The Last Movie Guy

It Was Just an Accident: Jafar Panahi’s Powerful Drama – TIFF 2025

Posted on September 10 by Hugo Pagan Soto

“Do not let your memories weigh more than your hopes” (Persian Proverb)

There are no ornaments or artifices; when the first images gradually appear on the screen, we can feel life without filters. A Simple Accident (2025) by Jafar Panahi is a drama built on a minimalist staging, supported by a story that is both robust and emotionally profound. In Panahi’s world, the narrative is the treasured jewel, and his actors become its jealous guardians, defending it as if with their very lives.

Caught Stealing (2025): Aronofsky’s Thriller

Posted on August 31 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Like Antoine Doinel standing before the immensity of the sea, Hank Thompson in Caught Stealing (2025) finally confronts the demons of his past. The worlds of Truffaut’s character and Aronofsky’s are as distant as the beaches of Normandy and those of Coney Island, yet both experience a kind of epiphany when facing the vastness of the ocean. Aronofsky has often taken us on journeys that explore the complex psyche of human beings. This time, it comes disguised as a fast-paced thriller—an unusual entry in his filmography, but one that, if we look closely, bears his unmistakable signature.

Weapons (2025): Horror That Hides a Social Critique

Posted on August 13 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Horror has long been fertile ground for exploitation cinema, but it has also served as a playground for filmmakers to smuggle in sharp social commentary, tucked between jump scares and visceral set pieces. Weapons (2025), the latest from Zach Cregger, confidently walks both paths. It’s a taut, impeccably crafted genre film and, at the same time, an unsettling meditation on violence and its chilling presence within schools and in the lives of children.

Dead Ringer (1963): Bette Davis Eyes

Posted on August 7 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Hollywood’s love for remakes is an old story. Before Bette Davis, there was Dolores del Rio in La Otra (1946). Rian James wrote the original story, which was acquired by Warner Bros.. Paul Henreid was brought in to direct and Bette Davis to star in the American version, titled Dead Ringer. Karl Malden and Peter Lawford were added to the cast to make it even more American. The original manuscript is perfectly suited for a traditional Hollywood thriller, and that’s exactly what the film delivers.

Fantastic Four: First Steps – Marvel Back to Basics

Posted on August 6 by Hugo Pagan Soto

With the same unstoppable force as Galactus devouring worlds at will, that’s how powerful Marvel’s cinematic universe once felt. But after the Avengers saga ended, Marvel began to slow down—offering mostly bland, repetitive stories that lacked soul. Fantastic Four: First Steps felt like a risky bet. It was the first time these characters would be produced under the umbrella of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Previous attempts had never quite managed to establish a successful franchise, and bringing them back again sounded like a doomed idea.