Widows

Steve McQueen, the director not the actor, has come out with a new movie. The director of “12 Years a Slave” gives us “Widows”, a heist movie that has a lot of twists. A gang of thieves is killed by the police and their wives have to pay off a drug lord trying to break into politics. Led by Viola Davis these women are bad ass. Daniel Kayuula from “Get Out” is one of the villains and he is very scary. It takes a while to set up the plot, but once it gets going hang on! A good thriller.

The Grinch

In the 1960’s we had the classic television cartoon, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, narrated by Boris Karloff. In 2000 Jim Carrey starred in a live action version of the story. Now we have a CG animation version. My opinion is that they should have left well enough alone after the original. The latest version adds some clever scenes, but by making the tale feature length the filmmakers are stretching it. Children will enjoy it, but adults who remember the original will be less than impressed.

Boy Erased

“Boy Erased” is the story of a young man who is sent to a facility to change his sexual orientation. The parents, who are religious, believe he can be converted. The film stars Lucas Hedges, as the conflicted boy, and Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as the parents. Hedges gives a harrowing, realistic performance and Kidman once again exudes motherly love as she did in “Lion”. She transforms from an obedient wife and mother to a strong woman taking care of her child. Some of the scenes at the conversion facility are difficult to watch, but this is definitely a worthwhile film.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

“Can you Ever Forgive Me?” features Melissa McCarthy in a dramatic role and she knocks the ball out of the park. She plays a curmudgeon writer who is not very successful. The only one she is nice to is her sick cat. She comes up with the idea of typing letters from famous people and selling them and she’s good at it. Based on a true story, the film is interesting. McCarthy is quite good and almost unrecognizable. She builds a friendship with a gay drifter, played by Richard E. Grant.

Hunter Killer

I had no idea what this “Hunter Killer” was about, but I saw that Gerard Butler was in it and it was an action film. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be a suspenseful submarine film pitting the U.S. Navy against a Russian general who stages a coup. There are some interesting plot twists and lots of suspense.  In other times this would be labeled a ‘B” picture, but it is well done and keeps you guessing. If you like action films with a plot, go see this one.

Bad Times at the El Royale

“Bad Times at the El Royale” can be categorized as Tarintino-lite. Drew Goddard wrote and directed this strange, episodic film about a once posh resort and the people who are staying there. Each has their own weird story. Like a Quentin Tarintino movie, these characters intertwine and there is plenty of violence. The cast is pretty stellar, led by Jeff Bridges as an old bank robber masquerading as a priest. One of the standouts is newcomer Lewis Pullman as the bellman.The plot twists are interesting and keep you guessing. If you like mysteries with lots of twists and turns see this film.

Night School

Since I saw “Girls’ Trip” last year I have been a fan of Tiffany Haddish. She is truly an original. So I was looking forward to seeing her with Kevin Hart in “Night School”. Unfortunately the film is pretty standard, with a few funny scenes. Most of those scenes are with Haddish, but her character wasn’t nearly outrageous enough. It’s about Hart’s character going back to night school and Haddish is the teacher who doesn’t put up with anything. There is a subplot about the principal and Hart having a rivalry since high school. This is one of those movies that you can wait for cable or a streaming service to watch. Disappointing.

The Old Man & the Gun

Robert Redford has said that “The Old Man & the Gun” will be the last movie he acts in and it is a fitting finale to his career. Based on a real person, Redford plays a polite, well mannered, charming bank robber who performs his job because he loves doing it. His victims have nothing but nice things to say about him. While escaping from a robbery he meets a widow, played by Sissy Spacek, and they strike up a relationship. Casey Afleck plays the detective who tries to catch him, especially since Redford’s character performs a robbery while he’s in a bank. Along the way we learn how he has escaped from prison numerous times. As usual, Redford does a nice job and his easy rapport with Spacek is nice. This is not the type of performance that wins awards, but it’s vintage Robert Redford. The movie meanders along with not very much action other than a few car chases, but it’s an enjoyable character study.

A Star is Born

I did not have high hopes for the newest version of “A Star is Born”. The original, starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, came out 80 years ago and is a classic. The 1954 version, starring Judy Garland, is my favorite and the 1977 version with Barbra Steisand was fair, but at least it gave us the song Evergreen. So could Bradley Cooper as star and director with Lady Gaga make it worthwhile? Well, they did. Both actors give extraordinary performances, with Gaga stealing every scene she’s in. Her opening number, singing “La Vie en Rose” in French is dazzling! And anyone who doubts she has an amazing voice after seeing this film should have their ears checked. She lights up the screen like Streisand or Whitney Houston. One of the surprises is that Bradley Cooper can sing. His concert scenes are great. I was struck by how well the film was directed. Cooper has always been a good actor, but who knew he could direct? And the music is pretty good. The movie is a little long in places, but well worth seeing.

First Man

I know that I am in the minority, but I did not like “First Man”, the story of Neil Armstrong and how he got to be the first man to set foot on the moon. Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling have teamed up again after doing “La La Land”, and while the film is technologically proficient, it did not hold my interest until the end. All of the astronauts are portrayed as good men who are focused on one thing-getting to the moon. The problem is that Gosling as Armstrong is so stoic, he was boring. I don’t think he smiled once. The film reminds the viewer how dangerous space flight was in the 1960’s when everything was an experiment. When, after almost two hours, the story gets to the Apollo 11 mission, it picks up pace. Chazelle chooses to tell the story with close ups and hand held cameras, another thing that is not my favorite. The film is receiving rave reviews and will probably be a big part of awards season. Not my favorite.