"So here’s the challenge: Tell the story of a disturbing legacy of sexual violence systemically perpetrated by one man, but perpetuated by an industry that delivered potential victims to the door of his office almost daily. Any takers? Yeah… Hollywood moguls aren’t exactly leaping at the chance to examine such behavior off-screen, let alone on-screen. It’s why “Bombshell,” Jay Roach’s electrifyingly empathetic new film, feels so necessary and cathartic. Roach directs brilliant actors (Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie) as brilliant journalists who blew the whistle on Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), that special brand of psychopath who was not only their abuser but also responsible for their careers. With deft documentary-style camera work, Roach expertly unfurls the vipers nest of cult-like psychosis that permeates every floor of Fox News. His perfected technique of blending existing footage with stunning re-creations make a scene like Megyn Kelly (Theron) and Trump at the Republican Primary debate somehow more realistic than when it actually happened. But rather than leaning into satire, Roach weaves in enough humor and humanity that in some moments “Fox News” could be any office. It’s not a political film. It’s a film about women. Roach understands that workplace sexual assault is not about how you vote or what news channel you watch or even about sex. It’s about fear and power. Human emotions wielded in offices around the country every day. “Bombshell” is the result of a compassionate filmmaker who knew the responsibility of telling this tough but important story."

"Virtuosic camera movements and demonstrations of technical originality, while impressive, can often do just as much to pull the viewer out of the experience as into it. One becomes absorbed by the mechanics on display, rather than gripped by the characters and their fates. In the case of “1917,” however, it is exactly the virtuosity of the filmmaking that makes the movie so exceptionally gripping. All of the cinematic elements, from the unique visuals to the rousing score, come together to give the audience a monumental, visceral sense of participation in the protagonists’ mission. As a viewer, I am intensely bound to the characters throughout the film. Their story is a relentless, brutal and violent experience — we’re in the foxholes, in the mud, with the corpses in the waterholes, running across rotting horse carcasses ­— and it all feels so real that you can smell the dead horses and burning houses. But amidst all the violence, there are small moments of kindness that moved me more than anything; moments that encapsulate humanity at its finest. The two soldiers in “1917” are far from classical heroes. They are afraid, confused and insecure. But their innocence, their love and their willingness to do the right thing, make them the most touching heroes I’ve seen in a long time. Watching “1917” is a weirdly humbling experience not because of its incredibly cinematic qualities, but because its portrayal of human dignity is so profound and moving. It keeps playing in the back of one’s mind, long after the projector turns off."