In Lion, we are all aboard with our pint-sized stowaway.

Young Saroo (Pawar) is helpless in the unfamiliar sea of humanity at the train station in Calcutta and yet shows heaps of admirable resilience. He is able to navigate the rough streets and hurdle language barriers to hold onto our compassion with fervor. The kid is amazing.

Then, in a quite jarring temporal transition, a fully grown Saroo (Patel) emerges to carry the emotional baton for the duration. With the looming tendency to overact to attain the favor of an audience completely invested in the young version of himself, Patel was able to smooth the edges and deliver.

Sue (Kidman), Saroo’s adoptive mother, charges into the film conveying kindness and spirit and then heartache as Saroo becomes distant. Some of Lion’s most affecting moments are found within this dissolution, and subsequent affirmation, of the bond between Saroo and Sue.

The film only lags with the abruptness of Saroo’s search obsession and the blasè, yet consequential, love story with Lucy (Mara). Lion is intense and memorable, coming in at 4.43 napkins out of 5 which, according to Google Earth, lies just outside the radius of the Film Clas elite.

This film is so artfully transporting and mesmerizing that it kindles the pure joy of the movies in a similar manner to the incomparable Cinema Paradiso. It took a little bit of my movie soul to say that, yes, but we are truly gaga for La La Land.

The toe-tapping commences immediately and doesn’t slow throughout. It matters not if the music is playing and the characters are singing or dancing, the rhythm of La La Land is the synthesis of harmonic perfection and thoughtful interactions. The music flows effortlessly through the film while a similar beat permeates within the dialogue. It’s magic.

The story is so simple and identifiable. Mia (Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) are both struggling to find their success and they immediately have our favor from their first interaction. The crossover stage talents of these two stars is remarkable. Gosling is in a comic groove and Emma Stone elevates the standard aspiring actress role with charm and feeling. Their chemistry is perfect, just take the “I Ran” request and response.

This film is fabulous. Chazelle and La La Land tap dance into the Film Clas elite with an unprecedented 4.997 star struck napkins out of 5.

In Fences, Troy Maxson (Denzel) never shuts up. And there is persistent hope that someone will parachute into the suburban Pittsburgh backyard and plead with him to stop talking. The problem therein would be that his prolific nay-saying and constant projecting would be sorely missed. It’s addictive.

Troy’s soapbox diatribes, while captivating, expose his obvious transparency as he holds everyone accountable for their actions while blaming everyone for his transgressions. It’s a character flaw that we sympathize with to start but grow angry with over time. And I think that’s the point.

Thankfully we have Rose (Davis) to soothe us and fill in the divots left after Troy verbally charges through everyone. She is raising Troy’s children (one is hers) in spite of him. She supports them when he condescends them, especially when it comes to Cory (Adepo) and Lyons (Hornsby) creating their own path in sports and music, respectively. In an interesting similarity, our sympathy for Rose tranforms into another emotion as well, sadness.

Denzel clearly cements his iconic Film Clas status. The film is spatially small but packs a huge personality. We paint Fences with the elite brush, awarding 4.6 napkins out of 5.