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Black Panther

Much has been written about this landmark superhero movie, and as the record-setting grosses continue to pile up, the coverage (and thoughtful analysis) will likely keep on coming. Beyond its cultural significance, Black Panther is tautly scripted, beautifully designed and photographed, and stunningly executed. If you have any interest in the genre, even if you’ve felt that recent entries have been disappointing, go…just go.

Also opening in March: It’s adventure and thriller season! Ava Duvernay’s eagerly-awaited A Wrinkle in Time (March 2); Alicia Vikander in a remake of Tomb Raider (March 16), a new stop-action animated headtrip from Wes Anderson, Isle of Dogs (March 23); and Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg’s tribute to classic arcade games (March 30).

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Two Oscar Contenders: One Verbal, One Visual

The Post and The Shape of Water show diverse styles of Spielberg, del Toro

These are not great days for those in the media game. The reporting business has been racked by major setbacks: the take-over by profit-driven conglomerates; the trivialization of news from the 24/7 cable beast; the more recent disgraces of high-profile journalist-harassers; and most of all, the demeaning howl of “fake news” popularized by the sitting President.

All that is distressing, even nauseating for those of us who value the importance of the media and view exceptional journalists as modern-day heroes. Well, director Steven Spielberg with his new film, The Post, has just the cure: a taut, cerebral thriller about how The Washington Post broke the Pentagon Papers story and held the federal government accountable for its disinformation campaign about the true state of the Vietnam War.

In 1971, The Post was not the revered national newspaper and journalistic exemplar that it is today. Rather, it was a family business in a smallish eastern city that just happened to be the national capital. D.C. socialite Katharine Graham had assumed the role of publisher upon the premature death of her husband, a position of authority and responsibility that was much more uncommon for a woman in those days.

Then, Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst, leaked a classified study that revealed decades of government deception about Vietnam to several newspapers, and The New York Times became the first to publish portions of what became known as the Pentagon Papers. When the Times was enjoined by the Nixon Administration, publisher Graham and her crusty, ambitious editor, Ben Bradlee, were faced with a perilous opportunity: defy the Nixon Administration to break a landmark news story but face repercussions that could include jail.

Spielberg’s telling of this historic event, aided by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer’s rat-a-tat screenplay, contains all the ingredients one wants in a journalism thriller: compelling and eccentric characters, the ink-stained romance of a humming newsroom, a powerful political adversary, and the ever-present pressure of a deadline. And although the dramatic rhythms of this story feel familiar, they do so in a reassuring way, at least for those who see journalists as virtuous, albeit flawed heroes. One especially effective touch: Richard Nixon himself appears as a character, seen only from a distance through windows at the White House with voiceovers provided by his own surreptitious tape recordings.

Spielberg turns to two other Hollywood titans to embody this project. Tom Hanks plays Bradlee with the requisite combination of brusqueness and charm. Meryl Streep is both flighty and flinty as Graham as she comes into her own both as a publisher and a leader. The two of them, who have never worked together on a film before, make their scenes crackle with intensity and gravitas. They are surrounded by a raft of accomplished supporting actors, including Bob Odenkirk, Jesse Plemons, Carrie Coon and Sarah Paulson.

One can’t watch this film without being mindful of its cinematic forebear, All The President’s Men. After all, that story about Watergate also involves The Washington Post and editor Bradlee. Spielberg doesn’t shy away from the parallel. In fact, the denouement of this Pentagon Papers adventure wryly hints at the Watergate story coming just around the corner.

As both a timely history lesson about the dangers of insular, autocratic government and as a lesson in bravura filmmaking, The Post proves itself to be more than newsworthy.

The Shape of Water

If Spielberg is a verbal film stylist, then Guillermo del Toro is a comparable master of visual cinema, with an emphasis on the fantastic and bestial. His The Shape of Water delights the eyes and exhilarates the imagination.

Set in a secret government research lab in Cold War-era Baltimore, The Shape of Water tells of an unlikely yet completely entrancing romance between a lonely, mute janitor and the non-human lab specimen whom she befriends…The Creature from the Black Lagoon meets Marty.

I don’t want to reveal more of the story, so that viewers can be caught up in del Toro’s magical realism for themselves. But the film is beautifully shot and deftly directed, a dazzling palette of greens, blues, and teals that gradually introduces the occasional punch of red.

Sally Hawkins captivates as janitor Elisa, and del Toro regular Doug Jones is both otherworldly and truly empathetic as the creature. Michael Shannon is enjoyably odious as the cruel lab security chief. Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins and Michael Stuhlbarg play Elisa’s friends and collaborators as fully formed characters within the framework of the movie.

One needs a robust suspension of disbelief to buy into the premise of this offbeat love story, but for those willing to make the leap, The Shape of Water will be a provocative treat.

Also opening in February: The 15:17 to Paris, retelling of the train hero story, Feb. 9; eagerly-awaited Marvel film focused on a black superhero, Black Panther, Feb. 16; Alex Garland’s supernatural thriller, Annihilation, and a mystery comedy about board gamers, Game Night, both on Feb. 23.

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Classic Films, Beer, Charities

Movies on Tap combines all three for a fun way to support good causes

In just two years, the monthly Movies on Tap event at Penn Cinema Riverfront has truly become a juggernaut of fun-filled philanthropy. The movies are classic gems, the brews exemplary in craft and flavor, and the scope of the cause continues to grow.

In April of 2016, Ryan Kennedy, marketing director for Harvey, Hanna & Associates, came up with the idea, which was to bring together local breweries and movie goers at a fun event aimed at raising funds for local charities. It has been an absolute success, with 99 percent of ticket proceeds from each showing being donated to that month’s charity.

“To date, Movies on Tap has raised $58,000, which has benefited 22 charitable organizations,” says Kennedy, adding that the December showing was the most successful of the 22 events. “Urban Bike Project received $8,820 from their event with Dogfish Head and screening of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” Kennedy says. “We’re so grateful for the generosity of Movies on Tap, Dogfish Head Brewery, and all of the enthusiastic moviegoers,” says Laura Wilburn, executive director of the Urban Bike Project.

“The funding we received through Movies on Tap is huge for us. It’s enough to cover a full year’s costs for our Free Bike program. The program gives bikes, locks and lights to Wilmington residents who are in need of transportation to get to work or job interviews, grocery stores and other necessary services.” Last year’s series raised nearly $45,000, according to Drew Sheaffer, director of Operations at Penn Cinema and coordinator of Movies on Tap. “That’s almost $10,000 above our original goal of $35,000,” he says.

“Overall, we’ve heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from all of the featured breweries and nonprofits. The breweries have expressed how much they love the opportunity to connect with the local community in a fun, interactive and impactful way.” The breweries’ enthusiasm for the 21-and-older series, in which Out & About is also a partner, is reflected in the lineup of repeat participants, including Yards, Mispillion River Brewing and Dogfish Head Brewery. “It’s something different, which is what people want, and a great way to raise money and awareness,” Kennedy says.

“It’s the easiest form of fundraising. If you pair a quality movie with quality beer and an inspirational mission—tickets will sell.”

Sales figures confirm that assessment. The average crowd per event increased from 97 in 2016 to 175 last year. Donations are up as well. The average donation per event of $1,413 in 2016 more than doubled last year, to $3,500. This year’s goal is to raise more than $40,000. With tickets priced at just $20, which covers a flight of beer, unlimited popcorn and the movie, that goal should be attainable.

For more information, check out the Movies on Tap Facebook page.

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Indie Films Worth Trying

Theatre N specializes in “Worth Trying” films each week with the latest in first-run independent films. Executive Director Beverly Zimmermann gives us a heads-up on upcoming features for January and February:

The Disaster Artist, the film based on Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), the man behind The Room, considered the “Citizen Kane of bad movies.” I did try to watch The Room in 2012, and couldn’t finish it because it was so bad.

The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, is a drama/fantasy/love story between a mute woman and an amphibian. Sure, we see this plot all the time, but go see this one.

I, Tonya, with the gorgeous Margot Robbie transformed into Tonya Harding (itself worth the price of admission). If you weren’t around for the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan skating rivalry, this is a must-see. And even if you remember these two contrasting personalities, go see the film for Allison Janney’s performance as Tonya’s mother.

The Breadwinner, an animated film from the creators of The Secret of Kells, takes place in 2001 Afghanistan under Taliban rule, and tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who cuts off her hair and dresses as a boy to reunite her family. Girl power!

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, reveals that the world’s most beautiful woman was also the secret inventor of secure Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS communications, but her arresting looks stood in the way of her being given the credit she deserved–until now, in this documentary.

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Seven for ’17

Best movies, and a couple of additional year-end lists

Apologies to David Letterman, but I’ve always thought 10 was an arbitrary number for compiling “best” lists.

So, here are my seven favorites from 2017, not ranked but in alphabetical order. Why seven? Frankly, my dear, for the alliteration of seven and 17. But, of course, you know that there are always a few more worthy films that fall just shy of the cut-off. Hence, I’ve included some honorable mentions. A final caveat: as a part-time film critic in a smaller market, I haven’t managed to see every buzzy movie of the last year, so I’ve also provided a list of those for which I still have high hopes.

The Big Sick

This indie comedy stars stand-up comic and actor Kumail Nanjiani, and it’s even co-written by him and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, based on their own cross-cultural love story. Nanjiani plays a Pakistani stand-up comic named Kumail who falls in love with a white grad student, Emily. When Emily becomes seriously ill, he must come to terms with her prickly parents, his traditional family’s expectations, and his own conflicted feelings. Offhandedly funny, modernly relevant, touching, and oh, so meta!

Coco

Pixar’s latest animated film featured an entirely Latino voice cast in a fast-moving but thoughtful story about family and destiny. Miquel, born into a family of shoemakers, aspires to be a musician, and must travel to the land of the dead and his ancestors to find his way home physically and emotionally. Not only does Coco celebrate a rich Mexican cultural tradition, it’s also an arrestingly beautiful and detailed film. This is not your abuela’s movie cartoon.

The Florida Project

Writer-director Sean Baker’s newest project has amped up the production values from his 2015 Tangerine, but still hews to his affection for the downtrodden and marginalized. Set at and around a ramshackle residential motel in the shadow of Disney World, The Florida Project uses non-professional actors to show the boot-strapped lives of its struggling residents mainly through the eyes of the motel’s latch-key children. The film is painful to watch at times, but always deeply poignant. Willem Dafoe shines as the motel manager and den mother to a wayward pack of kids.

Get Out

Comic actor Jordan Peele (half of the Comedy Central team of Key and Peele) astonished everyone last summer with this satirical horror film, which was also his directorial debut. Get Out slyly punctures somewhite liberal dogma while delivering terrific comic licks mixed with the frisson of fairly earned thrills. The solid cast includes newcomer Daniel Kaluuya, along with Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford and Allison Williams. The result is a winning trifecta: genuinely scary, hilarious and woke. 

Lady Bird

This bittersweet coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl (Saoirse Ronan) and her loving but unforgiving mother (Laurie Metcalf) is another directorial debut, this one by actress Greta Gerwig. Lady Birdmanages to walk a fine line between unsparingly honest and profoundly affecting. Born Christine but renaming herself Lady Bird, the teen trudges through her senior year in high school seeking a way out of her confining home town and the road to excitement, adventure, and ultimately, a comfortable self-identity. This is a familiar cinematic journey, but Gerwig’s assured direction and Ronan’s and Metcalf’s unvarnished performances make it feel brand new.

Wonderstruck

Todd Haynes’ mysterious fantasy sets two lost (and deaf) children on adventures in the wilds of New York City, but the twist is they are happening 50 years apart. Haynes cuts back and forth between the stories, with the 1920s version shot in luminous black-and-white and the ‘70s sequences in raucous color.Julianne Moore, a frequent Haynes collaborator, plays multiple roles, but the true stars are the two adolescents at the movie’s center: Millicent Simmonds as Rose and Oakes Fegley as Ben. Both are captivating.

Wonder Woman

At last, a female superhero worthy of a film franchise! And, girl, is she ever! Wonder Woman got a lot of attention during and even prior to its release for its groundbreaking qualities: not only a woman hero but a woman director in the Marvel universe. But the movie itself more than delivers on its promise by showcasing a central character whose greatest strengths are arguably her feminine qualities: curiosity, a thirst for justice, and abiding compassion. Israeli actress Gal Gadot embodies the Amazon princess with serene ease in front of the camera. The viewer cares about Wonder Woman, and therefore, her quest. The period setting and World War I revisionism are additional clever touches.

Honorable Mentions

Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Detroit, Lady Macbeth, Lost in Paris, Mudbound, Okja, Personal Shopper, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and War for the Planet of the Apes. (Interesting side note: Mudbound and Okja were both made for Netflix and reached most of their audiences on that streaming site, not in theatrical release.)

High Hopes

(Movies I’ve not yet been able to see but which I look forward to)

Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Downsizing, I Tonya, Molly’s Game, Phantom Thread, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Post and The Shape of Water.

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Train of Thought

Branagh’s star-studded version of Christie is beautiful, fun

I’ll confess to a latent fondness for mystery novels, and especially that of Dame Agatha Christie, whose books were perennial take-aways from the public libraries of my childhood. Nothing quite tickled my adolescent fancy as depictions of veddy, veddy British manor life contrapuntally laced with the frisson of cold-blooded murder. So I was intrigued by the plan to remake one of Miss Agatha’s classic stories, Murder on the Orient Express, with Kenneth Branagh as director and star (in the role of the Belgian mastermind detective Hercule Poirot).

Branagh, who is most renowned as an actor and director of Shakespeare both on stage and on screen (his cinematic Henry V surpassed Olivier’s, in my opinion), is, nevertheless, no stranger to the mystery thriller genre. One of his first directing efforts was Dead Again, a stylish film noir detective story, and he played sleuth Kurt Wallander for several years on PBS. So, the man knows his way around a whodunit.

This new adaptation hews fairly closely to the details of the original novel. A disparate group of travelers, ostensibly strangers to one another, are journeying together on the luxury train that once linked Istanbul and Paris. One of the passengers, Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp), a dislikable and shady American businessman, is found stabbed to death in the middle of the trip. Fortunately, Monsieur Poirot is on hand to solve the crime.

The tropes of the genre are quite familiar: A series of interviews revealing possibly incriminating details; protestations of innocence; a few bursts of menace; more than a few coincidences. And eventually, an astonishing solution by the master detective.

Branagh is aware, of course, of the pitfalls of any such mystery plot, and especially this one, a cultural touchstone known by so many. So, Branagh the director dresses the movie in sumptuous sets and costumes, reveling in the exotic locales of Jerusalem, Istanbul, and the Eastern European countryside through which the train travels. He also delights film fans by filling the cast with good-looking stars such as Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Josh Gad and Penelope Cruz.

And Branagh the actor creates a Poirot quite distinct from the prim, fussy characterization of David Suchet on TV and Albert Finney in the 1974 big screen version. Branagh’s Poirot is tired, brooding and equivocal, though he also does possess a most opulent mustache.

The film is beautiful to look at, and also entertaining. The direction is assured and accessible, though this viewer wished that the director was a little less in love with his own sorrowful visage on camera.

None of the performances, beyond Branagh’s, are particularly noteworthy because none of them are any more than archetypes, nor do any of them have much time on screen. Each star gets a little turn, and then the story must chug along.

Given the strictures of the genre, Murder on the Orient Express is a trip worth taking, but perhaps not one you will remember vividly a few months from now.

Also playing in December: It’s last chance for Oscar releases with I Tonya, a fictionalized version of the Tonya Harding story, Dec. 8; The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, Dec. 20; Jessica Chastain in Molly’s Game, Dec. 25; and Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, starring Annette Bening, Dec. 29. Oh, and a little sci-fi sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, opens Dec. 15.

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Small Wonder

Director Todd Haynes explores the power of silence, the wonder of connection

Director Todd Haynes has worked in a variety of cinematic genres and with diverse subject matter over his esteemed indie career. His work includes Superstar, a critique of celebrity culture; Safe, a drama warning of the toxicity of modern American life; Far From Heaven, a technicolor homage to 1950s sexual melodramas; I’m Not There, an unconventional and poetic biography of Bob Dylan; and most recently, Carol, the multi-Oscar-nominated drama about a forbidden lesbian love affair.

There is, however, a thematic through-line in Haynes’ films: a deep sensitivity for those estranged, for whatever reason, from conventional society. In his latest feature, the delicate and lovely Wonderstruck, Haynes again explores what life is like for those out of step with the norm: in this case, two deaf children on their own in New York in two seemingly unrelated stories set 50 years apart.

In 1927, Rose, a child isolated by her deafness from birth, runs away from her suburban home in pursuit of a silent film star, Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore), whom she idolizes. Played by newcomer Millicent Simmonds (who is herself deaf) with a mesmerizing screen presence, Rose is looking for a place where she belongs in a society that marginalizes and patronizes the disabled.

Fifty year later, in 1977, Ben (Oakes Fegley) is a lonely Minnesota boy grieving over the recent death of his mother and determined to find the far-away father he has never known. Finding a clue to his dad’s identity in an old book leads him on a quest to New York City, but not before Ben is also struck deaf in a freak lightning accident.

The two mysteries are told in an interspersed fashion—1927 in luminous black and white cinematography and nearly silent, 1977 in lurid pop colors and a noisy and era-appropriate rock soundtrack. And both stories reflect the innocence and resilience of the two young characters at their center.

To reveal more of the plot and the two stories’ connection would be a disservice to Haynes’ and screenwriter Brian Selznick’s thoughtfully constructed gem of a film. Incidentally, Selznick wrote the book on which Wonderstruck is based, and he also wrote the novel that inspired Martin Scorsese’s recent Hugo. The almost magical delicacy of Wonderstruck is given further resonance by cinematographer Edward Lachman’s deft evocation in the two eras and in Carter Burwell’s enchanting film score (which is especially effective in Rose’s story).

Both Simmonds as Rose and Fegley as Ben are natural magnets in front of the camera. Their straightforward, earnest performances carry the film. But, credit also must go to solid supporting work from Jaden Michael as Ben’s friend Jamie; Michelle Williams in a brief but crucial role as Ben’s mother; and Moore, who plays two characters in the movie, one in each era.

Some overly long third-act exposition aside, Wonderstruck is a captivating story about two isolated children who manage to find comfort and connection.

Also appearing at your nearby multiplex in November: Thor: Ragnarok, the latest movie exploration of the Marvel universe (11/3); Wonder, a domestic drama starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson as parents of a unique child (11/17); and Coco, a Pixar story featuring an all-Latino voice cast (11/22).

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Laugh at Logan Lucky, Just Don’t Think Too Long

Ocean’s 7-11? Soderbergh shifts gears to NASCAR heist film.

Director Steven Soderbergh knows his way around a good caper movie, having created the very successful rebooted Ocean’s series that has starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and a cast of popular actors.

With his latest film, Logan Lucky, Soderbergh transfers the criminal hijinks from the glitzy, ersatz-sophisticated environs of Las Vegas to the hard-scrabble, redneck epicenter of NASCAR: the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Although the laughs and thrills are maintained (thanks in no small part to Soderbergh’s winning cast), the translation is not entirely successful.
Channing Tatum and Adam Driver play the chronically unlucky Logan brothers, Jimmy and Clyde.

Jimmy was a star athlete in his youth, but an injury ended his promising career. His marriage to Bobbie Jo (Katie Holmes) also ended in disappointment. After being laid off his construction job at the Charlotte race track, he decides to pursue a reversal of his fortunes by planning a heist of the speedway’s daily receipts. Jimmy and Clyde assemble a ragtag team of accomplices (including Riley Keogh and an atypically cast Daniel Craig) whose skill sets are questionable at best. After this set-up, the rest of the film, as expected, is the playing out of the heist and its aftermath.

Neither the director nor screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (rumored to be a pseudonym for an as-yet unknown writer) seem able to decide whether they want to love their characters or condescend to them. At times, the brothers and their gang are portrayed as complete doofuses, yet we viewers are supposed to believe they are capable of this convoluted scheme.

Another disconcerting element is that all these Southern-fried characters are played by non-Southern actors, including Craig, a Brit. Are they all having a lark or mocking the accents and attitudes of the American South? It’s unclear. Finally, the plotting is neither completely coherent nor convincing. The success of the caper is way too dependent on unlikely circumstances that nearly always work out for these laid-back thieves.

I’m also troubled by the seeming lack of justification for the crime. For heist movies to work, we the audience have to believe that the targets of the crime somehow deserve their fate. We can set aside our consciences and cheer for the breaking of the law only if the perpetrators are karmically justified. I didn’t fully buy into their motivation.

Nevertheless, Logan Lucky is a lot of fun. The humor is loopy and offbeat, which can be pleasantly disarming. Setting aside the cornpone accents, the actors are all likable and easy to root for. Tatum draws on his substantial charisma to win our sympathy for Jimmy. While Driver seems to be channeling Tim Blake Nelson in his performance, the character’s quirks are still entertaining. Craig especially is delightful as explosives expert Joe Bang. His portrayal of Bond has become increasingly sullen and opaque of late, so it’s refreshing to see the actor having fun in a role.

The direction and scripting are also mockingly self-aware. At one point, the hillbilly thieves are referred to in a media story as Ocean’s 7-11, a sly reference to Soderbergh’s other caper films. The credits also announce the debut of a new cinematic talent: “and Introducing Daniel Craig!”

In the end, the machinations of the crime and the self-referential humor carry the day if you let the film wash over you as mindless entertainment. Just avoid the temptation to give it deeper thought.

Also appearing at your nearby Cineplex in September: Unlocked, a spy thriller starring Noomi Rapace and Toni Collette, directed by Michael Apted (9/1); It, featuring Bill Skarsgard as Stephen King’s killer clown (9/8); and Home Again, a rom-com showcasing Reese Witherspoon (9/8).

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At Theatre N: From the Land of the Moon (Mal de Pierres)

French actress Marion Cotillard has been a fascinating cinematic presence since she first captured the attention of American filmgoers with her Oscar-winning performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose in 2007. Since then, she has played a variety of emotionally resonant (and often slightly disturbed) roles in Inception, Midnight in Paris, Rust and Bone, Two Days, One Night, and even The Dark Knight Rises. Her greatest acting gift is her amazingly expressive face, which can be simultaneous deeply brooding yet luminous.

Director Nicole Garcia understands how to use Cotillard to her advantage in From the Land of the Moon (Mal de Pierres), and does so with a vengeance. Much of the footage in this melancholic film focuses on Cotillard: her face, her profile, even her back walking away from the camera. And we watch, fully absorbed. Unfortunately, there is not much more to this film than the 42-year-old actress.

Set in rural France in the 1950s, From the Land of the Moon tells the story of Gabrielle, a passionate, unstable woman struggling against the expectations of her family and of society. Forced into a marriage of convenience, she suffers both emotionally and physically until she is sent to a medical spa to be treated for kidney stones. There she meets a convalescing military officer, and a new world of love and desire open up for her. Of course, this being a film, that doesn’t mean life will become easier.

Overall, From the Land of the Moon feels drawn-out, even ponderous. And I couldn’t stop thinking that I had seen it before. That said, there are certainly worse ways to spend two hours than watching Marion Cotillard’s lovely, anguished face.

Also at Theatre N in September: The Trip to Spain, the latest culinary travelogue with British comics Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (9/1, 9/8 weekends); The Journey, a fictional account of the Irish conflict focusing on leaders from either side, featuring Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney (9/22 weekend).

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Six-pack Cinema – and a Shot

City Themes

Six movies with urban settings—from east to west

Gangs of New York      (2002)

Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz lead a stellar cast in this gritty, vividly violent story of old New York. Set in the 1860s Five Points district of lower Manhattan—an area ruled by various clans and gangs—this Martin Scorsese film is still strikingly relevant today. Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis) leads a gang whose malevolent intent is to prevent the entry of immigrants, preferably by force. Intensely directed and solidly acted.

Miami Blues    (1990)

Long before Alec Baldwin impersonated the President and hosted salacious game shows, he was often cast as a pretty yet rugged leading man. Miami Blues is definitely not one of those movies. In this dark comedy with criminal overtones, Baldwin plays an unrepentant con-man and thief devoid of any moral compass. When he overpowers the cop (Fred Ward) pursuing him—taking his gun, badge and false teeth—he sets off on a one-man crime spree. Baldwin is strangely charismatic in this rather ugly role.

Chicago     (2002)

A controversial Oscar winner (too lightweight, said the critics), this musical movie based on the Kander and Ebb Broadway hit re-creates the feverish, tawdry intensity of Jazz Age Chicago. Focused on two women (Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones) accused of murder and their publicity-hound attorney (Richard Gere), the film is an indictment of our obsession with celebrity, but it’s also a rollicking, tune-filled good time. In smaller yet crucial roles, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, and Christine Baranski are all as good as the movie’s stars.

Meet Me in St. Louis  (1944)

A more conventional, literally old-fashioned MGM movie musical, Meet Me in St. Louis is unabashedly sentimental and innocent. Following the lives of the Smith family in the days leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair, Vincent Minnelli’s well-crafted movie hits all the notes you want and expect from a vintage musical: romantic, sweet, wistful, melodramatic. The score, mostly by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, includes the classic holiday song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” sung by a dew-eyed Judy Garland.

L.A. Confidential   (1987)

Based on a James Ellroy novel, this taut 1950s crime thriller helped launch the careers of its stars, Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe. The pair play very different kinds of cops (one earnest, one brutish) who eventually unite to face down the labyrinthine political corruption rampant in the City of Angels. The rat-a-tat screenplay by director Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland won an Oscar, as did the performance of Kim Basinger as a prostitute look-alike of Veronica Lake.

Sleepless in Seattle    (1993)

After the untimely death of his beloved wife, architect Sam (Tom Hanks) and his precocious 8-year-old son Jonah (Ross Malinger) head to Seattle to start over. But Sam is still sadly stuck in the past. Jonah calls a radio advice show, which starts a fateful process to bring Sam together with unfulfilled reporter Annie (Meg Ryan). Briskly directed by Norah Ephron (who also co-wrote the screenplay), this charming and funny film succeeds on the appeal of its two stars, who are only brought together at the very end. The movie also features a delightful score with vintage songs performed by a disparate group: Harry Connick, Dr. John, Jimmy Durante, Gene Autry and Carly Simon.

And a shot…

Their Finest   (2016)     Screening Aug. 11 – 13 at Theatre N.

Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, and Bill Nighy are three unlikely compatriots brought together during the London Blitz to make inspiring propaganda films to boost the spirits of the British public. Directed by Lone Scherfig, the film beautifully depicts the tense juxtaposition of daily life in the midst of imminent danger and loss. Both the war backdrop and the stiff-upper-lip British resolve are familiar cinematic tropes, but the story and character still resonate. For a full schedule and more information, go to theatren.com.