Case 137. She hopes to get a big break in the case from a housekeeper at a hotel who recorded the incident. Writer/director Dominik Moll and co-writer Gilles Marchand have made a smart, gripping and genuinely heartfelt psychological crime thriller that's grounded by Léa Drucker's warm and radiant performance. The plot remains compelling with twists and turns as Stéphanie desperately tries to uncover the truth even if her superiors aren't happy with the results because it might put the blame on the policemen. Stéphanie comes across as a decent human being who just wants to do her job and present the evidence without any interference. Finding that evidence, especially when it comes to trying to convince the hotel's housekeeper to show her the recording, becomes a daunting task. The audience, though, remains with Stéphanie every step of the way.
Kudos to the filmmakers for showing empathy toward her and for humanizing her while showing how the case affects her emotionally. At a running time of 1 hour and 55 minutes, Case 137 opens at Quad Cinema via Film Movement. It would be a great double feature with writer/director Dominik Moll's previous film, The Night of the 12th, which deserves to be as much of a crime classic as Zodiac.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Serena (Matilda Lutz), the manager of a dilapidated apartment building, must fight for her life when venomous spiders terrorize the residents while under quarantine in Crawlers. Director Angel Gómez Hernández and screenwriter Jayson Rothwell have made a B-horror thriller that's lean, gory and sporadically creepy with great production design, but it's also uninspired, repetitive and only scary if you're severely arachnophobic. The plot wastes no time with cutting to the chase as an apartment resident dies after many baby spiders hatch from eggs that a spider laid inside of him. If you've seen any creature feature before, you'll know where the plot will be going after that prologue. Given the fact that the audience knows more than Serena before she discovers the spider infestation, they're not surprised when she's surprised. Why keep the audience a step ahead of her instead of being on the same page? There's also very little exposition about the killer spiders that even crawl into their victims' mouths and, in a very cheap and lazy attempt to generate scares, terrorize a helpless baby. There's a little comic relief and tongue-in-cheek humor, e.g. when a snake slithers through miniature Hollywood sign inside a cage, and when someone on social media comments to a live-streaming artist that one of his paintings with a spider crawling on it is "moving"--a double entendre for because the artist isn't aware of the spider yet. Another effective scene is when Serena eats from a bag of potato chips that a spider had crawled into.
The performances range from awful to mediocre, but, to be fair, who cares? As Ebert once wisely observed, the real star of a horror film is the horror. The cinematography and production design actually provides some visual style and creepiness, especially during a camera roll shot in a hallway. It does go too far, though, when the perspective switches to that of the spider every now and then---Ebert had disliked that kind of perspective in creature features, and for good reason because it makes zero sense. If Crawlers were more campy, bonkers and darkly comedic like Sting or Arachnophobia it would've been a mindlessly entertaining and fun guilty pleasure rather such an unimaginative, tedious and forgettable B-movie. At a thankfully brief running time of 1 hour and 21 minutes, Crawlers opens nationwide via Roadside Attractions and Saban Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
In DreamQuil, Carol (Elizabeth Banks), an unhappily married mother, goes on a virtual wellness retreat while her husband, Gary (John C. Reilly), stays at home to take care of their two sons. Little does Carol know until she returns from the retreat that Carol-2 (Elizabeth Banks), her android clone, has replaced her. Writer/director Alex Prager and co-writer Vanessa Prager have made an increasingly asinine, tonally uneven and underbaked sci-fi thriller with not nearly enough world-building. Exposition is kept to a bare minimum which usually can usually be fine if it still leaves something for the audience to chew on. Unfortunately, it doesn't. In this case, the lack of exposition, especially when it comes to the brief introduction of DreamQuil, the virtual retreat run by Margo (Kathryn Newton). At times, the film feels like satire while other times it's more serious before getting somewhat darker without taking any risks, though. There are no surprises or anything that keeps the audience at the edge of their seat for that matter.
There are far more entertaining and fun sci-fi movies that tackle similar themes more effectively, e.g. The Stepford Wives which DreamQuil does, at least, manage to explicitly reference. This is yet another movie with an intriguing concept, but poorly executed with not nearly enough world-building. It loses steam after the first 30 minutes and never regains before the end credits roll. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, DreamQuil opens in select theaters via Republic Pictures.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Noah (Mário Bregieira), a dishonest car salesman in Rio De Janeiro who's dishonest to his customers, has a religious awakening that leads to a crisis of conscience to become honest and ask for forgiveness from the customers that he lied to in Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul. He even gives them back precisely the amount of money that he oversold them their car for. Director Alessandro Barros and screenwriter Alex Kendrick have made a heartwarming and inspirational, but sugar-coated and somewhat cheesy remake of the 2003 film Flywheel. It's got its heart in the right place and plenty of sweet moments, but also some scenes with on-the-nose, preachy dialogue and contrivances that can only happen in movies. So, some suspension of disbelief would help the audience to enjoy Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul and to appreciate its vital messages about the importance of having a conscience, empathy, forgiveness, and acknowledging one's actions as well as consequences of one's actions.
Prepare to be uplifted to watch Noah change, grow and, above all, becoming a better gardener of his soul, so-to-speak. He's a great role model which is something that's hard to find in most narrative films these days. At a running time of 2 hours and 4 minutes, Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul opens nationwide via AFFIRM Films in two versions: Portuguese with English subtitles and an English dubbed.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
The Great Experiment is a mesmerizing, provocative, fair and balanced documentary about key moments in America during President Donald J. Trump's first term of office. Co-directors Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar eschew a conventional approach for a fly-on-the-wall approach instead. There are no talking heads, no voice-over narration, and no bombardment of screen texts or statistic for the audience to read. A mother struggles to process the news that ICE has taken away her son, people discuss a school shooting, people follow the protocols of COVID-19, and there's some intense footage of the January 6th Attack of the U.S. Capital. Those are among the cherry-picked moments from 2017-2020.
The Great Experiment is like a Frederick Wisemen movie with shades of Godfrey Reggio or Ron Fricke. The film's black-and-white cinematography filmmed with breathtaking and sometimes shocking as well as disturbing images often speak louder than words while leaving the audience with a lot of food for thought. It also asks them to think critically and, more importantly, introspectively while looking at the not-to-distant past and wondering, "What happened to our democracy?", a question that's not easy or comfortable to answer, but it's nonetheless essential. Perhaps this doc would be even more useful to new generations 50 years from now who weren't born yet or who were too young to remember those events. At a running time of 1 hour and 40 minutes, The Great Experiment opens at IFC Center via Chorus of the Union Films.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
In La Bola Negra, Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man, waits for result that will determine if he'll be accepted in social club, Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente), a soldier, falls in love with a prisoner, Rafael (Miguel Bernardeau), during the Spanish Civil War, and Alberto (Carlos González) inherits a manuscript from his grandfather whom he was told by his mother, Teresa (Lola Dueñas), was dead. Each story takes place in different time periods: 1932, 1937, and 2017, respectively. Co-writers/directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi have made a spellbinding, sweeping and poetic saga with interconnected narratives. The less you know about the plot beforehand, the better because the connections aren't obvious right away. Fortunately, the screenplay handles exposition very effectively while cutting back and forth between each of the three narrative threads. Each of those threads could have easily been turned into separate films, but together they form a whole that's even more richer, intricate, suspenseful, profound and complex than the individual stories. With a less sensitive screenplay, La Bola Negra could've become a convoluted, overstuffed, clunky and tonally uneven mess, but it avoids those pitfalls..
The entire ensemble cast gives terrific performances without a single one that's weak or even mediocre. The film's emotional depth comes mostly from the performances rather than the screenplay. Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close briefly show up later on in the film in scenes that won't be spoiled here, but they make the most out of their little time on-screen. The exquisite cinematography is also worth mentioning because it contributes both visual style and substance to the film. There's one particularly haunting scene that's brimming with visual poetry and surrealism. Although the running time clocks well past the 2 hour mark, La Bola Negra feels so captivating and engrossing that you won't feel its weight. This is the kind of sophisticated foreign film that Miramax used to release back in the 1980s and 90s. Yes, it's somewhat Oscar-baity, but it's an Oscar-bait that's well-worth taking. Just bring some tissues and be prepared to shed some tears, especially during the powerful third act where everything comes together. At 2 hours and 39 minutes, La Bola Negra opens at Angelika Film Center and The Paris Theater via Netflix.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Once Upon a Time in Harlem is a warm, well-edited and illuminating documentary about a variety of artists, musicians and writers from the Harlem Renaissance who gathered at Duke Ellington's Harlem townhouse one afternoon in August of 1972. Director William Greaves was there to shoot the footage, and his son, David, completed the film years later. The guests at the party included Richard Bruce Nugent, Regina Andrews, Aaron Douglas, Arna Bontemps, James Van Der Zee, among others who reminisced about their memories of the Harlem Renaissance and of others from that iconic time of enlightenment who deserve to be better known like writer Zora Neale Hurston. They shared their stories and debated with each other throughout the party.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem is pretty straightforward and focused: it begins with them arriving at the party and ends with them leaving the party. It doesn't delve deeply into each of the artists, musicians and writers' work and life, but rather provides the audience with a glimpse of their work and a sense of their idiosyncratic personalities. The footage that William Greaves captured looks quite impressive without being too grainy, and there's also some stylish use of split-screen which makes the film feel more cinematic, so on an aesthetic level, Once Upon a Time in Harlem both looks and sounds great. At a running time of 1 hour and 40 minutes, Once Upon a Time in Harlem< opens at Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and Film Forum via NEON.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Intruders get more than they bargained for when they enter the haunted house where Samantha (Kushi Beauchamp) takes care of her sick grandfather at in One Eye Open. Writer/director Michael D. Coffey has made a dull, unimaginative and clunky horror thriller that fails to deliver enough thrills, suspense and chills. It's yet another B-movie with an interesting concept, but with poor execution. The performances are mediocre at best, the dialogue ranges from stilted to bland, the characters, including the villains, remain underwritten, and the cinematography, production design and visual effects don't add enough to style to compensate for the lack of substance. Is it too much to ask for some comic relief or some other form of much-needed levity? That said, there are no bad laughs to turn it into an unintentional comedy. One Eye Open is ultimately just as disappointing and forgettable as Other Mommy. At a running time of 1 hour and 21 minutes, One Eye Open opens in select AMC Theaters nationwide via BayView Entertainment.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
A Place of Absence is a heartbreaking, profound and poetic documentary about the Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants, a group of Central American mothers who ride a bus across Mexico in search of their missing children who disappeared while migrating to the US. Director Marialuisa Ernst connects their emotional pain to her own emotional pain involving her uncle, Guillermo Ernst, who disappeared during Argentina's Dirty War back in 1976. Bravo to her and to the Central American mothers, Anita and Leticia, among others, for finding the courage and emotional maturity to bare their heart, mind and soul to the camera as they look at their grief, trauma and emotional pain head-on while struggling to process and to heal from it.
To be fair, this isn't an easy documentary to watch and might be triggering for some audience members who have recently lost a loved one, but it's also vital, sobering, universal, relatable and illuminating with a few provocative scenes with symbolism that will leave you with some food for thought. All poetry can be seen as a form of protest, so A Place of Absence isn't just a protest for truth and justice; it's also a protest for equanimity and, above all, democracy. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, it opens at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema. It would be a great double feature with the documentary The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo which opened in NYC at the Film Forum in 1986.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
The Dashwood sisters, Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles), struggle with love and poverty after the death of their father in Sense and Sensibility. Elinore falls in love with Edward (George MacKay) while Marianne has a romance with Willoughby (Frank Dillane). Caitríona Balfe plays the matriarch. Director Georgia Oakley and screenwriter Diana Reid have made a charming, tender and well-acted, but somewhat underwhelming, cheesy and unevenly paced adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel Will Elinor end up with Edward? Their relationship seems complicated, so it could go either way if you're not familiar with the story. Some scenes with them are sweet while others, especially toward the end, feel a bit cheesy. There are few instances of comic relief, but they're far and few between. It's not as witty nor emotionally engrossing as the 1995 version by Ang Lee; this version just seems to be going through the motions for the most part, so the emotional beats don't land as strongly, nor is it easy to care about the characters and their love life.
The film's major strengths are twofold. Firstly, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, George MacKay and Frank Dillane give radiant performances. Even those in supporting roles like Caitríona Balfe, Herbert Nordrum (as Colonel Brandon) and Fiona Shaw (as Mrs. Jennings) get the chance to shine. The ensemble cast's performance provides much-needed poignancy that can't be found in the screenplay, so kudos to them for breathing life into their roles. Secondly, the costume and set designs along with the breathtaking scenery are all exquisite. Clearly, those elements have a lot of attention to detail that enhances the film's authenticity and enriches its visual style albeit not enough to compensate for the lack of substance. Unfortunately, there are pacing issues with the first act that moves briskly before slowing down with scenes that drag before the pace picks up in the third act. At a running time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, Sense and Sensibility opens nationwide via Focus Features.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
In Street Fighter, Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits martial artists Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) to compete in the World Warrior Tournament who haven't fought each other for the past 6 years. David Dastmalchian plays the nefarious M. Bison, the dictator who rules over the country of Shadaloo. Writer/director Kitao Sakuraiand and co-writer T. J. Fixman have made a loud, exhausting, nauseating, bloated and cringe-inducing martial arts action thriller that tries hard to be outrageously funny, bonkers and campy, but falls flat on its face with not a single scene that generates laughs, suspense or palpable thrills.
Moreover, it's consistently dumb, witless, poorly shot, over-edited and filled to the brim with actors who either have bad comedic timing or who simply don't have the material to showcase their good comedic timing here. The cuts to animated sequences get tiresome and distracting after a while. If you manage to make through to the end, there's a mid-credits scene. At a lengthy running time of 2 hours, which feels more like 3 hours, Street Fighter deserves to sweep the Razzie awards. It opens nationwide via Paramount Pictures.
Number of times I checked my watch: 6
Jang Tae-young (Byun Yo-han), an online casino owner, seeks revenge after his best friend, Park Tae-young (Roh Jae-won), betrays him and causes him to suffer a huge financial loss in Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub. They compete with each other in an international poker game. Writer/director Choi Gukhui and co-writer Kim Hyeon have made a slick and fast-paced thriller that's shallow, bloated and just mildly engaging. There are no surprises in the plot that takes no narrative risks nor are there any scenes that explore the characters' inner lives, their friendship or anything else beyond their obsession with poker, striking it rich and outwitting each other. Both Jang and Park seem one-dimensional and not very interesting.
If you're a fan of poker or have enjoyed the previous installments in the Tazza franchise, Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub might keep you at least moderately entertained, but everyone else won't have much of a hook, especially an emotional one, or care about whether or not Jang succeeds in getting his revenge. At a lengthy running time of 2 hours and 9 minutes, Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub opens in select theaters via Well Go USA.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor (Kal Penn) must deal with the charges against him of prescribing drugs illegally to reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith (Abbie Cornish), his patient who died of an drug overdose in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor. Linda Hamilton plays his lawyer, Ellyn Garofalo. Writer/director Thane Economou and co-writer Sandeep Kapoor have made a clunky, contrived and undercooked biopic with very little emotional depth. The screenplay's systemic issue is that it doesn't manage to get inside the heart, mind and soul of Dr. Kapoor nor any of the other characters. There aren't enough signs that show whether or not Dr. Kapoor is capable of true introspection. So few scenes ring true that you'll never guess that it's actually based on a true story, especially if you're unfamiliar with Anna Nicole Smith or her death.
Kal Penn is miscast in the lead role without managing to breathe life into it or to rise above the bland and vapid screenplay. The other actors and actresses don't get the chance to shine here, unfortunately. Moreover, the film is shot and lit as though it were a made-for-TV movie or sitcom. None of the attempts at humor or poignancy land which makes Trust Me, I'm a Doctor ultimately less than the sum of its parts. At a running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes, Trust Me, I'm a Doctor< opens in select theaters nationwide via Briarcliff Entertainment.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
James (Spencer Boldman) desperately searches for his missing sister, Gabby (Cameron Inman), who went missing in woods, with the help of his friends, Olivia (Paola Andino), Will (Thomas Bauer), and Sophia (Taylor Murphy), in You Can't Leave. Writer/director Scott Windhauser has made an uninspired, unscary and bland psychological horror thriller. The plot checks all of the clichés that you'd expect to find in a horror film, e.g. an isolated cabin in the woods, somewhat supernatural terrorizes James and his friends, and, of course, there's someone new introduced to explain some of what's going on. The exposition feels clunky, though, while the dialogue often sounds stilted and the performances are mediocre at best, so the beats don't land as effectively during the third act.
The visual effects look decent, but nothing exceptional to compensate for the unimaginative and undercooked screenplay that's low on world-building as well as palpable scares and thrills. That said, Windhauser should be commended for not relying on gore or unnecessary jump scares to engage the audience. At a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, You Can't Leave opens in select theaters nationwide via Guilder Cinema Group.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
