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The filmmaking & acting in Paper Tiger (🌟🌟🌟🌟) is outrageous: this is unquestionably one of the five best releases of 2026 & if James Gray isn’t nominated for the Oscar for Best Director, then something is really wrong in this world. Gray’s direction is preposterous. Every shot - every frame - says something. This is exactly what moviemaking is all about. From the film’s very opening shot, you immediately understand that you are in the hands of a man with a vision. What’s more is that Scarlett Johansson gives the single best performance of her life. Adam Driver & Miles Teller? They’re great. But Johansson is unforgettable. Let this be the iconic performance that wins her an Academy Award. What an incredible film.  I’ve never watched a James Gray film that I loved. Ad Astra, Armageddon Time, We Own the Night, and even The Lost City of Z are all good films that I enjoy, but I cannot say that I love them. I’ve always maintained that Gray is a better director than he is a writer & that his writing held back all the films I just mentioned. And for that reason, I’ve always had an up & down relationship with Gray. But that doesn’t hold true here. None of that is the case with Paper Tiger. Simply put, I think this is the single best film Gray has ever made in his life. It feels like everything comes into place here - everything clicks. The story here follows two brothers in Queens in 1986. Miles Teller plays Irwin, a man on the straight & narrow who needs to provide for his two teenage sons and his wife Linda (Johansson). His older brother Gary (Driver) slicks his hair back, wears nice jewelry & is as flashy as they get. Gary also happens to be an ex-cop. The entire crux of the story is that Gary brings Irwin, who’s an engineer, in on a business opportunity that involves the local Russian mob. The mob needs engineering help to clean out the polluted canal & Gary and Irwin are the men for the job. I think a key plot point worth remembering is that Gary & Irwin are not corrupt - they genuinely enter this business opportunity with good intentions. But their business plan - and this story - flips on its head when Irwin brings his two teenage boys to the canal one night for an inspection only to see things he isn’t supposed to see.  Part of my criticism of Gray the Writer is that he’s failed in the past to properly create real tension or real conflict. In other words, his stories have always been a little…gulp…boring. That isn’t even remotely a problem with this story. The moment Irwin brings his kids to the canal & he sees things he’s not supposed to see, everything changes. Tension is caught in a bottle & it never releases. What’s supposed to be a straightforward business deal turns into an hour plus of paranoia - paranoia that involves the Russian mob following Gary & Irwin at every corner. This is the secret ingredient - this is the juice/plot point/idea - that Gray manages to capture perfectly and that ignites the story. But not only does Gray bring to the story exceptional tension, he also carries with him those big family themes that dominate all of Gray’s work up to this point. Yes, this is a crime thriller that grazes the edges of the mafia. But at its core, Paper Tiger is about the relationship between two brothers. Irwin can’t do anything right. Gary is always cleaning up his mess. Irwin is the book smart engineer. But Gary is the street smart hound who knows how to navigate tricky waters. It’s this ying & yang between Gary & Irwin that not only further develops the story, but forces us as an audience to actually care about the outcome of the film’s characters. The Gary-Irwin relationship is so incredibly believable that by the time the film’s final third rolls around, the investment in their safety is enormous…