#Middlebury #CouchTheater
“Last Men in Aleppo” (NR) – Feras Fayyad’s poignant documentary mixes devastation with the last vestiges of hope in a war-torn wasteland. The White Helmets are the men of the Syrian Civil Defense, unarmed volunteers who rush in when bombs reduce their cities to rubble. They’re the difference between life and death for a staggering number of victims that they pull from the wreckage. The film follows three of these men – founders Khaled, Subhi and Mahmoud – through the dangerous landscape of Aleppo, the decisions that keep them there, and how the remaining citizens – families, children – manage the anxiety of living from moment to moment. It’s a gripping look into a life of heroes and humans.
Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter in ”The Last Movie Star” (XYZ Films photo)
“The Last Movie Star” (R) – Burt Reynolds stars as Vic Edwards, a financially unstable, has-been legend who is minorly duped into accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award in person at what turns out to be, basically, a Nashville bar. In response, he diverts his young driver Lil (Ariel Winter) on a tour through Knoxville, where he was born and raised before the flood of celebrity and its aftermath. Chevy Chase guest stars briefly as Reynolds’ … I mean Edwards’, Hollywood best bud. This movie is confusing. It mixes real-life Burt Reynolds references and the fantasy actor Vic Edwards. The relationship between Vic and Lil, which I am guessing is supposed to be significant, was uninteresting.
“Roxanne Roxanne” (NR) – The Duchess of Dis, Roxanne Shante, was the breakthrough female rapper who preceded today’s Cardi B and Nicki Minaj by decades, clawing her way to the top of the New York rap battle scene in the early 1980s. She finally finds the respect she deserves in her very own biopic, streaming exclusively on Netflix. Shante (played by amazing newcomer Chante Adams) was barely out of middle school when she was vaulted to notoriety. This film shows the personal adversity of Shante’s life, the struggle alongside the swagger. Nia Long is raw as her alcoholic mother, and Mahershala Ali plays the much older, abusive boyfriend who would father her first child.
“Acts of Violence” (R) – Detective James Avery (Bruce Willis) has been trying to pin an unpinnable crime king whose goons snatch a pretty girl at her bachelorette party. When the police offer no real recourse, the girl’s brothers – military trained Declan (Cole Hauser, notably), Brandon (Shawn Ashmore) and Roman (Ashton Holmes) – pick up where the detective is unable to move ahead. This is a case of truth in advertising: a lot of bullets, brooding and vengeance. Is it winning Academy Awards? No. Is it do-able for a pizza and movie night? Absolutely, especially because Bruce Willis plays a stymied, underdog cop.
TV New Releases
“The Outer Limits” Season 1
“The Americans” Season 5
“The Brokenwood Mysteries” Series 4
“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: It’s a Beautiful Day Collection”
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc
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