by Josh Sewell
Clayface
(Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: This horror thriller from director James Watkins is the origin story for one of Batman’s lesser-known villains. After he is horribly disfigured by a crime boss, Matt Hagen (Tom Watkins) seeks out an experimental treatment that somehow returns him to his former self – then ultimately sends him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
The verdict: It didn’t take long for the young, recently rebooted DC Studios to craft their own version of Marvel misfires like Morbius or Kraven the Hunter. Congratulations, I guess? While fans of gore and body horror will find plenty to appreciate – I had to look away from the screen several times – the premise and screenplay (credited to Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini) are remarkably uneven, especially when characters are forced to act like idiots to keep the plot moving.
Watkins and Naomi Ackie (as the scientist who assists Hagen’s descent into madness) are pretty good, but the clunky dialogue does them no favors whatsoever. The idea of incorporating memorable lines from other films into the script is a decent idea in theory (the protagonist is an actor, after all), but it’s poorly executed.
Still, despite its many flaws, I almost recommend seeing Clayface on the big screen for one sequence alone. The climactic club scene in the last act is fantastic, but that only made me wonder why the rest of the flick couldn’t be that fun. Instead, the hour or so of lead up is super wooden and silly. It also ends with a strange story choice designed to turn Hagen from an antihero to a villain, but it makes no sense based on what we’ve seen from his character so far.
Grade: C-
Wicker
(Rated R for sexual content, language and brief full nudity. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: A grown-up fairy tale about sex, marriage and the absurdities of social convention, this romantic comedy tells the story of an ostracized fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who commissions a husband to be crafted by the local basket-maker (Peter Dinklage). When this wicker spouse (Alexander Skarsgård) proves her perfect match, their relationship sets off a wave of jealousy and upheaval that threatens their village.
The verdict: I had a blast with this weird movie that seemingly came out of nowhere. Yes, there are some funny, eyebrow-raising sex scenes, but at its heart, Wicker is a very sweet (albeit strange) story about love, community and doing what it takes to make your partner happy.
Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who share directing and screenwriting duties (adapting Ursula Wills’ short story “The Wicker Husband”), juggle the film’s many tones well. It’s frequently hilarious – there’s a sudden cut between scenes that’s one of the funniest moments I’ve seen in a movie all year – but there are also several poignant or downright heartbreaking moments that sneak up on viewers.
Colman and Skarsgård are fantastic together, and I love the practical effects used to transform the always-game actor into the bizarrely handsome titular character. The supporting cast gets plenty of chances to shine as well. Dinklage is terrific, taking advantage of several comedic monologues to chew the scenery, and Elizabeth Debicki adds depth and pathos to a role that could’ve easily been a one-note villain.
Grade: A-
A Talent for Murder
(Rated R for thematic elements, some violence and strong language. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: A mysterious young man (Alden Ehrenreich) from a New York publisher is sent to Switzerland to persuade renowned author Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) to write one final installment in her Ripley series.
The verdict: This fun thriller, directed by Anton Corbijn and written by Joanna Murray-Smith (based on her play Switzerland), flies by thanks to the dark camaraderie between Mirren and Ehrenreich as immensely smart and manipulative people trying to one-up each other. It’s a fictionalized premise, but Mirren nails the real-life author’s notoriously off-putting personality.
You can tell A Talent for Murder was originally a play (in a good way), and Corbijn manages to keep the story small and intimate despite expanding its environs for a different medium. It helps that when the story escapes the confines of Highsmith’s eerie, claustrophobic home, we get to experience the scorching chemistry between Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke – both in the story’s reality as well as fun fantasy sequences.
In this overcrowded time of year, I welcome movies like this one. It’s not destined to be a blockbuster or awards bait, but sometimes a solid base hit works just fine.
Grade: B
Tenzing
(Rated PG for thematic elements, language, smoking and some peril. Now playing in select theaters and available on Apple TV+.)
The premise: Based on the incredible true story, this biopic chronicles the life and achievements of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), became the first to summit Mount Everest.
The verdict: Jennifer Peedom, frequent director of nature documentaries, proves to be an ideal choice to helm this story of an unsung hero. Working from a screenplay by Luke Davies (based on Ed Douglas’ book), she focuses on the cultural clash between Norgay and “explorers” who think they’re discovering a mountain where people have already lived for thousands of years.
Where these visiting climbers see “Everest” as something to be conquered, Norgay reveres “Chomolungma” as the sacred mother goddess. That difference results in an expedition that faces tensions both external (weather) and internal (imperialism, social class, ego and more).
Stefan Duscio’s cinematography is gorgeous, Phuntsok’s lead performance is outstanding and the supporting work from Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe is terrific. Apple really dropped the ball by barely putting this one in theaters. I watched a screener on my laptop and thought it was good, while my colleague who saw it on the big screen was blown away.
Grade: B
Book Spotlight
Serling by Alan Sepinwall
(Now available.)
“What I write is a part of me,” Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, once said. Renowned television critic and bestselling author Sepinwall employs Serling’s own writing to paint a portrait of this singular creative force, using episodes of his classic series and other work to set the scene and illustrate how thin the line was between the man and his art.
Sadly, he died believing he left no legacy, and that his work would quickly be forgotten. However, celebrated fans like Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, J.J. Abrams, Ben Stiller, Rian Johnson, Vince Gilligan, Rob McElhenney and others discuss how Serling inspired what they do. A revealing portrait of a complicated, principled man, Serling pays tribute to one of the greatest activist writers ever known.
(Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: This horror thriller from director James Watkins is the origin story for one of Batman’s lesser-known villains. After he is horribly disfigured by a crime boss, Matt Hagen (Tom Watkins) seeks out an experimental treatment that somehow returns him to his former self – then ultimately sends him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
The verdict: It didn’t take long for the young, recently rebooted DC Studios to craft their own version of Marvel misfires like Morbius or Kraven the Hunter. Congratulations, I guess? While fans of gore and body horror will find plenty to appreciate – I had to look away from the screen several times – the premise and screenplay (credited to Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini) are remarkably uneven, especially when characters are forced to act like idiots to keep the plot moving.
Watkins and Naomi Ackie (as the scientist who assists Hagen’s descent into madness) are pretty good, but the clunky dialogue does them no favors whatsoever. The idea of incorporating memorable lines from other films into the script is a decent idea in theory (the protagonist is an actor, after all), but it’s poorly executed.
Still, despite its many flaws, I almost recommend seeing Clayface on the big screen for one sequence alone. The climactic club scene in the last act is fantastic, but that only made me wonder why the rest of the flick couldn’t be that fun. Instead, the hour or so of lead up is super wooden and silly. It also ends with a strange story choice designed to turn Hagen from an antihero to a villain, but it makes no sense based on what we’ve seen from his character so far.
Grade: C-
(Rated R for sexual content, language and brief full nudity. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: A grown-up fairy tale about sex, marriage and the absurdities of social convention, this romantic comedy tells the story of an ostracized fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who commissions a husband to be crafted by the local basket-maker (Peter Dinklage). When this wicker spouse (Alexander Skarsgård) proves her perfect match, their relationship sets off a wave of jealousy and upheaval that threatens their village.
The verdict: I had a blast with this weird movie that seemingly came out of nowhere. Yes, there are some funny, eyebrow-raising sex scenes, but at its heart, Wicker is a very sweet (albeit strange) story about love, community and doing what it takes to make your partner happy.
Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who share directing and screenwriting duties (adapting Ursula Wills’ short story “The Wicker Husband”), juggle the film’s many tones well. It’s frequently hilarious – there’s a sudden cut between scenes that’s one of the funniest moments I’ve seen in a movie all year – but there are also several poignant or downright heartbreaking moments that sneak up on viewers.
Colman and Skarsgård are fantastic together, and I love the practical effects used to transform the always-game actor into the bizarrely handsome titular character. The supporting cast gets plenty of chances to shine as well. Dinklage is terrific, taking advantage of several comedic monologues to chew the scenery, and Elizabeth Debicki adds depth and pathos to a role that could’ve easily been a one-note villain.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for thematic elements, some violence and strong language. Opens in theaters on October 23.)
The premise: A mysterious young man (Alden Ehrenreich) from a New York publisher is sent to Switzerland to persuade renowned author Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) to write one final installment in her Ripley series.
The verdict: This fun thriller, directed by Anton Corbijn and written by Joanna Murray-Smith (based on her play Switzerland), flies by thanks to the dark camaraderie between Mirren and Ehrenreich as immensely smart and manipulative people trying to one-up each other. It’s a fictionalized premise, but Mirren nails the real-life author’s notoriously off-putting personality.
You can tell A Talent for Murder was originally a play (in a good way), and Corbijn manages to keep the story small and intimate despite expanding its environs for a different medium. It helps that when the story escapes the confines of Highsmith’s eerie, claustrophobic home, we get to experience the scorching chemistry between Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke – both in the story’s reality as well as fun fantasy sequences.
In this overcrowded time of year, I welcome movies like this one. It’s not destined to be a blockbuster or awards bait, but sometimes a solid base hit works just fine.
Grade: B
(Rated PG for thematic elements, language, smoking and some peril. Now playing in select theaters and available on Apple TV+.)
The premise: Based on the incredible true story, this biopic chronicles the life and achievements of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), became the first to summit Mount Everest.
The verdict: Jennifer Peedom, frequent director of nature documentaries, proves to be an ideal choice to helm this story of an unsung hero. Working from a screenplay by Luke Davies (based on Ed Douglas’ book), she focuses on the cultural clash between Norgay and “explorers” who think they’re discovering a mountain where people have already lived for thousands of years.
Where these visiting climbers see “Everest” as something to be conquered, Norgay reveres “Chomolungma” as the sacred mother goddess. That difference results in an expedition that faces tensions both external (weather) and internal (imperialism, social class, ego and more).
Stefan Duscio’s cinematography is gorgeous, Phuntsok’s lead performance is outstanding and the supporting work from Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe is terrific. Apple really dropped the ball by barely putting this one in theaters. I watched a screener on my laptop and thought it was good, while my colleague who saw it on the big screen was blown away.
Grade: B
Book Spotlight
(Now available.)
“What I write is a part of me,” Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, once said. Renowned television critic and bestselling author Sepinwall employs Serling’s own writing to paint a portrait of this singular creative force, using episodes of his classic series and other work to set the scene and illustrate how thin the line was between the man and his art.
Sadly, he died believing he left no legacy, and that his work would quickly be forgotten. However, celebrated fans like Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, J.J. Abrams, Ben Stiller, Rian Johnson, Vince Gilligan, Rob McElhenney and others discuss how Serling inspired what they do. A revealing portrait of a complicated, principled man, Serling pays tribute to one of the greatest activist writers ever known.
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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