Sinners Wins In Indiana


Yesterday, the Indiana Film Journalists Association announced its picks for the best of 2025.  The winners are listed in bold.

BEST FILM
28 Years Later
Black Bag
Bob Trevino Likes It
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Friendship
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
The Life of Chuck
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
The Phoenician Scheme
The Plague
Sinners (WINNER)
Splitsville
Superman
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

Other Best Film Finalists / Top 10 Films: (listed alphabetically)
Bob Trevino Likes It
Hamnet
The Life of Chuck
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

BEST ANIMATED FILM
In Your Dreams
KPop Demon Hunters (WINNER)
The Legend of Hei 2 (RUNNER-UP)
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain
Ne Zha 2
Predator: Killer of Killers
Zootopia 2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Cloud
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice (WINNER)
Reflection In A Dead Diamond
Rental Family
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Universal Language
The Voice of Hind Rajab

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Are We Good?
Deaf President Now!
Disposable Humanity
Grand Theft Hamlet
Hacking at Leaves
Orwell: 2+2=5 (RUNNER-UP)
Pavements
The Perfect Neighbor
The Tenderness Tour (WINNER)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (RUNNER-UP)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (WINNER)
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin – Splitsville
Zach Cregger – Weapons
David Koepp – Black Bag
Tracie Laymon – Bob Trevino Likes It
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Charlie Polinger – The Plague

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Mike Flanagan – The Life of Chuck (RUNNER-UP)
Alex Garland – 28 Years Later
Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer – The Naked Gun
James Gunn – Superman
Rian Johnson – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar and Lee Ja-hye – No Other Choice
Will Tracy – Bugonia

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Clint Bentley – Train Dreams
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Michael Angelo Covino – Splitsville
Zach Cregger – Weapons
James Gunn – Superman
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice
Charlie Polinger – The Plague
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Everett Blunck – The Plague
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (RUNNER-UP)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (WINNER)
David Corenswet – Superman
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Michael Fassbender – Black Bag
Barbie Ferreira – Bob Trevino Likes It
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Liam Neeson – The Naked Gun
Josh O’Connor – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Pamela Anderson – The Naked Gun
Miles Caton – Sinners
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Nicholas Hoult – Superman
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
John Leguizamo – Bob Trevino Likes It
Amy Madigan – Weapons (RUNNER-UP)
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
French Stewart – Bob Trevino Likes It
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST VOCAL / MOTION-CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Oona Chaplin – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (RUNNER-UP)
Will Patton – Train Dreams (WINNER)
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi – Predator: Badlands
Zhu Jing – The Legend of Hei 2

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Black Bag
Bugonia
The Life of Chuck
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
The Plague
Sinners (WINNER)
Superman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Barry Alexander Brown and Allyson C. Johnson – Highest 2 Lowest
Mike Flanagan – The Life of Chuck
Jon Harris – 28 Years Later
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Kim Sang-bum – No Other Choice
Brian Scott Olds – The Naked Gun
Sara Shaw – Splitsville
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners (WINNER)
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (WINNER)
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Steven Breckon – The Plague
Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Anthony Dod Mantle – 28 Years Later
Larkin Seiple – Weapons
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag
Fraser Taggart – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Jerskin Fendrix – Bugonia
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (WINNER)
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay and Zach Cregger – Weapons
David Holmes – Black Bag
Johan Lenox – The Plague
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme
John Murphy and David Fleming – Superman
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares
Young Fathers – 28 Years Later

BEST STUNT / MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHY
Wade Eastwood (second unit director / stunt coordinator) – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (WINNER)
Timothy Eulich (stunt coordinator) – Eddington
Tyler Hall (stunt coordinator / stunt driver) and Dave McKeown (stunt coordinator) – Splitsville
Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator) – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Mandy Moore (choreographer) – The Life of Chuck
Alain Moussi (stunt coordinator), Brahim Chab (fight coordinator), László Kósa (stunt coordinator, Hungary) and Balázs Lengyel (fight coordinator, Hungary) – Fight or Flight
Celia Rowlson-Hall (choreographer) – The Testament of Ann Lee
Jacob Tomuri (stunt coordinator) – Predator: Badlands

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (VFX supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor) – Frankenstein (WINNER)
Jeff Capogreco (VFX supervisor), Dave Funston (VFX supervisor, OPSIS), Ross McCabe (VFX supervisor, Image Engine), Abishek Nair (VFX supervisor, Industrial Light and Magic / VFX supervisor, second unit), Vincent Papaix (VFX supervisor, Industrial Light and Magic) and Cameron Waldbauer (SFX supervisor) – Tron: Ares
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé and Guy Williams (VFX supervisors) – Superman
Olivier Dumont and Sheldon Stopsack (VFX supervisors, Wētā), Kathy Siegel (VFX producer / co-producer) and Karl Rapley (animation supervisor, Wētā) – Predator: Badlands
Dan Glass, Chris McLaughlin and Stuart Penn (VFX supervisors) and Dominic Tuohy (SFX supervisor) – Mickey 17
Joe Letteri (senior VFX supervisor), Richard Baneham (VFX supervisor, Lightstorm / virtual second unit director), Eric Saindon (senior VFX supervisor, Wētā Digital) and Daniel Barrett (senior animation supervisor, Wētā Digital) – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Charlie Noble (VFX supervisor), David Zaretti (VFX supervisor, ILM), Russell Bowen (VFX supervisor, beloFX) and Brandon K. McLaughlin (SFX coordinator) – The Lost Bus
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (VFX supervisors) and Donnie Dean (SFX coordinator) – Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Scott Stokdyk (VFX supervisor, Marvel), Robert Allman (VFX supervisor, Framestore), Daniele Bigi (VFX supervisor, ILM), Theodore Bialek (VFX supervisor, SPI) and Alistair Williams (SFX supervisor) – The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
Clint Bentley (director / co-writer) – Train Dreams
Everett Blunck (performer) – The Plague
Miles Caton (performer) – Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Aidan Delbis (performer) – Bugonia
Chase Infiniti (performer) – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Jacobi Jupe (performer) – Hamnet
Tracie Laymon (director / writer) – Bob Trevino Likes It
Charlie Polinger (director / writer) – The Plague
Eva Victor (director / writer / performer) – Sorry, Baby
Alfie Williams (performer) – 28 Years Later

ORIGINAL VISION
Good Boy (WINNER)
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
One Battle After Another
The Plague
Reflection In A Dead Diamond
The Testament of Ann Lee (RUNNER-UP)
Train Dreams

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another 

One Battle After Another Gets Another Win In St. Louis


The St. Louis Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the best of 2025.  The winners are listed in bold.

BEST FILM
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Superman
Weapons

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler – “Sinners”
Jafar Panahi – “It Was Just an Accident”
Josh Safdie – “Marty Supreme”
Chloe Zhao – “Hamnet”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne – “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Chase Infiniti – “One Battle After Another”
Amanda Seyfried – “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Emma Stone – “Bugonia”

BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet – “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke – “Blue Moon”
Michael B. Jordan – “Sinners”
Wagner Moura – “The Secret Agent”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Glenn Close – “Wake Up Dead Man”
Elle Fanning – “Sentimental Value”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan – “Weapons”
Teyana Taylor – “One Battle After Another”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benecio del Toro – “One Battle After Another”
Paul Mescal – “Hamnet”
Sean Penn – “One Battle After Another”
Andrew Scott – “Blue Moon”
Stellan Skarsgard – “Sentimental Value”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Weapons

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

BEST EDITING
F1
A House of Dynamite
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
The Phoenician Scheme
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash

F1
Sinners
Superman
Tron: Ares

BEST SOUNDTRACK
KPop Demon Hunters
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Wicked: For Good

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Arden Cho – “KPop Demon Hunters”
Ginnifer Goodwin – “Zootopia 2”
Damian Lewis – “Orwell: 2+2=5”
Will Patton – “Train Dreams”
Scarlet Sher – “Weapons”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Ne Zha II
Zootopia 2

BEST ENSEMBLE

Black Bag
Hamnet
A House of Dynamite
One Battle After Another
Sinners

BEST HORROR FILM
28 Years Later
Companion
Frankenstein
Sinners
Weapons

BEST STUNTS
Ballerina
F1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Warfare

BEST COMEDY FILM
Eephus
Friendship
Good Fortune
The Naked Gun
The Phoenician Scheme

BEST ACTION FILM
F1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Superman
Warfare

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Afternoons of Solitude
Deaf President Now
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
Emilie Blichfeldt – “The Ugly Stepsister”
Andrew DeYoung – “Friendship”
Drew Hancock – “Companion”
Carson Lund – “Eephus”
Eva Victor – “Sorry, Baby”

BEST SCENE
The Globe theatrical production in “Hamnet”
Finale in “It Was Just an Accident”
Music evolution “I Lied to You” in “Sinners”
Baktan Cross Car Chase Scene in “One Battle After Another”
The fate of Aunt Gladys in “Weapons”

Here are the 2025 nominations of the Austin Film Critics Association!


Here are the 2025 nominations of the Austin Film Critics Association!

Best Picture
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams
Weapons

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Supporting Actress
Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
David Jonsson, The Long Walk
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly

Best Ensemble
The Long Walk
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Original Screenplay
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Zach Cregger, Weapons
Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar, Donald E. Westlake, No Other Choice
Guillermo del Toro, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan, Bugonia

Best Cinematography
Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald, Sinners
Darius Khondji, Marty Supreme
Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams

Best Editing
Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
Stephen Mirrione, F1: The Movie
Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Joe Murphy, Weapons
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Original Score
Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee
Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (NiN), Tron: Ares

Best International Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt

Best Documentary
Come See Me In The Good Light
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Librarians
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators

Best Animated Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance
Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire & Ash
Arden Cho, Audrey Nuna, KPop Demon Hunters
Will Patton, Train Dreams
Stephen Lang, Avatar: Fire & Ash
Zoe Saldaña, Avatar: Fire & Ash

Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire & Ash
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
Sinners
Superman

Best Remake/Franchise Film
Avatar: Fire & Ash
Frankenstein
Superman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
28 Years Later

Best First Film
Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
Carson Lund, Eephus
Charlie Polinger, The Plague
Kristen Stewart, The Chronology of Water
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Here Are The 2025 Nominations Of The Indiana Film Journalists Association!


Here are the 2025 nominations of the Indiana Film Journalists Association.

There’s a lot of them.

BEST FILM
28 Years Later
Black Bag
Bob Trevino Likes It
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Friendship
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
The Life of Chuck
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
The Plague
Sinners
Splitsville
Superman
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

BEST ANIMATED FILM
In Your Dreams
KPop Demon Hunters
The Legend of Hei 2
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain
Ne Zha 2
Predator: Killer of Killers
Zootopia 2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Cloud
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Reflection In A Dead Diamond
Rental Family
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Universal Language
The Voice of Hind Rajab

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Are We Good?
Deaf President Now!
Disposable Humanity
Grand Theft Hamlet
Hacking at Leaves
Orwell: 2+2=5
Pavements
The Perfect Neighbor
The Tenderness Tour

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin – Splitsville
Zach Cregger – Weapons
David Koepp – Black Bag
Tracie Laymon – Bob Trevino Likes It
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Charlie Polinger – The Plague

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Mike Flanagan – The Life of Chuck
Alex Garland – 28 Years Later
Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer – The Naked Gun
James Gunn – Superman
Rian Johnson – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar and Lee Ja-hye – No Other Choice
Will Tracy – Bugonia

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley – Train Dreams
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Michael Angelo Covino – Splitsville
Zach Cregger – Weapons
James Gunn – Superman
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice
Charlie Polinger – The Plague
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Everett Blunck – The Plague
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
David Corenswet – Superman
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Michael Fassbender – Black Bag
Barbie Ferreira – Bob Trevino Likes It
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Liam Neeson – The Naked Gun
Josh O’Connor – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Pamela Anderson – The Naked Gun
Miles Caton – Sinners
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Nicholas Hoult – Superman
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
John Leguizamo – Bob Trevino Likes It
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
French Stewart – Bob Trevino Likes It
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST VOCAL / MOTION-CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Oona Chaplin – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Will Patton – Train Dreams
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi – Predator: Badlands
Zhu Jing – The Legend of Hei 2

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Black Bag
Bugonia
The Life of Chuck
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Plague
Sinners
Superman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Barry Alexander Brown and Allyson C. Johnson – Highest 2 Lowest
Mike Flanagan – The Life of Chuck
Jon Harris – 28 Years Later
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another
Kim Sang-bum – No Other Choice
Brian Scott Olds – The Naked Gun
Sara Shaw – Splitsville
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Steven Breckon – The Plague
Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Anthony Dod Mantle – 28 Years Later
Larkin Seiple – Weapons
Steven Soderbergh – Black Bag
Fraser Taggart – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Jerskin Fendrix – Bugonia
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay and Zach Cregger – Weapons
David Holmes – Black Bag
Johan Lenox – The Plague
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme
John Murphy and David Fleming – Superman
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares
Young Fathers – 28 Years Later

BEST STUNT / MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHY
Wade Eastwood (second unit director / stunt coordinator) – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Timothy Eulich (stunt coordinator) – Eddington
Tyler Hall (stunt coordinator / stunt driver) and Dave McKeown (stunt coordinator) – Splitsville
Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator) – One Battle After Another
Mandy Moore (choreographer) – The Life of Chuck
Alain Moussi (stunt coordinator), Brahim Chab (fight coordinator), László Kósa (stunt coordinator, Hungary) and Balázs Lengyel (fight coordinator, Hungary) – Fight or Flight
Celia Rowlson-Hall (choreographer) – The Testament of Ann Lee
Jacob Tomuri (stunt coordinator) – Predator: Badlands

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (VFX supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor) – Frankenstein
Jeff Capogreco (VFX supervisor), Dave Funston (VFX supervisor, OPSIS), Ross McCabe (VFX supervisor, Image Engine), Abishek Nair (VFX supervisor, Industrial Light and Magic / VFX supervisor, second unit), Vincent Papaix (VFX supervisor, Industrial Light and Magic) and Cameron Waldbauer (SFX supervisor) – Tron: Ares
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé and Guy Williams (VFX supervisors) – Superman
Olivier Dumont and Sheldon Stopsack (VFX supervisors, Wētā), Kathy Siegel (VFX producer / co-producer) and Karl Rapley (animation supervisor, Wētā) – Predator: Badlands
Dan Glass, Chris McLaughlin and Stuart Penn (VFX supervisors) and Dominic Tuohy (SFX supervisor) – Mickey 17
Joe Letteri (senior VFX supervisor), Richard Baneham (VFX supervisor, Lightstorm / virtual second unit director), Eric Saindon (senior VFX supervisor, Wētā Digital) and Daniel Barrett (senior animation supervisor, Wētā Digital) – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Charlie Noble (VFX supervisor), David Zaretti (VFX supervisor, ILM), Russell Bowen (VFX supervisor, beloFX) and Brandon K. McLaughlin (SFX coordinator) – The Lost Bus
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (VFX supervisors) and Donnie Dean (SFX coordinator) – Sinners
Scott Stokdyk (VFX supervisor, Marvel), Robert Allman (VFX supervisor, Framestore), Daniele Bigi (VFX supervisor, ILM), Theodore Bialek (VFX supervisor, SPI) and Alistair Williams (SFX supervisor) – The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
Clint Bentley (director / co-writer) – Train Dreams
Everett Blunck (performer) – The Plague
Miles Caton (performer) – Sinners
Aidan Delbis (performer) – Bugonia
Chase Infiniti (performer) – One Battle After Another
Jacobi Jupe (performer) – Hamnet
Tracie Laymon (director / writer) – Bob Trevino Likes It
Charlie Polinger (director / writer) – The Plague
Eva Victor (director / writer / performer) – Sorry, Baby
Alfie Williams (performer) – 28 Years Later

ORIGINAL VISION
Good Boy
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
One Battle After Another
The Plague
Reflection In A Dead Diamond
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the St. Louis Film Critics Association


Here are the wonderfully quirky 2025 nominations of the St. Lous Film Critics Association!  Thank you, St. Louis, for thinking outside the box.

BEST FILM
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Superman
Weapons

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler – “Sinners”
Jafar Panahi – “It Was Just an Accident”
Josh Safdie – “Marty Supreme”
Chloe Zhao – “Hamnet”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne – “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Chase Infiniti – “One Battle After Another”
Amanda Seyfried – “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Emma Stone – “Bugonia”

BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet – “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke – “Blue Moon”
Michael B. Jordan – “Sinners”
Wagner Moura – “The Secret Agent”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Glenn Close – “Wake Up Dead Man”
Elle Fanning – “Sentimental Value”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan – “Weapons”
Teyana Taylor – “One Battle After Another”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benecio del Toro – “One Battle After Another”
Paul Mescal – “Hamnet”
Sean Penn – “One Battle After Another”
Andrew Scott – “Blue Moon”
Stellan Skarsgard – “Sentimental Value”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Weapons

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

BEST EDITING
F1
A House of Dynamite
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
The Phoenician Scheme
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Sinners
Superman
Tron: Ares

BEST SOUNDTRACK
KPop Demon Hunters
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Wicked: For Good

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Arden Cho – “KPop Demon Hunters”
Ginnifer Goodwin – “Zootopia 2”
Damian Lewis – “Orwell: 2+2=5”
Will Patton – “Train Dreams”
Scarlet Sher – “Weapons”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Ne Zha II
Zootopia 2

BEST ENSEMBLE

Black Bag
Hamnet
A House of Dynamite
One Battle After Another
Sinners

BEST HORROR FILM
28 Years Later
Companion
Frankenstein
Sinners
Weapons

BEST STUNTS
Ballerina
F1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Warfare

BEST COMEDY FILM
Eephus
Friendship
Good Fortune
The Naked Gun
The Phoenician Scheme

BEST ACTION FILM
F1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Superman
Warfare

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Afternoons of Solitude
Deaf President Now
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
Emilie Blichfeldt – “The Ugly Stepsister”
Andrew DeYoung – “Friendship”
Drew Hancock – “Companion”
Carson Lund – “Eephus”
Eva Victor – “Sorry, Baby”

BEST SCENE
The Globe theatrical production in “Hamnet”
Finale in “It Was Just an Accident”
Music evolution “I Lied to You” in “Sinners”
Baktan Cross Car Chase Scene in “One Battle After Another”
The fate of Aunt Gladys in “Weapons”

The Films Of 2025: Train Dreams (dir by Clint Bentley)


My house sits near two cemeteries.

To the East, there’s a cemetery that sits near a bus stop.  It’s surrounded by a fence and, judging from the gravestones that I’ve seen, it was last used in 1917.  It was a private cemetery, one that functioned as the final resting place for the members of one of the families who founded my hometown.  To the west, there’s a park that is home to another private cemetery.  It’s also surrounded by a fence.  That fence wasn’t always there but it went up a few years ago because people were vandalizing the tomb stones and breaking the statues that had stood there for over a hundred years.  How sick to do you have to be vandalize a graveyard?

Occasionally, when I’m near either one of the two cemeteries, I’ll take some time to look at the names on the headstones.  The names are of people who I will never know.  I’ll never know what they were like to live with or to eat dinner with.  I’ll never know what hobbies occupied their time.  I’ll never know what books they read.  I’ll never know who they were.  But I will always know that someone cared enough to erect a tombstone to let the world that person had once been alive.  I will always know that, at some point, they were alive and they were a part of society.

I thought about those two cemeteries as I watched Train Dreams.  Based on the award-winning novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier.  At the start of the film, the narrator (Will Patton) tells us that Grainier lived for 80 years and he spent most of his life in Idaho.  He never saw the ocean.  He was an orphan who never learned who his parents were, when he was born, or how he came to be placed on a train in the late 19th century.  The film follows Grainier as he goes from dropping out of school to working as a logger to marrying Gladys (Felicity Jones).  He builds a cabin for Gladys to live in while he’s away looking for work.  He and Gladys have a daughter named Kate.

Growing up at a time when the frontier had only recently been tamed and when death was considered to be acceptable risk for the men cutting down trees and laying down railroad tracks, Robert sees his share of disturbing things.  As a child, he comes across as a mountain man who is slowly dying.  Working for the railroad, he watches as one of his co-workers is casually tossed off a bridge.  Later, the elderly and kind-hearted Arn Peebles (William H. Macy) is mortally injured in a random accident.  When loggers die, their boots are hammered into a tree.  Years, later those same trees are cut down and the boots are forgotten.  And yet, for all the danger in Robert’s life, there are the moments that make it all worth it.  Robert always returns home to his cabin and to the embrace of Gladys and the sight of his daughter growing up.  He always returns to his family until he can’t anymore.  As he ages, Robert isolates himself from civilization and becomes semi-legendary in the nearby town.  But, as always, legends are eventually forgotten.

Visually, it’s a hauntingly beautiful film.  The scenery is stunning, even while Robert and his fellow loggers are busy changing it by chopping down trees.  But there’s always a hint of danger hiding behind the beauty.  A forest fire brings an eerie, orange tint to the sky but it also destroys many lives and dreams.  Joel Edgerton gives a strong performance as Robert, proving once again that he’s one of the few actors who can star in a period piece without looking out-of-place.  Edgerton’s performance gives the film the humanity needed to keep it from becoming purely a film about visuals.  As Robert, Edgerton rarely yells or shows much emotion at all.  But his eyes tell us everything that we need to know.

With its stunning visuals, its narration, and its emphasis on nature, Train Dreams owes an obvious debt to Terence Malick.  That said, it’s not quite as thematically deep as Malick’s best films.  Whereas Malick would have been concerned about Robert’s place in both the universe and the afterlife, Train Dreams is more content to focus on Robert’s 80 years in Idaho (and occasionally Spokane).  Whereas Malick often seems to be daring his audience to walk out, Train Dreams is very much about keeping you watching as Robert grows old.  That’s not necessarily a criticism, of course.  It’s just an acknowledgment that Train Dreams is the rarest of all creatures, an arthouse film that’s also a crowd pleaser.  It doesn’t alienate its audience but it does so at the cost of the risks that make Malick’s later films so fascinating, if occasionally frustrating.  That said, Train Dreams does stick with you.  I’ll be thinking about the final 20 minutes for quite some time.

Train Dreams tells the story of a man — one of many — who may have been forgotten by history but who mattered during his 80 years on this Earth.  In the end, Robert Grainier serves as a stand-in for all the people who lived their lives as American rapidly changed from being a frontier to being a superpower.  The world may forget him but the viewer never will.

October Positivity: The List (dir by Gary Wheeler)


2007’s The List opens during the dying days of the American Civil War.

A group of wealthy plantation owners form a secret society.  They pool together their fortunes and they each sign onto a list.  Over the years, whenever a member of the Society passes away, their eldest male descendant replaces them on the List and also has access to the fortune that that the Society secretly holds.

In 2007, directionless attorney Renny Jacobsen (Chuck Carrington) is shocked when his father dies and leaves him next to no money.  As Renny tells us over and over again, he really could have used some of his father’s fortune.  However, his father does leave him a key the leads to Renny uncovering a tape that explains everything that he needs to know about the Society.  All Renny has to do is sign his name to the List.

The Society is now run by Desmond Larochette (Malcolm McDowell) and we know that he’s evil because his name is Desmond Larochette and he’s played by Malcolm McDowell.  Larochette seems to be more than happy to allow Renny to join the Society but he’s not quite as happy that another member of the group died and only left behind a female heir, Jo Johnston (Hilarie Burton).  The members of the Society are faced with quite a quandary.  Should they allow a woman to join their society?  And, if not, what should they do now that she know about the Society’s existence?

When Jo goes to the mansion for the Society’s meeting, she spots a portrait of a gray-haired gentleman and asks who he is.  Gus Eicholtz (Pat Hingle) explains that the painting is of John C. Calhoun, who served as Vice President under Andrew Jackson.  “He looks angry,” Jo says and honestly, that was a piece of historical and artistic criticism that was so simple-minded that Jo really should have been disqualified from joining the Society at that very moment.

First off, how are you going to join a Southern secret society if you don’t know how John C. Calhoun is?  Secondly, the portrait in question is actually a pretty famous one.  George Alexander Haley painted it while Calhoun was Secretary of State.  Even if you don’t know who John C. Calhoun is, chances are that you’ve seen the painting.  Finally, there’s the claim that “He looks angry.”  The painting was completed in 1845.  Everyone looked angry in 1840s!  Even the noted bon vivant Henry Clay looked angry in his 1848 State Department portrait.  (And Clay actually had his picture taken for his official portrait.  Imagine how furious he would look if someone had painted him?)

Anyway, Renny joins the society but Jo does not,  But then Renny discovers that it’s not as easy to get his hands on the money as he thought and he spends the entire movie complaining about it.  That’s pretty much it.  There is some suggestion that Desmond might have demonic powers, but it’s not really explored.  Another heir dies mysteriously and it seems like Jo is being targeted as well.  Again, it’s not really clear why.  In the end, Renny puts God before the money but it kind of comes out of nowhere.  It’s a muddled story and, by the end of the film, it’s still a struggle to figure out what it all meant.  At the very least, Malcolm McDowell seemed to be having fun, playing an evil character and speaking in an almost indecipherable accent.

Guilty Pleasure No. 78: Armageddon (dir by Michael Bay)


Remember that time that Bruce Willis and a team of oil drillers saved all of humanity from a giant asteroid that was apparently the size of Texas?

Sure, you do!  Everyone remembers Armageddon!

1998’s Armageddon is a film that doesn’t get a lot of respect but which everyone remembers.  There’s been a lot of movies made about giant asteroids on a collision path with the Earth.  Ever since scientists announced that a collision with a comet or an asteroid probably killed the dinosaurs, there’s been a somewhat irrational fear that the same thing could happen to us.  Back in 1978, Sean Connery and Karl Malden tried to stop a Meteor (and failed).  In 1998, the same year that Armageddon came out, Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, and Elijah Wood tried to stop an asteroid from causing a Deep Impact (and failed).  Adam McKay made an entire film about everyone saying, “Don’t Look Up,” in an attempt to promote increased panic about climate change (and failed).  (“I’m so scared!” Leonardo DiCaprio shouted and audiences responded, “Oh, calm down.”)  And yet, it’s Armageddon — ridiculed by critics, endlessly parodied by other movies — that people use as their go-to source for commenting on the prospect of a mass extinction event.  Mostly because, in Armageddon, humanity didn’t fail.  Bruce Willis showed that asteroid who was boss!

Why do we love Armageddon?  A lot of it has to do with the cast.  Not only do you have Bruce Willis battling an asteroid but you’ve also got Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, William Fichtner, and a host of others working with him.  You’ve got Billy Bob Thornton working ground control.  You’ve got Liv Tyler, somehow managing to give a decent performance even while Ben Affleck attacks her with animal crackers.  It’s not just the cast is full of familiar and likable actors.  It’s that the members of the cast know exactly what type of film that they’re appearing in and they all give exactly the right type of performance for that film.  They deliver their lines with conviction while not making the mistake of taking themselves too seriously.  Bruce Willis announces that his crew will destroy that asteroid in return for never having to pay taxes again and he announces with just the slightest hint of a smirk, knowing that the audience is going to cheer that moment.

But really, the real reason why Armageddon has survived that test of time is because it’s just so utterly shameless.  Director Michael Bay will never be accused of being a subtle director but Bay instinctively understood that Armageddon was not a film that demanded subtlety.  Armageddon is a film that demands that constantly moving camera and all of those carefully composed scenes that were clearly made so they could be included in the trailer.  It’s a film about big moments and big emotions.  Unlike something like Deep Impact, it doesn’t get bogged down in trying to be better than it actually is.  Unlike Don’t Look Now, it doesn’t degenerate into a bunch of histrionic speeches.  Armageddon exists to make the audience cheer and it succeeds.  It takes guts to include a slow motion scene of a bunch of kids celebrating in front of a faded Kennedy For President poster but Bay is exactly the type of director who can pull that off.  Michael Bay’s style is not right for a lot of films.  But it was perfect for Armageddon.

As I sit here typing this, there are some people panicking because there’s speculation that a meteor is going approach the Earth in the 2030s.  It’ll probably miss us but who knows?  But you know what?  I’m not worried at all.  I’ve seen Armageddon.  So, on this International Earth Day, let’s remember the courageous men who saved this planet back in 1998.

Previous Guilty Pleasures

  1. Half-Baked
  2. Save The Last Dance
  3. Every Rose Has Its Thorns
  4. The Jeremy Kyle Show
  5. Invasion USA
  6. The Golden Child
  7. Final Destination 2
  8. Paparazzi
  9. The Principal
  10. The Substitute
  11. Terror In The Family
  12. Pandorum
  13. Lambada
  14. Fear
  15. Cocktail
  16. Keep Off The Grass
  17. Girls, Girls, Girls
  18. Class
  19. Tart
  20. King Kong vs. Godzilla
  21. Hawk the Slayer
  22. Battle Beyond the Stars
  23. Meridian
  24. Walk of Shame
  25. From Justin To Kelly
  26. Project Greenlight
  27. Sex Decoy: Love Stings
  28. Swimfan
  29. On the Line
  30. Wolfen
  31. Hail Caesar!
  32. It’s So Cold In The D
  33. In the Mix
  34. Healed By Grace
  35. Valley of the Dolls
  36. The Legend of Billie Jean
  37. Death Wish
  38. Shipping Wars
  39. Ghost Whisperer
  40. Parking Wars
  41. The Dead Are After Me
  42. Harper’s Island
  43. The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
  44. Paranormal State
  45. Utopia
  46. Bar Rescue
  47. The Powers of Matthew Star
  48. Spiker
  49. Heavenly Bodies
  50. Maid in Manhattan
  51. Rage and Honor
  52. Saved By The Bell 3. 21 “No Hope With Dope”
  53. Happy Gilmore
  54. Solarbabies
  55. The Dawn of Correction
  56. Once You Understand
  57. The Voyeurs 
  58. Robot Jox
  59. Teen Wolf
  60. The Running Man
  61. Double Dragon
  62. Backtrack
  63. Julie and Jack
  64. Karate Warrior
  65. Invaders From Mars
  66. Cloverfield
  67. Aerobicide 
  68. Blood Harvest
  69. Shocking Dark
  70. Face The Truth
  71. Submerged
  72. The Canyons
  73. Days of Thunder
  74. Van Helsing
  75. The Night Comes for Us
  76. Code of Silence
  77. Captain Ron

Ghosts of Sundance Past: Minari (dir by Lee Isaac Chung)


The Sundance Film Festival is currently underway in Utah.  For the next few days, I’ll be taking a look at some of the films that have previously won awards at Sundance.

First released in 2000, Minari is a classic story of the pursuit of the American dream.

Taking place in the early 80s, the movie follows Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun), a South Korean immigrant who relocates his family from California to Arkansas.  Jacob has purchased a farm and he plans to make a fortune selling Korean produce to restaurants in Dallas.  (Dallas, I should mention, does have a very large Korean population so Jacob’s plan is not a bad one.)  Jacob is enthusiastic and confident that his plan will succeed.  His wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) is a bit less confident.  She doesn’t want to live in a mobile home and she worries about the health of her young son David (Alan Kim), who has a heart murmur.  Monica feels that her husband has dragged them out to the middle of nowhere and that he has no idea what he’s doing.  Jacob is determined to become a success and he even hires his first employee, Paul (Will Patton), a local eccentric who often walks up and down the highway with a cross on his back.

I have to admit that I was initially a bit cautious about watching Minari.  I have family from Arkansas.  When I was growing up, my family sometimes lived in Arkansas.  (When I was growing up, we moved around so much that I used to just think of Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Colorado, and Texas as just being one big state that I called home.)  Arkansas is one of those states that is usually not treated particularly kindly in the movies.  For that reason, I was pleasantly surprised by Minari.  Jacob may be an outsider, as both an immigrant and a former Californian, but, for the most part, the people that he meets are kind and willing to help.  Paul is especially an interesting character.  Many movies would have treated Paul as a redneck joke but, in Minari, he’s given a certain dignity.  The cinematography is wonderful, capturing the humid beauty of not just Arkansas but the midwest in general.  Jacob and his family are 20th century pioneers, exploring what for them is a new and untouched land.

Eventually, Monica’s mother, Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung), comes to stay with the family.  She shares a room with David and it takes a while for David to get used to his grandmother.  (David complains that she doesn’t act like a grandmother.)  It also takes Soon-ja a while to get used to life in Arkansas.  Youn Yuh-jung won a deserved Oscar for her performance here, playing a stranger in a strange land who ultimately inspires David to find his own inner strength.  The scenes between Youn and Alan Kim are some of the strongest in the film.  Towards the end of the film, Youn has a scene that truly left me in tears.

Minari is about the pursuit of the American dream but it’s also about the strength of family.  Jacob is not always a sympathetic character but he proves himself in the end.  The film ends on an ambiguous note but I choose to believe that Jacob eventually found his fortune.

Minari won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and, like many so many Sundance hits in the past, it went on to be nominated for Best Picture.  It lost to Nomadland, despite Minari being a far superior film.  That’s the Academy for you.

Film Review: After Hours (dir by Martin Scorsese)


Directed by Martin Scorsese, 1985’s After Hours opens in an office.  This isn’t the type of office that one might expect a Scorsese movie to open with.  It’s not a wild, hedonistic playground like the office in The Wolf of Wall Street.  Nor is it a place where an aging man with connections keeps his eye on the business for his friends back home, like Ace Rothstein’s office in Casino.  Instead, it’s a boring and anonymous office, one that is full of boring and anonymous people.  Scorsese’s camera moves around the office almost frantically, as if it’s as trapped as the people who work there.

Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) works in the office, at a job that bores him but presumably pays him enough to live in New York.  Paul is not a typical Scorsese protagonist.  He’s not a fast-talker or a fearsome fighter.  He’s not an artist consumed by his own passion or an amoral figure eager to tell his own story.  Instead, he’s just a guy who wears a tie to work and who spends his day doing data entry.  He’s a New Yorker but he doesn’t seem to really know the city.  (He certainly doesn’t know how much it costs to ride the subway.)  He stays in his protected world, even though it doesn’t seem satisfy him.  Paul Hackett is not Travis Bickle.  Instead, Paul is one of the guys who would get into Travis’s cab and, after spending the drive listening to Travis talk about how a storm needs to wash away all of New York’s sin, swear that he will never again take another taxi in New York.

One day, after work, Paul has a chance meeting with a seemingly shy woman named Marcy (Rosanna Arquette).  Marcy lives in SoHo, with an artist named Kiki (Linda Fiorentino) who sells plaster-of-Paris paperweights that are made to look like bagels.  Marcy gives Paul her number and eventually, Paul ends up traveling to SoHo.  He takes a taxi and, while the driver is not Travis Bickle, he’s still not amused when Paul’s last twenty dollar bill blows out the window of the cab.

Paul’s trip to SoHo doesn’t goes as he planned.  Kiki is not impressed with him.  Marcy tells him disturbing stories that may or may not be true while a search through the apartment (not cool, Paul!) leads Paul to suspect that Marcy might have disfiguring burn scars.  Paul decides to end the date but he then discovers that he doesn’t have enough change on him to take the subway home.  As Paul attempts to escape SoHo, he meets a collection of strange people and finds himself being hunted by a mob that is convinced that he’s a burglar.  Teri Garr plays a sinister waitress with a beehive hairdo and an apartment that is full of mousetraps.  Catherine O’Hara chases Paul in an ice cream truck.  Cheech and Chong play two burglars who randomly show up through the film.  John Heard plays a bartender who appears to be helpful but who also has his own connection to Marcy.  Even Martin Scorsese appears, holding a spotlight while a bunch of punks attempt to forcibly give Paul a mohawk.  The more that Paul attempts to escape SoHo, the more trapped he becomes.

Martin Scorsese directed After Hours at a time when he was still struggling to get his adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ into production.  If Paul feels trapped by SoHo, Scorsese felt trapped by Hollywood.  After Hours is one of the most nightmarish comedies ever made. It’s easy to laugh at Paul desperately hiding in the shadows from Catherine O’Hara driving an ice cream truck but, at the same time, it’s impossible not to relate to Paul’s horror as he continually finds himself returning again and again to the same ominous locations.  In many scenes, he resembles a man being hunted by torch-wielding villagers in an old Universal horror film, running through the shadows while villager after villager takes to the streets.  Paul’s a stranger in a strange part of the city and he has absolutely no way to get home.  I think everyone’s had that dream at least once.

Paul is not written to be a particularly deep character.  He’s just a somewhat shallow office drone who wanted to get laid and now just wants to go home.  Fortunately, he’s played by Griffin Dunne, who is likable enough that the viewer is willing to stick with Paul even after Paul makes some very questionable decisions and does a few things that make him a bit less than sympathetic.  Dunne and John Heard keep the film grounded in reality, which allows Rosanne Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Catherine O’Hara, and especially Teri Garr to totally play up the bizarre quirks of their character.  Teri Garr especially does a good job in this film, revealing a rather frightening side of the type of quirky eccentric that she usually played.

Scorsese’s sense of humor has been evident in almost all of his films but he still doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to direct comedy.  (One need only compare After Hours to one of Brian De Palma’s “comedies” to see just how adroitly Scorsese mixes laughs and horror.)  After Hours is one of Scorsese’s more underrated films and it’s one that everyone should see.  After Hours is a comedy of anxiety.  I laughed while I watched it, even while my heart was racing.