House of Gucci is the latest effort from director Ridley Scott, well known for making intense movies like Alien, Gladiator, Prometheus, and Thelma and Louise. House of Gucci appeared to be the perfect fit for Scott. It’s based on the true story of the murder of Maurizio Gucci, complete with family drama and high fashion.…
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Nine Days is one of the most unique movies I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this year. This is the directorial debut for Edson Oda who both wrote and directed Nine Days. The premise feels a little trippy as you enter a barren world that seems to be stuck in the 1990’s as far as…
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Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is the directorial debut of Questlove the drummer and frontman for the band the Roots. This documentary tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which happened only 100 miles away from the more widely known Woodstock festival that same year. The entire…
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CODA stands for “Children of Deaf Adults” and sums up most of the plot of the movie. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the only hearing person in her family. Her mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin), father Frank (Troy Kotsur), and brother Leo (Daniel Durant) are all deaf. Ruby is the interpreter for the family who survive by…
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Julia is the latest documentary from filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West, the duo who brought you RBG (2018). This time the focus is on Julia Child. The movie begins by covering some of Julia’s childhood growing up in Pasadena, California. She was born in 1912 and was the oldest daughter of two conservative parents.…
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Joanna Hogg is one of my favorite filmmakers working right now. She is constantly pushing the envelope and making interesting choices when it comes to her movies. The Souvenir Part II is (obviously) the sequel to The Souvenir (2019) and you really need to have seen the first movie to appreciate Part II. Hogg picks…
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The Harder They Fall is the directorial debut for Jeymes Samuel. He tackles a fun genre twist for his first feature film with a Western featuring a mainly black cast. This cast is absolutely chock full of big name stars, which made it a blast to watch. The opening scene we watch as a young…
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Director Pablo Larraín first came onto my radar with Jackie (2016) starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy. I seriously doubted Portman could pull it off, but she did and I was amazed at how marvelous of a performance Portman was able to give. Larraín’s style came through vividly in Jackie, turning the aftermath of JFK’s…
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King Richard tells the story of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. But instead of telling the sisters’ story, King Richard tells the story from the vantage point of their father, Richard Williams. Richard (Will Smith) and Oracene “Brandy” (Aunjanue Ellis) are married and have five daughters. They run a tight ship and don’t tolerate…
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Dune is a novel by Frank Herbert that I didn’t even know existed prior to this year. It is allegedly something like 1,000 pages long and is a massive sci-fi saga, but I had never even heard of it until I saw the trailer for Dennis Villeneuve’s two hour and thirty-five minute epic. I love…
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