After the shocking victory of Donald Trump in 2016, there has been a certain obsession, a fetishization even, of the “white working class.” This amorphous group of Appalachia dwellers, “hill people” as MawMaw (Glenn Close) calls them, have been the subject of intense scrutiny. They’ve been focus grouped, polled and interviewed in every rural diner the New York Times could get to, all in search of an explanation for our most unexpected president.

I can’t even count how many times I’ve typed some variation of the phrase “This is the perfect film for the coronavirus moment.” When an event so imbues itself into the day to day consciousness, it begins to color the way we see the world. Art takes on a new, perhaps unintended, meaning. Dick Johnson is Dead, a moving piece of personal filmmaking under any circumstance, becomes something much more profound in the context of a global pandemic.

Why carry on with something that you know is doomed? “Maybe it’s human nature to go on in the face of this knowledge” posits the young woman (Jessie Buckley) at the center of Charlie Kaufman’s new film, his first directorial effort in 12 years (he doesn’t count Anomalisa.) This impulse to call it quits is at the very core of his — aptly named — I’m Thinking of Ending Things, in more ways than one.

Back in March the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation and closed theater doors. This forced Disney’s hand in postponing the release of their live action adaptation of Mulan which was merely weeks away. Thus, began the battle within Disney about how to handle the highly anticipated film.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced theaters across the United States to close, Disney’s much anticipated remake of Mulan was less than 2 weeks from releasing. Just one week before it had premiered to LA critics and mildly positive reviews. As is the case for most of us, 2020 has become an unmitigated disaster for Mulan.

Back in 1989 a pair of intrepid teens, who were definitely not stoners, left San Dimas to embark on a most excellent adventure. Had Bill S. Preston, Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) used their time machine to travel to 2020, they likely would have been shocked by what they found. No, I don’t mean the once in a century pandemic, the global economic collapse, or even the massive popularity of Justin Bieber and Post Malone. Bill and Ted would have arrived in 2020 to find their lives on the brink. Had the young Wyld Stallyns dropped in on the event’s of Bill & Ted Face the Music would they have been disappointed in themselves?

Bill Clinton. Samuel Alito. Dick Cheney. Rush Limbaugh. This uniquely craven group of political thinkers are among the first faces seen in the new Apple TV+ documentary ‘Boys State.’ (Apologies to Cory Booker, another former Boys State alumnus shown who seems like a genuine guy.) Perhaps it’s the first warning that the titular program doesn’t exist to give the youth of America a chance to explore representative democracy so much as it does to train a new generation in how to game the US political system. “Democracy isn’t a spectator sport” reads the film’s tagline, but what if it is?

From the start of nationwide lockdowns in the face of COVID-19, many a film has been declared ‘The Perfect Pandemic Film.’ In a lot of ways it makes sense. At a time where so many are feeling isolated, as the days blend together in a never ending stream, its natural to look to movies as a method of escape. In the early days it was ‘Contagion’ that helped contextualize the burgeoning threat. Soon after, ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ hit Hulu and showed a tender side of isolation. ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Eurovision,’ ‘Da 5 Bloods’ all brought us together as a film viewing community. Each of these qualities have felt essential in their own moment.