Tribeca ’25: Dog of God

He calls himself a werewolf, but he is really more of a holy fool and an immortal wanderer. However, as a portent of trouble, he is even more ominous than a plague of locusts. Frankly, things have been bad in the village of Zaube since forever. It has been mismanaged by both Church, represented by Priest Buckholz, and the state, in the person of inattentive Baron Klodt. Frankly, only tavern keeper and natural healer Neze reliably delivers services to villagers, but she stands accused of witchcraft in Lauris & Raitis Abele’s animated feature Dog of God, which premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.

Life is hard for Kilbis, thanks to his physical body and the cruelty of his master, Buckholz. At least, the pervy priest periodically orders Kilbis to flog him, but the poor altar boy understands it is just to reinforce his hatred. Nevertheless, the priest has plenty lusty peeping to atone for. Instead, he blames Neze for supposedly supplying the temptation. Hence, his accusations of witchcraft.

However, the Dog of God rather unsettles everyone when he crashes Neze’s trial. Nobody really knows what to make of him, but his spooky talk is definitely bad for business, so he winds up in the stocks next to her. Of course, you cannot keep a supernatural drifter tied down for long.

These are heady days for Latvian animation. Unfortunately for fans of the medium, Dog of God has none of the charm of the Oscar-winning Flow. Indeed, all the cruelty and scatological gross-outs have a bludgeoning effect on the audience. Frankly, when it finally ends, you might need an aspirin and warm shower—and maybe even your security blanket.

The Last Twins, in The Epoch Times

THE LAST TWINS fully documents the horrors of Mengele's Auschwitz experiments, but it wiesely places an even greater focus on the humanity of the survivors. It is the sort of thoughtful history lesson the world needs today. EPOCH TIMES review up here.

The Ritual: Based on the “Real-Life” Story of Emma Schmidt

Father Carl Vogl’s book, Begone Satan was like the 1930’s equivalent of Jay Anson’s Amityville Horror. It convinced a lot of otherwise skeptical readers that Satanic supernatural horror might really be real. Anson’s book had multiple movie treatments, of radically varying quality. Now the case Father Vogl (and also Time magazine) documented has inspired David Midell’s The Ritual, which opens today in theaters.

Father Joseph Steiger is a man of the cloth, but he also considers himself a modern man of reason, so he is stunned and confused when his Monsignor orders him to host the exorcism of Emma Schmidt. The exorcist will be Father Theophilus Riesinger, a Capuchin priest with a history of battling demonic possession. In fact, he already attempted a previous exorcism of Schmidt several years prior.

However, Father Steiger is skeptical, He frequently suggests Schmidt would be better off with a psychiatrist rather than an exorcist. Unfortunately, she and Riesinger arrived while he was amidst a full-blown crisis of faith, precipitated by his brother’s shocking suicide. Frankly, viewers might think the chaos unlashed during Riesinger’s exorcism sessions, which injures several attending nuns, should convince the good Father (and he is a good Father) that something uncanny and evil plagues Schmidt. However, doubt is powerful and it undermines faith, making men vulnerable to evil.

Indeed, doubt is a very human weakness, which is really the film’s bedrock theme. It is Father Steiger’s doubt and Father Riesinger’s guilt that the Evil One exploits. Yet, their weaknesses also make the priests ever so human.

Arguably, Dan Stevens might just deliver his best performance since Downton Abbey portraying the very American looking and sounding Father Steiger. He is keenly sympathetic, even when he chastely flirts with Sister Rose (his “work wife”). Similarly, Al Pacino does his best work in years as Father Riesinger. Admittedly, his accent is highly dubious, but at least it is consistent. More to the point, he forgoes all his usual tics, mannerisms, and Hoo-ah’s, disappearing into the character instead.

The Gardener, Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme

Gardeners have become a new breed of action hero, as per the trend established by the like-titled Spanish Netflix hitman series and Scrader’s Master Gardener. For the hardboiled killers haunted by their pasts, the Zen-like nature of their new work is therapeutic. However, they still handle sharp implements. Leo Apastegui (if that really is his name) will need those hedge clippers when a hit squad comes for his family in David Charhon’s The Gardener, which release today in theaters and on VOD.

Serge Shuster is an idiot who probably isn’t worth killing. Nevertheless, the presidential aide landed on the annual Matignon list of government officials his boss needs getting rid of. Unfortunately, the hapless bureaucrat was copied on a sensitive memo discussing said list—not that he gave it much thought.

Shuster is strictly comic relief, at its shtickiest. On the other hand, his gardener Apastegui is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and dirty work in general. He also used to live in the “old house” that once stood on the property, is he is familiar with the tunnels the Resistance dug under the garden during the war.

Van Damme still has the moves and the muscles, but Michael Youn is beyond annoying as Shuster. Frankly, he will remind viewers of Jed Babbin’s famous quote: “Going to war without France is like deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind.” Van Damme is Belgian.

Nevertheless, Jerome Le Banner, Matthias Quiviger, and Kaaris make a worthy trio of paramilitary bag guys, as the code-named Phoebus, Esmeralda, and Quasimodo. Yet, the fight choreography often undermines them and JCVD, because it is designed more for the novelty use of gardening tools than battles worthy of the cast’s talents. At least the Gardener’s final face-off with Phoebus lives up to fans’ expectations.

Predator: Killer of Killers, on Hulu

Vikings were mean and unruly. Samurai were the greatest swordsmen. And nobody could outfly U.S. Naval aviators. Unfortunately, the Predators aliens believe that to be the best, they must hunt the best. That means they will stalk all the aforementioned throughout human history in Dan Trachtenberg’s animated anthology, Predator: Killer of Killers, “co-directed” by Joshua Wassung, which premieres today on Hulu.

As viewers know from Trachtenberg’s Prey, Predators have been coming to Earth for a long time. They have an advantage in each of the Earthbound historical stories, because the Vikings, Samurai, and WWII fighter pilots are busy fighting each other, while the Predators watch and wait.

Arguably, the opening Samurai story is the weakest of the three, but the brutality of Ursa’s combat, both against her Viking enemies and the Predator, are impressive by any standard. Lindsay LaVanchy also sounds appropriately fierce as the Viking clan leader. Nevertheless, this somewhat revisits the themes and beats of Prey.

Visually, the Samurai story might be the most dynamic. Trachtenberg and Wassung also create some incredible animated martial arts and swordplay. The battle between brothers turned sworn-rivals resonates on archetypal level. Yet, the way they combine forces against the Predator holds great importance later. Although Louis Ozawa is credited as both samurai voices, this is a quiet, largely non-verbal segment, which suits its stealthy ninja vibe and elegant Jidaigeki setting.

Dangerous Animals: Finally, a Good Shark Movie

Bruce Tucker makes crusty old Captain Quint in Jaws look like a charmer. He is a serial killer and his weapon of choice is the shark. That is why his shark charter diving business has so few Yelp reviews. Zephyr is exactly the kind of nomadic surfer he likes to target, but her resourcefulness surprises him in Sean Byrne’s Dangerous Animals, which opens tomorrow in theaters.

Zephyr lives out of her van and has no real family. Both she and Tucker assume nobody will come looking for her. However, she made quite an impression on Moses Markley, before her Irish-goodbye. He comes looking, but he is about a quarter of Tucker’s size and has about half of Zephyr’s survival instincts. Nevertheless, he represents her best hope.

Basically, if you fondly remember either Chief Brody’s nightmare of getting wheeled into the shark in the under-rated Jaws 2 or the shark tank in The Spy Who Loved Me, Dangerous Animals is the film for you. Tucker’s weaponization of sharks is reasonably credible, in a nasty serial killer way.

As Tucker, Jai Courtney is one of the most fiercely man and boozily blokey movie serial killers of all time. It seems pretty Shaw’s Quint was a reference point for the character as well as Courtney’s performance—and well it should be.

Obviously, Tucker is the showy role in Dangerous Animals, but both  Hassie Harrison and Josh Heuston are far better than you would expect from the potential shark meat in a movie like this. As a result, we really care about their survival, which duly leads to suspense.

Tribeca ’25: Kundun

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner abjectly apologized for this film, calling it “s stupid mistake.” On bended knee, he groveled to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “The bad news is the film was made; the good news is nobody watched it.” Disney saw to that. The film in question was directed by Martin Scorsese, who dedicated it to his recently deceased mother, Catherine. It was also nominated for four Academy Awards, including Philip Glass’s justly celebrated score. However, you can’t stream Scorsese’s cinematic biography of the 14^th (and according to him, last) Dalai Lama. Again, Disney made the conscious decision to keep it out of circulation. Hence any screening of Scorsese’s Kundun is a big deal, so its special screening to celebrate Scorsese’s birthday at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival is a huge event.

Born Lhamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama was a rather willful child, but also an intelligent one. Reting, the Regent of Tibet quickly realizes the bright little boy should be tested to determine whether he is the reincarnated spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, which indeed turns out to be the case.

As the recognized Dalai Lama studies at Potala Palace, he shows a keen curiosity regarding the outside world. That will be just as well, because the outside world soon barges into Tibet. Unfortunately, after the devastation of WWII, England and Europe are too exhausted to intervene when China invades and annexes Tibet. Likewise, the newly independent India is too disorganized and America is too far. Consequently, the Dalai Lama and his ministers agree to negotiate with Mao.

However, many of the senior Lamas realize they are really only stalling for time, even though the Dalai Lama still hopes for a more equitable and autonomous arrangement. Sadly, as the CCP starts razing monasteries, the Dalai Lama recognizes the CCP as the oppressors they always intended to be. Nevertheless, he resists seeking sanctuary in India, because he refuses to abandon his people when they need him the most.

It is easy to see why Kundun (the Tibetans’ term of reverence and affection for the Dalai Lama, meaning “the Presence”) angered the CCP. First of all, it is an excellent film, unlike the junky rom-coms and stilted propaganda movies the Chinese film industry now cranks out. It also forthrightly depicts the brutality and destruction of the CCP occupation. Yet, it is small but telling moments, like when the Dalai Lama bemoans the blaring bombastic Chinese propaganda music, lamenting: “they even took our silence,” that are especially devastating.

Indeed, Scorsese and screenwriter Melissa Mathison follow the historical record, depicting the Dalai Lama as neither a rebel nor a hot-head. He was a remains a man of non-violence, who was forced into a painful exile, as a means of preserving the Tibetan national soul.

Despite the tragedy it captures, Kundun is a gorgeous film, magnificently lensed by acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins. He and Scorsese use the colors and imagery of the Tibetan sand mandala to arresting effect. Glass’s score is hypnotic, but it also expresses a sense of awe. Just in terms of technical artistry, Kundun is unusually accomplished.

King’s The Life of Chuck

At least Chuck Krantz won’t have to worry about fees for 401K withdrawals. Apparently, he is retiring right in the midst of doomsday. The world is ending, but his grateful colleagues are celebrating with billboards all over town. People are definitely confused and, initially, viewers will be too. However, director-screenwriter Mike Flanagan eventually brings everything together in The Life of Chuck, based on the Stephen King novella, which opens this Friday in New Yok theaters.

It is the end of the world—and the end of an era wherever Krantz works. California is sinking into the sea, the internet and infrastructure are failing, and suicides are skyrocketing. The apocalyptic crisis compels school teacher Marty Anderson to reconnect with his ex-wife Felicia Gordon, an exhausted RN, who feels a similar desire for his familiar and comforting presence. Yet, amid all the chaos, they both find all the Chuck Krantz signage rather bizarre.

What is going on here? Act II illuminates little, especially since Flanagan’s adapted narrative flows in reverse order, ending with Act I. It also happens to be a dance number, featuring Krantz and Taylor Franck, a drummer played by “The Pocket Queen,” according to the credits. You might guess she knows how to socket in the pocket, which indeed turns out to be the case.

All will eventually be explained in Act I, which is presented as the third act. Finally, we witness Krantz’s childhood, which is sometimes sad and sometimes mysterious, but the under-sized teen also has his small triumphs.

Frankly, some viewers might be tempted to watch the walk-outs, which could very well be plentiful. However, that would be a mistake, because you really need to see the entire film for all the pieces to fall into place. The good news is the a-ha moment really happens and gives pretty darned significant meaning to everything that came before.

This is definitely Stephen King more in his Shawshank or Stand By Me bag, even though there are considerable fantastical elements—that would be spoilery to describe. It is hard to categorize and it will confuse some viewers, but this is probably the best King adaptation since The Outsider.

Rebel: The Director’s Cut

Rather ironically, the first movie featuring Sylvester Stallone as a lead actor was re-released in the UK to capitalize on the popularity of First Blood. The roles are almost inverse opposites. John Rambo was a Vietnam veteran who resented the abuse and demonization he suffered from the anti-war movement. Jerry Savage was one of the New Left activists doing the vilifying. However, Savage tired of talk and now intends to take direct, violent action in Robert Allen Schnitzer’s director’s cut of Rebel, which releases on VOD and in select theaters this Friday.

Student activism was not cutting it for Savage, so he hitchhikes to New York to join a cell of militant guerillas, led by Tommy Trafler. On the way, he meets Laurie Fisher, who sells crafts in the City with her hippy-dippy commune.

Savage feels the chemistry with Fisher, but his new roommate and co-conspirator, Estelle Ferguson obviously feels something for him. The plan is to bomb the corporate headquarters of a kitchenware conglomerate to expose their defense contracting sideline. Marlena St. James, also known as “The Black Bomber,” will craft the explosives, but Ferguson must plant them within the Midtown tower. The idea is to set the explosion for an early Sunday morning, to avoid loss of life. (Here’s a pro-tip: if you do not want to kill anyone, do not blow-up any buildings.)

However, the FBI has an informer within the domestic terror cell, but much to Special Agent William Decker’s frustration, the CIA has taken defacto operational control. As most historians would agree, J. Edgar Hoover was not at all turf-conscious and never minded sharing jurisdiction on big cases. Yeah, right.

Frankly, Rebel lands awkwardly in the wake of Boulder’s antisemitic domestic terror attack. In some ways, Schnitzer critiques the extremist mindset, but he also clearly invites sympathy for Savage’s cause.

Schnitzer’s screenplay, co-written with Larry Beinhart, is confused and raggedy, but all sides of the pseudo love triangle exhibit strange, unlikely screen presences that make Rebel oddly distinctive. Obviously, Stallone was the only cast-member who was going anywhere, but Vickie Lancaster is acutely sad (in the intended way) as Ferguson. Antony Page also has such a Dennis Hopper thing going on as Trafler, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Easy Rider thesp had been a model for the character and Page’s portrayal.

The Evil Touch: Heart to Heart (Early Stallone)

For a greedy wastrel, a perfectly good serial killer should never go to waste. He believes his rich, disapproving aunt should be the so-called “Monster’s” next victim, even if he must kill her himself. Where did this sinister scenario come from? The mind of Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the teleplay under the oddball pen-name of Q. Moonblood several years before the release of Rocky. The upcoming re-release of Stallone’s first starring-role in Robert Allen Schnitzer’s Rebel offers an opportune time to revisit his first IMDb writing credit, the “Heart to Heart” episode of the American-produced Australian anthology series, The Evil Touch, hosted by Anthony Quayle.

Nephew Richard is lazy, entitled, and mean-spirited, so his wealthy guardian Aunt has finally decided to write him out of her will. However, it will take a few days for her lawyer to return from his ill-timed business trip, which leaves ample time for Richard to kill her.

Since the Monster has been amassing a horrendous body-count across the countryside, the ne-er do well nephew assumes if he copies the killer’s M.O., her murder will automatically be attributed to the serial killer. He just needs to make nice with his Aunt, so he can lure her somewhere isolated. However, there are a few variables to his plan that he cannot control, but experienced genre viewers might anticipate.

Nevertheless, Stallone, a.k.a. Moonblood, gives his big twist an amusing additional half-twist. Consequently, “Heart to Heart” is surprisingly satisfying, in a suitably macabre way. Regrettably, episodes of The Evil Touch are currently only available as inferior-quality YouTube uploads. Yet, the slightly blurry video adds a hallucinatory effect that makes each episode feel like a feverish dream.

Yellow Singing Sail, Graphic Novel

Huang Yinfin (a.k.a. “Yinyin”) is an only child. So are nearly all her classmates. It is almost like there was a rigid government policy restricting Chinese families to one child in the 1990s. In fact, there was exactly such a policy, but she never mentions it during this graphic novel memoir, probably she would not have been aware of such realities during her elementary school years. Regardless, many of the memories from her childhood remained sufficiently fresh to inspire Huang’s Yellow Singing Sail, illustrated by the author, which releases today.

Ironically, around her fifth birthday, Yinyin was living in the countryside, much like the regime had mandated for all its subjects two decades prior. Unfortunately, the little girl experiences strife once her parents move to the industrial city of Guangzhou.

Unable to afford their own flat, Yinyin and her parents must stay with her Aunt Guma and Uncle Guye, who is a member of the state police force. Unfortunately, they are more opportunistic than hospitable when it comes to their new living arrangement, while Guma is often downright mean towards Yinyin’s mother.

Although Huang never directly addresses the “One Child” policy, there several surprisingly telling episodes. Considering Beijing’s war on Cantonese in Hong Kong, many readers will be shocked to read how Yinyin struggled to perfect her fluency to impress the Cantonese speaking “cool kids” in her Guangzhou classes.

Arguably, even an incident when young Huang discovers their six-floor walk-up apartment was broken into challenges regime propaganda claiming an absence of common street crime. Still, much of Yinyin’s school drama is presented in a way that suggests a universality of such formative experiences.

Book of Joshua: Walls of Jericho

It was produced by entirely different creative team, but this film could be considered a sequel to The Prince of Egypt. In that film, the Red Sea was parted. This time around, the Jordan River receives similar divine intervention. As the Israelites follow Moses to the Promised Land, they constantly offer peace to the Amorites, who prefer to wage war instead. Yet, the Israelites are much harder to kill than their enemies expect in Tony Goss’s animated Biblical epic, Book of Joshua: Walls of Jericho, which releases tomorrow on VOD.

Considerable time has passed since the Red Sea, but the Israelites still feed on the manna from Heaven. They must soon face “King” Sihon, but they are well-prepared for his forces, despite their dramatically smaller numbers. Obviously, Moses has access to the ultimate intelligence source. Plus, Rahab has her own insights on the cruel king Sihon.

Forced to watch Sihon torturing the Israelite emissaries, Rahab tried to intercede on their behalf and carried the survivor back to the Israeli encampment. Ironically, the faith they displayed under extreme duress inspires Rahab to open her heart to the Israelites’ God. Consequently, she will be there to help when Moses and Joshua, his designated successor, approach the hostile walled city of Jericho, where she lives.

Frankly, there are more ancient battle scenes in Goss’s Book of Joshua than Braveheart and Gladiator combined. King Sihon, King Og, and the King of Jericho all look at the Israelites and see a band of weak former Egyptian slaves. How little they know—and how little things change.

Admittedly, the character animation is only a few steps above 1970s Saturday morning cartoons. However, the background art team also create some impressively cinematic Jericho visuals. Yet, the film’s greatest strengths come from the way Doss and screenwriter-producer Amir Kovacs establish the personas of Rahab and her family. In fact, they build a great deal of suspense regarding their safety in the wicked city of Jericho.

Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme

It was one of Alexander the Great’s first conquests, but Zsa Zsa Korda has a plan to make Phoenicia great again. It is really more of a scheme. Frankly, Alexander probably would not recognize this Phenicia, because it exists solely in the world of Wes Anderson, but, be that as it may, they stand to gain from a massive infrastructure upgrade that would concurrently line Korda’s pockets. However, he must survive constant assassination attempts and figure out how to cover a funding gap that does not involve his own funds in Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which opens this Friday in theaters nationwide

With a name like Zsa Zsa Korda, he must be Hungarian, but Korda is a man without a country—and certainly no tax returns. Korda is an arms dealer and financier very much like Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin. Somehow, he convinced his syndicate and cartel conies kick into his Phoenician development scheme, but he is a little short, so he needs all his gangster buddies to kick in more—for the same return.

Obviously, this will be a tough sell, so Korda brings along his daughter, a novitiate nun Liesl, whom he designated his sole heir and successor after surviving the latest assassination attempt. She is rather appalled by his sinful ways, but recognizes an opportunity to do good through Korda’s organization—despite the arms-dealing and slave labor on which the Phoenician construction projects depend.

As you would expect from Anderson’s films, the film’s 1950s art design is charming (and less precious than some of his recent output). However, the episodic nature of Anderson and Roman Coppola’s narrative quickly grows repetitive.

Yet, the father-daughter relationship appealingly anchors the film. To his credit, Anderson refreshingly embraces good old-fashioned sentimentality and shuns cynicism. The Phoenician Scheme is another good example of that. Perhaps most tellingly, he never condemns Sister Liesl for her Catholic faith. Rather, he uses it to pass judgement on Korda’s rogue’s gallery of criminal associates.

Most of the fun of Phoenician Scheme comes from gawking at the very famous ensemble acting very goofy. Ironically, Andrson extracts the most humor from Benicio del Toro’s performance, even though he plays it scrupulously straight. Nevertheless, his extreme poker face pairs well with the vast array of injuries he endures from each successive assassination attempt.

Michael Cena also shows unusual restraint as Bjorn Lund, the tutor forced to serve as Korda’s confidential secretary, despite the obvious risks. However, nobody is more deadpan than Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl. All that reserve from the main cast leaves plenty of room for Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, and Benedict Cumberbatch to chew the scenery in the Around the World in 80 Days-esque appearances.