The CineFiles

Friday, February 13, 2026

OH, HI (2025)

Written & Directed By: Sophie Brooks

Story By: Molly Gordon

Cinematography: Conor Murphy

Editor: Kayla M. Emter

Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds, David Cross, Polly Draper, Desmin Borges, Jim Gary Jr.

Iris and Isaac's first romantic weekend getaway goes awry in a most unexpected way.

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This is a disarming and strange film only because at first you think you know where it’s going, and while it plays that way, for the most part, it offers different directions mindsets and present us with characters rather than relying only on its plotting

Originally thought this would be more of a two hander.

the first half of the film Is really enjoyable Which was more conventional, by the second half it starts to fall apart a little. As it becomes Less conventional and while not expected it works on it’s Own Even if not necessarily fulfilling in the way that you had hoped

Would have liked it, if it was more ambiguous at the end, but it is a romance after all so has to have that kind of ending. No matter where the film goes

So much so, that you care what actually happens and will this resolve itself. While wondering what will happen? Even the supporting characters only add to the films charm.

While the two leads played with wit by Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman are such a cute couple, who are hiding issues and deep, dark secrets that they have to take a look at themselves. As well as each other to truly move forward in general. Though who knows if this would’ve even happened if not for the films inciting incident.

This is the type of romantic comedy. They don’t make anymore. It’s a little bit more formula, but you can identify with the characters you’re rooting for the characters. it’s not overly cute nor painstakingly unbelievable that feels more like a dream scenario. It deals with real issues minor and mighty that actually come up in more modern relationships.

The stakes aren’t that mighty, but there enough for you to pay attention and care. Where you want to see what’s going to happen. where this is gonna go and how will this resolve itself and while the film isn’t a star showcase. One has to give props to star Molly Gordon, who also came up with the story for the film. As she continuously keeps making projects that give her a showcase for her range and talents in leading to supporting roles, just as she did with the film THEATER CAMP, which she co-wrote and Co-Directed

This is-one of those films that is subtle enough that you admire it for what it is and really taking a deep look at these characters plus the relationship. As well as what might be in the future for each of them.

The visuals of the film are broad with a single location. It’s almost a two hander. The only thing that keeps it from being that way, is quite a few supporting characters, though this could’ve easily been a play and that’s not a bad thing.

Then again, maybe one was just blinded by the mood and the actors. With a film that can be cynical, but chooses not to be most of the time

Grade: B

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

THE LONG WALK (2025)

Directed By: Francis Lawrence

Written By: JT Mollner

Based On The Novel By: Stephen King

Cinematography: Jo Willems

Editor: Peggy Eghbaliant and Mark Yoshikawa

Cast: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Ben Wang, Charlie Plummer, Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, Josh Hamilton, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Roman Griffin Davis

In the near future, where America has become a police state, 50 boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple – maintain a steady walking pace of at least three miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings, and you’re out – permanently.

This film announces itself as a slow burn and then has the nerve to earn it. From the outset, a dark cloud hangs overhead, but what makes the experience so quietly devastating is how much warmth, camaraderie, and fleeting hope exist beneath that shadow. You know purely from the premise that this is going to hurt. A dystopian march for survival, a grim prize dangled in front of young men with nothing else to cling to. And yet, against all odds, the film keeps reaching for something gentler: connection, shared humor, the fragile optimism of youth.

The storytelling is intentionally cut and dry, almost austere. There’s nothing flashy or sensationalized about the way we move through this bombed-out vision of Middle America. Streets feel hollowed out, spectators feel desperate rather than celebratory, and the so-called hope this march offers the world feels cruelly abstract. The film doesn’t exaggerate its dystopia; it lets the emptiness speak for itself. That restraint is precisely what makes it so unsettling.

At the center of it all is the chemistry most notably between Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, who anchor the film with a bond that feels lived-in rather than written. Their relationship becomes an emotional spine, but the real achievement is how the entire ensemble locks together. This is a movie where the heart lives in the group, even if it’s a bruised, dark heart. Each character’s elimination lands with a genuine sense of loss. Early on, the executions feel shocking, almost confrontational, as if the film is forcing you to understand the rules of this world in the harshest possible terms.

As the march continues, something subtler and more painful happens. The violence recedes into the background not because it matters less, but because it hurts more. You begin to avert your eyes the same way the characters do. The film places you inside their exhaustion, their grief, their numbness. It’s an odd, devastating alchemy: the suffering deepens, yet so does your emotional investment. You don’t just watch the film, you endure it alongside them.

As a Stephen King story, it fits perfectly within his particular brand of Midwestern dread. There’s no supernatural evil lurking here, which somehow makes it scarier. The horror is human, systemic, and banal. It’s also tinged with nostalgia. a throwback to a kind of youthful camaraderie where people from wildly different backgrounds can form instant, meaningful bonds. That sense of shared experience, of learning from one another before time runs out, gives the film its aching soul.

Francis Lawrence deserves real credit for the direction. Known for handling large-scale studio spectacles, he proves here that he can scale things down without losing intensity. The film could easily have been an intimate indie drama, yet it still carries the propulsion of a thriller. It’s juggling multiple tones at once emotional, political, suspenseful and somehow keeps them all spinning.

Yes, on paper, the story sounds simple and even predictable, and for the most part, it embraces that simplicity. But within that framework, it offers something far richer: a meditation on endurance, youth, and the quiet brutality of hope weaponized. It’s the kind of film that breaks your heart slowly, thoughtfully, and without apology.

The ending is likely to divide audiences. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it and that uncertainty feels intentional. It lingers, gnaws, and invites interpretation long after the final frame.

This is not an easy sit, nor is it meant to be. But it’s a deeply admirable piece of filmmaking. one that deserves discovery, discussion, and reevaluation. It may not have found its audience at the box office, but one can only hope it finds a longer life beyond it. If studios made more films like this somber, human, and unafraid of sadness. we’d all be better off, even if we walked out a little heavier than we walked in.

Grade: B

Saturday, February 7, 2026

HEDDA (2025)

Written & Directed By: Nia DaCosta

Based on the play “HEDDA GABLER” by Henrik Ibsen

Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt

Editor: Jacob Schulsinger

Cast: Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Pinnock, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Saffron Hocking,

In a provocative, modern re-imagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, Heather finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt-pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.

This is a film that understands atmosphere before it worries about plot. It looks great deliberately gray, restrained, and textured. Which is impressive especially considering how much of it stays in a single location. The art direction, costumes, and camera work all do quiet but confident heavy lifting, turning limited space into something moody, elegant, and faintly suffocating in the best way.

Tessa Thompson is very good here, even if her affected accent initially throws you off. At first it feels like something you’re constantly aware of, but as the film settles into its rhythms, so does she. Once again, Thompson proves her range and commitment, leaning the character with a confidence that ultimately outweighs any early hesitation. She knows how to command stillness, and this film gives her plenty of room to do exactly that.

I’ll admit I went in blind, unfamiliar with the original play, and for much of the runtime I wasn’t entirely sure where things were heading. The narrative keeps its cards close, and clarity doesn’t fully arrive until the end. At which point it confirms what you may have suspected from early on. That slow reveal can be either intriguing or frustrating depending on your patience, but it feels intentional rather than careless.

One of the most interesting aspects is how the material is reframed around African American characters, along with more openly LGBTQ+ identities and the politics surrounding them. What’s notable is how relaxed the film feels about this. Instead of leaning into heightened tension or historical accuracy, it presents these dynamics as part of everyday life. Even if that ease may feel more modern than the period itself. That creative choice gives the film a looseness and accessibility that invites the audience to engage with the material from a fresh angle.

Though as shame as they’re are only three African-American characters, and by the end two will try to attack and kill each other.

This isn’t an especially exciting film in the traditional sense. As period pieces rarely are, but the shifting power dynamics within relationships and the sharp, biting dialogue keep things moving. Conversations matter here. They keep the film alive and keep the audience leaning in, especially as everything circles around a lavish, almost dreamlike dinner party that feels both glamorous and quietly ominous.

Most importantly, this stands out as one of Nia DaCosta’s more original-feeling projects. While it’s still an adaptation, it’s not tied to sequels, franchises, or existing cinematic universes. You can feel her breathing a bit easier here, letting her style emerge more clearly and trusting the audience to follow. It’s a reminder of her talent as a filmmaker rather than a caretaker of someone else’s vision.

Hopefully, this leads to more projects where she has that kind of control. where she can fully flex her artistic muscles instead of feeling like a placeholder executing someone else’s plan. There’s a strong filmmaker here, and films like this suggest she’s at her best when she’s allowed to lead rather than follow.

As even after the film, one still is thinking about it

Grade: B-

Friday, February 6, 2026

BONE LAKE (2025)

Directed By: Mercedes Bryce Morgan

Written By: Joshua Friedlander

Cinematography: Nick Matthews

Editor: Anjoum Agrama

Cast: Alex Roe, Maddie Hassan, Marco Pigossi, Andra Nechita

A couple’s vacation at a secluded estate is upended when they’re forced to share the mansion with a mysterious couple. A dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, triggering a battle for survival.

Bone Lake, this film keeps flirting with what it thinks is naught or what a more mainstream audience or studio exec does. As it seems to keep trying to test the waters of why it thinks it can get away with and is rather tame. Especially after a provacatice graphic opening

Though it could have done without a cliché of having a female of color character be killed in the beginning though at least she’s not first.

Even if not going big for a more erotic thriller horror film it should be somewhat titillating and this plays more like an Adam and Eve couples instructional intimacy tutorial or at least that is how it plays stale.

It’s like it wants to be naughty but is afraid of going too far. Like a beginner at a swingers club (I imagine) this film isn’t even horny it is more of a tease. It psych’s itself out before it even really begins.

There is so much talk not showing. Th main couple don’t seem to act like a long term one. More like they just meet and speak so matter of factory and cerebral in their dialogue that table sitting through a couples therapy session. You desperately want out of, So if looking for physical erotic charms this is not the film for you. since that is all there is until the violence really starts. you feel stuck and waiting for it to begin for some actual action to happen.

This film is missing all the sensuality and sexuality that even a simple movie like the recent sexual thriller DEEP WATER (Starring Ben Affleck) had, though this has more potential rather than seeming to equal a porno fantasy set-up. This one actually has a story that could work as couples therapy and a tale of lust and trust.

Like the antagonists the film tries to come across as cool and something to see, but in reality it’s quite basic and doesn’t offer anything new. it even come across much as standard fare in the gene that offers up see as it’s gimmick but while it peppers it with it. It doesn’t get I too deep winter it is more a garnish. It’s like a film that feels like it was cut up by the MPAA and this is what was left either that or the original script must’ve been really wild and graphic and they just took out what they thought the MPAA or studio wouldn’t like and this is what we’re left with.

By the third act the action finallly starts and the fimmtrally gos into overkill with the violence all of a sudden. Which at least makes up for most of the film playing to safe. As this ends up being the only gratuitous element the film offers. As it will crimp on the erotic, but here it goes full blast.

It’s also where I am guessing most of the film’s budget went also

The film needed to provide more truth in advertising as that is the damaging aspect of the film. As what is promised comes in glimpses but seem somehow constricted and there for plot conveniences and to keep it’s word. Though if choosing a couple to be tempted by, the casting was spot on.

It shows how lust and greed can lead one astray and it’s important to have open communication and that sex can drive you crazy. Then it seems to end like a joke. Maybe it all is and the joke is on us. for this amped up more graphic lifetime TV movie story. That tries to be naughty, but reads more like a manual. It actually has the goods for a 90s thriller, but takes all the fun out of it until the third act.

Grade: C-