“Never give in to hope.” Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) writes these words on the white board while attending a “semi-silent retreat”. The retreat’s atmosphere is tense, and Lucy is uptight and irritated, all of which defeats the whole purpose of a retreat. Judging from the motivational tapes she listens to in the car, and the fact […]
Alicia Vikander is the titular “Firebrand,” starring as Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. But the movie that reframes her legacy as a free-thinking and vengeful radical is only fitfully fiery itself. Jude Law actually steals the show as the corpulent and capricious king. Every time he’s on screen, director Karim
In Amanda Nell Eu’s coming-of-age tale, “Tiger Stripes,” a young girl in Malaysia undergoes the mortifying experience of puberty, but with a twist. Not only is she trying her parents’ and teachers’ patience, showing off her new bra strap to classmates at her all-girls school, and getting her period, but she’s also developing an inexplicable
“Cora Bora,” written by Rhianon Jones and directed by Hannah Pearl Utt, is designed to showcase Stalter’s signature brand of absurd irony. The comedian broke out when videos she posted on social media during quarantine in 2020 went viral, leading to supporting roles on shows like “Hacks” and in indie films like “First Time Female
I have seen so many hagiographic clip reels masquerading as documentaries that I kind of just presumed that Hulu’s “Brats” would be a similar love letter to the young stars of the ‘80s, the actors and actresses who shaped pop culture in the middle of the decade in a way that’s still being felt today.
It’s incredible that a filmmaker as renowned as Takashi Miike can have a film stealth drop on Netflix. But that’s what happens when you make as many flicks as the director of “Audition,” “13 Assassins,” and “Ichi the Killer” has helmed over his illustrious career. Seriously, there’s a very strong chance he’s on a set
Xavier Gens is back with his second stateside release of the year in a film that’s already topped the Netflix charts, the defiantly goofy “Under Paris,” a movie that almost feels like it’s paying homage to the master in its nods to Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” before going full “Sharknado” in an insane final act that
People like to speak about a golden era of movies the precise dimensions of which often shift based on the generation of the speaker when Hollywood made products that were sexier, smarter, and just generally better. Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” is for them. Like its protagonist’s ability to basically change identities depending on the situation,
On stage, comedians use their words to make their audience laugh, gasp, or think sometimes simultaneously. But what happens when a joke is used against a comedian? It’s one of the many thorny ideas Ally Pankiw’s bold feature debut “I Used to Be Funny” wrestles with over the course of its emotional story. When we
Cate Blanchett’s searing performance in “Tár” left such an indelible impression that, for a while in late 2022/early 2023, people actually thought Lydia Tár was a real person. She is not: The egotistical and tormented conductor is entirely fictional, the vivid creation of writer-director Todd Field. However, many passionate and dedicated female conductors exist, and
