‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’
The latest installment in George Miller’s apocalypse thriller series premiered at Cannes this week. It tells the origin story of the Imperator Furiosa, the breakout character from the 2015 “Fury Road,” played then by Charlize Theron and now by Anya Taylor-Joy.
From our review:
Furiosa’s reticence is strategic, as well as a trait she shares with Mad Max himself, the model for her taciturn avenger. While Furiosa is hiding in plain sight in the Citadel, her circumspection protects her, but it also accentuates her existential plight. She’s alone, spiritually and in every other respect, at least before meeting Praetorian Jack (not that they’re chatty). Hers is a lonely burden and, as the story and the fighting continue, it gives “Furiosa” a surprising emotional heaviness which can make this exciting, kinetic movie feel terribly sad.
In theaters next week. Read the full review.
You know that it’s no good.
‘Back to Black’
This biopic follows the pop star Amy Winehouse’s rise to fame and her tumultuous personal life, including her complicated relationships with her father and her boyfriend.
From our review:
Given the movie’s light-fingered treatment of some facts around the two most important men in Winehouse’s life, the picture starts to sharpen. “Back to Black” is far from the first biopic that smooths the edges off real people for the Hollywood treatment. But because the movie’s stated aim is to re-center Amy in her own story, it feels gross.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Unimaginative friends.
‘IF’
Young Bea (Cailey Fleming) discovers a group of forgotten imaginary friends and teams up with her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds) to reunite them with their BFFs.
From our review:
Any child over 5 will predict the Keyser Söze twist in Bea and Cal’s relationship. But this is a film that spells out its intentions for an audience still learning its ABCs, a film where Michael Giacchino’s misty violins never stop insisting how to feel, where Krasinski’s goofy dad literally wears a heart on his chest.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A pregnancy comedy that doesn’t quite deliver.
‘Babes’
In this comedy from Pamela Adlon, two lifelong best friends (Michelle Buteau and Ilana Glazer) navigate changes to their relationship when one embarks on single motherhood.
From our review:
Sometimes a pile of good ingredients doesn’t make something delicious, and I guess that’s what happened here. The marketing for “Babes” suggests something akin to “Bridesmaids,” the runaway 2011 hit that reminded Hollywood that raunchy comedies starring women can be hilarious and profitable. “Bridesmaids” owes some of its punch to its rapid-fire rhythm, the pileup of relentless jokes both verbal and physical. “Babes” has plenty of raunch, but it’s otherwise very different.
In theaters. Read the full review.
These strangers are too familiar.
‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’
This reboot of a 2008 horror film rehashes the standard home invasion plot: a sweet young couple in a secluded cabin face off against masked tormentors.
From our review:
The film’s few thrilling moments have little to do with blood and guts and more with the juxtaposition of dread and song, as when Joanna Newsom’s lilting hymn “Sprout and the Bean” and Twisted Sister’s power anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” pop up unexpectedly to disorient the action. These and other oddball musical interludes provide too-fleeting hints of what might have been had this film sought a novel household takeover, not the same old.
In theaters. Read the full review.
CRITIC’S PICK
A slice of life with a side of gochujang.
‘In Our Day’
In the latest from Hong Sang-soo, young people visit an actress, Sangwon, and an aging poet, Uiju, in separate encounters connected only by the image of spicy pepper paste being added to a cup of ramyun.
From our review:
[The director’s] gochujang-inflected noodles provide a simple pleasure made all the more satisfying in recent days for Uiju, who, on doctor’s orders, is abstaining from drinking and smoking. But he can’t quite resist on either front, reflecting a sentiment from early in the film when Sangwon, offering up treats to a friend’s cat, says, “What’s the point of living, anyway? Eat your fill.” It’s a glimmer of existential wisdom buried in the mundane, if you look at it the right way. Most of the film is made up of these moments. Isn’t life like that, too?
In theaters. Read the full review.
CRITIC’S PICK
A lockdown movie that’s refreshingly chaotic.
‘Coma’
In Bertrand Bonello’s horror film set during the coronavirus lockdown in France, a moody teenager is cloistered in her room, where reality, nightmares and the videos she watches to occupy her time begin to blend together.
From our review:
The film begins and ends with a subtitled message written by Bonello to his daughter, to whom he dedicated the film. It acknowledges the unique despair of her generation — of children accustomed to climate change and school shootings; their best years spent online, trapped at home during a global pandemic. This message is also what makes “Coma” surpass the trappings of a lockdown movie: It may be anchored to that period, but it speaks to an existential crisis that defines many right now.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Compiled by Kellina Moore.
