‘Buried’, ‘The Night Is Coming’ and More Flowing Gems

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For subscription service sleepers, this month’s offerings include a trio of sharp indie coming-of-age dramas, a couple of stylish yet thoughtful action flicks, documentaries for music fans, and much more.

publish Amazon and hulu.

As exciting as last year’s “Zola” lead character, Taylour Paige shines brightly. lots A different role in this great comedy-drama from writer and director Stella Meghie. Paige stars as Jean, a boho Brooklyn novelist whose career, love life and family collapse at the same time. Sherri Shepherd, Gloria Reuben, Michelle Hurst, and Erica Ash star as the women of the Jones family, and their dialogue crackles with the text and subtext of these life-long relationships, with constant jokes, passive insults, and plenty of hidden resentments. It’s sparklingly funny and airy executed, and Paige is a massive presence, charismatic, and cute even when she’s screwing things up.

This Sundance sensation is a heartbreaking tale of grief, pain, regret and struggle. Director and screenwriter Jordana Spiro tells the story of Angel (Dominique Fishback, “The Deuce” and “Judas and the Black Messiah”), who is released from prison on the eve of her 18th birthday and is caught between getting her life together and getting her life together. ending the crime that put it there. Spiro takes a no-nonsense approach by examining the nuts and bolts of the probationary process and the various ways the deck is already stacked against the hero; Fishback takes a similar route, avoiding flashy moments for lived-in authenticity. An unforgettable performance in a quietly powerful movie.

Stream on HBO Max.

Bel Powley is a revelation as Minnie Goetze, the tough protagonist of Marielle Heller’s adaptation of Phoebe Gloeckner’s hard-hitting novel. Minnie, 15, is in the care of a group of booming hormones that catches the attention of an alcoholic, disconnected single mom (Kristen Wiig plays great against the type) and mom’s nasty boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgard). What could be an exploitative leprechaun or a dirty melodrama is played out as neither; Heller respects his hero, his mistakes and all, and takes his journey on a journey of both self-discovery and self-flagellation.

The title evokes the kind of cold, snowy days we’re coming out of, but Hossein Amini’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel offers an escape: a vacation in Athens with sunny skies and beautiful people in impeccable clothes and unforgettable hats. And the story isn’t half bad, it’s a juicy tale of intrigue and betrayal that finds a well-to-do married couple (Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst) connect with an American (Oscar Isaac), first as a tour guide. then maybe more. The stars are shining, the landscape is shining and the atmosphere is thick enough to slice.

Stream on Netflix.

The dangers and stalemates of drone warfare have been pondered by documentary filmmakers and columnists, but this terrifying, tightly-constructed thriller from director Gavin Hood (“Rendition”) tackles these questions from the traditional chauvinistic perspective of military thriller. impressive results. Aaron Paul stars as a drone pilot working in concert and then clashes with the icy colonel who makes the decisions; It is played with brutal precision by Helen Mirren. Alan Rickman plays his supervisor in one of his last screen roles.

Publish on Amazon.

Writer, director, and actor Takeshi Kitano delves deep into the brash world of Japanese gangsters once again, detailing the inside and outside of a misfit pair of crime families and their various criminal ventures. Expected betrayals, bloody betrayals, and all-out war ensue, but Kitano’s scenario cleverly pins down the origins of the conflict with grievances, contempt, and grudges; These may be aging, dignified, and strong men, but at the core they are all small, insecure youths. Kitano has been making crime films for so long that he does it with a wink—using our expectations to both serve his story and subvert it, and to great effect. Violence is creative; The dialogue is subtly funny. And Kitano’s direction is stylish as always.

Stream on HBO Max.

Before traveling the world in expensive Netflix movies with The Rock and Wonder Woman, Ryan Reynolds was making action films on a much smaller scale – in fact, this ingenious thriller from director Rodrigo Cortés is about as small as they can get. It begins with Reynolds waking up to discover he’s been buried alive in a wooden coffin with only a cell phone and minimal supplies, and must figure out how to escape before he runs out of oxygen. Not many actors can keep an entire movie on screen as one character; Reynolds makes his helplessness and fear tangible and haunting.

Stream on Netflix.

A music executive who turned a deaf ear to stars and hits, for half a century rarely failed, Clive Davis had a hand in the supremacy of everyone from Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston. Chris Perkel’s celebratory documentary is strictly hands-on; Davis tells most of his own story, and on rare occasions it’s anything less than brilliant. But it makes up for the film’s lack of self-reflection with its purely entertainment value. Davis is a great storyteller who spins as if he’s happy to be there, and the music is, unsurprisingly, top notch.

Publish on Amazon.

Filmmaker Billy Corben (best known for his “Cocaine Cowboys” documentaries) directs this profile of Peter Gatien, the colorful New York nightclub manager behind iconic venues of the ’80s and ’90s such as Limelight, Palladium and The Tunnel. drugs and casual sex were as ubiquitous as great dance music. Corben shapes his filmmaking according to the story he tells, instinctively adapting to the furious energy and fast pace of the period.

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