The Big Picture The Best Movies of the Year … So Far. Plus: 15 We Missed!
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Mar 30, 2026 BenDavid Grabinski, writer-director of Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, talks about his long road to directing and the crafty choices behind his time-travel action comedy. He discusses pitching, studio buy-in without heavy compromise, and the technical magic of filming one actor twice. He also digs into music needle-drops, casting joyful performers like Keith David, and creative collaboration fueled by movie love.
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Genre Spectrums Show Industry Appetite And Risk
- Gore-comedy and AI-apocalypse films coexist in current festival-to-studio pipeline, showing genre appetite.
- Sean details Gore Verbinski's Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die as a time-travel comedy that underwhelmed despite high expectations for the director's return.
Our Hero Balthazar Stakes Its Heart On A Texas Turn
- Our Hero Balthazar blends online influencer satire with a tense real-world Texas confrontation.
- Amanda praises Asa Butterfield's Texas performance as the emotional center that redeems Jaden Martell's contrived influencer lead.
Time Loop Revenge Yields Emotional Payoff
- Low-budget time-travel films can deliver original emotional stakes by repeating revenge loops.
- Sean highlights Redux Redux's lo-fi parallel-universe device that explores addiction to revenge across iterations and praises Mikaela McManus's performance.