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The Rock, Karen Gillan and Jack Black in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (Sony Pictures photo)
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (PG-13) – A hypochondriac weakling, a jock, a social media princess and an awkward nerd girl serve detention in a dingy basement and pass the time by being inadvertently sucked into a video game, embodying the players. They must recover the eye of the jaguar, returning Jumanji to peace, or die trying. The Rock, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan star as the adult avatars in the game, joined by Nick Jonas about midway through. Each of them takes a turn killing it as a teen trapped in an adult’s body. It’s funny, charming and highly recommended. Rating alert: There are some “bathroom”-related references that may require explanation to younger kids.
“Small Town Crime” (R) – This snappy crime thriller by brother directors Eshom and Ian Nelms stars John Hawkes as Mike Kendal – a washed-up ex-cop, prototypically alcoholic and delightfully unapologetic – who happens upon the dead body of a young woman in the field on the side of the road. He might need a couple of cold ones in the morning to get things moving, but he’s all heart, and though a cop he ain’t, he “assigns” himself to the investigation. Teaming up with the dead girl’s grandfather (Robert Forster), he leads the way through an unsavory and lovable cast of characters, inadvertently putting his adoptive sister (Octavia Spencer) and her husband (Anthony Anderson) in jeopardy along the way.
“Pitch Perfect 3” (R) – The Barden Bellas are back for one last a capella-adventure in “Pitch Perfect 3,” the final film in the series. Despite being the reigning mouth-music champions, Beca (Anna Kendrick), Chloe (Brittany Snow), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and the rest of the girl gang find no glory in the post-college world. Desperate for a chance to recapture the good old days, Aubrey (Anna Camp) offers a reunion opportunity: compete for a chance to open on a USO tour. If you loved the first one, and really liked the second, you’ll probably like this one too.
“Downsizing” (R) – In a world of overpopulation and limited resources, here’s a solution: get shrunk. Matt Damon stars as Paul, a normal-Joe kind of guy who, along with wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig), decide to chuck it all, allow scientists to shrink them down to 5 inches tall and live big in a community of fellow downsizers. Audrey decides at the last minute not to go through with it, and we are left with the ho-hum goings-on of Paul, his friends Dave and Dusan (played by Jason Sudeikis and Christoph Waltz, respectively) and love interest Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau). The film launches into a social commentary that has nothing to do with being tiny, and despite all the star power, the story ends up being too small to retain much interest.
New TV Releases
“Archer” The Complete Season 8: Dreamland
“Lou Grant” The Complete 5th and Final Season
“When Calls the Heart: The Heart of Homecoming”
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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