Aarcflick

 “I can't help it,” says Ella Al-Shamahi. “It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings!” It’s not easy to make prehistory accessible, but a comparison with Tolkien works for the time before Homo sapiens dominated. Al-Shamahi’s five-part documentary traces the rise of humanity, beginning with the era when Homo neanderthalensis, Homo floresiensis, and Homo erectus each claimed their own territory. Before written history, when our story was “written in our bones and DNA,” some early humans lived in Europe and Asia and had adapted to the cold. Some were learning to harness the power of fire. Some were only 1 meter tall. Others wore helmets and polo shirts. Wait, no, that’s one of the archaeologists excavating in Morocco, where a skull called Jebel Irhoud 1 holds many secrets about our earliest ancestors. It's the beginning of a journey that, in a revelatory first episode, will take Al-Shamahi to spectacular locations in Africa and the Middle East. Stars: Ella Al-Shamahi, Melissa Massyn,...

 “Freedom: when you have it, you don't appreciate it, but when you miss it, it's lost.” These words are spoken by Benicio del Toro about halfway through the film. And these words, which lingered in my mind long after I finished the film, clearly refer to the United States today. One Battle After Another is Paul Thomas Anderson's most overtly political film to date. And his stance is no surprise. It's the most anti-Trump film since Mickey 17 was released earlier this year. And while I quite liked Mickey 17, this one is much better. Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro One Battle After Another is in tune with current events. There are ICE-style police raids. There are also white supremacists who detest the idea of ​​sanctuary cities. But there's also a clip from The Battle of Algiers (1966), perhaps the most influential resistance film of all time. There's so much going o...

Renny Harlin's botched 2024 film, The Strangers: Chapter 1, was essentially a remake of Bryan Bertino's 2008 domestic violence horror thriller, The Strangers, in which a couple is tormented by a trio of—you guessed it—strangers. But there was a problem: Harlin actually shot three consecutive films from a 260-page script, and promoted Chapter 1 with the promise/threat that Chapters 2 and 3 would expand his mostly single-location horror film across the United States, unmasking the reasons behind this seemingly random violence. Well, this second installment is peppered with flashbacks, as the filmmakers apparently haven't seen Rob Zombie's Halloween or the Texas Chainsaw prequel, Leatherface: The Beginning, or they'd know that a trivial backstory about childhood trauma only strips masked killers of any threat.  Director: Renny Harlin Writers: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland Stars: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath The horror films they've seen, clearly, ar...

One of the most popular children's series on the planet is coming to the big screen. DreamWorks Animation is working on "Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie," scheduled for release on September 26, 2025, by Universal Pictures. "Gabby's Dollhouse" is DreamWorks' multimedia preschool series streaming on Netflix and, according to Nielsen, was the most-watched original series on streaming in 2023. Each episode follows a little girl named Gabby as she opens a surprise before immersing herself in a fantastical animated world of adorable cats living inside her dollhouse. Director: Ryan Crego Writers: Traci Paige Johnson, Jennifer Twomey, Mike Lew Stars: Laila Lockhart Kraner, Kristen Wiig, Carla Tassara Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, creators of the series, are executive producers of the film "Gabby's Dollhouse." Ryan Crego, a Kids and Family Emmy nominee for his TV movie "Arlo the Alligator Boy," is directing the film. In the new...

Eleanor (June Squibb) has a best friend. In fact, she's had one for the past seven decades of her life. With their husbands long dead and their children far from the nest, the lives of Eleanor and Bessie (Rita Zohar) don't just revolve around each other—they're intertwined. They share not just an apartment in Florida, but a room, with its two twin beds side by side and matching headboards. They do everything together: they check bills, clip coupons, go for walks, and, in the dark of certain nights, they tell each other the worst memories of their lives. Suffice it to say, this relationship has worked. So what happens when the inevitable happens? That's the premise of Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, "Eleanor the Great," which tenderly, yet erratically, examines what happens after losing the most important person in our lives and taking hesitant steps to find someone, if not as important, but equally special, to help fill the void left behind. All of...

BAU: ARTIST AT WAR tells the incredible and moving true story of Joseph Bau, a famous artist who lived in Tel Aviv in 1971. The film shows how Joseph was sent to a concentration camp in Poland in 1943. Joseph uses his skills and unwavering hope to save thousands of people from the Nazis and survive the camp. He even finds true love and marriage, despite the horrors of the camp. A cruel guard and the camp commandant are the villains of the film, but they get what they deserve. BAU: ARTIST AT WAR is a moving portrayal of the incredible true story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau. It is both humorous and heartbreaking. The lead actors, Emile Hirsch and Inbar Lavi, give incredible and emotional performances as the two protagonists. What makes the film so extraordinary is a script that embraces pain and suffering, but accentuates it with authentic humor and heartfelt romance.  Director: Sean McNamara Writers: Deborah Smerecnik, Ron Bass, Sonia Kifferstein Stars: Emile Hirsch, Inbar Lavi, Yan T...

The second season premiere of Beautiful Minds finds Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) enduring another emotional blow, courtesy of his estranged father, Noah. The elder Wolf leaves without saying goodbye, despite appearing in the season one finale and pleading with Oliver to help him uncover his mysterious illness. Does this have something to do with the episode's opening, which finds Oliver in the midst of a mental health crisis at a long-term care facility? Maybe, series star and producer Zachary Quinto tells TVLine. Read on for the episode's highlights, and don't miss Quinto's teasers for the rest of the season. Stars: Zachary Quinto, Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop It's nighttime at a healthcare facility, and a nurse silently goes from room to room, handing out medication. Oliver approaches and grabs his key card from the cart; realizing it, he alerts security. It turns out Oliver isn't a doctor at this facility—he's a patient. They detain him in a stair...

Stories of friendship are usually filled with warmth, nostalgia, and shared laughter, but in BFFs (2025), that bond takes a sharp and dangerous turn. Directed by Constantine Paraskevopoulos and written by Adam Rifkin, this dark crime comedy explores the fragile line between loyalty and destruction when the past collides with the present. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, the film is concise, unpredictable, and at times disturbingly funny, though it sometimes struggles to find the right balance between tone and depth. The story centers on Henry (Adam Rifkin), a man stuck in the routine of adult life. Once a dreamer with ambitions of becoming a writer, he now juggles a dead-end job, a strained marriage to Dóra (Jennifer Morrison), and the pressures of parenthood with a baby on the way. His childhood best friend, Jerry (played by Constantine Paraskevopoulos), suddenly reappears, eager to rekindle their old camaraderie. At first, Jerry's return brings humor and nostalgia, but his pe...

The series follows four Indonesian women, Party, Ance, Biyah, and Chinta, who leave their home to start a new life in Queens, New York, grappling with hardship, friendship, and identity in the years leading up to Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens. I just finished Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series, and here's the thing: I laughed, I was annoyed, I sighed, and then I smiled. Not everything fits together perfectly, but it has enough heart and enough rawness to make it worthwhile. Online TV streaming services. Stars: Nirina Zubir, Tika Panggabean, Asri Welas Set about eight years before the film Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens, this series focuses on how these four women ended up together, what tore them apart, what brought them together, and how they try to move forward. Party tries to hold on to her apartment and her dignity, even when work is shady and immigration rules are stricter than her resolve. Ance is a single mother whose daughter is growing by leaps and bounds and asking herself uncomfortab...

Director Kogonada's understated aesthetic and screenwriter Seth Reiss's imaginative intentions seem at odds with a cold and distant love story. Cinema often demands a certain suspension of disbelief. But what happens when a film demands too much, without offering the viewer emotional reasons to justify the leap? That, in short, is the experience of watching "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey," an idiosyncratic romantic fantasy that never quite sells the unforgiving love story that develops between its two incredibly attractive commitment-phobes, Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell), who meet at a wedding. Director: Kogonada Writer: Seth Reiss Stars: Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, Jennifer Grant This is a shame, as director Kogonada is undoubtedly the kind of observant artist capable of extracting reservoirs of humanity and melancholy in the most unexpected places, from the edges of modern architecture ("Columbus") to an android's data bank ("Af...

A child befriending an alien isn't a new story, but in Xeno, writer-director Matthew Loren Oates makes two key decisions that explain why this one feels different. The first is that the film takes this idea very seriously, as it deals with more mature issues than one might expect, and the consequences of this friendship can be quite serious. The second is the alien itself, which isn't the adorable, cuddly puppet one might expect from a description of the basic premise. No, this alien being looks like something straight out of a horror movie: with its sleek, predatory appearance, shiny dark scales, sticky yellow blood, and black pools of eyes. We haven't even described the alien's mouth yet, which protrudes in such a way that it's the first thing anyone viewing it head-on would notice.  Director: Matthew Loren Oates Writer: Matthew Loren Oates Stars: Lulu Wilson, Paul Schneider, Wrenn Schmidt Technically, the teeth are even more prominent, jutting at irregular angles...

 Quiver Distribution has acquired North American rights to the South African action thriller "Hunting Jessica Brok" and plans to release it in US theaters this fall. Directed by Alastair Orr and written by David D. Jones, the film follows a retired covert operations specialist trying to build a quiet life in South Africa. When the ghosts of her past resurface, her world is violently turned upside down, forcing her back to the life she thought she had left behind and forcing her to use all her skill and resilience to save her daughter's life and her own. Director: Alastair Orr Writers: David D. Jones, Garth McCarthy, Alastair Orr Stars: Danica De La Rey Jones, Clyde Berning, Richard Lukunku "Hunting Jessica Brok" stars Danica De La Rey Jones, Clyde Berning, Richard Lukunku, Katherine Neethling, Anthony Oseyemi, and Hlubi Mboya. It is produced by Tshepiso Chikapa-Phiri and Joel Chikapa Phiri for Known Associates Entertainment and Ariye Mahdeb for A-Game. The film ...

OTT platforms are often accused of stifling creative voices, of surrendering to the very formula they once sought to resist by supporting bold, original projects. Take Netflix as the most obvious example. What began with the release of something like Sacred Games (followed by other interesting twists like Leila and Ghoul) soon fell into mediocrity with Bard of Blood, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, Mismatched, Kota Factory, Class, and Dabba Cartel (the list is long, but you get the idea).  There have been excellent Netflix originals here and there (Kohrra, Guns & Gulaabs, Delhi Crime, Killer Soup, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein), but these have proven to be exceptions, not the norm. To see just how bad things have gotten—how creativity has been taken over by unimaginative, risk-averse studio heads—watch The Ba***ds of Bollywood, a dramedy from the mind of Aryan Khan. Stars: Bobby Deol, Lakshya, Raghav Juyal Directors often debut in a world or material that feels familiar to them, as it hel...

At the Platonic Hotel Blue Moon, we meet the hotel owner, Mrs. Nezahat, and her two daughters, Gülten and Nedret. Nezahat tells us the story of the hotel. She and her husband founded it together, and since his death, she and her daughters have run it. The hotel barely receives guests, except for an elderly couple who use Mrs. Nezahat for their own purposes. It is quite deserted until one day the situation changes with the arrival of a guest. Speaking of the daughters, Gülten, a 33-year-old woman, wants to get married, but constantly lowers herself. Meanwhile, the youngest, Nedret, also wants to get married, but is eager to find her soul mate. Mr. Kaan is determined to buy the hotel. He is described as a very selfish man who only cares about business. Mrs. Nezahat, however, makes it very clear that she will not sell the hotel. And so, to convince her, Mr. Kaan arrives at the hotel in person, but in disguise (remember the aforementioned guest?). He doesn't tell her who he is or what ...

 I went into Same Day with Someone expecting something tender, a little predictable, maybe a few tears, but hoping for something new in the time-loop genre. For the most part, the film offers charm and also irritation. It's not great, but it has enough personality and heart to make me glad I saw it. Mesa (played by Jarinporn Joonkiat) is well-positioned: she has control, prestige, and an organized life. Then disaster strikes. On August 8, everything that can go wrong does: the priceless artifact she's supposed to preserve is destroyed, her fiancé calls off the wedding, and her identity is shaken. Then the time loop kicks in, and we find ourselves on the same day again and again. The first loops are frantic, sometimes unpleasant, but there's an arc: Mesa is forced to abandon perfectionism and delve into empathy. Directors: Rangsima Aukkarawiwat, Yanyong Kuruangkura Stars: Grégory Matthias Garcia, Jarinporn Joonkiat, Metinee Kingpayome What I liked: The film makes good use of...

The Billionaires' Bunker finale focused primarily on Max and Asia's attempt to leave the bunker in the hopes of getting a dialysis machine for the dying Mimi. Why did they go to that lengths? Minerva was a factory worker who specialized in building megastructures. She used to earn enough to make ends meet, but not enough to live in luxury. So, one day, she decided to build a doomsday bunker for billionaires, stage a mass extinction event, lead them to said bunker, and then use AI-generated versions of said billionaires to siphon all the money from their accounts.  The first part of the plan was a success, but while Minerva and her team were executing the second half, one of the bunker's inhabitants, Mimi, started feeling very ill. Mimi's stepdaughter, Asia, ran a diagnosis with the help of Roxan, the bunker's AI, and discovered that she was suffering from an extremely rare disease called hepatic encephalopathy. The only solution was to administer dialysis, and the b...