Beautiful Boy is an upper and a downer.
David worries. It’s become clear that his son Nic suffers from addiction. We see, over the course of years and from each of their perspectives, what this affliction does: to thoughts, actions, willpower, family, and friends.
This is heavy stuff. And convincing acting can make it hard to watch. But take a lesson from this movie: Nothing worth doing comes easy.
Daddy’s Home 2 is a funny, goofy movie.
Dusty is a cool dad. He’s also remarried. So he splits raising his kids with dorky, but lovable Brad. This big, complicated family is finally settling in—until the grandpas visit for Christmas, that is.
Nonstop dialogue and slapstick make this a lively watch. It ain’t serious, and it ain’t bad.
If Beale Street Could Talk, you would do well to listen.
Fonny and Tish are in love. It is true, and it is deep. Unfortunately, some people will not allow a black family to be happy and productive.
This is a story about (many, different) people trying their best in a rigged system. The love—in this story, and for this story—blazes through each frame, each line, each note.
Cleo has left her village to be a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family. Though it is tight quarters in the home, some people manage to stay distant. Maybe it’s because they don’t care. Maybe, it’s because they don’t know how to show it.
This movie is about life, with all of its sepia-toned nostalgia. And the movie moves at the speed of life: sometimes slow and uneventful, other times too fast and too soon.
A poor family must do what it can to survive. The jobs range from backbreaking to unsavory—and sometimes, just plain illegal. And yet, maybe it’s what these people do when they aren’t hustling that defines them.
This fiction is as real as it gets. It will make you think twice about a lot of things.
In A Wrinkle in Time, a girl journeys through space-time to find her father.
Meg is a brilliant, sad young girl. She and her family are considered “weird.” Things don’t get any easier when Meg’s father goes missing. To overcome these challenges, Meg must learn to trust—something difficult to do when one feels unwanted in the universe.
This movie tries too hard to be cool and heartfelt. Too bad, because there is a worthwhile moral to the story.
Jumanji is great fun, equal parts adventure and humor.
A grab bag of teenagers is stuck in detention. Procrastination and peer pressure lead the group to play an old video game called Jumanji.
This uber-interactive video game may be too much for its players to handle. But learning about their characters' strengths and weaknesses may enlighten the teens about their own.
The Castle of Cagliostro is a smart animated adventure.
Master thief Lupin decides to pull the heist to end all heists. Nothing stands in the way but an evil mastermind, an impenetrable booby-trapped castle, and Interpol. Debonair Lupin may have finally met his match—with a damsel in distress found along the way.
Cheeky music and sound effects add to the fun.
Coco warms the heart. It delicately and humorously explores the topics of death and family.
Miguel is stifled by his family’s strict ban on anything to do with music. This is especially hurtful in light of his seemingly genetic predisposition to be musical. On a particular festival of the Day of the Dead (during which relatives are remembered), Miguel decides to follow his favorite musician’s advice and “seize his moment.”
With vivid animations and compelling music, this adventure is a must-see.