Smile (2022):

Sometimes a horror movie comes along that gets the job of scaring us done so easily that it really sets itself apart from the rest of the genre, and that's the case here with a story that, while ultimately somewhat derivative, keeps us on our toes and on the edges of our seats from start to finish. The lead character is a doctor, a therapist in a mental hospital, who works 80-hour-weeks and who sees every patient as someone in whom she has a personal stake. She is Dr. Rose Cotter, and is played with remarkable reality by Sosie Bacon, who is genetically well-suited for this role - her parents are Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, and she has done a lot of television and movie work. When Rose sees a patient who is just checked into the hospital frightened more than half to death by something that the young woman saw, Rose goes to work. She learns that the patient sees "something," an entity of some sort, that wants her dead. She says the entity has a huge smile on its face, and that it is a horror beyond belief. The patient then does something that horrifies Rose, has her screaming for help, but it's too late. Now the detective work begins. What is behind this event? The story that plays out has Rose discovering more such incidents, all within the past few weeks, but each step that she walks down that road plunges her into a personal horror. Soon we are not sure, as an audience, if what is happening to Rose is real, or something in her mind. The scares are real ... one of the most impactful parts of a good horror story is the ability to take everyday things that are "normal," and make them scare the yell out of us, and that's what director Parker Finn manages at every turn, where a ringing telephone or a home alarm system that goes berserk, shake us to the core. Not a slasher film at all, although there is a little of that, this one reminded me somewhat of the Denzel Washington thriller, "Fallen," from 1998. A very good spooker that will leave you breathless. Rated 14A.

The Woman King (2022):

I originally did not know what to expect from this inspired-by-actual-events story of the slave trade in Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries and how it was handled by the King of Dahomey, King Ghezo (John Boyega). What spun out was an amazing story of a woman named Nanisca (amazingly portrayed by Viola Davis) who led the King's army, an all-woman troop known as the Amazons. The cinematography is exceptional, the costumes, accents, and dialogue all spot on, and the complex story woven around the politics and practices of slavery a real eye-opener. Most of us may know, at some level, that it was the Africans themselves, in many nations, who rounded up their own and sold them to Europeans and Americans who shipped the slaves back to their homelands to be dealt with like livestock or worse. This film's portrayal demonstrates the fact that King Ghezo, like many of his counterparts, quickly became dependant on the money generated by human trafficking and all of its cruelty. Because most of the able-bodied men in the villages of Dahomey have either been enslaved and taken away, or have been killed in battle, it is Nanisca's female army that trains, foregoes all personal relationships such as marriage and motherhood, and fights ferociously for their country and king. The casting is great, with a fabulous turn by Uganda-born Sheila Atim who plays Nanisca's second in command, Amenza. Her ferocity is amazing, and she carries herself with such grace and with such murderous intent, when necessary, to be a well-rounded character in every respect. This film will be an Oscar contender on many levels. - outstanding story and a fabulous look into a culture that has rarely been portrayed with accuracy on the big screen. Allow the credits to roll as there is a final scene about four minutes in. Rated 14A.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022):

The reviews for this combination live action / CGI sort-of-animated family adventure were as tepid as a Florida swamp at midnight, but I think that's because the reviewers are not eight or nine years old. Looking at a story such as this, about Lyle, a singing crocodile who originated in the sewers under New York City through a child's eyes, sees a film full of wonder, music, and excitement. Here, we first meet Lyle (voice of Shawn Mendes) in a pet shop where the tiny little baby croc is in his cage, singing the pop song "I Like It Like That." Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem - what was he thinking when he took this part??) is in the store and he finds his way to the sound of the musical voice. Hector sees an opportunity to make money here, he buys the little reptile and takes it home to his New York apartment, and before we know it, Lyle is fully grown, he's walking on two legs, and he and Valenti are about to debut their singing act. When Lyle gets stage fright and the act is a bust, the partnership is over. We then skip ahead to a new family that has moved into Valenti's former apartment, and they become acquainted with their reptilian resident who has been living in the attic. Mrs. Primm (Constance Wu) is a cookbook author, dad is Mr. Primm (Scoot McNairy) a math professor, and their young son Josh (Winslow Fegley), who really don't see a singing crocodile as being that unusual. As the story spins out, the youngsters will be perfectly happy. Just not the critics. Rated PG.

The Swimmers (2022):

Yusra and Sara Mardini are a pair of Syrian sisters who, in 2015, fled the civil war in their home country to find themselves on a rubber raft in the middle of the Aegean Sea with a number of other refugees who had fled to Lebanon, then to Turkey, and ultimately to Greece when the overloaded raft ran into trouble. The two sisters, along with another two people who could swim, were responsible for saving the lives of all on board. One year later, Yusra was competing in the Olympics in Rio as part of the 2016 Refugee team. This dramatic biography was shot on location in all the places that the girls had fled, hidden in, and looked for salvation in before becoming heroes. Rated 14A.

Slumberland (2022):

A good cast shows up for this adventure story that will appeal to children 8 or 10 and up. Based on the comic book series "Little Nemo in Slumberland '' by Winston McClay, we follow the adventures of a tweenage girl named Nemo and her eccentric companion Flip (Jason Mamoa) who come together after Nemo's father Peter (Kyle Chandler goes missing at sea. Set in the Pacific Northwest, but shot in Toronto, we follow Nemo as she is sent to live with relatives in the big city, a place foreign to her after the coastline life she had been living. While struggling in a new school with new people all around her, Nemo finds a secret map which hooks her up with Flip, and begins a challenging journey through lands of dreams and nightmares that she believes will help reunite her with her lost father. Rated PG.