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INDIE PICK 1:
Olivia Wilde may have lied about firing Shia LaBeouf from Don’t Worry Darling, but that doesn’t excuse the misogynistic online attacks against her (especially since LaBeouf may be using the controversy to distract from his upcoming trial for allegedly assaulting FKA Twigs). If you want to shut out the cacophonous social media discourse, watch Booksmart (2019), Wilde’s acclaimed comedy about two teens (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) chasing the myth of the perfect party. Hulu.
HOLLYWOOD PICK 1:
Selena Gomez is reportedly in talks to produce a remake of Mike Nichols’ Working Girl, but it’s hard to imagine her topping the 1988 original, which starred Melanie Griffith as a secretary masquerading as a stockbroker and Harrison Ford as her unwitting (and enraptured) accomplice. Their chemistry and charisma are so delicious that, improbably, they make mergers and acquisitions seem sexy. Hulu.
HOLLYWOOD PICK 2:
8 Mile may be Eminem’s braggadocious fantasy of hypermasculine artistic dominance, but it’s hard not to be seduced by its swagger (especially during the climactic “You went to Cranbrook, that’s a private school!” rap battle). Still, you have to wonder if the Eminem who took a knee at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show would have made the film. Directed by the brilliant Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys), who died in 2016. Netflix.
INTERNATIONAL PICK:
Yes, it was painful to watch Quentin Tarantino embarrass himself by mocking François Truffaut last week. But why brood over that sorry affair when you can revisit a Truffaut classic? The 400 Blows (1959) is a testament to the French New Wave icon’s artistry, ingenuity and humanity—a film directed by a grown-up who clearly never forgot the brutality of childhood. HBO Max.