RECOMMENDED “The Great Debaters” is pretty great. Learning is a normal part of life: that’s the lovely message of Denzel Washington’s second directorial outing, with a stellar performance by Forest Whitaker as a father who cares but is not cruel. Based on the factual story of a small college debating team in 1930s Texas where segregation is the rule, Washington and screenwriter Robert Eisele hug the railings of formula as they course toward a rousing climax, but wow. I expected something along the line of “Dead Poets’ Society” but man, this is a heady, wonderful picture. In the real world, the debaters didn’t get the climax they get here, but it’s a lovely fairytale. Philippe Rousselot’s cinematography is terrific. The movie opens oddly because of Directors’ Guild regulations: if a film positions its credits at the very end, proper names are not allowed, as in “Lucasfilm” or “The Weinstein Company,” which produced along with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. Harpo gets a nod, but the Weinsteins, never ones to let their names remain unspoken, are forced into “TWC” at the head of the picture. 124m (Ray Pride)
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Fine Line: A Review Of Shortcomings It's a season for the comeuppance of a curmudgeon in Randall Park's smart, biting "Shortcomings," adapted by Adrian Tomine from his graphic novel of the same name.
Spawn Sacrifice: A Review Of The Creator "The Creator" is richly detailed, punchy, pulpy, punkish entertainment that still has highly serious subjects in mind, without growing didactic and with substantial heart.
