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Looney Tunes fans out there may fondly recall the 1957 short “Show Biz Bugs,” in which vaudevillians Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck engage in fierce applause-bait competition, ending with Daffy bringing down the house by literally immolating himself. (An act “that no other performer has dared to execute.”) Noting the crowd’s reaction, Bugs tells Daffy the crowd is ripe for an encore, but Daffy’s spirit, ascending to the Pearly Gates, replies, “I know, I know. But I can only do it once.”

There has been more than one motion picture that takes place entirely on a computer screen—indeed, Wikipedia now has a page devoted to the sub-sub-genre—so the thing can, in fact, be accomplished more than once. But should it be? This was a question I asked as I got that sinking feeling about ten minutes into “Profile,” wondering if it would indeed be an entire “computer screen movie.” Which indeed it turned out to be.

This is especially disappointing given the director of this ostensible thriller—in which an investigative journalist, named Amy and played by Valene Kane , skates on thin ice by masquerading as an Islam convert in order to attract ISIS recruiters—is directed by Timur Bekmambetov . The filmmaker who made you believe a sports car could successfully drive on the wall of a circular room, in one of those “Watch” movies, either “ Night Watch ” or “Day Watch,” I don’t remember which. In any event, a man capable of such feats of cinematic lunacy ought not be limiting himself to one screen. Bekmambetov’s pictures, which also include the possibly sublimely obnoxious 2008 “ Wanted ,” are object lessons in the thesis articulated by Tony Zhou in his landmark video essay about a different filmmaker, Michael Bay : “We are really visually sophisticated and totally visually illiterate. We can process visual information at a speed that wasn’t common before, but thinking through what an image means, not so much.”

In “Profile,” the images mix real documentary footage with fictional social media and news organization posts. And meaning is elemental—a simplistic rush meant to induce viewer panic. While also being incredibly on-the-nose.

One thread, intertwining with Amy’s interactions with a charming ISIS dude named Bilel, involves a young English woman who went ISIS and wound up stoned to death. A memorial video shows the girl playing, on acoustic guitar, a version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Some minutes later, navigating between her new terrorist friend and a bossy editor and more, Amy cries out, “I don’t belong here.” Get it?

While it’s difficult, obviously, to bring nuance to a topic so immediately repellent as ISIS terrorists brainwashing Western women and turning them into sex slaves, the filmmakers seem only interested in propagating and amplifying stereotypes. And not only about terrorists. The handsome Shazad Latif , as Bilel, is styled to be a snack to Western eyes, what with his luxuriant hair and aviator sunglasses. He’s bluff and pushy and a bit of a bore, starting in on Amy/Melody to get down to Syria right away. “You’ll never want to leave,” he says, showing himself standing near a swimming pool in one exchange.

Far more egregious is the portrayal of Amy and how she gets to “know” Bilel in the first place. She seems to be the world’s most unprepared investigative journalist, concocting her Islam-convert persona out of whole cloth, so to speak. She’s barely learned how to put on a burqa when Bilel makes his first avid call. She also keeps her pet dog around the apartment—I know, where else is she gonna keep him, but hear me out, Islamic terrorists in particular have a thing about dogs, so if one shows up in your screen, it’s a bit of a giveaway regarding your credibility.

Amy’s also bigoted—she doesn’t trust a tech-savvy colleague because he’s of Arabic descent. And she’s inept personally as well as professionally; we soon learn one reason she’s so desperate to get this story off the ground is that she’s £1,990 behind in rent. And never mind her topsy-turvy relationship with her bourgeois boyfriend.

One signal characteristic of this film is that the director makes sure there’s a whole lot of all apps and screens and tabs and desktop icons, and that they pop up really fast and sometimes only stay up long enough for you to blink—it’s a harried world in cyberspace, baby. Amy's lack of ability in navigating all of this technology constitutes a sexist cliché par excellence, a variant on the old “can you believe women drivers?” trope.

The movie is loosely based on a book by the French journalist Anna Érelle called In The Skin of a Jihadist . Like Amy in this movie, Érelle herself posed as an Islam convert looking for opportunities in ISIS, and like Amy, she used the screen name “Melody Nelson” as an alias. Love that Gainsbourg. One hopes Érelle did not commit all the gaffes that Amy does here. 

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Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Profile (2021)

105 minutes

Valene Kane as Amy Whittaker

Shazad Latif as Abu Bilel Al-Britani

Christine Adams as Vick

Amir Rahimzadeh as Lou

Morgan Watkins as Matthew

• Timur Bekmambetov

Writer (based on the novel "In the skin of a Jihadist")

• Anna Érelle
• Olga Kharina
• Britt Poulton
• Andrey Shugaev

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Review: Jihadist investigation drama ‘Profile’ is high in tension

• Copy Link URL Copied!

The Los Angeles Times is committed to reviewing new theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic . Because moviegoing carries inherent risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the CDC and local health officials. We will continue to note the various ways readers can see each new film, including drive-in theaters in the Southland and VOD/streaming options when available.

“Profile,” based on a journalist’s undercover investigation of an Islamic State recruiter, is inventive, well-acted and one of the most tense movies of the year so far.

British investigative reporter Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) is writing about the phenomenon of European women and girls being recruited to join Islamic State . She crafts a fake Facebook profile as “Melody Nelson,” a 19-year-old recent convert to Islam, and shares a jihadist’s video. With alarming suddenness, he makes contact with her. What follows is an increasingly taut game of deception with life-or-death stakes as the recruiter , Abu Bilel Al-Britani (Shazad Latif), insists on video chatting with her and digs into her background over dozens of daily conversations — and the lines between professional and personal blur.

“Profile” is based on the nonfiction book “In the Skin of a Jihadist” by a French journalist who actually did this ; a fair amount of dialogue comes verbatim from her account.

Director and co-writer Timur Bekmambetov (the “Night Watch” trilogy) uses what’s being called the “screenlife format”: We see only what is shown on Amy’s computer screen, as in “Searching” or “Unfriended,” which he also produced. Rather than playing as a gimmick, it increases tension as Amy conducts in-character Skype sessions with Bilel while getting calls and notifications from friends, colleagues and her boyfriend. Things get particularly hairy when Bilel demands she share her screen with him.

The screenlife format traps the viewer in Amy’s predicament. There’s no exit, no God’s-eye view. It’s akin to effective use of an extended unbroken take: You’re trapped in the protagonist’s experience. The choice even reveals character, as the speed with which Amy rejects calls betrays stress and the way she grabs needed information or learns processes on the fly displays intelligence. Even the hesitance with which she types, then deletes, messages conveys emotion.

The acting by the two leads is very good. Apart from playing their sides of the game, they must convince us that a sophisticated, intelligent English journalist could be swayed and perhaps seduced by a homicidal terrorist. Amy is well aware of what really happens to these girls ; she has seen the notorious videos and studied the organization. Yet the actors pull off the magic trick of making her wavering seem credible.

Latif has got to be charming, smart and believable as an enthusiastic romancer who happens to be a deadly zealot. He pulls it off. His rare moments of venom sting all the more bitterly because of all the honey he has poured in her ear.

It’s with impressive skill that Kane executes her emotional and intellectual high-wire act. Her performance is layered, complex, reactive. We sense her panic when things happen too fast. We feel her shifting gears among her editor, boyfriend or quarry-hunter. We believe it when she starts to feel something for Bilel and cringe when she starts to slip up.

“Profile” works on several levels — as a cinematic feat, dual character study, gripping thriller … and as a cautionary tale.

Rated: R, for language throughout and some disturbing images Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Playing: Starts May 14 in general release where theaters are open

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Riveting fact-based thriller has war violence, smoking.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Cautionary tale about dangers that can lurk online

Amy is brave, quick-thinking, tenacious. She follo

ISIS propaganda videos of terrorist actions includ

Plot focuses on a somewhat romantic plot. Photos o

Strong language includes "bulls--t" and "f--k."

Brands associated with online technology are used,

Amy smokes frequently and drinks occasionally, wit

Parents need to know that Profile is a fact-based thriller about a journalist named Amy (Valene Kane) who goes undercover as a potential bride for a radicalized terrorist. The whole film takes place on what appears to be Amy's computer; she uses Facebook, Skype, YouTube, and Google for her online…

Positive Messages

Cautionary tale about dangers that can lurk online, how easy it can be to be radicalized. Themes of courage and curiosity.

Positive Role Models

Amy is brave, quick-thinking, tenacious. She follows her curiosity, although she also takes some foolish actions and puts herself in grave danger. Ethnic diversity among Amy's co-workers. Focus on extreme/radical elements of Muslim culture.

Violence & Scariness

ISIS propaganda videos of terrorist actions including explosions, gunfire, implied beheadings (no blood or gore). Large guns are carried and fired to demonstrate being cool and powerful. Children are shown in intense peril, with implication that they likely died. Blurry videos of a stoning.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Plot focuses on a somewhat romantic plot. Photos of women in lingerie, one of which partially exposes a breast. Discussion that a woman must be a virgin (also referred to as "pure").

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Brands associated with online technology are used, including Skype, Google, and Facebook.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Amy smokes frequently and drinks occasionally, with no consequences.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Profile is a fact-based thriller about a journalist named Amy (Valene Kane) who goes undercover as a potential bride for a radicalized terrorist. The whole film takes place on what appears to be Amy's computer; she uses Facebook, Skype, YouTube, and Google for her online communication and research, including learning more about Muslim culture. One of the film's main messages is that everyone is just a few clicks away from danger online. Clips of violent, ISIS propaganda-like videos are shown throughout the movie, with glimpses of hostages about to be beheaded, as well as heavy artillery, warfare, and children talking to the camera who appear to be hit in an explosion. The images create anxiety, but nothing bloody or gory happens on camera. Giant guns are toted, fired, and swung around like a fashion accessory. Amy's target/contact is attractive and charismatic, and their relationship seems to build authentically: It's meant to show how easily it could be to be sucked into radicalized communities, so make sure to talk with teens about which behaviors were actually recruitment techniques. Expect to see images of women in lingerie and hear/read discussions about "purity." Strong language includes "bulls--t" and "f--k," and Amy both smokes and drinks. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

What's the Story?

It's 2014, and scrappy British journalist Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) accepts an assignment investigating how the so-called Islamic State is recruiting European teen girls. Going undercover online as a recent Muslim convert named Melody, Amy's fictional PROFILE immediately attracts Bilel (Shazad Latif), and they start communicating through Skype. Bilel is disarmingly charismatic, and the more time Amy spends with him to get to the truth, the more their fake relationship begins to feel very real.

Is It Any Good?

Chillingly terrifying, Amy's gradual induction into the terrorist organization she's trying to infiltrate is absolutely unforgettable. For anyone -- especialy teens -- who think they're in control online, it's a warning that even when all of your wits are about you and your critical mind is on overdrive, emotions can be overpowering. Bilel brags about kills and his role in expanding his group's territory, justifying his actions through his faith and his belief that he's righting wrongs. At the same time, he shows a softer and more playful side to Amy (as Melody) and shares stories of racist slights and family loss that help her (and viewers) see his humanity.

Director Timur Bekmambetov employs the screenlife format previously used in the horror film Unfriended and thriller Searching , telling the movie's whole story through one character's computer screen. Spending nearly two hours staring at a laptop screen may feel a bit exhuasting if you're Zoomed out. But the format lends itself to terror: Bekmambetov plays with viewers' anxieties around how easy it can be to slip up when we communicate through cameras on computers. Viewers may well wring their hands when "Melody" Skypes with Bilel while simultaneously carrying on real-life activities, like texting with her actual boyfriend, sending photos back and forth with friends, and taking calls from colleagues. Will she make a mistake? Will he see her screen? Knowing that this dangerous digital cat-and-mouse game actually happened magnifies audiences' reactions. And as more clues start making you wonder just who's clicking through Amy's files, terror may strike your heart: Is she safe? The real journalist Amy is based on put herself into harm's way to try to help teen girls, and the lessons learned from her investigation will hopefully be useful in avoiding radical online predators of any stripe.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Profile and how it compares to that of other films you've seen. How are viewers led to believe they're seeing more violence on camera than they actually are?

What does the movie have to say about digital communities and staying safe online ?

Is Profile more powerful because you know it's based on a true story? Or would it be just as effective as a fully fictional thriller? Do you think the "screenlife" format that it uses works to build suspense? Screenlife has primarily been used in thriller and horror films. Can you imagine it working for a comedy? An action film?

Do you think Amy is brave? Why are courage and curiosity important traits for an investigative journalist? Do you think those are important characteristics for all of us?

Discuss the techniques that Bilel uses to create a relationship with Melody (e.g., calling at the same time every day, sharing stories about vulnerable moments, etc.). What makes them effective?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 14, 2021
• On DVD or streaming : August 10, 2021
• Cast : Valene Kane , Shazad Latif , Christine Adams
• Director : Timur Bekmambetov
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Focus Features
• Genre : Thriller
• Character Strengths : Courage , Curiosity
• Run time : 105 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : language throughout and some disturbing images
• Last updated : February 1, 2024

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‘Profile’ Review: Timur Bekmambetov’s Immersive Thriller About a Journalist Catfishing ISIS

David ehrlich.

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Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival. Focus Features releases the film in theaters on Friday, May 14.

The best and most harrowing addition to the quickly growing sub-genre of movies that take place entirely within the space of a computer screen, Timur Bekmambetov ’s “ Profile ” brings a new and much-needed dimension to its conceit by using it in the service of a semi-realistic story. That’s uncharted territory for a type of filmmaking which — like so many cinematic innovations before it — was born out of shlock. Asinine early attempts like Nacho Vigalando’s “Open Windows” suggested that a degree of absurdity was required to justify the aesthetic, while “Unfriended” (which Bekmambetov produced) was only willing to trace the connection between digital relationships and real-world consequences to a certain point; what began as a cautionary tale about online bullying ended as a supernatural horror story about a Skype-loving demon.

“Profile” is different. While nobody is ever going to confuse the movie for a documentary — making for at least one degree of verisimilitude that traditional “found footage” cinema has over its web 2.0 successor — Bekmambetov’s latest is strictly grounded in the dystopian grime of the social media age. This is the first of these films to recognize that the internet is already scary enough; that the boogeyman doesn’t need to hide under the bed or jump out of the shadows when he can just slide into your DMs.

“Profile” isn’t only realistic , it’s based on a true story. More of a techno-thriller than anything else (though it does have a handful of truly shattering jump-scares), the film takes its cues from the account of a French journalist who made Facebook contact with an ISIS recruiter named Abu Bilel in order to investigate the secret underworld of jihadi war brides. Bekmambetov, of course, is only so beholden to the facts; after all, this is a guy whose idea of a historical biopic is “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”

In his version, the journalist is a British freelancer called Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane, like a tetchy Rose Byrne) who’s scrambling to pay her share of the rent on the London flat she shares with her insufferable fiancé (Morgan Watkins). Desperate for an assignment, she pitches her editor a piece so extreme that it almost feels like a withering comment on the perversity of the gig economy: She’ll pose as a recent Muslim convert who dreams of becoming one of the Real Housewives of Raqqa — the kind of social outcast who’d move to Syria if she felt like she might belong there — and catfish the same guy who recently lured a baby-faced British girl to her death. Amy’s editor, who might just be the most ridiculously irresponsible movie editor of all time, seems to think that’s a great idea.

And so, roughly 11 seconds after she first had the idea, Amy creates a fake Facebook page for a “Melody Nelson” and starts sharing gruesome ISIS propaganda off Abu’s page. Roughly 11 seconds after that , Abu is blasting her with instant messages along the lines of, “hey girl, u wanna come terrorist and chill? promise u won’t be a sex slave who gets stoned 2 death when she inevitably tries to escape lol.” Crying emoji. Cat gif. etc.

Just like that, Amy has gone deep undercover without leaving her kitchen. She throws on a headscarf, sets up a screen-share with the Syrian IT guy from her office, and starts juggling Skype calls with an incredibly dangerous terrorist with the YouTube videos she’s streaming for help and the friends she’s texting about the mundane events of her actual life. The infinitude of the information available to her is on full display, as is the extent to which a digital life can quickly acquire the full dimension of a corporeal one.

Amy is a terribly reckless journalist (and a caricature of a hungry millennial), but this is her lucky day: Not only is Abu thirsty as hell, but he’s candid and charismatic and he seems to take a personal interest in her case — he doesn’t just want “Melody” to come join him in Syria, he wants to marry her himself. And it’s easy for Amy to play along, because Abu is kind of a dreamboat, in an “death cult pyramid scheme” kind of way. He runs the “cats of ISIS” Instagram account, for goodness sake.

Played by an unsettlingly charismatic Shazad Latif, Abu is a shifty and compelling figure. As he and Amy begin Skyping at all hours of the day (even cooking traditional Syrian meals together), the validity of their feelings for one another grows engagingly unclear, becoming the biggest question marks of a movie that’s never short on suspense. Is Amy in too deep, or is she just selling the illusion? Can Abu be isolated from his ideology, or does he personify the ways in which ISIS is just an unprecedentedly violent expression of toxic masculinity?

The answers to these mysteries are mighty predictable (a fact that Bekmambetov tries to obscure by reaching them through a string of silly plot twists), but “Profile” nevertheless sells us on how seductive these interactions can be — when applied strategically, small doses of empathy and attention can make good people do very bad things. Even at its most absurd, the movie is chilled by an ominous and ever-present feeling that the world has become smaller than we ever thought possible, and that real nightmares are waiting for us on the other side of every window.

For that reason, “Profile” is one of the only films that will be a categorically superior (and taxonomically different) experience when watched on a computer monitor rather than a movie screen. Bekmambetov, who’s never seemed comfortable with conventional modes of storytelling (or even capable of understanding them), has crafted a piece of 21st century entertainment that exploits how people interact with media today — how lateral communication has become and how actively we have been conditioned to engage with it.

Seen in theaters, “Profile” simply indicates something we all know to be true; watched on a laptop, and it inspires you to instinctively click on Amy’s Skype windows, as though the movie is being shared on your screen in real-time. That’s a terrifyingly immediate sensation, and one that points to a new kind of interactive storytelling in which a guy like Bekmambetov might be able to physically meld with audiences in a way that the worst of his previous work (“Wanted,” “ Hardcore Henry ”) has always wished that it could.

“Profile” premiered at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival . 

As new movies open in theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic, IndieWire will continue to review them whenever possible. We encourage readers to follow the  safety precautions   provided by CDC and health authorities. Additionally, our coverage will provide alternative viewing options whenever they are available.

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Profile Reviews

Profile scares us by simply recognizing that the internet is made of millions of people, some of whom don’t have the best of intentions.

Full Review | Feb 1, 2024

A Scary must see thriller

Full Review | Jul 26, 2023

The biggest key to the film's success is that creeping around the edges of the exploitation thriller is a sly comment on our increasingly digital lives... It's a devious move, one that feels just right for a film this diabolically slick and well-crafted.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | May 10, 2022

An intense film that gets more and more frustrating as it goes on, but you just can't look away.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 10, 2021

The ratcheting tension is sadly punctured by unintentionally hilarious scenes...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 8, 2021

Despite the pseudo-realistic framing, the story's frantic absurdity is the nearest thing it has to entertainment value.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 5, 2021

With Bekmambetov finally involved in a fully hands-on capacity, the unofficial series' creators at last craft a story that's a near perfect fit for the format.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jun 18, 2021

If you take anything away from this movie, it's that Latif is a talent to keep an eye on---and that social media isn't a wise place to trick/trap a terrorist.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jun 12, 2021

An exploration of social networking truth and fantasy as a cat and mouse game with lethal stakes.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 8, 2021

Profile is a fairly tasteless movie, though in a sort of totally earnest way that will probably garner it admirers in proportion to the haters.

Full Review | Jun 6, 2021

Profile uses the trappings of a ripped-from-the-headlines story and elevates it into an effective little thriller steeped in modern social media and a catfishing pas de deux.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 3, 2021

Chillingly terrifying, Amy's gradual induction into the terrorist organization she's trying to infiltrate is absolutely unforgettable.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 2, 2021

Profile is an effective study in tech-age radicalization, a problem that doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. That's the most terrifying aspect of the movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 28, 2021

... perhaps a protagonist with a different background/occupation whose gullibility was more plausible may have better served the narrative.

Full Review | May 28, 2021

Though admittedly engrossing, Profile would have benefitted from being released as scheduled in 2018.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | May 26, 2021

As Bekmambetov tells his story, this is a terrifying ordeal that I had to keep reminding myself wasn't a documentary, since it often feels like one.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 25, 2021

Profile hooks you with its fast-paced narrative that doesn't leave you any time to think but even at its fast pace, you still feel like there's a lot of stupid stuff going down...

Full Review | May 24, 2021

Comes to screens too late to catch "ISIS Fever," too obvious to quite come off.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 24, 2021

It's an interesting enough idea, but Bekmambetov overtaxes the movie's digital artifice and missteps when it comes to sustaining plausibility...

Full Review | May 22, 2021

A film with a compelling story that is undermined by the computer-screen gimmick.

Full Review | Original Score: C | May 21, 2021

Profile: 2021 Film Review

• Edgar Ortega
• May 16, 2021

Timur Bekmambetov’s Profile is yet another computer-screen film that forces you to live through our protagonist’s hopes and fears.

Profile has come to remind us that the internet is just as dangerous as it is useful. Often we are told by the media, our parents or our friends to be careful of who we talk to on social media , especially when it comes to modern day teenagers spending most of their time on their phones. We are told that people are never who they seem they are at first, and that it is extremely easy for somebody on the other end of your screen to sell a completely different version of themselves, only for you to find out the harsh truth about them later. Inspired by a true story, Profile shows what happens when you play with fire and purposely seek an inescapable nightmare scenario via social media.

The film follows Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ), a desperate British freelance journalist who turns to Facebook as a last resort to meet her work and housing rent deadlines. She then proceeds to create a fake account and fake identity in an attempt to get a lead on a story that will put her life at risk when she infiltrates a militant group. She soon attracts the attention of Abu Bilel Al-Britani (Shazad Latif, Star Trek: Discovery ), an actual terrorist recruiter that inspires Amy to embark on a game of cat and mouse, as she tries to bait him into revealing pivotal information that would expose the organization’s online recruitment techniques.

This is not Bekmambetov’s first rodeo when it comes to producing a film in the now well-known format he likes to call Screenlife . A Screenlife production is when a film takes place entirely from the computer screens of its protagonists, allowing us to see the story unfold from the characters’ personal space. In 2012, Bekmambetov signed on to produce the supernatural horror movie Unfriended for Universal . Released in 2015 with a $1 million micro-budget, the movie proved to be an incredible success making approximately $65 million at the worldwide box office while spawning a new way to approach storytelling.

He then went out to produce its inevitable sequel, and the chilling thriller Searching. Profile is his latest Screenlife movie, and there’s something to be said about the way these kinds of movies excel at putting you in the character’s shoes. Like its older siblings, Profile takes a minute to get used to due to its storytelling style. If you cannot adapt to the way this movie unfolds, then you are most likely not going to enjoy the ride you will undertake with these characters. If you do, indeed, get past its gimmicky style, though, then you will find yourself wrapped up in the dangerous scenario Amy finds herself trapped in.

It would be odd to say this is a fun, entertaining movie, considering the real life subject matter of terrorists persuading young girls to convert to their beliefs and way of life, but, weirdly enough, it kind of is. Seeing our protagonist navigate through this situation is extremely fascinating and at times frustrating, with Amy constantly making mistakes along the way, which helps humanize her and makes it easier for the audience to sympathize with her as a character. She’s not a ‘know it all’ kind of journalist, but she is bold and ambitious, as she’s risking her life in order to get validation from her editor-in-chief Vick (Christine Adams, Black Lightning ), get a proper payroll, and get herself a seat at the main table.

Her relationship with her boyfriend Matt (Morgan Watkins, Kingsman: The Secret Service ) is also affected by this potential breaking story, as she tries not to be sucked in by Bilel and be lured into becoming a militant extremist herself. Considering Amy’s three big motivations here — the reasons why she pursues Bilel in the first place — it makes you wonder if Amy pursued this story as an opportunity to inform the public about what was going on at the time, with these young girls leaving their families in favor of a terrorist group, or for her own self interests. In the end, Amy’s real life counterpart ultimately proves that she can make selfless decisions — that could cost her own life — by making her story public in December of 2014. As a result, six people were arrested for their direct involvement in Jihadi recruitment networks. The police also advised Amy to change her name and address. 

A movie like Profile could have easily fallen apart from the start if it wasn’t for its two leading stars, Valene Kane and Shazad Latif . They truly carry this film from beginning to end, and give two very distinct and impressive performances, even more so when you consider they’re never in the same room and they don’t get to physically interact with one another. Latif plays a charismatic and intimidating villain in Bilel, in which he gets to fool the viewer — just like he does with Amy — that he’s deep down a good guy with good intentions. That being said, Profile really is Kane’s movie . She basically gets to play two versions of herself — that very well could be one — as she goes through a rush of emotions and comes out a changed person at the end of this journey. The rest of the cast is great, as they take on the role of the audience’s point of view with them pointing out just how crazy all of this really is.

The decision to approach this particular story with its unique format is both the film’s blessing and its curse . On one hand, you have an incredibly immersive way to get people invested in these characters, as we get to see them from a very open and vulnerable position. On the other hand, this style of filmmaking can only get you so far. Yes, it does have its obvious advantages — the immersiveness of it all — but the film suffers from never giving you those moments to breathe in-between Bilel and Amy’s Skype meetings. You get the occasional “let’s check how the boyfriend is doing” moments once in a while, or the “let’s discuss just how crazy this is” kind of scenes with Amy’s coworkers and supervisor, but that isn’t enough. That’s a problem you are destined to run into when you force your characters to stay in a restricted location and you choose to only show the audience very specific meetings between Amy and Bilel, and nothing in-between. One moment Amy is laser-focused on getting information from Bilel, the next she’s completely protective of him, and the transition is not the best.

In addition — though we know this is inspired by a true story — you often find yourself questioning just how easily Amy is tricked into believing Bilel’s lies, considering she’s a journalist, after all, and she should know better, when you keep in mind he is a literal terrorist recruiter. This problem could be linked to the fact that, as a film, Profile needs to over-dramatize certain aspects of this story.

Profile succeeds in keeping you invested for most of its runtime, but, towards the third act of the film, you can’t help but to impatiently wait for it to wrap up. It drags significantly, and, though you should probably care about Amy’s world falling apart, you kind of don’t. It doesn’t help that the thrilling tone, that made the movie special at first, is then replaced by this odd — almost melodramatic — feeling it carries until the very end. Though it starts getting interesting again in the last couple of minutes, the film just abruptly ends with no real conclusion , leaving you feeling empty and wanting more.

If you are a fan of movies like Unfriended or Searching and you’re looking for an exciting thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat, then Profile might just be the movie for you. Just keep in mind it won’t always reach the highs of the first act and, if you can’t connect with the film on a visual and technical level, then you are really going to struggle with this one. 

Timur Bekmambetov’s Profile is now available to watch on digital and on demand. Watch Timur Bekmambetov’s Profile !

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Movie Review – Profile (2021)

August 6, 2021 by Robert Kojder

Profile , 2021.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Starring Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Amir Rahimzadeh, Emma Cater, and Morgan Watkins.

An undercover British journalist infiltrates the online propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, only to be sucked in by her recruiter.

The first thing that sticks out about Profile is that director Timur Bekmambetov’s screen-centric thriller uses the previous Facebook layout, which checks out as the film actually played some genre festivals starting as far back as 2018. However, the importance of studying and combating Internet radicalization of all kinds has only grown in urgency, meaning the film is already aging well.

Valene Kane is Amy, a British journalist hoping to acquire a staff position by impressing her chief editor Vick (Christine Adams) by going undercover online with Islamic extremists to extrapolate information on how they persuade young European women – sometimes teenagers – to give up their lives and traveled to Syria joining the cause. Naturally, if successful, this would be a huge article, albeit a dangerous endeavor. More intriguingly, Profile (written by Britt Poulton, Olga Kharina, and Timur Bekmambetov) is based on true events documented in Anna Érelle’s book In the Skin of a Jihadist . Unfortunately, several unnecessary third-act swerves don’t compute and result in a filmmaker getting too twisty for his own good. Still, one has to expect a go big or go home approach from the guy that signed on to remake Ben-Hur .

Timur Bekmambetov has often failed in oddball action exercises ( Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ) and horror. He makes up for it with noteworthy producing credits such as Unfriended , which kick-started the screens-only storytelling sub-genre. With that said, it’s a pleasure to say that he gets it right for the first two-thirds directing one of these himself, honing in on the bonding process that develops, humanizing a terrorist, and flipping the script on both Amy and audiences.

Except here, Amy is no longer Amy. She wipes her Facebook profile clean (or she made a new account and stupidly accidentally attached a real picture of herself to it for plot convenience) and changes her name to Melody, selecting an avatar of Snow White wearing a burka. She also has a Skype account associated with her new identity, which could be for one of two reasons: there is less risk for jihadists buttering up recruits over that social media platform, or it’s easier to film dialogue exchanges there. It’s also possible Facebook wants no part highlighted as the video calling source where malicious or horrifying events take place. Theorizing aside, Melody starts using the search engine to her advantage and winds up sharing a seemingly harmless post from Abu Bilel Al-Britani (Shazad Latif delivering an outstanding performance that’s not always as easy to read as you might assume) hanging out with friends.

Before you can blink, Bilel is in Melody’s Facebook private messages inquiring about basic life details, her recent conversion to Islam, and pressuring for a Skype call. Melody heads over to YouTube to copy and paste bullet points for a teenage girl’s reasoning for leasing her musical ambitions behind in London joining ISIS. This feels like something Melody should have done in preparation for the investigation, but it does serve a greater point in the narrative. Starting from a prejudiced place combined with anxiety (she panics that the tech coworker who will be recording and monitoring the calls is Muslim), Melody endures Bilel’s interest and inevitable romantic affection. He blows off her inquiries about war-torn Syria to express how much his people love cats (there’s plenty of cat memes here), how drone strikes are murdering their children, and more or less decries exposes about women being sold into sex slavery as fake news.

There is also a lot of deception that goes into establishing a connection; Melody successfully passes herself off as 20 years old, plays the liar role well when she needs to fake a disconnection, and sets up a brand-new profile on her laptop to avoid suspicions of being a journalist when asked to share her screen. Some of these tall tales might be difficult to accept from a narrative perspective, but as Profile digs deeper into Bilel’s characterization, it becomes more clear why he’s not too concerned about her real age. Without spoiling it, a centerpiece exchange drastically changes everything Profile is about, cementing a legitimate bond between the two. Watching Valene Kane process those emotions and express guilt, even if it’s only with a keyboard, resonates emotionally. She becomes more interested in Bilel than her actual boyfriend Matt (Morgan Watkins), also seen through calls prepping moving arrangements. Obviously, the job proves to strain their relationship, but with limited screen time, it’s one aspect that needed more fleshing out.

The greatest twist Timur Bekmambetov could have pulled off was reeling viewers in with terrorist tension to reveal a more complicated dynamic of people with more in common than they think. That’s not to say Bilel is absolved of his own wrongdoings (and not just as a war criminal, but also the persistence with which he pushes for Melody to live with him in Syria and get married), just that the character could have been written as xenophobic fear-mongering trash fueling conservatives’ wet dreams around the world.  To an extent, Profile accomplishes just that before descending into outright silliness, no doubt dramatizing the reality of the situation. I’m sure the general facts are still correct, but the route there feels as if Timur Bekbambetov got lazy and went the screen horror route for the third act. Still, as a potboiler, it remains compelling, and on the whole, Profile draws attention to the real dangers of the Internet and a true story worth exploring beyond this riveting version.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Movie Review: ‘Profile’ is a compelling, if…

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Movie review: ‘profile’ is a compelling, if eye-scrambling thriller.

Bekmambetov produced two such movies, 2015’s “Unfriended” and 2018’s “Searching,” that generated revenue amounting to many times what was spent to make them.

He is in the director’s chair — as well as being a co-writer and -producer — for “Profile,” a theater-bound Screenlife thriller about a British journalist trying to learn more about the terrorist recruitment process from a man communicating with her digitally from Syria.

We never leave the laptop of freelancer Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) as she not only plays a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with ISIS recruiter Abu Bilel (Shazad Latif) but also communicates with her editor on the story, her sister and boyfriend — who’s busy trying to find a suitable apartment in which they can begin a life together.

Inspired by a true story, “Profile” is engrossing and, as it builds toward its high-stakes ending, increasingly thrilling.

It also can be dizzying. Amy is what you might consider a MacBook power user, the journo managing multiple windows, logging in and out of accounts and dragging and dropping files ranging from her video chats with Bilel to cute cat memes at what is often breakneck speed.

Understandably, this style of filmmaking won’t be to all tastes, but it can be captivating.

After on-screen text establishing that by 2014 hundreds of disillusioned young women had joined ISIS, their journeys having begun on social-media platforms, we are introduced to the 26-year-old Amy as she sets up a fake Facebook profile. Like Amy, her new persona, 19-year-old Melody Nelson, lives in London. As Melody, Amy makes a bunch of targeted friend requests and shares terrorist-posted videos.

Based on one such share, Amy soon is communicating with London-born Bilel, whom she believes to be a recruiter. To fool him, she wears a black hijab and must refer to notes she’s taken about how to answer certain questions.

She also must think on the fly at times to maintain her cover. For example, when Bilel is able to hear Amy’s dog barking, Melody explains it’s her neighbor’s. That’s good, he says, as dogs are “haram,” or forbidden. He is a cat person, he says, and backs that claim up by sharing with her a photo of him caring for a feline.

She wants him to reveal more than she already knows about how the recruitment of young women works, and to do so she is willing to let him think he is enticing her to relocate to Syria and become his wife. He will treat her so well, he promises — but he is saddened to learn her hair is only what he would consider “mid-length.”

As their dance continues — they cook a meal together over Skype, among other interactions — we suspect Amy may be developing real feelings for Bilel. “Profile” reinforces this idea with growing friction between Amy and boyfriend Matthew (Morgan Watkins, “I’m Not in Love”) and between her and Vick (Christine Adams, “Black Lightning”) caused by Amy’s sometimes-erratic behavior.

It’s not hard to spot Amy making what may be mistakes while talking to Bilel that could blow her cover or, worse, endanger her life. Furthermore, it’s hard to swallow some of the choices this journalist makes, but it’s likewise difficult to put yourself in her shoes.

The basis for “Profile” is the 2015 nonfiction bestseller “In the Skin of a Jihadist,” by Paris-based journalist Anna Erelle. Without having read it, it’s hard to know what is real and what is fiction, but Bekmambetov says in the film’s production notes that he spent hours in a hotel room with Erelle talking about her work on the story and, as a result of access to some of the actual conversations she had with a recruiter, was able to use certain exchanges verbatim. (Bekmambetov’s account of meeting Erelle — who had to adopt this new name for her safety and has around-the-clock protection — sounds like it could serve as the basis for a short film itself.)

Bekmambetov’s pre-Screenlife directing credits include 2012’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and the 2016 remake of “Ben-Hur.” His work on this film is laudable, but, again, this format can be tiresome.

Would “Profile” have been better serviced by the inclusions of a few scenes between people away from a screen? Perhaps. However, given that this film was shot over only 10 days in London in 2016 — not during the novel coronavirus pandemic, as you may have guessed — you can imagine its budget was very small.

On the acting front, Kane (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) and Latif (“Star Trek: Discovery”) are quite good — and very strong together. Interestingly, Bekmambetov chose to cast “Profile” entirely online, via taped submissions and Skype. It’s easy to imagine this helped him get the finished product he did.

That finished product won audience awards in 2018 at the Berlin and SXSW film festivals. How well this internet-centric film connects with the general crowd remains to be seen.

“Profile” is rated R for language throughout and some disturbing images. Runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

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Timur Bekmambetov may be known for his epic blockbusters, but the Ben-Hur and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter filmmaker is turning to more intimate means to tell stories these days. A passionate and vocal champion of the format he’s dubbed Screenlife, Bekmambetov has thrown his weight behind films presented entirely on computer screens and digital devices — a sometimes startlingly intimate form of filmmaking that embraces the fact that in the year 2018, most of us live as full a life online as we do in the physical world.

After producing two Unfriended films and the critically celebrated festival hit Searching , Bekmambetov tries his hand at directing Screenlife film of his own with the tense and engrossing if occasionally frustrating thriller Profile . Told in real time from the vantage point of digital devices, the film spins a narrative through Skype, Facebook, browsers and video files, following a British journalist who goes undercover online as a naive Muslim convert to infiltrate and report on ISIS recruiting techniques. One handsome jihadist and some weeks later, the lines between her real life and her haphazardly crafted persona start to get dangerously blurry.

Part of the problem is that her real life is so damn unglamorous. A freelance journalist struggling to find her big break, or just make rent for that matter, Amy ( The Fall standout Valene Kane ) is starting to feel the pressures of age. For one thing, she’s researching freezing her eggs — something we learn through a quickly glimpsed tab in her browser — and she’s desperate for the story that could make her career. Desperate to the point of danger, and though her actions are no doubt intentionally designed to make to make the audience nervous, they also conjure up a fair bit of ire with each new reckless, hastily researched action.

After pitching the story to her no-nonsense editor ( Christine Adams ), Amy cobbles together a faux Facebook profile as 19-year-old “Mellody,” which attracts the attention of charming ISIS recruiter Abu Bilel Al-Britani ( Shazad Latif , who's magnetic in the role). It all happens impossibly fast, but the breathless process starts a pit of nerves brewing in your stomach, and those nerves keep on churning through each utterly unprepared click of Amy’s mouse. After a few quick YouTube tutorials on age-concealing makeup and Hijab-wrapping tips, Amy hops on Skype with Bilel, hurtling herself into a potentially deadly game of subterfuge. Bilel isn't just handsome, he's charming and disarming, communicating through cat gifs and smizing into his webcam like an Abercrombie model, and it's not long before they're calling each other "baby" and planning their marriage.

The film's tension is underscored by the question of whether she's playing him for the story or falling into his trap, her soft-spoken promises of devotion sounding a bit more truthful with each new call. Their emotional and romantic game of cat-and-mouse fuels the film and Bekmambetov invests thoroughly in their dynamic, allowing the tension to build through their interactions rather than harping on the obvious external threats. He also takes care to highlight her emotional state through her digital actions -- not just through what we see on her video feed, but by the fluttering indecision of her cursor and the frantic typos in her chat. He sees our open windows as windows to the soul and uses every element of the screen at his disposal to step inside Amy's mind.

Profile ’s biggest trouble is getting around the fact that Amy is so sloppy and haphazard with her journalistic technique — especially considering the grounded, all too real nature of the film’s hook. The film is inspired by the real-life investigative journalism by Anna Erelle , but does little to honor the integrity of journalist. Amy dives into a life or death investigation with almost no research, allows Bilel to see details of where she lives, and flashes possibly damning documents without thinking. Perhaps it’s panic or nerves overriding her better judgment, but if you have any eye for privacy protocol, you’ll bristle at the casual disregard for safety. That anxiety-fuel may be intentional, but it’s also frustrating and poses a challenge for audience empathy.

Fortunately, those moments don’t cancel out the impact of Profile ’s tense moments, and Bekmambetov makes good work of twisting your stomach into knots as Amy cascades down her rabbit hole of deceit. Considering Bekmambetov’s interest in the melodramatic elements, the film would benefit from a better sense of humor and a little less self-seriousness, but there’s no denying it conjures up some serious stress levels and proves once again that the Screenlife format isn't just a gimmick, it's an effective and unconventional cinematic method that allows you to step straight into the mind of the character and put you through the ringer right with them.

• Timur Bekmambetov

‘Profile’: A Journalist, a Terrorist and a Tale Told Completely Online

By Jessica Kiang

Jessica Kiang

A computer screen chimes to life. Windows proliferate. Notifications ping. Video-call boxes pop up, tabs multiply, messenger apps ticker endlessly, a stream of bite-size demands for attention. And in the middle of it all, an increasingly frantic, Extremely Online female freelance journalist with money worries and a deadline to meet, makes a series of very poor and deeply unprofessional decisions.

But enough about my average Wednesday evening — we’re here to talk about the newly released Profile , which is exactly like the above description except it also, in extremely dubious taste, involves ISIS. Directed by one-man-explosion-in-the-explosion-factory Timur Bekmambetov, the Kazakh-Russian filmmaker’s latest tracks a young woman’s game of catfish and mouse with an attractive ISIS recruiter. Bekmambetov broke out with the Russian-language Night Watch movies, which led to a Hollywood career forged from decreasingly brash but increasingly forgettable tentpoles: Wanted (2008), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), and because this was definitely a film that happened, Ben-Hur (2016). More recently, however, he has become the self-ordained high priest of a movie format he’s named “Screenlife,” in which everything takes place on a device’s screen. Having produced two of the first feature-length examples — Unfriended (2014) and Searching (2018) — Profile is Bekmambetov’s first go at directing a Screenlife movie. Or rather, it was : The movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival all the way back in February 2018.

On the one hand, it’s easy to see why some marketing wonk might think that now’s the perfect time for a film that takes place entirely on one computer desktop: In these unprecedented etc., etc., it’s become an article of faith that we’re living our lives primarily online so Profile is … topical? On the other, more carpal-tunnel-ridden hand, does anyone really want to unwind after a hard day at the computer by watching someone else have an even harder one? And given that 2018 was practically a whole Billie Eilish ago, won’t three-year-old tech look laughably creaky?

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To that end, at least, Bekmambetov delivers. Like any weird internet rabbit hole you might fall down when you know you should be reading a book or brewing kombucha or going to sleep, this thriller is almost annoyingly slick and moreish. We’re introduced to journalist Amy (Valene Kane) in a blizzard of cross-purposes phone calls, social media registrations, and overdue calendar notifications, as she cobbles together an online presence in the persona of Melody, a demure 19-year-old recent convert to Islam. No sooner has she shared a few dodgy videos on Facebook than she is contacted by Bilel (Shazad Latif), a British ISIS fighter in Syria. They quickly progress to Skype calls ( aww, Skype!), which Amy assiduously records with the help of hard-bitten commissioning editor Vick (Christine Adams) and tech boffin Lou (Amir Rahimzadeh). The aim is to expose the methods of targeting, radicalizing, and then trafficking Western girls to be “ISIS wives,” while also securing Amy a staff job.

Initially, Amy multitasks like a trooper, calling up picture-in-picture news articles and blog posts that debunk Bilel’s claims in real time, while maintaining her naive and docile demeanor for the camera. But despite the normalizing influence of her BFF Kathy (Emma Cater) and her preternaturally understanding boyfriend Matt (Morgan Watkins), Amy’s performance of infatuation for Bilel’s benefit soon starts to turn into the real thing. And this is where Profile ‘s fast-spinning wheels come off.

Incredulity dawns as credibility drains. It’s not so much that Amy’s idiocy is hard to swallow, though it is (the film is based on a true story, but having three screenwriters suggests that “base” might be quite far away). It’s that the movie’s format  — its showy, intrusive Screenlife-iness — makes demands that require far more manipulation than the ostensible simplicity of “It’s all one screen” suggests. Parts of Profile run in real time, and the tension is somewhat earned. Others, we soon discover, are recordings being played back — but by whom? And when? And for what purpose? Nobody telling this story in good faith after the fact would tell it like this, and nobody experiencing it as it happens would be able to. So we’re left in a strangely artificial, airless, and impossible point of view, which is designed to mimic how we interact with the world through our screens but doesn’t actually do that at all. Screenlife, as unreliably practiced here, is not a format. It’s a gimmick.

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The thing is, despite Amy’s rather cursory research process — her journalism- ism — the film does at times threaten to hazard a semi-profound observation about our changing relationship to information. Or about how our online personas and actual personalities may be more alike than we think. Wherever you go, even virtually, there you are; your digital footprint is as distinctive as your fingerprint. But it’s hard to grasp any lasting grander message when this pointed tribute to our eroded attention spans itself plays out in .5-second microbursts of activity.

It makes Profile gripping and pacy, but the suspense manufactured is entirely derived from Bekmambetov’s admittedly masterful triggering of our collective online PTSD. Every accidental reply all, every didn’t-know-the-camera-was-still-on, every viral video of some guy logging on for a Zoom court date with the screen name b***f***ker3000, every time you’ve nearly been caught in one of those mortifying white lies that comprise 80 percent of all of our online fronting — these are the terrors that lurk in the movie’s corners. And they have nothing to do with vulnerable, foolish girls having their lives ruined before they’ve even begun because of systematic exploitation by ruthless extremists.

No one is against dumb fun. Dumb fun is a foundational aspect of Western culture, by god, and if we allow it to be devalued, the terrorists win. But you don’t even have to be against Bekmambetov’s particular brand of intellectual unencumberment (you’re reading the words of one of film criticism’s foremost Wanted defenders) to be made uncomfortable by the way Profile co-opts real-world tragedy to lend gravitas to what is essentially a gaudy, glitchy storytelling game. Here, a cute kitty-cat GIF playing alongside a beheading video for ironic effect is not even saying “Woah, man, look at what our online lives have become!” — it’s saying that it is saying that . And it suggests that no matter how potent or provocative the premise, the story of every so-called Screenlife film will always, first and foremost, be Screenlife itself.

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‘Profile’ is the terrorist thriller as IT session

“Profile” is based on a true story, from 2014, about an English reporter who masqueraded online as a Muslim convert to infiltrate ISIS. That’s straightforward enough.

What’s even more straightforward — except that at the same time it isn’t at all straightforward — is how the film plays out. “Profile” consists entirely of screen shots: Skype and FaceTime calls, Facebook messaging, the reporter’s desktop, Google searches, even, yes, a few cat videos (the demands of Web verisimilitude must be met). This is straightforward, because that’s how the events happened: virtually. It’s not straightforward, because seeing only small screens on a big screen is not how movies are normally viewed: cinematically.

“Profile” begins with Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) setting up a Facebook profile as Melody Nelson. “Melody” is a decade younger than Amy (who uses a YouTube video explaining how to reduce how old you look using cosmetics). She’s a recent Muslim convert, put off by materialist, pleasure-seeking Western culture. The idea is to get the online attention of English jihadists now fighting in Syria for ISIS. The ploy quickly succeeds. Bilel (Shazad Latif) is your basic young guy: boastful, self-centered, horny. The difference is he carries an AK-47 and among the things he boasts about is killing people. Almost immediately he’s urging Melody to come to Syria and marry him.

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Amy’s very hard-driving editor, Vick (Christine Adams), is thrilled. The assignment was her idea. Amy is a freelancer, and Vick dangles a staff job for her if she can get the story. That’s a bit of realism that long predates the Internet.

Difficult as the assignment is, the demands of Amy’s daily life — experienced online, of course — make it that much harder: notices about her rent being overdue, calls and messages from her annoying boyfriend, Matt (Morgan Watkins), and equally annoying friend Kathy (Emma Cater). Both of them are kind of awful, actually, in a recognizably aren’t-I-millennial way.

That awfulness may be why Amy/Melody finds herself drawn in more and more by the very different — and vastly worse — awfulness of Bilel. “You know what? This has gone far enough,” Vick says. “You’ve become somebody else.” Google Translate comes up on screen several times, as Amy (or is it Melody?) scrambles to find the English equivalent of an Arabic phrase. Viewers might find themselves situated the other way around, wondering what’s Arabic for “Stockholm Syndrome.”

The director, Timur Bekmambetov (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” 2012; the 2016 remake of “Ben-Hur”) doesn’t exactly have a reputation as a great cinematic innovator. But he uses this online approach very effectively: It’s involving and (appropriately) dislocating, if also ultimately fatiguing. “Profile” is jumpy and nervy: the political thriller as extended IT session. If the characters are more avatars than people, maybe it’s because that’s how we all are online.

“Profile” is one big gimmick, but the gimmickiness, you might say, is that in a very real sense it’s shot entirely on location. Is it a great movie? No, but it’s something rare in any medium, film or otherwise: a work in which form really is content.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Written by Bekmambetov, Britt Poulton, and Olga Kharina. Starring Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams. At Boston theaters, suburbs. 105 minutes. R (language, disturbing images)

Mark Feeney can be reached at [email protected] .

Profile Movie Review: An Intense, Chilling, & Straight Up Terrifying Film

Perhaps because it is based on a true story, Profile is a bone-chilling movie that will have viewers on the edge of their seats throughout.

Intense and bone-chilling are two of the best words to describe the movie Profile. What starts off slow, but intriguing, becomes one of those movies that will have you yelling at your TV screen and wishing you could shake the character involved. The scariest part of it is that this is based on a true story, and this is a real problem. Young women and teenagers are being seduced by men on the internet and go overseas thinking they will be married but are either recruited into ISIS or sex slavery — or both.

In Profile a journalist named Amy Whittaker who is working on a story about how ISIS recruits young women from Europe. She creates a fake Facebook profile and pretends to be a young convert, almost immediately she is contacted by a recruit, Bilel, and the two start talking. 

When she started this story she was planning on moving in with her long time boyfriend, and was often talking with her best friend Kathy. As the movie goes on, she is more and more sucked into this life of her alter ego Melody, telling herself it is so that she can finish the story but it seems there is something more there.

The style of Profile seemed like something that was going to get more and more frustrating to watch, however it was easy enough to settle in after the first 30 minutes or so felt natural. What I mean of course is the fact that we are watching the story be told through a computer screen. Amy is recording most of the interactions with Bilel on her laptop screen, and viewers watch as she takes notes, translates words, and stays in contact with her boyfriend and best friend — all through her computer.

The audience gets to know her through her chat messages and video calls, and it is easy enough to relate to her. There are some scary things on the internet and her job is to expose them, no matter the cost. Part of what makes this movie so thrilling is that we see her getting deeper and deeper into this undercover story and doing foolish things that are sure to come back and bite her in the butt. 

While there are some pacing issues in the middle, and the movie could have easily knocked off 15 minutes or so, the story being told is an important one. These things really happen and exposing just how is a great first step toward stopping it. 

The third act of the movie is absolutely terrifying, as well as difficult to watch. This is all on purpose of course, but it does feel like it loses its way on the road to get there. Fortunately it comes all together in the end to tell the story, even though it is an unsettling one.

Profile is an intense, edge-of-your-seat movie that gets more and more frustrating as it goes on — but you just can’t look away. Instead you just scream and scream at your TV, like Amy can actually hear you. 

About Profile

Inspired by true events, PROFILE follows an undercover British journalist on her quest to bait and expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, while trying not to be sucked in by her recruiter and lured into becoming a militant extremist herself. The unconventional thriller plays out entirely on a computer screen in the screen life format, directed by Timur Bekmambetov.

Profile is available to take home today.

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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.

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‘Profile’ Film Review: Journalist Catfishes ISIS Fighter in Tense Online Thriller

Timur Bekmambetov’s portrait of a screen-to-screen relationship is timely, although it mostly scratches the surface

Expanding the digital-age subgenre of films entirely told on computer screens from the personal (“Searching”) and the supernatural (“Unfriended”) into the geopolitical, “Profile” is a tense on-camera thriller based on a real-life case dealing with international terrorism.

In 2014, French journalist Anna Erelle, using a fake identity, established a pretend romantic relationship with an ISIS jihadist via Skype. The objective was to learn about their tactics to recruit and transport young European women into Syria. Her hazardous ordeal is documented in the book “In the Skin of a Jihadist.”

For its cinema transmutation, the online conceit of this high-stakes story is at once pertinent to how we regularly interact with others and, given the ongoing pandemic that’s led many to swear off video chats, also visually tedious. Watching a movie unfold in full on a screen feels less than enticing in 2021, yet in director Timur Bekmambetov’s defense, “Profile” had its festival premiere back in early 2018 before physical contact vanished.

Bekmambetov and his multiple co-writers don’t contextualize what — aside from needing to pay her rent — motivates undercover British journalist Amy (Valene Kane, “Rogue One”) to pursue this investigation. By posing as a prospective Western bride for an Islamic State gunman she is putting herself at risk but, without knowledge of her previous work or her moral convictions, one can’t comprehend her thought process nor the loopholes within it.

A desktop in disarray introduces Amy’s demanding boss Vick (Christine Adams, “Black Lightning”), Amy’s boyfriend and a close personal friend, as she creates an alter ego on Facebook: Melody Nelson. With the intention of luring in an extremist, Amy presents Melody as a recent convert to Islam, engages other users with radical views, wears a hijab and fabricates a plausible backstory. Like clockwork, ISIS top dog Abu Bilel Al-Britani (Shazad Latif, “Star Trek: Discovery”) launches a courtship.

Kane’s back and forth between the submissive behaviors Melody must exude in front of Bilel and the anxiety that plagues Amy when she is out of character make for an intriguing emotional labyrinth. When the character’s pragmatism loses ground to her seeming connection with the man on the other side, in spite of her knowledge of his murderous crimes, the relationship momentarily turns ambiguous.

We are no longer certain of whether Amy’s concern for him is merely professional or if she’s fallen for his manipulation. She is losing touch with her real life in London.

Sold on the naturalness of the two main performances and the manufacturing of the interface with all its small but pointed details, “Profile” is an impressive marriage between the human element and the virtual vehicle through which this deceitful bond develops. The structure of the film necessitates not only intangible production design but also that all the music we hear is diegetic and that we receive information on the screen through text messages, web searches, Facebook posts, and chats.

These elements convey the scatterbrained nature of our online behavior, replying to one message as we research something while at the same time singing along to a tune. Ultimately, though, accessing the layers through so much onscreen text coming from multiple directions, in order to piece together a semblance of who Amy is and who she becomes as Melody, is rather exhausting.

All of Amy’s backgrounds come from her apartment or a hotel room, but for Bilel’s scenes, Bekmambetov and his team had the larger task of showing him in combat or in ravaged cities. Scaling down his usual scope — Bekmambetov, a Russian-Kazakh filmmaker is known for action-heavy productions such as “Night Watch” or the 2016 remake of “Ben-Hur” — “Profile” signifies a new focus on acting, as that’s the most relevant asset here. The believable, sometimes erratic nuances in the exchanges, which transcend the movie’s inert mechanics, demonstrate the director’s aptitude to zero in on the quieter parts.

As Bilel, Latif amps up a fascinating dose of hypermasculinity mixed with cat-loving vulnerability, which comes off as strangely relatable. That’s most certainly the point. His advances, flirtatious but never less than demanding, exhibit how, at least in conversation, he’s willing to bend the rules of the strict interpretation of religion he preaches.

Through him, the screenplay also plants the idea that the racism experienced by people of Middle Eastern heritage in Europe is a factor in them joining those groups. Although it seems very on-the-nose and lacking intellectual depth, that notion is refuted with the inclusion of Lou (Amir Rahimzadeh), Amy’s Syrian IT guy, who condemns ISIS and acts as counterpoint for the white woman’s prejudices.

Still, as much as Bekmambetov is able to maintain a sense of impending doom, the revelations are predictable, even if the means through which we learn them are clever. What’s least successful about “Profile” is how the multi-faceted issues at its center are ultimately reduced to the journalist’s bravery to stand up to fear. Within its format, there’s no real examination of the social environment that drives young girls to reach out to such a dark underworld in the first place.

A scene late in Melody and Bilel’s fraudulent love affair exposes Amy’s need for understanding that apparently no one in her flesh-and-blood life provides; that’s the only time she seems to be in the shoes of those who have fallen in this trap before. The rest is mostly concerned with the two-way web of lies weaving between potential prey and real predator.

“Profile” opens in US theaters May 14.

Read original story ‘Profile’ Film Review: Journalist Catfishes ISIS Fighter in Tense Online Thriller At TheWrap

Profile Movie

A journalist risks her life by infiltrating militant extremist groups online.

Who's Involved:

Shazad Latif, Timur Bekmambetov, Valene Kane, Britt Poulton, Igor Tsay, Olga Kharina

Release Date:

Friday, May 14, 2021 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

Follows an undercover British journalist in her quest to bait and expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, while trying not to be sucked in by her recruiter and lured into becoming a militant extremist herself.

3.44 / 5 stars ( 9 users)

Poll: Will you see Profile?

Who stars in Profile: Cast List

Valene Kane

Nowhere Special  

Shazad Latif

What’s Love Got To Do With It?, Falling for Figaro  

Who's making Profile: Crew List

A look at the Profile behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Timur Bekmambetov last directed Ben Hur and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter .

Timur Bekmambetov

Screenwriters

Britt Poulton Timur Bekmambetov Olga Kharina

Production Companies

Watch profile trailers & videos.

Official Trailer

Production: what we know about profile.

• Inspired by the 2015 nonfiction bestseller In the Skin of a Jihadist by a French journalist who now has round-the-clock police protection and has changed her name to Anna Érelle.
• Profile premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2018, receiving rave critics’ reviews and an Audience Award, and took the same prize at SXSW later that year.
• The unconventional thriller plays out entirely on a computer screen in the Screenlife format, pioneered by Bekmambetov. As a producer, his big break came with his Screenlife films Unfriended, which was picked up by Universal and grossed about $65 million worldwide — on a budget of $1 million, and Debra Messing and John Cho-led Searching picked up by Sony Pictures and making $75 million on an even smaller budget.

Filming Timeline

• 2021 - March : The film was set to Completed  status.

Profile Release Date: When was the film released?

Profile was a Limited release in 2021 on Friday, May 14, 2021 . There were 13 other movies released on the same date, including Spiral: From the Book of Saw , Above Suspicion and Finding You . As a Limited release, Profile will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

Q&A Asked about Profile

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Is Profile a True Story?

‘Profile’ is a thriller film that revolves around Amy Whittaker, a journalist who investigates the recruitment tactics of ISIS by creating a fake Facebook profile under the assumed name of Melody Nelson. Her investigation leads her into the dark world of radical and extremist ideas, and she begins to succumb under the pressure of living a double life. It is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Amir Rahimzadeh, and Morgan Watkins in the lead roles. If you are wondering whether the movie is inspired by any real events or true stories, you have come to the right place. Here is everything we know in that regard.

Is Profile Based on a True Story?

Yes, ‘Profile’ is based on a true story. The movie is inspired by the non-fiction novel ‘In the Skin of a Jihadist’ by Anna Erelle. Erelle is a French journalist who investigated ISIS and its recruitment of young European girls who had recently converted to Islam. Erelle’s journey into the web of ISIS’s activities began around 2013. She had extensive experience in covering events in the Middle East. She spoke to several young girls in the Banlieue suburb of Paris. There she first realized the extent of the radical religious ideals that had spread among the teenagers.

According to Erelle, the girls idolized the jihadists. They knew almost nothing about religion and were only aware of the propaganda spread by radical organizations. Erelle wished to take a further look into the situation and came across a Belgian woman whose daughter had disappeared. While searching for the young girl, Erelle learned that ISIS recruited young girls, mostly converts, through social media . The girl had apparently run away to Syria to marry her radical Muslim boyfriend she met online.

To understand the allure of the radical organization, Erelle decided to enter the online community and dig deeper into the matter. She created a Facebook profile under the pseudonym Melodie, a twenty-year-old girl who recently converted to Islam. Initially, she observed online exchanges and developed an idea of how French teenagers were being radicalized. One afternoon, she received a string of messages from Abu Bilel, a senior ISIS commander. The ISIS fighter of Algerian descent was a right-hand man of the organization’s leader, Bakr al-Baghdadi. He later Skyped with Erelle, and their first interaction is recreated on the screen, as mentioned by the author in her book.

Through her interactions with Bilel, Erelle started grasping how young girls were being radicalized. In an interview with the Guardian , Erelle said, “Multiple reasons. First, these are girls who are maybe too naive. They really think they will help the population, so they go for that. But now, for one year or so, we have seen a lot of girls going to Syria or Iraq because they think they will make a good marriage and become somebody very important when they are married to a powerful man. The scary stuff is that the girls are now as drunk on power as the men.” She also mentioned fame as one of the aspects that attracted these young girls.

Soon, Bilel proposed marriage to Erelle, and she played along, agreeing to join him in Syria. As per Bilel’s instructions, “Melodie” and her fictionalized friend “Yasmine” were to travel to Syria via Amsterdam and Istanbul. However, once she reached Amsterdam, Bilel changed the plan. He revealed that the person supposed to escort Melodie and her friend to Istanbul wouldn’t be arriving, and the girls will have to make the trip alone. Erelle had an argument with Bilel, after which she returned to Paris and cut off all ties. She began to receive death threats and lives under police protection. “Erelle” is a pseudonym of the writer, and her real identity is kept hidden to protect her from ISIS’s “fatwa.”

A significant portion of ‘Profile’ is based on the true story of Anna Erelle. Most of these elements of Erelle’s story are preserved in the film’s narrative, with some cosmetic changes to details such as names and locations. Certain key elements have been changed to make the story more dramatized. Events depicting how Bilel learns that he is being catfished have been altered. Most of the events from this point onwards are works of fiction to create a taut, high-stakes thriller.

Read More: Where Was Profile FIlmed?

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'profile' is good – but it could be better, based on a true story, an undercover british journalist tries to expose a terrorist recruiter through social media.

In 2015, it was common to see the multiple headlines in the news with the same meanings: Teenage girl leaves Western civilization, joins extremist group.

But it's hard to see things from the outcast's point of view. Why would somebody do that? And how could somebody convince a young woman to drop everything for a new life. Based on a 2015 nonfiction bestseller "In the Skin of a Jihadist," "Profile" explores these thoughts with director Timur Bekmambetov's vision .

For fans of Screenlife, the filmmaking format played out entirely on a computer screen like "Searching" and "Unfriended," there's a new film to see.

Freelance journalist Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) is assigned a story about online radicalization and given a chance to join a newsroom staff. With pressures to impress, Amy creates a fake Facebook account under the name Melody Nelson, a recent religious convert who lives in London. After sharing extremist posts as Melody, she connects with Abu Bilel (Shazad Latif), a London-born militant.

Within the safety of a keyboard and video chat, she experiences recruitment first-hand and tries not to fall for Bilal's charm in the process.

"Profile" has an interesting premise. Knowing the plot and nothing else, the protagonist's covert mission sounds like a bad idea because journalists aren't trained to be undercover agents. So audiences preemptively go into this movie thinking the worst scenarios happen. They're expecting to hate Bilel, and for some that won't change.

But for others, they'll find Bilel charming and intimidating. And the film does a scary good job of humanizing a terrorist and seeing the effect it has on Amy. Look – he cooks curry, plays soccer and offers company for a woman who feels isolated in a situation she placed herself in. Ignore the fact that he's dangerous, and viewers have one of the best bachelors up for grabs. But then, the storytelling falls apart at the seams in the third act.

It's certainly not 'Searching'

When comparing "Profile" to "Searching" for example, it was a much weaker film that could've been better. Maybe expectations were high because of "Searching," a film starring John Cho as a father looking for his missing daughter. But in things that "Searching" did right, "Profile" failed.

Amy wasn't likable at any point. She acts aggressively, ignores plans and conversations with her loved ones and makes extremely dumb mistakes. So it makes viewers' motivation to care about her story tank by the minute. Cho's character David in "Searching" is extremely intelligent, relatable and kind yet brutal when needed. His story is easy to feel emotional toward as the plot snowballs into one twist after the other.

In "Searching," there are plenty of impactful scenes in which we didn't have to see the protagonist's face. Voiceovers and a few clicks over multiple mediums like Skype, FaceTime, social media, livestreams and security cameras did most of the storytelling. Whereas in "Profile" most of the storytelling is told through Skype video calls and instant messaging or Facebook videos and posts. It had a lot of potential to take advantage of its landscape as a Screenlife film, but it didn't deliver the same goosebumps or blows as Bekmambetov's previous projects.

Nevertheless, for those looking for a thrilling tale told in an original format, this is still an entertaining movie. Just know that it could've been so much better.

Score: 7/10

"Profile" opens in theaters on Friday, May 14.

Follow the reporter on Twitter at @s_incorvaia .

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25 beatles lyrics: your go-to guide for every situation, the best lines from the fab four.

For as long as I can remember, I have been listening to The Beatles. Every year, my mom would appropriately blast “Birthday” on anyone’s birthday. I knew all of the words to “Back In The U.S.S.R” by the time I was 5 (Even though I had no idea what or where the U.S.S.R was). I grew up with John, Paul, George, and Ringo instead Justin, JC, Joey, Chris and Lance (I had to google N*SYNC to remember their names). The highlight of my short life was Paul McCartney in concert twice. I’m not someone to “fangirl” but those days I fangirled hard. The music of The Beatles has gotten me through everything. Their songs have brought me more joy, peace, and comfort. I can listen to them in any situation and find what I need. Here are the best lyrics from The Beatles for every and any occasion.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

The End- Abbey Road, 1969

The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

Dear Prudence- The White Album, 1968

Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you

Because- Abbey Road, 1969

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

All You Need Is Love, 1967

Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend

We Can Work It Out- Rubber Soul, 1965

He say, "I know you, you know me", One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Come Together- Abbey Road, 1969

Oh please, say to me, You'll let me be your man. And please say to me, You'll let me hold your hand

I Wanna Hold Your Hand- Meet The Beatles!, 1964

It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-1967

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see

Strawberry Fields Forever- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967

Can you hear me? When it rains and shine, it's just a state of mind

Rain- Paperback Writer "B" side, 1966

Little darling, it's been long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it' s been here. Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright

Here Comes The Sun- Abbey Road, 1969

We danced through the night and we held each other tight, and before too long I fell in love with her. Now, I'll never dance with another when I saw her standing there

Saw Her Standing There- Please Please Me, 1963

I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say

Michelle- Rubber Soul, 1965

You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world

Revolution- The Beatles, 1968

All the lonely people, where do they all come from. All the lonely people, where do they all belong

Eleanor Rigby- Revolver, 1966

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

With A Little Help From My Friends- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better

Hey Jude, 1968

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday

Yesterday- Help!, 1965

And when the brokenhearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

Let It Be- Let It Be, 1970

And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

I'll give you all i got to give if you say you'll love me too. i may not have a lot to give but what i got i'll give to you. i don't care too much for money. money can't buy me love.

Can't Buy Me Love- A Hard Day's Night, 1964

All you need is love, love is all you need

All You Need Is Love- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird- The White Album, 1968

Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more

In My Life- Rubber Soul, 1965

While these are my 25 favorites, there are quite literally 1000s that could have been included. The Beatles' body of work is massive and there is something for everyone. If you have been living under a rock and haven't discovered the Fab Four, you have to get musically educated. Stream them on Spotify, find them on iTunes or even buy a CD or record (Yes, those still exist!). I would suggest starting with 1, which is a collection of most of their #1 songs, or the 1968 White Album. Give them chance and you'll never look back.

14 Invisible Activities: Unleash Your Inner Ghost!

Obviously the best superpower..

The best superpower ever? Being invisible of course. Imagine just being able to go from seen to unseen on a dime. Who wouldn't want to have the opportunity to be invisible? Superman and Batman have nothing on being invisible with their superhero abilities. Here are some things that you could do while being invisible, because being invisible can benefit your social life too.

1. "Haunt" your friends.

Follow them into their house and cause a ruckus.

2. Sneak into movie theaters.

Going to the cinema alone is good for your mental health , says science

Considering that the monthly cost of subscribing to a media-streaming service like Netflix is oft...

Free movies...what else to I have to say?

3. Sneak into the pantry and grab a snack without judgment.

Late night snacks all you want? Duh.

4. Reenact "Hollow Man" and play Kevin Bacon.

America's favorite son? And feel what it's like to be in a MTV Movie Award nominated film? Sign me up.

5. Wear a mask and pretend to be a floating head.

Just another way to spook your friends in case you wanted to.

6. Hold objects so they'll "float."

"Oh no! A floating jar of peanut butter."

7. Win every game of hide-and-seek.

Just stand out in the open and you'll win.

8. Eat some food as people will watch it disappear.

Even everyday activities can be funny.

9. Go around pantsing your friends.

Even pranks can be done; not everything can be good.

10. Not have perfect attendance.

You'll say here, but they won't see you...

11. Avoid anyone you don't want to see.

Whether it's an ex or someone you hate, just use your invisibility to slip out of the situation.

12. Avoid responsibilities.

Chores? Invisible. People asking about social life? Invisible. Family being rude? Boom, invisible.

13. Be an expert on ding-dong-ditch.

Never get caught and have the adrenaline rush? I'm down.

14. Brag about being invisible.

Be the envy of the town.

But don't, I repeat, don't go in a locker room. Don't be a pervert with your power. No one likes a Peeping Tom.

Good luck, folks.

19 Lessons I'll Never Forget from Growing Up In a Small Town

There have been many lessons learned..

Small towns certainly have their pros and cons. Many people who grow up in small towns find themselves counting the days until they get to escape their roots and plant new ones in bigger, "better" places. And that's fine. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought those same thoughts before too. We all have, but they say it's important to remember where you came from. When I think about where I come from, I can't help having an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my roots. Being from a small town has taught me so many important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

1. The importance of traditions.

Sometimes traditions seem like a silly thing, but the fact of it is that it's part of who you are. You grew up this way and, more than likely, so did your parents. It is something that is part of your family history and that is more important than anything.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

No matter how many times they get on your nerves or make you mad, they are the ones who will always be there and you should never take that for granted.

3. How to give back.

When tragedy strikes in a small town, everyone feels obligated to help out because, whether directly or indirectly, it affects you too. It is easy in a bigger city to be able to disconnect from certain problems. But in a small town those problems affect everyone.

4. What the word "community" really means.

Along the same lines as #3, everyone is always ready and willing to lend a helping hand when you need one in a small town and to me that is the true meaning of community. It's working together to build a better atmosphere, being there to raise each other up, build each other up, and pick each other up when someone is in need. A small town community is full of endless support whether it be after a tragedy or at a hometown sports game. Everyone shows up to show their support.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

People say this to others all the time, but it takes on a whole new meaning in a small town. It is true that life is about the journey, but when you're from a small town, you know it's about the journey because the journey probably takes longer than you spend at the destination. Everything is so far away that it is totally normal to spend a couple hours in the car on your way to some form of entertainment. And most of the time, you're gonna have as many, if not more, memories and laughs on the journey than at the destination.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

Word travels fast in a small town, so don't think you're gonna get away with anything. In fact, your parents probably know what you did before you even have a chance to get home and tell them. And forget about being scared of what your teacher, principle, or other authority figure is going to do, you're more afraid of what your parents are gonna do when you get home.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

Everyone deserves a chance. Most people don't have ill-intentions and you can't live your life guarding against every one else just because a few people in your life have betrayed your trust.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

While small towns are not always extremely diverse, they do contain people with a lot of different stories, struggle, and backgrounds. In a small town, it is pretty hard to exclude anyone because of who they are or what they come from because there aren't many people to choose from. A small town teaches you that just because someone isn't the same as you, doesn't mean you can't be great friends.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

In a small town, you learn that it's okay to be who you are and do your own thing. You learn that confidence isn't how beautiful you are or how much money you have, it's who you are on the inside.

10. How to work for what I want.

Nothing comes easy in life. They always say "gardens don't grow overnight" and if you're from a small town you know this both figuratively and literally. You certainly know gardens don't grow overnight because you've worked in a garden or two. But you also know that to get to the place you want to be in life it takes work and effort. It doesn't just happen because you want it to.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

If you're from a small town, you know that you will probably only meet a handful of people in your life who ACTUALLY know where your town is. And forget about the people who accidentally enter into your town because of google maps. You've gotten really good at giving them directions right back to the interstate.

12. How to be humble .

My small town has definitely taught me how to be humble. It isn't always about you, and anyone who grows up in a small town knows that. Everyone gets their moment in the spotlight, and since there's so few of us, we're probably best friends with everyone so we are as excited when they get their moment of fame as we are when we get ours.

13. To be well-rounded.

Going to a small town high school definitely made me well-rounded. There isn't enough kids in the school to fill up all the clubs and sports teams individually so be ready to be a part of them all.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

In a small town, good luck holding a grudge. In a bigger city you can just avoid a person you don't like or who you've had problems with. But not in a small town. You better resolve the issue fast because you're bound to see them at least 5 times a week.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

One of my favorite things about growing up in a rural area was being able to go outside and go exploring and not have to worry about being in danger. There is nothing more exciting then finding a new place somewhere in town or in the woods and just spending time there enjoying the natural beauty around you.

16. To be prepared for anything.

You never know what may happen. If you get a flat tire, you better know how to change it yourself because you never know if you will be able to get ahold of someone else to come fix it. Mechanics might be too busy , or more than likely you won't even have enough cell service to call one.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

It's okay to ask for help. One thing I realized when I moved away from my town for college, was how much my town has taught me that I could ask for help is I needed it. I got into a couple situations outside of my town where I couldn't find anyone to help me and found myself thinking, if I was in my town there would be tons of people ready to help me. And even though I couldn't find anyone to help, you better believe I wasn't afraid to ask.

18. How to be creative.

When you're at least an hour away from normal forms of entertainment such as movie theaters and malls, you learn to get real creative in entertaining yourself. Whether it be a night looking at the stars in the bed of a pickup truck or having a movie marathon in a blanket fort at home, you know how to make your own good time.

19. To brush off gossip.

It's all about knowing the person you are and not letting others influence your opinion of yourself. In small towns, there is plenty of gossip. But as long as you know who you really are, it will always blow over.

Grateful Beyond Words: A Letter to My Inspiration

I have never been so thankful to know you..

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

You have taught me that you don't always have to strong. You are allowed to break down as long as you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward. When life had you at your worst moments, you allowed your friends to be there for you and to help you. You let them in and they helped pick you up. Even in your darkest hour you showed so much strength. I know that you don't believe in yourself as much as you should but you are unbelievably strong and capable of anything you set your mind to.

Your passion to make a difference in the world is unbelievable. You put your heart and soul into your endeavors and surpass any personal goal you could have set. Watching you do what you love and watching you make a difference in the lives of others is an incredible experience. The way your face lights up when you finally realize what you have accomplished is breathtaking and I hope that one day I can have just as much passion you have.

SEE MORE: A Letter To My Best Friend On Her Birthday

The love you have for your family is outstanding. Watching you interact with loved ones just makes me smile . You are so comfortable and you are yourself. I see the way you smile when you are around family and I wish I could see you smile like this everyday. You love with all your heart and this quality is something I wished I possessed.

You inspire me to be the best version of myself. I look up to you. I feel that more people should strive to have the strength and passion that you exemplify in everyday life.You may be stubborn at points but when you really need help you let others in, which shows strength in itself. I have never been more proud to know someone and to call someone my role model. You have taught me so many things and I want to thank you. Thank you for inspiring me in life. Thank you for making me want to be a better person.

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life..

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Don't freak out

This is a rule you should continue to follow no matter what you do in life, but is especially helpful in this situation.

Email the professor

Around this time, professors are getting flooded with requests from students wanting to get into full classes. This doesn't mean you shouldn't burden them with your email; it means they are expecting interested students to email them. Send a short, concise message telling them that you are interested in the class and ask if there would be any chance for you to get in.

Attend the first class

Often, the advice professors will give you when they reply to your email is to attend the first class. The first class isn't the most important class in terms of what will be taught. However, attending the first class means you are serious about taking the course and aren't going to give up on it.

Keep attending class

Every student is in the same position as you are. They registered for more classes than they want to take and are "shopping." For the first couple of weeks, you can drop or add classes as you please, which means that classes that were once full will have spaces. If you keep attending class and keep up with assignments, odds are that you will have priority. Professors give preference to people who need the class for a major and then from higher to lower class year (senior to freshman).

Have a backup plan

For two weeks, or until I find out whether I get into my waitlisted class, I will be attending more than the usual number of classes. This is so that if I don't get into my waitlisted class, I won't have a credit shortage and I won't have to fall back in my backup class. Chances are that enough people will drop the class, especially if it is very difficult like computer science, and you will have a chance. In popular classes like art and psychology, odds are you probably won't get in, so prepare for that.

Remember that everything works out at the end

Life is full of surprises. So what if you didn't get into the class you wanted? Your life obviously has something else in store for you. It's your job to make sure you make the best out of what you have.

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5 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.

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By The New York Times

Clever quips meet corporate interests.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Directed by Shawn Levy, this sardonic superhero film follows Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who, thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now both exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they team up to fight a common enemy.

From our review:

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is a “Deadpool” movie, which means it’s rude and irreverent, funny and disgusting, weird and a little sweet. Reynolds and Jackman are fun to watch, in part because their onscreen characters contrast so violently with their nice-guy personas offscreen . So much of what the M.C.U. offers feels churned out of the same factory, which makes anything with a distinct personality feel like a relief. But in the end, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is a movie about corporate mergers, about intellectual property, about the ways that the business of Hollywood battles the creative process.

In theaters. Read the full review .

Critic’s Pick

Skates right into your heart.

A Taiwanese American, skateboarding-obsessed boy named Chris (Izaac Wang) experiences the trials and triumphs of young adolescence the summer before he enters high school in this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story from Sean Wang.

Chris is a stand-in for Sean Wang, who built the movie on top of his own memories. So while those recollections are highly specific to the setting and the time period — Chris uses all the AOL Instant Messenger acronyms, chats with the SmarterChild chatbot and checks a friend’s MySpace page to see if he’s still in their Top 8 list — they feel universal, too. When Chris flubs a first kiss, we feel his embarrassment. When he flips out at his mother, and friends look at him askance for his behavior, we feel his confused shame. “Didi” is as much about realizing how others see you as it is about learning to see them for who they really are.

Bette Midler twerks!

‘the fabulous four’.

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• Cast & crew

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last ... Read all A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.

• Kenji Kamiyama
• Phoebe Gittins
• Arty Papageorgiou
• Jeffrey Addiss
• Miranda Otto
• Shaun Dooley

Top cast 13

• Helm Hammerhand

• Fréaláf Hildeson
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Set 183 years before the events of "The Lord of the Rings".
• Connections Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Geeked Week for Freaks (2021)
• How long will The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim be? Powered by Alexa
• December 13, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Burbank, California, USA (Studio)
• Middle-earth Enterprises
• New Line Cinema
• Sola Digital Arts
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 10 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital
• IMAX 6-Track

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Deadpool & Wolverine's RT Audience Score Nearly Sets New High for the MCU

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Audiences are loving the new movie Deadpool & Wolverine . On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a very high audience score which comes close to setting a new record for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On the review aggregator website, Deadpool & Wolverine has a Certified Fresh rating of 79% with critics. The audience score is considerably higher, currently sitting at 97% . This is falling just short of matching the current high for the MCU, as both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have scores of 98%. Deapool & Wolverine has also surpassed the high audience scores of other popular MCU films like Spider-Man: Far From Home (95%), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (94%), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (94%).

Rob McElhenney Calls Out Ryan Reynolds for Cutting Deadpool & Wolverine Cameo

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney calls out his friend and business partner Ryan Reynolds for cutting his Deadpool & Wolverine cameo.

"This movie literally healed my love for the MCU," one audience review for Deadpool & Wolverine stated. "I cared for the characters, I laughed out loud with my entire cinema. Marvel Jesus indeed, I just hope they'll keep it up from now on!!"

"This movie literally healed my love for the MCU."

Another viewer noted, "I Thought the movie was absolutely incredible! Amazing action! AMAZING CAMEOS! The acting was great too! Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman killed it everytime they were on screen and had heartfelt moments. This is one Marvel movie you do not want to miss out on. A must see! An Incredible ride from start to finish!"

Lady Deadpool Actor Reveals Original Inspiration for the Character Years Before Deadpool & Wolverine

The casting for Lady Deadpool was written in the stars.

"Haven't smiled that large in a theater in ages," said someone else. "Everything good about Deadpool and the MCU but better because of the appreciation for fox and these heros of the past. Loved this movie probably will see it a few times in theaters."

The reviews are in line with what Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige had been promising for the movie. While it's R-rated, and deservedly so, the film has heart, making it so much more than just violence and vulgarity. It's true that there are many major character cameos featured in the movie, but all of them were intended to be utilized in a way that services the story.

The Movie Is R-Rated With an Emotional Core

"I think people can tell from the trailer and from the press tour so far, yes, it’s R-rated, yes there’s some language and blood, but the film is incredibly emotional," Feige explained. "I keep calling it the most wholesome R-rated film that anybody can ever see. It really is a celebration of friendship and family and of found family. I don’t want to overdo it, but for all the R-rated raunchiness that gets attention, when people see the movie, it’s going to be about how heartfelt it is ."

Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in movie theaters.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Deadpool & Wolverine

Wolverine joins the "merc with a mouth" in the third installment of the Deadpool film franchise.