Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Dec. 4, 2020
Limited (United States)
Nomadland
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
76 Days
- Excerpt: Denialists and those who are adamant that “COVID-19 is over” should be required to view this documentary, but, of course, never will: it’s just more “fake news”.
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: an all encompassing document of the myriad aspects which comprise its subject. And MacGowan leaves us with words of wisdom – ‘It’s probably best to drink not quite enough, you know?’
2020 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Bill & Ted Face the Music
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Boys State
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Broken Hearts Gallery
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Buffaloed
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Croods: A New Age
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Freaky
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Hamilton
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Happiest Season
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The High Note
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Hillbilly Elegy
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
His House
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Love and Monsters
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Nest
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Over the Moon
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Possessor
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Rebecca
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Run
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Sound of Metal
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Synchronic
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Totally Under Control
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Trial of the Chicago 7
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Twentieth Century
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
2067
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: It serves as another misfire for a “hero’s journey” space film.
18 to Party
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Informative documentary on the history of voting rights and the threats to it in our time.
Alone with Her Dreams
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A well-wrought and memorable coming-of-age drama.
An American Pickle
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A dramedy that will get you asking yourself questions about family and legacies.
Ammonite
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: She sells seashells by the seashore. Mary Anning’s life supposedly inspired that tongue twister.
Ammonite
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: This is the kind of experience that inspires thoughtful critics to consult a thesaurus. One must interestingly describe an account with a more creative word than “boring.”
Ammonite
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: On its own merits the film is handsomely made with wonderful acting and a lived in environment. [But Lee] could have simply written [it] without using any real names.
Another Round
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Vinterberg’s film uses a somewhat humorous concept to explore middle-aged malaise and while it is often funny, it is also profoundly anxiety-inducing.
Anything for Jackson
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: The film puts a fresh spin on a well worn horror setup that does a wonderful job at balancing the horror with the humor.
Anything for Jackson
Brent McKnight @ The Last Thing I See
- Excerpt: Just the most adorable elder Satanists…
Anything for Jackson
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: The ability to toe the line between (comedy and horror) isn’t something that should be undersold. Neither should the casting of McCarthy and Richings.
The Argument
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A spunky comedy about a couple trying to finally settle an argument.
The Artist’s Wife
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Portrait of the midlife crisis of a loving and creative wife.
The August Virgin
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A Rohmer-esque drama set in Madrid about a young woman’s quest for a new way of living and meaningful relationships.
Bad Hair
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: “Bad Hair” cannot and should not be taken seriously, but its themes are still as potent as a scalp scrub.
Belushi
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: Belushi is an intimate look at an immensely talented guy for whom joy and pain were often intertwined.
Black Water: Abyss
Joao Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Black Water made Australia’s Horror very proud, but its sequel is unimpressive.
Blackbird
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Family drama about facing death and the revelations that come with it.
The Boys in Band
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: With its good direction, the sharp script, and strong cast, ‘The Boys in the Band’ is brilliant, complex, touching and, let’s not forget, current.
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You
Ronald wilkinson @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: As he puts on his beat up jacket and walks out into the snowy New Jersey night, he is the same kid who walked the same beaches sixty years ago.
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A rousing and rockin’ documentary in which Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band record a new album and the Boss offers spiritual commentary on the songs.
The Brunt Orange Heresy
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A character-driven drama about the art world and the glamorous and deceptive people who inhabit it.
Buddy Games
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: A depressingly unfunny dudes-will-be-dudes romp that could have been called “Barstool Sports: The Movie.”
The Call
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Despite some gripes, The Call is one of the better thrillers I’ve seen all year. It’s a thrilling and original film with two great perfromances from Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo.
The Calming
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A beguiling and meditative movie about antidotes to chaos.
Charter
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Written and directed by Amanda Kernell, the movie asks important questions about parenting and responsibility – two concepts that turn out do not always fit in the same vein.
The Climb
Andrea Chase @ Eat Drink Films
- Excerpt: It is as surprising as it is daring, and it finds a perfect medium in this study of transcendent absurdity.
Come Play
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Atmospheric, assuredly crafted, and sometimes even shiver-inducing, “Come Play” is only as strong as its monster.
Coming Home Again
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Moving family drama about a young man who discovers the healing power of caregiving.
The Craft: Legacy
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Astutely written with care and respect for its heritage, Zoe Lister-Jones’ film favors sisterhood in the current landscape over chills, despite being built in the Blumhouse factory.
Critical Thinking
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Inspiring true story that proves that the game of chess can be a path to self-esteem and mastery for youth of any background.
Crossing Delancey
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: Every scene works in this wonderful but small film.
The Dark and the Wicked
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Mercilessly and oppressively grim, “The Dark and the Wicked” is one of those rare films that has the power to actually chill you to the bone.
Dave Not Coming Back
Ronald wilkinson @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: A moving and well executed saga of the wins and losses in the crushing depths of deep cave diving.
Dirty God
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Vicky Knight tackles the role with total fearlessness. It’s a film that welcomes complexity, and avoids easy answers and generic gestures of “bravery” that are often thrown at stories like this.
Echo Boomers
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Echo Boomers is fairly empty rhetoric, but it can be a thrill to watch while it lasts.
Embattled
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Embattled isn’t perfect, but it tackles a complex relationship with more nuance than one might expect given how not subtle everything is. Stephen Dorff delivers an electric performance..
Embattled
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: I would never think of watching an MMA fight, nor would I ever want to see this ugly family drama again, nor would I care to ink up my body as the film’s star does.
Evil Eye
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Like most of the movies under the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” banner, this might have played more effectively as a twenty-minute short.
Fatima
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A religious drama about the remarkable faith of a young girl after her account of seeing the Virgin Mary is questioned by family, community, and the church.
Fatman
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: For the adults, it is a demented genre present curiously packaged with surprising charm.
Fire Will Come
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A mesmerizing film set in Spain in which trees play a major role.
Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: The breezy film with great visuals also has a serious tone about the survival of the world.
Friendsgiving
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Given the dreaded blooper reel during the end credits of “Friendsgiving,” these friends are clearly having fun. It’s just too bad the viewer feels excluded from the party.
Getting to Know You
The Good Lord Bird
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A rousing, ribald, and immensely engaging miniseries on the crusade of abolitionist John Brown to free America’s slaves.
The Grand Unified Theory of Harold Bloom
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Profile of an eccentric and prolific techno-age philosopher.
H Is for Happiness
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A totally entertaining movie about a young teen who models resilience, kindness, and a vibrantly happy outlook.
Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A portrait of the singer/songwriter whose story songs and humanitarian activism prove to be equally inspiring.
Hearts and Bones
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A rich and immersive drama about two men dealing with the baggage of their pasts as they try to keep their friendship and marriages together.
La Hija de un Ladron
João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
Holidate
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: “Holidate” might be the edgiest, snarkiest Hallmark Channel romantic comedy there never was. It’s a tart-enough throwaway decidedly not for “the-schmaltzier-the-better” crowd.
Holidate
Joao Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Very generic…
I Am Greta
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: An enlightening documentary about a passionate young prophet for eco-justice.
Jacinta
Ronald wilkinson @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: A new standard in documentary access shows a way out of cyclical intergenerational addiction but at a high cost.
Jiu Jitsu
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: This is the kind of badass sci-fi/action film you would expect Nic Cage to be in and sure enough he’s in it.
The Jump
Ronald wilkinson @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: A slice of life from the Cold War that warms to a happy ending.
Jungleland
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Charlie Hunnam is at his absolute best. At times it’s bleak, brutal, sad, but it stays thoroughly human.
Kindred
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: The troubling, finely acted “Kindred” steadily simmers and grips, presenting gaslighting in a realistic fashion.
Last Three Days
- Excerpt: The four loves of Jack and Beth
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: Watching the documentary is like having a film school class where you study one of the most significant horror films ever made under the guidance of a master teacher.
Let Them All Talk
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Not since “Ocean’s Twelve” has director/cinemtographer/editor Steven Soderbergh delivered a vacation film for a prestigious cast, but this time around it’s an actors’ piece.
The Lie
Joao Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Veena Sud directorial performance is below expectations…
The Lie
João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Veena Sud’s first career miss…
The Life Ahead
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: This features Sophia Loren and she is unquestionably an icon of the silver screen so….there’s that.
The Life Ahead
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: It stars Sophia Loren and she is unquestionably an icon of the silver screen so….there’s that.
LIghts of Baltimore
- Excerpt: In the case of Baltimore, and of urban American in general, the battle of images has been far too one-sided. Lights of Baltimore offers one important corrective to the images we’re used to being fed, and I can only hope that more will follow.
Love Express: The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: Love Express’ is merely an appreciation and celebration of Borowoczyk, as it pretty much was fated to be—because who’s going to dial up a Borowoczyk documentary other than someone who’s already a Borowoczyk fan?… Someday it will make a fine Blu-ray extra on a Borowoczyk box set.
Love, Guaranteed
João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
Lovers Rock
Luxor
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: No one can know whether our actions can right this sinking ship we call Earth. What Luxor strives to give us instead is the room to hope that it’s even possible.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: the late Chadwick Boseman gives us something we’ve never seen before, breaking our hearts all over again not only with Levee’s character arc, but for what we have lost. Viola Davis, too, expands her repertoire as the bold, demanding diva…
Made in Bangladesh
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: An inspiring portrait of a persistent and resilient young woman fighting for workers’ rights in a garment factory.
Mangrove
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: A triumph. McQueen brings history to life and makes it sing with zest and passion, with a spirit that endures beyond the strife. A celebration of Black joy alongside a raging against Black oppression.
Mank
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: A lot is therefore happening beneath the surface of this known drunken court jester-centered biopic and those willing to absorb it all should have a jolly good time.
Mank
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Reviews
- Excerpt: It’s a behind- the- scenes look on the making of Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” (1941)
Martin Eden
- Excerpt: Portrait of the Writer as an Angry Young Man
Mayor
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Director David Osit embeds himself with a city mayor whose profile will hopefully rise monumentally after his documentary is released. Hadid is a wonderful subject, a humble, humorous, hard-working family man dedicated to his city and his people.
Minor Premise
Brent McKnight @ The Last Thing I See
- Excerpt: …hinges on an inventive, original idea, and relies on clever execution and adroit narrative chops.
Minor Premise
- Excerpt: Hands down, MINOR PREMISE is one of the year’s best.
MLK/FBI
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A documentary contrasting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and J. Edgar Hoover who were regarded by different constituencies as guardians of the American dream.
The Mole Agent
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Docu-drama about a kind man skilled in listening who goes undercover in a nursing home.
Mosul
Herman Dhaliwal @ Cinema Sanctum
- Excerpt: Mosul is reIt maintains a sense of humanity even in its most bombastic action scenes. THe cast of mostly Iraqi actors brings a fresh perspective on the genre.
My Summer As A Goth
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: Well-meaning and certainly full of heart, MY SUMMER AS A GOTH serves its target audience without stretching beyond the demographic.
Neither Confirm Nor Deny
Ronald wilkinson @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: If adding little to the public knowledge of the event, the lessons of government transparency and freedom of the press are vital today.
Night of the Kings
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz
- Excerpt: It’s a curious film of brilliant storytelling, one that makes for an unusual prison film.
Nocturne
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: In its own right, “Nocturne” plays to a classy, more controlled tune.
Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A revealing documentary about two creative and wonderstruck friends.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: A fascinating overview of the life and work of a Renaissance Man.
On the Rocks
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Sofia Coppola makes her Woody Allen film with “On the Rocks,” a lovely, inviting cinematic balm that’s perceptively written and reliably well-performed by Bill Murray and Rashida Jones as a father and daughter.
Once Upon a River
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Coming-of-age story about a Native American woman who benefits from the kindness of strangers.
Painter
- Excerpt: Art evades life
The Prom
Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: Nobody had a prom in 2020, so director Ryan Murphy wants you to break out in song, relish spontaneous but perfect, in-sync choreography, and praise the movie musical.
Proxima
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: Brings a fundamental new humanity to the story of those who court great danger in order to advance human knowledge. Eva Green is immense. Writer-director Alice Winocour’s compassion is achingly acute.
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Jasmila Žbanic draws us into the events, finding an effective blend of historical reconstruction, family drama, and war-based thriller. Jasna Ðuricic’ is a revelation.
Radium Girls
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: True story of women who fought back when they learned they had been exposed to toxins on the job.
Roald Dahl’s The Witches
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Anne Hathaway, who is clearly having a blast as the Grand High Witch, conjures frights in familiar yet entertaining ‘Roald Dahl’s The Witches.’
Robin’s Wish
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: The story of what really was responsible for the tragic death of one of the greatest comedians of our time.
Shithouse
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Disarming, sensitive, and authentically observed, “Shithouse” is a small gem of an indie that anyone familiar with the college experience could appreciate.
Softie
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Involving documentary about the challenges facing a fearless young activist and his family in Kenya.
Soul
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: What follows is a case of body swap shenanigans, cat and mouse chases, and introspectively heartfelt ruminations on what it means to be alive.
Spell
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: While “Spell” has its fair share of frustrations, this is still a satisfyingly creepy battle of wits, and we are all here for Loretta Devine as a cheerfully wicked practitioner in folk magic.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run’ has stunning, gorgeous-looking animation, but thin on substance.
The Tobacconist
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Story of a boy whose coming-of-age includes becoming friends with Sigmund Freud.
Triggered
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: The filmmakers don’t intend for any of this to be taken too seriously and just be a gratuitously bloody good time, but “Triggered” is rarely ever as witty or fun as it believes itself to be.
The True Adventures of Wolfboy
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Audiences need to see and sing the praises of this sweet, special little discovery about compassion and self-acceptance.
True Mothers
Amir Siregar @ Amir at the Movies [Indonesian]
- Excerpt: Naomi Kawase’s ‘True Mothers’ is an emotionally charged drama about motherhood in all its forms.
Truth Is the Only Client
Andrea Chase @ KillerMovieReviews.com
- Excerpt: Rich in details, blissfully lacking hyperbole, this is a welcome scholarly approach to an emotional subject.
Uncle Frank
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: These two wildly different parts of the same film dovetail in an emotionally rewarding way, but that doesn’t help the feeling that Ball should have chosen one avenue or the other.
Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: From psychologists who have a Duty to Warn, a scary portrait of the consequences of the behavior of President Donald Trump.
Valley Girl
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Watching “Valley Girl” is like listening to a cheesy, bitchin’ ’80s pop song: you know it’s a little cornball but you just can’t resist it.
Vanguard
Dan Lybarger @ www.arkansasonline.com
- Excerpt: In a mere 108 minutes, Hong Kong-based director Stanley Tong packs enough explosions, fisticuffs, vehicle chases and gunplay to fill the entire “The Fast and the Furious” franchise and still have a little escapist mayhem leftover. In some ways, “Vanguard” works roughly the way a machine gun does: if one bullet misses, one from the next series of 100 projectiles won’t.
Vanguard
Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Excerpt: Chan is sidelined here, doing minimal action, and his co-stars lack the charisma that he has in spades.
Vanguard
The Walrus and the Whistleblower
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: I get the appeal of using Demers as an entry point into what’s going on, but highlighting him in lieu of the broader issue does the latter a disservice.
The Wanderings of Ivan
- Excerpt: A semi-fine madness
What the Constitution Means to Me
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Live Broadway cast production of a play about how the personal becomes political.
The Witches
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: If only “The Witches” had been emblazoned with more of the invention and mischievous bite Zemeckis brought to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Death Becomes Her” once upon a time, this adaptation might have felt more inspired than merely cute or passably fun.
Yellow Rose
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ Spirituality & Practice
- Excerpt: Story of a Filipina teen who is nurtured by strangers demonstrating the spiritual practices of enthusiasm and kindness.
Zappa
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Winter throws sunlight on the seeds of one revolutionary individual. You don’t have to know anything at all about Frank Zappa going in to find this work thoroughly engaging.
