Two movies that are bound to tap into America’s collective nerve top our look at what’s new in theaters and on screens this week.
Here is our roundup.
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“Anniversary”: Brutal and eerily more plausible with every ticking second, director Jan Komasa’s skin-crawling thriller imagines a horrific near future where democracy has fallen and American families are at war with each other. Given present circumstances, that might seem a hard sell for already shellshocked viewers. But the extreme scenario presented here should not dissuade you from seeing it. Consider it a dire warning of where the nation could plummet
Lori Rosene-Gambino’s screenplay is unsparing and gives us a seat at the table for a bloody, divisive dystopian battle that plays out at a once-vaunted family get-togethers. The first salvo comes during the 25th anniversary outdoor shebang held at the ritzy home of Ellen (Diane Lane), a Georgetown University professor, and Paul Taylor (Kyle Chandler), a chef. Their insecure son Josh’s (Dylan O’Brien) surprise date Liz (Phoebe Dynevor of “Bridgerton”) chews at the fraying edges of familial civility since she not only challenged Ellen in class but wrote an incendiary paper that Ellen denounced. Liz is on the fast track to become the voice of a conservative think tank along with a surging movement she strategized in her best-selling treatise “The Change,” which advocates for a conservative one-party system. She also becomes the lightning rod that could well torch the wealthy Taylor family dynamic as words fire up up a nation of people poised to turn on their neighbors.
“Anniversary” spans five volatile years in this family’s entrenchment in troubled political and cultural climes, and tugs into its unnerving lair all three of the Taylor daughters — Anna (Madeline Brewer), a comedian who is queer; Cynthia (Zoey Deutch), an environmental lawyer married to money-focused Rob (Daryl McCormack); and Birdie (Mckenna Grace), a teen who loves science and has a rebellious streak.
Oscar-nominated Komasa (“Corpus Christi”) demonstrates a steady hand at staging a slew of rage-filled confrontations, and helps stabilize the outraged screenplay when it gets too didactic, even though he loses control of that near the finale. But there is power and fury in the dialogue and in the performances as “Anniversary” floats a dire scenario that even a few years ago might have been dismissed as outlandish and overheated. Sadly, that’s not the case today. “Anniversary” seems like an encroaching reality more than fiction. Details: 3 stars; in theaters Oct. 19.
“A House of Dynamite”: Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) upends the disaster movie genre by focusing on a clear and present danger — how the United States responds to an unidentified missile hurtling toward Chicago — and avoids reveling in destruction or disaster porn. The film’s all the better for it. Instead of showing the CGI carnage upon impact, screenwriter Noah Oppenheim gives us a panic attack countdown as varying governmental agencies and people — including the president (played by Idris Elba) — agonize over what to do and who to blame. Any decision could well trigger a global calamity. Bigelow is a master at making live-wire films and this one is right in her wheelhouse. She, along with editor Kirk Baxter, director of photography Barry Ackroyd and composer Volker Bertelmann make us feel like we’re a bystander to all phases of the ensuing operation. While the hopscotching structure doesn’t allow for in-depth character development, the actors assembled — including Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Jared Harris and Livermore native Kyle Allen — convey the horrifying implications and magnitude of where this is all leading. Some have taken umbrage about the ending, but I think it fits in well with Bigelow and Oppenheim’s intentions. Details: 3½ stars; streaming now on Netflix.
“Stitch Head”: Writer/director Steve Hudson’s adorable animated film is equal parts “Monsters, Inc.” and Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” a lively family-friendly treat based on Guy Bass’ graphic novel. Asa Butterfield voices the titular character with apropos resignation since the character is an overworked and over-reliable assistant to a mad professor (Roy Brydon). Our poor protagonist is ignored by his creator, a workaholic who directs all of his energy toward re-animating patched-together creature/human hybrids. So it’s Stitch Head’s job to care for this growing roomful of rejects while staving off detection from easily irked townsfolk. All this goes down in a creepy castle perilously perched on the edge of a cliff that lords over the town of Grubbers Nubbin, a dismal place where Fulbert Freakfinder, the brains behind the Traveling Carnival of Unnatural Wonders, meets Stitch Head and instantly sees dollar signs. “Stitch Head” tosses in an entertaining batch of bouncy song and dance numbers and a much-needed message about embracing our differences and learning not to be guided by fear. It’s an ideal pick for families this Halloween weekend. Details: 3 stars; opens Oct. 29 in theaters.
“Ballad of a Small Player”: There’s much to gawk at and admire in Oscar-winning filmmaker Edward (“Conclave,” “All Quiet on the Western Front”) Berger’s latest, from Jonathan Houdling’s sumptuous, impeccable production design to James Friend’s seductive cinematography and most of all, Colin Farrell’s all-in performance. But this extra-busy film is flimsy as far as the story goes. Based on Lawrence Osborne’s novel, it’s overly amped up and serves more of the same as gambling addict Lord Doyle (Farrell) faces his Waterloo in Macau just as all of his money dries up, his debts stack up. So he binges on high-stakes bets, alcohol and decadent meals. A sweaty Farrell makes the scoundrel’s – OK, fraud’s – comeuppance highly watchable and the actor again throws himself with gusto into the part, but the story can’t match his level of commitment nor does it gives us much reason to care where this is all heading, even as it rounds up other good actors – including Tilda Swinton as a P with poor wardrobe choices I and Fala Chen as a potential love interest and worker at a casino that he frequents. “Ballad of a Small Player,” in the end, does overplay its hand in the style department but is sadly a bust in the substance department. Details: 2 stars; drops Oct. 29 on Netflix.
“Hal & Harper”: With just two films and now a MUBI series, Cooper Raiff has turned into one of our most distinctive filmmakers, someone like Wes Anderson or Sofia Coppola, directors who have an indelible style you can spot within a film’s opening moments. Raiff can be counted on to give us touching, funny-sad indie character-driven stories on the close but imperfect relationships and interactions of neurotic Gen Zers (“Cha Cha Real Smooth,” “S#!%house”) with the world at large. This eight-part series is a family-under-crisis dramedy as two perhaps too close siblings, brother Hal (Raiff) and slightly older sister Harper (Lili Reinhart of “Riverdale”), and their dad (Mark Ruffalo) grapple with the sale of their family home, the upcoming arrival of a new member to the family with dad’s girlfriend (Betty Gilipin) and a past traumatic event that has forever shaped and stunted their lives. True to Raiff’s jam, all the conversations come across natural and effortless and sound strong emotional chords while the characters deal with breakups, hookups and each other. The cast is perfect. Ruffalo can channel depression better than the majority of actors and Raiff is both charming, especially when playing his younger self (a tricky device that works here) and irritating, specifically in dating college student Abby (Havana Rose Liu). But it is the luminescent performance from Reinhart as the binding agent that calms Hal’s boyish ways that sticks with you the most as she works through an unexpected attraction (Addison Timlin) and a longtime relationship with her girlfriend (Alyah Chanelle Scott). She makes you feel Harper’s deep-rooted emotional pain that she’s stuffed down for far too long. (3 stars, running now on MUBI)
“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”: As guilty pleasures go, the 1992 Rebecca De Mornay/Anabelle Sciorra goofy thriller about a whack-job nanny satisfied a small if problematic itch. In its first hour, director Michelle Garza Cervera’s new version proves as predictable as yesterday’s news with a tad more on its mind as stressed-out, rich Los Angeles businesswoman and mom Caitlin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) hires an odd-acting nanny Polly (Maika Monroe of “Longlegs”) who then gets too cozy in the house. Caitlin knows somethin’s up but her clueless husband (Raúl Castillo, wasted) and pre-teen daughter are taken with Polly. Director Michelle Garza Cervera is a good filmmaker and she brings a feminist touch to worn-out material that no matter her efforts remains stuck in a rut. A U-turn in the plot late in the game is welcome, but it doesn’t absolve the film of a slow as sludge beginning that then sprints like a four-year-old on a sugar high through a finale that I wish would have been more drawn out. Winstead gives it her all but Monroe fails to give anyone the creeps. Maybe it’s time to put a moratorium on all these reboots. (2 stars, now available on Hulu)
Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].
