Video Alert
DUNKIRK (War drama, PG-13, 106 m., 2017). Christopher Nolan's faithful and deeply respectful retelling of one of the most pivotal battles in World War II is a gripping, deeply involving and unforgettable film that ranks among the best war movies of the decade. Rating: Four stars.
MOTHER! (Horror thriller, R, 121 m., 2017). The lives of a passive young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) and her much older husband (Javier Bardem) go from unsettling to bizarre after the arrival of a strange and rude couple (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer). In this pounding, throbbing feature-length metaphor, director Darren Aronofsky assaults our senses with shocking and sometimes almost sickening imagery. It's all staged with impressive craftsmanship, but to what end? Rating: Two stars.
AMERICAN ASSASSIN (Action thriller, R, 112 m., 2017). A new recruit (Dylan O'Brien) training with a Secret Ops legend (Michael Keaton) is sent with a band of warriors to take out a terrorist mastermind. Unwise casting and ludicrous plotting mar the action, and at best I was buying about half of what "American Assassin" was selling.
Rating: Two stars.
HOME AGAIN (Comedy drama, PG-13, 97 m., 2017). A recently separated mother (Reese Witherspoon) of two daughters moves into her luxurious childhood home and becomes involved with one of the young men crashing in the guesthouse. In this breezy bit of escapist fare, it’s hard not to feel a sense of disconnect with the characters in their bubble of upper-middle-class privilege. Rating: Two stars.
DETROIT (Historical drama, R, 143 m., 2017). Arriving almost exactly 50 years since the Detroit riots of 1967, Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" is a searing, pulse-pounding, shocking and deeply effective dramatic interpretation of events in and around the Algiers Motel, where police tortured, abused and assaulted a dozen "suspects," murdering three of them. Rating: Four stars.
LEAP! (Animated adventure, PG, 89 m., 2017). Elle Fanning does wonderful voice work as an 11-year-old orphan dreaming of dancing ballet in 1880s Paris. Aside from one murderous misstep, this lovely and breezy animated adventure is thoroughly enchanting. Rating: Three stars.