While you can get ready for the extreme weather hitting the multiplex this weekend, here are a few more movies to look into. This set of write-ups includes an action-comedy sequel, a couple of horror flicks, a music-themed romance, a historical drama, and an extreme sports documentary. The following features reviews for My Spy The Eternal City, Oddity, Dandelion, The Convert, The Inheritance, and Skywalkers: A Love Story.
My Spy The Eternal City: 4 out of 10
The Setup: When Sophie’s (Chloe Coleman) high school choir is selected for an Italian, CIA operative JJ (Dave Bautista) sees this as an opportunity to bond with his new stepdaughter, so he volunteers to help chaperone. Instead, he finds that he and Sophie have become unwitting pawns in a terrorist plot that could end the world as we know it.
Review: It’s almost impressive to see My Spy, the decent spy comedy from 2020 originally meant for theaters that then pivoted to streaming, forgo having a “2” in the title and instead add on “The Eternal City.” I wished the movie was also impressive as I watched it, but alas, it’s the kind of follow-up that hints at everyone enjoying themselves on set enough the first time and being convinced decent streaming numbers suggested they should all do it again. To its credit, there still is some charm here, as Bautista is just that good at making silly nonsense look compelling. However, as a sequel definitely designed to go straight to streaming, it very much looks the part.
Cheaply designed, poorly executed by director Peter Segal, and glued together by either mugging or the film’s need to tamper some of the over-the-top (and amusing) violence of the first in favor of a more grounded follow-up, there’s just not a whole lot to enjoy. Even the basic dynamic between Bautista and Coleman is less compelling based on the smaller size/age variation between the two. Important final note – why does everyone have terrible hair in this movie? I was almost ready to say it was baffling until at least one character revealed it as part of the plot for them. Do with that what you will.
Where To Watch: Now available to stream on Prime Video.
Oddity: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Following the savage murder of her twin sister, Darcy (Carolyn Bracken), a blind medium, seeks vengeance by harnessing the power of haunted artifacts against those accountable.
Review: Not that I ever feel like I’m lacking in new horror movies to see, but it is nice to get a few gems within a couple of weeks. Oddity, from writer/director Damian Mc Carthy, is a film that knows how to go for it on the spooky front. Combining a few elements (slasher, ghosts, occult, evil doll, hauntings), here’s a film that sets out to tell a particular story from the standpoint of keeping the audience guessing. It takes a bit for the film to reveal its hand as far as what we are actually rooting for, but it fills the time with a foreboding atmosphere, a central location that is naturally unsettling, and enough skill to know how and when to properly jolt the audience.
Great work here from Bracken in the dual roles of a blind medium and her murdered sister. The way this film makes them distinct characters is impressive, given how we spend time with each. Otherwise, there are a lot of tricky performances to work with when it comes to the rest of the cast. Without getting into it, we take many steps to see all sides of everyone. The film not only benefits from it but rewards the audience by way of effective scares and means of comeuppance. As an original take on paranormal horror that would be fit for a less bloody 60s British feature, I admire what’s been done here quite a bit.
Where To Watch: Opening in theaters on July 19, 2024, and coming soon to Shudder.
Dandelion: 8 out of 10
The Setup: A struggling singer-songwriter (KiKi Layne) falls into an intoxicating romance that leads her to a deeper appreciation of her artistic journey and the discovery of a voice that is authentically her own.
Review: I’m sure writer/director Nicole Riegel (Holler) is tired of hearing it, but one can’t help but think of Once when looking at what Dandelion aims for. However, whether or not that film is a true inspiration, it’s merely a springboard to what this terrific drama has to offer. There’s great music here, courtesy of Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the band The National. However, I can’t say this film features a showstopping number like “Falling Slowly.” Instead, the music is an extension of the emotional being of these characters while sounding and playing great during key cinematic moments.
More specifically, we see how the music affects Layne in a given moment. Sure, there’s solid work from Thomas Doherty as the man she quickly develops a relationship with, but Dandelion is not a gritty fairy tale. It makes a point to introduce various dramatic elements that will be important to deal with and relies on Layne to work through them. Whatever the process was regarding the emotional place required to be at, this film provides another showcase for the If Beale Street Could Talk star. And not for nothing, but placing a female singer-songwriter in South Dakota, where the biker lifestyle is everpresent, means seeing a film put in enough work to layer in cultural context without going overboard in terms of scripting. Music really does know how to capture an unspoken vibe.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
The Convert: 6 out of 10
The Setup: A lay preacher’s (Guy Pearce) violent past is drawn into question when his faith is tested as he becomes caught up in a bloody war between Māori tribes after arriving at a British settlement in the 1830s.
Review: Director Lee Tamahori broke out back in 1994 with his film Once Were Warriors. Being of partial Māori descent, he was able to deliver a gritty, culturally-informed drama before moving on to much bigger Hollywood films, including entries in both the James Bond and xXx franchises (neither very good). The Convert is his latest Māori-focused effort, and it’s a shame this film isn’t better. It’s still a worthwhile effort, as Pearce brings his considerable talents to what feels like his first non-villainous role in a little bit, and the movie does build toward some well-constructed battle scenes. My issue is more about how much we’re really getting out of this film as a whole.
With a tighter narrative, The Convert may have been able to more effectively convey its issue and what must be done to resolve the characters in question. As it stands, this film takes a bit to hit at its main points of interest. As good as it looked (this movie was shot in various gorgeous parts of New Zealand), I felt ahead of the narrative in spots, waiting for it to catch up. Still, while I can’t speak to authenticity, there’s a measured level of respect for taking a specific culture from a particular point in history and delivering a storyline to argue in favor of it. A stronger version of this film may exist, but there’s enough to like here.
Where To Watch: Now available in select theaters and on digital.
The Inheritance: 4 out of 10
The Setup: On the eve of his 75th birthday, billionaire Charles Abernathy (Bob Gunton) invites his estranged children back home out of fear that tonight, someone or something is going to kill him. He puts each of their inheritances on the line to ensure they’ll help keep him alive.
Review: A couple of months ago, I reviewed Caitlin Cronenberg’s debut film, Humane, which focused on a family tearing themselves apart in order to achieve a somewhat selfish goal, playing as a satire on survival, among other things. The Inheritance is not all that dissimilar, but it replaces satire with various stages of non-committal. Every time I thought this movie was about to reveal a new trick, it would get shot down by more standard choices being made or a cast member leaning into the shallow nature of their character. This could have been a funhouse of horror traps to watch different members of this family fall into. Instead, it’s more like sitting in the family room, waiting out the clock.
Director Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead) tries to get mileage out of the house and his more screen-ready stars (Gunton, Peyton List, Briana Middleton, David Walton), but there’s a real blandness that comes from both limited means and a lack of imagination. This film would rather throw a gunfight in its climax than tap into various characters’ fears. By the time things do become more overtly horrifying, it’s been at the cost of a solid setup that offers little satisfaction.
Where To Watch: Now available on digital and VOD.
Skywalkers: A Love Story: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus are rooftoppers who fell in love while doing the acrobatic stunts they love. Now, they plan to climb the world’s last super skyscraper, Merdeka 118, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to salvage both their career and relationship.
Review: Just a note to start, I saw this documentary back in January during the Sundance Film Festival. Now that it’s on Netflix (following a brief run in IMAX), it was worth bringing back my thoughts, as the film is quite effective at its best. As noted, this doc focuses on Ivan and Angela, two Russian rooftoppers (extreme daredevils who ascend the tops of skyscrapers and take videos and pictures, which has turned them into social media superstars) who fell in love. We chart their relationship and their efforts to perform bigger stunts. While I mostly enjoyed the film, it’s marred by director Jeff Zimbalist’s writing.
While I buy into the relationship taking place, it definitely has the feel of seeing activities taking place that are heightened by the presence of a camera, and the added narration isn’t always successful. However, this is also a film with dizzying shots from high places, an interesting focus on how these two essentially break laws to carefully infiltrate these buildings, and what it’s all for (which can be viewed positively or negatively, depending on one’s take). Having not had the chance to see the film in a theater, it remains impressive to watch movies like this and feel like you’re in the moment at times. The story being told has its ups and downs, but it still functions, at least visually, as one of the more exciting docs of the year.
Where To Watch: Available to stream on Netflix starting July 19, 2024.
