Depicting the horrifying cycle of abuse in the state’s prison system, The Alabama Solution is tough to watch. It was already hard to reckon with the related news reports, but what makes this documentary necessary is the way filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman teamed up with activists inside to get a deeper look into […]
After being promoted as a project lead, Ron falls down due to his office chair breaking. At first he tries to joke it off, but the work piles on, the expectations get higher, and all he can do is call The Chair Company. It leads him to an unexpected conspiracy that could be a combination […]
From the creators of HBO’s Mare of Easttown comes Task, a gritty crime drama that follows two men —one cop and one criminal —who, despite their differences, are on a similarly rocky journey towards healing. The series is slow to start, and it doesn’t help that the premise is something you’ve seen many times. But […]
In Sorry, Baby, an unspeakable act of cruelty disrupts Agnes’ ambitious rise to the top. Despite being a literature professor, she struggles to find the words to describe what happened to her. Likewise, the audience isn’t made privy to the details of the incident and relies only on what Agnes chooses to show. It’s a […]
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley depicts the life of a musician whose time was cut too short. It’s a tale you might have heard before. He fell in love with the guitar at a young age, busked in small cafes and downtown bars, and won over fans and record labels to create one excellent album, […]
At the heart of Bring Her Back is grief. It’s already painful to lose a family member, but this supernatural horror unpacks the ways grief can be complicated, when shared or carried alone. It just so happens to be presented with brutality and gore. We do have to warn some viewers: It’s pretty intense. The […]
In the 1970s, at the height of the women’s liberation movement, there emerged a publication that sought to bridge the gap between activists and everyday women. Led by Gloria Steinem, Ms. magazine brought the revolution to women’s doorsteps—it reminded them of their rights, empowered them to stand up for themselves, and encouraged them to live […]
Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to Parasite, Mickey17, lacks the precision and sharp wit of its predecessor. The satire felt too obvious, while the narrations went on for too long, often dampening the film’s momentum. The biggest transgressor, however, is the film’s villain, a Trump-incarnate played by Mark Ruffalo, who seemed more ridiculous than scary. But while […]
There is nothing quite like The Substance right now. It’s unsubtle, it’s provocative, and its satirical humor can be a hit or miss for some viewers, but it strikes at the one thing that’s fundamental to everyone, that can make or break their lives, yet that is rarely given grace and consideration– that is the […]
You’d be forgiven for assuming Celtics City would be like most sports documentaries on TV—unremarkable and over-the-top. But in this case, Celtics City deserves to be over the top. The NBA team, perhaps more than any in the league, has such a rich history, filled with wins and losses, joys and failures, shame and impact, […]
With the gorgeous period costumes, the romance, and the familial dynamics, you would think that Like Water for Chocolate’s latest screen adaptation would be just the same as the film, albeit with a Bridgerton-esque style. To a certain extent, this is true, as the essence of the novel still remains intact and the production is […]
Just a few minutes in, you can already feel the immensity of The Brutalist. The rousing score stirs you. The weight of The Holocaust and Toth’s immigration story, which is also one of xenophobia and addiction, pulls you in. The visuals, shot in VistaVision, demand your attention. The period setting calls for nostalgia, but the […]
“Inner beauty is what counts” is a cliche many films have tried and failed to tackle, but A Different Man manages to make it feel unsettlingly new. The film follows Edward, a disfigured man who lives a normal but lonely life. No one is overtly mean to Edward—in fact, many are nice—but he’s consumed by […]
For better or for worse, every romantic relationship anyone will ever have will end. This isn’t a bitter statement single or heartbroken people declare, it’s just that we have to keep in mind that time with our loved ones is limited. Romcom drama We Live in Time is titled as such for a reason– mentioning […]
At the peak of his fame in the 80s, Christopher Reeve was constantly seen as his onscreen character, Superman. Like him, Reeve could fly (planes). He was full of charm and stood for what was right. But in this revealing documentary, we learn the whole truth about Reeve; his troubled childhood, his initial struggles with […]
Some films struggle to balance style with substance, but Problemista isn’t one of them. It’s brandished with Torres’ unique brand of surrealist aesthetic, which is colorful, freakish, and fun, while also accurately relaying the pains of coming to and making it in America as an outsider. We see Alejandro accept increasingly debasing gigs as he […]
Heretic starts slow and talky, veering into philosophical territory as Hugh Grant’s creepy Mr. Reed drills Sisters Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East) about faith and religion. But pretty soon, it turns into an utterly gripping escape thriller and supernatural mystery. Some things about the movie will frustrate you, and even more will have […]
Produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Caddo Lake isn’t the most shocking thriller out there. It starts slow, suffers from low-budget CGI, and tends to be schmaltzy at times. But it is, overall, a strong and suspenseful film. Once it kicks into gear and finds its rhythm, it turns into something wholly arresting. The plot twists […]
Juror #2 is the kind of film that doesn’t waste time: it’s immediately compelling as it throws questions about morality, guilt, and conscience straight to your face. There are familiar people in this stacked cast, including Chris Messina and J.K. Simmons, but it’s Nicholas Hoult as the titular second juror and Toni Collete as the […]
Those familiar with John Green’s many book-to-movie adaptations (The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns) will recognize the author’s signature quirks in Turtles All the Way Down. There are kids who spout out quotable quotes and love interests too gorgeous to be real. But just the same, teenagers are given a fuller and deeper understanding […]
Many films have been made about that uniquely taut mother-daughter bond, but maybe none is as delicate as Janet Planet. The film, written and directed by playwright and first-time filmmaker Annie Baker, explores that relationship in a way that may jar viewers, initially. The pauses are heavy and long as Baker lingers on mood, expressions, […]
City of God: The Fight Rages On is a traditional sequel. It takes place years after the events of the first movie and follows some of the same characters—mainly Rocket, who is starting to doubt his calling as a photographer. “I was selling innocent blood for shit salary,” he says as we see him take […]
Chimp Crazy, like Tiger King before it, is a difficult watch. It follows chimpanzee owners and their almost fanatic loyalty to the primates (one famously breastfed a chimp and raised her as her child), but mostly it trails Tonia Haddix, an animal broker who is obsessed with the 32-year-old chimp and sometime Hollywood star Tonka. […]
If you’ve seen the bone-chilling Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, then The Commandant’s Shadow isn’t just supplementary but necessary viewing. It interviews and interrogates the son of SS officer Rudolf Höss, who describes his childhood in Auschwitz as “idyllic,” and parallels his life with that of an Auschwitz survivor and her family. They’re not […]
If Wise Guy reads like a biography of David Chase and an oral history of The Sopranos, that’s because it is simultaneously both those things. Chase’s story is The Sopranos’ and vice versa. As Chase reveals in this two-part documentary, The Sopranos was initially based on his mother and his childhood in New Jersey. But […]
In 1966, Elizabeth Taylor and her friends recorded themselves talking about the ups and downs of her life. These candid conversations are the basis of The Lost Tapes, a revealing tell-all that allows Taylor to set the record straight in her own words. Here, you get to see and hear the many parts of Taylor–her […]
Even in a bloated genre like true crime, Six Schizophrenic Brothers manages to be shocking because of its horrifying premise. It’s about a family that had to deal not just with the titular illness, but with multiple and chronic cases of abuse, rape, incest, and murder. And perhaps the most amazing part of it all […]
Who among us hasn’t committed a white lie to save a relationship? And who among us hasn’t yearned for the full and brutal truth? In You Hurt My Feelings, Nicole Holofcener digs into that paradox and delivers a film that is honest and funny in equal measure. Here, the writer-director doesn’t just use a hilarious […]
It makes sense that a documentary about Faye Dunaway doubles as a documentary about the best of late 20th-century cinema. Dunaway, after all, has starred in many defining films, including Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, and Network, the latter of which won her an Oscar. But there are times when it feels like the documentary equates […]
When Moviepass announced that it would allow you to watch at least one theater film a day for just $10/month, the deal seemed too good to be true. And it was, though it wouldn’t be apparent till a couple years later after top executives Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth burned through the company’s funding and […]
This charming documentary about one of the most brilliant, groundbreaking comedians alive strikes a delicate balance between accessible and deeply appreciative, making it both a great gateway for those yet to be uninitiated into the Albert Brooks fan club and a satisfying retrospective for us confirmed devotees. It’s directed and fronted by Rob Reiner, celebrated […]
Though the “troubled teen industry” is a worthwhile topic, this miniseries gives it the same indistinguishable treatment as the rest of the other true crime documentaries out there. There’s the sensationalist music and the reductive interviews, which equate survivors to their trauma and nothing more. It’s hard not to compare this Max miniseries with Netflix’s […]
Everyone knows Florida exists in a sphere of its own, so making a show about the boundlessly crazy scenarios the people there get themselves into makes sense. In It’s Florida, Man., Floridians narrate their stories as celebrities, including the likes of Anna Faris, Randal Park, and Jake Johnson, recreate them in hilarious ways. The show […]
The Boy and the Heron isn’t Hayao Miyazaki’s best film, nor is it his most accessible, seeing as the director himself has admitted to getting lost in the world he’s built here. But it is his most personal film to date (apparently he’s out of retirement!) and consequently, it’s one of the most complex Ghibli […]
Between The Regime’s star-studded cast, HBO-backed budget, gorgeous Vienna backdrops, and well-known producers and writers (some of the same people behind The Menu and The Crown), The Regime seems like a show that couldn’t fail. And yet, there’s something shallow about the series’ attempts at parody. It’s not as smartly observed as Succession, or as […]
Biographical documentaries tend to depict exceptional people– people who are so great that everyone wants to know about them, and people who are so terrible that they serve as a warning. Great Photo, Lovely Life depicts a serial sexual abuser in photojournalist Amanda Mustard’s family, able to get away with nearly all his crimes each […]
“No one lives just one article or one headline of a life. There’s more.” Last Call may be a true-crime docuseries, but it doesn’t pigeonhole itself as such; the advocacy for humanizing LGBTQ+ people is undoubtedly at its helm. The series expands past the context of each crime, giving testimonials and evidence of the […]
