9. “Bad Education” – The United States’ education system has rightfully taken its share of lumps over the years (and decades, right?), and director Cory Finley (“Thoroughbreds” (2017)) delivers pummeling blows on Roslyn High School. Based on an infamous true story, more than a smidge of corruption has plagued this Long Island institution, although no one would know it from an initial look at the brick, mortar, and friendly teachers and staff. Geraldine Viswanathan plays an upstart teenage reporter who digs into hidden spaces far from the busy hallways, as Finley’s flick carries a brooding sense of impending doom, like Alexander Payne’s “Election” (1999). Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano, and the rest of the cast and crew earn straight A’s!
⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Image credits: HBO Films; Trailer credits: ONE Media
