Spotlight

Jean, This is a simple straight-forward telling of the Boston Globe's 2002 newspaper story of multiple priest sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.There are no side stories or romances but an almost documentary telling. The facts carry the story in an unblinking manner. You are drawn in and almost mesmerized by the events. It starts with ore case and one priest and escalates to 87 priests and on and on. This has to be one of the best movies of the year.   Dad

The previews are:

Snowden
Hail, Caesar
Concussion
Triple 9

Brooklyn

Jean, This is a touching and romantic movie.It starts with the suburb performance of the lead character played by Saoires Ronan. She is a young Irish girl who leaves her Irish home for a new job and life in Brooklyn U.S.A. She will certainly receive many  award nominations for this performance. Just to see her change from the innocent one on the boat to America to the self-assured woman before your eyes is worth seeing by itself. This leads up to a momentous decision she has to make between her new life and the ties to her old life.  Dad

The previews were:

Youth
Carol
The Danish Girl
Demolition

In The Heart of the Sea

Jean, This has to be the "Moby Dick "movie to end all "Moby Dick" movies. This  is  based on the best-selling book  about the actual events that Melville used to write his fictional novel. (I read then-fiction book entitled " In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex." ). This is one real life action film with all the ingredients of all the actual events. You have the enlistment of the real crew, the voyage to the South Atlantic and then to the South Pacific, the encounter with the mammoth rogue whale, and the hardships endured by the crew that survived the numerous attacks of the whale. Ron Howard gives you your money's worth in everything here, from the gruesome details of the adrift crew to one World-Class Whale. The critics find faults with the film but I saw an exciting and  an amazing true-life adventure. The actual facts of the story are more interesting than the fictional novel of Herman Melville.  Dad

P.S.  The previews were worth the price of admission. They were:

The Choice
The Huntsman:Winter's War
Concussion
Eye in the Sky
The Legend of Tarzan
Batman vs. Superman

Black Mass

Jean, This is about the best true life crime movie I can remember. The story is told straight with dates and locations printed on the screen. It is the story of the Boston crime lord, James "Whitey" Bulger, who is played by Johnny Depp. i was quite surprised at what an excellent job Johnny does with the role. He played it understated and without any over the top histrionics., but so believable. Many places the character is described as psychotic and Johnny is that. Also the facts are not muted as you have shootings and strangulations, etc. But the story about the real life characters in the Boston crime world comes alive. At the end you see the real characters and the outcome for each of them. Many surprise performances show up including Peter Sarsgaard, Kevin Bacon, Benedict Cumberbatch and Joel Edgerton.  Dad

P.S. The previews were:

Bridge of Spies
Sicario
Legend
99 Homes

Pawn Sacrifice

Jean, This is an excellent movie on the life of the chess master, Bobby Fischer. Tobey Maguire plays Bobbie and he will probably get an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the mentally disturbed character. He has this  great "flat look" and ability to explode at the right times. It all leads to early 1970's and the big championship series of games with the Russian World Champion, Boris Spassky, in Iceland. You do not have to know the game of chess to appreciate the chess moves and why a player may lose. Also in the cast are Peter Sarsgaard and  Liev Schreiber. The end of the movie presents actual film of the real Bobby Fischer and his many strange actions following the Iceland World Championship.

Dad

The previews are:

99 Homes
Room
Our Brand is Crisis
Trumbo

The Martian 3D

Jean, This is the film version of the best selling book. I read the book over a year ago and really enjoyed it. The author is a NASA scientist and he included all kinds of details about space travel and Mars itself. (Book even had a map of Mars.) This movie is very well done by the director, Ridley Scott.

As in the book the astronaut (Matt Damon) is left on Mars by his space mission and has to solve all kinds of problems for his survival until a rescue mission arrives .It is a long scientific trek (135 minutes)which arrives at a big dramatic climax in outer space . Along the way there are ASCIII tables, human nutrition calculations, etc. The movie's  message is "Do The Math". but it certainly is a stirring space adventure.  Dad

P.S. The previews are:

Joy
Crimson Peak
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II
The Revenant
Their Finest Hours
In the Heart of the Sea

The Intern

Jean, This is a pleasant ,feel good, Nancy Meyers movie. I would not say it is one of her best. It does have some good lines " Sitting is the new Smoking" and film clips from old movies at poignant moments "scenes from Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly/Debbie Reynolds". I do not think comedy is Robert De Niro strong suit as he does a lot of smiling here. He plays a senior intern to a mail order internet start-up in Brooklyn. Ann Hathaway plays the CEO who needs a mature steady hand to help with her various crisis. The movie is pleasant enough but does not break any new ground.  Dad

P.S. The previews are:

Miss You Already
Room
Truth
Trumbo
Rock the Kasbah
Burnt