Paul Greengrass’ "The Lost Bus"
A Movie Review by Dennis D. McDonald
It is impossible to review this movie without commenting on the astonishing sound design and special effects. They place you directly in the middle of a devastating wildfire—and inside a school bus full of children being driven by Matthew McConaughey’s character through that terrifying inferno.
These scenes unfold within the context of a superbly scripted, acted, and edited adventure set not on some distant alien world, but here in our own country.
What makes the story especially unsettling is that the events depicted are uncomfortably real. Not only did they actually happen, but with the continued advance of climate change, we know such disasters will happen again—and most likely we will still not be fully prepared.
Review copyright (c) 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald
