June Movies Part 1: On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, The Phoenician Scheme, The Penguin Lessons, Mountainhead

I have a long list of movies I have yet to see this month, but I've still managed to watch a lot of other random ones. Eclectic mix of reviews incoming...

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl: Written and directed by Rungano Nyoni, this is a Zambian movie about a woman named Shula (Susan Chardy) who discovers the dead body of her uncle lying on the road when she's driving home from a party one night. She seems strangely unfazed by this and goes through the motions of calling up her family and the police, navigating all the bureaucracy of getting this matter sorted out. What follows are the various funeral arrangements, involving Shula's mother and many aunties, aka the sisters of this dead man. Everyone is insisting that Shula grieve and show more emotion, but she seems to just be going through the motions, alongside her cousins, Nsansa (Elizabeth Chisela), who seems to be perpetually drunk, and Bupe (Esther Singini), who is suicidal.

If you haven't pieced it together yet, the nieces are not mourning dead Uncle Fred because of...reasons. And yet this movie is a very dark comedy, an insight into the patriarchy, and the many ways in which older generations of women will still try to protect men, while the younger generation are trying to break a vicious cycle. It's a very vibey film, but I had never seen any movie set in Zambia before, so it was extremely engaging, along with its many parallels to my experiences with Indian funereal customs...and the patriarchy, of course. Give it a shot if you want to immerse yourself in something completely unique and strange, but obviously, trigger warnings abound.

The Phoenician Scheme: Written and directed by Wes Anderson, this movie is exactly what you would expect (or at least, it's what I expected). I find it increasingly hard to talk about Anderson's films because they just all seem to blend together into one big twee art project featuring a lot of famous actors delivering nonsensical dialogue or running around like they're in a Benny Hill sketch.

In this one, Benicio del Toro stars as Zsa-Zsa Korda, a rich man in 1950 who decides to name his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is a nun, as his sole heir. Together, they must travel the world and meet various investors to help fund Korda's morally dubious Phoenician scheme. And of course, along the way, maybe this estranged pair will build a proper familial bond. It's all very weird, it's a string of silly vignettes, and I didn't much care for it. But I must stress, I am entirely too jaded to properly review Anderson's movies anymore - my husband thought this movie was wonderful and a return to form. So, if you're a fan, perhaps this movie will perfectly scratch an itch for you. But if you're too tired of "auteurs" like I am, give it a miss.

The Penguin Lessons: Written by Jeff Pope, based on the memoir by Tom Michell, and directed by Peter Cattaneo, this movie stars Steve Coogan as Michell, an English teacher who decided to teach at a boy's boarding school in Argentina in 1976 when they were in the midst of a coup d'etat. During a holiday in Uruguay, he rescues a penguin who was caught up in an oil slick on the beach, and then proceeds to smuggle it back to Argentina. What follows is a heartwarming story about how a grumpy old Englishman learns to become more empathetic as he is forced to engage with this penguin. And also learns to maybe stop being politically neutral while the Argentinians around him are being abducted and tortured by their government? 

The tone of this film is all over the place, but it's certainly charming enough to stream over an afternoon, particularly if you're into cute penguins. But there's something decidedly colonial about the proceedings, with a classic "white people are shocked to learn how the rest of the world operates" aesthetic. Coogan delivers a good performance, and the movie is certainly intriguing since it is based on a true story, but beyond that, it lacks any real substance.

Mountainhead: Written and directed by Jesse Armstrong (aka creator of Succession and Peep Show - talk about range!), this is a bleak movie about four tech billionaires (well one of them only has millions), who convene in a snowy mansion in Utah to talk about how they might take over the world. Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, and Jason Schwartzman star as four Silicon Valley dudes modelled after the likes of Thiel, Musk, and Zuckerberg, who are of course convinced of their own inherent genius, and blithely ignore all the chaos their technologies have wreaked upon the world. At the moment they're meeting, the world is particularly rife with misinformation and anarchy, all spurred on by the fake videos and messages being circulated on a social media platform one of them owns, and what follows is a hodgepodge of tech speak and insanity.

This is probably a good movie for those of you who are massively online. But depending on your politics, you will love this movie for very different reasons. As you can imagine, I did NOT enjoy this movie, as it depicts the very reasons why I am not massively online and do not care for tech bros. It's the darkest of comedies, and practically a horror film. It does a brilliant job of capturing that painful Silicon Valley tech speak and how these men want to optimize their lives and think that they are the only ones who know how to run the world. It's the epitome of Move Fast and Break Things, and after you watch this movie, you'll certainly feel like your brain got broken!

March Binges Part 2: Deli Boys, The Pitt, Apple Cider Vinegar, The Residence

I binged way more shows than I thought I would this month so here are some more recommendations coming your way if you feel the need to get solidly acquainted with your couch cushions!

Deli Boys: Created by Abdullah Saeed, this show is a thoroughly delightful binge. Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh star as Mir and Raj, two brothers in Philadelphia who discover in the wake of their father's death that he was actually a criminal. And they must now take over his drug empire with the help of his right-hand woman, Lucky (the indomitably great Poorna Jagannathan), and annoyed CFO, Ahmad (Brian Geroge). These two spoiled Pakistani-American men must quickly figure out how they are going to get back to making this business a profitable enterprise that can help them sustain the lavish lifestyle to which they have become accustomed, all while dodging a persistent FBI agent and negotiating with hardened criminals who would only be too happy to see them permanently put out of business.

It's a wild and wacky premise, and every episode ends on an amazing cliffhanger that makes this impossible not to binge. Trust me on this - my ordinarily "I can only watch one episode at a time!" husband was the one clamoring for us to hit Play Next Episode every day until we polished off the ten episodes that make up the first season of this show. It is funny, smart, full of desi jokes, a little bit bloody, and genuinely exciting and intriguing. Bring on the second season ASAP, but until then, just rewatch this first season on a loop. 

The Pitt: There are still a few episodes left to air to finish out the 15-episode first season, but just start bingeing already, OK? This is one of the best shows airing on TV right now, and unless you are already a doctor who cannot bear to watch a medical show, your eyeballs should be glued to Max as you soak in this ambitious and remarkable televisual feat. Created by R. Scott Gemmill, the show follows one shift in the Emergency Room of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Each episode features one hour in this most nightmarish of shifts and you're following the various doctors, nurses, students, social workers, and other support staff that keep this place running. As well as a varied mix of patients who are presenting with a number of complaints, some of which might be resolved within an hour, and others of which you'll be tracking over several episodes until they finally leave the ER (for either good or bad reasons). 

Noah Wyle stars as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, the senior attending who has to preside over this motley crew and ensure they do no harm while working under horrendous administrative pressures. The man is brilliant, but he is also exceedingly human, and he is still reeling from the PTSD of working in the ER during the COVID pandemic. This day, in particular, is a hard one for him, and as the day progresses, things just keep getting worse. A breakdown is imminent, but oh man, it's not clear who is going to snap first, because every single character on this show is going through some gnarly shit. Also, this is the day that the new medical students and interns have rotated into this department, so we quickly get to see who will survive this trial by fire, and who is going to suffer (one of the students faints during a gruesome procedure, and let's just say that I felt very seen.) 

Every actor on this show is doing phenomenal work, and the writers are simply geniuses, effortlessly doling out backstory as they simultaneously cover every medical complication known to man. Keep an eye on anyone you think might be a background actor - someone might seem like they're just an extra in the waiting room on Episode 1, but then they get admitted in Episode 5 and get to have a whole story arc of their own. The production design is incredible, and you will get to see hyper-realistic depictions of everything that goes on in a trauma center. This show is certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach all those bodily fluids, you are in for an emotional and thrilling ride.

Apple Cider Vinegar: From realistic medicine, we go to absolute quackery. Created by Samatha Strauss, who adapted this from the book, The Woman Who Fooled the World, by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, this miniseries is the true story of Australian influencer, Belle Gibson (played with an amazing accent by the always reliable Kaitlyn Dever). Belle was an entrepreneur and wellness guru, who faked having brain cancer in order to amass a social media following and tout her wellness recipes via an app and cookbook. Over the course of six episodes, we see how this woman got to this point, and the various institutions and people that enabled her to get away with it. 

In parallel, we also get the story of Milla Blake (a fictional character, though based on a real woman, played by Alycia Debnam-Carey), a young woman who truly does have a rare cancer in her arm, but chooses to pursue alternative medicine instead of listening to her doctors who say amputation or an experimental treatment might be her only options. She also becomes an inspirational figure in the wellness industry, with a popular blog touting her alternative medicine approach that consists of juicing and coffee enemas. All of which, of course, is dangerous and leads many people astray who need proper medical attention. 

The series is a little uneven and at times it can feel like this didn't need to be extended out into six hour-long episodes. But at its core, it's a fascinating and remarkable look at the very real dangers that these so-called wellness experts pose, particularly during a time when our society is fond of attacking and questioning scientists and medical professionals more than ever. Medical misinformation can have truly devastating consequences, and following the trajectory of these two very different but oddly similar women offers up a compelling vision of why we must always remain vigilant.

The Residence: Ready for a complete pivot? Binge all eight episodes of this murder mystery instead! Created by Paul William Davies, Uzo Aduba stars as Detective Cordelia Cupp, an avid birder who also happens to be one of the best detectives in the world, who is called in to investigate what happened when the Chief Usher of the White House (played by none other than Giancarlo Esposito) is found dead in the game room. Who could have done it?!

Turns out, a lot of people could have done it. The White House was hosting a state dinner that night, so a bunch of Australians are present (including some famous ones!), but more importantly, the White House employs a lot of staff members, a number of whom had intricate relationships with the Chief Usher and various motives and agendas that may or may not have resulted in his murder. If that wasn't enough, the President's own family members and friends are behaving awfully suspiciously as well. As Cordelia interviews all these people and runs around the White House looking for clues, she finds a very tangled web.

This show definitely suffers from Netflix bloat, constantly re-hashing the plot and re-summarizing what we have learned so far instead of just getting on with it. It could have been a lean six episodes, but instead is a very long eight episodes, that will occasionally wear on you. But the actors are charming, and the mystery itself is quite elegant when you finally unravel it all. This is one of those shows that might have been better as a novel than a series, but with Shonda Rhimes as an executive producer, you are least guaranteed sumptuous production design and a visual spectacle to keep you engaged in the duller moments. It's like watching a Poirot novel come to life, so if that's your jam, have at it.

February Movies Part 3: Nickel Boys, The Apprentice, I'm Still Here

The Oscars are less than a week away so as you can imagine, I have been desperately scrambling to finish watching the last few nominated movies I haven't yet seen. And now, here are my reviews for your viewing pleasure.

Nickel Boys: Directed by RaMell Ross who also wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes, based on Colson's Whitehead's 2019 novel, this is the deeply dark and distressing tale of two teenage boys at Nickel Academy in the 1960s. Nickel is a racially segregated reform school, where the Black boys are inevitably treated harshly and cruelly and have absolutely no recourse. They are told that they could get out for good behavior, but of course, that is simply a lie, as the school benefits too much from hiring these boys out as cheap labor while not even bothering to feed or educate them properly. We begin our story with Elwood (Ethan Cole Sharp), a young man who ends up in Nickel completely by accident through a gross miscarriage of justice. He meets Turner (Brandon Wilson), another boy who has been stuck at Nickel for years after he grew up in a terrible home. The two of them form a bond, with Turner trying to teach Elwood how to fly under the radar, while Elwood, a bright kid who took part in Civil Rights protests, still can't quite fathom how this place could be allowed to exist.

Of course, the thing everyone is talking about in this movie is the way that it is shot. Told from a first-person perspective, the camera acts as the eyes of the different characters and so you are mostly looking out at the world as Elwood or Turner sees it. It's a powerful way to literally put the audience in these characters' shoes and also feels like absolute magic. There were multiple shots where I would go, "I don't understand how they shot that." That does mean that the camera work can be shaky at times though, so you might get a little unsettled and queasy if you're prone to motion sickness. Even if you're not so afflicted, the horrific story will make you unsettled all the same. While Nickel Academy may be fictional, it is based on the very real Dozier School in Florida, that was only shut down in 2011. So please do give this movie your attention. It is beautifully shot, well-acted, and a powerful reminder of this country's sordid history.

The Apprentice: Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, this is the story of Donald Trump's rise to power in the 70s and 80s after he was taken under the wing of the powerful and disreputable lawyer, Roy Cohn. Was I dreading having to watch this movie? Of course. But once I steeled myself to do it, I discovered it was a genuinely good film. And can now understand why Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong have been nominated for their performances as Trump and Cohn respectively. Stan, especially, is wondrous at portraying this heinous man that dominates our collective consciousness. He somehow captures all those mannerisms and tics and ways of speaking that are so familiar, without descending into all-out parody or a too-uncanny impression. He has nailed the essence of Trump but then lets us get on with the story of how this venal man came to be, under the tutelage of the equally venal Cohn.

Obviously, your mileage may vary. Far be it for me to recommend a Trump movie to anyone, because who the hell wants to give the guy more airtime? But this is a well-made film (with a great soundtrack to boot) that provides some insights into how this man has always operated and why he is currently obliterating our government. Maria Bakalova also offers up a stand-out performance as Ivana Trump, with one particularly heartbreaking scene that should fill everyone who voted for this man with shame. But they won't care, so alas. Watch it if you're an Oscar completist but spare yourself if the news already has you down. It's a good movie, but it's not worth that much trauma.

I'm Still Here: Directed by Walter Salles and written by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva's 2015 memoir, this is the true story of Eunice Paiva (played by the incandescent Fernanda Torres), a woman who is a national hero in Brazil, but who I had never heard of until watching this film. This film will quickly explain to you why she became such a hero, even if it is a rather harrowing tale. It all begins in 1970, where Eunice and her family live in Rio de Janeiro and enjoy a rather idyllic life right by the beach. She and her husband, Rubens (Selton Mello), are very much in love and have five children, who all seem to be having a lovely time. However, Brazil is under a military dictatorship, and one night, some men claiming to be the police take Rubens away for questioning. The next day, Eunice and her daughter are taken in for questioning as well, and no answers are forthcoming as to what the army thinks Rubens has done.

The movie is mostly concerned with these events in 1970, but we do then get some time jumps that explain what happened to Eunice and her family in later years. If I have one quibble about this film, it's that it felt like a superhero origin story, more concerned with how this woman acted as a wife and mother, rather than giving us the story of what she did with her life that made her a truly celebrated national treasure. This movie is so well-told and features immaculate performances from every cast member, but now I am desperate for a sequel. This is a woman who really LIVED, and one movie is not enough to contain her greatness. If, like me, you are woefully behind in your knowledge of South American history and feminist icons (or have simply never watched a Brazilian movie), watch this movie posthaste. It is a remarkable reminder of all of the many ways that ordinary people can fight back against injustice and continue to smile.

January Movies Part 2: The Fire Inside, Blitz, The Last Showgirl, Better Man

January has turned into a fiercely busy movie month for me. So gird your loins, a slew of reviews are coming your way!

The Fire Inside: Written by Barry Jenkins and directed by Rachel Morrison (who was the first woman to be nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar in 2017), this is an excellent biopic about Claressa Shields (played brilliantly by Ryan Destiny), a boxer from Flint, Michigan who overcame tremendous personal adversity to make it all the way to the London 2012 Olympics, with the help of her amazing coach, Jason Crutchfield (Bryan Tyree Henry, delivering an unsurprisingly marvelous performance, full of warmth and wisdom). I had never heard of Shields, but having now watched this film, I'm shocked that she isn't a bigger deal, considering the long list of accolades she holds and the records she has broken in her quest for athletic greatness. Of course, a significant portion of this film deals with the inherent racism and misogyny that Shields had to face, where despite winning an Olympic gold medal (oops, spoilers?), she still struggled to find sponsorship deals or endorsements, because people just don't like to see a Black woman beating people up for sport.

I find it unfathomable that this movie hasn't been in the conversation for awards this year, which perhaps speaks to the fact that #OscarsSoWhite continues to be a huge problem. While I'm ordinarily not a huge fan of biopics, this film has a tight script and captivating performances, particularly from Destiny who has to portray a woman who doesn't convey a whole lot of emotion through words, but can poignantly express herself through her stance and body language. One of the first scenes with a young Claressa involves her shying away from a hug from Jason, and that one little movement is enough to convey a world of backstory. This is a film that is content to show, not tell, and the fight sequences are also extraordinarily choreographed, conveying just how talented and remarkable this woman is in the ring. So watch this movie to learn more about a woman who ought to be a household name and to consider how far we still have to go to give women, and especially Black women, the support and encouragement they deserve.

Blitz: Written and directed by Steve McQueen, this is a movie set during the height of the World War II Blitz when London was being relentlessly bombed by the German Luftwaffe. Saoirse Ronan stars as Rita, a single mother who lives with her father and is raising her nine-year-old son, George (Elliott Heffernan), who is half-Black. She decides to send George away from the city to protect him from the bombs, but George only interprets this as gross abandonment by his mother. When he gets on the train, he tells her he hates her, which makes for a brutal parting. Halfway through his train journey, George is overcome with homesickness, and it doesn’t help that the other children are a bunch of racists who make fun of him for being Black. He jumps off the train and thus begins a long odyssey back home, where this poor boy will encounter any number of horrors. 

I can’t say I loved this film - much like the Blitz, it was relentless in its onslaught of terrible things this poor child has to witness on his journey home. But the production design is absolutely epic in scope. Most WWII movies focus on what was happening on the battlefield, but this is the first time I have felt truly immersed in what was happening on the home front and the absolutely insanity ordinary British citizens were subject to during this time. And Heffernan delivers a brilliant performance as a young child who has to grow up far too quickly, not just when it comes to dealing with the perils of war, but also the perils of racism. If this is a period of history that fascinates you, this movie is well worth a watch, but if you are already too overwhelmed by the present-day perils of 2025, give this film a miss.

The Last Showgirl: Written by Kate Gersten and directed by Gia Coppola, this movie has been rightfully earning Pamela Anderson heaps of praise for her performance as Shelly, a 57-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who has to figure out what to do with her life when she finds out the revue show she has been a part of for decades is shutting down. We get to explore her relationships with the younger women in the revue (played by Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song), who alternate between treating Shelly like a mother figure that can provide comfort or an exasperating older woman who is full of tales of when this show was more popular and prestigious. She has an ambiguous relationship with the show's producer, Eddie (a wonderful performance by Dave Bautista - the man has expressed interest in being in a romcom, and while this movie is a straight-up drama, it's easy to see how wonderful he would be if given the chance to just be a romantic leading man - make it happen Hollywood!). And there's also a great friendship with Annette (the incomparable Jamie Lee Curtis), a dancer who used to be in the revue but then got kicked out and became a chaotic cocktail waitress instead.

But putting aside all the wonderful supporting performances, Anderson truly shines in this role, as a woman who adores her job and has made it her entire identity, probably at the expense of other more crucial elements of her life. She loves to dance, and she loves being in the spotlight, and as the movie progresses, we come to see the abject cruelty that is ahead of her because this is not a career that is feasible for an older woman. She has so much talent and passion, but none of that matters when you're a 57-year-old woman in Vegas, and the gradual dissolution of her hopes and dreams seems imminent. And yet, this character is so perpetually hopeful and optimistic and such a striver. It's a wondrous thing to watch the emotions flitting across Anderson's face as she constantly has to adjust her expectations and cope and then temporarily give in to despair before she puts on her feathers and diamonds and gives a dazzling smile to the audience. It's a tour de force performance that will stick with you for a long time after you've seen it.

Better Man: I grew up in the Middle East and listened to the UK Top 40 every week, so I am well aware of who Robbie Williams is. That information is necessary, because every American person I have spoken to has said, "who is Robbie Williams?!" Which means there's a high barrier to entry for this movie, which is a biopic of the famous British pop singer, Robbie Williams, chronicling his rise to fame as a part of the boy band Take That, his subsequent move to a solo career, and the alcohol and drug addictions that plagued him along the way. Oh, and while the actor Jonno Davies is playing Williams in the movie, he is doing so via motion capture as a CGI chimpanzee. For reasons that are not super clear but essentially amount to the fact that Williams always perceived himself to be "less evolved" than other people and had a very self-deprecating image of himself, that may have led to all those addiction issues to begin with.

Listen, I'm not here to sell you on this movie. It's directed by Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman, so you can be assured there are some incredible song-and-dance numbers sprinkled throughout this film that are spectacular to behold. And if you're a fan of Williams' music, all the hits are represented, and you'll have a great time. As someone who was a fan of his music but didn't know much about his backstory, I was quite fascinated to learn about his interactions with various other famous British pop stars and the sordid behind-the-scenes machinations of his career. It's a weird little movie that is going to appeal to a fairly niche audience, and while I thought it was a perfectly entertaining way to spend two hours, I'm not going to pretend anyone else is gonna get a kick out of it, particularly if you have no idea who Robbie is. So check it out if you're a huge fan and want to bop along in your seat as a singing chimp dances to Rock DJ. If not, move along.

January Movies Part 1: Maria, Nightbitch, Juror #2

Happy New Year! January has rolled around and awards season is in full swing so I shall continue to watch all the things that have a hope of being nominated. Here are some reviews of some contenders.

Maria: Written by Steven Knight and directed by Pablo Larrain, this film completes Larrain's trilogy of notable 20th-century women that includes Jackie and Spencer. In this film, we get a biopic of renowned opera singer Maria Callas (played by Angelina Jolie), a woman who had a voice that was famous around the world. We meet her a week before her death, and the film then proceeds with a series of flashbacks highlighting key moments in Maria's life, including her impoverished childhood and subsequent rise to stardom because of her prodigious talent. Eventually, she was hobnobbing with the rich and famous, even becoming Aristotle Onassis's mistress (before and after his marriage to Jackie, so the Pablo Larrain Cinematic Universe really comes together). 

This movie is...fine. I loved Larrain's other films so I'm a little surprise by my lukewarm reaction to this one, but it struck me as being the most humdrum and "biopic-y" of the trilogy. It didn't seem to have much to say about its subject, and also it leaned on her singing as a crutch, always cutting to a performance from the past and interspersing it with the present when Maria has lost her voice and can't sing as beautifully anymore. There's only so many times I can watch that gimmick in one movie, you know? I also cannot stand opera, so perhaps I was too biased going into this film. I have previously always loved the scores in Larrain's movies and think they do a tremendous amount of scene setting, so perhaps if you are an opera afficionado, this movie has a lot more to offer you. Unfortunately, this movie could not win me over, and while Jolie does do her best with the material, she is quite obviously lip synching for the majority of the film and it all felt a bit unnecessary. Ultimately, I didn't need this tale of another tragic woman that people forgot once she couldn't give them what they wanted anymore. It's a tale as old as time.

Nightbitch: Written and directed by Marielle Heller, based on the novel by Rachel Yoder, this is certainly a fresh tale about the horrors of motherhood and the gender dynamics at play when you become a parent. I am famously childfree, and this movie does a great job of explaining exactly why that is my stance. Amy Adams plays an unnamed woman, the Mother (duh), a woman who was an artist but gave it all up to be a stay-at-home mother to her two-year-old son. Her husband (Scoot McNairy) travels a lot for work, so she usually feels like a single parent, stuck at home with her toddler, trying to keep him amused at Book Babies and Toddler Yoga, and all the other distractions, while internally she just wants to scream. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but what is novel is that suddenly, she starts turning into a dog.

Yup, I said it. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to watch for yourself, but the metaphor is essentially that motherhood turns you into a wild animal and you have no time for niceties because you're just so consumed with the basic needs of staying alive and protecting your young. This is a movie about exalting mothers and all the shit they put up with, particularly in a patriarchal society like the United States where families don't get enough parental leave and have extremely limited childcare options which may not even be affordable when they are available. And also, where your husband can get away with doing absolutely nothing around the house or acting really put-upon when he does have to take care of his kid for a day. If you are a mother, this movie might be an excellent one to watch with your partner and then have a serious discussion about whether your household has an equitable division of labor. If you are NOT a mother, however, please do watch this movie as a reminder of how much goddamn work it is to take care of a child and whether or not this is something you genuinely want to take on in your life. Even if you are so economically privileged as to stay at home with your child while your partner works, this movie serves as a reminder that children are exhausting, and being a mother only results in losing your whole identity. Unless you turn into a Nightbitch.

Juror #2: Written by Jonathan Abrams and directed by Client Eastwood, this is a perfectly middling courtroom drama that is worth a watch on the couch if that genre is of particular interest to you. Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin, a man who is called into jury duty and then is selected for a homicide trial. However, once the trial is underway, Justin realizes he is in possession of information that could exonerate the defendant. Justin can't share this information, however, because it would put him in trouble instead. Oops.

What follows is a twisty little tale, very reminiscent of Twelve Angry Men, where you have Justin as the one juror who says "Not Guilty!" and must then try and convince his peers that the prosecution don't have enough evidence and the defendant could potentially be innocent. The prosecutor (Toni Collette), is an ambitious woman running to become the state's district attorney, while the public defender (Chris Messina), is convinced his client is innocent, but has no way to prove it. You will scoff at a lot of what's happening because it's all very Hollywood and nothing that would be allowed in real life, but hey, that's why we watch the movies right? The actors are doing fine work, but the script is hokey as hell, and honestly, the ending is a bit of a cop out. But if you enjoy this kind of drama with high stakes and genuine suspense until the very end, this is a perfectly acceptable way to spend two hours of your afternoon.

December Movies: Emilia Perez, A Complete Unknown, The Piano Lesson, Nosferatu, Babygirl

New movies have been pouring into the theaters, and onto Netflix, so I’ve been desperately catching up, since many of them are also slated to get some love during awards season. As the year winds down, dive into these films as a last hurrah to 2024!

Emilia Perez: Written and directed by Jacques Audiard, based on his own opera libretto that was loosely based on the novel Ecoute by Boris Razon, this is a very bizarre but compelling movie about a trans Mexican cartel leader named Juan "Manitas" Del Monte (played by Karla Sofia Gascon), who needs to ensure her wife (played by Selena Gomez) and children are taken care of after she receives gender-affirming surgery and starts a new life. She hires/kidnaps Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana), a lawyer who is brilliant but has never gotten the chance to exercise her brilliance in court. Rita is initially skeptical but then agrees to take on the work of helping Manitas find the right doctor and set all the wheels into motion so that she can live as her authentic self while ensuring her family is safe. Post-transition, Manitas is now Emilia, and while she thought she could just be happy on her own as a woman, she realizes she needs something more and asks Rita to help her once again. Oh also, this entire movie is a musical, with characters constantly breaking into song, in various languages. Tonally, it’s a wild ride, but the three main actresses are delivering outstanding performances, and the plot is so twisty and engaging that I was riveted throughout. It’s a movie that’s well worth streaming because it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s weird, but it’s quite good, and isn’t that what we all aspire to be?

A Complete Unknown: Directed by James Mangold, off a script he wrote with Jay Cocks, based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, this is a perfectly serviceable biopic that follows Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) from the time he arrived in New York City in 1961 to the infamous Newport Folk Festival in 1965, when he shocked the world by playing with electric instruments. Along the way, we see the evolution of his relationship with his mentor Pete Seeger (played with a Mr. Rogers-esque kindness by Edward Norton), his romance with steadfast girlfriend Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning, playing Dylan's actual girlfriend Suze Rotolo, but Dylan requested the film not use her real name) and the tempestuous musical/romantic relationship with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, singing her beautiful heart out). It’s all very typical for a biopic, a genius man and his music, who has no time to be treating the women in his life well when he has all these songs to write. Blah blah. Chalamet’s performance is the truly extraordinary piece of this film, as he sings and plays guitar and harmonica, and does the world’s best Dylan impression. Give him the Oscar already. The film is 50% music, and not just Dylan’s, but a lot of Baez’s work too, which Monica Barbaro brilliantly performs and deserves her own Supporting Actor Oscar for. This movie is definitely worth it for the music and performances, but don’t go into it expecting any great revelations beyond the standard biopic fare.

The Piano Lesson: Directed by Malcolm Washington, who wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams, adapting it from August Wilson’s play, this is the story of a piano that is sitting in the living room of a woman named Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), and what happens when her brother, Boy Willie (John David Washington) travels up to her house to get this piano with the aim of selling it so he can buy the Mississippi farmland where their ancestors were previously enslaved. This piano has a lot of history, some of which is literally carved into its woodwork, and as the movie progresses, we slowly get the story of what this piano has been through, and also, what the members of this family have been through. Set in 1936, this is a classic tale of the African American experience on either side of the Mason-Dixon Line, and the poverty, racism, and fear, that keep impacting future generations of Black folk as they try to go about their lives. It’s also a ghost story, so be prepared for some fantastical elements you may not have necessarily expected. While Deadwyler delivers a great performance, I found it hard to really get into this film - given its play origins, it was ultimately too talky and not very cinematically compelling. I have yet to see John David Washington convince me that he’s a leading man, so again, I’d say this is a competent film, that continues Denzel Washington’s valiant plan to bring all of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle plays to the screen for a wider audience. But this particular story did not grip me as much as Fences or Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, so maybe you're better off re-watching those films.

Nosferatu: Directed by Robert Eggers, who wrote the screenplay with inspiration from the 1922 silent film of the same name and Bram Stoker's Dracula, this is your standard vampire movie about a maniacal vampire who desires a woman (in this case, Ellen, played by Lily-Rose Depp), and must therefore wreak absolute havoc on a bunch of people is his diabolical quest to get laid. Can you tell I was not the target demographic? As always, Eggers is brilliant with his artistic vision, with breathtaking production design from Craig Lathrop, costumes by Linda Muir, and cinematography from Jarin Blaschke. And I legitimately had no idea Bill Skarsgard was the one playing Nosferatu, he is so creepy and vile throughout. Nicholas Hoult is great as Thomas, Ellen’s husband who is lured to do the vampire's bidding and then must fight him to try and save his wife. But ugh, I simply did not care. It all felt like a very elaborate plot that amounted to the same old, patriarchal nonsense where a woman must suffer so the rest of us can live, and everyone is being punished for being lusty, and yada yada yada. It’s all very well done, and if you love horror movies and vampires please run to the theater. But if you suspect this is not the kind of genre film that is your jam, then I am here to tell you, you are right, there is nothing novel here that will make it your jam.

Babygirl: Written and directed by Halina Reijn, this is a deeply weird but oddly compelling film, thanks to the central performance by Nicole Kidman. She plays Romy Mathis, a brilliant and successful CEO, who is married to a dashing theater director named Jacob (Antonio Banderas) and has two nice children. Her life is all perfect on the outside, but of course, all is not well on the inside. Because in 19 years of marriage, Romy has never had an orgasm with her husband and instead has to rely on porn to get off when he’s asleep. Well now, her company has hired a young intern named Samuel (Harris Dickinson), and Romy is irresistibly pulled into an erotic liaison with him, exploring the submissive power dynamic she has never been able to share with her husband. The theater I was in was filled with people who kept laughing at the sex scenes and outlandish bits of dialogue, so I suppose you could treat this as a comedy. But really, it’s just an erotic thriller, and Kidman delivers a knockout performance. The way she portrays Romy's vulnerability and constant need to hide herself and deny her urges is wondrous, and it’s equally wondrous to see her suffering behind the icy facade she has to put on for her family and colleagues outside of the bedroom. Harris Dickinson also continues to be eminently watchable on screen, being thoroughly creepy and hot and indecipherable all at once. And special shout-out to the score by Cristobal Tapia de Veer, which was truly one of the most engaging parts of the film. This movie is well worth a watch, even if it's hard to find it compelling these days to watch another rich white woman having a breakdown. In this case though, the breakdown is masterfully portrayed.

October Movies Part 1: My Old Ass, Sing Sing, Wolfs, Saturday Night

So far, October has been a bit more promising on the TV front than movies. But there are still some options for you in the theater or on streaming so let's get to them!

My Old Ass: This is a genuinely wonderful movie that people should be watching in droves. It has flown a bit under the radar because it doesn't have any big-name stars attached apart from Aubrey Plaza, but it is a sweet, funny, and moving film. Written and directed by Megan Park, it tells the story of 18-year-old Elliott (the brilliant Maisy Stella), who is spending her last summer at home with her family on their idyllic cranberry farm before she leaves for university in the big city (Toronto!) and can finally begin her life. When she does shrooms with her best friends, she has a trip where she is visited by her 39-year-old future self (played by Aubrey Plaza). Future Elliott has some good advice, mostly around cherishing this time she has left with her family, and to not be so desperate to grow up. But there is also some more cryptic advice that you will spend the rest of the film worrying about until the surprising conclusion. 

This is one of those films where you shouldn't pay too much attention to the science fiction implications of time travel: future Elliott puts her number into present Elliott's phone as "My Old Ass" and the two of them are still able to communicate after she is done tripping - don't think about that too hard. Instead, just go along for the splendid ride to experience a beautiful story about living in the present and not worrying too much about the ramification of your choices. Also, Elliott is unapologetically gay and has a great support system, so this is a great movie for queer kids and other folk who would like to just enjoy the fantasy of seeing a gay kid live their life without too much drama. This is a gem of a film and while it seems too small to get much recognition at awards season, I do dearly hope it might get a nod for Park's screenwriting or Stella's lead performance. Everyone, please run to the theater and watch it immediately.

Sing Sing: Speaking of powerful lead performances, it should come as no surprise that Colman Domingo is great in this film. Directed by Greg Kwedar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Clint Bentley, this is the story of the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at Sing Sing prison in upstate New York. This program has been running for almost 30 years, and the focus of this film is on  John "Divine G" Whitfield (Domingo), a prisoner who joined RTA and became a playwright and director, while he also fought his wrongful conviction and tried to secure his release. Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin also co-stars as himself, and we get to see how Divine G scouted him to join the RTA program, gradually molding him to become a star actor in the program, after overcoming his initial skepticism.

This is a film about the transformative power of the arts and the important work RTA does to get these prisoners to process their emotions and learn new ways to express themselves instead of the old standbys of anger and violence. Sing Sing is a maximum security prison, and many of these men are serving life sentences with little or no hope. But participating in RTA gives them joy and a new purpose in life. I listened to a podcast with Maclin and it's wonderful to hear this man, who had such a rough start in life and was sentenced to 17 years in Sing Sing for robbery, speak about what this program did for him and how he is now taking the work forward by helping prisoners and at-risk youth with these skills. I can't say that I always found this movie engaging, but the actors (most of whom are actual RTA alumnae) are captivating and the story they are telling is compelling and important. And the final scenes when you get to see some of the real-life plays that RTA put on through the years is enough to make you believe in humanity after all.

Wolfs: Oof. Written and direct by Jon Watts, and starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, you would have thought this movie would be great. But it's an Apple TV+ production and is "aggressively mid" as I once heard NPR's Linda Holmes describe a lot of their catalogue. Clooney and Pitt are playing "fixers" who get called into a Manhattan District Attorney's hotel room when she accidentally finds herself with a dead body and doesn't know what to do next. She called Clooney, while Pitt was called in by the hotel owner, and now these two lone wolves must work together to clean up the situation. Which leads to a wild night across New York City as they unravel the plot of how this "dead" man ended up in that hotel room, and other tangled conspiracies that ultimately relate to who they work for in the first place. 

Honestly, I cannot tell you much more beyond that, because I barely understood this convoluted plot, the cinematography was so dark I could barely see any of the action, and apart from the very end, in a diner scene, when it felt like I could finally see Clooney's facial expressions and be reminded me of why he's such a great actor, I was thoroughly bored. I was expecting the two leads to recapture the old Ocean's Eleven magic, but their banter felt forced, and every line of dialogue just fell flat. Pitt also seems to be an increasingly sketchy public figure who needs to account for his terrible behavior towards Angelina Jolie and their children, and while he ordinarily whitewashes his reputation by producing excellent movies, this movie is such a dud that his luck has run out. So don't bother watching this film, and let's just all band together for a Pitt boycott instead. That would be a much more worthy use of our time.  

Saturday Night: Directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan, this is a movie about the 90 minutes preceding the airing of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. As we swoop through the studio and Rockefeller Center, following creator Lorne Michaels (played by Gabriel LaBelle) around as he deals with recalcitrant actors, peeved writers, a righteous censor, eager comedians, doubtful studio executives, and...a llama, it's an absolute whirlwind of chaos. As someone who watches SNL every week and is a fan of the many iconic comedians and characters that got their start on this show, this movie is a veritable who's who of famous names. But it felt like watching The Bear, an anxiety-provoking hellscape where you just want to be like "man, is this even worth it." And oddly, it also felt like watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where everyone's laughing at the supposedly hilarious sketches, while I just sat there thinking, "huh, this doesn't seem that funny." 

Obviously, SNL is an institution, and that first episode WAS really funny and led to this show still being on the air 50 (!) years later. But this movie is such a hagiography, such a self-aggrandizing piece of "yeah, it's us against the establishment, man!" that it's a bit hard to swallow, given that SNL now IS the establishment. The movie is trying to convey how this scrappy little show was going up against the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, with all these counter-culture comedians that no one had heard of, and it was so risqué and daring. But in the cold, hard light of 2024, it no longer feels fresh or innovative, a lot of the jokes feel sexist and tired, and apart from Lamorne Morris's delightful turn as the lone Black cast member, Garrett Morris, this just feels like a sea of white people patting themselves on the back for sticking to their guns. I really did want to like this movie, and while I do think it's a technical marvel with the way it conveys all the frantic energy and endless fires (figurative and literal!) that Lorne has to put out until this show can finally go live, it ultimately didn't seem to have anything new or exciting to say. Which is probably what most people say about SNL these days.

April Movies Part 5: Abigail, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Challengers

April is finally at a close and I somehow managed to watch three more movies in the theater. Whether you're jonesing for horror, action, or sexy tennis, I've got every possible genre covered for you in this post!

Abigail: I only like funny horror and my fiance only likes vampires, so this movie was the perfect intersection of our horror movie preferences. If you've seen the trailer, you already know what to expect. A group of criminals have been recruited for one lucrative mission - kidnap a little girl and hold her in a mansion for 24 hours until her father pays a princely ransom. Each kidnapper gets a generous cut of the ransom, and the girl is returned to her father. What could go wrong?

Well, turns out the little girl is actually a deadly vampire. So...mayhem ensues. This movie is thoroughly entertaining, gory but funny, and with great performances delivered by every single actor, especially Alisha Weir as the murderous but adorable ballerina vampire. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick, who were inspired by the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter, this is a splendidly silly film that does not seem to follow much coherent logic in terms of what vampires can and cannot do, but don't let that bog you down. Just settle in for some laughs, jump scares, and buckets of blood. 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: Directed by Guy Ritchie, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel, this is a heavily fictionalized account of a true story. Set in 1941, at the height of World War II, Winston Churchill needs some way to get rid of the German U-boats that keep sinking supply ships that are carrying aid to the struggling UK. He recruits a ragtag bunch of commandos to conduct a special raid on a Spanish island where a boat containing all the supplies needed to keep the U-boats running is docked. What follows is a very complicated but exciting mission where our stalwart heroes must outsmart the Nazis.

This is a Guy Ritchie movie, so you should know exactly what you're going to get. There's lots of action, lots of broad comedy, and lots of lovable rogues. The cast includes folks like Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes, and Henry Golding, and they are all having a whale of a time. Could this film be edited more judiciously? Of course. Is there a ton of exposition and some unnecessary twists and turns just so we can have a bit more shooting and punching? Naturally. But at the end of the day, do you want a film where you just sit back and watch a bunch of hot British men fight Nazis and look effortlessly cool while doing so? You bet!

Challengers: I walked into the theater with my arms crossed, all set to hate this movie. Based on the trailers, I thought this was going to be "Hot Threesome: The Movie" and prove to be an insufferable treatise on ethical non-monogamy or some such nonsense. However, written by Justin Kuritzkes and directed by Luga Guadagnino, I was instead treated to a remarkable character study of three very twisted people who are suffering from crippling work-life balance issues. And when the work in question is professional tennis, you get a compelling and thrilling film that is kinetic and exciting and manages to be both sexy and funny.

The screenplay is written brilliantly with a flashback structure that means we keep getting the back story of our three main characters in tantalizing bursts. We always get just enough information to advance the plot further by one more step, but it's only until we get to the very end that we finally have the culmination of everything these people have been to each other and the current state of their entanglements. In my screening, there were two men who clearly thought they were coming to this movie to watch Zendaya take her clothes off, and instead, they became markedly agitated as the movie proved to be rather homoerotic, with far more attention being paid to her sweaty male co-stars, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor. 

This movie is shot beautifully, and I have never been more engaged in watching tennis in my life. The soundtrack is genius, always providing a propulsive beat that gets you excited for the next tennis match or the next complicated sex scene where you get to see the true value of an intimacy coordinator who knows how to choreograph not just the physical act, but all the emotional complexities it represents. The actors are sublime, each representing a complex and screwed up human being with thwarted ambitions, and the evolving nature of their relationships from past to present is stunningly portrayed. This movie was a real revelation - go into it knowing as little plot as possible and you will be thoroughly rewarded. 

February Films Part 2: Lisa Frankenstein, Drive-Away Dolls, Next Goal Wins, Bank of Dave, Nai Nai & Wai Po

This month has featured a real hodgepodge of films so here's an update on two films in theaters, and three you can catch on streaming if it's too cold to leave the house.

Lisa Frankenstein: I saw this film and I promptly forgot all about it until I sat down to write this review. So that is certainly not a ringing endorsement Directed by Zelda Williams and written by Diablo Cody, this film is a genre mash-up set in the 1980s, that tells the story of Lisa (Kathryn Newton), a teenage girl who suffered a personal trauma when her mother was murdered and now is having a hard time getting along with her father's new wife (played to catty perfection by Carla Gugino). Her new stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano), is very kind, but is also a very cheerful cheerleader, which doesn't quite gel with Lisa's whole silent gothic vibe. Of course, Lisa loves hanging out at the local cemetery, and one day, during a storm, a lightning strikes animates the corpse of a Victorian-era man who was buried there (played by Cole Sprouse). He shows up at Lisa's house and she must hide him away in her bedroom. What follows is a bit of a high school tale, a bit of a romcom, a bit of gothic horror, and a whole lot of 80's tropes. 

The story is quite the hodgepodge and is all a bit aimless and forgettable. Everything seems very comic until it all gets very murderous towards the end. The most notable thing about this film is the aesthetic - it's definitely an homage to Lisa Frank, and every frame is suffused in vibrant fun colors that make this film always a pleasure to look at, even if it isn't always a pleasure to watch. I wouldn't recommend watching it in theaters, but if you need a bit of a diversion, or if teen gothic comedy horror is your jam, your mileage may vary.

Drive-Away Dolls: Directed by Ethan Coen, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Tricia Cooke, this movie is set in 1999 and stars the spectacular duo of Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as two lesbians who unwittingly steal a valuable briefcase and are now on the run from all the unsavory folk who are trying to retrieve it. Many hijinks ensue, including various delightful cameos from award-winning actors.

This movie is exactly what you would expect from a Coen brother. It's a little raunchy, a little bloody, and a whole lot silly. You are not going to be able to predict what is in that suitcase and why. Ultimately, that's not even very important, because the point of this film is to watch these two women on a road trip, learning to navigate their different approaches to getting laid at lesbian bars, and teaming up to defeat some incompetent gangsters. This is such a spectacularly queer movie, and all it cares about is exploring how women fall in love and/or lust, while the men are just a bunch of buffoons causing unnecessary violence. It's a diverting and fun two hours at the movies and certainly is the most unique experience you can hope to have this month. Down with the patriarchy!

Next Goal Wins: Directed by Taika Waititi who also co-wrote the screenplay with Iain Morris, this movie is everything you may have expected from the trailer. It's an underdog sports story, based on the true story of the American Samoa football team, who were the worst football team in the world. They had never scored a goal in international competition, so the President of the country's Football Association, Tavita (played here by the incredible Oscar Kightley), decided to advertise for a coach from the US. He got Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), a man who had coached several US MLS teams but was currently being banished to American Samoa for increasingly volatile behavior. So now we have a mean coach with a chip on his shoulder, and a team of lovable misfits who have never scored a single goal. Can you see where this is all going?

You're going to get training montages, heartbreak, inspirational monologues, disappointments, triumphs, and a lot of personal growth. There's a whole journey in the coach's relationship with Jaiyah Saelua (Kaimana), a non-binary fa'afafine member of the team, who ended up being the first trans player in international soccer. There's a lot of cultural adjustment that needs to happen and plenty of mockery of this white man and his preconceived notions of Samoans. This is not a surprising or revolutionary movie by any means, but it is certainly a fun treat if you love this particular film genre and need a great team of underdogs to root for.

Bank of Dave: Speaking of rooting for the underdog, here's another wonderful tale of a man who went up against unscrupulous British bankers after the 2008 global financial crisis. This movie tells the true-ish story (and that "ish" is doing a LOT of work here, because this movie is heavily fictionalized) of Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear), a successful businessman from Burnley who started lending money to friends and members of the local community when they were getting turned down for bank loans. He loaned out nearly a million pounds and every single person returned his money back to him. So he comes up with the idea of setting up a local bank that would serve the community and give all profits back to local charities. However, in order to set up a bank, you need a banking license, so he hires a lawyer named Hugh (Joel Fry) to help with all the paperwork. Together, the two of them embark on a real David vs Goliath quest against the London regulators, who haven't approved a new banking license in over 150 years.

Written by Piers Ashworth and directed by Chris Foggin, this is a great story about taking down the establishment, tearing down the banking boy's club, and arguing for more socialism and less late-stage capitalism. It has a lot of "eat the rich" energy, and as someone who works for a British bank, you know I enjoyed all the sections talking about capital requirements and compliance. But overall, this is just a sweet, fun, typically British film about fighting for what's right, and having a small town in the North go up against greedy rich men in London. It's charming, there's a romance subplot with Phoebe Dynevor from Bridgerton, and Hugh Bonneville gets to swan about as an evil villain called Sir Charles. I ate it up with a big ol' spoon - how could you not?!

Nai Nai and Wai Po: Don't have hours to spare to watch a movie? How about 17 minutes to watch a thoroughly charming Oscar-nominated short film? Directed by Sean Wang, this is a movie about his two grandmothers, who live together in a house in California. They may have started out as in-laws, but over the years, these two women have developed a deep and abiding friendship, and now they regard each other as sisters, even sleeping in the same bed. They are 83 and 94 years old, and they look out for each other, ensuring that they still feel cared for and loved in their old age. With their grandson at home, making this film, their silliest and wisest selves are unleashed, and over the course of 17 minutes, you will be treated to two old ladies who have really cracked the code of aging with grace and humor. You simply must watch this film. It will make you laugh, help you embrace your mortality, and give you a whole new idea of how to plan out your retirement.

February Films Part 1: Nyad, Rustin, The Zone of Interest

Yes, this is where you get reviews of all the Oscar-nominated films that were pending on my to-do list. I had a busy week getting caught up, and now you can read my reviews to see if you want to get caught up too.

Nyad: Written by Julia Cox and directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, this film tells the real-life story of Diana Nyad, a woman who completed a marathon swim from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64, a feat that she had previously failed as a young woman, and which no other swimmer had been able to complete in the intervening years. It's a remarkable story of perseverance and passion, and while I vaguely remember hearing about this story in the news, it was informative to spend two hours watching a movie about this woman and everything that needed to happen before she was able to accomplish this astonishing feat.

Annette Bening does an incredible job portraying Nyad, both in terms of the physicality of the role, but also conveying her slightly abrasive personality. It makes sense that in order to even think about such a feat, you need to have a slightly unhealthy level of self-confidence, and Diana can certainly be off-putting with her self-centeredness. As a counterbalance, therefore, we have Jodie Foster as her best friend and subsequently, coach, Bonnie Stoll, the stalwart right-hand woman who keeps the whole operation going and ensure that all Diana has to do is swim. 

While this movie is a little clunky and the special effects can sometimes look pretty obvious, I was incredibly moved by Bening and Foster's performances, and can see why they have been nominated for Oscars. The friendship portrayed between these two women is so touching, and accompanied by Alexandre Desplat's score, there were definitely moments that moved me to tears. I don't know why I expected this to be a story of how Nyad accomplished the swim on her first try; there were several attempts, and watching the plan evolve, and the lessons learned as she undergoes horrors like jellyfish swarms, sharks, unpredictable currents, etc. was thrilling. This is a great movie about what humans can accomplish when they put their mind to it, but also how they cannot accomplish these things alone. 

Rustin: Colman Domingo stars as Bayard Rustin, the gay civil rights leader who orchestrated 1963's March on Washington, the largest peaceful protest ever conducted to date. The movie briefly touches on earlier events in the 1950s when Rustin was a close collaborator of Martin Luther King's but was then forced to resign from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. threatened to leak rumors of a fake affair between Rustin and King. However, the movie then shifts to 1962 when Rustin gets the idea for this March and subsequently manages to use his powers of persuasion and organizational skills to accomplish this monumental feat of civil protest.

Written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black and directed by George C. Wolfe, this film highlights a Civil Rights pioneer that I had never heard of before. His sexual orientation played a big part in why he was relegated to roles behind-the-scenes, but the movie also points out how he truly believed in the cause and didn't mind taking a back seat as long as the work got done. This is a man who fought for what was right, didn't think any task was beneath him, and now rightfully deserves to be lauded for his phenomenal work that was instrumental in leading to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

While the subject matter seems heavy, the film has a deft touch, with Domingo never portentously weighing down proceedings but ensuring we always see the energy and enthusiasm Rustin brought to this work. Are there horrific flashbacks to his past? Of course, the man is both Black and gay, his life was not easy. But this movie is a celebration of a man who did important, history-changing work, and you'll walk away from it with a sense of quiet wonder.

The Zone of Interest: Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, who loosely based the story on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis, this is a movie about Rudolf Hoss and his family. What's interesting about this family? Hoss was a Nazi and the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and he and his family lived in an idyllic house right next door to the camp. So what follows is a film that occasionally seems to tell a tale of domestic peace and tranquility, and then will chillingly feature a line of dialogue or just a sound that makes it clear these people are absolute monsters.

The most notable aspect of this film is its sound design. You start to notice that while you might be able to hear some birds twittering in the background, you can also hear gunshots and screams and burning furnaces. It's the ultimate sign of human indifference - these people live next to a concentration camp and the sounds of genocide have merely become background noise to them. However, other aspects of this film were a little too artsy and incomprehensible for me and didn't work as well in keeping me engaged. And while I greatly appreciated the first half of the film that took place within the house and garden, the second half where Hoss is stationed in another location and is mostly dealing with other Nazi generals felt like a much less necessary film that had nothing new to say. 

Towards the end, there are some scenes where we see the modern-day Auschwitz Museum and the janitorial staff vacuuming the carpets and cleaning the windows of the exhibits. It is yet another chilling reminder of how the mundane business of living can be in such close proximity to such abject horror. This is a movie that has found a novel way to make you feel even more horrified by the Holocaust; while some of its ambitions far exceed its grasp, it still demands a viewing because it is so powerfully told.

January Jams Part 2: The Iron Claw & Maestro

Need to get more biopics into your cinematic viewing rotation? Well there are currently two powerful films you can watch. Warning though, you might have to bring a hanky.

The Iron Claw: Written and directed by Sean Durkin, this is the true story of the Von Erich family, a wrestling dynasty that was dogged by horrifying tragedy in the early 1980s. Zac Efron plays Kevin, the eldest son of the family, and boy is he ripped and almost unrecognizable in this role. He is a quiet but stoic man who loves his younger brothers deeply and is desperate to take care of the family. Unfortunately, he is up against the wild ambitions of his father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), a former wrestler who never garnered as much fame as he thought he deserved and is now hellbent on creating a family wrestling empire that will take the wrestling world by storm. 

The second oldest son, Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), is a discus thrower due to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, but the boycott sends him back home where he now joins Kevin and their other brother David (Harris Dickinson) in the ring to compete as a fierce trio of brothers. Meanwhile, their youngest brother, Mike (Stanley Simons), would much rather be a musician, but don't you worry, he'll end up in the ring too. 

The wrestling sequences are wonderfully choreographed but the meat of this story is about the string of tragedies that hits this family in rapid succession, leading Kevin to become convinced the family curse might not just be a superstition but actual fact. I won't give anything way - suffice to say, I was expecting one tragic death and then got way more than I had bargained for. It's a lot to take, but these actors are incredible, particularly Efron as the stalwart older brother who has to watch his beautiful family unravel in front of his eyes and has to reckon with the pressures of toxic masculinity and the unhealthy relationship he has with his father. It is beautifully written, powerfully acted, and even though it's heavy, it will certainly move your heart. Watch this movie and then go tell all the men in your life to have a nice little cry. They will thank you for it.

Maestro: Directed by Bradley Cooper, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer and then stars in it, this is the story of Leonard Bernstein, the man who was America's first great renowned conductor. It chronicles his early beginnings when he got the call to make his conducting debut at the New York Philharmonic when a guest conductor fell sick and his subsequent meteoric rise. It is also a love story, a tale of his relationship with the actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan, putting in a dazzling performance), who he would go on to marry. Their marriage was complicated by the fact that Bernstein continued to have affairs with men, so you know...that's a bit of a challenge.

If you are a Bernstein fan, this movie should be right up your alley. The score consists entirely of Bernstein's compositions, so you may notice familiar snippets throughout the film. As I am a Bernstein novice, I was less moved by that aspect of the film, but I did find the acting by Cooper and Mulligan to be quite stellar, with both affecting those strange pseudo-British accents of the 1940s that I associate with screwball comedies. They banter deliciously in the early parts of their courtship. and later on, when their marriage has started to sour, there is a surreal and bizarrely comic scene, where they are having a fight while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade takes place outside their windows. 

This is a visually inventive movie, and it captures so much of the joy and passion that Bernstein put into his music. It isn't a standard, dull biopic, instead finding clever cinematographic ways to elevate the material and give us something that feels just a little bit out there. It's not a hagiography, but an honest portrait of a complicated and brilliant man, and it might compel you to spend some more time exploring the many sides of Leonard Bernstein.

December Movies Part 5: Anyone but You, Migration, Ferrari, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan

Alright, it's time for a buffet of movie reviews to close out 2023. Do you want a raunchy romcom, an animated movie about some birds, a biopic about a man who made some cars, or a Bollywood drama about social media? Well, keep reading!

Anyone but You: I wasn't going to watch this movie. But then I discovered it was directed by Will Gluck (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ilana Wolpert), and my interest was piqued. He directed the phenomenal Easy A, so I figured maybe this movie wouldn't be terrible. And oh man. It was splendid! Starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell (two wildly attractive yet also thankfully personable actors) as Bea and Ben, this is a story of two people who had a disastrous one-night stand but now have to reunite at the wedding of Bea's sister and Ben's childhood best friend...in Australia. They hate each other, but they don't want to ruin the wedding weekend, so they decide they need to put up a front. Obviously, things don't go smoothly.

It's very tropey, but it's a classic, and the script has just the right amount of sizzle to make this a very R-rated comedy. Also, please note the couple's names: Bea and Ben. This entire movie is an ode to Beatrice and Benedict from Much Ado About Nothing, with references to the play sprinkled throughout the film as delightful nerdy Shakespearean Easter eggs. The tone is always light and breezy but also carries a great deal of heart, and the supporting cast are quite wonderful and unexpected and keep things moving along. If you've been pining for a classic romcom, your prayers have been answered. Get thee to this movie!

Migration: Do you want something more PG-rated? Then this might be the film for you. Written by Mike White (creator of The White Lotus, but don't expect any sexy shenanigans or murder here) and directed by Benjamin Renner, this is a charming movie about a family of mallard ducks that decide to migrate to Jamaica for the winter. They are led by patriarch, Mack (voiced brilliantly by Kumail Nanjiani), who is very anxious about leaving the comfortable pond they have always lived in. But he wants to please his wife, Pam (the equally brilliant Elizabeth Banks), who is longing for adventure, so they embark on this journey with their kids Dax and Gwen (Caspar Jennings and Traci Gazal) and Mack's grumpy uncle Dan (Danny DeVito). 

Unfortunately, they get a little lost, and instead of ending up in the Caribbean, they find themselves in the wilds of New York City. Here they befriend a pigeon (natch) named Chump, voice by Awkwafina, and many adventures ensue, some of which involve a very evil chef who wants to turn them all into dinner. It's a fun, diverting, entertaining movie, and the ideal treat if you're a New Yorker who loves seeing the city in animated form.

Ferrari: Written by Tory Kennedy Martin and directed by Michael Mann, I like to think of this movie as House of Gucci: The Sequel. Which is slightly unfair because it's not an awful movie. But because you can't even laugh at it, you're just left spending two rather dull hours watching non-Italian actors do their best Italian accents and deal with the dramatic fallout of mixing business with pleasure. 

Adam Driver plays the titular Enzo Ferrari, and we follow his strained relationship with his wife, Laura (Penelope Cruz), with whom he founded his company. It's 1957, they are having financial difficulties, their son Dino just died last year at the age of 24, and oh, Enzo has been having an affair since World War II with another woman, Lina (Shailene Woodley), with whom he has a son. So you know, typical Italian stuff. On top of this, we have lots of car racing, lots of drama with Ferrari's drivers, and the high stakes of the upcoming Mille Miglia race throughout Italy. This is a film about a man who is desperately trying to maintain control as every aspect of his life is evading that control, and I don't know. I didn't find it particularly compelling, I thought the actors were fine but only serviceable, and overall, it left me cold. But maybe if you're a huge fan of Ferrari and his legacy, this is exactly what you've been looking for? Your mileage may vary. Pun intended.

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan: Directed by Arjun Varain Singh (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Yash Sahai and my girls Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti), this is a vibey and solid Bollywood Netflix movie about the trials and tribulations of our modern age and everyone's smartphone addiction. We follow a trio of friends from boarding school: Imaad (Siddhanth Chaturvedi), who is a stand-up comedian and is a commitment-phobe who is constantly going on Tinder dates with women he will never meet a second time; Ahana (Ananya Pandey), who thought she was in a solid relationship with her boyfriend of two years, but is now floundering after he has unexpectedly asked her for a break; and Neil (Adarsh Gourav), a personal trainer who still lives at home with his parents but is desperate to build a business, get some celebrity clients, make a lot of money and live his best life. 

These are three well-rounded characters and as the film progresses, each gets a robust storyline that centers on how their constant reliance on their phones and the need to compare themselves to what they see on their Instagram feeds is fueling immense amounts of loneliness and insecurity. There's nothing revelatory in this movie, but it is well-told and hits very close to home, particularly when assessing the horrors of the modern dating landscape. This movie can get intense at times, but overall, you can let it wash over you and bask in its moody Mumbai vibe. In that way, it's just like doomscrolling through your phone.

November Highlights Part 4: Priscilla & Saltburn

Is it that time of year when you're jonesing to watch some movies written AND directed by women? Or do you just want to stare at Jacob Elordi for a few hours? Well, here are two movies from our best female filmmakers that feature intriguing supporting performances from Jacob Elordi!

Priscilla: Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, this is a beautiful and sweeping story of Priscilla Beaulieu, the woman who would meet and marry and eventually divorce Elvis Presley. Played with heartbreaking innocence by Cailee Spaeny (an Oscar nomination seems inevitable), we begin the movie with the fourteen-year-old (!) Priscilla, who has moved with her family to Germany, where her father is stationed at a US military base. She is lonely and homesick, and for some godforsaken reason, after meeting her at a party, the 24-year-old Elvis (played by Jacob Elordi), sets his sights on dating her. 

Prsicilla's parents are weirded out by this, but what is weirder is that they still allow it, which is how you know they are American, because what Indian parent would ever allow this kind of nonsense (they might sanction a child marriage, of course, but not child dating!). The entire film unspools like a guide to grooming a teenage girl, but the pedophile in question is Elvis Presley and everyone around him seems totally fine with arranging things so Priscilla can stay over at Graceland and be with him while he continues to have affairs and break her heart.

This movie is mostly melancholy vibes with incredible costumes, makeup, and hairstyles. After all the bombast of last year's Elvis, it's nice to get a film from a woman's perspective of this famous man, and surprise, surprise, like many famous men, he had oodles of talent and treated women like accessories. You spend this entire movie watching Priscilla fight to be with this man and wanting to go "oh sweetie, no." And then you watch the inevitable realization dawn on her that this was a bad decision. It's a tale as old as time, but in the hands of Sofia Coppola, it's a tale that's still beautifully and compassionately told. 

Saltburn: Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, this is yet another glorious confection for your eyeballs. If you loved Promising Young Woman (and who didn't?), this candy-colored aesthetic is going to feel familiar, but Fennell has now moved the action to her home turf of rich and ridiculous British people. And oh, is it divine. 

The movie follows Oliver Quick (the incredible Barry Keoghan, in a performance that ought to get some awards attention this year), a young scholarship student at Oxford University in 2006. He is lonely and ignored but when he somehow befriends Felix (Jacob Elordi, playing a VERY different character from Elvis), a rich kid who seems to have a penchant for picking up strays, what follows is a very intense and volatile friendship. Eventually, Ollie is invited to stay with Felix at his family estate of Saltburn for the summer. What follows is a hedonistic and wild visit that is going to lead to some terrible revelations and some incredibly caustic humor about Felix and his family. Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant play Felix's parents, and let's just say they capture British aristocratic daffiness and repression to absolute perfection. 

The soundtrack is wonderful, the acting is brilliant, and the screenplay veers wildly into every genre, managing to be both horrifyingly funny, thrilling, and macabre. It is a mind-bending marvel that will keep you glued to the screen for two hours and you will definitely hear some gasps in the audience as some twists and turns come flying out at you. It's everything you want from a movie, and more, so don't delay. Take a trip to Saltburn immediately.