Critic’s Pick
All the world’s a stage, and the players are excellent
‘Hamnet’
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal star as Agnes and William Shakespeare as they mourn the untimely death of their son, Hamnet, in this drama directed by Chloé Zhao.
From our review:
Hamnet” is also ardent and searing and brimming with emotion. That amount of heat can be tough to handle without veering into sentimentality. In a few places Zhao can’t, or won’t, keep it under control. But “Hamnet” still works most of the time, in large part because of its stars, especially the magnificent Jessie Buckley.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
A locked room mystery that’s surprisingly expansive.
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’
The latest case for the detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is set in a small church with an unusual congregation in this series entry directed by Rian Johnson.
From our review:
In characteristic “Knives Out” fashion, this one’s another moderately bawdy romp with a stacked ensemble cast, chock-full of twists and turns, and laced with winking contemporary references. And once again, it’s not just a murder mystery. It has a lot on its mind, mostly revolving around religion: what it is, what it isn’t and how it gets twisted and exploited to incite fear and hate. Somehow, that’s all done with a remarkably light, affectionately irreverent touch.
In select theaters; watch on Netflix beginning Dec. Read the full review.
There’s little life in this afterlife tale.
‘Eternity’
After she dies, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) discovers she must chose who she wants to spend the afterlife with: Luke (Callum Turner), her first husband, or Larry (Miles Teller), her second husband.
From our review:
The leads, though, never quite gel. Turner’s main job is to be dashing (not a problem, one imagines, for a former fashion model), and the script keeps harping on his hotness, as if it were an actual character trait. As for Teller, I couldn’t decide if he was miscast or ingeniously telegraphing hidden depths to Larry’s singularly unexciting personality. Whatever the case, and despite David Freyne’s peppy direction, Olsen has less connection with either suitor than they do with each other.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
Carnival in the face of carnage.
‘The Secret Agent’
This thriller directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho follows a man who in 1977 flees to Recife, Brazil during Carnival to try to escape his past and the military dictatorship.
From our review:
Here, as in other of his movies, he ignores niceties and genre hierarchies, embraces high and low, and mixes the refined in with the crude, an approach that is at once aesthetic and ethical. Here, life can be brutalizing, but there is also love, song, the hot sun, cold beer and, of course, there is also Carnival.
In theaters. Read the full review.
It’s a zoo of ideas.
‘Zootopia 2’
In this sequel directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) uncover a convoluted conspiracy.
From our review:
It is also, crucially, a follow-up that is devoid of the cynically rote logic of sequels. If “Zootopia” introduced us to an original animal world, this one believes in building out a universe. It can be thrilling, even if it gets lost in its own creation.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A Sean Baker collaborator makes her solo debut.
‘Left-Handed Girl’
Set in Taipei, Taiwan, this drama directed by Shih-Ching Tsou follows a single mother and her two daughters who struggle to make ends meet operating a noodle shop.
From our review:
It’s only when the film introduces one too many social realist tropes, like an unplanned pregnancy, that the melodrama grows unwieldy. But Tsou, a longtime collaborator of the Oscar-winning “Anora” director Sean Baker (who is credited as a co-writer and editor), wields the camera with assurance, and her filmmaking jolts Taipei to life with electric energy.
Watch on Netflix. Read the full review.
A story of loss with something missing.
‘The Thing With Feathers’
After the death of his wife, a father of two (Benedict Cumberbatch) must find a way to parent through his grief in this drama directed by Dylan Southern.
From our review:
Films about grief work best if audiences, too, miss the beloved. Movies about despair are trickier. Cumberbatch gives himself fully to the task of abjection, plunging us into the shadows and chaos of Dad’s life. But the movie neglects to make Mum’s presence palpable — and that is a loss.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Compiled by Kellina Moore.
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