Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘Air’ and More

April 7, 2023

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

Ready to lace up those Air Jordans, then jump high enough to punch a few coins out of a brick box? Nostalgia, '80s-style, is the big star of this week's high-profile movies, alongside Matt Damon and Chris Pratt.

For one, we have "Air," the director Ben Affleck's look at just how much a pair of shoes, and the basketball star-to-be who stepped into them, transformed culture. In her review, Manohla Dargis called the movie "frothily amusing and very eager-to-please." Take a look at how Air Jordans have had a featured role in other movies.

Also out is "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," an animated film that hurls about four decades of Mario and Luigi video game shenanigans at you in a 92-minute package. The critic Calum Marsh was not powered up, writing, "it doesn't seem right that the spirit of such a pure and exuberant character should be reduced to something so flippant and basically cynical."

On the indie side of the big screen, the latest from Kelly Reichardt, "Showing Up" is in theaters and Michelle Williams stars. In her review, Dargis called the movie "a wonderful slice of life that's set in present-day Portland and is about something that she knows intimately: making art."

Check out more of this week's releases below, and enjoy the movies!

Amazon Studios

'Air' Review: The Game Changers

In Ben Affleck's enjoyable movie, Matt Damon stars as the Nike exec who's trying to sign a young Michael Jordan. But first he must contend with Viola Davis.

By Manohla Dargis

Nintendo, Illumination Entertainment/ Universal Pictures

'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' Review: This Ain't No Game

A famed video game character side-scrolls once again to the big screen in this bland, witless and flagrantly pandering animated comedy.

By Calum Marsh

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CRITICS' PICKS

Allyson Riggs/A24

CRITIC'S PICK

'Showing Up' Review: Making Art in All Its Everyday Glory

In their latest movie together, Michelle Williams and Kelly Reichardt paint a portrait of an artist who's a real and wonderful piece of work.

By Manohla Dargis

8 Above

CRITIC'S PICK

'Sam Now' Review: When Mom Leaves

Sensitive and surprising, Reed Harkness's documentary follows the reverberations in his family after their mother abruptly departs.

By Nicolas Rapold

ABC News Studios/Hulu

CRITIC'S PICK

'Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields' Review: Girlhood, Interrupted

Lana Wilson's documentary blossoms in moments of cultural commentary, where it builds a mood of reminiscence gone rancid.

By Natalia Winkelman

MOVIE REVIEWS

Neon	'How to Blow Up a Pipeline' Review: A Different Kind of Oil Boom A book that proposed violent action in response to the climate crisis becomes a propulsive heist thriller. By Ben Kenigsberg

Oscilloscope Laboratories

'Joyland' Review: A Target of Gossip

Saim Sadiq's melodrama, about a husband's affair with a transgender dancer, was briefly banned in Pakistan.

By Amy Nicholson

Well Go USA

'Ride On' Review: Jackie Chan, Back on the Horse

Chan, playing a former stuntman, has a few good trademark fight scenes, but the film is too busy stuffing sentimental elements into its lowbrow comedy premise.

By Brandon Yu

Netflix

'Chupa' Review: A Terrifying Myth Made Cuddly

On a trip to his grandfather's ranch in Mexico, a boy makes an astonishing discovery that turns into a family adventure.

By Concepción de León

Netflix

'Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now' Review: Breakout Crooner in Meta Form

The Scottish musician's infectious presence makes every familiar documentary trick here go down easy.

By Chris Azzopardi

IFC Films

'Paint' Review: Watch It Dry

Owen Wilson plays a Bob Ross-inspired painter in this dated, mildly amusing parody of male privilege.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Jessica Miglio/Universal Pictures

'Praise This' Review: An Unlikely Savior

The R&B singer-songwriter Chloe Bailey stars in this musical comedy about an aspiring pop singer who lands in a scrappy competitive gospel group.

By Brandon Yu

Cinedigm/ScreamBox

'Living with Chucky' Review: What a Doll

This documentary takes a personal look at the legacy of one of horror's most lasting and loved villains.

By Erik Piepenburg

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NEWS & FEATURES

Warner Bros.

Air Jordans on the Big Screen: When the Sneaker Is the Real Star

"Air" tells the origin story of the iconic brand, but it's long had a hold on Hollywood, from "Do the Right Thing" to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."

By Calum Marsh

Stéphanie Branchu/Why Not Productions

Johnny Depp Film About Louis XV Will Open Cannes Film Festival

The inclusion of "Jeanne du Barry," directed by Maïwenn, is Depp's first public embrace by the film industry since he won a bitter defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

By Julia Jacobs

Nintendo, Illumination Entertainment/ Universal Pictures

'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' Review: This Ain't No Game

A famed video game character side-scrolls once again to the big screen in this bland, witless and flagrantly pandering animated comedy.

By Calum Marsh

Ana Carballosa/Amazon Studios

Hoping to Draw Moviegoers and Filmmakers, Amazon Heads to Theaters

The streaming company released Ben Affleck's "Air" on 3,500 movie screens this week, and it plans to open 10 to 12 films theatrically every year.

By Nicole Sperling

Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times

A Pakistani Film, Banned at Home, Is Celebrated Abroad

Saim Sadiq's feature "Joyland," which includes a transgender woman's love affair, cannot be shown in Pakistan's Punjab Province.

By Carlos Aguilar

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Stephanie Mei-Ling/Disney+

Five Children's Movies to Stream Now

This month's picks include a basketball-themed high school comedy, epic animated journeys and a touching story of friendship from Kenya.

By Dina Gachman

Goethe on Demand

Five International Movies to Stream Now

This month's picks include a tense drama about a Kosovan immigrant in Germany, a thriller from Jordan and a Belarusian coming-of-age film set in the 1990s.

By Devika Girish

Universal Pictures

The 50 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

Movies upon movies await, and you don't even have to drill down to find them.

By Jason Bailey

Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures, via Associated Press

The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now

New films, and classics, just keep coming, but you don't have to drill down to find the finest selections to stream. We'll do the heavy lifting. You press play.

By Jason Bailey

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