Review: Horror thriller 'Spell' traffics in lazy cliches, which cheapen its scares

With the horror thriller “Spell,” the needle on the cliche meter ticks into the red far too often, making the chills lukewarm at best.

Marquis T. Woods, played by Omari Hardwick (“Power,” “Sorry to Bother You”), is a brash, successful young lawyer, who gets a call that his long-estranged father has died back in Appalachia. To settle his estate, Marquis decides to fly his small plane down to the holler he left behind — taking along his wife, Veora (Lorraine Burroughs), and their two teen children, Samsara (Hannah Gonera) and Tydon (Kalifa Burton).

After a refueling stop at the only gas pump for miles around, the family’s plane runs into a storm and crashes. Marquis wakes up in a bed in a strange attic, his feet and hands bandaged and bloody. His family is nowhere to be seen.

Enter the owner of the attic, Miss Eloise (Loretta Devine), who’s down-home hill folk, sporting an exaggerated country accent that would make a viewer think Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima were still viable commercial brands. I don’t fault Devine for such stereotyping; I reserve that for the director, Mark Tonderai, a Zimbabwean-born Brit with several TV credits (“Locke & Key,” “Gotham” and others), and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (who’s responsible for the remakes of “Total Recall” and “Point Break”). 

Take it as a given that Miss Eloise isn’t as nice as her cornpone dialect and folk remedies would make her out to be. Also take it as a given that the screenplay has to make her not only mean but also stupid — so that Marquis can escape from this attic and uncover her dark secrets.

For a thriller like this to work, the filmmakers have to assume the audience aren’t drooling idiots, but instead will be a step ahead of the characters if they get the chance. Alas, from its thin plotting to the underwritten one-note characters, “Spell” aims for the dumbest common denominator, which is too low to be worth the effort.

——

‘Spell’

★★

Opens Friday, October 30, in theaters where open. Rated R for violence, disturbing/bloody images, and language. Running time: 91 minutes.

Review: 'Synchronic' is a twisty thriller that goes in fascinating directions, and gives Anthony Mackie a meaty role to make his own

The thriller “Synchronic” brings a chilling atmosphere to an intriguing puzzle story, and represents a step up the ladder for the micro-budget masters Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (“The Endless”).

Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan star as Steve and Dennis, paramedics working the sleazier parts of New Orleans, riding their ambulance from one emergency situation to another. Dennis is the family man, married to Tara (Katie Aselton), with an 18-year-old daughter, Brianna (Ally Ioannides), and a new baby. Steve is a free agent, though he’s not bouncing back from drunken one-night stands as well as he used to, and soon learns he has an inoperable brain tumor.

On their calls, the paramedics have noticed a surge in overdose cases, particularly of a new designer drug, called Synchronic. When they’ve encountered people OD’ing from that drug, they’ve also noticed odd occurrences, like inexplicable wounds; for one woman, it’s a snake bite in a hotel room, while for one man, it’s a sword.

When Brianna goes missing, apparently after trying the drug, Steve takes it upon himself to find as much Synchronic as he can. He soon finds he’s got competition: A chemist, Dr. Kermani (Ramiz Monsef), who developed the drug and is now on a mission to destroy any remaining doses.

That’s when Steve figures out the secret of Synchronic. And, no, I’m not going to tell you the secret here. It’s worth discovering it along with Steve.

Benson and Moorhead are co-directors and co-editors (along with their regular co-director, Michael Felker). Benson is also the screenwriter, while Moorhead is the cinematographer. This division of labor means the filmmakers are attentive to every detail, from the squalor of New Orleans drug dens to the chatter on the ambulance’s radio — all of it building a gritty, authentic world in which the mystery plays out.

“Synchronic” works, though, because the filmmakers have put their trust in Mackie, and the man who now wields Captain America’s shield gives an effective performance as a man determined to find the answers no matter how weird things get. And they do get pretty weird in a story whose twists are always surprising but never too outlandish, which is a tricky balancing act.

——

’Synchronic’

★★★

Opens Friday, October 23, in theaters where open. Rated R for drug content and language throughout, and for some violent/bloody images. Running time: 102 minutes.

Review: Ensemble comedy 'Friendsgiving' is a turkey, all right — too many funny people with not enough funny material

Overstuffed, overcooked and indigestible, the ensemble comedy “Friendsgiving” is a prime example of what happens when a novice filmmaker calls in too many favors without a clear plan for how to use them.

It’s Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, and Abby (Kat Dennings) is looking forward to a quiet holiday with her best pal, Molly (Malin Akerman), a movie star, and Molly’s year-old son Eden. Molly’s in the middle of a divorce, and Abby is still nursing being dumped the previous January by her first girlfriend — who, according to her Instagram, is engaged to a “sugar dyke.” So Abby has more reason than usual for a no-stress Thanksgiving.

Arriving at Molly’s house, though, Abby finds Molly is also entertaining her rebound boyfriend, the frequently shirtless Jeff (Jack Donnelly), who’s now also invited to dinner. Then their other gal pal, Lauren (Aisha Tyler) calls, saying that their family’s Thanksgiving plans have fallen through — so now Lauren, her husband Dan (Deon Cole), and their two kids are added to the mix.

But wait, there’s more. Helen (Jane Seymour), Molly’s free-swinging Swedish mom, arrives unannounced — and brought with her one of Molly’s old boyfriends, Gunnar (Ryan Hansen). Molly’s horndog agent, Rick (Andrew Santino), also joins the party, with his trophy wife, Brianne (Christine Taylor), who seems to have her jaw wired shut, for no adequately explored reason.

There also are three young lesbians, each invited along as a possible new love interest for Abby, and each introduced by their Tinder profiles. And there’s another acquaintance, Claire (Chelsea Peretti), who has recently become a shaman — or, as she prefers, “shawoman.”

Put all of these one-note characters around the same table and what do you get? A mess.

Writer-director Nicol Paone has the germ as a good idea here: To explore the endurance of Abby and Molly’s friendship, even when strained by external forces, as well as Molly’s single motherhood and Abby’s struggles as a late-blooming lesbian. One wishes Paone, on her first feature, had stuck to that idea, and not let it get buried in so many nonessential players.

With usually funny people like Akerman and Dennings in the lead, and reliable comic talents in support — besides Tyler, Taylor and Peretti, there’s a bit where Abby meets her “fairy gay mothers,” played by comedians Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho and Fortune Feimster — you’d think there would be gales of laughter. Unfortunately, the only laughter heard during “Friendsgiving” are from the cast in the outtakes over the closing credits. At least somebody had fun.

——

‘Friendsgiving’

★1/2

Opens Friday, October 23, in select theaters; streaming as a VOD rental starting Tuesday, October 27. Rated R for crude sexual content throughout, and for drug use. Running time: 96 minutes.

Spoiler-free review: In 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,' Sacha Baron Cohen's satire again reveals some of the worst parts of America

Sacha Baron Cohen has not lost his talent to apply shock tactics, and a trunk full of disguises, to create pointed commentary about American politics and culture — which he collects in the sharp-elbowed satirical comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”

It’s been 14 years since Baron Cohen unleashed his character Borat Sagdiyev, the politically and often factually incorrect Kazakh journalist, onto the United States, often interacting with Americans who weren’t in on the joke. The fact that Baron Cohen managed to make a sequel, filming at the start of the year just as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to hit, is surprising. The fact that it’s also tartly funny is a small miracle.

Read the full review at sltrib.com.

Review: 'Over the Moon' is a colorful, tuneful and beautiful work, a directing debut for an animation legend

The musical computer-animated adventure “Over the Moon” blends luminous and colorful animation with a tender story that combines Chinese folklore with a modern girl’s grief.

Fei Fei (voiced by Cathy And) is an energetic girl growing up in a Chinese city with her parents (voiced by John Cho and Ruthie Ann Miles), who bake the best mooncakes in town. Mom has passed on to Fei Fei the legend of Chang’e, the moon goddess, waiting for eternity for her lost love, Houyi.

Within the first eight minutes, though, Mom falls ill and dies, and much of the joy leaves Fei Fei’s life. For a while, it’s just her and dad — so when Fei Fei notices Dad spending a lot of time with Mrs. Zhong (voiced by Sandra Oh), who brings along her overly rambunctious son, Chin (voiced by Robert G. Chiu), she decides to take a drastic step: Build a rocket to the moon, so she can prove the moon goddess is real, which will somehow keep Dad from marrying Mrs. Zhong.

With that kind of kid logic guiding her, it’s not long before Fei Fei has built her rocket and launched it — though when she learns Chin has stowed away on the ship, Fei Fei fears her calculations are off. Just then, a beam of light from the moon captures the ship, and Fei Fei, her rabbit Bungee, Chin and his frog are all pulled to the glowing moon city to meet Chang’e (voiced by Phillippa Soo), a rock star among the moon’s blobby inhabitants.

It’s fascinating that “Over the Moon” is only the first movie directed by Glen Keane, the legendary animator known for bringing life to such Disney characters as Ariel, The Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan and Long John Silver. Keane also won an Oscar for directing the Kobe Bryant-narrated short “Dear Basketball.” (Fun fact: He’s one of the inspirations for his late father Bil’s comic strip, “The Family Circus,” which his brother Jeff now draws.) 

Keane and his crew create two distinctly beautiful realms here: The bustling and lived-in Chinese city where Fei Fei lives, dreams and sometimes hangs out with her big family (Margaret Cho and Kimiko Glenn voice her aunties), and the Lava Lamp-style moon city, where every character and background pop with color.

The unfussy script, by the late Audrey Wells (“The Hate U Give,” “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”), and a roster of charming songs (by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield and Helen Park) channel the emotions of Fei Fei’s journey — from beloved daughter to rebel teen and beyond — that Keane’s visual team depicts so radiantly. Together, through word and picture, Keane’s creative team makes  “Over the Moon” a movie that feels both timeless and modern.

———

‘Over the Moon’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, October 16, at the Megaplex Jordan Commons (Sandy); streaming, starting October 23, on Netflix. Rated PG for some thematic elements and mild action. Running time: 96 minutes.

Review: 'Honest Thief' awkwardly shoehorns a romance into a by-the-numbers Liam Neeson action movie

The not-so-thrilling action thriller “Honest Thief” seems to answer the question nobody asked: What would it look like if you inserted 20 minutes of a Hallmark movie into a Liam Neeson vehicle?

Neeson plays Tom Dolan, a Boston-based bank robber — known to the law as the In-and-Out Bandit for his smooth ability to get into bank vaults and out again without being caught. It’s not a nickname he particularly likes, and he gives up his safe-busting ways when he meets Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh), a comely psychology grad student. A year after they meet, he buys her a house, and decides he’s going to come clean to the Feds.

Dolan calls the Boston FBI office with a proposal: He’ll confess to the 12 bank robberies he performed over eight years, if the Feds give him a reduced sentence at a minimum-security prison near Boston, so he can be near Annie. The senior Fed who takes his call, Agent Sam Baker (Robert Patrick), is interested in what Dolan has to say, so he sends two junior agents, John Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Ramon Hall (Anthony Ramos), to check out Dolan’s story.

Nivens and Hall find $3 million of Dolan’s $9 million in ill-gotten cash, and Nivens convinces Hall to take the cash for themselves and double-cross Dolan. Nivens’ plan to kill Dolan hits a snag when Baker shows up at the meeting place — so Nivens kills Baker, and pins it on Dolan. And, oh, Annie showed up at the meet just in time to see Dolan and Nivens fall out a second-story window.

This is how Dolan ends up on the run, simultaneously dodging bullets, matching wits with Baker’s partner, Agent Myers (Jeffery Donovan), and explaining to an incredulous Annie the parts of his life that he neglected to mention during their courtship. These scenes turn out to be painfully awkward, as Neeson and Walsh have no romantic chemistry — certainly not enough to carry the weight of the movie’s main plot point: Whether love is stronger than money, or worth all the pain Neeson’s Dolan is enduring to dodge every cop in Boston.

Director Mark Williams, the creator of the TV series “Ozark,” and his co-writer, Steve Allrich, create a by-the-numbers action chase thriller that borrows the plotting of “The Fugitive” with little of that movie’s charm or wit. The characters — including Neeson’s Dolan, Walsh’s Annie and all of the FBI agents — are thin sketches, each with a single personality trait and no other emotional complications.

Unfortunately, the action sequences also are rote and uninteresting, moving from car chase to gunfight to fistfight with few variations in texture or tempo. Even with the reliable Neeson getting revved up to “Taken”-style revenge, “Honest Thief” only steals 99 minutes of the viewer’s time.

——

‘Honest Thief’ 

★★

Opens Friday, October 16, at theaters where open. Rated PG-13 for strong violence, crude references and brief strong language. Running time: 99 minutes.

Review: 'Belly of the Beast' documents eugenics in a California prison, and introduces two heroes fighting to end it

Filmmaker Erika Cohn’s “Belly of the Beast” tackles a tough subject — the forced sterilization of women inmates at a California prison — with journalistic fire and sensitive artistry.

The statistics are harrowing: At one large California women’s prison, some 1,400 women between 1997 and 2013 were given hysterectomies, usually without their informed consent. And that number is part of a terrible tradition in California, where some 20,000 women — most of them Latina and indigenous — were sterilized against their will from 1903 to 1979. 

California’s eugenics program, meant to keep “undesirables” from having children, was so horrifically efficient that the Nazis in the early 1930s sent officials to California to learn the nuts-and-bolts of genocide.

But Cohn — a Salt Lake City native whose directing credits include “In Football We Trust,” about teens in Utah’s Polynesian community using football as a step to a better life, and “The Judge,” about the first woman jurist in a Palestinian Sharia court — isn’t just about the grim numbers. She finds two people whose stories illuminate this issue, and whose fight helps bring it to light.

One is Cynthia Chandler, an activist lawyer who represents women in this California prison, and whose Bay Area nonprofit, Justice Now, works to document how many women have been sterilized. The other is Kelli Dillon, a former inmate whose sad story — she was in prison for killing her abusive husband, and denied by a doctor’s decision to ever have more children — fuels her work as a domestic violence counselor who turns lobbyist to get California’s laws regarding prison sterilizations changed in the legislature.

With a combination of archival footage, animation, as-it-happens drama in Justice Now’s offices and in Sacramento, and collected audio of Chandler’s clients, Cohn describes the issue and digs into the personal lives of Chandler and Dillon. Cohn beautifully shows us both what they’re fighting for and what their personal stake is in seeing it through.

——

‘Belly of the Beast’

★★★1/2

Available starting Friday, October 23, on virtual cinemas, including Salt Lake Film Society’s SLFS@Home. Not rated, but probably PG-13 for descriptions of sexuality and violence, and for language. Running time: 82 minutes.

Review: 'Love and Monsters' is a post-apocalyptic YA tale with action, humor, and a solid performance by Dylan O'Brien

Young-adult romance meets post-apocalyptic action in “Love and Monsters,” a movie that isn’t nearly as boring as that title.

In the near future, an asteroid is hurtling towards Earth. Humanity figures out how to shoot rockets to destroy the asteroid, but fails to reckon with the chemical fallout from the rockets, which turn all cold-blooded creatures into mutated monsters — which then eat 95% of all humans on Earth.

We’re told all this, in sardonic college-kid fashion, by Joel Dawson (played by “The Maze Runner” star Dylan O’Brien), the least battle-ready member of a survivors’ colony in what used to be called California. Joel can’t hunt, freezing up when he needs to shoot his crossbow, but he makes a great minestrone and handles the radio — through which he finds Aimee (Jessica Henwick, formerly of Marvel’s “Iron Fist”), his high-school girlfriend seven years ago, before the mutants attacked.

Joel, feeling alone in a colony filled with couples, decides to risk death by trekking 85 miles to the coastal colony where Aimee lives. His friends in his colony don’t expect him to survive, and at first they would seem to be right, as Joel barely escapes the darting tongue of a giant toad and a few other creatures. Joel gets some help from two veteran surface dweller, old Clyde (Michael Rooker) and 8-year-old Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt), whose advice helps Joel make it to Aimee’s colony — where things don’t go as he hoped.

The screenplay, by Brian Duffield (who directed the recent YA horror comedy “Spontaneous”) and Matthew Robinson (“The Invention of Lying”), propels Joel from one harrowing adventure to the next, with a healthy dose of sarcastic humor. Director Michael Matthews, on his second feature (after a little-known Western from South Africa, “five Fingers for Marseilles”), balances the scares and jokes with some impressive visual effects and a consistent tone that suggests the end of the world isn’t worth losing one’s snarky attitude.

O’Brien is the key to “Love and Monsters,” since the story makes the audience his travel companions for the whole journey. Thankfully, O’Brien is an easygoing charmer, handsome without being too showy about it, who gives Joel a pleasantly self-deprecating side. He makes “Love and Monsters” worth the walk. 

——

‘Love and Monsters’

★★★

Opens Friday, October 16, at theaters where open. Rated PG-13 for action/violence, language and some suggestive material. Running time: 109 minutes.