Film & TV

Tim Robinson has carved out an impressive niche in the comedy world. His brand of awkward comedy combines grounded scenarios with absurd quirks that have created a loyal fanbase. The Chair Company (HBO Max) combines that comedic style with a slow-burn mystery, and the result is surprisingly successful.

The trend of stretching simple stories over multiple movies has become increasingly popular in Hollywood, but Wicked: For Good is a prime example of why it should stop. Despite largely the same cast and creative team as its first act, this Wicked feels flat, drawn out and, frankly, less relevant.

It’s hard to put a label on Alan Govenar. He’s a writer, filmmaker, photographer, and folklorist for starters. He’s also the founder of Documentary Arts, a nonprofit arts organization, which, since 1985, has been creating a broad range of media to initiate social change in diverse cultures. He’s shone a light on the extraordinary in ordinary people and made us see them anew.

Jay has international fame, wealth, servants, and a gorgeous house on a hilltop, but he’s a lonely man at the end of his rope. Despite his success in films, everything that should have been dear to him has withered away. The conundrum presented in Jay Kelly is whether it’s ever too late to change one’s behavior, mend the errors of the past, and claim a new future.

There’s a strong possibility that the reason why no one really knew Corky Lee is that his work was the strongest reflection of his mind and spirit. He sacrificed so much of his personal time to photography that it left little room for relationships outside of it. This film has interviews with family and friends, and they also define Lee through his work ethic.

The film stars Rachel Balit as Simone, a woman who was a child star and is desperate for the big opportunity she’s always dreamed of. Her co-star is John Lacy as her boyfriend, Jack. Lacy is also the writer and director of this baffling heap, and thankfully, his performance isn’t as terrible as other writer/directors starring in their own movies tend to be.

We watch as Hart divulges his story to strangers, cracks jokes with friends who grow increasingly tired of his alcoholism, and most importantly, speaks of a young woman named Elizabeth, a Princeton student and poet, 20 years his junior, whom he plans to woo upon her arrival.

Another pleasing accept that sells the story is that every character who wants revenge on Eghbal is believable. These are people who have tried to move on with their lives despite their trauma. They’re not typical badasses who have trained for years for their moment of revenge. With Vahid, you see a normal person who got tunnel vision as soon as he thought he had a chance for revenge.