Passing (2020 | USA | 98 minutes | Rebecca Hall) Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga bring incredible interiority to Rebecca C. Hall’s …

From the viewpoint of “Buddy” (Jude Hill), a precocious and big-hearted young boy, you’re pulled into the turmoil that was Belfast in the 1960’s. A majority of the folks living in the Republic of Ireland (the southern part of the country) consider themselves Catholic, and those in Northern Ireland (including Belfast) are Protestant, but the clash wasn’t exactly about religion, more about the politics of remaining under the umbrella of the United Kingdom (unionists in the North) as opposed to joining the rest of the country as a sovereign state (nationalists in the South). A time dubbed “The Troubles” began in the 60’s and didn’t really let up until the late 90’s (though there’s still conflict to this day); independent groups in favor of remaining with the UK along with the British army and police brought on violence in the 60’s and beyond to any Catholic (nationalist) homes, and didn’t discriminate who they attacked or hurt. It was a dangerous and scary time for any young person including Buddy, who lived on a street where both sides of the coin had been living harmoniously for as long as he could remember.

The title card calls Spencer a “haunted fable inspired by a true life tragedy”, but director Pablo Larraín films it like a straight-up psychological horror movie. It’s all low angles, alienating empty spaces, and a conspicuous number of dead pheasants.

In a film landscape where every year’s box office charts are dominated by continuations, spin-offs, and reboots of existing intellectual properties, it shouldn’t be too surprising to see a sequel storm into the fall movie season to make a splash. Sure, there’s another big Marvel (by an Oscar-winning auteur no less) bombasting its way into multiplexes this weekend. That’s no shock. But the curious delight, however, is in A24’s clever counterprogramming: moving ahead the release date for Joanna Hogg’s sequel-of-sorts to her intricately-observed 2019 memoir, the Souvenir. 

A local film shot and set in Seattle, In the Company of Women is an occasionally interesting if ultimately misguided story that never manages to find a compelling narrative groove. 

The Beta Test is a chaotic and mysterious story of how one Hollywood agent receives a purple envelope containing a letter offering a sexual encounter with a stranger. The letter and the stranger soon become an obsession that will utterly consume his life. It is an all-encompassing piece of work, writer-director Jim Cummings’s most ambitious yet, a high compliment considering all that has already come before it.

A breezy if basic science fiction journey, Finch follows Tom Hanks traveling across an apocalyptic America to San Francisco with his dog and a robot in tow. 

It gives shape and form to the aftermath of violence in an attempt to uncover if we can heal.