Bombshell is a highly entertaining take on the Fox News scandal that evolved when Gretchen Carlson, one of the network’s star news anchors, sued network news honcho Roger Ailes for sexual harassment when she was fired by the network.

Although the film is classified as a drama, much of it is played for laughs. While the situations in which the film’s women find themselves are not laughing matters, it’s difficult to feel too story for some of the characters who knew exactly what they were getting into when they agreed to accommodate the despicable Ailes with sex acts in exchange for career advancement.

Oscar-nominated Charlize Theron has the meatiest role, that of Megyn Kelly, who even if you’ve never watched Fox, you know her from taking on Donald Trump on the debate stage when he was running for U.S. President in 2016. The Oscar-winning makeup utterly transforms her into Kelly’s public image with Theron nailing her walk, voice and mannerisms.

Nicole Kidman, in another outstanding performance, plays Carlson while Oscar-nominated Margot Robbie has the film’s third lead as a fictional character based on several Fox trainees. John Lithgow in fat suit and heavy makeup is Ailes.

The title does not refer to any of the women, although any one of them could accurately be described as a very attractive woman or “bombshell” as was Jean Harlow in 1933’s Bombshell, a comedy about a sexpot movie star. Rather, it refers to the word’s other meaning, that of an overwhelming surprise or disappointment that was unleased when news of Carlson’s suit dropped.

In addition to the standout performances of Theron, Kidman, Robbie, and Lithgow, there is strong supporting work from Kate McKinnon as Robbie’s friend, Mark Duplass as Theron’s husband, Allison Janney as a Fox executive, and, briefly, Malcolm McDowell as mogul Rupert Murdoch. It was directed by Jay Roach who among other things directed the excellent TV movie Game Change with Julianne Moore as 2012 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Bombshell is available on Blu-ray and standard DVD.

With an advertising slogan that calls the film a black Bonnie and Clyde, you pretty much know what you’re getting with Queen & Slim, the debut film of video director Melina Matsoukas.

The film starts interestingly with a blind date between a bored lawyer (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a laid back dude (Daniel Kaluuya) that turns to tragedy when after leaving the diner they are stopped by a racist cop for failing to make the proper signal when turning on an empty street.

The film suffers from a slow pace but is otherwise a trip worth taking for the interesting performances of the two stars. Kaluuya has his best role since Get Out and Turner-Smith is fascinating in her breakthrough role. The supporting cast includes Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming and Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry).

Queen & Slim is available on Blu-ray and standard DVD.

The Safdie brothers, Benny and Josh, had a breakout hit with 2017’s Good Time starring Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie in excellent performances. Many of that film’s fans heartily embraced their follow-up film Uncut Gems, while others were put off by Adam Sandler’s loud and obnoxious con man. Put me in the latter category.

For 2 hours and 15 minutes I waited for something to convince me that I was wrong about the film which has won many awards for its screenplay and Sandler’s performance, but nothing did. To me, it was just a lot of noise from beginning to end, signifying nothing.

There are lots of other actors in the film besides Sandler, but he drowns them all out. It might just as well have been a one-man show.

Uncut Gems is available on Blu-ray and standard DVD.

Kino Lorber has released excellent restored Blu-ray upgrades of two of James Stewart’s lesser known western classics.

1957’s Night Passage was the first western Stewart made after his split from director Anthony Mann with whom he had last worked on 1955’s The Man from Laramie. In-between he made Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much and Billy Wilder’s The Spirit of St. Louis. His next film would be Hitchcock’s Vertigo. In other words, it was a pretty heady time in the actor’s career.

Directed by TV director James Neilson, Stewart plays a retired railroad man brought back into the game to foil a gang of bank robbers turned railroad holdup men. The fun of the film is in Stewart’s easy interplay with his fellow actors who include Audie Murphy (To Hell and Back), Dianne Foster (The Last Hurrah), Dan Duryea (Scarlet Street), Brandon de Wilde (Shane), and Olive Carey (The Searchers).

1966’s The Rare Breed, directed by Andrew McLaglen, was Stewart’s first western since 1965’s hugely successful Shenandoah, also directed McLaglen.

The film is about the introduction of British Hereford cattle into the American west. There are the typical mix of good guys and bad that leads to violence, but all that is done away with early in the film which then focuses on the introduction of the hornless cattle into Texas longhorn country. Maureen O’Hara, who starred in McLaglen’s 1963 film McClintock! opposite John Wayne, is also reunited with Stewart with whom she starred in 1962’s Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation and Brian Keith with whom she co-starred in 1961’s The Parent Trap. Juliet Mills, the sister of Hayley Mills, the star of The Parent Trap, plays O’Hara’s daughter. Don Galloway plays Keith’s son and Mills’ love interest.

Although Stewart is good as usual, the revelation here is O’Hara whose flawless British accent is a nice change of pace for the decidedly Irish actress.

This week’s new releases include Richard Jewell and Their Finest Hour, a collection of five World War II British classics.