The Best of Enemies

THE GIST: When the only school for black kids burns down, the issue of school desegregation becomes an urgent matter, bringing civil rights activist Ann Atwater face to face with the open racism and hostility of the white population, personified by local Ku Klux Klan leader C.P. Ellis.

The Best of Enemies is a very good movie that, unfortunately, feels that much more timely now with all the unrest across the nation brought on by the continued murdering of black people by white police officers.

Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell are perfectly cast and give wonderful performances. Of note also Anne Heche, Wes Bentley, and Bruce McGill.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Many movies deal with the issue of racism and they're often very instructional. This is one of them, and, like I always say, should be required viewing in every school and legislative hall in the country. Full stop.

Grade: 8

Pet Sematary

THE GIST: The Creed family moves from Boston to rural Maine in search of a less hurried life. In the woods behind their property, the area kids bury their pets in a small cemetery, but the place is not as innocent as it looks. When tragedy robs the family of their young daughter, her father pursues the unthinkable, despite his neighbor's urgent warnings.

I never saw the original film version of Stephen King's famous homonymous book, but this remake of Pet Sematary is well paced and peppered with enough scares to make it a good horror movie.

Jason Clarke has the requisite gravity playing a grief stricken father who feels like he has no options left to take care of his family.

Jon Lithgow is equal amounts charming, mysterious, and creepy in a wonderful performance. As always.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Someday I'll see the original movie (and read the novel), so I'll be able to make a comparison, but for now, this one gets a thumbs up from me.

Grade: 7

Gloria Bell

THE GIST: Gloria, a divorced woman in her 50s with two adult kids, works in an office during the day and goes out to dance clubs at night, looking for love. One night, she meets Arnold and the two hit it off.

Gloria Bell is a very simple comedy with some hints of drama that opens a window onto the life of a woman that after the first five minutes you just want to hug and go out for drinks with.

Julianne Moore, excellent as always, is adorable in the lead, flanked by a funny/tortured John Turturro, perfectly cast in the role of Arnold.

THE BOTTOM LINE: This movie won't leave a permanent mark but it's sweet and funny and works its magic for a couple hours.

Grade: 7

Episodes

Season 3 of this very funny show sees Beverly and Sean clearly still in love but nonetheless apart as Sean can't seem to be able to forget Beverly's betrayal and Beverly trying to move on as instructed by Sean.

Meanwhile, their show's struggles continue, to the point that many players start looking past it, especially Matt LeBlanc, whose libertine attitudes have no boundaries and constantly lead him into troubling situations.

Finally, the network gets a new top executive and his behavior is, to say the least, highly unorthodox.

Episodes keeps getting better and I find myself doubled over pretty often. Highly recommended.

Grade - Season 3: 8

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

THE GIST: Trying to retrieve a weaponized virus, MI6 agent Hattie Shaw and her team are ambushed by cyber-enhanced Brixton. Hattie is the only one who survives, but is framed by Brixton, so she has to run. Hunted by Brixton and wanted by MI6, her only hope for aid comes from Luke Hobbs and her brother, Deckard, if they can find a way to work together that is.

The positive reception of Dwayne Johnson in Fast Five and of Jason Statham in Furious 7 ensured their value to the franchise in all the subsequent episodes. Unfortunately, alleged enmity between Fast & Furious headliner Vin Diesel and Johnson meant that their characters were mostly kept at safe distance in The Fate of the Furious, the eighth chapter of the series so far.

A spin-off centered on Johnson and Statham then suddenly seemed like a good idea: there would be no need to involve the Furious cast of characters and the franchise could branch out and make more money.

The gamble paid off, as Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a two hour adrenaline boost with touches of comedy and a few sentimental undertones.

Both Johnson and Statham know their way around action packed scenes, and Vanessa Kirby playfully keeps apace. Idris Elba plays the villain as effectively as any role he takes on. And let's not forget the wonderful Helen Mirren in another wonderful cameo.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Furious franchise shows no signs of slowing down. A new chapter for the main series was supposed to come out this year (it's been delayed by the coronavirus), and the first official spin-off shows a lot of promise on its own.

Grade: 7

Annabelle Comes Home

THE GIST: The Warrens need to travel for work and leave their daughter Judy in the care of a sitter. The sitter gets a visit from a friend, who has heard of the work the Warrens do and, having recently lost her dad, wonders if she could find something in their home that would allow her to make contact with him. Unwittingly, the demon residing inside Annabelle is unleashed, together with several others housed in the Warrens' purposefully off-limits artifacts room.

It seems like the brain-trust behind the Conjuring universe can't really send the Annabelle franchise off on steady legs. After the lukewarm first chapter, it seemed like progress was made with the second, but Annabelle Comes Home feels again like a rehash of previous horror movies and is just barely better than the original.

I think a good story and good actors help the two Conjuring movies tremendously, and when those two elements are removed (or strongly reduced, like in this case) then the results are muddling.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Well, if you're interested in this movie you've likely watched the previous four. If not, you should because the first two are much better. This one overall gets a "Meh."

Grade: 5.5

Annabelle: Creation

THE GIST: After a tragic accident takes their little girl from them, a doll maker and his wife largely retreat from the world. Twelve years later, they welcome a nun and the few girls in her care after their orphanage shutters. Annabelle, a doll the man had made for his daughter, starts exerting a pull on one of the orphans, until she finds it, unleashing the evil presence that had taken it over. Now, they're all in danger.

After the halfhearted first stab at the Annabelle franchise disappointed for its lack of originality, more thought seems to have gone into the sequel. Annabelle: Creation is not memorable, as horror movies go, but it's certainly a step above its predecessor.

Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto, always good actors, are flanked by Talitha Eliana Bateman and, above all, the very promising Lulu Wilson.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The fourth title in the Conjuring universe shows no sign of fatigue, even though there's room for improvement. Overall, this one is enjoyable.

Grade: 6

Window Framed By Leaves

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Annabelle

THE GIST: A father-to-be buys his expectant wife a rare vintage doll named Annabelle for her collection. One night, a satanic cult attacks and murders their neighbors, invades their house, and performs a rite on the doll. Soon after, a demonic presence starts harassing them, channeled through Annabelle. It seems to seek their newborn daughter's soul.

Given the success of The Conjuring and its sequel, a spin-off centered around one of the creepiest of the Warren's many relics made sense. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like the same amount of care went into making Annabelle as either of those two movies.

The script tells a story that, honestly, feels a bit ordinary, like something we've seen many times before. The scares are there, but again feel a bit stale.

The cast does its best, but the material is what it is.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Conjuring universe expands here to take advantage of its success, but Annabelle proves a weak successor.

Grade: 5

The Conjuring 2

THE GIST: The Warrens are called upon once again to investigate an alleged haunting, this time in Enfield, London. Is this house really haunted by some demonic presence though, or is it all an elaborate hoax perpetrated by one of the kids living there?

After the big success of the first Conjuring, a sequel was all but guaranteed to follow. Fortunately, The Conjuring 2 is a well worthy successor, presenting a story more layered than the first movie, helped along by our familiarity with the leads, both coming back here.

Patrick Wilson's and Vera Farmiga's return is really excellent news, as their talents give weight and credence to the the story, and provide welcome continuity.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you liked the first movie, there's more like it here. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd suggest watching it first, not only to get some backstory, but because it's as good a horror film as this one.

Grade: 7.5