Peter Debruge Chief: Last News

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Can you imagine anything more delightful than Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin co-starring in a movie with Richard Roundtree and Malcolm McDowell … in 1972? That was the year Fonda won an Oscar for “Klute” and daffy “Laugh-In” star Tomlin released her first comedy album. The two men were riding high with “Shaft” and “A Clockwork Orange,” respectively. Just think what an ensemble film that played to each of their strengths might have yielded 50 years ago. That’s wishful thinking, of course. You can’t go back, and you can’t do things over, but it’s never too late to move on. At least, that’s the message writer-director Paul Weitz is peddling in “Moving On,” a sassy feature-length sitcom with a #MeToo twist in which two estranged friends reunite to settle a decades-old score.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic God’s thumbs! Leave it to “Girls” creator Lena Dunham to deliver what’s been missing from the field of princess movies all these years: namely, permission for young women to be themselves, regardless of what their parents or the patriarchy might think. In many ways, movies — and YA movies in particular — double as a kind of socializing tool, encouraging audiences to be independent thinkers (on their surface) while in fact giving them the keys for conformity: Follow the rules, respect your elders, marry the right guy, and you’ll be rewarded with your happily ever after, they say. But that’s not independence; that’s indoctrination. Adapted from Katherine Cushman’s 1994 novel, “Catherine Called Birdy” is a genially impertinent feature-length celebration of not always doing what you’re told. Set in 1290, at a time of infrequent baths and early-40s life expectancy, Dunham’s comedic take follows the creative schemes 14-year-Lady Catherine (Bella Ramsey) devises to avoid being married off by her father, Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott), to the first scraggly beard that comes along. “Your villagers are allowed to marry where they will, but your daughter is sold like a cheese for your profit!” she scoffs in the book. Here, she’s got even more attitude, a 21st-century spirit trapped in a girl’s body.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Something’s not quite right with Pearl, who wields a pitchfork less like a tool than a sex toy when tending the family farm. Such macabre behavior will come as no surprise to fans of Ti West’s “X,” who met the character in her advanced years, horny and homicidal, killing the amateur adult film crew staying on her property, then feeding their pieces to a grateful alligator. West wrapped that early-2022 horror offering with a trippy teaser for “Pearl,” a stand-alone origin story rendered in the style of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. The trailer suggested something practically avant-garde, with a dance scene, dream sequences and a super-saturated color scheme, but the reality is more mundane than A24 audiences have come to expect.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity — the stars of Ryan White’s inspirational and wonderfully engaging “Good Night Oppy” — were designed to last 90 days on the Red Planet. Instead, they went right on exploring the alien terrain for years, sending invaluable data and images back to NASA the whole time. For scientists, students and astronomy buffs around the world, the two robots became mascots for a historic mission, the goal of which was to find evidence of past water on Earth’s nearest neighbor, for that in turn could suggest the possibility of life on Mars. To call the MER experiment a success would be an understatement, but it wasn’t until this delightful documentary that a more important point became clear: As it turns out, for nearly 15 years, there was life on Mars: Within the opening minutes of “Good Night Oppy,” White convinces us that these two solar-powered, remote-controlled research tools weren’t just machines but sentient characters with personalities, every bit as relatable as Pixar’s lovable trash compactor, WALL•E, or the Johnny 5 droid from “Short Circuit.”

Debuting on demand, rather than in theaters, this attractive but calculated attempt to connect 'Scooby-Doo' to other Hanna-Barbera characters abandons the show's fun teen-detective format.

By Peter Debruge

A kitschy cover version of the early-’80s teen movie romance gets bogged down in nostalgia, losing the edge — of new music and Nicolas Cage’s performance — that made it a generational favorite.

A daring group of undocumented young people go to extreme measures to liberate immigrants bound for deportation in this hybrid “prison” doc.

The 'Avengers: Endgame' producers tapped their stunt supervisor to direct a stock action script, relying on his ingenuity — and Chris Hemsworth’s commitment — to make it feel fresh.

Hip-hop photographer Estevan Oriol digs into his archive and calls up old friends in order to serve up the inside scoop on his collaboration with tattoo legend Mister Cartoon.

'Master of None' producer Alan Yang reveals insights into his own upbringing, but falls short of fully capturing his immigrant father's experience, in this intimate drama now available on Netflix.

Sure, the premise is puerile, but the humor is decidedly inappropriate for young viewers in this Netflix action comedy pairing Ed Helms with a 12-year-old.

German-born, Austin-based director Bastian Günther has crafted an artful but unnaturally pessimistic retelling of Texas' infamous 'Hands on a Hard Body' competition.

It may seem self-serving for festivals nixed by the coronavirus to share the films they would have shown, but it serves a strategic purpose in getting those same movies sold and reviewed.