Widows (2018)

Jack and I liked this thriller about women who complete their late husbands' botched heist. The enormous cast is headed by Viola Davis and Liam Neeson (last blogged for Fences and Silence, respectively). The other women thieves are Michelle Rodriguez (she was in 26 episodes of Lost, Battle in Seattle, and plenty more that I haven't seen), Elizabeth Debicki (most recently in The Great Gatsby), and Cynthia Erivo (her babetteflix debut was for Bad Times at the El Royale).

The rest of the starring men are played by Colin Farrell (last in Roman J. Israel, Esq.), Robert Duvall (in The Judge four years ago), Brian Tyree Henry (best known to me as Paper Boi in 17 episodes of Atlanta), and Daniel Kaluuya (Oscar-nominated for Get Out and last blogged for Black Panther). All seven of the above are on the poster.

Director/co-writer Steve McQueen (Oscar-nominated for directing 12 Years a Slave, which won Best Picture in 2014) is featured in a cute little short before the feature, thanking us for coming out to the movies in person. He and co-writer Gillian Flynn (who adapted her own novel into the screenplay for Gone Girl) based the script on the 1983 British TV series written by Lynda La Plante. There are plenty of twists and turns in this version, and, although Jack found it a little contrived, we both thought it quite entertaining, though violent.

Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (last blogged for Queen of Katwe), does marvelous work with contrast, especially Davis' chocolate complexion with her snow white apartment, wardrobe, and matching dog Olivia (here's an article about this adorable bitch).

Hans Zimmer (last in these pages for scoring The Boss Baby) provides exciting music, 22 minutes of which you can stream on youtube.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 91%, are much more enthusiastic than its audiences at a lukewarm 65. It's very likely to rack up a nomination or two. I have begun my yearly summary of nominations sorted by title. The link is to the right if you're on a computer. Otherwise, go here.