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There are times when movies come almost uncomfortably close to real life experiences. This can be both a blessing and a curse. I've heard World War II vets have mixed feelings after watching Steven Spielberg's relentless portrayal of the D-Day storming of the beaches of Normandy. Many cried because it brought them back to a place that lives vividly in their own minds. Some were resentful for the pain they experienced. As an audience member who has never experienced anything close to battle, it was compelling and also fatiguing. It seems like director Anthony Maras took a page from Spielberg's book and made it into an entire movie. This time it cuts closer to home for a generation that was significantly changed by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. We live with those images, and it has changed the way we conduct our daily lives from flying in a plane to obtaining identification credentials that used to be matter of course. It doesn't help that these attacks, albeit on a much smaller scale, continue to happen throughout the world by an extremist sector of an otherwise peaceful religion. What might be worse than the fear is that we might be getting somewhat numb to these events. At least that's what I thought before I saw Hotel Mumbai and I realized there were still plenty of nerves to be rattled on the subject of terrorist attacks. If you're concerned that you might have become desensitized to the subject, just one viewing of Hotel Mumbai will answer that question in a resounding way.

So Dumbo was never one of my favorite Disney classics. In fact, when news initially broke about a live-action version being filmed, I wasn’t moved one way or the other. I figured I would end up seeing it for the sake of my daughter, but I figured it would just be something that I would have to endure. I speak these words with the full knowledge that I now have to eat them, as Dumbo has gone from one of my least favorite Disney films to one of my favorite movie experiences of the year. With an all-star cast that includes Colin Farrell, Eva Green, Danny Devito, and Michael Keaton, Dumbo is a fantastical and wholesome family experience that I will be taking my daughter to, but dragging her to it if she puts up a fight. Helmed by Tim Burton, Dumbo is the first of three live-action Disney movies expected this year, with the others being Aladdin and The Lion King. Of those three, I was expecting The Lion King to be the biggest audience draw, but as it stands, Dumbo has set the bar extremely high, and the other two have a lot of work to do if they expect to compete.

In comparison to the animated version, the two films are very different, as the original relied mainly on a cast of speaking animal characters with the exception of Dumbo, which remains a non-speaking role in the future adaptation. The 2019 film features a predominantly human cast, mainly focused on the Farrier family and the Medici circus. Holt Farrier (Farrell) returns home from World War I a war hero who lost a limb. Her wife has died of influenza before his return, leaving him to care for their two children, Milly and Joe (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins respectively). Eager to resume his life as a performer, he learns that his act, which used to headline the circus, has been cancelled, and the circus has fallen on destitute times. In need of a job, he takes the only position available, wrangling the elephants.

A very creepy, violent, and disturbing film, Us, enters theaters, and it’s probably going to be there for some time. Not only is the plot haunting and filled with terror, the acting that makes it work is superb under the guidance of Jordan Peele who gave us the film Get Out.  Adding more to the potentially Oscar-worthy film is the dank and fear-inducing cinematography with a soundtrack to match. If you like your horror nonstop, then Us is for you.

Young Adelaide (Madison Curry) is having a fun time at the seaside amusement park of Santa Cruz, California with her father and mother.  The night is getting her a bit weary, but she’s still hanging in there, as her father seems to be having the time of his life with the carnival games.  Before her mother seeks out a rest room, she tells her husband to keep an eye on Adelaide.  When he gets challenged by another guy in a game of Wack-a Mole, Adelaide wanders off and walks into a side show called Merlin’s Forrest.  Like in a house of mirrors, the maze gets her confused, but as luck would have it, she comes to a clearing where she meets a girl her age with her same likeness.

It’s Julianne Moore at her best, showing the great performer she is in a romantic comedy with heartbreak.  As Gloria Bell, she makes the lead role compelling and full of life giving her all and even more. It’s perfect for a date night, so grab your best guy or gal and check it out. And it has an explosion of a sound track that includes “Gloria” by Laura Branigan and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. A steady visitor to the night club scene, Gloria (Julianne Moore) dances away the hours with men she meets at the bar after a long day working at an insurance office.  Not a spring chicken and divorced, she has been an easy mark for any kind of romance as long as she can dance.  Her family has supported her, especially her mother who’s constantly in her life either on the cell or showing up for lunch. But her life is starting to be empty, that is until she meets Arnold (John Turturro), a free-spirited guy who asks her out.  From then on Gloria starts to blossom all over again, even showing him off to her ex-husband.

Director Sebastian Lelio takes a second look at the script he wrote and filmed in 2013 in Santiago, Chile, and casts English speaking actors for the roles with a setting in L.A.  It’s a chance however for Moore to shine in a vibrant role, and as Gloria she nails it, breathing life into the woman’s boring past. Lelio knows how to work his actors, and he puts Turturro through his paces as the guy who picks up Gloria and makes her a believer in him.