Real-life Christopher Robin finds zest for life
And Mckinnon and Kunis team up to spoof spy movies,
MOVIES
Big releases on Aug. 3: The Spy Who Dumped Me; The Darkest Minds; Christopher Robin.
Big picture: The Spy Who Dumped Me is the kind of movie concept that probably started with a title, which doesn’t bode well (sorry, Hollywood hacks). Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate Mckinnon) are 30-year-old best friends who get drawn into an amusing, but deadly, game of espionage after an ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with professional killers on his trail. The women soon become targets themselves but prove surprisingly deft with weapons — whether guns or sarcastic barbs.
Meanwhile, The Darkest Minds is X-men meets The Hunger Games. When teens mysteriously develop powerful new abilities — levitation, telekinesis, super strength, weather control (the usual) — they are declared a threat and rounded up into camps. Soon a key group escape and begin a resistance against their vile, adult oppressors, all while seeking out a safe haven for their kind. (You guessed it, another movie based on a dystopian young-adult book trilogy.)
Finally, the film Christopher Robin — based on the original “dystopian” series for youth, Winnie-the-pooh (c’mon, Hundred Acre Wood was a little creepy, wasn’t it? Pooh had serious addiction problems, for starters. And Tigger’s energy was clearly motivated by fear. I always suspected Eeyore knew about the woods dark underbelly and paid the price with his original tail). This new take finds the fabled characters making their way into the real world to help the adult version of Christopher Robin (Ewan Mcgregor) rediscover his zest for living. Somewhat frighteningly, they don’t look like typical CGI characters in our world; instead, they look like actual dolls come to life. (Tigger, in particular, looks one tail bounce away from bloodshed.)
Forecast: Put aside my irrational fears. Christopher Robin wins out on novelty and nostalgia alone — and Mcgregor only adds pedigree. It’s for anyone who has ever wondered what would happen of Tigger was unleashed upon an unsuspecting humanity.
TV
Big events: Like Father (Netflix,
Aug. 3).
Big picture: Like Father is a Netflix original movie about a workaholic executive (Kristen Bell) who is abandoned at the altar on the same night she is reunited with her estranged, workaholic father (Kelsey Grammer). Unconventional bonding and soul searching ensue. Hollywood has been busy crafting and “making it,” too. This dramedy has indie film festival sheen (it’s actress Lauren Miller’s directorial debut) coupled with mainstream accessibility. Seth Rogen hits a home run in a supporting role.
MUSIC
Big releases on Aug. 3: Shemekia Copeland (America’s Child); The Love Language (Baby Grand). Big picture: Modern blues and R&B queen Shemekia Copeland bares her soul, gets a little countrified and plants some American roots on America’s Child. Her acclaimed 1998 debut, at only age 18, set her down the path to become royalty in a genre defined by greats like Aretha, Nina and Ella.
Meanwhile, the lo-fi indie pop rock from The Love Language will put you in a reflective, navelgazing mood. Thankfully, slowburning ballads like Southern Doldrums will be out just in time for Eeyore and Pooh to enter our world; this is beautiful music for either moping or meditatively eating honey.
Forecast: Copeland is on her way to becoming America’s bard.