A Sundance audience favorite, Sean Wang wrote and directed Didi. It’s an autobiographical story that follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, played by Izaac Wang, during his last summer before high school begins.
Frustrated, he discovers his family cannot teach him how to flirt, skate or love his mom.
Never Let Go comes from the creative minds of director Alexandre Aja and producers of Stranger Things and Arrival.
In this new psychological thriller, as evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Halle Berry, and her twin sons, played by Percy Daggs and Anthony B. Jenkins, is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Needing to stay connected at all times, even tethering themselves with ropes. They cling to one another, urging each other never to let go. But when one boy questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.
Movies directed by Aja:
The Hills Have Eyes
Nicholas Stoller directs Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell in a comedy about a woman, played by Witherspoon, planning her sister’s perfect wedding.
A father, played by Ferrell, of a young bride-to-be, finds out the remote resort has double booked for their destination wedding.
They are on an island off the Georgia coast, so both parties decide to share the small venue. Like any comedy, chaos ensues, and disaster awaits.
The supporting cast includes Geraldine Viswanathan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro, Stony Blyden, Leanne Morgan, Rory Scovel, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Ramona Young, Jack McBrayer and Cecilia Weston.
Fancy Dance, directed by Erica Tremblay, stars Lily Gladstone. The film follows Jax, played by Gladstone. She has cared for her niece, Roki, played by Isabel DeRoy-Olson, since her sister disappeared.
They have scraped by while living on an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma, dedicating every spare minute to finding her missing sister. Jax also is helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow.
Tremblay is a Native American filmmaker best known for her documentary films. She worked with Gladstone in the short Little Chief.
Karim Aïnouz directed Firebrand, based on a screenplay by Jessica Ashworth and Henrietta Ashworth from the 2013 novel Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle.
The story is about the royal relationship in blood-soaked Tudor England. Twice married, accomplished, and educated, Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander. She reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII, played by Jude Law.
Katherine’s decision to marry Henry carries immense personal risk, considering the fate of her predecessors, who were either divorced, beheaded, or dead. Her situation becomes even more perilous when Henry appoints her as regent, the nation’s ruler, during his absence for overseas battles, setting her on a treacherous path.
Amidst Henry’s court’s political intrigue, Katherine’s sympathies for the radical Protestant beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom become a cause for suspicion. The courtiers, fearing the threat to their power, conspire against her and sow seeds of doubt about her loyalty to the increasingly ailing and paranoid king.
Once Henry returns to England, his courtiers convince him to turn his fury on the nation’s radicals, including Katherine’s childhood friend Anne Askew, played by Erin Doherty. Anne becomes one of the many people convicted of treason and burned at the stake.
Horrified and privately grieving, Katherine finds herself under ever-increasing scrutiny and suspicion. Knowing that even a whisper of scandal might lead to her downfall, Katherine must unleash her own scheme to fight for survival.
Other supporting cast include Eddie Marsan, Simon Russell Beale and Sam Riley.
Aïnouz is an award-winning director and screenwriter. Firebrand is his first British/American film.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg directed Let It Be, a 1970 film about The Beatles. The release arrived during their breakup. You can now stream the fully restored documentary on Disney+.
Sorry, Disney+ has blocked two of these clips, but hopefully, they will lift the ban.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen Kuras at a film festival, where we were both on a panel discussing women and minorities in film. It was shortly after 9/11, and Kuras talked about her experience. Living across the water, she invited friends who had no place to stay after the horrific incident to her large home. Together, they watched the smoking rubble. Surprisingly, Kuras said it was both depressing and healing.
Since the film festival, Kuras and I stayed in touch at first, with me lining up an interview with a now defunct film website. The last time I heard about her was when she received an Oscar nomination for the documentary The Betrayal, which she co-wrote and co-directed while also being the cinematographer. Kuras has won many awards for her cinematography.
Kuras directs Lee based on a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller, played by Kate Winslett. Miller’s singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century’s most memorable images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub.
Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Her images display both the fragility and ferocity of the human experience. Above all, the film shows how Miller lived her life at full throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price. This forced her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood.
The supporting cast includes Josh O’Connor, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Marion Cotillard.
When I saw Kuras had directed this film, I felt super excited for her and delighted for her success.
Viggo Mortensen’s new Western feature, The Dead Don’t Hurt, written and directed by Mortensen, blends the action, grit, and thrills of the American West with a captivating story of two pioneers embarking on a life journey fraught with obstacles.
Hopefully, Mortensen sets this film apart with his unique storytelling, keeping the audience on the edge.
The story depicts the conflict between revenge and forgiveness and offers a unique female-forward perspective, adding depth and complexity.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Vicky Krieps received the Tribute Performer Award.
The story begins with star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s. Krieps plays Vivienne Le Coudy, a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen, played by Mortensen.
After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel to his home near Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life together. The outbreak of the civil war separates them when Olsen makes a fateful decision to fight for the Union. Vivienne must fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller, played by Danny Huston, and his evil business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries, played by Garret Dillahunt. Alfred’s violent, wayward son, Weston, played by Solly McLeod, aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances.
Olsen returns from the war. He and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become. It’s a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men.