846 Contributions by: Renee Cuisia (Page 32)

Staff & contributors

Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She’s also seen You’ve Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it’s one of the greatest films out there.

Told in a playful mockumentary format, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game delivers precisely what the title promises and a bit more. Apart from imparting interesting information about pinball's complicated past (it was only declared legal in New York as recently as 1976), the film doubles as a touching family drama and a fun experiment on genre. As Robert Sharpe, the real-life games expert who helped decriminalize pinball, Mike Faist is winsome, compelling, and maybe the best thing about the film.

While Pinball could've leaned into its silliness more instead of just dipping its toes in avant-garde territory, the film is pleasant enough with plenty of fun and tender moments to enjoy. 

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Bryan Batt, Christopher Convery, Connor Ratliff, Crystal Reed, Damian Young, Dennis Boutsikaris, Donna Del Bueno, Eric William Morris, Hope Blackstock, Jake Regal, Kenneth Tigar, Michael Kostroff, Mike Doyle, Mike Faist, Rosa Arredondo, Supriya Ganesh, Toby Regbo, Zac Jaffee

Director: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg

Read also:
You’d think a Disney movie about a sweet kid overcoming the difficulties of cerebral palsy would be overly sweet or forcefully positive (Disney-fied, if you will), but Out of My Mind is surprisingly tempered. A smart and sensitive script and great performances across the board work to make the film a balanced and heart-warming portrait of a disabled girl coming of age. It doesn’t give you false hope that everything will be okay, but it’s not grim about the world either. Instead, it gives you a realistic and likable character in Melody (played by Phoebe-Rae Taylor and voiced, amusingly, by Jennifer Aniston), a bright 6th-grader determined to compete in a national trivia quiz with her classmates. Throughout the film, displays a toughness and an agency that not many disabled characters get to enjoy onscreen. There are cliched moments here and there, but Taylor and her co-stars make them feel true and lived in.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Catherine McNally, Courtney Taylor, Emily Mitchell, Gavin MacIver-Wright, Ian Ho, Isaiah Rockcliffe, Janet Porter, Jennifer Aniston, Judith Light, Kate Moyer, Kevin Jubinville, Luke Kirby, Maria Nash, Michael Chernus, Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sharron Matthews

Director: Amber Sealey

Rating: PG

Read also:

Before “burnout,” “bullshit jobs,” and “quiet quitting” became part of our everyday lexicon, there was a film in the ‘90s that prophesied the rise of these workplace problems. Office Space follows three co-workers who, having had enough of their dreary low-paying jobs, fight back against their company via an embezzlement scheme. 

Office Space makes the most out of its indie budget as it mostly takes place in the cramped quarters of a company, effectively bottling us into the cubicled windowless world of the characters. But the real beauty of the film is in the details, from its quick zingers and thoughtful takes on the essence of work down to its elaborate “planning to plan” scheme in the background and the employees’ forced politeness singing happy birthday to their boss. Modern viewers will notice that Office Space sits right in between the dystopian thriller Severance and the beloved sitcom The Office—a dark comedy that highlights the necessity of humanity in everyday work. 

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Ajay Naidu, Alexandra Wentworth, Ali Wentworth, Barbara George-Reiss, Cassie Townsend, Charissa Allen, David Herman, Diedrich Bader, Gabriel Folse, Gary Cole, Greg Pitts, Heath Young, Jack Betts, Jackie Belvin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Jane Emerson, Jesse De Luna, Joe Bays, John C. McGinley, Josh Bond, Justin Possenti, K. Todd Lytle, Kinna McInroe, Kyle Scott Jackson, Linda Wakeman, Michael McShane, Mike Judge, Orlando Jones, Paul Willson, R.C. Keene, Richard Riehle, Ron Livingston, Rupert Reyes, Samantha Inoue Harte, Spencer Kayden, Stephen Root, Todd Duffey, Tom Schuster

Director: Mike Judge

Rating: R

Read also:
Before you say it, yes, Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 adaptation of the same Shakespeare play is brilliant. But it can also be true that Joss Whedon’s version is brilliant, albeit in a different way. Where the former is colorful and epic in scale, the latter is modest and intimate, not to mention closer to our time so it feels more relatable. Shot over a weekend in Whedon’s house using only natural light and his favorite collaborators, this homegrown version could’ve been amateurish and clumsy in lesser hands. But under Whedon’s helm, it feels effortlessly joyous and cooly modern. There’s more skin, for one, and backstories for another. But importantly, Whedon retains Shakespeare’s lyrical dialogue, and the effect is astounding. It sounds like it should be difficult to understand, but the lived-in performances, location, and scenarios (like sneaking out of a one-night stand) feel so familiar and grounded that the words do so too. It’s as natural as any language used in love and life.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Ashley Johnson, Brian McElhaney, Clark Gregg, Emma Bates, Fran Kranz, Nathan Fillion, Nick Kocher, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Romy Rosemont, Sabrina Hill, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Tom Lenk

Director: Joss Whedon

Rating: PG-13

Read also:

The title says it all: this is a story of love and basketball, one where the two intertwine and excitedly inform one another. Two childhood friends with a passion for ball develop deep feelings for one another. They have ambitions to go pro, but as Monica discovers how uneven the playing field really is for female athletes, and as Quincy grapples with his own needs and career, they reconsider their relationship both to each other and to the game they so love. 

Love & Basketball is a beautiful and sensitive movie that breaks stereotypes about Black love, which exists here as soft and nuanced as any other expertly drawn pairings in movies, and about Black women; Monica gets angry, but also vulnerable, hardworking, and loving. The sports component of the movie is just as finely detailed, with the energy of the matches bouncing off the screen walls. Clearly ahead of its time, Love & Basketball gets at the core of the game without losing sight of its talented players. 

 

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Al Foster, Alfre Woodard, Boris Kodjoe, Chick Hearn, Chris Warren, Christine Dunford, Colleen Matsuhara, Debbi Morgan, Dennis Haysbert, Erika Ringor, Gabrielle Union, Glenndon Chatman, Harry Lennix, James DuMont, Jesse Corti, Kyla Pratt, Monica Calhoun, Naykia Harris, Omar Epps, Regina Hall, Robin Roberts, Sanaa Lathan, Shar Jackson, Tyra Banks

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Rating: PG-13

Read also:
Juror #2 is the kind of film that doesn’t waste time: it’s immediately compelling as it throws questions about morality, guilt, and conscience straight to your face. There are familiar people in this stacked cast, including Chris Messina and J.K. Simmons, but it’s Nicholas Hoult as the titular second juror and Toni Collete as the ambitious prosecutor who stand out. The weight of the film’s heavy questions lies on their shoulders, and they convey every feeling—from doubt and remorse to exaltation and hope—with painful clarity. I only the film hadn’t taken the easy way out, and that the debate among the jury could have been thornier and trickier, but as it is, Juror #2 is a compelling addition to our book of excellent courtroom dramas.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Adrienne C. Moore, Amy Aquino, Bria Brimmer, Cedric Yarbrough, Chikako Fukuyama, Chris Messina, Drew Scheid, Francesca Eastwood, Gabriel Basso, Grant Roberts, Hedy Nasser, J.K. Simmons, Jason Coviello, Javier Vazquez Jr., KateLynn E. Newberry, Kellen Boyle, Kevin Saunders, Kiefer Sutherland, Kurt Yue, Leslie Bibb, Megan Mieduch, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Walters, Rebecca Koon, Scott Alan Smith, Tom Thon, Toni Collette, Zele Avradopoulos, Zoey Deutch

Director: Clint Eastwood

Rating: PG-13

Read also: