“1917” (War/Drama: 1 hour, 59 minutes)

Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch

Director: Sam Mendes

Rated: R (Violence, disturbing imagery and language)

Movie Review: World War I has never appeared as stunningly as this in cinema. “1917” is brilliant cinematography. It is war up close and personal.

April 6, 1917, British soldiers Lance Cpl. Tom Blake (Chapman) and Lance Cpl. Will Schofield (MacKay) are in northern France. They receive orders for an incredible task. Gen. Erinmore (Firth) orders the men to cross over into enemy territory and deliver a message to Col. Mackenzie (Cumberbatch) to stand down on a plan to attack Germans. 

Blake and Schofield’s mission could save the lives of thousands of soldiers, including Blake’s brother.

The cinematography from scene one is cunningly impressive. Roger Deakins is the movie’s cinematographer. He has received 13 Oscar nominations for cinematography for movies that include “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), “No Country for Old Men” (2007) and “Blade Runner 2049” (2017).

In “1917,” Deakins ably uses a variety of scene shots to help understand the soldiers. The first scene introduces you to the two men at the heart of this narrative. Deakins’ cinematography is the introduction and best part of this war drama.

Director-writer Sam Mendes’ movies use visualization as a means of telling a story, and it works. The notables are “American Beauty” (1999) and “Road to Perdition” (2002). His use of eye candy is engaging.

Deakins and Mendes bring audiences into war and they make sure you never leave it. The visualization techniques and a story that takes place over just a two-day period. This makes the story as pressing as the soldier’s mission. 

Time is of the essence and Mendes helms this part of the movie well thanks to Deakins’ cinematography and Mendes’ co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Together, they and a talented cast and crew create a riveting movie.

However, it never reaches an emotional peak because of anxiety-driven war action scenes and impressive visuals that dwarf the characters. The war-torn men feel unknown. When something happens to these brave soldiers, the moments are not emotive situations.

This exists because the movie is story-driven, not character-driven. It is about the men’s goal to make it to a destination without really knowing the characters. 

Yet, this impacts the story in a minor manner because the movie has much to respect, including the bravery of those who fought in the war such as Mendes’ grandfather, Alfred Mendes, whose stories inspired this movie. Mendes and his team make this a good year.

Grade: B+ (See “1917” in 2020.)

“Just Mercy” (Drama: 2 hours, 17 minutes)

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson and Tim Blake Nelson

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic content including some racial epithets and profanity)

Movie Review: “Just Mercy” is based on actual events. The setting is the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the movie feels like something out of the 1960s. The amount of racism depicted in Alabama just 30 years ago leaves one awe-struck of how little some things have changed in certain parts of the United States.

After graduating from Harvard, attorney Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) moves to Alabama to create the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson and his assistant, Eva Ansley (Larson), create the EJI to help those wrongly imprisoned. 

One of their cases is death row inmate Walter McMillian, an African American sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old Caucasian woman. As McMillian’s case unravels, many of the injustices of the Alabama justice system become obvious. 

Stevenson must maneuver through racism and legal hurdles to free his client.

“Just Mercy” shines a light on racial injustice but fails to add the theatrics to make the story as impactful as it could be. This is because the movie deviates occasionally with sub-stories, making this less of a courtroom drama and more a narrative about the inclusion of systematic racism in the South.

Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is mentioned several times in “Just Mercy.” The moments are intriguing because Lee’s novel has similar themes to the events of this movie, except “Just Mercy” is an adaptation of actual events.

Both the movie and Lee’s novel feature courtroom moments. The courtroom moments of “Just Mercy” are insightful but not powerful. None of the courtroom moments of “Just Mercy” are more potent but formulaic, making this movie predictable.

Therefore, the drama relies on the good performances of Jordan, Nelson and Academy Award recipients Foxx and Captain Marvel’s Larson. They shine in their roles. They offer solid acting, at least as much as the script allows by director and writer “The Glass Castle” (2017).

Grade: B- (Have mercy, it is just enough for its acting and attention to injustices.)

“Underwater” (Science Fiction/Thriller: 1 hour, 35 minutes)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel and T.J. Miller

Director: William Eubank

Rated: PG-13 (Action terror violence, profanity and gore)

Movie Review: “Underwater” is a typical science-fiction horror movie, but Kristen Stewart is the pivotal reason to see this. Something beautifully sexy exists about Stewart in this tough-woman role.

She plays the smart techno-savvy Norah Price who is a member of a team six miles below the ocean’s surface. The days are routine under the sea until their station begins filling with water. 

Captain Lucien (Cassel) attempts to lead the group out of their predicament when they realize they are not alone. Intelligent, predatorial underwater beings inhabit the deep ocean.

This is a disaster movie. It is about people trying to survive the unknown. It is a common-place survival movie in this sense, yet the acting offers something of value, even if not sufficient to save this script.

At the heart of “Underwater,” Stewart is brilliant as Price. She ably impresses with skill and her physical prowess in action scenes. 

Cassel and T.J. Miller and several others join her. Cassel offers talent, but the script limits him. Miller offers needed comedy, often explaining what may be happening through quips that inspire humorous moments. He often sounds like Bill Paxton’s “Game over man” character in “Alien” (1986).

The mysterious and deadly creatures that no one has ever seen should be this movie’s ultimate apex. When the underwater creatures and their leader emerge — think of Cthulhu — the moment is not awe-spiring. What could be a creative venture turns into a typical survival monster movie.

Grade: C+ (Engaging but underwater)

“Like a Boss” (Comedy: 1 hour, 23 minutes)

Starring: Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Coolidge, Billy Porter and Salma Hayek

Director: Miguel Arteta

Rated: R (Profanity, crude sexual material and drug use)

Movie Review: A strong feminine message about friendship exists in “Like a Boss.” The problem is the message quickly becomes lost in the manure of an unconvincing comedy.

Mia Carter (Haddish) and Mel Paige (Byrne) have been best friends since childhood. They own their cosmetics company, Mia & Mel. After they are faced with overwhelming financial troubles, they turn to cosmetics guru Claire Luna (Hayek) for monetary assistance. 

Luna agrees, but the cosmetics mogul plans to gain controlling interest of Mia and Mel’s company to steal their innovative product ideas. 

Miguel Arteta directed the marvelous “Beatriz at Dinner” (2017) which starred Salma Hayek. Arteta was at his best with that drama. He allows this comedy to flail around aimlessly in stereotypes that hinder a message. He forgets this is supposed to be a movie about businesswomen. The movie eventually turns into a conventional catfight.

Grade: C- ( Like a boss … on an employee’s salary.)

“A Hidden Life” (Drama/Biography: 2 hours, 54 minutes)

Starring: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon and Karin Neuhäuser

Director: Terrence Malick

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic material including violent images.)

Movie Review: “A Hidden Life” is a true story. It is based on actual events and letters between Franz and Franziska Jägerstätter. 

Director-writer Terrence Malick takes audiences on a visual journey to better understand the married couple and others in their life. He and cinematographer Jörg Widmer make this movie eye candy as much as it is a philosophical statement about one man’s fortitude to remain true to his beliefs.

In 1939 Austria, Franz Jägerstätter (Diehl) is a farmer and devout Catholic in the small village of St. Radegund, where he lives with his wife, Franziska ‘Fani’ (Pachner), their three daughters and his mother, Rosalia (Neuhäuser). 

Franz is a conscientious objector. He refuses to take an oath to Hitler and fight for the Nazis in World War II. His defiance of the German Reich causes his neighbors to ostracize him and his family. Soon, Nazis arrive and arrest Franz, but the farmer continues to resist measures to conform to Hitler’s regime. 

Terrence Malick’s style of movie-making is at a Stanley Kubrick pace. He takes time to develop his movies. The director, writer and philosopher realizes that visual elements of a movie tell a story as much as dialogue. That is something else he shares with Kubrick.

Malick and cinematographer Jörg Widmer use visual elements to tell “A Hidden Life.” The men worked together on “The Tree of Life,” 2011. Malick again uses quiet moments as he has done in previous movies, which allows him time to showcase excellent visuals. 

Four of Malick’s films have been Oscar-nominated in the best cinematography category: “Days of Heaven” (1978), “The Thin Red Line” (1998), “The New World” (2005) and “The Tree of Life” (2011). “Days of Heaven” was the only one to win the category.

In “A Hidden Life,” Malick uses green hilly countrysides and plenty of self-reflective quiet moments to tell Franz Jägerstätter’s story of standing on principle. The scenic views that serve as attention-getting backdrops. They often rival the story, easily diverting one away from the hardworking Jägerstätters and their fellow village people. The visual parts of this movie appeal throughout, even when the story is calm.

Additionally, the acting is good. This is especially true for August Diehl and Valerie Pachner’s acting. Diehl plays his character with a keen, thought-provoking essence. Franz is a man troubled by what he sees around him. He does not understand how people can place patriotism and political allegiances over their faith. Franz wrestles with this dilemma and Diehl’s portrayal of this real-life figure appears to show the angst Franz suffers and resentment his fellow countrymen felt toward him. 

Pachner plays his worried spouse in a brave but concerned manner. The two create a loving relationship that speaks volumes.

Franz Jägerstätter’s life affirmation to non-violence is a worthy story. While a few moments may get lost in translation and upstaged frequently by beautiful, idyllic landscapes, Malick provides plenty that exists in the mind long after observing this photoplay.

Grade: B+ (A hidden gem, it is worth seeing.)

“Dolittle” (Adventure/Comedy: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Harry Collett, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Emma Thompson

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Rated: PG (Action and violence, crude humor and brief language)

Movie Review: “Dolittle” marks Robert Downey Jr.’s first non-Iron Man role since “The Judge” (2014). Downey is reminiscent of Johnny Depp in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, except Downey talks to animals. 

“Dolittle” is an adventure, but it is one that is all over the place. It appears like a mash of multiple movies, including “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the aforementioned “Pirates of the Caribbean.” 

Dr. John Dolittle, a veterinarian, can communicate with animals. Now, a young Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) needs his unique abilities. The monarch is deathly ill, and Dr. Dolittle, through use of his animals, realizes someone poisoned her. To cure her, the eccentric Dolittle, his new assistant, Tommy Stubbins (Collett), and the doctor’s furry friends embark on a mythical island to find the cure.

The last Dr. Dolittle movies of significance featured Eddie Murphy in the title role: “Doctor Dolittle” (1998) and “Dr. Dolittle 2″ (2001). This latest movie fashions itself after the original “Doctor Dolittle” (director Richard Fleischer, 1967) that starred Rex Harrison as the titular character.

Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana,” 2005) is the director and a co-writer of this version of “Dolittle.” He and fellow writers create an energetic adventure for younger audiences, but the movie’s perpetual addition of visual effects and talking animals appear like a variety show marathon. The only production members on cue are the visual effects’ computer-generated imagery technicians.

However, the movie is meant to be a children’s movie although it contains some mature material. Small fries will enjoy it because the focus of “Dolittle” is on par with a 5-year-old.

Grade: C (Dolittle, the name fits.)

“Bad Boys for Life” (Action/Comedy: 2 hours, 4 minutes)

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Charles Melton, Paola Nuñez and Joe Pantoliano

Directors: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

Rated: R (Violence, profanity sexual references, gore and brief drug use)

Movie Review: Michael Bay’s “Bad Boys” (1995) was a cop-buddy movie with plenty of laughs. Twenty-five years later audiences once again see Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as older detectives. They are more hilarious than before. “Bad Boys for Life” is one of the best moments of entertainment. 

A still single playboy Detective Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Detective Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), who is now a grandfather, are once again fighting crime in sunny Miami. They are middle-aged men, older, wiser and whining more, yet their skills are necessary once more when a series of law-enforcement murders prompts their return. 

Matters become more urgent after Lowery becomes a major target of a Mexican mafia led by Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo) and her son, Armando Armas, an assassin.

Sure, “Bad Boys for Life” is over-the-top and unconvincing in a scene or two, but it is good humor at its best. Smith is the action star. Martin Lawrence is the comedy man. Their onscreen personalities jive well. They provide smart humorous moments that inspire laughter.

Additionally, Joe Pantoliano returns as Captain Howard. He is just as funny as Smith and Lawrence.

The movie feels like an action-comedy cop movie from the late 1980s and early 1990s. “Bad Boys for Life” has numerous action sequences, especially vehicle chases and unnecessary explosions. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, directors of “Black” (2015), create a summer-style blockbuster in the winter.

Grade: B (Good movie, good movie, what ya gonna do, what ya gonna do when it comes near you …)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar works and lives in Valdosta.