Aurelia Butler

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    ‘High Tide’ Review: Between Two Worlds

    Written and directed by Marco Calvani, this film follows a gay Brazilian man working under the table one summer in Provincetown, Mass.Finding and securing a sense of belonging is at the heart of “High Tide.” This poignant film, written and directed by Marco Calvani, highlights the life that Lourenço (Marco Pigossi) strives to protect as a gay Brazilian in the United States.Newly dumped by his boyfriend, Lourenço is suddenly alone for the summer, working under the table in Provincetown, Mass., on a tourist visa. In this gay haven, he is far away from his religious mother, whom he isn’t out to. (On a video call, she questions whether he has a photo of Jesus in his bedroom.)The cinematographer, Oscar Ignacio Jimeñez, shoots Provincetown — a “beautiful bubble,” as Lourenço calls it — as if it is wrapping its cleansing shores and cozy cottages around Lourenço, who makes ends meet by cleaning houses.Kindness and community flourish through compassionate figures, including Lourenço’s protective landlord (Bill Irwin) and a free-spirited artist (Marisa Tomei, also an executive producer) whom he befriends while working on a painting job at her house. At the beach, he hits it off with a nurse from New York named Maurice (James Bland), one of the few Black tourists in the mostly white town.Even though it’s unclear whether Lourenço will return to rural Brazil, the thought haunts him throughout his visit. With his exceptionally lived-in performance, Pigossi brings Lourenço’s heartbreaking emotions to life, making even the script’s contrivances feel natural.His eyes alone are evocative, like flickering bulbs fighting to stay lit.High TideRated R for language, club drugs, nudity and steamy sex. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. In theaters. More

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    ‘Goodrich’ Review: Daddy Lessons

    An art gallery owner (Michael Keaton) gets a shock when his second wife (Laura Benanti) goes to rehab and he has to take care of their twins.“Goodrich,” by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, is a crowd-pleasing family comedy so frankly observed that you can imagine the first draft being scribbled on the back of a therapy bill.An art gallery owner named Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton) gets shocked out of his self-absorption when his second wife, Naomi (Laura Benanti), phones to announce that she’s checked herself into 90 days of Malibu rehab. Andy hadn’t noticed she was strung out on prescription pills, much to the disdain of everyone else who had, including the couple’s 9-year-old twins, Billie and Mose (Vivien Lyra Blair and Jacob Kopera), and his 30-something daughter, Grace (Mila Kunis), from his first marriage, who rightly refuses to pick up his slack.Today’s modern father is expected to be more engaged than when Keaton first faced elementary school drop-off in the 1983 movie “Mr. Mom.” Yet, Meyers-Shyer makes clear that women are still shouldering the burden — and blame. Upon realizing he has no clue where his family stores the spices, Andy sputters in frustration, “Why would somebody keep the salt there?”That joke, plus dozens of others, hits its target like a pie to the face. Keaton’s an old pro at getting audiences to love a well-intentioned jerk, and the script gets good chuckles out of his inconsiderate attempts at generosity — offering to take Grace, who is pregnant, out for sushi, or treating the tykes to a movie night where he insists on watching “Casablanca.”Meyers-Shyer is a realist, so don’t expect Andy to turn his life around after delivering a big, wet-eyed speech. But Kunis’s Grace gets a great one about loving him despite his shortcomings that’s so honest and raw she made me giggle, tear up and giggle again.GoodrichRated R for language. Running time: 1 hour 51 minutes. In theaters. More

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    ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ Review: A Fraught Reunion

    For his first film, the artist Titus Kaphar delivers an unsentimental and autobiographical gem.For the cover of Time magazine’s issue about the 2020 death of George Floyd, Titus Kaphar painted a pained Black mother hugging an infant to her chest. Where the child should have been, there was a white space. The artist titled a similar painting — a Black mother carries the vacant silhouette of a toddler on her hips — “Contour of Loss.” Those blanks mark a terrible absence, making emptiness feel present. In “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” Kaphar’s autobiographical film debut, the artist again focuses on rending absence — and seeks to fill it fully.André Holland gives a deeply attuned performance as Tarrell, an ascendant artist whose childhood traumas torment him, and make his most cherished relationships difficult. Bedeviled by nightmares, he awakes in a panic to his concerned wife, Aisha (Andra Day), lying beside him in their midcentury home, in their tree-lined neighborhood, with their vintage black-and-chrome Mercedes parked outside.This isn’t a catalog of materialism so much as evidence of a household constructed to withstand emotional chaos. Tarrell may be haunted, but the house is a haven, infused with familial affection — especially Tarrell’s love for his young son. Still, those panic attacks demand redress.During a visit to help move his mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Tarrell comes face-to-face with the cause of those roiling dreams: his father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks).Kaphar smartly introduces this troubled character. Before he re-enters Tarrell’s life, we see him hustling work outside a liquor store. He appears derelict and haggard, but when a violent robbery occurs inside, La’Ron, despite his shaky physical state, comes to the rescue. We might be inclined to have sympathy for him.But when La’Ron arrives battered to his brother’s home, we get our first inkling of the hurt he’s caused so many people. Regardless, Joyce engineers a fractious father-son reunion. She has her reasons. But Tarrell’s not having it. And no — it doesn’t matter that La’Ron has now found God.Kaphar begins “Exhibiting Forgiveness” with a quote by James Baldwin about the biological bond between fathers and sons, but Tarrell’s half brother, Quentin (Matthew Elam), also provides a telling key to the family’s varied truths of absolution and absolving: “This ain’t about him — it’s about Mama.”Forgiveness may not be about making nice. Filling in a painful gap may not lead to tidy reconciliation. Still, something true will appear. Kaphar may be new to feature filmmaking, but that’s some grown wisdom.Exhibiting ForgivenessRated R for language and brief drug material. Running time: 1 hour 57 minutes. In theaters. More

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    ‘Allswell in New York’ Review: Siblings and Their Struggles

    This overstuffed movie fails to wrap up its myriad professional and domestic dramas, despite a few moments of promise.A series of unfortunate domestic events befalls three adult siblings in Ben Snyder’s “Allswell in New York,” which plays like a family sitcom that forgot the comedy.Daisy (Elizabeth Rodriguez, who co-wrote the screenplay) owns a restaurant named Allswell and longs to be a mother. Her sister, Ida (Liza Colón-Zayas of “The Bear”), is a clinical counselor searching for their elder brother, who disappeared years earlier. And their sister-in-law, Serene (Daphne Rubin-Vega), is busy trying to rein in her defiant daughter, Connie (Shyrley Rodriguez), who’s blazing a trail through her terrible 20s.When we drop into this picture of present-day New York City, Daisy and Ida are facing work strains and Serene is unable to locate Connie; on top of all that, Daisy has invited a young pregnant woman from Craigslist into her home. The expectant mother (Mackenzie Lansing) intends to have Daisy adopt her child, but hesitates to put the agreement in writing.If few of the melodramatic plot lines wrap up by the end, at least the members of the ensemble cast commit to their roles with naturalistic gusto. Moments of promise outshine the gloomy chaos, as when a nurse named Clint (J. Cameron Barnett, stealing many scenes) pantomimes words of solace for Ray (Michael Rispoli), Ida’s emotionally dense boyfriend, to recite to her while she weeps. The brief exchange achieves an admirable balance of pathos and play to which the rest of the movie can only aspire.Allswell in New YorkRated R for family feuds. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters. More

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    ‘Brothers’ Review: Two-Bit Criminals

    Moke (Josh Brolin) is a reformed thief who gets roped into one last job with his twin brother, Jady (Peter Dinklage).For a road-trip buddy comedy, a greater crime than being unfunny is perhaps, amid all of the shenanigans, being dull. That is partly the feeling one is left with in the R-rated movie “Brothers,” which, even with an A-list cast, seems to move on autopilot through all of its pit stops.There’s the slapstick violence; there’s a sexually excited orangutan named Samuel; there’s Glenn Close as a two-bit criminal scaring a naked Josh Brolin off a motel balcony. But one is ultimately left with the prevailing feeling that this comedy, directed by Max Barbakow, is not particularly bad, but rather just fine.In a one-last-job setup, Moke (Brolin), a reformed thief trying to go straight, teams up with his twin brother, Jady (Peter Dinklage), to track down a stash of valuable jewels. Family issues between the brothers get in the way, and then get complicated when their long-lost mother (Close) comes into the picture.Their road-movie antics all play out with little comic imagination, making for a disappointing answer to the invigorating originality of Barbakow’s last comedy, “Palm Springs.” Brolin and Dinklage might seem like a magnetic pair of bickering twins — and they are what is keeping this ship from sinking — but mostly it’s dismaying to see such strong dramatic actors stifled in such a sedate comedy.The same can be said of the entire cast, which includes Marisa Tomei as a kooky lover and Brendan Fraser as the villain on their heels. The silver lining is seeing Fraser in a comedic role, showing flashes of that easy charisma from his blockbuster days.BrothersRated R for language, sexual content and drug use. Running time: 1 hour 28 minutes. Watch on Amazon Prime Video. More

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    Liam Payne Tributes Pour in From Charlie Puth, the Backstreet Boys and Other Musicians

    Hours after news broke that Payne had fallen from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, his fans and collaborators shared their shock and grief.The pop world on Thursday was struggling to come to terms with the passing of Liam Payne, 31, who rose to fame as a member of the British boy band One Direction. Payne died on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Argentina.Fans gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires where Payne had been staying to mourn his death, including by singing One Direction hits, while on social media many posted tributes and memories.Some of pop music’s biggest stars did the same. Charlie Puth, the pop singer and songwriter, posted on Instagram, that he was “in shock” at the news. Payne was “one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone,” Puth added.Payne in Dubai in 2023.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal“Words cannot express the emotions we are collectively feeling right now,” the Backstreet Boys wrote on X, adding “our hearts go out to Liam’s family, friends and Directioners around the world.”“Life is short and fragile,” the German DJ Zedd, who released the song “Get Low” with Payne in 2017, wrote on social media. “RIP Liam … I can’t believe this is real …”The reaction was especially strong in Britain, where Payne built his career. Among those to express condolences on social media were his childhood school and West Bromwich Albion, the soccer team Payne supported.Payne first auditioned on the British talent show “The X Factor” as a solo artist in 2008, but found success when he returned in 2010, even though the group placed third in the show. Simon Cowell, the music executive and television personality, created One Direction by bringing Payne together with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. In 2011, One Direction’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The band released five albums and became one of the defining boy bands of the early 2010s. In 2015, One Direction announced it would take a break from performing together, and the group officially split up a year later.As of Thursday morning, none of Payne’s former bandmates had issued public reactions to the news of his death, and their representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Cowell also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.But on Instagram, Styles’s mother, Anne Twist, posted a picture of a broken heart emoji, with the caption “Just a boy …” More

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    The Greats: Florence Welch, Lorna Simpson, Jonathan Anderson and Theaster Gates

    O winged Lady,Like a birdYou scavenge the land.Like a charging stormYou charge,Like a roaring stormYou roar,You thunder in thunder,Snort in rampaging winds.Your feet are continually restless.Carrying your harp of sighs,You breathe out the music of mourning. — from “Hymn to Inanna” by Enheduanna,translated from the Sumerian by Jane Hirshfield PROPHETESS ONE RISKS ANGERING the gods […] More