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| Simon Russell Beale & Jeffrey Tambor (r) star in The Death of Stalin |
From our friend, Arch Campbell...
Lady Bird - 4 Stars. Greta Gerwig directs a spot-on mother/daughter battle, during a young woman's high school senior year. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf deliver award-worthy performances.
Darkest Hour - 4 Stars. Set in May 1940, as Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister and ignores the advice to negotiate with Hitler.
I, Tonya - 4 Stars. Margot Robbie dazzles as hard scrabble Olympic skater and tabloid queen Tonya Harding.
Phantom Thread - 4 Stars. 1950s fashion artist Daniel Day-Lewis finds his match in waitress Vicky Krieps. Hitchcock would have loved this power struggle romance.
The Post - 3½ Stars. The Washington Post defies the government, and publishes the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Stirring newspaper drama, as well as inspiring rise of Katherine Graham as publisher/leader.
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| Arch Campbell with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r) |
Call Me by Your Name - 3½ Stars. Beautifully filmed, languid Italian summer romance.
Black Panther - 3½ Stars. Chadwick Boseman breathes life into a new and exciting superhero. As king of a little known African nation, he can bring peace and power to the world; but first, he must settle a family score.
The Death of Stalin - 3½ Stars. Funny but painful history lesson of the dance for power to replace the Soviet dictator, with outstanding performances by Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, and Simon Russell Beale.
Game Night - 3 Stars. Jason Bateman and Rachael McAdams get more than they bargain for, on a murder mystery night hosted by Kyle Chandler.
The Shape of Water - 3 Stars. Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning woman, who comes to the aid of a sea creature captured during the Cold War.
A Fantastic Woman - 3 Stars. A transgender woman cannot grieve the sudden death of her partner, because of his family and a repressive South American society. Dreamlike and beautifully made, but a little too coy at times.
Ready Player One - 2½ Stars. Steven Spielberg's very commercial take on the world of virtual reality.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 2½ Stars. Echoes the best elements of the earlier Star Wars films. Runs long and loud. Fans will love.
A Wrinkle in Time - 2 Stars. Disappointing all-star Disney version of beloved book. A father disappears and three unusual beings bring his children to space to search for him. Say What?
Death Wish - 2 Stars. Bruce Willis sleepwalks through remake of 1974 urban western. Tight editing, and short runtime help.
12 Strong - 2 Stars. Patriotic based-on-fact story of the special forces team that joined an Afghanistan warlord to fight the Taliban in the weeks following 9/11. Long and hard to follow.
Red Sparrow - 1 Star. Jennifer Lawrence missteps as a Russian ballet star-turned-spy. Her accent fades in and out over the course of an unbelievable plot.
Annihilation - 1 Star. Natalie Portman sci-fi mystery starts with a bang, but ends with a whimper.
Visit Arch's website for his (unrivaled) take on movies. He remains the only other (we're not self-hating) critic, whose opinion we admire and respect.
