Tag: Sundance

Review: ‘Sorry, Baby’ (2025), starring Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi and Kelly McCormack

June 27, 2025

by Carla Hay

Eva Victor in “Sorry, Baby” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“Sorry, Baby” (2025)

Directed by Eva Victor

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed Massachusetts city, the comedy/drama film “Sorry, Baby” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) who representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Over a five-year period, a young woman copes with the aftermath of being sexually assaulted by someone she used to trust.

Culture Audience: “Sorry, Baby” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and comedy/dramas with quirky protagonists.

Naomi Ackie and Eva Victor in “Sorry, Baby” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“Sorry, Baby” is a unique comedy/drama about coping with sexual trauma, from the perspective of an intelligent and quirky woman. Some viewers might be bored by the slow pacing, but this movie has enough wit and authenticity to keep most viewers interested. “Sorry, Baby” is the type of movie where you know within the first 15 minutes whether or not you will care to know more about the protagonist.

Written and directed by Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” is Victor’s feature-film directorial debut. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where “Sorry, Baby” won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. “Sorry, Baby” takes place in an unnamed city in Massachusetts, where the movie was filmed on location in various Massachusetts cities. The story is told non-chronologically in five chapters, with each chapter reflecting the life of the protagonist, from the ages of 27 to 32.

“Sorry, Baby” begins with a chapter titled “The Year With the Baby,” which is also the title of the last chapter in the movie. The opening scene is a joyous reunion of two best friends: introverted Agnes (played by Victor) and extroverted Lydie (played by Naomi Ackie), who were roommates and attended the same grad school, where they studied English literature. Agnes and Lydie now live in different states.

Agnes, who is 31 years old in this chapter, lives in a house by herself in a rural part of Massachusetts. Lydie, who has come to visit Agnes, lives with Lydie’s spouse in New York. Agnes has an isolated existence where her closest neighbor is several yards away, and she doesn’t have any close friends except for Lydie. Nothing is told about Agnes’ biological family.

As the two friends reconnect, they start off with small talk. They both say that they miss the ability to see each other in person on a regular basis. They both say that they wished that they lived closer together. And then, Lydie breaks some joyous news to Agnes: Lydie is about 10 weeks pregnant.

Agnes is very happy for Lydie, who seems a little worried about Agnes. Agnes says that everything is fine. She also shares some good news of her own: She’s been promoted from being a part-time professor to a full-time professor at the same college where she and Lydie went to grad school.

During Lydie’s visit, Agnes nearest neighbor randomly shows up unannounced. His name is Gavin (played by Lucas Hedges), who’s about the same age as Agnes. Gavin is socially awkward and has an obvious crush on Agnes. The movie implies that Gavin might have some learning disabilities because Agnes reminds Gavin where he lives and politely tells him to go back home.

Later, Lydie and Agnes both have a reunion dinner with three people who were in their same study group in grad school: Devin (played by Cody Reiss), Logan (played by Jordan Mendoza) and Natasha (played by Kelly McCormack), who has an obsessive jealousy of Agnes. Natasha works at the same college and has always considered Agnes to be her biggest rival.

Natasha is hosting this dinner party, which quickly becomes tense when Natasha is rude to Agnes. When Agnes excuses herself to use the restroom, Lydie verbally cuts into image-conscious Natasha in a passive-aggressive way: Lydie complains to Natasha that there’s a bone in the fish that Lydie was served. Lydie admonishes Natasha for not being careful enough in checking for bones in the fish served to Natasha’s dinner guests.

The chapter titled “The Year With the Bad Thing” is the most pivotal chapter in the story. It’s a flashback to when Agnes was 27 years old and living with Lydie while they were both in grad school. Agnes, Lydie, Natasha, Devin and Logan were in a small study group that had a professor named Preston Decker (played by Louis Cancelmi) as their advisor.

Preston, who is a divorced father in his mid-to-late 40s, treats Agnes as if he thinks she’s his best student. Natasha, who wants to be “teacher’s pet,” believes that Preston gives special treatment to Agnes. Natasha pathetically tries to get praise from Preston, who is casually dismissive of Natasha.

In a private conversation at home, Lydie mentions to Agnes that Preston seems attracted to Agnes. Lydie asks Agnes if Agnes is interested in hooking up with Preston. A slightly mortified Agnes says no because she’s not interested in Preston and because Agnes knows it would be ethically wrong on many levels to have a sexual relationship with a faculty member who will influence her academic grades. Meanwhile, Lydie openly talks about her sex life to Agnes and drops a hint about Lydie’s true sexuality that is confirmed later in the story.

During a crucial period of time in the students’ academic careers, Preston wants to give in-depth feedback to Agnes about her dissertation and invites her over to his house for this discussion, to make up for cutting short their previous meeting in his office. The movie shows Agnes leaving Preston’s house several hours after she arrived. What happened during this house meeting is not shown but is described in detail by Agnes to Lydie after Agnes goes back to their home.

The trailer for “Sorry, Baby” already hints that the “something bad” that happens to Agnes is a sexual assault that prompted her to get a medical check-up, with Lydie accompanying her as comfort. In one of the movie’s most uncomfortable scenes, the unnamed doctor (played by Marc Carver) who examines Agnes is uncaring and glib when he finds out why Agnes wants this medical exam. Later, Agnes comes across a disheartening roadblock when she reports what happened to her and she attempts to get justice.

The chapter titled “The Year With the Questions” (the movie’s shortest chapter) shows Agnes in a jury duty situation. “The Year With the Good Sandwich” chapter has its best scene when Agnes has a panic attack while driving in her car, and she is helped by a kind stranger named Pete (played by John Carroll Lynch), who sees Agnes when she drives into a convenience store parking lot during this panic attack. “Sorry, Baby” is at its best when Agnes copes with indignities and reminders that she can’t escape her trauma by trying to forget that it happened.

“Sorry, Baby” also has a subplot about Agnes finding some comfort with Gavin, but it’s not the type of comfort that’s about people falling in love. It’s the type of comfort where she knows she will never fall in love with Gavin (even though he wants it to happen), but she wants to have a “friends with benefits” situation. Is she using Gavin for her own selfish needs? Yes, but Gavin is a consenting partner, even if his feelings for Agnes aren’t mutual.

Ackie gives a vibrant performance as outspoken Lydie, but Lydie is not in most of the movie. Agnes is front and center in this story. Where “Sorry, Baby” falls short is in telling more about who Agnes is outside of her career, her limited social interactions, and how she deals with her trauma. Shortly after her sexual assault, Agnes adopts a stray kitten (whom she names Olga), who becomes Agnes’ constant companion after Lydie moves away.

There is nothing revealed about Agnes’ family and nothing revealed about what she likes to do in her spare time besides reading. There’s a brief scene of Agnes in her classroom and a another brief scene of Agnes getting positive feedback in the evaluation that leads to her job promotion. Agnes’ choice to have her students read Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel “Lolita” (about a literature professor who sexually abuses his 12-year-old stepdaughter) is shown in “Sorry, Baby” as an example of how people can react differently to sexual controversy. But there are many unanswered questions about Agnes that make her depiction in the movie somewhat shallow at different times.

Still, Victor’s portrayal of Agnes has many meaningful insights into Agnes’ personality in other ways. Agnes is the type of person who doesn’t use her physical attractiveness to “get ahead” in her career. She’s eccentric but not mentally unstable. She’s an unapologetic literature nerd who’s not standoffish, but she has a hard time meeting anyone (other than Lydie) who’s on the same wavelength as she is.

These insights into Agnes’ life bring vitality to the story and will make interested viewers curious to see what will happen to Agnes. Because of Victor’s capable writing, directing and acting, “Sorry, Baby” brings some dark comedy to the disrespectful ways that people can degrade each other and emotional resonance to the compassionate ways that people can uplift each other. Most of all, “Sorry, Baby” isn’t about finding out if Agnes gets “closure” for her trauma, because it’s a story that takes a worthwhile glimpse at part of her bumpy journey along the way.

A24 released “Sorry, Baby” in select U.S. cinemas on June 27, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on July 25, 2025.

Review: ‘The Ugly Stepsister,’ starring Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp and Flo Fagerli

May 21, 2025

by Carla Hay

Ane Dahl Torp and Lea Myren in “The Ugly Stepsister” (Photo by Marcel Zyskind/IFC Films)

“The Ugly Stepsister”

Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt

Norwegian with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Norway in the mid-to-late 1800s, the horror film “The Ugly Stepsister” (inspired by the fairytale “Cinderella”) features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An “ugly stepsister” of Cinderella’s goes to extreme lengths in her obsession to have a beauty makeover and get a prince to marry her. 

Culture Audience: “The Ugly Stepsister” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of gruesome horror movies based on fairy tales and movies that are dark satires of society.

Isac Calmroth and Lea Myren in “The Ugly Stepsister” (Photo by Lukasz Bak/IFC Films)

Beyond the intentionally sickening body horror in “The Ugly Stepsister,” this well-made version of the Cinderella fairy tale is a dark and clever satire of painful extremes some women go to for beauty and wealth. What is supposed to make people uncomfortable is that even though the movie takes place in the 19th century, the pressures that women put on themselves to fit society’s standards of beauty and to marry a rich man are still very much part of today’s culture. Plastic surgery is a business that keeps growing (even when people, usually women, can die or be disfigured from botched plastic surgery), while the Internet has become a worldwide hunting ground for gold diggers.

Written and directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, “The Ugly Stepsister” is her feature-film directorial debut. “The Ugly Stepsister” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. It’s a stylish film (with impressive cinematography, production design and costume design), made on a low budget, but “The Ugly Stepsister” has a high impact on anyone who can stomach watching the entire movie from beginning to end.

“The Ugly Stepsister” takes place in Norway, sometime in the mid-to-late 1800s. Amongst the beautiful settings of Napoleonic Era mansions and upper-class luxuries, there are ugly truths and nightmarish scenarios that emerge during the story. “The Ugly Stepsister” has such explicit and nauseating body horror, it’s best not to eat anything while watching this compelling but gory film.

Near the beginning of the movie, a family of three are shown arriving by carriage to a mansion in an unnamed city in Norway. Domineering widow Rebekka (played by Ane Dahl Torp) has traveled to this mansion with her two teenage daughters. Elder daughter Elvira (played by Lea Myren), who’s about 17 or 18, is a wide-eyed and naïve romantic at the beginning of the story. Younger daughter Alma (played by Flo Fagerli), who is about 14 or 15, is an aloof somewhat bratty cynic.

Rebekka, Elvira and Alma have gone to this mansion because Rebekka is marrying the owner of the mansion: a middle-aged widower named Otto (played by Ralph Carlsson), whose teenage daughter Agnes (played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss) is about the same age as Elvira. It’s later revealed that Agnes’ full name is Agnes Angelica Alicia Victoria von Morgenstierne Munthe of Rosenhoff.

Agnes (later named Cinderella) is physically beautiful, but she’s not the paragon of kindness embodied by the Cinderella in the traditional fairytale. Agnes can be arrogant, rude and impatient. At first, Elvira is in awe of Agnes and thinks they could become friends.

The wedding ceremony happens shortly after the arrival of Rebekka, Elvira and Alma. These stepfamily members and a few other guests are the only people who attend the simple outdoor ceremony. The wedding reception is also basic: There are less than 10 people gathered at a large dining table for the wedding dinner. And the wedding cake is very small. These are subtle clues of something that will soon be revealed.

For no apparent reason, Otto throws some of the wedding cake at Elvira. This prank catches her off guard, but she reacts with a smile and a slightly embarrassed laugh, as every else around her laughs at her. This scene is meant to show that in the pecking order of this family, Otto has singled out Elvira as the one who deserves the most ridicule.

Agnes shows Elvira around the property and introduces her to Isak (played by Malte Gårdinger), a man in his late teens or early 20s, who works for the family as the horse caretaker. Elvira doesn’t think much of Isak and proudly announces to Agnes that she wants to marry Prince Julian (played by Isac Calmroth), who is most eligible bachelor in the land. Elvira will eventually find out that Agnes is attracted to Prince Julian too.

The opening scene of “The Ugly Stepsister” shows that Elvira reading one of the romance novels that Prince Julian has written and imagining herself as having a grand love affair with him. Over time, it’s shown that Elvira doesn’t have a harmless crush on Julian. Her fixation on him becomes a dangerous obsession for her.

Part of it has to do with Rebekka being a relentless gold digger, who has trained her daughters to believe that the only worth that they have is if they can marry a wealthy man. Rebekka believes that about herself too. And that’s why Rebekka has a meltdown when Otto suddenly dies of a heart attack during a family dinner, and Rebekka finds out from Otto’s business representatives that Otto was actually financially broke and living off of his debts. Rebekka is now responsible for paying these debts.

What’s a selfish and desperate gold digger to do? Rebekka believes she’s too old to be considered a desirable bachelorette. And so, she puts immense pressure on Elvira to marry a wealthy man, preferably Prince Julian. Elvira is all too eager to fulfill this wish, partly because she wants to please her mother, but mostly because Elvira wants to fulfill her fantasy of becoming Prince Julian’s wife.

Alma hasn’t started menstruating, and Rebekka wants to play gold digging matchmaker for the daughter who can get pregnant. Keep in mind that in the 1800s, people’s life expectancy was much shorter than it is now, and it was common for girls to be married before turning 18 years old. Alma does not participate in Rebekka’s gold-digging schemes, but Alma observes enough to know what is going on.

When Elvira first arrived at the mansion, she wore teeth braces and was a gangly introvert. Rebekka’s plan is to transform Elvira into a sexy and confident debutante. First, there’s a physical makeover, starting with removing Elvira’s teeth braces and giving her a painful nose job. These procedures are done by Dr. Esthétique (played by Adam Lundgren), who is considered a trendy surgeon who knows all the latest beauty transformation techniques.

As a result of this primitive plastic surgery, Elvira has to wear a nose cast for a great deal of time that this story take place. Dr. Esthétique also gives false eyelashes to Elvira, but he doesn’t glue them on. He sews these false eyelashes into her upper and lower eye linings while Elvira is fully awake. The eyelashes are laced with cocaine to numb the pain. Dr. Esthétique snorts cocaine (which was a legal drug in the 1800s) while doing this procedure.

Rebekka also enrolls Elvira in Sophie von Kronenberg’s Finishing School, where Elvira has to take dance classes taught by the stern and strict Madame Vanja (played by Katarzyna Herman), who makes it obvious that she doesn’t think Elvira belongs in the class. The other teenage girls in the class also treat Elvira like a misfit. Predictably, Elvira is clumsy and awkward during the dance lessons. The dance class scenes are tedious and the weakest parts of the movie. Later, Madame Vanja tells Elvira that Rebekka bribed Madame Vanja to give preferential treatment to Elvira and let Elvira graduate from the class.

The dance class is competitive because Madame Vanja selects only a certain number of her students to be eligible for invitations to the grand ball hosted by Prince Julian and his family. This ball is a high-society event for debutantes and other young socialites to find potential husbands. A conversation scene in the movie briefly shows that Madame Vanja and her boss Sophie von Kronenberg (played by Cecilia Forss) are having a secret love affair, but that storyline is not explored in the movie.

After Rebekka makes cruel comments about Elvira needing to lose weight, Elvira decides to swallow a translucent egg that contains a tapeworm. Swallowing a tapeworm for appetite suppression was a “fad diet” way to lose weight in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Alma worries about Elvira’s safety and thinks that consuming this tapeworm is a bad idea. But Elvira is determined to lose weight as quickly as possible and thinks the tapeworm is the best method.

As Rebekka and Elvira get caught up in an escalating obsession for Elvira to marry Prince Julian, Elvira’s personality starts to change when she begins to see Agnes as a threat to this goal. Meanwhile, Agnes is alarmed that Rebekka for taking money that was supposed to go to burying Otto and using it instead for Elvira’s makeover. Otto’s body has been left to rot in a room in the mansion.

Agnes is punished for, among other things, angrily confronting Rebekka about this misappropriation of funds. Agnes is also caught having sex with Isak, who is in love with Agnes. Rebekka is infuriated because she thinks Agnes has ruined any chances of being considered an eligible virgin to marry into a wealthy family and doesn’t want Agnes’ sexual activity to reflect badly on Elvira and Alma. And so, Rebekka makes Agnes a servant for the family. And she gives Agnes a new name: Cinderella.

The rest of “The Ugly Stepsister” shows what happens when these fanatical pursuits of beauty and wealth spin out of control. Anyone who knows the “Cinderella” fairy tale will already have a pretty good idea of how this movie will probably end. However, because the story is told from the perspective of one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, don’t expect “The Ugly Stepsister” to be exactly like the romantic fairytale version.

Prince Julian is no Prince Charming. He’s spoiled, entitled, and has shallow views of women as sex objects who mainly exist for men’s pleasure. Just like Agnes/Cinderella, Prince Julian has physical beauty that people automatically assume means having a good soul. But “The Ugly Stepsister” repeatedly shows that outward appearances and wealth can dazzle and fool people into not seeing someone’s true nature.

“The Ugly Stepsister” doesn’t make Elvira an evil character as the stepsisters are in the original “Cinderella” fairy tale. Instead, Elvira is misguided in a very tragic way. Myren gives an excellent performance as Elvira, who lets her ambitions and delusions warp her self-worth. In the end, what’s ugly about Elvira is not her physical appearance but her soul. The other cast members also do well in their roles, but the movie would not work as well without the transformative way that Myren portrays Elvira.

What makes “The Ugly Stepsister” interesting is how it plays with expectations of what can be considered a “fairy tale ending.” In most fairy tales, good always triumphs, while evil is always defeated. Without being preachy about it, “The Ugly Stepsister” sends a clear message that the real evil is perpetuating misogynistic beliefs that a woman’s worth comes from how she looks. There are plenty of real-life examples of how this type of evil does not have a fairy-tale ending of being defeated but is in fact alive and well and destroying people who let it take over their lives.

IFC Films (now known as the Independent Film Company) released “The Ugly Stepsister” in select U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025. The movie was released on digital and VOD on May 9, 2025, the same date that “The Ugly Stepsister” premiered on Shudder. “The Ugly Stepsister” was released in Norway on March 7, 2025.

Review: ‘The Legend of Ochi,’ starring Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe

April 18, 2025

by Carla Hay

Baby Ochi and Helena Zengel in “The Legend of Ochi” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“The Legend of Ochi”

Directed by Isaiah Saxon

Culture Representation: Taking place on the fictional island of Carpathia, the fantasy film “The Legend of Ochi” features a cast of working-class human characters and monkey-like creatures called Ochi.

Culture Clash: After a hunting attack separates a male baby Ochi from his mother, a teenage girl rescues the baby Ochi and goes on a quest to reunite the baby with his mother at the same time the girl looks for her estranged mother.

Culture Audience: “The Legend of Ochi” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and are interested in uncomplicated family-friendly entertainment where magical creatures are big parts of the story.

Willem Dafoe and Finn Wolfhard in “The Legend of Ochi” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“The Legend of Ochi” isn’t quite the epic adventure that this fantasy movie’s title implies. It’s a simple and sentimental story about woodland creatures, lonely humans, and family reunions with obstacles. The creature puppetry steals the show. Although there’s competent acting from the cast members, the movie’s biggest flaw is that not enough information is given about many of the characters and the island they inhabit.

Written and directed by Isaiah Saxon, “The Legend of Ochi” is his feature-film debut. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Saxon has a background in directing music videos and short films. At times, “The Legend of Ochi” looks like it could have been a short film, because there are parts of the movie that could have been removed and it wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the story.

“The Legend of Ochi” takes place on the fictional island of Carpathia, which is in an Eastern European country that is not named. The people in the movie speak with a range of accents that sound German, Russian, and everything in between. “The Legend of Ochi” was actually filmed in Romania in the Carpathian Mountains region.

In the production notes for “The Legend of Ochi,” Saxon says that Chinese golden snub-nosed monkeys were the main inspiration for how the Ochi creatures look in the film. The Ochi might also remind people of how the gremlins look in the “Gremlins” movies before the gremlins transform into monsters when doused with water.

Later in the movie, it’s explained that Ochi are mysterious creatures who hide in the woods. They communicate by making siren calls that sound a lot like the combination of a monkey screeching and a bird cooing. It’s later explained in the movie that when Ochi creatures talk in a collective chorus, the sound is magical and powerful.

“The Legend of Ochi” begins with exposition-dump narration from the movie’s protagonist: a girl named Yuri (played by Helena Zengel), who’s about 15 or 16 years old. Yuri is the only biological child of a pompous and domineering man named Maxim (played by Willem Dafoe), who lives with Yuri and her adopted brother Petro (played by Finn Wolfhard), on a farm. Petro, who is about 17 or 18 years old, was adopted by Maxim when Petro became an orphan at age 14.

Petro is conflicted between being loyal to Maxim or loyal to rebellious Yuri. There are also seven boys (ranging in ages from about 10 to about 14 years old) who have been entrusted in Yuri’s care by the boys’ families so Yuri can teach the boys how to hunt and become self-sufficient with military-styled training. The boys spend a lot of time with Maxim inside and outside the household, but he is not their adoptive father. Petro gets training along with the boy, but because Petro is more experienced than the younger boys, Maxim expects Petro to be a role model to the younger boys.

In the movie’s opening narration, Yuri has this to say about her life: “I was born on a small island in the Black Sea. Most people here live right from the land. It’s how we’ve always survived. For a long time, nothing much changed here. But things are starting to feel different. People say it’s a dangerous place. There are bears and wolves. And something else—something people feel is much worse.”

She is then seen going to a library and getting a 1992 book titled “Carpathian Beasts & Demons.” (The movie doesn’t specify what year the story takes place, but it appears to be in the early 1990s, before smartphones and social media existed.) Inside the book, there are illustrations of the Ochi as demon-like creatures. The illustrations indicate that humans have been battling Ochi for centuries.

Yuri continues in her narration: “For as long as I’ve known, I’ve fought them. I’ve never seen one myself, but I’ve heard them at night by going down from the mountain. I still don’t know the whole story. But since I was 4 years old, the one thing I knew for sure is that it destroyed my family.”

Maxim has repeatedly told Yuri that Yuri’s mother Dasha (played by Emily Watson) abandoned the family. Maxim also forbids Yuri from trying to find Dasha. “I’m going to find her!” Yuri shouts at Maxim during an argument at the family dining table.

The village where Yuri lives is a mixture of ancient and modern. People travel by horse-drawn carriages, but people also travel by car. Yuri lives on a farm and the people in the community “live off of the land,” but there are also contemporary grocery stores in the area.

Yuri lives in a household that does not have a TV or a computer. Her main connection to the outside world is music that she listens to on headphones. Her father and other people in the community are very religious. However, Yuri seems to be in defiance of her strict religious upbringing because she listens to death metal music.

One of the movie’s first scenes shows Maxim taking Yuri and some of his boy trainees into the woods for a nighttime hunting expedition. The purpose is to find and kill Ochi. “The Legend of Ochi” raises questions that the movie never bothers to answer. The biggest question is “Why are Ochi considered such a threat to humans?”

Another clue is a quick glimpse early on in the movie that shows a herder of Highland cows in a field. One of the cows is dead and appears to have been mauled by an unknown animal. Considering that there are wolves in the area, a wolf could have killed this cow. But the movie constantly shows that Ochi seem to be blamed and feared as the worst creatures and enemies of humans living on Carpathia.

Yuri mentions that there are wolves and bears in the area, but these wolves and bears are never seen in the movie. Based on what’s seen in the movie, the Ochi do not kill people, but people have been taught that Ochi will kill people. There is a curfew at night to avoid being near Ochi, who are mostly nocturnal creatures.

The only animals the Ochi are actually seen eating are insects. Humans don’t kill Ochi for food. Humans hunt Ochi simply because Ochi have been described for centuries as “predators” of humans. The point that the movie seems to be making is that if mythology is told enough times and for an extended period of time, people will believe it.

Yuri is the first person in her family to seriously question what she’s been taught about the Ochi creatures. During that nighttime hunting trip to kill Ochi, several of them are seen by Maxim and his squad of young people. Maxim orders them to shoot as many Ochi as they can. Luckily, none of the Ochi gets wounded. But in the chaos, a male baby Ochi gets separated from his mother. Maxim and his squad go home.

The next morning in a barn, Maxim gives a lecture to Yuri and the boys by telling them, “Last night was beautiful,” even if they didn’t hit any of their targets. Maxim warns them the demon is still upon them. “We are cursed with a wickedness.” And he tells them they must all give their hearts to “the cause.”

The isolation that Yuri feels in this male-dominated environment is obvious and doesn’t seem to faze Maxim. During this lecture in the barn, Yuri is crouched quietly on a perch, while the boys are gathered in unity around Maxim. He mentions the problems in some of the boys’ families (such as alcoholism, mental illness, poverty) that led these boys’ families to give Maxim the responsibility of looking after them. “You are all my sons,” Maxim says as he tells them he expects obedience and loyalty from them.

The boys who are not Petro barely talk or don’t talk at all. Their names are Ivan (played by Răzvan Stoica), Oleg (played by Carol Borș), Vlad (played by Andrei Antoniu Anghel), Gleb (played by David Andrei Bălțatu), Pavel (played by Eduard Oancea), Tudor (played by Tomas Otto Ghela) and Edi (played by Eduard Ionut Cucu), whose personalities are blank slates. In fact, the only people in the movie who have significant lines of dialogue are Yuri, Maxim, Petro and Dasha. As already revealed in “The Legend of Ochi” trailer, Dasha is a pivotal character in the film.

The night after the hunting trip, Yuri goes back to the area in the woods where Ochi creatures were seen. And that’s when she sees the lost male baby Ochi, who has a leg caught in one of the traps that Maxim and his squad set in the words. Yuri sets the baby free, and it runs away in fear. However, Yuri manages to coax Baby Ochi into a backpack and takes Baby Ochi home and hides it in her bedroom.

Yuri treats Baby Ochi’s leg wound. And slowly, Yuri and Baby Ochi learn to trust each other. One of their first bonding experiences is when Yuri shows Baby Ochi a caterpillar from her vivarium. When Yuri sees that the Ochi doesn’t hurt the caterpillar, she quickly figures out that Ochi are not as dangerous as she’s been told they are.

Although Yuri is lonely and wants to keep Baby Ochi as her friend, she knows the right thing to do is to return Baby Ochi back to his family. It isn’t long before Yuri (who is very unhappy living with Maxim) decides to run away from home to find Ochi’s family and to find her mother Dasha. Predictably, when Maxim finds out that Yuri has run away from home and has an Ochi with her, there’s a “race against time” hunt when Maxim and the boys go looking for them.

For an unknown reason, Maxim is dressed as a gladiator when he goes on a hunting mission. It seems to be the movie’s way of showing Maxim’s over-the-top, bombastic personality. Dafoe portrays Maxim almost at cartoonish levels, but the character becomes a little bit more grounded in the last third of the movie.

The Ochi, which are combination of puppetry and visual effects, have wonderfully expressive faces and a combination of intelligence and empathy. Baby Ochi is quite simply adorable and is by far the most charming character in the movie. Some viewers might not like the “cuteness” that the Ochi bring to the movie, but other viewers will welcome it once it becomes obvious that “The Legend of Ochi” is a sweet-natured family film and not an edgy movie.

That doesn’t mean it’s a perfect movie. A few scenes are very awkward and nonsensical. For example, after Yuri has run away with Baby Ochi, she goes into a supermarket to get (steal) some food. Even though she hides Baby Ochi in her backpack, he makes himself known when he reaches for some eggs, and some people in the store see him. Customers scream and run in fear.

That’s not what’s odd and ridiculous about this scene. What’s odd and ridiculous is that during this panic, a cashier takes out a shotgun that he had stashed near the cash register and starts shooting at Yuri and Baby Ochi. Who does that to an unarmed kid? Yuri gets away with Ochi in a rolling cart and crashes through the front window with the cart when store employees lock the front doors. She then steals a car in the parking lot because the car just happens to have the keys in the ignition.

None of this is really spoiler information because “The Legend of Ochi” is the type of movie where you can tell how it’s going to end the minute that Yuri runs away from home. The movie’s trailer also reveals that Yuri suddenly and inexplicably begins to understand the Ochi language, so she begins communicating with Ochi in this language, which is subtitled in the movie. The parallels between Yuri and Baby Ochi are obvious because this is a story about a child wanting to be reunited with the child’s mother, despite forces who don’t want this reunion to happen.

The movie’s performances are capable, although “The Legend of Ochi” doesn’t explain a lot of things about Yuri and her family. It should come as no surprise that Dasha has a very different version of why she stopped living with Maxim and Yuri. Dasha’s story of how she lost her left hand (which has been replaced with a wooden prosthetic) indicates that this family’s history is very dark and troubled.

Watson gives the best performance of the cast members, as is often the case with any her projects. It’s too bad that the character of Dasha is in less than half of the movie. Zengel is convincing as introverted teen Yuri, but she mumbles some of her lines. Wolfhard doesn’t have much to do as Petro, the quasi-mediator between the feuding Yuri and Maxim.

“The Legend of Ochi” has excellent cinematography by Evan Prosofsky and has some heart-tugging moments (including an emotion-stirring music score by Evan Prosofsky) that will either endear or irritate viewers. The movie follows a lot of familiar formulas but has a positive message (without getting preachy) about showing compassion for those who are misunderstood and mistreated. Despite the movie’s flaws, the story can’t be faulted for this overall impactful message.

A24 released “The Legend of Ochi” in select U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on April 25, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on May 20, 2025. “The Legend of Ochi” will be released on Blu-ray on July 8, 2025.

Review: ‘The Wedding Banquet’ (2025), starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan and Youn Yuh-jung

April 16, 2025

by Carla Hay

Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, Han Gi-chan and Bowen Yang in “The Wedding Banquet” (Photo by Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Street)

“The Wedding Banquet” (2025)

Directed by Andrew Ahn

Some language in Korean with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Seattle, the comedy/drama film “The Wedding Banquet” (a reimagining of the 1993 film of the same name) features a predominantly Asian group of people (with a few African Americans, white people and one Native American) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A lesbian couple and a gay male couple, who are all best friends living together, come up with a tricky solution to an immigration problem and a family planning problem.

Culture Audience: “The Wedding Banquet” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in well-acted movies about LGBTQ people.

Han Gi-chan, Youn Yuh-jung and Kelly Marie Tran in “The Wedding Banquet” (Photo by Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Street)

“The Wedding Banquet” is a charming and breezy comedy/drama that overcomes some clichés and a predictable ending by having witty banter and a talented cast. It adeptly covers family planning and immigration issues from a LGBTQ perspective. This is not a particular groundbreaking movie, but it does have some uniqueness on various levels.

Directed by Andrew Ahn (who co-wrote “The Wedding Banquet” screenplay with James Schamus), “The Wedding Banquet” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Ahn and Schamus are two of the movie’s producers. “The Wedding Banquet” takes place in Seattle but was actually filmed in Vancouver. “The Wedding Banquet” is a reimagining of the 1993 film of the same name, which directed by Ang Lee, who co-wrote the movie with Schamus and Neil Peng. Lee and Schamus were two of the producers of 1993’s “The Wedding Banquet.”

The 2025 version of “The Wedding Banquet” centers on four best friends who live in the same house: Lee (played by Lily Gladstone) and Angela (played by Kelly Marie Tran) are an “out and proud” lesbian couple. Chris (played by Bowen Yang) and Min (played by Han Gi-chan) are a semi-closeted gay couple. Chris is openly gay, but Min still has not come out a gay to his family members, who all live in Min’s native South Korea.

Lee (whose birth name is Angelina) is originally from Wichita, Kansas, and she inherited the house from her deceased father. Chris and Min live in the house’s garage, which has been converted to a bedroom. Angela and Chris have no siblings and have been best friends since they were teenagers.

Chris is also close to his younger cousin Kendall (played by Bobo Le), who is the type of person who can cheer him up when he gets stressed-out or mopey. Min is an artist in grad school, and his student visa is about to expire. Min wants to marry Chris, who has turned down Min’s marriage proposal because Chris is commitment-phobic and because cynical Chris wonders if romantic Min wants to get married for the wrong reasons.

Lee (who is a social worker at a LGBTQ center) and Angela (who is a research scientist) have been trying to have a child together. Lee (who is laid-back and nurturing) wants to be the one to get pregnant and give birth because she is admittedly more maternal than high-strung and neurotic Angela, who never wants to be pregnant and give birth. In the beginning of the movie, Lee has been going through in vitro fertilization with sperm donations. But so far, she hasn’t gotten pregnant, and the couple has run out of money to continue the IVF treatments.

In addition to being a student artist, Min works for his wealthy family’s multinational corporation and is under pressure to do a major deal for the company. And if the deal falls through, his demanding and conservative grandfather expects Min to move back to South Korea. Min is disappointed that Chris rejected Min’s marriage proposal, but he hopes Chris will change his mind if Min can stay longer in the United States for reasons other than a student visa. It’s never stated if Chris has a job, but Chris seems to be insecure about the fact that Min has a lot more money than Chris does.

Min comes up with a solution for both couples: He offers to pay for Lee’s continued IVF treatments if Angela agrees to marry Min, so Min can be a legal U.S. resident and stay in the United States without needing a student visa. Min wants to keep his sexuality a secret from his family because he is certain that his grandfather will disown him if his grandfather discovered the truth.

Angela’s meddling single mother May Chen (played by Joan Chen), who’s a proud member of Parents, Families & Friends of LGBTQ+ People (PFLAG), knows about this fake marriage plan. Min’s traditional grandmother Ja-Young (played by Youn Yuh-jung) does not know this secret when she travels from South Korea to Seattle to attend the elaborate wedding that Ja-Young wants to plan for Min and Angela. May and Ja-Young clash over how much of the wedding should have Chinese traditions or Korean traditions. Hijinks, some slapstick comedy and a few plot twists ensue.

Whereas Min tries to hide the truth about his love life from Ja-Young, Angela has the opposite problem with May, who wants to know everything about Angela’s love life. Angela and May have to confront unresolved issues because when Angela first told May that Angela is a lesbian, May cut off contact with Angela for several years. May eventually accepted Angela’s sexual identity. And now, May has become an activist ally to the LGBTQ community, but Angela thinks May has become too intrusive in Angela’s personal life.

“The Wedding Banquet” has some emotionally touching moments about living an authentic life when there is pressure not be true to oneself, out of fear of rejection or fear of losing something important. Angela and Chris, who have trouble communicating their feelings to their loved ones, learn some lessons along the way. “The Wedding Banquet” ends in a way that some people might consider too contrived, but the movie has its heart in the right place and can keep viewers interested based on the engaging performances.

Bleecker Street will release “The Wedding Banquet” in U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025.


Review: ‘One to One: John & Yoko,’ starring John Lennon and Yoko Ono

April 10, 2025

by Carla Hay

A 1972 photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in “One to One: John & Yoko” (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

“One to One: John & Yoko”

Directed by Kevin Macdonald; co-directed by Sam Rice-Edwards

Culture Representation: Taking place from 1971 to 1973, primarily in New York City, the documentary film “One to One: John & Yoko” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few Asians, Latin people and African Americans) discussing the period of time when John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were outspoken sociopolitical activists during the first few years that they lived in New York City.

Culture Clash: Lennon’s and Ono’s left-wing liberal political views and the couple’s celebrity influence made them targets of the right-wing conservative then-U.S. President Richard Nixon, whose administration put the couple under surveillance and immigration scrutiny.

Culture Audience: “One to One: John & Yoko” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Lennon, Ono, the Beatles and documentaries about rock music, pop culture and political activism in the 1970s.

A 1969 photo of Yoko Ono, Kyoko Cox and John Lennon in “One to One: John & Yoko” (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

“One to One: John & Yoko” is named after the One to One charity concerts (headlined by spouses John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a member of the Plastic Ono Elephant’s Memory Band) that took place on August 30, 1972 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, as a fundraiser for the Willowbrook State School for disabled children. There were two concerts for the event: one concert was held in the afternoon, and the other concert was held in the evening. Die-hard fans will already be familiar with many of the concert performances in the documentary. The movie is more interesting with its previously unreleased archival material, such as recordings of John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s phone conversations. In this all-archival documentary, the concert footage is prominent, but it’s not the main purpose of the film.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, “One to One: John & Yoko” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival and subsequently had screenings at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The One to One concert performances were not only Lennon’s first full-length concerts as a solo artist after the 1970 breakup for Lennon’s former band The Beatles but the concerts were also Lennon’s last public performances where he did a full set of songs. Highlights from Lennon’s performances at the One to One concerts were released in 1986 as a John Lennon album and home video titled “Live in New York City.”

“One to One: John & Yoko” features restored and remastered concert footage that includes Ono performing “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow),” a song that was not in the “Live in New York City” compilation. Sean Ono Lennon (the son of Lennon and Ono) produced and remixed the documentary’s score music and serves as one of the movie’s executive producers. Sam Rice-Edwards co-directed and edited “One to One: John & Yoko,” which has Macdonald, Peter Worsley and Alice Ebb as producers. Other performers at the One to One concerts included Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Melanie Safka (also known as just Melanie) and Sha Na Na, but they are only seen in this documentary in the all-star finale when Lennon led a sing-along of “Give Peace a Chance.”

The documentary aims to serve as a time capsule of what was going on in the lives of Lennon and Ono (who got married in 1969) during the years 1971 to 1973, the first years that the couple made New York City their main home base. Lennon (who was born and raised in England) and Ono (who was born and raised in Japan) still maintained a home in England throughout their marriage. On December 8, 1980, Lennon (at the age of 40) was tragically murdered by a lone gunman outside of Lennon’s home in New York City. Lennon’s murderer was sentenced to life in prison.

Lennon and Ono said in interviews that they spent of a lot of their free time watching TV. The documentary has a clip of Lennon quipping in an interview that TV is “the window of the world.” Much of the documentary consists of news clips and pop culture tidbits to give context to the period of time that’s covered in the movie. Sometimes, the clips are well-edited. Other times, the clips look like a hodgepodge of things thrown together to fill up time in the documentary.

These news clips include coverage of the Vietnam War and the 1971 deadly prison rebellion Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. There’s also footage from TV journalist Geraldo Rivera’s 1972 WABC-TV documentary “Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace,” which exposed Willowbrook to be a hellish, understaffed institution that abused and neglected its child residents. Rivera was the person credited with persuading Lennon to perform at the One to One concerts, which were intended to raise money to reform Willowbrook. The pop culture clips, which are less substantial than the news footage, include commercials for Coca-Cola, footage from the TV game show “The Price Is Right” and scenes from the family drama “The Waltons,” which was a popular series at the time.

The documentary also includes clips (video and audio) of interviews that Lennon and Ono did during this time period, including their appearances on “The Mike Douglas Show” and “The Dick Cavett Show.” In various other interviews, Ono talks abut feminism and about the racist bullying, death threats and physical attacks (such as hair pulling and worse) that she received from people who wrongfully blamed her for breaking up the Beatles. Lennon praises Ono for being a strong and creative woman.

Lennon’s attitude about the Beatles was summed up in an interview quote included in the documentary: “I don’t want to recreate the past. I want to be me now.” Ono takes issue with the other former members of the Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) by saying that she doesn’t get enough credit for all the compliments that she gave to the Beatles in the media. Ono bitterly comments that McCartney, Harrison and Starr never gave the same compliments to her in the media.

Lennon and Ono both talk about the emotional pain of not seeing Ono’s daughter Kyoko Cox for years, due to a custody battle that Ono was having with Ono’s ex-husband Tony Cox, who was Kyoko’s father. There is no mention of Lennon’s son Julian, who was living with Lennon’s ex-wife Cynthia at the time. Even though there was no custody battle between Julian’s parents, it’s been well-documented (but not mentioned in this documentary) that Julian had a complicated relationship with his father, whom he felt neglected him during much of Julian’s childhood.

“One to One: John & Yoko” is at its best when it shows the evolution of Lennon and Ono as sociopolitical activists. The couple famously spent their 1969 honeymoon doing a Bed-In for Peace, where they stayed in bed in two separate one-week periods (one week in Montreal, another week in Amsterdam) to promote world peace. By 1971, as residents of the United States, the couple became more outspoken against the controversial Vietnam War. As the documentary points out, it’s one thing for celebrities to speak about their political views. It’s another thing for celebrities to use their influence to make a difference in legal and political situations.

And that’s what Lennon and Ono did when they performed a song at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, an event for left-wing activist/poet John Sinclair, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of two marijuana joints. The rally took place at the University of Michigan’s Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which was Sinclair’s home state. Grammy-winning superstar Wonder, Bob Seger and Phil Ochs were among the other performers at the rally, which was filmed for the televised documentary “Ten for Two: The John Sinclair Freedom Rally.”

As a result of the rally, Sinclair was let out of prison. It put the U.S. government on notice that Lennon and Ono had the power to influence public opinion and outcomes of political oppression. Because of this event and the couple’s other high-profile activism, declassified FBI documents have since confirmed that Lennon and Ono were put under U.S. government surveillance and were targeted for immigrant visa problems. Lennon was threatened with deportation and had to go to court to fight these visa problems. Audio clips from recorded phone calls and interviews reveal that Lennon knew that his private phones were tapped, and the U.S. government was listening in on his conversations.

Lennon’s and Ono’s social circles began to include poet Allen Ginsberg and left-wing activist Jerry Rubin, who co-founded the Youth International Party (YIP), also known as the Yippies. Rubin, who was considered a leader of the counterculture/anti-establishment movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, became such a close confidante of Lennon and Ono, he convinced them to be part of a Free the People tour (a liberal counterculture event mixing politics and music) that was also supposed to have Bob Dylan as a co-headliner. The tour had been planned to culminate at the 1972 Republican National Convention, which was held in Miami.

Phone conversations between Lennon, Ono, Lennon’s manager Allen Klein reveal some of the behind-the-scenes drama and negotiations involved in the couple’s activism. For the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, Klein can be heard objecting to Lennon’s idea to perform the song “Attica State” (which is on Lennon’s 1972 album “Some Time in New York City”) because Klein thinks it’s too much of a controversial political statement. Lennon compromises and says he’ll do another one of his original songs instead. That song was “John Sinclair,” a song that he wrote specifically for the event. “John Sinclair” is also on “Some Time in New York City” album.

There was even more turmoil over Dylan’s involvement in the Free the People tour. In a phone call, Ono asks writer A.J. Weberman (who has been called outside of this documentary a “Dylanologist,” a “Dylan expert” and a “Dylan stalker”) to stop harassing Dylan because she wants Dylan to do the tour. Weberman says he will make an apology to Dylan. By this time, Dylan was having second thoughts about doing the tour and backed out before any official contracts were signed.

Even though Dylan had a “counterculture” image, he was reportedly wary of how the tour would affect his future business prospects. In the end, the Free the People tour didn’t happen. Lennon and Ono also dropped Rubin from their circle of friends. The documentary has a more diplomatic way of putting it by saying that Lennon and Ono “parted ways” with Rubin.

“One to One: John & Yoko” doesn’t have all the songs featured on “Live in New York City.” In addition to “Give Peace a Chance,” the other songs performed in “One to One: John & Yoko” are “Power to the People”; “Come Together” (a song originally recorded by the Beatles); “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)”; “Hound Dog” (a song originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton and made more famous by Elvis Presley’s version of the song); “Cold Turkey”; “Mother”; and “Imagine.”

An epilogue mentions that in August 1973, Lennon and Ono moved out of their relatively small apartment in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village region to a larger apartment in the luxury Dakota building in Manhattan’s Upper West Side region. This move to the Dakota also marked a new chapter in their lives. The documentary doesn’t mention that not long after Lennon and Ono moved to the Dakota, the couple separated for about 18 months (beginning in the summer of 1973 and ending in early 1975), when he lived mostly in Los Angeles with their personal assistant May Pang, who became Lennon’s mistress because Ono demanded it. Pang’s memoirs and the 2023 documentary “The Lost Weekend: A Love Story” have details about this marital separation period of Lennon’s life, when he self-admittedly was abusing alcohol and drugs.

Because “One to One: John & Yoko” was approved by the Lennon estate, these are the messy details of his life that aren’t going to be in this type of documentary. What is presented in this documentary is undoubtedly carefully curated, but still has some meaning in showing how even a world-famous celebrity as Lennon got backlash because he took risks and stood up for the political causes that meant a lot to him. Ono was a willing partner who also went through her own difficulties. “One to One: John & Yoko” doesn’t try to make Lennon and Ono look perfect but makes them look like two celebrities who were aware of the privileges and burdens of fame and did what they could to make the best of it.

Magnolia Pictures will release “One to One: John & Yoko” in select U.S. cinemas on April 11, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on May 9, 2025.

Review: ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island,’ starring Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan

March 26, 2025

by Carla Hay

Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan and Tim Key in “The Ballad of Wallis Island” (Photo courtesy of Focus Features)

“The Ballad of Wallis Island”

Directed by James Griffiths

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2025 on the fictional United Kingdom location of Wallis Island, the comedy/drama film “The Ballad of Wallis Island” features a predominantly white group of people (with one African American) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An eccentric millionaire invites two former musical partners to reunite for a paid performance on a remote island where he owns a home, and one of the ex-partners might want more than just a musical reunion.

Culture Audience: “The Ballad of Wallis Island” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, British comedic sensibilities and mature stories about confronting the past.

Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden in “The Ballad of Wallis Island” (Photo by Alistair Heap/Focus Features)

“The Ballad of Wallis Island” hits many realistic and bittersweet notes in this comedy/drama about a lonely millionaire who pays for a performance reunion of two ex-lovers who used to be a famous folk-rock duo. The story is the right mix of raw and tender. This well-written and admirably acted movie has many astute observations about how people can let the past affect their expectations for the present and future.

Directed by Richard Griffiths, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was written by Tom Basden and Tim Key, two of stars of the movie. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” is based on the BAFTA-nominated 2007 short film “The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island,” which was written by Basden and Key, who also co-starred in the film.

The Wallis Island in both movies is a fictional location in the United Kingdom. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was actually filmed in and around Carmarthenshire, Wales. The entire story takes place on this island. Basden wrote all of the songs that are performed in the movie.

“The Ballad of Wallis Island” (which takes place in 2025) begins by showing jaded rock star Herb McGwyer (played by Basden), who is 44 years old, arriving by row boat to Wallis Island, which is a remote, sparsely populated place with a rocky beach area. He is greeted by Charles Heath (played by Key), the millionaire who has hired Herb to play a private concert on this island. Charles greets Herb warmly and enthusiastically.

But as an indication of things to come, there’s a mishap when Herb stumbles while exiting the boat and falls into the water. His cell phone is not waterproof and get damaged. Herb is going to get more unwelcome surprises.

Charles is socially awkward and has a nervous energy to him. He talks too much and tries too hard to make Herb comfortable, which has the opposite effect and makes Herb feels uneasy. The only thing that Herb has been told by his agent is that Charles is paying Herb a fee of £500,000 (about $645,460 in U.S. dollars in 2025) to perform a private concert on this island.

Herb is currently a solo artist, but he rose to fame in the 2010s as one-half of the folk-rock duo McGwyer Mortimer, which split up in 2016. The other member of this duo is Nell Mortimer (played by Carey Mulligan), who was not only Herb’s musical partner but also his love partner. They were never married but they lived together. For their McGwyer Mortimer collaborations, Herb and Nell sang lead vocals together and wrote songs together, while Herb played guitar.

McGwyer Mortimer was never a superstar act. However, McGwyer Mortimer had enough success to be described in the movie as “the best-selling U.K. folk-rock duo of 2014.” McGwyer Mortimer had a bitter breakup when Herb recorded a solo album without telling Nell. They have not spoken to each other in the nine years since their split. Herb’s solo music is more pop-oriented than McGwyer Mortimer’s music.

For this private Wallis Island concert, Charles has told Herb that Herb has total control over what the set list will be. However, Charles admits that he’s a superfan of McGwyer Mortimer and drops hints that he wants Herb to perform some McGwyer Mortimer songs at the concert. Herb has not performed McGwyer Mortimer songs in years, because he says he wants to put that part of his life behind him. When Charles asks Herb what happened in the McGwyer Mortimer breakup, Herb abruptly replies that the breakup was “mutual.”

Herb starts to become suspicious of Charles when Herb finds out that the “hotel accommodations” that Herb was expecting is really Herb’s rustic mansion. Herb lives by himself and will be doing the cooking and cleaning for Herb, who starts to wonder if Charles is a mentally ill stalker. Herb gets even more apprehensive when Charles admits that Charles will be the only audience member at this concert, which is supposed to take place on a beach.

Herb calls his agent on the nearest land line (a pay phone) and demands to know what’s going on with the concert arrangements. Herb says he’s thinking of backing out of this unusual gig. However, his agent talks Herb out of it because he says that they could use the money and it will be an easy, low-risk concert.

Besides, the next boat off of the island might not arrive for a few days. Charles told Herb that the boat service to and from the island is erratically scheduled. A running gag in the movie is how Herb feels like a fish out of water in this remote area that does not have a lot of modern amenities.

The only store on this island is a small general store owned and operated by a single mother named Amanda (played by Sian Clifford), who does her best to accommodate requests when the store doesn’t have what a customer is seeking. Amanda’s son Marcus (played by Luka Downie), who’s about 12 or 13 years old, helps her with the store. Amanda doesn’t know that Herb is famous and has never heard of McGwyer Mortimer. “I prefer ABBA,” she says.

Charles pays Herb £50,000 in cash up front to prove that Charles has access to this type of money. However, it’s still not enough to convince Herb that this gig isn’t a scam. Herb demands to know how Charles can afford to pay for this concert. And that’s when Charles tells Herb that he’s a retired nurse who won the lottery twice. Charles show Herb the proof that Charles is telling the truth.

As already revealed in the movie’s trailer, Charles has yet another big surprise for Herb: Nell arrives on Wallis Island too. And she’s not alone: She’s brought her easygoing American husband Michael (played Akemnji Ndifornyen) with her. And that’s how Herb finds out that Nell was hired by Charles to perform at a McGwyer Mortimer reunion concert. Herb is too embarrassed to admit that he didn’t know, so he pretends to Nell that he knew all along.

The rest of “The Ballad of Wallis Island” shows the uncomfortable tensions and surprising developments that happen during this sensitive reunion. Herb has unresolved feelings for Nell. But does she feel the same way? After the McGwyer Mortimer breakup, Nell quit the music business and now lives with Michael in Portland, Oregon, where she has a small business making chutney. Will this reunion with Herb reignite Nell’s passion for making music?

Those questions are answered in the movie, which has a subplot about bachelor Charles being attracted to Amanda, but he’s too shy to do anything about it. Charles is the comic relief in the movie, but he’s not made to look like a total buffoon. Charles is very aware that he’s a goofy dork and cheerfully accepts it. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” invites viewers to laugh with Charles more than laugh at him. And just like Herb, Charles is lonely and having trouble letting go of a past heartbreak, which is revealed in the movie.

“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is exceptional in how it sneaks up on viewers and tells a story that doesn’t necessarily go where most people might think it will go. The acting performances are wonderful, but they’re not the type of “look at me” showcases that will be awards bait. As for the songs in the movie, they are pleasant and catchy but not outstanding. The real magic is in the relationships between these very believable characters, who have different ways of learning about an art that’s different from music—the art of gracefully letting go of the past in order to move on in the present.

Focus Features will release “The Ballad of Wallis Island” in select U.S. cinemas on March 28, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025.

Review: ‘AUM: The Cult at the End of the World,’ starring Yoshiyuki Kono, Mika Hosokawa, Fumihiro Joyu, Hiroyuki Nagaoka, Eiko Nagaoka, David Kaplan and Andrew Marshall

March 22, 2025

by Carla Hay

Shoko Asahara (center) in “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” (Photo courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World”

Directed by Ben Braun and Chiaki Yanagimoto

Some language in Japanese with subtitles

Culture Representation: The documentary film “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” features a predominantly Japanese group of people (with some white people) talking about the Aum Shinrikyo cult, based in Japan and led by Shoko Asahara.

Culture Clash:  Aum Shinrikyo started in 1983 as a yoga/meditation group, but by 1995, several members of the cult were convicted of murdering others for cult-motivated reasons.

Culture Audience: “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in finding out more about a sinister cult that might not be well-known outside of Japan.

Shoko Asahara (fourth from left) in “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” (Photo courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” is an expected cautionary tale about a group that started out as harmless and turned into a dangerous and deadly cult. This grim and somewhat tedious documentary adequately tells the disturbing story about the Aum Shinriko cult but doesn’t give much new information. It would be a better documentary with tighter editing and more original investigations from the filmmakers.

Directed by Ben Braun and Chiaki Yanagimoto, “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” is their feature-film directorial debut. “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary sticks to a standard formula of mixing archival footage with interviews that were done exclusively for the documentary. “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” is at least partially based on the 1996 non-fiction book “The Cult at the End of the World,” written by David E. Kaplan and Andrew Marshall, who are both interviewed in the documentary.

The Aum Shinriko cult was launched in Japan in 1983, by a self-proclaimed guru named Shoko Asahara, whose birth name was Chizuo Matsumoto. The group’s purpose was originally yoga and meditation. The group began calling itself Aum Shinriko in 1987. Aum Shinriko attracted mostly young people and lived in communes. The group eventually bought land in a remote town near Mount Fuji called Kamikuishiki in 1989, when Aum Shinriko had about 3,000 followers.

As far as cults go, Aum Shinriko checked a lot of boxes because this was yet another cult that isolated its members in a remote area, where the members were supposed to live in a commune-like setting. Asahara encouraged members to have a lack of sleep, lack of food, and lack of personal hygiene. Over time, Asahara began to make wild claims about himself and the cult, such as saying that joining the cult would give people superpowers.

“The Cult at the End of the World” co-author Marshall is a London-born journalist who lived in Japan and was a deputy editor at Tokyo Journal in the late 1980s. In the documentary, Marshall describes the cult’s living quarters as looking like a cross between “factories and prison camps.” And although the cult was in a rural area, the cult members were disruptive enough to be considered “bad neighbors” because the cult members would chant loudly during all hours of the day and night. The cult also would leave a lot of garbage strewn around.

In other words, Aum Shinriko was a cult that did not keep a low profile. Aum Shinriko also had books and graphic novels to promote the cult. Cult leader Asahara sought out publicity and often gave media interviews. Asahara called himself a messiah and the reincarnation of Buddha. He was also preaching doomsday prophecies and had bold political ambitions for himself and his cult.

A turning point for Aum Shinriko was in 1990, when the cult formed its own political group. Asahara and 24 other members of the cult were political candidates for Japan’s House of Representatives, but these cult members lost in all of these elections. This humiliating defeat apparently set Asahara over the edge. Instead of wanting to join the Japanese government, the group changed its agenda to wanting to destroy the Japanese government.

By 1991, after Russia switched from a Communist regime to a democratic-resembling government, members of Aum Shinriko went to Russia to recruit new members. Aum Shinriko also began to amass weapons and illegally purchased nerve gas called Sarin. What started out as a seemingly benign lifestyle community had turned into a full-fledged terrorist group.

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” begins with Aum Shinriko’s most notorious crime: On March 20, 1995, Aum Shinriko instigated a Sarin attack on five subway cars on a subway train going to Kasumigaseki Station in Tokyo. The attack murdered 13 people and injured thousands.

Asahara was arrested on May 16, 1995. By October of 1995, Aum Shinriko disbanded. Asahara and several Aum Shinriko members were eventually convicted of murder. Asahara was sentenced to death in 2004. He and other convicted Aum Shinriko murderers were executed in 2018. All of this information is dutifully chronicled in the documentary.

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” also takes a closer look beyond the 1995 nerve gas attack and examines the human toll taken on people who went up against the cult. People tried to get loved ones out of the cult but did not get much help from authorities because the people in the cult were considered adults who were there of their own free will. Journalists, lawyers and other people who were investigating the cult found themselves on the receiving end of harassment or worse from cult members.

Although it’s impossible to know how many murders are linked to Aum Shinriko, the documentary mentions three particular murders that are definitely linked to Aum Shinriko. A Yokohama-based attorney named Tsutsumi Sakamoto represented family members who wanted their loved ones to leave the cult. Sakamoto was investigating the cult when he, his wife and their son disappeared in 1989. An Aum Shinriko badge was found in the family’s apartment. Their murdered bodies were found in 1995, after an Aum Shinriko member provided authorities with a map to find the bodies.

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” has an interview with a former member named Mika Hosokawa, who joined the cult in 1988, when she was 22 years old. At this time in her life, she describes herself as “spiritually stalled” and looking for a change in her life. Married couple Hiroyuki Nagaoka and Eiko Nagaoka say in documentary interviews that they spent a fortune trying to get their unnamed son out of the cult. They describe their son as being lured into Aum Shinriko by the cult’s book “How to Develop Psychic Powers.”

One of the most compelling interviews intthe documentary is with Fumihiro Joyu, who was a high-ranking member of the Aum Shinriko cult. Joyu spent time in prison for his Aum Shinriko crimes and was released in 1999. He currently leads a group called Hikari no Wa, which is Japanese for Circle of Light.

Joyu says that his father abandoned him as a child. And when Joyu was in the cult, he says that Asahara became a “real father” to Joyu, who joined the cult in 1986. At the time, the cult was still presenting itself as a yoga/meditation school. Joyu majored in artificial intelligence in college. He was interested in yoga and spiritual enlightenment. And he says that in Japan, there was an “occult boom” at the time.

According to Joyu, the hierarchy in the Aum Shinriko cult was that cult members who were scientists, chemists and engineers were on the second-highest level of the hierarchy and were treated like priests. It explains why this cult used chemical warfare for its heinous subway attack in 1995. At the time Joyu joined the group, he worked at JAYA, which is a Japanese outer-space agency that is similar to NASA.

Joyu doesn’t seem particularly remorseful about all the destruction caused by Aum Shinriko. He tells his story matter-of-factly. And he clearly has fond memories of his time in the cult. The documentary could have done a better job of asking Joyu about his thoughts about the people who were harmed by the cult, or at least asked him what he thinks about cult warning signs that people need to know about to avoid a cult such as Aum Shinriko.

The documentary’s most heart-wrenching interview is with Yoshiyuki Kono, who was falsely accused in the Japanese media of being the perpetrator of the Mastumoto subway attack in 1995. During this ordeal, his wife went into a coma for 14 years after having a heart attack. Even after experiencing all this trauma, Kono says, “I’ve come to realize that even in the toughest of circumstances, you can look for joy in life.”

Other people interviewed in “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” are journalist Shoko Egawa; attorneys Yuji Nakamura and Taro Takmoto; and Seiich Takeuchi, a Kamikuishiki villager who took photos of the cult members. Takeuchi gives his opinion on why the Aum Shinriko had a reign of terror for so many years: “I think the [government] administration and the police are responsible for it. So many red flags, and they barely investigated them.”

“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” does what a lot of documentaries do when they are satisfactory but not outstanding: They rely heavily on reports that journalists have already done and sometimes interview those journalists. This documentary is obviously very well-researched. But more insight probably would’ve been in this movie if the people interviewed for the documentary were asked more probing questions beyond the basics.

Greenwich Entertainment released “AUM: The Cult at the End of the World” in select U.S. cinemas on March 19, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on March 28, 2025.

Review: ‘Magazine Dreams’ (2025), starring Jonathan Majors, Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige, Harrison Page, Harriet Sansom Harris and Michael O’Hearn

March 20, 2025

by Carla Hay

Jonathan Majors in “Magazine Dreams” (Photo courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment)

“Magazine Dreams” (2025)

Directed by Elijah Bynum

Culture Representation: Taking place in California, the dramatic film “Magazine Dreams” features a predominantly white group of people (with some African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An aspiring bodybuilder goes on a downward spiral in his mental health and physical health.

Culture Audience: “Magazine Dreams” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and intense psychological movies about athletes and fame obsession.

Harrison Page and Jonathan Majors in “Magazine Dreams” (Photo courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment

Judging this movie only on its cinematic merits—and not the controversy surrounding the movie—“Magazine Dreams” has a well-acted and harrowing but flawed portrait of an aspiring bodybuilder in a mental health crisis. This is not a “feel good” sports movie. The subject matter is disturbing and depressing. But there’s no denying that it’s a riveting movie to watch when it comes to believable performances.

Written and directed by Elijah Bynum, “Magazine Dreams” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where the movie won a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. Searchlight Pictures was set to release the film later that year. But in December 2023, after a controversial trial, “Magazine Dreams” star Jonathan Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment of his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. He was subsequently fired from several projects, dropped by some of his representatives, and Searchlight Pictures canceled its release of “Magazine Dreams.”

Briarcliff Entertainment picked up “Magazine Dreams” for distribution. But the scandals about Majors have undoubtedly tainted the movie’s release, especially since Majors portrays a violent brute in “Magazine Dreams.” The name of Majors’ character in the movie is Killian Maddox, a steroid-abusing, aspiring bodybuilder whose biggest goals are to become Mr. Olympia and to be famous enough to be on magazine covers.

Killian lives with his elderly grandfather William Lattimore (played by Harrison Page), a Vietnam War veteran who has health issues and doesn’t really pay attention to what Killian does. Killian calls his grandfather Papa. William became Killian’s guardian because when Killian was a child, Killian’s father murdered Killian’s mother by gun violence before Killian’s father killed himself.

Killian’s bodybuilding obsession includes his fixation on his idol Brad Vanderhorn (played by Michael O’Hearn), a champion bodybuilder who has the type of fame that Killian wants. Killian writes numerous fan letters to Brad, with Killian asking to meet Brad. Killian’s fan letters to Brad become increasingly desperate and pathetic.

Killian, who is a socially awkward loner, has a job working at a grocery store. He tries to strike up a romance with a co-worker named Jessie (played by Haley Bennett), who eventually sees the unsettling side of Killian. Taylour Paige has a small role as an unnamed sex worker hired by Killian. In the movie’s end credits, this sex worker character is identified as Pink Coat because she’s wearing a pink coat when she meets Killian.

“Magazine Dreams” shows that before this story takes place, Killian had a history of violence. He is under a court order to have psychiatric therapy because of a prior incident that is not seen or described in the movie. Killian shows indications that he’s paranoid when he tells his therapist Patricia Waldon (played by Harriet Sansom Harris) that he’s frustrated about having to drive six miles to the nearest grocery store and says it must be a conspiracy.

“I think they do it on purpose,” Killian says. Patricia asks, “Who’s ‘they,’ Killian?” And it’s possible that Killian could be a paranoid schizophrenic. He denies an earlier statement that he hears voices in his head. However, Killian told another psychiatrist named Dr. Rubin that he’s afraid of his own thoughts.

Killian’s steroid abuse and use of other illegal drugs have put his health in jeopardy, but he doesn’t care. As time goes on, it’s obvious that even if Killian achieved his biggest goals, he’s the type of person who would never be satisfied. There’s an unhappy void in Killian that no amount of accolades and fame can fill.

Unlike many movies about underdog athletes who want to be champions, “Magazine Dreams” does not have a protagonist who is likable. Killian has tantrums that sometimes erupt into criminal violence. The movie implies that this simply isn’t “roid rage” from steroid abuse. Killian appears to have longtime anger issues.

An example of Killian’s irrational rage is shown in a scene where he accuses a local business called George & Sons Hardware & Paint of doing an inadequate paint job for the house owned by Killian’s grandfather. When Killian calls the company to complain, he accuses the company of disrespecting his grandfather, whose previous calls about the same thing were supposedly ignored. Killian snarls to the man he’s talking to on the phone: “I’m going to split your skull open and eat your brains like soup.” Later, Killian shows his violent side during an act of revenge against George & Sons Hardware & Paint.

“Magazine Dreams” is essentially about Killian heading for a major meltdown, in addition to showing the hazards of social isolation combined with an obsession with fame. The ending of “Magazine Dreams” is underwhelming. However, it’s meant to demonstrate that people like Killian who have untreated mental illnesses often want to have lives that roar when the reality is that they often have lives that whimper with excruciating emotional pain.

Briarcliff Entertainment will release “Magazine Dreams” in U.S. cinemas on March 21, 2025. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2025.

Review: ‘The Accidental Getaway Driver,’ starring Hiệp Trần Nghĩa, Phi Vũ, Dali Benssalah and Dustin Nguyen

March 19, 2025

by Carla Hay

Pictured clockwise, from left to right: Dustin Nguyen, Phi Vũ, Dali Benssalah and Hiệp Trần Nghĩa in “The Accidental Getaway Driver” (Photo by Ron Batzdorff/Utopia)

“The Accidental Getaway Driver”

Directed by Sing J. Lee

Some language in Vietnamese with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Orange County, California, the dramatic film “The Accidental Getaway Driver” (based on real events) features a predominantly Asian group of people (with some white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A taxi driver is taken hostage by three escaped prison inmates, who force him to drive them to their intended destination.

Culture Audience: “The Accidental Getaway Driver” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching crime dramas that have deeper meanings about human connections during a crisis.

Dustin Nguyen and Hiệp Trần Nghĩa in “The Accidental Getaway Driver” (Photo by Ron Batzdorff/Utopia)

“The Accidental Getaway Driver” sometimes suffers from tedious pacing. However, the movie still delivers effective performances and enough suspense in this drama about a taxi driver forced to transport three escaped prisoners. “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is based on a true story that happened in 2016, when three inmates broke out of Orange County Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana, California. The real name of the taxi driver remains the same in the movie, but the names of the real inmate escapees have been changed for the movie.

Directed by Sing J. Lee, “The Accidental Getaway Driver” was co-written by Lee and Christopher Chen. “The Accidental Getaway Driver” (which is Lee’s feature-film diectorial debut) had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The movie takes place in Orange County, California, where “The Accidental Getaway Driver” was filmed on location.

As already revealed in the movie’s synopsis and trailer, it’s no accident that taxi driver Long Mâ (played by Hiệp Trần Nghĩa) has been forced to be the getaway driver for these fugitives. The movie doesn’t waste any time because this abduction is shown near the beginning of the film. “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is told from Long’s point of view.

Long is a divorced father who lives alone. He is at an age (his 70s) when most people are retired, but he can’t afford to retire. It’s mentioned later that Long and his ex-wife have two adult children. Long is self-employed and has his own small private taxi service, which is why there is no agency or no company that gets the unusual call that he gets on a fateful night. The only car for Long’s taxi service is his Toyota Camry.

Long gets a call for a passenger pickup to go to convenience store called ABC Market in Orange County’s Little Saigon neighborhood. At first, Long says no because he says he’s off duty and it’s too late at night. However, Long changes his mind when the caller offers to pay double the rate of what Long would normally charge. This offer turns out to be a trap.

There are three adult male passengers in this ride. Long will soon find out that these men have escaped from an Orange County jail, where they were incarcerated for various violent crimes. The fugitives have a gun, and they are going to force Long to help with their escape. It becomes apparent that Long was chosen because two out of the three fugitives are Vietnamese, and the plan is to hide out in areas that have a large Vietnamese population.

Thess are the three kidnapping criminals:

  • Aden Sahli (played by Dali Benssalah) is the 37-year-old mastermind of the group and is the one who is most likely to get violent. Aden, who is an Iranian immigrant who served in the U.S. military, has a nasty temper and is a devious manipulator. The character of Aden is based on real-life convicted kidnapper Hossein Nayeri, who was in jail for an unrelated 2012 kidnapping, torture and mutilation that he planned with other accomplices.
  • Tây Duong (played by Dustin Nguyen) is 43 years old and was incarcerated for attempted murder and firearm possession. Tây says that he has an older sister named Linda (played by Tiffany Rothman), who lives in the local area with her husband Minh (played by Vu Tran). The character of Tây is based on the real-life Bac Duong.
  • Edward “Eddie” Ly (played by Phi Vũ) is 20 years old and was incarcerated for attempted murder and murder. Eddie is also an alleged gang member. The character of Eddie is based on the real-life Jonathan Tieu.

As soon as Long picks up these three passengers, he notices that they are acting suspiciously when they go to ABC Market. Long sees that there are drops of blood in the back seat, where Aden and Eddie have been sitting. Tây is sitting in the front passenger seat.

When the three strangers finish their shopping and get back in the car, they are carrying shopping bags that contain items that they need while hiding as fugitives. Tây then pulls out a gun, points it at Long, and says, “You’re going to help us, okay?” Long finds out that these passengers have escaped from jail and there’s a $2,000 reward for information leading to their capture. The kidnappers refuse Long’s request to be let go.

However, there’s a glimmer of hope for Long when Tây says that they will let Long go after the kidnappers achieve their goal to drive north to go to a place where they can get fake passports. It’s explained that the kidnappers had pre-paid for fake passports from another place but got ripped off because they never got those passports. Will the kidnappers keep their promise to let Long go after the kidnappers get the passports they want?

The rest of “The Accidental Getaway Driver” shows Long’s ordeal as he is forced to stay with these kidnappers over multiple days. During this kidnapping, Long has flashback memories of different parts of his life. And an unexpected father/son type of bond forms between Long and one of the kidnappers.

Much of “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is about the pitfalls and regrets of loneliness. At one point, Long dejectedly admits to his kidnappers that no one in his life will notice if he’s missing for several days. This sobering thought makes Long re-evaluate the isolated life that he had been living when he got kidnapped.

And these kidnappers aren’t exactly friends with complete trust in each other. They just happened to be in the same jail and saw an opportunity to plan this escape together. As trust among the kidnappers begins to unravel, it becomes a question of whether or not they will stick together or have an “every man for himself” attitude.

The principal cast members of “The Accidental Getaway Driver” deliver very good performances, with Hiệp Trần Nghĩa being the obvious standout. Long knows that he’s no physical match for these younger kidnappers, so he doesn’t put up much of a fight and remains calm through most of this abduction. That doesn’t mean that Long has given up hope that he will survive this kidnapping. “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is a memorable depiction of what can happen when a surprising friendship forms among people who are supposed to be opponents in horrible circumstances.

Utopia released “The Accidental Getaway Driver” in select U.S. cinemas on February 28, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 8, 2025.

Review: ‘Opus’ (2025), starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Stephanie Suganami, Young Mazino and Tatanka Means

March 14, 2025

by Carla Hay

John Malkovich and Ayo Edebiri in “Opus” (Photo by Anna Kooris/A24)

“Opus” (2025)

Directed by Mark Anthony Green

Culture Representation: Taking place in New York City and in Green River, Utah, the horror film “Opus” features a predominantly white group of people (with some African Americans, Native Americans and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A music journalist and several other people are the targets of deadly terror when they go to an exclusive listening party at the isolated compound of a mysterious pop star, who says he’s coming out of a 30-year retirement.

Culture Audience: “Opus” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, but this horror movie fails to do anything interesting or clever.

Murray Bartlett, Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis and Melissa Chambers in “Opus” (Photo courtesy of A24)

“Opus” starts with an unoriginal horror movie concept of people experiencing terror in an isolated area. It goes downhill from there. Yet another campy and weird performance from John Malkovich (as a reclusive pop star) cannot save this misguided movie. “Opus” seems to want to make bold statements about the dangers of obsessive celebrity worship, but it’s really just a substandard slasher flick that takes too long to get to the horror part of the movie.

Written and directed by Mark Anthony Green, “Opus” is his first feature film. “Opus” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The movie takes place mostly in Green River, Utah, and partially in New York City. (“Opus” was actually filmed in New Mexico.) Several characters are introduced and then are left underdeveloped. And there are too many plot holes to ignore. “Opus” is like a song that spends too much time on an intro, pretends to be original, but is really just a slipshod ripoff of better previously released work from other creators.

“Opus” begins by showing a snippet of a concert performed by music superstar Alfred Moretti (played by Malkovich), who goes by the name Moretti. His face is not revealed until later in the movie. As the movie’s opening credits roll on screen, individual concertgoers are shown in slow-motion as they dance and look ecstatic. The movie has visual effects that make it look like Moretti’s most star-struck fans have glints in their eyes like glowing stars.

The movie’s first scene with dialogue takes place in the New York City headquarters of an unnamed print magazine whose specialty is music coverage. During a staff meeting in a conference room, 27-year-old journalist Ariel Ecton (played by Ayo Edebiri) pitches an idea to do a feature article on the possible comeback of a legendary singer named Tamara Camden, whose two most recent albums have been flops.

Ariel’s editor boss Stan Sullivan (played by Murray Bartlett) rejects the idea. But then, he quickly changes his mind and assigns the story to a male writer. Ariel is hurt by this rejection because this type of snub has happened to her before at this magazine where she has worked for the past three years.

Ariel is then seen having lunch with her friend Kent (played by Young Mazino) and complaining that she’s not respected at her job. Ariel wants to do articles about celebrities because she thinks that will bring more attention to her. She has yet to be assigned this type of article. Kent tells her with brutal honesty that Ariel probably isn’t respected at the job because she comes across too average, too boring and too inexperienced in life.

Kent bluntly says to Ariel: “You’re middle as fuck,” meaning that she’s too “middle-of-the-road.” This is the only scene where anything is mentioned about Ariel’s personal history. She grew up in a stable, middle-class home with her two married parents. And she has a hard time letting anyone get close to her. These are all things that Kent says out loud to Ariel.

When Ariel goes back to the office, her co-workers are abuzz because Moretti’s flamboyant publicist Soledad Yusef (played by Tony Hale) has posted an online video announcing that Moretti is coming out of a 30-year retirement to release his 18th studio album, titled “Caesar’s Request.” A select number of people (about 50 to 75 guests) from around the world will get invitations to an exclusive listening party for the album, with each guest getting an all-expenses-paid trip to the party. Moretti is hosting the party at his sprawling compound in a very remote desert area in Green City, Utah.

It’s explained that before Moretti “disappeared” into retirement, he was the biggest pop star of the 1990s. He had 38 No. 1 singles and the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. His retirement was abrupt. He has not done any interviews since his retirement. And he has rarely been seen in public. However, he still has a devoted fan base.

The trailer for “Opus” already reveals that Ariel and Stan are two of the people who received invitations to the listening party. Arrangements are made for them to get flown by private jet to Green City. When Ariel and Stan arrive in Green City, they are greeted by Moretti’s chief assistant Jorg (played by Peter Diseth), who is welcoming but has an intensity about him that is unsettling. Jorg dresses like he was given throwaway clothes from “Star Trek.”

Ariel and Stan are then told that they will go on a tour bus called The Debutante to go to Moretti’s compound. The other people on the bus are tabloid TV host Clara Armstrong (played by Juliette Lewis); paparazzi photographer Bianca Tyson (played by Melissa Chambers); social media influencer Emily Katz (played by Stephanie Suganami); and an entertainment journalist named Bill Lotto (played by Mark Sivertsen), who is a competitive rival to Stan. Later, it’s revealed that Moretti has a grudge against Bill for a very petty and uninteresting reason.

On the way to the compound, these six guests see Moretti fans who weren’t invited to the party but are camped out as close to the compound entrance as they can get. When the guests arrive at the compound, a tall and imposing staffer named Najee (played by Tatanka Means) tells the guests that they are required to hand over their phones during the trip. Later, Ariel finds out that her laptop computer was taken without her consent from her guest room. A note is left behind, saying that her laptop computer was taken to “ensure your comfort,” with the promise that she will get her computer back at the end of the trip.

Once at the compound, Moretti makes his big entrance (his wardrobe is a combination of 1970s Elton John and New Age guru) and almost everyone does some type of celebrity worship of Moretti. Ariel gets caught up in it too, but not to the extent that she sees other people excessively fawning over Moretti. She notices that Jorg and other Moretti employees refer to themselves and Moretti’s other devoted fans as Levelists, with each person having to attain different levels to get closer to Moretti.

Stan mostly ignores Ariel because he is more interested in schmoozing with Clara and seeing if he can be the first person to interview Moretti at this party. And so, at the first big group dinner, where everyone is seated at long tables, Ariel is by herself when she is approached by a friendly girl named Maude (played by Aspen Martinez), who is about 8 or 9 years old. Maude invites Ariel to sit next to her at the dinner.

Maude is one of the few children in this group of people. Who is Maude and why is she there? Don’t expect any answers to that question. Later, Moretti is seen holding Maude’s hand like a parental figure. There is no mention of Moretti being a parent to Maude. Where are Maude’s parents? Don’t expect the movie to answer to that question either.

In another scene, Jorg tells Ariel that Jorg used to be a music teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina, but he suddenly left it all behind when he got a surprise phone call from Moretti, who asked Jorg to work for him. Jorg tells Ariel, “I was on the plane the next day.” Jorg says part of his job is to teach music theory to Maude, but whatever musical skills Jorg might have are never shown in the movie.

Ariel sees many other indications that Moretti is the leader of a cult. People obey his orders, no matter how strange they are. All of the people at the first group dinner are expected to eat from the same loaf of bread by biting into the bread loaf. By the time the loaf gets to Ariel, it’s lumpy and sticky from other people’s saliva. She hesitates to take a bite, but she gives in to peer pressure and does it anyway. The guests are also given specific schedules for their activities during this trip.

Later, Ariel and the other guests are each assigned a “minder,” who is supposed to keep them under surveillance, 24 hours a day. Ariel’s minder is a scowling Levelist concierge named Belle (played by Amber Midthunder), who follows Ariel almost everywhere. Ariel is given some privacy (Belle stays outside Ariel’s room when Ariel is in her room), but the movie never explains how Belle can really watch Ariel 24 hours a day, as if Belle doesn’t need to sleep. (“Opus” is not a science-fiction movie where the Levelists are really surprise non-human creatures.)

There’s too much build-up and not much payoff happening in “Opus.” At least half of the movie is about showing Ariel getting increasingly uncomfortable about being at the compound. Something that really raises alarms for her is the fashion/beauty makeover that she and the other guests are required to have before the listening party. It has already been decided for all the guests exactly what their makeovers will entail.

An employee Levelist named Rachel Malick (played by Tamera Tomakili), whose perky personality seems very fake, oversees Ariel’s makeover. And let’s just say that the grooming is too close for Ariel’s comfort. Rachel tries to shame Ariel into thinking that Ariel is being too uptight if she refuses any part of this makeover. “Opus” repeatedly makes the point that people will overlook and excuse a lot of uncomfortable weirdness if it mean pleasing someone who’s rich and famous.

One of the biggest failings of “Opus” is that it tells nothing about who Clara, Bianca, Emily and Bill really are, even though they are all put in the same group as Ariel and Stan for various activities at the compound. Clara gets the most dialogue with Ariel and Stan, but Clara is ultimately shallow and has nothing interesting to say. Bianca’s presence in the movie is unnecessary because Bianca has absolutely no bearing on the story.

For most of “Opus,” Ariel just exists to react to the bizarre things that she experiences, including witnessing extreme oyster shucking in a sweat-lodge tent; hearing Moretti tell a weird story about Chuck Norris and Muhammad Ali competing with each other backstage at a 1980s Mortetti concert to see who could slice up a mosquito the most with his bare hands; and watching an offbeat puppet show called “The Tragedy of Billie” about Billie Holiday. (Rosario Dawson has a voice cameo role as Billie Holiday.) As a journalist, Ariel has lousy investigative skills and not much common sense. But then again, horror movies often rely on characters to make less-than-smart decisions. Edebiri gives a serviceable performance as Ariel, who is likable but dull.

Malkovich’s performance as demented creep Moretti might get mild chuckles from viewers, but Moretti is not scary enough or funny enough to be an outstanding villain. As for Moretti’s songs, they are mediocre electro-pop tunes written by Grammy-winning writers/producers Nile Rodgers and The-Dream. If you waited your whole life to see Malkovich gyrate to bland pop while pretending to be a pop star, then “Opus” is the movie for you.

Most horror movies are not expected to be masterpieces. But the best horror movies should get viewers interested enough to care what happens to the main characters. Unfortunately, “Opus” fails to deliver, in terms of characters and a story that can be engaging. The last awful 15 minutes of “Opus” drag like a strand of toilet paper clinging to a toilet bowl before being flushed down the toilet. And that’s probably the best way to describe how this derivative flop film wasted a lot of opportunities to be a better movie.

A24 released “Opus” in U.S. cinemas on March 14, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 1, 2025.

Copyright 2017-2025 Culture Mix
CULTURE MIX