“Halloween”
The 11th (!!!) in the franchise. 40 years later, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the movie where she made her debut. It’s Laurie Strode’s revenge in her final showdown with Michael Myers. Judy Greer and Will Patton co-star. It’s currently getting an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and “The New York Post” is giving it 3 stars. It’ll definitely be the big movie of the weekend.
“The Old Man & the Gun”
Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek’s “The Old Man & the Gun” goes wide this week. Redford has already taken back his statement that this is his last acting gig. It’s a great character study based on a real life bank robber and escape artist. The most laid back heist movie you’ll ever see. You can’t call it an action movie by any stretch of the imagination. A real gem for adults.
3 ½ ♥
“Can You Ever Forgive Me”
We get to see the serious side of Melissa McCarthy. Man, she had chops. And she could easily win awards. I’ve never seen her better. McCarthy stars as the real life Lee Israel, a best-selling celeb biographer in the 70’s & 80’s who falls out of favor and turns to faking celeb letters to make a living. What a story- and it’s all true!
3 ½ ♥
“What They Had”
Blythe Danner gets a rare starring role as a mom with dementia and a loving family who is at odds with how to handle her declining health. Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon play her kids; Robert Forster is her husband. It’s heartbreaking and real. One of the great ensemble performances of the year. Flawless acting, especially from Danner.
3 ½ ♥
“Wildlife”
Paul Dano (“Little Miss Sunshine” and “There Will Be Blood”) makes his directorial debut with real life love and actress Zoe Kazan sharing the writing credits. Set in Montana, the movie is based on the novel of the same name and centers on a working class wife/mom’s coming of age in the early 60’s and the impact that has on her only child, a 14 year old son. Carey Mulligan is the wife with Jake Gyllenhaal as a mostly absent husband with newcomer Ed Oxenbould as their son. Oxenbould is a natural- he doesn’t have to utter a line. His eyes tell it all. Sensitive and never heavy handed, Paul Dano gets it right.
3 ½ ♥
“Change In the Air”
I have no idea how this movie got this name. Mary Beth Hurt (her biggest movies were from the late 70’s & early 80’s: “The World According To Garp” & Woody Allen’s “Interiors”) stars with Aiden Quinn, M. Emmet Walsh, Macy Gray and Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”). Hurt is the busy body on her street and goes into overdrive when a mysterious neighbor moves in (Brosnahan) who gets sacks full of mail each day. It feels “Twilight Zoney” but has no payoff in the end. I was scratching my head for days trying to figure out what this movie was trying to say. I THINK it’s about letting go of guilt. I don’t like figure-it-out-for-yourself-endings.
1 ♥