Sharper Benjamin Caron’s “Sharper,” which will have a limited theatrical release this weekend before streaming on Apple TV+ next week, is the kind of movie that makes you wonder what Julianne Moore and John Lithgow would have done with an ’80s David Mamet screenplay like “House of Games” or “The Spanish Prisoner.” It’s one of […]
My Penguin Friend The old fashionedness is radical in “My Penguin Friend.” It’s a sincere, crowd pleasing family film no snark or self-reference or on-the-nose needle drops just a lovely, well made movie that earns the emotion it will surely elicit from audiences. Director David Schurmann tells the true story of the unlikely friendship between
Emilia Perez Which film director do you think I am if you were told that in cannes an original musical is shown about a tough and heartless drug lord who wants to change his gender? May be Pedro Almodóvar or John Cameron Mitchell? Jacques Audiard won the Palme d’Or in 2015 for “Dheepan,” but he’s
Next Goal Wins Can a movie be considered formulaic if it’s based on a true story? Maybe. Like any film, it all depends on the tone and the style the choices made by the storytellers. Unfortunately, “Next Goal Wins” is a case study. It’s an inspirational sports comedy (specifically, football), co-written and directed by Taika
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. In Kelly Fremon Craig’s joyful adaptation of Judy Blume’s seminal young adult novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” the languid dog days of a New Hampshire summer camp give way to 1970s New York City and then to a Norman Rockwellian suburban setting. “Please don’t let
Small Things Like These It’s early, but three very different films have already won the Berlinale. I usually try to pair similar films in these dispatches, so they give off the appearance that they’re a kind of representative sample of what’s showing at the festival this year. But sometimes it’s more fun to put two
Nyad Diana Nyad has a lot of athletic achievements and a big ego, which is why she’s the perfect subject for directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. The couple, who won an Oscar for their breathtaking 2018 film “Free Solo,” have always been interested in pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible
Happiness for Beginners As the movie opens, we see Helen (played by Ellie Kemper) sitting alone at a party. People are talking, drinking, laughing, dancing around her and she doesn’t seem to see any of them; they don’t seem to see her. She takes out a piece of paper and reads it again. Her goals
Missing “Missing” isn’t so much a sequel to “Searching” as another spinoff in what feels like the growing Searching Cinematic Universe. In the midst of an early montage, one of many sights and sounds that send us spiraling, it briefly nods to the mystery at the heart of the 2018 smash hit. In “Searching,” a
Skywalkers: A Love Story Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus are not your typical love birds. The two daredevils will do anything to get a like on a social media platform. They claim that their extreme stunts are pictures of their love, but the world knows better. Skywalkers is a documentary about two adrenaline junkies who
