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Education, tax reform and air quality were focal points of Herbert’s State of the State address.
In keeping with the highfalutin pomp that tradition requires, Gov. Gary Herbert’s Wednesday night State of the State address was a relentlessly positive assessment of Utah’s vitals and the challenges lawmakers face as they embark on the state’s 63rd legislative session. “The polarization and dysfunction in Washington, D.C., have had a direct material impact on our state,” Herbert said.
The Report, Cold Case Hammerskjold, Official Secrets, Light from Light and more
The Report (Premieres) ***
An elegantly-made information dump is still an information dump, and that is indeed what writer/director/longtime Steven Soderbergh collaborator Scott Z. Burns offers in his paper-chase political thriller surrounding the investigation into the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques. Adam Driver plays Dan Jones, a staffer for the Senate Intelligence Committee who heads up a task force trying to get to the bottom of why the CIA tortured prisoners, and what if anything was gained.
By Scott Renshaw, Victor Morton and Steven D. Greydanus
Jan 31, 2019 8:52 am
Fringe gambling bill gets initial approval from Legislature.
Steven Wuthrich, an assistant attorney general, told the committee his office was able to remove 445 machines from the state and two businesses were closed as a result of their investigation.
Big Time Adolescence, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Before You Know It and more
Big Time Adolescence (U.S. Dramatic) ***
Hypotheticallly speaking, if this movie consisted solely of 90 minutes of Pete Davidson smiling goofily at the world and describing everything as “sick,” it might still be hella-fun to watch. It turns out to be more than that, following the friendship between 16-year-old high-school student Mo (Griffin Glick) and his unlikely best friend: 23-year-old Zeke, the pot-smoking, layabout ex-boyfriend of Mo's sister.
By Scott Renshaw, Victor Morton and Steven D. Greydanus
Jan 30, 2019 9:18 am
Knock Down the House, Little Monsters, Them That Follow, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and more
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (Premieres) *1/2
Charismatic psycho killers are a well-established type in Hollywood mythology, but while Ted Bundy was the real deal, Joe Berlinger’s true-crimes thriller embraces the Hollywood myth. Zac Efron gives a committed performance, not as Bundy exactly, but as Bundy’s public face at its most presentable: the smooth charm and magnetism Ted turns on for single-mom Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins), with whom he becomes involved, and others from potential victims to authorities.
By Scott Renshaw, Victor Morton and Steven D. Greydanus
Jan 29, 2019 6:42 am
The Wolf Hour, The Hole in the Ground, Hala, The Farewell and more
The Wolf Hour (NEXT) **1/2
If you want to see Chekhov’s gun rule violated, the Son of Sam (or is it?) not kill someone, a novel get written in a week, a chain-smoking Naomi Watts and the 1977 New York City blackout as the third-act instigator—here is your movie.
By Scott Renshaw, Victor Morton and Steven D. Greydanus
Jan 28, 2019 6:42 am
Late Night, The Nightingale, The Lodge, Dirty God, The Sound of Silence and more
Late Night (Premieres) ***
It would be the height of un-self-awareness for a white dude writer to suggest that the main thing holding back Mindy Kaling's crowd-pleaser of a script is going too easy on the stacked deck in favor of white dude writers, but, well … yeah. She plays Molly Patel, an inexperienced would-be comedy writer who lands her first gig as an openly-stated “diversity hire” for a long-lived late-night talk show hosted by Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson).
