 |
| Anna Kendrick & Blake Lively (r) star in A Simple Favor |
From our friend, Arch Campbell...
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.
BlacKkKlansman - 3½ Stars. Spike Lee combines the true story of a 1970s KKK sting with a history of American racism from the Civil War to present day.
 |
| Arch Campbell with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r) |
Juliet, Naked - 3½ Stars. Romantic comedy delight with Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd. Byrne connects with washed-up rocker Hawke, whom O'Dowd idolizes.
Sorry to Bother You - 3½ Stars. Outrageous science fiction comedy satire, that starts in a telemarketing pit and goes from there.
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.
Christopher Robin - 3½ Stars. Ewan McGregor as grown-up Christopher returns to the Hundred Acre Wood to learn a few life lessons from his childhood pals. Beautifully produced mix of live-action, animatronics, and animation.
The Wife - 3 Stars. Glenn Close contends for this year's Best Actress award as long-suffering partner to a renowned writer.
Crazy Rich Asians - 3 Stars. Constance Wu meets the man of her dreams, not knowing he's Asia's catch of the century.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - 3 Stars. Irresistible sequel to the Meryl Streep/ABBA musical with an all-star cast.
Eighth Grade - 3 Stars. A young girl struggles in the age of technology.
A Simple Favor - 2½ Stars. Single mom Anna Kendrick wants to know why her glamorous fellow mom (Blake Lively) disappears.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout - 2½ Stars. Tom Cruise barrels through another adventure, doing his own stunts and saving the world with one second to spare.
The Little Stranger - 2½ Stars. Beautifully produced haunted house story.
Searching - 2½ Stars. John Cho searches for his missing 16-year-old daughter with the help of her laptop and police detective Debra Messing. This innovative thriller almost overcomes a lot of cliches and some hammy acting.
White Boy Rick - 2 Stars. Depressing, true story of a 15-year-old kid recruited as an FBI undercover drug dealer in 1980s Detroit.
Operation Finale - 2 Stars. Recreation of the capture and trial of Nazi Adolph Eichmann lacks tension, despite star turns by Ben Kingsley and Oscar Issac.
The Equalizer 2 - 2 Stars. 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.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - 1 Star. Same old monster mash, only longer.
Kin - 1 Star. Slow, dull sci-fi fantasy. Kid finds a ray gun and goes on a crime spree with his older brother.
Mile 22 - Zero stars. Ultra violent, over-the-top thriller, starring Mark Wahlberg as leader of an off-the-grid spy team.
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.
