Novitiate

★★★½ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

In the early 1960's, the Roman Catholic Church, facing a changing world landscape, instituted a series of changes through the Second Vatican Council, commonly referred to as Vatican II. These changes included the ending of speaking in Latin during Mass, the acceptance of other religions, & the ability for the priest to directly face the congregation. However, not all of the changes were positive. The main negative was the downgrading of nuns in the Catholic Church to that of the congregation, a far cry below their previous status in the Catholic Church. These issues are still very controversial in the Catholic Church to this day, 50 years after Vatican II closed.

Novitiate, while not always great, provides a good & realistic snapshot into a Vatican II-era novitiate. Set in 1964, the film follows Cathleen Harris (played by Margaret Qualley), a 17-year-old girl at a Catholic school in Tennessee. Her father, Chuck (played by Chris Zylka), left when she was 7. She has decided to become a nun, much to the chagrin of her mother, Nora (played by Julianne Nicholson), a chain-smoking agnostic.

Cathleen enters a convent where she meets fellow postulates Evelyn (played by Morgan Saylor), Sissy (played by Maddie Hasson), Emily (played by Liana Liberato), Candace (played by Eline Powell), Charlotte (played by Chelsea Lopez), & Margaret (played by Ashley Bell). The postulates are helped in their endeavors by Sister Mary Grace (played by Dianna Agron), & led by the Reverend Mother Marie St. Clair (played by Melissa Leo). The Reverend Mother is strict, cruel, & extremely devoted to God.

The Reverend Mother is alarmed by the reforms of Vatican II, wanting the ways of the Church to stay the same, unlike Archbishop McCarthy (played by Denis O'Hare), who is open to the reforms. Meanwhile, the postulates, mainly Cathleen, start to release their repressed sexual urges towards one another, which Cathleen's are amplified when Sister Emanuel (played by Rebecca Dayan) arrives as a transfer nun. The sexual urges, combined with the Reverend Mother's cruel ways & Vatican II's reforms, will change the women forever.

The cast is superb. Qualley & Nicholson are excellent. But this film definitely belongs to Melissa Leo. Leo is absolutely horrifying & disturbing as the Reverend Mother. Her character has been considered by some as a female counterpart to J.K. Simmons's Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. I agree with this comparison, as Leo is just as terrifying as Simmons.

Maggie Betts's direction is good. Although her flaws as a debut feature film director are noticable, moreso in some of the scenes involving the sexual tension, her direction is overall good, & is a formidable start to her career as a feature film director.

Maggie Betts's screenplay is excellent. The characters, who could've been caricatures (especially Melissa Leo's character, who could've easily been just a loud but unterrifying character), are fully fleshed out here.

Kat Westergaard's cinematography is excellent. The dim lighting & the cool color tone match the cold & unforgiving atmosphere of the film, its characters, & its setting.

And Susan E. Morse's editing is good. The flaws in her editing are noticeable, especially in the pacing, but she keeps the film headed in a straight & unmeandering direction.

This is an overall good film. Although the direction & editing aren't the best, the performances, especially Melissa Leo's performance, are more than enough to elevate the film past those flaws.

Novitiate was seen by me at the Landmark Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, MI on Friday, November 24, 2017. It is in 2 theaters in the Detroit area: the Landmark Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, MI & the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, MI. Its runtime is 123 minutes, & it is rated R for language, some sexuality & nudity.

Last Flag Flying

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

The Vietnam War. The Iraq War. What do these 2 wars have in common? The majority of American people believe that the United States shouldn't have been involved in either of those wars, & because of our involvement, hundreds of thousands died that shouldn't have died, & millions more have suffered irreperable mental & physical damage that they shouldn't have suffered.

While I was not alive during the Vietnam War, I was alive during the Iraq War. I remember, even when I was 4, the news reports coming out of the war. And I honestly do believe our involvement there should've never happened.

Last Flag Flying, while being a perfect mix of comedy & drama, also raises questions of our involvement in both of those wars, how do we help the veterans of the wars, & how we deal with the grief of losing a loved one in war. Based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan, & set in December 2003, the film follows Larry "Doc" Shepherd (played by Steve Carell), a former Navy corpsman & Vietnam veteran living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He leaves his home & travels to Norfolk, Virginia to the bar of a Marine whom he served with in Vietnam, the foul-mouthed & cantankerous Sal Nealon (played by Bryan Cranston). Doc asks Sal to accompany him on the trip, to which Sal agrees, leaving the keys to his bar to the drunk guy asleep at the bar. They drive to a church, where thery discover another Marine they served with in Vietnam, Richard Mueller (played by Laurence Fishburne), now a pastor using a cane.

After going to Richard's house, Doc reveals his reason for the trip: earlier in the year, his wife died of breast cancer, & 2 days earlier, his son, Larry Jr., was killed in Iraq fighting heroically. His body will be transferred to Dover Air Force Base, where he will then be sent to Arlington National Cemetery to be buried. Richard is reluctant to join them at first, but he eventually agrees.

They head out to Dover, where they meet the strict Lt. Col. Willits (played by Yul Vazquez) & the young Lance Cpl. Charlie Washington (played by J. Quinton Johnson), who was with Larry when he died. Charlie reveals to Doc, Sal & Richard the truth about Larry Jr.'s death. Extremely disheartened & upset by the news, & also much to the chagrin of Lt. Col. Willits, Doc decides to not bury Larry Jr. at Arlington & decides to bury him next to his mother in Portsmouth, as he is sickened after being lied to by the military.

The 3 men, along with Charlie, leave by train to Portsmouth for Larry Jr.'s funeral & burial. But a haunting memory from their past leads Doc, Sal & Richard to take a detour & meet with the mother of a fellow Marine in Vietnam, Mrs. Hightower (played by Cicely Tyson). All of this raises questions about American values, the never-ending war machine, & above all, grief.

The cast is phenomenal. Steve Carell's performance is the finest of his career. Much like Casey Affleck's amazing performance last year in Manchester by the Sea, Carell is withdrawn at first, but begins to become more warm & even humorous as the film goes on. It is the best male performance of the year so far.

Cranston's performance is the finest of his film career so far. Cranston is a source of a lot of the amazing comic relief, & he uses his cantankerous attitude to amplify the humor. But he does reach back into drama, & he also does that extremely well here.

Fishburne's performance is one of the 3 best of his career, along with his performances in Boyz n the Hood & What's Love Got to Do with It. He is reserved at first, but as his long-controlled cantankerousness comes to the surface, his performance gets even better.

Richard Linklater's direction is excellent. Linklater, who is one of my favorite directors, has directed one of his best films yet, along with Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, & Boyhood. Like those films, his direction is subdued & steady, exhuming a calm & cool atmosphere.

And the screenplay by Richard Linklater & Darryl Ponicsan is perfect. Linklater, known for his humanistic dialogue & characters, has excellently adapted Ponicsan's novel & made the characters even more human & deals with heavy topics while focusing on the humorous side of life for the characters. And when the script brings the humor, it really brings the humor, as it made me laugh like only a few other films have made me laugh in a while.

This is one of the 5 best films of the year so far. It has 3 amazing actors at the top of their game, & a director & screenwriter still at the top of his game.

Last Flag Flying was seen by me at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills, MI on Friday, November 24, 2017. It is no longer in theaters in the Detroit area. Its runtime is 125 minutes, & it is rated R for language including some sexual references.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

½★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

One of the more offensive tropes in film is the commonly-used stereotype that autistic people have extreme savant-like abilities, with little to no emotion. In fact, only one in 10 autistic people have savant-like abilities, & some autistic people have more emotion than others.

Roman J. Israel, Esq., besides its offensive portrayal of an autistic character (albeit not specifically stated to be on the autism spectrum, but obviously meant to be on the autism spectrum), is a horribly directed, terribly written, & bizarrely edited mess. The film follows Roman J. Israel, Esq. (played by Denzel Washington), a Los Angeles lawyer who has been working behind-the-scenes while his partner has been winning cases. What Roman lacks in social skills, he makes up for with his wealth of legal knowledge. Also, Roman has been working for years on a 1,000 page class-action lawsuit that he says will change the legal system forever.

One day, his partner has a fatal heart attack, thrusting Roman into the front of the firm. Having basically worked for free his whole career, Roman discovers secrets the firm held from him, namely going against Roman's values of helping the marginalized. Also, the firm will be run & then closed down by George Pierce (played by Colin Farrell), a more successful hot-shot lawyer.

Roman also gets himself involved with Maya (played by Carmen Ejogo), a social justice advocate. As Roman starts to work for George, Roman finds himself going against his values. But one decision could ruin everything.

The cast is mediocre. Denzel Washington, who I'm surprised is actually being praised for this role, is terribly one-note & offensive towards people on the autism spectrum. However, Colin Farrell & Carmen Ejogo are both good in their smaller roles.

Dan Gilroy's direction is pitiful. Gilroy can't juggle any of the film's tonal shifts & his atmosphere is extremely muddled. This is very disappointing, as his previous film, Nightcrawler, was excellent.

Dan Gilroy's screenplay is also horrible. The characters are almost caricatures, & the script is terrible, as it tries to make a statement but fails miserably.

And the editing by John Gilroy is awful. The film is poorly paced, it doesn't know where it's going, & some scenes don't fit into the film at all. This is also disappointing, as his editing for Nightcrawler was excellent.

This is one of the 3 worst films of the year. It features a career-worst performance from Denzel Washington, poor direction, bad writing, & horrible editing. One reviewer called this "an unfunny episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm." I completely agree with that person.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Thursday, November 23, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 129 minutes, & it is rated PG-13 for language & some violence.

Justice League

★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

The DC Extended Universe has been very mediocre so far. Man of Steel was uninspiring, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was too long & overindulgent, & Suicide Squad was a complete & under mess. However, Wonder Woman was absolutely fantastic, & proved that the DC Extended Universe may have some life in it.

Now, they have finally brought some of our favorite DC heroes together for Justice League, a disappointing superhero film. The film follows Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman (played by Ben Affleck), who is trying to form a group of metahumans to protect the world after the death of Clark Kent, AKA Kal-El, AKA Superman (played by Henry Cavill). When Steppenwolf (played by Ciarán Hinds) & his army of Parademons come to steal the Mother Boxes, including the one from Themyscira, Queen Hippolyta (played by Connie Nielsen) warns her daughter, Diana, AKA Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot) of Steppenwolf's return. Diana then joins forces with Bruce to create a team.

Bruce goes to recruit Barry Allen, AKA Flash (played by Ezra Miller), who has superspeed, & Arthur Curry, AKA Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa), whose Atlantean makeup gives him unique aquatic abilities. Diana goes to recruit Victor Stone, AKA Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher), who has unique cybernetic abilities after being reconstructed through a Mother Box.

With the help of Commissioner James Gordon (played by J.K. Simmons) & Alfred Pennyworth (played by Jeremy Irons), the team gets closer & closer to finding Steppenwolf. But something big occurs, forcing Lois Lane (played by Amy Adams) & Martha Kent (played by Diane Lane) to get involved.

The cast is good. Affleck does a good job as Batman, & so does Henry Cavill as Superman. But Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, & especially Jason Momoa, are the real standouts here.

Zack Snyder's direction is bad. Although the lighter tone is a nice change of pace, it still doesn't work most of the time.

Chris Terrio & Joss Whedon's screenplay is mediocre. The dialogue is awful, & the characters (especially Steppenwolf) are so badly written.

Danny Elfman's score is great. Elfman, who is one of my favorite film composers, has done a great job here, especially his re-working of the original Batman theme.

And the visual effects are a mixed bag. Some parts of the effects really shine, while others, especially Henry Cavill's mustache removal, are really bad.

This is a unpleasant surprise. While it does have a few shining moments, the bad does sadly outweigh the good. It may be the second-best film in the DC Extended Universe, but that isn't saying much.

Justice League was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Tuesday, November 21, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 120 minutes, & it is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence & action.

Lady Bird

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

High school is the roughest 4 years you will ever go through in your life. From the first loves & other great moments, to the heartbreaks, fights, & mood swings, high school is an emotional rollercoaster. Besides this, outside of school, this is the time where you yearn to finally go away & get away from your hometown, & the time where you have so many fights with your parents about your life & your decisions. From 14-18, it's rough, especially as you get closer to college.

Lady Bird has captured this time in your life so perfectly. It has portrayed adolescence so honestly unlike any other film has in history. Set during the 2002-2003 school year, the film follows Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (played by Saoirse Ronan), a senior at a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California, AKA "The Midwest of California." She's brutally honest, & wants nothing more than to get out of her hometown & go to college on the East Coast, where culture is.

Lady Bird spends her days either confiding in her best friend, Julie Steffans (played by Beanie Feldstein), or quarreling with her mother, Marion (played by Laurie Metcalf), who is struggling to pay the bills after her husband, Larry (played by Tracy Letts), was fired from his job. She also fights with her older, adopted brother, Miguel (played by Jordan Rodrigues), who still lives with Lady Bird & their parents, along with his girlfriend, Shelly (played by Marielle Scott).

At school, Lady Bird & Julie end up getting parts in the school's production of Merrily We Roll Along, directed by the clinically depressed Father Leviatch (played by Stephen McKinley Henderson). This is where Lady Bird meets Danny O'Neill (played by Lucas Hedges), an absolutely too-perfect thespian. She becomes attracted to him, & also becomes attracted to Kyle Scheible (played by Timothée Chalamet), an anarchistic dirtbag who is the perfect representation of that one kid in your economics class who likes reading Kurt Vonnegut & hates economics in any way. Lady Bird also becomes friends with Jenna Walton (played by Odeya Rush), a preppy rich girl.

Still, Lady Bird wants nothing more to get out of Sacramento, as she applies to colleges on the East Coast behind her mother's back. But one meeting with Sister Sarah Joan (played by Lois Smith), the principal of the school, may just change Lady Bird's idea of Sacramento, & by extension, her relationships with her friends & family.

The cast is nothing short of spectacular. Saoirse (pronounced SER-sha) Ronan, my favorite actress, has never been better than she has been here. With that dark red-dyed hair & the acne, Ronan looks exactly like a normal teenager. And she brings so much energy & heart to the role that it's impossible to not be amazed by her performance.

Laurie Metcalf is also spectacular. She also brings a lot of emotion to the role, especially in one scene where your heart will absolutely break into a million pieces. And she has so much chemistry with Saoirse Ronan that it feels like you're watching an actual mother & daughter interacting with each other.

Tracy Letts is also spectacular. Letts, most known for his playwriting, has given his best performance yet. Letts portrays a non-confrontational attitude so perfectly.

Beanie Feldstein is an absolute scene-stealer. She manages to light up the screen every scene she's in & becomes a hilarious counterpart to Ronan. This is the breakout female role of the year, proving that she will definitely make a name for herself & not just be referred to as "Jonah Hill's little sister."

The rest of the cast, especially Lucas Hedges & Timothée Chalamet, is also spectacular, making such indelible impressions on the audience.

Greta Gerwig's direction is phenomenal. Gerwig, who has already made a name for herself as an amazing actress (& definitely one of my favorites, in films like Frances Ha, Mistress America & 20th Century Women), has gone behind the camera here for her solo directorial debut (she co-directed 2008's Nights & Weekends with Joe Swanberg). And it definitely doesn't feel like a debut. She directs the film with so much heart & tenacity that it feels like it's come from a seasoned veteran, not a debuting director.

Greta Gerwig's screenplay is a sheer work of art. Gerwig, who has also co-wrote Frances Ha & Mistress America with Noah Baumbach, has taken the atmosphere & style of those scripts & brought them here, & has elevated them to even greater heights. The dialogue feels so real, & the characters feel so relatable & real.

Sam Levy's cinematography is wondrous. From the many wide shots to the lighting to the color palette, Levy makes this film into a visual work of art as well.

Nick Houy's editing is excellent. It is perfectly paced, flowing flawlessly at a fast pace, & it knows where it's going for all 94 minutes.

And Jon Brion's score is amazing. The score is driven by guitars & pianos & clarinets, perfectly supplementing the emotions of the film.

This is, without a doubt, the best film I've ever seen. Every inch of it feels so true & honest & real, & I can't imagine a better film. Also, to the moms reading this, if you have a daughter in high school, take her to see this. Also, after you do see this, call your mom & tell her you love her. You probably will anyway after seeing this, but I'm just reminding you.

Lady Bird was seen by me at The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills, MI on Saturday, November 18, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 94 minutes, & it is rated R for language, sexual content, brief graphic nudity, & teen partying.

Wonder

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

Lately, most films based on young adult books have been, for the most part, absolute drivel, with not a single amount of good acting, direction, or screenwriting to be found anywhere.

So, obviously, because of this, I was very skeptical of Wonder, the film based of R.J. Palacio's 2012 novel of the same name. Even though it did have Stephen Chbosky, the writer & director of 2012's coming-of-age masterpiece The Perks of Being a Wallflower, co-writing & directing the film, I was still skeptical because of the possibility that it may be too emotionally manipulative.

But, after the surprising amount of critical praise, & the even-more-surprising amount of money made at the box office, I saw the film & was extremely surprised, as it extremely exceeded my expectations.

The film focuses on August "Auggie" Pullman (played by Jacob Tremblay), a 10-year-old boy. Auggie is like most 10-year-old boys, except for one thing: Auggie has mandibulofacial dystosis, an extremely rare facial deformity. Due to this, Auggie has been homeschooled for his school life. After careful consideration, his parents, Isabel (played by Julia Roberts) & Nate (played by Owen Wilson) have decided to enroll him at Beecher Prep in Manhattan for middle school, citing the fact that everyone will be new there. His older sister, Via (played by Izabela Vidovic), also assures Auggie of this.

Befoe the school year starts, the principal of Beecher Prep, Mr. Tushman (played by Mandy Patinkin), has 3 students show Auggie around the school. These 3 students are: Jack Will (played by Noah Jupe), who will become Auggie's best friend; Julian Albans (played by Bryce Gheisar), a stuck-up bully; & Charlotte Cody (played by Elle McKinnon), a self-absorbed kid bragging about her appearances in commercials.

As the school year goes on, Auggie makes more friends, including Summer (played by Millie Davis), & finds that people are just cruel for no reason, & Auggie tries to get through his first school year, with the help of his friends, family, & teachers, including his inspiring homeroom teacher, Mr. Browne (played by Daveed Diggs).

The cast is excellent. Jacob Tremblay continues to surprise me with every performance he does. He's given some great performances already, & he's only 11 years old. I expect him to only get better & better as he gets older. Julia Roberts & Owen Wilson are also amazing as Auggie's parents, which proves that Julia Roberts still has it, & that Owen Wilson can actually give great performances outside of Pixar films & films directed by Wes Anderson. Izabela Vidovic's performance is one of the best breakout performances of the year. And the rest of the child cast is amazing.

Stephen Chbosky's direction is superb. It's perfectly subdued, just like his direction for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, & that subdued approach is a great fit for this film.

The screenplay by Stephen Chbosky, Steve Conrad & Jack Thorne is amazing. They have adapted an excellent novel so faithfully, probably more faithfully than any novel in the past few years that I've read.

And the makeup & hairstyling is phenomenal. It makes Jacob Tremblay look completely unrecognizable as Auggie.

This is one of the best young adult novel film adaptations of the past decade. It remains completely faithful to the book, & it has some amazing performances.

Wonder was seen by me at the MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, MI on Saturday, November 18, 2017. It is in theaters everywhere. Its runtime is 113 minutes, & it is rated PG for thematic elements including bullying, & some mild language.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

★★★★★ - A Review by Cameron Kanachki

When we suffer the loss of someone close to us, we usually feel 2 emotions: sadness & anger. I'm perfectly sure that we've all felt either emotion after a loss. But how do we deal with those feelings? Do we express our emotions? Do we hold our feelings in? What do we do in this situation? And how do we pull through?

These questions are expressed so beautifully & also hilariously in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a masterpiece that is both the funniest film of the year & the most emotional film of the year. Set in the small town of Ebbing, Missouri, the film follows Mildred Hayes (played by Frances McDormand), a single divorced mother still reeling from the rape & murder of her daughter, Angela Hayes (played by Kathryn Newton), seven months prior. She is sad about the fact that her daughter is gone, & she is angry over words both said & unsaid, & that no one has been arrested as a suspect in the case. Her son, Robbie Hayes (played by Lucas Hedges) is even more depressed over Angela's death.

Angered with the lack of investigation into the case, Mildred decides to purchase 3 abandoned billboards on a barely-traveled road near where Angela's body was found. The 3 billboards condemn the local police for their lack of progress, sequentially stating: "RAPED WHILE DYING"; "AND STILL NO ARRESTS?"; "HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?" In a news interview, Mildred criticizes the police for their preoccupation of "torturing African-Americans & eating Krispy Kremes" than solving actual crimes, like the murder of Angela.

The police chief, Sheriff Bill Willoughby (played by Woody Harrelson), while sympathetic to Mildred's plight, is upset over what he perceives to be a personal attack. His deputy, the incompetent, deeply bigoted mama's boy, Officer Jason Dixon (played by Sam Rockwell), is even more angered, but because of the perceived disrespect of the police. Dixon's bigotry is definitely from his mother, Mrs. Dixon (played by Sandy Martin). The townsfolk are also angered, not only because of the respect they have for Willoughby, but because the billboards were put up at a time when Willoughby & his wife, Anne (played by Abbie Cornish) are going through personal issues. Mildred's abusive ex-husband, Charlie (played by John Hawkes) is especially angered at Mildred for the billboards, fearing what will happen to their family. Mildred also criticize him for his relationship with 19-year-old Penelope (played by Samara Weaving).

While Willoughby tries to solve his personal issues, Dixon tries at all costs to get Mildred to back down, going so far as attacking Red Welby (played by Caleb Landry Jones), the ad agency owner who sold the billboards to Mildred. But Mildred will not back down, as she is extremely driven to find who killed her daughter. While this occurs, James (played by Peter Dinklage), a mild-mannered car salesman, sets his eyes on Mildred. But as the days go by, the conflict between Mildred & the police only gets more & more hectic, especially when Officer Abercrombie (played by Clarke Peters) comes to Ebbing to work with the police force.

The cast is one of the best I've seen in years. Frances McDormand... wow. Her performance is absolutely legendary, & by far the best in her career, even better than her legendary performance in Fargo. She manages to make you burst out laughing & make you emotional within seconds, with just one line or the look on her face.

Woody Harrelson also gives the best performance of his career. Just like McDormand, he can make you laugh & cry within seconds.

Sam Rockwell's performance is also the best of his career. You will hate his character at first, but he has a dark past that he starts to want to atone for. And Rockwell portrays that inner turmoil so perfectly.

The rest of the cast, from Hawkes, Dinklage, Cornish & Hedges in the bigger roles, to Jones, Peters, Weaving & Martin in the smaller roles, also do amazing jobs in their smaller parts, each making a huge impression on the film through their performances.

Martin McDonagh's direction is stellar. After his 2 prior darkly comedic masterpieces, 2008's In Bruges & 2012's Seven Psychopaths, McDonagh has created his best film yet. McDonagh knows how to mix dark comedy & heartwrenching drama so perfectly.

Martin McDonagh's screenplay is a sheer work of brilliance. McDonagh is a master at writing interesting characters & interesting dialogue. His plot is extremely intricate, & has some twists & turns that you definitely won't see coming. And the monologues McDonagh wrote in the screenplay are absolutely perfect, & are amazing reminders of his early days as a playwright.

Ben Davis's cinematography is amazing. Davis visually captures the feelings & emotions of the townsfolk with such immense perfection.

Jon Gregory's editing is excellent. Gregory keeps the film flowing along at a tender pace, & he makes sure the film knows where it's going.

Inbal Weinberg's production design is awe-inspiring. The production design makes that perfect small-town America set that we've seen many times before feel so fresh & realistic.

And Carter Burwell's score is one of his best. The score evokes memories of his previous scores for the films of the Coen brothers, with his use of a piano, guitars, & an orchestra.

This is definitely the best film of the year so far. It features multiple career-best performances & a terrifically funny screenplay, & perfectly mixes black comedy & heartbreaking drama unlike any other film in recent memory.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was seen by me at the Landmark Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, MI on Friday, November 17, 2017. It is currently in 2 theaters in the Detroit area: the Landmark Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, MI; & The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township, MI; it will expand into more theaters starting Wednesday, November 22, 2017. Its runtime is 115 minutes, & it is rated R for violence, language throughout, & some sexual references.