Ben Cahlamer

Phoenix

Founder and Chief Film Critic, The Movie Revue at Freelance

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Articles

The Friend Wears Its Heart on Its Sleeve Proudly

2 weeks ago | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

Leave it to Naomi Watts and Bill Murray to remind us of the beautifully rich complexities of friendship —companionship, grief, healing, love, loss, and all the turmoil that goes along for the ride in Scott McGehee’s and David Siegel’s exquisite drama, The Friend.
Review: “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”

1 month ago | thecinemafiles.com | Ben Cahlamer

Film has often provided a unique canvas for creatives to explore culture. Dramatic fare frequently takes center stage; however, occasionally, a rewarding, cathartic experience is had when the central theme is death, such is the dark comedy behind Shula’s (Susan Chardy) journey in Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. Shula is not the decedent, though her uncle, Fred, is.
Trailer of the Week: Freaky Tales Intrigues With Hill, Mann Callbacks

2 months ago | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

Well, color me surprised by the trailer for Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Freaky Tales. Freaky Tales’ cast includes Pedro Pascal (Gladiator II) and Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One), an immediate plus for the film. What struck me was the trailer’s callbacks to classic Walter Hill, namely The Driver and The Warriors. The depiction of Pascal’s character being a loner is a dead ringer for The Driver.
Parthenope Relies on Strength of Character

2 months ago | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

Euphemistically, writer-director Paolo Sorrentino dreams of his youth in his films. His coming-of-age stories are full of ideas. They aren’t tinged with regret for missed opportunities, meaning his sordid dramatic melancholy thus becomes an anachronistic exercise, seeking a conciliatory chord between the loss of the past and the reality of the present.
Love Hurts Is A Solid Study of Romance, Violence, and Ke Huy Quan

2 months ago | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

JoJo Esuebio’s directorial debut, Love Hurts, is a familiar story. Familiar with its themes, character archetypes, style, and its level of violence. The level of romance and sensuality was refreshing to see in such a film, the kind that Hollywood has typically shied away from in recent decades. What earns this 83-minute little yarn praise? That would be Academy Award-winner Ke Huy Quan’s (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) performance.
Star Trek: Section 31 Is Organized Chaos

Jan 24, 2025 | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

For Star Trek, Starfleet was not and is not a military organization. Its main mission in exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations was to bring alignment and expansion through diplomatic means. Star Trek: Section 31, premiering on Paramount Plus potentially expands on why governmental organizations need people willing to get their hands dirty to protect a fractured peace. Then again, the Olatunde Osunsanmi-directed streaming film plays best as organized chaos.
Inheritance: An Unpolished Tale of Modern Spycraft

Jan 24, 2025 | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

Writer-Director Neil Burger began his career directing commercials in association with Ridley Scott Associates and moved on to feature films. Burger’s sophomore film, The Illusionist, and later on Divergent, prepared him for his latest, Inheritance featuring Phoebe Dynevor (The Colour Room, Fair Play) as Maya, a young woman drawn into an international conspiracy.
Disaster Films of 1974: Soaring Thrills, Shattering Effects, Towering Characters

Jan 7, 2025 | filmobsessive.com | Ben Cahlamer

In 1974, the cinematic and political landscape looked vastly different than today, with an estimated 15,000 theatre screens, compared to today’s approximately 39,000 theatre screens. The news was dominated by the oil embargo, global scandals ranging from Watergate and Nixon to coups in West Germany, Portugal, and Cyprus, along with the beginnings of The Troubles in Ireland.
‘A Different Man’: Film Review

Oct 4, 2024 | thecinemafiles.com | Ben Cahlamer

Going into Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, one would be forgiven for feeling an uneasiness about the film’s themes. Feeling isolated from something we cannot control is a challenging life to live. Wanting, and demanding change only to regret the change is not a way to survive. Yet, that’s exactly the predicament Edward (Sebastian Stan) finds himself in.
‘The Outrun’: Film Review

Oct 4, 2024 | thecinemafiles.com | Ben Cahlamer

The Outrun, from director Nora Fingscheidt, is as prolific a look at the effects of substance abuse and subsequent recovery, as it is a highly melancholic film. Based on Amy Liptrot’s (Liptrot co-wrote the story with Fingscheidt and Daisy Lewis, and the screenplay with Fingscheidt) own experiences, Rona (Saoirse Ronan) returns home to the Orkney Islands to recover from her wild ambitions.