‘Post’ takes on big news, with big names
‘The Post’
In 1971, The New York Times published — and was ordered to stop publishing — what became known as the Pentagon Papers, an extensive history on U.S. involvement in Vietnam that showed that the government had systematically lied about the “success” of the war effort.
The Washington Post, led by editor Ben Bradlee, decided to go after the story by getting the papers itself, even though it was clear the Nixon administration was primed to shut down the paper if it did so. Added to the Post’s drama was the tussle between the powers that be at the paper and Katharine Graham — the first female publisher of a major American newspaper.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, “The Post” explores all of those subjects, with a couple of titans in the lead roles — Meryl Streep as Graham and Tom Hanks as Bradlee — and a supporting cast including Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg and Madison native Bradley Whitford.
Reportedly, with Spielberg’s involvement and the changing political landscape, the movie expanded from being mainly Graham’s dilemma as a woman in charge having to prove that women can be in charge to include more on the White House vs. the press angle. But critics, who have mostly loved “The Post,” say both stories have weight, thanks in part to Streep.
“‘The Post’ tells of a great moment in journalism — and a great moment in one remarkable woman’s life,” Seattle Times critic Moira Macdonald wrote in her 4-star review. “The Post” is rated PG-13 for language and brief war violence. It runs for 116 minutes.
‘Proud Mary’
Cookie as a hit woman? Yeah, that works. In “Proud Mary,” Taraji P. Henson plays a hired killer who, while working for a crime family in Boston, has a hit go bad and finds herself with a new man in her life — a young boy she meets when things go wrong.
Billy Brown, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Margaret Avery, Neal McDonough and Danny Glover costar. “Proud Mary” is rated R for violence. It runs for 88 minutes.
‘The Commuter’
If it’s winter, it’s about time to see Liam Neeson display a special set of skills, where he’s exCIA (the “Taken” movies), an air marshal (”NonStop”) or just “The Commuter.”
Ignoring the “don’t talk to strangers” lesson, Neeson plays a commuter who gets into a conversation with a mysterious woman (Vera Farmiga), who forces him to learn the identity of a hidden passenger on his homebound train before he reaches his destination or face some very nasty consequences. It’s Neeson, so you know it’s more complicated, and more violent, than that.
The early reviews for “The Commuter,” by “Non-Stop” director Jaume Collet-Serra, have been aggressively so-so. Hollywood Reporter critic Jordan Mintzer liked it, saying the movie “feels like one of those films they simply don’t make anymore … a certified B-movie without superheroes or interplanetary travel, drawing its power from a whodunit, race-against-the-clock scenario.” “The Commuter” is rated PG-13 for some violence and language. It runs for 105 minutes.
‘Paddington 2’
The bear with a taste for marmalade, adventure and mayhem is back, despite being caught up in the whole Weinstein mess.
Hold on: It’s not what you think. “Paddington 2,” the sequel to the hit British movie based on the beloved children’s books by Michael Bond, was supposed to be distributed in the United States by Weinstein Co. When that studio spun out because of Harvey Weinstein’s horrific behavior, the movie wound up with Warner Bros., without missing a beat — or even its original release date.
As with the first movie, the animated bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, has lots of A-list English company, including Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Joanna Lumley, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon and many more.
When it premiered in London last fall, the critics ate it up: Variety critic Guy Lodge called “Paddington 2” “another near-pawfect family entertainment, honoring the cozy, can-do spirit of Bond’s stories while bringing them smoothly into a bustling, diverse 21stcentury London.” “Paddington 2” is rated PG for some mild rude humor. It runs for 103 minutes.
‘Big Sonia’
Sonia Warshawski had an amazing life, not least because it was nearly snuffed out more than 70 years ago in a Nazi concentration camp.
In addition to regular speaking engagements at schools and prisons, spreading the word about the horrors of the Holocaust, the 91-year-old runs a tailor shop in an all-but-dead Kansas City shopping mall. When she gets an eviction notice, Warshawski has to decide whether to retire from the job that, she says, helps her “keep the dark parts away” and, at the same time, confront the fear and trauma from her past.
Directed by Warshawki’s granddaughter, documentary filmmaker Leah Warshawski, “Big Sonia” focuses on those very human issues. Los Angeles Times reviewer Michael Rechtshaffen called it “a tenderly rendered inspirational piece about the healing power of forging human connections.” “Big Sonia” is not rated. It runs for 93 minutes.