¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

• Director: Arthur Bradford

Grade: B

How far would you go to preserve a favorite childhood memory? In ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, director Arthur Bradford chronicles the struggles to preserve a beloved Colorado landmark, no matter how fraught the process may be. Though the documentary is as slight as you might expect when dealing with such subject matter, it gets by thanks to its main characters, the titular Denver-based Mexican restaurant, and its new owners, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

His Three Daughters

• Director: Azazel Jacobs
• Writer: Azazel Jacobs
• Starring: Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, Natasha Lyonne, Jay O. Sanders, Jovan Adepo

Grade: A-

Death often brings out the worst in people, and not just from the dying. Old grudges are brought back to the fore, and people tend to reveal themselves and their true intentions when a loved one is on the verge of crossing over. His Three Daughters takes this idea, and writer-director Azazel Jacobs runs with it to create a deeply empathetic portrait of longstanding trauma, resentment, love, and sisterhood. It’s the kind of film which presents as simple in concept but has many moving things to say, featuring characters who feel real and imperfect because of the grounded performances from the lead actresses.

Between the Temples

• Director: Nathan Silver
• Writers: C. Mason Wells, Nathan Silver
• Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly De Leon, Robert Smigel, Madeline Weinstein

Grade: B-

There’s a great deal of comedy to be found in the very idea of organized religion. Between the Temples focuses on one man’s crisis of Jewish faith and how he unintentionally passes it on to others, often leading to comically obtuse situations. Director and co-writer Nathan Silver takes a lo-fi, Christopher Guest-ian approach to the film, with quick banter, and improv heavy dialogue to mixed results. It’s a film which hinges on the strengths of its leads, Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane but, at nearly two hours long, it quickly runs out of steam to sustain itself to the end.

The Instigators

• Director: Doug Liman
• Writers: Chuck MacLean, Casey Affleck
• Starring: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Ron Perlman, Ving Rhames, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Toby Jones, Paul Walter Hauser, Jack Harlow

Grade: C

Just as Paul Thomas Anderson’s films will forever be tied to the San Fernando Valley, and just as Martin Scorsese’s films will forever be tied to Queens, New York, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck will never be able to shake their association with the city of Boston. In theory, it makes perfect sense to pair them together in Doug Liman’s Beantown-based buddy-crime action-comedy film The Instigators – though perhaps there should have been a better reason for them to be with one another. The duo get put through the paces in a by-the-numbers caper that has enough fun, but should have been much more fun than the end result.

Break the Game

• Director: Jane M. Wagner

Grade: B

Break the Game shows a brutally honest first-person portrayal of Generation Alpha’s relationship to the internet, but it doesn’t have much new to say on the subject. It’s the kind of documentary that feels almost immune from criticism because of its deeply human observations, and what it says about the youth’s sense of community and belonging. Still, the film’s thesis on this matter essentially boils down to “internet equals good and bad”, and one can’t help but wish it was more nuanced than that.