A Real Pain
In the pop culture film lineage of the Culkin family, eldest child Macauley is the most familiar to audiences. And why not? His films to date have amassed a staggering $1.3 billion dollars (adjusted) at the box office. Unbeknownst to most, Macauley has seven other brothers and sisters who are all involved in Hollywood to some degree, with his younger brother Kieran fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain.” He also recently won two Golden Globe awards for Best Actor (aforementioned film included) along with an Emmy. Not too bad for a Culkin not named Macauley.
The film, of course, stars Culkin as Benji, a semi-sad yet outspoken cousin of the neurotic David, played by writer and director Jesse Eisenberg. Semi-estranged cousins are taking an international flight to Poland, where they hope to honor their grandmother, a renowned Holocaust survivor.
Brought together on such a maudlin sort of tour, the pair slowly endures a struggle of reconciliation and separation. That’s not to say that this film is pure drama amidst the many emotional scenes here; there is levity throughout. And while Eisenberg’s character gets more dialogue, it’s Culkin’s scenes that somehow end up stealing the show.
Idyllic shots of the Polish countryside serve as a nod to the quite competent cinematography here. Dealing with Holocaust-based material is never something that can be mishandled, yet Eisenberg portrays a quiet dignity in reaching the audience before any humor comes through. Part of this film serves as a road picture with the journey, and both characters come from slightly different worlds yet are united by the cause, their grandmother. “A Real Pain” is a real bright spot in the early films of 2025.
I’m Still Here
Perhaps the most unheralded Academy Award Best Picture nominee is this year’s “I’m Still Here.” Totally under the radar with little press, it could have easily taken the Oscar year as it contains that delicate mixture of heavy drama along with the most infinitesimal bits of humor to create a classic in the making. The subtitled film is based on a play of the same name by Marcelo Paiva, whose father was mysteriously abducted by Brazilian revolutionaries in 1971. While his fate is undetermined, his wife Vera, played by Fernanda Torres, takes up the mantle as leader of her family and makes it her mission to not only survive the violent times in South America but find her missing husband.
Torres’ performance is a real tour-de-force as she exudes a matriarchal strength that carries not just her family but her soul to places that only one in her delicate situation could ever understand. Director Walter Salles is careful to layer emotion in certain scenes while brightening it in others so as not to overload the sentimentality of the situation. His masterful directing pushes and pulls you as an audience, and it is akin to Alfonso Caron’s 2020 masterpiece, “Roma.” “I’m Still Here” is not just a testament to great filmmaking, it’s a testament to the human spirit as well.
In the pop culture film lineage of the Culkin family, eldest child Macauley is the most familiar to audiences. And why not? His films to date have amassed a staggering $1.3 billion dollars (adjusted) at the box office. Unbeknownst to most, Macauley has seven other brothers and sisters who are all involved in Hollywood to some degree, with his younger brother Kieran fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain.” He also recently won two Golden Globe awards for Best Actor (aforementioned film included) along with an Emmy. Not too bad for a Culkin not named Macauley.
The film, of course, stars Culkin as Benji, a semi-sad yet outspoken cousin of the neurotic David, played by writer and director Jesse Eisenberg. Semi-estranged cousins are taking an international flight to Poland, where they hope to honor their grandmother, a renowned Holocaust survivor.
Brought together on such a maudlin sort of tour, the pair slowly endures a struggle of reconciliation and separation. That’s not to say that this film is pure drama amidst the many emotional scenes here; there is levity throughout. And while Eisenberg’s character gets more dialogue, it’s Culkin’s scenes that somehow end up stealing the show.
Idyllic shots of the Polish countryside serve as a nod to the quite competent cinematography here. Dealing with Holocaust-based material is never something that can be mishandled, yet Eisenberg portrays a quiet dignity in reaching the audience before any humor comes through. Part of this film serves as a road picture with the journey, and both characters come from slightly different worlds yet are united by the cause, their grandmother. “A Real Pain” is a real bright spot in the early films of 2025.
I’m Still Here
Perhaps the most unheralded Academy Award Best Picture nominee is this year’s “I’m Still Here.” Totally under the radar with little press, it could have easily taken the Oscar year as it contains that delicate mixture of heavy drama along with the most infinitesimal bits of humor to create a classic in the making. The subtitled film is based on a play of the same name by Marcelo Paiva, whose father was mysteriously abducted by Brazilian revolutionaries in 1971. While his fate is undetermined, his wife Vera, played by Fernanda Torres, takes up the mantle as leader of her family and makes it her mission to not only survive the violent times in South America but find her missing husband.
Torres’ performance is a real tour-de-force as she exudes a matriarchal strength that carries not just her family but her soul to places that only one in her delicate situation could ever understand. Director Walter Salles is careful to layer emotion in certain scenes while brightening it in others so as not to overload the sentimentality of the situation. His masterful directing pushes and pulls you as an audience, and it is akin to Alfonso Caron’s 2020 masterpiece, “Roma.” “I’m Still Here” is not just a testament to great filmmaking, it’s a testament to the human spirit as well.
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