Tom Cruise stars in Mission: Impossible - Fallout |
From our friend, Arch Campbell...
First Reformed - 4 Stars. Grieving minister Ethan Hawke tries to counsel an environmental activist on the value of bringing children into our world. Tension-filled and thought-provoking.
RBG - 4 Stars. Inspiring life story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's quirky, smart and determined.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? - 4 Stars. Touching biography of seminary student/turned television pioneer Fred Rogers.
Three Identical Strangers - 4 Stars. Identical triplets, separated at birth, discover each other, later learning why they were separated and how they were used as "lab rats." A chilling documentary.
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.
Sorry to Bother You - 3½ Stars. Outrageous science fiction comedy satire, that starts in a telemarketing pit and goes from there.
Arch Campbell with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r) |
Blindspotting - 3½ Stars. Brilliant mix of comedy, drama and hip-hop. Daveed Diggs must stay out of trouble, in order to complete probation, but his friends don't help.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - 3 Stars. Irresistible sequel to the Meryl Streep/ABBA musical with an all-star cast.
Deadpool 2 - 3 Stars. More of the wisecracking, anti-hero superhero played by Ryan Reynolds.
Ocean's 8 - 3 Stars. Sandra Bullock masterminds a multi-million dollar heist with a gang of women you'd better not cross.
Avengers: Infinity War - 3 Stars. All of the characters in the Marvel Universe fight Thanos, who plans to depopulate the world. A Grand Opera approach to comic books, fans will love.
Eighth Grade - 3 Stars. A young girl struggles in the age of technology.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout - 2½ Stars. Tom Cruise barrels through another adventure, doing his own stunts and saving the world with one second to spare.
Book Club - 2½ Stars. Four mature women begin reading "50 Shades of Grey" and things change. Great cast includes Jane Fonda, Candace Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen.
The Catcher Was a Spy - 2½ Stars. Based on true story of 1930s baseball player Mo Berg, who left sports for the CIA during World War II.
The Equalizer 2 - Run-of-the-mill spy thriller gets a lift from Denzel Washington, as an off-the-grid ex-CIA operative.
Ant-Man and the Wasp - 2 Stars. Uninspired sequel to the much better original.
Tag - 2 Stars. Childhood friends carry on a game of tag into middle age. Feels tedious, until the credits show video of the real guys involved.
Solo: A Star Wars Story - 2 Stars. Uninspired prequel to the 1977 original.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - 1 Star. Same old monster mash, only longer.
SICARIO: Day of the Soldado - Zero Stars. Violent sequel to a much better original. The ending made the audience laugh.
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.