I guess that this made it to the Academy Awards for saying something that has been said a thousand times before. But because it was made in 2018 and everyone below 30 and everyone in Hollywood pretends that cinema didn't exist until 2016 it had high praise. The acting is not bad, but for a movie set in the South, it could have used to actually show some of the beauty of the region they were driving through. Independent films have done a better job than this. But, because of the message, because of the statement we have heard a thousand times before, I guess you are supposed to love this and treat it like it's new. It's not, the 70s and 80s had a lot of movies like this and they carried over into the 90s.

After a superb opening scene we get a heartwarming feel-good film that plays it a little too safe, but the chemistry between the two leads and some humor make ‘Green Book’ funny and highly enjoyable. 8/10

***A white streetwise bouncer and an articulate black pianist tour the Deep South in 1962*** A tough, working class Italian New Yawker (Viggo Mortensen) is forced to take a gig driving a refined African-American concert pianist (Mahershala Ali) through the Midwest and Deep South in 1962. Linda Cardellini plays the wife of the Italian. “Green Book” (2018) was inspired by the real-life story and written by the son of Tony Lip (Mortensen). Like all great dramas, it’s compelling from the get-go and the road movie approach provides an entertaining and revelatory string of episodes, not to mention occasionally amusing. While the movie’s been accused of reverse racism, it’s actually balanced, showing plenty of poor, inarticulate blacks and vice versa. The message is to base your perceptions on the individual rather than ignorant generalizations. The film runs 2 hours, 10 minutes, and was shot in New York City and Louisiana. GRADE: A