Cars 3 takes the loved four-wheeled franchise back to its racing roots. This time, Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the older racer looking for a new edge against the next generation. The rookies are all highly trained using the newest technology, statistical analysis and fancy simulators. After a devastating wreck in the first act, McQueen wants to make a comeback. And if he doesn’t, he’ll be forced into retirement.
When McQueen meets his new trainer, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), that phrase about old dogs and new tricks comes to mind. It’s fun to watch Cruz, a fan of McQueen’s since she was a child, work with him and try to ease him into new exercises, including hanging him upside down and making him name his tires. But McQueen needs to get his wheels dirty and soon he and Cruz set out across the American south to find the car who taught his mentor, Doc Hudson.
This is where McQueen and Cruz get back to the heart and roots of racing. They visit little southern towns where cars race on dirt tracks and make new friends that teach them the way Doc was taught. There’s even a bit calling back to the old moonshine runners that inspired NASCAR.
My favorite scene, and my son’s too, is when McQueen and Cruz accidentally enter a demolition derby. Not wanting to ruin his reputation, McQueen is in disguise. The track is a muddy figure eight, with banged up, souped up cars aiming straight for them. The car who steals the scene is Miss Fritter, an old school bus with flame-exhaust longhorns. She’s the town’s favorite and what she’s done with her stop sign made my kid yell, “Whoa!”
While all of the old fan favorites from the original film make an appearance most of those from the second film do not. In fact, the film does not acknowledge the events of 2 at all, and that’s just fine by me. Perhaps the creators agree that it was just a big mess.
However, I believe they more than make up for the bumbling sequel in 3. Under the guise of stock car racing, the storytellers have once again woven a wonderful story about personal growth, much like the original. The film is driven by McQueen’s drive and given a new heart with the introduction of Cruz. The story of mentor/mentee and how those relationships evolve over time is wonderfully done in a perfectly Pixar way. Cruz’s backstory is poignant and rings true for anyone who has dreamed, but been too intimidated to go for it.
As many know, Pixar’s Cars films are a favorite of one adorable demographic: boys between the ages of 2 and 6. So taking my three year old son to see Cars 3 was an extra special experience. Watching the newest Cars film next to my wiggling, energetic kid, with him giggling at Mater’s antics whispering his race car sounds was a nearly perfect experience. I highly recommend sharing this one with the little ones.
“You’ll never be the racer you once were. You can’t turn back the clock, kid, but you can wind it up, again.”
First off, let’s state the obvious. It’s refreshing to see a superhero movie with a woman in the spotlight and not on display for her body, but for her abilities. Sure, we’ve seen female superheroes before, but they’ve never had the opportunity a feature film like this. And if we look back at some (not all) of their past film roles, things look really sexist. Not so for Wonder Woman.
In Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman, Diana (Gal Gadot) is raised as the only child on an island of Amazonian women. The island life is peaceful, beautiful and idealistic, as are many people’s childhoods. Diana’s mother, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), is reluctant to train her to fight. All the women are fierce warriors and just as Diana becomes the fiercest, a man crash lands just off the island. Diana saves him and learns of a great war plaguing the world. She leaves to fight and bring peace to mankind again.
For a feminist film, Wonder Woman gets a lot right. Diana is both beautiful and strong, with her power often overshadowing her beauty. She wears her iconic suit, allowing her free movement, but not making her an object of male gaze. Unlike other superhero ladies, the visual emphasis is not focused on her butt or breasts and she is not adorned with an unrealistic amount of makeup. 
The film uses Diana’s girl power for some tasteful comedy. A few scenes between Steve and Diana bring some light sexual flirtation, but the line, “When it comes to procreation, men are essential, but for pleasure, not necessary.” puts Steve in his place. That’s as crass as it gets. There are no jokes about boobs, periods, mood swings or anything that really demeans women. I love it. I especially loved and identified with the scene where Steve’s secretary takes her shopping for an outfit more acceptable for 1910s London. If you don’t kick your legs up in the dressing room to see if your clothes can move with you, then you’re missing out.
Welcome to Oscar weekend! Tomorrow night all the glitz and glam of Hollywood will be on the Academy Awards red carpet strutting their stuff and taking home some trophies. 
La La Land 
Animated Feature
Original Score
Film Editing
Actress
Not since 1998, with Saving Private Ryan, has there been a gritty war film depicting the bravery and American heroics of WWII nominated for Best Picture. With Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson seems to bring the genre back for a new generation. Not for the blood-lust glory of a seasoned warrior, but to tell the story of a young medic who refused to carry a weapon. 
Private Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) was a young man from Virginia who volunteered to serve during WWII and due to his beliefs as a Seventh-Day Adventist he refused to carry a weapon or kill any enemies. This does not make him very popular during training, his superiors constantly calling him out on the matter. Doss is beaten by his bunk mates, has to fight being accused of insubordination and is even put on trial for refusing to carry a weapon. In the end, Doss is allowed to train as a medic and go into battle without a weapon. 
The beacon of light in the intense battle is Doss. Even after all the other able men have retreated back down Hacksaw Ridge, which is a sheer cliff with base camp below, Doss stays behind and looks for wounded men. He searched in the desolate, corpse and gore ridden battleground searching for men he can help. With each one he lowers them by rope down the ridge, one by one. It’s truly an amazing feat of bravery worthy of the Medal of Honor. 
To be honest, Hacksaw Ridge seems to be bringing up the rear in this year’s Oscar race. The training scenes had an archaic, out of date, boys-will-be-boys vibe. Some CGI moments were not at all convincing and distracting. And while a little violence can go a long way, but after a while, I was numb to yet another soldier with his legs blown off. 
Based on a true story, Lion shows us the story of a young boy who got lost in Calcutta, India in the mid 1980s and the journey of the boy twenty five years later searching for his lost past. 
In India, five year old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) has a mother, a little sister and a teenage brother, Guddu (Abhishek Bharate). They live together in a small room in a remote village. Saroo takes pride in helping Guddu with jobs to help the family, whether stealing coal off moving trains or carrying melons. But after being too tired to help Guddu one night, Saroo wakes up at a train station, lost. Looking for his brother, Saroo finds himself on a moving train and when it stops, he doesn’t realize that he is 1600 kilometers away from home. 
Saroo adjusts well to life in Australia, the same cannot be said for his adopted brother, Mantosh. When both boys were adopted, the parents got more than just the child, but their troubled pasts. Even when away from danger, they still know the fear and pain and Mantosh particularly struggles with it all well into adulthood. 
The cinematography throughout Lion is absolutely beautiful and connects both halves of the story spanning twenty-five years. In the first part of the film, the images show what a big, frightening world Saroo has gotten lost in. Later, as Saroo is trying to recall images from his past, we see how his present life is mirroring his past. An image of him walking down a narrow sidewalk cuts to an image of him as a little boy walking down a similar narrow path in India. Wading out into the ocean, he thinks of his mother in India looking for him down by the river as other boys swim. The visual parallels and connections are a stunning way to visually tell this story and make it worthy of the best cinematography Oscar nomination.
Moonlight chronicles the life of Chiron, a boy growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood. The film is broken up into three acts, featuring Chiron at different stages of his life. 
Act two, Chiron, shows our protagonist as a teen. Just like his Little self, Chiron is awkward, skinny and innocent, especially compared to the boys around him. They are now defiant young men that openly mock Chiron in class. One night while avoiding his strung out mom, Chiron begins a romantic relationship with the only boy who showed him much kindness, Kevin, who affectionately calls Chiron Black. But back at school, Kevin has a reputation to maintain and beats Chiron when egged on by the other boys. This seems to awaken Chiron into a hardened manhood that leads into Act three, entitled Black.
Manchester by the Sea is a powerful, emotional story of loss, grief, pain and family. When Lee (Casey Affleck) returns to his hometown after his brother’s death, he takes care of his nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and helps make arrangements. Lee is a loner, doesn’t care to interact with anyone and seems to just not care about anything. We think that he could deal with his brother’s death and taking care of Patrick better. Worse, there seems to be whispers following Lee as he gets things done around town. Later, we understand that awful past Lee left in this town.
Meanwhile, Patrick is a busy young man. He’s a hothead on the hockey team, is in a band, has two girlfriends and wants to keep his father’s boat that is about to break down. While Lee is a loner, Patrick is always surrounded by friends. It’s when he’s alone, that Patrick breaks down. The scene with meat falling out of the freezer is a raw and intense moment that really earned Hedges his Oscar nomination.
Manchester by the Sea is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and original screenplay. Kenneth Lonergan earned his first nomination for directing. Casey Affleck earned his second acting nomination, his first for lead actor. Young Lucas Hedges earned his first nomination for his supporting role. And Michelle Williams earned her fourth acting nomination for her small, but very powerful role as Lee’s ex wife.
