Adventures in Words

Poster image via IMDB.com. Watch the trailers at  https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3055011353/?ref_=ext_shr_em   Many of them are large, middle-age men. But when they move they are lithe as gazelles on the African savannah. They come from the raw, dangerous streets of inner-city New York. But when they speak they sound like Royal Shakespeare Company players. They live locked up in Sing Sing, a maximum security facility on the Hudson River. Its name comes from   Sintsing,  the Native American tribe colonists bought the land from in 1648. Thirty miles upriver from the hustle-bustle of midtown Manhattan it's a tranquil, sylvan setting. The river laps the shore. Comforting railroad tracks bisect the sprawling prison yard, their safe passage secured by chain link and rolled razor wire. These jarring contrasts generate powerful electricity, making “Sing Sing” one of the most affecting movies you'll see this year. And one of the best. Colman Domingo delivers an unforgettable po...

                         Nicholas Hoult and Clint Eastwood making “Juror #2.  Warner Bros photo via IMDB.com Cinema's version of the Energizer Bunny, Clint Eastwood is still going strong. Warner Bros. is releasing “Juror #2” in time for awards season with his Malpaso Productions logo at the beginning and his “produced and directed by” credit at the end. From “Gran Turino” to “The Mule” to “Cry Macho,” Clint has spent decades directing himself in what felt like farewell roles. “Unforgiven,” with its three Oscars including best picture, would have been a fitting swan song to a monumental career … and that was a quarter-century and some 25 movies ago. In these unsettling times, it's reassuring to see that at 94 he's still at it. And has still got it. A poster boy for getting old right. Obviously “Juror # 2” is a courtroom drama but you're in a minefield of spoiler alerts trying to say much more about it.  ...

Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in “The Bikeriders.”   Kyle Kaplan/@Focus Features photo via IMDB “The Bikeriders” is a Roger Corman-style biker flick that got lost in time between its roots in the '60s and the revisionist now.  It's not the kind of movie that draws crowds to theaters, so the studio sent screeners to critics in the lead-up to awards season. They're hoping it might be a contender with previous Oscar nominees Austin Butler and Tom Hardy starring, along with a movie-stealing performance by Jodie Comer. Not likely. Freebies for critics will probably count for most of its audience. Based on Danny Lyon's photo book about Chicago's Vandals motorcycle gang, writer-director Jeff Nichols' adaptation arrives on the big screen with lots of  vroom-vroom  from   a parking lot's worth of meticulously preserved vehicles. Its characters have nicknames like Zipco, Brucie, Wahoo and Cockroach. The soundtrack is a do-wop jukebox treasure trove, and the period se...