Steven Spielberg’s most personal film went against the trend of other alien invasion movies by other filmmakers; unlike other popular movies of the genre like War of the Worlds or Alien, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial featured aliens who, similar to Spielberg’s other movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, don’t want to hurt humans. To create this non-threatening lovable alien adopted by a lonely boy, the designer for E.T. took inspiration from wise old people like Albert Einstein, with the alien voice provided by an elderly woman whose voice afterward was electronically modified and mixed with animal sounds. On set, many techniques were utilized to bring him to life, such as hiring a mime to control his hands, yet at other times, the E.T. puppet had to be controlled entirely by wires and computers.
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It may have been a kids’ movie, but Steven Spielberg understood what kind of film he was working on and spoke to the kid actors at their level. He did this by keeping the order of scenes filmed throughout production chronological to the story’s timeline so the kid actors wouldn’t be confused—the kids weren’t even told what would happen next in the story until the day of shooting each scene. And it all worked out: this nostalgic portrait of the 1980s suburb is one of the most influential movies of the decade and made possible many of the sci-fi movies of today.

PG (DL)
Sci-fi
1 hr. 55 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY, SAD and AFRAID.

Director Noah Baumbach gives this film a fine balance between feeling like a stage play yet also feeling like a documentary—achieved by lingering on the monologues and framing the two main actors in ways that depict their emotional distance from one another. The couple, played powerfully by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, are shown either with walls between them or as close to the opposing ends of the screen as possible to convey just how separated they feel even when they’re together. It makes for an explosive argument between the two that may just as well be one of the scariest movie scenes in history.
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The screenplay is another factor in how the ultimate theme of romantic breakups works so effectively; there’s such keen attention paid to the character arcs, which often are illustrated purely by pictures and voiceovers in the form of montages. As it shifts attention back-and-forth between the husband and the wife, the audience is assigned the role of taking sides, just like in real life when friends are forced to take sides when a couple they know breaks up. While not a pleasant watch, Marriage Story proves why divorce is not always a failure, because, in the end, there’s still a wonderful collection of memories to think back to. No movie before this has ever given such a harsh depiction of divorce, but more depictions like this in the future will be guaranteed.

R (DLSV)
Drama
2 hr. 16 min.

Watch it to THINK. 
Watch it to LEARN.
​Watch it to feel SAD and AFRAID.

This first ever “high school musical” redefined cinematic musicals with its roller coaster of an experience that anyone can sing along to. Up until the 1970s, Hollywood musicals were known for their squeaky-clean adaptations of the classics, like The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins; any more mature musicals like Cabaret or The Rocky Horror Picture Show were not designed for the masses. Grease on the other hand went against the grain by focusing on teenagers in the 1950s, with music from the culture, and numerous sexual references that could only be made in the ratings system era. The result of this daring direction entertained all the teenagers of the time who wanted something which spoke directly to them, striking that balance between mature content and wide mass appeal.
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While not a “good” movie by any stretch, this grand achievement in writing more modern music for a more modern musical film paved the way for what types of motion pictures people wanted to see. G-rated family fare like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory weren’t really “cool” anymore, just like the rest of the 1970s in Hollywood, the musical genre was growing up, and now even Broadway is willing to make more entertainment exclusively for the adults. The main takeaway isn’t just that daring content will leave an impact, but that anything with catchy songs and a nostalgic time period will more likely entertain the masses.

PG (DLS)
Musical/Historic
1 hr. 50 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY.

Based on the book, “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt, The Irishman covers over fifty years of the life of Frank Sheeran. Rather than casting different actors to play the characters as they age, or resorting to old-age makeup prosthetics, director Martin Scorsese did the reverse: use innovative de-aging technology on Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. The main approach to pulling this off was by using three cameras built into one, ergo, two of these cameras were infrared, and they were placed on either side of the main camera, which helped remove the shadows and made the de-aging process easier for the VFX artists.
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Scorsese knew that any use of motion capture dots would only hinder the performances, so he instead omitted any use of them to have everyone act on set as is. The only time modifications were made on set for the actors’ faces was by adding tiny reflectors on the faces and costumes that were meant for the infrared cameras to pick up as reference points. Then as the de-aging process went on, the VFX crew spent two years watching reference footage of DeNiro, Pesci, and Pacino’s younger years. The result is a lovely compilation of the successes of Scorsese and the three main actors over their entire careers, one that pays tribute to the old and opens up the exciting potential for this new technology.

R (DLV)
Crime/Drama
3 hr. 29 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY.

Director Domee Shi, in her feature film debut, demonstrates how well she can translate live-action filmmaking techniques into animation and take full advantage of the animation medium. She sustains a very balanced use of color where the school looks fluorescent green, which contrasts with the red on Meilin when she turns into a red panda. Other creative touches take direct inspiration from anime, which goes on to influence the music, action poses, and adorable, highlighted eyes. It's incredible how brave Pixar has become at this point to utilize such stylized animation in a way that doesn’t distract from the story.
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In regard to the subject matter, Meilin’s body is going through unusual changes, and her parents and friends remain so supportive of her. Meilin is a rather complex main character for a family film; she genuinely wants to prioritize family yet at the same time sees a boy band concert as her coming-of-age ritual. The story of this Chinese-Canadian tween is made even more special by the fact that it was directed by a Chinese-Canadian woman, who in turn tastefully explores the issues that come with a Chinese family moving into a new country, particularly in how it causes tension across generations. Bottom line: Turning Red is exactly what Disney needs right now to appeal to more mature audiences and represent more minority groups who need their stories to be heard.

PG (DV)
Comedy/Fantasy
1 hr. 40 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY and SAD.

Complete with its new technological breakthroughs that shall soon change the animation industry, Encanto is familiar yet far more sophisticated than any average motion picture produced by Disney. The lighting is more natural. The animation is more human. The magic is more magical. It’s a compilation of so many talents that bring every musical number to life. The already famous “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sequence contains so many layers behind how the characters move, even with the way their fingers fly around. Breaking down the choreography of this number reveals everything needed to know about what each member of the family Madrigal ultimately wants, and in the end of the movie, those arcs are fully realized.

As if the attention to detail wasn’t impressive enough, reference footage was filmed of human dancers to help the animators create extravagant musical numbers that are as energetic as a real cumbia. It feels special because Walt Disney also used live references to inspire his animators, whether it was bringing real deer into the studio for the artists of Bambi, or having Helene Stanley dance for the artists of Sleeping Beauty. The challenges surpassed by this ambitious project of 2021 honor the past and offer hope for the future, which guarantees that not a single dry eye will remain in the audience by the end, and makes Disney’s 60th animated feature film a great time!

PG (D)
Fantasy/Musical
1 hr. 42 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY and SAD.

Sound of Metal is the kind of low-budget movie that knows exactly how to promote self-acceptance, and it does so via the story of a man who lives a nomadic band lifestyle until he must adjust to his permanent hearing loss. Riz Ahmed plays this role to absolute perfection as he captures the frustration behind the man’s unfortunate predicament, while Paul Raci, who in real life is a child of deaf adults, plays his new mentor, and a cast of deaf actors plays the members of the Deaf community. There’s a great understanding of this community, that these sorts of people don’t despise their condition, but rather recognize the benefits that it offers.
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To further demonstrate the eye-level approach that director Darius Marder took with the Deaf community, he along with cinematographer Daniël Bouquet effectively frames the ASL communication as the sound design masterfully depicts what the world sounds like to a deaf person. It’s not like the loud concert scenes shown toward the start of the movie, the overall experience results in a careful meditation about the power of noise. It speaks directly to the minority group in focus and makes it accessible for both them and Hearing people to understand. It’s a celebration of Deaf culture while also a work of art that begs those with hearing to question, “If this happened to me, what would I do about it?”

R (DLSN​)
Drama
2 hr.

Watch it to THINK.
​Watch it to feel SAD.

The two leads, Gary (15 years old) and Alana (25 years old), share an absolutely irresistible chemistry with one another that generates a careful ebb-and-flow of tension throughout the film. Gary feels sexually drawn to this woman who’s a full decade older than himself and tries to sound older than his age while motivated by his lustful puppy love. Whereas Alana knows how to describe a water bed to make it sound sexual, making her the perfect counterpart to Gary. The witty screenplay does more than just create engaging dialogue—it comments on the gas shortage crisis, which feels uncomfortably similar to today’s issues of limited natural resources.
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With more social themes like that explored, as well as the subtle use of fashion, director Paul Thomas Anderson makes everything about Licorice Pizza just scream the 1970s. The layers of authenticity lead to the credibility of the unbelievable story, and with the pitch-perfect acting, it could almost pass as a dramatized documentary. Overall, this work is pure genius; Paul Thomas Anderson mixes together these ingredients that to a sane person sound repulsive and makes them work in a way that bursts your bubble about our economy’s health, which in fact hasn’t changed much over the past fifty years. Other directors have managed to argue why pineapple on a pizza works, but Anderson used this movie of his to prove how licorice on pizza could work.

R (DLS​)
Comedy/Drama
2 hr. 13 min.

Watch it to THINK.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY.

Made to look like a single continuous shot with no edit cuts, 1917 is a unique spectacle that builds upon the techniques used in similar films, such as Birdman. As director Sam Mendes follows these two soldiers, the sound design and natural lighting work together to sell the illusion of a continuous take. To get through these treacherous locations, which were scattered all across the United Kingdom, the camera crew had to rely on many forms of transportation from trucks to cranes to Steadicams. The camera would even be unhooked from one crane and then hooked onto another while the film’s still rolling.
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This was no easy task for the set designers either, as models for every set had to be built to plan out the blocking and figure out how to work around the filming equipment. They had to know based on the length of every scene exactly how long each set should be, which meant in total 5,200 feet of trenches were built. When it came to actually filming these ambitious scenes, there were some days when the weather would shut down production because every shot had to look consistent—even a tiny bit of sunlight could be catastrophic. While other films have utilized this gimmick, no other has done it at this scale, and it’s guaranteed that more filmmakers from here on out will pick up on Mendes’ innovative techniques.

R (LV​)
Action/Historic
1 hr. 59 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to THINK.
​Watch it to feel SAD and AFRAID.

This ambitious study on the unexpected virtue of ignorance tells its story with what is made to look like one long continuous take without any edit cuts. The clever tricks utilized to pull off this illusion included time-lapses to transition to a different time of day and letting objects move across the frame to hide swipe transitions between cuts. These shots lasted anywhere between 9-16 minutes long, and 90% of the film was digitally altered in some way, such as by removing the camera crew from the mirrors the actors constantly looked into. These mirrors were essential to achieve Iñárritu’s vision because they helped crop the actors without needing to cut or change the camera position, doubling as narrative symbolism to represent the ego of whoever is looking into those mirrors.
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Besides being an endeavor for the production crew, this narrative style was also a challenge that stretched the skill of the cast. Michael Keaton and Edward Norton both act their hearts out when they’re together, while Emma Stone delivers a monologue that’s guaranteed to ignite goosebumps. Yet there’s so much more that makes this movie so great: the dialogue is brilliant, the musical drum score is awesome, and the cinematography is among the most gorgeous ever put to film. There’s just so much about Birdman that makes it everything a movie should be, while also being a needed push for the potential of art.

R (DLSV​)
Comedy/Drama
1 hr. 59 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to THINK.
Watch it to LEARN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY.