Author | Lightnews

Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 18d

Dudley Dursley getting backshots from Alexander Skarsgård was not on my bingo card for this year's #NYFF. My review for Harry Lighton's feature directorial debut, #PillionMovie (part of #NewYorkFilmFestival #NYFF #NYFF63): boxd.it/bieiZT

A ★★★★½ review of Pillion (2025)

I must admit, I find the idea of being a submissive to be a bit of a turn on, with one of my friends mentioning that I might have a 'free use' kink (don't all rush to DM me!). The meek and mild-manner...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 20d

My review (part of #NewYorkFilmFestival #NYFF #NYFF63): boxd.it/bgS6mR

A ★★★★★ review of If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)

It's been said that motherhood is a woman's highest calling. Linda would call that a load of bullsh*t. Played by Rose Byrne ("Insidious," "Bridesmaids") in writer-director Mary Bronstein's "If I Had L...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 20d

An anxiety-inducing, horror-adjacent, psychological dramedy, Mary Bronstein's #IfIHadLegsIdKickYou is a two-hour panic attack in film form that peels back the saintly veneer of motherhood, elevated by a sensational Rose Bryne in a career-best performance.

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 21d

My review (part of #NewYorkFilmFestival #NYFF #NYFF63): boxd.it/bfXzmx

A ★★★★½ review of Sentimental Value (2025)

In Norwegian and English with English subtitles. Men would rather make a whole film about their trauma than go to therapy. That man is Gustav Borg, pitch-perfectly played by Stellan Skarsgård in "Sent...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 21d

Featuring excellent performances from Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve, writer/director Joachim Trier explores intergenerational trauma, familial conflict, and healing through art in #SentimentalValue, the warmest film I've seen this year.

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 23d

My review (part of #NewYorkFilmFestival #NYFF #NYFF63): boxd.it/bf4UTn

A ★★½ review of Anemone (2025)

Daniel Day-Lewis is a phenomenal actor, arguably the finest of his generation. Few people will dispute this. But a few months before the release of Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread" in 2017, Day...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 23d

Unfortunately, the film—which marks the feature directorial debut of Daniel's son, Ronan Day-Lewis—is a lethargically paced slog to sit through, failing to find anything new to say about its themes of intergenerational trauma, guilt, toxic masculinity, and the cyclical nature of violence.

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 23d

Gorgeously shot, #AnemoneMovie features another superb performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, and it's great to see an actor of his caliber back on the big screen.

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 24d

Willem Dafoe is wonderful in an understated, warm performance in #LateFame. However, it's Greta Lee who's the standout in this drama about a former poet whose work is discovered by a literary group composed of twentysomethings. My review (part of #NewYorkFilmFestival #NYFF #NYFF63): boxd.it/bekDGp

A ★★★★ review of Late Fame (2025)

Poser, or poseur - someone who pretends to be something they are not, or to have qualities that they do not have. In "Late Fame," directed by Kent Jones (2018's "Diane") and based on Arthur Schnitzler...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 26d

Paul Thomas Anderson's #OneBattleAfterAnother is so many things—an action thriller, a coming-of-age tale, a stoner comedy, and a window to America's potential fascist future. This is one of the best films of 2025. My review: boxd.it/bd9ZK3

A ★★★★½ review of One Battle After Another (2025)

President Donald Trump recently announced that he's directing his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, to send troops to 'war-ravaged' Portland, Oregon, to protect ICE facilities, claiming that they're...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · 26d

June Squibb's scene-stealing, mouthy performance elevates #EleanorTheGreat, a crowd-pleasing, albeit predictable, dramedy, which marks the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson. My review: boxd.it/bbL4qt

A ★★★½ review of Eleanor the Great (2025)

We've all told a white lie at one point or another. In "Eleanor the Great," which marks the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson, the titular ninety-four-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein (playe...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Sep 15

Led by a beguiling Marion Cotillard, Lucile Hadžihalilović's #TheIceTower won't appeal to mainstream audiences, but if you're able to lock onto the film's wavelength, you'll find yourself swept up in Hadžihalilović's hypnotic vision. My review (in limited release October 3rd, 2025): boxd.it/b4V4xh

A ★★★½ review of The Ice Tower (2025)

In French with English subtitles. In the 2013 Disney animated film "Frozen," Elsa is a compassionate yet reserved and self-doubting figure who struggles to control her ice powers. When she accidentall...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Sep 11

If you go in with the right mindset, #RedSonja is a perfectly watchable film, albeit a thoroughly predictable one due to its bog-standard Hero's Journey narrative. Its biggest hindrance is that its ambitions are constrained by a too-small budget. My review: boxd.it/b2ikTR

A ★★★ review of Red Sonja (2025)

It's easy to dismiss a film like "Red Sonja," which received a one-day-only theatrical release before being dumped onto VOD two weeks later. Inspired by the character Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Sep 8

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have been the beating heart of #TheConjuring franchise from the beginning, which continues in "Last Rites." Director Michael Chaves doesn't close the book on the Warrens on the highest note, but he sticks the landing for the most part. My review: boxd.it/b0zzD1

A ★★★½ review of The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)

Whether you think they're opportunistic kooks or legitimate paranormal investigators, "The Conjuring" films have been influential in immortalizing Ed and Lorraine Warren in pop culture. Much of this h...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 21

Though Chris Evans as a sleazy reverend is a highlight, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's #HoneyDontFilm —the second in their so-called 'lesbian B-movie trilogy'—is let down by a flimsy, scattershot narrative and an unsatisfying resolution. My review (in theaters August 22nd, 2025): boxd.it/aOcw7d

A ★★½ review of Honey Don't! (2025)

Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, "Honey Don't!" is the second film in Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's so-called 'lesbian B-movie trilogy,' following last year's "Drive-Away Dolls," wh...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 21

#TogetherMovie gives new meaning to the words, 'You complete me.' My review: boxd.it/aM5RvN

A ★★★★ review of Together (2025)

When you're falling in love, you naturally don't want to be apart and want to spend as much time together with the other person. What happens when the honeymoon phase is over and you wake up ten years...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 11

Seventeen children wake up in the middle of the night and vanish into parts unknown. From this chilling premise, writer/director Zach Cregger crafts another twisted tale set in suburbia with #WeaponsMovie, a bonkers horror film that's equal parts unsettling and hilarious. My review: boxd.it/aGRLGR

A ★★★★½ review of Weapons (2025)

I've always found stories about missing people compelling. Sometimes when I'm bored at home, I go down an internet rabbit hole and read about unsolved missing persons cases. Perusing them often leaves...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

That's a wrap on this year's New York Asian Film Festival! Find all my reviews here: letterboxd.com/spiderman120...

Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

Kim Dae-Woo's #HiddenFace is a captivating and thrillingly salacious exploration of love and desire, elevated by a trio of compelling performances. My review (part of #NewYorkAsianFilmFestival #NYAFF #NYAFF2025): boxd.it/awDbKF

A ★★★★ review of Hidden Face (2024)

In Korean with English subtitles. "Fatal Attraction," "Single White Female," "Basic Instinct," "Color of Night"—there was a time, specifically during the late 1980s to early 1990s, when the erotic thr...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

While Ryota Kondo's slow-burn approach won't be for everyone, the dread-filled atmosphere and minimalist horror of #MissingChildVideotape left me so uncomfortable that I had trouble sleeping the night I watched it. My review (part of #NewYorkAsianFilmFestival #NYAFF #NYAFF2025): boxd.it/asgOcZ

A ★★★★ review of Missing Child Videotape (2024)

In Japanese with English subtitles. When it comes to the horror genre, there's always something in the woods. Set in 2015, "Missing Child Videotape" opens with a disheveled boy lost and wandering in t...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

(2/2) My review (part of #NewYorkAsianFilmFestival #NYAFF #NYAFF2025): boxd.it/apT5WT

A ★★★½ review of Possession Street (2024)

In Cantonese with English subtitles. Harkening back to George A. Romero's 1978 zombie classic "Dawn of the Dead," Jack Lai's feature directorial debut "Possession Street," which is screening as part o...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

(1/2) Harkening back to George A. Romero's 1978 zombie classic "Dawn of the Dead," Jack Lai's feature directorial debut #PossessionStreet employs familiar zombie tropes and mixes them with a healthy dose of Daoist folklore, helping it stand out in an overcrowded subgenre.

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

Natalie Hsu lights up the screen with her effervescent, winsome performance in Jill Leung's time-traveling romantic drama #LastSongforYou. My review (part of #NewYorkAsianFilmFestival #NYAFF #NYAFF2025): boxd.it/anV4dJ

A ★★★½ review of Last Song for You (2024)

In Cantonese with English subtitles. "Somewhere in Time," "Kate & Leopold," "The Time Traveler's Wife," "About Time," "The Greatest Hits"—there have been so many time-traveling romance films that it h...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

(2/2) My review (part of #NewYorkAsianFilmFestival #NYAFF #NYAFF2025): boxd.it/amLYrt

A ★★★★ review of Dollhouse (2025)

In Japanese with English subtitles. From Chucky to Annabelle to more recently M3GAN, creepy dolls are a dime a dozen in the horror genre. Turning our attention to our Japanese friends across the Pacif...

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Raymond @spiderman120988.bsky.social · Aug 2

(1/2) As far as creepy doll flicks go, #Dollhouse plays the hits, with writer/director Shinobu Yaguchi sticking to the horror subgenre's tropes, but he handles them with such confidence, and the fact that he doesn't take it too seriously adds to the film's enjoyment factor.

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