#Middlebury
“The First Purge” (R) – As has been established in the first three films in this series, the Purge is a horrific (or hedonistic) annual set-aside of 12 hours during which all actions are decriminalized. This fourth installment, an origin story, might be the most gruesome or uncomfortable of the lot. The New Founding Fathers of America have overtaken the country post-revolution, and Dr. May Updale (Marisa Tomei) announces her experiment: allow the population to exorcise their demons this one night, so that the crime rate will stay low the rest of the year. Stay in your homes, and you get paid. Participate, and you get creepy contact lenses to broadcast your actions. Drug dealer Dmitri (Y’lan Noel), who stays behind to protect his stash, and his ex-girlfriend, Nya (Lex Scott Davis), an anti-Purge protestor, must battle for their very lives when goons are sent in to stir the pot.
“Leave No Trace” (PG) – Director Debra Granik delivers a stunningly touching study of what it means to be a functioning member of society. Will (Ben Foster) and 13-year-old daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) live in a society of two, in a woodlands park in Portland, Ore., venturing into town only for supplies. Will is a veteran who suffers from PTSD. When they are discovered and shunted into the social-services system, they each begin to explore their individual needs, both from the world around them and each other.
“Sicaro: Day of the Soldado” (R) – Mexican drug cartels are trafficking in terrorists, helping them gain entry to the United States, or so suspect American spies. They formulate a plan to refocus the cartels by encouraging a war between them. Agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) enlists the assistance of Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro), an assassin who swoops in to take out one high-level target and blame it on the other side. But when a plan to kidnap the daughter (Isabela Moner) of a kingpin goes south, it puts Graver and Gillick on opposing sides. This sequel to “Sicaro” deals in many of the same locales but is more bullets-and-gunsmoke action than psychological drama.
Scene from “Three Identical Strangers” (NEON photo)
“Three Identical Strangers” (PG-13) – The true story of three boys, identical triplets separated at birth, who unbelievably reconnected at age 19 would be incredible enough. Fascinatingly, there’s much more to the story. Director Tim Wardle takes us on a journey with these men – David Kellman, Eddy Galland and Bobby Shafran – who were unknowingly the subjects of a lifelong study in personality development and the debate over nature versus nurture, each being adopted at birth into similar family structures at deliberately different socio-economic strata. It’s an informative, intriguing and very well-done documentary.
New TV Releases
“Good Witch” Season 4
“Barry” Season 1
“Vikings” Season 5
“The Originals” Season 5
© 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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