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Jan Wahl Movie Review: '42' & 'The Company You Keep'

"42"
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in "42" (credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

 

(KCBS) – KCBS Entertainment Reporter Jan Wahl says "42" hit it out of the park, but questions whether "The Company You Keep" should be decided by Robert Redford.

KCBS Entertainment Reporter Jan Wahl:

Jan Wahl Movie Review: '42' and 'The Company You Keep'


 

42 (PG-13)

Here's to you, Jackie Robinson. He died in 1972 at the age of 53, but he lives forever not only as a great baseball player, but as a courageous American who left a legacy far beyond the field. We meet a complicated, talented Jackie played with authenticity by Chadwick Boseman. He's asked by Major League Baseball executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) to break the color barrier by playing in the big leagues.

42 - Official Trailer 2 [HD] by Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube

Everyone should see this movie, that's how good it is. Director Brian Helgeland won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "LA Confidential" in 1997. He writes this one too, giving us a fierce and ultimately noble movie that is true cinematic storytelling.

I watched it with Little League players, and they were inspired. They couldn't wait to get home and learn more about Jackie Robinson and the civil rights movement. This movie works. I'm giving it my highest rating. Please, do not miss '42'.

Four hats.


 

Shia LaBeouf in "The Company You Keep"
Shia LaBeouf in "The Company You Keep" (credit: Sony Pictures Classics)

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (R)

Robert Redford directs and starts in this movie about members of the Weather Underground who have been in hiding for decades. What should have been an exciting, passionate movie is, unfortunately, a little bit too intellectual. Still, it's important to see this drama about Americans who thought they were changing the world.

The Company You Keep | Official Trailer HD (2013) by Sony Pictures Classics on YouTube

Three hats.


 
Movies To See Right Now:  Quartet, The Gatekeepers, Lore, Silver Linings Playbook, & Life of Pi

Home Viewing/DVD: Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty & This is 40

You can hear KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl's movie reviews on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM Fridays at 8:53am & 4:53pm.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
 

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