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Reviews of movies showing in theaters or streaming online
‘CIVIL WAR’: With the title “Civil War,” a poster featuring Lady Liberty’s torch transformed into a sniper perch, and a release date in a U.S. election year, it would appear that English writer-director Alex Garland is courting controversy with his fourth feature film. But “Civil War” could only be truly controversial or divisive if it had anything at all to say. In this splashy, provocative yarn about photojournalists on the front lines of an imaginary war, Garland declines to share any trenchant insights he might have on the nuances of American politics. This is a road movie about steely war correspondents — including Lee (Kirsten Dunst), a veteran combat photographer, and her protege, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) — hardened by the ugly things they’ve seen through their lenses. The plot of “Civil War” mimics “The Wizard of Oz,” as Lee, Jessie, Joel (Wagner Moura) and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) hit the road from New York to Washington in search of an impossible interview. They’re off to see the president, the embattled president of the USA (Nick Offerman). On their journey, they encounter obstacles, foes and surreal scenes of American wreckage in settings of banal suburban consumerism and leisure. 1:49. 2 stars. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
‘DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD’:
The hazards of remaking a beloved film are well known. While the 1991 comedy “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,” starring Christina Applegate, didn’t exactly thrill critics 30 years ago, it has become a cult classic, especially for elder millennials who grew up on the movie. It’s the ideal text for a remake — the source material isn’t regarded as untouchable,
the name recognition is high, and it can be easily adaptable to a modern milieu while still stoking those childhood memories for those who love the original. Nostalgia can be a trap, one that writer Chuck Hayward and director Wade Allain-Marcus fortunately sidestep in their remake. There are enough nods to the first film to please fans looking for those Easter eggs, but they don’t get in the way of the story itself, a teen comedy that keeps it real, despite the heightened circumstances. They also update the family from white to Black, which brings a new layer of stakes to the situation. “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” is surprisingly authentic and fun for this kind of nostalgia-baiting remake material, which is naturally formulaic. It’s the focus on character and allowing the actors to shine that makes this one sing. 1:38. 2 ½ stars. — Katie Walsh
‘GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE’:
It doesn’t feel good to beat up on a movie like “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” which is a film
with the right intentions: to entertain families looking for spectacle that will please kids and their parents. It’s at least slightly better than its ghoulish predecessor, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Still, there’s little opportunity for critical examination of this sequel to the “lega-sequel” of the “Ghostbusters” franchise, which already has one failed reboot on its record. What else could one possibly say about “Ghostbusters” in general, and this perfectly fine but incredibly dull installment specifically? It does exactly what it needs to do for die-hard fans and families seeking a night out at the movies. The good news is that most everyone seems to be having fun. Carrie Coon is relaxed, Paul Rudd recites the theme song to great comedic effect, and Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts are in warm spirits. Everyone else, including Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt, who shows up to deliver some folkloric back story, just seem happy to be there. But even this cast can’t save the rote machinations of “Ghostbusters:
Frozen Empire” as it dutifully delivers morsels of memory. 1:55. 2 stars.
— Katie Walsh
‘GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE’:
Before the title of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” even flashes across the screen, director Adam Wingard has already delivered two impressively goopy moments courtesy of our lead characters: Kong rips a hyena-thing in half, green entrails spilling everywhere, while Godzilla squishes a bug in Rome, releasing great vats of yellow goo over the ancient city. It’s an indication of the colorfully excessive ethos that Wingard brings to this loaded monster jam, which is overflowing with titans, creatures and kaiju. Wingard, who directed the neonsynth fever dream that was “Godzilla vs. Kong” in 2021, comes from the world of horror films, and he brings that same approach to his blockbusters, with a penchant for gleeful experimentation and over-the-top style. There’s a bit of a harried energy to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which is fun
until it becomes instantly tiresome and deafening. Perhaps multiplication was too much — here’s hoping subtraction is next in the kaiju mathematical equation. 1:55. 2 ½ stars. — Katie Walsh
‘IMMACULATE’: Bloodsoaked and candlelit, Michael Mohan’s “Immaculate” disabuses the notion that any conception is ever without sin. Starring Sydney Sweeney (who also produced the film), this cheeky, freaky, lushly designed horror movie presents as a giallo nunsploitation riff, but the script, by Andrew Lobel, is much more “Rosemary’s Baby” than it is “The Devils.” Sweeney stars as Sister Cecilia, a doe-eyed and docile devotee from Detroit who has traveled to Italy at the behest of a Father Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) to take her vows at a secluded convent where she will care for elderly nuns. Soon, shockingly, she’s exhibiting pregnancy symptoms. Her spontaneous conception is seen as a miracle, the resurrection of God. She has no choice but to carry this pregnancy to term, surrounded by jealous novitiates, senile nuns, controlling male leadership and a secret sect of the sisterhood who wear crimson shrouds over their faces. It’s something of a wonder to watch Sweeney as she undertakes Sister Cecilia’s journey, transforming from a meek naif into something unexpected and wild, her pious discipline falling away with every indignity. As the film builds to an absolutely feral climax, we do believe her, perhaps most of all in the film’s final, jaw-dropping moments, as she embodies a pure animal honesty. 1:29. 3 stars. — Katie Walsh ‘MONKEY MAN’: Dev Patel’s got something to say, but he’s going to let his fists do the talking. With his directorial debut, the wild action-revenge flick “Monkey Man,” the Oscar-nominated actor makes a bold statement with this one-two punch of a film that asserts himself as an action star and promising genre director. “Monkey Man” is a love letter to East Asian martial arts movies, and to Indian folklore and culture. The monkey in question is Hanuman, the Hindu god of wisdom, strength, courage, devotion and self-discipline, and it is the face of the dingy rubber mask that the Kid (Patel) dons for his underground boxing matches, which are announced by a delightfully slimy Sharlto Copley. This is a revenge picture, so the Kid, who sometimes goes by the alias “Bobby,” must get revenge, driven by his fiery blood-soaked memories and the sound of his mother whispering Hanuman’s legend in his ear. 2:02. 3 stars.
Walsh
RATINGS: The movies listed are rated according to the following key: 4 stars, excellent; 3 stars, good; 2 stars, fair; 1 star, poor.