Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE SHROUDS (2024): An entrepreneur who's obsessed with his dead wife invents a graveyard which allows the bereaved to watch their deceased love ones' bodies decompose in real time; when the graves are vandalized, he's led to investigate a mysterious conspiracy. Now in his 80s, David Cronenberg remains able to invent delicious perversities--sexy amputation nightmares, conspiracy theories as aphrodisiacs--even if he no longer seems very interested in putting together a semi-coherent narrative. 3/5.

[M.10rda]

UNTIL DAWN (2025):
This was the second feature on the drive-in bill w/ SINNERS, which at a glance seemed like ideal programming. Of course there was no way UNTIL DAWN was going to live up to SINNERS, and sadly it doesn't even try. It's based on a video game that seems interesting (I haven't played it) but it apparently jettisons most aspects of the source material except for one of the optional "win" states: you can't beat the game unless you can keep all the characters alive all night. This might be fun in a nonlinear and replayable video game, but as a linear narrative the film takes the path of least resistance and appropriates a classic 90s movie premise so hoary that of course this film's characters quip about how their situation is just like that movie...  Also, the characters are extremely bland and one of the guys is very annoying, so the idea that viewers would be invested in seeing all of them survive is shall we say aspirational.

The big issue w/ UNTIL DAWN isn't that it's no fun - there's a tiny bit of fun to be had here and there. It just always seems like it's on the verge of being a lot more fun and then said fun stalls out/doesn't materialize. It's also clearly inspired by CABIN IN THE WOODS in a couple ways, which one expects is a license to go absolutely nutty and throw every last horror movie idea imaginable into the soup. Yet that, too, fails to happen - we get a few different tropes thrown in, then we rinse and repeat for the duration. It was directed by the guy who made the two SHAZAM! movies and one of the many co-writers was the guy who made the latest SALEM'S LOT remake and wrote all the lesser CONJUURING-verse flicks. None of those credits are better than "pretty good" and the presence of a legion of anonymous screenwriters and producers make UNTIL DAWN stink of committee work in service of Sony corporate masters. A world of difference between this and SINNERS!

2.5/5 Still I've seen worse! As Madame and I agreed as we left the drive-in, At least it wasn't STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1!

[Rev. Powell]

THE SURFER (2024): A divorced father (Nicolas Cage) plans to buy the Australian beachside house he grew up in and teach his son to surf the waves like he did as a boy, but local "surf gangsters" torment him, insisting the beach is for locals only, and eventually strip him of everything. The middle-aged/middle class delusionalism is (coincidentally, or not?) reminiscent of the similarly titled THE SWIMMER (1968)---but the ending is more confusing, and will leave you puzzled as to what actually happened. Cage is actually rather restrained here. Great soundtrack. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

HURRY UP TOMORROW: A pop megastar who's spiraling downward after a bad breakup (Abel Tesfaye, AKA The Weeknd) has a one-night stand with an unhinged, obsessed fan (Jenna Ortega). This vanity project is stylishly directed but badly paced, and the self-indulgent "woe is me" messaging will turn off all but the most dedicated fans. 2/5.

[LordGraal]

WARFARE: A sniper team find themselves pinned down by insurgents in Ramadi, Iraq. Focused on a single firefight that plays out almost in real time, this ultra-realistic and super-intense, with no time for manufactured drama as the bullets fly. The script was created from the memories of the platoon member involved and was directed by an Iraq war veteran with the assistance of Alex Garland. I think this may have given me PTSD, so obviously anyone who has actually been in combat will want to stay far away. It benefits from the big screen and immersive sound. 3.5/5.

I've seen one review that claimed it's US military propaganda - I really don't think so.  The SEALS team make some errors and don't react fast enough to some situations - eg the grenade.  There definitely isn't an 'our guys are perfect' vibe to it at all.  It's a very good film and certainly not made to glorify anything.

[Rev. Powell]

WARFARE: A sniper team find themselves pinned down by insurgents in Ramadi, Iraq. Focused on a single firefight that plays out almost in real time, this ultra-realistic and super-intense, with no time for manufactured drama as the bullets fly. The script was created from the memories of the platoon member involved and was directed by an Iraq war veteran with the assistance of Alex Garland. I think this may have given me PTSD, so obviously anyone who has actually been in combat will want to stay far away. It benefits from the big screen and immersive sound. 3.5/5.

I've seen one review that claimed it's US military propaganda - I really don't think so.  The SEALS team make some errors and don't react fast enough to some situations - eg the grenade.  There definitely isn't an 'our guys are perfect' vibe to it at all.  It's a very good film and certainly not made to glorify anything.

Agreed, it's not really political. Though it's hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to sign up for the military after watching it, but some people are crazy and actually like danger.

[Rev. Powell]

FRIENDSHIP (2024): A middle-class family man develops a bro-crush on his new neighbor; after a series of faux pas drive a wedge between them, he undertakes increasingly desperate measures to get his friend back. Tim Robinson extends his peculiar brand of socially awkward comedy to a feature-length, with mixed results; it often feels unfocused and like a series of independent sketches strung together, but based on the in-house laughter, dedicated fans will be plenty pleased. 3/5.

[Dr. Whom]

The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

I consider myself a Wes Anderson fan, but I must say this left me cold. It has the signature Anderson style, and that is as delightful as ever, but so do Grand Budapest Hotel or Asteroid City, which are far more entertaining films. This just never connected with me. My main problem is the story. The main plotline is perfunctory and by the numbers. Also it is not an ensemble piece in which various plotlines and characters come together and we see the interactions grow. Instead, there is a series of episodes all following the same basic scheme.
It does have its moments: Bill Murray has a cameo as God, Richard Ayoade is not-Che Guevara, Benedict Cumberbatch has epic facial hair and they employed a pinochle consultant. Kudos to Mia Threapleton who carries a lot of the movie. Granted, the main thing she had to do is keep the same glowering expression throughout, but she does so with brio.
OK if you like it, I suppose.

[Rev. Powell]

BRING HER BACK: After their father's death, Andy and his blind stepsister go to live with a foster mom for three months until Andy turns 18, but Laura is a strange woman with an even stranger, mute foster boy living in her remote house. The feel-bad hit of the summer, BRING HER BACK features some extremely squirmy moments and one of the scariest kids ever onscreen. Personally, I had high expectations for this after loving TALK TO ME, the Philippou brothers' 2022 debut, but they weren't entirely met (although I didn't find it a disappointment, either). 3.5/5.

[Trevor]

I would like to go see MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 8 this weekend but it has a 3 hour running time and of late, my attention span is very low.

[Rev. Powell]

FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES: A college student has recurring nightmares linked to the fact that her grandmother cheated Death, and now Death is intent on wiping out all of her descendants one by one. The premise is too absurd to be genuinely scary, but some of the set pieces--particularly the opening at the "Sky View Tower" restaurant--are spectacularly staged (if also  a bit absurd). I'd never seen a FINAL DESTINATION movie before, but this one was getting good reviews and research told me they were all self-contained so there was no need to follow the series to know what was going on, so I gave it a go. Despite this being the 6th entry in the series, it's the highest rated, with both critics and audiences--so having seen this, I don't feel the need to seek out any of the others. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THUNDERBOLTS* (2025): Antisocial, second-tier superheroes (and "Bob") reluctantly form a team to fight back when the government tries to have them eliminated as liabilities. A bounce-back for Marvel's brainless entertainment franchise, buoyed by the fact that the supervillain is a metaphor for depression, and the actual villain is Tulsi Gabbard. 3.5/5.