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Hollywood Hits February 2019 |
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Lee Israel made her living in the '70s and '80s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder, and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack. An adaptation of the memoir, the true story of a bestselling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats).
Director: Marielle Heller
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella, Christian Navarro
Reviews:
"Believe the Oscar buzz for Melissa McCarthy in this true story of an out-of -work author who took up forgery to pay the bills." - Rolling Stone
"Partly because the movie is so splendidly and completely absorbed in its characters and their millieu, it communicates much more than a quirky appreciation or old books an odd readers." - A.O. Scott
"McCarthy's best performance to date, revealing haunting insights into friendship, loneliness, and creative insecurity." - Variety
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Creed II
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what's worth fighting for, and discover that nothing's more important than family.
Director: Steven Caple, Jr.
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Darin Ferraro
Reviews:
"Even though we've seen this movie before (and more than once), there's a strong beating heart to this franchise." - Richard Roeper
"Merely adopting a formula is easy - that happens all too often. Investing in a formula, making it breathe - that's the challenge, and 'Creed II' meets it." - San Francisco Chronicle
"'Creed II' has been made with heart and skill, and Jordan invests each moment with such fierce conviction that he makes it all seem like it matters." - Variety
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead.
Director: David Yates
Starring: Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Johnny Depp, Callum Turner, Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol
Reviews:
"There might not be a more gorgeous-looking movie this year than Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald." - Entertainment Weekly
"The Crimes of Grindelwald has one of the biggest third-act reveals in the whole Harry Potter series." - Washington Post
"A dark but entertaining second chapter in J.K. Rowling's five-film series." - Newsday
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The Favourite
Early eighteenth-century England is at war with the French. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her friend Lady Sarah tends to her ill health. When a new servant Abigail arrives, Sarah takes her under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become time-consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps in to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their growing friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions, and no one will stand in her way.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn
Reviews:
"A wicked delight." - Hollywood Reporter
"Olivia Colman is simply dazzling as a fragile, volatile and sometimes dotty Queen Anne..." - The Wall Street Journal
"It's a perfectly cut diamond of a movie - a finely executed, coldly entertaining entry in the genre of savage misanthropic baroque costume drama." - Variety
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Instant Family
When Pete and Ellie choose to start a family, they stumble headfirst into the world of foster care adoption. After they learn their perfect foster child comes with two other siblings, Pete and Ellie find themselves speeding from zero to three kids overnight and must hilariously learn the ropes of instant parenthood if they hope to become a real family.
Director: Sean Anders
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner, Gustavo Quiroz, Julianna Gamiz, Tig Notaro
Reviews:
"This is a funny-serious, family-friendly movie about a weighty subject, and somehow it works." - San Francisco Chronicle
"It's a surprisingly winning movie, packed with just the right combination of laughs and sniffles." - Entertainment Weekly
"It's genial and spirited and - unsurprisingly, given its genesis - has at least a basic feel for life as it's lived, full of stings and surprises." - Hollywood Reporter
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Little Mermaid 30th Anniversary Signature Collection
The Little Mermaid is now part of The Walt Disney Signature Collection. This celebrated Anniversary Edition invites you to sing along with the award-winning songs, venture inside the studio for original recording sessions, and share memories with leading ladies who created iconic characters through Alan Menken’s music.
Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring: Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodie Benson, Pat Carroll, Buddy Hackett, Samuel E. Wright
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On The Basis Of Sex
The film tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the US Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. The feature will premiere in 2018 in line with Justice Ginsburg's 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court.
Director: Mimi Leder
Starring: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Sam Waterston, Kathy Bates, Cailee Spaeny, Jack Reynor, Stephen Root, Chris Mulkey
Reviews:
"For those not blessed with such courageous figures, Ginsburg's story will be especially inspirational..." - Variety
"Sacrifices character for intricate, and often fascinating, behind-the-scenes legal maneuvers..." - The New Yorker
"...a serious movie that slowly earns its emotion and enlists our involvement. Even before the finish, it's goosebumps all around." - San Francisco Chronicle
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Overlord
With only hours until D-Day, a small team of American paratroopers drops into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that is crucial to the invasion's success. These outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen.
Director: Julius Avery
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbaek, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker
Reviews:
"Horror fans should cheer, as will admirers of the ensemble's up-and-coming cast." - Hollywood Reporter
"It helps to be in the mood for a period Nazi zombie shoot-'em-up but it's very successful at being a bit of fun and bloody counterprogramming." - USA Today
"A surprisingly well-made mash-up of old-fashion war movie tropes and proudly disgusting horror-flick shocks. It's a ton of fun." - Entertainment Weekly
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Ralph Breaks the Internet
Video game bad guy Ralph and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz leave the comforts of Litwak's arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the Internet, where they must rely on the citizens, or Netizens, to help navigate their way.
Director: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Starring: Gal Gadot, Kristen Bell, Sarah Silverman, Kelly Macdonald, John C. Reilly, Alan Tudyk, Ed O'Neill, Jane Lynch
Review:
"'Ralph Breaks the Internet' concerns a long-established friendship on the verge of inevitable, painful change, and Reilly and Silverman work every part of that dynamic successfully." - Chicago Tribune
"Reilly does nice work playing his big lug's insecurity and struggle to let his friend go, but Silverman delivers a performance that's downright moving in its expression of yearning..." - Boston Globe
"Ralph Breaks the Internet works because it doesn't pander, and it doesn't simplify." - Roger Ebert
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Second Act
A big box store worker, Maya, reinvents her life story to land a job in the corporate side of the company she works for. After the aid of a fabricated resume and social network profile, she is offered the position. She accepts the position to try to prove what street smarts can do.
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens, Milo Ventimiglia, Leah Remini, Treat Williams, Natasha Romanova
Reviews:
"You know you're watching a connect-the-dots comedy, but the dots sparkle." - Variety
"(Lopez is) nothing if not a woman who knows her brand... and Second Act is perfectly tailored to it." - Entertainment Weekly
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Mercer County Library System 2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Phone: (609) 882-9246 E-mail: nrsupprt@mcl.org |
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