Multiplex Madness
Nefarious
⭐
Genre: Faith, Horror, Thriller
Director: Cary Solomon, Chuck Konzelman
Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Jordon Belfi
I went into Nefarious under the impression it was a horror thriller, and I guess technically it is. I suspected something was off about this assumption when I entered the theater and all the patrons were of a much older demographic, far above what you'd expect for a horror film. Not that horror films can't appeal to the 60-plus crowd, but you would expect the youth demographic to be in that audience above others. It becomes more clear as it plays out that Nefarious isn't just a horror film, it's one made by a religious group. I'll give Nefarious this, it's a different direction from what most faith films go, and that's moderately refreshing. It's not enough to come off as more than a haphazard "preach to the choir" movie, no matter how much they hope their horror element will scare the fear of the devil into their viewers. Just having a horror underline to your film isn't enough to scare your audience. Maybe it is to an audience that doesn't normally watch horror films, like the faith crowd likely wouldn't. A horror film needs to hook, which could be simplistic violence or it could be atmosphere and scare tactics. Nefarious goes for a low budget idea of two dudes talking around a table, one of which is an atheist and the other is supposedly possessed by a demon. See, that's an idea. But that's the only hook the movie has, because to pull this off, you need the script to back it up. The film runs into the rabbit hole of being a discussion between a nonbeliever and the supernatural, while the demon looks at the atheist and is like "Lol, you stupid dummy face" and that's about it. The script is a pondering bore, and the actors can't work it. The atheist is a plank of wood, only existing to get pummelled by bible talk while presenting himself as a static idea of what the movie thinks a liberal talks like (It's adorable that the movie thinks being pro-choice means you wallow in frivolous abortions care-free). The demon man is overacting to a comical level, mistaking facial twitching for intimidation, while his only job Satan seems to have given him is to "own the libs." And it doesn't even address the central issue that this movie isn't a good representation of Christianity, as it's trying to sell it through fear-mongering with a fictional story that's based in the supernatural, which will sell Christianity to no one except people who have experienced a similar situation (which I'm assuming is very few members of its audience). It's such a doofus attempt at crossing the genre streams, and it doesn't have the slightest idea of what to do with any of its elements except to just prattle on obnoxiously, even throwing its own dignity out by preaching intolerance along the way, both purposefully and accidentally. It's the film equivalent of a far-right leaning Christian aggressively arguing with themselves and then claiming victory. I mean, I could have seen that at home by watching Newsmax.
The Pope's Exorcist
⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Horror
Director: Julius Avery
Starring: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero
If there's one thing you can always count on, it's that Sony will always chase a trend. If The Conjuring succeeds with its marketing sale of being based on the stories of actual paranormal researchers, they're going to want to get in on that pie. And with a Vatican exorcist with books handy full of stories, there's something to invest in. Like just about every exorcist movie ever made, from The Exorcism of Emily Rose to The Last Exorcism, it can and will be compared to The Exorcist, and for good reason. The Pope's Exorcist shares more than a little in common with it, but it's larger and louder, lacking The Exorcist's boldness and intimacy. The movie has one thing in its favor, and that is Russell Crowe's committed performance. He is all-in on this motherfucker, even when it gets so ostentatious that it's more inclined to induce a laugh than a fright. But if you wanted to see a version of The Exorcist that has umpteen times more explosions, this is the movie for you.
Renfield
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Director: Chris McKay
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo
A pure love for the quirky cycle of late-80's horror with hard rock soundtracks, tongue-in-cheek tones, comically gory make-up effects, and bold and colorful lighting choices is infused in Renfield, which forms a film around Dracula's long-time lackey. Like Leigh Whannel's The Invisible Man, the film is primarily a metaphor for abusive relationships, depicting Renfield as a man who needs to leave his toxic counterpart and learn to love himself. It's a different, more comedic approach than The Invisible Man, which probably slightly undercuts the trauma of such situations, but it's a fun approach to this iconic duo. Horror fans who like their movies weird and gory will get the most out of this film, which is a barrage of silly humor and gooey violence. It also stands a triumphant battle cry for the abused.
Sweetwater
⭐1/2
Genre: Sports, Drama
Director: Martin Guigui
Starring: Everett Osborne, Kevin Pollak, Cary Elwes, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Piven
Tolerance levels may vary on Sweetwater, which tells the true story of how Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first Black player signed to the NBA. It's an important, groundbreaking story, but it probably deserves a movie that's not aiming to be as saccharine as a TV biopic. It doesn't seem to be targeted at people who will necessarily care that it favors using textbook plot devices that similar biopics have done many times before. I'm not entirely sure that movies about African Americans in the 1950's need a run-in with a generic hick with a shotgun to establish racism hurdles of the time period anymore, but here we are. The movie surrounding those "safely traditional" instances of racism feels sterile and scripted like 70's telepilot. It's a movie about overcoming systematic racism that isn't really interested in honoring just what these achievements mean, as it weirdly celebrates the white men around Clifton more than Clifton himself. It's a movie about a great Black man made for white people to collectively nod their heads at and think "Yeah, we did beat racism, didn't we? You're welcome." Some people are going to hate that, and I don't blame them.
Art Attack
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
⭐⭐⭐1/2
Genre: Thriller
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Forseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard
Boy, this one is a whole can of worms, isn't it? No matter what, certain audience members are going to bring their own political ideas into How to Blow Up a Pipeline, and they will judge it favorably or harshly based upon that. Craftwise, it's an admirable film that is excellently put together, tense, well-acted, and with brilliant cinematography. The film, like the book its influenced from, is an argument for eco-terrorism, as a group of young twenty-somethings decide to save the world by raising gas prices. They could have just helped Putin invade Ukraine, but I guess blowing a pipeline was more convenient to them. The movie's argument is flawed from the beginning, as one of the characters does mild acts of vandalism like slashing tires to spread fossil fuel emission awareness, while what she really did is bring out a tow truck before causing the inconvenience of a new tire purchase, which probably created far more emissions than she saved. All she did was put out people a few hundred dollars who just need a ride to work. But agreement isn't entirely the point of the movie, because the point of the movie is to make noise. These are people without voices who are angry that the world won't listen, and the movie isn't necessarily asking you to agree with them, it just wants you to understand them. They all have a tale to tell about how they got to that point, and taking the time to hear why they might turn to extreme measures might actually help such a cause. But given how systematic the oil companies and fossil fuel is in the economy, the events of the film feel more like a dent than the uprising it presents itself to be. It's just lucky it's so investing. I don't think the philosophy of the film is entirely sound, but it certainly isn't uninteresting.
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story
⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Documentary
Director: Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, Stuart Samuels
Starring: May Pang, John Lennon, Yoko Ono
Despite the title, The Lost Weekend is not a remake of the Best Picture winner by Billy Wilder. Of all things, it's a Beatles-adjacent documentary. Yay? I don't know music and don't really care about the Beatles. I've heard their music and I'm told it's brilliant and I'm like "Sure," but if you're looking to me to get passionate about anything them, that's probably not gonna happen. The Lost Weekend is more of a relationship doc than a music doc, though, as May Pang guides us through her brief love affair with John Lennon while he was separated from Yoko Ono. It's strength is that Pang is a very colorful storyteller, and her tales are vibrant and detailed, which makes this a documentary worth checking out for Beatles and Lennon enthusiasts. If I were to slight it for anything it's that it's a very one-sided tale. Everything we see is through Pang and mostly Pang alone (there are a few asides from Lennon's son, Julius). But it's hard to reach for other takes on the situation as Lennon is no longer with us and Ono probably has no interest in talking about it. I guess that makes The Lost Weekend about as good as it's going to get, and as a story of a woman telling a love story through her eyes, it's a solid watch.
Netflix & Chill
Kids vs. Aliens
⭐⭐
Streaming On: Shudder
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Comedy
Director: Jason Eisener
Starring: Dominic Marchie, Phoebe Rex, Calem MacDonald, Asher Grayson, Ben Tector
Weird, yet embracing of said weirdness, low-budget film sees a group of children trying to survive a hostile close encounter in their neighborhood. The film feels stylized like if Troma tried to do their take on an Amblin film and whatever nuttiness might result from such a bizarre combo. The film doesn't lack interest, especially for connoisseurs of trashy, microbudget 80's genre films, but it can't help but be a little grating with its sugar rush hyperactivity. What it boils down to is that it's either a more grindhouse E.T. targeted at people who watch Joe Bob Briggs or it's just Stranger Things as interpreted by Jim Wynorski. I think Kids vs. Aliens is such a unique goofball that it likely will find a slight cult following that thrives on its silliness. It's probably deserved too. I'd be lying if I said this didn't appeal to my inner-tween "watching nonsense on the Sci-Fi Channel" days, giving a nostalgic warmth to it. Can't quite say it fully found a place in my heart, though.
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
Mafia Mamma ⭐⭐1/2
New To Streaming
Emily ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Fear ⭐
A Good Person ⭐⭐1/2
Jesus Revolution ⭐⭐1/2
Living ⭐⭐⭐1/2
One Fine Morning ⭐⭐⭐
New To Physical
Living ⭐⭐⭐1/2
One Fine Morning ⭐⭐⭐
Coming Soon!
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