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As I have grown in press credentials and professional affiliations nationally, I have found myself landing in circles with other film critics of various levels. Recently, I was included in a poll for voting critics for Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel, a fellow Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. His survey was to collect votes of the best movie of David Fincher’s career from over 100 critics and other industry folk. I was honored to chime in with my pick of Seven. Enjoy the article and list. Check out your boy!
For their 239th episode, two jet-set film critics, two midlife crisis dads, and two culturally open school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, begin a two-episode arc on films that inspired recent travel from our two hosts. This month, Will got back from a transformative solo trip to the nation of Japan, meaning Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation became the immediate reflection point for an episode. Come learn more and stay for the mutual love and respect that fun movies encapsulate. Enjoy our podcast!
Cinephile Hissy Fit is an Astra Award-losing Film Obsessive media podcast, brought to you by the Ruminations Radio Network, and a member of the Critics Choice Podcast Network. Please visit, rate, review and subscribe. If you enjoyed this show, we have more where that came from, with interesting hosts, and wonderful guests. All are available on iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere you find your favorite shows. Follow the show on Twitter at @CinephileFit and on Facebook. Also, find both Will Johnson and Don Shanahan on Letterboxd as they accumulate their viewings and build their ranks and lists. Lastly, check out their TeePublic store for merchandise options from stickers to t-shirts!
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Released: TBC (Venice 2026) Director: Werner Herzog Starring: Rooney Mara, Kate Mara, Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson The only real difference between Jean Holbrooke (Kate Mara) and Joan Holbrooke (Rooney Mara) is that Jean is left-handed. Otherwise they are so similar that they move the same and also talk in sync, down to the stuttering, or […]
Longtime mumblecore standard-bearer Joe Swanberg is no stranger to eccentric relationship dynamics in his films. While his plots have been quite varied over a 20-year-plus career, some tale of love is almost always percolating in the background, often dwelling for long stretches at the pining level. There’s a very peculiar love triangle at the center of Swanberg’s new film, The Sun Never Sets, which epitomizes this energy; only this time, the flailing from attempted grand romantic gestures is the center of the movie, not the subplot.
Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, an excavation machine operator and sailboat enthusiast outside of Anchorage, Alaska, with a reliable friend circle and what appears to be a stable two-year relationship with Jack (Swanberg’s reliable muse Jake Johnson, recently seen in The Dink), a divorced basketball coach with two children from the previous marriage. Jack is over a decade older than Wendy, and that age gap has created divisive goals in their romantic partnership. Being in her early 30s, Wendy would like to be married and have children of her own someday, but that is a rewinding prospect that Jack is not interested in whatsoever. Hell, Jack won’t even go near a boat.
LESSON #1: DON’T OVERTHINK YOUR OWN HEART— Oddly self-aware and simultaneously self-destructive, Jack is not convinced that he or Wendy are completely comfortable with those different priorities, even though she loves him and is fine at the moment with the uncommitted status. He triggers a breakup with the urging plea that Wendy should try dating other people for six months who like what she likes. Coached up by an old buddy (Johnson’s long-time The New Girl co-star Lamorne Morris, in a completely unnecessary role) on Zoom, Jack is betting on himself that Wendy won’t find anyone better and that she’ll eventually come back after missing the good thing they had.
LESSON #2: THE CATALYTIC EFFECT FROM THE RETURN OF AN OLD FLAME— With a sprinkle of rom-com kismet amid the drama of The Sun Never Sets, Swanberg’s script grants Jack’s risky move the worst possible result. While out on a first date at a local bar with a platonic buddy from the friend group, Wendy is hit with the cinematic pause of pauses. Through the throng of patrons, she sees Chuck, a pilot ex-boyfriend she hasn’t seen in five years, played by Saturday Night’s Cory Michael Smith, and he sees her. Though cinematographer Eon Mora’s camera is indoors for this scene, you can sense the melting glaciers happening on the Cook Inlet peninsula from the rising temperatures. The allure of Smith immediately lifts this film's level of intrigue.
Ditching the dinner reservations of that other date in a heartbeat, Wendy and Chuck flirtily catch up, showing that the years away have softened some of the immature behaviors that split them up. Absent sparks are immediately rekindled, and Wendy has seemingly found the right alternative to Jack. Word of Chuck’s return and new placement in Wendy’s life rattles Jack’s dumbfounded plan. To make Wendy jealous and sow a few wild oats of his own, Jack starts to date someone new (Slutever blogger and Vogue sex columnist Karley Sciortino, showing out in a sneakily scene-stealing role) as well.
LESSON #3: DECIDING BETWEEN PROSPECTS WITH MASSIVE LIMITATIONS— This three-cornered situation presented in The Sun Never Sets is an intentional mess, created by two guys who behaviorally and verbally stop any hope of their worthiness and clear appeal with the dreadful line of “not my thing” when it comes to what Wendy wants. While virile Chuck may be the upside of pure passion versus the wishy-washy Jack representing possible stability, both have massive limitations. While watching Swanberg’s film, audiences will have a maddening time shifting their preference back and forth on who’s best for our protagonist.
LESSON #4: WHAT ABOUT WHAT I WANT— Stuck in the middle of this stormy battle are Dakota Fanning and the serene scenery of southcentral Alaska. Right when another shouting match or rash of poor decisions occurs, there’s Mora—giving us gorgeous insert and establishing shots of natural splendor that calm us down— and, likewise, Fanning’s incredible resolve to be the most engaging actor on-screen as a woman refusing to be entirely consumed by this effusive tug-of-war. Wendy acts and speaks for solitude and space, which may or may not be made better by either of the two less-than-ideal men in the picture.
Dakota Fanning, bless her heart, weathers a mansplaining script where the complications have everyone inconsistently confused. Sure, there’s the classic “it’s all happening so fast” excuse, but The Sun Never Sets nearly drags itself down to failure riding that weak hot-and-cold reasoning. Part of that negativity is that, over and over, an emphasis is placed on how no one believes Wendy when she talks, leading the defamatory “insane” label to be tossed around far too many times by those idiotic suitors. Luckily, Fanning remains strong through these scripted snares and rescues all of the frustrated indecision with sensational and intrinsic presence. Somehow, you can't help but want her to win, and that keeps you locked in until the end.
Released: 4 September 2026 Director: Louis Paxton Starring: Domnhall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, Grant O’Rourke Writer-director Louis Paxton has a decent number of short films under his belt, but The Incomer marks his first foray into feature filmmaking. Starring Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) and Gayle Rankin (House of the Dragon), the film follows siblings Isla (Rankin) […]
Released: 28 August 2026 Director: Gregg Araki Starring: Cooper Hoffman, Olivia Wilde, Charli XCX, Mason Gooding For all the talk about how Gregg Araki’s first theatrical outing in 12 years was bound to be a scathing takedown of the “risk-averse” and “sexless” Gen Z, I Want Your Sex emerges as another remarkably open-minded “heterosexual movie” […]
Personal branding is the clear, consistent impression an actor creates through their image, personality, values, and work. It tells casting professionals what makes someone distinctive before an audition even begins. A strong brand helps an emerging actor communicate their natural strengths in a memorable way across headshots, showreels, profiles, and professional interactions. Personal Branding Defines […]
