On paper there was nothing about the story of “Widows” that interested me. A heist movie about a heist that goes fatally bad. Then the widows of the men killed in the heist plan a heist of their own. Obviously that is a very basic (and admittedly unfair) reading of it but story-wise I didn’t see much to get excited about.

But it’s amazing how a compelling director and a stellar cast can dramatically change your outlook. Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) handles the directing duties but also co-writes alongside Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”). With that kind of talent working the pens you expect the story to have more going on than a mere surface reading would reveal. That’s definitely the cased for “Widows” although it does have a few kinks.

The film opens with seasoned thief Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) and his crew being killed after a botched robbery turns violent. The always fabulous Viola Davis stars as Veronica, Harry’s widow. Turns out Harry swiped $2 million from Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), a Chicago mob boss running for alderman in a Southside precinct. He needs his money back to fund his campaign against his equally crooked but politically established opponent Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell).

Manning and his cold-blooded strong-arm Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) begin pressing Veronica giving her three days to get their money or clearly something bad will happen. Her only out is to pull off a heist of her own and to do so she rounds up two of the widows from Harry’s crew, Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Linda (Michelle Rodriguez). They later recruit Belle whose played by a terrific but terrible underused Cynthia Erivo.

Most of the film takes place as they get ready for the heist, but it doesn’t focus specifically on that. Instead McQueen uses this time the flesh out these women (some better than others). Their actual heist prep gets the back-burner treatment and ends up being thrown together a little too neatly. McQueen does a good job of making this more than a simple heist film but in doing so he shortchanges the very elements of the heist.

Time is also spent on a subplot that explores dirty municipal politics and the plays for power by Manning and Mulligan. They battle for influential endorsements and each manipulates the lower income voter base for their own reasons. Manning wants to extend his criminal control, Mulligan is pushed by his loathsome father (Robert Duvall in a nostalgic but lightweight role) to preserve their family’s long run of political standing.

Davis is the perfect person to anchor the film and its swirl of moving parts. She provides a strong emotional center and some of the film’s best scenes are of Veronica alone dealing with her pent-up anger and unrelenting grief. The other women also hand in good performances especially the often underappreciated Debicki.

McQueen gets good work from the supporting gents as well. Henry is particularly good as a figure who’s both persuasive and intimidating. Farrell is very convincing as a wealthy political slimeball. Kaluuya is handed the more crowd-pleasing role. There is practically no complexity to his character whatsoever. He’ll pop up throughout the film, each time just for a moment, and then he’s gone. I do wish he had more depth, but he’s very effective as a chilling and ruthless killer.

“Widows” may frame itself as a heist movie but it can hardly be put in that box. McQueen has a much broader aim and his film touches on a lot of different things. It’s loaded with subtle (and some not so subtle) statements on politics, race, economic standing, crime, and even a wedged in critique of police brutality. Some are more effective than others. The film is strongest when telling the women’s story – about their fight through systems stacked against them to carry out their mission. Unfortunately some of that story gets lost amid McQueen’s ambition.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Inspired by Jeff Malmberg’s fantastic 2010 documentary “Marwencol”, director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis sets out to dramatize the incredible true story of Mark Hogancamp. It’s unquestionably a worthwhile story which Malmberg’s film told well. Zemeckis takes a hearty swing at it but ends up with a pretty big whiff.

In 2000 Hogancamp was attacked by five men outside of a Kingston, NY bar. He was beaten within an inch of his life  and would spend nine days in a coma. Hogancamp suffered brain damage and severe memory loss. With no means of paying for therapy he lived out a second life within a meticulously crafted miniature town he built modeled after a World War II Belgian village. Within his town of Marwen resides dolls representing those who have influenced his life both for good and bad.

Zemeckis drops us right into Hogancamp’s therapeutic fantasy. Steve Carell stars as both Hogancamp and as Hoagie, Mark’s war hero avatar in Marwen. The two-sided story bounces back-and-forth between his battle to overcome his real world anxieties and the CGI animated Marwen where the dolls come to life and tell stories that mirror his struggles. Problem is neither side is truly fleshed out or given the attention it desperately needs.

The events that led to his state are only covered through flashbacks, newspaper clippings, or gleaned from casual conversations. Instead Zemeckis concentrates on a mundane series of days leading up to the sentencing hearing for Hogancamp’s attackers. Along the way we bump into an assortment of people from his life, several of whom makeup his ‘women of Marwen’. All of them feel brushed over with hardly an ounce of depth. Leslie Mann is the one exception playing a new neighbor. But even she is paper-thin and you know exactly where her story is going.

The animation sequences are cool visually but are often at odds with the other scenes. Zemeckis doesn’t seem to have a grasp of the overall tone he is going for. While these scenes do reflect (to varying degrees) the inner pain and turmoil Hogancamp struggles with, they are often too silly to carry any emotional weight. And too often they rob the other scenes by popping up time the movie could have invested into the real-world story.

Overall “Welcome to Marwen” is a frustrating (and frankly boring) mess. It’s a case of Zemeckis locking into a good concept but not having the clear-eyed vision to see it through. He gets so bogged down in his fictional additions to Mark Hogancamp’s account that he misses what made this strange, heart-tugging story so compelling. Carell certainly gives it his all, but even his good performance couldn’t keep me from constantly checking my watch.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Paul Dano the actor has always been a puzzle to me. While many love his body of work I’ve often felt he requires a very specific type of role. Without it he can seem overwhelmed by the material or lack the range to pull it off. But if the role is just right he can knock your socks off. After seeing his first work behind the camera I can honestly say I have no such reservations about Paul Dano the director.

His new movie “Wildlife” is a mesmerizing bit of filmmaking, so deeply sincere and profoundly human at every turn. What grabbed me early on was how devoted Dano is to his characters – getting them right and never allowing us a moment to doubt their authenticity. His entire focus is on them and the agonizing journeys each of them take. We the audience are simply along for the ride, in the hands of a first-time director telling his story like a seasoned pro.

Set in 1960, Carey Mulligan (shamefully overlooked this awards season) and Jake Gyllenhaal play Jeanette and Jerry Brinson. They’re a working-class couple who recently moved to Great Falls, Montana with their bright 14 year-old son Joe (newcomer Ed Oxenbould). Jerry is employed as a greenskeeper at a local country club while Jeanette works to meet the era’s image of a stay-at-home mom. It’s a seemingly idyllic domestic portrait but it doesn’t take long for the cracks to show.

After losing his job Jerry sinks into a mire of depression. He’s battered by self-induced feelings of failure and his ‘man of the house’ pride. It leads him to make a rash decision that leaves Jeanette and Joe to run things until he returns. A bitter Jeanette quickly begins to unravel. Maybe she wishes she could take off like Jerry. Perhaps the weight of being the model housewife and mother has taken its toll. She begins to come apart and her son can only watch.

All of this is told from the perspective of Joe, our moral center for the duration. Through quiet observations he is yanked out of what Dano has called the “Eden of childhood”. His idealized images of his parents are shattered and replaced with the realization that they are real, flawed people. It’s pretty crushing and the slow evolution of Joe’s expressions speaks volumes. Dano doesn’t direct Oxenbould to go big. In fact rarely does the young actor express anything outwardly. It’s through his eyes that we sense his internal struggle to understand what’s happening to his family.

The script was co-written by Dano and his partner Zoe Kazan and is based on a 1990 novel by Richard Ford which Dano instantly fell in love with. The two haggled a bit before landing on where they wanted the story to go. For them it was essential that young Joe be our lens while also evoking some level of empathy for Jean and Jerry . At times I struggled with sympathy for the parents but that’s part of what I love about this film. Dano and Kazan allow plenty of room for us to wrestle with how we feel about these characters and I can see them being read in a myriad of ways.

The performances are a critical part of this. From the outset Dano reveals a deep trust in his actors allowing them plenty of room to flesh out their characters. So many shots are framed with this in mind. The camera will sit back, often from Joe’s point of view, and watch Gyllenhaal and most notably Mulligan take charge of the scene. As I’ve said before, there is something intoxicating about watching great actors act. Here Gyllenhaal is somber and restrained, exactly what the role needs. Mulligan steals the show with a performance full of layers and emotional conflict. It could be her best work to date.

“Wildlife” is an impressive first feature from Paul Dano the director. He shows off some good filmmaking impulses and there is a delicate rhythm to his storytelling that I wasn’t expecting. “Wildlife” has such a strong emotional core and even as a fiery metaphor burns on the horizon (I’ll let you discover it for yourselves) the film never loses its heart. It’s tragic and heartbreaking yet through a small sense of hope Dano gives us something to cling to. And as I think on his movie I appreciate that more and more.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

On February 11, 2012 Whitney Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. She was 48 years-old. The superstar’s death sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment industry and among her millions of fans. But while her death was a stunner, signs of her spiraling out of control were both obvious and everywhere.

Kevin Macdonald’s “Whitney” is a captivating new documentary chronicling the extraordinary rise and heartrending fall of this immensely talented and internationally acclaimed singer and actress. Macdonald was given the approval by Houston’s estate along with never-before-seen footage, rare performances and exclusive interviews.

Macdonald’s portrait begins by delving into Whitney’s childhood. Raised in Newark, New Jersey, she knew by the age of thirteen she wanted to be a singer. She was affectionately known as “Nippy” by those close to her and that sweet, innocent nickname would represent a certain childlike side of her personality for the rest of her life.

Whitney was born into a family of singers and we are told there was always music playing in the home. Her adoration for song also showed itself at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. Through her own words we hear how much she loved it there. Macdonald includes a video of a young teenaged girl effortless showcasing that magical signature voice. Just a few years later she would become a breakout megastar shattering records and paving the way for others. These were among the happier times of Whitney Houston’s life.

“There have been several times the devil tried to get me.” – Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s life was one of unimaginable highs but also some troubling lows. Early on as a child she was bullied because of her lighter skin. Later she was deeply effected by her parents divorce, her mom’s infidelity and her father’s corruption. After her meteoric rise to stardom she endured questions about her sexuality and racially-fueled attacks by Al Sharpton among others.

But Macdonald makes a strong case that the most devastating influences came from those Whitney loved the most. She was first introduced to drugs by her brothers, the same ones who proclaimed themselves to be her protectors. It would lead to an addiction she was never able to shake. She was heartbroken by revelations that her father had been stealing from her for years. Then there are the shocking allegations of child molestation which have made headlines since the documentary’s release.

And of course there is her tumultuous 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown. Friends share that Whitney loved Bobby but it proved to be a damaging relationship. Despite popular sentiment, the film shows her drug abuse didn’t begin with Brown, but it certainly became more pronounced and grew worse over time. The two quickly became tabloid fodder. During their time together Brown had frequent run-ins with the law for domestic assault, sexual harassment, and a plethora of other high-profile arrests. When interviewed for the film Brown refused to speak of his or Whitney’s drug abuse, but Macdonald shows several painful videos of the couple that paints pretty clear pictures for us. What’s worse are the horrific effects their stormy marriage had on their young daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.

“She was always a little girl wishing upon a star” – Cissy Houston

But as sad and tragic as the film is, it also gives us some of her high moments – welcomed reminders of the incredible singer Whitney Houston was. Moments like the 1991 Super Bowl where she delivered perhaps the most beautiful and moving rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner of all time. Macdonald makes it a little jarring by giving it a modern political spin, but it was an amazing moment for Whitney and the country. As was the slice we get of her 1994 post-apartheid performance in Johannesburg. And of course there is her venture into acting with “The Bodyguard”, a film and soundtrack that catapulted her into the stratosphere.

“Whitney” could probably use a few more of those high marks. Some fans are sure to long for more of a celebration of her music. But Kevin Macdonald manages to make a film that’s both a tribute and a tragic tale of the cost of fame. He also shatters many popular perceptions of this tremendous talent whose love and trust were exploited by many of the key people in her life. Yet despite how somber the movie is, the echoes of that breathtaking voice and the reflection of that sparkling young woman from Newark remains etched in the back of my mind. I think it always will be.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

It would be wrong to write off Todd Haynes’ delightful “Wonderstruck” as just a kid’s movie. Aside from being terribly reductive, that perspective shortchanges what is a beautifully crafted story and a striking two-headed visual composition that packs one heck of an emotional punch.

“Wonderstruck” is based on the 2011 Brian Selznick novel of the same name. Selznick had previously written “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, a book adapted to screen by Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”). He also wrote the screenplay for “Wonderstruck” (his first) which is a cleverly layered puzzle featuring two intersecting stories set 50 years apart, the first in 1927 and the other in 1977.

The film starts in 1977 rural Minnesota. A young boy named Ben (Oakes Fegley) lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousins after the tragic loss of his mother (played via flashbacks by Michelle Williams in a small but delicately moving performance). To make matters worse, he loses his hearing in a freak lightning accident. Ben’s longing to know about his absent father existed before his mother’s death. He finds a mysterious book kept hidden by his mom with hints of his father’s life. He sneaks away and embarks on a quest to find his father in New York City – an entirely new world to a small town lad.

A parallel story is set in 1927. A young deaf girl named Rose (played with an infectious sweetness by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds) lives in New Jersey with her strict and abrasive father. Much like Ben she is longing for a parent – in her case it’s her mother (Julianne Moore), a Broadway prima donna more interested in the limelight than her family. But with innocent, childlike naïveté she runs away to New York City in hopes of tracking down the mother who has been away for so long.

Todd Haynes deftly hops back and forth between these two braided adventures, one never losing its flow to the either. To make it even more impressive, an incredible amount of detail is poured into the individual stories making each feel of its time. Cinematographer Edward Lachman is a true star of the film. He shoots both stories with drastically different styles. Rose’s is shot in gorgeous black-and-white while Ben’s features a color palette pulled directly from the 1970s.

Other things breathe life into the vastly different periods. The costume design is top-notch and it’s given a lot of attention. There is also the way Haynes and company visualize the differences from one era to another economically but also in diversity. And then you have Carter Burwell’s score which is plentiful but never intrusive. It’s especially critical in Rose’s story which is entirely framed as a silent picture. Just as effective to the 70s vibe are the cool musical injections of David Bowie, Rose Royce and Sweet.

As mentioned Rose’s portion of the story is presented as a silent picture. It’s seen in how the scenes are shot and in the steady, mood-setting orchestration. But it also fits the narrative of a young girl who has been deaf her entire life. It offers a sense of perspective and it’s done with grace and thoughtfulness. And over and over the camera captures Simmonds delicate smile and her constant gaze of wonderment. Counter that with Ben’s world rich with big city sound. Only recently deaf, the sounds are still real to him even though he can no longer hear them. His struggle with that is one of the more poignant aspects of his story.

Eventually the two tales connect in a way that could have leaned heavily on overwrought sentiment, but that’s not the case at all. Instead it’s an emotionally justified solution to an exquisitely conceived cinematic puzzle. It’s an ending that feels right for a film that is this earnest. And let me say again this isn’t just a kid’s movie. It’s a very human movie that not only touches your heart but reminds us of why cinema is such an extraordinary form of storytelling.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS