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FOREIGN FILMS. “Sirat.” / “Brick.” / “Knocking.” / “Mont Foster.” / “Infierno Grande.”

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“Sirāt” (2025, Hulu) Spanish/French drama road film. About a father who is in search of his missing daughter along with his son and a group of ravers in the deserts of southern Morocco.         This disturbing movie won several accolades at the 40th Goya Awards . At the 98th Academy Awards , it was nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Sound . “Sirat” also received honors in 2025's Cannes.        This movie is a wicked reminder of friendship and isolation as it also shudders with the horror of abandoned mines in war-wasted geographies as refugees journey to safer grounds, and peace.         But there are no gunfires in this movie. Or humans in beastly combat. But emaciated travelers mostly dance in trance to electronica music. An inventive cinematic take by director Oliver Laxe. The sound of pounding bassline beats the conscience louder than an explodin...
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DRAMA. “The Return.” / “Daddio.” / “Days of the Bagnold Summer.” / “Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.” / “Animals.” / “Prozac Nation.”

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“The Return” (2024, Amazon Prime) drama or a retelling of the second half of Homer 's “ Odyssey .” Twenty years after fighting in the Trojan War and journeying back home, Odysseus washes up naked on the shores of his home island Ithaca . He is tended to by Eumaeus and Yias.          It would help to revisit the source epic to make sense of “The Return,” otherwise the entire proceedings in this movie wouldn't make sense. It isn't really a standalone storyline.         But Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche's piercingly involved performance, the former intense and the latter restrained, keep the drama worth watching. 🎥💻📽 “Daddio” (2023, Hulu) drama film , which stars Dakota Johnson as a young woman returning home to Midtown Manhattan from JFK International Airpor t by cab after a trip, who unexpectedly ends up conversing with her taxi driver ( Sean Penn ).         Ro...
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ACTION. “Jack Ryan: Ghost War.” / “Nobody 2.” / “God Is a Bullet.” / “Dangerous.” / “American Ultra.” / “House of the Rising Sun.”

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“Jack Ryan: Ghost War” (2026, Amazon Prime) political action thriller. A retired Jack Ryan is reluctantly pulled back into espionage by CIA Director James Greer. Ryan travels to Dubai to recover intel from an MI6 contact, only to discover that a rogue black-ops unit called "Starling" is enacting a terror plot in London.         If you've seen all Jack Ryan movies and finished all four seasons of the Amazon Prime TV series, this ghost thing is an obligatory bore. And for those who are not familiar with the CIA's black-ops and military contractors would be lost as to why these former war buddies are killing each other.         Everything here is generic blow-’em-up and shoot-’em-up whambam, all 1 hour and 45 minutes of the movie, which by the way, is again dimly-lit!🎥💻📽 “Nobody 2” (2025, Netflix) action thriller . Sequel to “ Nobody ” (2021). Retired assassin Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) attempts to take a ...
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ROMANTIC DRAMA. “Who You Think I Am.” / “Intimacy.”

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“Who You Think I Am” (2019, Tubi) French drama. A 50-year-old divorced teacher creates a fake Facebook profile of a 24-year-old woman. She finds a photo of a pretty young brunette online and uses it. She has created an entirely fictional character, but why? Stars J uliette Binoche . The movie is based on the 2016 novel by Camille Laurens .        "Who You Think I Am” gives us more to bite and chew around a premise that is common to many, and so we ended up choking. Thought-provoking as it is in its entirety, but director Safy Nebbou's efforts tossed us just the “thought” but disregarded the “provocation” as he handed the viewers all the possible answers already. I mean, the telling of the story got entangled with its intent to “please” all “what could have beens.”         Yet the deftly involved performance of Juliette Binoche made the central character Claire Millaud's “journey” an entertaining ride. 🎥💻📽 “Int...
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DOG/ANIMAL MOVIES. “The Sheep Detectives.” / “Arthur the King.” / “Eat Pray Bark.” / “Good Boy.” / “The Wolf and the Lion.” / “Life with Dog.”

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“The Sheep Detectives” (2026, Amazon Prime) mystery comedy , directed by Craig Mazin, based on the 2025 novel “Three Bags” by Leonie Swann. A flock of sheep try to solve the murder of their shepherd. A fine, wholesome movie that is adorned by fine performers.         The ensemble cast is led by Hugh Jackman , Nicholas Braun , Nicholas Molly Gordon , Hong Chau , and Emma Thompson . The all-star voice artists: Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Bryan Cranston , Chris O'Dowd , Regina Hall , Patrick Stewart , Bella Ramsey , and Brett Goldstein .         Childishly funny, cute as lamb and sheep, and delightful as backyard weekend barbecue. Definitely a recommended family entertainment. Cute. 🎥💻📽 “Arthur the King” (2024, Fandango) adventure film . The captain of an adventure racing team befriends a wounded stray dog named Arthur , who accompanies the team on a grueling 435-mile (700-km) endurance race through the Dominica...
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