As Above, So Below R
This found-footage horror is set in the Paris catacombs where a group of young explorers become trapped. Adventurers Scarlett (Perdita Weeks), George (Ben Feldman) and team documentarian Benji (Edwin Hodge) rely on tough-talking Papillon (François Civil) and his grungy sidekicks (Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar) to serve as their guides. After a cave-in blocks them from leaving the way they came, tragedies from each member’s past come to life before their eyes. The team realizes they are going in circles after taking advice from a shifty catacomb dweller (Cosme Castro) who insists “The only way out is down.” Jump cuts achieve a few cheap scares, but a series of rapidly mounting mysteries muddle the plot. Cracking walls, eerie whispers and distant chants, comprise the spooky soundtrack that is the film’s best feature. (Lisa Miller)
The November Man R
Pierce Brosnan portrays Peter Devereaux, a retired CIA spook and the hero in author Bill Granger’s series of 1980s spy novels. Called back for one last job, Devereaux is determined to rescue the woman he loves (Mediha Musliovic), a Russian agent possessing incriminating info on Russian political candidate Federov (Lazar Ristovski). Instead, she is killed by Devereaux’s one-time protégé David Mason (Luke Bracey). Distraught, Devereaux goes rogue, following a trail of murdered refugee Chechen girls to Belgrade where he attempts to protect relief agency worker Alice (Olga Kurylenko) from Federov’s criminal network. Well scouted and filmed at interesting Eastern European locations, the film’s action sequences are run of the mill, while inconsistencies in Devereaux’s character obfuscate his motives. (L.M.)
