Fahrenheit 11/9: More Moore

Michael Moore loves his country.
And he hates and fears what's happening to it.
The way he sees it, there's enough blame to go around.

In his inimitable way, Moore traces Donald Trump's pathway to the presidency, the 45th president's steps to undermine our democracy, and a possible escape route. (Hint: Attention Democrats, VOTE in November.)

At times, brilliant, at times undisciplined, the Movie Slut, who's seen all of Moore's movies and praises them all, thinks this is his best.

Sure at times he's a blowhard. But as David Edelstein of Vulture put it, "the air is blowing hard in the right direction."

Bel Canto: Sing for your supper

Julianne Moore & Maria Mercedes Coroy

We've got a hostage situation.

But one like we've never seen. Captors and captives are held up in an elegant mansion to which fresh food is delivered daily. They even sit down together for a sumptuous dinner party. We hear that the gunmen are not murderers. They're rebels, part of the resistance to a fascist regime in South America whose only demand is the release of political prisoners.

And so it follows, as the unbelievable follows wishful thinking, that captors and captives fall in love, enjoy soccer games and musical evenings with celebrated opera star Roxanne Coss (Julianne Moore channeling the voice of Renee Fleming).

Music is only one of the universal languages in this film, based on a bestseller by Ann Patchett. It's all very utopian, a bit of a fairy tale. And fairy tales have their place on the big screen. In the end this is one worthy of the Brothers Grimm.

White Boy Rick

Father & Son: Matthew McConaughey & Richie Merritt

The Movie Slut wanted to like White Boy Rick, the movie and the kid. It was based on a true story about a teen living in Detroit in the the 1980s at the height of the crack epidemic who becomes a drug dealer due to extenuating circumstances. The kid gets no breaks. A sleazy, oily Matthew McConaughey is his dad. His sister is a bug-eyed, sloppy junky. The hardhearted Feds use and abandon him.

But try as she might, the MS just couldn't care.

Maybe it was because the story got lost under an avalanche of drugsploitation. How many drug-infused parties attended by Neaderthalian lowlifes can you sit through before losing you patience and screaming at the big screen?

The MS will now say words rarely seen on her blog: Skip this flick.

A Simple Favor: Simple it's not

Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) and Emily (Blake Lively) are two suburban moms who bond over extra dry martinis in this delightfully diverting mystery/thriller/comedy, which also takes a nod to sociology by examining an unlikely 21st-century friendship.

Not only do cool chick and nerd gal click glasses in friendship, one is a working mom, the other stays at home.

And they said it couldn't be done.

But is this a friendship? Is Stephanie really a goody two shoes? And what's with Emily? As one character put it, and the Movie Slut paraphrases: Never did such a beautiful women want to be so invisible.

As the plot twists and turns in unlikely ways, it seems this flick might also be a soap opera satire. Still, it's the acting chops of Kendrick and Lively that elevates it to must-see status.

The Bookshop: For the love of reading

The seaside town of Hardborough, England appears to be an ideal spot to open a book store in 1959. At least that's what war widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) believed.

How wrong she was unfolds in this beautiful, melancholic movie, also starring Bill Nighy and Patricia Clarkson.

The dream was born before the war when Florence met her beloved husband while working at a book store, and after initial success with her shop, the dream was dashed.

Still, without giving anything away, the Movie Slut will say that Florence was not a failure. Her love of books and reading lived on. You'll have to see this lovely film to learn how.

Juliet, Naked: Dream team

The movie slut has been in love with Nick Hornby since 1998 when she read "About a Boy." And then there was the movie in 2002 starring Hugh Grant.

She's been an Ethan Hawke fan going way back to "Dead Poet's Society" in 1989.

Now, you can imagine how lit she was to hear of this film, based on a Hornby book and starring Hawke. So let's get right to the post mortem. This flick didn't live up to her lofty expectations, but it was not a full-fledged disappointment either.

The rom-com hinges on a girl, Annie (Rose Byrne), meeting a guy, Tucker (Hawke), a has-been musician and the obsession of Annie's live-in boyfriend. When it comes to meeting cute, it doesn't get more adorable than this. What unfolds, however, is less inspired.

As in "High Fidelity," Hornby's novel and subsequent movie, music enriches this flick.

The movie didn't live up to the Movie Slut's great expectations, however, it did leave her with an interesting message: While living a risky life can be dangerous, always playing it safe can be a bigger mistake.

Searching: every which a-way

Movie mavens familiar with the Taken flicks know the drill. Liam Neesom's daughter goes missing and he zooms around the globe to find her. Lots of car chases, gun battles, blood and gore.

In Searching, when David Kim's (John Cho) 16-year-old daughter disappears, he lets his computer mouse do the running. And if you think that sounds boring. It's anything but.

What makes this techno thriller work so well is the relationships and backstory that open the film. By the time Margot goes missing, the viewer is invested in her well-being and her father's deep love for her.

When the police detective on the case (and excellent and almost unrecognizable Debra Messing) gets nowhere, Dad turns to his daughter's laptop to follow her digital footprint.

The audience watching the movie with the Movie Slut couldn't contain their involvement, which leached out in gasps and moans, and filed out of the theater, eyes moist with tears.

The Wife: Or is it the good wife?

The Oscar buzz is deafening. Finally, after six nominations, Glenn Close is this close to taking home the gold statuette.

And well it might be.

But anyone hearing this chatter might think Glenn is great as the behind-the-scenes wife of a celebrated American novelist on the verge of becoming more celebrated, while the rest of the movie is feh. That would be wrong.

The Wife is a smart, engrossing film about marriage and not the cliche the Movie Slut expected. Like an E.M. Forster movie, society and era emerge as central characters. Joan and Joe (Jonathan Pryce) Castleman are very much of their time.

Based on a book by Meg Wolitzer, the action with the help of flashbacks, begins in the 1950s and unfolds over several decades. It's a feast for thought.

Operation Finale: A real life monster movie

It's not just the fedora. There's an old-fashioned feel to this historical thriller. And so it should be. It takes place in 1960.

It's the story of how a team of Israelis find, capture, and bring Adolf Eichmann to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) was hiding in Argentina, and had created a new life and family when the team, headed by Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaacs), apprehend him.

The movie doesn't rise to the level of other historical thrillers like Seven Days in Entebbe, about how the Israelis freed hostages of a hijacked plane in Uganda. It tries to be a bit more cerebral, taking us into the home and mind of the Nazi architect of the "final solution." And Isaacs doesn't quite pull off the role of a rogue—but right—Masada agent.

Still, whatever its weaknesses, the exquisite ended more than makes up for them.

Alpha: A move for the dog days

We all know who man and woman's best friend is. As they say in geometry, it's a given. But it wasn't always that way.

Once, dogs were wolves and our enemies. So what happened?

According to this prehistoric adventure film, we learn that a teenager separated from his tribe encountered a wounded wolf and the two helped each other brave the elements and return to safety.

The movie's realism will be tough for most children under ten and some older one's, too. Still, this flick has a lot going for it and it's conceivable the domestication of wolves began in circumstances not unlike what you see on the screen.

If you're looking for a doggie flick that's perfect for the whole family, read the previous review.