Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson stars in writer Katy Brand and director Sophie Hyde’s endearing story of a retired school teacher who embarks on a journey of sexual reawakening. Spending the entirety of the dialogue-centric film opposite sex worker Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), the film is very much like theater for the big screen.…

Writer-director Cooper Raiff stars alongside producer Dakota Johnson in the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” streaming now on Apple TV+. The endearing dramedy follows Andrew (Raiff), a recent postgraduate who accidentally gets a job hosting bar mitzvahs for the kids in his younger brother’s class. When he meets a young…

Actor and activist Evan Rachel Wood tells a harrowing story of surviving domestic violence in “Phoenix Rising,” an HBO documentary which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Director Amy Berg directs the two-part film, now streaming on HBO Max. It follows Wood’s journey from establishing herself as a young actor to becoming staunch…

A refreshingly mature romantic comedy from writers Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger, I Want You Back stars Charlie Day and Jenny Slate as strangers-turned-friends who help each other in the disappointing love department. Set apart from cookie-cutter “romcoms” from the last two decades, this Valentine’s Day release gets back to basics: characters who form a…

It doesn’t get better than this. Much like Lucille Ball, Aaron Sorkin is a master storyteller and uses his magic, once again, to write and direct Being the Ricardos, an intimate look at a woman, a marriage and a high-pressure job of performing for 60 million people every Monday at nine o’clock. While some viewers…

Based on J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir, The Tender Bar is a nostalgic, coming-of-age story that’s simple in premise and complex in character. Directed by George Clooney and adapted by screenwriter William Monahan, the film centers on a young man’s (Tye Sheridan) life in Long Island; a lower-middle-class life full of eccentric characters like a struggling…

“Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road” hits theaters and On Demand platforms Nov. 19, celebrating the life and work of the iconic titular Beach Boy. More a conversation between friends than a formal interview, Wilson and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine drive the streets of Wilson’s old neighborhood, chatting less about life and more about music…

“Laughter is such a great part of life,” Hannah (Melanie Lynskey) explains to a ghostly Lady Wadsworth (Judy Greer). And laughter is what writing/directing team Justin and Christian Long know best. From a stoned tour guide to a spoiled man-child (Ryan Phillippe), the Long brothers show off their keen observation of ridiculous human behavior in…

This well-done documentary serves as a valuable primer and object lesson for why local journalism of the purest kind is so important.

I was nervous about watching “Together.”  I didn’t think I was ready to relive the early stages of the pandemic on film, or to go through that panic and pain again. As if it isn’t still happening, as if it hasn’t been a daily reality for more than 18 months.  I was afraid this story…

After a long-awaited release, “Free Guy” hits theaters Aug. 13 from actor-producer Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy. The action-comedy is as unexpectedly meaningful as it is pure fun at the theatre, following Reynolds as a non-playing character in a video game who suddenly realizes there’s more to life than being in the background. “Free…

I did not want to see Jungle Cruise. There, I said it. And I typically never include first person in my reviews, but it’s warranted here. I groaned at the prospect of seeing a big screen adaptation of a Disney attraction, one I was certain was going to be green screen scene after green screen…

Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg gives a subtle, career-best performance as a complicated man on a mission in Joe Bell. Based on a true story, the film (from Brokeback Mountain writers Diana Ossana and the late Larry McMurtry) follows a working class Oregonian father on his long, strenuous walk across the country in support of…

A sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s 2017 Oscar-nominated blockbuster, The Boss Baby: Family Business is a welcome, comedic reprieve for children and their parents alike. From returning director Tom McGrath, the story of brothers Tim (James Marsden) and Ted (Alec Baldwin) Templeton continues, amplified by a new cast of zany, brainy characters fit for the big…

In an era of moviemaking when films are pigeonholed by genre, scale and scope, it’s nice to be reminded that there’s beauty in the middle. Short scenes can get big laughs, small stories can have big heart. In Here Today, director Billy Crystal and co-writer Alan Zweibel bring back a bygone era of storytelling, when…

Glenn Close and Mila Kunis play characters inspired by a real-life mother and daughter in “Four Good Days.” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Eli Saslow co-wrote the screenplay with director Rodrigo Garcia, who reunites for the fourth time with lead actress Close in this tense, tightly-structured drama about a longtime heroin addict and a determined but exhausted…

Tony Hale anchors the cast of Eat Wheaties!, an offbeat new comedy from Scott Abramovitch. Based on Michael Kun’s 2003 novel The Locklear Letters, Hale plays an overeager marketing manager who attempts to prove he knew the actress Elizabeth Banks in college. While this premise drives the plot, it’s the singular bits and oddball cast…

Ed Helms and Patti Harrison play a single expectant father and his pregnant surrogate in “Together Together,” a Bleecker Street film that hits theaters April 23. Writer-director Nicole Beckwith’s refreshingly real feature tackles the stigma of singlehood – and the unlikely places we find family. App developer Matt (Helms) meets Anna (Harrison) while interviewing potential…

The Cold War drama based on true events follows one ordinary man’s mission to help prevent nuclear war ahead of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The first episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” premieres on Disney+ March 19, with a surprisingly character-driven 45 minutes that seamlessly reintroduce audiences to Marvel characters Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). They were last seen just after battling Thanos in “Avengers: Endgame,” two years and what feels like a…