#Middlebury #Videos #DVDs
“Shazam” (PG-13) – A die-hard foster kid (Asher Angel) who doesn’t rely on anyone is a searching for his mom, but what he gets is the full force of a wizard’s last-ditch effort to find a hero. After being roped into saying the wizard’s name, Billy Batson’s body transforms from a 14-year-old street rat to a strapping (and zapping) grown man powerhouse named Shazam, played infectiously on point by Zachari Levi. He enlists his foster brother to hilariously test the limit of his powers, and it’s all fun and games until a bad guy (Mark Strong) shows up with a problem only Shazam can solve. This is a superhero story that we desperately needed, about choosing your destiny even when it’s hard, and how opening your heart and letting yourself care for others makes you infinitely stronger for it.
Chrissy Metz, Marcel Ruiz in “Breakthrough” (20th Century Fox photo)
“Breakthrough” (PG) – Chrissy Metz (“This Is Us”) headlines as the believer of all believers in “Breakthrough,” about a mother’s resolute faith in the potential for her son to recover from a near-fatal slip into the icy waters of a Missouri lake. It’s a faith-based film, taken from the story of Joyce Smith (Metz) and her adopted son John (Marcel Ruiz). There are miracles stacked on top of predictable miracles and, no spoiler alert needed, the kid makes it. Even so, the cast was good, from Metz and Josh Lucas as John’s parents to Topher Grace as the town’s new pastor. Mike Colter plays a first responder also subject to divine intervention.
“Teen Spirit” (PG-13) – In an underrated bubble-gum fest, Elle Fanning stars (and sings!) as Violet, a British teen with a heck of a voice who auditions for a singing competition show. Her Polish immigrant single mother and working-class background appear to put her at a disadvantage, but some grounding assistance from an aging opera singer and her own sheer talent help this underdog rise through the ranks of the competition. You’ll root for her to outlast the mean girls and to outsmart the music-business leeches. You’ll sing along to the popular music. But you won’t be surprised at how cute it is.
“Little Woods” (R) – A badlands town near the Canadian border holds two sisters captive – Ollie (Tessa Thompson), who is on her last week of probation following a drug trafficking bust, and Deb (Lily James), down on her luck and knocked up with a pregnancy she can ill afford to see through. Add to the list of woes their mother’s death and a house that’s on the verge of foreclosure. Ollie – always the responsible one – must decide whether to tempt fate by reentering the pill trade. It’s a strong directorial debut by Nia Dacosta, who touches on issues of health care and rural opportunity in this women-centric drama.
New TV Releases
“Criminal Minds” Season 14
“Titans” Season 1
“Luther” The Complete Series
“The Practice” The Complete Series
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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