Only the Brave

Plot: Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) is the supervisor of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots who fight fires near Prescott Arizona and the rest of the west. Opening scene show him recruiting new firefighters and getting certified as Hot Shots. We follow the Hot Shots home and meet their wives including Amada Marsh (Jennifer Connelly). As the season progresses, we get fire fighter action scenes, and this leads to the ending twist.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Fire fighting movies have natural tension, and the fire scenes are the best in the film. Most of the movie is sleepy slow, and the dialog sucks.

I liked Miles Teller as the new guy, and Jennifer Connelly as Eric's wife. Jeff Bridges was laughable as the old guy fire chief.

The twist ending elevates the movie, and after it happens, I could see several of the other scenes were there to set it up. 

Cast: Josh Brolin, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Written by: Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer

The Music: There was a lot of silence and the music was low key strings and synthesizers. Kind of like the music at a wake.

The Visuals: The fire scenes were realistic. I hated the flaming bear. The bears was way cooler when Josh Brolin described it then when they actually showed it. I still don't understand what happened when the burning trees fell into the Grand Canyon. 

Rating: 1.5 stars: While parts deserved 2 stars, I am disgruntled as I write this. 

More: The real Granite Mountain Hot Shots

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Marshall

Plot: Rich Bridgeport (CT) native Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson) accuses her black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K Brown) of raping her and throwing her off a bridge afterward. NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) partners with local attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad) to defend Joseph. Thurgood and Sam investigate the case, and take it to court. The plot twists as evidence comes out and witnesses change their stories. The movie ends with a dramatic jury announcement.   [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Forget this is a biopic of a supreme court justice; Marshall is different than and more than that.

It is an underdog story overlaid with 1950's era racism plus an upstairs/downstairs relationship with a lonely woman and her manly driver.  It's got the young scrappy lawyer and his bumbling partner as underdogs against the evil district attorney and the stone-age judge.

With a winning story, and its historic setting in the early days of the civil rights movement, plus the excellent acting from everyone especially Sterling Brown, Chadwick Boseman and Josh Gad, this was interesting, entertaining and enjoyable.

Legal dramas have many conversations about evidence that could have been dull, but it wasn't. The script and the performances were always strong enough to keep the action flowing.  

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Sterling K Brown, Kate Hudson

Directed by: Reginald Hudlin

Written by: Michael and Jacob Koskoff

The Music: Slow jazz by Marcus Miller, with two old-fashioned soul songs by Andra Day. There were some great saxophone riffs, including in Marshall V. Friedman which is on the soundtrack.

The Visuals: I loved the jazz club scene; it was rich and stylish. There were a number of artsy tableaus. They did not skimp on the production value.

Rating: 4.0 stars: Good story, good acting, great looking art direction, good social message

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