Larry H Movie Reviews | The Post; The Disaster Artist; Molly's Game

The Post; The Disaster Artist; Molly's Game

Released: December 10, 2017

Trouble comes in three’s; and so does good stuff. Sometimes. And I had one of those good times on a recent Saturday when I watched three movies: The Post, The Disaster Artist, and Molly’s Game.

This is the “award season” and the studios are providing screener DVD’s to film critics to promote their movies. This is a fun time for members of the Houston Film Critics Society as the movies are rolling in daily via mail, UPS, and FedEx.

Two of these three movies are based on “true stories” – “The Post” starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks as the publisher and editor of the famous Washington newspaper during the Nixon years when there was a major legal battle forcing the possibly illegal decision to publish or not to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers.

The second film based on a true story was about a young Olympic-Class skier who was hurt in a career-ending accident and struggling financially who took the unusual career choice of running a high-stakes poker game. What beautiful young woman wouldn’t want to host a fifty thousand dollar buy-in game of cards. Texas Hold Em, and let the chips and craziness fall. Jessica Chastain is on my short list for Best Actress for her portrayal of Molly Bloom.

And did I mention that “The Post” was directed by Steven “Jaws” Spielberg. I refer to the shark movie because much of Spielberg’s genius in creating the exciting drama and crescendo suspense of the near-perfect “Jaws” is also very much part of the superb script and a compelling mix of a wonderful cast that includes Bob “Better Call Saul” Odenkirk as a investigative reporter.

“Molly’s Game” was directed and written by Aaron “West Wing” Sorkin and his fast-paced dialogue and clever repartee between characters is alive and well in this fascinating story about Sweet Molly playing with the big boys. Idris Elba is Molly’s lawyer, and we are, once again, reminded that Elba is not lucky; he’s good.

And then there’s “The Disaster Artist” directed by James Franco. There are some movies that cannot be accurately described in print; you just gotta see it to believe it. Franco stars as a budding actor who has an apparent heavy Eastern European accent who claims he’s from New Orleans. Director Franco also produced this movie with others including Seth Rogen so he had the power to hire his real-life younger brother, Dave Franco, to play the lead. I like a little nepotism.

Franco (James) dominates the movie, circa 1998, as a long-haired (think hippie) bizarre mystery man who lives in a one bedroom apartment with a roommate (Dave Franco) yet he has the wherewithal to finance the making of a fully-staffed Hollywood film. Is the film within the film a disaster? Go see this delightfully original movie and decide for yourself.

The experience of watching these three outstanding films in a span of about eight hours was a Red Letter Day for this film critic. I sit through enough clunkers to be grateful when the gems arrive. Rock ‘n Roll.

The Post – 92 The Disaster Artist – 92 Molly’s Game – 92.