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REVIEW: ‘Hard Truths’ showcases the simultaneous terror and beauty of the modern world

Elijah Ritch | March 5

From Feb. 21-24, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema showed British director Mike Leigh’s new film “Hard Truths.” The film centers around Pansy, played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, a middle-aged woman living with unnamed chronic illnesses and grappling with severe agoraphobia. She frequently lashes out ...

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REVIEW: FKA twigs transcends genre conventions with ‘EUSEXUA’

Elijah Ritch | March 2

On Jan. 24, British musician FKA twigs released her third studio album “EUSEXUA.” FKA twigs, aka Tahliah Barnett, is a genre-bending, visionary artist whose work frequently combines electronic music, art pop, R&B and avant-garde styles. She is frequently likened to artists such as Kate Bush and Björk due to her sonic innovation and eccentric visual aesthetic. While there are certainly similarities between them, FKA twigs’ music is like a world of its own — one that is impossible to categorize or compare.

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REVIEW: ‘The hard core of beauty’ — Where ‘The Brutalist’ succeeds and fails

Addison Fulton | February 27

In December 2024, director Brady Corbet released “The Brutalist” to great critical praise. The film follows the fictional story of László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. László is a talented Jewish Hungarian architect who was forced to flee during World War II. He and his wife are separated, with him making it to the United States while she remains trapped. In America, László struggles with language, antisemitism, xenophobia and culture shock. His talents are eventually recognized by Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pearce), a Pennsylvania industrialist who hires László to create a community center in honor of his late mother. The project, however, derails — shattering the fragile illusion of the American dream.

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REVIEW: Cons outweigh the pros in Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

Rodney Prunty | February 24

The narrative-based game Life Is Strange: Double Exposure came out on Oct. 29, 2024, and was the sixth installment of the Life Is Strange series. The game was highly anticipated, as it saw the return of the fan-favorite, time-traveling protagonist from the first game, Max Caulfield. This is the first time in the series that a protagonist from a previous game was thrown into the spotlight again. Despite the game looking promising at first, it failed to deliver on the hype and turned out to be a disappointing game.

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REVIEW: Oscar-nominated live-action short films fail to deliver

Elijah Ritch | February 24

On Feb. 19-20, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema showed the five short films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards. A diverse array of films are nominated in 2025. Out of the five nominees, only one film is primarily in English. The Croatian film “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” is a dramatized account of the Štrpci massacre — the abduction from a train and subsequent murder of 18 Bosniak Muslims and one Croat by members of the Serbian military at the height of the Bosnian War. The film focuses on Tomo Buzov, a retired Yugoslav military captain and the one Croat victim of the massacre, who spoke up in defense of the train’s Bosniak passengers.

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REVIEW: 2024 biopic ‘Shirley’ was overlooked

Addison Fulton | February 10

In March 2024, director John Ridley released “Shirley,” a biopic about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for president. It was one of 2024’s quieter releases; it was exclusively in theaters for only a week before it was released on Netflix to lukewarm reviews. This was a bit of a shame. “Shirley” tells an important story that needs to be heard, now perhaps more than ever. 

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REVIEW: New documentary ‘Dahomey’ shines a light on the impact of colonialism in Africa

Elijah Ritch | February 10

From Feb. 7-10, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema screened the new documentary “Dahomey.” Directed by French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, the film follows the journey of a group of artifacts as they are returned from a French museum to their place of origin — the Republic of Benin in West Africa, where the area comprising the former Kingdom of Dahomey is located. The Kingdom of Dahomey was under French colonial rule from 1894-1960, according to Black History Month 2025. It was during this period that the artifacts in question were looted from Dahomey and taken to France. Prior to their repatriation to Benin, the pieces were on display at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris.

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REVIEW: James Gunn’s “Creature Commandos” brings new life to comic book media

Addison Fulton | February 3

In December 2024, Max released a new DC animated series, “Creature Commandos,” directed by James Gunn. The series is a sequel to Gunn’s 2022 series “Peacemaker” and his 2021 film “The Suicide Squad.” The Suicide Squad, in all its iterations, is a group of high-powered yet apprehended supervillains who assemble to take on high-stakes, covert missions in exchange for time off of their prison sentences. The team is led by Amanda Waller, who implants bombs in the brains of the team members that will detonate if they disobey. In “Creature Commandos,” Waller is no longer allowed to put bombs in human brains or force them to go on dangerous missions. However, nothing prevents her from using nonhuman entities.

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REVIEW: Ethel Cain confronts listeners with the grotesque on ‘Perverts’

Elijah Ritch | January 20

On Jan. 8, alternative musician Ethel Cain released her newest project, “Perverts.” This marks her first release since her 2022 debut album “Preacher’s Daughter,” which garnered Cain critical acclaim and a devoted cult following. Ethel Cain, aka Hayden Anhedönia, is also a character and the protagonist of much of the artist’s discography. Her work encompasses a wide range of genres and styles, from Springsteen-esque heartland rock to haunting, epic ballads. Cain frequently explores themes like generational trauma, religious indoctrination — particularly growing up Queer in an evangelical Christian community — and sexual violence. After the release of her debut album, Cain “wrote on Tumblr about the ‘irony epidemic’ that had turned her dead-serious lyrics about sex, death and the divine into meme fodder,” according to Stereogum.  

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REVIEW: 1922 ‘Nosferatu’ out-vampires its remake

Nate Bernard | January 13

Perfect for a dark and stormy night with popcorn and wax vampire fangs — hopefully not at the same time — is the original 1922 “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” directed by F. W. Murnau. The movie bests the 2024 remake “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, in every way possible. It’s not even a contest, it’s a bloodbath. While some younger people might only recognize the original Count Orlok — the vampire known as Nosferatu — from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “Graveyard Shift,” the 1922 Orlok is sure to change that SpongeBob smile to a shriek with his eerie and unsettling presence.

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REVIEW: ‘Wicked’ — A festivating film adaptation

Addison Fulton | January 13

I expected to hate it. In November 2024, Universal Pictures released a new film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked,” starring drama actress Cynthia Erivo and pop star Ariana Grande. I thought this was another case of cash-grabbing, stunt-casting and dragging the name of something that I’ve loved since elementary school through the mud. Blessedly, I was completely wrong. The film looks stellar, to begin with. Everything from the costumes to the sets to the CGI animals is full of life. The color pallet is dreamy and vibrant.

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REVIEW: Not the coup of the century — ‘Mufasa’ better, not great

Addison Fulton | January 13

In December 2024, Disney released “Mufasa: The Lion King,” a live-action/photo-realistic CGI prequel to “The Lion King” that follows the origin story of Mufasa, Simba’s father and the first Lion King. The story is framed as a tale that Rafiki, the eclectic mandrill, tells to Kiara, Simba’s daughter. Mufasa — voiced by Aaron Pierre — is a young lion who loses his parents in a flash flood. He nearly drowns but is saved by Taka — voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr. — a young lion prince who will eventually become Scar. Taka takes in Mufasa as a brother, despite his father’s hatred for strays. Mufasa is raised by the lionesses, learning to track, hunt and fight. Then, the pride is massacred by a pride of white lions led by Kiros, voiced by Mads Mikkelsen.

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REVIEW: PEEKABOO, ‘GNX’

Rodney Prunty | December 9

During the summer, rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar had everyone saying “They not like us,” but for the winter season, he has everyone screaming “Mustard.” On Nov. 22, Lamar released “GNX,” his first album since “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” which came out in 2022. The album features a total of 12 songs. This album did not see much promotion, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. The only indication that it would drop occurred when Lamar posted a teaser for the album on Instagram a few minutes before it was released.

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REVIEW: ‘The Fall’ earns its place at Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema

Elijah Ritch | November 26

On Nov. 8 and 9, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema screened the new restoration of the 2006 cult favorite “The Fall.” “The Fall” is set in a hospital in Hollywood in the 1910s. It depicts the unlikely friendship between Roy, a stuntman who was badly injured on a film set, and Alexandria, the child of Romanian immigrants who has a broken arm from harvesting oranges. The majority of the film’s action takes place within a fantastical adventure story that the bored Roy tells to the precocious Alexandria.

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REVIEW: Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ is misguided yet entertaining

Elijah Ritch | November 25

A genre-defying epic, the film is a crime/comedy/romance/musical that tells the story of a Mexican defense attorney named Rita — played by Zoe Saldaña — who is contacted by Juan Del Monte, a drug lord — played by Karla Sofía Gascón — who needs help covertly obtaining gender-affirming surgery. The latest from renowned French director Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez” made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where the film took home the Jury Prize, which is essentially the festival’s third-place award. Its four leading actresses — Saldaña, Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz — collectively received the Best Actress award.

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REVIEW: Soccer Mommy breaks and mends hearts with ‘Evergreen’

Elijah Ritch | November 22

On Oct. 25, American singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy’s new album “Evergreen” was released. A striking departure from her previous work, “Evergreen” finds Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, retreating into nature during a period of grief. On the record, the new mindset she has after reckoning with this loss is clear. There’s a distinct sense of ease to the songs — she’s unencumbered by the trivial worries of modern life. Her music sounds looser and more relaxed than ever before.

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REVIEW: ‘The Crow’ — dream the crow black dream

Marcela Johnson | November 18

Thirty years later, “The Crow,” released in 1994 and directed by Alex Proyas, still holds up. From the moody atmosphere to the perfect soundtrack, I highly recommend it for anyone’s autumn rotation. Based on a comic book by James O’Barr, “The Crow” follows rocker Eric Draven as he comes back to life on the one-year anniversary of his death to avenge his and his fiance’s death. The movie deals with some harsh topics but is unfortunately still relevant 30 years later. For example, Shelly Webster, Draven’s fiance, is killed and assaulted because she dared to speak out against forced evictions.