A vampire flick with a familiar bite.
‘Abigail’
A group of bumbling criminals kidnap a young girl and hold her for ransom, but the titular 12-year-old ballerina turns out to have more than just tulle up her sleeve.
From our review:
A cheerfully obvious splatterthon, the new horror movie “Abigail” follows a simple, time-tested recipe that calls for a minimal amount of ingredients. Total time: 109 minutes. Take a mysterious child, one suave fixer and six logic-challenged criminals. Place them in an extra-large pot with a few rats, creaking floorboards and ominous shadows. Stir. Simmer and continue stirring, letting the stew come to a near-boil. After an hour, crank the heat until some of the meat falls off the bone and the whole mix turns deep red. Enjoy!
In theaters. Read the full review.
Less-than-glorious “basterds.”
‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’
Based on a true story of an (until recently) unknown World War II operation, this film features some ungentlemanly types who are tasked with cutting off Germany’s resources by sinking their supply ships.
From our review:
“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” the latest offering from the director Guy Ritchie, is a perfect airplane movie. That is not a compliment, but it’s not exactly a dis. Some movies shouldn’t be watched on planes — slow artful dramas, or movies that demand concentration and good sound (please do not watch “The Zone of Interest” on your next flight). But you’ve got to watch something, and for that, we have movies like this one.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Like if Dorothy Gale was your Uber driver.
‘The Stranger’
In this thriller, originally released as 13 short-form episodes on the streaming service Quibi, the indie-film scream queen Maika Monroe plays a Los Angeles transplant fresh from Kansas who works as a ride-hail driver who must face off against a murderous passenger.
From our review:
The recut version (on Hulu) bears little trace of its earlier form, although its life span across algorithm-driven streaming companies does cast the villain’s tech preoccupations — “whoever figures out the mathematical formula determining the losers and the winners in life will rule” the world, he declares — in a new, meta light.
Watch on Hulu. Read the full review.
A queer period piece — but the period is summer 2020.
‘Stress Positions’
After New York goes on lockdown, Terry (John Early) clashes with the other tenants of the brownstone he shares with his soon-to-be-ex-husband.
From our review:
If some of the points seem muddy, the filmmaking is expressive and deliberate. With shimmer, shadow and verve, “Stress Positions” — which recently closed the New Directors/New Films festival — captures the often hallucinatory pandemonium wrought by that “long-ago” moment.
In theaters. Read the full review.
The prince and the pauper fall in love.
‘Egoist’
Ryuta (Hio Miyazawa) is a personal trainer with an ailing mother, a big secret and no cash. Can a romance with a wealthy magazine editor fix his problems, or do their differences doom their relationship from the start?
From our review:
Class is the central theme in “Egoist”: Kosuke and Ryuta’s star-crossed romance shows us how money, and the struggle to make ends meet, can complicate even the most genuine love. But as the film leans into melodrama, it loses both its friction and frisson, and a steaming-hot premise turns into something cold to the touch.
In theaters. Read the full review.
There’s always one more “one last job.”
‘Blood for Dust’
Seventeen months after a theft scheme goes horribly wrong, two former colleagues-in-crime reunite for a drug-running operation.
From our review:
Directed by Rod Blackhurst, “Blood for Dust” is a throwback, in the sense of being exceedingly familiar. An early shot of a snow-covered parking lot inevitably evokes “Fargo,” but “Blood for Dust” doesn’t have a witty line or a glimmer of humor. The climactic shootout is so dimly lit that it’s difficult to discern who is firing at whom. It’s easy enough to guess.
In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms. Read the full review.
A private world of childhood friendship, ruptured.
‘We Grown Now’
Two young boys, residents of the Cabrini-Green public housing development in Chicago, confront harsh realities while also chasing whimsy (including an excursion to the Art Institute of Chicago).
From our review:
You’re immediately invested in Malik and Eric, who together have formed a private world that, like the museum, exists apart from real life, its pressures and its dangers. The sound design is particularly effective at conveying the little bubble that the children have created for themselves. The babble of outside voices and music in Cabrini never seems to stop flowing, but you never really hear what anyone says.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Zack Snyder serves up a chaotic stew of references.
‘Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver’
The second half of Zack Snyder’s space opera follows a group of interplanetary warriors as they attempt to defeat an imperial army.
From our review:
The script by Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten trips over its aspirations whenever any character talks. There’s not a single authentic conversation, just exposition dumps and soliloquies. Finally, after an hour of speeches, we’re treated to an hour of rousing warfare. Primal, pitiless, agonizing carnage is where Snyder excels. He’ll kill anyone, even nice people, even grandmothers-turned-guerrilla warriors who just want to get back to folk dancing.