Belushi (R.J. Cutler, 2020). This documentary about the short life of John Belushi makes a valiant effort at capturing his boisterous charisms and fiery comic genius. Director R.J. Cutler relies on audio of interviews Tanner Colby conducted for a biography … Continue reading Then Playing — Belushi; The Father; The Man Who Knew Too Much
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Jason Wollner, 2020). Notably stronger than its predecessor from fourteen years earlier, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm returns the title Kazakh journalist (Sacha Baron Cohen) to the good ol’ Land of the Free. Borat’s stated mission is to put … Continue reading Then Playing — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm; Another Round; Hillbilly Elegy
The Day I Will Never Forget (Kim Longinotto, 2002). I don’t think I’ve encountered a documentary as uncompromisingly grueling as The Day I Will Never Forget. Director Kim Longinotto favors plain, direct reportage, which makes the film’s most harrowing moments … Continue reading Then Playing — The Day I Will Never Forget; Örökbefogadás; The Nest
When journalist Jessica Bruder toiled away on her book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, I doubt a big-screen adaptation felt like a probably outcome. Bruder’s reportage was on a modern brand of itinerant living, practiced especially by older … Continue reading Now Playing — Nomadland
By his own account, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung wanted to share his own history in a way that it wasn’t actually his history. In the most basic reckoning, there’s nothing especially unique about that approach. It’s the very definition of … Continue reading Now Playing — Minari
The 40-Year-Old Version (Radha Blank, 2020). Employing impressive candor and sharp humor, Radha Blank makes her feature directorial debut with an autobiographical story about a playwright named Radha (played by Blank) who addresses the professional and personal frustration she feels … Continue reading Then Playing — The 40-Year-Old Version; She Dies Tomorrow; After Hours
Crossing Delancey (Joan Micklin Silver, 1988). This gentle romantic comedy has the wafting charm of a fable. Isabelle (Amy Irving) is an independent New Yorker with a habit of dabbling with the wrong men. When her grandmother (Reizl Bozyk) enlists … Continue reading Then Playing — Crossing Delancey; The Climb; Don’t Let Go
Four men gather at the edge of a nation that simultaneously exalts and oppresses them. They are famous, and at least a couple of them are generously compensated for the actions that earned them notoriety. They also are confined to … Continue reading Now Playing — One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman is a gleaming arsenic lollipop with a razor blade hidden in the middle. It’s enticing and delicious but it also induces queasy wooziness, and then, with the barest warning, it cuts deep. The film is merciless and … Continue reading Now Playing — Promising Young Woman
Driveways (Andrew Ahn, 2020). There are few stories of bonding more cliched than the sad, lonely child who befriends a crusty elderly fellow, both growing in charming and moving ways because of the relationship. That makes it borderline miraculous that … Continue reading Then Playing — Driveways; Babyteeth; Collective
