The jokes might not land, but the drama hits hard.
‘My Dead Friend Zoe’
Directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, this film follows Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), a veteran who returns home from Afghanistan and must adjust to civilian life and grapple with the death of her friend Zoe (Natalie Morales).
From our review:
After World War II, American movies have been seen by the Pentagon as a way to engage the interest of young would-be soldiers and enlist them, a practice that continues to the present day. “My Dead Friend Zoe,” made by a veteran about what he witnessed in the life, and death, of his fellow soldiers, runs against this tendency. Yet there’s something tonally awry in the film, and I think it goes back to that title, with its jaunty drollery, and marketing materials that describe it as “a dark comedy drama.” Audiences expecting that type of movie will likely be disappointed; it’s ultimately a sad film, if also a moving one. But “My Dead Friend Zoe” deserves a fair shake, because the story it tells is less comedic than simply imitative, in the end, of so many people’s lives.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Dives deep; comes up empty-handed.
‘Last Breath’
In the midst of a routine oil pipe replacement, a young diver, Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), gets stranded in deep waters, and must be rescued by two more experienced members of his team (Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu) in this thriller directed by Alex Parkinson.
From our review:
A movie of barely sketched personalities and trite emotional stakes (the lovely Bobby Rainsbury, as Lemons’s anxious fiancée, is especially underserved), “Last Breath” is disappointingly shallow and fatally lethargic. Harrelson, though, seems delighted: Perhaps only Woody could headline an action movie and be virtually stationary for the duration.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A getaway thriller that escapes convention.
‘The Accidental Getaway Driver’
When an older cabdriver named Long (Hiep Tran Nghia) picks up his last fare of the night, he realizes he’s unwittingly assisted a group of fugitives.
From our review:
The premise might sound like a riff on “Collateral,” but “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is no ticking clock thriller. Sing J. Lee’s quiet, big-hearted debut feature is steeped in the sorrow and yearning of its Vietnamese American characters as they work through the lingering trauma of displacement while living in Southern California.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Not much return on investment.
‘Cold Wallet’
After getting ripped off by a cryptocurrency magnate, a group of investors hatch a plan to break into the executive’s mansion and steal their money back.
From our review:
The “Steven Soderbergh presents” credit at the start of “Cold Wallet” raises expectations higher than can be sustained. The movie, directed by Cutter Hodierne, is a no-frills crime film that pits a group of wronged investors who trawl Reddit and YouTube for tips against an amoral crypto mogul who has stolen their savings. The matchup leaves the movie with a deficit of rooting interest.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Emo teens in a fever dream.
‘Rats!’
This dark action-comedy directed by Maxwell Nalevansky and Carl Fry centers on Raphael (Luke Wilcox), a teenager who gets sucked into a madcap conspiracy.
From our review:
Bizarre digressions (like the screening of a rap music video about the joys of selling crack; or the perverse relationship between a foxy, cocaine-addicted reporter and her cameraman) will leave you slack jawed, whether you vibe with the film’s particularly obscene style of deadpan absurdism or not. If anything, the onslaught of weirdness is hypnotizing.
In theaters. Read the full review.
The usual suspects, more unappealing than ever.
‘Riff Raff’
Ed Harris stars as Vincent, a retired hit man whose new, quiet family life gets turned upside-down when figures from his past reappear in this comedy crime film directed by Dito Montiel.
From our review:
As Vincent’s first wife, Ruth, Jennifer Coolidge is an inexhaustible fount of vulgarity. She ultimately winds up as one of the main perpetrators of tedium. Bill Murray and Pete Davidson play hit men whose persistent slaying of ordinary citizens isn’t nearly as hilarious as Montiel seems to think it is. For all that, Harris and Murray are such reliably engaging screen presences that they provide a few glimmers of entertainment, provided you’re able to set aside the movie’s practically all-encompassing repulsiveness.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Slow-going but sweet.
‘A Sloth Story’
After a natural disaster forces them to relocate, a family of sloths adapt their slow-cooking recipes for a food truck in this animated family film directed by Ricard Cussó and Tania Vincent.
From our review:
The plot is a standard clash between art and commerce, embodied by a restless preteen sloth named Laura (voiced by Teo Vergara) and Dotti (Leslie Jones), a fast-food tycoon cheetah. It does make several gestures at real-world issues, most notably in the opening climate catastrophe and in a scene parodying cultural appropriation in the culinary industry. But “A Sloth Story” mainly sticks to the basics — solidarity, identity, growing pains — in a tale generic enough to match its title.
In theaters. Read the full review.
The kryptonite to cynicism.
‘Superboys of Malegaon’
A group of friends finds success and turmoil while making their amateur film.
From our review:
A love letter to independent filmmaking, “Superboys,” directed by Reema Kagti and written by Kagti and Varun Grover, has its requisite share of goofball pleasures and familiar insights about scrappy moviemaking in the shadow of a behemoth industry. But this tale — inspired by the 2008 documentary “Supermen of Malegaon” — succeeds most as a touching tribute to friendship.
In theaters. Read the full review.
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