The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch PG
The anti-social Grinch (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) resides in Whoville with his loyal dog, Max. Focused on inventing contraptions to ease his daily chores, the Grinch is enraged when the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger. Recruiting a rotund reindeer, the Grinch poses as Santa Claus in order to steal Christmas. But “Ho-Ho-Ho,” he hasn’t reckoned on little Cindy-Lou Who, intent on trapping Santa during his Christmas Eve rounds. This film recasts the Grinch as a cuddlier, more empathetic villain who even allows Max and the reindeer to sleep in his bed. No longer a mean, green machine, he’s probably just misunderstood.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story R
Lisbeth Salander, the title character of the acclaimed Millennium book series by Stieg Larsson, returns to this latest “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” tale, but, following the author’s death, she is scripted as a vigilante for abused women. Still a talented hacker, Lisbeth (Claire Foy) agrees to steal a program from the U.S. NSA computer system for what appears to be a good cause. Soon enough, Lisbeth is joined by journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) in protecting a little boy as they evade murderous thugs, explosions, gunfire and partake in wild car chases. Fans of Larsson’s Lisbeth take heed; she is reinvented for the fanboys.
Overlord R
In this World War II horror movie, Americans sent to disable Nazi communications prior to the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, are overrun by Nazi zombies! The film, produced by J.J. Abrams, places African American soldier Boyce (Jovan Adepo) at the film’s moral center, ignoring the period’s historical racial segregation. Kurt Russell’s and Goldie Hawn’s son, Wyatt Russell, portrays Ford, another American soldier dropped behind enemy lines. Wearing its B-movie stripes with pride, the film excels at don’t-breathe visuals. Lapses in the movie’s self-awareness are all that prevent us from fully buying into its reimagined history.
