“Baby Driver” (Action/Crime/Music: 1 hour, 53 minutes)

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx

Director: Edgar Wright

Rated: R (Profanity and violence)

Movie Review: “Baby Driver” is a stylish, intelligent action movie mixed with engaging music. Even more, it thrives thanks to a good performance from Ansel Elgort (“The Fault in Our Stars,” 2014) and a talented cast. The movie is also smartly written by a very able director-writer, Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead,” 2004). 

Crime boss Doc (Spacey) forces Baby (Elgort) to work for him. Baby is the getaway driver for all of Doc’s organized heists. Baby gets involved with some shady characters just as he is finding a romantic relationship with Debora (James). Baby personally manages to keep from hurting people during the heist but that all changes when Debora is involved. Baby finds he may have to get his hands dirty.

“Baby Driver” is good entertainment. This crime thriller proves an action movie can be a high-energy action movie with an intelligent narrative.

Wright’s screenplay is superb. It delivers good, thought-out characters in a personal story. The story offers characters in a convincing enough plot that it is easy to become entranced with actions of the onscreen people even when they go overboard.

Grade: B+ (Get in this fast car.)

“The House” ( Comedy: 1 hour, 28 minutes)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler and Jason Mantzoukas

Director: Andrew Jay Cohen

Rated: R (Profanity, sexual references, nudity, violence and drug and alcohol usage)

Movie Review: For audiences who like to gamble, “The House” is a low payout. It is lackluster, adolescent comedy.

If you cannot be the house, become the house, this is the motto of three suburbanites. Scott and Kate Johansen (Ferrell and Poehler) want to get their daughter, Alex Johansen (Ryan Simpkins), into college but their ability to pay her tuition is derailed when Alex’s scholarship becomes unavailable. The Johansens and their neighbor, Frank (Mantzoukas), decide to open a casino.

Ferrell plays his usual goofy role. He appears the same too often in comedies. Poehler joins him in a similarly foolish role. Mantzoukas, on the other hand, is a standout, even when offering poorly written comedy. 

As with his other movies such as “Neighbors” (2014) and “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” (2016), Andrew Jay Cohen provides juvenile-type comedy for adult audiences. The comedy toilet humor fails to be believable. It plays like a raunchy modern version of “The Andy Griffith Show’s” Mayberry.

Grade: C- (Bet against the house.)

“Despicable Me 3” (Animation/Action/Comedy: 1 hour, 30 minutes)

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker

Directors: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin

Rated: PG (Violence, crude humor including suggestive content)

Movie Review: “Despicable Me” (2010) and “Despicable Me 2” (2013) are good movies. They appear as fresh today as yesteryear. “Despicable Me 3” is just as enjoyable. Adventure, action and laughs are all present. 

After the Anti-Villain League fires Gru (Carell) for his failure to apprehend former child-star-turned-villain Balthazar Bratt (Parker), Gru meets his long-lost, wealthy brother, Dru (voice of Carell also), a constantly cheerful fellow. Dru hopes Gru will return to villainy but Gru left that life behind to be husband to Lucy (Wiig) and father to three precious girls. Instead, Gru would rather redeem himself by capturing Balthazar Bratt. 

Carell voices Gru and Dru brilliantly and Wiig is charming as the voice of Lucy. Parker ably joins them as the voice of the villain. Their characters are invitingly enjoyable. They and the Minions still provide plenty adventurous humor. “Despicable Me 3” is entertaining for multiple ages despite some bits of foul humor. 

Grade: B (Despicably fun, still.)

“The Beguiled” (Period Drama: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning

Director: Sofia Coppola

Rated: R (Sexuality and violence)

Movie Review: The screenplay is another adaptation of Thomas Cullinan’s novel. 

The first was 1971’s “The Beguiled” (Director Donald Siegel), which starred Clint Eastwood. Sofia Coppola directs the current adaptation based on the screenplay by Albert Maltz and Irene Kamp. 

Coppola knows how to develop characters and use them effectively. She does so here also with this quick-paced drama.

Cpl. John McBurney (Farrell), an injured Union soldier, finds refuge and medical treatment at a girls Confederate school headed by Miss Martha Farnsworth (Kidman) in Virginia three years into the Civil War. The place has been without a man for some time and it shows. 

As McBurney cons his way into becoming a permanent resident, he has already found a lusty home in the women’s minds. Sexual tension becomes a contentious situation among three of the women, triggering unanticipated rivalries. 

Coppola directed “Lost in Translation” (2003) and “The Virgin Suicides” (1999). They are fascinating movies. “The Beguiled” is a healthy addition to her résumé.

Coppola’s direction and writing are superb and a talented cast helps. 

Farrell plays a cunning deserter well. He plays a tempting playboy in an exacting, but subtle manner. He responds well with any of the actresses no matter their age. 

Unlike the 1971 photoplay that was from a somewhat male perspective, Coppola wanted this version to be specifically from the feminine perspective. She deviates from the source. The originality introduced to this older narrative is welcome for modern movie audiences. 

Kidman is always a keen addition to any role. She plays these motherly type roles well. Although reminiscent of her character from “The Others” (Director Alejandro Amenábar, 2001), where she plays a mother of two in a large house, Kidman is more than just the matriarchal figure in “Beguiled. Her character suffers from lustful temptations just like the younger women and girls under her care. A beautiful Kidman plays both caring governess and enticing middle-aged woman well. 

Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning have worked previously with Coppola. Dunst worked with her in “The Virgin Suicides” (1999), “Marie Antoinette” (2006) and “The Bling Ring” (2013), and Fanning starred in “Somewhere” (2010) and “Twixt” (2011). The two women have become muses for Coppola. The women are exceptional and their scenes with each other are some of the movie’s most intense.

Other young women of the cast provide nice turns. This is especially true of Oona Laurence. She plays a young optimist with zeal. She shines, even next to more seasoned actors.

Coppola could do much more with this plot. The source material is vast and she used the 1971 screenplay for her own writings. She produces the newer version for contemporary moviegoers. It works as riveting material but should make others also want to see the original film.

Grade: B (Beguiling.)

*Playing in larger cities

“Beatriz at Dinner” (Drama: 1 hour, 22 minutes)

Starring: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton and David Warshofsky

Director: Miguel Arteta

Rated: R (Profanity and violence)

Movie Review: Commentary philosophy about existing world perceptions with respect to racism, classism and sexism is the outstanding part of this movie. That and good acting from Salma Hayek and John Lithgow propel the movie’s otherwise brief plot by Director Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl,” 2002).

Beatriz (Hayek) is a health/massage therapist. She meets with many clients one day, and her last appoint is a massage for Kathy (Britton). 

As Beatriz prepares to leave, her car malfunctions, and she waits for a tow truck. Kathy and her reluctant husband, Grant (Warshofsky), invite Beatriz to stay for dinner. The dinner will also have two couples join them, all wealthy, high-profile guests: Shannon (Chloë Sevigny) and Alex (Jay Duplass) and Doug Strutt (Lithgow) and his wife, Jeana (Amy Landecker).

Beatriz is a down-to-earth person who is spiritual, kind and compassionate. She is at odds with the other guests, who hail from a different socioeconomic status. She especially disagrees with an obnoxious Doug, a major business magnate. The two clash over dinner. 

Beatriz knows how to ruin a dinner but she does this spouting spiritual and philosophical beliefs that are interesting. However, she is the highlight of the party. Hayek plays her well. Her scenes with Lithgow are engaging scenes. The two take swipes at each other constantly during dinner until tempers flare, mainly from Beatriz. Doug is wealthy enough where he does not care.

How these two people handle their disagreements tell who is winning. Doug appears to care less what a commoner such as Beatriz thinks. He is nonchalant and welcomes the exchanges between him and Beatriz. Beatriz on the other hand feels compelled to be morally emotional. She has a good reason for her argument; she has lost much compared to Doug, who can buy and replace what he wants. This drives the narrative.

The manner two people view their place in society is the basis of this movie. Thought-provoking production, it thrives on conflict. 

The movie’s one fault is the characters appear to be in different screenplays. They appear unaware of each other occasionally. This is annoying, yet it also synchronizes with the characters’ feelings towards each other. The characters are not living the same lives. They exist in two different worlds, one for the rich and the other for everyone else. The very notion Beatriz indicates at dinner. 

Grade: B (She makes dinner interesting.)

*Playing in larger cities