#Middlebury #DVDs
“The Happytime Murders” (R) – Brian Henson steps out of the warm and fuzzy Muppets world to the raunchy – I mean, tauntingly raunchy – land where puppets and people co-exist. Melissa McCarthy leads as police detective Connie Edwards alongside the puppeteering of Bill Baretta as Phil, a sass-mouth private dick who used to be Edwards’ partner. On Phil’s latest PI case, puppets start turning up dead, including some cast members of a ’90s puppet sitcom called “The Happytime Gang.” So Edwards and Phil reteam to chase down the culprit. It lacks the charm of a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and the satire of “Team America.” And it’s certainly no “Muppet Movie.” While “Happytime” ends up being a repetitive cavalcade of puppet sex and drug jokes, Maya Rudolph still manages to be funny as Phil’s ditzy secretary Bubbles.
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (PG-13) – Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) returns in another installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, as action-packed as ever and venturing further into breathtaking stunts and heart-stopping locales. Solomon Lane’s (Sean Harris) organization is in pieces but still wreaking havoc, this time with missing plutonium that must be recovered by Hunt and his team (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames return, as well as Alec Baldwin as CIA Director Alan Hunley), with the sometimes-hurtful help of former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). The visuals are stunning, and dang it, that Tom Cruise can still pull off any manner of death-defying stunt … and look good doing it.
Taissa Farmiga in “The Nun” (Warner Bros. photo)
“The Nun” (R) – A cloistered abbey is under duress from a demonic nun, let loose from the bowels of hell through a rent in the very soul of the abbey. In response, the Vatican sends a priest (Demian Bichir) whose backstory includes a troubling exorcism, and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a novitiate who has a history of disturbing visions … of a demented nun. It’s scary – mostly jump scares, but some psychological terror, too. It’s not reliant on a story so much as the idea that evil nuns are terrifying. If that terrifies you, too, then go ahead and take “The Nun” out for a spin.
“McQueen” (NR) – The life of designer and artist Alexander McQueen is explored in this well-crafted documentary by director Ian Bonhote and director/writer Peter Ettedgui. McQueen, a brilliant light that dimmed far too soon, got his start on Savile Row as a tailor’s apprentice and a burgeoning artist. He grew into a powerhouse of the fashion world, heading the house of Givenchy before starting his own label. Boundary pushing and inventive, but also dark and tragic, McQueen committed suicide by hanging at the age of 40 at the height of his fame. Pulled together from interviews with intimates, as well as publicity materials and more, this is a solid, touching look at a legendary innovator.
New TV Releases
“Castlevania” Season 1
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 2
“Yellowstone” Season 1
“The Family Guy” Season 16
(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
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