On the eve of its nationwide release, surprise wins at the Golden Globes catapulted war drama 1917 to the front of the Oscar race for best picture. 

Rated R for realistic violence and a fair amount of bad language, it tells the harrowing tale of two British soldiers in World War I. Writer/director Sam Mendes, best known for the recent Bond movies, based the script on a family legend and dedicates the film to his grandfather, who was a veteran. 

If you’re a parent of school-aged children and anything like me, you’re just coming out of a Christmas season of too many sweet treats and too much syrupy family entertainment. To wake up those sugar-shocked brains for a new semester, Amazon’s The Aeronauts (rated PG-13 for realistic peril) offers a pleasing mental palate cleanser.

Some stories occupy such a treasured place in our hearts that, as long as the retelling is relatively faithful and well executed, audiences will turn out for an infinite number of adaptations. We’re happy to relive every familiar turn of plot, every line of memorized dialogue. No surprises needed.

Among movies targeting younger audiences, Spies in Disguise doesn’t stand out. Sure, it’s action-packed like Despicable Me, but not half as clever or funny. The new animated film does succeed in reinforcing the modern reorientation of gender roles. Viewers won’t need a secret decoder ring to decipher the film’s message: Boy power is all hugs and glitter.

Confronting fear, as Luke Skywalker tells his young protégée Rey (Daisy Ridley), may be the destiny of a Jedi, but breaking bad news to fans is the destiny of a movie reviewer. Sadly, I’m here to fulfill my destiny. 

Franz and Fani Jägerstätter delighted in each other. Their marriage was as full of light and life as their native Austria’s stunning landscape and as steadfast as the mountain towering over their valley village. Christian faith formed the bedrock of their commitment to each other, their three young daughters, and the daily tilling of soil on their small farm. Their life together was simple and sweet. What would make Franz willing to forsake it all?

The old adage that “cheaters never prosper” proves true in HBO’s The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. The documentary spotlights Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and founder of Theranos, a now defunct healthcare company once valued at $9 billion. 

Holmes claimed to have invented a tabletop machine that could perform more than 240 lab tests in minutes from finger-prick–size drops of blood. Such a development would revolutionize healthcare, eliminating the need for vials of blood and lengthy test wait times.