Big Picture Big Sound

This clever, darkly funny espionage caper grows into a surprisingly moving character study with sharp writing, assured direction, and gorgeous use of Rapa Nui. John Malkovich’s potential career-best performance is matched by Sam Rockwell in a complicated partnership that gives the film its heart —and rewards a second trip.

Big Picture Big Sound's Stuart Shave takes readers to the "Gentle Monster" Q&A at the Middleburg Film Festival.

An awards-worthy performance from Léa Seydoux anchors this powerful portrait of the methodical unraveling of marital trust as a woman struggles to reconcile love with the unfolding evidence of her husband’s depravity.

Big Picture Big Sound's Stuart Shave takes readers to the "I Play Rocky" Q&A at the Middleburg Film Festival.

Big Picture Big Sound's Stuart Shave gets actors P.J. Byrne and Jay Duplass in the ring to talk about their work in "I Play Rocky," featured at this year's Middleburg Film Festival.

Anthony Ippolito’s extraordinary transformation into Sylvester Stallone anchors "I Play Rocky," while a terrific ensemble makes the improbable story of getting “Rocky” made much more than a one-man show. Affectionate without requiring prior allegiance, this enormously enjoyable, feel-good film delivers its own underdog triumph—and goes the distance.

Cristian Mungiu’s 2026 Palme d'Or-winning film finds unsettling power in the space between protecting children and understanding a family, with Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve anchoring a drama where conviction is abundant but certainty is elusive.

Lee Chang-dong’s absorbing, meditative study of two couples from different strata of Korean society whose lives become intertwined exposes questions of desire, class, and the limits of goodwill, with nuanced performances, carefully composed images, and restrained music sustaining a sense of ambiguity throughout.

This gripping but uneven portrait of a talented actress sliding out of Hollywood's favor is anchored by a ferocious, natural performance from Rosalind Eleazar and a vivid, character-like Los Angeles but Chris Rock's sharp dialogue and strong ensemble are undercut by the intrusion of his own stand-up persona, an inconsistent ticking clock, and an ending that softens too fast.

Jenna Ortega is an engaging, offbeat presence in Taika Waititi’s adaptation of novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s retro-futurist, dystopian love story, but the film around her struggles with thin plotting, misplaced humor, and simplistic themes as the director squanders a carefully built, visually appealing world by pushing for emotion rather than giving the story room to develop.