Not too many movies made the cut this weekend, but all very solid films regardless.
The Menu – Now that this is available on HBO Max, my friend and sister decided to give it a fair shake. The reviews were “better than I expected” and “weird.” Which is probably the reaction I was expecting from them respectively. And it’s true, it is good and weird! Seeing a bunch of rich people get theirs during a “last supper” of sorts? Brilliant.
The Stranger – While this psychological crime thriller unfolded at a very morose pace, the ride was still a chilling one. Straight from the beginning there is a sense of unease, and then tension. Police suspect Henry is taken in by a crime organization under the wing of member, Mark. Both Mark and the organization are actually an undercover police set-up aiming to get a confession from Henry about a child abduction he committed some time prior. Mark’s main objective is to get Henry to trust him so he’s more willing to confess, but it’s clear the operation is impacting his real world life. The story of the abduction and the police work dedicated to convicting his killer is a true story that this film is based on. Good stuff.
Sick – An unexpected surprise came in the form of this Peacock original horror film. After watching, I learned it premiered at TIFF this past year, but hadn’t heard anything about it until this weekend. Anyways, it goes like this. We meet a kid who appears to be getting stalked, and mocked via text and call. Pretty soon he’s dead. That seems very unrelated when in the next beat we meet Parker, who is headed to her family’s remote cabin (mansion) to quarantine with her best friend Miri. DJ, who Parker is in an open relationship with, shows up uninvited, but promises to leave in the morning after she turns him down. From there, the stalker arrives and violence (and death) ensues. The action is heart-pounding and the violence is brutal at times, but this movie is freaking fun. It’s kind of like Scream, but with a pandemic twist. Highly recommend.