News of the World

Movie-going right now is kind of catch-as-catch-can. Of course many movies (“Wonder Woman” probably the most well known), can be seen on various streaming services. But for us true connoisseurs, nothing beats going to an actual theatre for the full moving-going experience. But is it safe? I am here to tell you that from my view point, the answer is yes! We went to the AMC in Columbia, Maryland at the Columbia Mall. Everything is designed with your safety and comfort in mind. We ordered tickets and concession food online (which we picked up at the counter as you would any take-out). There were wet wipes and hand sanitizer everywhere. The seating is appropriately socially distanced. Also, going to the first showing of the day meant that we were the first people for the day to sit in those seats. I felt safer there than I do in a grocery store. Anyway, you are probably wondering how the movie was. It was fantastic! “News of the World” is a western starring the always entertaining Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kidd, a man who wanders through the small towns of Texas in the years following the Civil War, reading newspapers to small town denizens who are thirsty for news of any kind. Riding between jobs, he comes across a burned wagon and a lynched man. Hiding nearby is a frightened girl dressed in buckskins. She doesn’t speak English, but he finds documents that show she is an orphan. He tries to bring her to the authorities, but no one can take her. At first, he doesn’t want to either, but he decides it is his responsibility to get her to her only kin. The rest of the movie is a sometimes brutal, sometimes poignant journey of the savagery and humanity of the western frontier as they travel the wilds of northern Texas; encountering an interesting number of human and natural barriers on the way. This is the perfect movie to see in a big theatre during a pandemic. The scenery is breathtaking and the settings realistic and interesting. The characters are very well drawn. Bravura performances and a good story with a hopeful message for the future make this one worth seeing.