Cinemaholics

If you care a lot about all the new releases this week, then you’ve come to the right place. This week we discuss the new Netflix dark comedy thriller I Care a Lot, which stars Rosamund Pike as a ruthless con artist (Con Girl?) who meets her match when crossing a gangster (Peter Dinklage) and his mother (Dianne Weist). We also review Minari, Flora & Ulysses, and a few other films that just hit theatrical and on demand. And toward the beginning of the show we discuss our preferred way of watching TV shows and play some listener voicemails.

Yuh-Jung Youn is a legendary Korean actor whose film and television work spans over 55 years. In the new A24 film, Minari, she stars alongside Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Will Patton as the grandmother of an immigrant family trying to achieve the American Dream in 1980s rural Arkansas. The film was directed and written by Lee Isaac Chung, and Yuh-Jung is now the first Korean actress to ever be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. Jon Negroni spoke with Yuh-Jung about Minari, the current state of the entertainment industry, and why this film will hopefully resonant with people of all backgrounds.

Jon Negroni and Will Ashton review The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, a new sci-fi romantic dramedy that is now available on Amazon Prime Video. The film was directed by Ian Samuels and written by Lev Grossman, and it stars Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen.

Abby, Jon, and Will review Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, an absurdist comedy from Lionsgate directed by Josh Greenbaum and co-written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who play the titular Barb and Star, a pair of lovable, well-coiffed, middle-aged best friends who go on a vacation that ends up being a bit more bizarre than they (and we) expected. The cast also includes Jamie Dornan, Damon Wayans Jr., and a crab who is certainly not voiced by Morgan Freeman.

Jon Negroni and Will Ashton review the new Netflix film, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, which is the third and likely final entry in the "To All the Boys" trilogy, based on the YA novels by Jenny Han. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo return as the series' central couple, now grappling with the possibility of their relationship ending in the face of differing college paths.

After a few weeks apart, the Cinemaholics trio is back together again! And our main review discussion this week is Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah, a buzzy awards-level movie on HBO Max starring Daniel Kaluuya as the iconic Black Panther Fred Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as the “Judas” who betrayed him in late-60s Chicago. We also continue our discussion about movie trailers from last week and review To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, and The Map of Tiny Perfect Things.

Special guest Chris Vognar joins us for a bonus review of "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel," a new 4-part, true-crime documentary series on Netflix from Joe Berlinger. It gives a comprehensive account of Elisa Lam's tragic disappearance in 2013, and how it may or may not be related to the eery, notorious, infamous, and downright spooky Hotel Cecil located in downtown Los Angeles.

Little Fish is a romantic sci-fi drama starring Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell as a loving couple trying to navigate a pandemic that inflicts memory loss and dementia, seemingly at random. The film was directed by Chad Hartigan from a screenplay by Mattson Tomlin, and it's based on a short story by Aja Gabel.

Rodney Ascher's latest documentary, A Glitch in the Matrix, asks the question: Are we all living in a simulation? Jon and Will review this recent Sundance favorite and whether or not it's worth becoming part of your own reality.

If you’ve ever overhead an argument between Jon and Will right here on Cinemaholics, you’re pretty much prepared for Malcolm and Marie, a new Netflix film directed and written by Sam Levinson. This enclosed black-and-white drama stars Zendaya and John David Washington, and critics are pretty split on this film about relationships and, well, critics. Also in the show, we play some listener voicemails about the state of movie trailers and review several other new films, which include A Glitch in the Matrix, Little Fish, and more.

Special guest Cory Woodroof joins us for our recap of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. We discuss our favorite films of the fest, plus some of the buzziest flicks you'll probably hear more about in the year ahead.

Now on Apple TV+, Palmer stars Justin Timberlake as a former college football player (and ex-convict?) who mentors a gender-queer child played by Ryder Allen. The film was directed by Fisher Stevens and written by Cheryl Guerriero. June Squibb, Juno Temple, and Alisha Wainwright co-star.

Special guest Kimber Myers joins Abby this week to talk about The Little Things, a neo-noir crime thriller on HBO Max starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, and Natalie Morales. They also discuss Palmer, which just came out on Apple TV+ and stars Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple.

For our first official milestone of 2021, we’re discussing Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film City Lights, which this month celebrates its 90th anniversary since release. This long-celebrated romantic comedy was of course written, directed, and produced by Chaplin, who also stars in it as his iconic character, the Tramp. Along for the ride is Virginia Cherrill as the blind girl who wins the Tramp’s heart, Florence Lee as her grandmother, Harry Myers as the drunken millionaire, and plenty more.

Directed by Frank Oz, In & of Itself features Derek DelGaudio as a conceptual magician and storyteller who leads a live audience (and us) through an unpredictable maze of questions and ideas that address our individual identities.