1 Nomadland (Hulu, starting Friday, February 19) The critical consensus for Best Picture in the extended 2020-2021 awards season sees light.
2 Judas & the Black Messiah (HBO Max, February 12-March 11) Ryan Coogler production of a gripping, incendiary telling of the events leading up to the murder in Chicago of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party.
3 Minari (Opens Friday, February 12, Siskel and other virtual theaters) Gorgeous, moving story of an all-American family coming of age in the rural heartland.
4 French Exit (Opens Friday, February 12) Azazel Jacobs’ theatrical return after the future comedy classic “The Lovers” finds Michelle Pfeiffer in epic form in a New York- and Paris-set comedy with errant spirits.
5 Malcolm & Marie (Netflix, Streaming February 5) Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) directs Zendaya (“Euphoria”) and John David Washington in a black-and-white chamber drama about a troubled relationship, shot during the pandemic and acquired by Netflix for a reported $30 million. Comparisons to John Cassavetes have been duly bandied.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Talking Screens: A Week in Chicago Film, February 19-25, 2021 OPENERS Searchlight Pictures' "Nomadland" expands its theater reach while debuting on Disney sibling Hulu; its reception from critics' groups continues, with nods last week from the Toronto circle (adding to a lengthy roster including the National Society of Film Critics, Boston and London) for best film, director Chloé Zhao and a flinty Frances McDormand. McDormand's Fern is on the road…
Talking Screens: A Week in Chicago Film, February 12-18, 2021 OPENERS The delay of the Oscars until April 25 was one of many changes in the movie industry in the past year; movies released in the U. S. through February 28 are deemed eligible if there was an intention to have released them theatrically. The standard-bearers opening this week include Shaka King's sleek Chicago-set marvel, "Judas & The Black Messiah,"…
Talking Screens: A Week in Chicago Film, February 26-March 4, 2021 OPENERS “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” which director Lee Daniels describes as the first movie he’s directed sober, is an intent, starry showcase for Grammy Award-nominated Andra Day. There are fewer of the gloriously inexplicable touches and much less of the giddy bursts of vulgarity of earlier work like “Precious” and the “Paperboy” (or even “Empire”), although there are…
