Most biographies of artists try to provide insight into their work by exploring their life. That can be effective with a singer or actor, someone whose creative process can be easily visualized. That is difficult with a writer or painter. It is hard to make something internal exciting on-screen. The result is usually an effort…

Movies intended to be heartwarming, crowd-pleasing, holiday family entertainment need to have positive messages and happy endings where everybody learns to be a better person. Green Book, about a white bouncer driving a black musician to gigs in the Deep South in 1962, tries to apply those things to a story about ignorance and racism.…

In 1988, Gary Hart seemed like a shoo-in, not just to win the Democratic nomination, but also to become president of the United States. He was smart, good-looking and skilled at discussing complex political issues in a way voters could relate to. Then, rumors began circulating concerning his marriage. That turned into a full-blown scandal…

One of the most important jobs a journalist has is making sure people know what is really going on in the world. For war correspondents, gathering that information and then getting it to their readers is very dangerous. They risk their lives in war zones located in countries that likely do not want these stories…

Alzheimer’s is sad for those who have it and tragic for the people who love them. Seeing someone you care about slowly lose themselves until they are just a bunch of scattered memories is a very difficult experience. What They Had is a touching, emotional drama centered on a family struggling to decide what to…

Beautiful Boy tells the true story of who, as a teenager, became addicted to crystal meth. Part of it is from his perspective, part of it is seen through the eyes of his father. David loves his son more than anything and will do whatever needs to be done to help Nic in his struggle.…

Mid90s, a coming of age story about a kid with an unhappy home life who becomes friends with some older skateboarders, feels like a movie that could have been made during the title time period. Jewish comic actor Jonah Hill’s first effort as a director (he also wrote and produced) reproduces that era not just…

Robert Redford is an icon of American cinema. Just the sight of his face is enough to inspire all sorts of nostalgia from long-time filmgoers. His newest, and possibly last, movie uses his appeal and memories of his past roles to create a likable, fun, character study of a man determined to live the life…

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…