Set in the early ‘70s, director Alfonso Cuaron's black and white film follows the life of a live-in housekeeper of a middle-class family. Time Out describes the semi-autobiographical take on Cuaron's upbringing in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, as a “rich tribute to the resilient women who raised him — before expanding to gradually reveal the social and political canvas of 1970s Mexico City.
Marriage Story
Like Kramer vs Kramer vs Kramer from Seinfeld, this marital-breakdown masterpiece has just enough lols to leaven the tears — and there are plenty of those, says Time Out of Noah Baumbach's film that stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.
A Quiet Place
Set in post-apocalyptic near-future, actor-director John Krasinski's horror film tells the story of a family's bid to survive in a world where the slightest sound brings out deadly monsters.
The Two Popes
With its measured pace and fine performances from Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, director Fernando Meirelles' film explores the gulf between the two men's views of the Vatican's role while the Pope urges the Cardinal to reconsider his decision to resign as an archbishop as he confides his own intentions to abdicate the papacy.
The Irishman
Based on Charles Brandt's 2004 nonfiction book I Heard You Paint Houses, The Irishman has been described as one of director Martin Scorsese's best, but bloated, films. The three-hour long epic follows Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and his crime family, including his time working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).
“Along with all the gangster gab, it touches on broken trust. self-doubt and regret,” says Time Out.
Spotlight
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams star in Tom McCarthy's true-life, Oscar-winning story of investigative journalists who struggle to expose the prolific and systemic child abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area.
Blockers
Kay Cannon made her directorial debut in 2018 with this sex comedy about a trio of parents who try to stop their respective daughters from losing their virginity on prom night. While it doesn't sound promising from this brief putline review, aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 83 percent.
Bird Box
Starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes and John Malkovich, this post-apocalypse thriller has Bullock as the blindfolded mum of two who tries to protect herself and her children from malevolent supernatural entities that make people who look at them go insane and commit suicide. Critics were divided. Forbes contributor Sarah Aswell said, along with some true frights, the movie “also has some of the corniness and shallowness that many horror movies can't shake”.
Lady Bird
Attuned more to the bonds between girlfriends than casual flings with boys, Greta Gerwig's coming-of-age film explores the torments of adolescence and what Time Out describes as the “attractively loose rhythms of youth”.
Lady Bird received a standing ovation at its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Spirited Away
Director Hayao Miyazaki's first digitally animated feature initially seems like a Through the Looking-Glass fantasy, but rapidly picks up a resonance, weight and complexity, says Time Out. “Chihiro, a sullen 10-year-old, is moving house with her parents when they stumble into the world of the Japanese gods — where the greedy parents are soon turned into pigs. A truly magical fable unfolds as she navigates this fantastical kingdom.”
Good Time
Robert Pattinson is bank robber Connie Nikas who is desperately trying to get enough money to pay for bail for his developmentally disabled brother, Nick, in Josh and Benny Safdie's American crime thriller film. Connie and Nick then rob a New York City bank for $65,000 but a dye pack explodes in a money bag during their getaway and their driver crashes the car.
“Once the Brooklyn bank job goes south, the film stays on the move, running, punching, tumbling, stumbling over 24 hours as the fallout drags us through streets, vehicles, homes, jail, a hospital, a theme park and more,” says Time Out.
