- The Most Significant Movie Ever Made (August 26, 2025)
The day is May 24, 2011, a grey, drizzly, and mostly unremarkable Tuesday. I am sitting in a room with a number of other people, all of whom would no doubt prefer to be somewhere else at that particular moment. Finally, a man steps up into the front of the room, briefly introduces himself to us and then begins earnestly discussing the career of William Wyler with a focus on the latter portion—the success of “Ben-Hur” (1959) and how he turned down the chance to make “The Sound of Music” (1965), though not a mention, as I recall, of “The Children’s Hour” (1962). Under normal circumstances—say a college class or an introduction to a screening—this talk might make some sort of sense, but these are not normal circumstances, and I am convinced for a moment that I am finally cracking up. Not only that, I can feel the stares of some of the others in the room who are a.) equally confused by all the movie talk and b.) presumably convinced that I am somehow responsible for it.
You see, when I said, “these are not normal circumstances,” what I meant to say was “this is my father’s funeral,” and when I said, “a man,” what I meant to say was “the pastor conducting the service.”
Dad, Raymond W. Sobczynski, had passed away a few days earlier the age of 76—he had been in poor health for the previous few years and had spent about three weeks in the hospital before finally passing on. As such things go, I suppose that he went as well as one could under the circumstances—my mother, my brother, his wife, and I were all there at his bedside. While it hurt, it was perhaps not a shock, and it at least brought an end to his suffering. As anyone who goes through the death of a loved one can attest, the next couple of days can be an oftentimes surreal whirlwind that finds them caught between trying to emotionally process the loss while at the same time trying to take care of all of the various details that suddenly crop up, especially regarding the funeral and all that.
Since dealing with people is not exactly my forte, one of my key jobs was to jot out a brief obituary that the pastor at the funeral home could use to glean details for the service he was going to deliver for someone I don’t think he had ever actually met. Therefore, this extremely bizarre opening is probably the result of something I wrote but I do not have the faintest idea of what it could have been—I can assure that even under the best of circumstances, I would rather eat glass than contemplate the existence of “The Sound of Music,” let alone make reference to it regarding my dead dad. Finally, at just about the moment when I am about to stand up and ask some variation of “WTF?” (and while the talk thus far may not have gone on for too long in real time, it feels to be as if it has gone on forever), he shifts the talk from the nun musical to the film that he made instead of that one, “The Collector.“
Finally, it all makes sense, sort of. I may have temporarily forgotten that Wyler directed “The Collector,” but there is no way that I can ever forget the film itself. To these eyes, it is probably the most significant movie ever made, because if it didn’t exist, there is a good chance that I wouldn’t exist either. (Granted, after a few more paragraphs of this, some of you may be thinking that might be a bad idea, but let us play nice for the time being.)
In 1965, Raymond met Patricia Kribble while riding the train into Chicago for work. From what I have been led to understand, she did not seem especially interested at first—I gather she was under the mistaken impression that he was already married—but she eventually agreed to go out on a first date with him. The evening planned was typical enough for the time—a movie at one of the city’s big theaters, dinner afterward at the Playboy Club, and perhaps coffee if all went well. Now, around this time, there were any number of films that one could have chosen from—“What’s New, Pussycat?,” “Cat Ballou,” “The Great Race,” “Von Ryan’s Express,” “The Family Jewels”—but Dad, in his wisdom, picked “The Collector.” Now this may not seem like a big deal to those of you who are unfamiliar with the film but let me hasten to assure you that if you were to compile a list of the absolute worst movies to choose to see on a first date—ones that would almost certainly guarantee that there would not be a second—“The Collector” would have to reside pretty near the top.
Based on the 1963 debut novel by John Fowles, the film introduces us to Freddie (Terence Stamp), a socially maladjusted young man with a fascination for capturing and collecting butterflies. After winning a sizable chunk of money in a football pool, he uses it to purchase a remote 17th-century farmhouse in the countryside. He then begins following—we would call it “stalking” today—pretty art student Miranda (Samantha Eggar) around London, and one night, he quietly pursues her outside a pub, chloroforms her in the street, and takes her back to the farmhouse, where she wakes up in the cellar. Miranda at first assumes that she has been kidnapped for ransom and insists that her family is not wealthy, but the truth turns out to be much ickier. It seems that Freddie has been following her for years, ever since they used to ride on the same bus line. He now proclaims his love for her and states that he will keep her for four weeks, which he feels will be enough time for her to really get to know him and reciprocate his feelings. If she doesn’t, he assures her that he will let her go with no problem.
As you can probably surmise, this plan does not go especially well. Freddie offers her certain concessions—things like access to sunlight and supervised baths—in the hopes that they will prove the sincerity of his intentions towards her. Instead, she begins to undermine him psychologically—at one point, she informs him that while she will not offer resistance if he attempts to rape her, such an act would be greatly disappointing to her. She still makes attempts to escape or get word out that she is being held captive, but is stymied at every turn. The end of the four weeks finally arrives, and with it, Freddie’s proposal of marriage—Miranda accepts, but he does not quite buy it, and she then tries yet another escape attempt. This kicks off a chain of events that leads to Miranda’s dying and Freddie, after burying her body out back, deciding that the failure of his plan was all her fault and commencing the stalking of a new and different woman with whom he might have more success.
Now make no mistake about it—“The Collector” is an undeniably creepy and compelling psychological thriller featuring excellent performances from the two leads (who both won awards at Cannes a couple of months earlier for their work), a real sense of mounting tension through Wyler’s direction and a finale that stayed true to the bleak nature of the novel instead of gutting it by slapping on a wholly inappropriate happy ending. (Supposedly, an alternate ending, one written by Terry Southern in which Miranda did manage to escape, was prepared but quickly rejected by Wyler.) That said, it is definitely the kind of film that you do not want to spring on someone completely unawares, especially in a first date situation. Somewhere in the archives, I have a scan of the newspaper ad that ran during its run at the Esquire, the gorgeous Art Deco theater where it was playing. It is not exactly restrained—the visual is of Freddie dragging Miranda on the ground, the tag line is “…almost a love story!” and it goes on to read “…from the bold best-seller about an innocent young girl who is abducted by a young man who is not so innocent.” Hell, even the legendary “Keep Telling Yourself—It’s Only A Movie!” ad from “Last House on the Left” (1972) showed more subtlety and nuance by comparison.
What could have possibly led him to believe that this was the right call to make? If he had read the book or if he had seen that ad, I have to believe that he might have rethought the decision. I cannot imagine that the Cannes victories would have made any difference to him. Did a friend recommend it to him, perhaps not entirely explaining what transpired in it? I have to assume that he simply had no idea what the film entailed and just figured it would be one of those straightforward British dramas that were making headway in the U.S. around that time. The only other explanation that makes sense—the one that actually makes the most sense, now that I think of it—is that he was thinking more about the dinner and picked the film simply because the Esquire was just about the closest theater to the Playboy Club.
What made “The Collector” such an insane choice is that if you were to try to pick a film that was guaranteed to alienate and upset my mother, you could hardly do better or worse than that one. Never exactly a big cinema buff under the best of circumstances, she hates most things that smack of the horror and thriller genres and especially dislikes movies that have the temerity to end on a down note. (She was so consistent on this point that she even used it to explain why she didn’t like “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” stating that she knew what had really happened in the end.) If she had even an inkling of what the film consisted of, not only would she have said “not a chance,” but there is an excellent chance that the entire date would have been scuttled. Think I am kidding about this? She once regaled me with the story of how the guy she was seeing a few years earlier had invited her to see “Psycho” (1960), and she absolutely refused based on the title alone. (Insert facepalm emoji here.)
Needless to say, the movie did not go over very well with her and as someone who has seen her react to movies that she doesn’t like with a form of low-key hostility that could freeze the blood (after sitting through the film of the same name, simply invoking any derivation of the phrase “Comin’ at Ya” would invoke a response roughly akin to the typical response to asking the location of the Susquehanna Hat Company on Bagel Street), I can practically see the look of disapproval on her face she must have sported throughout. However, she must have been in a forgiving mood—that or the food at the Playboy Club and the coffee at Cafe Bellini must have been spectacular—because she did agree to see him again after all. Two years later, on the same date that this piece is being published, they got married—an occasion that featured something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a bomb threat at the reception (a tale that to be told another time)—eventually got around to having me and, a few years later, my brother and stayed together until the day he passed.
Sadly, not much tangible remains from that fateful date. Venerable Mom passed away a decade after my father, and the Playboy Club and Cafe Bellini are long gone. The Esquire, which inexplicably was denied landmark status, underwent a conversion that reduced its grand 1,400-seat auditorium to a bland six-plex before being closed in 2006. As for “The Collector” itself, its premise would get a comedic spin from Pedro Almodovar a couple of decades later with his controversial hit “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down,” and I suspect that nearly every one of the violent police procedural shows of the last decade, things like “CSI” and the various permutations of “Law & Order,” has probably lifted chunks of its plotting for an episode or two. While the film may not have a profile as high as something like “Psycho” or other suspense thrillers of its type, it still packs a considerable punch even today. And yet, when the occasion comes when I do happen to watch it, I cannot see the brutality, the bleakness, or the psychological torment at all. All I can see is the romance. Thank God William Wyler picked this instead of The Sound of Music. Same goes for my dad.
- LIFE AFTER LIFE: 4 Films at IANDS Conference in Chicago August 27-31 (August 25, 2025)
Four films about near-death experiences (NDE), shared death experiences (SDE), and related phenomena will be screened at the International Association for Near-Death Studies (“IANDS”) annual conference, August 27-31 at the Hilton in Oak Brook Hills, Illinois, said Janet Riley, the Executive Director of IANDS. The Annual Conference includes four days of education and workshops, and will bring together more than 800 near-death experience researchers, physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, and clergy, as well as those who have had near-death experiences or are interested in the field. Noted physician Dr. Raymond Moody, credited with early studies on NDEs, is a featured Keynote Speaker.
“Suffering Into Gold,” an award-winning documentary film, follows the journey of Paul Gralen, a terminally ill man with ALS, and his wife, Beth Orr. Following the screening on Wednesday, August 27, at 7:30 p.m., Chaz Ebert, Chicago author and publisher of RogerEbert.com, will moderate a discussion with Beth Orr and William Peters, founder of the Shared Crossing Project and a noted expert in the field of shared death experiences.
Ebert will follow with a signing for her new book, “It’s Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity Through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.” More details on the book here. Or use the QR code below.
The other films that will be shown are: “Witnesses,” “Raymond Moody’s Afterlife,” and “Every Soul Knows: The Joy of Remembering Who We Really Are.”
For more information about IANDS and a link to register for the conference, go to: https://conference.iands.org/
- My Window into Culture: Rachael Abigail Holder on “Love, Brooklyn” (August 25, 2025)
“Love, Brooklyn” is the story of three people who are stuck as the community they love changes around them. Roger (André Holland) is a journalist who can’t get started on his story about gentrification. Casey (Nicole Beharie) is a gallery owner and his ex, though they cannot quite figure out whether they want to get back together. Nicole (DeWanda Wise) is a recent widow and the mother of a young girl, who has an intimate relationship with Roger but is still mourning his husband and insists she is not Roger’s girlfriend.
In an interview with RogerEbert.com, director Rachael Abigail Holder discussed casting, locations, and her deeply personal connection to Brooklyn.
You have three of my favorite actors in this film, so I’d love to hear about the casting process.
It started six years ago. They were out to another actor when they took me on as the director. And that actor read the script, and he passed on the project. And I was like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we made it Black?”
And André Holland has been one of my favorite actors for so long. That moment in “Moonlight” made me think, “We need to see this guy fall in love, like from the beginning.” And I thought it would be fun to see him be funny and a little softer than in the other roles he’s been in. So that was basically my pitch. He’d always wanted to work with Nicole, and so did I. But we didn’t know each other. We started pre-production in 2022, and she was shooting “The Morning Show.”
There was a world where we could have just recast her part and kept on going. And we just didn’t want to do it. The way I describe Nicole’s talent is that she creates more than just a little show; she writes multiple chapters of a story in her eyes. She’s amazing.
DeWanda and I have actually known each other since 2006. I cast her in one of my first New York plays. And we’ve just been like in each other’s worlds without really connecting. She’s playing a very different part than what we normally see her in. She had a juxtaposition of being a confident, blunt, and honest woman, yet also incredibly soft. I love her so much.
We often talk about a location being a character in a movie. Still, in this case, the location is the title character and a parallel for what is happening to the characters. You really made it look beautiful. What does Brooklyn mean to you, and what made it the right location for this story?
Brooklyn is and has always been one of the coolest places on Earth, and it has always been in a state of constant change. The best way to describe Brooklyn’s role as a character in our movie is the beginning of the story of this entire production. Paul Zimmerman wrote the script about his 20s, and Paul is now in his 70s. I read it in 2019, and I felt like he was writing about me and my friends. This particular change that we’re exploring in our story has happened before. I just thought that was wild, that it felt so timeless.
Personally, Brooklyn is where I lived while studying for my MFA. When I was growing up, I lived on Long Island in a predominantly white neighborhood, and I attended an entirely white school. I used to go to Brooklyn every Sunday to go to church with my family. And my family’s West Indian, and Brooklyn’s sort of the landing place for so many Caribbean, West Indian people that going there every Sunday, even if we didn’t go to church, even if we were, like, picking up roti and curry, it felt like I was visiting with family all the time. So, Brooklyn, to me personally, was like my window into my culture.
I want to ask you about one particularly striking scene, where Roger and Casey are at a dinner party with a wealthy art patron named Lorna, and Casey is under a lot of pressure to accommodate her so she will buy more art.
That was one of the funniest and most fun scenes we shot. Cassandra Freeman is another actor who hasn’t had a chance to do their thing. She’s so hilarious, but she’s only played for the most part very dramatic roles. I really wanted Lorna to be a black woman because gentrification is not solely one color. And we all have to look at our relationship to power. I fought hard for her to be a black woman. And I wanted her to be funny too. I wanted it to be light, and I didn’t want it to feel like in-your-face commentary.
In terms of moving the story along, this is a moment where Casey is vulnerable, and Roger picks up on it. She’s softened and upset in a way that only someone who really knows her can know. I think women, Black women, especially, we have this way when we’re upset, sometimes our upset-ness can look like we’re angry or tired. Nicole has this beautiful way of showing her softness and her vulnerability.
How does the theme of gentrification relate to the past and possible future romantic storylines?
It’s like what Roger says at the end of the movie. You can spend your time being mad about the past and holding on to what the current should be, or what the future should be. And you might be right. But I think life is about trying as much as possible to be mindful about how much you’re staying in the present.
The homes and other interior spaces in the film reveal a great deal about the characters.
Lili Teplan is a genius. She worked so hard with nothing and made all of my dreams come true. I had been building decks for every space in the film since 2019, and kept updating it and pulling images. It felt like the little version of me that would spend hours with my stuffed animals, playing, creating, and building. Meeting Lily and her artistry and her ability to make so much out of nothing was like our inner children meeting together. It was just so magical and amazing.
Our location manager, George Marro, compiled a list of homes and spaces to visit in Brooklyn that we explored extensively. We didn’t have to do a whole build-out.
What has been the best part of showing the film at festivals?
The American Black Film Festival was really fun, and I think that was the first time I watched it with a predominantly Black audience, a large group of Black people all together. I was like, “Oh, this is a different movie.” I felt like I was watching it for the first time, because a lot of the audience members were reacting and talking to the screen. And at the Black Star Film Festival, it felt like I was watching with my cousins.
- The Personal Becomes Universal in Moving, Funny “Long Story Short” (August 22, 2025)
Raphael Bob-Waksberg has left behind the shield of talking animals in “Bojack Horseman” and “Tuca & Bertie” to deliver a deeply personal family animated sitcom called “Long Story Short,” a 10-episode Netflix comedy that plays more like a powerful short story anthology than a traditional season of laugh-inducing television. With his writing team, Bob-Waksberg jumps around chronologically in the lives of the Schwooper family, going almost randomly from character to character and time period to time period in each episode, telling self-contained stories that gain added resonance in the accumulation.
I can remember after the funeral of a beloved uncle, when I was just a teenager, sitting in a back room and hearing his brothers and nephews tell stories about him. “Long Story Short” has that energy, a melancholic yet joyous tribute through comedic storytelling to a family that may not be your own, but that isn’t all that far off either.
The Ben Stiller in this variation on “The Royal Tenenbaums” is Avi (Ben Feldman of “Superstore”), the oldest child of the Schwooper clan, which also includes Shira (Abbi Jacobson of “Broad City”) and Yoshi (Max Greenfield of “New Girl”). We will check in with these characters at various stages of their lives, seeing both a young Avi and one post-divorce; seeing Shira at a disastrous prom and as a mother; seeing Yoshi as an awkward troublemaker and becoming an Orthodox Jew later in life. All of these events are in the shadow of a figure that’s powerful to the storytelling, even when she’s absent, matriarch Naomi Schwartz (Lisa Edelstein), wife to the kind Elliott (Paul Reiser). Naomi checks a few boxes of the stereotypical Jewish mother in a comedy, but Edelstein voices her with such depth, and Bob-Waksberg gives her such unexplored interiority that when she’s passed away in episodes set closer to the present day, we can still feel her presence.
Long Story Short (L to R) Paul Reiser as Elliot Cooper, Ben Feldman as Avi Schwooper, Angelique Cabral as Jen, Lisa Edelstein as Naomi Schwartz, Max Greenfield as Yoshi Schwooper, Abbi Jacobson as Shira Schwooper and Nicole Byer as Kendra in Long Story Short. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
The Schwoopers have significant others, friends, and children, including Avi’s wife, Jen (Angelique Cabral), Shira’s partner, Kendra (a wonderful Nicole Byer), Avi’s daughter, Hannah (Michaela Dietz), and Yoshi’s idiotic friend, Danny (Dave Franco). Once again, the writing is unpredictable in how it will branch off to tell a story about any one of these characters. My favorite episode of the season offers some unexpected backstory for Kendra, the kind of developmental anecdote that allows you to see someone in a different light. “Long Story Short” introduces its cast and then spins off into their backgrounds just enough that we feel like we know them so much better when they’re reunited back in the present day in the eighth episode.
Co-animated by ShadowMachine, who worked on projects as diverse as “Tuca” and “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “Long Story Short” isn’t the most visually striking show on TV. At times, it feels almost like it has an animation style simplified enough to be the sketches of one of the characters, something that Shira might have scribbled in a memory book. It takes some time to get used to the style, but it’s deceptively simple, able to open up in ways that live-action could never achieve. Animation also serves the purpose of time jumping, which would require recasting the voice actors of some of that “Irishman” de-aging voodoo if it were a traditional sitcom.
Long Story Short (L to R) Lisa Edelstein as Naomi Schwartz, Ben Feldman as Avi Schwooper, Abbi Jacobson as Shira Schwooper, Paul Reiser as Elliot Cooper, Dave Franco as Danny and Max Greenfield as Yoshi Schwooper in Long Story Short. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
The voice acting is uniformly strong, especially Feldman, Jacobson, and Edelstein, who are all on the same comedic wavelength. Most importantly, the voice actors fade into their characters, never sounding like celebrities phoning it in from a recording booth. Greenfield, Byer, Reiser, and Franco are all excellent, too. It’s a case of a vocal ensemble clearly invigorated by excellent writing.
To be fair, some of that very good writing verges on being overly sitcomish, especially with the follies of the teenage Schwoopers, but there’s an empathy and tenderness to it that can’t be underestimated. So many shows feel cynically crafted by writers who barely stand their own characters; the team here loves the Schwoopers in all their flaws and wonders. You will too.
Whole season screened for review. Now on Netflix.
- “Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater” is the Definitive Way to Experience This Stealth Game Classic (August 22, 2025)
In an age of video game remakes and remasters, some developers have taken varying steps to modernize older titles. Last year, Konami and developer Bloober Team took a stab at their first remake of “Silent Hill 2,” which was built from the ground up and gave it both graphical and mechanical overhauls to modernize the horror classic. Remakes like “The Last of Us Part 1” were almost identical to their original versions, which puzzled some fans, as the PS4 remaster was perfectly playable according to modern standards.
As a beat-by-beat remake of 2004’s “Metal Gear Solid 3,” 2025’s “Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater” feels like a mix of both, though tilting towards the latter, but it has just enough tweaks and new additions to justify its existence. With drastically improved visuals and a modern control scheme, “Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater” is the definitive way to experience one of the greatest stealth games of all time.
The game takes place in 1964, during the middle of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. Our protagonist, Snake (David Hayter), must infiltrate the Soviet Union to rescue a Russian rocket scientist named Sokolov. It does a fantastic job utilizing real-world events to create a riveting historical fiction setting.
There’s a natural sense of escalation when Snake must also stop the Soviet Union from deploying a deadly superweapon that could destroy the US. As a result, the story manages to pull you in and keep you invested. Early on, his mentor, The Boss (Lori Alan), also defects to the Soviet Union, which adds a personal touch to Snake’s journey and makes us empathize with him more. These character dynamics and motivations elevate an already intriguing historical drama into a masterful act of storytelling.
This game is also unafraid of taking the “fiction” part of historical fiction to its limits. Along with confronting The Boss, Snake also has to deal with superhuman freaks like the bio-electrically enhanced madman Volgin (Neil Ross) and The Pain (Gregg Berger), who has the ability to control hornets. They make for eccentric antagonists and exhilarating boss fights that you wouldn’t expect in a seemingly more grounded stealth game.
It’s a wild and imaginative juxtaposition that makes “Metal Gear” stand out amongst its other stealth game contemporaries. For anyone who’s played “Death Stranding” and its sequel, you can see where director Hideo Kojima’s knack for wacky names and abilities manifested when he created the “Metal Gear” series.
Speaking of characters, “Delta” reuses the original voice lines from the 2004 game, and it’s impressive how well the voice acting has held up even after two decades. Hayter’s gruff portrayal of Snake complements Alan’s motherly tenderness as The Boss. The quality of voice acting wouldn’t sound out of place today, and that’s a testament to the original’s legacy.
For a game created in 2004, the original had stealth gameplay mechanics that were ahead of their time, laying the foundation that many modern games draw inspiration from. While you have the standard stealth game elements like choking enemies out, there are also some light survival mechanics. Snake’s stamina impacts his walking pace, aiming stability, and damage resistance. He’ll need to catch and eat the animals in the jungle to restore it. These mechanics may not be revolutionary by today’s standards, but there’s a sense of nostalgia and familiarity that kept me going.
The game’s unique stealth mechanic, however, is the camo index. You’re able to swap out Snake’s camouflage patterns at any given time. The jungle terrain is filled with various foliage, rocks, and bodies of water, so it’s essential to blend in. The camo index displays how well Snake fits into whatever environment he’s currently in, and that drastically impacts whether enemies can see him. It adds a strategic element to the stealth gameplay, constantly keeping you engaged with every enemy encounter.
The two aspects of “Delta” that received the most significant overhauls from the original game are the graphics and controls. All of the characters, including Snake, The Boss, and all other villains and allies, appear to have undergone extensive work to bring them into line with modern visuals. The new lighting also makes the game’s lush jungle environments more vibrant than before.
However, “Delta” doesn’t take full advantage of the current consoles and PC’s power. This game is a literal 1:1 recreation of the original, and that means the gameplay area segments are too. For example, a fortress you visit, called Groznyj Grad, is split into four different areas. When you travel between them using the doors, you’ll have to go through a loading screen, just like in the original game. Given how much more powerful modern hardware is now compared to the PS2, these segments could have been seamlessly strung together into one large area. Instead, we’re stuck with what was a byproduct of hardware limitations on up-to-date technology and platforms.
Fortunately, “Delta” feels great to play due to a new control scheme aptly called “New Style,” which mirrors the one in “Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.” This lets you run around in a third-person over-the-shoulder view like in modern games such as “Mafia: The Old Country” and “God of War Ragnarok,” as well as rotate the camera freely. The original’s top-down and fixed camera is also preserved in the “Legacy Style” control scheme option for those who want to relive the authentic PS2 experience.
For fans who’ve played the original, this new version will feel right at home. Chronologically, this entry is a prequel, so those who’ve never played a “Metal Gear” game won’t feel intimidated by the franchise’s extensive history and can start with this one. It’s unknown whether we’ll ever get a “Metal Gear Solid 6” given that Kojima has long since departed Konami and his quirky idiosyncrasies would be difficult to replicate, but in the meantime, “Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater” is subsistence enough.
The publisher provided a review copy of this title. It launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on August 29.
- First Official UK Trailer for 'Urchin' Film Directed by Harris Dickinson (August 26, 2025)
"The road is clear. Each decision is yours..." Picturehouse in the UK has unveiled the first official trailer for the excellent indie film titled Urchin, which is the feature directorial debut of famous British actor Harris Dickinson (best known for starring in Triangle of Sadness, Scrapper, The Iron Claw, Babygirl, Blitz). This is his own film - he wrote and directed it. And it's fantastic. Urchin initially premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, and I wrote a nice review saying: "Not only is the direction confident and the vision for this story clear, it's a damn good film featuring clever creative choices. Delighted to report it's one of the year's best debuts." Mike, a rough sleeper (aka homeless man) in London, is trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around. Featuring an outstanding performance from Frank Dillane as Mike, also with Megan Northam (from Meanwhile on Earth), Diane Axford, Murat Erkek, Moe Hashim, Shonagh Marie, & Karyna Khymchuk. This may not seem like it makes for a good story, but it definitely does, especially because this is such a cinematic presentation of Mike's plight and troubles. // Continue Reading ›
- Keira Knightley in Mysterious 'The Woman in Cabin 10' Movie Trailer (August 26, 2025)
"These people run the world! Don't piss them off..." Indeed - it can be scary. Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for a movie titled The Woman in Cabin 10, a new mystery thriller from filmmaker Simon Stone. Based on the bestselling novel also titled "The Woman in Cabin 10" written by Ruth Ware. While on a luxury cruise for a travel assignment, a journalist witnesses a passenger tossed overboard late one night, only to be told that she must have dreamed it, as all passengers are accounted for and no one was in Cabin 10. Despite not being believed by anyone onboard, she continues to look for answers, putting her own life in danger. Who were they getting rid of and why exactly? You'll have to watch to find out... The cinematic adaptation stars Keira Knightley as Laura Blacklock, with Guy Pearce, David Ajala, Art Malik, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kaya Scodelario, David Morrissey, Daniel Ings, and Hannah Waddingham as Heidi. It looks pretty good! I'm definitely watching! I'm all about a good whodunit mystery, especially one with such a slick cast of actors playing these rich schmucks who are all clearly harboring some big secrets. Have a look below. // Continue Reading ›
- Jessica Clement in Babysitter Horror Film 'Night of the Reaper' Trailer (August 25, 2025)
"That's the basement... we don't go down there anymore." Shudder has unveiled the official trailer for the film Night of the Reaper, a horror thriller in a small town. This hasn't premiered at any festivals before, but will be out on Shudder for streaming next month just before the horror season kicks off. In the wake of the brutal murder of a teenaged babysitter, college student Deena returns back home for the weekend and is roped into a babysitting gig of her own. When the local sheriff is mailed a piece of evidence that proves the murder may not have been an isolated incident, he is led on a strange scavenger hunt to reveal the killer may be planning a sequel. From genre director Brandon Christensen, this stars Jessica Clement as Deena, along with Matty Finochio, Ryan Robbins, Summer H. Howell, Max Christensen, Ben Cockell, & Bryn Samuel. Alas this just looks like another generic slasher without anything new or interesting to offer. // Continue Reading ›
- Inside Look Promo for Marlon Wayans in Football Horror 'Him' Movie (August 25, 2025)
"This is beautiful, twisted artwork... Feels good to do a role the audience had never seen me do." Universal has debuted a few new featurettes to watch for the movie Him, a freaky original horror concept involving an ambitious football player who gives up his soul to become the GOAT. This is produced by Jordan Peele for Monkeypaw, made by filmmaker Justin Tipping as his second feature after Kicks previously. A promising young football player named Cameron Cade joins an isolated compound to train under a dynasty team's aging quarterback – but there's something else sinister going on in this place. "A chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, idolatry and the pursuit of excellence at any cost, featuring an electrifying dramatic performance from Marlon Wayans." Starring former college wide-receiver Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade, with Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, and Marlon Wayans. This promo is focused on Wayans, though it's barely 30 seconds long and his clips are very heavily edited. I am still pumped for this movie! I'm hoping it's really as good as it looks! Rewatch the full trailer here + check out the promos below. // Continue Reading ›
- First Teaser for '100 Nights of Hero' with Maika Monroe & Emma Corrin (August 25, 2025)
"Whatever the lady wants..." IFC Films has debuted a tantalizing first look teaser trailer for 100 Nights of Hero, a fantasy romance thriller from the filmmaker Julia Jackman as her second feature film (following Bonus Track). This will be premiering at the 2025 Venice Film Festival which begins this week - playing in the Critics Week sidebar section known as "SIC". IFC has also confirmed a release date for December 2025 - the film plays in select theaters later this year. When her neglectful husband departs after placing a secret wager to test her fidelity, Cherry and her sharp-witted maid must fend off a dangerously seductive visitor: Manfred. The film is adapted from the hit graphic novel of the same name. Here's a better intro from that book to setup the stakes: "In the tradition of The Arabian Nights, a beautifully illustrated tapestry of folk tales and myths about the secret legacy of female storytellers in an imagined medieval world. In the Empire of Migdal Bavel, Cherry is married to Jerome, a wicked man who makes a diabolical wager with his friend Manfred: if Manfred can seduce Cherry in one hundred nights, he can have his castle – and Cherry." Oyy! Starring Emma Corrin as Hero, Nicholas Galitzine as Manfred, Maika Monroe as Cherry, Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX (yes for real!), Richard E. Grant, and Felicity Jones. So far, so good – I'm curious. // Continue Reading ›
