Jared Mobarak
@jaredmobarak.com
Graphic Designer • Rotten Tomatoes-Approved Critic: @thefilmstage.com & heyhaveyouseen.com • Art Director: cultivatecinema.com (RIP) • Member: @ofcs.bsky.social & @gwnyfilmcritics.com • Curates @cinematicfbombs.com
Buffalo, NY • jaredmobarak.com • 🇱🇧
Buffalo, NY • jaredmobarak.com • 🇱🇧
Pinned
Jared Mobarak
@jaredmobarak.com
· Jan 6
Jared Mobarak’s Top 10 Films of 2024
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2024, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists. Besides my annual trip to the Toronto Internatio...
thefilmstage.com
Still working through my watchlist, but confident it will take a lot to knock any out of this line-up.
I go long on only seeing two on the big screen (the industry's choice, not mine) and brief on each film.
My Top Ten of 2024 at @thefilmstage.bsky.social:
thefilmstage.com/jared-mobara...
I go long on only seeing two on the big screen (the industry's choice, not mine) and brief on each film.
My Top Ten of 2024 at @thefilmstage.bsky.social:
thefilmstage.com/jared-mobara...
I don't need to watch DEAD MAN'S WIRE for FYC consideration because I saw it at TIFF. However, the screener might be nice to see it in the correct proportions since I viewed it from the front row of the theater.
Or maybe the distortions in my head should remain my only impression of it.
Or maybe the distortions in my head should remain my only impression of it.
November 27, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I don't need to watch DEAD MAN'S WIRE for FYC consideration because I saw it at TIFF. However, the screener might be nice to see it in the correct proportions since I viewed it from the front row of the theater.
Or maybe the distortions in my head should remain my only impression of it.
Or maybe the distortions in my head should remain my only impression of it.
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
Tamara Kotevska’s The Tale of Silyan, opening Friday at @ifccenter.bsky.social, is a harrowing, sadly resonant story about survival during an era of increasing wealth disparity.
Read @jaredmobarak.com's review:
Read @jaredmobarak.com's review:
The Tale of Silyan Review: An Inspiring Story of Perseverance
Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 TIFF coverage. The Tale of Silyan opens in theaters on November 28. Described as the heart-warming tale of a farmer who saves and befrien...
thefilmstage.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Tamara Kotevska’s The Tale of Silyan, opening Friday at @ifccenter.bsky.social, is a harrowing, sadly resonant story about survival during an era of increasing wealth disparity.
Read @jaredmobarak.com's review:
Read @jaredmobarak.com's review:
The #AFMI100 next 20 are out at Cinemayaat. I had the pleasure of writing the blurb for #73 - Annemarie Jacir's WHEN I SAW YOU from 2012.
cinemayaat.com/when-i-saw-y...
I interviewed Jacir back then for @thefilmstage.com too: thefilmstage.com/interview-wh...
Her latest, PALESTINE 36, is out soon.
cinemayaat.com/when-i-saw-y...
I interviewed Jacir back then for @thefilmstage.com too: thefilmstage.com/interview-wh...
Her latest, PALESTINE 36, is out soon.
When I Saw You
لما شفتك
When I Saw You (2012) When I Saw You (2012)
Directed by: Annemarie Jacir
What do you tell an eleven-year-old Palestinian who just wants to go home? To be patient? To
cinemayaat.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
The #AFMI100 next 20 are out at Cinemayaat. I had the pleasure of writing the blurb for #73 - Annemarie Jacir's WHEN I SAW YOU from 2012.
cinemayaat.com/when-i-saw-y...
I interviewed Jacir back then for @thefilmstage.com too: thefilmstage.com/interview-wh...
Her latest, PALESTINE 36, is out soon.
cinemayaat.com/when-i-saw-y...
I interviewed Jacir back then for @thefilmstage.com too: thefilmstage.com/interview-wh...
Her latest, PALESTINE 36, is out soon.
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
i do not need to seek out movies to celebrate udo, i just need to watch the kind of movies i like and udo will appear in them. his presence is etched into the world forever
November 24, 2025 at 1:39 AM
i do not need to seek out movies to celebrate udo, i just need to watch the kind of movies i like and udo will appear in them. his presence is etched into the world forever
So good.
November 24, 2025 at 3:56 AM
So good.
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
Udo took a chance on my rinky-dink festival in Vancouver back in 2000 - he went on TV interviews with me, carried 35mm film prints up stairs, went to get me coffee and even live-dubbed Giancarlo Giannini's voice when BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA showed up without subs. RIP Udo, you were a star 🌟
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Udo took a chance on my rinky-dink festival in Vancouver back in 2000 - he went on TV interviews with me, carried 35mm film prints up stairs, went to get me coffee and even live-dubbed Giancarlo Giannini's voice when BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA showed up without subs. RIP Udo, you were a star 🌟
Caught up with del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN tonight. Is Mia Goth contractually obligated to play two roles every film now? It’s also another example of Letterboxd adding bespoke animation when logging a review.
boxd.it/bO9z65
boxd.it/bO9z65
A ★★★★ review of Frankenstein (2025)
"What is pain if not evidence of intelligence?" It's funny that so many people think Guillermo del Toro made Jacob Elordi's Wretch "too sympathetic" as though he changed what Mary Shelley wrote rather...
boxd.it
November 23, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Caught up with del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN tonight. Is Mia Goth contractually obligated to play two roles every film now? It’s also another example of Letterboxd adding bespoke animation when logging a review.
boxd.it/bO9z65
boxd.it/bO9z65
Truly shocking to have that many Jeffs in ROOFMAN and not one Geoffrey the Giraffe joke. The restraint Derek Cianfrance showed is impressive.
boxd.it/bNMfjd
boxd.it/bNMfjd
A ★★★½ review of Roofman (2025)
"The answer is forty-five." If only this film had come out in 2016, maybe the free exposure would have kept Toys "R" Us stores open in the US. I give Derek Cianfrance all the credit in the world for n...
boxd.it
November 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Truly shocking to have that many Jeffs in ROOFMAN and not one Geoffrey the Giraffe joke. The restraint Derek Cianfrance showed is impressive.
boxd.it/bNMfjd
boxd.it/bNMfjd
Hopefully the “FINAL” means this series can go back to strong storytelling without all the gymnastics to pretend like anyone cared whether the Rabbit’s Foot was anything but a one-off MacGuffin twenty years ago.
boxd.it/bNFoYF
boxd.it/bNFoYF
A ★★★ review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
"Are you sure it's really me?" One might think my initial reaction to the first twenty minutes of this film being a thirty-year exposition dump would be regret for having just rewatched the fourteen-p...
boxd.it
November 22, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Hopefully the “FINAL” means this series can go back to strong storytelling without all the gymnastics to pretend like anyone cared whether the Rabbit’s Foot was anything but a one-off MacGuffin twenty years ago.
boxd.it/bNFoYF
boxd.it/bNFoYF
New @cartoonsaloon.bsky.social short from Giovanna Ferrari is still available for free until tomorrow (11/22) at 6pm EST. Like all of their output, it's very good.
Watch: watch.animationshowcase.com/landing/691c...
My thoughts: jaredmobarak.com/2025/11/21/e...
Watch: watch.animationshowcase.com/landing/691c...
My thoughts: jaredmobarak.com/2025/11/21/e...
November 22, 2025 at 4:35 AM
New @cartoonsaloon.bsky.social short from Giovanna Ferrari is still available for free until tomorrow (11/22) at 6pm EST. Like all of their output, it's very good.
Watch: watch.animationshowcase.com/landing/691c...
My thoughts: jaredmobarak.com/2025/11/21/e...
Watch: watch.animationshowcase.com/landing/691c...
My thoughts: jaredmobarak.com/2025/11/21/e...
I’ve seen so many takes about this and none have been the probable truth:
He’s setting him up. Talk about how aligned we are so that when I refuse to help him I can just blame him for failing since I’m on the record saying I really wanted it to work out.
Also, his NYC friends like their money.
He’s setting him up. Talk about how aligned we are so that when I refuse to help him I can just blame him for failing since I’m on the record saying I really wanted it to work out.
Also, his NYC friends like their money.
November 21, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I’ve seen so many takes about this and none have been the probable truth:
He’s setting him up. Talk about how aligned we are so that when I refuse to help him I can just blame him for failing since I’m on the record saying I really wanted it to work out.
Also, his NYC friends like their money.
He’s setting him up. Talk about how aligned we are so that when I refuse to help him I can just blame him for failing since I’m on the record saying I really wanted it to work out.
Also, his NYC friends like their money.
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
November 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Latest newsletter w/ thoughts on:
• Cutting Through Rocks (lim)
• Elio (D+)
• Every Contact Leaves a Trace (IDFA)
• Dead to Rights (AWFF)
• F1 (VOD)
• In Your Dreams (N)
• Köln 75 (North Park)
• Materialists (Max)
• The Smashing Machine (VOD)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
• Cutting Through Rocks (lim)
• Elio (D+)
• Every Contact Leaves a Trace (IDFA)
• Dead to Rights (AWFF)
• F1 (VOD)
• In Your Dreams (N)
• Köln 75 (North Park)
• Materialists (Max)
• The Smashing Machine (VOD)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
Week Ending 11/21/25
Letterboxd-buster
www.heyhaveyouseen.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Latest newsletter w/ thoughts on:
• Cutting Through Rocks (lim)
• Elio (D+)
• Every Contact Leaves a Trace (IDFA)
• Dead to Rights (AWFF)
• F1 (VOD)
• In Your Dreams (N)
• Köln 75 (North Park)
• Materialists (Max)
• The Smashing Machine (VOD)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
• Cutting Through Rocks (lim)
• Elio (D+)
• Every Contact Leaves a Trace (IDFA)
• Dead to Rights (AWFF)
• F1 (VOD)
• In Your Dreams (N)
• Köln 75 (North Park)
• Materialists (Max)
• The Smashing Machine (VOD)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
From the press kit of THE DEEP END:
Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel, starring Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Josh Lucas, and Raymond J. Barry.
#filmsky
Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel, starring Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Josh Lucas, and Raymond J. Barry.
#filmsky
![From press kit:
A NOIR MASTER REDISCOVERED
She had the resourcefulness of the mother, the domestic woman, accustomed to emergencies. - Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, The Blank Wall
As vitally contemporary as THE DEEP END feels, writer/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel found their inspiration for the riveting tale from a little-known 1940s novel: The Blank Wall, written by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Like Jim Thompson and other noir writers before her, Holding's powerful tales of unremitting nightmares - in her case centered around women characters -- are just now being rediscovered.
When she first burst onto the scene in the '40s, Holding was celebrated by no one less than Raymond Chandler, who said: "For my money, she is the top suspense writer of them all ... her characters are wonderful; and she has a sort of inner calm that I find very attractive." Holding seemed to have an innate understanding that true heart-stopping suspense emerges not just from murders and mysteries but from the fabric of ordinary life. She wrote with searing honesty about women, marriage and motherhood. The New York Times enthused about Holding's characters: "With the best intentions in the world, [they] quietly wreck each other's lives."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dkzukfm7jchuhrikq4rb7xxn/bafkreigezczfwsgg5gccqenqwlnq6efzbs4dg7hripoc3otkkt57m3wuk4@jpeg)
November 21, 2025 at 2:09 AM
From the press kit of THE DEEP END:
Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel, starring Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Josh Lucas, and Raymond J. Barry.
#filmsky
Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel, starring Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Josh Lucas, and Raymond J. Barry.
#filmsky
This is very Brendan Shanahan asking Terry Pegula if he’s looking for a VP of Hockey Operations and Terry, the Sabres oilman owner with zero hockey acumen, tells him they already have one: Terry Pegula. #buffalosabres
“According to multiple sources, Scott Stone, exec in charge of production from 101 Studios — which produces ‘Tulsa King’ — has become the de facto showrunner”
Could just be garden variety mismanagement (esp with Taylor Sheridan’s focus elsewhere) but studios would prob love to get rid of this role
Could just be garden variety mismanagement (esp with Taylor Sheridan’s focus elsewhere) but studios would prob love to get rid of this role
![Freddie Poole, the Emmy-nominated "Tulsa King" stunt coordinator, tells Variety that a conversation he had with Stone between Seasons 3 and 4 about who would be in charge of the new season gave him pause.
"[Stone] said, 'We're not going to have a showrunner. 101 is the showrunner. And I raised an eyebrow at that," Poole says. "That was the writing on the wall for me. I knew at that point I better start looking out for myself."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iqtkxhjp3ler2i3kfcwukuie/bafkreidtp5jhk7siravhkqxsatlxy2iyb3j4zaauffzoocz3zz6ndmonay@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
This is very Brendan Shanahan asking Terry Pegula if he’s looking for a VP of Hockey Operations and Terry, the Sabres oilman owner with zero hockey acumen, tells him they already have one: Terry Pegula. #buffalosabres
It’s Mubi (or maybe The Auteurs, if this feature went back before the name change, I can’t remember) before Mubi eventually just became another streamer.
November 19, 2025 at 9:57 PM
It’s Mubi (or maybe The Auteurs, if this feature went back before the name change, I can’t remember) before Mubi eventually just became another streamer.
Caught up with THE SMASHING MACHINE. Definitely some stylistic/pacing issues, but Dwayne Johnson is extremely good in this.
boxd.it/bLqfT9
boxd.it/bLqfT9
A ★★★ review of The Smashing Machine (2025)
"A day without pain is like a day without sunshine." The Mark Kerr on-screen in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine is a fascinating, soulful, lovable character who proves why he deserves a biopic bey...
boxd.it
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Caught up with THE SMASHING MACHINE. Definitely some stylistic/pacing issues, but Dwayne Johnson is extremely good in this.
boxd.it/bLqfT9
boxd.it/bLqfT9
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
cinemayaat.com/clash/
This is a pretty awesome list (so far). I got to write about Mohammed Diab’s “Clash” (2016)!
This is a pretty awesome list (so far). I got to write about Mohammed Diab’s “Clash” (2016)!
November 18, 2025 at 10:33 PM
cinemayaat.com/clash/
This is a pretty awesome list (so far). I got to write about Mohammed Diab’s “Clash” (2016)!
This is a pretty awesome list (so far). I got to write about Mohammed Diab’s “Clash” (2016)!
The Arab Film and Media Institute’s #AMFI100 countdown has officially begun. Films 100 - 81 are now live via the newly launched Cinemayaat Magazine.
cinemayaat.com/the-greatest...
@arabfilm.bsky.social #greatestarabfilms
cinemayaat.com/the-greatest...
@arabfilm.bsky.social #greatestarabfilms
The Greatest Arab Films of All Time
In 2025, the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) asked hundreds of professional critics, academics, curators, and select filmmakers from over 20 countries to vote for the Greatest Arab Films of All T...
cinemayaat.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
The Arab Film and Media Institute’s #AMFI100 countdown has officially begun. Films 100 - 81 are now live via the newly launched Cinemayaat Magazine.
cinemayaat.com/the-greatest...
@arabfilm.bsky.social #greatestarabfilms
cinemayaat.com/the-greatest...
@arabfilm.bsky.social #greatestarabfilms
Besides some contested censors (SCARFACE and A FACE IN THE CROWD) and a translation (WAGES OF FEAR), it's generally believed ULYSSES is the first English use of the f-word in a film. It released a couple months before DON'T LOOK BACK and both were three years before MASH.
cinematicfbombs.com/index/
cinematicfbombs.com/index/
Film: Ulysses (1967) [NR]
Studio: Continental Distributing
Character: Molly
Actor: Barbara Jefford
Director: Joseph Strick
Screenwriters: Joseph Strick and Fred Haines
Timestamp: 1:46:03
cinematicfbombs.com/2025/07/03/1...
Studio: Continental Distributing
Character: Molly
Actor: Barbara Jefford
Director: Joseph Strick
Screenwriters: Joseph Strick and Fred Haines
Timestamp: 1:46:03
cinematicfbombs.com/2025/07/03/1...
November 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Besides some contested censors (SCARFACE and A FACE IN THE CROWD) and a translation (WAGES OF FEAR), it's generally believed ULYSSES is the first English use of the f-word in a film. It released a couple months before DON'T LOOK BACK and both were three years before MASH.
cinematicfbombs.com/index/
cinematicfbombs.com/index/
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
NYT: A wise and deeply moving letter to the editor from a retired history teacher Liz Zucker.
“Ignorance is not bliss. It’s just ignorance.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
“Ignorance is not bliss. It’s just ignorance.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
November 17, 2025 at 11:16 PM
NYT: A wise and deeply moving letter to the editor from a retired history teacher Liz Zucker.
“Ignorance is not bliss. It’s just ignorance.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
“Ignorance is not bliss. It’s just ignorance.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
Reposted by Jared Mobarak
My latest newsletter is out with thoughts on:
• Belén (Prime)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney+)
• Frankenstein [1931]
• I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (lim)
• Kokuhô (lim)
• Rebuilding (lim)
• The Things You Kill (lim)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
• Belén (Prime)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney+)
• Frankenstein [1931]
• I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (lim)
• Kokuhô (lim)
• Rebuilding (lim)
• The Things You Kill (lim)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
Week Ending 11/14/25
What came before
www.heyhaveyouseen.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
My latest newsletter is out with thoughts on:
• Belén (Prime)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney+)
• Frankenstein [1931]
• I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (lim)
• Kokuhô (lim)
• Rebuilding (lim)
• The Things You Kill (lim)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
• Belén (Prime)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney+)
• Frankenstein [1931]
• I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (lim)
• Kokuhô (lim)
• Rebuilding (lim)
• The Things You Kill (lim)
www.heyhaveyouseen.com/week-ending-...
#heyhaveyouseen
Agreed. We truly do not need another TROY.
I spend a not inconsiderable amount of time trying to imagine how Nolan is going to handle the monsters and the gods in THE ODYSSEY and how weird it's going to be if he tries to sidestep all of that to "ground" it. I can't imagine what that film's going to look like.
November 17, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Agreed. We truly do not need another TROY.
