“The Snowman” (Crime/Mystery: 1 hour, 59 minutes)

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons and Val Kimmer

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Rated: R (Violence, nudity and profanity)

Movie Review: Watching “Snowman,” one may think of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”(Director Niels Arden Oplev, 2009). 

“Snowman,” based on Jo Nesbø’s novel, provides a nice mystery to solve. It gives viewers all the clues and then allows one to find answers. However, it also provides plenty of unnecessary distractions. 

Detectives Harry Hole (Fassbender) and Katrine Bratt (Ferguson) investigate a serial killer who leaves ominous-looking snowmen as a distinctive marker. As the murders mount, Norwegian government officials and wealthy businessman Arve Stop (Simmons) want to keep the murders non-public, as Oslo is bidding for a major sporting event. 

The murders of women increase, and Hole and Bratt must act quickly because the killer becomes more brazen with each murder.

Tomas Alfredson knows how to provide nice crime and mystery genre movies. He previously directed “Let the Right One In” (2008) and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2011). He directs this inviting mystery just as aptly, but the story is not as solid.

The cast is also talented. The primaries are Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Fasbender and Ferguson are especially effective. They provide nice turns. Fassbender proves again he is exceptional no matter the role. However, the script does not use the cast to its full potential. The story has holes, ones where characters and their motives are not clear or left unsettled.

Despite story flaws, “Snowman” is an appealing mystery, a crime needs solving, even if the plot appears sporadically unfinished. It nicely invites one to a Viking country and gives one a reason to want to remain until the end.

Grade: B- (A winter treat presented this fall.)

“Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” (Comedy: 1 hour, 41 minutes)

Starring: Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely, Diamond White, and Yousef Erakat

Director: Tyler Perry

Rated: PG-13 (Profanity, sexual innuendo, horror images and drug content)

Movie Review: This is the sequel to “Boo! A Madea Halloween” (2016). 

Tyler Perry follows up with a movie very much the same. “Boo 2!” is more elementary humor. A few laughs are present, but childish antics become repetitive jokes. 

Madea (Perry), her brother, Joe (also Perry), Bam (Davis) and Hattie (Lovely) travel to a supposedly haunted campground to rescue their young relative, Tiffany (White), who just turned 18. Madea and her entourage must battle ghostly twins and a serial killer thought dead to find Tiffany.

The comedy is juvenile. More important, the jokes are recycled material. Perry takes those jokes and continually applies them to scenes. The result is tedious humor that lacks creativity.

Grade: C- (A scary comedy, boo is correct.)

“Only the Brave” (Biography/Drama: 2 hours, 13 minutes)

Starring: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller and Jeff Bridges

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rated: PG-13 (Profanity, violence, nudity, thematic elements and sexual innuendo)

Movie Review: Sean Flynn’s GQ article, “No Exit,” serves as the basis for this brilliantly executed movie of brave firefighters. Its basis is the true events regarding the courage of 20 men. First-class performances are the key to this well-scripted drama.

Granite Mountain Hotshots, an Arizona team of wildfire first-responders based out of Prescott, travel the United States often, putting out wildfires. They are led by seasoned firefighter Eric Marsh (Brolin). Just as the team’s youngest member, Brendan McDonough (Teller), prepares to leave to take care of his family, the team receives fateful orders to fight a blaze in the city of Yarnell.

Joseph Kosinski (“Oblivion,” 2013, starring Tom Cruise) directs this film about bravery, brotherhood and sacrifice. Most people are going to walk into this movie having never heard about this story. This will make it a greater treat. No knowledge of the end makes the movie entrancing.

Several members of the cast offer outstanding portrayals. 

Josh Brolin is exceptional. He plays this role with zeal. Even more, the role fits him in a manner that makes the movie more persuasive. 

Miles Teller joins Brolin. Teller is a good actor, one of the best of young actors. Check out his performance in “Whiplash” (2014) to confirm his abilities. Teller is just as effective here.

Also, Jennifer Connelly and Jeff Bridges offer nice performances as supporting characters.

“Only the Brave” is a nice film to pay respect to the featured first responders and others that risk dangerous situations every day to save lives. The cast is superb and writers Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer do a good job giving audiences a chance to know its characters. When danger comes, audiences feel like they are there with them, trying to survive.

Grade: B (A good homage to brave men …)

“Marshall” (Biography/Drama: 1 hour, 58 minutes)

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad and Kate Hudson

Director: Reginald Hudlin

Rated: PG-13 (Violence, thematic elements and profanity)

Movie Review: Boseman is a talented actor. However, he bears little resemblance to Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Despite that observation, “Marshall” is an engaging movie. It provides a fresh, modern perspective of a young Thurgood Marshall battling through one of his toughest cases.

Alongside fellow attorney Sam Friedman (Gad), Marshall, an NAACP advocate, must prove African-American Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown) did not sexually assault a Caucasian-American woman, Eleanor Strubing (Hudson). The case will not be an easy one. Marshall and a Jewish Friedman face racial obstacles and courtroom hindrances that will complicate their task.

“Marshall” becomes an engaging courtroom drama. The lawyers banter with each other, those on the witness stand and even the judge, played nicely by James Cromwell. Kate Hudson is especially appealing as the supposed victim.

Boseman and Gad make the perfect legal duo. Their scenes together are dynamic and provide plenty of engaging moments. Boseman continues to show he is a solid actor. His notable roles are observable in “Get on Up” (2014) as the Godfather of Soul James Brown and as baseball player Jackie Robinson in “42” (2013). He is a noteworthy star.

Gad, known for his comedic presence in the movies “Frozen” (2013) and “The Wedding Ringer” (2015), is good as the novice lawyer. Gad’s character has never tried a criminal case; he is an insurance lawyer. He plays his role well. He and Boseman are a good pairing, even if they appear like a modern Abbott and Costello in a few scenes.

“Marshall” is a hip historical debut. It makes history relevant by making it dramatic in a style that modern audiences can relate. This is good, although the setting sometimes appears more 1990s in feel than the 1940s. 

Perhaps, this is where Director Reginald Hudlin allows his past to enter the screenplay. Hudlin directed “House Party” (1990), “Boomerang” (1992) and “The Great White Hype” (1996). The director returns to his roots somewhat. His perceptive style works in “Marshall,” although, again, the contemporary style occasionally contradicts the period captured.

Grade: B (A savvy portrayal of Marshall becomes a good courtroom drama.)

“Geostorm” (Action/Science-Fiction: 1 hour, 49 minutes)

Starring: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Andy Garcia and Ed Harris

Director: Dean Devlin

Rated: PG-13 (Violence and profanity)

Movie Review: Appears like another science-fiction photoplay one would see on the SyFy channel. Its premise is attention-getting, but the story is wishy-washy material best left on television. 

The countries of Earth have come together to combat their greatest foe — climate change. A network of satellites created to control the global climate has worked perfectly for some time. 

Suddenly, the network begins causing catastrophic weather devastating Earth and killing millions. Led by Jake Lawson (Butler), the lead designer and builder, a team in space and on Earth must race to stop those responsible before a geostorm can develop and destroy the planet.

The story is nonsensical and wacky science, and the characters never inspire. They are lackluster. The story keeps changing until it results in a formulaic government conspiracy movie. The characters are not convincing and become more and more erratic as the screenplay progresses.

Grade: C- (This storm is just a tropical depression.)

“Same Kind of Different as Me” (Drama/Biographical: 1 hour, 59 minutes)

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Renée Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou and Jon Voight

Director: Michael Carney

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic elements including some violence and language)

Movie Review: The drama survives via its emotive moments. This is the tearjerker of the year. It is a touching movie, but it is not as powerful as it could be. The script, although based on a true story, is not one that grabs you until the end.

Based on the book by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent, the movie details Ron (Kinnear) and Deborah Hall (Zellweger) and their upper-class family’s relationship with Denver Moore (Hounsou), a homeless man who has suffered plenty. Denver has seen violence, racism, prison and the kindness of humanity. Denver’s life changes when he meets Ron and Deborah at a food kitchen for the poor. Denver becomes a part of Hall Family, a partnership that is beneficial for all.

Producer Michael Carney makes his directorial debut with this touching drama. He also helps write the movie with Ron Hall and Alexander Foard. “Same Kind of Different as Me” is the kind of movie that should inspire, but it spends most its time evoking emotions. Its message is good, just overly sentimental.

Grade: C+ (A different kind of movie becomes over sentimental.)