Little Women: See it again for the first time

The March sisters: Emma Watson (Meg), Florence Pugh (Amy), Saoirse Ronan (Jo), Eliza Scalen (Beth).

It may be difficult to believe that the seventh (count them, 1917, 1918, 1933, 1949, 1994, 2018, 2019) film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's glorious 1868 novel comes to the big screen with all the amazing, heart-grabbing beauty of a brand new story.

Believe the Movie Slut when she says it does.

The story is as fresh, the characters as engaging, the plots as captivating, the emotion as intense as if the book they're based on is hot off the press. If anything, the plight of women for whom marriage is the only option and often an economic decision is more resonant today when women's inequality is a hot  topic.

Director/screenwriter Greta Gerwig deserves much of the credit for this marvel of a movie that will sweep you into the home and hearts of the little March women. If she doesn't win an Oscar, the Movie Slut will be apoplectic.

Bombshell: Incendiary

It's the summer of 2016. The MeToo movement is a cause of the future. But at FOX news, the veil is being lifted on sexual abuse and harassment. Gretchen Carlson, an on-air star, is charging Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of news, with these crimes. Will other women come forward?, her lawyers ask. Oh, yes, she says. But it's soon apparent that lifting the floodgate doesn't immediately release a torrent of accusers.

Much of the movie focuses on Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) FOX's sexy blonde superstar. It's obvious she has a story to tell. But will she risk toppling from her high perch to expose Ailes when, as Gretchen (Nicole Kidman) says, You don't sue your boss. Everyone knows that.

The movie also focuses on a third woman, Kayla (Margot Robbie), who's young, naive, and also an Ailes victim. She's a composite of some of the 23 women who eventually stepped up to bring Ailes (John Lithgow) down.

The Movie Slut saw Bombshell twice. Liked it the first time. Loved it the second.

Atlantics: A love story

Set in Senegal's coastal capital Dakar, the North Atlantic Ocean could be the protagonist of this Romeo-and-Juliet-style love story. The only reason it isn't is because the actors are so deeply compelling. In fact, so engaging, that this Netflix film stands up to any movie released this year.

Ada, the exquisite Mame Sane, and Souleiman (Ibrahima Traore) are young and in love, but their poverty and lack of opportunity make it impossible to sustain a relationship. He sets out by boat for Spain never to return...unless you happen to believe in the supernatural.

Think of "Ghost," the Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore tearjerker without the cheesy scenes.

Some will say this is a movie about economic disparity or immigration by necessity.

Not the Movie Slut. She sees this as a story about love so deep it transcends reality and  defies death.

Frankie: So bad it's good

The first time Marisa Tomei appears on screen in this chilly excuse for a movie, we see only the back of her head. She's talking, but we don't see her facial expressions. That caught the Movie Slut's attention. What was the director thinking?

We don't know, of course, but we do know that this devise was used throughout the film, making it his go-to shot.

We can only think that he thought the scenery, which was lovely (Portugal countryside), was the flick's strongest suit.

What was wrong with this movie? The Movie Slut had a good time counting the ways. Even the usually dazzling Isabelle Huppert couldn't lift it from its misery.

Riichard Jewell: A tarnished gem

Can one blemish mar an otherwise perfect jewel?

That's the question movie-goers have to decide regarding Clint Eastwood's new movie about the man suspected in the bombing at Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics.

Sadly, for the Movie Slut this flaw is too great to give the film a rave, and sadly, it's a totally unnecessary misstep. In his zeal to pinpoint a villain, Eastwood shows—and names—a real reporter trading sex for an FBI tip. No matter, that this is a fictitious plot point. And exacerbating this outrage, the named reporter died and is therefore unable to defend herself.

The Movie Slut is outraged!!!!! Especially since the heart of this movie is about the ruination of a  man who was wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Irony alert!

Eastwood should be ashamed of himself and sued into smithereens. He not only besmirched the memory of this reporter, but belittled his film and the sensational acting by Paul Walter Hauser (Jewell), Kathy Bates (his mother), Sam Rockwell, (his lawyer), Jon Hamm (the FBI agent), and Olivia Wilde (the maligned journalist Kathy Scruggs).

Honey Boy: No artificial sweetner here

The Movie Slut almost skipped this flick. Who wants to watch an abusive, alcoholic father inflicting damage to his son? But, well, the Movie Slut is the Movie Slut and it was $5.50 Tuesday. Now she's sure glad she went.

Honey Boy is the story of actor Shia LaBoeuf, who lived with his father in a fleabag hotel as his career as a child actor took off. LaBoeuf plays his father and wrote the screenplay, a beautifully restrained and poignant account of his struggles, as well as those of his father.

The movie spans about six year, with Noah Jupe as 12-year-old Shia, and Lucas Hedges as the 18-year-old, who winds up in rehab after one too many DUIs.

Honey Boy just might be the best movie you didn't want to see.

Marriage Story: Sad & True

Stay tuned for review

Queen and Slim: Thelma and Louise in color

If you still wonder why the black community cheered when OJ Simpson was acquitted, then you have to see this thoughtful and entertaining movie. It puts you in the shoes of two people of color who don't trust law enforcement (for good reason) or the justice system (for good reason, too).

They were on a first date that went terribly bad, and although she admits a second date was not in their future, well, let's just say they wind up spending the rest of their lives together.

The Movie Slut was wowed by this flick. See if you are, too.

Dark Waters: The Truth About Teflon

Imagine Erin Brokovitch without cleavage. Imagine she's Mark Ruffalo and she has a law degree.
Now you have a pretty good idea what Dark Waters is about.

You've got your greedy corporation that puts $ above lives. You have your tenacious truth-finder determined to bring them to justice.

You've got the odds all stacked against him, David & Goliath-like.

So the story is predictable. Who cares. When Ruffalo is on screen, you have to believe.

The Movie Slut did and she encourages you to test these dark waters.

The Irishman: 210 minutes with the mob

Who's the real Irishman? Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) or Frank Sheeran, (Robert De Niro)?

The critics are piling on the accolades.

Director Martin Scorsese is a genius, they say. De Niro is incomparable.

While the Movie Slut agrees, she still found this flick a dud.

Problem No. 1: When it opens Frank Sheeran (DeNiro) is a young truck driver. Trouble is, De Niro is in his mid-70s and no effort was made to whittle off the years. And then, De Niro an Irishman?

So now MS is confused. She thinks the Irishman must be Jimmy Hoffa when he turns up nearly an hour into this three and a half hour slog. But no, the Irishman of the title is not the Teamster boss. Strange as it seems, it is Sheeran.

Meanwhile Sheeran moves up the wiseguy ladder— becomes a hit man. Which brings us to Problem No. 2. We're to believe he learned the fine art of offing folks without guilt while serving in World War II.

Turns out Sheeran was a real character but chances are he was far less charismatic than Robert DeNiro, our antihero.

MS does have one positive thought regarding The Irishman. Hopefully it will be the last Mob movie. She can't be the only one who's had it with these hooligans.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Maybe you've already seen the documentary, "Won't you be my Neighbor," and think you've had enough Mr. Rogers to last for a lifetime.

Well, think again.

"It's a Beautiful Day," starring Tom Hanks, is not another Rogers doc. It's based on a touching real story about Esquire journalist Tom Junod's relationship with the saintly children's TV star. It began when Junod, known for his hard-hitting profiles, was assigned to write a feature on Rogers. A troubled and cynical young man, he expected (and hoped) to uncover some dark truths about the man who some called the "child whisperer."

As loyal readers know, the Movie Slut won't give away any more of the plot. She will say, however, that you should find some more room in your life for another Mr. Rogers' flick.

Knives Out: More fun than popping bubble wrap

A creepy old mansion.
A dead body.
An assortment of relatives with motives and opportunities.
A supercilious detective.
More twists and turns than an alpine pass.
Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer.

If you need another reason to see this Agatha Christie meets Frank Columbo murder mystery the Movie Slut will give you this. Finally, a play fair whodunnit hits the multiplex, which means it actually all adds up before the closing credits  roll.

The Good Liar: Not good enough

Even the dream team of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen couldn't make a winner of this mediocre battle-of-the-sexes movie.

Gal meets guy on an Internet dating site so a bit of obfuscation is expected on both their parts. Soon it becomes apparent that he's not at all what he presents to her. And what about her? Are we to believe she's a gullible, vulnerable widow? Of course not. But what is she?

To the movie's credit, the truth is revealed at the end. Too bad some clues weren't sprinkled throughout the film that would have elicited an Aha moment. Instead the tacked on ending made the Movie Slut scream " No fair."

Still The Good Liar, isn't all bad. It does have Mirren and McKellen. Enough reason to buy a ticket, especially on $6 Tuesday.

Ford v Ferrari: Where's the Vroom?

The Movie Slut tried. She wanted to love this flick about a lowly American car company building a race car to beat the highfalutin Italian sports car manufacturer. Who doesn't love an underdog?

She wanted  to gush about Matt Damon's performance as Carroll Shelby, the race car driver-turned-automotive-designer and Christian Bale as the hot-headed, rogue race car driver— the duo that defied all odds to win at Le Mans in 1966.

Alas. That was not to be.

Sure it was a box office success and critics raved as if it were Citizen Kane meets Casablanca. And yes, you should see it. After all, the MS stands alone in her condemnation. Still she saw the movie as nothing more than a paint-by-numbers flick, replete with a cute kid, obnoxious villain, predictable setbacks, and some offensive Italian bashing for bad measure.

MS wishes she could say the flick lost her when Henry Ford II called Enzo Ferrari a "greasy" W-word. (Rhymes with hop on pop). But it lost her long before that.

Parasite: Meet the Haves & Have-Nots

You might think of this flick as Upstairs Downstairs: the South Korean edition.

The Kims, a wealthy, clueless family are the upstairs denizens. They live in an exquisite, spacious home surrounded by sumptuous gardens. The Parks, who occupy a basement apartment with an assortment of creepy crawly things, have mastered the fine art of the con.

Lest you need reminding of the hazards of extreme wealth inequality, remember 1789 and 1917, the French and Russian Revolutions, respectively. What happen in this film... well, the Movie Slut never gives it away.

At times hilarious, at times frightening, this movie is unlike any the MS has seen before. She wonders what Charles Dickens, an author who took on wealth disparity, would make of it. His rich folks are always greedy, evil characters, while the poor are hapless innocents.

Parasite, which begs the question "who's living off of whom?" turns all that on its head.

Motherless Brooklyn: A masterpiece

Four cheers for Edward Norton. He stars in, directed, produced, and adapted (from the eponymous novel) this gem of a flick. It takes place in the 1950s. Norton is Lionel Essrog, a gumshoe with issues. He has Tourette's Syndrome, a condition that compels him to make embarrassing noises and gestures. It restricts his life and impedes his work.

But when his friend, mentor, and boss is murdered, Lionel lets nothing stop him from tracking down and exposing the killer.

How much did the Movie Slut love this movie?
Let's just say she can't wait to see it again. And again. And again.

Pain and Glory: More glory than pain

Disclaimer: Pedro Almodovar is the Movie Slut's fave filmmaker. He had her at Women on the Verge, 1988, and High Heels, 1991. You might call him the Spanish Woody Allen. Or not.

In his latest film, Almodovar departs from his usual subject—women—to focus on a man. Salvador Mallo (Antonio Baneras) is an aging and infirm film director, looking back on his life and ahead to...? We learn of his triumphs and regrets, his great love and foolish mistakes.

As always Almodovar's characters are rich, his settings brilliant and beautiful, his actors, top notch. Penelope Cruz pays Mallo's mother  in flashbacks. 

There's little doubt that autobiographical elements pervade this new Almodovar masterpiece.

Jojo Rabbit: A hopin' good tale

The absurdity of war. The horrors of war. The inanity and hazards of hateful ideologies.

It's all here in this quirky flick about an 11-year-old boy (Jojo) living in Nazi Germany whose imaginary friend is none other than the fuhrer himself.

We soon learn that it's only the naive and unworldly, like Jojo, who believe the fuhrer is playing with a full deck. Certainly not his mother, a wonderfully quirky Scarlett Johansson, or the Nazi in charge of Jojo's indoctrination camp, a terrifically quirky Sam Rockwell.

The plot thickens when Jojo learns that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic and Jojo realizes the stereotypes about Jews are a load of bunk.

The Movie Slut loved this flick, but if quirky doesn't leave you perky, you should skip this one.

Western Stars: The boss is at the multiplex

Bruce (one name will suffice) is an American treasure. Even the Movie Slut who likes her music more edgy, admits that. So why did he compromise himself with this infomercial of a flick?

Western Stars is little more than a filming of his latest album of the same name. It's interspersed with tantalizing tidbits about Springsteen's demons and challenges, which we're told are fleshed out in his memoir, Born to Run. Does that make the movie a double infomercial?

Having said that, the music is fine and the boss is engaging. If you're a fan, by all means, see it.

The Laundromat: Dishes the Dirt

Last year Netflix brought us The Panama Papers, a documentary that revealed how the super wealthy avoid paying taxes on their millions and billions. Journalists around the world worked on the expose that brought down prominent figures, including British Prime Minister David Cameron.

But what about the little people? How does this money laundering hurt them?

That's what The Laundromat sets out to reveal. Alas, without much success. We meet Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep) a window cheated out of insurance money because her policy was with a company that didn't exist. She sets out to discover what the heck is going on.

Promising? Yes. Too bad this flick doesn't deliver on its promise.

The dramady, with a stellar cast that includes Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Sharon Stone, and David Schwimmer, can be seen in theaters and on the steaming channel.

 But don't bother.

It doesn't demystify the money-laundering schemes, nor does the arch, "comic" tone garner any sympathy for Ellen and the other losers. But, hey, if you think folks being robbed by greedy rich people is funny, by all means see this film.

Downton Abbey: Welcome to the Flufferthon

The Movie Slut is drowning in noblesse oblige.

Not only do we have the Duke and Duchess whose lives are devoted to their serving staff. But now the wise and caring King and Queen have come to visit!

It's 1927 and the castle is aflutter.

Like a pretty butterfly, this film, which follows the PBS series, flits from character to character and mini-plot to mini-plot, landing on each for mere seconds.

Shallow it is.
Shallow and sublime.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice

It's been a year of music docs. David Cosby, Elton John, Bob Dylan, to name just a few artists whose stories have come to the big screen. Maybe, like the Movie Slut, you think you've reached your saturation point.

Well, think again. MS is sure glad she did. This doc is rich with the music that brought Ronstadt ten Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, an Emmy, and an ALMA. But that's not all. How can you not love a doc with talking heads like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne and Aaron Neville.

Ronstadt was a female pioneer in the male-dominated field of rock music. And a died-in-the-wool feminist, by deed, rather than words. As her awards indicate, she was also a star in the country music genre, light opera, and Mexican music.

Although she no longer sings, Ronstadt narrates parts of the film that reveals she's much more than a pretty face and a beautiful voice.

Judy: She's got rhythm

The Movie Slut has one word for this Judy Garland biopic starring Renee Zellweger.

But of course, she'll say more.

She'll say Zellweger is Judy.

She'll say the script, which includes flashbacks that informs viewers of the singer's early life, are interspersed judiciously.

She'll say the pacing is perfect, the singing (Zellweger) is authentic, and the story unfolds intelligently and emotionally. (If you don't cry at the end, check to make sure you have a heart.)

And now for the word the Movie Slut promised up top.

Oscar!

Hustlers: Have pole will dance

Jennifer Lopez is a pole dancer turned business woman in Hustlers.

The battle of the sexes never looked as raunchy as in this flick about pole dancers who challenge the system.

Here's how it all goes down. It seems the dancers were doing just fine,  thank you very much, until that pesky 2008 recession kept their clients at home. With children to feed (Yes these are  responsible young women) they devise a business plan that rakes in the bucks. Too bad it involves some, er, shady activities.

Based on a story in New York magazine, our polers with hearts of gold... well, you'll have to read the 2015 article or see the movie to find out what happened. Like the gals in this film, The Movie Slut doesn't give it all away. However, she will go out on a limb and say that Lopez could garner an Oscar nomination for her performance.

After the Wedding: Forget the honeymoon

Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams

Q: When is a movie like a favorite old sweater?
A: When it's riddled with holes but still pleases you.

After the Wedding is one of those twisty, turny movies that manages to squirm away from you just as you think you have a hold of it. In the end, it did come together to the Movie Slut's satisfaction. While not entirely believable, it makes sense in an as-it-aught-to-be kind of way.

To the Movie Slut's annoyance, all the little holes that necessitated dispensing with disbelief could have been mended with a few small patches. Alas, it was not to be. Which brings us to a second question.

Q. How is a movie like an arrogant boyfriend?
A. They both think they can get away with anything as long as they show up in the end with a bouquet of flowers. 

Official Secrets: A Whistleblower's Tale

Official Secrets may not be the best film of 2019. But it may be the most important.

At a time when corruption, greed, self-interest, deceit, obfuscation and vulgarity seem to be the rule, we need to remember that honest, decent, moral, ethic people are still among us.

Katharine Gun is one of these individuals. In 2003, she was a British intelligence specialist who received an official memo from the US directing Britain to join in an illegal plot to enlist UN countries to vote for the war in Iraq.

Outraged at the deception and aware of the lives that would be lost, Gun blows the whistle on this scheme. As we know, it didn't stop the war. But it did get Gun arrested for breaking the Official Secrets Act.

The movie is part political thriller, part newspaper story, part courtroom drama. It doesn't use sensationalist or gimmicky measures to intrigue the audience, still the Movie Slut was riveted throughout.

Kudos to Keira Knightley for portraying Gun as the larger-than-life woman she is.

Ad Astra: To the stars

Hamlet isn't the only one with daddy issues. Meet Major Roy Mcbride (Brad Pitt). Like his father, he's a highly respected astronaut. When we meet him, he's about to embark on the mission of his life.

It seems dad disappeared on Neptune (of all places) years ago. Now Major Roy has been enlisted to convince dad (Tommy Lee Jones) to come down to Earth. But wait!! Is Roy actually being used to draw his father out for more nefarious reasons?

Roy's space odyssey is only one half of this story. The other, more Hamletesque part, is his internal struggle. The ferocious battle between love and hate of a parent who abandoned him.

Pitt does a powerful job of almost making this film seem profound. Alas, it's a feat far, far beyond human grasp. As impossible, at least for now, as his voyage to Neptune.

If there's an Oscar category for best performance in a crap movie, Pitt's a shoe-in.

The Goldfinch: Soars on screen

Ansel Elgort as grown up Theo

Last night, the Movie Slut finally reached page 771 of The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Today, she saw the movie based on the book. It's only the second time in her movie-obsessed life that MS has liked a movie more than a book.

Clearly she was not on the Pulitzer committee.

It is almost a surprise that a neat plot and salient messages were buried under page after page of boozing and drugging, needless repetitions, and a throw-everything-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach. The movie seemed to peel away layers of cold-weather padding to reveal a chic little dress.

For those who refused to invest days of their lives to reading the tome, it tells the story of  13-year-old Theo Decker, who loses his mother in a terrorist bombing and how the tragedy informs the rest of his life. It's also the story of a 17th-century work of art that survived a fire that took the life of the painter and is now saved from another disaster four centuries later.

BTW, the other movie the MS liked more than the book is the 2009 film Up In The Air .

Where Did You Go, Bernadette: Not far enough

The Movie Slut has nothing against message movies. What she hates is a movie that hits her over the head with its message. Again. And Again. And again.

The message here is that creative folks who are deprived of creating are pretty obnoxious people.

And who better to play the part of such a deprived individual than Kate Blanchette overacting and overchanneling Katherine Hepburn.

This movie tries and fails to be funny. When her husband considers a bit of R & R at a psychiatric institute, she refers to it as the "loony bin." And we thought that term went out with the rotary phone.

Bernadette was an award-winning architect who became a stay-at-home mom—bored, unfulfilled, unchallenged. Instead of the inane antics we see on screen, Bernadette, who we're to believe is so intelligent, could have read "The Feminine Mystique" and learned she has "the problem with no name," which was given a name in 1963 when Betty Friedan wrote the book.

Blinding by the Light: Awed by the music

Summer 2019 may not be the summer of peace & love. But at the multiplex, it is the summer of music. "Blinded...," now in theaters, which is based on a true story of a Pakistani teen living in England who becomes a Bruce Springsteen uber-fan, is just the latest.

It follows Rocketman (Elton John) reviewed below; Yesterday, a fantasy involving the Beatles and lost memories; Echo in the Canyon, a doc about mid-60s rockers (The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield) who lived in Laurel Canyon, California; Rolling Thunder Review, Martin Scorsese's doc of a 1975 Bob Dylan tour: and David Crosby: Remember my name.

The Movie Slut loved them all. But back to "Blinded..." This exuberant flick has the good sense to depart from reality in the service of creativity. It includes musical song & dance numbers right out of an old-time Hollywood movie. Best of all, it shows how and why the Boss and his music, which could be called quintessentially American, appealed to this Pakistani kid living in Luton, England.

Luce: Did he or didn't he?

The first time we see Luce (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) he's a high school senior, handsome, smart, popular. He's delivering a speech with his Mom (Naomi Watts) and Dad (Tim Roth) beaming in the audience.

We soon learn that he was adopted at the age of seven. In his earlier years, he was a conscripted child soldier in Africa. The central question in this controversial and thought provoking film is simply this:  Can such a child be rehabilitated?

The movie zigs and zags between the answers to that question.

Enter Luce's high school teacher (Octavia Spencer.) She assigns an essay which Luce completes in a disturbing fashion. Now she's convinced he's not the teenager he appears to be. But, hey, she's got some heavy baggage of her own. Should we believe her?

Luce is a movie that delves into the thorny issue of race in America. Talk about thought provoking. At the same time it must be remembered that Luce is hardly a typical teenager, black or white.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

With Once upon a time Quentin Tarantino brings a fairy tale to the multiplex. He sets it in 1969, sprinkles it with with real people and real news stories, and saturates it with upbeat, bouncy '60s music.

The story involves two buddies (Brad Pitt & Leonardo DeCaprio) who fulfill their roles on and off the screen. A diva of an actor and his stunt double, who doubles as his cleanup guy and heavy lifter in real life.

Like many fairy tails, this one  has some grim, dark moments and some characters who mess
with our heroes.( Boo.) But Tarantino does not give us a Grimm's fair tale ending. Thank you very much, Quentin. 
 
The Movie Slut loved the ending. Sure it was alternative history. So were the endings in Inglorious Basterds when he killed off all the Nazis and in Django Unchained when he massacred the slave owners. The difference here is that he showed some restraint and maturity. While there are violent scenes in Once..., it's not an over-the-top gore-fest. 

Rocketman: It soars

The Movie Slut has been a Taron Egerton fan since 2014 when he starred in the first Kingsmen movie with Michael Caine. And she's loved Elton John's music since 1970 when "Your Song" hit the charts.

So did she love this movie? Do Crocodiles Rock?

That's not to say she didn't cringe at the hokey moments. And there were plenty of them. And, not being a lover of Broadway shows, she almost tolerated it when the production looked exactly like something on the Great White Way during high tourist season.

The fact that Rocketman is a winner is all about Egerton's sensational performance. (He sings. He dances. He acts and you feel his pain.) And the incredibly irresistible music.

Aladin: Where's the magic?

If the movie slut found a magic lamp which awarded her three wishes, she'd wish for a movie with some memorable music and one that didn't look like a Broadway tourist play unfurled on the big screen. Wish number three would be that she skipped this flick.

If that sounds harsh, maybe it is. Maybe MS went in with expectations that were too high. The story of Aladin and his magic lamp should be, well, magical. Sadly, the magic was missing.

Booksmart: Revenge of the geeks

Molly and Amy had it all figured out. Buckle down in high school, make top grades, get into an ivy league college, land a killer job.

Imagine their consternation when they discover that the "losers" and partyers were also accepted by top colleges.

Now, the night before graduation, they have to make up for the four years of fun they didn't have.

That's the set-up in this flick, which is comedienne Olivia Wilde's directorial debut. And it's a good one. Trouble is, the movie devolves into a typical crazy-teens-run-amok film. Drugs. Sex. And a little growing up. But not much.

There are genuinely smart and funny moments in Booksmart, but not enough of for the Movie Slut to elevate it beyond its genre.

Photograph: Smile. Don't say cheese

He's a street photographer at Mumbai's Gateway monument.

She's an accounting student from a middle-class family who's walking by.

That's how boy meets girl in this lovely love story.

If, like the Movie Slut, you're sick of boy-meets-girl-and-they-hop-into-bed stories, which have proliferated in recent years, this flick is for you.

Love grows slowly and steadily in this story. We meet Rafi and Miloni and gradually learn who they are in a deeper way than today's typical love stories allow.

Of course there are problems. It may be modern-day Mumbai, but class distinctions create barriers that are difficult to cross.

Can Miloni and Rafi cross the divide?

Poms: No Cheers

So,  you might think this is a comedy. Septuagenarian cheerleaders. Funny. Right?

Wrong.

That doesn't mean Diane Keaton isn't sparkling as Martha, a gal who moves to a retirement community and can't find a club to join until she starts one of her own. With pom-poms. The problem is she's come there to die. (No spoiler alert necessary since moviegoers learn this right from the get-go.)

Maybe the dying of cancer plot could be handled with humor. (Doubtful.) Still, advertising this as laugh at the multiplex is a stretch. It's like asking audiences to forget that Godzilla is a huge, hairy monster wreaking havoc on Tokyo

The White Crow: One giant leap for cinema

They called him White Crow because he was different. And it was these idiosyncrasies that made Rudolf Nureyev a ballet sensation. This new movie about the exquisite Russian dancer, directed exquisitely by Ralph Fiennes, will have you soaring in your seat.

You probably already know about his defection to the West in 1961. But that doesn't dampen the suspense in the final scenes when his handlers try all the tricks in the book to prevent him from defecting.

Still, it's the breathtaking dancing that elevates this flick beyond any other the Movie Slut has seen in months.

Bravo!

The Hustle: Skip it.

Do NOT see this movie!

Rebel Wilson may be tolerable in small doses, a secondary character in an ensemble cast. But as a star she doesn't shine.

DO NOT see this movie!

Instead, watch "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," one of the films it tries and fails to knock off.

DO NOT SEE this movie!

Unless you love comedies without laughs.

DO NOT SEE THIS movie!

Even the usually entertaining Anne Hathaway is a disappointment.

DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE!

Tolkien: Rings true

So here we have Nicolas Hoult as J.R.R. Tolkein, author of the insanely popular Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. His World War I experiences fed the fantasies he wrote.

And then we had Nicholas Hoult in "Rebel in the Rye" playing J.D. Salinger, author of the wildly popular "The Catcher in the Rye," whose World War II experiences shaped one of the most beloved and enduring fictional characters: Holden Caulfield.

And the similarities don't end there. Both flicks were panned by critics. And both were thoroughly enjoyed by the Movie Slut.

You don't have to be a Hobbit fancier to like this movie. It's about Tolkein's childhood, early adulthood, and the events that led him to write his fantastic fantasies.

Long Shot: A sure bet

So, you can't see Charlize Theron and Seth Rogan as an item? Throgan is just not doing it for you?

Well, see this flick and chances are you'll change your tune.

So what if he's a slovenly, plodding member of the Fourth Estate and she—one of the most powerful (and beautiful) women in the world—is about to launch a bid for the presidency.

We believe.

And the fact that we believe is a testament to the smart script and the top-notch acting skills of the two stars. The laughs are a bonus.

Avengers Endgame: Let's hope so

Hail, hail, the gangs all here. Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Captain America, Valkyrie, Spider Man, and a battalion of other Superheros, who show up for cameos at the end of this tiresome three-hour megaplex bore. There's a plot of sorts. It involves time travel, a Movie Slut favorite. But alas, even this usually inspired plot twist falls flatter than Captain America's shield.

Diehard fans of the Avenger flicks claim to love this movie. As for the rest of us, we're hoping it really is The End.

Penguins: Awwwwwwww!

Meet Steve. He's a five-year old Adelie penguin about to embark on his first mating season. As if that's not daunting enough, he lives in Antarctica, the most forbidding climate on Earth.

 Luckily, he can talk, or to be more accurate, has borrowed the voice of Ed Helms to tell us about his fascinating, frightening, fabulous adventure full of dangerous foes like killer whales and leopard seals. But it's all worth it when he meets the love of his life in Disneynature's latest contribution to our knowledge and understanding of our planet and its inhabitants.

The kids will love this flick. That's kids of all ages, including those well into the double digits, read grandma and gramps.

Amazing Grace: Aretha sings

After more than four decades, Aretha Franklin fans can finally see the concert she gave in 1972 at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Los Angeles. The two-night concert was well worth waiting for.

You won't hear "Respect," "I Say a Little Prayer," "A Natural Woman," or any of the hit songs she'd already made famous. This concert served as the recording for her album, "Amazing Grace," which became the best-selling gospel music album of all time.

Even if you're not a diehard gospel fan, you'll recognize some of the songs, including "You've Got A Friend," "My Sweet Lord," and, of course, her heart-stopping rendition of "Amazing Grace."

Missing Link: Find it. See it. Love it.

It's been a long time since the Movie Slut has given a flick a no-holds-barred RAVE. Now she can't contain her enthusiasm for this visually stunning and fun family film.

Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman's voice) is a stuffy British explorer at a time when stuffy British clubs were the place to hang out when not out searching for mythical creatures. To everyone's surprise—including his—he discovers Big Foot, a lonely missing link and consents to help find Mr. Link's long lost relatives.

An odyssey follows that takes Sir Lionel and Link to the Pacific North West, back to England, through India and on to the Himalayas. The Movie Slut is sure you'll want to tag along on their journey.

Little: It's no "Big"

When Regina Hall is on the screen in this disappointing flick, she elevates it to an acceptable level of entertainment. Alas, she's absent for most of the film about a bad boss who learns the errors of her ways when she's magically returned  to middle school and discovers there's more to life than making big bucks.

The Movie Slut was hoping for a funny, smart film that added something to a bevy of movies about bad bosses and repeat childhoods. But it was not to be. But don't take her word for it. Here are comments from her movie companions.

Sid, 8. "I think the movie was super-duper predictable. On a scale of one to ten, I give it a zero, and,"Sid added, piling on a bit, "it was too long."

Annie, 13. "Maybe if I hadn't seen "The Devil Wears Prada," "Freaky Friday," and "Big," I would have liked it, but I thought it was cliched."

Barbara S., aka Nana, "I thought that the characters were very shallow and it was very predictable."

As usual, the Movie Slut found redeeming value in one department: Wardrobe. All the characters were impeccably dressed in interesting fashion-forward styles. Too bad they weren't also given a quality script.

Shazam!: Super Fun

Finally, a superhero who doesn't take him or herself too seriously. Unless, of course, arch villains are on the scene.

Backstory: Fourteen-year-old Billy Batson is an orphan with a history of escaping foster homes. Flashbacks reenact the moment his mother disappeared about ten years earlier and his many attempts to find her. Instead, he finds himself transformed into a superhero with a multitude of powers. Still a fourteen year old at heart, he employs his talents with all the maturity of a middle school student.

Think Tom Hanks in Big if he could fly.

The Movie Slut isn't this flick's target audience. Still, she enjoyed the wild ride even if the prolonged flight scenes went on and on and on and...

The Mustang: Not a gallluping success

Based on a real prison program in which inmates train wild horses to be auctioned rather than euthanized, this decent film about a violent convict and his equally unruly mustang never reaches the emotional pitch it should have. At least that's the Movie Slut's opinion.

Roman Coleman has been locked up for twelve years when he's approached to enter the program. His hair-trigger temper sent him to the big house for attacking the mother of his child, who never recovered from her injuries. And that temper is on display when we first see him behind bars.

He meets his match with the seemingly untrainable horse, which surely could happen. It just seemed too pat and predictable for MS, who expected more fits and starts, sweat and tears. Still, if you're an equine-lover, by all means buy a tic for this flick.

Aftermath: Love amidst the ashes

A young British couple, Rachael and Lewis (Keira Knightly & Jason Clarke), arrive in war torn Hamburg after World War II. The husband is a British army captain charged with rebuilding the city. They are to live in a spacious, gracious home owned by Stefan (Alexander Skarsgard) a wealthy German who's to be dispatched to a camp. But the kindhearted captain allows the German and his daughter to remain in their home in separate living quarters.

The contrived plot moves on to send the colonel out of town, leaving the beautiful wife and the handsome German to put their animosities aside.

What appears to be a typical love triangle, however, is anything but. There are five sides to this relationship, including Stefan's wife and Rachel's young son, both of whom died in bombing raids.


Despite the heavy-handed maneuvering, Aftermath is a decent flick that captures time and place more gracefully than the you-saw-it-coming-from-a-mile-away love story.

Badla: The Game Is On

Sherlock would have loved to solve this mystery. A dead man in a room locked from the inside. His lover found at the scene with a head wound suffered in the altercation.

Whodunit?
And why?

That's what a lawyer, who turns up to interview the wounded, bereaved lover, sets out to discover. But nothing is as it seems in this intriguing and fun Hindi film.

It may not all add up in the end. It may demand more than a soupcon of suspended disbelief. But, hey, it's a hell of a ride and well worth the trip.