Bye-bye, Sundance!
Feb. 6 — Happy Friday! Sundance is officially over, and I have to say, I found this year’s slate to be a bit of a bummer! Not in quality, really, but in terms of the vibe of most of the films I watched. When you hear the word “Sundance,” you definitely think of a certain type of film – quiet, understated, perhaps a little weepy. But this year, more so than last, I found myself a little overwhelmed by the weepiness, to say the least. I think that’s reflected in my breakdown of my five favorite films this year, which you can find here. Also, check out Jim Farmer’s rundown of Sundance’s queer films here.
Without further ado … action!
🏳️🌈 The next Film Love event is called “Queer Underground” and will feature digital restorations of rare 16mm and 8mm films from the 1960s, including films from Edward Owens. The screening is Feb. 12 at the Plaza Theatre.
🍿 Postponed from last weekend, the Atlanta Comedy Film Festival starts today and runs through the weekend at 7 Stages Theatre.
🏫 The University of Georgia has announced the dates for its fifth annual Backlight Student Film Festival, which will run from March 27-29.
🏝️ Today is the last day of SCAD TVFest, with panels, special guests, screenings, and more. Keep an eye on our Instagram tomorrow for my short interview with “Survivor” host Jeff Probst.
🎭 Regions Bank Broadway in Atlanta has announced its lineup for 2026-27, including “Hamilton” and “Death Becomes Her.”
🐭 Disney CEO Bob Iger’s successor has been chosen: Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, is set to take over the House of Mouse.
📽️ Actress Kristen Stewart recently purchased and plans to reopen the historic Highland Theatre in Los Angeles. The theater, which originally opened in 1925, closed its doors in 2024.
🩸 “Iron Lung,” a new film from YouTuber Mark Fischbach (better known as Markiplier), opened with more than $17 million domestically last weekend, despite no distributor and no paid marketing campaign. It’s the newest and splashiest instance of creators proving to Hollywood that their audiences will show up.
🎂 And finally, Steven Soderbergh has officially achieved my birthday dream: programming a series of his favorite films at Nitehawk, cocktails included. What a guy.
This week’s newsletter includes an interview with cinematographer Lidia Nikonova and reviews of the new pop star mockumentary “The Moment” and horror film “Whistle.” Plus, what’s playing in theaters this week, a new edition of “Spotlight,” and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
Building the world of ‘Night Nurse’ with Lidia Nikonova
🎥 Before getting the opportunity to serve as the director of photography of “Night Nurse,” Lidia Nikonova had never met filmmaker Georgia Bernstein. Still, their creative partnership came fast and easy.
The product of that creative partnership, “Night Nurse,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 26. The erotic thriller stars Cemre Paksoy as Eleni, an elder care nurse who becomes intimately entangled with one of her patients (Bruce McKenzie) when she joins in his scamming business.
“Night Nurse” focuses on the ever-intensifying relationship between Eleni and her patient, Douglas, and through that relationship takes a look at a darker side of caregiving – what it means to feel needed, and what type of person is drawn to that feeling. Nikonova said that one of her and Bernstein’s greatest challenges was creating a world that felt somewhere in between reality and fantasy. I spoke with her after the premiere about meeting that challenge head-on.
☎️ Check out our conversation here.
A Haunting Love Story for Valentine’s Day
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA BALLET
💖 Make Valentine’s Weekend a Ballet-tine’s to remember with Atlanta Ballet. Celebrate with your Valentine, enjoy time with your Galentine, or embark on a solo adventure while experiencing the enchanting yet haunting world of Giselle.
This masterpiece of the Romantic era, one of ballet’s iconic romantic ghost stories, weaves a captivating narrative filled with love, loss, and redemption. Embrace the magic and tragedy of Giselle and let its powerful emotions touch your heart. On stage at the Cobb Energy Centre from Feb. 13-15, accompanied by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra.
‘The Moment’ satirizes the corporate artistic landscape from inside the house
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🎤 Early on in “The Moment,” a tour bus driver asks Charli XCX (playing a fictionalized version of herself in Aidan Zamiri’s new mockumentary) who she is. He looks up her music, and the first video he comes across is “Boom Clap,” a song that was released a full 10 years before Charli’s album “brat” – an album that spawned a cultural moment in which everyone from Kyle MacLachlan to Kamala Harris was participating in “brat summer.”
Written by Zamiri and Bertie Brandes, but based on an original idea by Charli herself, “The Moment” is about exactly what its title suggests, both satirizing and taking seriously the anxieties that arise when you suddenly find yourself at the center of a universe that moves on to the next big thing within weeks.
The scene with the bus driver is a funny, succinct way to point out not only just how long Charli XCX has been around – riding the wave of niche stardom with a few pop hits for over a decade before “brat” suddenly thrust her into the stratosphere overnight – but also how in today’s pop cultural landscape, even something as huge as “brat” felt doesn’t make you a household name. And when art ceased being enough to do that, the artists turned to branding.
‘Whistle’ is a solid, if not great, teen horror flick
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🏀 When “Whistle” starts, it’s hard to know exactly when we’re supposed to be – we’re at a high school basketball game, and the court is a little dingy and dark. It feels a bit like the 1990s, but some things also feel a little not of this world.
For example, one of the basketball teams’ mascots is “the stalkers,” and I spent an inexcusably long time thinking one of the players’ last names was “Horse.” Apparently, at this school, they put nicknames on the backs of jerseys (who does that?).
This sounds like a dig, but I appreciate the decision to create a world that feels like it can only exist in a horror movie. Directed by Corin Hardy, “Whistle” attempts to do just that, following in the stylization footsteps of a movie like “The Faculty,” or, more recently, something like “Riverdale” – really taking a page out of the Kevin Williamson/Greg Berlanti book. “Whistle” is not quite as successful as either of those films, but it has solid performances and enough gnarly kills to be a good time.
🪦 Read my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🇯🇵 “Scarlet” (pictured)
💚 “The Moment”
⚰️ “Whistle”
✍️ “A Poet”
📸 “Come See Me in the Good Light”
Special Events:
🛏️ “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” in 4K @ The Plaza (Saturday-Monday)
🗝️ “Mulholland Drive” in 4K @ The Plaza (Saturday showing sold out, also playing Tuesday)
🪓 “The Shining” in 35mm @ The Plaza (Saturday-Sunday)
🌭 Soul Cinema Sunday: “Hollywood Shuffle” @ The Plaza (Sunday)
🚘 “When Harry Met Sally” @ The Tara (Saturday-Thursday)
🦒 “Madagascar” @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Saturday-Sunday)
⚔️ “300” @ Springs Cinema and Taphouse (Sunday-Monday)
Spotlight: Park Chan-wook, ‘No Other Choice’
🪴 When I look back at the history of the Academy Awards, there have been a lot – and I mean, a lot – of missteps. The one I’m about to point out is most definitely not the worst of these missteps, but it is perhaps the one that baffles me the most.
Park Chan-wook – the Korean master – has never been nominated for an Oscar. Never. Not once. His 2022 film “Decision to Leave” was shortlisted for Best International Feature, as was last year’s “No Other Choice.” But other than those two altogether underwhelming acknowledgements, the man who made movies like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” has gone unrecognized.
Now, there might be a reason for this – the Academy can be a bit stuffy, and something like “The Handmaiden” (in my opinion, Park’s best film, and also one that features copious amounts of lesbian sex) might not be their cup of tea. And it’s not like Park hasn’t been widely critically considered one of the very best working filmmakers, if not one of the best point blank, for quite some time. If you read reviews of “No Other Choice,” – which was one of my favorite movies of last year – you’ll read reviews calling the film a masterpiece. Or, if they don’t, they’ll say it might not be his masterpiece, but it’s still one of the best things they’ve seen. This guy is so good that if a film of his isn’t a masterpiece, it’s considered a bit of disappointment.
“No Other Choice” is not my favorite of Park’s films, but it’s without a doubt one of the most masterfully shot, edited, and performed movies of 2025 (there I go, proving my own point!). I’ve often found myself thinking about how, in the age of streaming, the visuals of cinema – a visual medium, to be clear – seem less important than ever. That thought goes out the window when you’re watching a Park movie. Everything you see on screen in “No Other Choice” is an inextricable part of the storytelling. And Park is just having so much fun! The mirror shots, the overlays, the dissolves – I want every filmmaker with this much talent to always be having this much fun! The movie world would be a lot better for it.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🎸 I was today years old when I learned that Hank Azaria fronts a Bruce Springsteen cover band called The EZ Street Band, and also that Michael Shannon handles Michael Stripe’s vocals in an R.E.M. cover project. I love this conversation between the two actors/cover rock stars in the New York Times.
🎬 Is Dumpuary dead? Maybe not, but this January has certainly provided a better slate than usual, with movies like “Send Help” and “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” On a recent episode of “The Big Picture,” hosts Amanda and Sean talk about their favorite movies from January, including a stop at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
📝 Does it seem like there have been a lot of movies about kidnappings lately? Well, there have. “It Was Just an Accident,” “Bugonia,” and “Dead Man’s Wire,” all traffic in ideas about power, conspiracy, justice, and more, writes Bilge Ebiri for Vulture. I love a good trend piece, and Ebiri pulls the themes of these movies together in a compelling manner.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.