Award season must be around the corner, because movies like Trumbo come out only when they can be considered. This kind of movie tends to be set in some yesteryear and plays jazz, smokes heavily, and wears a long silk dress as it approaches. Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) has decided that it is his time to get some hardware via the Hollywood blacklist, one of the more controversial periods in Tinseltown's shady past. Not to suggest that Roach doesn't do a quality job here—as biopics go, this representation of Dalton Trumbo, a golden age screenwriter, is up there with the best. But the conflict, which in some ways is finding a job and in some ways fighting for what's right, takes a backseat through the movie, and what is emphasized are those many fine performances that poke the nostalgia bone. Hats off to Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren, John Goodman (who is perfect as a pulp movie producer), and David James Elliott (as John Wayne). If you're looking for a jump-start on the award season, this is an excellent access point. While lacking in style, Trumbo is a fine ode to a man who fought for what he believed in and who was passionate about what he did.

Read Jacob Lichty's full review by Jacob Lichty