Belfast
Belfast is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s.
Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong language.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“This is a truly beautiful movie, with a near perfect balance of drama, humor, and heart.” – Sean Farrell, AFPL Journal
“Taken all together, Branagh’s film is in its own special way like a cinematic equivalent of the Irish brogue that fills it: It’s lovely, it’s lyrical and it’s next to impossible not to be swept up by its charms.” – Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune
“No wonder Kenneth Branagh’s funny, touching and vital look at his own coming of age in Northern Ireland’s turbulent capital city is the Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture. No movie this year cuts a clearer, truer path of the heart. It’s his personal best.” – Peter Travers, ABC News
Writing with Fire
Reporting from a social environment built to divide based on caste and gender, a fearless group of journalists maintain India’s only women-led news outlet. The women of Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’) prepare to transition the newspaper from print to digital even though many of their reporters don’t have access to electricity at home. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her team of investigative journalists confront some of India’s biggest issues – exposing the relentless discrimination against women and amplifying the voices of those who suffer from the oppressive caste system.
Not Rated. Contains thematic material.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“At a time when the profession faces increasing dangers in India, the film’s faith in the powers of grassroots journalism is nothing short of galvanizing.” – Devika Girish, New York Times
“Writing with Fire accomplishes what any good documentary should—it allows the viewer a visit a world that they might never even have known to exist.” – Brian Shaer, Film Threat
“Armed with eagle-eyed filmmakers and compelling subjects, the film deftly blends the (inextricably linked) personal and professional sides of the journalists’ work, offering up a wide-ranging look at a vital outlet with so many stories to tell.” – Kate Erbland, IndieWire
The Matrix Resurrections
In The Matrix Resurrections, return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. And if Thomas… Neo… has learned anything, it’s that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of—or into—the Matrix. Of course, Neo already knows what he has to do. But what he doesn’t yet know is the Matrix is stronger, more secure and more dangerous than ever before.
Rated R for violence and some language.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Wachowski has taken the familiar and modified it in such a way to make it seem new. It’s a brilliant act of transformation.” – Soren Andersen, Seattle Times
“A weird, hilarious, romantic, messy, violent and upsetting manic spectacle, Lana Wachowski’s sequel-reboot-remake encapsulates every emotion of this supremely messed up year.” – Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail
“It’s an agitprop romance, one of the most effective mass media diagnoses of the current moment that finds countless things to be angry about, and proposes fighting them all with radical, reckless love. On top of all that, it is also a kick-ass work of sci-fi action — propulsive, gorgeous, and yet still intimate — that revisits the familiar to show audiences something very new.” – Joshua Rivera, Polygon
A Journal for Jordan
A Journal for Jordan is based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child. A sweeping account of a once-in-a-lifetime love, the film is a powerful reminder of the importance of family.
Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, partial nudity, drug use, and language.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“It wears its heart on its sleeve, unpretentious and sincere as a homemade valentine.” – Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com
“Journal is Canedy’s story, but it’s Michael B. Jordan’s movie. Stalwart, quietly forceful, he seems positively… Denzelian.” – Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
“Denzel Washington directs this adaptation (the screenplay is by Virgil Williams) with care, respect and a deep-seated knowledge of the Black love stories that don’t make it to the big screen nearly enough.” – Lisa Kennedy, New York Times
Yellowstone: Season 4
The fourth season reveals what happened to John, Beth and Kayce after the events in the third season.
Rated TV-MA. Contains strong violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language, thematic material, and smoking.
Description provided by Metacritic.
“When the show is at its best, as this opening, it’s both emotionally and physically visceral.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“It’s the oldest story told about the American west, but creator Taylor Sheridan capably reimagines the enemy for late-stage capitalism: land developers, private equity, eminent domain. It’s not just John’s ranch at stake, but his way of life.” – Amanda Whiting, IndieWire
All Creatures Great and Small: Season 2
The animal adventures continue for James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph), Siegfried (Samuel West) and Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse) with Patricia Hodge taking over the role of Mrs. Pumphrey.
Rated TV-PG for thematic material and bloody images.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“There are few dramas these days that could be described as gentle. This proves that gentleness doesn’t have to be dull. It is a delight.” – Anita Singh, The Telegraph
“The bottom line is that, once again, All Creatures is a delight. It’s cozy and beautifully made. It’s a throwback that feels familiar, and yet doesn’t always play out exactly as expected. Yet even when it does, it’s charming enough to make each decision work… It knows just what it’s about, and we love it for that.” – Allison Keene, Paste
“A truly comforting treat, All Creatures Great and Small series two proves to be a much-needed tonic in these hectic, ever-accelerating times.” – Lauren Morris, Radio Times
Coming 2 America
Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, and drug content.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“After all these years, the land of Zamunda is still the world capital of comedy.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
“It’s silly of mind and open of heart, full of visual and sonic eye candy while telling a predictable story with pleasurable generosity. The laughs are pitched right over the plate with the skill and enjoyment of a team of vaudeville pros. As reunions go, it’s a success.” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe
“By the end, Coming 2 America has us. It’s strange, these movies that create a warm feeling. It’s hard to say why or how. But when Murphy sits on the throne watching a bad lounge singer (also played by Murphy) perform ‘We Are Family,’ it feels like the summation of the three decades of virtuosic silliness that Murphy has brought to the screen, and of all that has meant to us.” – Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Silent Night
A cozy house in the English countryside. The tree has been lovingly decorated. A grand feast is being prepared. Over the sound system, Michael Bublé croons about holiday sweaters. Nell (Keira Knightley), Simon (Matthew Goode), and their boy Art (Roman Griffin Davis) are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
Not Rated. Contains strong language, thematic material, violence, graphic images, and drug use.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“With a stunningly honest performance from the director’s son — Jojo Rabbit star Roman Griffin Davis — Silent Night balances the eccentricities of a Christmas get-together with nihilistic acceptance of certain doom, making for a film that’s both bleak and dryly funny.” – Siddhant Adlakha, IGN
“It’s a slow document of stiff upper lips beginning to quiver, and while Knightley excels as the perfect Kensington upper-crust mummy, it’s Goode who personifies that desperate attempt to keep a veneer of control, even as his world is on the verge of devastation.” – Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle
“Writer-director Griffin deftly toggles between social/political commentary and the deadpan comedy/horror at hand, as this mostly British group does the stiff-upper-lip, carry-on thing for as long as a possible before things start to unravel in raw and brutal fashion because after all, this is the end.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
John and the Hole
While exploring the neighboring woods, 13-year-old John (Charlie Shotwell) discovers an unfinished bunker—a deep hole in the ground. Seemingly without provocation, he drugs his affluent parents (Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Ehle) and older sister (Taissa Farmiga) and drags their unconscious bodies into the bunker, where he holds them captive. As they anxiously wait for John to free them from the hole, the boy returns home, where he can finally do what he wants.
Rated R for language.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“It’s exciting, quietly volatile stuff that digs refreshingly deep into the fears of the coming-of-age genre.” – Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com
“Sisto picks up the spell that is cast by Lowery’s tale, verdant with danger, and continues to weave.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“Sisto has an arresting visual style, a firm command of tone and an impressive ability to steer his fine cast onto the same rigorous wavelength, all of which makes him a talent to watch.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Dexter: New Blood
Dexter has been living in upstate New York for 10 years as Jim Lindsay when events threaten to bring back his Dark Passenger.
Rated TV-MA. Contains graphic violence, strong language throughout, sexual content, nudity, and smoking.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“What makes New Blood worth watching is the return of a couple of grisly old friends. Hall and Carpenter may be playing their characters the same old way, but that’s as memorable as ever.” – Glenn Garvin, Reason
“This miniseries revives old themes but drops in enough new conflicts — internal and otherwise — to pull the narrative forward into fresh terrain.” – Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times
“It’s thrilling to watch a series find its footing once again, one that is as chilling as ever, and come into present day grappling with today’s complex ideologies of redemption and a potential myth of goodwill. It is as dark as it is thoughtful.” – Candice Frederick, TV Guide
Nightmare Alley
When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet.
Rated R for strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity, and language.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“[An] enthralling noir, filled with sumptuous design, masterful performances, and just the right amount of tragedy.” – Sean Farrell, AFPL Journal
“Just as ugly and beautiful as any classic noir, del Toro’s dark, dazzling three-ring Hollywood circus proves the old-fashioned event film still has a lot of life left.” – Paul Bradshaw, NME
“Years ago, I compared Del Toro to Orson Welles, a film-maker who instinctively understood the hypnotic power of cinema to dazzle, delight and deceive. On the basis of Nightmare Alley, which is blessed with more than a touch of evil, that’s a comparison by which I still stand.” – Mark Kermode, The Observer
Sing 2
The ever-optimistic koala, Buster Moon, and his all-star cast of performers prepare to launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet… all in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There’s just one hitch: They first have to persuade the world’s most reclusive rock star to join them.
Rated PG for some rude material, and mild peril/violence.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Sing 2 is like having a mainstream radio station on in the background. It’s enjoyable and not in the least bit challenging. And sometimes that’s enough.” – Drew Taylor, The Playlist
“With her considerable musical talent, it falls to Ash to convince Calloway to emerge from self-imposed retirement. It’s in these few scenes between Johansson and Bono that writer-director Jennings’ script achieves a new level of emotionally driven storytelling for the franchise.” – Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter
“What makes Sing 2 enjoyable are the tunes. And writer-director Garth Jennings assembles a characteristically quirky mixtape.” – Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post