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| Alan Arkin stars in Going in Style |
From our friend, Arch Campbell...
La La Land - 4 Stars. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling fall in love with each other & Los Angeles in an optimistic fantasy musical.
Hell or High Water - 4 Stars. A modern day western with Jeff Bridges as a Texas Ranger pursuing Chris Pine and Ben Foster, bank robbers hoping to steal enough money to avoid foreclosure on their family ranch. A brilliant portrait of the last days of the “Texas myth.”
Lion - 4 Stars. Emotional story of a young boy who falls asleep on a train and is carried a thousand miles from home. Growing up, he feels the tug of home, and follows his instincts. One of the year's best.
Paterson - 4 Stars. The great Adam Driver plays a Paterson, New Jersey bus driver named Paterson who writes poetry. Quirky, moving and great fun.
Get Out - 3½ Stars. Breakthrough satire/comedy/horror tale. Black kid visits white girlfriend's secluded home, and suspects something weird. Comic Jordan Peele directs with a sure hand.
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| Arch with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r) |
The Lego Batman Movie - 3½ Stars. Animated comedy based on the Batman character. Hilarious from the first frame onward.
Moonlight - 3½ Stars. Three scenes from the life of a poor kid growing up with an addicted single mother. Love and emotion overcome challenge in a sometimes difficult, but deeply affecting story.
A United Kingdom - 3 Stars. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike add dignity to the story of an interracial couple whose marriage caused an international fury.
I Am Not Your Negro - 3 Stars. James Baldwin’s haunting writings brought to life with the voice of Samuel Jackson.
Hidden Figures - 3 Stars. Inspiring story of three brilliant black women who faced prejudice and gender discrimination working in the space program in 1961. They kept John Glenn aloft.
Land of Mine - 3 Stars. Oscar-nominated story of German POWs in Norway, forced to search for mines planted on the beach. Tension-filled.
Neruda - 3 Stars. Creative, artistic fantasy scenes from the life of Chilean poet/revolutionary/politician Pablo Neruda.
Best New Opening > Going in Style - 2½ Stars. Better-than-expected remake of 1979 George Burns comedy, with Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin as angry senior citizens, turned bank robbers.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 2½ Stars. Star Wars sidebar. Most fans will love it, but don't expect anything new.
The Zookeeper's Wife - 2 Stars. A Warsaw family uses their zoo to protect Jewish refugees during the Nazi reign. Falls short of better Holocaust stories.
Fifty Shades Darker - 1 Star. Second installment of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” S&M saga. This time, the lovers reunite and renegotiate. More soapy than sexy.
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.
