62 new york | january 3–16, 2022
after they are kidnapped
by an eccentric billionaire
(Daniel Radcliffe), the
plot-stuffedThe Lost City
could go either way.ËJohn Wick:
Chapter 4(May 27)
At the conclusion of 2019’s
John Wick: Chapter 3—
Parabellum,Keanu
Reeves, as the hit action
franchise’s titular super-
assassin, had been shot,
thrown himself from the
top of a building, and
dragged himself to safety
more dead than alive. His
only thought: revenge on
those who did him dirty.
As befits a character who
has killed literally
hundreds of people by this
point, director Chad
Stahelski has promised no
“happy ending” for Wick.ËNope(Jul. 22)
Jordan Peele has been
involved in so many
projects as a producer
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Amir Jadidi plays Rahim,
imprisoned for myriad
debts, whose girlfriend,
Farkhondeh (Sahar
Goldust), presents him
with a way of settling what
he owes. Iranian
filmmaker Asghar Farhadi
might be our leading
ethicist, andA Hero
continues his curiosity with
incremental degrees of
right and wrong.ËAline(Jan. 21)
This unofficial Céline Dion
biopic from writer-director
Valérie Lemercier stars the
57-year-old Lemercier as
Aline Dieu (French for
“Aline God”) at every stage
of her mortal life,
including a flabbergasting,
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids–
esque age 5. The
wonderfully wacky, openly
adoring movie is perhaps
the only possible way to
tell Dion’s story, vibrating
on the same wavelength as
the famously weird French
C di hanteuse.MOVIES
J.LoandSandra Bullock rom-coms.
ËThe Big Hit Show(Jan. 12, Higher Ground and Spotify)The latest from
Spotify and the Obamas’ production studio, Higher Ground,The Big Hit
Showis pitched as a30 for 30–esque documentary franchise, in which each
five-episode chapter revisits the origins and legacy of a “new classic” of film,
music, or TV. Hosted by Alex Pappademas.ËHeidi World: The Heidi
Fleiss Story(Feb. 14, iHeartMedia)From writer Molly Lambert,Heidi
Worlddigs into the full story of Heidi Fleiss, the “Hollywood Madam,” who rose to global fame in
the early ’90s for her high-end-escort business that drew the patronage of L.A.’s rich and powerful
and who ultimately became a pariah.ËEmbedded (s p r i n g , N PR)NPR’s elite investigative-
journalism unit returns in collaboration with the Marshall Project to trace the efforts of the Yonkers
Police Department to change policing from within. The podcast intends to grapple with the hard
stuff: Can a police department with a history of misconduct change? And how? nicholas quah((Candyman,
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PHOTOGRAPHS: UNIVERSAL (MARRY ME); AMAZON STUDIOS (A HERO); COURTESY OF A24 (EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE)
The CULTURE PAGES
Ë Marry Me (Feb. 11)
Jennifer Lopez, playing
an international pop
star like Jennifer Lopez,
learns that her lover, also
a pop star (Maluma),
is cheating on her—right
before the two plan to
marry each other onstage.
So she picks a random
local teacher (Owen
Wilson) out of a crowd
and promptly marries
him instead. This might
be the most important
film ever made.ËThe Batman
(Mar. 4)
After matriculating at the
A24 Finishing School for
Leading Men With Indie
Cred, Robert Pattinson
returns to the world of bat-
themed franchise cinema.
How will the third Batman
reboot of the 21st century
separate itself from its
predecessors? Judging by
the trailer, by putting
Pattinson in absolutely
gothic levels
of eyeliner.ËEverything
Everywhere
All at Once (Mar. 25)
The latest sci-fi action film
from Daniel Kwan and
Daniel Scheinert,
collectively known as
Daniels, looks as
delightfully off-kilter as
their 2016 debut, Swiss
Army Man. Michelle Yeoh
is Evelyn Wang, a
seemingly normal woman
with a husband, kids, and
a family business, who
learns she exists in infinite
universes. The film’s
trailer promises ass-
kicking. “Don’t make me
fight you—I am really
good!” Evelyn says, and
Yeoh has never been
wrong about that.ËThe Lost City
(Mar. 25)
Conceived by Seth
Gordon, whose broad
comedic style can either
hit (Horrible Bosses) or not
(Baywatch). Starring
Sandra Bullock as a
reclusive romance writer
who becomes entangled
with her books’ cover
model (Channing Tatum)ËDon’t Worry
Darling (Sep. 23)
Olivia Wilde’s follow-up to
her acclaimed directorial
debut, Booksmart, is
a 1950s-set psychological
thriller starring Florence
Pugh and Harry Styles
as a couple whose
seemingly idyllic lives turn
out to be built on some
disturbing secrets.
The film is also reportedly
where the romance
between Styles and
Wilde began.ËBlack Panther:
Wakanda Forever
(Nov. 11)
Even those who aren’t
Marvel fans probably feel
somewhat invested in the
fate of the next Black
Panther movie. For
starters, the passing of
Chadwick Boseman in
2020 robbed us of not just
one of our finest actors
but one of the more
interesting superheroes
in the Marvel firmament.
It’s welcome news that
director Ryan Coogler
is returning behind the
camera for this one—
he’s the rare name with
the clout to forge a
new path in what might
have otherwise been
a standard-issue
superhero sequel.bilge ebiri, roxana
hadadi, rachel
handler, nate jones,
chris lee,
alison willmore