Actors playing kings are wearing robes of velvet, encrusted with jewels. They take their bows to enthusiastic applause. Then they go back to the dressing room, remove their costumes, and put on the clothes they wear all day, every day, their prison uniforms. These men are incarcerated in the famously bleak maximum security prison in New York, the one with the deceptively upbeat name Sing Sing (derived from the name of the Indian tribe that once occupied the land).

The RTA (Rehabilitation Through Art) program at Sing Sing was created by the men who are incarcerated. Esquire wrote an article about it called “The Sing Sing Follies (A Maximum Security Comedy),” and that inspired Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, the co-screenwriters of the indie gem “Jockey” to start from scratch with their own research, interviewing the participants in the RTA program. Colman Domingo came on as star and co-producer. Most of the cast are formerly incarcerated men cast as characters based on their own experiences. Unusually, and crucially, the producers of the film put their money where their mouths were, and everyone, including the crew and the first-time screen actors, had equal pay and has an equal participation in the film’s profits. At a screening held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, co-star Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin told said in a post-screening Q&A that the recidivism rate of participants in RTA is 3 percent, as compared to over 60 percent for the rest of the prison population.

Domingo gives what is clearly one of the best performances of the year as Divine G, a founder of the theater program. Divine G is an author and playwright. His tiny cell includes a typewriter and stacks of books. He helps other incarcerated men prepare for their parole hearings and is seeking clemency for himself, based on a taped confession that has been discovered since his trial and appeals. He feels a genuine brotherhood with the others, but he still has a sense of pride in his education and accomplishments. We get glimpses of his sense of superiority. (Note: the character we see briefly, asking Divine G to sign a copy of one of his books, is the real Divine G.)

“The Sound of Metal’s” Paul Raci plays Brent, a patient and sympathetic outside facilitator of the small theater group, who gives them exercises (“Now walk like you just won the lottery! Now like a zombie!” “Now close your eyes and imagine a place where you feel happy and peaceful”) and guides them through the stages of production. Divine G offers them a play he wrote about corruption in the recording industry, but the men want a story about cowboys, ancient Egypt, Robin Hood, time travel, and Hamlet, and Brent agrees to write the script for them.

The RTA participants realize quickly that there is a freedom within the walls of their rehearsals that they do not have anywhere else. They realize more slowly that participation unwinds tightly coiled emotions they hid from others and did not not even acknowledge to themselves. The protective wall they have used all their lives, the one they may think keeps them alive and not obsessed with the absence of hope, the one that communicates confidence, power, and hostility — that has to be abandoned if they want to be a part of RTA. By trying on the characters they play, they explore feelings they would not let themselves acknowledge. They make themselves vulnerable to being known, by their casemates, by their audiences, by themselves. They go from being afraid of being seen to inviting others to see them.

One detail that audiences may find heartbreaking comes when Brent asks the men to close their eyes and imagine a place where they feel at peace. Some of the men cannot put themselves in a place outside the walls of the prison, even in their imagination. One they may find touching is when Divine G points to a small open square, smaller than a postcard, in the metal screen on the window. He likes to look at that square. It makes him feel in touch with the outside. Another is when a formerly incarcerated man returns to encourage the men and tell them what his experience has been like on the outside.

And one they might find jarring, at least at first, is the way the men in RTA address each other as “Beloved.” The real-life Divine G, a producer and writer on the film, told me that they chose that word to replace the n-word, which the men were using as a kind of semi-hostile, semi-insulting term of affection. His co-founder, Sean Dino Johnson, who appears as a character inspired by his own life, told me the first play the group put on was about the history and import of the n-word.

Domingo is extraordinary here, conveying his character’s struggles with the subtlest details of expression and posture. He is matched along the way with the RTA alumni, especially Clarence Maclin as a character with his name and some of his history. Two men begin to trust one another and then, unabashedly, proudly, call each other “beloved,” setting up the story for an ending of enormous power and meaning.

Parents should know that this story takes place in a maximum security prison and some characters are there because they were drug dealers, armed robbers, or murderers. They take responsibility for their choices but the focus of the film is on the human capacity to learn and get better. Characters use very strong language, including the n-word. There are sad deaths of a human and a beloved pet.

Family discussion: What is your most perfect spot? Why is laughter so important in the rehearsal room? What play would you like to be in?

If you like this, try: “The Quilters,” a short documentary about a program that teachers men in prison to make quilts for foster children, “Greenfingers,” with Clive Owen, based on a program in the UK where men in prison create gardens.

Go Team USA! Go all the athletes who have reached the pinnacle. These are some great family movies about the Olympic Games.

The First Olympics: Athens 1896, one of my very favorite sports movies ever, is a made-for-TV miniseries about the first modern-day Olympics. We take the Olympics as a given now, but there were 1500 years between the time of the ancient games and the establishment of the modern Olympics with countries from all over the world putting aside their political differences for athletic competition in the spirit of good sportsmanship and teamwork. Showing the origins of everything from the starting position for sprinters to the impulsive selection of the Star Spangled Banner as the U.S. national anthem, the story is filled with drama, wit, and unforgettable characters, sumptuously filmed and beautifully performed by a sensational cast that includes then-unknown David Caruso of “CSI,” one-time Bond Girl Honor Blackman, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, and Louis Jourdan. It was a Writer’s Guild and Casting Society award winner when it was first released. It is a great introduction to the Olympics, a thrilling and inspiring story, and outstanding family entertainment.

Chariots of Fire This Best Picture Oscar winner is a classic, focusing on two runners in the first Olympics following WWI, both men of deep faith and integrity.  For more about the real life of Eric Liddell, see this.

Stick It This underrated gem is a stylish, smart, and all-around terrific story about gymnastics and when and when not to follow the rules.

American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars One of my favorite entries in one of my favorite series — I love the way this film deals frankly with issues like disabilities (learning and physical), competition, and friendship.

Prefontaine “Modern Family’s” Ed O’Neill and Jared Leto star in the story of the Olympic runner.

Race Jesse Owens thrilled the world and defied Hitler in the 1934 Olympics. This is an outstanding film, exciting, thoughtful, and beautifully performed.

There is also a documentary about Jesse Owens.

“Eddie the Eagle” is based on the true story of a skier who became an international symbol not of winning but of trying the hardest.

“16 Days of Glory” Bud Greenspan is the master of the Olympics documentary and this one about the 1984 summer Olympics includes all-time all-stars Mary Lou Retton and Greg Louganis.

This one is for the fans. I say that with love because this movie loves the fans. I’m sure there are newcomers out there who are not deeply enmeshed in the comic book history of Marvel characters Deadpool and Wolverine, or even the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There may even be a ticket-buyer or two who have not seen the wildly popular earlier Deadpool and Wolverine movies, even the critically acclaimed “Logan,” and may not know how Deadpool likes to trash Wolverine in his movies in only the way that someone does (usually in middle school) when they really like someone and want that someone to like them back. Those people will enjoy “Deadpool & Wolverine” because it is smart, funny, exciting, often filthy, and even has some heart. Ryan Reynolds (who not only stars as Deadpool but co-produced and co-wrote and has been the force behind the entire Deadpool oeuvre) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) are having so much fun on screen it is impossible not to have fun with them. There’s also a little dog that would be very cute if it didn’t have such a weirdly long tongue, and yes, he is Dogpool.

If you have not seen the movie yet, just know that unlike other Disney/Marvel movies this one is rated R, and Ryan Reynolds has said that it is not for kids. I’ll avoid spoilers here, which is hard because there are so many of them and they are choice, but still, you do not need a review to know if you want to see it or not; if you’re a fan, just go and have a great time, then come back here and read the rest of the as non-spoilery as possible review.

It’s not a spoiler to talk about the opening credits, is it? I’ll just say that they involve some adamantium-enhanced bones used as weapons AND as informative material for listing the filmmakers. We then go back in time to see Deadpool turned down by Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) when he applies to be an Avenger. Disheartened, he gives up being a superhero and goes to work as a used car salesman, which he does poorly. In the present, his birthday party is interrupted by some scary-looking storm trooper types, who take him to the TVA.

For those of you who have not been watching “Loki,” the TVA is the Time Variance Authority. This outpost is run by Mr. Paradox, played by “Succession’s” and “Pride & Prejudice’s” Matthew Macfadyen. Basically, this is just an excuse to (1) both have fun with and (2) make fun of the concept of multi-verses and get around the fact that Wolverine DIED HEROICALLY in a previous film.

Soon, Deadpool and a version of Wolverine (so we don’t have to worry about, like, consistency or logic) are in a massive void that they acknowledge looks like it’s from the “Mad Max” cinematic universe, where they meet up with some interesting characters, good guys and bad. All I can say about that is that there are some truly wonderful surprises from the MCU, not just in who show up but how they behave. Deadpool, going back to his comic book days, has broken the fourth wall, and in this movie it is smashed into smithereens, with more self-referential in-jokes and asides than even an infinite number of multiverses can contain.

I always say that superhero movies depend on the villain. That is less true in this case because Deadpool and Wolverine are anti-heroes, careless, damaged, and often mean-spirited. But the requisite British-accented bad guys are here, one with a rather preposterous link to one of the MCU’s most central characters. Most fans will be more interested in the two well-choreographed fights between the title characters than in their fights with the bad guys (also well-choreographed and very gory). To avoid spoilers I will just say that, as with Thanos (who is not in this movie), it can be difficult to come up with a bad guy (or girl) who is powerful enough to make the stakes meaningful but not so powerful that there is no understandable path (e.g. Kryptonite, Achilles’ heel) to vanquishing them.

The movie expertly balances the exciting, the silly, the references for the fans (look for Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld’s name on a shop the characters go crashing through and digs at the previous and current movie studios for the franchise, plus, for some reason, the Honda Odyssey), and the straightforward superhero stuff, even a few glimpses of actual sincerity. Reynolds and Jackman have tremendous chemistry and should make many movies together. The banter is A+ and so are the needle-drops, including Madonna, N’sync, Green Day, Grease, Aretha Franklin, and Huey Lewis and the News.

It is wonderful to see some of our old favorites from the MCU though I missed spending more time with some of the DCU (Deadpool Cinematic Universe). I want more Negasonic Teenage Warhead! Great nod to Stan Lee. Great nod to the fans from people who love these characters but do not take them too seriously, just like us.

Parents should know that this is a “hard-R” movie with constant strong and crude language, drinking and alcoholism, and extremely graphic violence with many characters injured and killed and many disturbing images.

Family discussion: How do you decide what “matters?” How do Deadpool and Wolverine and Mr. Paradox decide what matters to them? How do the villains in this movie compare to other Marvel villains?

If you like this, try: the other “Deadpool” and “Wolverine” movies and the Loki series.

Maika Monroe stars in one of the highest-profile horror films of 2024, “Longlegs,” following her role in a thriller, “The Watcher.” And Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White is now one of television’s biggest stars, with the third season of “The Bear.” (Also in the film is Sasha Lane, who appears in this week’s blockbuster, “Twisters.”)

Just six years ago, Monroe and White played a romantic couple in a small, independent film called “After Everything,” written and directed by Hannah Marks and Joey Power. I gave the film 3 1/2 stars out of 4 in a review for rogerebert.com: ” a bittersweet love story, bitter because the couple meet just as the guy is diagnosed with cancer, but sweet because the young couple is so believably tender and loving….White and Monroe create imperfect but always likable characters and the direction is brisk but assured.”

Here Hannah Marks and Joey Power, and Jeremy Allen White talk about the film.

I never knew that the legendary Veuve Cliquot champagne was named for the woman who created it in the late 18th century. Veuve means widow.

Haley Bennett, who also produced, plays Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, devastated by the death of the husband she adored when she was still in her 20s. In flashbacks (too many) throughout the film, we see that her relationship with Francois (Tom Sturridge) was deep, intimate, and meaningful. They were both committed to full partnership in the family wine business and he had complete faith in her judgment and taste. That is why, almost unheard of in that era, he made it clear in his will that he was leaving her the vineyards and the business. Throughout the film, she faces one crisis after another as her father-in-law, Philippe (Ben Miles), tries to seize control of the company, her less hierarchical and more inclusive relationship with her workers is challenged, and production and logistics problems make it impossible for her to sell her wine. She gets support (and more) from a man who was her husband’s close friend (perhaps more) and the sales and distribution partner of the business, (Sam Riley).

Cinematographer Caroline Champetier, production designer Stéphane Sartorius and the sound team have created an immersive world that makes us feel like we’re inside a Napoleonic era oil painting. The creaking floorboards, high ceilings, and flickering candlelight are in sharp contrast to the natural world of the vineyard, where Barbe-Nicole is happiest and most at home. Bennett has a quiet, almost serene, quality but seems to glow from within. Her scenes with Sturridge in the blissful early days and then as he became more unstable (there is an implication that he may have committed suicide) and when she makes the decision to send their daughter away to protect her from her father’s deterioration, are subtle but effective, as is Barbe-Nicole’s passion for the vineyard and for making the most delicious champagne ever created. As she talks about the flavors and the size of the bubbles, as she talks about evading Napoleon’s restrictions on international sales, she is quiet, but sure. A defining moment is when she explains that she wants to rotate the crops because the vines need to struggle. That moment and her literal final word tell us that one of the world’s most delicate and cherished drinks is the result of struggle, one that all who embraced considered worth it.

Parents should know that this film includes a mental breakdown and a possible (offscreen) suicide, grief, some sexual situations with nudity, and the misogyny of the era.

Family discussion: Why was Madame Clicquot so confident and determined? What was unusual about the way she treated her employees? Was she right to try to evade the trade restrictions?

If you like this, try: The book by Tilar J. Mazzeo, and Bennett’s film, “Cyrano.” And, if you’re old enough, try some champagne.