Film

Polite Society

Dir. Nida Manzoor

Sisterly affection clashes with parental disappointment as a younger sister bids to save her elder sibling from her impending marriage.

AT BEST: “The repartee is peppy and clever, and the scheming, fighting and colourful design delightful.”

— Nicolas Rapold, Financial Times

AT WORST: “So much of what is grounding and emotional in the first half falls away as the larger context grows more and more extreme.” — Dan Mecca, The Film Stage

BlackBerry

Dir. Matt Johnson

Before Apple’s smartphone became ubiquitous, there was BlackBerry. This comedy drama tells its story, from meteoric rise through to catastrophic demise.

AT BEST: “A smart movie about smart people who were destroyed by a dumb system.” — Brian Tallerico, rogerebert.com

AT WORST: “The movie can’t rouse the full spectrum of human emotions a movie about communication needs.” — Sarah Manvel, Critic’s Notebook

The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future

Dir. Francisca Alegría

A long-deceased woman emerges alive from a polluted river along with thousands of dead fish, prompting both curiosity and fear.

AT BEST: “It’s a thoughtful film, tender, hopeful, with some knockout bovine performances too.” — Cath Clarke, The Guardian

AT WORST: “It’s too slipshod to be serious, too earnest to entertain.” — Kevin Maher, The Times

Past Lives

Dir. Celine Song

Two deeply connected childhood friends, wrest apart when one emigrates from South Korea, are reunited two decades later in New York for one fateful week.

AT BEST: “Might just be the most singularly exquisite film of the year.” — Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar

AT WORST: “I would have preferred not to have spent two hours with either of the main characters.” — Amy Taubin, Artforum

Filmmaker, writer, and comedian Judd Apatow’s Sicker In The Head is the follow-up to his New York Times’ bestseller, and once again has him in candid conversation with some of the most exciting names in comedy.

“When I need to read an interview with a comedian while in the bathroom, I always turn to Judd Apatow for deeply personal insights into the comedic mind. Place one on your toilet today,” suggests Amy Schumer. “As sequels go, this second collection of interviews with creative artists, featuring a diverse line-up and wideranging conversations about life and comedy, is more The Godfather Part II than Jaws: The Revenge,” says The Washington Post. “The interviews go well beyond origin stories to fruitful discussions about the mysterious creative process.” The New Yorker describes it as, “An amazing read, full of insights and connections both creative and interpersonal.”

Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua tells the fictional tale of a teenage girl living in 1960s China, who becomes Mao Zedong’s protégée and lover, and a heroine of the Cultural Revolution.

“Think Succession, but add death and mayhem to the palace intrigue… Ambitious and impressive,” writes the San Francisco Chronicle. “This finds a brilliant new perspective on familiar material via its story of a young woman’s brush with power.

It’s magnificent,” hails Publishers Weekly. Fellow author Lara Prescott was fulsome in her praise: “Arresting, beautiful, and epic, Forbidden City left me breathless by the last page.

Hua’s writing is propulsive and packed with rich historical details and exquisitely crafted characters.

Mei’s story will stay with you long after reading.” The Washington Post bills Hua’s novel as, “Eye-opening, vital and timely now more than ever.”

In Games and Rituals, Katherine Heiny pulls together a collection of humours short stories. “Heiny approaches her disarmingly charming characters with tenderness, empathy, and humor, even (perhaps, especially) when they meander outside the bounds of good behavior. Lighthearted and amusing yet deeply resonant, these stories offer sly insights about human connection and can, in the space of a single sentence, take your breath away,” says Kirkus “Heiny’s distinctive story collection portrays varied characters navigating shifts in their lives and relationships, from the disquiet of unrequited love to the shock of infidelity… Poignant and searching, Heiney’s collection strikes emotions and realizations head on,” writes Booklist, while Publishers Weekly talks up the author’s “keen observations,” which help “put a shine on these everyday comedies.”