Rated PG-13 for violent content, terror and some strong language.
Gerry Fenn (Jeffery Dean Morgan) is a journalist who was once on top of the world, until he let his fame go to his head and stumbled into obscurity. While attempting to find a noteworthy story in a small town, he bares witness to a deaf girl, Alice (Cricket Brown), regain her hearing, claiming it was the Virgin Mary that healed her. It’s a miracle that has the whole town a buzz, especially when she begins to perform impossible healings on others. Word spreads worldwide, and millions from all around flock to the town to witness this. Gerry sees this as his opportunity to climb back to the top, especially since Alice seems only interested in talking to him. But as he investigates further, Gerry and two Vatican priests (Cary Elwes and Diogo Morgado) begin to suspect something else is behind this. Are these miracles the work of the Virgin Mary, or of something much darker? Based on the 1983 novel Shrine by James Herbert, The Unholy isn’t the most original horror film to come out in recent years. It’s very content to rely on well-worn formulas without much reinvention. However, it’s been a really long time since we’ve had a genuine horror movie in theaters. The last one was last year’s Freaky, and that was more a comedy than a horror film. As a result, this film feels very refreshing and is kind of a return to form for theatrical horror experiences. It helps that the movie is genuinely terrifying most of the time. I’ve always felt that horror films with religious plots are scarier than most others. There’s something about juxtaposing these concepts with scares that works more often than not. Even 2015’s The Vatican Tapes, as mediocre as that film is, has its fair share of scary moments. A lot of this is due to the design of the film’s central demon. While the movie mostly relies on jump scares, the evil spirit dressed as the Virgin Mary that pops from them is one that will truly haunt you. It’s design and ability to remain consistently scary reminded me of The Conjuring Universe’s demonic nun character. It’s so creepy looking that it will always get you no matter how obvious the actually scares can be. The film is also held together by a capable cast. Jeffery Dean Morgan gives a good performance in the central role of Gerry Fenn. Even if his character has mostly selfish intentions throughout, his personal charm makes him a capable protagonist. Cricket Brown also does well in her roll as Alice. She is able to portray the naivety of her character and make her someone worth rooting for solely with what she doesn’t know about her supposed healer. However, the film does tend to slip at times and is far from a great movie. This is the first film directed by screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Huntsman: Winter’s War and 2019’s Charlie’s Angels). His script and direction of the actors shows the usual signs of inexperience. There are strange lines of dialogue that don’t sound natural, often delivered with odd expressions or awkward chuckles. There’s also a sense that the film doesn’t take full advantage of its potential, especially when it hits the final act. It wouldn’t surprise me if the ending of the novel is different from this one. The ending goes into a typical direction where the heroes step up to stop the villain from winning. It turns the supernatural threat into more of a physical one, and loses a bit of its edge because of it. It’s also kind of disappointing, as the film’s stakes hint at a sort of biblical apocalypse if the demon succeeds. Without trying to spoil the ending, the endgame ends up being much smaller in scale than the setup implies. My point being is that the ending feels very conventional in execution, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the ending of the source material is something more subversive or contemplative. The Unholy fears to tread into more unconventional territory, running its story through the gears of a fairly familiar plot. However, it deserves points for not only being the first genuine horror film to come out in a while, but also one that is successful in sending chills up your spine on multiple occasions. It may not try much new, but it works with what it has and mostly succeeds in the end.
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Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language.
Now Playing In Theaters and Streaming on HBO Max Until April 30 Five years after Godzilla saved the Earth from the threat of King Ghidorah, his race of Titans live peacefully alongside humanity. But one night, Godzilla attacks a lab owned by global tech giant Apex Cybernetics. His motivations are unclear, and the world is left wondering if the giant monster is turning on us. Apex has a solution, but in order to finish this, they need the help of fellow Titan Kong. Along with scientist Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), her deaf adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and discredited geologist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), Kong will lead them to a forgotten land where they hope to find an untapped power source. But this mission will put Kong right into the path of the prowling Godzilla, and an ancient rivalry between the two will return with a vengeance. As they go head to head, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of head Monarch scientist Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), suspects something may not be right. So, along with classmate Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison) and conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), she attempts to expose the truth about Godzilla’s actions, as the monsters’ battle begins to lay waste to cities around the world. After the tense, slow burn atmosphere of the first Godzilla from 2014, the satirical burn of 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, and the epic scale of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Warner Bros. MonsterVerse franchise has reached the point it’s been building to over the course of those first three movies. An all-out battle between two of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. Since that first film seven years ago, the MonsterVerse has shown us how to properly reinvent those old films for modern audiences. Sure, they’re not exactly the most artistic or thematically deep films ever made, but they get by on fully embracing the potential of watching giant monsters fighting each other. With fantastic effects in both the visual and sound departments, the MonsterVerse is arguably the gold standard for modern monster flicks. And same goes for Godzilla vs. Kong. The head-to-head battle is the epitome of how epic this franchise can be. The fights between the titular beasts are not only insanely huge, but also insanely creative. Director Adam Wingard takes full advantage of the characters’ potential to deliver exactly the what we would expect from a battle of this magnitude. It’s the visual effects that bring it all to life. This is probably the most vibrant entry in the franchise. Everything from the CG environments to the practical sets beam with colors and are gorgeous to look at. Also, the tech used in this film really feels like it embraces the Japanese origins of Godzilla. The weapons and vehicles, like many anime shows, are completely outlandish, but really awesome. Of course, the human characters are usually the weakest part. The people along for the ride are really little more than that. Just bystanders witnessing the events and trying little things to change them. They’re not really here to learn anything from their actions or teach the audience anything important. But a lack of development in the humans is usually overshadowed by the wide range of talented stars that portray them. One of the highlight performances is Millie Bobby Brown, who returns from King of the Monsters as Madison Russell. She doesn’t have as much involvement in the overall plot as the last film, but she plays her with more maturity and ingenuity than before. It may not add much to her character, but she continues to display the considerable talent that makes her one of the best young actresses working today. Much of the film is dedicated to newcomers Skarsgård, Hall, Henry, and others. They all turn in great performances, with the highlights being Skarsgård and Henry. Skarsgård makes his character very watchable thanks to his own personal charm, while Henry comes out as the scene stealer with his hilarious portrayal of a conspiracy theorist. Nearly every one of his one-liners land hard and add great comic relief to the grim situation he’s in. However, praise should really be given to newcomer Kaylee Hottle as Hall’s deaf daughter Jia. Her character acts as the film’s emotional center, as she is the only one who can communicate with Kong through sign language, and is one of Kong’s only true friends in a world that sees him as a freak. As her very first acting role, Hottle gives a committed and heartfelt performance, able to imbue it with all the emotions necessary, and is arguably the best performance of the film. Godzilla vs. Kong is a fantastic return for blockbuster cinema after almost a year of lackluster theater fair and pandemic-induced delays. This movie really needs to be experienced on a massive screen to get the full effect. You won’t have as much fun seeing it on your TV or phone on HBO Max. Delivering everything we would expect from these two iconic characters slugging it out, there’s no better movie to head back to the theater with than this one. Rated R for violence and some language.
Now Streaming on HBO Max Back in 2017, Warner Bros. and DC released Justice League, the fifth installment in their Marvel equivalent cinematic universe and their first Avengers-style team up movie. The film was due to be helmed by director Zack Snyder, but after various production issues and a personal tragedy of his, Snyder left the project. Not willing to push the film’s November release date back, the studio hired director Joss Whedon to complete the movie. Under Whedon’s control, the studio asked him to make it much more comedic in contrast to the dark and brooding films that Snyder created. The film released to very mixed reviews from critics, with the biggest complaints seemingly directed at Whedon’s additions. Many found the movie too comedic and a bit all over the place. So, many became curious about what Snyder’s original vision would be. And after years of demanding from fans, we finally have it on HBO Max. While the basic plot remains the same as the 2017 version, the way the film plays out is considerably different from before. It also boasts a longer runtime, some new subplots, and redone versions of CGI characters from before. It’s clear from the very first scene that this movie isn’t going to be the same one we’ve seen before. And truly, it isn’t, and it’s all the better for it. While I’ve always considered the 2017 version to be a surprisingly fun little slice of superhero cinema, there’s no denying that Zack Snyder’s Justice League is, by all definitions, a much better film that the original. Shockingly, while clocking in at just over four hours, it never once overstays its welcome. It flies right by without ever losing your attention, thanks to what it does differently. One of its major differences is its portrayal of its various characters. Heroes like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Superman aren’t that much different aside from a few additional backstory beats, but the way the movie plays out their scenes makes them feel like more well-rounded characters than in their previous iterations. We really get a sense of who they are and what their purposes are. While characters like The Flash, Batman, and Steppenwolf are very different people than before. They are given more time show off their respective backstories before the action begins. The Flash feels more like a developed person rather than just the comic relief, Batman seems genuinely affected and motivated by Superman’s sacrifice in Batman v Superman, and Steppenwolf actually has motivations as a villain rather than being driven only by the desire to conquer other worlds. But probably the character with the most differences is Cyborg. Much of his backstory was cut from the 2017 version, and he was left kind of a hollow shell of what he was supposed to be. Here, we get to see everything he’s been through that has defined who he is now. He is a much more compelling character as a result, and Ray Fisher nails his portrayal of the character in what is arguably the best performance of the film. The action scenes are also improved upon in this version. There’s a definite increase in violence during these scenes, as indicated by the film’s R rating. And it’s this that helps to increase the stakes. The improved characterizations also help as well. The villains feel like genuine threats, and we are able to root for our heroes and hope that they make it out alive, because there’s actually a chance that they won’t. There are moments, however, where this version slows down despite being mostly a breeze. Snyder’s signature slow motion shots do tend to drag the action along longer than it should. But the film is mostly brought down by its various scenes designed to setup future movies. While I commend Snyder for staying true to his vision, it seems pointless dedicating so much time to scenes that hint at future storylines that probably will never be expanded upon. Zack Snyder’s true vision of Justice League shows that the studio should have had more faith in his story. While I never support studios giving in to fan pressure (looking at you Disney with The Rise of Skywalker), every once in a while, we can get something truly great out of it. It improves on pretty much everything from the original version, and successfully restores the images of some of the most iconic superheroes of all time. Rated PG-13 for violence and language.
In the distant future, humanity has begun to settle colonies on an alien planet in another solar system. However, this new planet comes at a mysterious price. All men who enter its atmosphere are stricken with “Noise;” a phenomenon that puts all their thoughts on display for the world to see. It’s a condition that they have spent years trying to learn how to control. In the small community of Prentisstown, headed by David Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who can fully control his Noise, young Todd Hewitt discovers the wreckage of a ship carrying scouts from the next wave of settlers. The sole survivor is Viola Eade (Daisy Ridley), who is shocked at the current state of Prentisstown, as all women have been killed off. Though she doesn’t appear to be a threat, David suspects ulterior motives. So, Todd decides it’s his duty to leave his small farm and help Viola reach a place where she can contact her superiors for help. Along the way, the two will come across various foes that seek to stop Viola from getting off the planet. They will discover secrets about the planet that will set in motion events that will change everything for this new civilization. Originally set to come out in 2019, Chaos Walking, based on the young adult novel The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, ended up going through loads of reshoots after it didn’t test well at early screenings. On the surface, this gives off the same red flags as last year’s Dolittle. A film that tested so poorly that it went through many reshoots that resulted in a disaster of an experience. However, despite all chances to fail as hard as that aforementioned film, Chaos Walking ends up still having enough fun moments to make for a moderately satisfying sci-fi action film. There are times when it feels cobbled together, especially in the third act which was the most tinkered with in post-production. It’s clear which parts were replaced and they aren’t exactly seamlessly woven into the film’s overall narrative. But there are certain aspects that help make up for a lack of script cohesion. A lot of it comes from its refreshing take on the young adult dystopian genre. Many usually act as metaphors for some teenage issue and usually have a lightheartedness amongst all the action. Here, the world is gritty and almost everything is played completely seriously. There’s also a bit of Western tinge within the action. Overall, it feels unique when compared to the multitude of similar films. The film is also aided by some of the performances of the cast. Tom Holland, though clearly much older than the character is in the book, fits the role well. He really captures the struggles a teenager would face in a world where your thoughts are always out in the open. Mads Mikkelsen should also be highlighted for his performance. His character may not have much depth, but he plays the role of the brooding, menacing villain in a refreshingly old-fashioned way. The same can’t be said for Daisy Ridley. While she does do her best, and overall gives a good performance, she doesn’t really fit her character. I don’t know what it is, but I just couldn’t buy her in the role. It also didn’t help that she and Holland don’t really strike a good chemistry. They never form a convincing bond and end up just seeming like two “it” people thrown on screen in an attempt to entice audiences. Chaos Walking is nothing groundbreaking, and clearly loses momentum in the rather underwhelming third act. It’s clear that Lionsgate didn’t have much faith in its success, and therefore didn’t have a problem releasing it while theaters are still compromised. However, even if not the most original of its kind, that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. It has enough moments to make it a passable, if forgettable, time if you’re looking for something to see at the movies. |