Friday, November 8, 2019

Arch Campbell's Weekend Movie Guide (11/8/19)

Al Pacino & Robert De Niro (r) star in The Irishman

From our friend, Arch Campbell...

The Irishman - 4 Stars. Martin Scorsese's old school mob epic, (3½ hours) with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. What more do you want?

Apollo 11 - 3½ Stars. New footage of the 1969 Moon voyage, assembled in eye-popping, jaw-dropping style.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice - 3½ Stars. Linda Ronstadt's career, revisited with the sad coda of her losing her voice.

Parasite - 3½ Stars. Korean comedy/horror thriller. Lower class family worms their way into a 1% family. Then fun begins, including a couple of off-the-rails twists.

Arch Campbell with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r)

Jojo Rabbit - 3½ Stars. A young German boy conjures Hitler as his imaginary friend during World War II. Great acting. Threads the needle between comedy and tragedy.

Downton Abbey - 3 Stars. Just what fans of the series ordered.

Judy - 3 Stars. RenĂ©e Zellweger's amazing performance of the last, sad year of Judy Garland's life.

Harriet - 3 Stars. A thrilling performance from Cynthia Erivo (as emancipator Harriet Tubman) makes this creative biography live.

Doctor Sleep - 3 Stars. This sequel to "The Shining" will keep you awake nights. A genuine chiller.

Ad Astra - 3 Stars. Brad Pitt as a son searching the universe for his father. Stunningly beautiful, even when it sputters at the end.

The Current War - 2½ Stars. Edison versus Westinghouse for electricity supremacy. Tesla, too. History made interesting, almost.

Dolemite Is My Name - 2½ Stars. Eddie Murphy pays tribute to comic Rudy Ray Moore's midnight movies about the outrageous character Dolemite.

Zombieland: Double Tap - 2 Stars. More zombie killing adventures with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin... Oh! and also Bill Murray.

Frankie - 1 Star. Family reunion in Portugal includes slow, but familiar romance, divorce, and end-of-life musings.

It Chapter Two - 1 Star. Overlong, overstuffed disappointment, in spite of a good cast.

Motherless Brooklyn - 1 Star. Edward Norton as an underworld character desperately trying to solve the murder of his boss. Long, confusing, derivative, and unsatisfying.

Midway - 1 Star. Cliche-ridden World War II drama includes phony looking computer graphic air and sea fights.

Didn't see it, don't wanna see it: In honor of my increasing grumpiness toward the new world of movies...

Terminator: Dark Fate - Enough already.

Gemini Man - Saw it the first time.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Unnecessary sequel.

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.