“Just Getting Started” (** out of four) was a disappointing comedy about an elderly retired mob lawyer (Morgan Freeman) and an ex-F.B.I. agent (Tommy Lee Jones) who are forced to team up when they are targeted by the mob and a beautiful older woman (Rene Russo) begins to come between them. Contrived mix of buddy comedy, action, and AARP jokes but the similarly themed “Last Vegas” and “Going Out In Style” were much funnier. While it is always a pleasure to watch Freeman and Jones on screen, they are unable to enrich the silly script and story. A mediocre effort from director Ron Shelton who in better days made “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Bull Durham”; this marks his first directorial effort in nearly 15 years. Also noteworthy as being the final film for great supporting actress Glenne Headly but this gives her nothing to do

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“Michael Meyers: Absolute Evil” (* out of four) was an absolute bore done in the form of a pseudo-documentary treating the Michael Meyers and “Halloween” stories as real facts and featuring interviews with several people from the Haddonfield area, police workers, doctors, and several “survivors” and “victims.” Sounds interesting but is worthless on every level. This was allegedly a fan-made documentary but fans of the series would be better off re-watching the original or even its sequels because this offers zero in the way of insight or sick thrills.

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“Stronger” (***1/2 out of four) was an exceptionally moving drama based on the true story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who lost both legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing but became a symbol of determination and perseverance as he had to depend on family and friends and start his life all over again. Harrowing story of one man’s transition and trauma is also an uplifting story of hope and refusal to give up in life. Gyllenhaal is terrific in one of the best performances of his career but he’s surrounded by an equally strong supporting cast including Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, and Tatiana Maslany. Watch for the closing credits which show the real Bauman and his family

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“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (*** out of four) was an overall solid second entry in the new series trilogy about Rey (Daisy Riddley) developing her newfound abilities under the guidance of the newfound Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) but there is trouble on the horizon as the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order. Somewhat lumpy as film opens up with a bang in setting up the story for Skywalker’s return and then begins to drag in film’s midsection but the final third and big action climax are sensational and will send out audiences (and especially series fans) with a jolt. Jammed with visual effects and grand spectacle to give fans their money’s worth. Hamill is livelier than usual and it’s a touching farewell to Carrie Fisher in her final role as Princess Leia but Oscar Isaacs and John Boyega are the real standouts with terrific performances and characterizations.

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“The Stolen” (*1/2 out of four) was a drab story that steals nearly two hours out of your life about a woman (Alice Eve) in the old West who sets out to find her kidnapped son in a newfound landscape which she has never explored and also exploring danger for the first time at every turn. Pretty to look at, at times, but otherwise pretty much of a bore. Eve does what she can with a threadbare role. It’s dull movies like these that have gradually killed Westerns over time.

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“Infidelity In Suburbia” (** out of four) was a thoroughly obvious and predictable story of a bored housewife (Sarah Butler) who begins a steamy affair with her house contractor (Marcus Rosner) after she suspects her husband is having an affair but soon finds out that her lover is a serious sicko who won’t take no for an answer. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close ought to be touched that 30 years after the fact they’re still ripping off “Fatal Attraction” but viewers would be better re-watching that classic than watching this retread. Anyone who can’t guess the rest of this within about 20 minutes should get a new hobby.

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“Beyond Skyline” (*** out of four) was an impressively done sequel to the 2010 original which wastes no time in hitting the ground and running as a burned out detective (Frank Grillo) attempts to free his son from the alien warship that threatened Earth in the original and returns and promises more havoc. Unnecessary sequel to a film that was 7 years old more than merits its worth with fast pace and plenty of action and visual effects which make it actually better than its original. Grillo is first-rate in the lead. Writer/director Liam O’Donnell throws in everything but the kitchen sink but importantly never stops things moving and entertaining.

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“Gangster Land” (** out of four) was a mediocre underworld cops melodrama set in 1930’s Prohibition-era Chicago in which “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn (Sean Faris) rose from amateur level boxer to eventual second-in-command of Al Capone’s criminal empire, despite the warring factions between the Italians and Irish (Mark Rolston, Milo Gibson, Peter Facinelli, and Jason Patric) going on around him. Lots of style, action, fedora hats, and fancy guns but it plays like a high-school version of the much better “L.A. Confidential” and “Gangster Squad.” Watchable but pretty forgettable. Patric fares best in cast as a crooked cop.

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“The Cutlass” (*1/2 out of four) was an ugly horror thriller based on a true story about a young woman (Lirsa-Bel Hirschmann) vacationing in Trinidad who is kidnapped and has to turn the tables, both physically and psychologically, against her brutal abductor (Arnold Goindhan) as she fights to stay alive. Full of unpleasant scenes of tie-ups, escapes, and beatings; performances and filmmaking are perfunctory, and even the Trinidad scenery looks drab and trashy.

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“The Killing Of A Sacred Deer” (** out of four) was an oppressively weird melodrama about a troubled surgeon (Colin Farrell) who befriends a young boy (Barry Keoghan) with a neurological disorder but it turns out that the boy has motives for vengeance against him and his wife (Nicole Kidman) and the rest of his family for a mishap that occurred with the surgeon years earlier and he makes all of them sick. Strikingly directed and filmed by director Yorgos Lanthimos but the result is off-puttingly bizarre and aloof like much of his previous work. Farrell is first-rate as usual; Kidman is wasted. This marks their second collaboration after last year’s awful “The Beguiled.”

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