Category: The Twenty-First Century
-
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom [2020] ★★★
Fantastic performances from Viola Davis and the late, great Chadwick Boseman, enacting the Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, make “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” a must-see. I knew almost nothing about Ma Rainey, the blues legend who rose to fame in the early 20th century, and this movie isn’t a biopic in any way. It…
-
Sound Of Metal [2020] ★★★
We tend to take our 5 senses for granted. So imagine Ruben’s reaction (played by a wonderful Riz Ahmed) when he starts to lose his hearing. When we first meet him, Ruben is happily playing the drums with his metal band. Then out of nowhere, the sounds just disappear. It’s a terrible thing to experience,…
-
Movies Worth Streaming On Netflix
The Wife [2018] Glenn Close delivers a masterful performance as the wife of a renowned author (Jonathan Pryce), who is about to receive the Nobel prize for Literature. Over the course of a couple of days in Stockholm, old wounds are reopened and secrets are revealed, as we begin to suspect that she may be…
-
Cobrai Kai | Season Three [2021] ★★★½
With so many streaming platforms at the palm of our hand, I’m always on the lookout for the next series worth binging. But having been a huge “Karate Kid” fan for over two decades now, I tend to take my precious time with “Cobra Kai”, savoring every second until I move on to the next…
-
Another Round [2020] ★★★½
Simply put, “Another Round” is one of the best films I’ve seen in 2020. Mads Mikkelsen has been one of my favorite actors for many years now, and he has delivered yet another sensational performance here, playing a high school teacher who isn’t satisfied with his life anymore. We can quickly see that the man…
-
Sylvie’s Love [2020] ★★★
2020 was a terrible year for moviegoers, and with the absence of cinemas, it was so easy for a lot of movies to get lost in the shuffle. “Sylvie’s Love” comes straight out of Amazon Studios, and it’s an old-fashioned loved story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Set in the 1950’s and 60’s, the film follows…
-
Soul [2020] ★★★½
No surprises there: Disney/Pixar just delivered yet another knockout. This wonderful movie from the same people who gave us “Up” and “Inside Out” have done it again. “Soul” is a masterclass in animated features, a deeply touching journey that will resonate with adults even more so than kids. In true Pixar fashion, we follow the…
-
The Midnight Sky [2020] ★½
I rarely say this about any movie, but I truly struggled to finish “The Midnight Sky”, Netflix’s latest Science-Fiction film directed by and starring Georges Clooney. He plays a lone scientist whose sole purpose is to warn a crew of astronauts about a global catastrophe. Or something like that. The film is all over the…
-
Happiest Season [2020] ★★½
Christmas season is all about watching movies about family gatherings, which makes “Happiest Season” ideal for the occasion. It’s not perfect by any means, but it has enough charm and just the right actors to carry it through. Mackenzie Davis plays a young woman who agrees to bring her girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) to her family’s…
-
Mank [2020] ★★★½
I haven’t seen many great films this year, but “Mank” is certainly one of them. For one, it paints an evocative picture of old Hollywood, circa 1940, a time where Orson Welles was preparing for his next feature: “Citizen Kane”. For that, he’s going to hire an unlikely candidate to write the script: screenwriter Herman…
-
Hillbilly Elegy [2020] ★★½
Want to spend some time with a dysfunctional family? Probably not. But get this: even when it goes off the rails, “Hillbilly Elegy” features a pair of terrific performances that are worth the price of admission alone (don’t believe the critics, the film isn’t all that bad either). Amy Adams and Glenn Close play mother…
-
The Crown: Season 4 [2020] ★★★½
I have been a huge fan of Netflix’s “The Crown” for almost 3 years now. The show has been consistent right from the start, and it gave us plenty to cheer for: lavish sets, beautiful costumes, terrific acting, and a masterful direction. Now that season 4 is finally here, I can happily report that the…
-
On The Rocks [2020] ★★½
You can think of Sofia Coppola’s “On The Rocks” as an old-fashioned star vehicle, tailor-made for Bill Murray’s larger than life persona. As such, it’s so easy to watch and lightly enjoyable, despite a paper-thin story. Rashida Jones plays a married woman who is almost convinced that her husband (Marlon Wayans) is having an affair.…
-
Netflix Documentaries Worth Seeing
One of the blessings of Netflix (or any other streaming platform these days) is that you almost never run out of content to watch. I say that with full confidence, almost 8 months since the start of the pandemic, which forced me to spend much of my time at home. I miss the cinema experience,…
-
The Trial Of The Chicago 7 [2020] ★★★
I love courtroom dramas and I love legendary writer Aaron Sorkin. So what do you get when you fuse the two together? Fireworks. That’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” in a nutshell, a completely absorbing, high octane courtroom drama that hardly misses a beat. Sorkin also directs here, and he has assembled a first-rate…
-
The Queen’s Gambit [2020] ★★★½
I know almost nothing about chess. It’s a game that I briefly played when I was younger but never truly picked up again. And yet, I fell in love with “The Queen’s Gambit”, Netflix’s latest limited series that hits all the right notes. How is that possible? Making chess a subject of compelling drama for…
-
Holidate [2020] ★★
Star power can save a movie from being a complete waste of time. Case in point: “Holidate”, Netflix’s latest rom-com starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. They play two strangers completely fed up with the pressure of having a date on every holiday, so they decide to be each other’s “plus 1” throughout the year,…
-
Rebecca [2020] ★★½
Let’s address the elephant in the room right away: this version of Daphe Du Maurier’s classic book is stylish and well-shot, but it’s nowhere near as good or memorable as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 masterpiece (which won an Oscar for Best Picture and propelled Hitch to Hollywood stardom). So yes, this 2020 Netflix movie has some…
-
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm [2020] ★★½
In a year plagued with uncertainties, the last thing I expected to see was a sequel to 2006’s hit “Borat”. But here’s the thing: when he’s not being a complete goofball, Sacha Baron Cohen’s character tackles subjects that couldn’t be more relevant in today’s society, from the US elections to Covid-19 itself. I wasn’t a…
-
The Haunting Of Bly Manor [2020] ★★★½
Many will say that “The Haunting of Bly Manor” isn’t like “The Haunting of Hill House”, but it doesn’t have to be. This is a new story in a new house, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find it just as captivating as its predecessor. And yes, I binged the hell out of it…
Let's Talk About Movies 