THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI: Yes, that's the title. When a mother is frustrated at the lack of progress in the investigation of her daughter's brutal mother, she rents space on three billboards in an attempt to spur the police into action. Frances McDormand delivers a tour de force performance as the mother, Mildred. Equally adept in his performance as the town sheriff is Woody Harrelson who seems to get better and better as he ages. Sam Rockwell as the racist deputy in the case doesn't mask any of his inner demons and is as brilliant as the aforementioned two. I would expect Oscar nominations for Dormand as well as a best supporting actor nod to Rockwell who goes through the biggest change. The movie careens between comedy and drama with plenty of blood spilled along the way. But, if there was a theme to this film, I would not cite the violence and blood shed which is in no way gratuitous, but rather the pain that the mother goes through until she realizes she is not alone. The sheriff has his own private pain to deal with. And the moral of the story, is that hate begets hate. It is a remarkable movie on many levels and will mesmerize you.
WONDER: And indeed it is, as in wonderful. Based upon a true story and starring the incomparable Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, this one will tug at your heartstrings and inspire you with its warmth and humanity. This is the story of a young boy, August Pullman (Auggie) played to perfection by Jacob Tremblay, who happens to have facial differences and is entering the fifth grade at a main stream school with much trepidation and doubt about his fitting in to unknown terrority. Mandy Patinkin is in the supporting cast as well as a bunch of terrific young actors, most notably Noah Jupe as Auggie's best friend and Izabela Vidovic as his sister. I won't give away any of the plot here but only say it is the perfect film to kick off the holiday season. It is just brimming with love and good will which is sorely needed this year. It will bring you to tears but they are tears of sheer joy!
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS: A remake of a classic? Really? I approached this movie with a bit of trepidation having loved the 1974 Sidney Lumet version. Was I disappointed? Yes and no. Featuring an all-star cast headed by Kenneth Branagh (who also directed) with Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Williem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi and Josh Gad, how could you miss? Well, to each his own. A new generation will find it intriguing, no doubt. However, Branagh, for some reason, has chosen to give his Hercule Poirot this enormous mustache that is almost scene stealing. Perhaps I am too used to that wonderful David Suchet BBC version (not to mention the Albert Finney one in the aforementioned Lumet film.) At any rate, I found it a little bit of too much gilt on the lily. On the plus side, Mr. Branagh chose to film in the 65-millimeter format which leads to an opulent look for the proceedings (in the genre of "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia") It also made it necessary to "open" the film up and shoot a number of scenes off of the train and in the snowy countryside. And, I must say, the cinematography to first rate. Although the film does bog down a bit toward the end, all in all, it was entertaining and we are told in the final frames that there may be a sequel. Seems someone arrives and wants Mr.Poirot to head for the Nile. We shall see.
