Dr. Laurent (Brian Caspe) and Liz (Eveline Hall) Laura Milton (Alice Orr-Ewing) are part of a group of Satanists who try to steal the Shroud of Turin to obtain the DNA of Jesus which would be turned into a clone as an offering to the Devil. They kidnap a graduate religions student, Laura (Alice Orr-Ewing), and impregnate her to resurrect Satan (Joe Anderson) through her baby. It's up to the archangel Michael, who now possesses the body of Father Marconi (Joe Doyle), to stop the birth before it's too late.

      The screenplay by Ed Alan blends sci-fi, horror and action with results that are dull and uneven while lacking scares and thrills. It's brave enough to take its premise to increasingly outrageous and preposterous territory, but unlike M3GAN, it lacks the tongue-in-cheek humor needed to make it fun and campy. In other words, its serious tone becomes monotonous and tedious quickly as the plot just goes from Point A to Point B. The way that the screenplay incorporates exposition isn't very effective and derails the film's narrative momentum more often than not. It's no help that the dialogue ranges from stilted to cringe-inducing like nails-on-a-chalkboard. Even the bland Hollywood film The Da Vinci Code has more thrills and intrigue than The Devil Conspiracy. Too many scenes fall flat while they try hard, yet fail to creep out the audience. If the audience isn't invested in the story or in the characters in any way, shape or form, it's hard for any of the beats to land. This is one of those films where you can feel the wheels of the screenplay turning from start to finish, including the final shot which seems both tacked-on, unsurprising and conventional. That said, at least the third act isn't omitted like in the The Devil Inside which, I kid you not, asks you to go to a website to watch the rest of the film.

      The CGI and practical effects are among the only strengths of The Devil Conspiracy. They're quite impressive for a lower-than-Hollywood-budget film. Beyond that, though, there's nothing to write home about. The scenes with Satan in hell are poorly shot and lit, making it hard to see what's going on. Then there's the acting which ranges from wooden to hammy which makes it even harder to get immersed in the story or to care about what happens to anyone. At a running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes, The Devil Conspiracy is a lackluster, cringe-inducing and tedious mess that's low on thrills, scares and intrigue. Perhaps it would work better as a video game than a movie.
  

      Kevin (Jacob Latimore) and his best friend, Damon (Tosin Cole), desperately need to make money, so they decide to host a party at a mansion where they work as house cleaners. The mansion belongs to LeBron James who happens to be away at a meditation retreat. Their party doesn't quite go as smoothly as they planned it would.

      Another year, another unnecessary remake. The 1990 version of House Party is no masterpiece, but it's highly entertaining, funny and witty. That can't be said about the 2023 version. The witless screenplay by co-writers Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover takes a while to get to the meat of the story: the house party. Even after that point, though, there are too few laughs to be found. Jokes and visual gags either get repeated or simply last too long like a koala that gets stoned. The characters range from dumb, caricatures or just plain annoying, i.e. LeBron's neighbor, Peter (Andrew Santino), who's a huge LeBron fan. Very little happens that's surprising, funny, bold, refreshing or anything that can engage you even on a superficial level. That said, it does have a scene towards the end with some wild action comedy that earns its R-rating, but that scene comes out of nowhere as though the film were desperate to make you laugh or to invigorate the anemic, tedious narrative. Unfortunately, it stays anemic and unfunny. Even the outtakes during the end credits don't generate enough laughs either.

      None of the actors or actresses get a chance to shine partially because of weak screenplay, but mostly because they lack comedic timing. Jacob Latimore and Tosin Cole who portray Kevin and Damon don't have much chemistry as friends, and their comedic rapport falls flat. Moreover, there's nothing exceptional about the cinematography or editing or anything else in terms of production values that adds anything to compensate for the lack of laughs and energy. You can watch this on the small screen and it won't diminish your viewing experience. At a running time of 1 hour and 40 minutes, House Party is a painfully unfunny, witless and toothless bore. If you're looking for a comedy to make you laugh until it hurts, this ain't it. Even M3GAN is funnier.
  

      After getting fired from working as a sous chef at a high-end restaurant, Cathy Marie (Audrey Lamy) reluctantly accepts a job as a chef at the cafeteria of a hostel for African migrant boys, plus room and board. The hostel's manager, Lorenzo (Francois Cluxet), encourages her to let the boys assist her in the kitchen. Meanwhile, she befriends her colleague Sabine (Chantal Neuwirth) and provides inspiration for the boys including GusGus (Yannick Kalombo) who has a passion for the culinary arts.

      Sometimes a formulaic, conventional drama can work as long as it's grounded humanity that's derived from somewhere. That's the case with Kitchen Brigade, for the most part, but not because of the screenplay. The screenplay by writer/director Louis-Julien Petit and co-writers Liza Benguigui and Sophie Bensadoun travels a well-worn path in terms of plot. There are no surprises nor does it take any risks. You can take a bathroom break at any point and come back while probably predicting correctly what you missed while away. That said, Kitchen Brigade follows its formula satisfyingly enough to make it a pleasant, harmless, yet forgettable diversion . You learn a little about Cathy Marie's childhood without flashbacks. In a brief, expositional scene, she has a heart-to-heart with Sabine about what it was like for her to grow up and how she developed a passion as well as skills in the culinary arts. That scene feels like a tacked-on and contrived way of humanizing Cathy, though, and it doesn't go deep enough to explore what makes Cathy truly tick as a human being.

      When Cathy first arrives at the hostel, she seems rude and condescending, especially when it comes to how she reacts to the cheap ingredients in the kitchen and how she treats Sabine with such coldness. It says a lot about her that she isn't the one to suggest having the migrant children help her in the kitchen; Lorenzo suggests it to her, and, technically, she has no choice. Is she truly as kind and compassionate as the film wants the audience to make us think by the end? Her bond with the migrants aren't explored with much complexity or depth. It's hard to know what she's thinking and feeling because the screenplay fails to provide enough of a window into her heart, mind and soul. The other characters like the warm and friendly Sabine and Lorenzo remain underexplored as well. Also, not once does Lorenzo and Cathy discuss what budget the hostel has for the food and supplies needed for Cathy's cooking. In yet another clunky scene with poor exposition, she's suddenly on a farm picking vegetables with the migrant boys. The ending, although somewhat uplifting, feels a bit hackneyed, sugar-coated and rushed.

      Where does Kitchen's Brigade's humanity come from them? The performances. Audrey Lamy gives a fine performance that rises above the mediocre screenplay as does Chantal Neuwirth who exudes plenty of warmth. It's also great to see Francois Cluxet who's in a far superior crowd-pleaser, The Intouchables, that's more moving, funny and witty. Kitchen Brigade just seems to be going through the motions with too much blandness, and doesn't bring the characters to life enough. The food looks fine, but nothing that'll make your mouth water like in The Menu, Chef, Mostly Martha or the classic, soul & heart-nourishing Babette's Feast. At a running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes, Kitchen Brigade is mildly engaging, charming and harmless, but slightly undercooked, clunky and contrived.
  

      Art (Nick Blood) arrives in New York with his pregnant wife, Claire (Emily Wiseman), to reconcile with his father, Saul (Allan Corduner), a Hasidic funeral home director. He accidentally unleashes a demon that possesses a corpse in the morgue.

      The Offering has enough tension within the dysfunctional relationship between Art and his estranged father, Saul, even without the horror and supernatural elements. Screenwriter Hank Hoffman wastes no time by hooking the audience right away with an intense, scary scene where a Hasidic man loses a fight with a demon and dies before the demon possesses his body. That possessed corpse is the catalyst for the nightmare that awaits Art, Claire, Saul and Saul's assistant, Heimish (Paul Kaye). Interestingly, Hoffman keeps the audience slightly ahead of the characters in terms of what they know about the demon that the corpse possesses. No one knows what's going on until all hell breaks loose, but you'll know before Art and Saul realize the horrifying truth that puts their lives at risk. That kind of suspense is fine because it's Hitchcockian.

      Director Oliver Park and screenwriter Hank Hoffman, like Hitchcock, grasp that suspense derives from the anticipation of a particular event. You know that something creepy and terrifying will happen once Art and Claire arrive at Saul's home, but you don't necessarily know how it will happen most of the time. When the lights go out briefly in the morgue, it's obvious that something sinister will occur imminently which makes the experience more gripping and scary. There are some scenes later in the second act that get trippy in a way that's terrifying on a palpable level, especially with the way that the demon messes with Art's mind. What makes The Offering even more scary than your average B-movie horror film is that it remains grounded in realism and treats its characters like human beings, i.e the strained relationship between Art and Saul, and between Art and Claire. Hoffman knows when to trust the audience's emotions, imagination and intelligence without insulting them. The screenplay also has just the right amount of exposition without confusing the audience or over-explaining. That's a true feat that's hard to pull off-- even the overrated Hereditary failed to accomplish that.

      The performances are solid from the major roles to the supporting ones. That helps tremendously to keep the audience engaged with the story. The visual effects look believable and impressive for a low budget movie. Fortunately, they're not overused. There's some blood and gore, but nothing excessive or over-the-top. Director Oliver Park does a great job with the set design, lighting, editing and camera work to create an eerie and foreboding atmosphere. At a running time of 1 hour and 33 minutes, The Offering is the rare supernatural horror film with both style and substance. It's scary, smart and suspenseful.
  

      Daniel McKinney (William Mapother), a journalist and Afghan War veteran, accepts a job for the Houston Daily to travel to Standing Rock, an Indian Reservation, to write a pro-oil company article about the protests against the oil company's plans to build the Dakota Access Pipeline. He goes head-to-head with an oil company executive, Elliot (David Arquette), while checking in with his pregnant wife, Julie (Amy Smart), and his editor, Ricky (Francis Fisher), back in Houston.

      Too much happens in screenplay by co-writers/directors Josh and Rebecca Harrell Tickell along co-writer William Mapother, based on the true story of the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. Daniel deals with PTSD from his experiences serving in the Afghan War, he has a wife who's expecting a baby and who, understandably, wants to spend more time with her beloved husband. Then there are even more subplots: Daniel's assignment to cover the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the escalating tensions between him and Elliot, and the plight of the Native Americans protesting the construction of the pipeline. Each of those subplots is enough to propel the narrative of several separate films. Together in one film, though, it results in an overwrought narrative with poorly developed characters without enough of a chance to humanize anyone besides Daniel. What about his wife? What about the Native Americans? Their scenes fail to bring any of their characters to life. What could've been either a provocative psychological thriller in the vein of Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men or the captivating Erin Brokovich instead turns into a shallow, pedestrian drama with heavy-handed, clunky scenes, on-the-nose dialogue, and not nearly enough humanism, a truly special effect that allows for Alan J. Pakula's iconic thrillers to transcend.

      Despite a pretty good cast, none of them are given strong enough material to rise above it. William Mapother tries his best to bring some poignancy to his role, so it's unfortunate that he has to deal with a stilted screenplay. He's a fine actor, but, at times, here he's a little bit hammy without enough nuance. Less is more. To be fair, though, the screenplay itself lacks nuances and subtlety, and the filmmakers don't quite grasp the concept of "less is more" either. Moreover, some of the editing feels choppy. At a running time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, On Sacred Ground suffers from an unfocused, meandering plot that's overstuffed and bites off more than it could chew. It's the kind of film that might tempts a critic to soft the blow of their review with the unctious words "It was well meaning, but...", but beyond unctuousness, what's the point of those empty words since, fundamentally, all films are "well-meaning."?
  

      On New Year's Eve, Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler), a pilot, flies a plane that runs into a severe thunderstorm and ends up getting struck by lightning. An arrested felon, Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), happens to be among the passengers. Brodie lands the plane safely on an island in the Philippines, but little does he know that rebels await him and his passengers on the war-torn island which makes any rescue mission very dangerous.

      Plane deserves some credit for being lean and efficient action thriller with a straightforward, easy-to-follow plot. If you're tired of all of the complex, brainy and emotionally demanding awards films, along comes a simple, dumb and emotionally undemanding B-movie. The screenplay by co-writers Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis throws logic and plausibility from the moment that the plane makes a crash landing during the first 20 minutes. Unfortunately, fun gets thrown out of the window as well. Plane suffers from the same ailment as The Old Way: it's tedious, shallow and takes itself too seriously. The dialogue is stilted, and the characters are one-dimensional caricatures who are just there to move the plot forward.  Brodie has a family back home, the film does a poor job of introducing them and exploring their relationship to ground the film in realism. Island in the Sky is a better example of a disaster film that focused mainly on the survivors without delving into their lives back at home. In that film, someone ask John Dooley (John Wayne),  the pilot, at the end if he has any kids, and he just answers, "Yes. I have seven." before it fades to black. There are no flash forwards to him with his children just like there are none here, but it works better Island in the Sky. If the plot were more bonkers and took more risks, the lack of realism and plausibility would've been forgivable. The lack of exposition feels lazy more often than not. Moreover, there are some bad laughs every now and then, i.e. during an action scene with Louis. Imagine a dumb, witless and leaner version of Triangle of Sadness and you'll get something like Plane. Even Con Air is a lot more entertaining as a guilty pleasure.

      Plane has very little going for it when it comes to its production values which are decent, but nothing exceptional. The same can be said about the action scenes which aren't very exciting or thrilling. There's no picturesque scenery to compensate for the lack of visual style. Moreover, the editing feels choppy, especially in the clunky transitions between the survivors and the employees of the airline in New York City who desperately try to find a way to rescue them safely. At a running time of 1 hour and 47 minutes, Plane is just the kind of asinine, paint-by-numbers disaster film that Airplane! has no shame in spoofing. 
  

      Kevin (Lucas Paul) and his younger sister, Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault), wake up in the middle of the night to find their father has gone missing and all the windows and doors in their house have vanished.

      Skinamarink is a hard film to describe because it's the kind of film that transcends its plot. What's the plot? What's going on and why? What's outside of the house? Who are these people? The screenplay by writer/director Kyle Edward Ball subverts your expectations of horror by keeping the plot elliptical with no exposition and no easy answers. Something supernatural is definitely occuring in the home of Kevin and Kaylee's family, but precisely what isn't revealed, even during the last minute, that's the most palpably chilling part of the film. There's very little dialogue, and the passage of time isn't very clear. One minute it seems like nothing's happening, and the next something creepy occurs like blood splattering on a wall. Whose blood is it? How did it happen? If you're a fan of spoon-fed information, this isn't the film for you. Kyle Edward Ball trusts the audience's imagination and provides you with plenty of opportunities to let that imagination run wild. True horror, after all, is inside one's mind. He also trusts the audience's patience, perhaps too much at times which will lead to frustration and confusion.  

      Aesthetically, Skinamarink has the cheap, grainy look of low budget 80's movie---like Trash Humpers. That gives the film a voyeuristic aspect because it makes you feel like you're observing the events like a voyeur. It's not a "found footage" film like Paranormal Activity, but it's just as immersive. Fortunately, filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball doesn't resort to shaky cam like in The Blair Witch Project to generation tension. Even though you won't feel nauseous per se, you'll probably feel a sense of unease from the dreamlike images, the lighting and even the sound design, i.e. a TV that shows old cartoons.  At a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, Skinamarink is a bold experimental film that fully embraces confusion, frustration, surrealism, mystery and psychological horror. It deserves to become a cult classic.