Welcome to CFTCA’s monthly digest for January 2025, a roundup of recent reviews, features, interviews, and more by CTFCA critics.
Film Reviews
Dead Man’s Wire | Reviewed by Dom Sinacola | Read the Full Review
“In Dead Man’s Wire nothing goes according to plan, including Van Sant’s return to his true crime roots.”
Find more of Dom’s work in the Portland Mercury.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die | Reviewed by Matthew Simpson | Read the Full Review
“It’s a timely story that should resonate with just about everyone, but especially creative people — this isn’t a warning about Skynet shooting us with laser guns, it’s a warning about ChatGPT and our phones distracting us all into complacency and death. “
Find more of Matthew’s work on Exclaim.
Wicked: For Good | Reviewed by Rick Chung | Read the Full Review
“For the most part, the Wicked Witch of the West-led sequel lives up to the already lofty expectations of the acclaimed first film as a defiantly fitting yet slavish conclusion.”
Find more of Rick’s work on his website.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist | Reviewed by Darren Zakus | Read the Full Review
“An excellent documentary exploring all aspects of artificial intelligence in our world today, that framed through Daniel Roher’s inquisitive search for answers and interviews with both creators of artificial intelligence and advocates for stronger regulation and control of it, results in an expertly crafted documentary that is timely, terrifying and, above all else, important.”
Find more of Darren’s work on Movie Scene Canada.
Send Help | Reviewed by Elizabeth Mulloy | Read the Full Review
“Combining survival horror with workplace hierarchy politics, Send Help is not only a return to form for Raimi, but is an unexpected crowd-pleaser.”
Find more of Elizabeth’s work on The Celluloid Correspondent.
Hamnet | Reviewed by Darren Zakus | Read the Full Review
“Hamnet is truly a majestic achievement in cinematic storytelling by Chloé Zhao that explores unspeakable grief, loss and tragedy on the most human level imaginable that will leave audiences both drenched in tears and moved in a manner in which words cannot describe, but it is the staggering performance of Jessie Buckley in the lead role that is the unforgettable spark that makes Hamnet a must see motion picture event!”
Find more of Darren’s work on Movie Scene Canada.
Afternoons of Solitude | Reviewed by Eric Zhu | Read the Full Review
“The film practically radiates evil, and it’s a rarified object so paradoxically upsetting and gripping, grotesque and delicate, that I do think some scene-setting is helpful. It’s not a film that I would recommend to many people, much less rewatch myself. Nevertheless, I think it’s major, and unquestionably one of the year’s best.”
Find more of Eric’s work in the The Insert.
The Running Man | Reviewed by Elizabeth Mulloy | Read the Full Review
“Flaws and frustrations aside, The Running Man remains an undeniably entertaining ride. Even when the narrative loses its footing or its dialogue grates, the film taps into a lively blend of classic action movie with contemporary political commentary.”
Find more of Elizabeth’s work on The Celluloid Correspondent.
Train Dreams | Reviewed by Dom Sinacola | Read the Full Review
“Director Clint Bentley’s ode to a small, quiet life in the Pacific Northwest is also one of the year’s most plainly beautiful films.”
Find more of Dom’s work in the Portland Mercury.
Retrospectives
A24 Retrospective – Room | Hear the Full Conversation
Dakota and Matthew are joined by Alex Southey for a discussion of 2015’s Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as a woman and her son who escape their kidnapping and try to adjust to the real world. A continuation of Contra Zoom’s ongoing exploration of the entire A24 catalog.
Find episodes of the Contra Zoom podcast on their website.
Three Films by Jerzy Skolimowski | By Michael Clawson | Read the Full Piece
“For all their differences, what EO and The Shout have in common is an ability to knock you off stable footing. These are films of startling shifts, images, and sounds that continuously destabilize. This tendency of Skolomowski’s is even more pronounced and thrilling in the masterful anti-coming-of-age Deep End, from 1970.”
Find more of Michael’s writing on Poetry in an Age of Missiles.
Radiance’s Wicked Games Set | By Marta Djordjevic | Read the Full Piece
“Across the three films in Radiance’s Wicked Games set — The Wicked Go to Hell, Nude in a White Car, and The Taste of Violence — Hossein stages variations of this very corrosion, moving from visible confinement to seductive delusion to violence stripped of ornament. The collapse is never explosive; it merely reveals what was already there.”
Find more of Marta’s writing on Rewind & Revive.
Television
Blossoms Shanghai | By Rick Chung | Read the Full Piece
“Told like possibly the most glamorous East Asian soap opera ever, Blossoms Shanghai is a dazzingly artful encapsulation of late twentieth-century Shanghainese business culture, told with flair and verve to spare.”
Find more of Rick’s work on his website.