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Friday, October 21, 2016
Movie Reviews: Jack Reacher, Denial, Ouija, Keeping Up With the Joneses
Denial, Desierto, In a Valley of Violence, I'm Not Ashamed
Posted By Scott Renshaw on October 21, 2016, 10:05 AM
A jam-packed movie weekend features a little bit of everything: Tom Cruise, horror, neo-Nazis, slapstick comedy, Westerns, faith-based biography and a cat-and-mouse desert thriller.
Denial follows the risky approach of a real-life court case about a Holocaust denier—avoid all emotional catharsis—and winds up feeling like a movie that should have been a play. Ti West delivers old-school B-movie Western satisfaction in In a Valley of Violence. The socio-political spin works better than the character development in the thriller Desierto. The fact-based story of a Columbine High School victim in I'm Not Ashamed means to inspire, but instead often feels icky and exploitative.
MaryAnn Johanson thinks of Jack Reacher: Never Look Back (pictured) as the episode of a bland TV show that convinces you it should be cancelled.
Eric D. Snider finds that the Joneses need better, less blatantly stupid neighbors in the spy farce Keeping Up With the Joneses.
Andrew Wright is as surprised as anyone to find a prequel to a movie about a haunted board game is creepily satisfying in Ouija: Origin of Evil.
David Riedel praises the dynamite performances in the Swedish dark comedy A Man Called Ove.
Also opening this week, but not screened for press: Tyler Perry returns as his no-nonsense matriarch fighting spooky stuff in Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween.
In this week's feature, our cast of critics shares the fall awards-season releases they're most eagerly awaiting.
Denial follows the risky approach of a real-life court case about a Holocaust denier—avoid all emotional catharsis—and winds up feeling like a movie that should have been a play. Ti West delivers old-school B-movie Western satisfaction in In a Valley of Violence. The socio-political spin works better than the character development in the thriller Desierto. The fact-based story of a Columbine High School victim in I'm Not Ashamed means to inspire, but instead often feels icky and exploitative.
MaryAnn Johanson thinks of Jack Reacher: Never Look Back (pictured) as the episode of a bland TV show that convinces you it should be cancelled.
Eric D. Snider finds that the Joneses need better, less blatantly stupid neighbors in the spy farce Keeping Up With the Joneses.
Andrew Wright is as surprised as anyone to find a prequel to a movie about a haunted board game is creepily satisfying in Ouija: Origin of Evil.
David Riedel praises the dynamite performances in the Swedish dark comedy A Man Called Ove.
Also opening this week, but not screened for press: Tyler Perry returns as his no-nonsense matriarch fighting spooky stuff in Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween.
In this week's feature, our cast of critics shares the fall awards-season releases they're most eagerly awaiting.
More by Scott Renshaw
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Feature film review: THE BEAST
A filmmaker's compelling ideas get a bit tangled in references to his creative influences.
- Apr 17, 2024
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