Movies Update: ‘One Night in Miami’ and More

Plus, predicting the best actor Oscar race.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story January 15, 2021 By Mekado Murphy Movies Editor Hey, movie fans! Even though the Academy Awards won’t be until April this year, the Oscar season is nonetheless still upon us. Kyle Buchanan is already making predictions in the best actor category and A. O. Scott is pointing you in the direction of a couple of would-be contenders available this week. On Amazon is “One Night in Miami,” the feature directing debut of Regina King, which spends an evening in a hotel room with Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. Scott calls it “an intellectual thriller, crackling with the energy of ideas and emotions as they happen.” On demand is “MLK/FBI,” about the ways the F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover dug into the private life of King. Scott calls this documentary “at once suspenseful, visually engrossing and intellectually bracing.” If you’re looking for a little pandemic drama onscreen, HBO Max has “Locked Down,” which features Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor sheltering in an unhappy place. And if you’re looking for a group of movie lovers eager to share their tastes, hop on over to the ever-growing social media network for cinephiles, Letterboxd, which we profiled this week. Enjoy the movies! Patti Perret/Amazon Studios critic’s pick ‘One Night in Miami’ Review: After the Big Fight, a War of Words A 1964 meeting of Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown is the subject of Regina King’s riveting directorial debut. By A.O. Scott IFC Films Critic’s Pick ‘MLK/FBI’ Review: King, Hoover and the Tale of the Tape Sam Pollard’s fascinating documentary chronicles the F.B.I. director’s obsession with the private life and political affiliations of the civil rights leader. By A.O. Scott Micaiah Carter for The New York Times Regina King: Speaking Truth to Power Through Her Art The actress-turned-director of “One Night in Miami” explains why she sees the fact-based drama about a meeting of four icons as a companion piece to “Watchmen.” By Salamishah Tillet Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS’ PICKS Mircea Topoleanu/Zeitgeist Films Critic’s pick ‘Acasa, My Home’ Review: Civilization and Its Malcontents A family’s dispossession to make way for a nature park is the subject of this Romanian documentary. By A.O. Scott Cinema Guild Critic’s Pick ‘Film About a Father Who’ Review: Family Secrets by Omission In her new documentary, Lynne Sachs assesses her relationship with her father, Ira Sachs Sr., who fathered children with multiple women. By Ben Kenigsberg Magnolia Pictures Critic’s Pick ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ Review: Hardly an Idle Retirement This documentary co-produced by The New York Times visits a retirement community the size of a small city. By Ben Kenigsberg Film Movement Critic’s Pick ‘My Little Sister’ Review: Sibling Dependency A cancer diagnosis only strengthens the bond between adult twins in this perceptive Swiss drama. By Jeannette Catsoulis ANATOMY OF A SCENE Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Entertainment Anatomy of a Scene Watch Gal Gadot Fight Crime at the Mall in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ The director Patty Jenkins narrates a sequence from her movie, streaming on HBO Max. By Mekado Murphy MOVIE REVIEWS ‘Locked Down’ Review: In Quarantine, Misery Hates Company Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor play a couple sheltering in their London brownstone over the early weeks of the pandemic in this irritating heist comedy. By Natalia Winkelman ‘Outside the Wire’ Review: At War With the Robots This Netflix film starring Anthony Mackie is neither curious nor bold in the ways it depicts a sentient robotic revolt. By Robert Daniels ‘The Marksman’ Review: In Need of a Mission Liam Neeson plays the reluctant protector of an undocumented Mexican boy in this dusty drama. By Jeannette Catsoulis ‘Don’t Tell a Soul’ Review: Brothers in Crime Harbor a Secret It’s not every day you get to see Rainn Wilson at the bottom of a well, and that’s just the half of it. By Glenn Kenny ‘Bloody Hell’ Review: An Acrid Thriller Bites Off Too Much Cannibals and comedy are mixed in this deranged ride from the director Alister Grierson. By Teo Bugbee ‘American Skin’ Review: Out for Justice In Nate Parker’s film, a father takes matters into his own hands to hold a police officer to account for shooting down his son. By Nicolas Rapold ‘Hunted’ Review: Catch Me if You Can Riffing on “Little Red Riding Hood,” this sadistic chase movie sends a young woman and two attackers into the deep, dark woods. By Jeannette Catsoulis ‘Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy’ Review: A Brisk Look Back at a Crisis Veteran documentarian Stanley Nelson crafts a somewhat cursory primer on the 1980s crack epidemic. By Devika Girish Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Birgit Krippner for The New York Times Is Letterboxd Becoming a Blockbuster? The social media network has finally left the cinephile niche and entered the mainstream. By Calum Marsh Robert Yager for The New York Times What Happens Now to Michael Apted’s Lifelong Project ‘Up’? His documentary series chronicled the lives of its subjects every seven years since 1964. Now the participants ponder whether it can carry on without him. By Joe Coscarelli David Lee/Netflix The Projectionist Can Anyone Beat Chadwick Boseman for the Best-Actor Oscar? Expect a category where a handful of titanic veterans and an influx of up-and-comers vie to be Boseman’s runner-up. By Kyle Buchanan Merie Weismiller Wallace/Focus Features, via Associated Press Rape-Revenge Tales: Cathartic? Maybe. Incomplete? Definitely. Films like “Promising Young Woman” should be especially urgent in the wake of #MeToo. Instead, they sell female characters short. By Lena Wilson Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Martin Luther King Jr. Day: 9 Ways to Honor His Legacy Marches and parades are on pause this year. But streamed events and exhibitions are still commemorating King’s achievements. By Alexis Soloski Sign up for the Louder Newsletter Stay on top of the latest in pop and jazz with reviews, interviews, podcasts and more from The New York Times music critics. Sign up How are we doing? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Movies Update from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018