Review: Reichardt takes on the heist movie in "The Mastermind"

by Cláudio Alves

Many of contemporary cinema's most celebrated auteurs have recently chosen to exercise their comedic muscles. Park Chan-wook leans on farcicalness and cartoon-like mugging as he's never done before in No Other Choice, while even something as palpably angry as Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident often moves in the way of screwball escalation. One Battle After Another is as harrowing as it is hilarious, and the same could be said of The Secret Agent. Down in the arthouse weeds, we can find Guiraudie and Kurosawa probing the limits of absurdity. Marco Berger lovingly contemplates the romcom while, in the mainstream, Celine Song tries to subvert it. Pálmason is off in his own world, somehow turning child maiming into comedy gold in The Love That Remains. 

Which leads us to The Mastermind, Kelly Reichardt's take on a heist movie, starring the ever-fumbling and disheveled Josh O'Connor performing another rendition of the pathetic loser blues he's been perfecting for the best part of the last decade. Hardly a laugh riot in the traditional sense, I'd still call it one of 2025's funniest flicks…

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"The History of Sound" Hits Highs and Lows

by Eurocheese

Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal in THE HISTORY OF SOUND

Memories, like music, can take on new meaning as we sit with them over time. The History of Sound opens on beautiful, panoramic shots with hints of possibility or even romance as we follow Paul Mescal’s Lionel, a lonely young man from the sticks who is eager to experience life. He heads off to college and meets Josh O’Connor as David, brimming with charm and curiosity, who spends his nights commanding rooms with his enthusiastic piano playing. Soon the love of music between the two (brought together by Lionel singing niche folk songs) spills into a relationship. It’s easy to be drawn in by the appeal of these actors, but something about this unspoken relationship feels a bit too easy. When Lionel heads home and eventually receives an invitation to join David on a trip researching music, it feels like he is walking out of his mundane life and into a dream...

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TIFF 50: Benoit Blanc looks for grace in "Wake Up Dead Man"

by Cláudio Alves

If Wake Up Dead Man is the weakest Knives Out mystery yet, the blame lies at the feet of its outsized thematic ambition. In that regard, the new flick outdoes its predecessors and then some, touching on the same satirical points and terminally online observations of our socio-political present while stretching hands up, toward the heavens, in search of an ineffable grace. Rian Johnson thus tackles religion and belief and absolution with a Gothic twist and perverse glee, a complex proposal further complicated by the way he keeps playing with the whodunnit model in his usual deconstructionist manner. The director boldly adds Poe and Carr to the pantheon of authors he'll crib from in a metatextual game that reaches out an invitation to its audience. Share the pleasure of my mischief, it whispers in your ear…

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Cannes Diary 08: Queer Cinema Highs & Lows

by Elisa Guidici

Straight couples and monogamous relationships seem to be an endangered species at this year's Cannes Film Festival, especially in the sidebar sections. We've seen a wealth of films centered on queer love stories, set in a more open and aware contemporary world. Yet, this world often still struggles with a perspective that doesn't immediately stiffen when behavior is framed as "deviant." Unfortunately, mere representation doesn't equate to consistent quality. To summarize the spectrum seen here at Cannes, let's dive into the most exciting film and the most disappointing currently tackling these themes...

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It's a good time to be a Josh O'Connor fan

by Cláudio Alves

While Luca Guadagnino's sexy tennis movie is queering up the box office, Alice Rohrwacher's La Chimera is finally out On Digital. In other words, if you're soft for Ratatouille's #1 fan Josh O'Connor, it must feel like everything's coming up roses. And isn't that how it should be? Between the two projects, the up-and-coming British actor shows off his range and then some. In Challengers, he's all dirtbag sleaze, playful in that way naughty kids can be when they know they've gotten away with something. Yet, between provocations, there's vulnerability peeking through, hunger of the stomach and the heart. Contrast with La Chimera, performed primarily in Italian and suffused with quiet heartbreak from start to finish. From burning ardor to morose romanticism, Josh O'Connor excels…

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