Shot from the movie

, 1990

The death of the matriarch is, of course, sad, but the countryside wake of May Fools seems to be the opposite at first. Just before the heat of summer, the family reunion seems quaint, idyllic, and occasionally eccentric with Milou’s penchant for beekeeping and crayfish catching. The inevitable family squabble over the estate also gets humorous, and this all seems unimportant to the larger May 68 protests that threatened to escalate into civil war. But director Louis Malle finds the small personal changes of Milou’s family and presents them, not as more or less important, but genuine all the same, finding the humanity within each of these characters.
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Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Bruno Carette, Dominique Blanc, Étienne Draber, François Berléand, Harriet Walter, Hubert Saint-Macary, Jacqueline Staup, Jeanne Herry, Martine Gautier, Michel Duchaussoy, Michel Piccoli, Miou-Miou, Paulette Dubost, Rozenne Le Tallec, Valérie Lemercier

Director: Louis Malle

Shot from the movie

, 1999

Starting with Columbia Picture’s intro syncing into a rave, director Doug Liman’s sophomore feature Go instantly establishes its ecstatic energy– both in the hyper happy and drug-fuelled way– that made it a cult classic. All in one night, the dark crime comedy culminates in a wild Christmas Eve in three separate storylines: one with dissatisfied checkout girl Ronna, who needs fast cash, another with her drug dealer co-worker Simon going to Vegas, and the last with soap opera actors Adam and Zack, who want to get high while staying out of trouble. The cast is excellent, with witty quips and the twenty-something ennui of that generation, and each decision their characters make to feel good all turns Christmas Eve into a truly awful, yet terribly entertaining ride. While some of the humor is definitely dated, Go captures the insane chaotic energy just right before the new millennium.
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Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller

Actor: AlgeRita Wynn, Breckin Meyer, Courtland Mead, D. Danny Warhol, Dana Schick, Desmond Askew, J. Karen Thomas, J.E. Freeman, James Duval, Jane Krakowski, Jay Mohr, Jay Paulson, Jimmy Shubert, Jodi Bianca Wise, Josh Paddock, Katharine Towne, Katie Holmes, Manu Intiraymi, Melissa McCarthy, Natasha Melnick, Nathan Bexton, Nikki Fritz, Rita Bland, Robert Peters, Sarah Polley, Scott Wolf, Sean Everett, Suzanne Krull, Tane McClure, Taye Diggs, Timothy Olyphant, Tony Denman, William Fichtner, Willie Amakye

Director: Doug Liman

Rating: R

Shot from the movie

, 2024

It’s easy to laugh about an old lady being an unwitting lead in an action film, the joke being that they can’t possibly be that. But June Squibb’s Thelma is. She refuses to be infantilized and undertakes a journey that’s dramatized to great effect. It’s still funny, but without Squibb’s character being the butt of the joke. It’s also immensely charming, smart, and moving, without ever being too saccharine or pandering. The performances are wonderful across the board, but it’s Thelma’s intergenerational bond with her 24-year-old grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) that’s at the heart of the film. In some ways, both Thelma and Daniel have to prove their worth to a world that gives them little credit for their idleness, even though they’re both happy and make other people happy that way. Parker Posey, who plays Thelma’s daughter and Daniel’s mother, is equally commendable as the seeingly stable but perpetually harried “adult” that keeps the two grounded in reality. Equal parts sweet and bad-ass, Thelma is the movie to see if you want to feel the warm fuzzies (minus the cheese) with the family.
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy

Actor: Aidan Fiske, Annie Korzen, Annie O'Donnell, Bunny Levine, Chase Kim, Clark Gregg, Coral Peña, Fred Hechinger, Hilda Boulware, Ivy Jones, June Squibb, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Byer, Parker Posey, Paul LeClair, Quinn Beswick, Richard Roundtree, Ruben Rabasa, Sandra Lee Gimpel, Sheila Korsi

Director: Josh Margolin

Rating: PG-13

Shot from the movie

, 1989

Kindness is universally considered as a virtue, but so too is it considered a weakness– Reciprocation isn’t necessarily guaranteed and some people take advantage of the kindness given to them. But there are few instances when humanity does give back to those who have been generous to others, and one such instance is in Beijing Watermelon. It’s one of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s lesser known films, being released just a few months after the Tiananmen Square massacre, and having a more naturalistic, slice-of-life approach compared to Obayashi’s other films. Nevertheless, the film’s fairly simple message plays out in an earnest and genuine way, depicting the ways ordinary kindness can form communities despite cultural differences, loss, and diplomatic tensions between nations.
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Genre: Drama

Actor: Akira Emoto, Bengal, Hana Kino, Haruhiko Saitô, Hiromi Oshima, Masako Motai, Ryo Iwamatsu, Takashi Sasano, Yasufumi Hayashi

Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi

Shot from the movie

, 2024

Young Woman and the Sea is a neatly told, inspiring story about a woman who went against the tide to cement her legacy as one of the most fearless athletes to exist. The movie is polished and nicely detailed, anchored by winning performances and a triumphantly dramatic script—basically everything you’d expect from a Disney movie. And like many Disney movies, Young Woman and the Sea can sometimes be too on-the-nose about its advocacies, but it's hard to deny its charm. The movie is a treat to watch, and an especially nice segue into the upcoming Olympics.
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Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Alex Hassell, Alexander Karim, Bashar Rahal, Brian Caspe, Christopher Eccleston, Daisy Ridley, Derek Morse, Dimo Alexiev, Ethan Rouse, Euan Macnaughton, Glenn Fleshler, Hyoie O'Grady, Ivan Panev, J.R. Esposito, Jeanette Hain, John Carew, Kim Bodnia, Lilly Aspell, Meglena Karalambova, Nicholas Colicos, Olive Elise Abercrombie, Sebastian Griegel, Sian Clifford, Stephen Graham, Tessa Bonham Jones, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Trevor Van Uden, Velizar Binev

Director: Joachim Rønning

Rating: PG

Shot from the movie

, 2024

Far from a typical documentary, Skywalkers is as relentless and fast-paced as the climbers it follows. As Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus illegally scale towers and skyscrapers with little more than the clothes on their back, Director Jeff Zimbalist throws viewers into the next thrilling scenario whether they’re ready to or not. It’s amazing how much of the breathless editing replicates the energy between Nikolau and Beerkus, regardless of whether they’re in action rooftopping or deep in an argument about trust and relationships. The film has a deep emotional core that makes it resonate more than it should; people might come in for the extremity of their sport, but they’ll leave learning something worthwhile about love.
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Genre: Documentary, Romance, Thriller

Actor: Angela Nikolau, Ivan Beerkus

Director: Jeff Zimbalist

Rating: R

Shot from the movie

, 1996

While love and longing can transform people into their best selves, it has famously transformed couples into their worst selves too, and this change captivates our imaginations of how the relationship was formed. Deep Crimson revisits the Lonely Hearts Killers, dramatizing their exploits with a darkly comic flair. As Mexican auteur Arturo Ripstein brings their tale to Mexico, he and his screenwriter wife Paz Alicia Garciadiego dive deep into these undeniably evil characters, spotting the ways their jagged edges fit and make them whole, which creates a twisted bond that isn’t easily torn apart. Profundo Carmesí is an unforgettable take on an unforgettable crime duo.
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Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Álvaro Carcaño, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Esteban Soberanes, Gastón Melo, Julieta Egurrola, Marisa Paredes, Paco Mauri, Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Regina Orozco, René Pereyra, Rosa Furman, Sherlyn, Verónica Merchant

Director: Arturo Ripstein

Shot from the movie

, 2024

After years of relatively tame, tearjerking LGBTQ+ dramas, finally comes a sexy, erotic thriller made for and by sapphic women that pushes past convention. Love Lies Bleeding is an unexpected sophomore film from British director Rose Glass, not just because it’s set in New Mexico, but because of the 80s B-movie vibe literally on steroids that seems drastically different from her debut film Saint Maud. But both have the altered, surreal moments that blur the line between real and imagined, this time with a desperate edge of star-crossed lovers and the rage fuelled by familial trauma, jealousy, and overdosing on steroids. Kristen Stewart and new leading lady Katy O’Brian are delightful to watch with their immediate chemistry.
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Genre: Crime, Romance, Thriller

Actor: Anna Baryshnikov, Catherine Haun, Dave Franco, David DeLao, Ed Harris, Jamie Javier Guerreo, Jena Malone, Jerry G. Angelo, Katy O'Brian, Keith Jardine, Kristen Stewart, Matthew Blood-Smyth, Mikandrew, Orion Carrington, Roger Ivens, Tait Fletcher

Director: Rose Glass

Rating: R

Shot from the movie

, 2023

You don’t have to be an avid fan to enjoy Let the Canary Sing, which presents itself as a joyous blast to the past and an enlightening account of How to Make a Superstar in the ‘80s. Lauper had some help from the industry of course (not that she always listened) but she was a self-made, self-promoting artist who reveled in her outsider status and defiantly punk style. It’s a joy to see her find her voice and cement her status in an overcrowded market, and it’s just as great to see how much work was put into musical gems “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “True Colors,” which have served and continues to serve as anthems of sorts for her unwavering advocacies for women and the queer community.
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Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Cyndi Lauper

Director: Alison Ellwood

Shot from the movie

, 2023

When everyone around you is cheating, the temptation to join in is tempting, especially if you’re not confident in your own abilities. 12th Fail is the story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, and it’s a story about how one instance of honesty sets him on a path to become the same honest police officer that helped save his brother’s life. While it does take a fairly standard message, and the pace falters a bit as it goes on, the biopic depicts this from an understanding of how things are unfairly stacked against people like Manoj, but also with an understanding that the country needs more everyday people in their ranks. 12th Fail may be a familiar underdog story, but it’s lovely, well-made, and unironically sincere in its message to be honest, even when the odds are stacked against you.
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Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Abhishek Sengupta, Anant Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Harish Khanna, Medha Shankr, Perry Chhabra, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Sanjay Bishnoi, Sarita Joshi, Sonal Jha, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vijay Rajoria, Vikas Divyakirti, Vikrant Massey

Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Shot from the movie

, 2024

Written, directed, and scored by Viggo Mortensen, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a visually stunning, emotionally potent, but still impressively restrained period drama that flips the script on typical Westerns. On the surface, it looks like it could be one—there’s even a bad guy clad in black who slings guns outside a saloon—but the film decidedly focuses on Vivienne and her everyday life. Viewers might think nothing is happening, but in fact, everything is happening, such is Mortensen’s framing of the value of these overlooked aspects of life. Immigrants, too, who are usually just extras in Westerns populate this movie and make it their own—as they should. They’re the backbone of America after all, and yet they’re usually relegated to the background in period dramas. The icing on the cake is that the film is breathtakingly beautiful, each frame a transportive picture of 19th-century America.
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Genre: Drama, Romance, Western

Actor: Alex Breaux, Colin Morgan, Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt, Henry Mortensen, John Getz, Luke Reilly, Michael Weaver, Nadia Litz, Ray McKinnon, Shane Graham, Solly McLeod, Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, W. Earl Brown

Director: Viggo Mortensen

Rating: R

Shot from the movie

, 2010

In certain heartbreaking instances, children are separated from their parents by the State, supposedly in hopes of finding them a better home. But for plenty of British and commonwealth orphans, the government process is, at worst, systematically designed to separate families to support the Kingdom’s colonies. While the film isn’t really focused on the details and the rationale behind the program, Oranges and Sunshine is much more concerned with the fact that it happened– that it has harmed hundreds of thousands of children for hundred years, and that it only took someone who cared enough to pay attention for things to actually change. It’s a decent depiction of Margaret Humphreys’ work, and it does a great job in promoting the Child Migrants Trust.
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Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Aisling Loftus, Barbara Marten, Carolina Giammetta, Chrissie Page, David Wenham, Emily Watson, Geoff Morrell, Greg Stone, Harvey Scrimshaw, Hugo Weaving, Kate Rutter, Lorraine Ashbourne, Mandahla Rose, Marg Downey, Molly Windsor, Richard Dillane, Robert Purdy, Russell Dykstra, Stuart Wolfenden, Tanya Myers, Tara Morice

Director: Jim Loach

Shot from the movie

, 1987

There are moments in our childhood that we deeply regret, even if we didn’t know better, even if innocence can excuse us, and even if we weren’t the ones primarily responsible for the mistake. The memory of it can be haunting, but none has been as devastating as the memory depicted in Louis Malle’s semi-autobiographical period drama Au Revoir les Enfants. Malle brings us to the boarding school rhythms with ease, straightforwardly depicting it as is, but with the camera and the sequencing recognizant of the implications. With the natural dynamic between the unthinking Julien (Malle’s younger self) and the alert and afraid Jean formed through subtle moments, Au Revoir les Enfants culminates into the heartbreaking coming-of-age moment that Malle personally lived through in World War II.
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Genre: Drama, War

Actor: Arnaud Henriet, Francine Racette, François Berléand, François Négret, Gaspard Manesse, Irène Jacob, Luc Etienne, Pascal Rivet, Peter Fitz, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Raphael Fejtö, René Bouloc, Sergio Kato, Stanislas Carré de Malberg

Director: Louis Malle

Rating: PG

Shot from the movie

, 2023

Ballet has always captivated with its grace and poise, so of course it captivated cinema as well, with classics such as The Red Shoes and Black Swan centered on the dance, the culture, and of course, the drama. The juxtaposition of the ideal feminine form and the ugliness of competition, the sabotage, and the objectification are regular topics, but The American adds the national identity into its themes, tackling the anxieties of a young American in an academy that isn't friendly to outsiders. It's stunning. It gives justice to the journey of the real ballerina Joy Womack, portrayed excellently by Talia Ryder with breathtaking ease, and given dramatic flourish through the direction of James Napier Robertson. While it doesn’t quite surpass classic ballet films, Joika proves that real life ballet can be more emotional, more traumatic than any drama made about the dance.
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Genre: Drama

Actor: Andrzej Andrzejewski, Andrzej Kłak, Borys Szyc, Charlotte Ubben, Diane Kruger, Edyta Torhan, Karolina Gruszka, Maciej Nawrocki, Marek Kasprzyk, Natalia Osipova, Natasha Alderslade, Oleg Ivenko, Robert Gulaczyk, Talia Ryder, Tomasz Kot

Director: James Napier

Shot from the movie

, 2024

It makes sense that a documentary about Faye Dunaway doubles as a documentary about the best of late 20th-century cinema. Dunaway, after all, has starred in many defining films, including Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, and Network, the latter of which won her an Oscar. But there are times when it feels like the documentary equates Dunaway to her career, and we get way too many clips of these admittedly great films, as opposed to more intimate slices of Dunaway’s life. Still, it’s heartwarming to see Dunaway take control of her narrative after falling victim to the press’ relentless defamation of the star. Yes, she’s difficult and a diva, she admits that many times in the documentary. But she’s also a fastidious hard worker—someone’s gotta be, or else they wouldn’t come up with the classics that we have now.
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Genre: Documentary

Actor: Arthur Penn, Barbet Schroeder, Barry Primus, Bette Davis, David Newman, Dick Cavett, Elia Kazan, Faye Dunaway, Frank Perry, Gene Siskel, Hawk Koch, James Gray, Jane Fonda, Jerry Schatzberg, John F. Kennedy, John Phillip Law, Johnny Carson, Liam O'Neill, Mara Hobel, Marcello Mastroianni, María Callas, Martin Luther King Jr., Merv Griffin, Michael Caine, Mickey Rourke, Paddy Chayefsky, Pauline Kael, Richard Nixon, Robert Benton, Robert F. Kennedy, Roger Ebert, Roman Polanski, Rutanya Alda, Sam Spiegel, Sharon Stone, Theadora Van Runkle, Tom Snyder, Tova Laiter, Vera Day, Warren Beatty

Director: Laurent Bouzereau

Rating: PG-13

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