To be frank, my expectations for Netflix Original Movies aren't particularly high. However, I find myself curious about APEX due to its cast. The last film featuring Charlize Theron was the dreadful The Old Guard 2, so I thought it couldn't possibly be worse than that. On the flip side, Taron Edgerton has starred in …
MSPIFF 2026 Review: Eagles of the Republic – A stylish Egyptian political thriller on the danger of autocracy that stifles artistic freedom
This Swedish-Egyptian political thriller, directed by Tarik Saleh, delves into how an authoritarian regime stifles artistic freedom and life in Egypt. Eagles of the Republic wraps up a trilogy that addresses state and religious corruption, following The Nile Hilton Incident (2017) and Cairo Conspiracy (2022), both featuring Fares Fares. I haven't watched the first two …
FlixChatter Review: Daughters of the Forest (2026) – An ethereal, mesmerizing sci-fi documentary exploring the bond between humanity and fungi
I've been diving into a bunch of documentaries lately, and they're definitely one of my go-to genres. Daughters of the Forest is a genre-bending film that includes sci-fi elements blended with documentary filmmaking. It’s not a typical film where you just see people being interviewed on camera; instead, director Otilia Portillo Padua crafts a sensory …
FlixChatter Guest Review: BALLISTIC (2026) – Lena Heady is intense as a grieving, vengeful mother
Directed by Chad FaustStarring: Lena Heady, Hamza Haq, Amybeth McNulty, Amanda Brugel, Enrico Colantoni, Jordan Kronis Nance (Headey) is a munitions factory worker in a small Ohio factory town. As a proud working-class mom of military son Jesse (Kronis), things start to unravel when he is killed on a mission abroad by a bullet manufactured …
MSPIFF45 Announced 2026 Award Winners + FlixChatter’s Top 5 Favorites
The 45th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival has officially wrapped up. Perhaps the string of nice weather, with no snow in sight, attracted record-breaking crowds that shattered their previous daily attendance record—twice! I only managed to catch 11 films (two of them online), which is four fewer than I had hoped for. The reason? …
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MSPIFF 2026 Review: HONEYJOON (2025) – A breezy, delightful mother-daughter comedy about navigating grief, set in the Azores
Film festivals are truly a great place to discover new voices. This is Lilian T. Mehrel’s fantastic debut feature, created when she won the AT&T Tribeca Untold Stories grant. I’ve always been into mother-daughter tales, especially since my late mom was a single parent who loved traveling, but we never got to take a trip …
MSPIFF 2026 Documentary Reviews: ‘The Chaplain & The Doctor’ and ‘The Cycle of Love’
Welcome to another double review edition. This time, I'm showcasing a pair of uplifting documentaries I saw at MSPIFF that exemplify the power of compassion, empathy, and love. I enjoy tales of unexpected friendships that develop in surprising places. Betty Clark, an 80-year-old African American chaplain, and Dr. Jessica Zitter, a white Jewish doctor, work …
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