Genre: Documentary
Director: Arthur Jones, Giorgio Angelini
There’s no time quite like a Sunday afternoon for settling in front of a good movie with a snack. Whether you’re into action-packed dramas or lighthearted comedies, here are the best movies for a lazy Sunday, across genres.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Arthur Jones, Giorgio Angelini
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Amarr M. Wooten, Andrea Powell, Andrew Dicostanzo, Ariel Martin, Cree Kawa, Daniella Taylor, Ella Anderson, Elliott Sancrant, Jason Burkey, Karen Ceesay, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Laura Linney, Matt Walsh, Nico Parker, Orelon Sidney, Pam Dougherty, Parker Sack, Scott MacArthur, Woody Harrelson
Director: Laura Chinn
In this sweet-natured British comedy filmed mostly in black and white, Marek is a Polish boy who lives with his alcoholic father in London. He meets Tomo, a kid from the British Midlands who escaped his family and came to London alone.
They form a friendship that this movie follows for a few days. With nowhere to stay, Tomo moves in with Marek without Marek’s father noticing. The two end-up plotting a scheme that turns things around both for them and for the styling of the movie.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Elisa Lasowski, Huggy Leaver, Ireneusz Czop, Kate Dickie, Mark Monero, Perry Benson, Piotr Jagiello, Steven Hillman, Thomas Turgoose, Trevor Cooper
Director: Shane Meadows
If there are parts to Rookie's story that seem too easily resolved—for the sake of making this more of a feel-good movie—these shortcuts still serve a genuinely romantic central relationship that develops in the most organic way possible. Besides the school's stifling conservatism, there's nothing that really stands in the way of Ace and Jana's blossoming connection. By immediately advancing its depiction of queer love beyond the self-acceptance stage (where so many other films get stuck), Rookie is allowed to show us two girls in love and supporting each other, as the normal and beautiful thing it should be. It doesn't hurt either that the movie is pretty entertaining as a sports film, with just enough flash in its editing and sound design to sell the frantic energy of a game wherein you want to impress the person you have a crush on.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Agot Isidro, Aya Fernandez, Che Ramos, Mikoy Morales, Pat Tingjuy, Simon Ibarra
Director: Samantha Lee
Rewind picks up rather quickly with a marriage montage, invoking the infamous first 10 minutes of Up. But this is no classic Pixar tearjerker. This is a good old-fashioned Pinoy telenovela romance, featuring a life-changing car accident, a saint-like child, and an emotionally dead relationship. It explores a premise anyone can instantly connect with, which challenges the comforting notion that a quick burst of reparations makes up for a lifetime of errors. This touching story leaves little room for downtime, but every minute coasts on cheesy writing and a religious slant to deliver a didactic message straight out of a mildly entertaining homily.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction
Actor: Ariel Ureta, Chamyto Aguedan, Coney Reyes, Dingdong Dantes, Ina Feleo, JC Alcantara, Jordan Lim, Joross Gamboa, Lito Pimentel, Marian Rivera, Mary Joy Apostol, Neil Coleta, Pamu Pamorada, Pepe Herrera, Sue Ramirez
Director: Mae Cruz-Alviar
Craig Foster’s bond with an octopus takes the spotlight in this heartfelt documentary set in the cold seas of South Africa. The title hints at the nature of this bond: the tentacled creature shows the human outsider the ropes in her watery den.
Both parties have an endless curiosity about one another, giving the filmmakers Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed much fuel for this sentimental doc. My Octopus Teacher features Foster diving in the ocean every day and waxing poetic through voiceovers about the remarkable ability of a wild animal to connect with him. This all takes place amidst his obsessive mapping of said animal’s habitat during what appears to be a mid-life crisis. It’s beautiful, yes, both visually and in its message of nature being something we can connect with to find meaning, but much of the story revolves around what Foster feels the octopus is doing in relation to him, and not about what it’s doing, period. The documentary becomes an exercise in making something that exists peacefully in its own little world all about some guy.
For a film that centers on an unlikely emotional attachment, it does explore the ocean and present the adventures one can embark on due to curiosity. Despite its faults, it manages to be informative and shows off gorgeous underwater cinematography.
Genre: Documentary
Director: James Reed, Philippa Ehrlich, Pippa Ehrlich
Genre: Documentary, Family
Actor: Charles Berling, Fiorello, Jules Sitruk, Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer
Director: Luc Jacquet
Though it doesn't delve too deeply into any pressing issues in baseball or into its protagonist's Taiwanese roots, Late Life: The Chien-Ming Wang Story still makes for interesting viewing, mostly for its extremely specific discussions on baseball. Part sports documentary and part study on physical therapy, the film rejects any narratives about innate talent and greatness and aims to depict most great players as they really are: athletes who have had to train hard and maintain their progress through sheer force of will. And at the center is Chien-Ming Wang himself, a gentle and humble giant who makes for an unlikely but refreshing sports celebrity.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Billy Connors, Brian Cashman, Chien-Ming Wang, Frank W Chen, Neil Allen
Director: Frank W Chen, Tommy Yu
Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) runs a high-brow art gallery in Chicago and has to take a trip to North Carolina to meet with an artist she wants to sign. She uses this opportunity to also meet her husband’s family, who is originally from there.
She is introduced into the small world of rural North Carolina, personified in Ashley (Amy Adams), the wife of her husband’s brother. Ashley is a wide-eyed but good-hearted person who has never left her town and who is in a bad relationship but pregnant with her first child.
Ashley is the true main character of this movie (even if all Adams accolades were for ‘best supporting’ awards). Her joyfulness, her pregnancy, and her interactions with Madeliene are studied closely in this subtle but touching family drama.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Van Couvering, Amy Adams, Ben McKenzie, Bobby Tisdale, Celia Weston, David Kuhn, Embeth Davidtz, Frank Hoyt Taylor, Jerry Minor, Jill Wagner, Joanne Pankow, Matt Besser, R. Keith Harris, Scott Wilson, Will Oldham
Director: Phil Morrison
Even within the first two episodes of the Japanese reality series Is She the Wolf? (a spin-off of parent show Who Is the Wolf?), it admittedly isn't very clear how the premise works. At least one female contestant in this pool of 22- to 32-year-olds—all of whom happen to be performers of some kind—has been told that they ultimately cannot reciprocate when somebody chooses them by the end, though they don't seem to be told what they win if they comply. And with the reveal of who one wolf is during the first episode, the twist starts to feel more cruel than intended, with the chosen woman feeling genuinely heartbroken about not being able to get closer to the man she's interested in.
But it sure makes for good TV. With this layer of suspicion and heightened emotional stakes, even watching the supposedly regular contestants becomes more engrossing: are they sincere, or are they using their performance backgrounds to good use? And despite the central twist, there's still something calming about Is She the Wolf?, as all of the contestants are refreshingly polite and soft-spoken—avoiding the kind of trashy behavior that often makes American dating shows equal parts exciting and irritating. These are just well-adjusted adults with jobs exercising caution as they get to know one another.
Genre: Reality, Romance
Within seconds of the cold open, the documentary establishes a curious, playful angle to learning about the gut. Giulia Enders, our primary expert and narrator, speaks conversationally with such infectious passion about the gut. The animation styles are diverse and adorable, and the visualization of ideas as a whole is magnetic, making this as much an educational as it is an artistic tribute to the subject. And at its core is a simple idea: having a balanced diet is good for the microbiomes in your gut. All roads leading to that point have been taken care of to create a friendly and fascinating documentary.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Giulia Enders
Director: Anjali Nayar
Unabashedly embracing the ridiculous twists, rotating romantic pairings, and other tropes common to young-adult comedy-dramas, Good Trouble offers a massive number of storylines that are always delivered with an easygoing charm and real filmmaking flair. Set in a communal living space in Los Angeles, each character's personal drama often intersects with everyone else's—allowing the show to look at every issue through a wide range of perspectives, and letting the authentic mess of human emotion and miscommunication drive the stories forward. It's undeniably cheesy most of the time, but the energy in the show's filmmaking and the fun chemistry among its actors helps dignify even the smallest everyday occurrence as something meaningful.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Booboo Stewart, Bryan Craig, Cierra Ramirez, Emma Hunton, Josh Pence, Maia Mitchell, Tommy Martinez, Zuri Adele
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Fern Brady
Director: Phoebe Bourke
Even those who aren't baseball aficionados should find something interesting and human in this straightforward, brainy documentary Fastball looks at the titular type of pitch not just from a place of scientific curiosity but as a symbolic goal that players all over the world chase after. Through many clear-eyed discussions and testimonials, we begin to see how a large part of the sport has been structured around the idea of understanding speed—and how some careers have been made or broken by trying to catch up with the greats. But in the end, Fastball takes a surprisingly subjective position on the matter; instead of definitively stating who's the fastest on earth, it affirms that everyone has their own legends they look up to, pushing them to be greater.
Genre: Documentary, Family
Actor: Bryce Harper, Chris Cooper, Denard Span, Derek Jeter, Ernie Banks, George Brett, Hank Aaron, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Justin Verlander, Kevin Costner, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Tony Gwynn
Director: Jonathan Hock
CODA has all the trappings of a predictable, feel-good family drama. You’ll recognize immediately the talented teen, the family pulling her back, the cute love interest, the do-gooder mentor, and the swirl of coincidences that blend them all together in one sweet story. But CODA is so irresistibly heartfelt, well-acted, and vital (all the deaf characters are actually played by deaf actors), that you can’t help but be won by its charms.
Aside from its big heart, the film’s decision to express itself mostly through ASL and music is an impressive technical feat as well. Altogether, these elements make for a refreshing, enjoyable, and simply heartwarming watch.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Actor: Amy Forsyth, Armen Garo, Ayana Brown, Bryan Sabbag, Courtland Jones, Daniel Durant, David Newsom, Dominic Andersen, Dominic Cannarella-Andersen, Emilia Faucher, Emilia Jones, Erica McDermott, Eugenio Derbez, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Gary Galone, Jason Pugatch, John Fiore, Jose Guns Alves, Kayla Caulfield, Kevin Chapman, Kiara Pichardo, Kyana Fanene, Lance Norris, Lonnie Farmer, Marilyn Busch, Mark Pettograsso, Marlee Matlin, Mary Ann Schaub, Melissa McMeekin, Molly Beth Thomas, Owen Burke, Pamela Jayne Morgan, Rebecca Gibel, Rena Maliszewski, Sarah Clarke, Stone Martin, TJ Ciarametaro, Tony Viveiros, Troy Kotsur
Director: Sian Heder