Conrad & Crab - Idiotic Gems (2026) Rotterdam 2026

Are you a police officer or a tourist? A shopkeeper to one of the cops-a statement that explains the whole vibe of the film

Two detectives, Conrad and Crab, are transfered to a small town called Saint-Marie-aux-Mines. When a  ring is stolen, the pair investigate.

I am going to tell you right at the start you have to go with this film for a while before it clicks. While nominally a mystery, the film is less interested in the mystery then the interactions of everyone the cops meet. In some ways they missing ring is not what the filmmakers were interested in. I was about halfway into the film before it clicked. That was when I finally stopped caring about anything other than the people on the screen.

This film cares so litle about about the mystery, that it gets lost as another mystery and a romance are picked up and the film digresses into the lives of the various characters. This is a film about the people. It's also a film with an absolutely absurd sense of reality as you will see in a late in the game chase. 

Is this high art? No. Is it entertaining? Ultimately yes. Assuming you can go with the fact that the film is going to wander all over the place, you'll have a good time.

Recommended.

Ariela Rubin on I Want Your Sex (2026) Sundance 2026

 

Young twenty something dorky Elliot gets a job working for artist Erika. She very quickly talks Elliot into having sex with her, and the two begin a sub/dom sexual relationship. Unsurprisingly, considering this is a boss/employee dynamic, and one in which Elliot is completely infatuated with Erika (I can’t blame him, Olivia Wilde is hypnotizing in the role), things spiral quickly.

This film is completely absurd, ridiculous and chaotic, but it’s also so much fun. I laughed a lot, and it’s also very colorful/vibrant which I enjoyed. I loved Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Daveed Diggs, Chase Sui Wonders, and Mason Gooding. All their characters were so much fun to watch. 

Everyone at Sundance seemed obsessed with director, Gregg Araki. I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with him, but am now curious to check out his other films.

While, I wouldn’t say I loved this movie, I definitely had a lot of fun watching it. 

Ariel Rubin on Nuisance Bear (2026) Sundance 2026

 

Nuisance Bear is a documentary set in Churchill, Manitoba—known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World.

The film explores the destruction of the natural environment, how polar bears impact the town, as well as the ways Indigenous lives are forced to change as the town becomes gentrified. 

As climate change delays the freezing of the ice, polar bears are left without access to food, and so they venture into town in search of food, which brings them into constant conflict with humans.

The documentary is narrated by Mike, an Inuit, who speaks about how the presence of polar bears has disrupted daily life. He also expresses frustration over hunting restrictions, explaining that polar bears can now only be hunted a limited number of times per year. (I was surprised and upset to learn that polar bear hunting is still legal.)

The film follows the polar bear patrol, showing the measures they take to keep bears out of town: setting off fireworks, using traps, and, in one case, tranquilizing a bear, putting a tracker in him, putting dye on his fur, and relocating him via helicopter farther away. These scenes show how tense the coexistence between humans and bears has become.

What I found interesting was the audience reaction. At my screening, people seemed to be rooting for the polar bears. (People cheered at one point when a polar bear outsmarted humans) Yet the film itself felt more focused on the Inuit perspective, and how the bears are “nuisances”. In fact while the world says the polar bear population is decreasing, Mike says that isn’t the case. I’m not sure which direction the director was hoping people to go in, or if they were simply showing both sides without judgement.(Although the movie is called “Nuisance Bear” after all)

Visually, the documentary is stunning. The close up shots of the polar bears, as well as the videos taken from above (perhaps via drone) are beautiful. They really showed the beauty of the animals. However, it was hard for me to really love a documentary that seemed to showcase the burden polar bears are causing.

Animation First starts Tuesday at The L'Alliance New York

Animation First at L'Alliance New York is awesome

I have been enraptured with the festival since the first year back in 2018. The festival brings some of the best animated films in the world to New York and opens our eyes to the wonders that are being created outside of Hollywood. More importantly it always gives me at least one film that ends up on my best of the year list. This year there are two - HEART OF DARKNESS and ALLAH IS NO OBLIGED and they are amazing.

The festival not only screens features and shorts but has a lot of in person events. There are jams with filmmakers, Q&As appreciations and parties. (Details here). There is something for everyone.

As this posts, I've seen all of the features and most of the shorts (I've not seen the Annecy collection of the films about snow). I've written up everything I've seen. Based on what I've seen you should pick some programs and buy some tickets...AND IF YOU ARE SHORT OF CASH there are several events which are FREE!  (Details here)

If you love great films or great animation you need to go.

What should you see? Let me recommend a few things:

HEART OF DARKNESS is a retelling of the Conrad novella in  future Brazil. It will make you think of a lot of things and remeber it was something before Coppola sent it to Vietnam

ALLAH IS NOT OBLIGED is a look at a boy soldier in Africa and it will make you see the genre in a new way as it kicks you in the chest.

The Magician of Ostend: The films of Raoul Servais is glorious. A deep collection of the work of an animator who changed cinema (people have been borrowing from him for decades). The chance to see all of these films on a big screen is something every animation fan should make an effort to attend.

Animating the Surreal: A Conversation with Lavis and Szczerbowski is another once in a lifetime event with the chance to see their films (including current Oscar Nominee THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS) and to talk with them during a Q&A

Of course there are more, but these four should get you started.

I can't say enough good about the festival and suggest you buy some tickets now.

For tickets and more information go here.

ADDENDUM: They have just added a French Language screening of ARCO with the Director in attendance. If you can go do so since the French version is supposed to be light years better than the English one (Details here)

Back To The Past (2026)

Based on the 2001 television series, A Step into the Past, which was based on Wong Yee's novel, The Chronicles of Searching Qin BACK TO THE PAST is a continuation of the story that has Ken getting out of prison and traveling back in time with a squad of armed men in order to become the Qin Emperor. However there are complications including Louis Koo.

I never saw the original series, not have I read the source novel and I know it worked against my fully enjoying the film. I say this because so much of the film references earlier events and complications...for example Koo and the rightful Emperor have a very complex relationship that made me wonder why they put up with each other. I know this would have made more sense if I had seen what went before.

At the same time the film kind of suffers from a slight dumbing down of events. What was once a complex soap opera has been simplified to action fodder minimalism. Characters a sketched. Everything is aimed toward moving us into a series of action set pieces.  This would be fine if the action was top of the line, but the truth is it all seems like it's a half step too slow and sublimented by just okay CGI.

Don't get me wrong it's entertaining in a popcorn on a Sunday afternoon sort of way, but it doesn't find a place deep in our hearts.

I should mention  that while the film runs 107 minutes, the film ends 90 minutes and then gives us an alternate time line ending. I found it amusing, but I like the original better.

If you are a fan of the original series or want a good, but mindless action film give BACK TO THE PAST a look.

Special Unit The First Murder (2025) Rotterdam

I know he's an idiot but maybe he's right

This is based on the story of the founding of what would be the Danish version of the FBI.  A special unit was set up to deal with arson, and it was to be funded by the insurance companies. The unit is sent to a seaside to help with a fire in the mayor's lodge in the woods. However, what should have been a simple arson investigation, the locals have caught the man they feel is responsible, suddenly becomes complicated when a body is discovered in the wreckage of the house. Called home because murder is not technically under their jurisdiction, they talk their way into continuing so they can show that they are really like the FBI

While the film has some pacing problems in the middle, this is a solid little thriller that hopefully is going to spawn a series. 

That the film works so well is due to the cast, who sell the story, and the twisty nature of things. I did not expect the full denouncement of what was going on, even if I was aware of at least one person who was involved. It's a film that held my attention for its entire running time, which is saying a great deal since a great many recent films made me want to wander off and grab a nosh just because I was tired of waiting for something to happen. While the film's pacing wobbles about a third of the way in (blame the filling in of the detective's back story), the film quickly pulls things tight and it's an exciting ride to the end.

Honestly, I truly loved this film a great deal, and when it ended, I wanted to see it again just so I could spend more time with the characters. I liked them enough that I want to see a sequel. Frankly I can honestly say that this was the first great film I saw in 2026 because I saw it on New Year's Day.

Highly recommended

Ariela Rubin on THE WEIGHT(2026) at Sundance 2026

The Weight is a new movie starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe that takes place in Oregon in 1933. Samuel (Hawke) is trying to make ends meet, taking odd jobs here and there, but comes home one day to find an eviction notice and all his things in the hallway. While searching for a new place to live, he gets into a fight with some guys who turn out to be cops, and is arrested. He's taken away from his daughter (the cutest girl!), but not before promising her that he will come back for her. He is then sent to work in a work camp in the middle of nowhere.  Clancy (Crowe) is the boss at the work camp, and he notices that Samuel is smart and hardworking. He offers him a deal- help smuggle gold out of a mine before the government gets to it, and in return, Clancy will write him a letter for early release, giving Samuel the chance to reunite with his daughter before she's up for adoption. Easy peasy, right?

Samuel has to choose three fellow prisoners to go with him, and they are escorted by two men with guns to make sure they stay on track, and with orders to kill them if any gold goes missing. Off they set out through the unknown wilderness. What could go wrong?

There was never a dull moment, especially during the intense scene of them throwing gold across and crossing a rickety bridge, or when two of the characters get trapped in the water. I was expecting a bit more suspense and tension, but I still found the film engaging and very enjoyable. While it isn’t my usual type of movie, I was glued to the screen throughout. I thought Ethan Hawke did an amazing job in this one.

I also really liked the soundtrack!

Ariela Rubin on HOLD ON TO ME (2026) Sundance 2026

Hold Onto Me is the first movie I’ve seen that was filmed in Cyprus. The film is spoken in Greek, and tells the story of an 11 year old named Iris, who sees her father for the first time in 7 years. He’s back for his own father’s funeral. 

She is instantly curious and drawn to him. Wanting to get to know him, she keeps popping up wherever he is. At first, he is annoyed, but slowly he allows her to join him on his adventures.

The father spends time selling his own father’s belongings, and uses Iris to help him. There are also men he appears to owe money to, suggesting he is either in trouble or involved in something illegal, though this subplot is never fully clarified.

Iris is mesmerized by her father. You can see the way she looks at him. She completely adores him, even though he hasn’t been in the picture for 7 years. This absence is never addressed in conversation, she never asks about it, and it is unfortunately never explained. 

While I really enjoyed the film, I wish we had learned more about what was going on in the father’s mind. I would have liked that to be explored further. I was also surprised when the movie ended. It felt abrupt. I wanted more.

Unfortunately, I had to run to another movie right after, or I would have loved to have been able to stay for the Q&A to learn more about this film. 

2DIE4(2025)

2DIE4 is the story of what happened when racing legend Felipe Nasr took a car to the 24 Hours of LeMans. Shot by the Abdalah Brothers the film is being released into IMAX theaters because of the truly stunning images, particularly the ones of the race.

If you are going to see 2DIE4 see it on a big screen. The images are spectacular. The shots of the cars racing are spectacular. In the huge screen format this is probably as close to most people will ever get to being on the track, in the cars or in the pit. I absolutely loved the images in this film.

The problem is that outside of the images the film does have much going on. Yes it’s Nasr at the race but there isn’t enough information given to us that we feel any real excitement. Worse the pacing is off, and this one hour film is a long haul. Then again the film isn’t really a true hour. The film ends and then we get some images of the race in Daytona during the credits….and then the credits end and we get several minutes of images of how the film was shot. The film feels like this should have either been re-edited to include Daytona or have just lost 20 minutes and been a long short.

It’s not bad, but it you aren’t seeing this with a big picture and big sound and it’s a chore to get through.

In Brief: Atom Age Vampire (1960)

Perpetual drive-in/grind house film has a mad doctor trying to help a disfigured stripper by using the glands of a women murdered when he is in monstrous form.

Its a wild and crazy tale that isn't bad on its own terms but which makes you wonder what drugs audiences were on since they kept this playing off and on double and triple bills into the late 1970s.

While the uncut version is slightly better , there is a  longer and tad more risque verssion out there, the film is enjoyable in either version.

Ariela Rubin on Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (2026) Sundance 2026

If there’s a movie with Zoey Deutch, you know I’m going to see it(love her!!), so I was excited to find out she was in a new one premiering at Sundance.

What is a “celebrity sex pass” one might ask? It’s when you’re in a relationship, but get to pick one celebrity you’d want to sleep with if you ever had the chance. In this movie, Gail’s fiancé takes this literally and actually uses his “celebrity pass.” Gail then sets off to LA with her friend to get revenge and use her own sex pass.

This movie was just so much fun!! I loved all the different friends Gail makes along the way. While some parts were a little too ridiculous, I laughed a lot and think I was smiling the whole time.

Don’t look up the cast beforehand! There are so many unexpected cameos.

With so many heavy movies and heavy things going on in the world, this movie was needed. 

Ariela Rubin on UNION COUNTY (2026) Sundance 2026

Union County is a slow, quiet movie about Cody, played by William Coulter, and his brother Jack, who are in a drug recovery program mandated by the courts in Ohio.

The film follows Cody’s daily life, the ups and downs, and the battle of staying sober.

While the movie was slow paced, I never felt bored. It also has a runtime of 97 minutes, which is perfect.

The story might not be that unique, but what sets the film apart is that they used the real people from the drug recovery program, and their lines were unscripted. They also used the real counselor, Annette, who was amazing! and the real judge. That made the film feel more authentic. 

Overall, it was a moving movie and definitely worth a watch. 

The Long Way Home: Remastered and Expanded (2026)

Michael Apted's portrait of former Soviet underground rock star Boris Grebenshchikov. The film follows Grebenshchikov as he comes west in 1988 in order to record his music and try to make a connection with Western audiences.

Unavailable for decades except via VHS video tapes, THE LONG WAY HOME was restored from the only known surviving 16mm print, and it has a 20-minute epilogue that brings the story up to date.

My feelings for the film are mixed, with my feelings split between the original film and the epilogue. For me the original Apted film is okay. Yes, the subject is good, and yes, it's a blast to see the who's who of musicians' march through the film in order to meet Grebenshchikov. The music is also quite good. However, the presentation isn't anything that makes it stand out from other films of the 1980's. This film looks and feels like a 1980's music doc. That's not a knock, just a realization that almost four decades have passed since the film originally came out.

My feelings for the film changed with the epilogue. Thirty-five plus years on the look back re-configures what we had just seen. There was no big American career for Grebenshchikov and the whys and what's that we see puts the story in a whole new light. There is a bittersweet quality to it all.  For me the epilogue makes the movie because it gives a glaring context to it all.

If you want to see THE LONG WAY HOME do so in this restored version because makes an old film into something special.

Evil Influencer : The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)

Netflix doc on Jodi Hildebrandt, a therapist in the Church of Later Day Saints, who was arrested for child abuse when it was discovered how she was treating the children of one of her patients /business partner.

This is a good, if a bit over long look at who one woman wrecked the lives of multiple families. Hildebrandt was a very devout member of the church and her approach to therapy appealed to a number of people in the church looking for help with their lives. The trouble was that Hildebrandt had issues of her own and a controlling personality that ended up destroying marriages.

I liked this film a great deal, however running at over 100 minutes it a bit long.  Its not that there is anything bad here, more that the stories of wrecked marriages get reputative.

Worth a look.

Ariela Rubin on Carousel (2026) Sundance 2026

Carousel was the first movie I saw at the Sundance Film Festival, and I was looking forward to it. I like the cast: Jenny Slate, Chris Pine, Katey Sagal, Sam Waterston, so I was drawn to the story: a divorced dad rekindles a relationship with his ex-sweetheart, while caring for his anxious daughter. However, the film ended up being disappointing.

At only 103 minutes, it felt long. The daughter’s mental health issues were shown briefly, but never fully explored, which was probably the most frustrating part. Pine’s character is overprotective, panicking if his daughter gets a cut (he’s a doctor), but then is oddly passive when it comes to addressing her outbursts(or getting her any sort of help).

I did feel chemistry between Pine and Slate, but it never felt like we truly got to know them. Overall, this was a slow paced, dull movie.

Ariela Rubin on Bedford Park (2026) Sundance 2026

Audrey is a physical therapist who gets fired from her job and moves back in with her parents to help her mom after she gets hurt in a car accident.

Eli is responsible for the accident and upon first meeting him he’s quite rude. When Audrey finds herself in a vulnerable situation, we start to see Eli’s gentler side. An unlikely slow burn friendship begins.

They both come from difficult childhoods. Audrey has an alcoholic dad, and Eli is adopted. They are both feeling a bit lost in life.

This was another film I went into without knowing much about it, and so far it’s one of my favorites from Sundance. I really liked both characters. I loved the small surprise at the end, though I do have mixed feelings about the ending.

Definitely worth a watch.

Send Help (2026) opens Friday

Sam Raimi returns to the director’s chair for the first time in years with SEND HELP that echoes the bloody insanity of the second and third Evil Dead films.  It’s a nominally a thriller but the the blood-soaked laughs get in the way of.

The film is about the mousey genius Linda (Rachel McAdams) who is a whiz at finance. Her boss had promised her a VP position but after he dies, the boss’s son Bradley (Dylan O'Brien) puts his frat buddy in the slot. She is crushed. While her boss wants her gone, he needs her to crack a section of a merger, and he lies to her, so she’ll do it while on a flight to Asia. When the plane goes down in a storm Linda and Bradley are the only ones left…and he has to rely on her since he was injured in the crash.

What follows is a black comedy battle of wills as each tries to take the upper hand.  I laughed a great deal. Some of the icky turns had the audience of media people reacting loudly and talking to no one in particular.  It’s a goofy cartoon version of the Survivor TV show.

If you like that sort of thing, go- just be prepared for gore and blood.

-

And at this point I am going to say I have a couple of things to say, however because Disney/Fox asked that I not spoil anything I am taking a break here and saying that if you want to know more of my thoughts keep reading, knowing that I may spoil things by i,plication rather than via details.

One last warning…..

Okay Now on to a couple of things that bothered me about the film. These made me like the film not love it.

My first problem is that as good as McAdams is, her mousey Linda would not have been on the floor of a company as high pressure and Wall Street like as the one in the film. They would have put her somewhere else where her lack of social skills wouldn’t bother anyone. It’s a fine portrait but it is out of place with everyone around her. It's almost as if one dropped some cartoon character into a live action film. But then again, the film is full of moments and turns that make no sense but are there either to extend the story or more likely get a big laugh. I stopped trying to figure out what was going to happen since there is a point about halfway in where the turns were there just to add run time.

This ties into another problem which is that the mix of realism and over the top comedy doesn’t always mesh. Sure, the comedy doesn’t sink it but things like McAdams doing the faces of Ash from Evil Dead cuts the tension. There is no suspense, no chills, because Raimi undercuts it by always- truly always- going for a laugh. You scream because the damage is gross, not because of fear. This is live action Tom and Jerry but with blood and severed limbs.

The last problem, and it was the one thing that made me step away from loving the film, and that was the realization that McAdams is just as bad, if not worse than her boss. She is a truly horrible human being, though it takes a while for us to fully realize it despite ealy clues. We should know she’s as bad as her boss when she reacts to losing the position, but it’s not until some things quietly transpire later in the film when we realize she is really a bad person.  The problem is that once we see her as a bad person you are left with no one to root for because you don’t like anyone on screen. I wanted them both to die… which is not the way we should feel about characters

Then again the film is funny in a cartoony way with a couple of great turns of plot.

It is worth seeing if you can accept this as a mean live action cartoon.

Arco (2025)

The weakest image in the film is the one they are using for the poster

In the far flung future 10 year old Arco borrows his sisters time traveling cloak  and ends up getting trapped in 2075, where clinmate changed weather ravages the world.

This visually stunning animated film is being put into the Oscar mix by some pundits. I don't think the film belongs there, largely because I think many people saying that haven't seen enough animated films, but I think it's a good, if preachy family film.

My feelings for the film are mixed to positive. While I love the visuals, (above movie poster aside), the script is uneven. I am impressed that the film's view of the immediate future is bleak. No American studio would have allowed for that to happen. And while the film doesn't go whole hog into fractured families, I am impressed that the film's ending is as bittersweet as it is. Yes, it speaks of a families love for each other but but it also speaks of the cost. at the same time the film can be very by the numbers in the over all plotting.  Even if there are some (unexpected) dark turns we still know that things will be okay.

I'm also kind of not a fan that the film is getting a dubbed US release. While I have not seen the original French language track friends  who have have said that the French is more alive. I can kind of agree. I think the English voices, with the exception of Will Ferrell who is magnificent,  are kind of blah.

While this film film should have and could have been great, there is enough here, especially if you don't want another Disney Pixar clone - this is more like a dark Ghilbi riff- tht I can recommend it.

Birdie (2026) Sundance 2026

This film quietly punches you in the gut. The film is the story of refugees fleeing from the Nigerian Civil War and simply waiting in America.

Almost nothing happens. Actually, every seismic change comes as the result of something said or in a passing reference. It’s a film that doesn’t spell it out but lets us experience life as lived.  It’s a film that rightly needs to be moving at the speed of life.  At first, I wasn’t certain. At first, I thought this was going to be a nice artistic short, however by the mid-point I was rocked. I was trying to figure out how this would work as a feature because this could be a killer feature.  By the time the end came I was moved.

As I write this, I am no longer certain the film needs to be expanded, why mess with perfection, and I am hopeful since the first film I see for Sundance points the way for the festival. If all the other films I see are half this good, it will be a great year.

Ariela Rubin on Wicker(2026) Sundance 2026

Wicker takes place in a village during medieval times. Olivia Coleman plays a single fisherwoman who’s made fun of by the townspeople.

One day at a wedding, instead of a bouquet being thrown, an egg filled with dye is passed around. It accidentally falls at her feet, releasing purple smoke and implying she will be the next person in town to get married. Everyone snickers at the idea.

She decides to take matters into her own hands and asks the basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, to make her a husband, and so he does. 

This begins an unconventional love story. I went into this knowing nothing about it, and I think that’s the best way to experience it. I will say the movie is very bizarre, but you just have to go with it. It’s a story about love, loneliness, town gossip, and jealousy.

One unique aspect is that no character has a name, they’re only referred to by their job, or by their spouse’s job. Olivia Colman is “the fisherwoman.”  She has no other name. The same goes for all the other characters.

I laughed outloud so much, and I really loved this film. This was my 6th film of the Sundance Film Festival, and so far by far my favorite.

Aanikoobijigan[ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (2026) Sundance 2026

This is a look at the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), which is working to get the remains of Indigenious people who have been dug up and disinterred over the last two hundred years and placed into museums and universities by scientists.

This is a good look at how we are moving to return the dead back to their place of burial. It's a film that forces us to look at how we view the dead of various cultures, including our own. I say that because at the heart of the matter is the question is how would be feel if some other group of people came and dug up our loved ones. When you place ourselves in the position of the people trying to get their loved ones back, we see that they are right.

The title is a reference to how all parts of the past present and future are now. There is no end and no beginning which is why the return of the remains are so vital. The film's exploration of the beliefs of the Indigenious people is an important part of the film and it breaks down centuries of misunderstanding about what they hold sacred.

I liked this film a great deal.

Recommended.

Taga (2026) Sundance 2026

Vivi, a Filipina American, goes to the Phillipines in order to connect with her family's root. She falls in with some eco-volunteers who end up waking up a demon.

Is this film supposed to be serious or a send up? I don't know.

The horror aspects of this film are incredible, and better than most recent horror films I've seen over the last few years. I absolutely love the demonic creature. If this had been a straight horror film this would have been a masterpiece.

The problem is that I don't know what the eco-volunteers , as written, are doing in this film.  The whole lot of them are twits and deserve to die... but in another movie because their badly written cliched interactions kill the film.

I absolutely loved the opening sequence in this film. The monster coming to the door pretending to be a loved one was awesome, but then things shifted once we got to the Western twits and the film fell apart.

While I really can't recomend TAGA , I will say that those who want to see a really cool monster and who want to see some good work by a director who may have a long career directing horror films and thrillers, give this a shot.

Crisis Actor (2026) SUndance 2026

An actor fired from their day job joins a support group and tries to come to terms with her need for drama.

I don't know if this film fully works. A great deal happens in the films 13 minutes, however at the same time it moves so fast that it feels like the filmmakers wanted to make a short version of a feature film. I say this because watching the film I kept wanting to stop the film nd let sections play out longer. Scenes feel shortened down to the absolute bare minimum. I kept feeling that there was more to be said and that if the sequence went on it would be better.  Certainly it would have allowed the main character to be a person and not a cartoon.

Worth a look because what's here is good, but it will make you wish it was a feature.

Prime (2026) Sundance 2026

This is a disturbing film with a sting in the tail about a woman who suffered a trauma and retreats to a remote farming collective run by a cult like leader.

I don't know how much I can say about this film because while the majority of the film is a disorienting and at times disturbing look at a broken woman trying to find a place of safety, the film kind of changes in it's final moments into something else. How I felt about the film is all tied up in the denouncement, which changed my thoughts on the film and made me take a step back from embracing it. It's not so much what happens, I've seen variations on that theme before, its that there is a shift in tone that deflated my feelings. Don't get me wrong the film up to that point is fine, it just stumbles at the end.

Worth a look.

NATCHEZ (2025) Opens Friday at the Film Forum

This is a look at the city of Natchez in Mississippi which is reliant on the connection to the antebellum south, despite being one of the more progressive cities in the South (It was one of the first cities to have an openly gay mayor). As times have been changing the city's tourism as place with connections to the Confederacy has been dying off, as social change and the indifference of the younger generations to the past has left the city scrambling.

This is a really good film. I like how  it begins with a portrait of the city and its Garden Club in a way we expect. We think its going to show us a city in love of the fallen south, but that view quickly gives way to the battle to change the history being told. People are telling the story of life in the city beyond the rich white folks. We hear of the lives of the slaves.  And most interestingly we hear how the younger generations want nothing to do with the past. The city is not making money on tourism.

I was left pondering society, not just that of the American South but all of society.  There is a lot to unpack here, and I'm still working on doing that.

Recommended.

Pika! (The Itch) 2025) Sundance 2026

A man wakes up with an itch and has a hellish adventure trying to get something to make the itching stop.

This is a profounding disturbing film that  may break you. I can't say why, but it just goes to places that are absurd and bothersome. I mean that in the best sort of way... and as a dire warning for people fwho don't want things to be abnormal. If you don't want things where the world is fundamentally broken stay away.

That said this a beautifuly made film on every level. Designed to make you laugh while it is ripping off your flesh to get under it PIKA  is a film that will be a darling for those who love these sort of things. 

I am sorry for speaking obtusely but either you don't want to know because you want to discover the film on your own or you don't want to know because you really don't want to know.

Recommended for anyone who likes this sort of thing.

The List of Filmmakers You Need to Search Out Continues with Part 7 (finally)

(Jean-Cosme Delaloye)

It's back!

After five years I'm continuing my list of FILMMAKERS YOU NEED TO SEACRH OUT.

The idea was formed in 2015 when I did a list of really off the board filmmakers whose Kool-Aid I had gladly drank (That can be found here).  After that I found I was keeping stray lists of filmmakers that I loved and who were not being talked about. Many of them were making films that should have been winning awards and shaking the pillars of heaven, but most people weren't noticing. 

Everyone was, and is, still talking about the same directors and the same films. But the truth is there are hundreds of great filmmakers out there, many better than most of the directors who are loudly lauded by the cinematic gatekeepers. The people on this ever growing list are people you need to search out

Before I reveal the next list of names I want to say that what follows is a list of filmmakers that made up what five years ago would have been the seventh and eighth editions of the list. I've combined them together because they have been waiting too long to take center stage.

I also want to say that I've asked Eden to work on a companion list of female filmmakers. That will run when she is done.

And if you want to get you to speed and see who was on the first six lists they can be found here: FILMMAKER LISTS

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go off and work on extending this list (Part 8 is in the works).

(This photo of Mathiey Amalric is by Liz Whittemore)

Eduardo Rivero and the team at Fotosintesis Media have made a film called A COSTUME FOR NICHOLAS and they have reset how you will look at how the disabled in cinema.

Christopher Doyle is best known as a cinematographer, but he has also directed films that are unlike anything else out there

Sean Meehan makes films that are nigh on perfect. His short films like LOST FACE and TOTAL PERFORMANCE feel more complete and more meaty than most feature films

Joyce Wong doesn't go for easy answers. Her films like BEXFORD PLAZA cut close the bone and leave us uneasy.

Mathieu Amalric is best known as an actor. The truth is he is an even better director who creates films that show the range of the actors he casts. He is also one hell of a documentary director, particularly his music docs (three reviews are here)

Jim Vendiola's film VIOLETS, PRETTY PICKLE and LIBRARY HOURS are short horror films that make you fear for the directors sanity (I mean that in a good way). One of the best genre directors working today he needs to get on the big stage so he can take his place as one of the great horror directors.

Don Hertzfeldt is cult animator who is one of few directors who is allowed to make his movies his way. His films like the WORLD OF TOMORROW series, ME or IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY rewire how you see the world

Daniela Thomas's VAZANTE  put her on my radar and it's been down hill ever since with each new film I see making me rethink about how I see everything.

Dean Colin Marcial's MANILA DEATH SQUAD is a punch in the face. While he's done some web series, his strenth is real and raw crime tale

Dan Perlman & Kevin Iso's FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS is a series of shorts that show what magnificent things you can do when you have a handle on character and can use that to delight an audience

Liu Jian is an animator making films unlike any one else. His  HAVE A NCE DAY is a dystopian gut punch. His Follow up ART SCHOOL 1994 is a look at his time in art school and it isn't how anyone has portrayed art school in the movies.

Hsin-yao Huang's GREAT BUDDHA + got him noticed and since then he's made a bunch of films that don't fully play by the expected rules.

Jean-Christophe Dessaint's DAY OF THE CROWS is a masterpiece. It's one of the greatest animated films of the last twenty years. Its a film that one ups Studio Ghibli

Christina Kallas's THE RAINBOW EXPERIMENT put her on my map. She may not have made perfect film but she announced herself as a force to be reckoned with. Her follow up PARIS IS IN HARLEM revealed her to be truly great.

Niclas Giles' HOLD ME DOWN  is like being hit by a hammer right between your eyes.  While he hasn't done a lot of films he made HOLD which is one of the best films I've seen in decades.

Christopher Bickel has made a bunch of edgey films that aren't foeveryone. However his films like THETA GIRL reveal him to be a director with a singular vision.

Sure Issa López went on to do True Detective, but she also did TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID which is even better

Sam Kuhn may not have made a lot of films but his films like  MOBIUS show us his unique vision

David McCraken in films like BULLIT COUNTRY doesn't go where you expect. That may bother some people but if you want something unlike anything else its a delight.

Kim Noce is animator I discovered through Shawn Clarke. Her films like LOVE-IN-IDLENESS are singular visions 

Stephen Nomura Schible  may be tied largely to music docs but they are great music docs.

Nightcap 1/25/26 updates, Rotterdam is this week, brief Oscar comments

There is a lot going on behind the scenes at Unseen so I’m not doing a long Nightcap post, besides the 7th edition of my filmmakers list will hit shortly. 

However, despite my craziness I wanted to drop a few updates:

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Ariela is at Sundance so expect some on the ground reports. I will be dropping some reports from my igloo here in the New York Metro area.

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I have asked Eden to make a list of under appreciated female directors.

I've created a monster... this is going to be wonderful

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The Rotterdam Film Festival starts Thursday.

I have seen a number of films so expect reviews. I’ve liked everything that I’ve seen.

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I’ve gone through all the materials for Animation First sent to me, so expect a large number of reviews. I have reached out about arranging some special on the ground reporting.

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The slate for the New York International Children's Film Festival is released this week, and tickets go on sale Friday to members.

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There is going to be coverage of The Big Sky Documentary Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, the Santa Barbara Film Festival and Slamdance- I have reviews set to go.

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What are my thoughts on the Oscars?

There were some surprises in the acting awards. A lot of ladies were left out, but then again there were so many great performances. I love that Delroy Lindo was nominated.

The Animated Films are an okay lot but this was largely a weak year.

I am shocked about F1 getting a best picture nod.

Largely I don’t care much. This is actually the first year in a long time where I have no dog in any of the fights

And to those complaining that something was left off- say in the acting or international awards- what would you bump out? The groups are stacked.

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Question:

Would anyone be interested if we reviewed all the Godzilla films? How about the Bond Films? How about the Universal horror films.

Thinking of projects

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And with that back to the darkness and more movies

Together Forever (2026) Sundance 2026

A mormon couple on their wedding night try to get together forever.

I don't know what I think of TOGETHER FOREVER and it's not so easy to explain why without explaining what happens in the film. Then again it's clear from the start that while the couple clearly love each other their interests are kind of different. I've seen a number of siumilar films over the years, but in this case I'm not certain what the filmmakers are want to say. Is this an honest love story or is this just a goof or a poke in the eye at authority?

Its not a bad film, I just don't know what I think of it because I don't know if the filmmakers know what they were going for.

Birds of War (2026) Sundance 2026

Truth depends on what propaganda you let in your home

The first film to make my best of 2026 list is BIRDS OF WAR. Sure, it’s early but greatness can’t be discounted as being too early in the process.

The film is the story of Janay Boulos who is from Lebanon. Living in London she works for the BBC.  While handling contacts in Syria she makes contact with Abd Alkader Habak, a Syrian journalist recording the war as it was happening on the ground. Because Syria did not want journalists in the country people like Habak were the only way reporting could get out. Over the course of years, the pair bond and fall in love.

This is magnificent. I don’t know what to say.

The story of the pair is told via texts, calls, reporting and current day documentary footage. It’s a film that takes us into their lives, their countries and their hearts and we are better for it.

I was deeply moved and several time I found myself misty, not because of some bit emotionally manipulated moment but because something simple had been said in passing and the now was bridged to then.

I ultimately have no notes.  While I would want to critique bits of the film for my own stupid reasons, I am smart enough to know that this isn’t my story but theirs and I have no right to quibble.  That said when you do see this film, and you should, you need to give yourself over to it and let it play out. Boulos and Habak do not cook the books and how things go is how things went so it may take a moment for you to click into the flow of life.

The first great film I saw in 2026, BIRDS OF WAR is a must see.

I am working on an interview with the diectors/subjects.

Revolver Lily (2025) hits VOD Tuesday

In 1924 Yuri Ozone is a woman who was the best assassin that the Japanese ever had. She retired to live life as a madam, but ends up chased by the whole Imperial Army when she begins to look into the death of a friend and the disappearance of his son.

I loved this film. Its what the John Wick Ballerina film should have been. It's a film that has great characters, wonderful performances (Haruka Ayase was nominated for a Japanes Oscar as Lily) and awesome action.  Its a film that largely moves from start to finish.

The film is based on a novel which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good in that it gives the film a weight most action films never have, but it's bad because moving the plot results in a couple of passages where things slow down as things actually happen and characters develop.  While the slow downs are bothersome on the first pass through, on the later watches you don't notice as much because you know what the film is.

I loved this so much that I ended up emailing friends that they had to see this.  Not only is the action great, but it features some truly great women of action- Ozone's friends have colorful pasts that come in handy.

I want a sequel.

Highly recommended

Mother of Flies (2025)

 

The Adams Family (John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser) are back with a horror film comes from an incident in their own lives. This time out a young woman goes to see a witch when she is diagnosed with a disease that regular medicine can’t help. The problem is there is a cost she never expected.

The Adams are masters of visceral folk horror. Their horror comes from a place close to nature and things long forgotten. The horror films dirty and unclean. In films like HELLBEND, WEHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, and THE DEEPER YOU DIG they play with mood and a sense of unease that grows into something terrifying. The result are films with no big release of fear and with an after effect that lasts for days.

Such is the case with MOTHER OF FLIES.  This is another trip to the backwoods where evil lives and it will haunt your dreams. Days after seeing the film I am left feeling uneasy, not wanting to turn around and afraid to replay the film over in my head lest the beasties come get me.

This is a great little film and a continuation of the great run for the family Adams.

The Baddest Speechwriter of All (2026) Sunbdance 2026

Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer and speechwriter Clarence E. Jones talks about his relationship with his boss.

This film is an early entry on my Best of 2026 list. This is film about a man who wanted nothing to do with Martin Luther King and ended up getting talked into not only picking up the fight when king was killed.

This is a perfect example of less is more. Basically the film is just Jones telling his story while we see some photos and some animated recreations. It is nothing fancy or flashy, but it is exactly what the telling needed.

I absolutely loved this film. It's hell of a story perfectly told. It is also a story filled with hope which is exactly what we need these days 

I can not recommend this film any higher than this. You must see this film.

SAUNA SICKNESS (2026) Sundance 2026

After a frolic in the sauna a woman and her parmour find themselves locked out of their house in winter. As he sulks she tries to get back intothe house.

This is a solid little drama that doesn't play as you expect. Despite the situation being ripe for comedy, there aren't too many laughs as the film takes things in unexpected way.

I liked the film, more so since many of the shorts I've seen for Sundance seem to be aimed at getting a feature made and this film is simply trying to tell a good story.

Recommended

Everybody To Kenmure St. (2026) Sundance 2026

This is the story of what happened when the Home Office in Glasgow had a raid on Kenure Street on Eid in the most diverse neighborhood in the city. Its the story of a neighborhood coming together in order to protect members of the community.

This is a film that shows people standing up can make a difference. This is a film about the basic goodness of humanity since it shows that somewhere in the world civility isn't dead. I say this having seen mere days after ICE in America shot and killed a woman in a car because basically she didn't like what they were doing.  I will not get into how what happened on Kenmure Street can no longer happen in most of the US, rather I will say you need to see this film because it will make you feel good and feel hope.

We need that.

Of course it helps that the people of Kenure Street come from a long line of protesters. For generations they have watched each other's back and fought the power when it needed to be fought. One of the great things about the film is that it shows a community that genuinely cares for each other regardless of where they came from. 

This film is glorious.

Forgive me for not saying more than that, but I can't say more because I will get off on a rant.

See this film - feel hope in a world where that is in short supply

HOME OF THE BRAVE, LA TIERRA DEL VALOR (2026) Sundance 2026

In 2025, as the Trump Administration tries to remove anyone who isn't what they deem as being an American recording artist Nezza takes the stage and sings the Nation Anthem at a Dodgers home game.

This is an okay look at the state of America today and how some people are standing up to the bullying by the current American government. The film gives us a nice sense of what it means to be on ICE's hit list.  The problem with the film is that the film also wants to be a biography of Nezza. There isn't anything wrong with that, rather it's simply that the film is much to short to do everything the film wants to do. This should have been longer than 20 minutes.

My feelings aside the film is still worth a look.

The Big Johnson (2025)

The life and times of Dean Johnson who was tall, bald, queer and very much alive. He threw parties, made music and art and generally didn't care what people thought because he was too busy doing.

I did not think I was going to fall madly in love with this film but I did. Blame it on the fact the film is so full of life that I couldn't help it Johnson was an amazing man who enjoyed life and it bleeds off the screen. This is a portrait of a man and the time he lived in and we fall into it. If you want to know what it was like in NYC during the late 1970's and early '80's on the Lower East Side this film is for you. 

Before I continue to talk about the film I should probably warn you the film is graphic in its depiction of sex both visually and in discussions.  Sex was part of Johnson's life, he made porn movies and was a sex worker, and he enjoyed it so it's on screen. Bravo for not censoring it.

I do love this film, and my heart breaks that he is no longer with us. 

This was one of my favorite films of 2025. See it.

Song Of My City (2025) is hitting TCM tonight

This is a 17 minute love letter to the New York City of the 1970's made up emtirely of clips from the films  of the period. 

In this film there is no dialog, just images and music. The result is a glorious celebration of a city that was in decline but which was the inspiration for some truly iconic images. Its a film that will make you fall in love with the city that never sleeps all over again.

I loved this film. Its a film that is going to delight anyone like me who loves the films and or the the city of the 70's. Its a film full of magic. 

Its a perfect love letter.

Recommended

ICEMAN (1984)

When a team in the arctic find a frozen man in the ice, the begin to thaw him out to get data on his life. Unexpectedly, he wakes up. Not certain what to do they send for an anthropologist to come and try and help communicate with the man lost in time.

This was one of the best films I saw in the early 1980’s. It’s a film that moved me to tears at a time when I didn’t really cry at the movies. It’s a film that 40 years on still haunts me even though most of the world seems to have forgotten it.

I think the problem with the film is that when it came out most people who went to “science fiction” films wanted spaceships and monsters.  They didn’t want thoughtful films about the condition of the universe unless something blew up. I’m overstating it, but the truth is other than the basic concept this is not really fantastical.

On the other hand, I ate the film up and John Lone, who played the iceman, became one of my favorite actors. There is a humanity in his performance that breaks your heart when he realizes he will never see his family again simply because too many centuries have passed.

To be honest, I don’t know if this film would have ever been a hit. While the film made some money it didn’t return its investment. Perhaps if it wasn’t marketed to the masses it might have found a niche audience (say the one that loved Quest for Fire). With no fanatic audience the film is one of hundreds that has fallen by the wayside. It’s a shame since the film is a wonderful examination of what it means to be human, of loss, of the role of science and many other things.

This film is, for the most part a glorious film. Its doesn’t deserve to be lost. It needs to be rediscovered and enjoyed.

Track it down.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025) hits theaters tomorrow before going to VOD

This is a frightening film about the road to the fall of a society. The film charts the change in Russian schools after the war with Ukraine started and all of the lessons became scripted speeches set to tow the Putin line and make sure everyone was okay with the way Putin was doing things. To make sure it was being done authorities insisted that the lessons be recorded.

This is a chilling film about how the mad Russian leader and friend to the current US president is doing things in Russia. It’s a film about the death of free thought and all freedom as the party line id fed to the masses word for word.  This film will frighten you because we are damn close to it happening here in the US with the far right leadership insisting on getting rid of anyone one who doesn’t think or act as they do. Yes some of this is funny for a bit but there is a point where it all catches in your throat.

Highly recommended.

Kratom: Side Effects May Include (2025) Dances With Films 2026

This is a long-pained scream of a film on the largely unregulated supplement Kratom, which is found mostly in smoke shops and gas stations. The supplement is made from a leaf from Thailand and Maylasia and stimulates some of the same brain sensors as opiates and caffeine. The trouble is that it could have serious side effects including death if it overused or taken in its refined form.

This is an important film that highlights a growing problem. The number of people using the drug has gone from a million people in the US to over 24 million in the last five years. Since it is not regulated people think it’s safe, but it isn’t. It has addictive qualities (stimulating the opiate receptors), but most states and the federal government are not doing anything about it owing the large amount of money behind it.

While the film is vitally important, the telling is often messy. The film is telling several stories at the same time and it jumps between each kind of randomly. In addition to being a discussion of the drug the film also wants to be a memorial to the people who were lost to it. I can appreciate that, but we never get a solid handle on who these people were. We get their stories in pieces, and often incomplete with the over riding thing said about them was that they were good people- but who were they really? I could have let it go except that the film intertwines their story with that of the drug and we keep revisiting them so we should know more. 

Several points concerning the dangers of the drug are not immediately made clear. What exactly are the side effects? I’m still not sure because the discussion is given a piece meal. I applaud the filmmakers for giving us this important film, I just wish it were slightly better organized so that people will take it more to heart.

My reservations aside, this is an important film and should be seen.