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Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean - Anemone (2025)
Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean in Anemone (2025)
Anemone
(In Theaters Oct. 3)
Having retired from acting seven years ago, it must have been fun for Daniel Day-Lewis to return to film in order to be directed by his 25-year-old son Ronan Day-Lewis, who also cowrote this screenplay (with Daniel’s help). Ray Stoker (Day-Lewis) is a retired military type who keeps to himself, living off-grid in the woods of Northern England. It’s been 20 years since Ray’s seen his brother Jem (Sean Bean), who has finally hunted him down over their shared memories of tragic incidents. It would appear there are scores to be settled, even if the script is extremely slow to reveal them. While it may be some viewer’s cup of tea, the long silences and on-camera brooding are difficult to watch when that’s most all of what’s being provided. Eventually their past is laid bare but fails to provide the sort of revelation that might have justified the emotions asked to invest. Samantha Morton appears in a supporting role. (Lisa Miller)
Bone Lake
(In Theaters Oct. 3)
A rare subgenre, this couple-vs-couple thriller tosses about in the turbulent waters of manipulation and deception. Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) book a romantic weekend getaway at a mansion on Bone Lake. The location is only just beginning to work its magic on the pair when Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita), arrive, another couple claiming to have booked the same weekend. Since the house is easily large enough to accommodate two competing agendas, Sage and Diego ignore their better instincts and agree that they all may stay on. We can see they’ve made a mistake as Sage and Diego are each targeted by Cin and Will, who appear to have extra-marital ambitions. Guess though you might, the truth behind the story’s bizarre twists can only be discovered by watching. Meanwhile, during the final act, the film persuasively morphs from a thriller into a horror, earning its 96% approval rating in process. (Lisa Miller)
Dial M for Maya
(IndiePix DVD)
The title is taken from Hitchcock and like its predecessor, the movie involves money, marriage and … murder? In Ugandan actor-director Matthew Kavuma’s 2022 film, Paul, just acquitted in a high-profile criminal case, meets Maya at a bar. She hands him her phone number, friendship blooms into marriage—but Paul’s snaky attorney is convinced she’s up to no good. And what’s Paul up to? The mysteries accumulate in Dial M for Maya as the fissures within the marriage grow wider. The film won at the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards and has been featured in festivals. (David Luhrssen)
The Smashing Machine
(In Theaters Oct. 3)
From writer/director Benny Safdie, thanks in part to its insightful character study, and in part to the career-topping performance by Dwayne Johnson as UFC star Mark Kerr, The Smashing Machine reveals the man behind the icon. We meet Kerr during his early years, when UFC fights often took place in the small venues that had a larger capacity than could be filled by the sport’s original fans. Kerr lived in Arizona with his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt). She’s a party-girl, who supports Kerr’s wildest dreams of success, but who also pushes back against his efforts to control her behavior. Kerr, who seems affable enough on the surface, actually lives in terror of losing—be it a match, an opportunity, or worse. Meanwhile, Kerr becomes increasingly dependent upon opioids.
After Mark’s abuse of the pain killer lands him in the hospital, he becomes the focus of his good friend, fellow fighter, and trainer, Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader). While the two men love one another like brothers, when the opportunity to fight one another in an important match comes along, neither shies away from the opportunity. Theirs is a special kind of love in which they forgive one another in advance for possibly killing each other. It’s the truth behind their unusual friendship that reveals the differences between professional athletes and everyone else. (Lisa Miller)
