66 Movies Like No Time to Die (2021) (Page 4)

It’s immediately apparent that there are more carefully made documentaries out there than Remembering Gene Wilder. The film is riddled with pixelated photos for one, and the overall tone is fawning for another. But Wilder is too great of a man to be affected by mediocre filmmaking, and so Remembering Gene Wilder still makes for an entertaining and insightful watch despite its small faults. The film is less about his life and more about his work—a chronological account of his career with nuggets of wisdom for performers, comedians, and writers tucked neatly in between. It still dives into his personal life, to be sure, but as Wilder will readily admit, his creative decisions spell out all you need to know about him.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Alan Alda, Alan Zweibel, Ben Mankiewicz, Burton Gilliam, Carol Kane, Eric McCormack, Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Harry Connick Jr., Mel Brooks, Michael Gruskoff, Mike Medavoy, Peter Ostrum, Rain Pryor, Richard Pryor, Zero Mostel

Director: Ron Frank

Rating: NR

Anthology films are interesting because it’s not just one film on screen– it’s multiple stories, one after the other, that might have different plots, but share similar themes, ideas, and styles that the filmmaker(/s) would like to display. Involuntary does have five separate short films, but rather than play one by one, writer-director Ruben Östlund chops them up and alternates between them, starting with small instances where the group pushes someone into a behavior, then eventually escalating and accelerating into much more difficult consequences. This makes for a very slow start to the one and a half hour film, but it also allows Östlund some scope, with this simple group dynamic directly affecting larger ideas such as public morality, masculinity, and high-risk behavior in teens amongst others.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Cecilia Milocco, Henrik Vikman, Leif Edlund, Leif Ericson, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Lola Ewerlund, Maria Lundqvist, Olle Liljas, Sara Eriksson, Simeon Nordius, Vera Vitali, Villmar Björkman

Director: Ruben Östlund

This movie is a wild ride, literally, since it mostly takes place on a bus driving really fast. It's about one Russian-American social worker who gets hung-up between helping his community driving a group of elderly Russians to a funeral or helping the people he's hired to help.

In its essence, Give Me Liberty is a comedy where the chaos doesn't stop escalating, but thanks to impeccable character work and excellent acting, it's a relevant and poignant movie. You will find yourself in the same position as the social worker, trying to decide who needs his help more.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Chris Galust, Darya Ekamasova, Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer, Lauren Spencer, Maxim Stoyanov, Tatyana Yegorova

Director: Kirill Mikhanovsky

Rating: Not Rated

Robert Downey Jr. and James Woods star in this movie about a Lawyer who, along with his staff, attempt to get an Asian man out of jail after their office is visited by the convicted man's mother. In my opinion, this is one of the best performances by James Woods in his entire career. This film went unnoticed by many, however it stands among some of the best films I have seen over the years.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Charles Hallahan, Deborah Offner, Gerry Bamman, Graham Beckel, James Woods, Joel Polis, John Snyder, Kurt Fuller, Kurtwood Smith, Luis Guzman, Margaret Colin, Miguel Fernandes, Richard Fancy, Robert Downey Jr., Sully Díaz, Thomas Wagner, Tom Bower, Woody Harrelson, Yuji Okumoto, 柯特伍德·史密斯

Director: Joseph Ruben

Hotel Salvation is a touching movie about a father asking his son for a last wish : let him die in the Holy city of Varanasi. This Indian drama will let you discover a modern Hindu philosophy, the power of the scenic Varanasi and the bonds of family. It faces the question of death in the light, gentle and humorous way that perfectly illustrates the contradiction in question: celebrating life while surrounded by death.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adil Hussain, Anil Rastogi, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Lalit Behl, Navnindra Behl, Palomi Ghosh

Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani

Rating: Not Rated

Frankly, it’s a bad idea to rush into a marriage for a financial incentive, but there’s something sweet about A Soweto Love Story with the way the plot plays out. As the brothers race to win the family home, there’s the standard romcom shenanigans where secrets are revealed and sabotage happens, but the brothers never go too far, and the way they play out is just the right amount of playful and serious. And as they do so, it’s sweet to see the three relationships bloom without the problematic, not well-thought-out issues that plague these kinds of ensemble romance films. That being said, it would have been even better if they established a close, familial chemistry between the brothers, but the way it plays out isn’t too bad. A Soweto Love Story isn’t particularly unique or deep, but if you’re looking for a simple, lighthearted romcom to watch, this isn’t a terrible choice.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Duduzile Ngcobo, Lunga Shabalala, Motsoaledi Setumo, Ray Neo Buso, Sparky Xulu

Director: Rolie Nikiwe

Loss can be straightforwardly heartwrenching, but it could also be bewildering, cryptic, and too sudden to even process. New Religion depicts a grieving mother, whose loss of her daughter, and her meet up with an eccentric photographer, causes her to behave strangely. The film goes through the events in a surreal, existential haze, with a skin-crawling scene that reveals the photographer’s nefarious reasons, but the sequences remain inscrutable and the themes and certain characters don’t mesh as well as they could have. New Religion might befuddle viewers just looking for a casual watch, but it’s definitely a thought provoking and promising debut from Keishi Kondo.

Genre: Drama, Horror

Actor: Daiki Nunami, Kaho Seto, Ryuseigun Saionji, Satoshi Oka, Yuki Nagata

Director: Keishi Kondo

Two people with different thoughts on love discover a common ground: they’re both anti-romantics. Realizing they got off on the wrong foot, they spend more time with each other and bond over realistic ideas of modern love. At one point, Maria (Rosalie Thomass) and Karl (Laurence Rupp) even diss romantic comedies for their cheesy music and naive understanding of fate and destiny. Their conversations are engaging and thoughtful, even and especially when they oppose one another. But just when you think you’re watching something smart and novel, Maria and Karl fall into the same implausible trappings they claim to hate. Suddenly, the film turns soft and transforms into the romantic comedy it once criticized. If only it had pushed into anti-romance territory even further and allowed Maria and Karl to truly hash out their differences, thorns and tension and all, then this could have been a truly interesting romantic film. Instead, it’s a standard romantic comedy that’s worse off for pretending to be above the genre, even though it’s really not.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Arash Marandi, Charleen Deetz, Cora Trube, Denise M'Baye, Jakob Schreier, Jerry Hoffmann, Laurence Rupp, Margarethe Tiesel, Maria Hofstätter, Özgür Karadeniz, Paula Schramm, Rosalie Thomass

Director: Shirel Peleg

Rating: PG-13

In the saturated sphere of sci-fi and superhero movies, Gray Matter just doesn’t cut it. The film, which was produced as part of the filmmaking workshop/reality show Project Greenlight, doesn’t add anything new, much less its own spin, to a story we’ve heard countless times: that of a young kid learning to harness her supernatural powers for the first time. If you’ve seen Carrie, Firestarter, or more recently Stranger Things, then you’ll be able to predict how most of Gray Matter turns out. It is watchable, sure, enjoyable even in the first few minutes where it promises a world chockful of lore, but it never fulfills that promise. To be fair, the performances are solid and the technicals maximize what limited resources the movie has (it looks more decent than you’d expect a small-budgeted sci-fi production to be), but the pros don’t outweigh the cons in this case. It’s simply too empty and generic to be elevated by anything else. 

Genre: Science Fiction

Actor: Amber Martinez, Andrew Liner, Chad Doreck, Crystal Coney, David DeLuise, Ellodee Carpenter, Erik Betts, Ezri Walker, Garret Dillahunt, Isabella Ferreira, Jessica Frances Dukes, Kristian Ventura, Mia Isaac, Robert Dill, Tony Wade, Wendy Braun

Director: Meko Winbush

Rating: PG-13

As much as the Alabama-bred stand-up comic doesn't fit into the stereotype of someone with an online presence, Dusty Slay's comedy special can't help but feel like you're scrolling through the Twitter feed of someone's funny but incoherent (and most likely high) thoughts. There isn't much connective tissue to be found in Workin' Man, which doesn't necessarily weaken his jokes—many of which are actually these amusing, absurd observations on everyday life—but definitely makes all the little silences feel much longer, and leaves you looking for some sort of primary theme to really bring the show home. Still, the fact that a self-proclaimed stoner is actually this normal and unassuming (as opposed to a few other comics who can get dark and aggressive with their drug-related content) is pretty refreshing, all things considered.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Dusty Slay

Rating: PG-13

With plenty of films disavowing romance, sometimes, at the end of the day, you just want to curl up in bed to a cheesy romcom that earnestly believes in the power of true love. Wedding Games is one such romcom coming from Brazil, where the two lovers try to make their destination beach wedding perfect, despite multiple logistical mishaps along the way. It’s a totally generic wedding day story. It’s lighthearted fluff that doesn’t dive deep and contains all the familiar plot twists and comedic shenanigans, but it looks good and it’s done well. Wedding Games might not be particularly groundbreaking, but it’s not bad.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Ana Carbatti, Andre Mattos, Antônio Pitanga, Bruno Jablonski, Cristina Pereira, Dan Ferreira, Dandara Mariana, Estevam Nabote, Evaldo Macarrão, Gabriela Dias, Grace Gianoukas, Jean Pedro, Katiuscia Canoro, Leandro Léo, Lellê, Luellem de Castro, Marcello Melo, Maureen Miranda, Negra Li, Paulo Miklos, Raissa Chaddad, Roney Villela, Serjão Loroza, Stepan Nercessian, Tatiana Tiburcio, Thelmo Fernandes, Vilma Melo, Yuri Marçal, Zeze Motta

Director: Sílvio Guindane