Joel Edgerton has shown himself to be a strong director.  His film The Gift was a fantastic story and now he has added to it with the powerful film Boy Erased.

Based on a true story and the book by Garrard Conley about his own experiences.  Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) was a teen, confused by his sexual orientation and, after some events happened to him at college, he approached his conservative, religious parent with the fear that he has “thoughts” about men.  Jared’s father, Marshal Eamons (Russell Crowe), a Baptist preacher, found a conversion therapy program, run by a man named Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton), that said that they could “cure” Jared of his homosexual tendencies.

Once there, Jared slowly begins to realize his mistake and looked for help from his mother Nancy (Nicole Kidmon).

The acting in this film, across the board, is phenomenal.  All of your main stars give stand out performances in Boy Erased, anchored by another strong, and surprisingly subtle, performance from Lucas Hedges.  Hedges has truly cemented himself as one of our finest young actors working today.  Joel Edgerton continues to thrive in everything he does.  The character of Victor Sykes is one of the most complex and layered characters in this movie, his internal struggle playing off everything that he is trying to do.

Russell Crowe is amazing as the Baptist preacher whose faith is challenged by the lifestyle of his son and his love for his son fighting against his personal beliefs.  Crowe is shown as a good man who just can not get out of his own way.

Nicole Kidmon delivered a fantastic performance as Jared’s mother, who is able to show both her conflicted faith and her fierce protective nature for her son.

Just the fact that places like this conversion center ever existed is a stain on our life and culture, but what is worse is that these places continue to exist.  The info at the end of the film indicated that 36 states still allow these places to be legal.  In the world of 2018, that ignorance is simply unacceptable and backwater.  We need to move past this kind of bigotry and start dealing with people as people.  Boy Erased does just that in some very powerful moments.

Admittedly, the film starts a little slow, but the performances certainly outweigh any negatives.  This is a potent film that has a message that we all need to hear.

3.8 stars

The Coen Brothers are back with an exciting and enjoyable anthology film that features six short Western stories that perfectly encompasses their brand of humor, irony and storytelling.

As in most of the Coen Brothers’ work, there is a tremendous cast of actors appearing in the film.  James Franco, Clancy Brown, Stephen Root, Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Tyne Daly and a group of other recognizable Western character actors.

Each of the six stories in this anthology have different styles of a Western, starting with the Gene Autry-style parody of the good guy cowboy and ending with a stagecoach ride that sums up the entire film featuring some serious performances from Tyne Daly, Jonjo O’Neill, Brendan Gleeson and Unforgiven’s Saul Rubinek.

I really enjoyed almost all of these Western shorts.  I will say that Zoe Kazan’s “The Gal Who Got Rattled” was my least favorite and was the one where my attention was diverted the most.  Not that it was a bad short, but I just was more engaged in the other stories.

I loved the “Ballad of Buster Scruggs” story that kicked off the film.  Tim Blake Nelson came singing into the town in his white, pristine cowboy outfit only to reveal himself as one of the worst killers you would find.  The contrast was fascinating and I was also surprised when it ended when it did.  Buster had been talking to the screen and breaking the fourth wall as he went along and he felt like someone who might continue through the movie.  Nope.

Irony plays a big part in these stories, as does death.  If there is a topic that carries through the entire film, it is death.  The old west was certainly shown to be a place of death and of danger for all by the Coens.  However, there is a distinct feeling of fancy in each of the stories, albeit at different levels.

Stephen Root’s bank teller character in “Near Algodones” is a real hoot.  You can see the reaction from James Franco at the ridiculousness of Root’s responses.  One of my favorite moments was when Root came running out from behind the bank.  It was just a laugh riot.

Tom Waits’ Old Prospector character in “All Gold Canyon” was another great story, this time nearly a one man’s journey, his obsessive battle against the land and his intense desire to find gold in whatever manner he could.  The Prospector’s dialogue is very funny as he talks to himself, grumbling about the success or lack thereof.

“Meal Ticket” features Liam Neeson who owns and runs a traveling show that featured a man who has had his arms and legs amputated.  This man would vocalize famous writings and speeches for the entertainment of the crowds.  At first, he was quite the novelty, but his originality began to waver and he would soon be surpassed by the next big thing.  I think if you really want to look for hidden meaning, this one is ripe with possibilities.

If you are a fan of Westerns, this is a must see.  If you love the Coen Brothers and their past films, this is a must see.  I am not especially a fan of either of those but I found this film to be funny, dramatic and full of wonderful irony and fun.

4.6 stars

This one is really great.

Green Book is the true story of an African-American pianist, Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his trio of musicians trip through the Deep South of the United States in the 1960s.  In order to make the trip, Shirley needed a driver/bodyguard, someone who knew how to get things done and not afraid to do what was needed.

Enter Italian bouncer Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) who was recommended to Shirley.  Tony was a tough guy and he was a world class bulls**tter.

Tony brought Shirley ( or Doc, as he called him) through each stop of the tour, seeing first hand the cruelty of racism, the unfair treatment Doc had to endure and the remarkable talent that the pianist displayed.

There are so many moments in this movie that, much like the recent The Hate U Give, are hard to watch or that we can believe could happen in America.  As a white man, I can just look at some of the ways these people treated Doc with shock and disappointment.

The relationship between Tony and Shirley is easily the key to the movie.  Seeing these two men develop and learn about each other and develop feelings of friendship toward one another as this tour continued is easily the highlight of the movie.  Both Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen are Oscar worthy in their work here and the way each man learns information about the other is a wonderful example to how we can cross race and differences with respect and honesty.

The film is not just a dramatic film though.  It actually is very funny as well.  The movie is brilliantly written and the humor comes organically with the dialogue and the situations these characters are placed in.  The moment where Tony is able to get Dr. Shirley to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the best scenes in the film.  Such a human moment that is just one example of great moments peppered throughout Green Book.

Linda Cardellini is Tony’s wife, Dolores, and, while she was not as important to the story as she could have been, her presence was absolutely felt and was a key reason the two men were able to be brought together as Shirley began helping Tony write the letters home to her.  Cardellini’s role was more than “just-the-wife” here and she does a great job.

I am sure that the movie could have been uglier as the time in the country was horrible for race relations and racism was just too prevalent, but the movie did its share to shine a light on how the tour was for these two men.  It also ended with such a strong and positive message that it shows that it is possible for racism to be overcome and to bring us together as a people.  If only there was more of that in the world, we would be so much better off.

Green Book was an outstanding time at the theater and I would recommend it to anyone.

4.75 stars

What would the world be like had Gary Hart not ruined his chance at being President in 1988?

How many dominoes would have fallen after that?  He was being perceived as the eventual winner of the election, so how would that have affected George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W Bush, or Donald Trump.  How many of those would not have been President? Would the world have course corrected? How about major world events such as 9-11 or the wars in the Middle East?

That is an interesting story that I would love to speculate on and I’d love to see a movie that took that on as a topic, but The Front Runner is not that film.  It entails the true story about Gary Hart, Senator from Colorado, who was the Democratic front runner in 1988, but lost that spot when some of his extra-marital affairs came to light through the press.

Looking back at this story, it is amazing how different the political scene is in today’s world where we have a President who admitted to affairs and was even on tape claiming to grab women by the private parts.  That did not derail Trump’s campaign, but 1988 was a different time.

This story is told not only through the eyes of the Democratic Presidential candidate, but also through the eyes of the journalists in the press who struggled with the idea that they were breaking this information.  Again, in stark contrast to today’s news that exists on this type of sensationalism, these reporters debated about the use of this information and whether using it made them more on par with the National Enquirer, the world of tabloid journalism.

Hugh Jackman is good as Gary Hart, especially when the film shows Hart as if he were a deer in the headlights.  You can tell he never once considered the possibility that his behavior outside of his marriage and the political world would affect his race and he raged against the use of the material.  One wonders if he had raged against the reporters in the proper moments if he would have overcome the scandal. It is said in the film that the American public was behind him at the start.

Of course, now Gary Hart is a lesson for all politicians to learn from.  I’m sure that is not the legacy Hart would have preferred.

Vera Farmiga is one of the best and most under-appreciated actresses we have working today as she never seems to fail to bring her best.  I would have liked to see more of her here as Lee Hart, the put on wife of the adulterous Senator, but every scene that she appeared in was compelling.

I really believe this was a vital moment in the world of politics that changed the way things happened and that had this gone a different way, who knows what our lives would be like now.  We’ll never know for sure, but The Front Runner does an admirable job of providing the core of what politics would become.

3.2 stars

Disney has had quite the year.  With massive hits like Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Incredibles 2, Christopher Robin and the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns, the company has had a ton of success in 2018.  You can toss the sequel to the hugely popular Wreck It Ralph animated film on the pile of money as well.

Not only is this film going to make a ton of money, it is a really quality movie as well.

We find Ralph (John C. Reilly) and his best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) going through their days in their video games and spending time with each other.  However, Vanellope was beginning to become bored with her repetitive existence.  When her video game get broken and the replacement part unavailable, she faces the possibility of it being unplugged forever.

Not so fast.  There is a part available on the internet site Ebay, so Ralph recruits Vanellope to come with him into the internet to attempt to purchase the replacement part before it is too late.

The friendship between Ralph and Vanellope is front and center in this movie, actually focused on the side of Vanellope more than Ralph.  One could make the argument that this is Vanellope’s movie.  She and Ralph head into the Internet and find their way into a Grand Theft Auto type game where they meet Shank (Gal Gadot) and engage in an epic animated car chase with her.  Gal Gadot is not in the film that much, but she is great as Shank when she is.

There are a lot of very clever bits throughout the movie, using the internet and its sites as fodder for jokes and character development.  Of course, the idea was done by the Emoji Movie first, but this is WAY better in their use of the Internet than that movie was.  Yes, there is product placement, but I did not hate it near as much as I did when the Emoji Movie used it.  I think the fact that everything was used for character development made this a far superior flick.

Taraji P. Henson appears as a new character named Yesss, a head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube.”  Alan Tudyk is here voicing KnowsMore, an internet search engine who appreciates the politeness of people.

As with the original, the animation is great, full of life and bright colors.  The third act was quite scary in its own right and the movie deals with some real deep themes.  It is considerably more deep than animated films such as The Grinch.  There is plenty for both adults and kids in Ralph Breaks the Internet.

There is also a powerful scene dealing with online comments that I won’t spoil but is very well done.

The guest appearance of the Disney Princesses is a highlight of the film and really cries out to be developed into more than just a cameo.  And speaking of cameos… our dearly departed master of the cameo makes a fun appearance here too.

Ralph Breaks the Internet waited six years before releasing a sequel, and it was worth the wait.  With films like this joining that growing list of great Disney successes, the studio can absolutely ignore the less than successful films (Solo, A Wrinkle in Time).

4.2 stars

Michael B. Jordon returns to the ring as Adonis Creed, the son of legendary boxer Apollo Creed, in a film that sees him become involved with the son of the man who killed Apollo, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu).

The sequel to the surprise hit Creed arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving with a solid, if not quite as spectacular, film in the Rocky franchise.

Sylvester Stallone returns to his iconic role of Rocky Balboa for this sequel that deals with the once powerful Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and his son finding the perfect moment to launch an attack on the newly crowned world champion, Adonis Creed.

There are a lot of scenes that deal with the tragic events from Rocky IV back in the 1980s where Ivan Drago killed Apollo in a boxing match, a match where Rocky wanted to throw in the towel, but did not.  There are many good emotional beats coming from this event, in particular from Stallone, who had to deal with his choices for years.

We also find out that the years were not kind to Ivan Drago either as the Russian people treated him as an outcast, throwing him and his son, to the side after the crushing defeat at the hands of Balboa.

Creed II truly is what you get when you combine Rocky IV with Rocky III.  Not that combining those two films is a bad thing, but you clearly can see several of the beats of those Rocky movies in Creed II.  Some claim that the original Creed was really a remake of the first Rocky, but there were enough differences and originality that made it its own.  This one could have used a little more originality to help separate it from these past Rocky movies.

However, the film is very good anyway.  The boxing scenes at the end are excellent (though not near as great as the one shot match from Creed).  The scenes between Jordan and Stallone are some of the film’s best too.

The film goes heavily into the relationship between Creed and his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and they have a great chemistry.  Their relationship is a major selling point for this movie as it is unlike most relationships in this type of movie.

I even really enjoyed the little bit of characterization that the film gave to the Dragos.  They provided just enough detail to make you see these two men as real people and not the mindless Russian monster, like Ivan Drago was portrayed as in Rocky IV.  I liked the stuff from their background.

I did find it very contrived with how the final match wound up occurring where it occurred.  I had a hard time believing that is what would actually happen and it pulled me out of the movie.  I found, as well, the final training montage to be uninspired and a basic throwback to the past Rocky movies.

However, the boxing match is outstanding, the relationships and the characters themselves are really great and every story gets wrapped up beautifully.  While this may not be quite an equal to the original Creed picture, the sequel is a fine movie in its own accord.

4.25 stars