Movies are starting to make it back to theaters, but here in the U.S. going back right now is irresponsible. So long as coronavirus continues to be a threat, and the Trump administration refuses to treat it seriously, I will not be covering theatrical debuts. More than 180,000 people have already died in the U.S. from COVID-19 – over a fifth of the world’s deaths from this – and our number is likely drastically under-counted.
It’s irresponsible to encourage people to go to the theater when doing so will only mean they risk their own health, the health of their families, and the health and safety of those they meet on a day to day basis. Among others, this puts low-wage workers across the service industry at considerable risk. They’re not our martyrs so we can enjoy a popcorn.
I’ll continue to cover movies that debut theatrically only when they make it to home viewing options. I wish I could see a point when this would change, but it seems a long way off right now.
SERIES
Masaba Masaba (Netflix)
showrunner Sonam Nair
Masaba Gupta is an Indian fashion designer. Her mother is prolific Indian actress Neena Gupta. “Masaba Masaba” stars the two of them in a comedy where they portray…themselves. It’s entirely scripted and framed as a narrative comedy, so there’s no reality TV element here. The characters the two portray are simply fictionalized versions of themselves.
Showrunner Sonam Nair has written and directed on a few different Indian TV series.
You can watch “Masaba Masaba” on Netflix.
Love in the Time of Corona (Freeform)
directed by Joanna Johnson
This miniseries is composed of 4 half-hour(ish) episodes about love and relationships during COVID-19.
Joanna Johnson wrote and directed several episodes of “The Fosters”, and created TV series “Hope & Faith” and “Good Trouble”.
You can watch “Love in the Time of Corona” on Freeform.
MOVIES
Lingua Franca (Netflix)
directed by Isabel Sandoval
An undocumented Filipina is working as a caregiver for an elderly woman. She’s paying a man to marry her so she can get her green card, but he backs out of the agreement. She becomes involved with the grandson of the woman she cares for, but the man doesn’t know that she’s transgender.
Star Isabel Sandoval also wrote and directed the film. This is her third feature. Sandoval is trans, which feels important to highlight only because of the subject matter of the film.
You can watch “Lingua Franca” on Netflix.
The One and Only Ivan (Disney+)
directed by Thea Sharrock
A gorilla has been raised by humans. He performs in a circus, yet dreams of being free in the wilderness where he grew up. When a baby elephant arrives freshly captured from the wild, he begins to question why he’s there and plan their escape.
Thea Sharrock is the director of “Me Before You”. Prior to that, she directed episodes of “Call the Midwife” and “The Hollow Crown”. The film is based on a book by Katherine Applegate. This release got moved up a week, so it’s something I missed in last week’s feature.
You can watch “The One and Only Ivan” on Disney+.
Given (Crunchyroll)
directed by Hikaru Yamaguchi
Four men started a rock band together. Soon, they formed two romantic pairs as well. “Given” follows their trials and triumphs in romance and as bandmates. It was adapted from the manga as a series last year. The film premiering now is a sequel to that series which adapts the manga’s second arc.
Director Hikaru Yamaguchi oversaw the series and returns for the film.
You can watch both the series and the new film for “Given” on Crunchyroll.
The Roads Not Taken (Hulu)
directed by Sally Potter
Javier Bardem stars as a man suffering dementia. His daughter, played by Elle Fanning, helps him through his day, as he lives fragmented parallel versions of his life that don’t match up.
You may know writer-director Sally Potter best for her 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando”, starring Tilda Swinton. Most directors of classic and stunningly unique films from this era would be remembered, their name immediately recognized like a Terry Gilliam, Jim Jarmusch, or Richard Linklater. Not so for Potter and a number of women who came to directing in the 1980s and 90s. The indie fringes and the places where avant garde and meta could burrow into the mainstream were reserved for men.
In the 90s, a man who had directed a film as visionary as “Orlando” would’ve been embraced, championed as a counter-culture auteur, perhaps by someone like Harvey Weinstein. When a woman like Sally Potter did it, there was no follow-through by powerful producers, no corresponding interest in what she did next, no financiers or studio heads chasing her down with dreams of Oscar-season ad campaigns. I wonder at the career Sally Potter might have had after “Orlando”. How would film be different if doors had been thrown open for her and other women directors the way they were being thrown open for men?
I featured this previously when it came to rental. This is the first time it’s hit a subscription service.
You can watch “The Roads Not Taken” on Hulu, or see where to rent it right here.
Rogue (VOD)
directed by M.J. Bassett
Mercenaries have to rescue a woman in Africa, facing off against the rebels who kidnapped her and a group of man-hunting lions.
I’ve always thought Megan Fox got maligned for doing what she could to haul a number of disasters across the finish line: “Jonah Hex”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Transformers” movies included.
I named her role in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” one of the Most Thankless Roles of 2014 since she was the only human being involved in that mess who actually seemed to be putting forth any effort, yet she was uniquely blamed for failures that she had nothing to do with. So if she wants to go fistfight lions, it’s not like I ever judged Liam Neeson for fistfighting wolves.
Director M.J. Bassett has a long history helming clever genre fare, having directed multiple episodes of “Ash vs Evil Dead”, “Power”, and “Altered Carbon”.
You can see where to rent “Rogue” right here.
DieRy (VOD)
directed by Jennifer Gelfer
Marie is an Instagram model. An obsessed fan steals her diary, and decides to target anyone they perceive as a threat to her. Marie needs the help of those around her, who may also be her prime suspects.
This is director Jennifer Gelfer’s second feature, after 2018’s “The Second Sun”.
You can rent “DieRy” on Amazon.
DOCUMENTARIES
The Vow (HBO docu-series)
co-showrunner Jehane Noujaim
NXIVM was a cult whose leader was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering. It posed itself as a self-improvement movement, but the organization behind it served as a way to recruit women into a form of sexual slavery to leader Keith Raniere and his inner circle.
That inner circle was successfully prosecuted on various charges – the most famous member being former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack.
“The Vow” describes the investigation and downfall of NXIVM through the recollections of various members, and some of those who attempted to rescue family from the cult.
Episodes will release weekly, with the first having premiered on August 23.
Jehane Noujaim showruns and directs with Karim Amer. Noujaim is an Egyptian director. I’d highly recommend her 2004 documentary “Control Room”, which examines how the United States waged a propaganda war to legitimize its invasion of Iraq, with a special focus on U.S. efforts aimed at de-legitimizing the Al Jazeera news network. She’s directed a number of documentaries, as well as producing and directing on Hulu’s “Ramy”.
You can watch “The Vow” on HBO.
Driven to Abstraction (virtual theatrical)
directed by Daria Price
Knoedler was an art dealership and gallery in New York City. The business sold more than 60 faked paintings, often for millions of dollars each. The dealership and gallery closed in 2011 under FBI investigation.
This is director Daria Price’s second feature documentary.
“Driven to Abstraction” examines both these events and the state of the high-priced art world that allowed them to happen in the first place.
You can watch “Driven to Abstraction” through its virtual theatrical release. This means you can stream it at home, but you purchase a ticket as if you’d gone to the theater. This allows you to support independent, arthouse, and local theaters as if you’d purchased a physical ticket.
Take a look at new shows + movies by women from past weeks.
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Gabriel Diego Valdez 