Dream Log

THE BRIDE!

2026 | Dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal | 126 Minutes

3 out of 5

Bold, disjointed, raucous, and bizarre, Maggie Gyllenhaal's takes the shotgun approach to reassembling Bride of Frankenstein with mixed results. When it hits, it's a rather brilliant primal scream of uninhibited feminist rage. When it doesn't, it's a fascinatingly muddled rant that struggles for coherence. Christian Bale is perfectly cast as the infamous lonely Creature. Unsurprisingly, Jessie Buckley is phenomenal as the titular Bride and the ghost of Mary Shelley(?!).

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE

2026 | Dir. Gore Verbinski | 134 Minutes

5 out of 5

A bold and wildly entertaining swing-for-the-fences sci-fi satire delivering striking imagery that's as inspired as it is wacky courtesy of Gore Verbinski. It's incredibly broad at points, but in that way it's sadly mostly a spot-on reflection of the collective technological hellscape of contemporary times. Playing a depressed young woman with a peculiar allergy, Haley Lu Richardson stands out among the exceptional ensemble cast led by the reliably funny Sam Rockwell.

SEND HELP

2026 | Dir. Sam Raimi | 113 Minutes

4 out of 5

A hilarious tale of survival in the wilderness as only Sam Raimi could deliver, rife with viscera, wild camerawork, and pitch dark humor. While the narrative's social commentary isn't remarkably deep, the plot isn't afraid to go take a few disturbing and unconventional turns. Dylan O'Brien is simply too convincing as a privileged asshole, while Rachel McAdams absolutely shines as a put-upon woman finding her power and striving to keep it by any means necessary.

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

2026 | Dir. Nia DaCosta | 109 Minutes

4 out of 5

Both viscerally and intellectually captivating, Nia DaCosta shepherds the 28 Years Later Trilogy through gut-wrenching brutality into a fascinating future rich with possibility. It further explores the post-rage-virus-apocalypse in some truly interesting ways, and it's a damn good character-driven horror movie in its own right. Though Spike's harrowing odyssey takes a bit of a narrative backseat, young Alfie Williams is immediately sympathetic as is supporting player Erin Kellyman, while the emotional core of this picture is made up of phenomenal performances from a soulful Ralph Fiennes, a terrifying Jack O'Connell, and Chi Lewis-Parry who gives Alpha Infected Samson a remarkable amount of nuance.

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
2025 | Dir. James Cameron | 197 Minutes
4 out of 5
For better or worse, Avatar: Fire and Ash is essentially The Way of Water Part 2, not so much a brand new chapter in Cameron's epic sci-fi saga as it is a direct continuation of the previous installment, treading a whole lot of familiar ground. That is not to say the visual splendor and spectacular action set pieces aren't awesome (the final battle set against the backdrop of a treacherous magnetic field is particularly incredible), but the novelty of yet another extended stay on Pandora is somewhat diminished. Devotees will savor the fascinating world-building and game-changing possibilities introduced in this picture, while more discerning audiences may be frustrated with its well-worn plot and how it doesn't utilize these new concepts to their full potential. Playing the dual antagonists, Stephen Lang as the increasingly complex Colonel Quaritch and Oona Chaplin as the totally unhinged leader of the Ash People steal the entire show. 

Sinners

SINNERS
2025 | Dir. Ryan Coogler | 138 Minutes

"Blues wasn't forced on us like that religion. Nah, son, we brought this with us from home. It's magic, what we do. It's sacred, and big."

Sharecropper and dutiful son of a preacher, young Sammie Moore longs to leave his plantation to be a traveling musician. One fateful night, Sammie discovers the full unexpectedly supernatural extent of his talent.

Ryan Coogler's Sinners is a monumental work of art. Filled with drama, music, romance, action, and buckets of blood, the picture is a superbly entertaining crowd-pleaser. Beyond its value as a widely accessible and all-around excellent genre film, the feature also serves as a sobering examination of the existential fears people of color experience in America that are as relevant in the early 20th century as they are today. Depicting the thinly veiled hatred of bigots who don't even bother to lie convincingly, the insidious threat of cultural appropriation and subsequent absorption, and the importance of finding and holding onto moments of joy especially in the face of adversity, Sinners skillfully weaves a story that encompasses a prevalent aspect of the American experience with poignancy, earnestness, and emotional resonance.

Perhaps more than the immersive production design by Hannah Beachler that transports the audience to rural 1930s  Clarksdale, Mississippi or exceptional visual effects work that convincingly duplicates the picture's lead actor, the genre-traversing musical score courtesy of constant Ryan Coogler collaborator Ludwig Göransson is nothing short of integral to Sinners. The sound of blues accompanies the heroes of the picture, while the vampires introduce elements of Irish folk music, gothic-horror-coded organ, and even heavy metal into the eclectic soundscape. Göransson's audacious soundtrack is always in service the plot, made abundantly apparent in the central set piece of the feature, worth the price of admission alone, in which the impressionable young musical savant performs his signature song and literally summons spirits from the past and future as the blues tune is infused with the sounds of rock, hip hop, West African drum beats, and even Chinese opera.

Michael B. Jordan is simply perfect as both the lethally no-nonsense Smoke and the wild hot-headed Stack, personifying the duality of zero compromise and foolhardy recklessness in the day-to-day struggle to survive. Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku both share electric onscreen chemistry with Jordan, emotionally powerful halves of two vastly different tragic romances. The picture's breakout star Miles Caton is absolutely engaging as Sammie, naturally charismatic in a memorable cinematic debut, and his voice is out of this world. Stealing all of his scenes, Delroy Lindo brings both hilarious comedic timing and pathos as veteran bluesman Delta Slim. Jack O'Connell makes for a compelling villain as the vampire Remmick, giving the fiend outstanding layers of depth. The supporting cast also features superb performances from Li Jun Li, and Jayme Lawson, and Omar Benson Miller.

Sinners is an unequivocal milestone for American cinema. The picture functions beautifully as a breathtaking celebration of the transportational power of music, as a stirring Prohibition-era drama set in the perilous cotton field hellscape of Jim Crow Mississippi, and as a mercilessly gruesome vampire movie authentically rooted in folklore. It vividly illustrates the struggle of American minorities against the myriad forces of oppression, whether it takes the form of overt violent bigotry or the insidious lure of cultural assimilation.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
In 1992, Sammie receives a pair of unexpected visitors.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
Sammie practices playing and singing "This Little Light of Mine" in his father's church.


FRAGMENTS
- This marks actor Michael B. Jordan and composer Ludwig Göransson's fifth consecutive collaboration with director Ryan Coogler

- Ruth E. Carter designed some of the featured period costumes for Marvel Studios' troubled production of Blade

- The "I Lied to You" sequence is instantly one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history, and as a Chinese American, I could not be more surprised and thrilled to see Chinese opera represented among the spirits including a brief but prominent appearance from Monkey King Sun Wukong

- Conversely, Jack O'Connell's Mandarin is disappointingly atrocious

- The manner in which Smoke goes out in a blaze of glory taking out the Klansman reminds me of the finale of Cowboy Bebop

- Seeing Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld in early 90s fashion is incredibly amusing


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Michael B. Jordan (N'Jadaka/Erik "Killmonger" Stevens in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

- Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop in The Marvels)

- Wunmi Mosaku (B-15 in Deadpool & Wolverine)

Affeksjonsverdi (Sentimental Value)

AFFEKSJONSVERDI (SENTIMENTAL VALUE)
2025 | Dir. Joachim Trier | 133 Minutes

"It's hard to love someone who's so full of rage."

After years of estrangement, Nora and Agnes' accomplished film director father Gustav re-enters their lives in hopes of salvaging his relationship with them. While Agnes is keen on reconnecting Gustav, Nora is decidedly not despite Gustav's plan to cast her in lead part for his latest film.

Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value is an artfully understated drama that presents a grounded perspective on familial trauma and the difficult process of reconciliation. Featuring central characters gifted in artistic expression, how the film depicts the different ways Nora and Gustav seek catharsis through creative endeavors is fascinating, but the central conflict stemming from the tension between daughter and estranged father is portrayed in the form of consistent passive aggressive barbs rather than the melodramatic altercations one might expect. Instead, the feature's most cinematic moments are in its brief interludes exploring the history of the family home and all of the emotions contained within its walls over the years.

Sentimental Value also offers sharp commentary on the state of the film industry. Trier is quite frank about how difficult it is for even a renowned Norwegian movie director to get a passion project off the ground, having to rely on the clout of a major movie star, having to shoot the film in English, and most likely having to forgo theatrical exhibition to secure distribution from a certain streaming juggernaut. The challenges of the production run parallel to Gustav's struggle to connect with Nora and, perhaps more directly, process his conflicted feelings left unspoken about his late mother as the film he is making is about her as much as it about his relationship with Nora.

The greatest strength of Sentimental Value is Renate Reinsve's superb natural performance as the complex Nora. Reinsve is phenomenally nuanced in the role, fully embodying a conflicted woman in such dire need of emotional release that her continued retention of resentment against her father threatens to destroy her through figurative steady corrosion - her crippling stage fright despite her talent as an actress, her self-sabotage in the form of pursuing a relationship with a romantic partner who is clearly unavailable, and her depression almost casually revealed to be potentially suicidal late in the picture though it hardly comes as a shock. Stellan Skarsgård as also excellent as Gustav, an ostensibly charming man harboring a deep well of pain who only seems to know how to bond with his loved ones through his love of film however misguided, whether it's casting his daughters in his movies or gifting his 8-year-old grandson DVDs of erotic dramas. The cast also features an affecting performance from Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Nora's deeply empathetic sister Agnes and a convincingly earnest Elle Fanning as famous American actress Rachel Kemp who quickly realizes Gustav's plan to have her fill in for Nora is more demanding than she realized.

Sentimental Value is a quiet drama that takes its audience down the long road to understanding and forgiveness without much in the way of artifice. While it isn't the flashiest picture in terms of spectacle or big dramatic swings, it is nonetheless a sobering look at the damage that can be done by festering bitterness. Renate Reinsve is truly stunning in the lead role.


FRAGMENTS
- 2026 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Hamnet also depicts the pursuit of personal catharsis specifically through theatrical artistic expression

- I can't hear that "Dies Irae" section of "Symphonie Fantastique" without immediately associating it with Stanley Kubrick's The Shining

- This film honestly did not resonate with me as much as I think it should -- I wonder if I'll grow to appreciate it more in time

- Seriously, imagine watching The Piano Teacher and Irreversible at 8 years old, hilarious


007 CONNECTIONS
- Jesper Christensen (Mr. White in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Stellan Skarsgård (Erik Selvig in Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Thor: Love and Thunder)

O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent)

O AGENTE SECRETO (THE SECRET AGENT)
2025 | Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho | 161 Minutes

"We need to protect what we still have."

In 1977, a former professor travels to Recife during the carnival holiday. He plans to flee Brazil with his young son, but not before making a desperate attempt to retrieve government files on his late mother to preserve his fleeting memory of her. Meanwhile, a powerful enemy from his past is determined to see him dead.

Authentically staged and filmed to visually resemble a 1970s political thriller, the subject of Kleber Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent is far from a cunning spy but he must conduct himself like one while under constant threat in a world turned upside down. The picture disturbingly depicts the casual tyranny of the Brazilian military dictatorship active during its period setting through the normalized corrupt behavior of local policemen as well as hired assassins carrying about their business openly. Though it often plays like a romp, with a wealth of snappy dialogue and skewering humor, the palpable paranoia that lingers on nearly every frame exudes an inescapable feeling of stifling unease.

The plot of The Secret Agent is relatively clear cut though the unconventional structure of the picture is anything but, presenting events and ideas through a rather tangled design. Mendonça Filho takes the viewer on several intriguing detours that offer exposition and context in ways that are both enlightening and amusing. Notably, the audience surrogate, a history student in the present day researching the protagonist Armando, isn't revealed until the very end of the first act, and the infrequent cuts back to her at moments of rising tension serve as reminders that while the events of the story already transpired decades ago, they are as vivid and relevant as ever, perennially worthy of reexamination. The feature truly comes alive during its more fantastical interludes, with stand-out sequences that include a dramatization of the absurd "hairy leg" news articles reporting brutal attacks on queer people carried out by a severed appendage and Aramndo's surreal nightmare blending striking imagery from throughout the film at the top of the third act. The stylish camerawork and vibrant color palette of the picture are perfectly complemented by excellent setting-appropriate needle-drops.

Wagner Moura is outstanding as Armando, naturally charming and convincingly embodying a principled man on the crossroads of history, attempting to recover his past and secure his future under the most precarious circumstances. In addition to capably carrying the narrative in the lead role, Moura also plays Armando's son Fernando in the picture's epilogue, delivering a performance that is impressively completely different from his Armando in tone and demeanor. Standing out among the supporting cast are Robério Diógenes as the despicable oafish police chief Euclides, Carlos Francisco as Armando's venerable father-in-law Alexandre, and Tânia Maria as the rather badass former anarcho-communist Dona Sebastiana.

Rather than overtly lecturing viewers on the evils of authoritarianism, The Secret Agent accentuates the strangeness of living in deeply troubling times. Through his protagonist, Mendonça Filho demonstrates that it takes bravery to stand up for what's right in order to pave the way to a future with "less mischief." The tragic truth is that not everyone will make it to that future, and it would behoove those that remain to study their history or risk forgetting it entirely.


FRAGMENTS
- My first exposure to Wagner Moura was his engaging portrayal of Pablo Escobar on Narcos, and while I was already impressed with his performance in that series I've grown to really appreciate his range as an actor in films like Alex Garland's Civil War and this film

- Prolific German character actor Udo Kier, who previously starred as a detestable villain in Mendonça Filho's Bacurau, makes his final screen appearance in this film in one memorable scene playing a Jewish Holocaust survivor who the idiotic police chief mistakes for a Nazi fugitive

- The plot appropriately references Jaws and The Omen, both films from the 1970s that reflected the anxieties of the time through a fantastical lens

One Battle After Another

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
2025 | Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson | 162 Minutes

"You know what freedom is? No fear. Just like Tom fucking Cruise."

The former a bomb-maker for the far-left revolutionary group the French 75, Bob Ferguson lives a seemingly over-cautious life with his teenage daughter Willa. When a formidable enemy from the past discovers their current whereabouts, the ex-rebel finds he is woefully unprepared to protect his girl.

Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's 1990 satirical novel Vineland, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another depicts a world in which the influence of organized bigotry reaches alarmingly far and the struggling opposition is undermined by pettiness and division. The film's duo protagonists caught in the conflict consist of former revolutionary Bob who is hilariously too drunk and stoned to keep up with the times and headstrong teenager Willa who is suddenly forced to learn hard truths about her place in the context of history. Both characters serve as fitting analogs respectively representing the previous and current generations of those who oppose fascism in a reasonably grounded way, stripped of any glorification or romanticism. The pacing of the picture is relentless, from its extended prologue detailing the radical actions of the far-left revolutionary group and their eventual dissolution to its prolonged epic car chase finale. While the plot tends to meander, the picture is consistently engaging, and every story thread weaves together impeccably by its highly satisfying conclusion.

Shot on 35mm film using VistaVision cameras, cinematographer Michael Bauman's work on One Battle After Another is absolutely stunning. The oner tracking Bob as he makes his way through Sensei Sergio's refuge for undocumented immigrants as they prepare to evacuate the city is impressively complicated but incredibly inventive and executed concisely. The sequence leads to a visually striking evening rooftop flight backlit by city and police lights as protestors and cops clash on the streets below. The chase sequence in the finale is staged elegantly, as Willa is pursued by a cold-blooded killer and Bob struggles to catch up, each shot of desolate highway keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat in anxious anticipation of what awaits down the road.

Amusingly pitiful and pitifully amusing, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers yet another performance worthy of acclaim as burnt-out retired revolutionary Bob. Chase Infiniti is captivating as young Willa, convincingly clever and tough in her film debut. As the hateful colonel, Sean Penn is at his most believably despicable, face locked in a pained snarl while he trots along with a distinct gait as if he literally has a stick deeply lodged up his rectum. Though she only briefly appears is the picture, Teyana Taylor's presence is strong and unforgettable embodying complex force of nature Perfidia Beverly Hills. As his coolest, Benicio del Toro also turns in memorable performance as the calm and collected wise sensei and family friend who always has a contingency plan in his back pocket.

One Battle After Another is a harrowing journey through a deeply troubling vision of America (that might as well be tomorrow if the country stays its baffling course). While there are plenty of genuinely funny moments throughout, nearly all of the levity comes at the expense of the ex-rebel's failure to keep up with increasingly confusing circumstances due to years of constant self-medication. It's grim, but the picture offers hope by demonstrating how those who keep a level head will stick around long enough to see the next battle.


FRAGMENTS
- The idiotic division amongst the revolutionaries as depicted in the film, best exemplified by the fraught communication between Bob and Comrade Josh as they argue over passwords, reminds me of how Jin Yong depicts the rather ineffectual rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in his satirical wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron

- It seems absurd but totally believable for the white supremacist secret society to be Christmas-themed

- Kevin Tighe makes a brief appearance as the leader of the white supremacist secret society, but I'll always remember him as John Locke's asshole father on Lost


007 CONNECTIONS
- Benicio del Toro (Dario in Licence to Kill)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Wood Harris (Officer Gale in Ant-Man)

- Benicio del Toro (Taneleer Tivan in Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Infinity War)