The Mastermind | Film Festival Today

Hannah Tran’s Top 10 Films of 2025

December 29, 2025

Sundance Review: “undertone”
By Hannah Tran
February 7, 2026
undertone (Ian Tuason, 2025) 3 out of 5 stars The latest entry in A24’s horror catalog once again proves that genuine terror has very little to do with budget size. undertone, directed by Ian Tuason in his feature debut, is a single-location story that spends the majority of its runtime with a single character. The film follows Evy (Nina Kiri), a lonely podcaster whose days are divided between caring for her dying mother and recording a ... >>
Sundance Review: “Josephine”
By Hannah Tran
February 5, 2026
Josephine (Beth de Araújo, 2026) 4½ out of 5 stars The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic winner from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Beth de Araújo’s Josephine also happened to be my personal favorite. And yet, it is simultaneously the one I am most hesitant to recommend. It opens on Josephine, an ordinary eight-year-old whose life is forever changed when, while out on a run with her father, she witnesses a brutal rape. With Josephine the sole ... >>
Sundance Review: “Filipiñana”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
February 1, 2026
Filipiñana (Rafael Manuel, 2026) 4½ out of 5 stars Between the exquisite cinematography and beautifully restrained performances, it’s hard to choose exactly what makes Filipiñana so special. A deceptively gentle examination of social-class hierarchies and wealth disparities, the film turns into a sharp-edged critique of both by the end, without ever losing its outward calm. If this is how revolution starts, we’ll never see it coming. And that’s ... >>
“Grizzly Night” Entertains and Informs
By Matt Patti
January 30, 2026
Grizzly Night (Burke Doeren, 2026) 3 out of 5 stars Back in the 1960s, grizzly bears, and bears of any kind in fact, were not thought of as they are today. There were many notions about bears that turned out to be false that many hikers, campers, and even wildlife experts held to be true. Of course, back then, bear attacks were very rare. ... >>
Sundance Review: “Seized”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 28, 2026
Seized (Sharon Liese, 2026) 3½ out of 5 stars On August 11, 2023, police in Marion, Kansas, raided not only the office of the local newspaper The Marion Record, but the home of its editor, Eric Meyer, which he shared with his 98-year mother, Joan. Together they both owned the publication, though sadly Joan (pronounced “Jo-ann”) died the next day, leaving Eric as sole majority owner. In Seized, the jaunty new documentary from director Sharon ... >>

10 Films to Watch at Sundance 2026
January 20, 2026
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival runs live and ...>>
Chris Reed’s Top 10 Films of 2025
December 31, 2025
It always amazes me how different a given year’s ...>>
Hannah Tran’s Top 10 Films of 2025
December 29, 2025
Whether in narrative or documentary, few years have ...>>
Matt Patti’s Top 10 Films of 2025
December 26, 2025
Another year has come and passed and here we are at ...>>
Patrick Howard’s Top 10 Films of 2025
December 24, 2025
Where I have previously reviewed the film (in this ...>>