REVIEWSetc.

From the very first frame, Scarlet  (2025)  announces itself with confidence. The animation is flat-out gorgeous—bold in its color design, fluid in its motion, and constantly finding new ways to make a familiar kind of story feel freshly haunted. And yes, I’m always going to show up for a good revenge tale. Give me a wronged hero(ine), a righteous target, and a world that keeps twisting the knife. I’m in. What makes Scarlet  work as well as it does—when it’s working at full p

As of this writing, it's January 12th, and I've already watched my second foreign language film of the year! I wonder how long it took me to watch a non-English movie in 2025? (Actually, the answer to that depends on whether Flow counts or not. It's a foreign made picture, sure, but it has no language to speak of) Anyway, today's movie comes to you due to the fact that I have seen a lot of Letterboxd friends log this movie recently--with pretty high scores for it!--and I deci

Bust out your fanciest formalwear because today's movie review is a Dutch offering that was in consideration for Best International Feature for the 2026 Academy Awards! Unfortunately, Reedland was not chosen as a finalist for that category at the 98th edition of the Oscars, but just to be in the picture and chosen as your country's offering is great recognition. So let's talk about a movie that came close to taking home Oscar gold (and had received multiple nominations at th

(This review originally appeared in its entirety on scenethatreviews.com ) Hey there! Welcome to another review from 29th PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. This time I turn to the "Critics Picks' Competition" category for a film that just had its world premiere at the festival... China Sea (2025). Osvald (Marius Repšys) was a championship fighter who was nearly unstoppable in the ring. Though the television highlights we see of him winning a tournament in Japan is a

(This review originally appeared in its entirety on scenethatreviews.com ) Welcome back to another review from 29th PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival! This time, from the “Official Selection Competition”, we have a political scandal that threatens to upend an election. It doesn’t matter what the story is though. All that matters is time and patience in… No Comment (2025). Prime Minister Alma Solvik (Laila Goody) is locked-in and focused on the upcoming elections. The

( This review originally appeared in its entirety on scenethatreviews.com ) Who's ready for some reviews from the 29th PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival! First up, from the “First Feature Competition”, comes… Interior (2025). As we first meet Kasimir (Daniil Kremkin), he’s climbing out of a couch with a camcorder, while wearing nothing but underwear and socks. As he emerges from the department within the couch, he makes his way upstairs where he takes the camcorder a

(This review originally appeared in its entirety on scenethatreviews.com ) Welcome back to another review from 29th PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival! This time we are looking at a film from the “Baltic Film Competition” that follows a young child trying to process the complexities of a troubled home in… Fränk (2025). After yet another domestic incident at home involving his father, Paul (Derek Leheste) is forced from his home in the city to a small town to stay with

Part mystery, part ghost story, and all atmosphere, Burning  was one of the most surprising discoveries of my first Fantasia Fest. Set in...