Tag: brightlight

By Owen Gleiberman According To The variety Here’s the bad joke of Hollywood Christmas movies. They tend to begin, and end, with a blast of old-school Yuletide cheer. But that’s just a tease. In between, most of them make a point of straying about as far from the Christmas spirit as possible. Instead, they swap in the new American spirit: vulgar, violent, full of fake fun, celebrating their own crassness. To trace the genesis of the anti-Christmas Christmas movie (“Jingle All the Way,” “Violent Night”), you would probably have to go back to a couple of movies that are thought of as classics (though not by me): “A Christmas Story” and “Home Alone,” both of them glasses of eggnog spiked with misanthropy. That said, I’m not sure that a Hollywood movie has ever kicked off the season with...

By Addie Morfoot According To The variety his year, documentaries that tackle pressing political issues including immigration, abortion and the Jan. 6 insurrection were meant to make an impact on the 2024 presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. While some, like Errol Morris’ immigration control documentary “Separated” and Matt Tyrnauer’s “Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid” both found distribution deals prior to Election Day with MSNBC and CNN respectively, there are many more docus that have been or will be self distributed that American voters on both sides would benefit from watching — even after the election. As both Democrats and Republicans gear up for potential unrest and protracted legal battles followi...

By Richard Kuipers According To The variety The almost unimaginable grief of a husband and father is chronicled in “Papa,” an affecting drama based on the true story of a 15-year-old boy whose murder of his mother and sister shocked Hong Kong in 2010. Featuring an outstanding lead performance by Sean Lau, “Papa” is played in a low key that produces high emotional impact — giving great depth and complexity to its protagonist’s unwavering determination to still love his son and understand what caused this tragedy. With expert tonal control over a non-linear screenplay that follows the aftermath of the crime and examines the love story that brought this family into being, writer-director Philip Yung’s delicately crafted film should find a large and appreciative audience when it o...