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      1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, is a provocative, well-researched, and eye-opening documentary about the first time that the word "homosexual" was used in a revised edition of the Bible in 1946. Through interviews with scholars like Ed Oxford, a gay Christian and bible expert, Kathy Baldock, an evangelical Christian, and Steve Greenberg, a gay Orthodox rabbi, director Sharon “Rocky” Roggio sheds light on how and why the word was mistranslated and how it provided fuel for the anti-LGBT movement to base their homophobic views on the Bible. 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture bravely and persuasively argues, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they have no biblical basis on which to justify their homophobia. Roggio should be commended for keeping the film focused and for not exhausting or overwhelming the audience despite covering a lot of ground with a human rights issue that's not only complex, but also spans many decades. She also delves into her relationship with her father, Pastor Sal Roggio, and how he wasn't supportive of her when she came out as a lesbian. The fact that they're still able to have an open and intelligent conversation with each other and have maintained contact throughout the years highlights the importance of compassion and empathy, especially when debating controversial and sensitive issues. As Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. once observed, "The day your life begins to end is on the day you're silent about the things that matter." Thank you, director Sharon “Rocky” Roggio, for making a documentary about an issue that matters in many ways to people all over the world. At a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture opens December 1st, 2023 at Village East by Angelika.


Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Directed by Aitch Alberto




      Aristotle (Max Pelayo), a Mexican-American teenager meets another Mexican-American teenager, Dante (Reese Gonzalez), at a swimming pool during the summer of 1987 in El Paso, Texas. They become close friends throughout the course of the summer, but their relationship gets put to the test when Ari gets injured in an accident and Dante briefly moves to Chicago before returning to El Paso during the summer of 1988.

      Based on the novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the screenplay by writer/director Aitch Alberto weaves an engrossing coming-of-age drama that also serves as a tender love story. Alberto wisely avoids turning the film into a sappy, clunky mess. Aristotle and Dante have a "meet cute" moment at the pool, but it's sweet without being saccharine. It's moving to watch how their friendship blossoms into something transcendent, so when they have their first kiss, the beat lands because it feels organic. Alberto should also be commended for giving both Aristotle and Dante unique personalities which makes them all the more human and relatable. She doesn't treat any of the characters as villains; they all feel like fully-fleshed human beings. The film takes its time to add layers of complexity to their relationship, i.e. during their time apart from each other and the way that Dante reacts to Ari's injury which sent him to the hospital. They correspond via letters, but their relationship does hit some road bumps and there's some friction between them. This isn't a fairy tale love story because it does have some emotional grit, although it's not quite as powerful and unflinching as Andrew Haigh's Weekend. At least it's not as contrived and sugar-coated as Love, Simon, though.

      Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzalez have palpable chemistry which makes it easy for the audience to root for Aristotle and Dante to be together. Neither of them over-acts or under-acts, so their natural performances help to ground the film in realism. The cinematography is pretty decent with great use of music and editing which help to make the film feel more cinematic, so writer/director Aitch Alberto finds the right balance between Truth and Spectacle, but, most importantly, finds the Spectacle within the Truth, a.k.a. humanism, a truly special effect. At a running time of 1 hour and 36 minutes, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a warm, tender and genuinely heartfelt love story. It would make for an interesting double feature with Lukas Moodysson's Show Me Love.
  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Released by Blue Fox Entertainment.
Opens September 8th, 2023 nationwide.

Bottoms

Directed by Emma Seligman




      PJ (Rachel Sennott) and her best friend, Josie (Ayo Edebiri), are queer high school students who want to be more popular and to seduce their cheerleader crushes, Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havan Rose Liu). So, they form a lesbian fight club and convince Brittany and Isabel to join it. Their teacher Mr. G (Marshawn Lynch) agrees to serve as the faculty advisor.

      After her poignant, witty and funny directorial debut, Shiva Baby, writer/director Emma Seligman is back with a different kind of comedy the second time around. Co-written by Rachel Sennott, the screenplay blends dark humor, acerbic humor and wit with mixed results, especially when it tries to be heartfelt. It's at its most entertaining level when it's irreverent and tries to push the envelope of teen comedies. The plot borrows a lot from Mean Girls, Heathers and Jawbreaker, so the film doesn't exactly score points for originality. Nor does it develop any of its characters enough for you to care about them as human beings, so the beats during the more tender moments toward the end don't land and feel contrived without adding much depth. What are PJ and Josie's parents like? The subplot involving Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine), a typical high school jock, isn't very interesting nor surprising. Also, the dark humor feels repetitive and only mildly humorous without enough laugh-out-loud funny scenes or lines. Seligman and Sennott have a decent command of the film's tone, though, which is often darkly comedic and satirical much like Heathers.

      Rachel Sennott proves to be good at dark, ascorbic comedy yet again after Shiva Baby and Bodies Bodies Bodies. She's also very charismatic. Then there's Ayo Edebiri who's terrific here and has great chemistry with Rachel Sennott. Marshawn Lynch makes the most out of his supporting role---kind of like Tina Fey's outreously funny portrayal of a teacher in Mean Girls. It's also worth mentioning the lively and well-chosen soundtracks. Fortunately, the pace moves briskly enough and the film clocks around 90 minutes which is ideal for a comedy because otherwise Bottoms would've overstayed its welcome. At 1 hour and 28 minutes, Bottoms is a mildly funny and dark satire that's concurrently repetitive and shallow, but the fine ensemble cast of comedic actors help to invigorate it.
  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Released by Orion Pictures.
Opens nationwide on August 25th, 2023.

Problemista

Directed by Julio Torres




      Alejandro (Julio Torres), an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, must find a job in NYC before his work visa expires after getting fired. He bumps into Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an art curator, who hires him as her assistant. She happens to be the ex-wife of his former boss, Bobby (RZA).

       Writer/director Julio Torres understands that comedy is often rooted in tragedy. At its core, Problemista centers on a young man whose hopes and dreams are in danger of being crushed because of a flawed and unfair immigration system in the U.S. One small mistake at his job gets him fired and at risk of losing his work visa. He'll accept any job, so it's no wonder that he seizes the opportunity to work for Elizabeth when they first meet. She's eccentric, demanding and as hard to please as Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada. They mostly get along despite their differences in personality. The way she talks to a waiter, for example, makes her seem like a rude, insensitive narcissist. How did she end up so toxic? Problemista isn't very interesting in exploring that as much as it's interesting in showing Alejandro and Elizabeth evolving friendship and how she inspires him despite her absuive behavior. Perhaps the film is trying to say that it's a tough world out there, so you have to be thick-skinned and confident like Elizabeth to survive it. Alejandro seems like her doormat at first, but he gradually learns how to believe in himself. Their relationship doesn't quite hit the same heights as the relationship between Harold and Maude in Harold & Maude, but it's cut from the same cloth. Alejandro has a loving relationship with his mother who's in El Salvador which is shown through their phone conversations rather than through flashbacks. Fortunately, Julio Torres, in his directorial debut, is unafraid to take risks by including some surreal flourishes to the film that make it outrageously funny, unconventional and refreshing without any clunkiness or tonal unneveness. The film's minor flaw occurs at the very end when Alejandro says something to Elizabeth that means that perhaps he hasn't really changed that much after all.  

       Julio Torres gives a performance that's moving and grounded while being a great counterbalance for Tilda Swinton's over-the-top performance. With a less talented actress, Elizabeth could've easily turned into nothing more than an annoying caricature. To be fair, Elizabeth is annoying at times and not very likeable, but Swinton finds her humanity and gives her a few redeeming qualities that show Elizabeth's vulnerability ever so slightly. The costume design and hair & make-up design, especially for Elizabeth, is quite lively and stylish. There are also a few witty and trippy animation sequences. So, Problemista has both style and substance which is rare these days. At a running time of 1 hour and 38 minutes, it's funny, witty, poignant and refreshing.
  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Released by A24.
Opens March 1st, 2024 in select theaters nationwide.


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Avi Offer
The NYC Movie Guru
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