Selma

Finally, a film chronicling the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. has come to the big screen and it's a good one.  Much like 2012's "Lincoln," "Selma" chooses to focus only on the most pivotal months of its subject's life instead of being a full life story biopic and it's all the better for it.  Also like "Lincoln" the title character is portrayed by a Brit (David Oyelowo) who absolutely nails it.  From the look to the mannerisms to the fire of his speeches, Oyelowo embodies the man and turns in one of the best performances in years.  Director Ava Duvernay is pretty unflinching the majority of the time, showing the brutality of the events in and around Selma with gut-wrenching realism and heart.  Unfortunately, the film does fall into some TV movie-like melodrama at times and you can't help but feel like the events in the story are being portrayed through too much of a modern partisan lens.  Those complaints aside, this is the best film about the civil rights movement we've seen and it definitely gets our recommendation.

Bryce ***
Chase ***
Landon ***
Logan ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

The Imitation Game

Alan Turing was inarguably the most unsung contributor to the success of the allies in World War II, and this film does justice to what he accomplished.  Director Morten Tyldum knows how to put a good narrative on screen in this latest war-biopic "The Imitation Game."  It's a great story and one that's engaging throughout.  Benedict Cumberbatch is a revelation here, giving one of the best performances of the year.  He's fantastic and really captures Turing's awkward yet intriguing character.  The movie does a great job of capitalizing how frustrating it must have been to work with him and then transitioning to the realization of how much of a genius he really is.  The only misstep the plot takes is shoe-horning a social message concerning homosexuality at the end of the film.  Even though it's a good message, it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the film.  This is a very good film however and deserves to be seen by just about everyone.

Bryce ***
Chase ***
Landon ***
Logan ***1/2

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

The Fault in Our Stars

On the surface, "The Fault in Our Stars" checks every box in the Nicholas Sparks list of tragic young romance conventions.  But novelist John Green and the film's director Josh Boone try their darndest to transcend those conventions with a deeper, more thoughtful take on young people falling in love amidst personal tragedy.  And while it doesn't quite escape the predictable trappings of the genre, the film does manage to be a good one.  The chemistry between the two leads (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort) is very good and effectively conjures up some legitimate emotion despite some of the more contrived elements of their romance.  Nothing earth-shattering here, but definitely one of the better films in its category.

Bryce ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***