Photo: Searchlight Pictures
The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in 'The Banshees of Inisherin'
The Banshees of Inisherin
(In Theaters Oct. 21)
Sitting at a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this R-rated drama features insightful writing (by director Martin McDonagh) and elevated portrayals by Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell and Kerry Condon. Living in the remote Irish town of 1923 Inisherin, dairy farmer Padraic (Farrell), counts on his daily get-togethers with neighbor Colm (Gleeson), his best friend. Therefore, Padraic is shattered when Colm informs him their friendship done. When pressed, Colm insists he simply finds Padraic a dull waste of time. The harsh break brings Padraic to the brink. He complains ceaselessly to his sister (Condon), and anyone else he can corner, including an irresistible miniature donkey. Colm isn’t budging, threatening to do himself harm if Padraic doesn’t leave him be. The tension looms thick as the town’s foggy atmosphere, eerily punctuated by distant gunfire from the Irish Civil War. (Lisa Miller)
Black Adam
(In Theaters Oct. 21)
Based on a character from the DC comics, Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is a bad guy turned good-ish by members of the Justice Society. Hailing from the ancient city Kahndaq, Black Adam is resurrected following 5,000 years entrapped in a tomb. Virtually indestructible, he is equally angry. He begins to get a handle on the urge to kill after members of the Justice Society work to help him change. The members include: Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Hawkman (Aldis Hodge). Pierce Brosnan appears as Doctor Fate, an archaeologist and powerful sorcerer.
More powerful than the others, Adam nevertheless needs their help to defeat the demonic Sabbac, a villain of enormous abilities. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, this PG-13 fantasy also features Viola Davis, Sarah Shahi, and Marwan Kenzari, in supporting roles. With filming delayed by COVID-19, the two-hour Warner Bros. film was then hung up in a long line at the special effects studios which were overwhelmed by delayed productions in the same predicament. (Lisa Miller)
“Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror”
(Arrow Video Blu-ray)
The Italian film industry was prolific in the horror genre during the 1960s, making movies that were often superior to their counterparts from Hollywood or Hammer Studio. The four-disc “Gothic Fantastico” includes director Mino Guerinni’s The Third Eye (1966), whose opening-scene intimations of romance are quickly dashed. Laura and Mino are engaged, but his mother, the countess, is determined to stop the wedding. “I’d give anything if someone would get rid of that woman,” she tells her servant, a woman of uncertain loyalty and sexuality. The set-up is Hitchcock-ian. Mino has his own bed in his mother’s room and spends the day in the crumbling mansion’s “laboratory,” practicing taxidermy. Little wonder Laura feels that something might be wrong.
Damiano Damian’s The Witch (1966) opens with a jazz score and scenes from the big city where strange, arcane things can still occur. Sergio, a cad, notices that he’s being followed by an old woman. Tracking her to her tumble-down palazzo, he learns that she wants to hire him as librarian for her late husband’s mysterious collection—oh, and that husband lays embalmed inside a glass coffin, and the old woman’s seductive daughter has the disconcerting habit of appearing and disappearing.
“Gothic Fantastico” also includes Massimo Pupillo’s Lady Morgan’s Vengeance and Alberto De Mastino’s The Blancheville Monster along with interviews, commentaries and a booklet. (David Luhrssen)
Ticket 2 Paradise
(In Theaters Oct 21)
This PG-13 rom-com depends upon the charm and charisma of ultra-dependable Julia Roberts and George Clooney. The pair portray Georgia and David, 15 years divorced and accustomed to lambasting one another on those occasions when their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), brings them together. This time, they meet on the flight to Bali, after Lily announces she intends to marry Gede (Maxime Bouttier), a Balinese seaweed farmer she barely knows.
Given their shared youthful marriage mishap, Georgia and David are determined to prevent Lily’s folly. Their mission leads to mildly amusing gaffs but lack the tension necessary to engender real guffaws. Over the course of their daughter’s multi-day wedding event, David and Georgia are surprised when they fall in love all over again. Naturally, nothing’s that easy as others appear who make claims on their affections. It isn’t difficult to root for David and Georgia since spending time with the bickering pair has many pleasures. (Lisa Miller)
