"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry," as Robert Burns once poetically waxed, and that certainly applies to new movies. We missed entirely reviewing a titanic release this past Tuesday; all my fault, I'm sorry to say.
That major blunder aside, I am also sorry to report that both new wide North American releases failed to meet even limited expectations. Nonetheless, please keep scrolling below to see our reviews of notable indies that deserve your support, both in movie theaters and at home.
Blades of the Guardians
The film is now playing worldwide, only in movie theaters; in the U.S., via Well Go USA.
Official synopsis: "Dao Ma, the 'second most wanted fugitive,' who is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the 'most wanted fugitive,' to Chang'an."
That official description only begins to hint at the wonders that legendary director Yuen Woo-ping has wrought in a rich variety of action sequences that stagger the imagination. In my review for another site, I began: "Giving Yuen Woo-ping the directorial reins for a movie that is set primarily in a desert is like handing a blank canvas to a great painter. ... After a short while, I threw away the last of my preconceptions and sat back to enjoy the ride, which is a marvel to watch unfold. Truly, there are scenes I've never seen before in a motion picture -- though perhaps in a fever dream or two. And this is all packed into a running time that barely exceeds 120 minutes, which is a marvel in itself."
Psycho Killer
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via 20th Century Studios. Visit Fandango for locations and showtimes.
Official synopsis: "Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer (Georgina Campbell) sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible (James Preston Rogers) is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined."
As I mentioned earlier this week, our expectations were lowered for this Andrew Kevin Walker-scripted serial killer flick because no advance press screenings were scheduled. Unfortunately, the film itself turns out to be quite awful.
It's an entirely routine serial killer drama that follows Georgina Campbell as Jane Archer, a Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) officer who sees her husband, also a KHP officer, shot dead on the highway outside of town by a mysterious figure who is soon revealed to be a notorious serial killer, quickly dubbed the 'Satanic Slasher' for the Satanic symbols he spells out in blood at all his murder scenes.
Well, except this one, which doesn't follow his modus operandi, evidently because the unnamed killer (initially) had some place to go to kill again. Psycho Killer is the kind of movie where a serial killer keeps changing his method of killing, which is characteristic, not of real life as documented by numerous authorities, but of serial-killer movies, especially those that were made in the 1980s.
Andrew Kevin Walker helped rewrite the book for serial-killer movies with his screenplay for the truly creepy, unsettling, and profoundly disturbing Se7en (1995), which was superbly directed by David Fincher. As a writer, Walker has built a career on his construction of diabolical scenarios, and Psycho Killer certainly has elements that might conceivably have worked much, much better with a different director.
It's easy to imagine that Gavin Palone, who produced Walker's script for 8MM (1999), as well as David Koepp's nifty and clever Secret Window (2004) and others of a similar vibe, might have asked Walker, at some point, 'What else you got?' and Walker handed him this script, reportedly first penned in 2007.
This movie is Palone's feature directorial debut, after helming episodic television, and, like a good producer, he creates a good atmosphere for a psychological thriller. Only he forgot the thrills, as in, for example, the first sequence, when he see the mysterious figure stopping on that Kansas highway and putting a gun into his lap. Of course that gun will be fired, but by showing it before the highway patrolman -- Georgina Campbell's sweet but doomed husband -- even arrives at the car, Palone negates any possible suspense.
That sets the tone for what will follow, in which nearly every action is telegraphed well in advance. After seeing the entire movie, I see what it's building toward, even as I wanted to yell and/or scream "What? What???!!!"
Of course, I am too polite to do that. Your mileage may vary.
How to Make a Killing
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films.
Official synopsis: "Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way."
Our review by Mel Valentin: "After it's all said and done, How to Make a Killing will be remembered, if it's remembered at all, as nothing more than a footnote on Horniman and Kind Hearts and Coronets' respective Wiki pages."
Here come the indies!
This Is Not a Test
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Independent Film Company.
Official synopsis: "Sloane and a small group of her classmates take cover in their high school to escape their suddenly apocalyptic hometown. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of people who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands."
Redux Redux
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Saban Films.
Official synopsis: " In an attempt to avenge her daughter's death, Irene Kelly (McManus) travels through parallel universes, killing her daughter's murderer over and over again. With each kill, she grows addicted to the revenge streak, putting her own humanity in jeopardy."
Our review by J Hurtado: "After 2020's excellent aquatic chiller, The Block Island Sound, The McManus Brothers have returned with this horror-tinged sci-fi thriller that interrogates the efficacy of revenge as a tool for healing. Spoiler: it doesn't work."
The Dreadful
The film is now playing, in movie theaters and On Demand and On Digital, via Lionsgate.
Official synopsis: "Experience an unnerving Gothic tale of horror reuniting Game of Thrones stars Sophie Turner and Kit Harington and featuring the Academy Award®-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden. Set in medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all."
Our review by George and Josh Bate: "Come for Gothic horror and the Game of Thrones reunion, stay for the Marcia Gay Harden show and an ample dose of psychological thrills.'
One Mile: Chapter One and One Mile: Chapter Two
The films are now playing, only in movie theaters, via Paramount Movies. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
Admittedly, I questioned the title and the simultaneous release of both films on the same day -- shouldn't it be The First Half Mile and then The Second Half Mile? Until, that is, I watched the trailer, which looks like a blast (or two).
Official synopsis, Chapter One: "Ryan Phillippe stars as a former special forces operative trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter during a college road trip. When an unexpected detour puts them in the sights of a secretive, off-the-grid community, his daughter is taken and the trip erupts into a high-octane fight for survival. Alone and outnumbered, he's forced to use every skill he has to track them down, take them apart, and bring his daughter home."
Official synopsis, Chapter Two: "A former special forces operative (Ryan Phillippe) is forced back onto a remote island when the violent, secretive community he fought once before abducts his daughter in an act of revenge. Launched into a relentless hunt, he faces an enemy that's ready and anticipating his every move."
After a limited release last year, an arthouse film heads for wider distribution.
Kokuho
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via GKids Films. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
Official synopsis: "Nagasaki, 1964. After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor's only son, Kikuo decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. Across decades, the two young men grow and evolve together - from acting school to the grandest stages - amid scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals, as each pushes to become the greatest living Kabuki master.
"From acclaimed director Sang-il Lee (Pachinko), Kokuho (meaning 'national treasure') is a film of awe-inspiring scope and sumptuous beauty, and a monument to the artists who would sacrifice everything in the pursuit of the ultimate performance."
Our review by Daniel Eagan: "Instead of an involving plot, Kokuho offers the splendor of kabuki, performed and shot with meticulous care. ... Director Lee Sang-il stages these brilliantly, DP Sofian El Fani's camera swirling around, up, and below the performers. Even the rehearsals are fascinating. When Kikuo and Shunsuke practice by a river, the camera spies on them from the water, then from a bridge, then under blossoming cherry trees."
Now Playing celebrates the cinematic experience, in movie theaters and at home.