Review by Sean Boelman

With his directorial debut Haymaker, Nick Sasso has delivered a fighting movie — if one can even call it that — that feels so derivative and shallow that its positive message can’t come through. This is one of those cases where the filmmakers’ heart was definitely in the right place, but the execution is just so mediocre that it fails them.

The film tells the story of a retired fighter who rescues a transgender performer from a thug and ends up becoming her bodyguard, learning lessons in humanity along the way. It’s basically The Bodyguard if it were even more sentimental and cheesy, which is a shame since the compassion it shows is something that people could definitely need to hear.

However, apart from this lesson in morality, the movie has disappointingly little to say. It’s a shallow film made with good intentions, but Sasso seems to have been unable to find a way to translate those good intentions into something with any sort of real substance. Sasso explores these themes effectively within the first thirty minutes, and so the rest of the movie feels pretty empty. 

The film is really short, clocking in at around an hour and fifteen minutes before credits, and this pacing is a big part of the movie’s issues. The film is mostly sweet and harmless, but it often feels like Sasso is trying to hit the obligatory beats as quickly as possible without worrying about efficiency or effectiveness whatsoever.

Sasso does a good enough job of making the audience sympathize with the characters, but much like the rest of the movie, there isn’t a whole lot of depth to their development. Thankfully, there is enough of an investment in their relationship together for the dynamic to work, but on an individual level, they both feel like stock characters.

The acting in the film is mostly very weak, and this causes the movie to be even less resonant. Sasso plays the lead role himself, and he is completely wooden. Granted, the lack of subtlety in the role doesn’t lend itself to nuance, but his performance feels completely bland. Nomi Ruiz is much better, but isn’t given a whole lot to do. And for some reason, Udo Kier shows up in a useless bit part.

Perhaps the worst aspect of the film is its execution. Sasso’s movie is barely competent, with seemingly very little thought put into the way in which the film is shot. The cinematography is actively ugly at multiple points, and the few Muay Thai sequences simply aren’t exciting. With a more experienced director at the helm, this could have been salvaged.

Haymaker is the type of movie it is hard to pan because everyone involved is clearly trying their hardest to make something legitimately good. Unfortunately, all of the aspects of its production are so lackluster that it doesn’t resonate.

Haymaker is now available on VOD.

​Rating: 2/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

The Little Things has some great cinematography, though. The scenes of the city and the surrounding areas around L.A. were captured beautifully. It helped give a feel of authenticity to the story. California can be a beautiful place at times and definitely at night. There was a lot of driving scenes though. So the scenery was seen through the prism of the person driving the car or truck. Those worked fine. It was like California was a character in the film. 

Washington has done many films in his career. It's hard to find him in types of roles he hasn't already done before. As he's gotten older, he's veered towards these aging characters with a mysterious past. He plays a similar character in The Little Things. Like some of his contemporaries, he fits perfectly in these kinds of roles. He's good at playing the tough but mysterious loner. This might be his lot in life from now on in his career. His role in this film isn't his best, but not his worst either. It just seems to come so naturally to play this kind of role.

Police dramas are only as good as their villains and The Little Things lacks in that category. Jared Leto plays a mysterious appliance repairman. He seems to be the lead suspect in the case of the murdered girls. He has an odd walk and a subdued tone in his voice. This is to make him come off as odd. He just doesn't pull off the murderer vibe in the film. He just seems to be a weirdo in a general sense. Leto is far from his Academy Award-winning days with this character. 

The Little Things lacks, somewhat ironically, those "little things" that make a good police drama work. The relationship between the two leads seems to be a little off and Leto is just off from his usual more flamboyant roles. This film has a good tone, feel and look to it. The story is okay, not great, but it doesn't break any new ground on police dramas. It just treads what has already been done before.

The Little Things hits theaters and HBO Max on January 29.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Sean Boelman

Indonesian horror really is something else, especially when compared with the sensibilities typically associated with the American form of the genre. The Queen of Black Magic is a legitimately and surprisingly disturbing film made so effective by the unorthodox way in which it earns its scares.

The movie follows a group of people reuniting to pay their respects to the man who ran the orphanage in which they were raised as their homecoming is cut short when a series of horrifying supernatural occurrences begin to plague them. It’s a simple setup, but writer Joko Anwar knows how to create an effectively spine-tingling situation.

Part of what makes this film feel so different from most horror movies is that it is absolutely relentless. American horror largely deals in the tension between the scary moments, but Anwar’s script hits the ground running and never lets up. The ending is perhaps a bit too much too quickly, but the rest of the film is adequately terrifying.

As is the case with much of the genre, the message here is definitely very obvious. In the final act, the villain basically has a monologue spelling out the moral of the story, and while it is undeniably well-intentioned, the attempts to tie this age-old fable to the modern day don’t always succeed.

Perhaps the biggest issue with this movie is that, at a certain point, the characters begin to become indistinguishable from each other. The cast does a great job of freaking out and acting scared out of their minds, but they aren’t given much to work with in an emotional sense. The roles often feel like shallow caricatures.

The thing that is missing from the script is more of an investment in the family dynamic between the characters. A majority of the best moments of the film take place at points throughout the movie in which the characters are split apart, but there definitely could have spared to be some more memorable parts with the characters all together.

On a technical level, the film is definitely very impressive. Apart from a few shots in the final act that are dependent on less than stellar CGI, the visuals are very good. The use of gore in the movie is definitely very liberal in certain scenes, but it doesn’t ever feel like it is excessive or unnecessary.

The Queen of Black Magic is a legitimately scary and disturbing horror movie, something it feels like doesn’t come nearly enough these days. Genre fans will definitely be excited to see the gnarliness of what goes down.

The Queen of Black Magic is now streaming on Shudder.

​Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Sean Boelman

Harry Macqueen’s romantic drama Supernova may not be the most original in terms of story, but it does its job in terms of maximizing its emotional effect. Subtly gorgeous and featuring two of the finest performances of the year, this is a soul-crushing yet empathetic story in all the best ways.

The film follows two partners going on a cross-country road trip to relive their past since one of them has been diagnosed with dementia and their condition is deteriorating rapidly. And though it starts out as a road movie, by the end, it becomes a profound and expectedly moving character drama.

Unlike a majority of prestige dramas, the movie clocks in at a little over ninety minutes, so there isn’t a whole lot of room to be wasted. Although the ending is a bit abrupt, the pacing of the rest of the film is quite effective. The first two-thirds are relatively buoyant, only for the final thirty minutes to pack a huge wallop.

There are definitely quite a few layers to this movie. The first, and most obvious, explores what it means to lose oneself. However, another emotional layer is added through its commentary on love, and yet another is introduced towards the end, which is the thing that pushes it from being sad to being outright devastating.

Perhaps the strongest thing about Macqueen’s script is that it does a great job of establishing the dynamic between the characters. It’s really refreshing to see a movie about an LGBTQ romance that isn’t about self-loathing or homophobia. It’s about as lovely a depiction of love as they come.

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci both give exceptional and humanistic performances. Tucci particularly stands out thanks to the very subdued way in which he portrays his character’s deterioration and disillusionment with the world. That said, the chemistry between the two is brilliant and goes a long way in selling the romantic aspect.

Visually, the film is pretty amazing. For the most part, it’s a quiet movie, but the low-key cinematography gives it a restrained beauty. As the title suggests, there is a celestial angle to the film, and the stargazing shots are absolutely wonderful. It could have worked being more simple, but it’s even better in this beautiful, poetic form.
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Even though Supernova may not be a groundbreaking movie, it’s mind-blowing in the level of empathy with which it treats its characters and story. Even though it’s probably a bit too low-key to make much of a splash, it’s better than a lot of the movies getting awards buzz right now.

Supernova hits theaters on January 29 and VOD on February 16.

​Rating: 4.5/5

Review by Camden Ferrell

Saint Maud is a horror film that had its debut at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. After some delay due to the current state of the world, this movie will be the first release from A24 of the new year. This movie is also the feature film debut of writer/director Rose Glass. While this movie is undoubtedly well-made, it suffers from a sluggish pace and a rather uneventful story.
 
After failing to save the life of one of her patients, one woman becomes a devout convert of Catholicism and begins to call herself Maud. She is assigned to care for Amanda, a terminally ill former dancer. Maud becomes obsessed with her patient as she believes it is her duty to save the soul of her atheist patient. This is an intriguing premise that has the potential for suspense, horror, and a deep exploration on its themes of religion.
 
Unfortunately, it is apparent very soon that this movie isn’t concerned too much with living up to its aforementioned potential. It is an extremely slow burn that doesn’t satiate the viewers need for suspense or fear, and it doesn’t truly come to head until its anticlimactic finale. While slow burns can be effective, it seems that this movie misused it, and it caused its few shocking moments to fall flat.
 
The lead performance from Morfydd Clark and the supporting performance from Jennifer Ehle are fairly decent. They don’t do much to surpass expectations, but they seem to make the most of its less than stellar execution and script. Both actresses excel most in the film’s final act, and they both seem like the have potential to become future staples of the genre.

This movie does explore religion in a thematic way through its enigmatic protagonist, but it feels shallow more than anything. Religion is such a broad and complex topic and while the film’s final message is clear, it feels underwhelming in the way they didn’t dive deeper into the subject matter. Regardless, this is a movie that doesn’t utilize the same religious tropes found in horror, so it at least managed to find some originality in that manner.

It’s hard to deny that this movie is fairly well-made despite its lethargic execution. The atmosphere and environment are both fine-tuned, and they serve as a perfect backdrop for a movie such as this one. The cinematography by Ben Fordesman is pretty encapsulating as well. Even though it’s not narratively engaging, there are some great shots and sequences throughout that work due to his camera work.

Running under ninety minutes, this is a movie that feels much longer than it actually is. It could have benefit from a longer runtime and a much faster pace. It’s rather unfulfilling by the end, and it seems like more could have been said and done about its main character and her beliefs. Regardless, this still shows some signs of promise for a blossoming career from Glass, who does undoubtably have a strong creative vision that I’m curious to see more of in the future.

Saint Maud isn’t as exhilarating or thought-provoking as A24’s other horror entries, but there are still some commendable elements. Die hard fans of psychological horror may enjoy this experience, but it will most likely fall flat for any casual viewer.

Saint Maud will be in select theaters January 29 and on Epix February 12.

Rating: 3/5