El Conde (2023)Director: Pablo LarraínScreenwriters: Guillermo Calderón, Pablo LarraínStarring: Jaime Vadell, Gloria Münchmeyer, Alfredo Castro, Paula Luchsinger, Stella Gonet Pablo Larraín’s latest film, El Conde, is a daring historical satire that reimagines Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet as a literal vampire. In this inventive allegory, Pinochet—portrayed by Jaime Vadell—has survived for 250 years, feeding on … Read more

A Haunting in Venice (2023)Director: Kenneth BranaghScreenwriter: Michael GreenStarring: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Camille Cottin, Kelly Reiley, Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Laird, Kyle Allen The third film in Kenneth Branagh’s recent cycle of Agatha Christie adaptations arrives quickly after the director’s earlier successes. Following 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express and 2022’s … Read more

Parasite secured its place in contemporary cinema more quickly than almost any recent film. Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comic examination of class in South Korea became a global phenomenon, earning the Academy Award for Best Picture as the first non-English language film to do so, along with Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature. … Read more

Toshiro Mifune (left), Akira Kurosawa (right) on the set of ‘Yojimbo’ (1961). Few creative pairings in mid-20th century cinema are as instantly recognisable as director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune. Over eighteen years and sixteen films, the two crafted a body of work that remains fundamental to Japanese and world cinema. Their collaborations spanned … Read more

James Ponsoldt has built a noteworthy body of work in film and television, known for character-driven stories that often emerge from independent sensibilities. The Athens, Georgia–born director has released six feature films, written four of them, and earned a reputation for nurturing breakthrough dramatic performances. Actors such as Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miles Teller, and Jason … Read more

Scrapper (2023)Director: Charlotte ReganScreenwriter: Charlotte ReganStarring: Lola Campbell, Harris Dickson, Alin Uzun, Laura Alkman, Ambreen Razia Charlotte Regan’s debut feature, Scrapper, arrives in the company of other intimate British films that examine parental absence and the emotional lives of children. Comparisons to Aftersun are inevitable because both films are debut features by female writers-directors that … Read more

Cobweb (2023)Director: Samuel BodinScreenwriter: Chris Thomas DevlinStarring: Lizzy Caplan, Anthony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Woody Norman Cobweb opens on an unsettling, familiar premise: eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman) is an isolated child in the small town of Holdenfield, a week before Halloween. Peter’s loneliness is shown through quiet, lingering moments—walking to school alone, sitting withdrawn while classmates … Read more

Laurence Fishburne’s career is both widely recognized and surprisingly underappreciated. Many people know his name—often associated immediately with his iconic role in The Matrix (1999)—yet his long and varied body of work across film, television, and theater is sometimes overlooked. Over decades he has earned numerous nominations and awards across the Emmys, Tonys, and Oscars, … Read more

Fremont (2023)Director: Babak JalaliScreenwriters: Babak Jalali, Carolina CavalliStarring: Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Turkington, Jeremy Allen White The closing night selection at the 76th Edinburgh International Film Festival, Fremont, arrives at a moment of transition for Edinburgh’s cinema scene. After the recent closure of the beloved Edinburgh Filmhouse and the festival’s own uncertain future, this year’s … Read more

Since his breakthrough in 1989 with the science fiction comedy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Keanu Reeves has built a long and varied career in Hollywood with more than 100 credits to his name. The Canadian actor, born in Lebanon, has become a familiar face in some of the most notable action films of the … Read more