One thing you can say about Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody: she’s consistently inconsistent. Since her groundbreaking screenwriting debut in 2007 with “Juno,” her track record has been uneven, with the misses (“Ricki and the Flash,” “Paradise,” and “Jennifer’s Body”) outweighing the hits (“Young Adult” and “Tully”).
Nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Motion Picture and Best Original Screenplay) and currently sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, Celine Song’s first film “Past Lives” (A24) is the kind of debut that only comes along occasionally. There are numerous reasons why “Past Lives” has connected with audiences, but it is certain to find a following among queer viewers because the story could just as easily be told from a same-gender perspective.
One theory about movies released in the winter wasteland of January proposes that these flicks wouldn’t be able to hold their own against others released during more popular movie-going months throughout the year. “I.S.S.” (Bleecker Street), starring out Oscar-winning actor Ariana DeBose, does its part to shatter that myth.
Winner of the 2024 Golden Globe for “Best Motion Picture, Animated,” along with numerous other awards, Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” (GKIDS/Studio Ghibli) is the one to beat at this year’s Oscars. At least 30 minutes too long and deserving of its PG13 rating (not meant for young children!), “The Boy and the Heron” is, nevertheless, another unforgettable cinematic experience from writer/director Miyazaki.
The trend of adapting films into stage musicals and then movie musicals has produced hits such as “Hairspray” and misses including "The Producers.” “Mean Girls” (Paramount), falls somewhere in between, although it leans closer to a miss.
Almost 30 years ago, young gay actor Guillermo Diaz turned in memorable performances in indie films such as “Party Girl” (starring Parker Posey) and especially the late, gay filmmaker Nigel Finch’s last movie “Stonewall” (from 1995). While he continued to work consistently, in gay and mainstream, independent and big budget features, and on TV, perhaps his most unforgettable role turned out to be Huck on the popular ABC series “Scandal” starring Kerry Washington.
Gay French filmmaker François Ozon, like gay Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, has a way of creating the most unforgettable female characters onscreen. Ozon’s latest movie, “The Crime is Mine” (Music Box Films) is no exception. As with his 2002 crime/comedy/period piece “8 Women” (which also starred Isabelle Huppert), he surprises and delights us in equal measure.
As if the dangerous and unpredictable times in which we are living aren’t already terrifying enough, acclaimed filmmaker Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” (A24), an adaptation of the late Martin Amis’s novel of the same name, cranks up the fear. It may be set 80 years ago in Poland, but it will feel viscerally resonant and familiar to many people living in the US today.
You’re going to want to remember the name Cord Jefferson. “American Fiction” (MGM/Orion), Jefferson’s feature film debut as writer and director, sizzles with hot button issues, all presented in often hilarious, and sometimes touching, moments. Based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” the subject is incredibly timely, made even more relevant due to the performances Jefferson elicits from his outstanding cast.
The title of the documentary “We Live Here: The Midwest” (Hulu) is a somewhat misleading misnomer. A far better name for the project, featuring interviews with five LGBTQ couples, would be “We Live Here: The RURAL Midwest.”
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