paintings by sebastian blanck

 

via Sebastian Blanck

kokuho

I was moved by Lee Sang-il's sprawling Kokuho. The kabuki theater sequences are absolutely stunning.

My Film-Forward review here.

art and photography by peter solarz

 

I always love sharing the art & photography of Peter Solarz.

singing

New from Gia Margaret is the album Singing, produced by Guy Sigsworth.

Per Secretly Store,

"Led by soft piano lines and a voice that feels newly trusted, Singing is intimate without being fragile. It's an album about reconnecting with old parts of yourself, without pretending the years in between didn't matter."

Pre-order here from Secretly Store.

Listen to the single, "Everyone Around Me Dancing," below.

 

sentimental value character posters!

 New promo character posters from NEON of key cast members from Sentimental Value.

Sentimental Value was #2 on my top 10 2025 film list and won Supporting Actor, Ensemble, Original Screenplay, and International Film at the jdb awards.

the 2025 jdb awards!

 Again, just for fun, here are my personal awards for 2025 films!

Picture

MARTY SUPREME

nominees: 

HAMNET

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

THE MASTERMIND

MESSY

MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I  - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

THE SECRET AGENT

SENTIMENTAL VALUE

WEAPONS

Director

Kleber Mendonça Filho, THE SECRET AGENT

nominees:

Paul Thomas Anderson, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Julia Loktev, MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

Josh Safdie, MARTY SUPREME

Joachim Trier, SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Actor

Timothee Chalamet, MARTY SUPREME 

nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Ethan Hawke, BLUE MOON

Wagner Moura, THE SECRET AGENT

Dylan O'Brien, TWINLESS

Actress

Tessa Thompson, HEDDA 

nominees:

Jessie Buckley, HAMNET

Jennifer Lawrence, DIE MY LOVE

Renate Reinsve, SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Alexi Wasser, MESSY

Supporting Actor

Stellan Skarsgård, SENTIMENTAL VALUE 

nominees:

Benicio Del Toro, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Jacobi Jupe, HAMNET

Dylan O'Brien, PONYBOI

Alexander Skarsgård, PILLION

Supporting Actress

Kirsten Dunst, ROOFMAN

nominees:

Nina Hoss, HEDDA

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Amy Madigan, WEAPONS

Tânia Maria, THE SECRET AGENT

Ensemble

SENTIMENTAL VALUE 

nominees:

MARTY SUPREME

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

THE SECRET AGENT

SINNERS

International Film

SENTIMENTAL VALUE 

nominees:

ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU

BELEN

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

MISERICORDIA

MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

THE SECRET AGENT

SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH

THE TALE OF SILYAN

2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA

Documentary

MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

nominees:

COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT

FOLKTALES

LANDMARKS

MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR

SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH

STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR

THE TALE OF SILYAN

2000 METERS TO ADRIIVKA

Adapted Screenplay

Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell, HAMNET 

nominees:

Paul Thomas Anderson, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Nia DaCosta, HEDDA

Dolores Fonzi, Laura Paredes, Agustina San Martín, & Nicolás Britos, BELEN

Harry Lighton, PILLION

Original Screenplay

Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt, SENTIMENTAL VALUE 

nominees:

Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie, MARTY SUPREME

Kleber Mendonça Filho, THE SECRET AGENT

Jafar Panahi, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

Alexi Wasser, MESSY

Cinematography

Dong Jingsong, RESURRECTION 

nominees:

Evgenia Alexandrova, THE SECRET AGENT

Steven Breckon, THE PLAGUE

Mark Jenkin, ROSE OF NEVADA

Manuel Dacosse, REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND

Editing

Andy Jurgensen, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER 

nominees:

Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie, MARTY SUPREME

Viridiana Lieberman, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR

Joe Murphy, WEAPONS

Michael P. Shawver, SINNERS

Score

Daniel Lopatin, MARTY SUPREME 

nominees:

Nicholas Britell, JAY KELLY

Jonny Greenwood, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Johan Lenox, THE PLAGUE

Kangding Ray, SIRĀT

Song

“Love and Obsession,” LURKER 

nominees:

"Clothed By the Sun," THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE

"I Lied to You," SINNERS

"Last Time (I Seen the Sun)," SINNERS

"My Baby (Got Nothing At All)," MATERIALISTS

Art Direction / Set Decoration

MARTY SUPREME 

nominees:

NO OTHER CHOICE

RESURRECTION

THE SECRET AGENT

SINNERS

Costume Design

Lindsay Pugh, HEDDA 

nominees:

Rita Azevedo, THE SECRET AGENT

Miyako Bellizz, MARTY SUPREME

Ruth E. Carter, SINNERS

Jeriana San Juan, ON SWIFT HORSES

Make-Up & Hair

WEAPONS

other nominees:

BRING HER BACK

NO OTHER CHOICE

REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND

SINNERS

Sound

SIRĀT

MARTY SUPREME

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

ROSE OF NEVADA

SINNERS

Visual Effects

RESURRECTION 

nominees:

MICKEY 17

NO OTHER CHOICE

SINNERS

WEAPONS

A look back at the 2024 awards where Mike Leigh's Hard Truths snagged Picture and Actress.

jeffery berg's top films of 2025!

Amid industry shifts of looming mergers and ever-shrinking theatrical-to-streaming windows, a number of vibrant, original pictures broke through. At this midpoint of the decade, it feels as though cinema is approaching yet another inflection point.

Here goes my Top Films of 2025!

10.

THE MASTERMIND

Kelly Reichardt's film is part shaggy vintage heist movie and a character study of an opaque, drifty character.

9.

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

Another dryly humorous and powerful piece from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, this one taking elements of old Hollywood screwball comedies to illustrate the brutal realities of a ragtag group confronting past ghosts.

8.

MESSY

Alexi Wasser's neurotic, ribald comedy harkening back to flicks like An Unmarried Woman, is completely refreshing. I caught this at the Provincetown Film Festival and was practically levitating afterwards. 

7.

 WEAPONS

As a fan of Zach Cregger's inventive chiller Barbarian, I was surprised he was able to follow with an even better, bonkers, consistently surprising movie.

6.

HAMNET

It was a brief balm to watch the communal bonding in this film's powerful final sequence. Adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's imaginative novel.

5.

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Definitely the year's most-discussed in movie nerd world, Paul Thomas Anderson's opus is a slick, technically impressive achievement. The rolling hills car chase sequence was one of the few moments I can think of where I actually felt a movie in a physical way (especially in theatrical VistaVision).

4. 

MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

My heart was in my throat (cliché to say, I guess) in the final moments when the walls begin to close in on the subjects in Julia Loktev's sprawling, vital documentary.

3.

THE SECRET AGENT

A perfect companion to his mesmerizing documentary on Brazilian cinema-going in Pictures of Ghosts, I love Kleber Mendonça Filho's attention to details and use of genre film references in this compelling story of a man trying to outrun his fate.

2.

SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Joachim Trier's aching, drum-tight family drama, with a wonderful cast within a very memorable, lived-in house. Noticed some of its layered, symbolic visual motifs on subsequent viewings (his films often reward even more deeply on repeat watches). 

1.

MARTY SUPREME

I was smitten and surprised by the energy of Josh Safdie's picture: its eclectic ensemble, nostalgic, sweeping synth score (a reminder of big budget adult dramas of the 80s and early 90s), Darius Khondji's cinematography capturing the beautifully grimy look of Marty's perspective.

Other notable films of the year (in approximate order):

Sinners, Hedda, Misericordia, The Perfect Neighbor, Songs of Slow Burning Earth, Twinless, Companion, Blue Moon, Plainclothes, Lurker, Roofman, The Plague, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Belen, Pillion, The Tale of Silyan, Nouvelle Vague, Sorry, Baby, Familiar Touch, Presence, Train Dreams, All That’s Left of You, The Voice of Hind Rajab, Ponyboi, Christy, Materialists, On Swift Horses, Black Bag, Windless, Caught By the Tides, The Testament of Ann Lee, Throuple, Eephus, Folktales, Rose of Nevada, After the Hunt, Viet and Nam, The Wedding Banquet, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, Resurrection, Jay Kelly, Kontinental ‘25, Bugonia, Homebound, Come See Me in teh Good Light, Highest 2 Lowest, No Other Choice, When the Phone Rang, Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, Landmarks, Rebuilding, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Die My Love, East of Wall, The President’s Cake, A Private Life, Urchin, Secret Mall Apartment, The Love That Remains, Griffin in Summer, Jimpa, Bonjour Tristesse, 100,000,000,000,000, Everything Moves, Zodiac Killer Project, Miroirs No. 3, Romeria, Opus, Is This Thing On?, Elementary, Garland Jeffreys: The King of in Between, Best Wishes to All, Gavagai, Sirāt, Sound of Falling, Anemone, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Come Closer

A look back at my 2024 favorites!

-Jeffery Berg