Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘Lightyear’ and More

June 17, 2022

By Stephanie Goodman

Film Editor

Hi, film fans!

With more than 30 movies opening this week, it feels a lot more like prepandemic Hollywood. Of course, unlike the before times, many of these releases are streaming, notably "Cha Cha Real Smooth," this year's Audience Award winner at Sundance. (It's on Apple TV+ and in theaters.)

Our critic Manohla Dargis didn't see eye to eye with the festivalgoers, writing that the indie tale of a 20-something finding himself "isn't much of a search. He's pretty much the exact same easygoing, uninteresting guy at the end of the movie that he is at the beginning."

Also streaming is "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" (on Hulu), another Sundance title, this one starring Emma Thompson as a widow who feels sexually unfulfilled and hires a male prostitute to rectify that. This Critic's Pick had festivalgoers talking about a scene in which the actress bares all, and she spoke to our reporter Nicole Sperling about how difficult that was to do on camera: "To be truly honest, I will never ever be happy with my body."

There are still plenty of movies hitting theaters only, starting with Pixar's "Lightyear." The origin story for the "Toy Story" character features a brief kiss between two women, which has gotten it banned or restricted in parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Our critic A.O. Scott notes that the characters' "marginality to the main plot makes it feel as if the filmmakers were content to check a diversity box, pat themselves on the back and move on." Still, he calls it "good-enough entertainment."

Whatever format you choose, have fun at the movies!

Disney/Pixar

'Lightyear' Review: Infinite Buzz

The new Pixar movie recounts the adventures of Star Command's most famous Space Ranger before he was a toy.

By A.O. Scott

Apple TV+

'Cha Cha Real Smooth' Review: The Boy in the Bubble

A recent college graduate moves back home, drifts along and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a single mother in this Sundance indie.

By Manohla Dargis

Charlotte Hadden for The New York Times

Emma Thompson and the Challenge of Baring All Onscreen at 63

The actress made the choice to disrobe. Still, she says, it was the most difficult thing she's ever done in her four-decade career.

By Nicole Sperling

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CRITICS' PICKS

Shudder

Critic's Pick

'Mad God' Review: Highway to Hell

In this mostly animated experiment, the filmmaker Phil Tippett leads us through a stop-motion inferno of despair and devastation.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Nick Wall/Searchlight Pictures

Critic's Pick

'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande' Review: Pleasure Principles

Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack bring knowing vulnerability to this amusing story of a foxy prostitute and the woman who hires him.

By Lisa Kennedy

Oscilloscope

Critic's Pick

'Poser' Review: Fade Into You

Strong acting and a cool setting elevate this surreal tale of artistic compulsion.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Alejandro Mejia/Magnolia Pictures

Critic's Pick

'Bitterbrush' Review: Alone on the Range

Though this quiet documentary about two young range riders recalls a western or two, it presents a modern-day portrait of hard work and friendship.

By Nicolas Rapold

MOVIE REVIEWS

Netflix

'Spiderhead' Review: Prisoners of the Mind

This latest Joseph Kosinski film — set in a penitentiary that dispenses aphrodisiacs and fear-inducers — couldn't be more unlike his "Top Gun: Maverick."

By Ben Kenigsberg

Claudette Barius/Warner Bros./HBO Max

'Father of the Bride' Review: A Remake With a Cuban Twist

A Cuban American family walks down the aisle, treading carefully along the line separating tradition and tomorrow.

By Concepción de León

Jake Giles Netter/Paramount+

'Jerry & Marge Go Large' Review: You Don't Know Jackpot

Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening play an aging couple who cash in on a lottery loophole in this flavorless comedy.

By Natalia Winkelman

Manolo Pavon/IFC Films

'Official Competition' Review: Madness in Their Methods

In this very meta comedy, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz and Oscar Martínez deliver a master class on actors and their egos.

By A.O. Scott

Stephanie Montani/Lionsgate

'My Fake Boyfriend' Review: Deepfake Dating

A gay man gets trapped in a web of lies after his overeager best friend concocts an artificial relationship for him on social media.

By Lena Wilson

Netflix

'Sing, Dance, Act: Kabuki Featuring Toma Ikuta' Review: A New Path

Cameras follow Ikuta, an actor on popular Japanese teen dramas in the 2000s, as he learns Kabuki's expressions and movements from a friend.

By Claire Shaffer

D.L. Anderson/Greenwich Entertainment

'Stay Prayed Up' Review: Spreading the Gospel of Love

A new documentary about the gospel ensemble the Branchettes and its guiding light, Lena Mae Perry, is a plain-spoken tribute.

By Glenn Kenny

Will Davie/Focus Features

'Brian and Charles' Review: I, Robot Wearing a Cardigan

The comic performer David Earl plays a lonely inventor who builds a robot friend in this bionic buddy comedy.

By Amy Nicholson

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ANATOMY OF A SCENE

Universal Pictures

Anatomy of a Scene

Watch Bryce Dallas Howard's Slow Escape in 'Jurassic World Dominion'

The director Colin Trevorrow narrates a sequence featuring the actor, a testy Therizinosaurus and a murky pond.

By Mekado Murphy

NEWS & FEATURES

Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times

Andy Garcia Is the Father of the Bride in More Ways Than One

The actor, who's playing the role onscreen and in reality, understands his rigid character: "He's an amalgamation of everybody I've ever known, including myself."

By Carlos Aguilar

Chantal Anderson for The New York Times

Cooper Raiff, Arriving Early to the Party

At 25, the indie writer, director and actor is making waves in Hollywood. His second feature, "Cha Cha Real Smooth," could start a new career chapter.

By Carlos Aguilar

Michael Blackwood Productions

In the Documentaries of the Blackwood Brothers, Great Artists Are Explored

Several films from Michael and Christian Blackwood, grounded in the nitty-gritty of art-making, are available to watch through June 28.

By Nicolas Rapold

Disney/Pixar, via Associated Press

Disney's 'Lightyear,' With a Same-Sex Kiss, Faces a Backlash in Some Muslim Countries

The United Arab Emirates banned the animated film, an offshoot of the "Toy Story" movies, from its cinemas. Censors in Indonesia and Malaysia are also considering restrictions.

By Mike Ives

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS