Don't Bogart My Blog: Movies Update: ‘The Suicide Squad’ and More

August 6, 2021

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

As we move into the latter part of the summer, Warner Bros. and DC hope to energize things with the action-comedy spectacle "The Suicide Squad." Manohla Dargis writes that the movie could be summed up in four words: "joke, joke, kill, kill." Read an interview with the film's director, James Gunn, and get a closer look at some of its supervillains.

This week, I wrote about "Stillwater," featuring Matt Damon as an Oklahoma man fighting to get his daughter out of a French prison. Coming from Oklahoma myself, I explored whether or not Hollywood has done a good job with depictions of the state.

In movie news, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is trying to clean up its act. The group behind the tarnished Golden Globes has revised its bylaws to diversify its membership and ban the gifts that led it to favor certain films and shows over others. And the Gotham Awards, usually one of the first groups to have a ceremony during the movie awards season, said it would cease defining the best acting categories by gender, and would give an award for outstanding lead performance.

Other movies out this week include the animated musical "Vivo," with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (streaming on Netflix), the live-action Adam Driver-Marion Cotillard musical "Annette" (in theaters and, later this month, on Amazon) and the Lucy Walker documentary about California fires, "Bring Your Own Brigade."

Enjoy the movies!

Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros.

'The Suicide Squad' Review: Train Them! Excite Them! Arm Them!

The director James Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy") shifts from Marvel to DC Comics with some familiar faces and the usual moves.

By Manohla Dargis

Amazon Studios

Critic's Pick

'Annette' Review: Love Hurts

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard are star-crossed lovers in this hallucinatory musical, written by Sparks and directed by Leos Carax.

By A.O. Scott

Continue reading the main story

CRITICS' PICKS

CBS News

Critic's Pick

'Bring Your Own Brigade' Review: Some Say the World Will End in Fire

In her new documentary, Lucy Walker looks at California's apocalyptic fires and finds more than the usual smoke and politics.

By Manohla Dargis

Glass Half Full Media

Critic's Pick

'The Macaluso Sisters' Review: Tragedy Across Time

This moving drama by the filmmaker Emma Dante imagines the ripple effects of a sister's death across generations in Sicily.

By Beatrice Loayza

Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting

Critic's Pick

'The Last Matinee' Review: Killer Attractions

Set in a movie theater, this droll splatterfest is aimed straight at the jugular.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

via Film Forum

Critic's Pick

'Bix' Review: A Jazz Legend Fondly Remembered

The composer and cornet player Bix Beiderbecke changed music forever in a very short life. A restored documentary from the '80s goes into the details.

By Glenn Kenny

MOVIE REVIEWS

Atzmor Productions

'The Viewing Booth' Review: Do You See What I See?

One woman's reactions to videos of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are interrogated in this documentary by the filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz.

By Beatrice Loayza

Dekanalog

'What We Left Unfinished' Review: Spectres of History

For her first feature documentary, Mariam Ghani dug up five unfinished movies from the Communist era in Afghanistan.

By Devika Girish

Greenwich Entertainment

'Whirlybird' Review: Chasing a Story, From the Air

This documentary remembers the daring helicopter reporting of a couple in Los Angeles.

By Ben Kenigsberg

IFC Films

'John and the Hole' Review: Growing Pains

A young boy becomes obsessed with experiencing adult freedoms in this icy first feature.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

SPAI/Netflix

'Vivo' Review: A Musical Tale That Goes Offbeat

The animated musical, about a kinkajou who goes on a journey to deliver a song, may have an uneven story, but the movie's stellar songs, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, reflect the artist at his best.

By Maya Phillips

Chris Stephens/Magnolia Pictures

'Swan Song' Review: Udo Kier, on His Own and Fabulous

In this drama from Todd Stephens, Kier plays an Ohio hairdresser who takes a long walk to do one last job — on a corpse.

By Glenn Kenny

Screen Media

'Naked Singularity' Review: Injustice For All

John Boyega plays a harried public defender in this chaotic merger of sci-fi and heist thriller.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Netflix

'Pray Away' Review: Atoning for an Anti-Gay Stance

In this documentary, people who had promoted the idea that sexual orientation could be changed express their regrets.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Continue reading the main story

NEWS & FEATURES

Jessica Forde/Focus Features

Is Hollywood Doing Fine With Oklahoma?

The Matt Damon film "Stillwater" is one of the rare times that the state gets some degree of a movie spotlight.

By Mekado Murphy

Warner Bros./DC Comics

Meet Polka-Dot Man and Other Characters From 'The Suicide Squad'

A look at the film's supervillain characters and their origins in the comics.

By Devin Fuller

Non-Stop Production

Dramatizing the Chernobyl Disaster, for its Survivors

Unlike the recent HBO series, the Russian-language feature film "Chernobyl 1986," now on Netflix, explores the human toll of the power plant explosion.

By Valerie Hopkins

Fred Prouser/Reuters

With the Golden Globes Tarnished, the Group Behind Them Adapts

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association revised its bylaws to expand its leadership, diversify its membership and ban gifts.

By Matt Stevens

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Mikhail Mokrushin/IFC Midnight

5 Science-Fiction Movies to Stream Now

From a Swedish space probe to a self-reflective time-travel comedy, these new sci-fi picks offer a range of offbeat experiences.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

Chuck Zlotnick/Open Road Films

Stream These 12 Titles Before They Expire in August

Netflix in the United States is losing dozens of titles this month. These are the best among them.

By Jason Bailey

Universal Pictures

The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now

New films, and classics, just keep coming, but you don't have to drill down to find the finest selections to stream. We'll do the heavy lifting. You press play.

By Jason Bailey