Going back to home on the range

Spot and Arlo in a scene from "The Good Dinosaur." Image courtesy Disney/Pixar.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of the “The Good Dinosaur” is a thought experiment in which viewers try to figure out what the differences are between a human and dinosaur dominated society. Per the filmmakers, agriculture is an evolutionary inevitability, as are domesticity, drug trips, speech, and the development of morals and ethics among a civilized society. Humans wear items related to clothing, although it appears to be designed for preserving a creature's modesty as it does for warmth and protection. On the whole, much of the dinosaur society is like that of that early humans, if just a hint off, just as the film itself is a bit off and a rather interesting letdown.

Like the famous line by T.S. Eliot, The Good Dinosaur” opens with a whimper, or at least a shooting star that would have caused the destruction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, according to the text on screen. Jump to a few million years into the future and dinosaurs have evolved into a lifestyle akin to those found in westerns. For little Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), that means life as a corn farmer in a small valley with his Poppa (Jeffrey Wright), Momma (Frances McDormand), sister Libby and brother Buck (Marcus Scribner). Poor Arlo is a neurotic runt, afraid of the chickens he feeds and the bugs that swarm around his head and the little humanoid creature (later named Spot and voiced by Jack Bright) consuming the family's crops. Poppa doesn't take kindly to the last act and uses it as a chance to coax the fear out of his young son, a choice that results in the older dinosaurs untimely, strikingly familiar death.

Arlo blames the little human for his father's death, and an opportunity to partake in revenge against the little moppet goes awry, sending the little dino miles away from his home. Stuck with the devoted and effective human as his only companion, Arlo must navigate through the unknown to find his way home. The trip is fraught with peril, as the weather, dangerous scavengers (notably a group of fearless pterodactyls led by Steve Zahn's Thunderclap) fear and self doubt combine to keep Arlo from reaching his goals. But the dude is resourceful, and he has a habit of striking up unconventional friendships, including a family of Tyrannosaurus rex rustlers voiced by Anna Paquin, A.J. Buckley and the silver-voiced Sam Elliott who offer comfort, advice and a little direction for the dino boy and his dog.

If certain segments of that description feel familiar, it's because “The Good Dinosaur,” to its detriment, is influenced greatly by other Disney-related properties, most notably “The Lion King.” “The Good Dinosaur” lifts a lot from the non-Shakespearean bits from “The Lion King,” like the death scene alluded to earlier and the mythical visitation of the father figure as a point of self discovery, which wouldn't be as big of a problem if it had a stronger narrative arc for its characters. That's not something the film opts to invest in – due in part to the heavy western influence that runs through it – and the haphazard story is uneven and is weighted to make the second act something of a bore. The plotting is one of the little things that just makes “The Good Dinosaur” a little off among its Pixar brethren: The story is a little sparse, the characters a little flat, the humor a little scatter shot, the speed of the action a little slow.  

But “The Good Dinosaur” is still a Pixar film, and it has enough of those core elements coursing through it to keep it an entertaining disappointment. The movie is quite often magnificent as a spectacle, just a beautiful film with open landscapes befitting its western roots and a pair of sequences involving fireflies that is just a wonder to watch unfold. And the loose plotting offers benefits of its own thanks the time extra spent with Arlo and Spot, who engage in silly antics and romp about the forest with whimsy and comfort. Getting that bond solidified results in an emotionally heavy scene that will wreck a few audience members, matching the minimum requirement for every good-to-great Pixar film.

I think the best way to think about “The Good Dinosaur” is to see it as an experiment for the studio, a new way of storytelling that’s simple and less frenetic than other films. The fact the film doesn’t work as well as it could is almost secondary to what it could lead to; like a pitcher developing an off-speed pitch to expand his or her repertoire, the new variation could become magnificent with more practice.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG

Run time: 100 minutes

Genre: Animated

Ask Away

Target audience: Pixar fanatics and parents who need a break in between shopping trips.

Take the whole family?: Good for almost all age groups, save toddlers who will get a little intimidated by the more violent scenes.

Theater or Netflix?: Might be a nice way to keep the kids distracted during Black Friday shopping, but don't spring for the 3-D glasses.

What about the animated short?: It was actually the highlight of the screening. The short, “Sanjay's Super Team,” is about how a boy learns to understand his faith through the power of imagination and super heroes. Few words are spoken, but the tenderness and brilliant animation are awesome, as well as the idea of interpreting religion through one's own lens.

Watch this as well?: Pick your Pixar flick, especially the wonderful “”Inside Out.” Beyond that, the original “Land Before Time” is a rather good little animated films about how beings define family and the importance of conquering fear, just like “The Good Dinosaur.”

Fighting the man one quip at a time

Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo in "Trumbo." Image courtesy Bleeker Street Media

“Trumbo” purports itself to be a film of great import, written and starring the type of men who make Aaron Sorkin drool through his dreams. The topic is a modern witch trial – no witches were harmed in the making of this film though – and the lesson bestowed by the filmmakers about how bad such things are is more apropos of a poorly written textbook than a film. There really isn’t much else to “Trumbo” aside from that lesson either; the filmmakers get so wrapped up in hammering their point home they forget to offer their audience an engaging film. To quote one of the great philosophers of this decade, oops.

Baseball fans familiar with hard-hitting, out-making, poor-fielding Seattle Mariners slugger Mark Trumbo will be disappointed that this film is not dedicated to his epic adventures in the outfield. Rather, the titular Trumbo is legendary writer Dalton Trumbo, known in film circles for penning such classics as “Roman Holiday” and “Spartacus.” Well, he's recognized for writing the former now; Trumbo persuaded a colleague to put his name on it so a movie studio actually purchase the script. The reason why he had to resort to that is the heart of his film, which stars “Breaking Bad,” “Seinfeld,” and “Malcolm in the Middle” alum Bryan Cranston as the mustached scribe. He starts the film riding high alongside his wife Cleo (Diane Lane) and three children after receiving a contract that makes him the richest writer in Hollywood, but the fall commences shortly thereafter because of his affiliation with the Communist Party. Given this happens to be 1947 and the early years of the Cold War, associating with the party of the so-called enemy is not a decision welcomed by many.

It really doesn't take all that long for Cranston and a few of his fellow writers (Louis C.K. and Alan Tudyk among them) to get called in front of the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee (or HUAC) to testify about the issue. None of them actually offer any testimony of note, and they are all summarily charged with contempt of court and, most notably, blacklisted by every major studio in Hollywood at the behest of the powerful and venomous columnist Hedda Hopper (a divinely vile Helen Mirren). With his life completely asunder, Cranston must find a way to rebuild his stature in the industry – the route takes him into the employ of B-movie magnates Frank and Hymie King (John Goodman and Stephen Root, respectively) – without losing the affection of his family, especially eldest child and burgeoning rebel Niki (Elle Fanning). Shenanigans involving prison, speed, Michael Stuhlberg doing a good enough Edward G. Robinson impersonation, David James Elliot doing a dreadful John Wayne impersonation, and some writing ensue.

Viewers learn a fair bit about the Hollywood Ten, the blacklist, Hollywood backroom deals and Dalton Trumbo's politics. The man himself, however, remains something of an enigma, which is quite strange given the film is called “Trumbo.” Viewers glimpse the eponymous figure through his crusade and his bathtub writing quirks, but there's little about the man as a writer or as a human being beyond the political realm, excluding of a short interlude in which he treats his family like crap and then stops. What the film is unwilling to do is separate the man from his politics, treating Cranston's Trumbo more like a megaphone than a human being. All Cranston, who is committed to the role but not left with very much to work with, can do is don his glasses, grow a funky mustache and dole out enough witticisms to irk Dorothy Parker.

Director Jay Roach and screenwriter John McNamara – both of whom appear out of their element with this kind of film – are much more interested in wagging their fingers toward the past and condemning those idiots for their paranoia than telling the story of a clearly complex and interesting man. And lord do they ride the high horse, raising platform after platform for characters to pontificate against the government overreach and the decimation of the First Amendment. They are very valid points to make, but the levels of self righteousness Roach and McNamara reach in “Trumbo” are staggeringly brilliant. The filmmakers fashion themselves and their titular character as heroes; then again, people act far more courageously when they have the benefit of hindsight.

Review: Two and out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 124 minutes

Genre: Biopic

Ask Away

Target audience: People who are down for a moving about the Hollywood Ten and are patient to an incredible degree.

Take the whole family?: Aside from a shot of Bryan Cranston's derriere, it really isn't an “R” film. Teens younger than 17 who must watch it won't have an issue.

Theater or Netflix?: Put it on the que and save it for later if you want to watch it.

Academy Award odds?: There doesn't appear to be a lot of traction going for this one. The best bets are Bryan Cranston for Best Actor and Helen Mirren for Best Supporting Actress, but both are listed outside the nomination bubble on tracking sites. Both will probably get a Golden Globe nomination though.

Watch this instead?: “Bridge of Spies” has the same problem “Trumbo” does about lecturing its viewers, but the lesson is didactic and the back half offers an excellent spy film to keep you entertained. A much better Cold War flick is the wonderfully manic “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” I know the full title isn't necessary, but it is just so much fun to use.

One last game, for old times' sake

Jennifer Lawrence stars in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2." Image courtesy Lionsgate

“Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” leaves a mildly bitter taste on the tongue immediately after viewing, a sensation linked directly to the middling dialogue and a silly ending in the same vein as the last few moments of the “Harry Potter” finale a few years back. Yet for a film targeted at a young demographic, it has a pretty excellent stew-quality to it; mulling it over for a night or so results in a hint more respect for it than the initial impression leaves. It's still not great and a bit of a letdown for a series that hasn't had a below-par movie, but it deserves brownie points for thematic depth and emotional heaviness despite its frequent trips into camp territory.

“Mockingjay” kicks off right after the conclusion of the first part, with heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) recovering after she is strangled by brainwashed romantic interest Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). The scene itself features poor Lawrence attempting to speak with bruise marks still on her throat, an idea that sounds strong on paper but is a better vehicle for unintentional laughter than emotional resonance.

Nevertheless, Lawrence is quite peeved by what happened to her (possibly) beloved Hutcherson, and she hatches a plan to assassinate the evil President Snow (a ridiculous, over the top Donald Sutherland) for revenge. Her mission comes against the wishes of steely rebel leader Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and the mysterious Pluutarch (a dearly missed Philip Seymour Hoffman), but she sneaks her way to the front lines of the war anyway and she joins her other beloved, Gail Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). Both are placed on a special squad for the rebels' invasion of the capitol, along with Hutcherson, the charming Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and squad leader Boggs (Mahershala Ali), to film propaganda pieces and strike fear into the hearts of the Capitol. A relatively safe mission goes awry thanks to Sutherland's idea of turning the city streets into yet another round of Hunger Games, forcing Lawrence and her team to fight for their lives as they march toward Sutherland's mansion. Woody Harrelson pops in and out as Lawrence’s mentor Haymitch Abernathy to offer token bits of wisdom, while Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields and Stanley Tucci return to their respective roles to pad out the runtime for a few moments.

A film as long as “Mockingjay” shouldn’t need the padding, and the two-plus hour movie often feels much longer than that. The film is slowed down by scenes that add little to nothing to the narrative flow, except to try and justify splitting the third book in Suzanne Collins' popular young adult series into two films. It never quite works, and the result is two OK films with far too much fat instead of one pretty good that's three hours long but comparably lean to the four-and-a-half hours combined length of these two flicks.

So what do viewers get with the extra time with Katniss and her friends? A fair amount of relationship drama – the weakest part of the series by far, although Malone's character provides a nice meta jab at its inanity – and really miserable dialogue that provide more of that unintentional humor mentioned earlier. Audience members are blessed too with lazy writing tricks – Sutherland's Snow employs the blood in the handkerchief trope – and a few scenes of Lawrence looking confounded. Lawrence is more often than not a terrific actress, but “Mockingjay” brings out the worst in her. She’s horridly entertaining in her two big emotional scenes; then again, she is reacting to an especially bored cat and an disengaged baby.

It takes more digging than it should to get past the annoyances, but there is something worthwhile within “Mockingjay's” heart. It's a morally complex film, with the idea of doing the right thing often a pipe dream given the realities of war. War is a dirty contest in this film, a fact represented by the amount of grime and sewage contestants have to wade through to fight, and it becomes even messier when the characters debate exactly how far they are willing to go to win. Even Lawrence's Katniss, who state emphatically her moral boundaries during wartime, finds it difficult to stick with that moral rigidity when the opportunity for revenge arises.

So do the ends justify the means? Not quite in “Mockingjay,” as the film acknowledges there is at least one major line – eerily reminiscent of the attacks in Paris last week – that should not be crossed. It's a brutal scene carried over from the source material and presented with striking simplicity by the filmmakers, and it turns what is a dark series into an absolute horror. It's a moment that emphasizes the hopelessness of the war and Lawrence's quest; people who fight evil never leave the fight as pure as they entered it.

Review: Three out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 137 minutes (Two hours and 17 minutes)

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: Teen girls and fans of the either the books or the rest of the film series.

Take the whole family?: Kids will get turned off a bit by the explosions and a rather horrifying plot twist, so keep children younger than 10 at home.

Theater or Netflix?: Probably could wait until its available on home viewing, but stick with matinee if opting to see it on a large screen.

Is Jennifer Lawrence worth the money?: Lawrence, who will apparently make $20 million for her upcoming film “Passengers,” has more than justified an increase in pay. Even if her acting isn't up to her own standards in this one, she's still the face of a major box-office film series, and she is a leading figure in the “X-Men” series to boot. The star system is overrated for sure, but Lawrence has earned that money based on the rules of the game.

Watch this as well?: “Catching Fire” is the best individual entry in the series – Philip Seymour Hoffman is great, and the action is much tighter than the rest of the series. Similarly, check out the third “Harry Potter” film, “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” which is by far the best in that series and is a terrific standalone film.

American dreaming

Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen star in "Brooklyn." Image courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.

The version of America depicted in the sensational “Brooklyn” is the one people dream about when talking about the good old days. The streets are clean and tread upon by impeccably dressed men and women, all of whom are searching for the American Dream. Strangely enough, finding that dream isn’t the issue; the tricky part for Saoirse Ronan’s Eilis is deciding if that dream is what she wants, or is it better perhaps to return home and follow the path set for her before she arrived in early 1950s America.

Romance comes into play in the decision making, although it really isn’t a factor for (the magnificent) Ronan before she steps on the boat. Life before the departure is depicted with a yawn, with the lass working at a market part-time for the cruel Miss Kelly (Brid Brennan), going to dances with her best friend Nancy (Eileen O’Higgins) and living with her beloved older sister Rose (Fiona Glascott) and mother (Jane Brennan). The trip across the Atlantic is a little rocky, but she arrives at the eponymous borough and settles into a boarding house run by the fiery Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters) with a small bag, a less than promising job at a clothing store, and an epic case of home sickness. But Ronan toughs out the harsh early going with the help of a friendly priest (Jim Broadbent), who enrolls her in night classes at a local university and persuades her to attend a few local meet and greet events. It's at a rather lame Irish dance that she meets dapper Italian plumber Tony (Emory Cohen), and her life begins to pick up once their relationship blossoms and she falls in love with him and life in America.

That is until Glascott dies and Ronan has to ship back to Ireland to comfort her grieving mother. What started off as a short trip home develops into an extended stay when she takes over her sister’s job as a bookkeeper, which begets plans to stick around and possibly fall in love with handsome rugby player Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson). Everyone around Ronan conspires to keep her in Ireland – Brennan goes as far as to set up her daughter's social schedule beyond her expected departure date – and the woman even starts questioning a possible return to life with Cohen in Brooklyn. It puts her in a tough spot, as each location has its benefits, among them a man hopelessly in love with her.

“Brooklyn” is a rare trustworthy wolf in sheep's clothing, a deep and brilliant Nicholas Sparks film disguised as droll Oscar bait. “Brooklyn” speaks in sadness and elegies for the living and the death of dreams, so crying during “Brooklyn” is very much encouraged and is even necessary depending on which character is broken emotionally at a given moment. But there is very much more to the film than weeping, as screenwriter Nick Hornby – who adopted the film from a novel by Colm Tóibín – writes in some terrific comedic patter between characters that can shift an ordinary conversation into a sparring match befitting films of the era. The best lines are given to the sublimely caustic Walters, who delivers them with vinegar and a knowing smirk.

What's covering the film's fluffy heart is a layer of adulthood far too often ignored in the average Heigl flick; characters opt to reflect and think about their words before saying anything when presented with an awkward moment of romantic doom. Ronan, especially, isn't a woman who needs to grow up – she begins the film at a greater level of adulthood than most people can achieve – as all she really needs is time to weigh her options. The quandary she faces – staying in Ireland or going back to Brooklyn – appears to be an equal one from the surface, with each place offering opportunity and love. But the film definitely favors one route far over the others, and it reveals the preference with a few visual hints – the wardrobe and scenery is much brighter in one location – and through the two suitors. While both men adore the lovable Ronan, the nature of the relationships Ronan has with each differs in one notable way; while one wants a bride to fill an empty house, he other wants a partner, someone to grow alongside him and wants her to better herself in the process. Given that, the decision is easy, but “Brooklyn” knows the heart is a complicated entity, and even a smart, ambitious protagonist like Ronan’s Eilis is tempted to make the wrong decision. That she doesn’t, and that the choice comes with steely determination in one of the best scenes in the film, comes to both the main character’s and the film’s credit.  

Review: Four and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 111 minutes

Genre: Drama

Ask Away

Target audience: Fans of the book and anyone who can't decide if they want to spend more than 90 minutes laughing or crying.

Take the whole family?: Stick with the PG-13 rating for the mildly adult content and the few kids younger than that who'd be interested in seeing this type of movie.

Theater or Netflix?: Find a nice Saturday afternoon to hit this up if you can find it locally.

What are the film's Oscar odds?: “Brooklyn” is in line for a few nominations, including biggies like Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress for Saoirse Ronan. I hope Julie Walters gets recognition for Best Supporting Actress – she's just so wonderfully caustic – along with a little love for its subtly splendid cinematography.

Watch this as well?: Sticking with the Nick Hornby oeuvre, rent “An Education” and revel in the terrific rapport between Carey Mulligan – another possible Best Actress nominee – and Peter Sarsgaard.

The absurdities of life on the farm

Maria Lungu in a scene from "The Wonders." Image courtesy Oscilloscope Laboratories.

“The Wonders” is a funky little film that's difficult to pin down. Is it a coming-of-age story about a young girl finding her independence? Is it a portrait of a family on the brink? Is it a peek into the daily lives of farmers with a surreal bent? Is it a cautionary tale about relying too much on dreams while avoiding reality?

Yes. It is all of those things, blended together and wrapped in a strange little package by writer/director Alice Rohrwacher, then delivered to the doorstep by a fellow with impish intent. There is a danger that comes with opening the box though; underneath the film's peculiar surface is a story that will surprisingly and subtly break your heart.

Told in a quasi-episodic fashion, “The Wonders” centers on an Italian farm family earning most of its income via beekeeping. The theoretical heads of the ramshackle house are oft-angered father Wolfgang (Sam Louwyck) and mother Angelica (Alba Rohrwacher), but the soul of the family is the teenage Gelsomina (Maria Lungu), who quietly keeps the peace and the farm operational while serving as her father's most trusted assistant. Her status is rooted in part by being the eldest daughter (the other three played by Agnese Graziana, Eva Lea Pace Morrow, and Maris Stella Morrow), although she is hard working, reliable and smart enough to know this is not a life she wants for herself.

Family life enters a stage of upheaval thanks to a few events; the incorporation of Alba Rohrwacher's sister Cocò (Sabine Timoteo) into the home; a meeting with an actress (Monica Bellucci) promoting a reality competition called “Countryside Wonders” about farmers and hunters, an order to upgrade the family's honey lab, and the addition of quiet German teen criminal Martin (Luis Huilca) as a temporary helper. The last change has the most direct effect of Lungu; the Teutonic worker essentially replaces her in Louwyck's eyes because of his desire to have a son of his own. Still, Lungu is devoted to her family, and she surreptitiously enters the TV contest despite protests from her father, even after they are named a finalist and have a chance to win the grand prize of a “big bag of money.”

No specific Euro figure is ever mentioned verbally; the quote is for a literal “big bag of money” showcased in a commercial featuring Bellucci's actress. It's kind of a weird bit, and one of several little quirks that pop up throughout “The Wonders,” including a running joke about Louwyck cursing out hunters after sleeping alone outdoors overnight and Huilca's Martin communication method consisting of whistling. There's a chance the apicultural lifestyle is just that weird, although the better bet is Alice Rohrwacher added these little touches in to highlight the quotidian absurdities of life, essentially the little bits of weirdness in life that are noticed and shrugged off quickly. The idea isn't to make the central family weird; rather, the family has normalized the oddities that surround its life of self-imposed isolation. Or perhaps the peculiar lifestyle and the events that come from it are tied to Louwyck's Wolfgang, an often monstrous man who spends more time yelling at his children for perceived failures than praising them. He's particularly cruel to Lungu's Gelsomina, a child he has both an infinite amount of love for her and a deep loathing toward Lungu as well; she's the apple of her father's eye, but her willingness to search for a new life counters his seeming satisfaction with the status quo.

Lungu is a dreamer, and dreams are a cruel, cruel entity to possess in “The Wonders.” The film has a habit of providing glimmers of possibilities, chances for the family to get out of its station and provide a better place to live than the decrepit farmhouse in the middle of hunting country. Alas, hopefulness is trumped by reality again and again and again; there isn't a magical solution to solve any of the woes afflicting Lungu's family, a fact she learns and shrugs off like the absurdity around her.

What happens at the conclusion of “The Wonders” is the reveal to the audience that everything isn't going to be OK. It's presented quietly but with force by Alice Rohrwacher – the shots she uses highlighting the themes of loneliness and despair – and the effect hits like a sledgehammer. She's like a magician, using her smaller tricks to set up that one last reveal to leave the audience dumbstruck and reeling.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: Unrated

Run time: 110 minutes

Genre: Drama

Ask Away

Target audience: People partial to Italian cinema.

Take the whole family?: Really doesn't fit as a good family film because of its oddness, but the content won't bother anyone younger than 11.

Theater or Netflix?: Worth waiting for at home because of how few theaters will carry it.

How humorous is “The Wonders”?: For a film that rips you apart at the end, it is kind of strangely funny. One of the early scenes, for example, involves a pretty complex conversation as one character uses the toilet; it's not a riotous moment, but the utter strangeness of the moment and the facial expressions make it more amusing than it might be otherwise.

Watch this as well?: Finding a film about apiculture is kind of tricky, but Italian cinema is filled with bizarre films. Federico Fellini's “8 1/2” is oddly mesmerizing and utterly brilliant, while the strange horror flick “Phenomena” – starring a really young Jennifer Connelly – has its charms.

The art of being Charlie Brown

Snoopy and Charlie Brown in "The Peanuts Movie." Image courtesy 20th Century Fox.

Of all the wonderful things the “Peanuts” comics brought to life, it was the exploration of childhood as a deep state of being filled to the brim with love, anger, fear, confusion and sadness. The central figure, Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, was prone to contemplating his existence and consider just how lonely he is as a child surrounded by other children who seem to have it all together, even if they didn’t. But he also found happiness where he could, whether it was via a simple game of baseball or attempts to finally fly that kite; those efforts almost always ended in disaster, but the failure never stopped Charlie Brown from trying.

There’s a lot of soul in those comic strips and a few of the TV specials – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” being the best example – which “The Peanuts Movie” doesn’t quite have. Yet the new film has the comic strip’s ability to provide comfort and happiness, a reminder that the little successes are what make childhood tolerable and often memorable. Watching it is a joyful experience, and there’s very much a place in the world for a film that provides joy.

“The Peanuts Movie” kicks off with perhaps one of the best moments of childhood; an unexpected snow day in which the kids across the neighborhood take advantage of the free day by venturing outside for a day of skating, hockey, and other winter activities. At least everyone except Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp), who tries to fly his kite while the kite-eating tree is snow covered. The attempt is gloriously unsuccessful and draws the ire of the stentorian Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller) and annoys everyone else, as is the case with anything Charlie Brown does.

The frustration ends shortly thereafter once a new girl moves to the snow-covered neighborhood, the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) who becomes Charlie Brown’s first crush. The rest of the film is, in effect, Charlie Brown's attempts to woo the new girl through the rest of the school year, engaging in acts of silliness with sister Sally (Mariel Sheets), best friend Linus (Alexander Garfin), the musical genius Schroeder (Noah Johnston), the athletic Peppermint Patty and her pal Marcie (Venus Schultheis and Rebecca Bloom, respectively), and the rest of the crew. Their adventures are balanced by the antics of Snoopy and Woodstock, highlighted by the enactment of a short story Snoopy writes in which he battles his nemesis the Red Baron and tries to save the pretty Fifi (real-life Tinkerbell Kristin Chenoweth).

The stakes are small in “The Peanuts Movie” aside from Snoopy’s vivid daydreaming, as the drama comes from the small moments in childhood. Charlie Brown biggest hurdles are overcoming the fear of saying hello to his crush, learning how to dance (although that might have served as an excuse to insert a few of those “Peanuts” dance moves into the movie), and trying to succeed despite his constant failures, and the film does an excellent job capturing how difficult those moments can be. Charlie Brown, the poor soul, tries ever so hard to escape his worse trappings, to be someone else who might be liked by the new girl, yet all of his attempts fall asunder due to bad luck or his eagerness to put the interests of others ahead of his own.

Charlie Brown's failings in “The Peanuts Movie” are much more of his own design than the comic strips or the first few TV specials, in part because the universe isn't beating on Chuck with as much fury this time around. The filmmakers do insert a few little moments of sadness, but they missed the opportunity to dive in a little more into the character, a boy who suffers from ennui and the inherent loneliness of childhood surrounded by people who tolerate him at best and absolutely loathe him at worst. Then again, that's the Charlie Brown I related (and definitely still relate) to, and perhaps it's not the one that the world needs anymore. This version is focused more on bouncing back from his failures, gaining strength and wisdom while allowing his conscience to guide him to the correct response. Even as Charlie Brown points out that the world seems to conspire against him, he finds a way to hop over the barriers placed in front of him.

And, in the end, Charlie Brown finally gets a win he deserves because of his good deeds and inherent decency. The victory is not a major one – that would spoil the whole point of the film and the comics – but it is satisfying enough to evoke a few sniffles and expand the smile that turned up during the first act.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: G

Run time: 93 minutes

Genre: Animated

Ask Away

Target audience: Anyone who grew up either reading “Peanuts” or watching the myriad of specials that have come out since the late '60s.

Take the whole family?: Goodness gracious yes! It is very much acceptable content wise for even the youngest kids.

Theater or Netflix?: The 3D is implemented well enough that a theater trip with the kids is more than acceptable as a nice treat.

Anyone missing from the movie?: Excluding the cat next door that terrorizes poor Snoopy, the film doesn't feature the third van Pelt child, Rerun. Apparently, this movie isn't the first time poor little Rerun has been left by the curb; musical adaptations of the franchise have also excluded the cute, if overbearing, little guy.

Watch this as well?: Watch some of the television specials from back in the day, highlighted by “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” “Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)” is pretty fun as well and has Lucy at her grumpiest. Really, the best bet is to snag one of the “Peanuts” comic collections and read through them with your kids, starting from the earliest days and going from there.

Shining a light into moral darkness

Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in a scene from "Spotlight." Image courtesy Open Road Films.

The remarkable and thrilling “Spotlight” could have taken the easy way out in its retelling of a deep, complicated investigation into a series of child abuse cases perpetrated by Catholic priests and hidden by church officials. Instead of taking the easy route and keeping the blame on the church, the film instead shines a metaphorical light at a society that quietly condones the behavior; as the film explains it, the lawyers, cops, community and even the newspaper investigating the allegations are to blame. From the film’s perspective, it takes a village to fail a child.

The newspaper in question is the venerable Boston Globe, the most well-known newspaper in New England. After a quick trip to a police station in 1976 – a scene used to set up the ensuing reporting – “Spotlight's” action picks up in the Boston Globe office circa 2001 amid a time of great tumult for the paper. New editor Marty Baron (Liev Schrieber) is already talking budget cuts to reduce the expenses of a paper losing its readership steadily, and those cuts could include the titular Spotlight team, an secret investigatory unit overseen by Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) and consisting of editor Robby Robinson (Michael Keaton) and reporters Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian D'Arcy James).

The Spotlight unit usually selects its own stories to dig into – those stories are then kept secret even within the Globe's newsroom – but Schrieber pushes an article about alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. The proposition is met with some resistance from the staff, many of whom grew up Catholic and are cognizant of the church's influence in the area; as one character points out, a majority of the Globe's subscribers are Catholic. Still, the Spotlight team inquires about the allegations, talking with victims, a psychologist, and lawyers involved with settlements involving the church (Jamey Sheridan and Billy Crudup). They also work with an eccentric attorney (Stanley Tucci's Mitchell Garabedian) who represents a number of clients abused by priests and claims he has proof the scandal reaches to the head of the city's diocese, Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou). The reporting starts off with a handful of priests, but the journalists find themselves going down the proverbial rabbit whole as the research deepens and the number of priests involved increases exponentially.

The story is horrifying in its nature, and “Spotlight” never pulls its punches when discussing what exactly happened to these victims. The details as described in the film are heart wrenching, as is the outline of how the priests preyed upon the children. As one character says while listing the step-by-step details of how his priest groomed him, “How do you say no to God?” The statement alone is terrifying, as is the empty promises made by church officials in that very first scene at the police station in 1976 after a parent is dissuaded from pressing charges against a priest: “This will never, ever happen again.”

And yet it does, again and again and again and again for decades and to hundreds of children throughout the greater Boston area. “Spotlight” offers all of its sympathy to the victims of those actions; everyone else, however, has blood on their hands. The church is castigated repeatedly for allowing the abuse to happen and shifting priests from one parish to another to hide the allegations; the state is guilty of looking the other way whenever allegations arose; attorneys representing the church and the victims share guilt for making money from the settlements; and the community deserve scorn for pretending the problem wasn't there. Even the Globe is called out in “Spotlight” for ignoring evidence sent to it years before the investigation actually started.  

Director Tom McCarthy and co-writer Josh Singer do marvelous work setting up the atmosphere in which deference to the church is mandatory so they can show how much effort is required to report on this story. They focus on the process of breaking through the wall that covers basic research and people skills to political haggling, bartering and outright bullying when needed. The process makes for fascinating cinema because of how difficult it can be to get people to do the right thing.

Not that the reporters are men and women filled with an overabundance of courage and bravery; “Spotlight” portrays them as clever, resourceful professionals committed to doing their job and nothing more. They are human, prone to fears of their family’s safety and outright anger as the revelations become more and more horrifying. This is an issue that is worthy of righteous anger, but “Spotlight,” to its credit, never succumbs to that temptation; its mission, like the one the reporters take, is to tell the story and let the facts speak for themselves.

Review: Four and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 128 minutes

Genre: Drama

Ask Away

Target audience: Newspaper nerds and anyone down for a well-executed investigatory flick.

Take the whole family?: Although the film isn't graphic about the content, the information it does provide will bother younger kids. Early teens and older should be fine though.

Theater or Netflix?: Good enough to justify a theater trip.

Academy Award odds?: It's among the favorites for the top prize – although a ton can and probably will change after the nominations come out – and director Tom McCarthy could get a nomination for directing and for Best Original Screenplay alongside co-writer Josh Singer. There's a good shot Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton become finalists for Best Supporting Actor, and Rachel McAdams might sneak in for Best Supporting Actress. All are uniformly well deserved nominations.

Watch this as well?: “All the President's Men” is the most obvious companion piece. However, definitely add in “Zodiac” – among the best movies to come out this millennium – and the smaller-scoped “The Paper” (also featuring Keaton) to your journalistic viewing list as well.