#Middlebury
“Poms” (PG-13) – Bringing new meaning to the word “squad,” “Poms” follows Martha (Diane Keaton), a retired teacher with a terminal cancer who moves into an “active” retirement community filled with quirky personalities, a ton of amenities and a shocking lack of freedom. Turns out residents must participate in an extracurricular activity vetted by a mean-girls (now, mean-old-ladies) type committee. Martha opts to create a cheerleading squad and recruits five other free thinkers, including her adorably rebellious neighbor Sheryl (Jacki Weaver). They set out to prove – with warmth, humor and powerful bonds of friendship – that a sextet of 60- and 70-somethings still got it. Although “Poms” took some knocks for pandering to the AARP set, I thought it a cute movie showing a vibrant and fun ride through later life.
Justice Smith in “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” (Warner Bros. photo)
“Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” (PG) – In Ryme City in the Pokemon Universe, humans and Pokemon live together peaceably. Harry Goodman was a detective there until an apparent Mewtoo attack and/or car accident took his life. When his son Tim (Justice Smith) comes to collect his belongings, he meets Detective Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), with exceptional detecting skills but partial amnesia, who used to be his dad’s partner. Tim, unlike anyone else, is able to hear and communicate with Pikachu, and is persuaded to pair up to investigate Harry’s death. I enjoyed the tack taken by director Rob Letterman (“Goosebumps”). It’s weird but not off-putting. Reynolds and Smith are endearing, and it’s funny and enjoyable for all age groups.
“The Curse of La Llorona” (R) – The legend of La Llorona has it that a woman, blinded by rage and jealousy, drowned her sons in a river. She is condemned to walk the earth for eternity until she finds the bodies of her sons, and she’ll snatch up every kid she can find in the process. Flash to 1970s Los Angeles, and a social worker (Linda Cardellini) “rescues” the children of a deranged mother. The children are subsequently drowned by La Llorona. The mother sics the weeping spirit on the social worker, who has two young kids of her own. She calls in Father Perez (Tony Amendola, also seen in “Annabelle” of “The Conjuring” universe) to help, and the group must battle every jump scare and pool of water in sight.
“Tolkien” (PG-13) – Many know J.R.R. Tolkien as one of the most creative minds of our time, breathing life into fanciful and fearsome creatures that have captured the imaginations of countless men, women and children since “The Hobbit” was published in 1937. But this biopic, with Nicholas Hoult in the title role, focuses on Tolkien’s early life – in school, his courtship with wife Edith (Lily James) and his experiences in World War I that presumably shaped his later “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
New TV Releases
“Nightfall” Season 2
“Strike Back” Season 6
“The Good Doctor” Season 2
“Batman: Hush”
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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