Hacksaw Ridge:

Mel Gibson has a well-justified Best Director Oscar nom for this WWII true story, and Andrew Garfield is equally full value for his Best Actor nomination. Garfield plays Desmond Doss, a backwoods fellow who felt the call to sign up for the War, to help his country - the problem was his Seventh Day Adventist faith which prevented him from carrying a gun and commanded that he not take the life of another. As a Conscientious Objector, Doss got into the army anyway, as a paramedic, although it was not an easy road, as many viewed him as a coward who just didn’t want to fight. Hacksaw Ridge, in the island of Okinawa, was a definitive battle that cost many lives. Doss personally saved 75 American soldiers with amazing acts of heroism under fire … and he save a couple of Japanese as well. A violent and realistic film, it is a great story, and we see many of the real people portrayed during the closing credits. Rated 14A.

Manchester by the Sea:

More Oscar nominations here, for Casey Affleck for Best Actor, Lucas Hedges for Best Supporting Actor, Michelle Williams for Best Actress, and the movie itself for Best Picture. It’s the story of a man named Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) who has left his hometown in coastal Massachusetts to live in nearby Boston. When he learns that his older brother has died suddenly, he has to return to Manchester for the funeral, where he learns that he has been made guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Lee has a good reason for not wanting to stay in Manchester, which he must do if he takes on the guardianship because of Patrick’s school commitments. We don’t know at this point what it is about the hometown that has sent Lee off to the big city, but we learn, as the story plays out, that it is a terrible event, a tragedy of monumental proportions, that haunts his every moment. I found the movie depressing, and the outcome was not uplifting to me. I felt it would get all kinds of Oscar buzz, but I also felt that, if I want to be depressed and feel terrible for other human beings, I would rather not pay money for that privilege. Rated 14A.

Nocturnal Animals:

Another Oscar-nominated film, this time for Michael Shannon as Best Supporting Actor. A story within a story, this one stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams as a formerly married couple. She is Susan, and she owns an art gallery and has plenty of high-end friends and business associates. He is Edward, and he was a struggling writer who couldn’t seem to connect. 19 years later, long divorced, Susan receives a manuscript in the mail from Edward. It is his soon-to-be-published novel and he asks for her opinion on it. She begins to read, and that sets up the story in the book, which becomes the story the movie audience sees .. a man (Gyllenhaal) has his wife and teenage daughter in the car on a late-night road trip when they are accosted by two carloads of thugs. They are run off the road, the women are abducted, and the worst prevails. Each time Susan closes the book, we just want to get back to it to see how things turn out. Compelling, but very, very dark. Rated 14A.

The Karate Kid (2010):

The Karate Kid (2010): Will Smith's son Jaden takes on the Ralph Macchio role from the first movie in 1984, and Jackie Chan is the mentor, who was originally played by Pat Morita.  The updated version of this story has Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson), a single mom with her son Dre, taking on a business opportunity in China.  Dre is a fish out of water here as  he struggles to fit in, but his homeboy rapper look doesn't make it in Asia ... until he meets up with Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) who teaches him the fine art of self-defence.  Not bad, but if you are fixated on the original, you will have trouble with this one.  Rated 14A.

Kill Command (2016):

Set in the near future, a force of Marines is pitted against an army of artificial intelligence killing machines, and makes short work of them on a small, tropical island.  By the next day though, something has changed - one of the Marines is missing, and a new breed of AI robots seems to have sprung up overnight.  A serviceable sci-fi thriller.  Stars Vanessa Kirby (she was Princess Margaret in The Crown), and Mike Noble (World War Z).  Rated 14A.