We know the end of this story, which is sad, but the film Back to Black is a pseudo-celebration of a talented artist, Amy Winehouse, played by Marisa Abela.
Directed by Sam-Taylor Johnson, the movie portrays her turbulent relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, played by Jack O’Connell, which motivates her to write and record the groundbreaking album Back to Black.
Sam-Taylor Johnson films include:
Fifty Shades of Grey
Nowhere Boy
A Million Little Pieces
Created and written by Peter Harness, Michelle MacLaren directs the first episode, Constellation, which stars Noomi Rapace as Jo, an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space.
She discovers that critical pieces of her life seem to be missing.
This action-packed space adventure explores the dark edges of human psychology and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost.
Written and directed by Leah McKendrick, Scrambled is about a quintessential eternal bridesmaid, Nellie Robinson, played by Leah McKendrick. She constantly finds herself between weddings, baby showers, and bad dates.
When she feels like the clock is ticking and faces bleak romantic prospects, Nellie freezes her eggs — setting her on an empowering journey to a brave new world where she ultimately discovers “the one” she’s looking for might be herself.
The supporting cast includes Ego Nwodim, André Santini, Adam Rodríguez, Laura Cerón, and Clancy Brown.
Singer, actress and filmmaker, McKendrick’s films include:
M.F.A.
Baby Steps
A Nice Girl Like You
Organize Chaos
Wes Ball directs the latest Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes. Many generations passed after Caesar’s reign, and that’s when the story begins. The apes are the dominant species, hoping to live harmoniously. The humans are now reduced to living in the shadows.
The # 1 worldwide hit song by Michael Martin Murphey inspired Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse. It’s that tale of the Cherokee ghost horse and a young girl coming to terms with a guilty conscience.
Directed by Eric Parkinson, Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse tells a story of redemption and forgiveness as a young girl deals with her guilt following the tragic death of her parents.
With the family facing financial ruin, the survivors move from Texas to Oklahoma to live with Grandma Bette on her horse farm outside Tahlequah. Emotionally lost and distraught, young Samantha finds peace from the attention she receives from a mysterious wild horse that seems to follow her as she walks home from school each day.
The late Anne Heche plays Diana Jones, and this could be her last acting role.
Eventually, Samantha can contact and ride the horse, and with training help from a champion rodeo cowgirl, she enters competitive rodeo barrel racing and accepts her new situation.
But her guilt remains, as Samantha hides the dark secret that she feels responsible for her parent’s death. She cannot forgive herself.
With the help of a local Cherokee spiritual leader and the town’s local pastor’s wisdom, Samantha realizes a greater truth and a solace to her worries.
Was the horse real? Or was it a spiritual messenger to help guide Samantha? Wildfire combines a tale of native spirituality with Christian doctrine and values to create an enchanting film for all audiences.
Written for the screen and directed by Cord Jefferson, American Fiction is a hilarious twist on the obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes.
Based upon the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes.
Apple TV+ brings us the eight-episode and limited series Lessons in Chemistry. Brie Larson is the executive producer and stars based on the best-selling novel by author, science editor and copywriter Bonnie Garmus.
Set in the early 1950s, the series follows Elizabeth Zott, played by Larson, whose dream of being a scientist they put on hold in a patriarchal society. When Elizabeth finds herself fired from her lab, she accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives — and the men who are suddenly listening — a lot more than recipes.
Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koenig, Kevin Sussman, Patrick Walker, and Thomas Mann are starring alongside Larson.
The Burial took inspiration from actual events and was co-written by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts. Betts also directs the story about a handshake deal that goes sour.
Funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe, played by Tommy Lee Jones, enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary, played by Jamie Foxx, to save his family business.
Tempers flare, and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond, exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.
Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck also star in the comedy-drama.
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, The Bikeriders follows the glory days of a 1960s motorcycle gang to its inevitable demise. Danny Lyon’s photo book The Bikeriders inspired the movie with a great cast, including Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer.
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell brings us Saltburn. It’s a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Student Oliver Quick, played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan, struggles to find his place at Oxford University.
He finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi. Felix invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Rosamund Pike, Alison Oliver, Carey Mulligan, Richard E. Grant and Ewan Mitchell also star in the movie.