Evil Dead Rise
This was something I have been looking forward to since it was announced. The Evil Dead franchise is one of my very favorites, I think all the films are great, and I was curious as to how this will turn out because Lee Cronin’s directorial debut, The Hole In The Ground, was a more subdued picture, one that felt like it belonged in the same class as those other A24 style “elevated horrors.” But he switched up the style a lot harder than I anticipated, the camera work is wacky, there’s a dark sense of humor, it looks totally bananas, everything I ever wanted, and I’m super intrigued by the new setting. Definitely my most anticipated film of the year so far.
Evil Dead Rise hits theaters on April 21st.
Pacification
There seems to be a lot of buzz around this one, and it got strong word-of-mouth coming out of Cannes last year, so this is one I’ll keep an eye out for. I’ve been hearing interesting things about the works of Albert Serra, but haven’t gotten around to watching any of his films. There is an interesting look to this that pulls me in, even when the story itself isn’t the greatest hook. Still, this is one I’ll try to seek out, and maybe catch up on his other work in the meantime.
Pacification will open in limited theaters on February 17th, before expanding in the following weeks.
Renfield
Love it. Love to see a new Nic Cage movie, always love seeing my boy Nic Hoult, love seeing a studio comedy that isn’t a rom-com. This is the latest from LEGO Batman director, Chris McKay, who is proving to be a solid live-action talent between this and The Tomorrow War, which wasn’t great mind you, but he did the best he could with that material. This looks like a ton of fun, can’t wait to see it.
Renfield opens in theaters on April 14th.
Poker Face
Rian Johnson doing a Columbo-esque case-of-the-week mystery series? Sure, sign me up. Add Natasha Lyonne as the lead, I’ll be there day one. Though, I will admit, there is a part of me that does hope Johnson explores a different genre soon. I like seeing his take on certain things, and so far, his last three projects have all been mystery oriented, and they have been very good, but it would be nice to see something new.
Poker Face will begin streaming on Peacock on January 26th.
Seriously Red
Celebrity impersonations is certainly an interesting world to explore, and this looks like a cute enough adventure in that realm, if a tad fluff. But I will say, I legitimately did not recognize Rose Byrne as Elvis when she popped up, I hope she stays that way through the whole movie because that is hilarious. Not sure if this is something I’d rush out to see, but if the word on it is good, I might give it a shot.
Seriously Red hits select theaters and VOD platforms on February 10th.
Emily
Neat! This is the directorial debut of Frances O’Connor, a very good actress you’ve likely seen around before even if you don’t know her by name. From the looks of it, this is going for something more complex and interesting than a straightforward biopic, which I’m very happy to see. There’s definitely a lot of potential here, the cast looks terrific, it looks very well made, I’ll be looking forward to this.
Emily will be released in select theaters on February 17th.