THE BREADWINNER: A UNIVERSAL STORY TOLD THROUGH ANIMATION
Only in today’s world could a story set in Afghanistan come to fruition through the collaboration of studios in Ireland, Canada, and Luxembourg…and the participation of an American named Angelina Jolie. The Breadwinner is both credible and moving because these dedicated…
BOMBSHELL:THE HEDY LAMARR STORY
It’s no longer news that 1940s Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr invented the technology we use in cellular phones and other wireless communications. But the story behind that seeming anomaly is still fascinating, and Alexandra Dean has told it well…
THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS: A HOLIDAY GIFT
Who among us couldn’t use a little good cheer right now? The Man Who Invented Christmas supplies just that, in a fictionalized story about how Charles Dickens devised A Christmas Carol at a low point in his career. Dan Stevens is extremely likable…
DARKEST HOUR: HISTORY IN THE PRESENT TENSE
It’s easy to portray Winston Churchill in a heroic light with the benefit of hindsight. Darkest Hour reveals how isolated he was when he accepted the post of Prime Minister in 1940 and expressed his firm belief in waging war against…
COCO: CELEBRATING A COLORFUL CULTURE
Pixar movies always look good, but Coco is in a class by itself. Ablaze with eye-popping color, every widescreen frame is filled with richly detailed settings and appealing characters. Any concerns about overlap or redundancy with Jorge Gutierrez’s impressive The Book of…
WONDER: CYNICS NEED NOT APPLY
Wonder is a beautiful movie, and Stephen Chbosky was a perfect choice to direct and co-write it. The author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, who directed his own screen adaptation, isn’t afraid of honest emotion. What’s more, he is…
MUDBOUND: REAL LIFE, NOT SO LONG AGO
Mudbound is easy to admire but tough to watch at times. It tells a truthful tale from America’s not-so-distant past, contrasting the lives of two families—one black, one white—struggling to eke out an existence as sharecroppers in Mississippi during the…
