7 Boxes (2014)

"Marriage Story" is a narrow-minded and heavy-handed attempt to examine the complexity of human relationships.

With raw and unapologetic performances by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, stories about the hardships of Black musicians are weaved in with The Blues.

A trouble-making teenager spends the summer working at a Southern California beach learning about responsibility.

Him is visually stunning—all concrete cathedrals and bone-rattling impact shots that look like a nightmare highlight reel. Marlon Wayans is magnetic as this legendary quarterback who's basically selling salvation with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. But the story keeps running in circles: more tests, more cryptic pep talks, more ritualistic drills. The sports-as-religion metaphor beats you over the head when subtlety would've been more effective. The middle drags, and that finale chooses spectacle over substance. It's undeniably stylish, but left me cold. Also worth noting: despite the Monkeypaw connection, this isn't actually a Jordan Peele film—he didn't write or direct.

"A Drowning Man" (2017) explores the unseen aspects of the Refugee Crisis. In, 15 far-too-short minutes, viewers are given a detailed snapshot of what it's like for a refugee to drown in the waters of poverty and otherness while trying to navigate a land whose promise has worn off, and only 'strange' remains.

While Peter’s heroics might have been a bit unrealistic at times due to his lack of experience, I will always support the civilian taking down the establishment.