Pic of the Week

For a documentary about a very specific subject, Jiro Dreams of Sushi has a lot on its plate. Even if you don’t like sushi, you will probably be inspired by this portrait of a master.

Wow.

Apollo 11 is a brilliant documentary.

It’s so brilliant, it doesn’t even remotely feel like a documentary. It’s on par with Damien Chazelle’s First Man in terms of atmospherics and cinematography. And Apollo 11 trades in Ryan Gosling for the real deal, Neil Armstrong.

Surprise! This long-running series has finally transformed back into an entertaining spectacle that keeps Michael Bay’s questionable sensibilities at bay.

Leaving your home is a costly, risky proposition. Home is home and to travel to another country is to give up everything that’s important. And yet... people are flexible... people make the best of bad situations... people can adapt.

3-Iron is the latest film from Korean director Kim Ki-Duk, who made our top ten last year with Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring. That film was a specific meditation on Buddhism, whereas 3-Iron is just as poetic but not nearly as specific.

The Last Vermeer has the kind of twists and nuances only history can provide.

True Story is a slow-burn strange-but-true story that relishes the creepy, unsettling side of American life.

Hard Boiled was released in 1992. I probably first saw it in college or soon thereafter, and I probably disliked it because of how violent and over-the-top it is. At the time, I probably thought it was gratuitously violent. Its defenders called the violence “balletic” and said that John Woo was a visionary director, but I probably disagreed.

It’s not as endearing as Tim Burton’s tribute to Ed Wood, but The Disaster Artist is an entertaining — and affectionate — look at the making of a really bad movie by one Tommy Wiseau.

It takes time, but Luc Besson manages to find a new soul for his version of Dracula.

Nothing like going to the ol’ vault to promote a studio’s new movie like Disney has with Tim Allen’s new Shaggy Dog vehicle. But such a move could backfire when viewers see how dated some of the old special effects are compared to Mr. Allen’s canine-inspired CGI antics.

Q: What’s more fun than watching paint dry? A: A documentary about reading.

Actually, if the documentary is Stone Reader, it’s a lot more fun. It has the pace of a good mystery and edge-of-your-seat suspense, which help it overcome most of its flaws.

While Cold Mountain fell short of the grandeur and sweep of director Anthony Minghella’s adaptations of The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley on the big screen, the Civil War epic makes for an excellent DVD experience.