Tag: Universal Pictures

Review: Eddington

Is it time to have a serious cinematic conversation about 2020? Or are we still living in it? These seem to be the central questions behind EDDINGTON, the latest from the singular mind of Ari Aster. Using the titular town as a microcosm for a nation in crisis, Aster takes broad strokes across the political spectrum, aiming his lens squarely at the fractures laid bare during the pandemic.

Set in May 2020, Aster drops us into the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico, in the middle of the pandemic’s first global wave. What begins as a heated debate about mask mandates quickly spirals into larger clashes over individual liberties, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. At the heart of the conflict are town sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), whose longstanding animosity bubbles over when Joe impulsively announces his candidacy for the upcoming mayoral election. Personal tensions run just as high, especially given Joe’s wife Lou (Emma Stone) once dated Ted.

Aster populates Eddington with characters instantly recognisable from anyone’s social media feed. There’s Lou’s mother (Deidre O’Connell), an constant conspiracy theorist; teenager Brian (Cameron Mann), who adopts Black Lives Matter activism, possibly to impress a girl; a local cult leader (Austin Butler); incompetent deputies; viral medical misinformation; and the homeless man they all conveniently ignore.

The problem isn’t that these characters aren’t worth exploring, but rather that Aster casts too wide a net, consequently offering little that feels especially new in depicting their divisions. Joe driving a police wagon plastered with misspelled slogans might be deliberately absurd, but so is watching politics unfold nightly on The Daily Show. Much of this has already been endlessly parodied and satirised elsewhere. At times, Aster’s script feels oddly centrist, taking swipes at both the left and right over issues of race, class, and the low-hanging fruit of social media outrage.

The leads, to their credit, play it all straight, rarely leaning into caricature (at least until the final act). Phoenix isn’t far removed from his recent roles, mumbling his way toward a steady breakdown. Pascal delivers a slightly more layered performance as a liberal politician whose altruism may mask ulterior motives. Stone fares less well, not for lack of effort, but because Aster’s script acknowledges her character’s trauma only to lightly mock the choices that follow.

Where Aster truly leans in is during the film’s violent final act: a spiralling series of crimes gone wrong, more Coen Brothers via Beau Is Afraid than Midsommar. It’s a showdown that feels both inevitable and oddly familiar, given the film’s neo-Western leanings. Yet perhaps that’s Aster’s point. In cutting so close to the bone, EDDINGTON may not ultimately be satire, but rather a bleak black mirror, one in which we’re all very much reflected.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Ari Aster | WRITERS: Ari Aster | CAST: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, Emma Stone | DISTRIBUTOR: Sydney Film Festival 2025, A24 (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 145 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 4-15 June 2025 (SFF 2025), 18 July 2025 (USA), 21 August 2025 (Australia)

June 17, 2025
Review: The Phoenician Scheme

Thirteen feature films into Wes Anderson’s filmography, you probably know what to expect: cinematic dollhouses, picture postcards, familial issues, and whimsy. It would be easy to say he keeps making the same film, but they’re always variations on a theme—like a chef continually refining a signature dish. Which is perhaps why THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME stands out: it feels like a conscious, iterative evolution of the Anderson model.

All the familiar elements are still present, of course, right from the locked-off opening shot of 1950s arms dealer and industrialist Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) sitting in a near-empty plane cabin. But when Korda survives yet another assassination attempt, triggering surreal black-and-white visions of an afterlife judging his life, the film begins to explore unexpectedly weightier terrain.

That’s not to say Anderson, collaborating again with Roman Coppola (who shares a story credit), has abandoned his inky comedy. Joined by his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton, slipping into the Andersonverse as if she’s always been there) and her wary tutor-assistant Bjørn (Michael Cera), Korda crisscrosses the globe to swindle investors and cover a ballooning budget shortfall. That gap, naturally, has been created by meddling government agent Excalibur (Rupert Friend), whose sabotage includes driving up the price of building materials.

Relying on a rhythmic repetition of structure—each encounter involving an argument, an unusual event, an assassination attempt, and some kind of accord—Anderson and del Toro craft a character on an unlikely redemption arc. We meet basketball-playing investors Reagan and Leland (Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston) in a tunnel; freedom fighter Sergio (Richard Ayoade) wrecking chandeliers in a nightclub owned by Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric); and a hand-pumped blood transfusion with Jeffrey Wright. The cameos and supporting parts are too numerous to list, but Benedict Cumberbatch may have landed the role of a lifetime: often mentioned, appearing only briefly, yet leaving a powerful impression, thanks in part to an equally powerful beard.

Visually and technically, Anderson arranges everything like the meticulously kept shoeboxes that house Korda’s elaborate schemes. Seasoned cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel—whose credits range from Peter Bogdanovich and Jean-Pierre Jeunet to the Coen Brothers, Julie Taymor and Tim Burton—has only previously worked with Anderson on H&M’s Come Together campaign. Here, he brings something distinct to Anderson’s palette, even if it’s not a million miles from the symmetry of regular DP Robert Yeoman.

You could still walk in cold on THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME and know from a single frame that it’s a Wes Anderson joint. There’s no mistaking it by now. Yet there’s a metaphysical undercurrent here that feels fresh, sidestepping the ironic detachment of The Darjeeling Limited or The Grand Budapest Hotel in favour of something more earnest. Anderson continues to refine his recipe, and for now, it’s a course I’m happy to keep exploring.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson | WRITERS: Wes Anderson (Story by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola) | CAST: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 29 May 2025 (Australia), 30 May 2025 (USA)

June 13, 2025
Review: How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

It’s a sign of the times that this is the second Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois animated film to get a live-action remake this year. Following Disney’s Lilo & Stitch redux, DreamWorks has begun its own journey down the reboot path with this reworking of their 2010 hit. Like Stitch, the original has grown into a small empire over the past decade, which perhaps explains why there are so few surprises here.

In fact, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) is a shot-for-shot, beat-for-beat remake of the original. Once again, we find ourselves on the bitter isle of Berk, where dragons and humans have been locked in conflict for generations. Young Hiccup (Mason Thames) shows no aptitude for living up to the dragon-slaying expectations of his father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler).

That is, until he accidentally wounds Toothless, an elusive and much-feared Night Fury dragon. As Hiccup slowly rehabilitates the creature and earns its trust, he discovers a gentler side to dragonkind. His newfound connection elevates his status among his peers, including love interest Astrid (Nico Parker), but also puts him at odds with a culture entrenched in fear and tradition.

Let’s address the elephant, or rather the gargantuan dragon, in the room. Outside of commercial motivations, this near-identical remake offers little in the way of artistic justification. And yet, it’s hard to deny how entertaining it remains, even in such close proximity to the original. From the opening moments, it’s clear this is a technically accomplished production, with top-tier effects recreating the dragons in stunning detail against the chilly beauty of the Northern Ireland landscapes. Toothless, in particular, is beautifully realised, and I’ll admit I still got choked up during that now-iconic bonding scene.

The casting is also top-notch. Once you adjust to not hearing Jay Baruchel’s voice, Thames (The Black Phone) confidently makes the role of Hiccup his own. Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick with appropriately gruff gravitas, and his pairing with the always-reliable Nick Frost provides a welcome comic double-act. Not all of the character designs translate perfectly to this semi-realistic world, but somehow it still works.

For me, animation holds a unique and irreplaceable magic, a singular blend of art and cinema. There are moments here, especially when Hiccup and Toothless first take flight, that can’t quite replicate the painterly beauty of the 2010 film. Still, the climactic dragon battle makes thrilling use of every inch of the IMAX screen, and if studios insist on remaking beloved animated films, this is at least how it should be done.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Dean DuBlois | WRITERS: Dean DeBlois | CAST: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 12 June 2025 (Australia), 13 June 2025 (USA)

June 9, 2025
Review: Drop

So many thrillers take the simplest pieces of technology and ask the obvious question: how can this be used to foster abject terror? Christopher Landon—who previously fused horror with time loops and body swaps in Happy Death Day and Freaky—now turns his attention to something we all carry in our pockets and weaponises it.

Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed single mother and survivor of spousal abuse, ventures out on her first date in years. Things with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) are going smoothly—until a series of anonymous air-dropped messages begin arriving on her phone. With her son and younger sister Jen (Violett Beane) in immediate danger, Violet has no choice but to follow the phone’s increasingly sinister instructions.

There’s something a little old-fashioned about DROP—but in the most endearing way. Building a thriller around a feature that’s been on phones for over a decade might seem like it missed the boat on techno-horror, but writers Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach instead lean into something more Hitchcockian in pace and tone.

Confined almost entirely to the skyline restaurant where Violet and Henry’s date takes place—with occasional glimpses of Violet’s home via a nanny cam—Landon turns the single location into a pressure cooker. An escape-room style structure builds steadily: a revelation in the bathroom, a note slipped to a piano player, a new element emerging at just the right (or wrong) moment. It’s all in the small details, but they add up to a knuckle-whitening experience.

None of it would work without Fahy’s committed and convincing lead performance—a welcome change from the paper-thin roles women are too often given in the genre. There are also thoughtful moments exploring the nature of abuse and trauma, and the many forms it can take. Sklenar is a strong counterpoint to Fahy, which is all the more impressive given how little of the film is actually about him.

DROP, well, drops the ball just a little in the final act, when it shifts gears into a different kind of thriller. It’s an inevitable turn; the bubble had to burst sometime. But what begins as a taut pressure-cooker loses some of its bite as the scope suddenly widens, racing through a grab-bag of broader genre elements.

Still, Landon delivers a solid game of cat-and-mouse, further cementing his reputation as a purveyor of quality scares. With tension and jump-scares pumping right to the end, DROP will make every bad date look like a dream—and ensure your AirDrop setting is permanently turned off.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Christopher Landon | WRITERS: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach | CAST: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jeffery Self | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 11 April 2025 (USA), 17 April 2025 (Australia

April 12, 2025
Review: The Alto Knights

Barry Levinson’s mobster saga boasts such deep genre pedigree that they’ve cast Robert De Niro twice. With a script by Goodfellas and Casino scribe Nicholas Pileggi and a story inspired by the real-life power struggle between crime bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, this is, at its core, a throwback gangster flick—or at least an attempt at one.

Levinson opens with the botched assassination attempt on Costello (De Niro), adopting an almost documentary-style approach to unravel the rivalry behind the hit. As an aged Costello addresses the camera, archival-style slides and intercut vignettes chart how the ruthless Genovese (also De Niro) returned from Europe after the war, determined to reclaim the boss role he once handed to Costello. Surviving the attempt, Costello plans to retire—but Genovese isn’t convinced.

It’s a sweeping saga, jumping between hushed conversations, sudden bursts of violence, and congressional hearings. While Costello and Genovese wage their battle, Frank’s wife Bobbie (Debra Messing) and Vito’s on-again-off-again spouse Anna (Kathrine Narducci) largely remain bystanders to their machinations. The film’s whiplash-inducing scene changes can be disorienting, but they keep the momentum brisk.

The dual casting of De Niro in both primary roles doesn’t add much beyond some initial confusion. If you go in unaware, you might find yourself scrutinising Genovese’s heavy makeup just to confirm you’re not seeing double. At times, the film relies on precisely staged booth and table setups to sell the effect. Still, De Niro seems to be having fun getting to play the Joe Pesci character for a change.

Where the film does well is in evoking the era. The Kefauver Committee hearings serve as pivotal moments, though the broader societal implications of the investigation remain largely unexplored. That said, the film is steeped in period detail. Dante Spinotti’s camera captures the crisp neon glow of the streets, reflecting off polished ‘50s cars to create a mostly immersive world.

THE ALTO KNIGHTS is a serviceable mob film, albeit somewhat hampered by our familiarity with the form. As the finale escalates the rivals’ game of one-upmanship into a chaotic car chase, it feels like seasoned creatives tossing out the last of the pot—a well-worn but still flavorful serving of the genre’s staples.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Barry Levinson | WRITER: Nicholas Pileggi | CAST: Robert De Niro, Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (Australia), Warner Bros. (US) | RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 20 March 2025 (Australia), 21 March 2025 (USA)

March 20, 2025
Review: Black Bag

By the time you finish this sentence, Steven Soderbergh may have released another film. Since ending his so-called retirement nearly a decade ago, the ever-prolific filmmaker has delivered over a dozen features and several television projects. BLACK BAG follows Presence as his second film of 2025—and it might just be one of the year’s best so far.

With a screenplay by David Koepp—who recently collaborated with Soderbergh on Kimi and Presence—this spy thriller appears deceptively simple at first. George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) are a married spy duo working for the British government. When a top-secret asset vanishes, George is tasked with rooting out a mole—who may very well be his wife.

Koepp sets this twisty tale in motion with an almost stage-like economy, beginning at a dinner party in George and Kathryn’s stunning London home. (It’s truly gorgeous—clearly, I’ve chosen the wrong career). The guests are two pairs of colleagues: Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) and Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), along with Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris) and Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page). They’re also couples—and all are suspects.

Like George himself, Soderbergh’s lens oscillates between cool detachment and uncomfortable intimacy. After all, he’s a master of this kind of up-close grilling, a skill he’s honed since his 1989 debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. As the opening dinner party spirals into a bloodier take on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, it cracks open a warehouse of secrets—ones that Koepp and Soderbergh spend the rest of the taut runtime sifting through.

What truly sets BLACK BAG apart from other spy dramas is its stellar cast. Fassbender plays George as a closed book, revealing only flickers of his relentless pursuit of the truth. Blanchett, by contrast, brings a charged energy that crackles in their scenes together. The only thing that smoulders more are the withering looks of disdain spy boss Pierce Brosnan casually drops whenever an underling displeases him.

To say much more would be criminal—it’s best left sealed in the titular black bag. From its quiet moments to its nerve-shredding climax, BLACK BAG is a slick, sophisticated thriller that knows exactly how long to stick around.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Steven Soderbergh | WRITERS: David Koepp | CAST: Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 13 March 2025 (Australia), 14 March 2025 (USA)

March 12, 2025
Review: Mickey 17

So, you’re Bong Joon-ho. Your film Parasite unanimously wins the Palme d’Or, becomes the highest-grossing South Korean film in history, and pulls off the Guinness World Record feat of scoring Academy Awards for Best Picture, International Feature Film, Original Screenplay, and Director. Naturally, your next move is a sci-fi black comedy romance with Robert Pattinson.

For those only half-watching Bong’s career, this might seem like an odd, left-field pivot into Hollywood. But let’s not forget: Snowpiercer already took him there, and Okja brought the titular genetic super pig to Netflix screens. This is hardly new ground for a filmmaker whose tongue has always been planted firmly in cheek.

Based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, writer/director Bong leans into the same over-the-top satire as Okja, landing somewhere near Starship Troopers. The film follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his childhood friend Timo (Steven Yeun), who flee Earth for the offworld colony of Niflheim after falling into debt over a Macron business.

Without reading the fine print, Mickey signs on as an ‘Expendable’—a human drone sent in for the dangerous work. When he dies (which he has, sixteen times by the time we meet him), he’s simply printed again with his memories intact. Things get complicated when Mickey 17 is mistakenly presumed dead and Mickey 18 takes his place.

There’s very little subtlety to MICKEY 17, which might be one of the most glorious things about it. The expedition is led by failed political candidate turned cult leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), whose followers wear red caps with slogans on them. Yes, it’s that kind of picture. Yet in a film where Pattinson regularly flops out of a printing tube like meat, and Marshall’s wife Ylfa (a wonderfully unhinged Toni Collette) has an unhealthy obsession with sauces, you can’t afford to take half-bites.

One of the joys of the first half of the film is watching Pattinson’s take on the monotony of functional immortality. Between the daily grind and being dispensed in increasingly absurd fashion, Mickey 17 has resigned himself to eke out existence just as it is. A light romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who has remained his girlfriend since his first iteration, adds a sliver of emotional grounding.

With the arrival of Mickey 18—and a wonderfully chaotic dual turn from Pattinson—the film shifts gears. The discovery of giant bugs on Niflheim sets up broad satire on the nature of colonisation, religious fanaticism, and arguably, immigration as well. Here, Ruffalo and Collette deliver their batty best, skewering everything from conservative televangelists to political leaders like, well, you know.

There’s possibly too much happening in the last act of MICKEY 17, particularly during an extended denouement that tries to pull the rug out from under us more than once. Still, Bong’s film remains a sharp and enjoyable sci-fi flick with a brain—one smart enough to know when to be stupid.

2025 | USA, South Korea | DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITERS: Bong Joon-ho | CAST: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 137 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 March 2025 (Australia), 7 March 2025 (USA)

March 5, 2025
Review: Companion

SPOILER ALERT: While this review avoids revealing the myriad twists and turns that make the film a delight, it does touch on some basic plot elements that might be considered mild spoilers.

Who needs messy human interaction or even dating apps when you can fall for the algorithm itself? From Westworld and Blade Runner to Ex Machina and Black Mirror, the intersection of love, humanity, and technology has long been fertile ground for storytelling.

In Drew Hancock’s striking directorial debut, he flips the script on this familiar trope by exploring a world where artificial companions don’t complete us but amplify our worst instincts. While its shopfront premise might evoke Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Air Doll or Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man, this darkly funny thriller proves to be something far more disarmingly clever.

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is, to borrow a phrase from Olivia Newton-John, hopelessly devoted to Josh (Jack Quaid). She bends over backwards to please him, even agreeing to a vacation with Josh’s friends, including Kat (Megan Suri) and her sleazy Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend).

Despite Kat’s barely veiled hostility, Iris starts to find her groove with the group, including lively couple Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). That is, until Sergey makes an unwanted advance, forcing Iris to kill him in self-defence. It’s at this shocking juncture that the film drops its first bombshell: Iris is not human but a companion robot, meticulously designed to fulfil Josh’s every whim.

From here, it would be criminal to reveal anything more. I went into this having avoided almost all pre-release buzz, and it made all the difference. Like one of those crime films where every plan spirals disastrously out of control, Hancock’s script doles out one curveball after another. What sets COMPANION apart, though, is how unexpectedly funny it is amidst the chaos.

Hancock uses sharp, well-timed humour to cut through the tension, elevating the film beyond Stepford Wives comparisons into something far more winking. By weaving in themes of #MeToo and toxic masculinity, the film transitions into an exploration of autonomy and control. Following in the thematic footsteps of Don’t Worry Darling and Don’t Blink, Hancock’s film truly comes alive when Iris confronts her lack of agency, transforming into a more compelling story.

This pivot gives Sophie Thatcher a platform to showcase her incredible range. Known for her role in Yellowjackets and her supporting turn in Heretic, Thatcher delivers a standout performance, effortlessly embodying Iris’ malleable personality, which literally shifts at the push of a button. Jack Quaid, meanwhile, easily sheds his voice-acting familiarity from Star Trek: Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds to convincingly portray the deadbeat boyfriend. And Rupert Friend? His eerie transformation into Sergey is so complete it feels almost unsettling.

As Hollywood—and society at large—grapples with the implications of artificial intelligence, COMPANION arrives as a timely reflection on the balance of power in all relationships, not just those between humans and technology. It may not change your perspective on AI, but it will undoubtedly leave you chuckling long after its final twist.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Drew Hancock | WRITERS: Drew Hancock | CAST: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (Australia), New Line Cinema (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 30 January 2025 (Australia), 31 January 2025 (USA)

January 24, 2025
Review: The Brutalist

Don’t bother searching for László Tóth. Like Lydia Tár before him, he’s a figure of considerable renown who exists solely within the bounds of an intense piece of fiction. Yet THE BRUTALIST, directed by Brady Corbet and co-written with Mona Fastvold, is firmly anchored in the concrete realities of a century’s worth of history, drawing inspiration from real-world architects and designers.

Corbet deliberately disorients the audience from the outset with an intense sequence of jarring shots, reminiscent of the climactic scene in The Childhood of a Leader (2015). These striking visuals introduce Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor László Tóth (Adrien Brody) as he arrives at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty looming above the immigrants.

Tóth’s version of the “American Dream” follows a familiar path. Labelled onscreen as ‘The Enigma of Arrival’, it sees architect Tóth move to Philadelphia to stay with his cousin, Attila (Alessandro Nivola), and help with his furniture business. Unable to bring his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), to America right away, Tóth faces mixed fortunes. Coupled by a descent into heroin addiction, he’s left in charity housing and working construction jobs. At least until he catches the attention of Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), a wealthy and volatile industrialist.

Van Buren commissions Tóth to build a multi-function community centre near his estate. The second act of the film, “The Hard Core of Beauty” traces the construction project and the parallel unravelling of the architect. Following the arrival of his now wheelchair-bound wife and mute niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), Tóth increasingly feels the glares of his outsider status as a foreigner in a rich white world.

Like the building Tóth has designed, THE BRUTALIST is ambitious in both size and shape. At 215 minutes, Corbet’s film mirrors the titular design movement: like a massive concrete structure, it may initially appear daunting, indulgent, or even unapproachable. Yet by presenting its characters in their rawest forms, the film’s deliberate pacing invites the audience to invest time and uncover the understated elegance within. Make no mistake—THE BRUTALIST is beautiful and transfixing. Over three and a half hours in Tóth’s world pass in the blink of an eye.

By shooting on VistaVision film and using cameras from the format’s heyday—a process Paramount pioneered but abandoned after just seven years in the 1950s and 1960s—Corbet crafts his film with the very materials of the era it depicts. The result is a series of jaw-droppingly beautiful moments, captured in the characteristic fine-grain of the format. Even the 15-minute intermission is a deliberate nod to tradition, serving not just as a bladder break but as a pivotal thematic shift.

Likewise, the stellar cast—completely reassembled between the film’s 2020 announcement and final form—feel less like performers and more like documentary subjects. It’s a running joke that Brody has spent much of his career in the Second World War (The Thin Red Line, The Pianist), but here you would believe it. Brody carries the weight of his character’s trauma and grief in every contorted expression, a survivor in every sense of the word.

In Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote that legacy is planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. Tóth actively refutes this, literally constructing a monument to past traumas and claiming ownership of his own legacy. (In a playful nod, the credits roll to La Bionda’s 1970s disco hit “One for You, One for Me,” driving the point home). As the film’s closing moments remind us, “No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey.” THE BRUTALIST is one hell of a destination.

2024 | USA, Hungary, UK | DIRECTOR: Brady Corbet | WRITERS: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold | CAST: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (Australia), A24 (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 215 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 23 January 2025 (Australia), 20 December 2024 (USA)

January 17, 2025
Review: Wolf Man

If you think studio franchises and crossover sequels are a product of the 21st century, let me introduce you to the Universal Monster movies. During their heyday in the 1930s and 1940s, Universal released some two dozen films featuring iconic characters ranging from Dracula and Frankenstein to the comedic antics of Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.

Leigh Whannell’s WOLF MAN, co-written with his wife Corbett Tuck, honours this storied legacy while carving out its own identity. It pays homage to George Waggner’s original The Wolf Man (1941), starring the legendary Lon Chaney Jr., but also draws on nearly a century of werewolf lore—from An American Werewolf in London and The Howling (both 1981) to Universal’s more recent, less successful reboots.

Whannell and Tuck distinguish their take by slowing the pace and grounding the story in psychological tension rather than pure body horror. Like Larry Talbot before him, Blake (Christopher Abbott) returns to his childhood home to settle his late father’s estate. Haunted by deep-seated trauma from his survivalist father’s harsh upbringing and struggling with a fractured marriage to Charlotte (Julia Garner), Blake pours his protective instincts into their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth).

Soon after arriving, the family is involved in a car accident, and Blake is mauled by an unseen creature. They barely escape to the house as the beast relentlessly pursues them. But as the night stretches on, it becomes horrifyingly clear: Blake has been infected, and he is beginning to change.

There are few surprises in WOLF MAN. From the exploration of Blake’s paternal issues to his inevitable transformation, the film remains tethered to folkloric traditions. There’s only so many times you can watch a child nervously ask, “What’s happening to Daddy?” while he grows visibly more wolf-like before it starts edging into absurdity.

Yet Whannell and Tuck approach the material with sincerity. In interviews, Whannell has cited degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer as inspirations. The film depicts a family grappling with Blake’s mental and physical disintegration: he loses speech, momentarily forgets loved ones, and lashes out as his lupine fate takes hold. For Blake, the world itself seems to unravel, and the audience is frequently put in his shoes, where the distinction between reality and madness blurs.

However, the film falters in its supporting characters. Charlotte is underdeveloped, her emotional rift with Blake left unexplored. She muses vaguely about not knowing how to be a mother, but her arc feels like a cliché: the too-busy Big City Gal rediscovering her family in backwoods Oregon—it’s Hallmark with an added dose of body horror! For an actor of Julia Garner’s calibre, it’s a missed opportunity, leaving her role as little more than a bystander to Blake’s transformation.

On a technical level, WOLF MAN impresses. Whannell and cinematographer Stefan Duscio deliver stunning visuals, with Oregon’s landscapes providing a haunting backdrop. The ‘wolf vision’ sequences are particularly striking, blending cranked-up ASMR-like sound design with surreal imagery—think Total Eclipse of the Heart with the intensity dialed up to eleven. However, the film’s slow-burn approach means that those seeking quick thrills or Rick Baker-style effects may walk away disappointed.

Ultimately, it’s hard to pin down who WOLF MAN is for. It’s a deliberate and distinctive take on familiar material, but it doesn’t break the mould enough to stand out. Horror fans might find the pacing too restrained, while drama enthusiasts may be deterred by the genre trappings. What remains is a film about a family on the brink, held together by a strong lead performance and a commitment to mood. For some, that may just be enough.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Leigh Whannell | WRITERS: Leigh Whannell and Corbett Tuck | CAST: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 January 2025 (Australia), 17 January 2025 (USA)

January 16, 2025