2 Best Movies to Watch by Idina Menzel

Staff & contributors

A crazy, anxiety-inducing thriller that turns Adam Sandler into a thrill-generating machine, which in its own speaks volumes about the rhythm of this movie. It follows a jeweler who gets himself in trouble with what feels like all of New York - a gang, Kevin Garnett (the NBA player), other jewelers, his family, odd twins that appear out of nowhere - everyone. This all happens in the backdrop of him feeling he has “hit big” and is on the verge of receiving a lot of money.

If you watched Good Time, you know what to expect from directors Safdie brothers: excruciating tension that keeps building up when you thought it wasn’t possible. And that might be the only problem with Uncut Gems; the tension doesn't feel that different from Good Time, and having watched one you can guess where the other one is going.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Abel Tesfaye, Adam Sandler, Alexander Gilkes, Andrea Linsky, Anthony Mecca, Ara Daglian, Aren Topian, Arthur Borukhov, Benjy Kleiner, Chad Neves, Damany Eastman, Debbie DeLisi, Eric Bogosian, Glenn 'Doc' Rivers, Greg Yuna, Hailey Gates, Idina Menzel, Jake Ryan, Jennifer Venditti, Jeremy Sample, John Amos, Jonathan Aranbayev, Josh Ostrovsky, Judd Hirsch, Julia Fox, Keith William Richards, Keith Williams Richards, Keren Shemel, Kerwin Frost, Kevin Garnett, Lakeith Stanfield, Larry Sloman, Liang Wei-Hei Duncan, Liang Wei-Hui-Duncan, Louis Anthony Arias, Maksud Agadjani, Marcia DeBonis, Marshall Greenberg, Mesfin Lamengo, Michael A. Sollecito, Mike Francesa, Mitchell Wenig, Natasha Lyonne, Noa Fisher, Paige Neuenschwander, Paloma Elsesser, Pom Klementieff, Ricky Barksdale, Robbie DeRaffele, Roman Persits, Roza Babekova, Sahar Bibiyan, Sean Ringgold, Shemsi Selimaj, Shiv Pai, Suin Zhi Hua-Hilton, Sun Zhi Hua-Hilton, The Weeknd, Thomas Kominik, Tilda Swinton, Todd Vulpio, Tommy Kominik, Trinidad James, Ursula Triplett, Victor Plajas, Wayne Diamond

Director: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie

Rating: R

Funny, refreshing, and heartwarming, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah gives the seminal girlhood film Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. a Gen Z update. Stacy and her friends are constantly on social media and watch each other for potentially politically incorrect terms, but they also struggle with period pain, crushes, and falling out with former friends. It’s a confusing time in a kid’s life, and  You Are So Not Invited, like Are You There God? before it, honors that. It never condescends, never strays far from the child’s perspective. It’s jubilant and heartwarming, and (to me at least) it’s always fun to see real-life families play themselves in movies. Judd Apatow experimented with this structure in his semi-autobiographical films Knocked Up and This Is 40, which first gave us a glimpse into his daughter Maude Apatow’s acting prowess. I feel You Are So Not Invited will do the same to its young star Sunny Sandler, whose effortlessly funny and charming performance will surely carve a path for a promising career in the future.  

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adam Sandler, Allison McKay, Beth Hall, Briana Andrade-Gomes, Bunny Levine, Dan Bulla, Dean Scott Vazquez, Dylan Chloe Dash, Dylan Hoffman, Idina Menzel, Ido Mosseri, Jackie Hoffman, Jackie Sandler, Jean Edwards, Joseph Vecsey, Luis Guzman, Michael Buscemi, Miya Cech, Nigel Downer, Oscar Chark, Sadie Sandler, Samantha Lorraine, Sarah Sherman, Sunny Sandler

Director: Sammi Cohen

Rating: PG-13