On Mcneese's KBYS.FM Lake Charles Best Sports Show every Sunday morning from 9-11 am the guys are gracious enough to take my call within the first hour to talk movies and theater. December 10, 2017 Matt, Corey, Tyler and I talked about Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (sic – the "o" is lower case in the official title).
12-10-17 Audio show – KBYS.FM: Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
When presented with the prospect of an animated version of the Nativity, in this day and age, the first thing that comes to my mind is: "What are they going to do with the story?!" Will they water down, disrespect or even ignore the birth of the Christ Child? Or will there be a well intentioned but ignorant slant or politically correct agenda?
I am delighted to say that Affirm Films (in conjunction with the Jim Henson Company and others) have produced a movie that is not only suitable for all ages, not only appropriate for the Christmas season, but one that is faithful to the Biblical story of the Nativity and resonates with the familiar features of many of the best children’s animated features.
Dating all the way back to Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wanted to be a boy, main characters of feature length cartoon movies have centered about main characters who wanted to be more or different from the life which first appears to be their lot. Simba dreamed of being a king before he was ready. Nemo craved to be adventurous despite his shriveled fin. Turbo the snail wanted to be fast. The street urchin Aladdin wished to be a Prince.
And Bo, a miniature donkey and the lead character in The Star, dreams of becoming a member of Herod’s royal procession, despite his obvious unsuitability. Injured in his escape from the mill house where he works he seeks refuge in the home of 
newly married Mary and Joseph who take him in like a stray puppy, unaware that he is a runaway. When they are called to Bethlehem to participate in the census Bo refuses to let Joseph harness him to their humble wagon and after an amusing tussle is left behind. The fact Bo does not want to go with the Holy Family because he seeks to become a member of a "royal" procession is an irony not missed by the audience and is one of the elements of the intelligent and bittersweet humor which permeates this faithful and cleverly written adaptation of the Nativity story.
Lots of familiar and soon to be familiar actors do a delightful job in bringing to life the animated characters. 
Kris Kristofferson, is a wise old donkey who works with Bo in the mill and provides Bo with sage advice.
Christopher Plummer voices the evil King Herod who seeks to do harm to the Holy Family. 
Keegan-Michael Key of the Youtube short famous comedy team Key and Peele brings to life the comically scheming bird Dave, Bo’s best friend. 
Zachary Levi, who voiced Flynn the male lead from Tangled is an endearingly human Joseph. 
The award winning Gina Rodriguez beautifully and sincerely gives voice to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ophray Winfrey plays Deborah one of the Wise Men’s camels. 
And Steven Yuen, the Korean born, self described Christian raised actor does a great job bringing Bo to humorous life.
While strict adherence is kept to the main story, it is embellished with a relatively sanitized interpretation of the martyred infants killed by Herod. 
Because of a well meaning but blabber mouthed mouse who was an unknown witness to the Annunciation and Gabriel’s message to Mary from God, Herod zeroes in on the Holy Family and sends a mercenary after them. 
This interrupts Bo’s plans and sets Bo on the adventure to catch up with and save the kindly couple who took him in. Unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph, in an almost Road Runner/Coyote fashion, Bo and his friends repeatedly intercede between this mercenary and the Holy Family. Although objectively a serious scenario, the presentation of the "rescues" in serendipitous Rube Goldberg machinations (such as a Domino effect of disasters at a bazaar end up with the assassin ending up in a well), and occasionally preposterous Road Runner/Coyote style evasions keep this lethal cat and mouse game from becoming too suspenseful for even smaller children.
The result is an accurate retelling of the Nativity which is both Biblical and funny, appropriate for everyone from even the youngest children but clever enough to keep the adults entertained without detracting from the respect and devotion which this story demands.
I’m going to BEGIN this blog with a major digression. Please bear with me, it is important to the entire point of this review that you understand the following:
Have you ever seen a movie whose main protagonist ends up NOT being the person you were focused on?
Mary Poppins springs to mind. Throughout most of the entire movie 
you believe you are watching a cute story about Jane and Michael Banks with their magical nanny, until nearing the end, as Mr. Banks walks the dark streets of London to his almost certain career destroying meeting with his employer,
he passes the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral and understands that he has failed as a father.
It is then that any movie goer paying attention realizes the movie has been about this well meaning but distracted parent all along and the goal is his reclamation of the father and husband he was meant to be.
This revelation is most poignantly noted in the trailers for Saving Mr. Banks when the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, (Emma Thompson), is walking with Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) as Walt enthusiastically tries to convince Ms. Travers to allow him to film her book the "Disney" way:
Walt Disney: "'No whimsy or sentiment!' says the woman who sends a flying nanny with a talking umbrella to save the children."
P.L. Travers: "You think Mary Poppins is saving the children, Mr. Disney? Oh dear."
She walks away in dismay leaving behind a stunned Disney.
I was stunned as well – shocked and delighted as this was the first time I had ever heard this epiphany spoken out loud by anyone other than my husband, Bryan – that Mary Poppins had come to help – not Jane and Michael – but their father, Mr. Banks.
Honestly, I was literally jumping up and down in my seat with anticipation barely able to contain my own excitement to share this trailer with Bryan….
But OK now I’ve SERIOUSLY digressed.
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (sic: the o in "outside" should, grammatically, be capitalized but is not in the title, so I will not here) seems initially to be about the tragic story of a mother, Mildred (Frances McDormand – mainstay of the Coen Brothers movies and wife of Joel Coen) 
sick with grieving, burdened with the guilt of what she sees as her own "culpability" and frustrated to the point of desperation over the standstill in the investigation of her daughter’s brutal abduction, rape, torture and murder.
To refocus attention on the 7 month old case she rents three billboards on a stretch of virtually unused road which state, "Burma Shave"-style respectively: "Raped while dying", "Still no arrests." "How come, Chief Willoughby?"
This one act stirs up a hornet’s nest in this otherwise profoundly sleepy and forgotten town, especially since the ire seems targeted to the well-loved and respected Sheriff, (Woody Harrelson), who is almost as frustrated by his inability to find any leads as Mildred.
The movie – written and directed by Martin McDonagh – appears to pivot around Mildred and the repercussions of these billboards to the town and its inhabitants as sides are taken, lines are drawn, fury is manifested, conclusions are jumped to, and blame is liberally distributed.
Mildred has rejected pretty much everyone in her life except her best friend
Denise (Amanda Warren) with whom she runs a gift shop and 
her son, Robbie (Lucas Hedges) who, rightly, finds her a bitterly difficult to live with embarrassment. 
She is a very rough woman who treats her friend 
James (Peter "Game of Thrones" Dinklage), with ingratitude and an egregious lack of appreciation, 
makes leaps of blame and decisions which gets bystanders injured, is an alcoholic and is a neglectful mother.
She is irresponsible, verbally abusive and does little to further or comfort her remaining child. She blames people and institutions which have nothing to do with her daughter’s death.
The town is full of eccentric and human characters – from Mildred’s son 
Robbie who, while clean cut and disdainful of his mother's behavior, does not hesitate to wield a butcher knife in her defense even against his own father, 
to Mildred’s admirer and friend James, to the victim Angela (Kathryn Newton) who only appears briefly in one scene all Goth and teenaged rebellion,
to Dixon's over doting mother (Sandy Martin) and her pet turtle, 
to Willoughby the straight shooting decent family man sheriff,
to Charlie (John Hawkes) Mildred’s volatile ex-husband and Penelope (Samara Weaving) Charlie’s bubbleheaded but somehow cluelessly adorable girlfriend,
to Mildred who is the kind of tough that can even scare her physically abusive ex-husband.
And then there’s Dixon, (Sam "Galaxy Quest" Rockwell) Willoughby’s thoroughly inept, racist, ignorant, and oblivious deputy. 
You wonder why Willoughby, as conscientious and decent a man as he is, continues to keep such a provocatively dopey subordinate.
Without revealing too much, time and circumstance eventually reveal not only that much of Dixon’s flaws seem to be expressed as something expected of him but also what is the source of Willoughby’s confidence in such an unlikely and unpromising buffoon.
Everything that happens in the first three-quarters of the movie is only to provide context for the conversion of Deputy Dixon.
And what is most compelling is the self-reflection, remorse, repentance, accepted mortification, embraced humiliation, confession, willingness to self-sacrifice and redemption of the fallen Dixon.
Proffered words of unconditional fatherly love to Dixon inspire an act of extreme self-sacrifice which lead to a confession which inspires a forgiving act of kindness received which in turn leads to yet another act of self-giving and eventually a forgiveness given. And at the end there is a tiny chink in Mildred’s armour through which the light of some possible forgiveness may shine, perhaps in turn inspired by Dixon's ultimately unconditional acceptance of her. In the end perhaps a little of what Dixon has learned may have rubbed off on Mildred.
And in addition the acting is terrific. 
Harrelson gives another great performance. 
McDormand is amazing and as chameleon like an actress as ever I’ve watched (Fargo, Hail Caeser, Raising Arizona). 
And Rockwell as Dixon steals every scene he's in and carries this enormous character arc with ingenuous conviction. When asked, in an interview, if he thought it was true that it took someone with great intelligence to play this "dumb", Rockwell amended (in what I thought was some classy humility) that, no – he thought it took the ability to tap into a remembered innocence and expand upon it. And that since he, himself, was fairly gullible he was able to connect with this character easily.
And although saying Three Billboards is a dark comedy is a bit like calling a jalapeno dusted with sugar a Tootsie Pop, there is humor. Just as there is great human tragedy in the story, there is also human comedy in the interactions of these complex and burdened people.
However, while there is much to recommend in Three Billboards, there is also much to warn against.
The language is horrifying. Imagine every profane word you have ever heard repeated a plethora of times and you will have about 20% of the script. There are none spared.
The topic is, obviously and inherently, difficult.
But the biggest complaint I have is what has become the de rigueur dig against faith. No one in town, despite a number of significant events, seeks comfort or solace in a church or in prayer. To deny that prayer might be a normal reaction is likened to pretending people do not eat because you, yourself, are burdened with the mental illness of anorexia. This omission is an obvious insult to people of faith and I get very tired of the aggressive and passive aggressive denials of this normal human response to disaster.
One scene in particular makes the screenwriter's contempt of faith especially jarring. There is one exchange Mildred has with a visiting priest (or perhaps Episcopal minister) wherein she refuses to listen to anything he has to say because other members of his "gang" have abused children. And even though she believes HIM personally innocent she holds him "culpable". She is vulgar, rude and threatening to him. But this is not what bothers me.
The grief and guilt she carries almost drive her mad on a daily basis. As Mildred is in a constant state of deep despair and barely restrained fury – like a dog which bites at even those hands attempting to help it – her behavior is at least understandable.
The reaction of the minister, however, I found objectionable. First, the minister does nothing to respond to Mildred – not in comfort, or forgiveness – but simply bows his head in what is intended to be a gratuitous acceptance of guilt. In addition, a good minister, seeing the extreme pain in which this woman was drowning, especially someone who is a former congregant and someone who he obviously knows and likely grew up with, would have returned to minister, even should he be continually turned away or spate upon. He would have tried. Instead, after Mildred’s rebuking he just slinks away, never to be seen again. Aside from pointing out Mildred’s rejection of all conventional assistance – family, friends, police, counselors, medical professionals, and religion – it seems a pointed and deliberate insult to a man of the cloth in general and the Catholic Church in particular.
While Three Billboards is a fascinating examination of how even terrible events can lead someone to be a better person, I can only wish for what the Coen Brothers, who have far more respect for God, religion and people of faith, might have done with this story.
However, given the movie is ultimately not even really about Mildred, but about Dixon, I can still offer this movie a qualified encouragement – but only to established adults with a thick skin and a certain worldly wisdom. Be advised, despite my opening digression, that this is NO one’s idea of Mary Poppins.
WELCOME TO 88.3 FM IN LAKE CHARLES ON MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY'S RADIO STATION KBYS WITH YOUR HOSTS COREY AND MATT DURING THE CULTURE SECTION OF LAKE CHARLES' BEST SPORTS SHOW – EVERY SUNDAY MORNING SOMETIME AFTER 9 AM. THIS WEEK ON DECEMBER 3, 2017 WE DISCUSSED
OUR 2017 CHRISTMAS PICKS AND
MARSHALL. ONCE AGAIN THESE GRACIOUS FELLOWS AGREED TO TAKE MY CALL:
KBYS Lake Charles Best Sports' Show with Corey and Matt December 3 2017
SHORT TAKE:
Wonder is a moving, funny, charming, honest and brilliantly constructed examination of the axiom: You can’t (accurately) judge a book by its cover.
LONG TAKE:
MILD SPOILERS
My husband and I have a shorthand way to refer to a cinematic experience. A good movie is a diverting entertainment. A good film is a piece of literature which makes you a better person for having seen it. Wonder falls into the latter category.
Wonder is based upon a book, also called Wonder, which was inspired by an unfortunate experience of the author, Raquel Jaramillo, writing under the pen name of R. J. Palacio. At an ice cream store with her own young child, they met a child with a severe facial deformity. Her toddler began to cry. Instead of engaging with the child with the facial disfigurement, as she later wished she had done, and show her own child there was nothing to be frightened of, emabarrassed, she instead removed her child from the store, only to realize later that she had effectively ostracized the other child. She "wondered" how she might have handled the situation better.
Wonder is the story which emerged – made up of an amalgam of experiences from real life – of a little boy named August "Auggie" Pullman (played brilliantly by Jacob Tremblay) born with severe facial deformities. He suffers from the genetic mutation known as mandibulofacial dystosis, also known as Treacher Collins Syndrome. Very rare, it results in underdeveloped facial bone structures – the symptoms range from almost undetectable to a face that is unrecognizable. Thankfully, it usually effects almost no other systems – intelligence, internal organs are usually fine. But the trauma for both child and parents in overcoming the challenges this disorder imposes is unimaginable in the more severe cases.
Homeschooled for most of his 11 years, as he and his family endured 27 surgeries just to allow him to hear and see normally, Nate and Isabelle Pullman, played respectaively by Julia (Pretty Woman) Roberts and 
Owen (the voice of Lightning McQueen from the Cars animated franchise and partner with Jackie Chan in the Shanghai movies) Wilson, Auggie's parents, decide to send him to a "regular" school to facilitate his adjustment to the broader outside world.
It is enormously refreshing to evaluate a movie where the parents are 
good, caring and kind people who love their kids and are still in love with each other. Julia Roberts plays Isabelle as a Mama Bear, protecting her cub and providing him with the security of her fierce unvarnished love. Owen Wilson’s Nate is funny, honest, affectionate and the heart of the family, whose unconditional acceptance and child like laid back approach to even the toughest of dilemmas gives Auggie a way to perceive the world with some of the sharper edges softened.
The teachers represented by Mr. Browne (Daveed Diggs) are unaffectedly quirky and portrayed as sincerely engaged with their students and genuinely interested in their students’ welfare and education. 
And the principal, Mr. Tushman, is a decent, reasonable, prudent man who moderates discipline and justice with understanding and kindness and is charmingly personified by by Mandy Patinkin ("Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." – Princess Bride).
Adults behave responsibly as they should and 
the kids in this story act like kids – shocked they stare and ignore Auggie at first and some are even unkind, but eventually Auggie’s courage and endurance and intelligence win many of them over and he learns what it is to earn and bestow friendship.
Their surname is most telling. These are people who PULL others towards them with their open and obvious genuine familial bond, their concern for others, and their strength.
As described the movie would have been delightful, but the writers have added a layer which raises a good movie to genuine cinematographic literature .
Just when you, the audence, believe you are familiar with the characters of the movie, there is an unsignalled change of focus. Right at the point when Auggie is confronting and learning to deal with his challenges we see many of the previous events from the point of view of 
Olivia "Via" Pullman, (Izabela Vidovic), Auggie’s older sister. 
Kind, affectionate, and ever-supportive of her hurting little brother, she understands and accepts intellectually that Auggie needs more but she feels neglected in what seems to be a secondary "also ran" position. She hides these feelings as well as her own social problems and 
even joys, believing her parents can not handle any more challenges or distractions.
Then we switch to Will, 
Auggie’s new best friend, who is seen from several points of view as he tries to peel himself from the "in" crowd which at first rejects Auggie and painfully grows to be a loyal genuine friend.
Then to Miranda, (Danielle Rose Russell), Via’s former best friend, who appears to have pulled away from her "adoptive" family over the previous vacation, but who is nursing pains of her own.
Meanwhile we get glimpses into the lives of others –
Nate Pullman, the Dad, (Owen Wilson) who seems to be the most chill member of the family – always with a gentle joke or turn of phrase to defuse a situation – but who absorbs the pain of the family because he sees the most.
Isabelle Pullman (Julia Roberts) whose fierce support and unabashed loved for her physically challenged son obscures her vision of her daughter who feels like an understudy in life.
Even the bully, 
Julian (Bryce Gheisar) who torments Auggie the entire movie, is eventually seen from an explanatory perspective.
And at some point, we as audience members, realize that we too, have been guilty of pigeon-holing and stereotyping the characters we have watched. No one in this movie is two dimensional or should be seen from a single angle. And we are the better for learning that lesson as we can apply that to those we come into contact.
Even Auggie, at last, must learn that despite the fact he APPEARS to have the most obvious challenges, does not make the obstacles others have to face less painful or daunting to them.
God gives us all obstacles to overcome and the strength with which to, appropriately, face them. Everyone misjudges, everyone misunderstands, even Auggie – which is OK if you learn from your mistakes. This is the lesson which Auggie, his friends and family learn from each other and teach us during the experience of this cinematic literature.
Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked WONDERS, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
SHORT TAKE:
Fascinating re-creation of one of Justice Thurgood Marshall's early cases and brilliant home runs for both Chadwick Boseman "Black Panther" (the superhero, not the violent political group) as Marshall and Josh Gad as his reluctant Jewish co-counsel.
LONG TAKE:
When you make a movie about a figure as historically significant as Thurgood Marshall (the first black United States Supreme Court Justice), it is tempting for the filmmakers to want to cover his entire life story. The creators of Marshall, however, wisely and cleverly instead, focus on one of his early cases, The State of Connecticutt vs. Joseph Spell, and use it as a microcosm of Justice Marshall’s life’s work and legal career.
The story which plays out during the course of the movie like an episode of Perry Mason, is the little known but real case of 
Eleanor Strubing who accused her back chauffeur Joseph Spell of raping, binding, then throwing her in the reservoir. Spell claimed he was innocent.
Chadwick (Black Panther) Boseman steps into the shoes of the young 
Thurgood Marshall with the self confidence that makes him believable portraying both the man who would eventually be appointed as a Justice to the United States Supreme Court as well as leader of the 
Black Panther Clan and King of Wakanda in the upcoming Black Panther franchise.
And in a surprise turn 
Josh (Murder on the Orient Express) Gad hits his second homerun as Sam Friedman, a Jewish lawyer, familiar with being the target of bigotry himself, who normally only did insurance civil cases 
but was dragged into this controversy magnet legal team with extreme reluctance by the necessity to have a local co-counsel for Marshall, the unwanted and out of state lawyer.
The story examines the bigotry and prejudice in the high society and northern judicial system rampant in Connecticut, 
which institutional racism was not only aimed at blacks but also towards the tragically frightened Jews of the pre-World War II community who are just beginning to hear the horror stories coming out of Germany.
Kate (Goldie Hawn’s daughter, Nine, Raising Helen, You, Me & Dupree) Hudson plays Eleanor Strubing, the socialite ice queen around whom the turmoil spins. 
Dan (Beauty and the Beast, Night at the Museum) Stevens is Loren Willis, the aristocratic, well connected prosecuting attorney. And 
James (Babe, I Robot) Cromwell presides as Judge Foster, a man not a stranger to expressing racism himself.
Gad and Boseman hit all the marks of good chemistry, 
bringing a comfortable and occasionally humorous friendly-antagonistic buddy movie element to the story, as well as embody the rich history of those who were not respected in the autocratic northern communities. 
Bonded by the common state of being accomplished men who were nonetheless outcasts, they begin from polar opposite goals – Friedman from a desire initially to keep his head down and not connected to this highly charged case, and 
Marshall who seeks to frankly use Spell to further the "greater good" goals of the fledgling N.A.A.C.P. Boseman and Friedman inform each other during the course of the movie into operating outside of their normal comfort zones, and the result is a team I would enjoy seeing work together again.
There is much more food for fodder in the life of Justice Marshall and it would be interesting to see it played out if done as well as this first installment.
There are adult themes in Marshall, involving sexuality both visually and discussed, including some graphic but necessary courtroom descriptions. There are demonstrations of institutionalized racism, some profanity and some violence. But the value of the story for older teens and up is well worth the discussions which will inevitably arise from the watching of this movie, especially between parents and children.
HERE'S OUR NOVEMBER 26, 2017 RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MATT AND COREY ON MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY'S LAKE CHARLES' BEST SPORTS SHOW ON KBYS.FM (88.3). THE MORNING SEGMENT STARTS EVERY SUNDAY SOMETIME BETWEEN 9 AND 9:30 AM, EXACT TIME DEPENDING ON THE SPORTS NEWS HEADLINES.
THIS WEEK WE DISCUSSED:
WONDER
COCO
OLAF'S FROZEN ADVENTURE
STRANGER THINGS SEASON 2
NEXT WEEK'S SHOW – OUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES
My sister and I just finished binge watching both seasons of Stranger Things over the last week. And if you gentically spliced together: Alien, Dean Koontz and……….Pretty in Pink – you would end up with this show. NOT that Stranger Things is derivative. By no means. S.T. is one of the most creatively original shows I’ve seen since Fringe. But it is POPULATED by and decorated with homages to practically every blockbuster movie of the 1980's and the early '90's.
At turns Stranger Things is funny, charming, whimsical, nostalgic, terrifying, grotesque, suspenseful, intriguing, and as addictive as Hershey bars.
The premise is that in a small Indiana town a group of three just pre-pubescent boys –
Will (Noah Scnapp) Byers, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) Henderson, and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) Sinclair bike home from the house of the fourth member of their group Mike (Finn "It" Wolfhard) Wheeler, after a game of D&D (Dungeons and Dragons – role playing, interactive board game involving mages, wizards and demigorgons). This is the ‘80's when there was a reasonable assumption that children could make their way at night safely this way. Like any other night the smallest – Will – bikes a shortcut through the private property of a local research center. Unfortunately his timing is astronomically and cataclysmically poor as on this same night "something" gets out of the research center’s secret lab at the same time a little girl dressed in a lab gown with a shaved head and supernatural powers, 
Eleven (MillieBobby Brown), 
runs into the boys on their forbidden venture to help find their missing friend.
The show revolves around the meaning and consequences of Will’s disappearance.
Without giving any but the smallest of spoilers: one of the things that makes this STRANGER things so watchable is the characters. The kids act like kids – they speak with the rhythm natural to kids – blunt, with a short cut language specific to their group. They spearhead the acceptance of the dangers they face with an openness born of a creative mind. The adults have flaws and blind spots like any other humans but they are caring, attentive and good people.
For example the Sheriff, 
Jim (David Harbour) Hopper, is a burnt out boozer suffering from a crushing past tragedy but is always there to do his job with judgement, calm and fairness and is both incredibly and recklessly brave.
Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), grows from narcissistic jealous jerky boyfriend to the
best and worst babysitter ever and becomes one of the group’s big brother figures.
The parents of the other kids are distracted in their own ways but involved and generous with their time and attention, providing for their kids with a loving home.
The teachers genuinely care and are interested in their students' welfare and generously take time to help them when they can, 
especially Mr. Clarke who is always providing much needed expositional information, though he is not "in the know".
Even many of the smaller characters have memorable scenes – like 
Murray (Brett Gelman) Bauman the alcoholic snarky cynical investigative reporter who can see right into the heart of people. On for about 5 minutes but I wouldn’t mind if he popped up again in season three.
As most of the characters come from the same small town and grew up together, went to the same school and know each other they have a shared history reflected in their interactions which pull you into the story with a three dimensional feel that makes you a part of their group, just as Eleven is included in the group of nerdy boys.
And homages abound. The tribute references of situations, character personality traits or habits, items, set ups and visuals reads like a list of every iconic and blockbuster movie of the ‘80's and early ‘90's: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Goonies, Poltergeist, Alien, Carrie, The Excorcist, Stand by Me, Firestarter, Jaws and……….Pretty in Pink. Bikes and hiding the unusual creature from your parents, empty creepy halls full of monsters and 
unseen terrors that yank people into the dark. Other dimensions and super powers. 
Pre-pubescent crushes and coming to manhood and responsibility teens.
The songs conjure up my early college days: "Heroes" as sung by Peter Gabriel, "I Melt With You" by Modern English, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash, "Hazy Shade of Winter" as sung by the Bangles, "Sunglasses at Night" – Corey Hart.
Even some of the actors themselves are nostalgia incarnate:
Winona (Heathers, Edward Scissor Hands and here she thought Beetlejuice was scary??!!) Ryder plays Joyce Byers, Will’s desperate mom and I thought her performance was painfully spot on. As a mother of six it was wrenching to watch her go from mild concern to terror fueled panic as she discovers her youngest child missing then MISSING.
Paul (Diner, Beverley Hills Cop I and II, Mad About You, Aliens) Reiser is Dr. Sam Owens the head of the research facility on season two who has murky motives.
Matthew (Full Metal Jacket, Birdy) Modine is Dr. Martin Brenner – pretty much…a mad scientist.
Sean (Rudy, Goonies, Toy Soldiers) Astin is Bob Newby, the Byers family friend.
Charles Heaton plays Will’s older brother Jonathan Byers, beaten down from having to shoulder the responsibility of the "father" figure in his abandoned home but is kind and gentle. While he does not have the historic pedigree connection to the ‘80's the older actors do, he looks so ridiculously much like a young Stephen King I thought it must have been one of the audition requirements.
Like a treasure hunt in a haunted house escape room, the writers have placed little scenes and moments lifted out of other movies and positioned like decorations all over the movie. One example and a very SMALL SPOILER: Paul Reiser appears in the second season and during one crucial moment watches a radar making a distinctive noise that I KNOW goosebumped the hair on every inch of him with some SERIOUS Deja Vu. There are secret labs with evil government henchmen, horrifying monsters, alternate universes and —– humor.
One of the biggest charms of the show is its unpredictability. The characters are funny – not like a comedy but in the way only people can be funny in their day to day decisions, mistakes and the way personalities bounce against each other with familiar interactions born of long acquaintance. The secretary who snatches a donut out of the hand of the Sheriff Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to replace it with a carrot. The clueless but well meaning and harmless deputies who come to useless conclusions. Eleven’s favorite food. The nicknames even the adults have for each other (Hop, Bob the Brain). The extreme adorable nerdiness of the boys. Dozens of moments defuse this otherwise very suspenseful show in healthy ways to create the ebb and flow necessary for a successfully scary watch. Otherwise the tension gets too much and you will numb up.
The kids are wonderful and adorable. The adults lend a relatable genuineness to their roles, 
not minding looking ugly or awkward if the moment requires it. People often either are not completely what they appear to be or genuinely learn and grow from their extreme experiences to become better people. Willingness to self sacrifice in many ways, generosity, loyalty, family/friend bonds are generously demonstrated by all but the most unredeemably evil characters. These are good, decent and plain old nice people – both adults and children – from a small town banding together to face the extremity of bizarre with courage and grace under pressure.
The show has some bad language and tastefully referenced teenaged intimacy. Much of the violence takes place off screen but you do see some aftermath, the suspense is intense and there are graphic scenes of characters being psychologically experimented upon, especially Eleven.
Obviously we are talking mid teens and up. Younger kids should NOT watch this show unless you want them sleeping in your room with the lights on until they move to college. But for those of you with even moderately stout hearts this is a show well worth your time – it's smart, scary, and surprisingly warm of heart.
SHORT TAKE:
Justice League is an amusing and entertaining excuse to unite the DC comic book characters into their version of Marvel's Avengers but requires some parental supervision because of two short but poorly chosen off hand political and anti-Christian polemics which should require discussion between younger viewers and their parents.
LONG TAKE:
Writing an origin story isn’t easy. You have to deal with a lot of exposition and expectation all while trying to find a new way to tell an established or sometimes even cliched story line. Sometimes it works spectacularly well – 
like the Chris Reeves’ Superman or 
this year’s Wonder Woman. Sometimes not so well,
like Wolverine or 
Eric Bana’s Hulk. And when you’re trying to do a team effort that issue becomes exponentially more difficult.
Such is the challenge facing Justice League, especially when three of the characters have only appeared in cameos in Batman V Superman: 
Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra "Fantastic Beasts" Miller), 
Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), and 
Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason "Drogo from Game of Thrones" Momoa).
The premise is that Bruce Wayne/Batman, in the wake of Superman’s untimely demise, has discovered that the void left by his super-colleague is attracting 
very ugly aliens called parademons who look an awful lot like 
larger flying version of the dwergers from Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing.
To prepare for the invasion by the parademons master, 
Steppenwolf (super villain, not the ‘60's band) who seeks to remake the world in his own image, Bruce and Wonder Woman/Diana set out to recruit other supers. 
Bruce to seek the Flash and 
Aquaman, 
Diana to convince Cyborg. All three of the newbies have troubled pasts (Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman can put their baggage in the closet with the steam trunks from the traumatized Batman and grieving Wonder Woman) but eventually agree, only to find out that their considerable combined efforts will not be quite enough to even create a stalemate with Steppenwolf.
A nice little theme of not putting your light under a bushel, of being able to overcome your fears of failure or worse, dread of the responsibility in leadership, is interwoven in the storyline, but only as light embroidery, not as sustaining warp and woof of this cinematic costume quality fabric.
Other reviewers have complained the story felt disjointed and somewhat disconnected. By necessity this is what happens when you try to introduce three major players into a five "man" mix with a story intended to propel them together and still try to keep the movie less than 15 hours long. A few things have to be cut and you have to edit down a bit.
While Justice League isn’t as lighthearted as 
Guardians of the Galaxy nor near the apex of the genre that is 
The Avengers, or 
Wonder Woman, it’s an engaging enough flick. And isn’t that good enough?! I mean, come ON, it’s a live action comic book!! If you want Shakespeare then you could watch…..well, OK 
Branagh’s Thor….
But seriously, there are at least four compelling reasons why I liked Justice League and can forgive them a lot of plot and presentation weaknesses because of them:
1. 
We get the return of Wonder Woman in a vehicle which did not require a three year wait as many other sequels are glacially cranked out. It was very nice to see Gal Godot don the Amazonian one piece and watch as she balletically beats up bad guys again.
2. DC has managed, as with Wonder Woman, another transformation I would never have thought possible. 
As a kid Aquaman was on the top of the list for the lamest of super heroes. Mostly a Ken doll who could hold his breath for a very long time he didn’t even make a blip in my Superman-loving radar.
But in Justice League 
Aquaman is a whiskey swilling, tatooed, long haired Norwegian-ey good ole boy who looks like a wrestler and acts like a rock star. This guy is just fun to watch 
as he exudes the kind of joy battling parademons we haven’t seen since 
Woody Harrelson’s delightful walking dead killing spree in Zombieland.
3. We see the return, albeit in cameos, of 
Jeremy irons as Alfred, 
JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and Cyborg's father 
Silas Stone played by Joe Morton, whose pedigree with sci fi dates back a lot further than you might think – through a stint on Warehouse 13, to a key role in the 
Terminator franchise all the way back to 1984's quirky sci fi indie 
Brother from Another Planet.
4. And most importantly, which reason would have been enough to get me to see this movie all by itself……..well……I’m not going to tell you, but you’ll know it when you see it.
That being said, there are also three reasons I have to take exception to, which are largely unrelated or at least unnecessary to the story or comic book characters per se:
1. GLOBAL WARMING PROPAGANDA:
Bruce shoehorns a throw away comment to Aquaman about global warming as though it is an established fact rather than the cock and bull fantasy of environmental wackos who want an excuse to tyrannically limit First World progress into the 21st century in order to feather their own Al Gore-jet flying coffers.
2. ANTI-CHRISTIAN CHEAP SHOT:
Lex Luther takes a gratuitous stab at Christianity which I, for one, didn’t appreciate. Granted, he is a bad guy, but his comment stepped right over offensive into blasphemy. When a statement is so over the top that it shocks you out of the suspension of disbelief it does nothing to promote the storytelling either. It neither served the plot or character well nor will endear it to any Christian audience members, and was just plain rude. I continue to be annoyed by the singular targeting of the Judeo-Christian faith by a Hollywood which used to produce movies like Going My Way and Schindler’s List.
3. As I have alluded to in the earlier part of this post there is an awful lot of derivatives, echoes and dopplegangers between the two rival comic book universes DC and Marvel. Along with the ones I have already mentioned like parademons, there is 
Steppenwolf (DC comics) who looks a LOT like a combination of the fire demon 
Surtur who appears at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok (Marvel comics) and 
Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel). Further Steppenwolf’s goal is to bring together three 
"mother boxes" (DC) which are not explained well but when glowing look like red versions of 
the blue Tesseract from The Avengers (Marvel), and when joined will reshape the Earth with tentacle transformers made of Element X (DC) which look an awful lot like the tentacles from Thor: The Dark World set loose by the Dark Elf Malekith from the Aether (Marvel).
See what I mean? After a while they all kind of blend together. In addition, the are a LOT of other counterparts in each world. I have made a short list below of the most noticeable ones. (And the years they first appeared in order to put to rest any debate about who predated whom. In short – DC and Marvel took turns being "first".)
For the most part Justice League is an airy simple romp. Lots of cartoon violence, super powered heroics, and over the top demonic bad guys. Bringing the "old band back" is a hoot to watch and like the first Star Trek movie, or the first waffle off the griddle, they are entitled to "warm the pan up," so to speak, for future efforts. Besides, they should be able to pull off pretty much anything now that they have Wonder Woman and………you'll see.
I have seen a lot of filmed murder mysteries from drama to slapstick: 
Thin Man series, 
China Town, 
Minority Report, 
The Usual Suspects, 
The Maltese Falcon, 
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Clue, Rear Window, Scoop, Murder by Death, even the occasional 
Dr Who and the TV shows 
Columbo, 
Grimm and Perry Mason. There’s something truly satisfying about solving a puzzle with the end result the protecting of the innocent and the meting out of justice. But my favorite has always been Murder on the Orient Express. A group of strangers stuck on a snow bound train with a murdered man and a famous detective and one of them a murderer. A bit like Christie's Ten Little Indians but, to me, Orient Express has more pinache.
I’ve seen the 1974 version many times. Knowing the ending does nothing to undermine the enjoyment of watching the mystery unfold like a beautifully formed rose bud – all the parts slowly falling into place. Who wouldn’t like it?! With the star studded cast including the likes of 
Albert (Bourne franchise) Finney, 
Sean (James Bond) Connery, 
Lauren (Humphrey Bogart’s wife) Bacall, Ingrid (Casablanca) Bergman, SIR John Gielgud, Anthony (Psycho) Perkins. The list goes on – it is a BIG cast. 
But as good as the 1974 version was, it is only the amusing movie hors d’oeuvre to the cinematic banquet that is 
Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 Murder on the Orient Express. Not only is this the best rendition of a murder mystery I have ever seen, it is one of those rarest of birds – a perfect movie. Branagh brings brilliance to anything he undertakes – from 
Thor to 
Cinderella to 
Hamlet* (ALL of which he directed). He is one of those auteurs, like Orson Welles and Woody Allen who can both star and direct in the same movie and create masterpieces.
Prudence, by defintiion, is the virtue of knowing the right thing to do at any given time. When you are someone who sees the subtle imperfections of the world this virtue becomes an obsession. In a detective this can be a superpower…and a curse. Such is the struggle of Branagh's Hercule Poirot. 
This kind of complex personality overlay onto an already brilliant screenplay is an example of what makes Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express special. It could have been refilmed as another lovely remake with modern celebrities. The last theatrical version was in 1974, as I have said, so it is due for a remake. But true to his genius and his respect for his audience, Branagh is not content with merely revamping an already rich treasure of a story but like Gershwin's ability to create a timeless song from a simple catchy line of music, Branagh takes a classically fun tale and reworks it into a presentation worthy of a Shakespearean telling.
As in the original, the premise is that a murder takes place on a train, which locomotive is almost immediately and Providentially caught in an avalanche of snow. The manager of the train, a good friend of Poirot's, implores Poirot to solve the mystery for him before the train is freed and the killer has an opportunity to escape. As well as catching a killer, he also (by the way) wishes to avoid the shame of scandal to the Orient Express from an unresolved atrocity committed aboard this regal moving institution.
Of all the movies I have ever reviewed this is the one about which I would be most loathe to commit a spoiler ……. so will not.
But I will say there are a few minor tweaks to the story, re-imagined by Michael Green from, obviously, the Agatha Chtistie novel of the same name. These changes work well, and add depth of character and intrigue to even Christie's fascinating creation. 
One such contribution is Branagh's Poirot which, while I will not go into detail, is a brilliantly satisfying choice which makes the usually taciturn and ascerbic character more approachable and likeable, aware of his own shortcomings and has a character arc which dovetails beautifully with the theme and complexities of the story.
If you have not read the book or seen the 1974 movie, which by the way is very good, and are then fortunate enough to be able to see this 2017 version with virgin eyes, do NOT watch any trailers, see any interviews, read any opinions but go straight to the movie with childlike delight. If you ARE familiar with the story then go to revel in the brilliant directing. 
Branagh stages the film like a fairy tale with all the exotic detail that was Stamboul (Old Istanbul) in 1934 and the extreme elegance of the Orient Express which in its day was host to Princesses and Counts. The colors are bright, the costumes splendid reflections of the complex suspects. And enjoy the sheer artistry of Branagh direction as he shoots with elegance equal to the time and place. 
He uses mirrors, windows and framing to fracture images hinting at characterizations; overhead shots to both reveal and hide clues at the same time. Dramatic events are bold and large as life; intimate scenes feel almost intrusive into private tensions and personal conflicts. 
At turns I laughed out loud and was brought to tears.
And Branagh knows how to work an ensemble cast. From the musical rendition of Shakespeare's 
Love's Labours Lost to the light comedy 
A Midwinter's Tale to 
Hamlet with its massive star studded cast, he knows when to shine and when to hold back and always gives every member of his cast ample opportunity to be memorably in the forefront.
Every one of the actors does a superlative job. 
Not suprising as any director who could inspire a good Shakesepearean performance out of Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing could get a good perfromance out of even a dust mop. But most of these guys do not need such inspiration as they are already accomplished actors.
It is my honor and delight to mention each of the main performers:
Kenneth Branagh, director and lead, plays Poirot himself. I have seen enough Branagh to know that if he thought someone else could have done a better job he would have hired him. I'll tell you this is the best Poirot or classic detective of this genre I have seen anywhere.
Johnny (Jack Sparrow) Depp plays Edward Ratchett, American gangster and suspicious ne'er-do-well who brings a frightening intensity to what otherwise could have been a cookie cutter stereotype.
Sir Derek Jacobi – friend and collaborator of Branagh in a number of previous outings from the aforementioned
Hamlet to Henry V to Cinderella, plays Edward Henry Masterman, British manservant to Ratchett. Jacobi is a knighted Shakespearean thespian who lends a graceful sympathy to Masterman.
Josh (Beauty and the Beast) Gad plays Hector MacQueen, Ratchett's assistant, lends a surprisingly effective though odd combination of Bogart and Peter Lorre from Casablanca into this character of questionable motives.
Daisy (Rey from Star Wars) Ridley plays Mary Debenham, stepping away from her interstellar Jedi to bring a singular classy elegance to her role as governess.
Leslie Odom portrays Dr. Arbuthnot, a man of many surprsing talents with skill and credibility.
Dame Judy Densch – M, Shakespearean actress of tremendous dignity and comportment – continues to demonstrate her command of her art in even one of the smaller roles as the elderly Princess Dragomiroff.
Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin from Spiderman, Platoon, Odd Thomas, voice of Gill in Finding Nemo) equally at home in comedy or drama, as villain or hero, brings his many talents to bare for the German professor Gerhard Hardman.
Olivia Coleman is solid as Princess Dragomiroff's personal maid.
Manuel Garcia (Magnificent 7) Rulfo is charming as Biniamino Marquez the Italian born newly Americanized citizen car salesman.
Marwan Kenzari is Pierre Michel, the ubiquitous conductor.
Michele Pfeiffer redeems herself from her awful participation in the terrible Mother! as the wealthy manhunting widow, commanding and entertaining in every scene she's in.
Luc Boynton portrays the fragile ephermeal Countess.
Sergei Polunin is almost comic relief in his intensity as the tightly wound Count, protective and attentive husband of the Countess.
Tom Bateman plays Bouc, playboy, friend of Poirot and ultimately responsible representative of the owners of the Express with style and contagious enthusiasm.
Penelope (Pirates of the Caribbean, Nine) Cruz, in a surprising turn plays Pilar Estravados, the intense missionary with an unexpected tough streak.
So go see this masterpiece of film making. Whether you have never heard of Agatha Christie before or if you've got the story memorized from a previously favorite version, you will more than be rewarded for your time in viewing this crown jewel retelling of the ultimate murder mystery.
* Branagh's Hamlet is the most spectacularly filmed Hamlet ever to grace the screen and the ONLY filmed theatrical unabridged Hamlet so far in existence.
