rite of passage

‘Can I Get a Witness?’ appraises the price of paradise

“Can I Get a Witness?” (2024 production, 2025 release). Cast: Sandra Oh, Keira Jang, Joel Oulette, Zaa Nkweta, Shaz Far, Casey Kenneth Wright, Yuki Morita, Ben Immanuel, Patrick Gallagher, Naika Toussaint, Andre Anthony, Oscar Chark, Jude Wilson, Cassandra Sawtell, Tedra Rogers, Ally Battaggia, Kymo Van Oers, Jovanna Burke. Director: Ann Marie Fleming. Screenplay: Ann Marie Fleming. Web site. Trailer. Successfully vanquishing global ills like environmental degradation, economic inequality, insufficient health care and armed conflict in order to purposely create an earthly paradise is undeniably an ambitious and virtuous goal that most of us would probably support. The benefits of creating a healthy, sustainably managed future are undeniable. But how far would we be willing to go to realize it? The [...]

‘Beautiful Boy’ plumbs the depths of parental love

“Beautiful Boy” (2018). Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan, Kaitlyn Dever, Timothy Hutton, Oakley Bull, Christian Convery, Andre Royo, Stefanie Scott, Kue Lawrence, Zachary Rifkin, Jack Dylan Grazer. Director: Felix Van Groeningen. Screenplay: Luke Davies and Felix Van Groeningen. Books: David Sheff, Beautiful Boy, and Nic Sheff, Tweak. Web site. Trailer. How far should parents go in looking after their children? Some would say that there are no limits on this question, that mothers and fathers should be willing to do whatever it takes to attend to their kids. But is that really true? And what happens when those children are on the verge of becoming adults themselves – do the same rules apply as when they’re [...]