In  28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Spike (Alfie Williams) joins the Jimmys, a  gang led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell). Meanwhile,  Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) lives in the bone temple not far away from Jimmy and befriends Samson (Chi Lewis Parry), a zombie who's the leader of the Alphas. Director Nia DaCosta and screenwriter Alex Garland have made an audacious, gritty, rousing and wildly entertaining horror thriller. The plot takes about half an hour to get interesting after a series of very gory scenes of "torture porn" that leave nothing to the imagination. If it were just to focus on Jimmy and his vicious cult-like gang, the film would've been tedious and dull because just watching people suffering gets tiresome after a while. Fortunately, the plot gains momentum when it shifts its focus toward the story of Dr. Ian Kelson and Samson. Those scenes add much needed poignancy along with a few surprises and twists that won't be spoiled here. Bravo to DaCosta and Garland for somehow blending horror, suspense, drama and campiness together in a way that feels fresh without becoming tonally uneven.

      The third act could have easily taken a nosedive and run out of steam with a less sensitive screenplay, but it doesn't as it still offers even more surprises up its sleeve.  The use of music, cinematography and some very trippy visuals add some style and help to make the film feel more cinematic concurrently. Ralph Fiennes and Jack O'Connell give solid performances as they disappear into their roles while the younger actors. Erin Kellyma, Alfie Williams and Emma Laird also get the chance to shine in their supporting roles. Prepare for a roller coaster ride of emotions which is something quite rare for a horror thriller.   At a running time of 1 hour and 49 minutes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in select theaters nationwide via Columbia Pictures.  

 

       Rita (voice of Ai Mikami) tries to save Japan from a mysterious alien plant called Darol while reliving the same day over and over in All You Need is Kill. She befriends Keiji (voice of Natsuki Hanae) who helps her on her mission. Director Kenichiro Akimoto and screenwriter Yuichiro Kido have made an exhilarating and thrilling slice of sci-fi anime based on the novel by  Hiroshi Sakurazaka which was also the source material of Edge of Tomorrow. The filmmakers do their best to make the concept feel fresh and even somewhat funny without running out of steam. Moreover, the pace moves briskly and the animation looks colorful and lively. To be fair, the romance between Rita and Keiji feels underbaked and contrived, so the emotional beats don't land as strongly in the third act. There are, indeed, plenty of action scenes, but there's just enough story and character development to keep the audience engaged beyond a visceral level. Just don't expect an anime film that's as moving and powerful as a Miyazaki film like Spirited Away. At a running time of 1 hour and 25 minutes, All You Need is Kill opens in select theaters nationwide via GKIDS.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       When 9-year-old Danny's (voice of Dawson Littman) beloved dog, Charlie (voice of Owen Wilson), gets abducted by aliens, it returns to earth with superpowers that it uses to battle its nemesis, a cat, and to save the world in Charlie the Wonderdog. Writer/director Shea Wageman and his co-writers, Steve Balland Raul Ingli have made an amusing and delightful animated superhero adventure that doesn't break new ground nor does it rise to the level of Pixar, but it does offer enough thrills and excitement for kids while keeping adults mildly entertained. The filmmakers do an effective job maintaining a brisk pace and of balancing the action scenes with some comic relief that should please younger audiences. It's just as fun and diverting as DC League of Super-Pets. At a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, Charlie the Wonderdog opens in select theaters nationwide via Viva Kids Films.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2

      Deepfaking Sam Altman is a timely, provocative and captivating documentary about director Adam Bhala Lough's attempt to create an AI version of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, when he wouldn't grant him an interview. Why not give Altman a taste of his own medicine? Lough explores the process he took to create the AI bot with the help of a company from India. Those scenes are fascinating and even somewhat amusing, but the most interesting part of the film is its explorations of the ethical ramifications of using AI. That's a loaded topic that's quite divisive and deserves more thorough exploration. Deepfaking Sam Altman doesn't quite reach any revelatory conclusions nor does it offer any profound insights per se, but it does spark debate, discussion and, at the very least, awareness of a technology that's concurrently exciting, complex and scary. It would be an interesting double feature with the documentary Another Body. At a running time of 1 hour and 36 minutes, Deepfaking Sam Altman opens at Quad Cinema via Abramorama.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

       In  Sheepdog, Calvin (Steven Grayhm), a U.S. army veteran sees a state-mandated VA therapist, Dr. Knox (Virginia Madsen) after a violent outburst. He also reunites with his former father-in-law, Whitney (Vondie Curtis-Hall), a Vietnam war veteran who has just been released from prison.  Writer/director Steven Graham has made a heartfelt and wise emotional journey that's occasionally contrived, schmaltzy and on-the-nose. It also has a somewhat slow-burning pace which takes a while to get used to, admittedly. Those are minor and forgivable flaws, though, because, at its core, the film remains an engrossing character study of a man who's struggling to deal with his emotional wounds from his traumatic past. His emotional battles are much more challenging than the physical battles that he went through in the war. Dr. Knox helps Calvin to use introspection, a very important tool, to confront his problems and to help him to heal. She's a kind soul much like Whitney who's going through emotional battles as well.

      Kudos to writer/director Steven Graham for seeing and treating all of the characters as complex, fully-fleshed human beings, warts-and-all. The audience never feels the need to judge Calvin for his flaws, but rather to merely experience him, to empathize with him and to want him to find true happiness while, hopefully, embracing the wisdom behind the poem by Pablo Neruda, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." Sheepdog would be a great double feature with Antwone Fisher, Denzel Washinton's directorial debut. At a lengthy running time of 2 hours and 2 minutes, Sheepdog opens in select theaters nationwide.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

        Shuffle is an eye-opening, enraging and well-edited documentary exposé about how addiction treatment centers collude with insurance brokers to exploit insured drug addicts and to enable the cycle of the addicts becoming re-addicted and returning to the treatment centers.  Director Benjamin Flaherty interweaves the stories of 3 addicts, Cory, David and Nicole, along with interviews with experts in the insurance industry, a former executive director of a treatment facility, and an FBI informant. He also includes some of his own battles with addiction. What follows is a documentary that feels like a Pakula-esque thriller thanks to the stylish editing, use of music and lively use of animation.  A lot of the revelations on screen will shock you and make you feel indignant, especially because those particular frauds and scams are a systemic issue in the U.S. Patients going through detox get prescribed drugs that contain substances that cause them to become addicts again. What incentives do treatment centers have to cure their patients? None, sadly. Kudos to Flaherty for tackling this issue head-on without sugar-coating it. Above all, he manages to find just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually which is a testament to his skills as a director. Shuffle is even more powerful and illuminating than any of Michael Moore's documentaries including Sicko. At a running time of only 1 hour and 22 minutes, Shuffle opens at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema via Abramorama.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Walt (Michael Mosley), an assistant football coach from Louisiana University, travels to a small town in Alabama to recruit Tony Raymond (Jackie Kay), a talented high school defensive end in Signing Tony Raymond. He meets Tony's mother, Sandra (Mira Sorvino) and stepfather, Otis (Rob Morgan). Writer/director Glen Owen has made a funny, witty and uplifting sports dramedy that's not just for football fans. Based on a true story, the plot centers on how Walt deals with his competitors to convince Tony to sign for Louisiana University's football team. He must first deal with Tony's mother who has a shotgun and isn't afraid to use it.  The first time he comes over to her place, she comes onto him in a way that's funny and a bit over-the-top. Mira Sorvino seems to be having as much fun in her role as she does as Linda in Mighty Aphrodite and as Romy in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. She pulls off a pretty convincing Southern accent while adding emotional depth to her role. So kudos to Sorvino for grounding Sandra in emotional authenticity and for opening the window to Sandra's heart, mind and soul.

      Sandra manages to be the most interesting and complex character in the film. She's a breath of fresh air and cut from the same cloth as Maude from Harold & Maude because she's quirky, blunt and hot-tempered with a good heart beneath her rough surface. To be fair, the third act does feel rushed, cheesy and contrived, but those are minor, forgivable flaws.  At a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, Signing Tony Raymond opens in select theaters nationwide via Iconic Events Releasing.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       March (Witsarut Himmarat), who's still mourning the death of his wife, Nat (Davika Hoorne) who died of a respiratory illness, must deal with the fact that her spirit now possesses a vacuum cleaner in A Useful Ghost. Writer/director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke has made a bold, but uneven and overlong amalgam of comedy, satire, sci-fi and drama. He knows where to take ideas from, but doesn't quite stick the landing when it comes to knowing where to take his ideas to. The premise sounds interesting and the narrative itself has shades of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films like  Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. It's unapologetically absurd and unconventional which makes it refreshing for the first hour. After the hour mark, though, it runs out of steam and bites off more than it could chew similar to the flaws of the recent sci-fi satire The Fantastic Golem Affairs. On top of that, A Useful Ghost overstays its welcome with its lengthy running time that could've used tighter editing, so Boonbunchachoke doesn't quite grasp the concept of "less is more." This probably would've been a much more entertaining film if it were a short or no more than 90 minutes. At 2 hours and 10 minutes, A Useful Ghost opens at IFC Center via Cineverse.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 3