Emily Aragones
Late Night - Still 1
Late Night (2019)
Late Night (Rated R)
Television’s only female, late-night talk-show host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), tries to repair her woman-hating reputation by adding Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) to her all-male writer’s room. Then, Katherine learns her ratings are in the dumps, and cancellation of her show looms. Determined to save her job, Katherine taps into Molly’s fearless naiveté to reinvent her comedic style. Following Late Night’s debut at Sundance, Amazon Studios paid a record $13 million for U.S. distribution rights. Kaling penned the script, hoping Thompson would play Katherine; Thompson aces it!
Men in Black: International (Rated PG-13)
Working out of the Men in Black London office, agents M (Tessa Thompson) and H (Chris Hemsworth) take orders from Agent O (Emma Thompson) and advice from veteran Agent T (Liam Neeson). To keep humanity safe from the extraterrestrials who make themselves at home here, the agents quietly manage both the small and cute along with the large and awkward. Then, Earth is attacked by shape-shifters known as the Hive. Sounds like one or more good guys get impersonated, as coworkers struggle to figure out who is who. Hemsworth and Thompson are likable, but can you see them summoning pitch-perfect snarkiness? Me neither.
Shaft (Rated R)
If you wonder why Shaft needs more sequels, perhaps it’s to bring back Richard Roundtree (age 76) in the titular role. Here he helps his nephew, Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson), and great-nephew, Shaft Jr. (Jessie T. Usher), solve a homicide that’s gotten personal. The script lands few comedic punches. It also received $15 million from Netflix, which bought the right to air Shaft a mere two weeks after its theatrical release.
