You wouldn't think anyone could make a feel-good entertainment about the War in Afghanistan, still raging after nearly 17 years. But blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer isn't just anyone, and so we have 12 Strong, a demolition-heavy drama about the first Special Forces team sent to Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

A weekend celebration of glorious birds and piano expertise, the 24th Annual Eagles & Ivories Ragtime Festival, taking place January 26 through 28, will find numerous Muscatine locales flooded with music, along with movies, meals, and aerial views of majestic eagles.

Singer/songwriter John Paul Roney performs a January 26 Moeller Nights concert alongside Andrew Fraser and Aaron Simon in the musicians' experimental-folk outfit Boom Forest, a group whose recent album Post Knight Errant led MXDWN.com to write that Roney's “career should no doubt be watched with great interest,” adding, “No matter which direction Roney chooses to bring the listener, it’s impossible to be disappointed.”

Appearing locally on a national wintertime tour that takes the band from Iowa to Pennsylvania to its headliner's home state of Florida, the blues, funk, soul, and rock artists of JJ Grey & Mofro play Davenport's Redstone Room on January 28, the musicians' most recent album Ol' Glory described by NoDepression.com as a work of “boundless compassion and honesty” and “Grey's finest outing yet.”

Featuring dozens of debuting works in a variety of artistic mediums, the 40th Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition will be on display at the Figge January 27 through March 20, showcasing paintings, sculptures, installations, and more by artists living within a 150-mile radius of the Quad Cities.

Here are my official predictions for the 90th (!) Annual Academy Awards, scheduled to be announced on the morning of Tuesday, January 23. Boldface denotes predicted nominees, non-boldface denotes runners-up, predictions are in order of probability, and mild commentary is attached at no extra charge.

Painful, wrenching, and, in my view, deeply empathetic toward its subject, this is one of the least funny “comedies” I've ever seen. I mean that as a compliment.

Whenever a dramatic new element is introduced into a political campaign, it’s always instructive to watch how the targeted candidate responds. Did the candidate appear ready for the new turn of events, or was s/he caught flat-footed?