon ALL of them, and only DAYS into his marriage. Jeannie Berlin is hysterical and iconic as his wife, delivering multiple scenes that are just as funny as they are devastating. Cybil Shepherd is a stone cold fox with electric allure, and I have a feeling no one could have pulled off this role the way she does. Finally, Eddie Albert, who I primarily remember as one of the standout villains in the first season of Columbo, lays out one unforgettable dialogue sequence after another, as the intimidating, rich father who despises Grodin's character, for screamingly obvious reasons. Overall, I would consider this a masterful dark comedy, but personally I was more impressed with how effectively discomforting so many of the scenes were, rather than how funny they were. There were a lot of unexpected turns, and when it ended, I kind of felt like the movie pulled a bunch of my guts halfway out and just sort of left them hanging there.

Don't sleep on The Heartbreak Kid. Tonally, it reminded me a little bit of classic Mike Nichols films like Carnal Knowledge, and of course, The Graduate, more than anything else I can think of, but much funnier than both - maybe those crossed with early Woody Allen or something, (so, a bit Curb Your Enthusiasm-like as well). Watch it before it's ANCIENT history (the whole movie is up on YouTube for free).

First, I just need to say, to all the people I spoke with before I saw this movie who told me "This movie is not horny, not hot, not sexy, not interesting, not good, should have gone straight to streaming, or, it was so boring", we are not the same. If you don't find this movie "horny", I honestly have no idea what could possibly capture on-screen sexuality to you outside of straight-up pornography. If this is not a "horny movie" to you, honestly, what is!? What were you expecting from this movie? I am dying to understand. My only thought is that perhaps people who don't understand the psychological basics of S&M don't understand what's going on here???

That aside, I naturally came into Babygirl expecting something "mid" and walked out extremely impressed by what I would consider a flawless film, and definitely a standout in the history of film. Nicole Kidman maintains her status as an absolute queen of delivering complex, provocative characters in erotically charged films that always manage to have just enough separation from one another, yet they are all fully believable as separate fleshed-out individuals (Eyes Wide Shut, and especially To Die For, come to mind first, the latter being one of my favorite movies ever). Noting that, it is INSANELY IMPRESSIVE that relatively new star Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness, The Iron Claw, etc) could get dropped into a movie this intense and FULLY hold his own with the legend Kidman herself. Dickinson delivers one of the most complex and bizarre characters this year, remaining wholly unpredictable and mysterious in a very unique manner, even when the film is through.

This movie is a grower, not a shower, and it absolutely gets better as it goes, one scene after another, the tension slowly grows as it burns hotter and hotter. As things unfold, it becomes more and more clear that Dutch writer/director Halina Reijn has a deep understanding for people with sexual personalities and sexual preferences that go beyond the basic realm of "sex with the person you love". The film absolutely nails the way it showcases the double-edged sword of debauchery: the utmost thrill, and the utter plague.

If you need to see the good guys win in the end, Babygirl is not a movie for you. There are no angels in this film. Trouble is lurking around every corner. It's a film about inner psychological warfare, and it's very real. The soundtrack is phenomenal. The pacing is ace. I honestly can't believe this is by the same person who made Bodies Bodies Bodies - while that movie was fun, it was also pretty dumb (consciously though, I believe) - but this one is almost a spiritual opposite, bursting at the seams with sincere human complexity. I was beyond impressed. Definitely Top 10 of 2024.

Strong, strong movie but probably my least favorite Eggers offering thus far. Well, it's most comparable to The Witch in a multitude of ways, and on par with that, but I feel I would choose that simply because it was one of a kind. All of his other films are wildly original. This one kind of felt like "Why did you actually decide to make this when you could have made another unique film?"

Gorgeous looking movie. Paced very tastefully, but it feels as if Eggers chose coming off as tasteful over striving for entertainment. Though the movie was great overall, it dragged in the middle, and certainly could have used a solid 20-30 minutes cut from it. The middle portion is also the only portion that begins to feel rather cliche and formulaic, a bit too "this feels too much like too many other movies".

The last half hour was definitely the strongest portion in my opinion, and served as quite redeeming. I especially loved the finale - it is exquisite from all angles, but especially visually, and in its direction. I admit I could watch the ending over and over. It's quite incredible.

Another of the films only flaws would be in the casting/acting, in my opinion. While Nicolas Hoult held it all down very, very well. And I still can't believe that was Bill Skaarsgard - he is completely unidentifiable as Orlok, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and especially Lily Rose-Depp were unfortunately inconsistent. While they both had some very strong moments, for every impressive moment, there were just as many that were impossible to take seriously. And while they're both very talented, with a gothic tale meant to be this dramatic, romantic, and tragic - these moments of acting imperfection take away from the potential trance that this movie should otherwise have you in. Herzog's Nosferatu was great because it was one of the most dreamlike films I've ever seen - the whole thing plays like a fever dream and it's never broken - this is the way I feel a Nosferatu film should play. While Eggers' version certainly has its effective sequences, it, much like the aforementioned performances, does not remain consistent in this regard.

Those criticisms aside, Eggers' Nosferatu is still a very strong film. The environments, music, sound design, imagery, and most of the dialogue are excellent. There is much to love about this movie, as is the case with all of Eggers' work. Though it felt slow, I do admittedly already have the desire to see some of the sequences again. Of course, Willem Dafoe was also perfection, and the real show-stealer was the rat-king henchman under the spell of his dark lord. I can't access his name right now cuz I'm on an airplane as I write this, but he was the best part of the entire cast. Let me also say, this is better than 90% of contemporary American horror films, so that too is something to celebrate.