Film Review: A Wrinkle in Time

Wrinkle for our Time: DuVernay’s adaptation worth the wait

Calvin (Levi Miller, l.), Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), and Meg (Storm Reid) face danger and confusion on the erie planet Camazotz.

If you’re going to go see A Wrinkle in Time, director Ava DuVernay’s new Disney big budget adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic 1962 young adult novel — and I absolutely think you should — there is one thing you should keep in mind: this movie is not meant for you, dear adult Spinning Platters reader. This movie is for the tween and teen set, whose imaginations haven’t yet been curdled by cynicism, and who want — and need — to be swept away by the adventure and spectacle of a story that will reassure them that they are brave, smart, kind, and worthy of love and acceptance. That’s a powerful message, and DuVernay’s new film delivers it with exactly the kind of spirited fun and genuine emotion that kids love, but jaded adults may scorn. And that’s a shame.
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Film Review: Miss Sloane

Dark look at American politics also a top notch thriller      

An emotionally fragile Esme (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, l.) is coached by her unflappable mentor and boss Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain).
An emotionally fragile Esme (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, l.) is coached by her unflappable mentor and boss Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain).

When a line is repeated more than once in a film – especially in a film that is a high stakes political thriller – you know the screenwriter is giving you a clue to the film’s secrets. So when ruthless political lobbyist Elizabeth Sloane (a fierce Jessica Chastain) tells us that “lobbying is about foresight, about anticipating your opponent’s moves, and devising counter measures…. It’s about making sure you surprise them, and they don’t surprise you,” take it to heart as you study the machinations of the dueling lobbyists in Miss Sloane, director John Madden’s smart, absorbing new drama.
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