We went from 0 to 60 once October hit, as award contenders and everything in between started hitting screens. This set of write-ups includes an Iranian drama, a psychological comedy-drama, a biopic, and a documentary. The following features reviews for It Was Just an Accident, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Blue Moon, After the Hunt, Eleanor the Great, and Are We Good?
It Was Just An Accident: 9 out of 10
The Setup: In Iran, a man (Vahid Mobasseri) encounters another (Ebrahim Azizi) whom he believes to be his former torturer. However, faced with this person who fiercely denies having been his tormentor, doubt sets in, leading him to involve others to aid in confirmation before taking drastic actions.
Review: Refusing to adhere to genre conventions, this Palme d’Or-winning feature from filmmaker Jafar Panahi feels so urgent regarding the nature of a story about political prisoners. That said, It Was Just an Accident manages to balance elements of a thriller with those of a character drama and even a dark comedy. Shot under clandestine circumstances and featuring no original score, it is not a documentary, but there’s a minimalist quality to what we are seeing that is also all very human. Perspectives change or adjust accordingly, various takes last several minutes, and tensions are raised purely by the nature of the conversations. The results are a film that is incredibly involving and worth considering long after watching it.
Something about Iranian cinema tends to work for me, given the matter-of-fact nature of the storytelling. Based on construction, character details, the way the laws work, and other elements, these stories often feel as though they instantly draw me into whatever dilemma is at hand. Here, we open the film from one character’s point of view and witness issues directly affecting his family, only to completely change the narrative shortly after our introduction. It’s a sneakily great setup in how this film plays with our levels of empathy. Still, it also shows just how strong a filmmaker Panahi is at conveying what’s needed regarding the society he is familiar with and what an audience can take away from it.
Great performances all around, a unique way to convey the conflicts affecting multiple characters within a short period, and a wonderful handle on editing make this film more than just a case of the right people coming together. This is international cinema at its finest.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on October 15, 2025.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You: 9 out of 10
The Setup: With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) tries to navigate her daughter’s mysterious illness, her absent husband (Christian Slater), a missing person (Danielle Macdonald), and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist (Conan O’Brien).
Review: Sometimes you find yourself entering a movie that feels entirely geared toward your sensibilities. I’m not a mother stressed out by the presence of a newborn coming at the same time as multiple other dilemmas. However, the way writer/director Mary Bronstein has constructed If I Had Legs I’d Kick You as a psychological thriller that happens to occasionally with either funny or effectively dramatic speaks to the same sort of intensity I got out of Uncut Gems (fittingly, Bronstein is married to the co-writer and editor of the Safdie brothers’ films, so I’m on the right track thinking this way). Point being, along with being willing to know just how crucial the casting choices are, the feel, sound, and look of this film arrive with a sort of confidence that impresses me to no end, making this feel like one of the most enjoyable times I could have with the cinematic equivalent of stifling the pain of an ulcer.
Rose Byrne is tremendous in this film and deserves an Oscar nomination. Despite the dream-like presentation of this feature, which keeps us moving along more on mood than practical scene transitions, it is Bryne who keeps everything centered so well as we watch her attempt to take on many responsibilities at once. Not hurting is the presence of the rest of this cast, with A$AP Rocky continuing to show off his acting talents, and what could be the start of something wonderful, with Conan O’Brien placing himself in the role of an actual character. Honestly, I could go on and on about all the different things and performances I was a fan of here, but suffice it to say that I adored this feature.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters
Blue Moon: 5 out of 10
The Setup: Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues. He attempts to maintain his composure during the premiere of “Oklahoma!” in 1943, spending the night in a bar in New York’s Theater District.
Review: Sometimes a film just doesn’t click with the viewer. This is largely how I felt throughout this biographical effort from director Richard Linklater, a director I adore. Whether it’s the forced limitations, the writing (this script comes from Robert Kaplow, responsible for Me and Orson Welles, another Linklater film I’m not big on), or the nature of the performances, I just found myself feeling as though I was going in circles while watching this movie. Ethan Hawke deserves plenty of credit for playing a constantly gabbing, shorter man (complete with trick shots to make him appear as such). Staging a film so we continuously follow him around Sardi’s bar works in his favor as a performer. However, in practice, I did get tired of taking it all in.
Given that this explores the world of classic theater and the divide between Rodgers & Hart and Rodgers & Hammerstein, I can say these are not primary interests of mine. However, that shouldn’t immediately stop me from enjoying what’s going on. That said, given the complaints that we watch Lorenz ramble on about, and his attempts to turn a sour night into something else, I kept feeling like the film was moving in starts and stops that didn’t do much creatively for me. Credit is due for being a non-traditional biopic, let alone deploying the talents of Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott. Still, this time around, even with some choice music moments, I wasn’t over the moon for this film.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on October 17, 2025, and spreading wider on October 24.
After The Hunt: 4 out of 10
The Setup: A college professor (Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroad when a star student (Ayo Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Andrew Garfield), threatening to expose a dark secret from her own past.
Review: Just over 20 years ago, I watched Julia Roberts put herself in a more raw and vulnerable position on screen than I was used to seeing her in the Mike Nichols film Closer. The problem I have with Luca Guadagnino’s psychological drama, After the Hunt, is that it is far less thrilling, doesn’t feel challenging, and, if anything, is a chore to watch. Having to spend nearly 140 minutes with largely unlikable characters (not inherently a problem) is made worse by the fact that even their names are kind of annoying. This film lets us struggle with Alma, Henrick, Ms. Resnick, and Frederik, and I felt little sympathy for any of them.
Part of the issue comes from my difficulty in buying into the status of some of these characters, as more is revealed about them, which comes down to casting. No one is bad at trying to act out their parts, but no one ever really feels settled in comfortably, either, apart from Roberts. On top of this, being an overwrought look at the #MeToo movement at this point in time can only go so far when the film isn’t willing to be more provocative. Given how Guadagnino’s last few films were intense love stories involving cannibals, outcasts, and obsessed athletes, After the Hunt should have been a walk in the park for drumming up erotic intrigue of any kind. Instead, this is more or less a muddled effort that’s too unfocused to warrant more time.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters, and spreading wider on October 17, 2025.
Eleanor the Great: 5 out of 10
The Setup: Grieving the loss of her best friend and roommate, Eleanor (June Squibb) moves in with her daughter (Jessica Hecht) in NYC. Due to a mix-up, Eleanor joins a group that meets regularly in the JCC, where, in an attempt to belong, she assumes the holocaust family story of her late best friend, only for this false claim to take on a dangerous life of its own.
Review: It’s not fun to see through what a film is doing as soon as it gets going, so you try to look for the elements that help it stand out anyway. Eleanor the Great is, honestly, a perfectly fine feature. It’s a nice enough piece of work from debut director Scarlett Johansson. Spending this amount of time with June Squibb is far from a bad thing. And having support from the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor goes a long way in adding further gravitas. The issue I have is how inevitable everything felt based on the general idea of the plot.
While adhering to a formula is not the wrong move to make, there’s still little done for me to be engaged enough to not think about the only probable outcome for this movie. Given Eleanor’s situation and how it escalates, this is the sort of movie we know will have to allow for 1-3 big speeches that will ultimately affect the right people in the right way. It’s the only way for films like these to achieve the right kind of emotional catharsis, which speaks a bit to how few chances this movie takes. As a showcase for Squibb, the film does what’s needed (though I’d have much rather seen her get a nomination for something offbeat like Thelma, compared to what may potentially happen here). Whatever the case, this is a nice movie that offers a level of respect to those you’d hope to receive that sort of admiration. I just wish the film had given me more to feel
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
Are We Good?: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Comic and podcast pioneer Marc Maron reflects on loss and growth after the death of his partner, Lynn Shelton. As he processes grief and crafts comedy, he revisits his career, family struggles, and the evolving comedy world at 60.
Review: I was a fan of the work of Lynn Shelton (Her Sister’s Sister, Sword of Trust). A curious thought I had, alongside the surprise of the upsetting news that she had passed in 2020, was about comedian Marc Maron, her partner. Given how much it felt like the ornery podcast king seemed to be in a much better place by being involved in this relationship, I couldn’t help but also think, “Is he okay?” when initially learning this news. This documentary explores that feeling to the fullest. There’s an overall look at Maron’s career leading up to the death of Shelton, and then a significant pause to surround the reaction he had, what came next, how everything going on in the rest of the world also had an effect, and where he’s at now.
Maron is currently in something of a prime position to be enjoyed in any number of ways, as he’s turned into a terrific character actor, is bringing his long-running podcast to an end on a high note, and is getting plenty of mileage out of promoting his newest special by way of very candid interviews about how he honestly feels about the comedian community. Having this documentary accompany all that is rather fitting, as it highlights what makes Maron stand out among his peers. It’s not a matter of who’s the funniest, but rather why is he’s on a level that allows him the attention he has. Fortunately, it’s rooted in his sincerity, and many comedians and others speak to this throughout this quite involving feature documentary.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
