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C.J. Prince

@cjprince

Sometimes film critic, sometimes film programmer. acquiredcinema.substack.com

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22.06.2023
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Latest posts by C.J. Prince @cjprince

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bad dreams in the night

20.02.2026 01:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Do you ever look at a director and think they're probably bad with money

18.02.2026 02:28 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Hollywood has taught me the power of being annoying and persistent

18.02.2026 02:17 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This story includes the insane detail that Kaouther Ben Hania was awarded at this event alongside the subject of that Road Between Us documentary that played at TIFF after it was initially rejected.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

17.02.2026 14:40 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The arbitrary distinctions that embarrassing statement used to justify its hypocritical stance are, of course, from a place of privilege. And those distinctions have nothing supporting them in the face of daily examples of innocent people becoming victims of political violence.

16.02.2026 22:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Just wondering, based off of the Berlinale's recent statement, if Hamdan Ballal and his family fall under the small "p" or capital "P"

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

16.02.2026 22:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Counterprogramming: Montreal Critics' Week 2026 The Montreal Critics' Week provides a glimpse at how festivals can create alternative spaces to engage with films compared to their high profile counterparts

I wrote a little bit about the Montreal Critics' Week and how smaller, regional festivals can create spaces for engaging with new films in ways that major festivals don't.

open.substack.com/pub/acquired...

11.02.2026 19:11 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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cinematic parallels

21.01.2026 19:28 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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4 Non Blondes -

20.01.2026 14:35 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I would like my favourite filmmakers to stop dying on or around my birthday.

07.01.2026 00:45 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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C.J. Prince’s Top 10 Films of 2025 Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2025, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists. My feelings from the intro of my top ten of 2024...

Films from Jim Jarmusch, Christian Petzold, and Alexandre Koberidze are among @cjprince.bsky.social’s top 10 films of 2025.

02.01.2026 15:58 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Voice of Hind Rajab Review: Kaouther Ben Hania Brings Questionable Palatability to the Genocide in Gaza Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 TIFF coverage. The Voice of Hind Rajab opens in theaters on December 17. In January 2024, the Palestine Red Crescent Society received an ...

The Voice of Hind Rajab is a film noble in its intentions but filled with questionable choices around its execution.

Read @cjprince.bsky.social's review as the Venice winner opens in theaters:

18.12.2025 19:20 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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DRACULA (2025, dir. Radu Jude)

14.12.2025 23:32 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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My sleep paralysis demon is Ella McKay what do I do

07.12.2025 21:52 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

presidential pardon from director jail

25.11.2025 17:54 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is what happens when trains dream

22.11.2025 23:30 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The groupies are gonna be wild

19.11.2025 17:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Anyone else tired

18.11.2025 23:47 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Twitter users coming back here today

18.11.2025 14:12 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Julia Ducournau's Alpha is so, so bad. Like one of the worst films I've ever seen from Cannes Competition bad.

17.11.2025 23:14 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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01.11.2025 20:55 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Pleasures (and Displeasures) of Provocation On Todd Rohal's Fuck My Son! and Radu Jude's Dracula

I wrote about Todd Rohal's Fuck My Son! and Radu Jude's Dracula, two films from this month designed to piss off audiences that also happen to use AI. One film is bad, the other is a fun bit of anarchy in the tradition of David Wain/Michael Showalter.

open.substack.com/pub/acquired...

29.10.2025 18:50 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Fantasia Review: Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks is an Uninspired Horror Mishmash There’s been a bit of mystery surrounding Shelby Oaks, the directorial debut of Chris Stuckmann. A YouTuber who got his start reviewing films and has now amassed over two-million subscribers, Stuckman...

Shelby Oaks is out this weekend, which I reviewed last year. The version coming out now is different thanks to reshoots and a new polish on the edit, although I suspect it's not enough to address the film's foundational issues.

My review at @thefilmstage.com:

thefilmstage.com/fantasia-rev...

21.10.2025 20:04 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

What if you think One Battle After Another is a fun collection of set pieces and you find its political content largely sealed off/adjacent rather than super urgent/relevant

15.10.2025 23:09 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Come join @cjprince.bsky.social, @tylekurner.bsky.social, Lena Wilson & me on Saturday afternoon as we ponder what we even mean by queer and trans stories? How has this shifted in the last 5, 10, 50 years (or more)?

And what that means for what stories get told, reach you, and are still missing!

29.09.2025 21:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Update:

25.09.2025 23:48 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Living Out Loud: A 3-day online summit about queer and trans stories in film, theatre, TV, and the archives. 🎟️ Free to attend
πŸ—“οΈ Oct 3–5 | 2–4pm ET | Zoom
πŸ’¬ Join live and help shape the conversation
πŸ‘‰ Register now at seventh-row.com/livingoutloud

Big ideas. Lots of time for Q&A + audience discussion. No prep required.

Living Out Loud: A 3-day online summit about queer and trans stories in film, theatre, TV, and the archives. 🎟️ Free to attend πŸ—“οΈ Oct 3–5 | 2–4pm ET | Zoom πŸ’¬ Join live and help shape the conversation πŸ‘‰ Register now at seventh-row.com/livingoutloud Big ideas. Lots of time for Q&A + audience discussion. No prep required.

πŸ‘₯ Featuring Elspeth Brown, @emilygarside.bsky.social @bwestcineaste.bsky.social, Anamarija Horvat, Angelo Madsen, @cjprince.bsky.social, @tylekurner.bsky.social, and Lena Wilson

πŸ‘‰ Save your seat: seventh-row.com/livingoutloud

22.09.2025 22:36 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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TIFF Review: The Voice of Hind Rajab Brings Questionable Palatability to the Genocide in Gaza In January 2024, the Palestine Red Crescent Society received an emergency call from Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl traveling in a car with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Gaza City. The Israeli army...

Kaouther Ben Hania's Venice winner The Voice of Hind Rajab is noble in its intentions but filled with questionable choices around its execution. Read @cjprince.bsky.social's review:

21.09.2025 15:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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TIFF Review: Barrio Triste is One of the Year’s Great Debuts At barely two years old, Harmony Korine’s β€œpost-cinema” company EDGLRD is already branching out. After directing AGGRO DR1FT and Baby Invasion, Korine takes on a producer role for Barrio Triste, the f...

Stillz's Harmony Korine-backed Barrio Triste is exhilarating, tense, personal, enigmatic, and among this year’s best first features.

Read @cjprince.bsky.social's review:

14.09.2025 11:02 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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TIFF Review: Two Pianos is Another Rich, Thoughtful Drama from Arnaud Desplechin The past rears its not-so-ugly head in Two Pianos, Arnaud Desplechin’s latest film exploring the ways gorgeous people make an even bigger mess out of the messiness of life itself. Set amidst the world...

Arnaud Desplechin's Two Pianos is an ideal vision of the prestige film: handsomely mounted and splendidly acted while teeming with sudden tonal shifts and emotional volatility.

Read @cjprince.bsky.social's TIFF review:

14.09.2025 10:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0