The Minnesota Movie Digest: Issue No. 132

The Minnesota Movie Digest: The Black Bag is in The Electric State

Welcome to The Minnesota Movie Digest, the official newsletter from the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA)!

The MNFCA is a collective of individuals dedicated to celebrating and critically examining the art of film. In this recurring publication, we’ll share a selection of insightful film reviews, absorbing essays, and interviews with film professionals.

Each issue of The Minnesota Movie Digest features a diverse array of perspectives and content. Our members have shared their most recent work with us, covering the latest releases and revisiting classic films that dissect the craft of filmmaking. Explore the links below and get a front-row seat to critically examine the art of film.

Check out the MNFCA Members page to meet our all-star lineup.

And now… The Minnesota Movie Digest.

Joe Botten – The MN Movie Man

Looking over the latest batch of reviews from The MN Movie Man, it’s a good time to go to the movies! Here are the reviews of new theatrical releases Black Bag, Novocaine, and Opus. For streaming horror, consider Control Freak on Hulu. If you combine the budgets of all four of these films, you’d likely be halfway to the total cost of producing The Electric State on Netflix. Find out how much that is in Joe’s review.

Finally, Joe published his first review as a new contributor on Loud and Clear Reviews, Borderline.

Be sure to follow The MN Movie Man on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Facebook for his weekly early looks at upcoming films and other updates between newsletters!

Eli Brau – Cinephile Corner

Eli has a few new pieces this week over on Cinephile Corner. In their movie reviews section, he has reviews for the following new releases:

He also has reviews for the following classic movies:

Lastly, he has a few updated lists in their movie rankings section, including the best Robert Pattinson movies ranked, the best Steven Yeun movies ranked, the best Steven Soderbergh movies ranked, and every Bong Joon-ho movie ranked.

Brian Eggert – Deep Focus Review

On Deep Focus Review, Brian recently reviewed:

Black Bag
- The Fetus
- In the Lost Lands
- Mickey 17
- On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
- The Rule of Jenny Pen
- Seven Veils

Brian also recently appeared on two podcasts as a guest: He joined Film Trace to discuss the 1969 and 2010 versions of True Grit, and then Reel Mental with Dr. Marcia Sirota to talk about Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door.

On his Patreon, Brian posted a new entry in his essay series, The Definitives, about Fritz Lang’s M (1931)

Last but not least, the Independent Film Critics of America (IFCA) has named Brian Eggert as 2024’s recipient of the Critic of the Year award. Read about the announcement on the IFCA website or Deep Focus Review.

Hunter Friesen – The Cinema Dispatch

At The Cinema Dispatch, Hunter reviewed Black Bag, The Electric State, and Opus.

Jay Gabler – Duluth News Tribune

Jay spoke with Minnesota Film Festival director Vera Bianchini for a Duluth News Tribune preview of this year’s festival, which takes place in Duluth from March 19-23.

Kyle Goethe – Goat Film Reviews

Over on the GOAT Film Reviews Website, you can find reviews of two new releases, Novocaine and Black Bag!

You can also find unboxing videos of two recent Severin home video releases on the GOAT Film Reviews YouTube Channel:

Dario Argento’s Deep Cuts is a 4-disc set with a ton of previously unavailable television work from horror maestro Dario Argento!
Hard Wood: The Adult Features of Ed Wood is a 3-disc collection of Ed Wood’s risque adult films, made during the end of his career in order to feed his alcohol dependency, these films are certainly what you’d imagine adult films from Ed Wood would be like.

New Episode of Kyle & Nick on Film: Novocaine

Eric Houston – North Metro TV

Movie Man Eric escapes from the Planet of the Apes!

C.B. Jacobson – Picturegoer

This week in the “Picturegoer” newsletter, Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg pose a “Flight Risk”; Richard Linklater combines truth and fiction in “Bernie”; the boundaries of bad taste are pushed by John Waters in “Female Trouble” and by Pedro Almodovar in “Matador”; Sam Peckinpah bids farewell to the old west in “Ride the High Country”; and the latest in a series on the classic ’70s sitcom “Taxi”. Follow the link: https://picturegoer.substack.com/p/picturegoer-vol-3-issue-7-flight

Catherine Krummey – Veg Out Recipes

Catherine paired the underappreciated 2011 romcom “Beginners” with pizza rolls and paired the 2006 unconventional love story “Stranger Than Fiction” with white chocolate walnut cranberry oatmeal cookies as a double feature to celebrate the third anniversary of Veg Out.

Plus, she has four new reviews on The Feed: “Superboys of Malegaon,” “The Monkey,” “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” and “Novocaine.”

She also wrapped up her month-long Comfort Collab Instagram series with 28 people pairing beloved baked goods with comfort shows and movies.

Erik Larson – Hamline Oracle

This is Erik’s first week as a member of the MNFCA, and here are his most recent movie reviews:

Ruth Maramis – FlixChatter

Ruth over at FlixChatter posted a review of the recent Oscar-winning animated film FLOW – a captivating journey of visual storytelling makes this animated movie a timeless classic.

She also reviewed two new releases:

MICKEY 17 (2025) – Robert Pattinson’s comedic flair energizes Bong Joon-ho’s grand but uneven sci-fi satire

BLACK BAG (2025) – Soderbergh’s sleek, sexy spy caper makes the most of its impressive ensemble cast