Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” so vividly evokes Southern California’s San Fernando Valley of the 1970s, that it feels taken from that time and place, as if it were some lost…
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” opens with the post-lovemaking telling of a story of a teenage girl who breaks into the house of the boy she has a crush on, stealing…
Disney continues to expand into more diverse forms of storytelling with “Encanto,” a fantasy set in rural Colombia with a magical realist spirit. It’s almost surprising that it took the studio this…
A young woman’s first time hosting Thanksgiving is quite an emotional roller coaster for nearly all involved in chamber drama “The Humans.” Beanie Feldstein stars as Brigid Blake, a struggling New…
Great scandals tend to feature personalities that prove to be more fascinating than the crime itself. “House of Gucci” is all about its personalities. Based on true events, the story is the…
Director Radu Jude’s feature satire, “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” jumps right into the action, and it’s down and dirty action. Even the kids in the background audio are playing with…
Bless me father, for I have sinned. I could have done good, but I was just a young sheep and was led astray by a bad man in a turned around collar. Robert…
Lin-Manuel Miranda seems to be everywhere these days. Animated films feature his songs. Say the name Broadway and he instantly comes to mind, especially after the smash success of “Hamilton,” his hip-hop-fueled…
We need stories that are about how the mundane aspects of daily life hide real drama. “C’mon C’mon” engages us with regular people who live through those cruel hurdles that life likes…
There’s something strange in a new neighborhood in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” the fourth installment in the franchise, but third in the original series. While the 2016 reboot was an all-female team of Ghostbusters,…
For her directorial debut, Halle Berry shows her gritty side in sports drama “Bruised.” The Oscar-winner stars as Jackie Justice, a down-on-her-luck former UFC champ seeking another shot at glory. Along…
Sometimes intense feelings can seem more violent when they are kept at bay, as if waiting to explode. Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” builds its characters within the confines…