- The pic follows Ivy, a biracial teenager navigating Aspen’s elite party scene amidst her adoptive parents’ bitter divorce. As she watches her wealthy community provide cover for predatory behavior, Ivy struggles to find her own path without losing herself in this searing exploration of the complexities of power, privilege and personal agency. Inspired by true events, the pic is billed as a “resonant and timely story” told through a “personal lens that examines the empowerment and danger of coming into your sexuality as a woman in our society.”
- Written by the director himself, the story revolves around an “absent” hero: an astronaut lost in the emptiness of space. His absence is spoken about indirectly here, from planet Earth. He was the nation’s son, loved and admired by all. But he’s primarily always on the mind of his little sister Elsa, who’s the real “fully present” heroine in this story. Elsa has lived her life and her childhood by proxy, sustaining herself off the dreams and ambitions of her older brother and hero. He was her point of reference and her daily inspiration. While he floats around, somewhere up there, in the ether, Elsa also drifts, right here on Earth…
- The summer before college, bright-yet-irreverent Elliott comes face-to-face with her older self during a mushroom trip. The encounter spurs a funny and heartfelt journey of self-discovery and first love as Elliott prepares to leave her childhood home. Writer-director Megan Park’s tender, surprising sophomore feature cleverly uses its high-concept premise of a visit from one’s future self to launch a refreshing, nuanced exploration of the uncertainties of young romance and coming of age. My Old Ass is a sweet teenage love story, a lively contemporary comedy, and a quirky riff on time-travel films all in one. Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza have a terrific unlikely chemistry, as the sass and self-assuredness of the young Elliott, as played by Stella, blends and overlaps with Plaza’s sardonic humor as a more mature Elliott. The care and affection shown in the film’s depiction of Elliott’s rural hometown in her last days before taking off for adulthood visually highlights her emotional journey, evoking a nostalgia for days that haven’t even ended yet.—HZ
- Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words offers unprecedented access to the multi-faceted woman behind the persona. Follow the Houston native’s journey on the road to stardom as she tenaciously navigates fame, grief, pressure and success. The documentary unpacks Megan’s most vulnerable moments in a powerful way that allows fans to meet the real Megan Pete.
