The Minnesota Movie Digest: Issue No. 172

The Minnesota Movie Digest: Dead Man’s Migration

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.

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 updated his ranking of Edgar Wright’s movies following the release of The Running Man and his ranking of Avatar movies following the release of Fire and Ash. Lastly, he listed the 50 best movies of 2025

Matt Clark – Kino Ventura

Matt kicked off 2026 with both his annual Year in Review, discussing some of his favorite theatrical experiences, as well as a Newsletter where he goes into detail on three recent film adaptations of Donald E. Westlake novels (Play Dirty, The Actor, and No Other Choice)

Additionally, he knocked out a pair of reviews for two indie crime films that had been kicking around the festival circuit:

Brian Eggert – Deep Focus Review

On Deep Focus Review, Brian reviewed the following titles:

Dead Man’s Wire
- Father Mother Sister Brother
- Greenland 2: Migration
- The Plague
- Primate
- We Bury the Dead

Brian also appeared as a guest on two podcasts: First, he discussed Rental Family with Dr. Marcia Sirota on the Reel Mental podcast. Then, he appeared on the Movie of the Year podcast to discuss Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971).

For the streaming show The CineFiles, Brian and co-hosts Chris Hrapsky and Jamie Rogers shared their Top 10 Movies of 2025.

On January 10, Brian returned to KARE 11 Saturday to discuss two new releases in theaters: Is This Thing On? and Father Mother Sister Brother.

On Brian’s Patreon, he posted the following:

Hunter Friesen – The Cinema Dispatch

At The Cinema Dispatch, Hunter reviewed The Chronology of Water. He also published his Top 10 Films of 2025 at the Eden Prairie Local News and the Woodbury News Net.

Jay Gabler – Duluth News Tribune

For The Tangential, Jay reviewed Sentimental Value and Train Dreams. And then at the Duluth News Tribune, he reviewed Marty Supreme and The Hockey Mom’s Revenge.

Jason Hemming – Cinema Recall

Better late than never. Over on The Cinema Recall podcast. It’s The Vern’s Top 10 Movies of 2025 and his 5 worst.

C.B. Jacobson – Picturegoer

In this week’s “Picturegoer” newsletter, Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in “The Housemaid”; the horror anthology “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors”; David Bowie in Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”; James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland in “The Strawberry Blonde”; the silent classic “Waxworks”; and Peter Biskind’s Warren Beatty biography “Star”. Follow the link.

Jakob Kolness – JakobTalksFilm

Over at JakobTalksFilm, Jakob reviews Song Sung Blue and announces his picks for the Top 10 TV Series of 2025 and his Most Anticipated Films of 2026!

Be sure to follow him on Twitter, BluSky, and Letterboxd!

Catherine Krummey – Veg Out Recipes

Catherine shared her Best of 2025 lists: Movies Part One | Movies Part Two | Television

You can also check out her Letterboxd year in review. She watched nearly 500 films!

She finally finished a years-long project of adding the nearly 9,000 films she’s seen to genre lists, century lists, decade lists, and year lists.

Additionally, Catherine continued this year’s FYC Friday series with quick thoughts on some notable 2025 releases, including “Deaf President Now,” “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” and more. Her Wayback Wednesday series returned last week with a look back at 1926.