Don't Bogart My Blog: Movies Update: ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ and More

February 26, 2021

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

With the Golden Globes happening this Sunday, our reporters wrote about the organization that hands them out, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. A recent lawsuit and financial records, they found, "are providing a more unsparing look at the group."

Two very different musicians with the name Billie have movies streaming this weekend. There's the biopic "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" (available on Hulu) and the documentary "Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry" (available on AppleTV+).

On Netflix is "Pelé," a new documentary about the soccer player, and also "This Is the Life," Ava DuVernay's 2008 debut feature about an independent 1990s Los Angeles hip-hop scene.

And on HBO Max are the feature length antics of the popular cat-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Our critic says "some of the performances are enjoyable."

More on this week's movie releases, and the latest news, is below. Enjoy the movies!

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Takashi Seida/Paramount Pictures/Hulu

'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' Review: Singing for Her Life

Lee Daniels's hectic biopic portrays the singer as a victim of abuse, addiction and government persecution.

By A.O. Scott

Apple TV+

'Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry' Review: Fame and Family

A documentary captures the creation of Eilish's multiple-Grammy-winning debut album, recorded at home but poised to go global.

By Jon Caramanica

Photographs by Brad Ogbonna for The New York Times

Clown Princes: Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall on 'Coming 2 America'

The comic stars and longtime friends talk about their history together and their many, many roles in the original film and the new sequel.

By Dave Itzkoff

CRITICS' PICKS

Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures Classics

Critic's Pick

'The Father' Review: A Capricious Mind

Anthony Hopkins gives a scalding performance as a man stricken by dementia in this clever drama.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Cinema Guild

Critic's Pick

'Un Film Dramatique' Review: Students Record the Paris Suburbs

This documentary gives middle school children a chance to show their experiences.

By Teo Bugbee

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MOVIE REVIEWS

Apple Original Films

'Cherry' Review: A Very Different Tangled Web for Tom Holland

Joe and Anthony Russo, the M.C.U. filmmaking brothers, stretch out into the real world of war, crime and addiction in a gritty drama based on a best-selling novel.

By Glenn Kenny

Netflix

'Pelé' Review: A National Treasure

This Netflix documentary surveys the Brazilian soccer player's pioneering career.

By Nicolas Rapold

Warner Bros.

'Tom & Jerry' Review: Chasing the Mouse of Nostalgia

This feature-length expansion of the popular cartoon is too brainless for adults, but its kid-friendly title characters are barely supporting players.

By Jason Bailey

Cinema Tropical

'My Darling Supermarket' Review: Cosmic Tales From the Checkout Lane

The director Tali Yankelevich applies an experimental flair to her documentary about supermarket workers in Brazil.

By Beatrice Loayza

Array

Critic's Pick

'This Is the Life' Review: A Valuable Part of Hip-Hop History

Ava DuVernay's 2008 documentary, now streaming on Netflix, is a personal love letter to a slice of Los Angeles's 1990s hip-hop scene.

By Robert Daniels

Abraham (Abie) Troen/Abramorama

''Til Kingdom Come' Review: An Unusual Religious Bond

Maya Zinshtein's revelatory documentary explores the political and philanthropic alliance of American evangelical Christians and Israeli Jews.

By Devika Girish

Jan Thijs/Quiver Distribution

'Crisis' Review: Finding a Fix

Nicholas Jarecki's new crime drama, which examines the opioid epidemic from different angles, is well-paced but often strains credulity.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Blue Fox Entertainment

'My Zoe' Review: Julie Delpy's Provocative Family Drama

The characters can be confoundingly self-involved, but Delpy finds unusual threads to pull you closer to them and their crises.

By Glenn Kenny

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NEWS & FEATURES

A Director Returns to the Home He Longed to Leave

With "Minari," Lee Isaac Chung tells a semi-autobiographical tale of growing up Korean-American in the heartland.

By Robert Ito

American Evangelicals, Israeli Settlers and a Skeptical Filmmaker

A new documentary illuminates what the director calls an "unholy alliance" that sharply altered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the Trump administration.

By David M. Halbfinger

Netflix Productions Are More Diverse Than Studio Films, Study Shows

The study, which the streaming giant commissioned, looked at films and TV series from 2018 and 2019.

By Nicole Sperling

Podcasting Is Booming. Will Hollywood Help or Hurt Its Future?

A frothy adaptation market is just one sign of the rapid evolution of the industry. But some worry that big money will stifle the D.I.Y. spirit that has driven much of its success.

By Ben Sisario

Julie Delpy, Science-Fiction Filmmaker? It's True

Best known for romantic comedies, the creator of the cloning drama "My Zoe" refuses to be pigeonholed: "I love to mess up and not go in the direction that is expected."

By Roslyn Sulcas