Like old or unusual movies? Here’s a review: “The Red Suitcase” (2022): It’s just 18 minutes long, but this Oscar-nominated short will have you on the edge of your seat. Nawelle Evad stars as a young woman who’s just arrived at the Luxembourg airport, and we can tell something is very wrong. She’s afraid to pick up her bag. She’s afraid to exit. She’s virtually paralyzed. Why? During the next tense minutes, we come to understand her situation and root for her as she navigates ever-more-hazardous obstacles to escape. This is a superb low-key thriller. Now streaming on Kanopy “Your Lucky Day” (2023): They say money doesn’t buy happiness. I’ve never believed this, but this film about a group of people fighting certainly seems to make a good case. Angus Cloud stars as a low-level drug dealer who’s just been robbed and stumbles into a convenience store where a Mediocre White Guy (Spencer Garrett) realizes he’s got a winning lottery ticket. Within seconds, things have gone pear-shaped, and drawn into the mayhem are the store owner (Mousa Hussein Kraish), a young couple in the store (Elliot Knight and Jessica Garza) and soon a group of corrupt cops show up and make everything worse. Hang on to your hats; these folks are in for a very bad night. Now streaming on Netflix and Hoopla “Caveat” (2021): A couple of years before he made the very creepy “Oddity,” writer/director Damian McCarthy made this even odder confection. Johnny French stars as an amnesiac young man who strikes an extremely dodgy deal with an acquaintance (friend? enemy? We don’t know!) to go watch a disturbed young woman in a VERY remote and crumbling shack of a house out in the swamp. If all this sounds like a bad plan, believe me, it gets worse: He agrees to be chained to a leash during his stay there. There is something wrong with McCarthy, and I hope he never gets the help he so clearly needs, so he can keep making disturbing movies like this. Now streaming on Shudder and Hoopla “Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto” (1954): Believe it or not, this is the samurai movie that won an Oscar in 1954, not “Seven Samurai.” And it’s really worth discovering. Part 1 of a trilogy, this rousing adventure is in vibrant color and stars Toshiro Mifune as a young man with ambitions to become a legendary samurai. Unfortunately, he doesn’t yet really have the discipline or character to accomplish this. A politically connected priest (Kurôemon Onoe) takes an interest in Mifune while he’s an outlaw and exercises some very tough love on him to make him worthy of the title samurai. The production values are high and the movie has a breezy, storybook feel. Highly recommended. Now streaming on The Criterion Channel Trivia Question #1081: Which of this week’s performers died of a drug overdose before the film they were featured in was released? Answer to Trivia Question #1079: Lauren Ambrose starred in “Six Feet Under” (2001-2005).By DAVID A. LIEB Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters. Some face legal challenges. Here’s a look at some of the most notable state laws taking effect: California, home to Hollywood and some of the largest technology companies, is seeking to rein in the artificial intelligence industry and put some parameters around social media stars. New laws seek to prevent the use of digital replicas of Hollywood actors and performers without permission and allow the estates of dead performers to sue over unauthorized AI use. Parents who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their young influencers. A new law also allows children to sue their parents for failing to do so. New social media restrictions in several states face court challenges. Related Articles National Politics | Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen National Politics | Exhausted by political news? TV ratings and new poll say you’re not alone National Politics | Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row National Politics | Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ A Florida law bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for ages 14 and 15. But enforcement is being delayed because of a lawsuit filed by two associations for online companies, with a hearing scheduled for late February. A new Tennessee law also requires parental consent for minors to open accounts on social media. NetChoice, an industry group for online businesses, is challenging the law. Another new state law requires porn websites to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old. But the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, has filed a challenge. Several new California measures aimed at combating political deepfakes are also being challenged, including one requiring large social media platforms to remove deceptive content related to elections and another allowing any individual to sue for damages over the use of AI to create fabricated images or videos in political ads . In a first nationally, California will start enforcing a law prohibiting school districts from adopting policies that require staff to notify parents if their children change their gender identification . The law was a priority for Democratic lawmakers who wanted to halt such policies passed by several districts. Many states have passed laws limiting or protecting abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to the procedure in 2022. One of the latest is the Democratic-led state of Delaware. A law there will require the state employee health plan and Medicaid plans for lower-income residents to cover abortions with no deductible , copayments or other cost-sharing requirements. A new Minnesota law prohibits guns with “binary triggers” that allow for more rapid fire, causing a weapon to fire one round when the trigger is pulled and another when it is released. In Delaware, a law adds colleges and universities to a list of school zones where guns are prohibited, with exceptions for those working in their official capacity such as law officers and commissioned security guards. Kentucky is becoming the latest state to let people use marijuana for medical purposes . To apply for a state medical cannabis card, people must get written certification from a medical provider of a qualifying condition, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea or post-traumatic stress disorder. Nearly four-fifths of U.S. states have now legalized medical marijuana. Minimum wage workers in more than 20 states are due to receive raises in January. The highest minimum wages will be in Washington, California and Connecticut, all of which will top $16 an hour after modest increases. The largest increases are scheduled in Delaware, where the minimum wage will rise by $1.75 to $15 an hour, and in Nebraska, where a ballot measure approved by voters in 2022 will add $1.50 to the current minimum of $12 an hour. Twenty other states still follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. In Oregon, using drugs on public transit will be considered a misdemeanor crime of interfering with public transportation. While the measure worked its way through the legislature, multiple transportation officials said drug use on buses and trains, and at transit stops and stations, was making passengers and drivers feel less safe. In Missouri, law enforcement officers have spent the past 16 months issuing warnings to motorists that handheld cellphone use is illegal. Starting with the new year, penalties will kick in: a $150 fine for the first violation, progressing to $500 for third and subsequent offenses and up to 15 years imprisonment if a driver using a cellphone cause an injury or death. But police must notice a primary violation, such as speeding or weaving across lanes, to cite motorists for violating the cellphone law. Montana is the only state that hasn’t banned texting while driving , according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tenants in Arizona will no longer have to pay tax on their monthly rent , thanks to the repeal of a law that had allowed cities and towns to impose such taxes. While a victory for renters, the new law is a financial loss for governments. An analysis by Arizona’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that $230 million would be lost in municipal tax revenue during the first full fiscal year of implementation. Meanwhile Alabama will offer tax credits to businesses that help employees with child care costs. Kansas is eliminating its 2% sales tax on groceries. It also is cutting individual income taxes by dropping the top tax rate, increasing a credit for child care expenses and exempting all Social Security income from taxes, among other things. Taxpayers are expected to save about $320 million a year going forward. An Oklahoma law expands voting privileges to people who have been convicted of felonies but had their sentences discharged or commuted, including commutations for crimes that have been reclassified from felonies to misdemeanors. Former state Sen. George Young, an Oklahoma City Democrat, carried the bill in the Senate. “I think it’s very important that people who have gone through trials and tribulations in their life, that we have a system that brings them back and allows them to participate as contributing citizens,” Young said. Associated Press writers Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento, California; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri; Gabriel Sandoval in Phoenix; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed.
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