These last several months have been devoted to some academic writing projects and keeping my head above water on other professional activities.

While I haven’t taken time to write about movies, I have seen a few.

I’m thinking about some longer posts on Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born, but here are a couple of short takes (linked by theme) in the meantime.

Seldom have I experienced two separate “bookends” in such a short space of time.

I loved both The Wife and Colette, twins in theme (women’s art suppressed by the patriarchy at large and at home) but not in tone (the former is spare in style and emotionally taut like the Nordic clime where much of the action takes place and the latter is lyrical and lush as a sensuous period piece is meant to be).

Glenn Close, always sublime, is at the top of her game here, and that is saying something.

My other theme twins are not so evenly matched.

I have to give the decided edge to Monsters and Men over The Hate U Give. Topical films like these–both deal with police murders (yes, I chose the word with intent) of men of color– are tricky to pull off without seeming like a polemic at the expense of narrative authenticity.

That is exactly what happens here with some aesthetic misfires in the mix, too.

Monsters and Men works for me. There is enough nuance and complexity to engage the mind as well as the heart. All of this hinges on the conflict experienced by the police officer (a man of color) who is one of three central characters woven into the storyline.

I did not read The Hate U Give, but if you talk movies with me, you know that I believe texts should stand on their own regardless of source material. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like the film because of the content and the youthful energy of the protagonist, the movie dipped into “After School Special” territory for me quite frequently.

Three to recommend out of this crop, which is not a bad yield.