The Main Event (Howard Zieff, 1979). Barbra Streisand stars as Hillary Kramer, the owner of a major perfume corporation who goes bust after her accountant embezzles all of her money and absconds to South America. One of the only assets she has left is a financial investment is a prizefighter (Ryan O’Neal) who’s mostly retired but is contractually obligated to step into the ring a few more times. The Main Event proceeds through their mismatched partnership, drawing comedy from her mild bumbling as a boxing manager and his developed aversion to absorbing the blows of more determined competitors. Reuniting the stars of What’s Up, Doc? for a romantic comedy based in the world of boxing must have seemed a sure bet in the long afterglow of Rocky (The Main Event in fact arrived in theaters just one week after the release of Rocky II), but the script is weak. Moments of satisfying feminist commentary are short-lined, the ending doesn’t really make sense, and Hillary swings implausibly between savvy and daffy. Streisand shines in the role, though. No matter how much elements of the film are lacking, including Howard Zieff’s pedestrian directing, Streisand makes the movie watchable through the brute force of her starry charisma.

A Thousand and One (A. V. Rockwell, 2023). The feature debut from writer-director A.V. Rockwell is impressively ambitious, covering more than ten years in the lives of Inez (Teyana Taylor) and Terry (played at different ages by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross, who all share the same pair of sad eyes), mother and son living in Harlem. Inez is determined to give Terry a better upbringing than she ever had, even when the rigors of parenting and maintaining a life in a gentrifying city that provides little opportunity for her. Rockwell refrains from florid drama and focuses instead on the small, accumulating hurts that can make every day feel like a struggle. Her visuals are rich and intimate, making it feel like the camera has settled down and lived the lives right alongside the characters. The deep considerations that clearly went into A Thousand and One add heft to the stories large and small that move through the narrative. Taylor is sensational in her role, carrying fury and vulnerability at once, and Will Catlett has a nice supporting turn as Lucky, the flawed but kind romantic partner of Inez.

Black Angel (Roy William Neill, 1946). This agreeably ramshackle film noir doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it commits to its darkest instincts. Black Angel opens with the murder of Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling), a socialite who had her fair share of illicit paramours. When Kirk Bennet (John Phillips) is convicted of the crime, his steadfastly faithful wife, Catherine (June Vincent), sets out to prove his innocence. Evidently the best way to do so is by teaming with a boozehound songwriter (Dan Duryea) to go undercover in a nightclub as a chanteuse and her accompanist. He tries to clean up his act as his falls in love with Catherine, all while helping her try and spring her hubby. Duryea is engaging in his role, and Peter Lorre gives a droll performance as the club owner. Roy William Neill keeps the proceedings fairly snappy, even with the added burden of squeezing in a couple musical numbers. No matter how clunky the plot might be otherwise, the Black Angel is memorable for its final twist. It’s a grim doozy.