'The Lost Bus' one of year's best streaming films

Is it just me, or does it feel like it's been forever since Matthew McConaughey appeared in any movie? Other than some voice work, he hasn't been in a movie since 2019's "The Gentlemen." He makes his (somewhat) triumphant return to the screen in "The Lost Bus," a film based on the true story of a California wildfire. "The Lost Bus" is available only on Apple TV+.Kevin McKay (McConaughey) is down on his luck. Before the movie begins he had left Reno and returned to Paradise, California, four months after his father's death. It's not like he had much going on in Reno anyway. Kevin hadn't spoken to his father in twenty years and wasn't able to make it back to Paradise before he passed away. Afterward, Kevin was forced to move back to Paradise permanently to take care of his ailing mother.The move wasn't easy on his relationship with his son, Shaun (Levi McConaughey). Their already strained relationship only got worse after they moved to Paradise. Shaun doesn't like living with his dad or helping to take care of his grandmother.It's against this backdrop that Kevin is trying to make ends meet as a school bus driver. He's not the best driver. He's probably the school system's worst driver. Kevin is always late, never turns in his paperwork on time, and doesn't make sure his bus gets its necessary maintenance.Paradise hasn't received a single drop of rain in 211 days. When a spark from a transformer starts a wildfire, the wind escalates the fire so rapidly that emergency services are unable to curb the spreading inferno. Paradise is soon engulfed. Kevin is the only bus driver available to pick up 22 children and teacher Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera) and get them to safety.That's not as easy as it sounds. The roads are jammed as the entire city is fleeing the inferno. Kevin and Mary are caught with the students in a horrorscape of flames and smoke. It will take every ounce of courage they have to save those kids.Amazingly, "The Lost Bus" is based on the true story of a 2018 wildfire that enveloped the town of Paradise, California. It turned out to be the deadliest wildfire in California history. True stories like this are terrifying. That these children went through the events in the movie is almost unthinkable.The movie does an amazing job of creating tension as the flames get closer and the outlook bleaker. The stakes couldn't be any higher and as the fire spreads, so does the sense of unease. I had a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that only grew as each turn of the bus led the characters further into danger.The filming of the movie was incredible. It's difficult to fully explain the achievement in cinematography in this film. This is one of those instances where you have to see it to believe it. At times the camera follows the fire as it searches out more fuel to spread further. At other times the depiction of the fire looks so incredibly real that I would swear the actors were surrounded by an actual fire. The fire (and the danger) is so authentic looking that it's almost anxiety inducing.It's not easy to make you feel sorry for Matthew McConaughey. He's a guy who seemingly has it all. But in this movie his father had recently passed away, he had to put his dog to sleep, his mother is in a wheelchair and his son tells him he hates him and he wishes he was dead. Kevin McKay's plight was real and real depressing. McConaughey plays the down and out character who morphs into a hero as well as could be expected.Grade: A-Rated R for language.•••Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff.