SUNDANCE 2026 - THE INCOMER (2026) REVIEW

 

Like a comedic 28 Years Later written by Taika Waititi, The Incomer is a very funny allegory about the material items we take for granted, and the innocence and wonder we lose as modern times go by, leading to the importance of community and belonging.
Louis Paxton is an impressive new directorial comedy voice, giving us hilarious dead pan, dark, violent comedy, amongst the rolling, soaring green Scottish vistas. With excitably fun performances from Domhnall Gleeson, Grant O’Rourke, and Gayle Rankin, Paxton’s tale of found family and growing up, is a torch for humanity before laws. 8/10. 

- Maurice Andre Jones

SUNDANCE 2026 - NIGHT NURSE (2026) REVIEW

 

Night Nurse is very Canadian feeling, very Egoyan, very tv movie, very schlock and it’s incredible. Switching tones from Georgia Bernstein’s previous short Snugglr that went down a comedic route, Bernstein’s debut full length completely goes down the quiet unsettling sex thriller route, while commenting on caretaker sexual relations and greedy elderly phone scams. Bernstein’s muse, Cemre Paksoy blows this tone out of the water, being versatile in comedy and drama, along side the chilling Bruce Mckenize and the legendary Eleanore Hendricks.

Night nurse has incredible visual staging and confrontational cinematography, and allows saturation to bring an impactful presence.
Bernstein knows exactly what she’s doing, calling back to the 90’s weirdo thriller, playing with sexual desire and sexual violence that lust can visually conjure, involved with the objectification of women in the workplace.

Night Nurse is pure uncut unadulterated dark sex schlock that we rarely see anymore, very well done, with a lot to say. 10/10.

- Maurice Andre Jones

MY TOP 20 BEST FILMS OF 2025

 1. Sirat (2025) - The scariest film of the year. 

2. 28 Years Later (2025) - The most reflective film of the year. 

3. Friendship (2025) - The funniest film of the year. 

4. Sorry, Baby (2025) - The calmest film of the year. 

5. The Mastermind (2025) - The most cathartic film of the year.

6. Kontinental '25 (2025) - The most comedically poignant film of the year.

7. Darkest Miriam (2025) - The most effectively Canadian film of the year. 

8. Marty Supreme (2025) - The most Safdie film of the year. 

9. Eddington (2025) - The most intentional film of the year. 

10. The Life of Chuck (2025) - The most anxiety filled 90's nostalgic film of the year. 

11. Bubble & Squeak (2025) - The best relationship film of the year. 

12. Sinners (2025) - The best Horror film of the year. 

13. One Battle After Another (2025) - The best PTA film of the year. 

14. Weapons (2025) - The most enjoyable "What is it?" film of the year. 

15. Sentimental Value (2025) - The best family drama of the year. 

16. The Smashing Machine (2025) - The best parody film of the year. 

17. Good Boy (2025) - The best tearjerker of the year. 

18. No Other Choice (2025) - The most uncomfortable film of the year. 

19. It Was Just An Accident (2025) - The most considered film of the year. 

Mickey 17 (2025) - The most assured ending in a film this year. 

SUNDANCE 2025: Sorry, Baby (2025)

One of the best of Sundance 2025 - Sorry, Baby has comedian Eva Victor creating a Kenneth Lonergan-Esque dramedy, about a serious incident and the process of moving forward in flashbacks with impressive subversion towards it’s serious subject matter. With her outsider humor and point blank partially comedic acting style, Sorry, Baby somehow deals with sexual assault within colleges by the hands of professors, and how colleges handle these situations, as well the affects on the victims, while remaining heartwarming, funny and realistic, under a mostly grey backdrop through the lens of a post grad school, alienated person. 10/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2025: Bubble & Squeak (2025)

One of the funniest of Sundance 2025 - Almost like the film Yorgos Lanthimos didn’t direct, Bubble & Squeak is a fun and extremely funny absurdist comedy that has a twee soul about the urgency of a fascist situation that puts pressure on a relationship, bringing out the worst and best in two people leading to a turning point of forever companionship or divergence. Bubble & Squeak touches upon when a partner makes you do something you don’t want to, but you do anyways because you love them, and the moments of a trip with a partner, that makes you notice sides of them that you both don’t and do appreciate.

An absurdist fantasy tale, with great comedy moments from Dave Franco, Hamish Patel, Matt Berry and Sarah Goldberg that bring a warm feeling within a comedically violent fictional world. 9/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2025: Atropia (2025)

 

One of the most mixed of Sundance 2025 - Atropia is a very funny satire about the clashing of Hollywood and political war, with a perfect role for the charming and always funny lead actor Ali Shawkat, as well as featuring a very funny supporting cast of who’s who, but unfortunately Atropia struggles to juggle the comedy and the seriousness of its subject matter and back drop, creating an experience that doesn’t feel complete as a comedy, with characters that feel unfinished and unsatisfactory, and a romantic subplot that doesn’t earn its meaningfulness. Atropia is half good, but once the love interest is injected things get confusingly whacky and therefore uninteresting, and the film wastes Jane Levy.  5/10.

- Maurice Jones

MY TOP TEN BEST FILMS OF 2023

 

1. Showing up - Best existential crisis 
   
   
   
2. When you finish saving the world - Best indie throwback
   
3. Beau is afraid - Best send up of the white male auteur 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Smoking Causes Coughing - Best comedy 
   
   
   
5. How to blow up a pipeline - Best suspense 
   
   
   
6. The Five Devils - Best time travel 
   
   
   
7. Polite society - Best cultural deconstruction
   
   
   
8. Asteroid City - Best growth as a filmmaker 
   
   
   
9. May December - Best 90’s satire 
   
   
   
10. The Royal hotel - Best horror movie

- Maurice Jones #BESTFILMSOF2023

SUNDANCE 2024: GOOD ONE (2024)

 

India Donaldson’s Good One feels of inspiration from the world of Kelly Reichardt, with sprinkles of Nicole Holofcener and Noah Baumbach, but ultimately Good One is an original, specific and special Sundance gem, and maybe the best film of the festival I’ve seen. From the point of view of what seems like an apathetic teenager; Sam reveals to be an observant soul, of the non sense her dad and his best friend have conjured over the years. While on a camping trip with the two unaware disappointments, Sam helps them point out mistakes they’ve made and are making, when over looking the questions they ponder about their lives, while her dad belittles his best friend who is in a lot of pain. As the trip through gorgeous landscape goes on, Sam realizes that these two men are in more denial than they would like to admit, and a darkness is brewing inside them, and worse, Sam’s faith in the men whom she trusts the most, becomes tainted. India’s measured and beautifully contemplative film, not only looks incredible and encouraging to go hiking in the wilderness, but also reminds us of the moments growing up, when we realize our families aren’t the pillars of citizen we once thought they were, and a reminder that young women are still growing up in a world where men still feel like a threat. And with that, the youth can be a scathing reflection of parental neglect, and parental irresponsibility. Lily Collias may have the best performance of Sundance 2024. 10/10. 

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2024: A REAL PAIN (2024)

 

Eisenberg’s sophomore effort perfectly reiterates the tension between family members, and the unintentional mind games people play with each other, for a meaningless feeling of superiority, in this chuckle filled cousin dramedy, about two cousins facing their family ancestry and the impact of what that means for them in modern times. As the mysteriously lonely cousin Benji undermines the serious and responsible cousin David, a push and pull is felt socially, as charming and upfront always makes deep connections through emotional wrestling, and quiet and polite gets overlooked, making no effort to cause a stir within someone to make an actual connection. Eisenberg wants us to simultaneously pay respects to the ones who came before us, while appreciating and loving the ones who are here now, no matter the differences or the frustrations conjured. A Real Pain is another great enjoyable comedy that has come from Sundance 2024, and like When You’re Finished Saving The World, another powerfully insightful look at first world interactions, that we rarely touch upon in and outside of film - Two insecure people, hilariously butting heads in a socially fixed contradictory world. All the while, one of them is going through…………A Real Pain.10/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2024: LOVE ME (2024)

 

Love Me has an interesting and effective point, about AI becoming obsessed with being someone else, based on what humanity left behind with social media, long after they’ve gone, just as humanity did the same with themselves before death. With this, a sea buoy and a space satellite force a co-dependent relationship, out of loneliness and superficiality. The unfortunate problem with this premise and plot, is that Love Me is hard to watch, impossibly annoying, embarrassing, and unaware of its unappealing design, never mind the presence of Steven Yeun, and Kristen Stewart. 2/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2024: BETWEEN THE TEMPLES (2024)

 

A frantic, confrontational mumble core throwback, with sprinkles of Michel Gondry, Between The Temples proves Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane make a hilariously mind boggling comedic team. As two lonely souls use religion and nostalgia for a sense of place and belonging, they find each other, as the world hilariously misunderstands them. Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane give their best and most revealing acting performances of their careers, in this late 60’s music drenched, awkwardly meek comedic dialogue based, trip down memory lane. Parts Woody Allen in more ways than one, parts Alex Ross Perry, parts Michel Gondry, Between The Temples is already one of the best comedies of 2024, and easily the best Romantic comedy of 2024. 10/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2024: HANDLING THE UNDEAD (2024)

 

Creepy as it is beautifully majestic and sentimental, Handing the Undead is a zombie film like no other, as it focuses on the impact of both losing a loved one and gaining them back, instead of the outbreak as a whole. With an ensemble cast of protagonists, freaked out and then amazed, that their family members are back, only for it to grimly set in, that they are back as brainless murderers, and who they were pre death will never be reawakened. Patiently and methodically directed by Thea Hvistendahl, with gorgeous eriee cinematography, realistically felt dialogue, a cast of the likes of Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie of The Worst Person in the World (2021), and a rush of slow burn terrifying horror and special effects, set in the real world - Handling the Undead is a new zombie classic, and a powerful reenactment of real pain and real grief. 9/10.

- Maurice Jones

SUNDANCE 2024: THELMA (2024)

 

Josh Margolin‘s elderly comedic farce, and tribute - Thelma, is brought down a few by it’s stilted direction, cheap Sundance Debut camera work, and obvious stock heist music that makes it feel like a commercial, but with genuinely effective comedic timing, clever elderly spy parody, great performances by June Squibb and Richard Roundtree, and a poignant message about disability and independence at any age, Thelma ultimately is quite the sweet gem. 7/10.

- Maurice Jones

Sundance 2023: Cat Person

When 20-year old college student, Margot (played by Emilia Jones), begins a relationship with 30 something passer by, Robert (played by Nicholas Braun), a struggle of self preservation and power dynamics collide, as sexual assault nightmares, text ghosting, man child sex, and stalking, become the weapons of choice. Based on a popular New York Times article, circa 2017 by Kristen Roupenian, and directed by Susanna Fogel.

 

 

Cat Person (2023) does it’s best to adapt Kristen Roupenian’s dissection of misunderstandings amongst the sexes in modern times, and understandably sensationalizes the material for excitement. However, that spectacle confuses the point of the New York Times article, being about the problems straight cis men and women have with each other when it comes to dating in the 21st century. Cat Person (2023) pushes back and forth, seeing both sides of the gender argument, but ultimately and clearly makes the male side of the argument more problematic, which contradicts Susanna Fogel’s point of ambiguity that she stated multiple times, during the Cat Person (2023) Q&A at Sundance 2023. The film wants to be a thriller and an indie dramedy simultaneously, having the percentage mix 70% thriller; 30% dramedy, and it doesn’t help that it’s shot like a comedy. These genre combinations distract from the context of the plot and the nuanced subtlety that could exist, in this adaption about Boundaries. Even more defragmented, is that protagonist Margo is displayed as a trust fund child of extremely rich parents, whom live in a mansion, in a scene that shows Margo’s first exposure to traditional and harmful gender roles. In comparison, Robert lives in a small house with his cats, pointing to a commentary within the film, of class biases Margo may have deep down inside her when interacting with Robert. However, Cat Person (2023) only seems to hold that scene with Margo’s parents as a sign towards her view on gender roles, and not her possible class bias, in which if actually focused on, that aspect would of brought a much needed depth that the article features itself. 

 

 

An aspect of Cat Person (2023) that does hold up, are the performances. Emilia Jones does a pitch perfect job playing an awkward American 20-year old college student, trying to self preserve, and who fake’s confidence at first, but falls to vulnerability when she’s found out, and then gains a psychological upper hand in the relationship with Robert, as she truly gets to know him. Nicholas Braun is a master at playing an insecure, geeky and painfully awkward 33-year old who lacks experience, and falls victim to a one way idea of what a man is. And Geraldine Viswanathan is fully focused as Margo’s acerbic best friend, who doesn’t support Margo’s open pursuit of Robert. 

 

 

Cat Person (2023) adapts the right material to explore an interesting and ignored conversation, of straight cis relationships post MeToo, with committed performances and earnest dialogue. However, Susanna Fogel over looks very intriguing aspects, and important details to add to the conversation, for assumed subtlety and lazy minded spectacle for instant excitement, rather than trusting in excitement within a film’s writing of well-developed characters and plotting. Cat Person (2023) ultimately does a huge disservice to it's original source material, that entered a fantastic consideration to a sparsely focused subject matter. 4/10. 

 

 

·         Maurice Jones 

 

TOP 5 ALBUMS OF 2022

 

1.) Momma - Household Name

The catchiest tunes of 2022 that ripped a hole through the 90s into now and took you for a ride

2.) Tops - Empty Seats

70s inspired bass bumping two-step dancing falsetto sung songs about regret

3.) Pope - Super Sonic

Melodic intentionally nostalgic alt rock to lay down in your flannel to

4.) Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork

Spoken word jangly indie rock more catchy than most traditionally sung pop songs

5.) Heather - Old Cry, I Walk

Thoughtful therapeutic indie rock from Spain with the earnest of vocals 

TOP 10 BEST HORROR FILMS OF 2022

 1.) X 

Ti West’s Grindhouse swinging satire epic, X, makes a roaring commentary about the parallels between sex and youth obsession, power obsession, and the self righteousness morality/arrogance of religion. With perfect 70’s film rendering, and expert, clever horror directing, X marks this as Ti West’s 8th film, and is sure to finally solidify West, as one of the most important mainstream auteurs of the 21st century.

Ti West absolutely needs to direct the Friday the 13th Requel.

2.) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Fun, gory, topical and fast paced. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is finally a worth entry since the second one, in the long line of chainsaw films, by trimming all the fat and keeping it lean with great acting, plausible plotting, a straight forward script sprinkled with modernism, and a revamped Leatherface delivering some of the hardest gore scenes ever seen in a horror movie, in a very long time.

3.) Fall

While ridiculous, Fall is a truly terrifying experience with a grim twist that elevates the plot to unpredictable heights, and proves lead Grace Caroline Currey is an actor to look out for.

4.) Bodies Bodies Bodies

A perfect realization that a reactionary, self obsessed, sometimes unforgiving and detail oriented generation, would make for an absolutely comedic and fresh take on the slasher genre.

5.) Halloween Ends

Halloween Ends is a punk rock, future cult classic that allows David Gordon Green to bare his filmmaking soul and have fun while doing it. While at the same time breathing fresh air into a quick to tire slasher franchise, and paying possible praise to Friday the 13th part 5.

6.) Gone in the Night

Though slightly cheap in execution and plotting, Gone In The Night is not only a great/perfect Winona Ryder performance, but it’s an exact and near perfect Get Out-esque iteration, of the Millennial crisis.

7.) Scream (2022)

 

The most Tarantino-esque, Post Dexter, Trump era, Covid era, Scream film, that bravely gives two fucks and has some of the most deliciously creative kill scenes the franchise has ever had. Scream 5 is a paranoid RIDE.

8.) Terrifier 2

Terrifier 2 is a marvel in practical special effects, and is the most vicious yet heart felt horror movie of 2022. While cementing Art The Clown as one of the greats, to any nay-sayers.

9.) Resurrection

Resurrection uncomfortably but smartly, explores grooming and it’s affects on it’s victim in regards to how the victim lives their life, how they treat others in return, how it disrupts their moral compass and how PTSD actually works. Andrew Semans presents a realistic psychological thriller, by showing that relationship abuse is a long lasting nightmare, that one may never wake up from without help.

10.) Barbarian 

Barbarian is a fresh and hardcore horror film, that breathes new life into hot politic topics, such as; Gender roles, white privilege and gentrification.