Punctuated by a terrific performance by Diane Kruger, In the Fade is an unflinching and powerful film delving into the themes of love, loss, hatred, bigotry, and revenge. Kruger stars as Katja, a former drug addict who has put her past behind her and has a stable life in Hamburg with her husband and son… at least until a bombing at the shop kills Katja’s family. While the police look for motives tied to Katja or her husband’s murky past, it soon becomes clear that her Kurdish husband was targeted by Neo-Nazis for no other reason than the color of his skin.
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Writer/director Jared Moshe‘s The Ballad of Lefty Brown is a passable, if forgettable, western starring Bill Pullman as Lefty Brown, a screw-up who vows to avenge the death of his closest friend (Peter Fonda). Meanwhile others, including the man’s widow (Kathy Baker) are more than willing to believe the crime was committed by Brown himself despite the scarcity of evidence (or credible motive). The performances are solid, and the western vistas are pleasant to watch, so even if the journey doesn’t lead anywhere all that interesting it at least makes for a modest diversion.
The film follows the cowboy’s misadventures, eventually leading to him discovering the real reason his friend was murdered and seeking vengeance against one of the most powerful men in the territory. The idea of turning the dimwitted sidekick into the central character goes against the western template, but that’s really the only place The Ballad of Lefty Brown strays from the expected in a rather straightforward revenge tale.
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Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Jeff Bauman whose life changes in an instant when he loses his legs in the Boston Marathon bombing. Based on Bauman’s real experiences, the screenplay by John Pollono follows the man’s struggle to deal with his loss while an entire city embraces him as the symbol for “Boston Strong.”
Stronger spends a little more time on Bauman the screw-up and less on the man’s finding the strength to work through his accident (mostly shrunken down into a couple of montages) than expected. Post-accident, when the film focuses on Bauman’s struggle and that of his girlfriend (Tatiana Maslany) the film’s focus is clear, although the amount of side characters, including Miranda Richardson as Bauman’s mother and a host of friends and family (none of whom seem to understand what the man is going through, but are happy to cash in on his celebrity), aren’t nearly as strong or compelling.
[Lionsgate, Blu-ray $24.99 / DVD $19.98]
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Kathryn Bigelow‘s distressing and unflinching look into the Algiers Motel killings during Detroit’s 1967 12th Street Riot, is as masterful as it is hard to watch. It’s a brutal film to sit through as the director refuses to pull punches or tack on any kind of happy or hopeful ending. As a result the film struggled mightily at the box office despite being a critical success. There are obviously parallels between the story we see unfold and recent events, such as those in Ferguson, Missouri. In 50 years we may not have come as far as we had hoped.
Screenwriter Mark Boal pieced together the script from written accounts and interviews with survivors. Algee Smith leads an exceptional cast as one of many held captive at gunpoint, threatened, beaten, and subject to psychological torture by racist police officers (Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, and Ben O’Toole) and members of the National Guard in the Algiers Motel. The longer the police stay, looking for a shooter that doesn’t exist, the deeper the hole they dig for themselves and potential witnesses to their actions.
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The fourth movie of the Despicable Me franchise is the weakest and most disappointing (and that’s from someone who enjoyed Minions!). Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio go through the motions putting Gru (Steve Carell) back in the life of crime (but not really) with the twin brother he never knew (and who is even a worse villain than Dru).
Other than Minions, this is the first of the franchise that doesn’t put Gru’s relationship with his three adopted daughters front-and-center. Instead, the girls are thrown into a subplot involving Lucy (Kristen Wiig) struggling with her new role as a mother. As to the franchise lovable henchmen, the Minions meander around for much of the script in their own subplot which never goes anywhere all that interesting.
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The Third Season of Rick and Morty picks up with Rick‘s (Justin Roiland) war against the Galactic Government in an episode that features body switching, Rick’s loss of the ability to improv, and lots of dead government officials. Rick’s victory and return to Earth sets things back to normal (or as normal as things get for a show where one character turns himself into a pickle to get out of family therapy).
Battle of the Sexes works as a kind of CliffsNotes version of events leading up to the 
