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Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week.

1st Year Checking (On Demand, Vimeo)
Synopsis: This documentary wades into the topic of checking in Youth Hockey. Michael Messner, a hockey fan and coach, decided to chronicle his 12-year-old son's first year of youth hockey where checking is allowed. It's a difficult exploration at times, and also fascinating as we see what happens to these young hockey fans and get interviews with experts. The idea of head trauma in contact sports has been hotly debated for some time, often with us focusing on football. While football is a threat, hockey is no slouch. This one gives you plenty of food-for-thought about what the nature of these sports is, what it should be and what it might mean for our kids.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Two Stars

CODA (Opens August 13 on Apple TV+)
Starring: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant, Troy Kotsur, and Eugenio Derbez
Synopsis: This new feature was first released during the Sundance Film Festival in January. Following that, it was purchased by Apple and debuts on the streaming platform on Friday. The film comes from writer/director Sian Heder and follows Ruby (Jones) who is a CODA (Child Of Deaf Adults). Her parents (Matlin and Kotsur) and older brother (Durant) are both hearing. Her family makes a living fishing the waters off Massachusetts, scraping out a modest living. Ruby is the bridge for her family and the hearing world, spending time fishing with her father and brother before heading off to school. After enrolling in choir, Ruby is challenged by a teacher (Derbez) to fully unlock her passion for singing. As that door begins to open, her family's need of her unique skills intensifies, putting obligation at odds with her dreams. This is a beautiful and powerful film, full of raw emotion. Jones gives a magnificent performance in the lead role, while the rest of the cast is excellent as well. Heder delivers a powerful emotional film that is also soulful and beautiful. It's the best film I've seen so far in 2021 and a film I hope is a major player come awards season.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for strong sexual content and language, and drug use.
Verdict: Four stars out of four

Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars (On Demand August 13)
Synopsis: This documentary from Johnny Sweet tells an emotional tale of those in the hospitality industry in New York City that were shut down and left rudderless by the COVID-19 Pandemic. This summer has seen our country open up and, at times, return to more of a sense of normal, but this engrossing tale uses interviews and file footage to walk through those early days in the Winter, Spring and Summer of 2020 when workers like the ones depicted in the film suddenly found themselves without work and on unsteady footing heading toward the future. It's an emotional and at times gripping look at this pandemic from a new lens. It's worth checking out and I hope more of these stories continue to be told as we explore the impact of this pandemic on society.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Three Stars out of four

Pray Away (Netflix)
Synopsis: Another documentary, this one on Netflix. I watched plenty of documentaries this week, and I think they're an important part of our storytelling culture, shining a light on people and stories we need to know about. Director Kristine Stolakis takes a look at those who were involved in the Exodus Ministry, which sought to use conversion therapy to move gay individuals into a life of faith and heterosexuality. More than that, the documentary sought to capture the stories of people who were abused mentally by people in the name of religion. As a person of faith, these stories are both tough to hear and important. Hate can't win people over, neither can making them hate themselves. That's a lot of the stories in this film, people pushed to a breaking point mentally because of the pressure and lack of love with which some presented the Gospel. It's a fascinating story that gives voice to this group and is a decently produced documentary.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, brief strong language, some sexual references and brief partial nudity.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

The Suicide Squad (Theaters and HBO Max)
Starring: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, and Viola Davis
Synopsis: James Gunn, who gave us The Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, moves over to the D.C. Extended Universe to helm the follow up to Suicide Squad, which was released in 2016. This follow up brings back a few familiar faces, like Harley Quinn (Robbie) and Rick Flagg (Kinnaman), while introducing new characters like Bloodsport (Elba) and The Peacemaker (Cena). The formula is the same, bringing together a group of villains with unique skills to take on dangerous missions to safeguard the United States and reduce their sentence. This is also a familiar Gunn formula, with a blend of comedy, action and music. This one embraces its R-rating, offering some in-your-face and excessive violence employed to tell this story. I won't belabor things here since I've published a more lengthy review elsewhere, but suffice to say I was pumped to see this one but underwhelmed by the final product. It was entertaining and a fine film, but not as good as I'd hoped.
Rating: Rated R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

Wish Dragon (Netflix)
Starring: Jimmy Wong, John Cho, Constance Wu, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Will Yun Lee
Synopsis: This Sony Animation film was released earlier this year on Netflix. It centers on a young man (Wong) who finds a magic dragon (Cho) that offers to grant him three wishes. He tries to use the gift to re-connect with a friend (Bordizzo) with whom he'd lost touch. This one has some strong visuals and a decent story. Director Chris Appelhans does a nice job putting this story together and I enjoyed the way the film flowed. The voice cast is solid, as I especially enjoyed Cho as the Wish Dragon. This one is cute and good for the family while being entertaining enough for the adults.
Rating: Rated PG for mild action and rude humor.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

Woodstock '99: Peace, Love and Rage (HBO Max)
Synopsis: Bill Simmons once upon a time created an excellent documentary series for ESPN called 30-For-30. Now with HBO, he's done the same thing with music documentaries, launching Music Box. The first of those original films is Woodstock '99 from director Garrett Price, which is now available to stream on HBO Max. The film looks at the Woodstock 1999 event, including stock footage, classic performances and contemporary interviews with attendees, journalists, performers and organizers. The film was a great walk through the event, one that I only loosely remember as an 18-year-old at the time. It was a great look at what went wrong, why and what it means. I enjoyed the performances and interviews, exploring the story of an event that I didn't know much about. I'm looking forward to more films from this series.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Three Stars

Val (Amazon Prime)
Synopsis: The final entry in Documentary Week is Val, a documentary chronicling the life, career and current health challenges of actor Val Kilmer. It had a limited theatrical run and now is streaming on Amazon Prime. The film covers 40 years in the actor's career, telling stories about his film using his son, Jack, as a narrator. It also contains home movies and pictures taken by Kilmer throughout his career. All that is cut together with Kilmer now as he continues to make public appearances and recover from throat cancer, which decimated his speaking voice. This was at times fascinating and focused on the craft, but mostly interesting because it helps shed a light on a misunderstood actor who has been a big part of our cinematic landscape for decades. For lovers of film, this is well worth seeking out.
Rating: Rated R for some language.
Verdict: Three stars out of four

Vivo (Netflix)
Starring: Lin Manuel Miranda, Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, and Gloria Estefan
Synopsis: This is another animated feature from Sony appearing on Netflix, this one starring the voice talents of Miranda, who also wrote the music in this film. It centers on a monkey, Vivo (Miranda), who travels from Cuba to Florida in an effort to fulfill the last wish of his departed best friend. He connects with the man's niece (Simo) and sets out to deliver a song to Marta Sandoval (Estefan) on the night of her farewell performance. This is a cute idea and has some beautiful visuals. Some of the songs are catchy, but none is particularly memorable. At times the story really landed some strong emotional punches, but it's incredibly uneven. This one is cute but fails to be overly compelling.
Rating: Rated PG for some thematic elements and mild action.
Verdict: Two stars out of four