After the murder of one of his patients, Roy Scheider is visited by Meryl Streep, the mistress of the patient. Working with her through the clues of the murder, he must come to terms with the fact that she committed the crime even while finding himself falling in love with her. The star power of its leads does not make this anything more than a middle of the road mystery film. It’s entertaining, but also forgettable overall.   

For his ninth birthday, Hal Scardino receives a cabinet and a Native American figurine which comes alive when it is placed inside. The special effects in this are impressively good. Along with the personification of the various figurines played by Litefoot, David Keith, and Steve Coogan, it’s what makes the film entertaining. Unfortunately the child actors and the writing for them is not top quality and there are a LOT of extreme closeups of those actors’ faces. I haven’t read the books, but I like how it recognizes personhood of those who are different. 

Lifelong friends Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan originally bonded over a mutual love for hip hop music. Now, with both of them having careers in the industry, they begin rethinking the platonic nature of their relationship. A romantic comedy thrives on the attractiveness of its leads and this film has that in abundance, but the quality of the storytelling is strongest when it focuses more on their love for hip hop than any interest they have in each other. They both are willing to throw away that have much more chemistry. A secondary romance between mutual friends Yasiin Bey and Queen Latifah has cute potential but that opportunity is floundered.   

Life on the Pine Ridge Reservation is told through the experiences of a young girl and her brother after the death of their absentee father. Each of them are trying to find their way with the brother working through a growing desire to leave while his sister searches for roots and role models in her community. Director Chloé Zhao again beautifully captures the middle American landscape and shines light on a culture that is often forgotten. The performances of Jashaun St. John and John Reddy as the siblings are very natural and realistic. I was surprised to learn that despite an extreme problem with alcoholism, alcohol is illegal on the reservation.

Third string quarterback Jamie Foxx performs impressively in his debut, giving new life to the team helmed by veteran coach Al Pacino, which could help stave off the sale of the franchise by owner Cameron Diaz. The film is a bit all over the place in its narrative and underlying message, but the on the field scenes are energetic and tight even with the eye-blisteringly ugly opponent uniforms in the final match. Likewise, the actors playing football players (Foxx, L.L. Cool J, even an aging Dennis Quaid) are solid, but Pacino and Diaz are ridiculously miscast for their roles. They defy believability in almost everything they say.  

Another telling of the history of the James-Younger gang, the conceit in this tale is that the various relatives are played by real-life brothers: James and Stacy Keach as the Jameses; Keith, David, and Robert Carradine as the Youngers; Dennis and Randy Quaid as the Millers; and Christopher and Nicholas Guest as the Fords. While not as glossy as some other renditions, it’s still a solid telling of the story, but again the fun is watching the various brothers working with and against each other.  

To celebrate their first wedding anniversary, wealthy music promoter Richard Attenborough hosts a party in the honor of musical couple Paul Harris and Marti Stevens. One of the guests is drummer Patrick McGoohan who wants to draw Stevens out of retirement and join his nascent band. It’s a clever take on Shakespeare’s Othello set across a jazzy 1960s London backdrop. The music is divine, even featuring actual jazz musicians from the time period. Altering Shakespeare’s narrative somewhat makes it more accessible and more resonant for a modern audience.  

Set during the Great Depression, or a similar time period, the mysterious Nicole Kidman, on the run from gangsters, arrives in Dogville, a dilapidated former mining town in the Rocky Mountains. The pious townspeople offer her refuge in exchange for an hour of daily servitude for each of its residents. Reminiscent of a production of Our Town, it is staged on a barren set with meager furnishings and chalk outlines representing buildings, belying a folksy charm and innocence that is nowhere to be found in this film. With an almost three hour run time, it is the rare film that feels much shorter than it actually is, holding my attention throughout. The film progresses in ways that are predictable but indescribable, an obvious parable on the worst humanity has to offer.

Another battle in his child custody fight with his mentally disturbed wife Samantha Eggar, Oliver Reed investigates the institution where she resides when their daughter comes back from a visit covered in scratches and bruises. The child-like creatures that appear to seemingly do Eggar’s bidding are both strange and scary, selling the horror of the film. The ending is off-the-hook bizarre and repulsive, made more so when discovering that this was director David Cronenberg’s way of working through feelings over his own bitter divorce.