Searching for Identity in Iñárritu’s Bardo
The director's latest is a dreamlike exploration of a consciousness torn between two homelands, and the implications of history and memory suspended in limbo.

The director's latest is a dreamlike exploration of a consciousness torn between two homelands, and the implications of history and memory suspended in limbo.
A young woman finds herself trapped in a crossfire of awkwardness during a nightmarish dinner party with her boyfriend's dysfunctional family.
Upon first watch, Buddy feels like it should have been aired on Adult Swim at four in the morning.
Him is visually stunning—all concrete cathedrals and bone-rattling impact shots that look like a nightmare highlight reel. Marlon Wayans is magnetic as this legendary quarterback who's basically selling salvation with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. But the story keeps running in circles: more tests, more cryptic pep talks, more ritualistic drills. The sports-as-religion metaphor beats you over the head when subtlety would've been more effective. The middle drags, and that finale chooses spectacle over substance. It's undeniably stylish, but left me cold. Also worth noting: despite the Monkeypaw connection, this isn't actually a Jordan Peele film—he didn't write or direct.
"THANK YOU, Zach Creggar!" Back in 2022, this now established star in the horror film genre gave us the quirkily creepy, unexpectedly funny (at times!) cinematic gem that was "Barbarian". It felt like a cool breeze just washed over us as, for ONCE, the much traversed roads these films tend to go with got an upgrade of uniqueness without sacrificing the ambiance of uneasiness you desire.
Though often underwhelming as a whole, Nevertheless is worth the watch because of the relationship between Sol and Jiwan. It is a stunning, refreshing take on the friends to lovers trope that LGBTQ media has been missing.