It’s the final week of August; usually the launching grounds for many releases studios don’t know what to do with. That doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer, however. This set of write-ups includes a sci-fi story, a chase thriller, an action remake, a comedy special, a Black drama, a western, a teen comedy, and a monster movie. The following features reviews for Slingshot, Strange Darling, The Killer, Adam Sandler: Love You, The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, The Thicket, Incoming, and Hell Hole.
Slingshot: 5 out of 10
The Setup: An elite trio of astronauts (Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, and Tomer Capone) aboard a years-long, possibly compromised mission to Saturn’s moon Titan gears up for a highly dangerous slingshot maneuver that will either catapult them to Titan or into deep space. During this time, it becomes increasingly difficult for one astronaut to maintain his grip on reality.
Review: When looking at space thrillers, there only seem to be so many options for the kind of story they can tell at this point, meaning you’re bound to run into other films for reference. Watching Slingshot, while acted well enough, it’s hard not to think of Solaris and Moon as key factors in what was considered by the writers and director Mikael Håfström. This does not necessarily cheapen the value of a film like this, though I was hoping to be kept more on my toes regarding how the tension would escalate. Instead, even as one who doesn’t tend to spend time trying to “figure out” a movie, it was hard not to feel clued into what Slingshot was going for in terms of the story and intended themes regarding Affleck’s lead character. With a modest budget, there’s only so much room to explore as far as presenting the awe of a sci-fi film. Still, as a chamber drama that happens to take place 600 million miles away from Earth, it may not have been putting me to hypersleep, but I was ready to land and move on by the time it ended.
Where To Watch: Opening in theaters on August 30, 2024.
Strange Darling: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Review: The last time I got caught up in a horror/thriller at least partially hyped up by the notion of going in completely blind, was Barbarian, which was certainly worth it from a theatrical experience point of view. Strange Darling has a similar feeling in terms of how writer/director JT Mollner purposefully plays with audience expectations. That makes it tricky to describe the film to a degree, but in terms of what it delivers, well, at the very least, it’s a fun ride. Presented in nonlinear order, much of the film plays as a cat-and-mouse chase, where we find a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) and a man (Kyle Gallner) in some sort of pursuit. Obviously, the movie will provide clarity as it goes, but much of what works is baked into the threat of violence and the tension created by characters merely existing in certain spaces.
There’s also the buzz surrounding actor Giovanni Ribisi making his debut as a cinematographer here. Strange Darling was shot on 35 mm (noted right at the start), and while it feels odd to use that as a way to make the film feel special, it does look quite good. That said, one could also say Ribisi, Mollner, and other crew members made a film built around a lot of flash while only offering so much substance when all is said and done. Still, this is a fun ride to go one, with enough entertaining factors adding to the mystery of it all.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
The Killer: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Director John Woo’s reimagining of his own action classic follows Zee (Natalie Emmanuel), a mysterious and infamous assassin known and feared in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Omar Sy), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.
Review: You don’t get to see many directors remake their own films. Offhand, I can think of The Man Who Knew Too Much from Alfred Hitchcock and Heat from Michael Mann (originally the TV movie LA Takedown), among a few other significant efforts. Sometimes, there’s more to gain by bringing more experience, a bigger budget, or a new perspective to the table. Other times, it at least speaks to the notion of, “If you want something done, do it yourself.” A remake of John Woo’s classic 1989 film, The Killer, has long been discussed, and I’m actually relieved that Woo not only took on the project himself but made a pretty fun movie out of it.
Look, the original film rules. It’s operatic, loaded with Woo’s trademarks, filled with thematic subtext, and feels like the ideal way of being influenced by previous works and exploring those ideas in one’s own ways. This new version of The Killer, scripted by Brian Helgeland, Josh Campbell, and Matt Stuecken, doesn’t exactly dial down the plotting (which is somewhat convoluted) but does strip away other elements. For example, despite having Emmanuel and Sy looking stylish and giving each other meaningful gazes, there’s not nearly as much effort put into the implications of that relationship compared to the undertones felt between Chow Yun-fat and Danny Lee. With that in mind, I do applaud Woo for essentially going in a new direction that doesn’t look to undermine the previous movie.
On top of that, for a straight-to-streaming title, this movie still looks better and has cooler action than more expensive blockbusters that have arrived recently. It’s also much more fun to watch than Woo’s return to American films with Silent Night this past winter. This Killer is not asking for much, but it marches to its own beat, which I appreciated.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Peacock.
Adam Sandler: Love You: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Adam Sandler hits the stage with songs, jokes, party-crashing dogs, and plenty of love.
Review: Between Netflix feature films, the Sandman has put together another comedy special, and it’s an absolute joy. Directed by Josh Safdie, if either of these brothers (he and Benny Safdie both made Uncut Gems with Sandler) can continue working with Sandler, I’m not going to expect anything less than success. While one can argue that the opening skit and some of the onstage antics may be a bit much, inviting a bit too much intrusion into what is a live standup show, I would say that sort of energy, combined with the intimate cinematography provided by Bradford Young (Arrival) allows this 70-ish minute experience to shine even brighter.
Dressed in sweatpants and a hoody, rarely raising his voice more than necessary, and happy to laugh at his own absurdity at times, this sort of relaxed comedian persona Sandler has decided to lean more into makes for the kind of laugh-filled experience that doesn’t ever feel like he’s either trying too hard or hoping the schtick works. Instead, this all feels very natural, making the silly songs and nonsensical riffs land even harder. Not even a late guest appearance by Rob Schneider is enough to throw off this gem of a special that, more than anything, shows how much love Sandler has for the crowds that not only tolerate his shenanigans but signal that it means the world to them that he continues to be happy to entertain.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat: 5 out of 10
The Setup: Lifelong best friends Odette (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Clarice (Uzo Aduba), and Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan) share an unbreakable bond from decades of weathering life’s storms. Through new shades of heartbreak, the trio is put to the test as they face challenging times.
Review: This feels like a reminder of when the 90s and 00s were offering a variety of Black-focused comedies and dramas about family and friendships. Things have sort of pivoted to TV, but there was a time when we would have movies such as Soul Food, Waiting To Exhale, The Wood, The Best Man, and others before Tyler Perry moved things to another level of debatable quality. Based on a novel of the same name, The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat is a well-meaning story featuring a solid cast and enough effort to make it noticeable that this film went straight-to-streaming when it wouldn’t have done so several years earlier.
That said, as much as I enjoyed the dynamic between the three leads and the use of flashbacks to provide us with another perspective of who these strong women once were, I couldn’t help but feel like the film lost its momentum in the back half. While it’s not unexpected to see more drama ramp up once everything is established and it’s time to lean more into what this story can amount to, whether it’s the writing or the melodramatic tone of it all, I wasn’t quite appreciating the moves director Tina Mabry made to get this film to its conclusion. I felt like the joy of seeing a movie like this became increasingly limited, which is a shame since Lathan, Aduba, and Ellis-Taylor are all quite good here. Still, as a streaming watch, it may not have given me all I could eat, but it was simple enough to digest.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Hulu.
The Thicket: 7 out of 10
The Setup: West Texas. A boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill (Juliette Lewis), enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl.
Review: One of the effects Game of Thrones has had on Peter Dinklage’s career is essentially giving him the chance to pick projects he really wants to be involved with. He’s a producer on The Thicket and has been attached to it for many years. I can see why. It’s a good story based on a novel by Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep), offering Dinklage a chance to play an anti-hero. Reginald Jones is a cynical bounty hunter with years of experience with low lives and those who act cross with him based on first impressions. And yet, not unlike what we’ve seen in other True Grit-adjacent stories, he’s the only chance a young man has of getting back his sister. Dinklage shines here, but he’s aided by a strong supporting cast, as well as his co-lead.
Juliette Lewis eschews all sense of vanity to play Cut Throat Bill, the sort of outlaw with their own code, but won’t blink an eye when it comes to killing those betraying her perception of what’s right and wrong. Of course, she’s still evil, yet the film spends plenty of time with her and the kidnappee, Lula (Esmé Creed-Miles). It doesn’t exactly muddy the waters as far as how we should feel about all of this, but director Elliott Lester does enough work to build out the small circle of characters we come to know, allowing for that much more impact by the time we reach the big shootout scene. Being set in the early 1900s, just as engines are starting to come into play, makes for a neat backdrop, and I only wish the movie had a bit more to say in that regard. Still, as a moody Western, this film finds a solid stride.
Where To Watch: Opening in theaters on September 6, 2024.
Incoming: 4 out of 10
The Setup: Four freshmen face the greatest challenge of their young lives: their first high school party.
Review: For the most part, Incoming offers very little. It’s not as insufferable as Project X, but it’s certainly not doing much for the “high school party” genre, sitting lower than a hit like American Pie or the 90s nostalgia fav Can’t Hardly Wait. Even in the degrees of how far it wants to take things, Incoming relies far more on gross-out humor than raunch, with the word “defecate” being a notable factor in one of the subplots. And yet, directors Dave Chernin and John Chernin managed to make a few things land. Considering their background as writers on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and creators of the short-lived series The Mick, I hoped to see some of their hijinks land. And so, even though it’s in small amounts, I was happy to see some success. Most notably, Bobby Cannavale plays the cool science teacher who winds up going to the party and ends up experiencing a Wile E. Coyote amount of harm. That’s funny. Not every movie asks for much, and this one is indeed full of a lot of dumb stuff. That said, it had a few laughs I appreciated.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
Hell Hole: 6 out of 10
The Setup: An American-led fracking crew working deep in the Serbian wilderness uncovers the unimaginable: a dormant parasitic monster.
Review: I wouldn’t exactly say the Adams Family (Lulu Adams, John Adams, and Toby Poser) are an “You either get it, or you don’t” team of filmmakers, but I certainly appreciate how they’ve carved out a place for themselves in the realm of low-budget horror. With that in mind, while their previous films have been somewhat more measured, in a way, Hell Hole is comparatively more willing to let its creature feature appreciation really kick things into high gear. In this film, we see bodies explode, pieces fly all over, creature appendages pop in and out of various parts of their hosts, and other wild imagery. Complete with a rock score that’s just ready to burst out of the seams of this film any chance it gets, there’s a level of fun here that anyone should be prepared to engage with if they’re happy appreciating a DIY style that remains quite charming in its own disgusting way. Plus, the design of the monster in question is the sort of wacky thing that is given just enough extra detail to make it feel like a lost cousin of The Thing. Not short on imagination, it may be silly, but it’s gleefully wild in its approach to B-movie monster movie nonsense as well.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Shudder.
