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Meryl Streep in “The Post” (20th Century Fox photo)
“The Post” (PG-13) – Exposure of a government cover-up is threatened when classified material gets leaked by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys). The New York Times is already under injunction for partially publishing these “Pentagon Papers.” Enter heiress and socialite Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep), inheritor of the powerful Washington Post. Its editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) is obsessed with scooping rival New York Times, and the pair come into possession of the leaked material. Stand up for freedom or toe the line? Publish or no? Director Steven Spielberg works his usual magic with a tension-filled subject – as the first female news publisher, Graham is under constant bombardment from strong male opinions, and agonizes over both her social conscience and her personal ties to some of the players involved. The incredible cast is absolutely stacked with talent, and it’s unsurprising that this low-key prequel to “All the President’s Men” garnered so many awards nominations and wins.
“The Commuter” (R) – Liam Neeson plays Michael, a former cop and insurance salesman who is caught in a deadly game on a train. He is approached by ne’er-do-well stranger Joanna (Vera Farmiga) and offered a deal: locate and place a tracker on a certain passenger. The reward is money; the threat is to his family. There are twist and turns, crosses and double crosses. This train is all over the place. It’s OK, and the action is enough for a chance rental when everything else in the box is taken. Neeson is, as ever, a master of the pressure play, and despite lackluster dialogue, I liked it.
“Humor Me” (NR) – Award-winning playwright Nate (Jemaine Clement) hits his nadir when his play tanks, he’s fired and his wife leaves him and takes their son off to live in Europe with her Richie-rich new boyfriend. With no money and nowhere to go, he’s left with one option: Go stay with dad Bob (Elliot Gould). Bob is a joke-snapping cutup whose seniors’ home is populated with colorful characters (Annie Potts, Willie Carpenter) who team up to help Nate regain his mojo and resolve some longstanding emotional issues. It’s actually really cute. Jemaine Clement has that long-suffering, completely defeated look down pat, and his journey back to life is heartwarming. Gould nails the dad-jokes confidence of a retirement community king.
“Honor Up” (R) – Hip-hop producer and business magnate Damon Dash directs, produces and stars as OG, a lieutenant in a drug family whose inner turmoil boils to the surface after an act of violence in Harlem. Dash is joined by rappers and actors Cam’ron, Murda Mook and more. The group does something bad, someone snitches and some other hard but honorable (in his own way) character steps in to “make things right.” There are cliches about racist cops, underhanded women, good girls and the street-code trope. Cousin Stacey Dash also is featured.
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(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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