#Middlebury #DVDs
“The Mule” (R) – Clint Eastwood returns to both the director’s chair and the spotlight as Earl Stone, an octogenarian drug mule for a Midwestern drug cartel. The film is loosely based on the Sam Dolnick/New York Times article about a man named Leo Sharp, who was, like Eastwood’s character, a war veteran at the end of a long life who hit hard times and turned in desperation to running drugs. Stone is an old, superficially affable white man who drives the speed limit and looks like an upstanding citizen. He’s also facing foreclosure and the collapse of his business, and is surrounded by strained personal relationships. As his payloads grow, so does interest from cartel members and the DEA. The all-star cast includes Bradley Cooper, Andy Garcia, Michael Pena and Dianne Weist.
“Vice” (R) – Vice President Dick Cheney is in the crosshairs in this dark comedy-drama by director Adam McKey. It chronicles Cheney’s rise in politics through the Nixon, Ford and Bush I administrations and Congress, culminating as second in command to young George W. The political jabs at Cheney are real (and often deserved), but the real gold here is in the physical transformations. The hair and makeup department put in Oscar-level overtime turning Steve Carell into Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell into George W., and Amy Adams into Lynne Cheney. Christian Bale is incredible as Dick Cheney. For that alone, it’s worth a rental. The story walks a strange line between real facts and surrealism that’s sometimes too real to be funny. Ain’t that politics, though?
Hailee Steinfeld in “Bumblebee” (Paramount Pictures photo)
“Bumblebee” (PG-13) – In a California beach town circa 1987, a young, rebellious Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) stumbles upon a cute but beat-up yellow VW bug in a junkyard. It’s not just a car, though – it’s a transforming anthropomorphic vehicle that’s just as cute as a … bumblebee. This is the sixth live-action Transformers movie, but it’s more of an origin story/prequel. It’s also sweet and endearing tale of friendship, even if between girl and robot. John Cena supports as a lieutenant in an off-the-books military project probing space, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. plays Charlie’s neighbor and friend Memo.
“Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” (PG) – Sixteen-year-old sleuth Nancy Drew (Sophia Lillis) takes a small town by storm as she acclimates to her surroundings and makes friends, including some seniors who put her onto the case of a supernatural disturbance at the Twin Elms mansion. Plucky Nancy enlists her squad to solve the riddle of creaking doors and flying candlesticks, but is there something deeper going on? There’s no clue too small, nor turn of logic too tough for Nancy Drew and company. It was cute but the story didn’t need a large screen, in my opinion. It’s no mystery that DVD is just where this film needs to be. Light and friendly TV fun for the kiddos.
New TV Releases
“Joni Mitchell 75: A Birthday Celebration”
“Archer: Danger Island” Season 9
“Double Dragon: The Animated Series”
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
You must be logged in to post a comment.