The World War II satire Jojo Rabbit is a daring mockery with war-themed carnage as a surreal backdrop that combines misplaced idolization with an unconventional coming-of-age tale for a young boy. Indeed, filmmaker Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok”) is wading in rough waters with a strange take of unusual growing pains — particularly when his featured…
Carolyn Harper (Raven Whitley, “Hala”) is missing. Just who she is and what happened to her quickly makes way for the impact her disappearance has upon the surrounding community, in particular to a group of soul-searching teenage girls. Joanna (Grace Smith, “Dorm Therapy” TV series) and her friends — Laurel (Kayla Carter, “I Hate LA”…
“Everyone has lots of ways of feeling. And all of those feelings are fine. It’s what we do with our feelings that matter in this life.” — Fred Rogers Loosely based on Tom Junod’s 1998 Esquire article on children’s television personality Fred Rogers, “Can You Say . . . Hero?,” Marielle Heller’s (“Can You Ever…
Politicians spouting foolish and frightening rhetoric is almost run of the mill these days. As a result, recollections of simpler times are suggested by news footage of Tony Blair and George W. Bush talking about weapons of mass destruction, the invasion of Iraq and UN resolutions, times before the confusion of Brexit Britain and Trump’s…
“What love actually is, is the experience that someone else is all right exactly the way they are.” — Werner Erhard Noah Baumbach’s (“The Meyerowitz Stories”) Marriage Story is a penetrating look at the spiraling effect of divorce American style on those involved, one that radiates compassion for its beleaguered characters Nicole (Scarlett Johansson, “Avengers:…
In a phenomenal pairing, two powerhouses of the British stage join forces for a film which depicts the disastrous consequences that occur when their lives unexplainably intertwine. Ian McKellen (“All Is True”) is Roy Courtney, a man with a murky past and plenty of questionable connections. After arranging to have dinner with Betty (Helen Mirren,…
For the most part, hard luck familial dramas have the potential for being notoriously manipulative on an emotional scale. However, when done remarkably well — with the right precision of pathos and truth — such melodramas can resonate and overcome their soapy constraints. Director/co-writer Jake Scott (“Welcome to the Rileys”) oversees such a one with…
