#Middlebury #DVDs
“Robin Hood” (PG-13) – Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) returns disillusioned from the Crusades with an Arab named John (Jamie Foxx) who trains him to elude capture while stealing the wealth of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn), who is funding both sides of the Crusades in a power grab. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m still mad about this one – it had such great potential, but the arrow really missed the mark. It’s indecisive about its tone (is this the Robin Hood legend or some weird updated reimagining?) and the powerhouse cast is underused, ill-used or abusive (Foxx confuses volume for an exotic accent).
Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga in “A Star Is Born” (Warner Bros. Pictures photo)
“A Star Is Born” (R) – A successful musician in a downward spiral collides with a disheartened but not defeated raw talent. The love is real, but is it enough? Jack (Bradley Cooper) meets Aly (Lady Gaga) at a dive bar where she waits tables and sometimes performs, and after some conversation, he coaxes her onto his own stage, the big stage, where her stardom is ignited. As Aly rises, Jack descends into his addictions and dysfunctions. The love story between these two – and the emotional performance from both actors – will touch your heart. If it never won any of the many awards for which it’s nominated, it would still stand as the timelessly crafted love story that it is.
“Overlord” (R) – A team of paratroopers is sent in ahead of the D-Day invasion to take out a German radio tower that is located within a garrisoned church. With the help of local resident Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier) they discover that inside hides a Nazi lab, where the experiments are off the deep end. The soldiers, including fresh meat trooper Boyce (Jovan Adepo) and veteran leader Ford (Wyatt Russell), must fight for their lives against the hypernatural and decide which target to go after: the radio tower or the rabid science experiments. Director Julius Avery does a commendable job, seamlessly blending war story and outright horror – it’s G.I. Joe meets B-movie bloodfest, with plenty of action for both genres scattered consistently throughout.
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (R) – Melissa McCarthy plays biographer Lee Israel in a biographical dramedy based on Israel’s own accounts. When her latest book flops, Israel begins to liquidate her personal possessions – including a personal letter from Katharine Hepburn – to make a buck. She finds out that personal effects with more revealing scripts drive up the price, and decides she’s not above zhuzhing up a letter or two (or many) from deceased personalities in order to get paid. Her escapades, escalating to include her dealer friend Jack (Richard E. Grant), and eventual unmasking are as entertaining and interesting as the tidbits Israel added to her wares.
New TV Releases
“Miracle Workers” Season 1
“American Chopper” Season 8
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”
“Lonesome Dove” Miniseries
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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