RESUME: LUPITA NYONG'O

 

For this edition of Resume, we are looking at a star known for her ethereal quality on-screen.... Lupita Nyong'o!



SEASON 6

Mass Effect 2

Director: Rian Johnson

Writer: Seth Overton

Budget: $219,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $311,206,981

Foreign Box Office: $385,400,779

Total Profit: $244,999,502

Lupita made her LRF debut in the first sequel to one of LRF's premiere Sci-Fi franchises - Mass Effect 2. This would be her first of four appearances of the character in the film series. 



SEASON 9

Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker

Director: Patty Jenkins

Writer: Seth Overton

Budget: $200,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $287,333,021

Foreign Box Office: $350,093,506

Total Profit: $169,000,013

Ms. Nyong'o was given more screentime in this spin-off of the Mass Effect films - basically a side-quest from the main films. Critics were fairly positive toward the film - and fans of the epic franchise still showed up at the box office even without Henry Cavill in the front.



SEASON 11

Suzanne

Director: Sally Potter

Writers: Ann Morrow & Harry Wright

Budget: $28,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $18,907,113

Foreign Box Office: $15,478,189

Total Profit: -$15,671,480

For the first time in her LRF career, Lupita didn't have a major blockbuster to her name. That said, critics loved Suzanne despite the box office and the film managed a couple GRA victories in addition to a Best Picture nomination.

Mass Effect 3 - Part 1

Director: Rian Johnson

Writer: Seth Overton

Budget: $265,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $367,119,030

Foreign Box Office: $442,905,669

Total Profit: $358,994,284

Epic in every sense of the word, the Mass Effect franchise started wrapping things up with Mass Effect 3 - Part 1. The box office was bigger than ever and even critics raved over the ambitious sci-fi action spectacle.

SEASON 12

Kindred

Director: Ava Duvernay

Writer: Jimmy Ellis

Budget: $44,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $29,337,109

Foreign Box Office: $20,486,124

Total Profit: -$39,211,940

Audiences didn't turn out for the Nyong'o-led adaptation of Octavia Butler's famed novel, resulting in a major flop. Critics were slightly positive, but for the first time in several seasons, Nyong'o found herself in a film with zero GRA nominations.



SEASON 13

Mass Effect 3 - Part 2

Director: Rian Johnson

Writer: Seth Overton

Budget: $280,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $501,457,812

Foreign Box Office: $696,239,032

Total Profit: $391,230,571

Bigger than ever, Mass Effect 3 - Part 2 did not disappoint critics or audiences. While Nyong'o's role wasn't as big in this one, it still added a $1 billion plus film to her resume for the first time in LRF.



SEASON 23

RoboCop Versus The Terminator

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Writer: Joshua Collins

​Budget: $102,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $93,214,052

Foreign Box Office: $140,000,334

Total Profit: $15,576,485

After sitting on the sidelines for 10 seasons, Lupita Nyong'o returned for the leading role in a film that crossed over the Terminator and RoboCop franchises. The film was a moderate success at the box office, but critics weren't too impressed.

Up Next:

Lupita Nyong'o has not yet lined up any roles following her turn as a leading Bond Girl in Eidolon.

Review:

Highest Grossing Film: Mass Effect 3 - Part 2 ($1,197,696,844)

Most Profitable Film: Mass Effect 3 - Part 2 ($391,230,571)

Most Awarded Film: Suzanne (2 wins + 5 nominations)

Best Reviewed Film: Suzanne (Metascore: 85)

PRESS X: SPLINTER CELL

 

I'm Alex Kirby and welcome to another outing of Press X. This time around we are moving on to the Tom Cruise stealth action of Splinter Cell. Here, we don’t just ask if the latest video game adaptation is faithful — we ask if it levels up, glitches out, or just needs a hard reset.

Back in the early 2000s, video games saw an increase in the espionage genre. A genre of games that focused on stealth, cool gadgets and weapons, and characters that ran through missions while wearing tuxedos. Konami gave us Metal Gear, Bend gave us Syphon Filter, and Ubisoft gave us Splinter Cell. Splinter Cell was originally an Xbox exclusive before it quickly spread across all the major platforms. But what was it about Splinter Cell that we couldn’t have gotten from those aforementioned games?

Sam Fisher, the series protagonist, was as gruff and gritty as they come. Everyone respects an action hero with a Navy SEAL background, and he looked instantly iconic in his glowing trifocal goggles. One look at him and you just knew he wasn’t someone you wanted to meet in a dark alley (he’d see you first long before you even saw him).

While other stealth games forgave you for sneezing behind an enemy, Splinter Cell demanded precision: expert-level hiding, perfect timing, patience, and learning how to hold that sneeze in. That level of uncompromising stealth is what set it apart from the espionage sea of the 2000s.

The Splinter Cell movie, written by D.R. Cobb, is based on the plot of the first game: Sam Fisher is called back into duty after years away from the field. What begins as a mission to track down two missing CIA operatives in Georgia spirals into a geopolitical nightmare when Fisher uncovers a coup led by Georgian strongman Kombayn Nikoladze (Timothy Dalton). Nikoladze isn’t just another dictator, he’s waging a cyberwar that could cripple the United States and trigger World War III. Fisher’s hunt for answers takes him from burning warehouses to embassies, oil rigs, and military compounds, unraveling a web of conspiracies tied to mercenaries, rogue corporations, and foreign powers.

Cobb’s script keeps the backbone of the game intact but expands the scope, giving audiences a globe-trotting spy thriller. Doug Liman directs with his usual flair for sleek action, balancing stealth sequences with large-scale set pieces that recall Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. And while no movie could replicate the experience of hiding in shadows for hours, the film makes Doug Liman's vision cinematic without losing its edge. Tom Cruise slips into the role of Sam Fisher with ease, though longtime fans probably still heard Michael Ironside’s gravelly voice in their heads. The moment Cruise dons those iconic trifocal goggles for the first time? I think I got pregnant, which is impossible for me.

My take? This was a video game movie without feeling like a video game movie, if that makes sense. Much like how Captain America: The Winter Soldier felt more like a spy thriller than a superhero flick, Splinter Cell took the plot of the first game and made it feel like its own cinematic beast. That’s where the film truly hits its sweet spot. D.R. Cobb seemed more comfortable here than he did with the previous season’s Halo, and it showed. He would go on to pen multiple Splinter Cell films in later seasons, while leaving the Halo franchise to other writers.

The biggest complaint from critics was that the movie leaned more on spectacle than substance, a popcorn flick that entertained more than it enlightened. But hey, when you buy a ticket for a Tom Cruise spy film, you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

Audiences showed up for it in droves, with a combined box office return of over $893M against a $170M budget, making a staggering $559M profit. It even dethroned Cobb’s own Halo from Season 1 as the writer’s biggest box office hit at the time, just shy of the $1B milestone.

While Splinter Cell devoured the box office, it couldn’t nab any GRA nominations. Voters still leaned toward prestige over explosive blockbusters, leaving little room for a Tom Cruise stealth thriller. But in the hearts of fans, it was a win, enough to fuel an entire franchise. Doug Liman wouldn’t return for future entries, but several other directors (including Cruise himself) would later take the reins.

Anyway, I’m gonna take my own trifocal goggles and sneak upstairs past my mother’s Bridge club to get an ice cream sandwich. Wish me luck!

Release: The Dam

 

The Dam

Genre: Drama / Music

Director: Andrew Haigh

Writers: Jimmy Ellis & Georgia Watts

Based on the book by David Almond 

Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Lexi Lancaster, Dick Van Dyke, Jerome Flynn, Joss Stone

Budget: $18,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $16,509,444

Foreign Box Office: $20,189,540

Total Profit: $7,098,222

Reaction: In a shaky season at the box office, any profits are much appreciated by the studio accountants (they have pools and sports cars to pay for afterall). 

"The Dam is a quietly devastating elegy about memory, loss, and the way music can outlive the places that gave it life. Andrew Haigh directs with a delicate hand, allowing the film’s emotional power to emerge through stillness and performance rather than overt dramatics. Jonathan Bailey is exceptional, capturing both the warmth and quiet sorrow of a man trying to hold onto something already gone, while Lexi Lancaster brings a luminous presence that keeps the film from slipping into despair. The musical sequences, seamlessly blending past and present, feel almost spiritual." - Harriet Loomis, Fenland Arts Chronicle

"There’s a gentle beauty to The Dam, but its commitment to subtlety occasionally leaves it feeling dramatically underpowered. The supporting cast, while thematically important, feels unevenly utilized—Dick Van Dyke brings warmth and authenticity in his brief appearances, but characters like Archie Dagg and Gracie Gray register more as symbolic presences than fully realized figures. The blending of memory and reality works in moments, but repetition dulls its impact. Still, strong central performances and a thoughtfully curated soundtrack give the film enough texture to make it worthwhile, even if it never fully reaches the emotional heights it aims for." - Colin Ashford, The Provincial Screen Review

"With sentimental songs throughout, The Dam puts music in the spotlight as a bonding force between peoples across time and tragedy. Ultimately, the film feels a little slight in its goals and the earnestness of its drama played a little too straight for me. I came away thinking it could've benefitted from leaning heavier into the fantastical elements inherent in the story, as the potential was there to strike a chord akin to Tim Burton's Big Fish." - Cal Crowe, Washington Globe

Rated PG for thematic material

Last Resort Films Jukebox: The Dam

 

Now Showing: The Dam

 

The Dam

Genre: Drama / Music

Director: Andrew Haigh

Writers: Jimmy Ellis & Georgia Watts

Based on the book by David Almond 

Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Lexi Lancaster, Dick Van Dyke, Jerome Flynn, Joss Stone

Plot: North Northumberland, 1980

Mike Tickell (Jonathan Bailey) awakes his daughter, Kathryn (Lexi Lancaster) from her sleep. “Is today the day daddy?” Mike nods his head, yes. He instructs Kathryn to grab her fiddle, they’ve got a journey to go on.

They embark on their journey, as the day was dawning, Mike in a baker boy hat and a run-down trench coat. Kathryn in the best dress she could find, making sure to carry her fiddle. The two of them walk with purpose, reaching a valley lined with a fence, KEEP OUT, a sign they see. “Don’t worry my dear, there is no danger near.”

As the two of them enter the fenced off area, they continue their walk, when suddenly Mike tells Kathryn to stop. He gets low to the ground, as does she. “Look”, he says. She looks ahead spotting a deer in the distance. Mentioning how magical this experience is. She looks around some more, noticing some dead flowers at her feet. As they walk some more, they spot so much more wildlife ahead, whether it sheep or chickens or even a fox. She comes upon a yellow flower and picks it where it sits. She places the flower in her hand, staring. She asks her father what will happen come dawn the next day. He tells her, “All of this will be gone, those flowers, this sheep, all washed away, never seen again.” He mentions they will drown, or run, and never able to live here again. She gets a sad look upon her face, “why?” she asks. Mike tells her, while placing an arm around her shoulder that it’s the way the world works now, they need to expand, and for that they displace all this land has known. They continue their walk, Kathryn now understanding a bit more.

Now atop the dam they look to the distance, down the valley, they see houses, but they stop and look around. Mike asks Kathryn whether she knows where they are. A confused look on her face, he mentions the name Archie Dagg. She now recalls, Archie Dagg, the piper. She points to a spot nearby, he played there. A smile forms upon her face, and Gracie Gray, Mike mentioning her gorgeous voice. Although Kathryn never experienced those in person, she remembers the stories her father had told her. He asks if she now remembers the stories.

A bustling centre of fun, a young Mike looks around the town, and toward the piper Archie Dagg (Jerome Flynn) playing. Gracie Gray (Joss Stone) singing a tune so well known. Mike joins in on the singing, his voice not as elegant as Gracie’s but fabulous all the same.

(Old Mike and Kathryn see these visuals happening from the distance a smile on their face. Kathryn grabs out her own fiddle and joins the playing.)

As the two continue their walk, Kathryn continues to play her fiddle, smiling as she goes. Mike sings the song, as if he were a boy. They then walk down the valley and toward a building. “Now I know you remember this building.”

The two of them walk in the building. A rocking chair in the corner. Kathryn goes and sits in front of it, a tear comes from her eye. Mike places his arm around her shoulder. She says that she still hears Bill Scott songs as if he were still here. Mike laughs, “that old man sure could sing.” He then asks if she still remembers how to play his favourite song. She begins to play on the fiddle.

Bill Scott (Dick Van Dyke) sits on the rocking chair with his violin, the home obviously his with photos of him and his wife. A 5-year-old Kathryn sits in front. He begins to play his violin and sing, with a jive that not many people can.

Bill (Past) and Mike sing the songs in unison as if they were together in time. Kathryn continues to play the song, while her father and Bill sings, the two of them look around as if seeing other people in the room listening and dancing to their music.

Once the music stops Mike hugs his daughter. She has the idea of letting all of the houses hear some music for the last time. Let the people that still reside in those houses dance.

The two of them go to various houses and play different songs on Kathryn’s fiddle and Mike’s voice. They go to Willy Taylor’s where another violin joins their playing. Billy Ballantine and his piccolo. Marjorie Dennis and her piano. Kathryn and Mike then stand in the middle of the old town centre, surrounded by Marjorie and her piano, Billy and his piccolo, Willy and his violin. They are also joined by Bill, singing, Archie Dagg and Gracie Gray’s voice. They all join in unison and play the town out one more time.

When they finish and the music stops it is just Kathryn and Mike left surrounded by empty houses and dead land. They look at each other, and smile. “Let’s go home.”

As the day was darkening the two of them walk out of the valley. They stop once more and look down at the valley. Seeing it flash from what it once was to what it is now.

The next morning Mike wakes Kathryn the same way. He tells her once more to bring her fiddle. This time they march forth. Mike drags a little boat with him.

Flowers are engulfed with water as the dam is sealed. Water rises, all of the flowers are missing, drowned, gone. Mike places the boat in some of the water and helps Kathryn in. As they move along in the boat, Mike paddling it, Kathryn plays her fiddle. They go all the way toward Old Bill’s house, all that is left the roof sticking out from the water. Mike sings as she continues to play, a look of fondness comes across their face. Kathryn stops playing her music, but the sound of her fiddle doesn’t stop, she reaches down into the water, a smile forming, then a laugh. Mike questions her on this, she says that Bill’s music stays in the water. They’ll hear it when they walk along the shore, when they sail on its surface, when they fish, when they paddle in the shallows, and as they lie beneath the stars, the music rises. Mike mentions that all they have to do is remember.

Mike and Kathryn both sing and play the fiddle as they dance with their family, Kathryn’s mother, and 2 aunts and cousins. They all dance and sing. Kathryn looks to her father and nods as we hear Bill’s song one last time.

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

 

Actors don’t just light up the screen — they light up the feed. Social Spotlight takes a look at how today’s stars promote their movies through the platforms that matter.

This round we have an Instagram from People's Sexiest Man Alive (and the star of the upcoming The Dam), Jonathan Bailey....

Release: Unkempt Garden

 

Unkempt Garden

Genre: Drama

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Writer: Dawson Edwards

Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rinko Kikuchi, Taron Egerton, Sung Kang

Budget: $20,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $13,094,590

Foreign Box Office: $25,119,494

Total Profit: -$175,005

Reaction: Oh man, this one just missed out on profits by just a few yen. Not too terrible for an intimate Japan-set period drama.

"Unkempt Garden is a slow, meditative character study that thrives on atmosphere and emotional restraint, with Cary Joji Fukunaga crafting a world where silence speaks louder than action. Hiroyuki Sanada delivers a quietly powerful performance, and Rinko Kikuchi is equally compelling. The film’s deliberate pacing may test some viewers, but its exploration of morality, love, and survival lingers long after its final moments, like the echo of a blade drawn but never fully sheathed." - Elias Crowe, The Pacific Arts Review

"There’s a fine line between deliberate and stagnant, and Unkempt Garden spends too much of its runtime on the wrong side of it. Fukunaga’s commitment to mood and stillness is admirable, but the film often feels overly content to linger without building toward a satisfying emotional or narrative payoff. The central romance simmers but never quite ignites, and the moral dilemma—while compelling on paper—arrives at conclusions that feel muted rather than earned. Strong performances from Sanada and Kikuchi keep it watchable, but the film’s restraint ultimately works against it." - Darren Pike, The Ledger Screen Journal

“The film too often insists on how I should feel instead of letting emotions emerge naturally. Much of the dialogue is clunky, dragging down moments that should carry weight. Sanada and Kikuchi give steady if unremarkable performances, while Egerton feels miscast. The misty mountains and crumbling estate provide atmosphere, but the story leans too heavily on mood, with late revelations that land without impact.” - Billy Laken, The Washington World

Rated R for some violence, sexual content, and thematic elements.