The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Theaters will be bringing back a lot of familiar faces over the next few months
The fall movie season begins with a murderous clown and ends with Mr. Rogers and Anna and Elsa. ¶ In between, we get the returns of the gang from Downton Abbey, John Rambo, the Terminator, Maleficent and Charlie’s Angels; a new take on the Joker; cosmic dramas; and even a mob movie starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro that’s directed by Martin Scorsese. ¶ If you can’t find something that interests you, well, that may just be a YOU problem.
Here’s a quick look at a bunch of stuff hitting theaters through the weekend before Thanksgiving:
‘It Chapter Two’ (Sept. 6)
While the follow-up to 2017 horror smash hit “It” — the first half of a twopart adaptation of the 1986 Stephen King novel of the same name — boasts returning director Andy Muschietti, writer Gary Dauberman (a co-writer on the first film) and actor Bill Skarsgård as creepy killer clown Pennywise, much else has changed: “It Chapter Two” is set 27 years after the events of its predecessor, and the child characters have been replaced by middle-aged versions, with new cast members including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader.
‘The Goldfinch’ (Sept. 13)
“Brooklyn” director John Crowley helms this adaptation of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Donna Tartt. In “The Goldfinch,” Ansel Elgort (“The Fault in Our Stars,” “Baby Driver”) portrays Theo Decker, who falls into a world of crime after suffering a trauma late in his childhood. The cast also boasts Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson and Finn Wolfhard.
‘Hustlers (Sept. 13)
Jennifer Lopez heads a cast that also has Constance Wu, Cardi B, Julia Stiles and Keke Palmer. “Hustlers” is about a group of strippers in the Big Apple who try to take advantage of wealthy men. It is written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, whose 2012 effort, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” is a little gem of a movie.
‘Downton Abbey’ (Sept. 20)
Sure, the story has Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern), the whole Crawley family and the staff of Downton Abbey preparing for a visit by King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) in 1927. Really, though, when you watch the trailer, it feels as if they’re all welcoming US back to the fictional Yorkshire country estate. For several years starting at the beginning of this decade, it was home to wonderful characters and storylines in a British TV series of the same name. This bigscreen “Downton Abbey,” directed by Michael Engler and scripted by series creator Julian Fellowes, also brings back characters that include Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery), Edith Pelham (Laura Carmichael), Tom Branson (Allen Leech), John Bates (Brendan Coyle), Beryl Patmore (Lesley Nicol) and, last but not least, Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), the unforgettable dowager countess of Grantham. Can this film possibly be everything die-hard fans of the show want? To quote the best butler around, Mr. Carson (Jim Carter), “We must always travel in hope.”
‘Ad Astra’ (Sept. 20)
Based on the trailer, “The Lost City of Z” director James Gray is looking to blend psychological tension with spectacular images that come with portraying space travel in “Ad Astra.” The film has Brad Pitt traveling to the far reaches of the solar system in search of his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones). The cast also includes Ruth Negga (“Preacher”), Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland.
‘Rambo: Last Blood’ (Sept. 20)
“Rambo: Last Blood” is the fifth movie in the action franchise centered around Vietnam War vet John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone). The story has Rambo facing off against one of Mexico’s most violent cartels as he searches for the kidnapped daughter of a friend. Adrian Grunberg (“Get the Gringo”) directs from a script co-penned by Stallone.
‘Judy’ (Sept. 27)
In “Judy,” a biographical film adapted from Tony Award-nominated play “Over the Rainbow,” Renee Zellweger portrays Judy Garland in 1969 when the “Wizard of Oz” star is in London for a string of soldout concerts.
‘Joker’ (Oct. 4)
Todd Phillips, director of “The Hangover” movies, clearly is channeling his inner Martin Scorsese with this film centered around the infamous Batman villain but set outside the DC Extended Universe. The trailer doles out a heaping serving of “Taxi Driver” and “Mean Streets” vibes. Then again, “Joker” likely will live or die based on the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as the insane, murderous clown. The fourth actor to portray the iconic character in high-profile film, Phoenix will have his work cut out for him if he wants to be remembered alongside the late Heath Ledger, whose performance in 2008’s spectacular “The Dark Knight” still wows, but the “Walk the Line” actor can be pretty impressive himself so we’ll wait and see.
‘Lucy in the Sky’ (Oct. 4)
Actress Natalie Portman is the biggest name associated with “Lucy in the Sky” — she portrays an astronaut who struggles with life on the ground after returning from space — but Noah Hawley is the most interesting person involved with the film. Having made incredible television with the FX series “Fargo” and (the far-less-accessible) “Legion,” Hawley makes his feature-film directorial debut with this film, which is said to be loosely based on the life of a real woman and also features Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz, Ellen Burstyn and “Legion” star Dan Stevens.
‘The Addams Family’ (Oct. 11)
The latest big-screen version of “The Addams Family” is a computer-animated feature with a voice cast that includes everyone from Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron — as Gomez and Morticia Addams — to Finn Wolfhard, Bette Midler and Snoop Dogg.
‘Gemini Man’ (Oct. 11)
The first Ang Lee-directed film since the little-seen “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” in 2016, the future-set “Gemini Man” has Will Smith as a government assassin given the task of killing a man who turns out to be a younger clone of himself. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane”) and Clive Owen have supporting roles. “Gemini Man” may not sound like anything all that promising, but Lee (“Life of Pi,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) often brings a welcome artistic touch to a film.