The SunBreak

There are a handful of films that you can say, without a doubt, are absolutely brilliant. From the precise presentation of its visuals to the delicate construction of its story, Les nôtres is one of those films. For reasons that will become abundantly clear, it also is an incredibly difficult one to recommend. However, it is one that, no matter how painful, must be experienced.

A portrait of both a life and the history that its subject lived through, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It is the rare type of documentary that manages to capture the story of a central figure while never losing sight of the world around her.

As theaters re-open, I wondered how long “the magic of cinema” would add its shine to new releases. I was on the edge of my seat for A Quiet Place: Part 2 and was thoroughly dazzled by the choreography that filled the screen with magic realism throughout In the Heights. I am sure that more than a small part of my exuberance for those films was seeing them projected in a dark room with a good sound system and a receptive audience. Could that spell extend to an unnecessary sequel to a pretty bad action comedy? Alas, it’s a no from me, dawg.

A film that is as gloriously expansive and intricate as the community it portrays, In the Heights doesn’t always set every foot right though it still proves to be an engaging portrait of a people as told through music.

A film that once seemed lost to time, The Amusement Park is by no means the best work from the great director George Romero though it remains an enthralling and interesting look at what it means to age.

he Conjuring series has always been a hit or miss roll of the dice with every new movie. Some are rather good, even surprisingly so, though others prove to be rather huge misfires especially as you get into some of the offshoots that struggle to justify their own existence. At its core, there is still much to love about the idea of a horror universe that delves into different mythologies and the darkest corners of the supernatural. It is perhaps the reason why, even with not insignificant flaws, that the newest entry in the series sets itself apart as the best film thus far.

Set to have been released in March of 2020, just as the country was going into lockdowns, A Quiet Place II was among the would-be blockbuster releases that decided to wait out the virus rather than partake in the premium video-on-demand experiment that became the primary release format of the year. Now, just in time for revised CDC guidance around masks, falling Covid-19 case counts, and increasing vaccination rates, the sequel is poised to be among the first huge cinema-only releases of this cautiously-optimistic new year. Picking up right where the first installment left off, with a family emerging from a long, cautious stretch spent huddled alone and self-sufficient in their surprisingly creaky farmhouse after a terrifying skirmish with deadly alien invaders, it’s timing couldn’t have been better.