Page 8 The Skanner January 17, 2018
Arts & Entertainment
Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, Jan. 19
BIG BUDGET FILMS
12 Strong (R for vi-
olence and pervasive
profanity)
Adaptation
of “Horse Soldiers,”
Doug Stanton’s best
seller chronicling the
declassified exploits of
a Special Forces unit
deployed to Afghani-
stan in the wake of the
9/11 attacks. Co-starring
Chris Hemsworth, Mi-
chael Shannon, William
Fitchner, Michael Pena,
Rob Riggle and Trevante
Rhodes.
Den of Thieves (R for
violence, profanity, sex-
uality and nudity) Crime
caper revolving around
a seasoned team of bank
robbers’ audacious plan
to steal $120 million in
cash from the L.A. branch
of the Federal Reserve
Bank. Cast includes Ge-
Kam
Williams
Kam’s
Kapsules
Movie
Reviews
consumption) Romance
drama revolving around
a country music star’s
(Alex Roe) reunion with
the childhood sweet-
heart (Jessica Rothe)
he left at the altar a de-
cade earlier when he re-
turns home for his best
friend’s funeral. Support
cast includes John Benja-
min Hickey, Abby Ryder
and Travis Tritt.
The Leisure Seeker (R
for sexuality and mature
themes) Adaptation of
Michael Zadoorian’s bit-
tersweet best seller about
a couple of ailing octoge-
Moloney
Mikel.
and
Joshua
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
Delirium (R for vio-
lence and disturbing
images) Harrowing hor-
ror flick about a just-dis-
charged mental patient
(Topher Grace) who in-
herits a haunted house
from his recently-de-
ceased parents (Robin
Thomas and Daisy Mc-
Crackin). With Patricia
Clarkson, Genesis Rodri-
guez and Callan Mulvey.
The Final Year (Un-
rated) Lame duck doc-
umentary chronicling
the accomplishments of
President Obama’s for-
eign policy team during
his last months in office.
Featuring
behind-the-
scenes footage of Obama,
Secretary of State John
Kerry and U.S. Ambassa-
dor to the United Nations
Samantha Power.
Kangaroo
(Unrated)
Macropodidae
mar-
supial
documentary
chronicling Australia’s
long-standing love-hate
relationship with its na-
tional animal.
‘Mama Africa’
rard Butler, 50 Cent, Pab-
lo Schreiber and O’Shea
Jackson, Jr.
Forever My Girl (PG
for mature themes, mild
epithets and alcohol
narians (Helen Mirren
and Donald Sutherland)
who ignore doctors’ or-
ders to embark on a fi-
nal cross-country trip
in their trusty RV. With
Kirsty Mitchell, Janet
Mama Africa (Unrat-
ed) Reverential docu-
mentary about Miriam
Makeba (1932-2008), the
South African singer/po-
litical activist who lived
in exile until the end of
Apartheid.
Featuring
archival footage of Nel-
son and Winnie Man-
dela, Kathleen Cleaver,
Harry Belafonte and her
husband, Stokely Car-
michael. (In English and
‘Den of Thieves’ stars stars Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn
Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway
French with subtitles)
Mary and the Witch’s
Flower (PG for action
and mature themes) An-
imated fantasy based
on “The Little Broom-
stick” by Mary Stewart,
a children’s novel about a
bored, 10 year-old (Hana
Sugisaki) who escapes
her humdrum life with
the help of a magical
broomstick which en-
ables her to fly above
the clouds. With Ryu-
nosuke Kamiki, Yuki
Amami and Fumiyo
Kohinata. (In Japanese
with subtitles)
Mom & Dad (R for
sexuality,
nudity,
teen drug use, dis-
turbing violence and
pervasive profanity)
Selma Blair and Nico-
las Cage play the ti-
tle characters in this
horror comedy about
a day-long hysteria
of unknown origin
that turns parents all
over the world into
homicidal
maniacs
out to kill their own
kids. Supporting cast
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includes Annie Winters,
Lance Henriksen and Ra-
chel Melvin.
Step Sisters (PG-13
for sexuality, crude
humor, partying, pro-
fanity and drug refer-
ences)
Cross-cultural
comedy about a Harvard
Law School-bound black
undergrad
(Megalyn
Echikunwoke) who de-
cides to choreograph
dance routines for her
rhythmically-chal-
lenged, white sorority
sisters so they can enter
the annual step compe-
tition. With Eden Sher,
Naturi Naughton, Desti-
ny Lopez and Gage Goli-
ghtly.
FILM REVIEW: Hanks
and Streep in ‘The Post’
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in ‘The Post’
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
“T
he Post” is a pic-
ture fated to be
compared to a
couple of clas-
sic newsroom thrillers:
“All the President’s Men”
(1976) and “Spotlight”
(2015). Like the former,
it’s set in Washington,
D.C. in the 1970s and re-
volves around an attempt
by the Nixon administra-
tion to prevent the publi-
cation of incriminating
information leaked to
the Washington Post by
a whistleblower. And it’s
eerily similar to the Best
Picture
Oscar-winner
“Spotlight” in that they’re
both ensemble dramas
recounting an idealistic
newspaper’s legal battle
on behalf of freedom of
the press.
Risk-averse Hollywood
honchos have a very pre-
dictable habit of parrot-
ing success, which means
it’s just a matter of time
before a knockoff of a big
hit arrives in theaters.
In this case, “Spotlight”
scriptwriter Josh Sing-
er,was tapped to tweak
first-timer Liz Hannah’s
original
screenplay
about the Pentagon Pa-
pers.
So it makes sense that
one might have great
expectations of the pro-
duction, given that it
was also directed by the
legendary Steven Spiel-
berg and co-stars Tom
Hanks and perennial
Oscar-nominee
Meryl
Streep. But while the
movie is certainly worth
seeing, it’s actually a dis-
appointment, given the
cast and crew’s impres-
sive pedigree.
The picture’s point of
departure is Vietnam
in 1966, which is where
we find Secretary of De-
fense Robert McNamara
(Bruce Greenwood) on a
fact-finding tour. Upon
landing back in the
States, he lies through
his teeth on the tarmac to
put a positive spin on the
odds of America winning
the war.
Fast forward five years,
which is when military
analyst Daniel Ellsberg
(Matthew Rhys) goes
rogue after becoming
disillusioned by the
government’s
contin-
ued cover-up. He then
proceeds to turn over to
the Washington Post and
other publications an
internal, Department of
Defense report about the
war. Dubbed the “Pen-
See FILM on page 11