#Middlebury
“A Quiet Place” (PG-13) – John Krasinski directs and stars alongside real-life wife Emily Blunt in the exquisitely scary “A Quiet Place.” Set in near-future after a devastating invasion of aliens that hunt by sound alone, Lee and Evelyn Abbott live in a remote farmhouse with their children. They exist within a complicated and rigorous silence, and communicate with American Sign Language, as their daughter, Regan, is deaf. But into each carefully constructed life, some adversity must fall, and the family must outwit the forces that seek to destroy it. It’s smartly crafted, extraordinarily well acted, with a fresh and inventive look at the survival horror genre. Yes, the monsters are real, but they are compounded by the anxiety of fear and perfectly tuned expectation.
“Chappaquiddick” (PG-13) – The inexhaustible source material that is the Kennedy family dynasty is again the subject of a film, this one centered on youngest son Ted and the infamous incident involving a car, a bridge and the tragic death of a young campaign worker named Mary Jo Kopechne, played by Kate Mara. Actor Jason Clarke does a wonderful job of tackling the persona of Ted Kennedy, exposing vulnerability and weakness as well as giving us flashes of his derailed ambition. Bruce Dern plays a wizened Joseph Kennedy, while Ed Helms takes on the role of fixer-in-chief Joe Gargan. This film isn’t making any revelations, but Clarke’s performance is especially stand out, making the emotional revisiting of history palatable.
Charlie Plummer in “Lean on Pete” (A24 photo)
“Lean on Pete” (R) – Charlie Plummer stars as Charley, a 15-year-old boy with a rough life who finds his heart in an almost worn-out quarter horse named Lean on Pete. When his single dad relocates the pair to Oregon, Charley picks up a job working with the handler (Steve Buscemi) and jockey (Chloe Sevigny) who race Pete. But when the horse starts to lose and is scheduled for sale/slaughter, Charley sets off on an adventure across the West in search of a better life for himself and the horse. Is it enough to love a thing, and to make that love your mission? This bittersweet and heart-touching gem based on the novel by Willy Vlautin is worth the watch.
“Future World” (R) – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A bunch of celebrities sit around at a party and decide that they should make a post-apocalyptic action/sci-fi movie about a Queen (Lucy Liu) who is dying, a Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg) who must save her, a sexy robot assassin (Suki Waterhouse) who is in need of a soul, and a collection of druglords, warlords, quirky personalities and Very Bad Guys – hey, there are parts for everyone! Heading up the cast of bad guys are James Franco and Milla Jovovich, two actors known for giving understated, nuanced performances (sarcasm, folks). The plot is riddled with unnecessary turns, but at least it includes roles for Snoop Dogg and Method Man.
New TV Releases
“Rosewood” Season 2
“The Exorcist” Season 1
“The Magicians” Season 3
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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