One Night in Miami (2020): An Insightful Look at Four Black Icons
It’s an interesting premise, and King has fun with it, but she uses it to discuss more somber issues surrounding the Black American community as well. Since it’s based on a stage play, One Night in Miami is dialogue-heavy, but it’s also an insightful glimpse at four American icons.
One Night in Miami is the directorial debut of actress Regina King, and there’s already some awards buzz surrounding it. The film imagines what it would be like if Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown all met up in a hotel in 1964. It’s an interesting premise, and King has fun with it, but she uses it to discuss more somber issues surrounding the Black American community as well. Since it’s based on a stage play, One Night in Miami is dialogue-heavy, but it’s also an insightful glimpse at four American icons.
IMDb rating: 7.3/10
Sound of Metal (2019): A Sensitive Portrait of the Deaf Community
IMDb rating: 7.8/10
Sylvie’s Love (2020): A Period Romance with Heart
Sylvie’s Love is a heartfelt period romance about a woman who falls in love with a saxophonist in 1950s Harlem. The two move in and out of each other’s lives over the course of six years, but when they reconnect they find their feelings for each other haven’t faded. If you’re a fan of old-fashioned will-they/won’t-they romances, 1950s music, or Tessa Thompson, give this one a try.
IMDb rating: 6.7/10
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020): A Funny Look at American Culture
Cohen’s antics are as outrageous as ever, even if they’re harder to pull off now that Borat is a recognizable character, and include encounters with an Instagram influencer, a Christian pregnancy counselor, and Rudy Guiliani. The film is funny, gross, juvenile, and pointedly relevant.
Sacha Baron Cohen is back with another satirical look at American culture in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Fourteen years after his last trip to the U.S., Kazakh television journalist Borat returns with his teenage daughter in tow. Cohen’s antics are as outrageous as ever, even if they’re harder to pull off now that Borat is a recognizable character, and include encounters with an Instagram influencer, a Christian pregnancy counselor, and Rudy Guiliani. The film is funny, gross, juvenile, and pointedly relevant.
Attack the Block (2011): That Other British Comedy About an Alien Invasion
Before he became Star Wars famous, actor John Boyega starred in this little gem about London teens defending their block from an alien invasion. This well-written, well-paced popcorn flick combines comedy, action, horror, and social commentary into one enjoyable sci-fi package.
IMDb rating: 6.6/10
As Good As It Gets (1997): Best Rom-Com Featuring a Brussels Griffon
Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is a successful romance writer with a serious case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cantankerous and misanthropic, his life and worldview are forever changed when he befriends his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) and a struggling waitress (Helen Hunt). Nicholson and Hunt both won Oscars for their work in this romantic comedy classic. (It was nominated for Best Picture too, but lost to Titanic.)
IMDb rating: 7.7/10
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021): For Fans of ‘The Magicians’ and Time Travel
Based on a short story by The Magicians author Lev Grossman, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is a film about two teens caught in a time loop. They relive the same 24 hours over and over, creating the titular map as they experience each day together. And, of course, they fall in love along the way.
IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020): A Video Game-Based Movie That’s Not Terrible
Movies based on video games have a habit of being, well, awful. And it seemed like Sonic the Hedgehog was destined for the dust bin as well. The film’s creators had to change the CGI prior to its release after fans complained about the blue speedster’s looks. Luckily, the result is a fun and family-friendly adventure that combines live-action with animation.
IMDb rating: 6.5/10
Herself (2020): An Empowering Story About Rebuilding Your Life
Herself is an empowering story about a struggling mother of two kids who flees an abusive relationship and seeks to literally rebuild her life. Fed up with temporary housing, she decides to build a new affordable home with the help of an architect and a building contractor. But her ex and the federal government stand in her way. Filled with likable characters and a poignant message, Herself is worth a look.
IMDb rating: 7.0/10
The Truman Show (1998): Jim Carrey’s Best Film
Truman is an ordinary man with a lovely wife and a good job. But he’s also unwittingly the star of the world’s biggest reality TV show. His town is filled with props, his neighbors are actors, and he’s beginning to catch on. That’s the premise behind the 1998 comedy The Truman Show, one of Jim Carrey’s best films. Funny and surprisingly prescient, it’s an endearing look at the rise of reality television and celebrity worship.
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
I’m Your Woman (2020): A Moody 1970s Crime Drama
IMDb rating: 6.2/10
Uncle Frank (2020): An Engaging Road Trip Dramedy
Set in the 1970s, Uncle Frank stars Paul Bettany as an alcoholic closeted gay professor who’s in a 10-year relationship with a Saudi Arabian ex-pat named Walid. When Frank’s niece (Sophia Lillis) visits him in New York and discovers this fact about his life, she’s immediately accepting. The rest of the family is another matter. Bettany has wowed audiences for decades and he turns in another great performance here, backed by an able supporting cast that includes Stephen Root, Judy Greer, and Margo Martindale.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): A Wuxia Classic With Time-Honored Fight Scenes
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the story of a retiring swordsman (Yun-Fat Chow) who gives his sword, Green Destiny, to his friend and unrequited love (Michelle Yeoh) for safekeeping, but it’s stolen by the daughter of a powerful governor (Ziyi Zhang). This Ang Lee action film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards the year it released, and it won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. Its gorgeous scenery and inventive fight sequences still hold up twenty years later.
Knives Out (2019): Best Use of a Cable-Knit Sweater
Fans of old-fashioned locked-room murder mysteries will find a lot to love about Knives Out, director Rian Johnson’s subversive ode to the genre. Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, affecting the best worst Southern accent since Foghorn Leghorn) is called to the Thrombey estate to investigate the murder of its patriarch, crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). As with any good mystery, Knives Out has plenty of fun twists along the way. The ensemble cast seems to enjoy themselves as well. Craig chews lots of scenery as Blanc, and Ana de Armas is fantastic as Thrombey’s beleaguered nurse. Filled with black humor and political commentary, this film is an enjoyable update to a classic genre.
IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Funny Girl (1968): Best Movie About a Comedienne By a Singer
This classic musical propelled Barbara Streisand into superstardom and for good reason: It’s impossible to imagine this movie without her and her performance as the famous 1900s comedienne and entertainer Fanny Brice. The film chronicles Brice’s rise to fame, from humble Ziegfeld girl to Broadway star. While she finds great success in her professional life, her love life is tumultuous. Her husband, Nick Arnstein (Omar Shariff), is a gambler with a string of failed business ventures. Their melodrama causes the second half of the movie to drag, but Streisand’s lively, timeless performance makes up for it.
IMDb rating: 7.4/10
The Lighthouse (2019): Best Moody Psychological Horror
Director Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse is a moody, black-and-white psychological horror film set in 19th century New England. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson play lighthouse keepers who slowly lose their sanity when a storm strands them. Dafoe is always a fascinating actor, and he gives a larger-than-life performance here as the salty veteran seadog, while Pattinson ably matches him. The movie was at least partially inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, so fans of the author’s macabre work will find something to like here, as will fans of Egger’s previous horror work, The Witch.
IMDb rating: 7.5/10
The Cabin in the Woods (2011): Best Deconstructed Comedy/Horror Flick
People seem to love it when chefs “deconstruct” popular dishes, like when they give you a sliver of bread, puddle of sauce, and a slice of cheese and call it pizza. Writers Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon have done something similar with The Cabin in the Woods, deconstructing the horror genre in an incredibly fun and exciting way.
A group of typical teens including Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), and Jules (Anna Hutchison) head off to a remote cabin for the weekend and end up unleashing an army of the undead. But the way they do it—and the unexpected twists and turns the plot takes along the way—is like taking a college course in horror film tropes. And the film’s final act sets a new standard for upending your expectations. Moreover, this is an excellent movie not just for die-hard horror fans who want to see the genre turned inside-out; the comedy makes it thoroughly entertaining for horror newbies, too.
Rocketman (2019): Best Musical Paint-By-Numbers Biopic
If you grew up singing along to “Bennie and the Jets” and “Crocodile Rock,” then you don’t want to miss Taron Egerton slip seamlessly into the role of the world’s best-known rock ’n’ roll piano player.
Yes, it’s a bit of a paint-by-the-numbers biopic, but unlike Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury’s recent biography, this look at the life of Elton John has the advantage of being more or less accurate. Along the way, you get all the great music, the ups and downs of his life and musical career, and get to meet the most important people in his life, including manager John Reid (Richard Madden) and partner Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). And for fans, that’s more than enough.
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