#Middlebury #DVD
“Richard Jewell” (R) – Ripped from the not too distant past, Clint Eastwood’s biographical drama is about a security guard at the 1996 Olympics who found a bomb, and then went from brave protector to public enemy No. 1 thanks to the indiscriminately swift blame game played by big media. Paul Walter Hauser portrays Jewell, a low-level law enforcement wannabe. He discovered a bomb in Centennial Park and helped move people to safety. His face was all over TV as a hero, even while his stats on paper – single, lonely white male with a keen desire to be in authority – made him a likely suspect. Enter an unscrupulous journalist (Olivia Wilde) who took some speculation and ran with it, and you have a reputation in tatters.
Scene from “Jumanji: The Next Level” (Sony Pictures Photo)
“Jumanji: The Next Level” (PG-13) – Listless with his real-world experience after the excitement of being a player in Jumanji, Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolfe) comes home on a college break and jumps right back into the game, making him miss a meetup with his gang (Bethany, Fridge and Martha). Just as the squad hatches a plot to go after him, Spencer’s grandpa Eddie (Danny Devito) and Eddie’s estranged business partner Milo (Danny Glover) are sucked into the game, too. With mixed-up avatars and some fun new additions (Awkwafina joins as new avatar Ming Fleetfoot), this fantasy comedy delivers a racing pace, some rollicking good laughs and a surprisingly sweet ending.
“Black Christmas” (PG-13) – Slash the patriarchy! College pals Riley Stone (Imogen Poots), Marty (Lily Donoghue), Kris (Aleyse Shannon) and Jesse (Brittany O’Grady) are rocking around the Christmas tree, getting ready for holiday break in the Mu Kappa Epsilon house. But then a creepy masked killer starts slinking around campus, targeting the ladies. Unfortunately for him, sisters are doing it for themselves these days, so instead of complaining to a big, strong man, the gals go on the offensive. It’s a great idea to turn the stalker trope on its ear, but there wasn’t enough suspense to hold my attention. Director Sophia Takal kept it slasher lite, which didn’t help either.
“A Hidden Life” (PG-13) – Director Terrence Malick tells the true and heartbreaking story of an Austrian farmer in 1939 who would not swear allegiance to Hitler and fight on behalf of the atrocities he represented. Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl) was pulled from his home like many others and taken to serve Germany, but he refused to submit and was prosecuted as a conscientious objector. His wife and family are ostracized, and in the end he must choose between his conviction of morals and his life. It’s all set against the backdrop of wide-open and sweepingly beautiful hillside.
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