New Movies to Watch This Week: Malcolm & Marie, Falling and a New Studio Ghibli
Peter Debruge, provided by
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February is shaping up to be something special. In response to a pandemic-extended awards season, the sort of films that used to crowd the release calendar just before New Year’s in an effort to Oscar-qualify while also still maintaining some measure of last-minute/latest-thing freshness are now arranging to come out over the coming weeks.
Think of that as a teaser of such upcoming films as “Minari” and “Nomadland” more than a reflection of this week’s lineup, although a couple of this week’s releases feature elements the marketing departments would be happy to hear described as “Oscar worthy.”
Glen Wilson / Via Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Produced by Ryan Coogler, the second feature from Shaka King is a formidable work of art. A late addition to the Sundance lineup, the film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, the young chair of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, and Lakeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, the undercover FBI informant who joins the group and betrays them. Kaluuya carries a grounded gravitas and is nothing short of sensational in his tour de force portrayal of the charismatic activist. Meanwhile, Stanfield’s chameleonlike nature serves his frantic character well here; it’s hard to pin down where his head’s at as he scrambles to survive. Throw in a handful of other notable performances (courtesy of Dominique Fishback,
Passing, Irene (
Tessa Thompson), a light-skinned Black woman, finds herself seated at an upscale hotel in a racially segregated New York City in the 1920s. Donning a pretty dress, heels, and a hat with a slight veil, she had just managed to make a purchase at a nearby shop with nary a white person bothering her. She then decides to press her luck that patrons of the next fine establishment won’t detect her race either.
But comfort for Irene within that space is largely unattainable as she fidgets in her chair, eyes flitting left to right, fearing the worst might occur. It creates a sense of nervousness for the viewers that recognize what’s at stake here. Luckily, nothing bad happens, though.
Sundance 2021: Genre films that stood out, from A Glitch in the Matrix to Prisoners of the Ghostland Starry studio projects and A-list auteurs aren t the lifeblood of a breakout festival like Sundance. Recent years have proven one of the best ways to break out at the festival is through genre filmmaking. Prahlad Srihari February 04, 2021 08:12:45 IST
As it s the first major film festival in the calendar, Sundance functions as a barometer of emerging trends and outliers. 2020 was a genre-busting production. It was a sci-fi movie that got all too real. It was a horror movie about isolation. Mostly, it was a disaster movie that even Roland Emmerich could not have imagined. The way the pandemic irrevocably reshaped our lives was reflected in many of the films in this year s line-up.
Nine standout Sundance films that we hope make it to streaming services soon
FacebookTwitterEmail Judas and the Black Messiah screened at the Sundance Film Festival and will premiere on HBO Max on Feb. 12.Glen Wilson
Like most everything in 2020 and 2021, the Sundance Film Festival looked very different.
The cancellation of in-person screenings in Park City, Utah undoubtedly disappointed regular attendees, but the show went on, with screenings at drive-ins across the country (including Fort Mason) as well as surprisingly affordable tickets to stream the individual films online. Most films don t have yet have details on distribution (aside from Judas and the Black Messiah coming to HBO Max on Feb. 12), but given their success, expect them to land on streaming services sometime in 2021 or early 2022. Here s nine of our favorites.