May December
SimilarAli: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Anna and the King (1999), Billy Elliot (2000), Brazil (1985), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Buffalo Soldiers (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Fargo (1996), M*A*S*H (1970), Mars Attacks! (1996), Monster (2003), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Mystic River (2003), Oldboy (2003), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Stalker (1979), Talk to Her (2002), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), The Road (2009), The Tin Drum (1979), Volver (2006), Wonder Boys (2000),
Watch afterAmerican Fiction (2023), Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Leave the World Behind (2023), Napoleon (2023),
Oppenheimer (2023) Poor Things (2023), Saltburn (2023), Thanksgiving (2023),
In such films as Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There, filmmaker Todd Haynes has taken the stories of famous people and utilized what we know—or think we know—about them to explore ideas about celebrity and our all-consuming need to render their often-complex stories into straightforward narratives. That strange compulsion to explain, understand, and commodify the lives of real people is at the heart of his latest work, May December, and it certainly seems to have sparked something in him because the end result is the strongest work that he has done in quite some time. Continue Reading →
Flora and Son
SimilarAmélie (2001),
Boys Don't Cry (1999) Bugsy Malone (1976), Chicago (2002), Dirty Dancing (1987), Enchanted (2007), Erin Brockovich (2000), Gridiron Gang (2006), La Vie en Rose (2007), Mary Poppins (1964), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Random Harvest (1942), Shall We Dance? (2004), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971),
Watch afterEverything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023),
Oppenheimer (2023) Saw X (2023), Shortcomings (2023),
StudioFilmNation Entertainment,
About 75 minutes into Flora and Son, its script veers toward the self-reflexive. “What movie are you in?” Flora (Eve Hewson) snaps. “One without you in it,” her son, Max (Orén Kinlan), replies. This sort of exchange fits holistically into writer-director John Carney’s latest. It’s self-aware, sure, but it’s not meta. Like most of the film’s writing, it is entirely transparent in its machinations, going so far as to declare them at points. Supporting characters largely function as symbols rather than people. Continue Reading →
Happiness for Beginners
SimilarAmélie (2001), Annie Hall (1977), The Apartment (1960),
Happiness for Beginners happens when hundreds of hours of labor come together over months to create something so bland and ineffectual it feels years old even on a first watch. Continue Reading →
Jesus Revolution
SimilarAnna and the King (1999), Brubaker (1980), Free Willy (1993), Freedom Writers (2007), Mississippi Burning (1988), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006),
StudioLionsgate,
We’ve all been there. You turn on the radio and an incredible song is playing you’ve never heard before in your life. It’s a soaring rock anthem that chills you with goosebumps and makes you feel alive. Is this an Unforgettable Fire-era U2 song? Is this my new favorite band? The music ends, and the DJ jumps in with something like, “Praise be to God. That was Soul Eternal, with their hit single “Let the Spirit Thrive” only on your Christian Rock station 104.7!” Continue Reading →