#Middlebury
“Blinded by the Light” (PG) – For anyone who’s ever had a song, or an artist, speak to you, you will see yourself in this middle-class Pakistani youth. Javed (Viveik Kalra) is an unassuming and poetic teen who lives in a culturally claustrophobic household – his immigrant family is deeply traditional, but he yearns for something more. When he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, his worldview is turned upside down as he sees the Boss’s message as a personal mission statement. He is born to run, indeed.
Isabel Moner in “Dora and The Lost City of Gold” (Paramount Pictures photo)
“Dora and The Lost City of Gold” (PG) – While her parents seek an ancient city, Dora (Isabel Moner) is shipped off to a modern U.S. city school. After a lifetime in the jungle, she’s way out of her comfort zone. But not for long. Along with a couple of high school archetypes, Dora and cousin Diego are whisked back to the bush by some jungle bad guys. They’ll need to escape and find her parents to save the day. It must have been difficult to retain the exuberant innocence of the cartoon and resist the urge to stray into sarcasm. After all, Dora is in high school. But Moner carries the torch beautifully, taking the best from the wholesome child explorer and weaving her into a fish out of water adventure-nerd, all the while serving self-aware inside jokes wrapped in a can-do attitude.
“American Dreamer” (R) – Jim Gaffigan stars in this dark thriller as a hard-luck case who turns from deadbeat to deadly. Cam (Gaffigan) lost his job and his family. He’s behind on his child support, with no good prospects in sight. Making ends meet as a rideshare driver, Cam picks up drug-dealer Mazz (Robbie Jones), who sees Cam’s nondescript car as the perfect cover. In his desperation, Cam sees more than a five-star rating or a tip in Mazz. If you think it’s going to be funny because Gaffigan’s a comedian, you’re dead wrong.
“Cold War” – Director Pawel Pawlikowski paints a gorgeously lush picture of the lifelong love story of Zula (Joanna Kulig) and Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), a singer and band director who meet in post-war Poland and whose romantic saga is played out in waves that are tempered by the politics of the time. The stunningly crisp and evocative black and white film underscores the magnetic passion of Zula and Wiktor, who despite all odds, keep finding each other again and again. It’s lovely and heartbreaking. (Polish, with subtitles.)
New TV Releases
“The Kominsky Method” Season 1
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 3
“Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection” Blu-ray
“Ancient Aliens” Season 12
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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