Movies This Week – 03-01-19

I was a little disappointed by the Favourite. Am I allowed to say that out loud? It was well made and acted, but lacked the madness I associated with Lanthimos. It’s still easily the best release of a fairly dull week in all truth. RGB is the other release of note, a documentary on a celebrity Judge!

Our Top Five Films This Week –

5. Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse
4. The Old Man and The Gun
3. RGB
2. Sorry To Bother You
1. The Favourite

The Favourite – 94% On Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers(s): Deborah Davis (original screenplay), Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Actors: Emma Stone, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Weisz, Mark Gatiss

A bawdy, acerbic tale of royal intrigue, passion, envy and betrayal in the court of Queen Anne in early 18th century England.

Welcome To Marwen – 30% On Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Robert Zemeckis
Writers(s): Caroline Thompson (screenplay), Robert Zemeckis (screenplay)
Actors: Janelle Monáe, Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Eiza González

A victim of a brutal attack finds a unique and beautiful therapeutic outlet to help him through his recovery process.

Life Itself – 14% on Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Dan Fogelman
Writers(s): Dan Fogelman
Actors: Olivia Cooke, Olivia Wilde, Samuel L. Jackson, Oscar Isaac

As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.

RBG – 94% on Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Julie Cohen, Betsy West
Actors: Bill Clinton, Sharron Frontiero, Jane C. Ginsburg, Martin D. Ginsburg

The exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.

Movies Next Week – 11 January 2019

Colette – 87% on Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Wash Westmoreland
Writers(s): Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Wash Westmoreland
Actors: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Eleanor Tomlinson, Fiona Shaw

The story of a marriage, Colette shows the lengths one woman must go to escape her husband’s control and claim her voice as an artist.

The Front Runner – 59% on Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Jason Reitman
Writers(s): Matt Bai (based on the book by), Matt Bai (screenplay), Jay Carson (screenplay), Jason Reitman (screenplay)
Actors: Vera Farmiga, Hugh Jackman, Sara Paxton, Molly Ephraim

American Senator Gary Hart’s presidential campaign in 1988 is derailed when he’s caught in a scandalous love affair.

Monsters and Men – 83% on Rotten Tomatoes
Director(s): Reinaldo Marcus Green
Writers(s): Reinaldo Marcus Green
Actors: Chanté Adams, Giuseppe Ardizzone, Nicole Beharie, Cara Buono

The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.

Stan and Ollie – 90% On Rotten Tomatoes

Director(s): Jon S. Baird
Writers(s): Jeff Pope
Actors: John C. Reilly, Steve Coogan

A look at the personal and profession lives of the popular comedic duo, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

The Upside – 55% on Rotten Tomatoes

Director(s): Neil Burger
Writers(s): Jon Hartmere (screenplay by), Éric Toledano (based on the motion picture “Les Intouchables” by), Olivier Nakache (based on the motion picture “Les Intouchables” by)
Actors: Kevin Hart, Nicole Kidman, Bryan Cranston, Julianna Margulies

A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy paraplegic and an unemployed man with a criminal record who’s hired to help him.