A large crowd Thursday night attended the “Do or Die” winter season kickoff of the Beechwood Art Series, founded by Frederick Chiu and wife Jeanine Esposito, in a first time collaboration with the Library. The “Do or Die” theme memorialized the 250th birthday of Beethoven who suffered from loss of hearing and still produced nine classic compositions despite his hearing disability. The event featured a wall displaying one artistic piece by each of 23 artists followed by inspiring personal “Do or Die” experiences in the careers of eight of the artists. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Volunteers were busy at the Jesup Gallery in the Westport Library today preparing for the Beechwood Arts exhibit, “Do or Die,” which opens Thursday at 9 a.m. and runs through May 25. Beechwood Arts is collaborating with the Westport Library to host its winter season, exploring and interpreting a central theme, “Do or Die”, inspired by Beethoven and his tumultuous creative journey. “Do or Die,” the art exhibit explores the theme through the lens of leading visual artists whose own journeys have been marked by highs of creative inspiration and success and lows of creative despair, doubt or intervening life events. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Then he’s adopted by cranky, hard-drinking outdoorsman John Thornton (Ford), who takes him on an exciting trek into Alaska’s uncharted wilderness where Buck discovers his inner ‘spirit’ wolf. (Ford also serves as the growly narrator of Buck’s story.)

Inevitably, there’s a melodramatic villain, Hal (Dan Stevens), a ruthless gold-seeker with a bristling mustache and a streak of sadistic cruelty.

And it’s magnificently photographed by Janusz Kaminski, best known for his collaboration with Steven Spielberg on “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Munich.”

FYI: Jack London’s “The Call of the Wild,” first published in 1903, has been adapted on film five times, not counting the “Peanuts” and animé. That includes the 1935 version with Clark Gable and Loretta Young, followed by Charlton Heston’s in 1972 and Rutger Hauer’s in 1997.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Call of the Wild” is a crowd-pleasing, resilient 7, a PG-rated, family-friendly adventure suited to children age eight and older.

After scoring a record-breaking opening weekend, the success of this iconic Sega character “Sonic the Hedgehog” proves that there’s still potential profit in CG/live-action video game movies.

Blue-furred, spiky-haired Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) comes from a faraway planet, where his phenomenal ability to run fast got him into trouble. A wise old owl (an “Obi-Wan who eats mice”) gives him a bag of magic teleport rings that open gateways to alien worlds but cautions him to keep a low profile and not attract unwanted attention.

So Sonic winds up near the tiny town of Green Hills, Montana, where he pretends to be part of the Wachowski household, although they don’t know he exists. To him, Sheriff Tom (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) are Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady.

But Sonic is lonely, very lonely. So lonely that he plays baseball by himself, racking up such speed that he creates a mysterious crackle of blue energy which knocks out power throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Panicked about the cause of the blackout, the Pentagon dispatches villainous Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to trap the “blue devil” whose motto is “Gotta go fast.”

Robotnik tells his henchman, Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub), that he was trained by “Native American Shadow Wolves,” referring to the real-life trackers who work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Eventually, Sheriff Tom becomes Sonic’s ally, traveling to San Francisco to retrieve Sonic’s lost bag of rings from atop the Transamerica Pyramid.

Scripted by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, it’s directed by Jeff Fowler, who persisted after the outraged negative reaction to the original visual design of Sonic’s character, particularly his teeth.

Historically, movies based on video games — “Super Mario Bros,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Resident Evil,” even “Tomb Raider” — have not done as well as anticipated. But Sonic’s box-office bonanza may launch a new era of game adaptations.

On the Granger Gauge, “Sonic the Hedgehog” is a speed-demon 6, a blue blur, marking the 60th anniversary of Sega.

Gaining relevance in the wake of Washington D.C.’s recent whistleblower accusations, writer/director Scott Z. Burns’ hard-hitting thriller “The Report” chronicles the real-life struggle of Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) to deliver a massive report on the human rights abuses committed by the CIA’s post-9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program.

Working on behalf of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, led at that time by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), Dan obsessively delves into CIA malfeasance with quasi-messianic determination.

But Feinstein realizes they must proceed with caution, since a strategic misstep could suppress their revelations.

Yes, there are highly disturbing flashbacks picturing the torture of suspected terrorists, including Gul Rahman, who died in captivity. The real villains turn out to be unqualified psychologists Bruce Jessen (Douglas Hodge) and James Mitchell (T. Ryder Smith), hired by the CIA to develop the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques program.

“I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to show that but then I spoke with Alberto Mora, general counsel for the United States Navy,” Burns explains. “He said the original sin is that the CIA destroyed these (interrogation) tapes because they knew if people saw what they did, it would have been over. He told me, ‘If you don’t show this, then you are compounding the sin.’”

“Accountability and the responsibility of Congress to provide oversight of the executive branch is a big part of what this movie is about,” concludes Burns, best known for his collaboration with Steven Soderbergh on “The Informant,” “Contagion,” “Side Effects” and “The Laundromat.”

Both Adam Driver and Annette Bening deliver convincing performances that were, unfortunately, overlooked last year during Oscar season — with supporting turns from Jon Hamm, Corey Stoll and Matthew Rhys.

Yet the grim Epilogue admits that no one responsible for the torture was ever punished, even when President Obama signed Executive Order 13491 which forbids torture, only “unless the Attorney General provides further guidance.”

On the Granger Gauge, “The Report” is a slow, yet significant 7, streaming on Amazon Prime.

(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)

Actors paused today during a rehearsal for tonight’s Westport Country Playhouse script In hand and reading of “Miracle on South Division Street,” a comedy, created by playwright Tom Dudzick, about family, faith, and adjusting to life’s surprises. The reading will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and co-curator of the play reading series. Pictured: (standing, l-r) – Keefe, Alison Cimmet, Patrick Halley, Amelia Pedlow, Alexandra Rappaport, stage directions, and (seated) Pamela Dunlap. The one-time performance starts at 7 p.m. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

There was an exhibit opening today for the award-winning 16-year-old photographer, Harrison Gordon, at Bistro du Soleil restaurant, 615 Riverside Ave. A resident of Fairfield and a junior at the Wooster School, Danbury, Harrison said he specializes in landscape, portrait, drone, real estate and coastal photography. Among his 30 photographs exhibited is this landscape photo entitled “Get to the Point,” of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park. It earned him the award of Best Landscape photograph in October in the Westport Library teen photo contest. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Artist Shanna Melton of Bridgeport tonight shows “Esperanza,” an acrylic, one of her six entries in the art exhibit “Celebrating Color,” organized by the Saugatuck Church’s Arts Committee in commemoration of Black History month. Curated by the Rene Soto Gallery, One Wall Street, Norwalk the exhibit features six Fairfield County artists. In addition to Melton they include Jeffrey Nelson, Amir Hines, Clyde Theophilus McLaughlin, Michael Brinkley, and Lesley Koenig. The exhibit runs through March 10. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Artist Amir Hines of Stamford tonight talks with Joanne Leaman, a member of the Saugatuck Church’s Arts Committee,  about two his entries (to his right)  in the church’s exhibit celebrating Black History Month—“Canti in Space,” an acrylic and “Uhhh” created with spray paint.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is Dinah, a singer who has the ability to emit a sonic scream that can shatter eardrums. Although she lacks superpowers, Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) has a romantic relationship with Kate Kane — aka Batwoman.

Directing her first major feature, Chinese American Cathy Yan churns Christina Hodson’s crudely pulpy plot with exciting action sequences, but she’s subverted by far too many unresolved subplots.

Determined to play a foul-mouthed, substance-abusing, uber-violent Gotham crime fighter, Australian actress Margot Robbie (“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” “Bombshell”) helped develop the nihilistic script, inspired by “Trainspotting” and “True Romance.”

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” flies in with a kinetic, superhero 6, serving as a showcase for Margot Robbie.

Guy Ritchie’s violent crime caper “The Gentlemen” recalls his London gangster-comedy roots, particularly “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.”

Sporting a goatee, thick-rimmed glasses and a campy Cockney accent, Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a smarmy private investigator who specializes in digging up dirt about the filthy rich. As the narrative evolves, he pays a late night visit to Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), right-hand man to American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey).

While studying at Oxford, enterprising Mickey made money as a drug dealer to impoverished British aristocrats who agreed to hid his cannabis plantations on their country estates.

Apparently, tabloid newspaper editor Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) wants to take Mickey down as he prepares to sell his illegal marijuana empire to fellow Yank Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong), much to the chagrin of ambitious rival gangster Dry Eye (Henry Golding).

But a bold raid on one of Mickey’s hidden weed sites by social-media savvy thugs called the Toddlers ignites a chain of retaliations, as the Toddlers report to a tartan track-suited mentor/boxing Coach (Colin Farrell).

What smirking Mickey, sporting a sparkly ear stud, wants is to retire rich and enjoy the rest of his life with his street-smart wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).

“If you want to be the king of the jungle, it’s not enough to act like the king — you just be the king,” he declares in a voice-over.

Writer/director Ritchie concocts a complicated, contrived, often confusing plot that’s filled with bloody bickering and betrayal, augmented by clever twists, along with a total disregard for political correctness, since one character is offensively referred to as “the Chinaman” while another is “the Jew.”

On the Granger Gauge, “The Gentlemen” is a slick 7, a fast-paced romp for die-hard Richie fans.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell star in “Downhill,” a tepid remake of Ruben Ostlund’s emotionally eviscerating “Force Majeure,” Sweden’s Academy Award Foreign Language entry in 2014.

Affluent Americans Billie (Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Ferrell) Stanton are on an Austrian ski vacation with their two pre-adolescent sons. Enjoying a festive lunch outdoors on the deck of a mountainside restaurant, they hear a distant explosion as a terrifying cascade of snow heads toward them.

Panicked Pete grabs his iPhone and flees, leaving Billie to protect young Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford) during the supposedly controlled avalanche. His selfish, split-second reaction triggers a long-festering schism in their marriage.

Obviously yearning for the carefree days of his youth, Pete seems to be obsessed with following his younger buddy Zach (Zach Woods) on Instagram as he cavorts through Europe with his girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chan), posting enticing photos with hashtags like #NoAgenda and #LiveYourBestLife.

Exasperated and furious, Billie then spends solo time with Guglielmo (Giulio Berruti) an Italian ski instructor, a setup provided by hedonistic Charlotte (Miranda Otto), a white spandex-clad resort employee who spends her winters having affairs with guests and her summers back home on the farm with her husband.

Eventually, Pete admits that he behaved like a “selfish coward.” But instead of Ostlund’s dark psychological thriller, exploring gender stereotypes and assumptions, screenwriter Jesse Armstrong (TV’s “Succession”) and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (“The Way Way Back”) opt for shallow, superficial comedy, trivializing the entire concept.

This is the first release since the Walt Disney Company bought 20th Century-Fox’s film and television assets in 2019 to feature the Searchlight Pictures logo without the Fox name.

On the Granger Gauge, “Downhill” descends to a frustrating 5, never delving into the essential undercurrents.

(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)