Directed by Chole Zhao, Nomadland follows Fern, played by Frances McDormand. Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, she packs her van and sets off on the road, exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad.
I saw the movie and found it very well written, directed and acted. The story is genuine about the struggle for the American Dream. It’s not something you’d want to watch for pure entertainment. Well crafted, it’s a movie that gets under your skin, and you think about it for days. You marvel at how internally deep Frances McDormand goes to tell us this amazing story.
The third feature film from Zhao, Nomandland features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.
“The American road fascinates me. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful and deeply complicated. I’ve traveled it for many years and always hoped to capture a glimpse of it. I’m thankful to be able to make Nomandland and excited for audiences to join Fern on her adventure,” said Zhao.
The filmed version of the original Broadway production of Hamilton combines the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and direction by Thomas Kail, Hamilton is inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre. This musical has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.
Hamilton stars: Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Jonathan Groff as King George; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton; and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.
“I’m incredibly grateful that the world will be able to see this. Theater is a communal artistic experience, and this film is a love letter to live theater,” Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Capturing the essence of the Broadway show were six camera positions with six camera operators. Additionally, there were three fixed camera positions, one dolly and a Steadicam, a crane and two angles capturing each performance. There was one overhead camera and one at the rear of the stage, strategically hidden in a brick wall. The Steadicam, crane, and dolly were used on the scene the day the audience was not present. They shot 13 or 14 numbers from the 46 numbers in the show.
Director Thomas Kail describes directing Hamilton for the screen, “This film celebrates the work of our extraordinary designers.”
Offering the example with one of the most moving scenes, he says, “Satisfied changes time and plays with the time dynamic. The show doesn’t proceed in a linear fashion. It’s elliptical… it’s not continuous time, but it’s always moving forward, and Satisfied is the first moment in our show where we stop time.”
The song is also doing more, “What we are doing in that song is setting up the final duel… we’re setting up the bullet, and what we’re able to do on film is be much more subjective with the camera, so it feels a little more like we’re going inside her brain. The cut pattern is quite accelerated, and the camera angles are quite varied, and we did that because we wanted to also break the form in the cinematic language in the same way that we break the form in the theatrical language in the theater.”
Based on the acclaimed Jerzy Kosiński novel, The Painted Bird is a fastidious 35mm black and white summoning of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II. The film follows the boy’s journey, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The older woman soon dies, and the boy is on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to village, farmhouse to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, he suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the ignorant, superstitious peasants. He witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German.
In a defining scene, one of the peasants shows him the flight of a captive bird, whom the man has painted and then released back into its flock. Immediately, the bird gets attached and ripped apart because it is different from its fellows. That lesson reinforces all he already knows and will soon know better: the difference is fatal.
But there are rare moments of compassion: a German soldier spares him, a priest intervenes on his behalf, and finally, he becomes the protégé of a Russian sniper, who is kind to the child, but ruthless with the enemy. And there are signs of love. He is seduced by an older girl, finally rediscovering the comfort of intimacy, only to realize that he has been used. When he is miraculously reunited with his weakened father at the end of the war, the boy is cold and impenetrable, hardened by his ordeal. Yet we can still glimpse something of the old, sensitive boy behind the eyes of the new. Perhaps there is hope.
The cast includes Petr Kotlár, Udo Kier, Lech Dyblik, Jitka Čvančarová, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Aleksey Kravchenko, and Barry Pepper.
The film stars Gabriel Bateman, Kunal Nayyar, Julia Jones, Janet Montgomery, with Bryan Callen and Todd Stashwick as the voices of “Henry,” Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel.
The follows a boy named Oliver, played by Bateman, and his dog, involving a science project that will change all of their lives forever. Oliver is a tech prodigy whose middle-school science fair experiment goes awry, creating a telepathic connection between him and his furry friend, Henry.
The bond brings Oliver and Henry even closer as they join forces to comically overcome complications at school, and help Oliver’s parents, Fox and Duhamel, rekindle their marriage along the way.
Directed by Michael Polish, Force of Nature stars Mel Gibson in an edge-of-your-seat action-thriller that erupts during a violent Category 5 hurricane.
The story follows a disgraced cop named Cardillo, played by Emile Hirsch, who races to evacuate an apartment building. He comes across Dr. Troy, played by Kate Bosworth, and her retired detective father named Ray, played by Gibson.
When a murderous gang of thieves arrives to rob a wealthy tenant, they must join forces to battle the criminals and escape for their lives before the entire city is deep underwater.
Directed by Abel Ferrara, Tommaso is about a man, played by Willem Dafoe, as an older American living in Rome with his young wife and daughter.
Starring Willem Dafoe
Tommaso is Ferrara’s first dramatic feature film since Pasolini, whichDafoe also starred. Disoriented by his past misgivings and next, unexpected blows to his self-esteem, Tommaso wades through this late chapter of his life with an increasingly impaired grasp on reality as he prepares for his next film.
Funny, fresh and romantic, The High Note is a delightful, female-driven modern comedy about talent, persistence and the power of music to bring people together.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, The High Note brings us a hilarious and moving story about following your dreams set inside the dynamic world of L.A.’s glamorous music scene.
Superstars don’t come much bigger than Grace Davis, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, the celebrated diva. Her unbelievable talent has won her countless accolades and the adoration of generations of fans. Keeping pace with Grace’s every demand is her devoted if overworked personal assistant Maggie played by Dakota Johnson. Maggie spends her days traversing Los Angeles running errands, yet she still aspires to make it in the cutthroat, male-dominated music business as a producer.
From the confines of the apartment she shares with her spunky roommate Katie, played by Zoe Chao, Maggie is secretly perfecting her mix of Grace’s upcoming live greatest hits album. She’s convinced that her dogged work ethic and her devotion to preserving the classic elements of Grace’s sound will pay dividends. Her skills are put to the test when Maggie meets gifted musician David Cliff, played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr. As they write and record new material together, Maggie finds herself pulled between pursuing her passion and her commitment to Grace.
Things come to a head when Grace’s long-time manager, played by Ice Cube, presents the singer with a choice that could alter her career, and Grace must wrestle with a decision that could have life-altering consequences. What follows is a series of surprises that not even the ultra-prepared assistant could have predicted—events poised to change both Maggie and Grace’s lives forever.
Directed by William Nicholson, Hope Gap follows an intimate, intense, and loving story of Hope Gap, charting the life of Grace, played by Annette Bening. Shocked when she learns her husband, played by Bill Nighy, is leaving her for another woman after 29 years of marriage.
The ensuing emotional fallout the dissolution has on their only grown son, played by Josh O’Connor, is heartwrenching. Unraveled and feeling displaced in her small seaside town, Grace ultimately regains her footing and discovers a new, powerful voice.
Based on the 2006 best-selling book The Secret, a global phenomenon happened. It empowered millions to lead happier and more fulfilled lives, directed by Andy Tennant. The Secret: Dare to Dream centers around Miranda Wells, played by Katie Holmes, a hard-working young widow struggling to raise three children on her own.
A powerful storm brings a devastating challenge and a mysterious man, Bray Johnson, played by Josh Lucas, into her life.
In just a few short days, Bray’s presence re-ignites the family’s spirit, but he carries a secret—and that secret could change everything.
The groundbreaking book by Rhonda Byrne has sold over 34 million copies worldwide, has been translated into 50 languages, and appeared on the New York Times best-seller list for 190 consecutive weeks.
The following trailer tells us more about the movie while keeping what is in the large envelope a secret.
Directed by Jeff Baena, Horse Girl follows Sarah, played by Alison Brie, whois a socially isolated woman. She holds a fondness for arts and crafts, horses, and supernatural crime shows. She increasingly finds her lucid dreams trickling into her waking life.
Brie also co-wrote the script with Jeff Baena, and the movie streams in Netflix.
