By Susan Granger
“Trumbo” recalls how in the late 1940s Hollywood filmmakers were terrorized by Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee, searching for Communists in TinselTown.
Egged on by patriotic John Wayne (David James Elliott) and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren), the committee, chaired by J. Parnell Thomas (James Dumont), targeted “suspicious” citizens, subpoenaing them, asking, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”
Hollywood’s highest-paid screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) mocked the committee, leading the “Hollywood 10,” who were subsequently blacklisted and unable to find work.
While others fled overseas, Trumbo refused to leave. Instead, he used several pseudonyms, churning out scripts, including “Roman Holiday” and “The Brave One,” garnering two Screenplay Oscars.
While most of Trumbo’s work was for schlocky B-picture mogul Frank King (John Goodman), eventually Stanley Kubrick and Otto Preminger gave Trumbo credit for Spartacus” and “Exodus,” respectively.
Habitually writing in the bathtub with a long-stemmed cigarette holder clenched between his teeth and a tumbler of Scotch at his side, Bryan Cranson (TV’s “Breaking Bad”) is superb as the highly-principled idealist, supported by his loyal wife (Diane Lane) and activist daughter (Elle Fanning).
The strong ensemble also includes comedian Louis C.K. as cynical Arlin Herd (a composite of several screenwriters), Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson, and Dean O’Gorman as Kirk Douglas.
Working from John McNamara’s glib script, adapted from Bruce Cook’s biography, director Jay Roach astutely utilizes archival footage and re-creates newsreels, delivering glimpses of Robert Taylor and Humphrey Bogart.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Trumbo” is an eloquent 8, focusing on one of the most shameful periods in Hollywood history.
According to “The Good Dinosaur,” there was a near apocalypse 65 million years ago when an asteroid almost hit Earth. Almost is the key word, since the dinosaurs didn’t go extinct.
Somewhere in what looks like the prehistoric American West, there’s a family of Apatosauruses, headed by Poppa (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) and Momma (voiced by Frances McDormand).
When a flash flood decimates their farm, timid young Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) – who is not big and strong like his parents and siblings – is left on his own. Having been told that he must learn about self-sacrifice and courage, frightened Arlo befriends a grunting, barking, howling feral boy whom he names Spot.
Journeying together through the wilderness, dodging nasty raptors and hungry pterodactyls, they encounter a strange variety of exotic animal species, like a pink cobra with legs, a boar-sized winged insect, and a pet-collecting Styracosaurus (voiced by Peter Sohn) an expert in camouflage.
Eventually, after sampling some hallucinogenic fruits, Arlo and Spot gather around a campfire with friendly, buffalo-ranching T-Rexes, whose leader, Butch, has the distinctively gruff voice of Sam Elliott.
While Pixar’s 16th animated feature is neither original nor a classic, borrowing elements from “The Lion King,” and “The Jungle Book,” it’s an amusing, anthropomorphic survivor story, helmed by Peter Sohn.
Since the formulaic plot is derivative, what makes this animated film technologically distinctive are its awesomely photorealistic landscapes, filled with raging rivers and fluttering fireflies.
On the Granger Gauge, “The Good Dinosaur” is a subversively sweet 6, recommended as an imaginative diversion for dinosaur-obsessed youngsters.
For those who prefer seditious “Gremlins” to the sentimentality of “It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Krampus” is a timely terrorizing tale, featuring a demonic Santa.
Opening with a slo-mo sequence of frantic Black Friday shoppers to the strains of Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” the story follows wistful young Max Engle (Emjay Anthony), his teenage sister (Stefania LaVie Owen) and their bickering, dysfunctional, extended family.
Their stressed-out parents (Adam Scott, Toni Collette) are hosting Mom’s submissive sister (Allison Tollman), her gun-toting husband (David Koechner) and their obnoxious children, along with boozing, cantankerous Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferell).
When an ominous blizzard cuts off heat and electricity, they’re suddenly besieged by nightmarish versions of familiar holiday icons – summoned, inadvertently, by disillusioned Max when he rips up his letter to Santa Claus, tossing it into the snow.
According to a German folk legend, malevolent Krampus is a horned, cloven-hoofed creature that appears every yuletide season, like “Santa’s shadow,” to punish children who have misbehaved – counsels Grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler).
Writer/director Michael Dougherty (“Trick r’ Treat”) relishes the marauding beasties, created by New Zealand’s Weta Workshop. But he doesn’t really know what to do with them – or the titular Krampus – so it’s neither scary nor funny.
On the Granger Gauge, “Krampus” is a fast-paced, frostbitten 4 – but it does make the salient, family-values point that actions do have consequences.
( 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.)
