BLANK SLATE MEDIA June 28, 2019
YOUR GUIDE TO THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND DINING
SUMMER 2019 AT MOVIES FROM ‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ TO ‘SPIDER-MAN’ BY G R AC E M CQ UA D E “I know that you have rules, and when people break them you find it hard to forgive,” Cora Crawley says to her mother-inlaw, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, about a lovers’ scandal that could ruin her eldest daughter Mary in the first season of the award-winning PBS television series, “Downton Abbey.” “In this case, Mary has the trump card,” replies the family matriarch known for her wise and often wry retorts. “Mary is family.” Ah, family, you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. And in the world of television drama, there were no better familial fusses than the ones that played out in the sprawling English estate that gives the program its title. The aristocratic Crawley family upstairs and their loyal staff of servants downstairs experienced firsthand their fair share of tragic events that unfolded on the world stage during the first half of the 20th century — from the sinking of the Titanic and the ravages of World War I, to the Spanish flu epidemic and the financial repercussions of the Teapot Dome scandal. Amidst it all, there was plenty of juicy drama taking place inside the hallowed manor to fill six seasons of the beloved British broadcast. Along with the entertaining family dinner repartee, affairs of the heart, lavish celebrations, and a royal ceremony involving a prince, came sibling rivalry, bitter betrayals, social revolutions, a shattering rape, prison sentences, out-ofwedlock births, threats of bankruptcy and the unexpected deaths of several of Downton’s dearest. “Downton Abbey” drew a worldwide audience who are surely delighted that the
story will pick up where it left off in 2015 on the big screen with the upcoming release of “Downton Abbey,” the movie. The only downer is that fans will have to wait until the end of summer to discover the next chapter in the ongoing family saga. Until then, there are many films either about families or made for families that will be released this season. The start of
summer brought the eagerly awaited “Toy Story 4” that reunites Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) with familiar friends and a new toy called Forky (Tony Hale). More animated films, along with the following comedies and dramas, await families and filmgoers of all ages that make enjoyable escapes on the rainy days
of summer and perfect places to chill on those scorchers. JULY “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (July 2; PG-13; action/adventure/comedy): Peter Parker and his alter ego Spider Man return, with Tom Holland in the title role. In the aftermath of “Avengers: Endgame,” in which (spoiler alert) Tony/Iron Man is now gone, all Parker wants to do is enjoy a trip abroad with his high school buddies and crush played by Zendaya. But sometime antihero Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) enlists Spider Man on a crusade to save the world along with new superhero Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Continued on Page 43