July 2nd-8th Downloads
& DVDs
 

  • The Best of Enemies:

    Sam Rockwell plays “that guy” again – the guy from “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”  Not the same person but a similar character, a red-neck racist with an air of superiority that makes his bigotry even more evident.  He plays real-life Ku-Klux-Klan head honcho C.P. Elis who, in 1971 North Carolina, had taken a hard line against desegregating schools, and was at war, almost literally, with the Black community in Durham, NC as he and his followers strove to maintain the status quo, and to stand against integration.  Taraji P. Henson is exceptional in her role as Ann Atwater, a Black woman who campaigned equally hard in favour of Whites and Blacks attending the same schools. She points out, in a heated courtroom scene, to C.P. Ellis, that her Bible was the same as his Bible, after each was sworn in, and that led to a truce of sorts as the two tried to set their differences aside for a time to solve the problems that arose in a constructive way after a court-ordered decree.  Based on the best-selling book by Osha Grey Davidson, the movie’s sense of direction seems somewhat blurred, and it did not do well at the box office, up against Pet Sematary and Shazam!, but even without that competition, its unevenness makes it a better small-screen movie than a big-screen one. Anne Heche also stars. Rated 14A.

     

  • The Public:

    This “small” movie didn’t get a lot of distribution, and as a result, ended up in very few theatres after its debut las fall at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Written by and directed by Emilio Estevez, it’s his first film product that doesn’t feature either his father, Martin Sheen, or his brother Charlie. Instead, he has amassed a cast of mostly friends, to tell the story of a group of homeless people who take over the Cincinnati Public Library as a protest that gets out of hand.  It is a bitterly cold winter with an Arctic blast that threatens the lives of the homeless in the city. They view the library as public property and feel that getting into a safer environment during the cold snap should by their right. Alec Baldwin is a hard-boiled police detective who is a crisis negotiator, called in when the non-violent occupation becomes an armed standoff with SWAT teams and a high level of danger on both sides.  Christian Slater is the smart District Attorney, and Emilio Estevez has written himself into the story as one of two library employees caught in the middle when the protest escalates. Gabrielle Union, now a judge on America’s Got Talent, also stars. The movie was marketed as one that makes a statement for civil liberties in the Trump era, but not many people heard the message because of limited distribution. Rated 14A.

  • Mia and the White Lion:

    This French movie, which is not based on fact, but looks as though it could be, tells the story of a young girl and a lion cub which, over a three-year period, remain fast friends until everything changes. Mia (Daniah De Villiers) lives in London with her family and is devastated to learn, at age 10, that her father’s work will force the family to move to Africa, a huge culture shift for the young girl.  She is very unhappy on the Dark Continent, until a lion cub is born that she befriends, and soon, they are growing up together. The movie took almost three years to make, because the only way the young actress could interact with the lion cub as it grew, was to have a relationship with it from the beginning – the director did not want to use a CGI lion, so everything you see here is real. When the lion, Charlie is age three, Mia learns a secret kept from her by her father … and it appears that Charlie’s very life is threatened, so she decides to launch a rescue mission that takes her and her friend across the African Savannah on a journey that puts them both on the lam.  There are a lot of close-to-heartbreaking moments here which may upset young viewers, but this is a most interesting film with little in it that doesn’t seem like the real thing. Rated PG.

  • Stranger Things (Season 3):

    This Netflix original series that captured both millions of viewers, and the hearts and minds of its fans, is back for season three as "The Upside Down" takes on new meaning, that land of monstrous activity just below the level of our day-to-day perception.  The tightly knit group of friends from Hawkins, Indiana, are on the brink of adulthood now, in the summer if 1985. Eleven (the amazing Bobbie Millie Brown), Mike (Vancouver's Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) see a few cracks in the gang's relationships as romance is on the horizon, but they are reminded that evil never ends ... it evolves.  An outstanding series, rated 14A.

     

    The Blues Brothers (1980):

    Despite being nearly 40 years old, this is still one of the finest collections of rhythm and blues performances wrapped around a plot in which Jake and Elwood (John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd) find themselves on a mission from God after release from the penitentiary.  Many of the key performers have passed away since the movie was made, which means that it's even more special as we watch Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Carrie Fisher, and John Candy among those still living. Great music and a story filled with iconic moments.  Even the Vatican supports the movie, recommending it as "good viewing for Catholics." Rated 14A.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018):

This Oscar-winning movie is still being talked about on social media and in the entertainment pages of newspapers and magazines everywhere.  Remi Malik won the Academy Award for Best Actor in his portrayal of Queen front man Freddy Mercury. One of the movie's most admirable traits is what it did to maintain a PG rating, choosing not to descend into graphic detail on Mercury's drug use and sex scenes.  The music is phenomenal, and the story compelling. Rated PG.

 

New on AMAZON PRIME

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018):

Based on actual events, Joaquin Phoenix stars as John Callahan, a young man severely injured in a car accident in which he was the impaired driver.  His alcoholism led him to that place, where he emerged a quadriplegic, and it appeared that his life was pretty much over.  While in rehab, he found that he had an ability to draw editorial cartoons, and with the help of his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and his sponsor (Jonah Hill), he learns that perhaps there is a life worth living after all.  Set and shot in Portland, OR, home of the real-life John Callahan.  Rated 14A.