I've reviewed films for more than 30 years. Current movie reviews of new theatrical releases and streaming films are added weekly to the Silver Screen Capture movie news site. Many capsule critiques originally appeared in expanded form in my syndicated Lights Camera Reaction column.
This is a last great gasp of mainstream Sundance Film Festival cinema in which a feisty independent-living grandma treks across L.A. to get even with a telephone fraudster who almost got the best of her. Josh Margolin’s Thelma (B) features a mighty performance by the wonderful June Squibb and another by the late, great Richard Roundtree as a friend from a neighboring nursing home with one last great adventure left in him as well. Fred Hechinger is a hoot as her technology enabling grandson, but Parker Posey and Clark Gregg don’t have much to do as his parents. The film is at its clever best as it follows a sleuthing spy type storyline, with hearing aid volume controls and GPS identity bracelets subbing in for the kinds of gadgets Q used to whip up in the lab. As Thelma, Squibb is a fully rounded character with spunk, sass and a sharp mind. The film fully humanizes her character, even though the script and story could have been much stronger. Still, it’s a fun lark and a great chance to watch Squibb and Roundtree whoop it up.
Like Once and The Commitments before it, Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap (B-) follows in a grand tradition of Ireland-set ragtag musical dramas with a splash of comedy and political revelations thrown in for good measure. Set in post-Troubles Belfast, this Sundance tuner tells the origin story of the titular trio of real-life bandmates – Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh rapping a blend of English and native Irish rhymes for politically charged times. The characters become accidental activists as their Gaelic native tongue is on the brink of being banned by the government. Kneecap’s music sweeps viewers up into a ketamine-fueled, energetic series of episodes to encounter the meaning of pure defiance, laced with funny animated lyrics and playful surprises. Michael Fassbender helps ground the grassroots story as a martyred leader in exile. He’s head over heels better at acting than his fellow mates in the ensemble; by what the Kneecap bandmates lack in natural acting, they make up in manic energy. It’s a rollicking, rebellious rap revolution with a heart for preserving the best of one’s cultural heritage and a lovely sense of anarchy.
Esteban Arango’s rollicking rollercoaster of a Sundance Film Festival entry Ponyboi (B+) features an unconventional intersex protagonist who shows there’s no clear pathway to forge between point X and point Y when it comes to the thrill of a crime caper. This neon-illuminated film glides successfully on the resplendent and deeply touching performance of River Gallo who is a force to be reckoned with and also the writer and producer behind the work. Gallo plays a resilient Jersey Shore sex worker caught up in a series of misadventures on a berserk Valentine’s Day; soon life on the streets of the turnpike becomes an all-out getaway and a big choose-your-own-adventure between a full escape and an unexpected invitation home by a formerly unsupportive parent. Other familiar cast members are Dylan O’Brien as a vile pimp and drug dealer (he’s magnificent), Victoria Pedretti as a wannabe ally and Murray Bartlett as a mysterious cowboy who may or may not be the titular character’s saving grace. Arango consistently raises the stakes through locales ranging from laundromats to diners and nightclubs; there’s an absorbing sequence in a pharmacy where favors are traded for hormones mid-way through a gangster chase, and viewers simply haven’t seen this exact series of predicaments before. This film is poised to be a gritty hit indie and will hopefully break through for those up for something radically different in a familiar genre.
Just as many moviegoers are experiencing the wider release of awards season darling The Zone of Interest, a film about what’s not happening at the Holocaust, the top prize winner at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival traces the lives of two sisters over two decades through four brief summers visiting their alcoholic father and omits off-screen the other dozens of seasons comprising umpteen collective years of their more consistent formative experiences. Still as a poetic and humanist glimpse at growing up while mesmerized and repulsed by traits of an erratic father figure whose frailties they certainly don’t wish to emulate, Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers (B-) features lovely performances and sensitively maps the topography of the human heart in the unexpected terrain of desert town Las Cruces, New Mexico, with a predominantly Latino cast. Like Moonlight, the kids growing up are played by different actors in each of the film’s successive chapters, capturing a vibe if not a precise facsimile, with urban music star René Pérez Joglar (aka Residente) the constant with a marvelous lived-in portrayal of the troubled father. Each pair of actresses builds a successive solid foundation, paying off in anguished final act performances by Sasha Calle and Lio Mehiel. Along the bittersweet journey are suggested sexual awakenings and implied chemical dependencies, but viewers may find themselves at a distance with only snapshots disclosed along the sisters’ throughlines. Despite a relaxed pace, some critical junctures are rushed or unresolved. Some of the movie’s metaphors about decay and distrust, evident in the unkept family pool and literal scars from skirmishes, become a bit too obvious as the film is revealed to not have a huge head of steam in the plot department. Cinematographer Alejandro Mejía creates delicate frames for an often moving series of portraits, including lovely chapter dividers depicting souvenirs of each epoch of summertimes when the living isn’t easy. Viewers will find they deeply care about these girls growing up even if the film’s format doesn’t always dwell on the most interesting parts of their stories.
There’s lots of talk about surprises and snubs as we process this year’s Academy Award nominations, announced this morning from Hollywood. Before we barrel toward what will undoubtedly be “Oscar-heimer” March 10 when the 13 times nominated Oppenheimer looks to cement its status as the epic opus of the big screen, here are some trends and films to watch:
1 A bumper crop of acting talent across the year edged out two of the most popular movie stars, Margot Robbie (titular star of Barbie) and Leonardo DiCaprio (antihero of Killers of the Flower Moon), from scoring their next nods, but their co-stars America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling and Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro, respectively, demonstrate their high-profile movies are still very popular in the running.
2 The director’s branch loves an auteur. You’d never mistake the film aesthetic or themes of Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan or Yorgos Lanthimos with those of anyone else. Two of these artists who often work in the comedy milieu – Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, known for chronicling strong women’s stories, and The Holdovers’ Alexander Payne, who has consistently made character-driven tales in distinct environments, didn’t make the cut. Instead two helmers of international films, Justine Triet (courtroom thriller Anatomy of a Fall) and Jonathan Glazer (the Holocaust adjacent The Zone of Interest), put distinguished imprints on their respective films. This notorious club still hasn’t invited Gerwig in despite all three of her films receiving nominations for Best Picture, but she wasn’t snubbed for others who weren’t also playing at the top of their game. Nolan has this in the bag anyway.
3 People returned to movie theatres this year, so it’s telling that movies from the big studios and even the indies dominated again in the top awards, with only Netflix’s Maestro in multiple categories and Nyad and Rustin getting into acting slots. Apple kept Killers of the Flower Moon in theatres so long that most folks forgot it was actually made for streaming, where many are finally watching it now with bathroom breaks.
4 Early releases and late releases didn’t pay off in the awards sweepstakes. The lovely Past Lives started strong at Sundance last year but only scored two noms, albeit in the prestigious Picture and Screenplay races. The wonderful ensemble film Air was buzzed about at 2023 South by Southwest and on Prime streaming but came up empty-handed. Two cerebral masterpieces, Origin and All of Us Strangers, were held too long from viewers to generate much word-of-mouth and didn’t get any nominations. The Color Purple musical adaptation eschewed festivals and instead showed up on Christmas Day and only scored one mention for Danielle Brooks.
5 The two-way race in the Animated Feature category between The Boy and the Heron and Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse has remained without a consensus choice in the precursors. If one of these two acclaimed films had dominated the season, it could likely have scored one of the ten Picture slots. It’s one of the true horse races left with suspense for Oscar night.
6 The Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, which has been losing steam and generating the most backlash on social media, still scored seven nominations but isn’t poised to win many. Bradley Cooper is up for best actor and screenplay but probably would have given up either for a coveted director nod he didn’t land.
7 Colman Domingo (Rustin) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) scoring Best Actor nomination nods is the first time we’ve had two Black actors in the category not named Denzel Washington or Will Smith. It’s re-assuring to see these talented thespians recognized. Rustin is a solid biopic, and American Fiction is a wonderful comic send-up of the literary and cinematic obsession with only certain kinds of racial stories.
8 The autumn 2023 actor and writer strikes may have quietly benefitted Nyad, a sleeper streamer about the cantankerous swimmer and her indomitable coach that scored both industry legends Annette Bening and Jodie Foster their latest nominations. It’s a fun watch, by the way, about achieving impossible dreams late in life. Bening may rival Glenn Close in her Quixotic hope for Oscar glory. And two time Best Actress winner Foster’s last nomination in the supporting category was when she was 14.
9 Supporting acting races seem to be decided with Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers and Robert Downey, Jr. of Oppenheimer winning most awards of the season already. But there’s genuine drama in the Emma Stone (Poor Things) vs. Lily Gladstone and Cillian Murphy vs. Paul Giamatti match-ups. Anyone could win these, with several spoilers waiting in the wings.
10 The splendid import Anatomy of a Fall, which just debuted on streaming, has over-performed across the awards season after winning the Cannes Film Festival Palm d’Or and then not being picked by its home country of France as its official Oscar selection for International Feature. Now this beguiling courtroom thriller is nominated for five Oscars, as many as the popular American dramedy The Holdovers, also being seen en masse on Peacock. Both are highly recommended.
Note: The Academy Awards telecast will start an hour earlier than usual when it airs from the Dolby Theater on ABC March 10, 2024. So that’s one less hour to get caught up on watching all the nominees!
The 2024 Screen Actors Guild award nominations have been announced, with Oppenheimer and Barbie leading the nomination tally with four nominations each. I’ve seen everything on the list, so click on any of these hyperlinks for my reviews.
Nominees for outstanding performance by a lead actress are Annette Bening in Nyad, Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon, Carey Mulligan in Maestro, Margot Robbie in Barbie and Emma Stone in Poor Things.
Nominees for outstanding performance by a lead actor are Bradley Cooper in Maestro, Colman Domingo in Rustin, Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers, Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer and Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction.
Nominated supporting performances are Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks in The Color Purple, Penélope Cruz in Ferrari, Jodie Foster in Nyad and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers and Sterling K. Brown in American Fiction, Willem Dafoe in Poor Things, Robert DeNiro in Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer and Ryan Gosling in Barbie.
The North Shore High School Mathletes would ace this calculation: one update of a two decade old film comedy plus one translation of its stage musical adaptation equals only a fraction of the property’s legacy entertainment value. The 2024 musical version of Mean Girls (C+), co-directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., succeeds in delivering dollops of nostalgia and a star-is-born villain performance by Reneé Rapp as the pink terror Regina George. As a musical, though, it’s inconsistent, with the filmmakers framing production numbers awkwardly before finding their groove. Songs happen in this high school musical because characters are filming themselves on their phone or because they’re adjacent to the marching band practice room or because they’re fantasizing or because they’re describing something absurd; there are few connective threads holding all this together as an actual movie musical. It doesn’t help that the new-to-school protagonist played lowkey by Angourie Rice doesn’t get an “I want” moment and little time to establish herself before smitten with the guy in calculus class (a natural Christopher Briney) or lured in by the clique called The Plastics. Auliʻi Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey are a hoot and in great voice as the heroine’s genuine friends; reprising roles from the 2004 film, Tina Fey and Tim Meadows make very little impression. There’s some awkward choreography of students behaving like African animals; like a breeze from Poomba, it swiftly clears the savanna of laughs or charm. Rapp’s vampy antihero has the most fun in her role, and there are some creative montages leveraging social media to amplify the antics. For those who loved the original film or want to revisit its sly psychology put to music, there’s some fun to be had here. But it’s largely a missed opportunity twenty years later to say something new or differently about its themes of girls trying to treat each other better to the next generation.
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival has announced its 24th edition film lineup, set for an expanded 24-day event Feb. 13-26, 2024, in theaters, and a streaming encore from Feb. 27-March 7. This format includes 14 days of in-theater screenings and 10 days of online streaming, enhancing the festival’s reach and accessibility.
Select films on the AJFF roster
Anticipated films include the Israel-set musical Victory, the documentary Remembering Gene Wilder, the animated Where is Anne Frank, the dramedy Running on Sand and the drama One Life starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s documentary feature opus Occupied City will also make its Atlanta premiere.
Hosted across five Metro Atlanta venues – the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, the Tara Theatre, the historic Plaza Theatre in Midtown, GTC Merchants Walk in East Cobb, and Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs – the festival promises an immersive cinematic experience. Along with the screenings, audiences will enjoy live and pre-recorded Q&A sessions with international film artists, local community leaders, and expert speakers, complemented by a range of special events.
This year’s lineup features a diverse array of 48 feature films and 15 shorts from 20 countries, including three World Premieres, six North American Premieres, two U.S. Premieres, and 13 Southeast Premieres. With 31 films screening exclusively in theaters and a specially curated selection of 17 features and 15 shorts available for streaming in the Virtual Cinema, the festival caters to both in-person and online audiences.
Special events include an Opening Night screening of Irena’s Vow, a wartime drama about a Catholic housemaid who saves Polish Jews during WWII. Special guests include Sophie Nelisse, Dougray Scott, and Irena’s daughter, Jeannie. This event will be held at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, Reception at 5:30 pm, Program at 7:30 pm.
Young Professionals Night is on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14, at the Tara Theatre, party at 6:30 pm, film at 8 pm The film is Less than Kosher, a musical comedy about a struggling singer who becomes a cantor in Toronto. A Spotlight Screening Feb. 15, Tara Theatre, 7:40 pm is Breaking Home Ties, the world Premiere of a restored 1922 silent classic with a new soundtrack by contemporary artists, featuring live musical performances. A “Late Night at Plazadrome” film Feb. 15, Plaza Theatre, 9:00 pm isThe Plot Against Harry, an American cinema treasure humorously exploring a former mobster’s quest for redemption.
And Closing Night & Jury Awards will feature Shari and Lamb Chop, an enchanting journey into the world of a trailblazing artist and her iconic puppet. This event will be held at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, with the program at 7:00 pm, followed by dessert.
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is proud to present its distinguished jury for this year’s festival. The jury will evaluate submissions in several categories, each focusing on different aspects of filmmaking excellence including narrative features, documentary features, short films, emerging filmmakers, “building bridges” and “human rights.”
Noteworthy industry members serving as jurors include Dara Jaffe, associate Curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and film historian; Eric Warren Singer, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Top Gun: Maverick and American Hustle; Alton Brown, TV chef, producer, director and cinema enthusiast; Clayton Landey, actor and former President of SAG-AFTRA Atlanta; Rebecca Shrager, CEO and Founder of People Store Talent Agency; Rain Pryor, writer, actor, director, and daughter of Richard Pryor; and Lyn Goldfarb, Oscar-nominated, award-winning independent filmmaker.
Ticketing for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival opens with a special pre-sale exclusively for AJFF members, starting on Jan. 17 at noon. The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets beginning Jan. 31, also at noon. Ticket prices are set at $18 for evening and weekend shows, and $16 for matinees. For those wishing to enjoy the festival from the comfort of their home, tickets for Virtual Cinema streaming are available at $18 per household. Special event pricing varies, with tickets ranging from $18 to $180. Learn more at AJFF.org/tickets.
Element Lifestyle, a premier luxury travel and lifestyle concierge service, has announced its highly anticipated annual list, “Element’s Top 24 Hotels and Resorts for 2024.” Curated by Element’s passionate team, the yearly lineup showcases the world’s most captivating destinations, along with Element’s personally recommended properties – setting the stage for a year of unforgettable travel and meaningful experiences for Element’s clients, colleagues and all curious travelers.
“Amid the twists and turns of the post-Covid landscape, we’re continually inspired by the travel industry’s resilience and purpose,” said Michael Albanese, co-founder of Element. “This is best reflected in how hotel partners worldwide are opening exciting new properties and creating authentic experiences that capture not only a sense of place, but a true spirit of optimism.”
For over a decade, Element Lifestyle remains at the forefront of curating exceptional travel experiences for its private members. And Element’s 2024 list reflects the best of the best across the globe, featuring regular partners who continue to shine, along with some newcomers who have earned well deserved mention on the list.
Below are Element’s top choices of where to travel in 2024 and the finest hotels and resorts to experience upon arrival:
A members-only, Conde Nast Top Travel Advisory, Element Lifestyle provides private, luxury travel and lifestyle concierge services. Based in Los Angeles and Atlanta, Element Lifestyle operates discreetly to deliver exceptional results for high-profile clients, leveraging a global network of trusted partners across travel, culinary, nightlife, entertainment, sourcing, and event industries. Creating authentic, unforgettable experiences with meticulous attention to detail, the Element team features a passionate team of proactive and dedicated luxury lifestyle experts. Their sole mission is to enhance the lives of their clients with flawless delivery while surprising and delighting them along the way. Annual membership fees start at $36,000 USD. Learn more about Element’s personally curated travel experiences at Element Lifestyle’s website.
Just as moviegoers are debating whether the recent film title Maestro refers to its male or female lead, I can reasonably proclaim Michael Mann’s Ferrari (B-) refers to Laura Ferrari played by Penélope Cruz who absolutely steals the show from the film’s intended subject, her character’s husband and the mastermind behind the iconic sports car company Enzo Ferrari played by Adam Driver. Cruz is absolutely magnetic as a business partner, grieving mother and jilted wife who dominates the film’s most powerful sequences. She shows up with a gun in a grand entrance and is number one with a bullet every time she’s on screen. Driver is good too and rather fantastic in some signature speeches, but Cruz gives a performance for the ages. It’s one thing to be eclipsed by Cruz’s tour de force; and it’s another thing altogether to be the miscast Shailene Woodley in a thankless and oddly accented role as Enzo’s mistress Lina Lardi. Surprisingly, racing sequences are few and far between as a Godfather style historic melodrama takes center stage, sometimes reaching intended operatic heights but other times meandering a bit. The film is best when a study of contrasts – between spouses, balancing relationships and love, navigating public and private life in Italy, and experiencing the thrill and terror of racing itself in the med-twentieth century. The story of a man’s two families, his battle against the tyranny of time itself, his tragic familial and wartime losses and his unswerving eye on impeccable design and victory is satisfying and often quite absorbing. The sequences on the race track are well done too and filmed from cinematic perspectives rarely captured, but everything that’s not Cruz in the film is simply second fiddle. Another familiar face in the cast is Patrick Dempsey as driver Piero Taruffi; it would have been nice to explore more about the men behind the wheel or even a fairly formative incident merely referenced in the post-script. Mann doesn’t fully summon or realize his thesis here, but the parts that work in the film hum with precision.
Traditional disaster movies can veer toward the exploitive or sensational, but if anyone was up for the challenge of thoughtfully dramatizing the 1972 Andean mountain range plane crash in which only a third of those aboard survive (formerly told in 1993’s Alive), it’s the skilled director of the tsunami thrillerThe Impossible, J.A. Bayona. His Society of the Snow (aka La sociedad de la nieve) (B+) is grueling and rewarding, crafted with epic filmmaking skill and an ample running time and showcasing a stirring spiritual side to the story of resilience. Those stranded by the downed plane have various conflicting perspectives about how to handle their struggle, which escalates as they face hunger, avalanche and much more. Told with desaturated colors and realistic sound mixing against a formidable icy landscape, it’s a profound and immersive work. The film’s Uruguayan and Argentine cast members, most of whom are newcomers, include talented actors Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Fernando Contigiani García and Enzo Vogrincic Roldán as rugby teammates who take on key roles to overcome their dire situation. Visual effects supervisor Laura Pedro and cinematographer Pedro Luque do wonderful work to depict muscular action and wilderness survival against a rugged, stark setting as we watch the characters waste away while keeping inventive options open. The film also honors those who were lost in the tragedy with poignant visual overlays to Michael Giacchino’s evocative music. As survivors become one another’s best hope and face moral questions and rare moments of levity, Bayona creates a gripping drama and demonstrates why the story is so worthy of telling.
A brilliant new film imagines a world in which people outlast a system that makes outcasts. Writer/director Ava Duvernay’s cerebral drama Origin (A-) unfolds like a procedural as its central character, writer Isabel Wilkerson (sublime work by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), sets herself on a path of global investigation while authoring the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents about how civilizations ranging from Germany to India to the U.S. have oppressed and dehumanized certain groups in their societies. Watching the protagonist’s intellectual discoveries while she simultaneously grapples with tragedy makes for an unusual structure that summons evocative flashbacks and compelling side stories to demonstrate the interconnectedness of peoples’ plights around the world. It sounds heavy and is, but the journey is essential and the work has the ability to move and enlighten audiences in unexpected ways. Duvernay is in complete command here of her vision and builds on her compelling documentary moviemaking style to fashion a type of neo-parable that should be shown and discussed in every classroom around the world. The lush cinematography by Matthew J. Lloyd and the urgent music by Kris Bowers help propel a conversation-filled movie into a very watchable experience. Matching the majestic Ellis-Taylor are ensemble members ranging from the filmmaker’s muse, the exquisite and funny foil Niecy Nash-Betts, to a very nuanced performance by Jonathan Bernthal. Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman and many other familiar faces show up in the globetrotting adventure of enlightenment. There’s a quiet child performance in one sequence that alone is one of the most heartbreaking captured on film. As the director shows the man-made obstacles that block empathy and a shared destiny among people, she points out optimism of a push toward collective freedom. The film is stirring and essential.
