Film Theatre Visual Arts
BUY LOCAL
Agatha’s Almanac (Canada, 2025. Dir: Amalie Atkins): In spite of the Saskatchewan provincial government’s best efforts (or lack thereof), the Saskatchewan film industry refuses to die.
Perhaps “industry” is too strong a word, particularly when discussing a documentary as proudly analog as Agatha’s Almanac, but there is local talent willing to face the challenges of working in the province with defiance and ingenuity. Would you like to know more?
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (USA, 2026. Dir: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett): You know the drill: Sequels are expected to open up the world of the original, to up the ante. If Spider-Man was initially saving the city, by the next movie he was saving the world..
The Ready or Not sequel takes that principle and blows it up. If the original was about a bride realizing she was marrying into a family of murderous maniacs, this one pits said bride against even more skilled psychopaths with the fate of mankind at stake. Kind of like John Wick. Would you like to know more?
Jimpa (Australia/UK, 2025. Dir: Sophie Hyde): Following his casting as Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming TV adaptation of the “Harry Potter” books, John Lithgow caught some flak from the transgender community for aligning himself with frequent antagonist J.K. Rowling.
Alas, if there’s someone who deserves special consideration in this scenario, it’s Lithgow. Not only has he been an LGBTQ+ ally, his role as Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp (1982) marked a cultural Rubicon for the genderqueer community. By embodying a three-dimensional, fully fleshed-out character, John Lithgow changed social preconceptions and moved the acceptance needle. Would you like to know more?
The comedy-horror subgenre comes with a considerable degree of difficulty: both genres tend to undercut each other. Even the single masterpiece to emerge from this unholy union —Gremlins, of course— is more likely to make you laugh than shriek.
Cold Storage gives it the old college try and, at times, pulls it off. Based on the pulpy bestseller by David Koepp (who also wrote the script), the film makes the gore register by going extra gnarly and pads the cast with three highly respected British thespians slumming it with gusto. Would you like to know more?
Dust Bunny (USA, 2025. Dir: Bryan Fuller): Most people are familiar with Bryan Fuller’s masterful TV adaptation of Thomas Harris’ “Hannibal” and, to a lesser extent, Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” (all three of you). Fewer may remember that Fuller got started as the creator and showrunner of the whimsical dramedies Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies.
Never mind having the actor who portrayed Lecter as the lead, Dust Bunny is more like the latter. Would you like to know more?
Nuremberg (USA, 2025. Dir: James Vanderbilt): Films tackling sprawling historical narratives fill me with dread. Because of their massive scope, this kind of movie tends to oversimplify complex matters and stuff dialogue with “important” facts like a turkey on Thanksgiving Eve.
Nuremberg avoids these pitfalls. It has other problems, but not the obvious ones. Would you like to know more?
Kiss of the Spider Woman (USA, 2025. Dir: Bill Condon): A sturdy original source can make even a bad movie tolerable (The Dark Tower comes to mind). True artists, however, aim higher and try to build something fresh on top of a strong foundation.
While not the first film adaptation of Manuel Puig’s novel of the same name, Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman is set to introduce at least two generations to this seminal tale of freedom and dignity through imagination. Would you like to know more?
June Squibb is Eleanor the Great.
Eleanor the Great (USA, 2025. Dir: Scarlett Johansson): It’s a tale as old as time, the big-time actor trying their hand at directing. Recently, we watched Chris Pine crash and burn in the godawful Poolman and Dev Patel killing it in Monkey Man. They both swung for the fences.
Scarlett Johansson takes a safer approach in Eleanor the Great, a tolerable dramedy with a weak script but a strong lead. At 95, June Squibb improbably scores her second starring role as the titular Eleanor, a cantankerous old woman who, following the passing of her roommate, finds herself forced to live with her daughter in New York. Would you like to know more?
Caught Stealing (USA, 2025. Dir: Darren Aronofsky): I’m normally in the bag for any new Darren Aronofsky film. I would even defend Mother! from its many haters. Aronofsky is the rare filmmaker capable of making emotional depth cinematic. Watching his characters succumb to their darker angels (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream) is both horrifying and entrancing. Would you like to know more?
Materialists (USA, 2025. Dir: Celine Song): Full disclosure. Remember when the world was singing writer/director Celine Song’s praises following her feature debut Past Lives? I didn’t care for it. I didn’t buy the passivity of the husband character (John Magaro) as his wife embarks on an emotional affair with a man she considered her soulmate. Would you like to know more?