With the world galloping along at warp speed through sexual harassment disclosures, it's a perfect time to flash back to a recent time when events still moved at a human pace. Following are a few film picks to while away Winter 2018.
The Post In this riveting new docudrama from Steven Spielberg, worried Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradlee (Tom Hanks) asks Post owner Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep) a hypothetical question about a top-secret government document. The Nixon Administration had just obtained a court order forbidding The New York Times from further publication of the Pentagon Papers, a massive study commissioned by the Johnson Administration to unravel how the United States had gotten so bogged down in a 12-year war in Vietnam. "The Post" dramatizes the key moments in 1971 when The Washington Post printed the Pentagon Papers, embarking on a mission that would carry them to the Watergate break-in.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool It's 1979, and one-time Hollywood beauty Gloria Grahame (a radiant Annette Bening) hooks up with a young Brit, Peter Turner, half her age. The male lead is Jamie Bell, once so winning as the dance-aspiring coal miner's son "Billy Elliot." This seductive end-of-life biopic, co-starring veteran Julie Walters, may induce a rush to Turner Classic Movies' website to view such Grahame pictures as "In a Lonely Place." Best exchange: Peter: "Did anyone ever tell you you look like Lauren Bacall when you smoke?" Gloria: "Yes, Humphrey Bogart, and I didn't like it then."
In the Fade German director of Turkish descent Fatih Akin returns with a revenge drama starring Diane Kruger as a woman grieving after the death of her son and husband at the hands of Neo-Nazis. The film's powerful finale may remind you of the peak work of the late gay German wunderkind Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The Final Year For those still in a state of shock one year into the reign of Trump, this detailed documentary about Barack Obama's foreign policy team during its last year in office may provide some perspective, especially after the Dems' surprising off-year victories.
Molly's Game Molly Bloom is a young gifted skier who ran the world's most exclusive poker game for 10 years before she was busted in the middle of the night by FBI agents with automatic weapons. Her clients ranged from screenland royalty to star athletes, business leaders, and finally, unknown to her, the Russian Mafia. Her only ally was her criminal defense attorney Charlie Jaffey, who discovered that there was more to Molly than the tabloid press led us to believe.
Spider-Man After the retirement of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield from this sticky drama, the latest chapter of Spidey's adventures is presented in an animated version with an all-star voice cast.
The 15:17 to Paris In this Clint Eastwood-directed drama, American military men discover a terrorist plot on a Paris-bound train. Screenplay by Dorothy Blyskal and Anthony Sadler, based on his book. With Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer and Lillian Solange Beaudoin.
The Female Brain Whitney Cummings' directorial debut is based on Louann Brizendine's bestselling book. The ensemble comedy's cast includes Cummings, Sofia Vergara, James Marsden, Beanie Feldstein and Cecily Strong. The film comically depicts the inner workings and complex power of brain chemistry among couples at different times in their relationships, whether discovering the proper romantic balance, parenting, expressing emotion, or simply admitting to being useless around the house.
Annihilation In Alex Garland's drama, a female biologist signs up for a harrowing secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply. Director Garland co-wrote the script based on Jeff VanderMeer's novel. With Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac.
Chappaquiddick The late Senator Ted Kennedy's life and political career become derailed after he is involved in a fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne. Director John Curran, with writers Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan, adapts this modern political tragedy featuring Kate Mara, Clancy Brown and Olivia Thirlby.
Truth or Dare A college student is haunted by a supernatural presence after being tricked into playing a game of "Truth or Dare." Jeff Wadlow directs a script by Jillian Jacobs and Michael Reisz. With Tyler Posey, Lucy Hale and Landon Liboiron.
This is Our Land Director Lucas Belvaux presents a French drama where an engaged but apolitical nurse gets involved in a far-right political party. Based on recent events in France. Screenplay by Belvaux and Jerome Leroy. With Emilie Dequenne, Andre Dussollier and Guillaume Gouix.
Meryl Streep plays The Washington Post owner Katherine Graham in director Steven Spielberg's "The Post."
Scene from "Molly's Game," the world's most exclusive poker game.