This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies: 'Downton Abbey: A New Era,' 'The Valet' and 'Men.'
This image released by Focus Features shows Hugh Bonneville, from left, Elizabeth McGovern and Laura Carmichael in a scene from "Downton Abbey: A New Era." This image released by Focus Features shows Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Branson, left, and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith in a scene from"Downton Abbey: A New Era."
Director Simon Curtis and writer Julian Fellows seem to understand what fans expect and deliver on it. It may be predictable, but narrative complacency is part of its appeal for folks who spent six seasons on television getting to know these characters. Later in the film, the Dowager Countess says that life is about “getting past the unexpected.” That may apply to life at the Abbey, but it certainly doesn’t apply to the movie because there is nothing unexpected about anything that happens in the film’s two-hour running time. A better title may have been “Downton Abbey: Fan Service” because it is a crowd-pleasing, slow simmering stew of favourite ingredients, with no extra spice or flavourings.
Worst of all, they’re estranged and haven’t spoken in years. It takes a wild story from their old “Rescue Rangers” co-star Monterey Jack about missing animated characters, possibly kidnapped by Sweet Pete , a middle-aged, paunchy version of Peter Pan, to bring them back together. A riff on “The Happytime Murders,” which brought the Muppets into a crime-ridden, R-rated world, and the Toontown antics of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, “Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers” is ripe with sight gags and deep laughs that will likely be appreciated more by parents than kids. Once again, my semi-annual reminder that simply because a movie is on Disney+, doesn’t mean it is for the entire family.
Antonio is incredulous when approached with the scheme, but agrees to the deal and a large pay cheque. Soon he is on the arm of one of the most famous women in the world, photographed at hot spots and appearing on TV. “What’s wrong with him?” asks his mother. “Why is he making that dumb face?” Weaving plays up the over-the-top Hollywood stereotype of an actor who is not as wholesome as her squeaky-clean image would suggest. In the beginning, she’s willing to exploit Antonio for her own purposes, but as the story progresses, Weaving does a good job at making Olivia’s inevitable character arc from morally-challenged movie star to an accepting and understanding real person believable.
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