The Wizard of the Kremlin: The Best Film You Haven’t Seen This Year

Summary: The rise to power of Vladimir Putin.

This film is gripping, it uses a fictional format to explore real events in Russian history to talk about the inner workings of power there. To some it may be a little slow but if you care about geopolitics there is more than enough to make the film worth the watch, there was even the thought of wanting it to slow down and do more, there were events and periods it didn’t really cover such as the wars in Georgia and Ukraine.

Additionally it would have been better to not have everyone speaking English and to have the film be in Russian for the most part. Dano’s character could still narrate the story in English but the character interactions wouldn’t be in it, it would make the film feel more authentic.

Overall, a brilliant film.

5/5

Pros.

It is interesting

It merges the fictional and the real very well

You want more of it

The performances

It doesn’t treat it’s characters as 2 dimensional.

Cons.

The English accents are jarring at first

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt are brought back to do a sequel to a film people liked 20 years ago about fashion.

So the writer of this piece went to a screening of the first film before seeing this in order to try and understand the complex plot of this sequel.

However, the first thing that becomes readily apparent is this film does not know what it is in 2026. It wants to sanitise the original and make it more PC but at the same time it loses a lot of what made the first film work. It produces a film that feels uncomfortable in its own skin.

There are aspects of this sanitisation that outrightly hurt the film such as Andy’s new assistant who some view as a racist stereotype of Asian people. This didn’t come across that way during our showing of the film, and Jin was actually was one of the more promising new characters.

There was also a lot of diversity in the models used and there were a number of large models in the film, this was a groan worthy modern dayism.

Overall, a confused and soulless sequel.

2/5

Pros.

Jin and Emily are standouts

It has a few funny moments

Cons

It is needlessly pc

It doesn’t need to exist

It wastes Anne Hathaway

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Exit 8: A Long Platform To Nowhere

A man walks up and down a subway platform looking for things out of place.

So if that sounds like an odd premise for a film to you, it’s because it’s actually a premise for a video game that got turned into a film.

Whilst the idea may work in theory in a game, as a film it is painfully dull and at times tedious. A few important, interesting things happen over the course of the film, but by and large it is just repetitive.

Moreover, the central character and spends a lot of the film gasping and wheezing and whilst this may be true to the game, it proves to be incredibly distracting over the course of the film.

Overall, an unnecessary video game adaptation.

1.5/5

Some interesting ideas

One good scare

Cons.

Its too slow

It is repetitive

The ending

The pacing

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Mother Mary: A Reinvention That Doesn’t Quite Work

A pop star and one of her support team have an interpersonal conflict.

So for the longest time Anne Hathaway was associated blockbusters in Hollywood, she’s done some indie work with films like Collosal but by and large she was in the big films. This seems to be an attempt to pivot towards art house. Art House cinema is a type of cinema in which subtext, imagery, and deep themes are just as if not more important than the plot of the film itself. Cinema is not art, it is a commercial practice, and art house cinema isn’t art it is simply a commercial practice done to appeal to people who want a high brow experience at the cinema. There has been some confusion out there so we need to clear that up.

Anne Hathaway does not shine here, arguably she may even be miscast, her delivery really doesn’t land in the way you would want it to. The conflict between her and her subordinate feels forced and oddly over the top at times.

Whilst Lowery’s more haunting imagery and visuals were appreciated and arelikely the highpoint of the film they couldn’t get away from the poor central conflict.

In many ways this will be viewed as just another pretentious art house film.

Overall, a miss.

1/5

Pros.

The imagery

Cons.

Hathaway

The interpersonal conflict

The ending and the implications

It is badly paced

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Kiss Of The Spider Woman: Emila Perez Chapter 2

A film within a film about revolution and trans issues.

As you can imagine this film bombed, one doesn’t feel the need to say why as it was fairly obvious. However, even watching it in highly liberal France there were walk outs.

You might imagine that this was because of the trans issues which are far heavier and more focused on here then in older versions. You may imagine it is because the film has it’s politics on its sleeve. However, you will actually find the issue with this film is who it chooses for it’s female lead.

Ms Lopez, Jennifer if you’re friendly, may be many things but a talented actor she is not, seeing her in the marketing material for this film was a red flag and then her actual performance, mamma mia. Someone needs to stop offering her roles.

Overall, boring preachy slop.

1/5.

Pros.

If you want to spend some time in a cool room to escape the spring heat there are worse ways to do it.

It’s dull

Lopez

It is preachy

It pushes ideology

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

The Mummy: Half Dead But Half Decent

Summary: a young girl is kidnapped and mummified.

Blumhouse making a mummy film didn’t fill anyone with confidence but this film is not entirely bad. Where it focuses specifically on Egyptian themed horror it works well. There is some genuine promise here.

Then they make it every possession film ever made, and parody the Evil Dead with large portions of the family getting possessed and acting like Deadites. Look at what Lee Cronin’s last film was.

Any promise it had went out of the window when they started saying the little girl was possessed by an ancient demon. How many times do we have to see the same thing play out.

The film goes almost exactly as you would expect it to then ends.

Overall, it ruins its promise.

3/5

The early parts of the film have real promise

The Egypt stuff is really cool

May Calamamawy is great

Cons.

The demon stuff makes it generic

It is predictable

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Amelie: Too French For It’s Own Good

Summary a fantasist decided to meddle in other people’s lives.

There was a horribly uncanny experience to this film, wherein things seemed just a bit too off kilter. This was contrasted by the social realist elements which were equally as distressing.

At times you thought the film might be trying to be quirky, in the same way say the films of Wes Anderson are but there was just too much oddness for that.

Moreover, if you have been reading our review for a while you’ll know our views on sexualising the disabled. Most of the people in this film could be classed as learning disabled based on how they act, yet the film constantly puts them in sexual situations. For example Amelie herself who seems to be child like in many ways, is shown having sex and just mindlessly smiling off to the side vacantly at the start of the film, she then visits a sex shop looking for someone and seems uncomfortable. Follow that up with how a random man in a skeleton costume blows on her neck and fondles her and this is supposed to be fine, again she didn’t ask for it, but she later says she liked it. It’s uncomfortable viewing.

Overall, a film best forgotten about in the past

1/5

Pros

A few funny moments

Cons.

Sexualising the mentally disabled

The uncanny elements

The social realism

It’s uncomfortable viewing

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

California Schemin: James McAvoy’s Most Depressing Film?

Remember McAvoy has a great film called Filth wherein he kills himself right as he has a chance for happiness and it’s too late to save him. Remember that when I tell you this is more depressing.

It is harrowing to see how much these people are disregarded for being from Scotland and how much they hate their lives in Scotland. As the duo gain fame whilst pretending to be American the film does the standard biopic trend of having them lose their way due to drink and drugs. We then see the band breakup and one of the two boys try and kill themselves. Like I said a positive and happy times this is not.

McAvoy steals the scenes he’s in and is a force of nature giving off a Scottish Vinnie Jones type of vibe. As a director he does a component job and manages the pace of the film well, you can see shades of Boyle and later Loach in his style.

Overall, whilst not an enjoyable film due to the subject matter, it is a well made film.

2.5/5

Pros.

The camera work and overall style of the film

The pace

It shines a life on non glamorised Scotland

Cons.

It is depressing

It recycles musical biopic tropes

James Corden

City of the Dead: Witches In Americas Foggiest Small Town

This film has a keen sense of style, it’s gothic aesthetic particularly the town of Whitewood are quite memorable particularly when compared to modern films.

The witch lore is fairly standard stuff but everyone is having enough fun and being silly with it so it feels hammy in a good way.

The main criticism of the film would be that the “good” characters, are actually quite horrible. The brother and boyfriend who both go after the lead to try and help her out treat her like she’s not a person and so it is hard to root for them during the film’s third act.

Overall, fun but let down my poor protagonists.

3/5.

Pros.

The aesthetic

The horror

The hamminess

Cons.

The heroes are not heroes

It is too short

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Undertone: A24 doing A24

Summary: a podcaster starts experiencing the demonic.

When A24 first started out they were a breath of fresh air and prepared to take chances, this shows that even the freshest air can quickly turn stale. Not only does this film borrow heavily from other demonic possession films it also has a lot of A24isms.

If you wanted to make a drinking game out of it, you’d say random shots of different things with symbolism, a young diverse protagonist, and the idea of depth without actually giving any. Quickly Neon is taking over the horror game. If you have ever watched a horror film before you’ll know exactly where this is going from the start.

A confusing moment was that it was demon who was causing all of the protagonist trouble over the course of the film, yet the film kept trying to imply it was the mother of the lead who was the malevolent force. She would be used for a number of the behind you sort of scares, but at the end of the day she wasn’t evil at all.

Overall, fairly generic art house fare.

2.5/5

Pros.

The use of backwards lyrics to children’s songs was an interesting idea

A few good scares

The pacing

Cons.

You’ve seen it before

A number of the scares don’t land and feel incredibly oblivious

The performances aren’t good

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send me a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to my Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer