Films: April 22 - 28

The Boys In The Boat (2023)

Rebel Moon A Child Of Fire (2023)

Long Weekend (2020)

65 (2023) 

The Invitation (2022)

Belfast (2021) 

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) ///

The Boys In The Boat (2023) Solid production takes time to find rhythm as student outsiders during the Depression make it the Olympics, forging personal and national identity as rowing team. Involving visuals and bright soundtrack elevate final emotions with unsurprising sense of achievement.

Rebel Moon A Child Of Fire (2023) Oddly creaky design highlights ponderous setup and derivative story as mysterious Sofia Boutella rounds up equally damaged warriors to protect her adopted farm community from brutal empire. Individual sequences and visuals shine amid jumbled sci-fi concepts.

Long Weekend (2020) Low-key romance relies on charm of suffering Finn Wittrock and spontaneous Zoe Chao, who is either just as psychologically damaged or may be a visitor from the future. Loose aesthetics focus on emotion to paper over logic, with pleasing rather than transporting resolve.

65 (2023) Admirable in uncluttered setup of intense space visitor Adam Driver crash landing on earth in dinosaur era, visuals and action never embraces crazed potential until race against time as meteors conjure extinction. Spirited, open Ariana Greenblatt provides sharp emotional core.

The Invitation (2022) Smoothly set up and initially intriguing, Gothic sense of threat and desire evaporates with vampiric revelations as willful Nathalie Emmanuel discovers origins of her British relations. Touches on themes of race and elitism, without delivering on effective visceral or metaphorical horrors.

Belfast (2021) Good-natured family drama tends to flatten emotional edges within gleaming, precisely framed images, as struggles through personal, economic and political turmoil of 1969 Northern Ireland seen though eyes of young boy. Able cast and sharp detail within warm story beats maintain involvement.

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) Blackly ironic thriller throws group of privileged, back-biting friends into storm-battered home and revels in chaotic paranoia of mounting deaths. Ensemble energy and invasive style keep situations lively, yet can't compensate lack of character empathy or visual intensity.