First Man is about Neil Armstrong, his determination to help NASA get someone on the moon and the effect his dangerous job had on him and his family. It is only peripherally about the history of the space program and the impact the first moon landing had on the world. While the majority of its…

Jackson Maine is a popular country singer battling alcohol and drug addictions. Ally is a woman who has all but given up on her dreams of being a singer. They meet one night when she is performing at a bar he happened to pass by when he was out of liquor, beginning a relationship that…

In the 1970s, as a member of the original cast of NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, Gilda Radner burst onto the national comedy scene. She quickly became a big reason people tuned in every Saturday night, creating a wide array of quirky characters. The funny, poignant, documentary Love, Gilda uses a lot of…

Fahrenheit 11/9 is Michael Moore’s new documentary looking at the state of America after the 2016 presidential election. Hearing this, you are probably expecting two hours of him trashing Trump. However, while he does spend a fair amount of time throwing harsh words at the current president, he has more than one target. Moore’s message…

Glenn Close is a very good actor. Over the last 36 years, in projects as varied as The Big Chill, Reversal of Fortune, 101 Dalmatians, Cookie’s Fortune and The Girl with All the Gifts, she expertly adapts her performance to the character as well as anyone else in the business. She has been nominated for…

Annie is sleepwalking through life. Her boyfriend, Duncan, is so infatuated with an obscure American singer that it has actually gotten in the way of their relationship. Annie writes a negative review of Duncan’s hero’s work online and, amazingly, gets a response from the extremely reclusive singer himself, setting off a long distance friendship that…

In May of 1960, Israeli intelligence officers were made aware that Nazi Lieutenant Adolph Eichmann was hiding out in Argentina. The drama Operation Finale details their efforts to find him and bring him back to Israel to face justice. It is an interesting story with some very affecting moments. Though, thematically, it touches on things…

In 1931, safecracker Henri “Papillon” Charrière was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in a penal colony in French Guiana. There, he made an arrangement with wealthy forger Louis Dega: he will protect Dega and, in exchange, Dega will finance Papillon’s escape. Papillon wrote about his horrifying experiences as a prisoner in the…

Survival stories are as old as storytelling itself. One person battling the elements to get home is a universal tale. As is the idea of a human and an animal bonding over a long journey. Alpha, set in Europe 20,000 years ago, combines these two stories in a visually beautiful film with little dialogue (what…

With everything that has happened in our country over the last few years, both socially and politically, it was only a matter of time before those in the entertainment industry responded using their art. 2018 has had several films that have a lot to say about modern-day America. Black Panther, Won’t You Be My Neighbor,…