‘Daddy’s Home 2’ is a ‘mixed bag’
Just when Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) believe they have their co-parenting routine down pat, along comes Dusty’s macho dad (Mel Gibson) and Brad’s kindly pop (John Lithgow) to stir up trouble.
As they proved in the 2015 original, Wahlberg and Ferrell play off each other beautifully but the situations in “Daddy’s Home 2” are stale, including a wild turkey shoot and a long sequence involving the staging of a nativity scene.
Still, Gibson and Lithgow add some unexpected chaos to the proceedings and the final sing-a-long is surprisingly sweet and effective. It’s a real mixed bag. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
Also New to VOD and Streaming
Roman J. Israel, Esq.: Denzel Washington gives one of the finest performances of his career as an overworked activist attorney who, after losing his job, uses privileged information to collect a $100,000 reward. But, as writer/director Dan Gilroy emphasizes, there’s no such thing as easy money. So, even as Roman goes to work for an ambitious attorney (Colin Farrell) and befriends a civil rights champion (Carmen Ejogo), he knows there will be a reckoning. The theme of forgiveness pulses through this wholly original thriller which ranks as one of 2017’s most underrated offerings. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Teenage Cocktail: When bullied teen Annie (Nichole Bloom) meets Jules (Fabianne Therese), she becomes instantly smitten with her fellow high-schooler, a free spirit who doesn’t care what anybody thinks of her. But as the girls fall in love, they also begin performing sexy webcam videos for cash which attract the attention of a lonely stranger (Pat Healy). Writer/director John Carchietta does a superb job capturing the giddiness of teen romance while also managing to keep Healy from becoming a one-dimensional monster. “Teenage Cocktail” winds up being a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of online over-sharing.
Blade of the Immortal: Fans of cult auteur Takeshi Miike (“Audition”) are probably the best audience for this exciting but overlong samurai saga about a
swordsman (Takuya Kimura) cursed with immortality who helps an orphan (Hana Sugisaki) track down her parents’ killers. The bond between Kimura and Sugisaki is strong and most of the brawls are gory delights. Occasionally, though, the battle scenes go on and on and on. At nearly two and a half hours, “Blade” could have used a trim or two. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Irreplaceable You: Just because Valentine’s Day is over doesn’t mean you can’t tune into this heartwarming, romantic story of Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Sam (Michiel Huisman), best friends since childhood who are engaged to be married, and whose tranquil New York lives come crashing down when Abbie receives an unexpected diagnosis. Faced with the prospect of an uncertain future, Abbie begins a search for a new love to take care of Sam. Christopher Walken, Kate McKinnon and Steve Coogan co-star. On Netflix. Monterey Pop: At the start of the Summer of Love back in 1967, director D.A. Pennebaker did an amazing job capturing the nowlegendary performances at the Monterey Pop Festival. The gathering instantly
Teen Titles
Just Charlie: The remarkable newcomer Harry Gilby stars in this absorbing drama about a young soccer star who, just as he’s being courted by a top club, becomes overwhelmed by the feeling that he wants to live as a girl. He begins experimenting with wearing his sister’s clothes even as his parents (Scot Williams, Patricia Potter) and best buddy struggle to understand his situation. Director Rebekah Fortune urges compassion not only for Charlie who begins to blossom in his new identity but also for confused family members. It’s a small movie with a big heart. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
For The Kids
Adapted from Brian Selznick’s (“Hugo”) novel by director Todd Haynes (“Carol”), this adventure pivots on two
Wonderstuck: runaways (Millicent Simmonds, Allentown’s Oakes Fegley) in different eras who head to New York to track down missing parents. It’s engrossing for a while but Haynes seems less interested in crafting a good story and compelling characters than in showing off how clever he can be. Simmonds’ story is essentially a silent movie fantasy while Fegley’s feels like a ‘70s-era drama. It doesn’t help matters that the payoff, which finally crystallizes the connections between the stories, feels like a bit of a letdown. On Amazon.