Louis CK 2017 (2017)

Louis CK's latest special starts out a little rough. You can tell the audience is having a hard time buying into it. And quite frankly the first couple of bits drag on too long. But he soon finds his rhythm and ends up with a pretty funny set overall. As always, he likes to do voices. His jokes don't necessarily hinge on the voices, but they add a silly dimension to his delivery. They're not even really good voices, but they're so ridiculous juxtaposed to his signature gloom and doom that you can't help but laugh. The best bit is about 9/11 deniers, who his daughter mistakenly refer to as nine 11-deniers, like 9 people who deny the existence of the number 11. It's so stupid it's funny. 

Trumbo (2015)

Bryan Cranston proves that he is a master of acting in all mediums. After his unforgettable turn as Walter White in Breaking Bad and a run on Broadway in 2014, he takes on a leading role in a film. I love the scenes when Cranston is in full screenwriting mode at his typewriter, or in the tub literally cutting and taping together lines. In a way, Trumbo is similar to Walter White. Like Walter, Trumbo has to innovate, adapt to survive in a world that is working against him.  Helen Mirren is also fabulous as Hedda Hopper, who is intimidating to even the most powerful men in Hollywood. Louis CK was pleasantly surprising in a role that I wouldn't have pegged him for.

The story is well done, if a bit cliched at times. Sometimes the speeches are a bit too soapbox-y about American ideals and what not. But I do like movies about movies, especially in the classic Hollywood era. And it is a smart movie. The Hollywood Ten were undoubtedly smart, trying to pull one over the House Un-American Activities Committee and subsequently defeating the blacklist.