Photo © 20th Century Studios
The First Omen
Bill Nighy in ‘The First Omen’
The First Omen
(In Theaters April 5)
In 1976, The Omen introduced a young boy as evil incarnate. Nearly 50 years later, the well-trodden subject has seen numerous variations. The Omen has four sequels, and now this prequel, six films in total. To expand its mythology, the story, set in 1971, proposes that the devil’s progeny was born to a novitiate Roman nun while she was under the control of powerful officials. Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy portray the characters orchestrating the young nun’s pregnancy. The young nuns are portrayed by Maria Caballero and Nicole Sorace. Filming in Rome, director/co-writer Arkasha Stevenson cobbled together three buildings to stand in as an Old World church. The religious garb is constructed of light materials that wave in the wind, so the characters seem to float down spooky corridors. After a young American woman arrives at a church in Rome, she uncovers a conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist. The R-rated offering has no shortage of gruesome scenes, though it's the fear of being powerless that is truly frightful. (Lisa Miller)
Monkey Man
(In Theaters April 5)
Some action films are brutal, others are poetic, while others combine both elements for maximum visual and emotional impact. Dev Patel’s R-rated Monkey Man is a passion project that Patel co-wrote, directed and in which he stars. His character, a man named Kid, goes from exploited Indian-ghetto urchin to an adult illegal fighter known as Monkey Man. Kid sets this course to find the corrupt official who killed his mother. His fights are bloody, sweaty messes, but outside the ring, Kid ingeniously terminates the deserving using unexpected means. After it was originally sold to Netflix for $30 million, Jordan Peele saw the film and made certain it got the theatrical release it deserves. (Lisa Miller)
Yuni
(Film Movement DVD/Digital)
In this coming-of-age film by Indonesian director Kamila Andini, Yuni is a teenage girl in a school where pressure is mounting to “conform to Islamic teachings.” And yet easy stereotypes don’t apply: the school is coed, girls participate in martial arts class, and the headmistress encourages Yuni to go to college. However, her family wants to arrange a marriage that could block her aspirations. The pressure mounts. She has a crush on a literature teacher but a boy her age has a crush on her. Yuni is a thoughtful, leisurely paced film with the bittersweet tang of real life, observed at a granular level. Yuni is no angel. She steals small things and can be manipulative, but remains sympathetic as she navigates sex, friendship, family and her own dreams. (David Luhrssen)
