Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (89th Academy Awards) review
I would give the Oscar in a three-way tie to the Syrian-themed nominees, which offer stunningly intimate observations on the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
girls/women
Denial movie review: a film for the resistance
A terrific legal procedural about defending factual truth and smacking dishonest sowers of doubt. An essential film for our era of “alternative facts.”
Under the Shadow movie review: evil on the wind, and in the home
A sinister tapestry of urban unease and feminist fury that turns an ordinary domestic setting into a place of skulking terror. Original and deeply creepy.
Split movie review: time for another round of “What the Hell Was M. Night Shyamalan Thinking?”
Lurid and squicky, Split treads water and keeps too many secrets on a dull path to the revelation of its self-satisfied cleverness.
Hidden Figures movie review: triumph of the black girl geeks
The it’s-about-damn-time true story that puts paid to the notion that only white men had the Right Stuff. Often funny, ultimately feel-good, hugely exhilarating.
Sing movie review: hey, kids, let’s put on a show!
Smart, sweet, gently funny, with a wonderfully exuberant voice performance by Matthew McConaughey that hints at fresh new realms animated movies can reach.
Best and Most Beautiful Things documentary review: hacking “normal”
This lively portrait of a young woman with disabilities and her ordinary hopes and dreams is an explicit, engaging challenge to our ideas of what “normal” is.
Miss Sloane movie review: what a piece of work is she
A hugely gripping thriller about politics and money that offers a grim object lesson: Are progressives and liberals gonna have to start fighting dirty?
Chi-Raq movie review: sex as a weapon of peace
Furious, funny, and deadly serious, this is an audacious, searing satire that swells into a raw, electrifying fantasy about how we might put aside savagery.
The Edge of Seventeen movie review: bleed for this
This pseudo-80s teen dramedy feels like the flip side of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, bursting with generosity and empathy for its forlorn drama queen.
