Don't Bogart My Blog: Movies Update: 'Good Boys' and More

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Friday, August 16, 2019

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By Kyle Buchanan
@kylebuchanan

Hey, movie fans! It's your faithful Carpetbagger.

The trailer for "Little Women" made a big splash online this week, and after the last month had us debating the verisimilitude of effects-laden teasers like "Cats" and "The Irishman," it's a relief to watch a preview where the most eye-popping element is simply Timothée Chalamet's shock of windswept hair.

Greta Gerwig's new take on the classic Louisa May Alcott book won't arrive in theaters until Christmas Day, but I'm heartened that both Gerwig and Jordan Peele had follow-up films ready to go just two years after their recent best director Oscar nominations. When it comes to promising young auteurs, you often have to wait ages for their next effort, though while we're on the subject, I hear that the new movie from the "Beasts of the Southern Wild" director Benh Zeitlin may finally, finally be ready to peek its head out next year...

But we're getting ahead of ourselves! In the short term, this is a crowded weekend at the box office that includes the R-rated kids comedy "Good Boys," Cate Blanchett in "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," the Springsteen-inspired "Blinded by the Light," and a pair of sequels in "47 Meters Down: Uncaged" and "The Angry Birds Movie 2."

In more limited release, there's the controversial trans comedy "Adam," Lee Pace as John DeLorean in "Driven," the animated "Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles," as well as several well-reviewed documentaries: the water-focused "Aquarela," the dog-focused "Los Reyes," the twisty "Amazing Jonathan Documentary," and the New Orleans-centered "What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire?"

Why Is Hollywood So Scared of Climate Change?

Thanos (Josh Brolin) destroys half of the universe because intelligent species are consuming too many resources in "Avengers: Infinity War."Disney/Marvel, via Associated Press

Environmental concerns have been the driving force of villains in recent superhero and sci-fi movies. But critics say the industry needs to show how society can reform its ways.

Movie Reviews

The good boys of "Good Boys": from left, Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams.Ed Araquel/Universal

Review: The Cruel Comedy of Lost Innocence

By Manohla Dargis

"Good Boys" involves three 12-year-olds playing at being superbad.

Cate Blanchett in Richard Linklater's "Where'd You Go, Bernadette."Wilson Webb/Annapurna Pictures

Review: You Can Run From Everyone, Including Yourself

By Manohla Dargis

Cate Blanchett plays a woman in trouble in "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," based on the best-selling novel by Maria Semple.

Red, voiced by Jason Sudeikis, and Leonard, voiced by Bill Hader, in “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”Columbia Pictures

'The Angry Birds Movie 2' Review: So Stupid, Yet So Funny

By Bilge Ebiri

The film is not just another animated sequel. Well, it sort of is, until it suddenly isn't.

Brianne Tju, Corinne Foxx, Sophie Nélisse and Sistine Rose Stallone in "47 Meters Down: Uncaged."Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

'47 Meters Down: Uncaged' Review: A Sequel Unworthy of the Original

By Bilge Ebiri

This silly film manages to make all the mistakes the first movie avoided.

Viveik Kalra in "Blinded by the Light," directed by Gurinder Chadha.Nick Wall/Warner Bros.

'Blinded by the Light' Review: Testing the Limits of Springsteen

By Glenn Kenny

A Pakistani teenager in 1980s England finds salvation in songs from New Jersey.

Nicholas Alexander and Bobbi Salvör Menuez in "Adam."Wolfe Releasing

'Adam' Review: A Comedy of Genders

By Teo Bugbee

The film, about a cisgender boy who pretends to be trans, can't resolve its big ideas.

Ben Berman, left, and John Szeles in "The Amazing Johnathan Documentary."Hulu

Review: The Joke's on Who?

By Wesley Morris

In "The Amazing Johnathan Documentary," Ben Berman set out to make a film about a dying comedian.

"Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles" is directed by Salvador Simó.GKIDS

'Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles' Review: Animating a Surrealist

By Glenn Kenny

The film explores the making of the director Luis Buñuel's 1933 documentary.

Anatomy of a Scene

How 'Do the Right Thing' Has Remained RelevantThe writer and director Spike Lee narrates a sequence from his 1989 film.

News & Features

From left, Keith L. Williams, Jacob Tremblay and Brady Noon in the movie.

When Good Boys Say Bad WordsThe filmmakers behind the new comedy "Good Boys," about potty-mouthed sixth-graders, had to figure out how to handle stars who were too young to actually see the movie.

The director on location in Greenland, where an iceberg would collapse as he was filming.

How Do You Film Water in Its Many Forms? Very, Very CarefullyThe documentarian Victor Kossakovsky, his crew and others found themselves in perilous spots as they sought out roiling seas, frozen lakes, icebergs and more.

Streaming

Summer Chills: A Horror Fan's Guide to What to Watch Right NowA survey of the recent crop of scary new releases and old-school offerings on streaming services like Shudder.

Critics' Picks

A scene from the documentary “Aquarela.”

'Aquarela' Review: The Shapes of WaterIn this dazzling survey of man against water, mysteries and revelations are as integral to its impact as our certainty of the dangers faced by its makers.

Ronaldo and his younger sibling, Titus, in

'What You Gonna Do' Review: Struggles and Resilience in New OrleansThe filmmaker Roberto Minervini offers a vibrant portrait of African-American life in urban Louisiana.

Christian Malheiros, right, with Tales Ordakji in “Socrates.”

'Socrates' Review: Surviving on the Streets of São PauloA gay Brazilian teenager navigates poverty and isolation in Alexandre Moratto's passionate first feature.