February is “Black History Month,” and people have asked me to put together a list of movie suggestions to commemorate the annual observance. So, here are some films that are, I believe, apt viewing choices.   “12 Years a Slave” …

February is “Black History Month,” and people have asked me to put together a list of movie suggestions to commemorate the annual observance. So, here are some films that are, I believe, apt viewing choices.   “12 Years a Slave” won the Best Picture Oscar for 2013. Inspired by a true story, it tells the harrowing tale of a free man, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was captured and sent into slavery on a Louisiana plantation in the 1800s. It’s hard to watch, but packs an emotional wallop.   David Oyelowo gives a stirring performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 2015 film, “Selma,” about the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery that was met with a violent crackdown by local authorities. The event helped cement passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.   The 2013 film “The Butler” provides a historical overview of social change seen through the eyes of a butler named Cecil Gaines, played by Forest Whitaker, who served in the White House beginning with the Eisenhower administration and lasting through the Reagan years. It’s restrained but dignified.   Sidney Poitier’s Oscar-winning performance propels the sentimental1963 comic drama, “Lilies of the Field.”…

The clichés and stereotypes that populate most Westerns are upended in “Hostiles,” a brutal, challenging and beautifully filmed drama. Christian Bale leads a terrific cast in the story of a war weary Army captain who, in the late 1800s, reluctantly …

The clichés and stereotypes that populate most Westerns are upended in “Hostiles,” a brutal, challenging and beautifully filmed drama. Christian Bale leads a terrific cast in the story of a war weary Army captain who, in the late 1800s, reluctantly escorts a group of Cheyenne prisoners on a torturous journey from New Mexico to Wyoming. Wes Studie plays a dying Cheyenne war chief and Rosamund Pike is a woman whose family was brutally murdered by renegades.   Writer/director Scott Cooper makes some potent statements about the cycle of violence that permeated US history. But many of the scenes in this ultraviolent and drawn out saga continue to linger, hammering home their points long after they’ve been made. While the sentiments presented in “Hostiles” may be way overdue, the drama of “Hostiles” is way overlong.   And speaking of overlong, the third and supposedly final chapter in the “Maze Runner” saga has finally arrived. “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” completes the dystopian sci-fi story about a bleak future affected by solar flares, disease, zombies and wicked pseudo-governmental agencies. Dylan O’Brian is back as a young man leading a ragtag group of teens fighting for their lives while trying to figure out…

Chris Hemsworth moves from superhero to war hero in“12 Strong,” a tale inspired by the true story of the Green Beret soldiers who were the first sent into action in Afghanistan after 9/11. Historians may quibble about the accuracy of …

One of the year’s most acclaimed movies has finally gotten its Kansas City release. It’s hard to imagine a timelier movie about freedom of the press than “The Post.” Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in Steven Spielberg’s riveting drama …

Chris Hemsworth moves from superhero to war hero in“12 Strong,” a tale inspired by the true story of the Green Beret soldiers who were the first sent into action in Afghanistan after 9/11. Historians may quibble about the accuracy of the proceedings and some may find this standard action flick a bit jingoistic, but it’s a suitable tribute to those brave men who willingly put themselves in harm’s way. “Phantom Thread” is reportedly Daniel Day-Lewis’ final film appearance and, as always, he delivers an imposing performance. He plays a British fashion designer in the 1950s who uses and misuses his young muse, played by Luxembourger actress, Vicky Krieps (creeps). Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is sumptuously and meticulously made, but has some grating plot elements lessen its impact. Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer star in “Call Me by Your Name,” a gay coming of age story set in Italy in the early 1980s. Chalamet plays a conflicted teen who falls for a grad student visiting his family’s 17th century Italian villa. There are a couple of excellent scenes that help make up for some of the duller ones. Overall, it’s well acted and beautifully filmed…but perhaps a bit too subtle for its…

One of the year’s most acclaimed movies has finally gotten its Kansas City release. It's hard to imagine a timelier movie about freedom of the press than “The Post.” Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in Steven Spielberg's riveting drama about the Washington Post's behind the scenes struggles leading up to the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Streep once again shows why she’s our greatest actress playing The Post’s troubled publisher, Katherine Graham. Tom Hanks adds another notch on his belt as the paper’s grizzled editor, Ben Bradlee. One of the most difficult things for a filmmaker to accomplish is to build tension and suspense in a story where most of the audience already knows the outcome. Spielberg and company pull it off in “The Post,” and that’s no small feat. It’s nice to see guys in their 60s who are still able to kick some backside. Liam Neeson’s latest action thriller is “The Commuter,” the tale of an insurance agent/former policeman who is blackmailed into hunting for a murder witness on a commuter train. Neeson teams up for the fourth time with action director Jaume Collet-Sera and while there are plenty of eye-rolling coincidences and ridiculous plot…

As we leap into 2018 it’s time to look back the best movies the year had to offer. Here’s my list of the cream of the cinematic crop.   10) THE FLORIDA PROJECT (R) The poor who live on the …