New Movie Reviews - April/May

Sinners, The Shrouds, Thunderbolts*, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Bring Her Back

School’s out for summer! Not only can the teacher side of me get some rest these next couple months, but the film critic side of me can also start posting some reviews (hopefully in a timelier manner). Before diving into the summer movie slate, I wanted to look back at the last two months — April and May — and provide some thoughts on the new releases I was able to see in theaters. So, without any further ado:

Sinners

Rating: 3.5/5

I’ve been thinking about Sinners frequently since I saw it back in April. Mostly, I’ve been trying to work through the reasons why I didn’t seem to go for it the way everyone else did. I think this is a good movie, and I’m excited that an original film post-COVID has been getting a ton of positive audience feedback. I just can’t shake the feeling that it goes a little too far off the rails in its second half.

Ryan Coogler’s latest film, a 1930’s horror drama set in the deep south, follows twins Smoke and Stack Moore (both excellently portrayed by Michael B. Jordan) as they work to open their very own juke joint for the local African American population. They bring their cousins Sammie (Miles Caton) on their adventure, hoping to use his incredible guitar skills to their advantage.

The first half of this film really hit with me. It blends truth and myth, utilizes beautiful cinematography, and comments on the power of music and community in ways that struck a chord (so to speak). The first half ends with an incredibly transcendent scene at the newly opened juke joint, fusing past, present, and future in mesmerizing fashion.

The second half (much of it used in the trailer for marketing purposes) devolves into schlocky horror, which could have worked, but I felt the technical elements that were so good in the first half took a back seat. It didn’t help that Coogler went into full Marvel-mode with some of the action scenes and star-studded closeups and poses. Coogler has a lot to say, and much of the thematic layering is exciting to see in a big film like this, I just wish it were a little more consistent.

The Shrouds

Rating: 3/5

David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds technically debuted at film festivals in 2024 but was released widely back in April. Reactions I had seen to the film were widely mixed, so I was excited to check it out. I’m far from a Cronenberg completist, but I have liked and appreciated each outing I’ve seen from the body horror legend.

The plot follows a businessman (Vincent Cassel, playing what feels like a stand-in for Cronenberg himself) who invents a technology allowing people to 3D images of a deceased loved one’s corpse (if you’re new to Cronenberg, this is pretty standard). The man, Karsh, recently suffered the death of his own wife (as Cronenberg himself did in real life back in 2017) and regularly monitors her body using the new “GraveTech” tombstones. When the grave and many others are desecrated, Karsh finds himself wrapped up in a potential conspiracy, while he also becomes involved with his dead wife’s twin sister (Diane Kruger).

I was sadly more mixed on The Shrouds, however. Another film with quite a bit on its mind, The Shrouds communicates its ideas in scattered and occasionally stilted ways. It features interesting ideas about life, death, the body, and technology, but it doesn’t really stick to one core premise, causing that scattered feeling. The script and some of the performances could have used some smoothing, as well.

At the time of this writing, I have just recently re-watched Cronenberg’s Videodrome, arguably his magnum opus. You feel an energy and a clear goal in some of Cronenberg’s early works. His indictment of media, politics, and the way we treat each other as human beings felt so focused. Those ideas are all in The Shrouds — and I’m always ready to appreciate an auteur’s unhindered vision — but this one felt like it was trying to hit a few too many grievances.

Thunderbolts*

Rating: 4/5

Is the MCU back?

That was the question I asked myself as I walked out of Thunderbolts*, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most innovative, thematically interesting film in at least four years. A band of misfits joining together to take down a common enemy sounds like something you’ve seen before (and it is), but Thunderbolts* takes on an emotional core that helps catapult it into the upper echelon of the MCU.

Behind the glitz and glamor typical of a big-budget superhero film, Thunderbolts* is anchored by committed performances that feel genuine, something that is becoming harder to come by and films of this ilk. Florence Pugh as Yelena and Lewis Pullman as “Bob” are the two standouts, playing off each other’s emotions and humor. Actual style behind the blocking and cinematography give this film a personality that has also been lacking in the superhero genre.

The film suffers from some of the typical MCU sores, like shifting tones and maybe a few too many quips. But it’s easy to tell that those involved in this project had an actual story to tell, an idea to communicate about trauma and loss. I’ll be holding onto the feelings I have for this movie as long as I can (until Avengers: Doomsday comes along and probably ruins it).

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Rating: 3/5

I trusted him one last time, and the results are mixed.

Allow me to start with the positives: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning features two of the most impressive action set pieces I’ve ever seen. You’ll know them when you see them, so I won’t spoil them here (though one is heavily featured in the marketing). These two extended sequences deliver the thrills you’ve come to expect from this franchise, and then some. It’s a shame, then, that these two scenes are surrounded by way too much bloat.

The supposed final film in this franchise unfortunately goes overboard with the self-aggrandizement. For a while, these movies have basically been about seeing how much star Tom Cruise can get away with, what he’s able to achieve in terms of the incredible stunt work. This film, though, places his Ethan Hunt as an unabashed Christ figure who can cheat death and do everything just right. These movies have always been about defying the odds (accomplishing the impossible, if you will), but The Final Reckoning takes that premise and dials it up past the realm of believability. It feels almost parodic in its absurdity, where the previous entries in the franchise have been able to balance the far-fetched with the serious.

Still, those two action scenes really hit.

Bring Her Back

Rating: 3/5

Bring Her Back is the follow-up to Talk to Me, an effective horror film from 2023 by the Philippou brothers (Danny and Michael). Talk to Me was a simple, precise exploration of loss. Bring Her Back, while amping up the grotesqueries, is a little less focused.

The film follows Piper (Sora Wong), a young blind girl, and her older brother Andy (Billy Barratt), who are placed in foster care after their father’s death. Their foster mom Laura (a creepy Sally Hawkins) begins exhibiting strange behavior alongside her mute nephew, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips).

The Philippou brothers clearly have a talent for using horror as a vessel to explore deeper ideas. Here, themes of family, grief, and abuse are prominent. The issue here is that none of these ideas are really fleshed out in interesting ways until arguably the film’s climax, which I will not spoil. We’ve seen these types of themes in horror movies before, to more nuanced effect (I kept thinking of films like The Witch and Hereditary). It also feels as though the filmmakers knew they had little in terms of subtextual weight, so they amped up the gore and violence in an attempt to mask the film’s thematic limitations. If you simply want the horror elements that will make you stir in your seat, this film definitely delivers. If you want something more, this film sort of delivers, though it stays in the shallow end of the swimming pool.

Conclusion

Thank you, as always, for reading! The summer months will give me the chance to post more often. I have a review for Ballerina, the John Wick spinoff film starring Ana de Armas, coming very soon! Please subscribe to stay on top of all my content!