Also caught Trumbo, the new biopic about Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood writers brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s and then black-listed. He wrote such films as Johnny Got His Gun, Roman Holiday, and Spartacus… the last two (and two academy awards) written under a pseudonym because he couldn’t get work.

The movie stars Bryan Cranston (and his handlebar mustache) as Trumbo as well as Diane Lane, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Elle Fanning, Alan Tudyk and other quality actors. It’s a smart, well-written film that covers both an important matter of free speech and old Hollywood. Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Otto Preminger and other name-brand actors, writers, and directors show up.

It’s quite good and well-intentioned and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s also an important message when we consider whether its worth treating people shabbily because we disagree with them. Or they have a different religion or political view. It’s a message movie that doesn’t cram its message in your face. It’s not schmaltzy over heavy-handed.

Score: 86