The Contending

Megan McLachlan The Contending Oct 28, 2026 Not only is little Mason Reeves a discovery in this performance, but so is Tatum as a father who knows society’s limitations and wants to equip his daughter with truth and a weapon. Go to Full Review Josephine (2026) 96% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 16, 2026 A- Central to the film’s success is a beguiling performance by Vukić, onscreen for most of the movie’s running time. The young actor captivates, as he faces life’s extremities and finds his own path, identity and means of artistic expression. Go to Full Review Wanderlust (2025) - - - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 12, 2026 B- This thoughtful, spiritual cinematic odyssey centers on nine members of a Thai family accompanying their dying matriarch on a pilgrimage to nine separate Buddhist temples in one day where she will "make merit..." Go to Full Review 9 Temples to Heaven (2026) 91% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 12, 2026 B+ Cook strikes a curious and enigmatic central figure and it’s quite endearing watching him relive a lot of his youth through old footage of himself. Go to Full Review The Loneliest Man in Town (2026) 93% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 11, 2026 A- Pascal’s grounded, introspective turn...made even more potent by Gilroy’s frequent use of close-ups, is contrasted with several mega-diva performances, beginning with Wilde who has three dazzling and insanely dramatic scenes Go to Full Review Behemoth! (2026) 86% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 6, 2026 A Triple-threat Firstman deftly directs in grainy 35mm... His shy but attention-seeking performance is an absolute delight. But it’s the smart and clever, yet poignant and touching, screenplay that gets the highest marks. Go to Full Review Club Kid (2026) 100% - -

Joey Moser The Contending Oct 6, 2026 beautifully crafted with tender hunger Go to Full Review Coward (2026) 95% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 5, 2026 A- This is the kind of rich and rewarding work that makes you want to own a copy so you can rewatch it over and over again and pause to look up each person speaking and the celebrated artists they discuss...so you can soak up more knowledge. Go to Full Review Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026) 100% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 5, 2026 A John Turturro is mesmerizing and delivers a subtle, restrained, layered performance filled with sadness, grace and a sly defiance. If there’s any justice, he will be in the awards conversation. Go to Full Review The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (2026) 97% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 3, 2026 B+ The film is unflinching in its austerity, yet the most compassionate of Gray’s films to date. You can feel the strong familial love and the solid sibling bond—until a choice must be made between the two. Go to Full Review Paper Tiger (2026) 86% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Oct 1, 2026 A So much of the potency of the intimacy between the two women comes from the extraordinary performances by the captivating Efira and the beatific Okamoto...All of a Sudden is ultimately a call for understanding…and unity... Go to Full Review All of a Sudden (2026) 92% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 29, 2026 A- La Gradiva uses a tired film trope, the class trip, to specifically zero in on three teens and one teacher and examine their hopes, dreams, dreads, foibles, desires, vexations and their capacity for empathy. Go to Full Review La Gradiva (2026) 96% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 29, 2026 A- Hüller’s sometimes tempered, sometimes explosive performance is a joy to behold. She gifts us a most beguiling figure, someone who is intensely grieving, but also has a job to perform. Go to Full Review Fatherland (2026) 93% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 28, 2026 B+ ...there’s no denying it’s a commanding turn, always beguiling to behold in its unapologetically defiant, yet thoughtful, portrait of a woman figuring out her identity in a world that demands capitulation to patriarchal norms. Go to Full Review Rose (2026) 97% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 28, 2026 A the story isn’t as simple as one might think and the brilliance of this masterful film is that you can’t trust any of your judgments as the narrative unfolds, because each time you feel sure or indignant or outraged by something there’s a new wrinkle... Go to Full Review Fjord (2026) 92% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 25, 2026 A- Lange’s beguiling work is nothing short of astonishing. If the film is seen, and it should be, she must be in the awards conversation. Go to Full Review Long Day's Journey Into Night (2025) 100% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 25, 2026 B+ The auteur seems to be having a blast looking inward and outward and, also, having great fun with the medium and himself and his captivating characters. Art is life is art. Does anyone have the right to dictate what a creative artist writes about... Go to Full Review Bitter Christmas (2026) 87% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 21, 2026 B+ Dionisio along with fellow screenwriter Marco Borromei has done an excellent job, allowing just enough clues to the unfolding story to allow the viewer piece it all together. Go to Full Review Idda (2026) 91% - -

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 20, 2026 B- Pitt seems to be playing Achilles as if he were living in 2004 (the film’s release year) but he’s still fun to watch. The only actor who does his damndest to take things seriously is the extraordinary O’Toole as Priam... Go to Full Review Troy (2004) 52% 73%

Frank J. Avella The Contending Sep 20, 2026 B+ ...Gray displayed a masterful filmmaking style, very much going against the frenetic crime-thriller vogue of the day (see Tarantino) and, instead, created a moody, atmospheric film... Go to Full Review Little Odessa (1994) 60% 69%