Hot Take: Trumbo has a spectacular cast. The film is smart, witty and funny but also dull, pedestrian and pretentious. This isn't much more compelling than a 5th grade history lesson even though it pretends to be. There's a scene in Trumbo where Arlen Herd (Louis C.K.) challenges Dalton Trumbo's (Bryan Cranston) Communist beliefs as they look around Trumbo's lavish ranch.