Blog — 3 Brothers Film

Star Wars: Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)

The second Ewoks spin-off film, The Battle for Endor, learns from the mistakes of its predecessor while relying heavily on fantasy conventions and parallels to the Original Trilogy.

Review: Ad Astra (2019)

James Gray’s Ad Astra is a stunning example of science-fiction worldbuilding, even if its philosophical view of the cosmos is surprisingly reductive.

Reviews, The Current: In Theatres, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromOctober 24, 2019Ad Astra, James Gray, Ethan Gross, Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, John Ortiz, Greg Bryk, Loren Dean, Natasha LyonneComment

Halloween Horror: Christine (1983)

Christine finds John Carpenter working at the height of his formal powers, transforming a ridiculous concept into a thrilling film.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 22, 2019Christine, John Carpenter, Bill Phillips, Stephen King, Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert BlossomComment

Planet in Focus 2019: The Last Male on Earth

A quietly critical documentary exploring the spectacle around Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino who died in 2018.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromOctober 17, 2019The Last Male on Earth, Planet in Focus, Planet in Focus 2019, Floor van der Meulen, Renko Douze, SudanComment

Planet in Focus 2019: Earth

Earth is visually arresting, but also repetitive, which dulls its overall message.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromOctober 15, 2019Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Earth, Planet in Focus 2019, Planet in FocusComment

Review: Joker (2019)

Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix weaponize our familiarity with comic book narratives to paint a portrait of personal evil and social dysfunction.

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

Return of the Jedi is both a technological marvel and one of cinema’s most powerful redemption narratives.

TIFF19: Uncut Gems

The Safdie Brothers continue to mine chaos and momentum in the riveting Uncut Gems.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 18, 2019Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Judd Hirsch, Eric BogosianComment

TIFF19: A Hidden Life

Terrence Malick has crafted his most political and religious work yet.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 17, 2019Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life, August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Michael Nyqvist, Jurgen Prochnow, Matthias Schoenaerts, Bruno Ganz, Martin Wuttke, Franz Rogowski, Maria Simon Comment

TIFF19: One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk is a rewarding film and a microcosm of Inuit-settler relations.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 16, 2019Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, Apayata Kotierk, Kim Bodnia, Benjamin Kunuk, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, Inuk, InuitComment

TIFF19: Weathering with You

Makoto Shinkai’s follow-up to Your Name is a similarly high-concept exercise in empathy.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 13, 2019Weathering with You, Your Name, Makoto Shinkai, Kotaro Daigu, Nana Mori, Shun Oguri, Tsubasa Honda, Chieko Baisho, Sakura Kiryu, animeComment

TIFF19: The Platform

The Platform is both an allegory for class warfare and a seriously entertaining science-fiction horror film.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 12, 2019The Platform, TIFF, TIFF19, Toronto International Film Festival, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, David Desola, Pedro Rivero, Ivan Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Emilio Buale, Alexandra MasangkayComment

TIFF19: Sound of Metal

Sound of Metal has one of the most astounding sound designs in recent memory.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 10, 2019Sound of Metal, Darius Marder, Abraham Marder, Derek Cianfrance, Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Mathieu Amalric, Domenico Toledo, TIFF19, TIFF, Toronto International Film FestivalComment

Review: Ready or Not (2019)

A gruesome, funny B-movie to end the summer movie season.

Reviews, The Current: In Theatres, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 5, 2019Ready or Not, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Nicky Guadagni, Melanie Scrofano, Elyse Levesque, Kristian Bruun, John RalstonComment

Review: American Factory (2019)

A remarkable documentary that gets at the inherent tensions of a globalized economy.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromAugust 30, 2019Netflix, American Factory, Julie Reichert, Steven Bognar, Barack Obama, FuyaoComment

Review: The Great Hack (2019)

The Great Hack is an addictive primer on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but it avoids delving into the muddier waters of its subject matter.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromAugust 23, 2019The Great Hack, Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim, Erin Barnett, Cambridge AnalyticaComment

Review: The Highwaymen (2019)

John Lee Hancock’s revisionist take on Bonnie and Clyde leans into Western conventions while flirting with a deeper take on the mythology of American violence.