DVD REVIEWS
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
(out of 4) Midnight Special heads further into the supernatural than writer/director Jeff Nichols has previously ventured, paying tribute to E.T., Starman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other childhood touchstones.
It begins with a night-shrouded highway, rocketing an ancient Chevy carrying Michael Shannon’s fugitive character Roy, an 8-year-old named Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) and fellow fugitive Lucas (Joel Edgerton).
They’re heading across Texas for mysterious points east and a meeting with a woman named Sarah (Kirsten Dunst).
An Amber Alert has been issued for Alton, who has reportedly been kidnapped from a religious cult — is it his family?
Alton has scarily special gifts; the blue goggles he wears aren’t toys.
He’s considered a messiah by cult members but a possible weapon by the FBI and the National Security Agency.
The latter is represented by Adam Driver’s intense Paul Sevier.
Midnight Special is really just a “B” sci-fi film, with formula turns and gaping holes that rob it of greatness.
But it’s cladded in “A” materials: Nichols’ assured direction, moodsetting cinematography and a score and cast fully invested in squeezing gold out of pulp.
Extras include making-of and “origins” featurettes. Peter Howell
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
K (out of 4) This belated sequel to the recordsetting 2002 romantic comedy goes full baklava, happily loading on the sweet fun.
Those who loved the original should at least like the sequel, which remarkably has reunited all of the players from the oversized cast.
Anyone who missed the first movie, or maybe doesn’t enjoy baklava, can take comfort in knowing this Greek-immersion experience is painless.
Writer/actor Nia Vardalos recycles all of her jokes, mainly the one about the immense immigrant family in Chicago (Toronto again stands in) that “sees no difference between hugging and suffocation.”
The 10-years-after story finds Toula and her gentle WASP hubby Ian (John Corbett) vainly looking for some alone time to rekindle their romance, while at the same time clinging to their college-bound teen daughter Paris (new face Elena Kampouris). Wacky family fun ensues. Extras include a gag reel and making-of featurettes. PH