ADVERTISEMENT

    3 Great Movies to Catch This Weekend

    So much reason to go to the movies this weekend. Whether you’re looking for Oscar nominees, which can be found city wide thanks to this weekend’s broadcast, or you want a little horror fun, now is the time to take it in.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Get Out

    You want to know the fears and anxieties at work in any modern population? Just look at their horror films.

    You probably knew that. The stumper then, is what took so long for a film to manifest the fears of racial inequality as smartly as does Jordan Peele’s Get Out.

    Last year’s Keanu proved Key & Peele could smoothly transition from sketch comedy to an extended (and often hilarious) narrative. Now Peele has his solo album, writing and directing a mash of Guess Who’s Coming to DinnerRosemary’s Baby and a few other staples that should go unnamed to preserve the fun. Opening with a brilliant prologue that wraps a nice vibe of homage around the cold realities of “walking while black,” Peele uses tension, humor and a few solid frights to call out blatant injustice, casual racism and cultural appropriation.

    When white Rose (Alison Williams) takes her black boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) home to meet the family, she assures him race will not be a problem. How can she be sure? Because her Dad (Bradley Whitford) would have voted for Obama’s third term “if he could.” It’s the first of many B.S. alerts for Peele, and they only get more satisfying.

    Everyone is overly polite at first, but then Rose’s mom (Catherine Keener) starts acting evasive and Rose’s brother (Caleb Landry Jones) gets a bit threatening, while both the gardener and the maid (both black – whaaat?) are straight outta Stepford.

    Peele is clearly a horror fan, and he gives knowing winks to many genre cliches (the jump scare, the dream) while anchoring his entire film in the upending of the “final girl.” This isn’t a lovely young white girl trying to solve a mystery and escape death, it’s a young man of color, challenging the audience to enjoy the ride but understand why switching these roles in a horror film is a social critique in itself.

    Get Out is an audacious first feature for Jordan Peele, a film that never stops entertaining as it consistently pays off the bets it is unafraid to make.

    Grade: B+

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2JbO9lnVLE

    The Red Turtle

    Life, death, the natural world and the redemptive love of a redhead – all excellent topics, all simply but beautifully explored in the Oscar-nominated animated film The Red Turtle.

    Like filmmaker Michael Dudok de Wit’s Oscar-winning short Father and Daughter, The Red Turtle boasts minimalistic visuals to convey solitude, longing and the harsh realities of nature. But the melancholy of the previous effort is missing, something more hopeful in its place.

    We join a nameless man – survivor of a shipwreck now stranded on a deserted island – as he fights to save himself from his fate. With no company but the skittering beach crabs, he explores enough of the island to determine the best ways off.

    But each raft he builds is destroyed from below by an unseen force.

    Without the help of dialog, musical numbers or flashy visuals – indeed, the entire effort borders on the monochromatic – The Red Turtle becomes a hypnotic experience. De Wit asks you to wonder whether the extraordinary events are happening or are the hallucinations of a desperate man – perhaps even the visions of a man in the throes of death.

    He doesn’t answer your questions, instead weaving a fable as easily taken for symbol as it is taken literally. Perhaps the man didn’t survive the shipwreck. Perhaps he did, and the inexplicable power and magic of the natural world convinced him to stop fighting and live the life he has.

    Either way, this spare and often somber film, punctuated as it is with both joyous outbursts and peril, is a welcome piece of poetry in Oscar’s roster.

    Grade: A-

    The Girl with All the Gifts

    It is the top of the food chain that has the most reason to fear evolution.

    Isn’t that the abiding tension in monster and superhero movie alike? The Girl with All the Gifts explores it thoughtfully and elegantly – for a zombie movie.

    Melanie (startlingly strong newcomer Sennia Nanua) lives out her young life in a cell, then restrained head, hands and feet in a wheelchair as part of ongoing research conducted by Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close).

    Let’s pause. When six-time Oscar nominee and all around acting badass Glenn Close deems a zombie film worthy of her talent, we should all pay attention.

    Melanie aside, the characters could be standard fare zombipocalypse cogs: gung ho military guys, driven researcher, tender-hearted woman here to remind us all of the civilization we’re fighting to save. But expect something surprising and wonderful out of every actor involved.

    Much of the weight sits on Nanua’s narrow shoulders, and she owns this film. The role requires a level of emotional nimbleness, naiveté edged with survival instinct, and command. She has that and more.

    Director Colm McCarthy showcases his bounty of talent in a film that knows its roots but embraces the natural evolution of the genre. It’s not easy to make a zombie film that says something different.

    But what Girl has to say is both surprising and inevitable.

    And she says it really, really well.

    Grade: A-

    Also opening in Columbus:

    • Bitter Harvest (R)
    • Burn Country (NR)
    • Collide (PG-13)
    • I Am Not Your Negro (PG-13)
    • Rock Dog (PG)
    • The Salesman (PG-13)

    Reviews with help from George Wolf.

    Read more from Hope at MADDWOLF and listen to her weekly horror movie podcast, FRIGHT CLUB.

    Looking for more film events in Columbus? CLICK HERE to visit our Events Calendar.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Beat Bazaar Creates New Space for Columbus Producers

    On February 23, The Kutt Record shop filled with...

    Good Looking Batch of New Movies

    You will find an excellent crop of new movies...

    So Much Kung Fu! Plus Oscar Nominees and More

    It's Oscar weekend! Do you need to brush up?...

    New Pickleball & Entertainment Venue Headed for Westerville

    The pickleball craze isn't quite done with Central Ohio....

    Fearless Oscar Picks, 2024

    by Hope Madden and George WolfThis year’s group of...
    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
    ADVERTISEMENT