“Nomadland,” 2021, directed by Chloé Zhao – 4.5/5 stars In the hands of a different director, “Nomadland” could have been very boring. On paper, the film is uneventful and slowly meanders from one depressing set piece to another. “Nomadland” isn’t boring, though, nor does it revel too long in its misery. Thanks to beautiful cinematography,…
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“Judas and the Black Messiah,” 2021, directed by Shaka King — 4/5 Stars True stories are difficult to tell in film. The real traumatic experiences of those who lived through events need to be handled with great care, but the film also needs to be engaging and powerful enough to do the story justice. The…
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“Malcolm & Marie,” 2021, directed by Sam Levinson — 2.5/5 Stars After the success of writer and director Sam Levinson’s HBO series “Euphoria,” expectations for “Malcolm & Marie” were high. Written with stars Zendaya and John David Washington in mind and produced in association with Netflix, the new film was set to be a proving…
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“Sound of Metal,” 2020, directed by Darius Marder — 4.5/5 Stars We all have a fear of unexpected and dramatic change in our lives. We fear our body breaking; we fear losing the ones we love; we fear becoming inadequate. In a time filled with so much unexpected change, “Sound of Metal” has a powerful…
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“Dick Johnson is Dead,” 2020, directed by Kirsten Johnson — 4/5 Stars Kirsten Johnson first made waves in the documentary filmmaking world with “Cameraperson” in 2016, a complex and moving collection of footage that posed questions about war, impermanence and trauma. For the past four years since, Johnson’s work was not present at film festivals…
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“Wonder Woman 1984,” 2020, directed by Patty Jenkins – 2/5 Stars The first “Wonder Woman” film had its flaws, as most bombastic blockbusters do, but was a mostly enjoyable romp on par with other superhero flicks. The same cannot be said for “Wonder Woman 1984.” All superhero movies, to succeed within the genre, require a…
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“Soul,” 2020, directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers – 4/5 Stars Since the release of “Toy Story” in 1995, Pixar has pushed the limits of what storytelling in animation can do for children and families. From “Up” to “WALL-E” to the third installment in the “Toy Story” franchise, Pixar’s films have covered surprisingly mature…
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“Borat Subsequent Moviefim,” 2020, directed by Jason Woliner — 3.5/5 Stars The first “Borat” was shocking and over-the-top. Sacha Baron Cohen’s unscripted, part-real, part-mockumentary film left audiences slack-jawed, stunned and hungry for more. Despite the attention it got, the movie’s sheer vulgarity may have skewed its intended message of mocking American stupidity and xenophobia. Those…
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“Enola Holmes,” 2020, directed by Harry Bradbeer – 2.5/5 Stars While “Enola Holmes” likely sounded good on paper to a conference room of Netflix executives, it was doomed to be mediocre from the point of its conception. It’s an unbeatable formula: an adaption of a popular young adult novel with an all-star cast and a…
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“Palm Springs,” 2020, directed by Max Barbakow – 4/5 Stars It might seem like the “time loop” trope has been tired out by now. “Groundhog Day,” “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Happy Death Day” have all attempted to combine different genres with the familiar premise, each with varying levels of success. At this point, many dedicated…
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