I'd hoped to have a review of You Can See Everything here this week, but once again I ran out of time. I'll slot one in here as soon as I have a spare second to collect my thoughts. Maybe, by some miracle, I'll even write something longer.
In addition to the Hamaguchi series beginning at the Walker and the Hitchcock series at the Riverview, the Twin Cities Film Festival is wrapping up, while the Twin Cities German Film Festival and the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festivals are getting underway.
Among the new films opening this week, I'm looking forward to Fjord, Possible Love, and of course They're Here, which will show at the Main through most of next week. And I still haven't gotten around to Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. There are just too many movies right now!
Special Screenings
Thursday, October 22
Desert Angel (2026)
Edina Mann
Documentary about a man who scours the Southwest to rescue immigrants and recover the remains of those who didn’t make it. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 4:15 p.m. More info here.
An Invitation to Wonder (2026)
Edina Mann
A doc about the Waubesa Wetlands. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 6:15 p.m. More info here.
Comedy Through the Chaos (2026)
Edina Mann
Miss Shannen Paul’s community-building comedy series. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 8:15 p.m. More info here.
Fallen Angels by Noel Coward (2026)
AMC Rosedale 14/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End
Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne in the 1925 farce on Broadway. AMC: Also Sunday. $15. 1 p.m. More info here. Emagine: $17. 7 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. More info here. Marcus: $15.50. 7:20 p.m. Sunday 1:15 p.m. More info here.
We Met at Grossinger’s (2026)
Emagine WIllow Creek
A documentary about the storied Catskills resort. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 1 p.m. More info here.
Bookends (2026)
Emagine Willow Creek
A queer writer finds unexpected connections with his grandparents. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 8 p.m. More info here.
I Had the Heart (2026)
FilmNorth
A Buenos Aires rocker in the ’70s tries his hand at tango. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 5:30 p.m. More info here.
Brother vs. Brother (2025)
FilmNorth
Competitive twin musicians search for the dying father in San Francisco in this improvised film. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 8 p.m. More info here.
Halloween (1978)
Grandview 1&2
Tis the season. $13.19. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Weekend Rebels (2023)
Main Cinema
An autistic boy sets out to pick a favorite soccer team. Part of the Twin Cities German Film Festival. Free. 10:30 a.m. More info here.
The Spies Among Us (2025)
Main Cinema
A look into the inner workings of the East German Stasi. Part of the Twin Cities German Film Festival. $12. 7 p.m. More info here.
Ashes (2026)
Marcus West End
A woman and her younger brother leave Mexico to reunite with their mother in Madrid. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
Dream(E)scapes
Marcus West End
A block of sci-fi shorts. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
Elsinore (2026)
Marcus West End
Andrew Scott plays Ian Charleson playing Hamlet. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $30. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Dracula in Istanbul (1953)
Trylon
The oldest surviving Turkish horror film. Presented by Archives on Screen. $8. 7 & 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Friday, October 23
Pet Sematary (2019)
AMC Southdale 16
I don’t wanna be buried there! Also Tuesday. $7. 8 p.m. More info here.
Edie Arnold Is a Loser (2026)
Edina Mann
A nerdy teen starts a band. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 4 p.m. More info here.
La Bola Negra (2026)
Edina Mann
The queer Cannes-wowing epic, inspired by an unfinished Lorca work. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 6 p.m. More info here.
A Month in Minnesota (2026)
Edina Mann
A documentary about the 2026 ICE occupation. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Sold out. 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Marcus West End. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
The Immigrant Rapid Response Fund (2026)
Edina Mann
A documentary about emergency nonprofit fundraising during Operation Metro Surge. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Sold out. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Wolf Cat Fever (2026)
Edina Mann
The establishment tries to tame a wild rockabilly band. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
The Stamp Thief (2025)
Emagine Willow Creek
A screenwriter tries to track down a stamp collection stolen by a Nazi guard in Poland. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 1 p.m. More info here.
Steel Magnolias (1989)
Heights Theater
RIP Dolly. $10/$13. 7 p.m. Saturday 3:45 p.m. More info here.
Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
Heights Theater
Evil has met its match in Billy Zane. $13. 9:30 p.m. More info here.
Phantoms of July (2025)
Main Cinema
A German waitress and an Iranian YouTuber form an unlikely friendship. Part of the Twin Cities German Film Festival. $12. 7 p.m. More info here.
Human Flow (2026)
Marcus West End
An Ai Weiwei film about the international refugee crisis. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 2:30 p.m. More info here.
Ceremony (2026)
Marcus West End
The Nuxalk people fight to protect a culturally significant fish. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 3 p.m. More info here.
Small Talk (2026)
Marcus West End
A man struggles to readjust when he moves back to Minnesota. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
I Play Rocky (2026)
Marcus West End
Sylvester Stallone makes a movie. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Under Your Skin
Marcus West End
A block of horror shorts. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Scream (1996)
Marcus West End
Thirty years old! Just like me. Also Saturday. $6. 9:50 p.m. More info here.
The Birds (1963)
Riverview Theater
Reminder that Dakota Johnson’s grandma was from Edina. $5/$7. 4:20 p.m. Monday 2:15 p.m. Wednesday 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Riverview Theater
Nooo Ray Milland don't kill Grace Kelly she's so sexy ahh. $5/$7. 2:15 p.m. Wednesday 4:35 p.m. Thursday 7 p.m. More info here.
North by Northwest (1959)
Riverview Theater
RIP Eva Marie Saint. $5/7. 6:45 p.m. Saturday 1:45 p.m. Wednesday 2 p.m. Thursday 4:25 p.m. More info here.
Filipiñana (2026)
TriLingua Cinema
A brilliantly stylized depiction of inequality in the Phillipines. Sold out. 5:45 p.m. More info here.
When Evil Lurks (2023)
TriLingua Cinema
Demonic possession overtakes a small town. $5. 8 p.m. More info here.
Viy (1967)
Trylon
Wild Soviet folk horror. $8. 7 p.m. Saturday 8:45 p.m. Sunday 1:30 p.m More info here.
Alucarda (1977)
Trylon
Classic Spanish horror about a girl and her mysterious friend who bring supernatural spirits to a convent. $8. 8:45 p.m. Saturday 5:15 & 7 p.m. Sunday 3:15 p.m. More info here.
Saturday, October 24
Marie Antoinette (2006)
AMC Rosedale/14AMC Southdale 16
It wasn’t her fault! $15. 2 p.m. More info here.
BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG'
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Marcus West End
The K-poppers, live from Buenos Aires. $30. 5:45 p.m. Sunday 3:45 p.m. More info here and here.
Come Talk to Me (2026)
Edina Mann
A doc about a Parkinson’s disease activist. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. Noon. More info here.
Fork in the Road (2026)
Edina Mann
A doc highlighting the stories of American farmers. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Test (2026)
Edina Mann
The story of a budding bodybuilder in Ohio. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
Jane’s Not Here (2026)
Edina Mann
A woman awakens from a coma and must rebuild her life. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Nine to Five (1980)
Heights Theater
More Dolly. $10/$13. 1 & 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Aliens (1986)
Heights Theater
See Ripley blast those suckers in 70mm. $16/$19. 9:30 p.m. Monday 7 p.m. More info here.
Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Lagoon Cinema
An appropriate place to watch it. $13. 12:15 p.m. More info here.
Lene and the Spirits of the Forest (2020)
Main Cinema
A 10 year old has a magical summer. Part of the Twin Cities German Film Festival. $5. 1 p.m. More info here.
They’re Here (2026)
Main Cinema
The much buzzed-about short documentary about the ICE occupation. $10. 4 p.m. Sunday noon. Monday-Thursday 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Silent Friend (2025)
Main Cinema
A solitary ginkgo tree affects three different people at three different moments in time. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $12. 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Jersey Boy (2026)
Marcus West End
How is this movie not about me? Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. Noon. More info here.
Kings of Venice (2026)
Marcus West End
Doc about Venice Beach paddle tennis oddballs. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 12:15 p.m. More info here.
Queen at Sea (2026)
Marcus West End
Juliette Binoche’s mom has dementia. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 2:30 p.m. More info here.
Catching Pinecones (2026)
Marcus West End
A couple explores caves and climbs rocks together. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Acting Like Women (2026)
Marcus West End
A doc about the 1970 art space The Woman’s Building. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
A Talent for Murder (2026)
Marcus West End
Helen Mirren is Patricia Highsmith. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $15. 5 p.m. More info here.
Not Dead Yet (2026)
Marcus West End
Richard Kind starring role! Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $30. 7:45 p.m. More info here.
Ghostbusters (1984)
Parkway Theater
Heroic small business owners battle government overreach. $6-$12. 1 p.m. More info here.
Vertigo (1958)
Riverview Theater
Don’t look down! $5/$7. 6:45 p.m. Sunday 4:20 p.m. Thursday 2 p.m. More info here.
Rear Window (1954)
Riverview Theater
Men would rather watch Raymond Burr through a telescope than have sex with Grace Kelly. $5/7. 4:30 p.m. Sunday 6:45 p.m. Tuesday 2:30 p.m. More info here.
Frankenweenie (2012)
TriLingua Cinema
Come early for Halloween activities for the kids. Free. 4:05 p.m. More info here.
It Ends (2026)
TriLingua Cinema
Four friends are trapped driving on an endless road. Free. 6:20 p.m. More info here.
The Craft (1996)
Trylon
God forbid young women should have a shared hobby. $8. 3:15 p.m. Sunday 5 & 7:15 p.m. Monday-Tuesday. 7 & 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Happy Hour (2015)
Walker Art Center
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s five-hour film follows the lives of four female fiends in Kobe, Japan. $12/$15. 1 p.m. More info here.
The Wedding Entertainer (The Tale of Moishe Badhan) (2026)
Walker West Music Academy
A Hasidic wedding comedian in Jerusalem struggles with addiction and changing times. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$24. 8 p.m. More info here.
Sunday, October 25
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Alamo Drafthouse
Megalon has only ever been in one movie? Sold out. 11 a.m. More info here.
F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX: US Race
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16
Vroom. $30. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Scenes from the Divide (2026)
Capp Center
New Yorkers question each other about how Jewish life is changing in the U.S. Followed by a community discussion. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. Free. 4 p.m. More info here.
Scream (1996)
Emagine Willow Creek
If you'd rather see it in Plymouth. Also Wednesday. $11. 3:45 & 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Once Upon My Mother (2025)
Emagine Willow Creek
A Parisian mother goes all out for a son born with a clubfoot. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 11 a.m. More info here.
My Underground Mother (2025)
Emagine Willow Creek
A filmmaker explores her mother’s past. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 1:30 p.m. More info here.
Brailled It (2026)
Film North
Blind and low-vision youth make films. Free. Filmmaking workshop at 5:30 p.m. Movie at 6:30 p.m. More info here.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Grandview 1&2
Featuring future Just the Ten of Us star Heather Langenkamp. Also Thursday. $13.19. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Bird in Hand (2026)
Heights Theater
A biracial woman returns to her rural hometown to plan her wedding. $10/$13. 4 p.m. More info here.
Faust (1926)
Heights Theater/Main Cinema
Murnau’s silent take on the classic myth. Heights: Live score from organist Alec Watson. $20. 7 p.m. More info here. Main: Live score from ten thousand lakes (xkl). Part of the Twin Cities German Film Festival. $17. 7 p.m. More info here.
Sweet Land (2005)
Main Cinema
A tale of Minnesota farmlife and anti-German xenophobia. $13. 4 p.m. More info here.
The Thing (1981)
Marcus West End
I need a new The Thing quip. Any suggestions? $6. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Strangers on a Train (1961)
Riverview Theater
*Jim Morrison voice* $5/$7. 2:20 p.m. Monday 6:45 p.m. Tuesday 4:45 p.m. More info here.
Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody Guthrie (2026)
Sundin Music Hall
A look at how the folk great was exposed to Jewish culture later in his life. With a performance by Charlie McGuire. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$22. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Monday, October 26
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Alamo Drafthouse
If you’d rather see it in Woodbury. $10.99. 4 p.m. Wednesday 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Daughters of Darkness (1971)
Alamo Drafthouse
Delphine Seyrig is a vampire! $13.99. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR 'NEW_ (2026)
AMC Southdale 16
K-pop concert films—they just keep coming. $15. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 5:30 p.m. More info here.
The Shining (1980)
Edina Mann
No better place in the area to see it. Also Wednesday. Sold out. 7 p.m. More info here.
Error_MovieTitle_Unknown (2026)
Emagine Willow Creek
A secret new horror movie. $7. 7 p.m. More info here.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
Emagine Willow Creek
College kids mistake some downhome buddies for killers. $9. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Annihilation (2018)
Main Cinema
Alex Garland adapts Jeff VanderMeer. Presented by Sloppy Discs. $13. 7 p.m. More info here.
Marcus Mystery Movie (2026)
Marcus West End
A secret new movie. $6. 7 p.m. More info here.
Psycho (1960)
Riverview Theater
A secretary steals $40,000 from her boss. $5/$7. 4:30 p.m. Tuesday 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Tuesday, October 27
Cemetery Man (1994)
Alamo Drafthouse
Half-man, half-cemetery. $10.99. 8 p.m. More info here.
I Don’t Know What I’m Doing Here (2026)
Emagine Willow Creek
A college student searches Romania to learn about her grandmother’s past. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 7 p.m. More info here.
Nosferatu (2024)
Lagoon Cinema
Please enjoy the third-best Nosferatu. $13. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Oxygen (2025)
Main Cinema
A single mother in Israel starts to question the military. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 5 p.m. More info here.
The Sea (2025)
Main Cinema
A Palestinian boy is determined to see the sea for the first time. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Parkway Theater
This really happened to a guy I know. $10/$15. Burlesque from Queen von Curves at 7:30 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
Wednesday, October 28
Jeopardy! Interactive
Alamo Drafthouse
Just what it says. $15. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning (2026)
AMC Southdale/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End
A new doc about Ozzy and the boys. Also Thursday. AMC: $15. 6:30 p.m. More info here. Emagine: $17. 6:30 p.m. More info here. Marcus: $15.50. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
The Cat (1991)
Emagine Willow Creek
Hong Kong’s answer to The Cat From Outer Space. $9. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Real Estate: A Love Story (2024)
Emagine Willow Creek
Two parents-to-be search for an affordable apartment in Haifa. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 7 p.m. More info here.
The Thing (1982)
Lagoon Cinema
Still taking suggestions. $13. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Possession (1981)
Main Cinema
Isabelle Adjani, how is she so pale? $13. 7 p.m. More info here.
Name That Nightmare
Marcus West End
A surprise horror movie. $6. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
Parkway Theater
The classic spooky silent, with an original live score from Paris 1919. $15/$20. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Fangs (Anyab) (1981)
Trylon
"Egypt’s answer to The Rocky Horror Picture Show," it says here. Presented by Mizna. $10. 7 & 9:15 p.m. More info here.
The Darkest Light (2026)
Walker West Music Academy
A doc about the mixed legacy of “singing rabbi” Shlomo Carlebach. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Thursday, October 29
Cellular Cinema Halloween
Bryant Lake Bowl
Spooky local experimental short films. $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Bella (2025)
FilmNorth
A man searches for his prize-winning dove. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 7 p.m. More info here.
Mama (2025)
FilmNorth
A Polish housekeeper living in Israel is estranged from her family back home. Part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. $12/$16. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Hausu (1977)
Trylon
It begins. $8. 7 & 9 p.m. More info here.
Drive My Car (2021)
Walker Art Center
A grieving director bonds with his chauffeur while directing Chekhov in Hiroshima. $12/$15. 7 p.m. More info here.
Opening
Follow the links for showtimes.
Clayface
Sorry but the definitive Clayface is the one from the animated Harley Quinn.
Fjord
Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve are evangelical Christians who clash with the mores of a progressive Norwegian town.
418
Will I be able to follow this if I haven’t seen 417?
Klara for the Sun
Jenna Ortega, fire your agent.
Possible Love
The latest from South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong (Burning).
A Talent for Murder
Helen Mirren is Patricia Highsmith.
Wicker
Olivia Colman gets wood.
Wildwood
A teen searches an enchanted forest for her baby brother.
Ongoing in Local Theaters
Follow the links for showtimes.
The History of Concrete—ends October 22
A partial list of topics un- or just semi-related to concrete that are covered over the course of John Wilson’s first feature film: the structure of Hallmark movies, preserving corpses’ tattoos, DMX’s criminal record, the difficulty of financing your passion project, the debate over affordable housing, and a monthlong 3,100-mile foot race around a Queens high school. This is very much not where to start with Wilson for newbs: You may well find his affected speech patterns, his reliance on punny street signs or emotionally expressive dogs as punchlines, and his willfully tangential storytelling to be flat-out maddening. But if you already appreciate how Wilson chronicles the absurdity of our jobs and lives and preoccupations with a comedy that rarely stoops to condescension (in part because he’s well aware of the absurdity of his own job and life and preoccupations), then you won’t pass up what’s essentially but not exactly a solid but not transcendent extended episode of How to With John Wilson. And you’ll even learn a little something about concrete, if that’s really what you’re here for. B+
Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971)
Naza—ends October 22
“After Oct. 7th,” an Israeli soldier tells journalist/filmmaker Yuval Abraham, “everyone kept saying: ‘There are no innocent people in Gaza.’” NAZA (the term is a euphemism that Israeli military and intelligence use for civilian casualties, a shortening of “nezek agavi,” or collateral damage) documents the horrific results of that thinking. From rooftops overlooking Tel Aviv, always at night, Abraham interviews 24 anonymous soldiers and intelligence officers, their faces obscured and voices digitally altered, as they discuss the IDF’s decision to attack civilian targets, sharing their personal rationalizations but expressing no regrets. Critically evaluating what’s at its core a work of journalism can feel downright obtuse—what does it mean to debate the aesthetic merit of a significant exposé? Yet Abraham and Rachel Szor, who previously captured the brutality of West Bank settlers in their Oscar-winning doc No Other Land, make striking artistic choices. They understand the power of cinematic distance: With the camera focused on modern, bustling, dazzling Tel Aviv, watching its inhabitants going about their lives, Gaza feels both a world away and perpetually present, especially as televisions blare recriminations and denouncements from Netanyahu and other Israel leaders—the same people who will condemn Naza and call for a prosecution of its makers and its sources. A-
The Odyssey—read full review here
What we tend to forget about The Odyssey is that it’s maybe 10% cool mythological shit like one-eyed giant cannibals and sinister witches and gods punishing impudent mortals and like 90% about exchanging gifts with your hosts and telling very long stories to impress them. What’s remarkable about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is that it honors this aspect of the epic while delivering the supernatural adventure film moviegoers want. Yet as always, Nolan is so transparent in his ideology you can almost believe he’s making an argument, when like any storyteller he’s just using fiction to justify his beliefs. Which, as always, is that we are always one well-told tale away from chaos. Whether the gods are real or not, warns the David Brooks of the cineplex, if we don’t honor them we will undermine the customs that hold our society together. Hey man, I just came here for the Cyclops. B+
Primetime
If you were born too late to experience the ass-end of the Bush era, Lance Oppenheimer presents the grubby sanctimony of 2006 in all its garish, digitally green-tinted horror for you. In this maybe too engaging dark comedy about one of that moment’s most telling cultural artifacts, NBC’s Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson, rehearsing for Batman or maybe auditioning for Ahab) creates a national phenomenon by luring online creeps in front of the TV camera with the promise of hooking up with minors. Yet this is not really a story best told from within—Hansen’s troubled marriage and professional ambitions are of limited interest, and David Osit’s smart 2025 doc Predator is much better at tracing the legacy of To Catch a Predator. Not only does god write lousy theater, but he inspires screenwriter Ajon Singh to overcompensate for his divine sloppiness with too-tautly structured character arcs, so Merritt Wever’s Nicorette-chomping producer Andie Bender ponders whether she should jump ship to NBC and Skyler Gisondo’s twinky decoy Dan Plum strives to balance his thespian ideals against his tawdry job. And while I appreciate that Primetime assumes we all retrospectively view this once-celebrated bottom-feeder phenomenon as a grotesque relic, its strengths (especially Pattison’s magnetic performance) are more parodic than insightful. Is it really that much less scummy to snicker at these crass vigilantes than it was for TV viewers to cheer for the downfall of the creeps Hansen and his crew entrapped? B
Resident Evil
If video game movies we must have (not like we get to decide) better this gory schlock slapstick than the klutz existentialism of the tedious Exit 8. (Both share a plot point—pregnant girlfriend—if that means anything.) Zach Cregger keeps it simpler here than in Barbarian or Weapons, which means Resident Evil is a little dumber than those (derogatory) but also means Resident Evil is a little dumber than those (complimentary). Austin Abrams (the addict from Weapons) is our dumbass hero, a driver dispatched with a high-priority delivery to the hospital in snowy Raccoon City. His cargo, I sincerely hope you won’t be astounded to learn, is the crucial ingredient needed to synthesize an antidote to a man-made contagion sweeping the land. Symptoms typically include zombie catatonia, grasping tentacles, and blob-like absorption of other humans, but there are also acid-puking ghoulies and one tubby fella with an exploding, critter-infested gut. The script could occasionally try a tiny bit harder (how much Abrams muttering “fuck” do we need?) but in a world of forced MCU quippery that’s a venial sin. And in keeping with the source material, the stakes are both enormous (the end of the world!) and virtually negligible (game over). B
Sense and Sensibility
We can debate our preferred Pride and Prejudice or wonder why no Emma has surpassed Clueless, but for most people Ang Lee’s 1995 film is Sense and Sensibility. Director Georgia Oakley’s damp, darkened, lived-in Jane Austen faces this challenge head-on—perhaps too deliberately—battling our memories of sun-dappled landscapes and cute bonnets with a lowkey naturalism. Tossed out of their home by an elder half-brother after their father’s death, the Dashwood sisters set about finding husbands, as Austen heroines must do. The elder Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is constrained in her relations with her beloved Edward (George Mackay, putting his woodenness to good use) by her good sense, while a romantic sensibility allows the younger Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) to be swept away by the dashing Willoughby (a suitably caddish Frank Dillane). Edgar-Jones has a face made for period pieces, but there’s something inappropriately waifish and younger sisterly about her Elinor, and she struggles to achieve an outward representation of her propriety. Creed-Miles fares better, in part because Oakley favors her sensibility to Elinor’s sense—I often felt the director might prefer to be mucking around in something a little more Brontëan. In fact, this affair can feel unduly heavy when Fiona Shaw’s Mrs. Jennings isn’t around to liven things up, but we do get a real warmth between the sisters, and the two dance scenes are such standouts Oakley really should do a musical next. In short, no one gets in the way of the source material, and the film gets the job done. After all, how many truly terrible Austen adaptations that don’t star Dakota Johnson are there? B
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Look, we all know what’s wrong with the MCU. Too long, too constructed to promote future installments, just plain too familiar. But I’m not here to relitigate all that. I’m here to tell people who might be in the mood for a Spider-Man movie whether they should see this Spider-Man movie, and my answer is a resounding “Uh, sure.” It is the one currently in theaters, after all, and it’s downright sleek compared to the Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was overstuffed with Spiders-Men, supervillains, and multiverse nonsense. Peter Parker’s existence (Tom Holland) has been magicked away from everyone’s memory, and as he watches his once-gf MJ (Zendaya) and once-bff Ned (Jacob Batalon) live blissful Peter-free lives at MIT, he throws himself into his work. He debates attempting to reintroduce himself while tracking a mysterious entity that leaps from body to body in search of some government secret and dealing with some freakily increasing spidery tendencies. Along the way, he encounters Florence Pugh’s Black Widow (says “potatoes” amusingly), Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk (bigger than ever), (a little too much of) Jon Berenthal’s Punisher, and, of course, Sadie Sink, who plays Jean Grey with an intense school-shooter vibe. Because this is Spider-Man, the fights are less monotonous than the MCU norm, though I was a bit fatigued by the time we got to the climatic battle with the evil ninjas. And as for future installments, I’m sure the device Peter invents that inhibits superpowers won’t be used against the good guys in future films. B
Verity
“I can’t tell if you’re just very calm or you’re in shock,” Josh Hartnett’s Jeremy Crawford says to Dakota Johnson’s Lowen Ashleigh as she mops blood off her face following a grisly traffic accident, and who among us hasn’t wondered the same about a Dakota Johnson character before? (Lowen later admits, “I have resting bored face.” We get it, girl. You can’t act.) In this eye-roll of a Colleen Hoover adaptation, Lowen, a struggling novelist, has been recruited to finish the work of best-selling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), who has been rendered mute and immobile by an accident (OR HAS SHE?) Lowen stays with the Crawfords in their fancy Vermont home while working on the book. Lowen discovers a SECRET JOURNAL wherein Verity confesses to CRIMES! (OR DOES SHE?) Lowen masturbates in a tub. Lowen repeatedly says “wow” in that dopey, unphased way we’ve come to expect/dread from Johnson. While I’d blame Hoover for the plot, which would have gotten her laughed out of the 19th century by bona fide Gothic credibility-stretchers, Michael Showalter’s diffident direction, which aspires to no stylistic flair at all, is the real culprit—it’s like he’s trying to keep this dumb thing on the rails, which takes misunderstanding the assignment to all new levels of incomprehension. And now, if you’ll promise to believe me when I say there’s little or nothing more where this comes from, I’ll leave you with the only good line in the movie: “You deserve to rock in your sad little robot bed, you selfish Machiavellian cunt.” C-
