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Conclave movie still
Conclave
Conclave
(In Theaters Oct. 25)
Dubbed a thinking man’s thriller, the process of selecting a pope provides the springboard for this dark mystery with unexpected twists. Ralph Fiennes appears as the Dean of the College of Cardinals, tasked to oversee the new pontiff’s election. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow portray papal candidates or papabile. Isabella Rossellini’s Sister Agnes supervises the Vatican nuns and is privy to dirty secrets that infect the voting body of cardinals known as the curia. Adapted from the best-selling novel by Robert Harris, director Edward Berger, recreates the Sistine Chapel and enough Vatican real estate to deliver an exhilarating backdrop. Fictional action unfolds in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Cardinals are cloistered. Receiving a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Conclave sits at the intersection of striking performances and masterful storytelling. (Lisa Miller)
June Zero
(Cohen Media Group Blu-ray)
As June Zero begins, Israel is gripped by the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the principal engineers of the Holocaust. In schools, classwork is set aside as children listen to broadcasts of the trial on radio in the class rooms—but not David. He’s a bit of a troublemaker and a Jew of different origin than most of his classmates. David’s family left Libya as tensions rose in the region. He speaks Arabic at home, and works for a zealous Zionist, a terrorist-turned-machine shop owner who is commissioned to build the crematorium for disposing of Eichmann’s body. The owner is taken aback when the learns that he will build it from the same design used at Auschwitz.
June Zero could simply have been the story of David navigating the uncertainties of Israeli society. However, American director Jake Paltrow had other ideas and took the film in two additional directions. Eichmann is the focus, and much time is spent in the prison where he was kept, guarded by Jews from Arab nations whose Holocaust hostility was not as intense. Israel’s government wanted him to live to see his hanging, not to be summarily executed. And in another tangent, Eichmann’s original police interrogator has become an Auschwitz tour guide wrestling with the question of how to remember. June Zero leaves viewers with much to think about. (David Luhrssen)
Venom: The Last Dance
(In Theaters Oct. 25)
Written and Directed by Kelly Marcel, this third chapter completes the “Venom” trilogy. Tom Hardy reprises Eddie Brock/Venom. An alien symbiote, ghoulish black Venom is a toothsome parasite that takes over Brock’s body as required. Here, Brock and Venom are pursued by humans and symbiotes alike. The Marvel comics-inspired tale introduces bigger, meaner symbiotes, created by villainous Knull (Chiwetel Ejiofor). It’s a bloated story that doubles down on nonstop action but has viewers complaining about too many story threads lacking payoff. Packed into this 100 minutes, sarcastic humor expresses Brock’s frustration with his involuntary situation. Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Woody Harrelson, Stephen Graham and Juno Temple are cast, but I look forward to Rhys Ifans as a hippie, alien enthusiast. (Lisa Miller)
