U.S. Release Date: 2021-07-02
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence)
Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Director: Chris McKay
Cast: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Jasmine Mathews, Edwin Hodge, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Uses reliable science fiction/time travel/alien invasion tropes in ways that could be interesting but ultimately turn out to be regurgitations of stories we’ve seen before.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-05-14
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Aidan Gillen, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal, Medina Senghore, Jake Weber
Fundamentally, this is about the hunters and the hunted and, if you don’t look too deeply into the backstory, it works on that level.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-04-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Nikole Beckwith
Cast: Ed Helms, Patti Harrison
Although not a romantic comedy (the central relationship is of a platonic nature), it has some of the rhythms one commonly associates with the genre.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-04-09
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Cartoon Violence)
Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Ben Falcone
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Jason Bateman, Bobby Cannavale, Pom Klementieff, Melissa Leo, Taylor Mosby
Illustrates what happens when filmmakers take a moderately interesting premise and surround it with witless writing, cringe-inducing acting, stagnant action, humor-deprived comedy, and feckless drama.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-04-09
MPAA Rating: "NR" (Disaster Movie Scenes, Mild Gore)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Pal Oie
Cast: Thorbjorn Harr, Ylva Lyng Fuglerud, Lisa Carlehed, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Peter Forde, Daniel Alexander Skadal, Per Egil Aske, Silje Breivik
Although it might seem odd to call a disaster film “low-key,” the label applies in this case.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-10-16
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Violence, Drugs)
Genre: Drama
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Alex Sharp, John Carroll Lynch, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Noah Robbins, Danny Flaherty, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton, Ben Shenkman, J.C. MacKenzie
The movie is both important in what it’s saying about freedom and democracy and enjoyable in its presentation of those themes.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-09-03
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Dimple Kapadia
Under ordinary circumstances, it would have been among a select group of “must see” releases during the summer of 2020. As things have turned out, it may be the only one.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-08-21
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Distrubing Content, Nude Images)
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Almereyda
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Eve Hewson, Kyle MacLachlan, Jim Gaffigan, Josh Hamilton, Lucy Walters, David Kallaway, Donnie Keshawarz, Rebecca Dayan
More interested in applying non-standard cinematic tactics to enliven the facts rather than being enslaved by them.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-07-03
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, Clementine Grenier, Manon Clavel
"The Truth" is layered and offers a treat for those who savor acting on the highest level, but it is a step down from Kore-eda's best films.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-04-24
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Adventure
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: George MacKay, Essie Davis, Sean Keenen, Charlie Hunnam, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult, Earl Cave, Thomasin McKenzie
Everything emphasizes the Tall Tale aspects, from the electric, trippy cinematography to the larger-than-life performances of the lead actors.