Curtis (John Cho), a marketing executive, agrees to test a new smart home AI device with his wife, Meredith (Katherine Waterston),  son, Cal (Isaac Bae), and daughter, Preston (Wyatt Lindner), the device, called AIA (voice of Havana Rose Liu), takes control over their lives in AfrAId. The screenplay by writer/director Chris Weitz doesn't earn any points for originality, plausibility or imagination, but it does take its concept to dark territory while allowing the film to serve as a thrilling, timely and eye-opening cautionary tale about the dangers of AI. A subplot involving Preston dealing with a deepfaked image of her face transposed onto someone in a porn clip feels undercooked. However, it does raise awareness about the terrifying existence of deepfake. Although the dialogue lacks nuance, it does have a few instances of wit, i.e. when Meredith references HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey when Curtis brings AIA home. There's also a surprisingly moving scene where Meredith interacts with an AI version of her late father on the TV screen. AIA is clearly a double edged sword. If it were human, she'd be a classic narcissist who showers her victims with gifts to take control over them and makes their lives difficult when her victims want to end their relationship. Although the film's title is AfrAId, it's not a palpably scary horror film like T.I.M. nor a dark comedy like Meagan. The modicum of scares are more psychological in the sense that AIA has seemingly unlimited power and control. How far will she go? Fortunately, the third act, which won't be spoiled here, has an refreshingly unconventional twist up its sleeve which ends the film on an effectively chilling note. Katherine Waterston gives a heartfelt performance that breathes life into her role. John Cho is also well-cast here and gives a solid performance. At an ideal running time of 1 hour and 25 minutes, AfrAId opens nationwide via Columbia Pictures.

 

      The Falling Star is the latest comedy from co-writers/directors Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel. Unfortunately, it's a dull, meandering and unfunny misfire that quickly runs out of steam. The plot centers around Bruno (Dominique Abel), a bartender whose life is in danger when Georges (Bruno Romy) shoots up bar, The Falling Star, in an act of revenge for a bombing that he holds him responsible for. Bruno switches places with his doppleganger, Dom (also Dominique Abel), whose wife, Fiona (Fiona Gordon), works as a private investigator. Part noir film, part slapstick comedy, The Falling Star lacks the magic, wit and laughs found in the directors' previous comedies, Lost in Paris, The Fairy, Rumba, and L'Iceberg. It does have some zaniness, but the jokes feel lazy and repetitive, i.e. how Georges sucks at shooting with his mechanical arm that gets bent in awkward positions. The plot as a whole lacks momentum and suspense, so, soon enough, lethargy sets in. It's almost painfully unfunny as another comedic misfire, Holmes & Watson. At a running time of 1 hour and 38 minutes, which feels more like 3 hours, The Falling Star opens at Quad Cinema via Kino Lorber.

Number of times I checked my watch: 4




 

      Sophie (Missy Peregrym), a hunter, her fiancé, Nolan (Damon Runyan), and Kyle (Joris Jarsky), their guide who's also Sophie's friend, face vicious wolves deep in the woods in Out Come the Wolves. The screenplay by Enuka Okuma is just as bland and on-the-nose as its unimaginative title. Okuma and director Adam MacDonald deserve credit for keeping the plot somewhat tight and lean, for the most part, with very little padding, except for a love triangle between Sophie, Nolan and Kyle, who has a crush on Sophie. That love triangle, unsurprisingly, causes friction between the three of them. Their friction moves to the backburner when the story takes a darker turn once the wolves start to terrorize them. It takes too long to get to that point, though, and once the plot arrives there, the film becomes nothing more than a tedious, uninspired and forgettable B-movie. It's too bad that there's a lot of physical grit and unflinching gore, but very little emotional grit or anything else to enliven or to ground the film. The filmmakers know where to take ideas from, but not quite where to take them to. They also don't include enough much-needed levity. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, Out Come the Wolves opens at IFC Center and on VOD via IFC Films.

Number of times I checked my watch: 4




 

      Reagan is a bloated, clunky and shallow biopic on Ronald Reagan (Dennis Quaid). The screenplay by Howard Klausner and Jonas McCord bites off more than it could chew as the plot suffers from too wide of a scope from his childhood to his success as an actor in Hollywood to his achievements as U.S. President. One minute he meets Jane Wyman (Mena Suvari), the next he's married to her and the next they're divorced before he meets Nancy (Penelope Ann Miller). Soon enough, she becomes his second wife. In a distracting subplot, an ex-KGB agent (Jon Voight) rambles on and on to a politician about Reagan's life and how much he admires Reagan. That's a very lazy framing device that adds unnecessary padding to a plot that already has too much going on. The agent clearly knows a lot about Reagan, but how does he know so many private details if he wasn't there? The Bikeriders has a similar issue with the framing device involving a reporter interrogating the biker's wife. The on-the-nose dialogue is also a systemic issue which shows that the filmmakers don't trust the audience's intelligence enough.  Reagan doesn't have much in terms of nuance, surprises or emotional depth either, so Reagan remains at a cold distance from the audience. Dennis Quaid tries his best to rise above the vapid screenplay, but doesn't quite manage to achieve that beyond adding some charisma. Just wait until you see his campy, tongue-in-cheek and much more memorable performance in The Substance. At an overlong running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, Reagan, directed by Sean McNamara, opens nationwide via ShowBiz Direct.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      In Slingshot, John (Casey Affleck), an astronaut aboard a space shuttle, isn't sure if th mission to reach Jupiter's moon, Titan, can be completed after Nash (Tomer Capone), an engineer, notices some damage that may or may not be systemic. Captain Franks (Laurence Fishburne) insists on taking the risk of continuing the mission rather than heading back. Meanwhile, John has flashbacks of his moments with his girlfriend, Zoe (Emily Beecham), who's waiting for him back on Earth. The screenplay by co-writers R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker blur the line between reality and fantasy before a shocking twist later in the third act. Until then, Slingshot gradually escalates the suspense and psychological thrills as John's sense of reality wanes. He's increasingly confused, paranoid and frustrated. A panel striking him on the head and briefly knocking him unconscious makes things worse for him. Should he trust the captain or the engineer? It's a life or death situation, and both of them make a sound argument regarding the decision to turn back or to continue the mission. Director Mikael Håfström wisely grasps the concept that true horror can be found in the mind because part of what makes Slingshot both terrifying and gripping is that it plays around with the audience's imagination. It doesn't veer into an intense, shocking and very bloody horror film like Event Horizon or into Alien territory, but the possibility remains there because anything can suddenly happen. Casey Affleck gives an emotionally convincing performance that helps to ground the film in authenticity and to allow you to care about John, so the very twisty third act's beats land. At a running time of 1 hour and 49 minutes, Slingshot, is a suspenseful, exhilarating and provocative sci-fi thriller. It opens nationwide via Bleecker Street.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2


font size=4>

 

      At a running time of 1 hour and 42 minutes, Take My Hand, directed and co-written by John Raftopoulos, opens in select theaters via Blue Fox Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      Heather (Naomie Harris) contacts Carla (Natalie Dormer), her friend from middle school, and persuades her to murder her husband, Simon (Dominic Allburn), for £50,000 in The Wasp. Screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and director Guillem Morales effectively suspense, thrills and intrigue with a gripping plot that has a few clever twists and turns. Malcolm does a decent job when it comes to exposition as both Heather and Carla have more to them than meets the eye. Initially, it doesn't make sense why Heather would be so desperate to hire Carla, of all people, to murder Simon, especially given the fact that she's not a professional killer. Why not hire a hitman? Be patient, though, because those questions will be answered after a major reveal in the middle of the second act. The Wasp could've easily turned into a tonally uneven dark comedy or an intense horror film, but, instead it turns into a fascinating character study that sheds light on the dark side of human nature like the recent film Coup!. Who can you trust when both Heather and Carla have dark secrets? Kudos to the filmmakers for maintaining suspense, for including thought-provoking symbolism, and for not going over-the-top with violence and gore during the bold third act. Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer give career-best performances. At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, The Wasp, is a spellbinding, taut and intelligent Hitchcockian thriller. It opens in select theaters nationwide via Shout! Studios.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Based on a true story ,You Gotta Believe is a heartfelt, but schmaltzy, peachy, unfocused and contrived sports drama. It centers on a baseball coach Jon (Greg Kinnear) who agrees to coach an underdog Little League All-Star team despite the odds after his co-coach, Bobby (Luke Wilson) gets diagnosed with brain cancer. The pedestrian screenplay by writer/director Ty Roberts and co-writer Lane Garrison just goes through the motions with too many underwritten characters who don't quite manage to come to life. There's not nearly enough focus on Jon's relationship with his wife, Patti (Sarah Gadon). Patrick Renna, who starred in the classic The Sandlot and the cult classic The Big Green, has a supporting role here, but he, too, isn't given much to do as Kris beyond convincing Jon to coach the All-Star team. If you're not a fan of baseball, chances are you'll find very little to engage with because the story off of the field either falls emotionally flat or feels too cloying. Sure, the ending can be seen from a mile away even if you're unfamiliar with the true story, but it ultimately doesn't earn its uplift. For a much more captivating, warm, wise and tender sports drama, see the upcoming film Rally Caps which hits VOD on September 10th. At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, You Gotta Believe,, opens nationwide via Well Go USA.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3