Mini reviews of 'Meeting Gorbachev' and 'Ma'

⋆⋆⋆ out of four stars

Not rated: But contains nothing objectionable; in subtitled Russian and German.

Theater: Lagoon.

Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev gets his due in this engaging and touching valedictory to one of the more pivotal figures of the 20th century.

The man who helped end the Cold War, advanced nuclear disarmament and was politically sidelined at a crucial point in his country's history might not be well known by younger generations in America.

But in Germany, where the documentary was produced, he's a hero. "I love you," Werner Herzog, the film's co-director, says to his subject at one point. And with that disappears any thoughts of this being an objective study.

But it's one of many disarmingly transparent moments in the film, which starts with Herzog assuming that Gorbachev still harbors resentment for Germans because of the devastation they visited upon the U.S.S.R. during World War II.

Herzog (nominated for an Oscar for the documentary "Encounters at the End of the World") and co-director Andre Singer (who often serves as producer on Herzog's films) review Gorbachev's political rise through the Soviet Communist Party, his visionary programs of perestroika and glasnost, his relationships with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the cascade of events that ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Gorbachev's disastrous removal from office.

Open-minded, resolutely untribal, supremely relaxed, Gorbachev — approaching 90 and in ill health — presents an enormously poignant figure, still mourning his late wife, Raisa, and alarmed at efforts to reignite the arms race.

A brief shot of Vladimir Putin at Raisa's funeral only points up some frustrating omissions in the film: Herzog never asks Gorbachev about Putin, contemporary Russian politics or such present-day concerns as Ukraine, cyberwarfare and political destabilization in the West.

Still, the film is valuable, if only for the chance to remind viewers that sometimes history can be changed.

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Rated: R for violent/disturbing material, profanity, sexual content and teen drug and alcohol use.

Who knew Octavia Spencer would be the perfect actress to portray a 2019 version of Margaret White, the overbearing mother that earned Piper Laurie an Oscar nomination for 1976's "Carrie"? Probably only Spencer herself, who turns in a brilliantly campy performance in this otherwise serviceable high school horror flick.

Spencer is working with director Tate Taylor, who directed her in "The Help." He's a workmanlike director, having dabbled in various genres but never matching the success of his 2011 movie.

While his horror aesthetic isn't necessarily memorable, this movie zips along while providing a foundation for screenwriter Scotty Landes' ("Workaholics") increasingly bonkers script (and most important, Spencer's creepy-larious performance).

Updated for the times, Spencer's Ma is certainly much hipper than Laurie's Margaret. Known for her lovable roles in "The Help" and "Hidden Figures," Spencer goes dark and sadistic with an enthusiastic glee. With her signature smile (and those bangs!), she creates one of the more memorable horror villains in recent history.

Diana Silvers stars as Maggie, the new girl in school who has moved back to her mom's (Juliette Lewis) hometown after her parents' divorce. She falls in with the cool kids, who encounter the friendly vet tech Sue Ann (Spencer) one night while they're trying to score beer. Soon, Sue Ann has invited them to party in her basement, under the auspices that she's glad they're safe. But Sue Ann, whom the teens nickname "Ma," sure does enjoy drinking with her new underage pals.

The intuitive Maggie's hackles are raised by Ma's clinginess and flirtations with her boyfriend, Andy (Corey Fogelmanis). And that's even before she hears the things that go bump in the night in Ma's house while everyone is otherwise indisposed.

While the audience gets some indication of the deep-seated trauma that fuels Ma's vengeful actions, we still never really understand what she wants. That works for the movie — ratcheting up the suspense because you just never know what Ma is going to do — and also against it. Because by the end, her actions just seem random and chaotic.

Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service