Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and longtime Yahoo editor, and I’m back with another edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything.
This week, there are a handful of interesting, new wide releases in theaters, including Channing Tatum’s ripped-from-the-headlines Roofman, Disney’s Tron: Ares and Jennifer Lopez’s Kiss of the Spider Woman.
A few recent theatrical releases make their way to digital and on-demand too: the latest entry in the Conjuring franchise, The Conjuring: Last Rites, the new sports-horror film Him and the Lindsay Lohan-Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle Freakier Friday.
Read on, because there’s more where that came from, and there’s always something here for everyone!
🎥 What to watch in theaters
My recommendation: Roofman
Why you should see it: Channing Tatum stars in an unlikely, dark-edged charmer from The Place Beyond the Pines filmmaker Derek Cianfrance that’s based on a true story. He plays the eponymous Roofman, aka Jeffrey Manchester, a military vet who got his moniker after robbing McDonald’s restaurants by entering through the roof. After being caught and imprisoned, he escaped in 2004, eventually hiding in a fully operational Toys “R” Us store. He lived there undetected and started a relationship with a woman named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), even using toys from the store to entertain her children.
It’s an incredible feat that the movie gets you on Manchester’s side, despite his crimes and the fact that he keeps getting himself into trouble, both with the law and also in his budding new relationship. In the film, his heart is always in the right place. He’s just trying to make the people around him happy in spite of, and frankly because of, his flaws.
It’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch the budding romance and see him become so close to Dunst’s character’s family, knowing what we know about him and the inevitability of it all coming crashing down at some point. But it’s also charming as hell, due to both the terrific performances and the fact that these people do feel like real people, not just characters written into a screenplay.
The film is mostly fun but gets unnerving and upsetting when the situation calls for it, and it’s equally effective at depicting both. It’s a character study that understands the imperfect nature of its lead and doesn’t subscribe to false binaries about who deserves sympathy. Roofman is unexpectedly moving and absolutely worth watching.
What other critics are saying: It’s getting good marks! TheWrap’s Steve Pond writes, “the tonal juggling act isn’t always seamless, but in a way, the contradictions are what give ‘Roofman’ its life. It’s a sad movie, really, but it’s also a lot of fun.” David Fear at Rolling Stone says, “it’s a movie that stumbles every so often, overplays its hand numerous [times], and relies on an oddball true-story premise and 1000-watt star power to pave over some of the rougher spots. It would also give you its coat if you needed it without asking.”
How to watch: Roofman is now in theaters nationwide.
Bonus not-quite-a-recommendation: Tron: Ares
Why you should skip it: Movies have changed quite a bit since Tron debuted in 1982. Its vision of the digital world, accomplished via a combination of very early computer effects and practical means, was once an incredible spectacle to behold that was ahead of its time. Now damn near every movie of this size takes place in a computer-generated digital world!
2010’s Tron: Legacy was Disney’s attempt to turn a cult item into a franchise, and if the 15-year gap between the second and third movie is any indication, it didn’t exactly succeed. The most memorable element of that first sequel is that beloved, elusive electronic music duo Daft Punk did the score, which became a centerpiece of the marketing campaign.
Disney ran that playbook back here, recruiting Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails to provide the propulsive, penetrating music that quite loudly blankets the entire film. If you view the entire project as a visual NIN album, it actually works fairly well on those terms. It has a striking look to it, and the new music rocks, making clear that the band didn’t compromise its sound in any way. It’s when you factor in the actual story and plotting where things go a bit sideways.
In Tron: Ares, a highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world of the Grid into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with AI beings.
Jared Leto stars as Ares, and he may get top billing here, but the true star is the color red! Leto turns in an absolutely lifeless performance, though I guess he has plausible deniability since he’s playing a robot. It’s an uninspired take on an artificial being, which brings me to the movie’s next problem: it’s completely derivative!
It’s a movie about evil corporations creating nonhuman super-soldiers, which is not a new or particularly interesting idea, regardless of its relevance to our current society’s recent shift toward AI. There’s an evil CEO who wants to use AI as a weapon, and a good CEO who wants to use it to 3D-print trees and solve all the world’s problems.
It’s basically one long chase scene as Leto’s digital creation is let loose in the real world; the influence of the Terminator films is deeply felt. When the movie is in the Grid, it has style and looks great, but whenever we cut to the Tron elements on Earth, it does not. Taking lightcycles outside the Grid is a fundamental misunderstanding of what these movies are, which is, to quote Jeff Bridges’ character in Legacy, “biodigital jazz, man!”
Tron: Ares is a familiar affair despite its franchise’s totally specific and unique trappings, as our world has essentially caught up with the world of the film. I left thinking: The Tron movies walked so The Matrix movies could run, as far as movies with computer programs running around are concerned.
What other critics are saying: Reviews are not super encouraging. Fred Topel at UPI writes, “There is a bit of retro fan service near the end of the film that suggests what could actually make Tron awesome now, but it’s too little too late.” Variety’s Peter Debruge adds, “whereas the original 1982 Disney film on which it was based felt ahead of its time … [the] latest attempt to franchise-ify the Tron brand reads mostly as an exercise in nostalgia.”
How to watch:Â Tron: Ares is now in theaters nationwide.
But that’s not all…
Jennifer Lopez in Kiss of the Spider Woman. (Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection)
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Kiss of the Spider Woman: If the title sounds familiar, that’s because it comes from the 1976 Argentinian novel that has already been adapted into both a 1985 feature film and a 1992 stage musical. This new version, which stars Jennifer Lopez, is an adaptation of the musical. In the film, ValentÃn (Diego Luna), a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a queer window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Lopez). It’s a bizarre meshing of tones that shouldn’t work, often doesn’t, but sort of, kind of pulls it off, thanks mostly to the performances of the two men in prison. For all the talk of Oscar buzz around Lopez, I don’t see it manifesting. — Get tickets.
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy
My recommendation:Â The Conjuring: Last Rites
Why you should watch it: It’s impressive how much The Conjuring: Last Rites works. The series goes back to its roots here and follows a family in a spooky haunted house situation. The Warrens, the (in)famous paranormal investigators, return to take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront from their past.
These movies are all based on real-life cases the Warrens investigated. This one is no different, dramatizing and Hollywood-ifying the story of the Smurls from West Pittston, Penn. The “this time, it’s personal” story here involves the Warrens’ daughter Judy and adds an emotional center that these things usually don’t have — and I’ll be damned if I didn’t find it kind of endearing.
There are several set pieces in the film that are creepy and tense and effective, and others that are well-executed jump scares — at least one of them actually got my butt out of the seat.
The movie delivers where it needs to, to recommend to fans of the series and the genre, though it does feel way too long, at a not-so-brisk 135 minutes, with an endless second act. It doesn’t do anything new, but it does what the franchise does well to such a degree that it leaves a good impression.
What other critics are saying: It’s a pretty even split. William Bibbiani at TheWrap writes, “As a scary movie, The Conjuring: Last Rites is a generic film, neither good nor bad. It’s practically begging audiences to judge it on a ‘pass/fail’ basis. As the conclusion of the Conjuring series, it’s a little more successful, but not much.” Variety’s J. Kim Murphy says “the story ends up on-rails and the stakes seem smaller than ever, despite a bloated, franchise-high runtime. That this highly derivative horror series bottoms out by over-investing in the Warrens is a sure sign that it is well past its utility.” Hard to argue with either!
How to watch: The Conjuring: Last Rites is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
Bonus not-quite-a-recommendation: Him
Why you should skip it: The premise is a great one: After suffering a potentially career-ending brain injury, up-and-coming football star Cameron Cade (newcomer Tyriq Withers) receives a lifeline when his hero, legendary eight-time champion QB and megastar Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), offers to train Cam at his isolated compound that he shares with his celebrity influencer wife (Julia Fox). But as Cam’s training accelerates, Isaiah’s charisma begins to curdle into something darker.
Despite its unique setting — the world of professional sports is a ripe and compelling target for a horror film — the movie underwhelms at every step, despite solid performances from its leads.
It’s just a blunt-force, entirely unsubtle work of social commentary that has one idea and hammers it endlessly. The movie presents football as a sort of violent religious cult in America and its devotees as deranged worshippers, which is interesting on its face but pretty lifeless in execution. The horror elements are underbaked, amounting mostly to dreamlike imagery inserted at random intervals for jump scares. It may be stylish, but it doesn’t have much substance.
What other critics are saying: It didn’t get very good reviews. William Bibbiani at TheWrap says the film “lacks the fascinating characters, the misdirection, the carefully stretched out suspense and the thoughtfulness that makes a spider web movie work.” The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck writes that it “certainly tries to be disturbing. Too hard, in fact.”
How to watch: Him is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
But that’s not all…
Julia Butters, Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sophia Hammons in Freakier Friday. (Glen Wilson/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
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Freakier Friday: If you are in any way nostalgic for 2003’s Freaky Friday starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, you will find a lot to love about Freakier Friday, the legacy sequel that reunites that duo and throws even more body swaps into the mix. While the movie is definitely messier and clunkier than the original, it’s much funnier than its predecessor. Millennial superfans should keep an eye out for Mean Girls and The Parent Trap references. Rent or buy.
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The Baltimorons: This warm, gentle, sad and wonderful indie gem really sneaks up on you. After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist who’s nearly twice his age. Newcomer Michael Strassner, who wrote and stars in the film, delivers an endearing performance in what is clearly a personal story, alongside veteran actress Liz Larsen, who has never had a lead role like this in a movie before. Rent or buy.
📺 Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have
My recommendation: John Candy: I Like Me
Why you should watch it: Colin Hanks, the actor, filmmaker and son of Tom, and Ryan Reynolds are responsible for this heartfelt documentary about the late actor John Candy.
Candy began his career on the sketch comedy series Second City Television before becoming one of the most beloved stars until his death in 1994. The film relies primarily on rare and never-before-seen archive footage, outtakes, home video, audio commentary and interviews provided by Candy’s friends and family. It also includes interviews with all the parties that you’d want to hear from, like Candy’s Uncle Buck costar Macaulay Culkin.
What makes it special is that you feel like you get to know the man himself and not just the caricature version that we’ve seen in movies and on TV, although the space between may be smaller than you’d think. You learn about the tragic circumstances that were hanging over his head his entire life, which help explain and contextualize the events that led to his death.
John Candy: I Like Me is an affecting portrait of a man whose life was cut too short, and an illuminating look at how, no matter how somebody presents on the outside, they can be going through something that’s all-consuming on the inside. Putting all the sad stuff aside, though, you also get a sense of how naturally gifted, funny and sweet he was, though I suppose that makes everything all the more upsetting, ultimately.
What other critics are saying: They recommend it! The Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Rechtshaffen calls it “a big-hearted documentary that’s as embracing and generous of spirit as the man himself.” Beandra July at Indiewire was a bit more critical, writing “Hanks delivers a good, but not great, portrait of a lovable guy whose shortcomings took him out — an ordinary guy with extraordinary talent who remains one of the best comedic actors of the 20th century.”
How to watch: John Candy: I Like Me is now streaming on Prime Video.
Bonus not-quite-a-recommendation: Vicious
Why you should skip it: Bryan Bertino, the writer/director of 2008’s The Strangers, returns with a new horror film starring Dakota Fanning. It was once destined for theaters but is now streaming on Paramount+ instead. After watching it, it’s easy to see why it got shunted from a bigger release. It’s a confused mess!
In the film, Fanning plays Polly, a young woman who opens her home to an elderly stranger who shows up on her doorstep late one night. Shortly after settling in, the old woman tells Polly that she is going to die unless she provides an ominous box with “what it wants.” Three things must go inside the box: Something she needs, something she hates and something she loves.
Sadly, the movie never clearly establishes these rules. The lack of coherence means anything can happen at any moment, and there’s nothing for the audience to latch onto.
There are many other films about a mysterious stranger showing up with a mysterious object. Vicious never subverts or adds its own unique spin on it. It’s a cagey affair that tries to pass off laziness as spooky ambiguity.
Fanning, though, is very good in yet another horror film that, sadly, is not.
What critics are saying: Most agree it’s disappointing. Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com says the biggest problem “is how much Bertino’s screenplay leaves unanswered and unresolved. In fact, he punctuates his ending with a hint at the magic box’s continued torture, which made me think I never knew what this movie was about in the first place. I’m not sure Bertino does either.” Germain Lussier at io9 writes, “we’re left with an excellent lead performance in a maddening movie that never delivers in the way we’d hope.”
How to watch: Vicious is now streaming on Paramount+.
But that’s not all…
John Macmillan and Keira Knightley in The Woman in Cabin 10. (Parisa Taghizadeh/Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection)
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The Woman in Cabin 10: Keira Knightley stars as a journalist covering the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship who becomes convinced that she has witnessed a passenger being thrown overboard, despite all guests and crew being accounted for. Is she going stir-crazy, or is something nefarious afoot? Sadly, it’s more of a trashy airport paperback than a compelling and well-wrought mystery. Now streaming on Netflix.
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Lurker: This engaging indie thriller plays like a modern take on The Talented Mr. Ripley, with present-day concerns about social media and how people nowadays crave close proximity to fame as a sort of fame unto itself, and how far they’ll go to achieve it and maintain it. It has a punch line of an ending that’s so dark and inspired, I laughed out loud. Watch if you dug Ingrid Goes West. Now streaming on Mubi.
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How to Train Your Dragon: This live-action remake of the 2010 computer-animated film doesn’t change a thing, to its benefit and its detriment. It’s a completely safe endeavor with no real creative risks taken, but “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a colloquialism for a reason. It works, though the original animated versions are more visually dazzling. Now streaming on Peacock.
That’s all for this week — we’ll see you next week at the movies!
Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily-updating list of the most popular movies of the year.
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