Speak No Evil (2024) | REVIEW

James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi in James Watkins’ SPEAK NO EVIL — PHOTO: Universal Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by James Watkins — Screenplay by James Watkins.

James Watkins’ Speak No Evil is an American remake of Christian Tafdrup’s Danish culture clash horror-thriller of the same name. The remake stars Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy as Louise and Ben, an American married couple, who are, at the start of the film, on vacation in Italy alongside their young daughter Agnes (played by Alix West Lefler). On holiday, the family trio meet and befriend a particularly self-assertive British couple, Paddy (played by James McAvoy) and Ciara (played by Aisling Franciosi), who are also on holiday with their youngest, their son Ant (played by Dan Hough). When the Americans return home from their holiday to their normal lives, the couple receives an invitation from their new vacation friends, who want them to come stay with them in the British countryside. So, Louise, Ben, and Agnes soon decide to visit and stay at Paddy and Ciara’s home. However, not everything they thought they knew about the British couple is exactly how it was first presented to them, and soon they start to question if they’re actually people that they can trust or if they’ve put themselves in danger. 

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) | REVIEW

Michael Keaton as the titular character in Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Tim Burton — Screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — Story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith

It has been thirty-six years since Tim Burton — from writing by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson — wowed audiences with his dark horror-comedy film about the afterlife, Beetlejuice. A lot has happened since then, for instance, Michael Keaton — the actor portraying the film’s zany titular character — became a household name and Batman (and Birdman!) himself, and Burton’s career rose and fell as he navigated the studio system with varying success. Despite having struggled critically over more than the last decade, Tim Burton remains an auteur with a distinct style and, as luck would have it, a new generation has embraced it following his Netflix hit Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. This welcomed career resurgence has now led to the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which welcomes back most (but not all) of the principal original cast. And, although the film isn’t quite as good or instantly iconic as the original film, Burton’s long-anticipated sequel has the right energy and sense of style to make it a thoroughly good time, despite how messy it sometimes feels.

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Rebel Ridge (2024) | REVIEW

Aaron Pierre in Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier — Screenplay by Jeremy Saulnier.

Over the course of more than a decade, Rebel Ridge writer-editor-director Jeremy Saulnier (who, even, sometimes serves as cinematographer on some of his other projects) has made a name for himself as a promising filmmaker beloved by many cinephiles for his gripping thrillers such as Green Room and Blue Ruin, both of which I am a huge fan of. In 2018, Netflix released his cold Alaska-set thriller Hold the Dark to mixed-to-positive reviews, but the film did not become the critical darling that his aforementioned color-coded thrillers, so to speak, are. With Rebel Ridge, Saulnier has given it another go with a Netflix release. Rebel Ridge, frankly, feels like a return to form. It is a sharp and intense thriller that hits the sweet spot, just like Saulnier’s best films have done in the past.

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Mothers’ Instinct (2024) | REVIEW

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain in Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct — PHOTO: Neon (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Benoît Delhomme — Screenplay by Sarah Conradt.

Based on the novel Derrière la haine from author Barbara Abel (and a remake of the 2018 Olivier Masset-Depasse adaptation), Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct tells the story of two 1960s American housewives and mothers, Celine (played by Anne Hathaway) and Alice (played by Jessica Chastain). After Celine’s son tragically died and Alice was too late to stop it from happening, Celine and Alice become distant, and, following Celine’s stay away from the suburbs that she called her home, Alice notices a change in her neighbor, who starts to become close with Alice’s son. As strange things start to happen, Alice begins to suspect that her grieving neighbor has cruel intentions.

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The Crow (2024) | REVIEW

Bill Skarsgård as Eric in Rupert Sanders’ THE CROW — PHOTO: LIONSGATE (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell) — Screenplay by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and William Schneider.

It has been a long time coming, but, now, 30 years after the release of 1994’s The Crow — the original Alex Proyas’ film adaptation of James O’Barr’s iconic comic book series of the same name — a new film bears its title. The original film has a tragic reputation, as its star Brandon Lee was shot and fatally wounded by a prop gun while shooting the film. The original film went on to achieve cult status, Lee’s portrayal is similarly iconic, but, despite attempts to continue the franchise, it never really again got off on the right foot as it was followed by multiple critically derided sequels and a canceled series. The failed productions of potential future films would be infamous and often referred to as ‘cursed’ as directors, actors, and studios always failed to get a reboot off the ground despite actors like Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Jason Momoa, and Alexander Skarsgård having been attached or rumored for the principal lead role over the years. Despite the infamous development hell, a reboot or reimagining of The Crow is finally here from Ghost in the Shell (2017) director Rupert Sanders and it stars, how about that, Alexander’s brother Bill Skarsgård, of It-fame. Unfortunately, this new attempt at telling this story of vengeance and lost love isn’t, ultimately, very good, as the latest production only really kicks into high gear late in the film.

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Sanctuary (2023) | REVIEW

(L-R) Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott in Zachary Wigon’s SANCTUARY — PHOTO: Neon (Still image from trailers)..

Directed by Zachary Wigon — Screenplay by Micah Bloomberg.

Sanctuary is a dark comedy and psychosexual thriller from film critic-turned-director Zachary Wigon. Released in 2023, following an initial premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, the film follows Hal (played by Christopher Abbott), the insecure presumptive heir to his late father’s wealthy company, as well as Rebecca (played by Margaret Qualley), who Hal has hired to be his dominatrix. During one of their sessions, Hal intimates his decision to end their mutually beneficial relationship, as he is now supposed to take on bigger responsibilities as the figurehead of a major company. She is clearly offended by the development and is considering leaving. However, instead, she desires to launch into a go-for-broke attempt at blackmail.

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Blink Twice (2024) | REVIEW

(L-R) Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum in Zoë Kravitz’s BLINK TWICE — PHOTO: Amazon MGM Studios / Warners Bros. International (Still image from the trailers).

Directed by Zoë Kravitz — Screenplay by Zoë Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum.

When I saw the directorial feature debut from actress-turned-filmmaker Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice, the other night, the very last thing on the movie theater screen prior to the film starting was a relatively long statement meant to function as a trigger warning for the audience to prepare them for the potentially distressing themes and violence discussed and depicted in the film. Before I had sat down to watch the film, I had noticed that said trigger warning had gone viral on social media for how rare it is for a new release to feature such a warning in addition to the MPA rating. It’s certainly a modern addition, which is befitting of this film, as it is a very modern #MeToo-psychological thriller that mixes elements from so many recent films, such as Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, and, perhaps even, Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion. Though I, ultimately, thought the film was a relatively good directorial debut, I only really feel that it is as good or better than the first of those three films, with it not really holding a candle to the remaining two. 

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Priscilla (2023) | REVIEW

Cailee Spaeny as the title character in Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sofia Coppola — Screenplay by Sofia Coppola.

Like I suspect many have and will, I found it difficult to watch this film without thinking about the Baz Luhrmann film, Elvis, which was released more than a year prior to this film’s release. Really, though they both feature Elvis and Priscilla, they couldn’t be more different. It’s not just that Elvis is a popular blockbuster from a major studio, while Priscillla was released with much less fanfare by an indie studio. To add to that, while Elvis follows the well-worn music biopic formula albeit with a distinctive kinetic and dizzying visual style, Priscilla is a much more muted film with wildly different aims and approaches to the story of one of the most famous couples in American history.

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2024 TV Highlights Thus Far, Pt. 2 | Bite-Sized Reviews

(L-R, top then bottom) DARK MATTER (Apple TV+), BABY REINDEER (Netflix), TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY (Max), and CONSTELLATION (Apple TV+).

All five shows were definite recommendations in the first (of three) ‘2024 TV Highlights Thus Far’ review articles. They were all shows that I expect to end up on plenty of top 10 lists at the end of the year. This second part is a little bit different. Although, yes, I expect one or two of these to have enough critical appreciation for them to land on plenty of top 10s, the vast majority of part 2’s series weren’t home runs. They are highlights because I found something about each and every one of these series to be really effective, but not all of these are series that I’d easily recommend to friends and family. In fact, some of these shows even disappointed me from time to time, but I think there is enough in every one of these shows to merit them being singled out and discussed. In this part, among other things, I’ll be discussing two Apple TV+ series both of which revolve around parallel universes and the existence of multiple different persons of the same character. 

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2024 TV Highlights Thus Far, Pt. 1 | Bite-Sized Reviews

(L-R, 1st row, then 2nd row) SHOGUN (FX / Hulu), RIPLEY (Netflix), FALLOUT (Prime Video), MR. AND MRS. SMITH (Prime Video), and Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+).

You don’t really understand it when you’re a kid, but, boy, it really feels like time flies by as you get older. When you’re stressed or overworked or even just have more important things on your mind, it can be difficult to find the time to do what you want to do before it feels like you’re too late. This is, in part, why I started doing these review compilation posts sometimes containing bite-sized reviews about shows or films that I feel like I still need to talk about, even though I missed out on the moment right after the release. If you read my website frequently, then you know that I’ve recently posted two backlog/catch-up compilations for last year’s TV series. With that out of the way, I now want to focus on some of the shows of the past seven or eight months that I really want to give you my thoughts on. Today, I’ll focus on some of the shows that I think are the very best of the year thus far, including, but not limited to, a video game TV-adaptation and an incredibly stylish reimagining of an iconic Patricia Highsmith story.

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