A Quiet Place and Blockers Are Certified Fresh

The post-Bridesmaids era has seen Hollywood awaken to the reality that women can carry a raunchy comedy just as well as men — yet while it’s hard to fault their belated enthusiasm for ribald female-led laughs, the results haven’t always been as easy to celebrate. Happily, that isn’t the case with Blockers, which finds Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon moving behind the camera to direct the tale of three high school seniors (Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Gideon Adlon) determined to lose their virginity on prom night — and the increasingly desperate efforts of their parents (Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz and John Cena) to stop the deflowering at all costs. In terms of setup, it’s little more than a gender-swapped take on the type of “losin’ it” teen comedies the industry has been cranking out for decades; fortunately, there’s a lot more to a movie than its setup, and critics say this is a very funny case in point. There’s plenty of gross-out humor, to be sure — audiences may never look at Cena’s rear end and/or beer bongs the same way ever again — but the gags are brought to life by an exceptionally talented cast, and balanced by the type of intelligence and empathy that aren’t often found in this genre.

As we’ve discussed countless times in this space, a formula only becomes a formula because it works — and the inspirational sports drama is a perfect case in point. Once you’ve watched a few of them, it’s fairly easy to predict the storyline beats and when they’ll be hit, but no matter how many times we see people triumph over adversity through bonding over competitive games, it can still be powerfully effective when it’s done right. To its credit, The Miracle Season does a couple of things that suggest it’ll be a worthy and/or somewhat novel addition to the genre, including hiring Helen Hunt and William Hurt to star and centering the plot around girls’ high school volleyball; unfortunately, critics say none of it is enough to outweigh director Sean McNamara‘s overall failure to capture the heart-wrenching true story of a squad that bands together in pursuit of the state championship after the death of their star player. Reviews point to a movie that’s occasionally bluntly effective in its aggressive pursuit of the audience’s tear ducts, but unless you’re really into volleyball and/or hugely emotional final acts, consider yourself advised to stay on the sidelines for this one.

As a political dynasty as well as an American family, the Kennedys have weathered more than their share of stranger-than-fiction developments, enjoying generations of historic good fortune while also suffering searing tragedy and shame. One of the darker chapters gets its due with this weekend’s Chappaquiddick, which focuses on the scandal that erupted — and was ultimately quelled — when Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) drove off a bridge, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara). It’s obviously a sordid story, the truth of which remains beyond the grasp of any biopic, but critics say this one mostly hits the mark; Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan‘s screenplay takes a balanced approach to the tabloid-friendly details, while Jason Clarke’s performance as Kennedy artfully resists caricature on multiple levels. There’s certainly no shortage of movies about the members of this family, but Chappaquidick fits solidly into the oeuvre.

Legion returns with a smart, strange second season that settles into a straighter narrative without sacrificing its unique sensibilities.