by Josh Sewell
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(Rated PG-13 for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references. Opens in theaters on March 22.)
The premise: In the follow-up to 2021’s dreadful Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the late Egon Spengler’s family (Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd) relocate to New York City and take up the Ghostbusters mantle now that the old guard (Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Annie Potts) has moved on to different roles. However, their warm welcome (dad pun!) is short-lived when an evil spirit unleashes a deadly winter on the city.
The verdict: While Frozen Empire still weaponizes nostalgia to ridiculous effect, director Gil Keenan (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Reitman) somehow manages to tone it down compared to the previous installment; at least this one doesn’t resurrect the corpse of a dead actor. Plus, it’s far more similar in tone to Ivan Reitman’s films (and Paul Feig’s unfairly maligned reboot) than his son Jason’s, which forgot its predecessors were silly comedies and not mythological epics.
Nobody in the cast is tasked with doing Shakespeare, but they admirably elevate the mediocre material. Rudd can play charming oddballs in his sleep and the original gang looks like they’re having fun in their extended cameos. There’s also some amiable supporting work from comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. However, Coon, Grace and Wolfhard feel stranded in their own unconnected spinoffs for sizable portions of the (mercifully brief) 110-minute running time.
We didn’t really need another Ghostbusters sequel; but if the IP gods require it, Frozen Empire charts a somewhat better path for the franchise’s future than Afterlife. At least now the thought of another one doesn’t immediately make me grumpy.
Grade: C+
Immaculate
(Rated R for strong and bloody violent content, grisly images, nudity and some language. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: Current industry “It Girl” Sydney Sweeney stars as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Her warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
The verdict: Because of her stunning looks, Sweeney’s acting talents are often dismissed. Her work in Immaculate should help change that flawed perception. Not only does she deliver a terrific performance as a nun whose faith is taken advantage of by immoral antagonists, she is also responsible for the film making it to theaters in the first place. As a producer, Sweeney used her industry clout to help a film she auditioned for several years ago finally jump from the page to the screen.
The result is a solid religious horror flick. In Cecilia, Sweeney embodies a character whose belief is used against her but ends up channeling it to fight against her captors. While Immaculate takes a bit to get going (creepy opening sequence notwithstanding), writer Andrew Lobel and director Michael Mohan craft a slow-burn story that doesn’t fully burst into flames until the cathartic finale. While that might frustrate viewers with short attention spans, I enjoyed the carefully constructed narrative.
Grade: B
Road House
(Rated R for violence throughout, pervasive language and some nudity. Now available on Prime Video.)
The premise: In this loose reimagining of the 1980s camp classic starring Patrick Swayze, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a volatile Florida Keys bar, only to discover it’s in danger of being obliterated by the bratty, entitled son (Billy Magnussen) of a local crime boss.
The verdict: Nobody was asking for a Road House remake, but thankfully director Doug Liman, along with screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, have averted disaster by taking the original’s basic premise and putting a more modern, Elmore Leonard-influenced spin on it. The result is… fine, actually? (Look, I’m just as surprised as you are.)
The original Road House isn’t as good as you remember. Yes, there are terrific performances from Swayze, Sam Elliot and a scenery-chewing Ben Gazzara, as well as some silly fight scenes and truly bonkers dialogue. But all the classic scenes fans remember comprise about 30 minutes of a two-hour movie. There’s a lot of dead time.
The latest version is technically “better” (although it certainly won’t replace its predecessor in the realm of pop culture) thanks to improved pacing and a premise that’s more grounded, while still being weird enough to evoke the original’s campy tone. That includes Gyllenhaal’s work as Dalton; he knows Swayze is untouchable, so he goes a different route with his interpretation of the character.
The supporting cast is also solid. Magnussen and Conor McGregor (making his acting debut) are clearly having a blast playing the baddies, while Arturo Castro comes close to stealing the whole movie as a genial, dimwitted biker.
I’m a little bummed Amazon isn’t giving this version of Road House a big screen release. It’s the kind of movie designed to be watched with a crowd – especially the bananas third act, in which Dalton finally removes his well-maintained guard rails and goes nuts.
Grade: B
Arthur the King
(Rated PG-13 for some strong language. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: Loosely based on a true story, this drama centers on the bond forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy dog that his team (including Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ali Suliman) adopts and names Arthur. Over the course of 10 days and 435 miles in the Dominican Republic, they form an unbreakable bond that redefines victory, loyalty and friendship.
The verdict: Arthur the King is exactly the movie its trailers promise, full of “aww” moments with an adorable canine and a tear-jerking finale that proves how much the cranky characters have grown over the past 90 minutes. I also have to commend the flick’s marketing team for crafting ads explicitly telling people that the dog doesn’t die. To be honest, that’s the only reason I attended the screening. I’m still experiencing PTSD from a devastating Christmas night viewing of 2008’s Marley & Me.
Wahlberg doesn’t really care about honing his acting chops these days, as evidenced by the fact he essentially plays the same guy in every movie. At least this time around, he can glower around a cute dog – even if it did remind me of Andy Samberg’s classic SNL sketch “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals.”
Grade: B-
(Rated PG-13 for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references. Opens in theaters on March 22.)
The premise: In the follow-up to 2021’s dreadful Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the late Egon Spengler’s family (Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd) relocate to New York City and take up the Ghostbusters mantle now that the old guard (Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Annie Potts) has moved on to different roles. However, their warm welcome (dad pun!) is short-lived when an evil spirit unleashes a deadly winter on the city.
The verdict: While Frozen Empire still weaponizes nostalgia to ridiculous effect, director Gil Keenan (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Reitman) somehow manages to tone it down compared to the previous installment; at least this one doesn’t resurrect the corpse of a dead actor. Plus, it’s far more similar in tone to Ivan Reitman’s films (and Paul Feig’s unfairly maligned reboot) than his son Jason’s, which forgot its predecessors were silly comedies and not mythological epics.
Nobody in the cast is tasked with doing Shakespeare, but they admirably elevate the mediocre material. Rudd can play charming oddballs in his sleep and the original gang looks like they’re having fun in their extended cameos. There’s also some amiable supporting work from comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. However, Coon, Grace and Wolfhard feel stranded in their own unconnected spinoffs for sizable portions of the (mercifully brief) 110-minute running time.
We didn’t really need another Ghostbusters sequel; but if the IP gods require it, Frozen Empire charts a somewhat better path for the franchise’s future than Afterlife. At least now the thought of another one doesn’t immediately make me grumpy.
Grade: C+
(Rated R for strong and bloody violent content, grisly images, nudity and some language. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: Current industry “It Girl” Sydney Sweeney stars as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Her warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
The verdict: Because of her stunning looks, Sweeney’s acting talents are often dismissed. Her work in Immaculate should help change that flawed perception. Not only does she deliver a terrific performance as a nun whose faith is taken advantage of by immoral antagonists, she is also responsible for the film making it to theaters in the first place. As a producer, Sweeney used her industry clout to help a film she auditioned for several years ago finally jump from the page to the screen.
The result is a solid religious horror flick. In Cecilia, Sweeney embodies a character whose belief is used against her but ends up channeling it to fight against her captors. While Immaculate takes a bit to get going (creepy opening sequence notwithstanding), writer Andrew Lobel and director Michael Mohan craft a slow-burn story that doesn’t fully burst into flames until the cathartic finale. While that might frustrate viewers with short attention spans, I enjoyed the carefully constructed narrative.
Grade: B
(Rated R for violence throughout, pervasive language and some nudity. Now available on Prime Video.)
The premise: In this loose reimagining of the 1980s camp classic starring Patrick Swayze, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a volatile Florida Keys bar, only to discover it’s in danger of being obliterated by the bratty, entitled son (Billy Magnussen) of a local crime boss.
The verdict: Nobody was asking for a Road House remake, but thankfully director Doug Liman, along with screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, have averted disaster by taking the original’s basic premise and putting a more modern, Elmore Leonard-influenced spin on it. The result is… fine, actually? (Look, I’m just as surprised as you are.)
The original Road House isn’t as good as you remember. Yes, there are terrific performances from Swayze, Sam Elliot and a scenery-chewing Ben Gazzara, as well as some silly fight scenes and truly bonkers dialogue. But all the classic scenes fans remember comprise about 30 minutes of a two-hour movie. There’s a lot of dead time.
The latest version is technically “better” (although it certainly won’t replace its predecessor in the realm of pop culture) thanks to improved pacing and a premise that’s more grounded, while still being weird enough to evoke the original’s campy tone. That includes Gyllenhaal’s work as Dalton; he knows Swayze is untouchable, so he goes a different route with his interpretation of the character.
The supporting cast is also solid. Magnussen and Conor McGregor (making his acting debut) are clearly having a blast playing the baddies, while Arturo Castro comes close to stealing the whole movie as a genial, dimwitted biker.
I’m a little bummed Amazon isn’t giving this version of Road House a big screen release. It’s the kind of movie designed to be watched with a crowd – especially the bananas third act, in which Dalton finally removes his well-maintained guard rails and goes nuts.
Grade: B
(Rated PG-13 for some strong language. Now playing in theaters.)
The premise: Loosely based on a true story, this drama centers on the bond forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy dog that his team (including Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ali Suliman) adopts and names Arthur. Over the course of 10 days and 435 miles in the Dominican Republic, they form an unbreakable bond that redefines victory, loyalty and friendship.
The verdict: Arthur the King is exactly the movie its trailers promise, full of “aww” moments with an adorable canine and a tear-jerking finale that proves how much the cranky characters have grown over the past 90 minutes. I also have to commend the flick’s marketing team for crafting ads explicitly telling people that the dog doesn’t die. To be honest, that’s the only reason I attended the screening. I’m still experiencing PTSD from a devastating Christmas night viewing of 2008’s Marley & Me.
Wahlberg doesn’t really care about honing his acting chops these days, as evidenced by the fact he essentially plays the same guy in every movie. At least this time around, he can glower around a cute dog – even if it did remind me of Andy Samberg’s classic SNL sketch “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals.”
Grade: B-
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com
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