Since the nascent days of the pandemic, there have been several high-profile Covid-19 documentaries: “76 Days,” “Totally Under Control,” “The Last Cruise,” etc. None have been like Nanfu Wang’s “In the Same Breath.” Her previous film, “One Child Nation,” a personal critique of China’s one-child policy, first introduced her unique ability to work around a…

“Brand New Cherry Flavor” is a mindf*ck in the best ways. Daring to tackle material that recalls David Lynch’s deconstructions of the surrealism of Hollywood in projects like “Mulholland Dr.,” it’s as ambitious as anything Netflix has produced this year. Held together by an incredible performance by Rosa Salazar, it’s not a show in which…

“You’re not too smart, are you? I like that in a man.” Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), the femme fatale of “Body Heat,” sums up the history of film noir in that statement to Florida lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt), her future lover and co-conspirator. In classic noir tradition, Ned is smug enough to think she’s just bantering…

Peter Nicks’ “Homeroom” is a documentary about a single, historically pivotal school year, 2019-2020. The subjects are a politically engaged group of students at Oakland High School who enter classes in the fall having know idea that two historical tidal waves are about to knock them all over: the wave of protests that followed the murder…

Picking up where “The Kissing Booth 2” left off, Vince Marcello’s sequel answers a few lingering questions on the minds of Elle (Joey King) and her fans. Will she follow her boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi) to Harvard or keep her promise to her best friend (and Noah’s brother) Lee (Joel Courtney) and go with him…

Marvel’s latest series on Disney+ is more of a remix album, playing with the elements you recognize, to show different outcomes with much of the same structure. In the case of the anthology series’ first episode, “What If … Captain Carter Were the First Avenger,” it’s about imaging Hayley Atwell’s Agent Peggy Carter as the…