Happy Easter/Passover/unaffiliated weekend, everyone! This is your Friday Movie Pile & Do-It-Yourself Woodworking Instructions, a weekly guide to the new films plus directions for building handsome, functional furniture. Let’s see what treasures await us!
Ready Player One (PG-13, 2:20)
Plot: In the future, a teenage gamer must save the world (well, the virtual gaming world) by knowing a lot about the Atari 2600, as foretold by prophecy.
Director: Steven Spielberg (Always, 1941)
Stars: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, nostalgia
Buzz: Response has varied from wild enthusiasm to utter distaste. We were somewhere in between. Rotten Tomatoes reports 78% of reviews are more positive than negative, with Metacritic computing the average score at 64/100.
![READY PLAYER ONE - Official Trailer 1 [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cSp1dM2Vj48/hqdefault.jpg)
Tyler Perry’s Acrimony (R, 2:00)
Plot: Tyler Perry wrote and directed this Tyler Perry movie about a woman (Taraji P. Henson) who has HAD IT with her husband’s infidelity.
Director: Tyler Perry (Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?)
Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Lyriq Bent, Crystle Stewart, Jazmyn Simon
Buzz: Tyler Perry doesn’t screen his movies for critics. The reviews that have come up so far use the word “overwrought” a lot, which is right in Perry’s wheelhouse.
God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (PG, 1:45)
Plot: Part 3 in the God’s Not Dead series has Pastor Dave and his congregation reeling after their church is burned down.
Director: Michael Mason (no previous IMDb credits)
Stars: David A.R. White, John Corbett, Ted McGinley, Tatum O’Neal
Buzz: A handful of critics screened this before it opened, and none of them liked it much. The film seems aimed at the subset of Christians who believe Christianity is under attack, on the verge of being criminalized, etc. If you get upset about the “war on Christmas,” this is the movie for you!
Finding Your Feet (PG-13, 1:51)
Plot: In England, a middle-class older lady (Imelda Staunton) betrayed by her husband moves in with her bohemian sister (Celia Imrie), learns to laugh and love again, etc.
Director: Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon, Firewall)
Stars: Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, Timothy Spall, Joanna Lumley
Buzz: Nice older British actors doing a pleasant comedy? That’s a slam-dunk in some circles. The reviews are generally positive, no raves but no hard pans: 77% at Rotten Tomatoes, 52/100 at Metacritic.
Sturdy Wooden Bench
- Circular saw
- Countersink drill bit
- Drill/driver
- Speed square
Materials needed:
- 18 2.5″ deck screws
- 2 10′ 2×8 boards
- Construction adhesive
- Exterior finish
Cutting list (all from two 10′ 2x8s):
- Rear legs: 2 x 8 x 17 1/4″ (22.5 degree cuts)
- Front legs: 2 x 8 x 36″ (22.5 degree cuts)
- Seat: 2 x 8 x 42″
- Back: 2 x 8 x 45″
Lay out and assemble the sides as mirror images, using the seat and back pieces for alignment. Join the legs with three 2.5″ deck screws and construction adhesive. Pre-drill all the screw holes with a countersink bit to avoid splitting the wood. Finally, set the sides up parallel to each other and glue and screw the seat and back into place. Finish the bench with a coat of exterior oil or stain.
Source: The Family Handyman