Awesome Drama

A24 has become synonymous with hits, but The Brutalist looks like it’s going to be on another level. It stars Adrien Brody as an architect who survives the Holocaust and finds his way to America. Spanning decades of the protagonist’s life, the epic film clocks in at 4 hours. To which /Film effuses, ” I actually found myself wishing the film was even longer.”

(PG-13: Language) “I’m never going to be smart, happy, or thin ever again.” Amy Adams stars as an artist turned housewife in this comedy drama. Based on Rachel Yoder’s eponymous novel, Nightbitch sees our heroine beaten down and disillusioned at her new life. As her mental state worsens, she becomes convinced that she’s turning into a dog. Premieres 12.2024.

Netflix has secured the streaming rights to one of the most brutal and heartbreaking films ever made. For those too young or lucky to have heard of it, Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies follows two young orphans trying to survive in post-World War II Japan. Many have described it as a film that everyone must watch, but only once. Premieres 9.16.24.

(PG-13) A more mature and ambitious film from the creators of Loving Vincent. Based on Wladyslaw Reymont’s eponymous novel, The Peasants is a tragic love triangle set in early 20th-century rural Poland. The film was first shot in live action then turned into oil paintings, which were then stitched together in animated form. Now on Netflix in the US.

(PG-13: Language) Director and writer Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) is back with another absurdist film. Kinds of Kindness is a dark comedy comprised of three stories. There’s a man whose faith in his incredibly controlling father figure is about to break, a missing woman who seems to return as someone else, and a sleazy cult. Premieres 6.21.24.

This Danish series follows the story of Astrid, a woman whose sister vanished two decades ago with 20 other students on a graduation trip. Despite the case being closed, Astrid can’t escape the feeling that there’s more to the story and heads down the rabbit hole in pursuit of answers. The first season hits Netflix on 12.30.2020.

George Clooney directed and stars in this film about a scientist in the Arctic who must warn a group of astronauts not to return home to Earth after a global catastrophe has devastated the planet. Based on the critically-acclaimed novel Good Morning, Midnight. Drops 12.23.2020 on Netflix.

A man stops at a remote Australian gas station in search of a fill-up. But when he goes inside to enquire about the pumps, he encounters a truly perplexing scenario. Writer/Director Alex Feggans‘ offbeat short film starts out as unsettling, but takes a truly unexpected path along its way.

(PG-13: Language) A group of conspiracy theorists convene on a cruise ship to meet one of their most steadfast believers. But as his crackpot theories start to show their cracks, something unexpected happens aboard the ship. Brad Abrahams fantastic short film has great performances and the perfect amount of dramatic tension.

(PG-13: Language) Written and directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse), this previously unreleased short film is as tense and chilling as anything we’ve seen in recent memory. It tells the story of two brothers raised by their abusive grandmother, and the precarious balance that exists in their relationship.

(PG-13: Language) Adam Sandler is getting great marks for his role in this drama about a high-strung New York City jewelry store owner whose irresponsible behavior lands him in serious debt, and takes us on a wild ride inside the head of a man struggling to keep his precarious world from imploding.

Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) drops us deep into the battlefields of World War I as two young British soldiers must perform a critical mission to save more than 1600 troops, including one of their own brothers. Stars Richard Madden, Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and more.

(PG-13: Language) A roomful of Nazis set on fire 20 seconds in makes it clear that this is a Quentin Tarantino flick. But this is no Inglourious Basterds. The film is set in 1969 Hollywood against the backdrop of the Manson family murders, as two aging stuntmen try to keep their careers alive.

In this comedy drama film, a beloved grandmother is terminally ill, but the family’s other elders don’t want her to know. They use a relative’s wedding as an excuse to reunite and be with her one last time. But one of the granddaughters rebels at the ruse. Stars rapper Awkwafina. Premieres 7/12/19.

A white power skinhead member finds love and people to protect, making him realize what side he’s been on. He tries to start a new life, but his former family refuses to let him go. Guy Nattiv’s drama is based on the life of reformed skinhead Bryon Widner.

“Chernobyl holds over 3 trillion of these bullets. Some of them will not stop firing for 50,000 years.” HBO’s Chernobyl is a miniseries that retells the events of the catastrophic Chernobyl disaster, and the efforts of unsung heroes who mitigated it. Premieres 5/6/19.