Review by Sean Boelman

There are some films whose message is so important that it is easy to overlook some of their flaws with regards to their delivery. Lilah Hallah’s debut Power Alley — known as “Levante” in its native Portuguese — is an often unsettling exploration of timely themes, even if its power is sometimes undermined by an uneven tone.

The movie follows a teenage volleyball prodigy who finds her future at threat when, on the eve of a massive championship that could change her life for the better, she is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. This is the type of movie that is clearly meant to be provocative, and while it deals with controversial themes, it doesn’t always challenge the audience as much as it clearly hopes to.

This is an extremely political film, and while it is focused on Latin American politics — particularly in Brazil — many of its themes will resonate worldwide. The infringement of womens’ rights is an issue that has been a hot topic of debate for many years in many countries, so it seems that (unfortunately) this movie will not lose its timeliness anytime soon.

The tone of the film is somewhat off-putting, failing to capture the balance that so many other pro-choice movies have recently. We’ve seen different approaches to these themes — from road trip comedies to melodramas and intense thrillers. What we get here is a mix of high school comedy and race-against-the-clock thriller, and the tonal whiplash is jarring.

Obviously, viewers will immediately sympathize with the protagonist for her struggles. However, the other characters leave something to be desired. For example, her teammates on the volleyball team are all archetypal and the conflict they cause is rather generic. And her father, while a welcomed supportive figure, is also underdeveloped.

Ayomi Domenica Dias is absolutely astounding in her leading role. Obviously, the role she is playing is asking a lot of her, with plenty of harrowing, emotionally draining scenes. Yet something that really sets Dias’s performance apart is its confidence. Whereas most films about these themes require hesitation, there is absolutely none of that here, and Dias does an exceptional job of rendering that absoluteness.

The movie is also extremely accomplished on a technical level, with the soundtrack, cinematography, and editing being a highlight. The use of pop music in most films usually creates an upbeat tone, but here, it creates a feeling of pulse-pounding suspense that heightens tension and makes the stakes feel even higher.

Power Alley doesn’t always work, but when its pieces are all working together properly, it’s a powerful, harrowing film. Although the movie doesn’t necessarily say anything that we don’t know about its themes, it still serves as an important reminder of the suffering that governments are putting their citizens through.

Power Alley is screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Semaine de la Critique sidebar.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Camden Ferrell

Rob Marshall is no stranger to musicals and definitely no stranger to Disney musicals. Some of his previous work as a director includes 2002’s Chicago and most recently the surprisingly delightful Mary Poppins Returns. His newest movie is attempting to adapt one of the most beloved Disney film’s to live action. The Little Mermaid, despite being about fifty minutes longer than the original, fails to add anything new or fresh to the story, barely being saved by a standout performance by Halle Bailey.
 
In this remake of the classic story, Ariel is a young mermaid with aspirations to experience life above water. Against the wishes of her protective and prejudiced father, she sells her beautiful voice to an evil witch, so she has a chance to live among humans and fall in love with a handsome Prince. It’s the same story everybody knows and loves, and it remains relatively faithful in its premise. However, faith does not equate to quality, and even fans of the original might have a hard time justifying this movie’s existence.
 
Written by David Magee, it follows the original pretty closely while adding a few additional moments and indulgent scenes of visual effects work. It’s not bad by any means, but it feels wholly derivative of the source material. It doesn’t seem like there’s an attempt to put his own spin on this story, merely following the path of what came before. This creates a shaky foundation for the movie to be built upon. It was never going to outdo the original by copying the same ideas. It might have been risky, but there would have been more favor to be won if he had taken some creative risks and liberties with the story to make it feel fresh and original.

Likely the only amazing aspect of this movie is its lead performance. Halle Bailey stuns as Ariel from the second she appears on screen and begins singing. It’s hard to imagine anybody else pulling off this role as well as her, and she is the undisputed saving grace of this movie. The ensemble that has been assembled is decent but nothing spectacular. Some might enjoy Melissa McCarthy’s performance as Ursula or Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, but they aren’t able to match Bailey’s impact. Other cast members like Javier Bardem and Jonah Hauer-King fail to make an impression and deliver forgettable performances of iconic characters.
 
Audiences are going to likely feel the lengthiness of this adaptation. Clocking in at over two hours, it clearly overstays its welcome. New scenes and songs don’t add much in terms of enjoyment, and it only serves to bloat the movie. These problems, combined with some awkward and somewhat questionable visual effects, leave much to be desired from this adaptation. Despite the harsh criticisms I’m giving, I do recognize that on a superficial level, this is a passable Disney movie that some people might truly enjoy. There are certainly much worse ways to spend time at a movie theater right now, but with such an iconic story, one should expect more from this remake.
 
The Little Mermaid won’t win over any new fans, and it won’t impress fans of the original, but there might still be some decent entertainment for audiences. Bailey’s performance might be worth the price of admission alone. Regardless, it’s easy to write this off as yet another unnecessary Disney remake, but it certainly could have been worse.
 
The Little Mermaid is in theaters May 26.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Sean Boelman

In the modern age of social media, we have already seen numerous films capitalize on our increasingly online personas. Don’t let the Shudder release of Kurtis David Harder’s Influencer fool you — this isn’t really a horror movie, but rather, a thriller that tries (and only sometimes succeeds at) challenging our preconceived notions of social media personalities.

The film follows a social media influencer who, while beginning to grow disillusioned on a solo backpacking trip in Thailand, meets a free-spirited young woman who seems to encourage her to live her best life. However, it soon becomes clear that the apparently kind stranger might have more sinister intentions than it seems.

The first thirty minutes of the movie set up what seems like it will be a relatively traditional stalker thriller, albeit with an angle that is fundamentally modern. It’s somewhat hard to get into this influencer spin on Fatal Attraction because the characters are, quite frankly, a nuisance — although that is part of the point.

However, around the twenty-five minute mark, there is a twist that takes the film in a radically different direction from where it seemed to be heading in the first act. Although the delayed title card isn’t entirely earned, the second half of the movie is infinitely more compelling than the relatively weak setup.

​Unfortunately, the film fails to use its intriguing premise to deliver much in the way of meaningful commentary on its themes. The movie’s themes are pretty standard questions about the price of fame, and the only substantial statement it offers as an answer is that once one gets a taste of it, it can be difficult to let it go.

The film is absolutely elevated by a strong performance by Cassandra Naud, who is wonderfully sinister. Emily Tennant, Sara Canning, and Rory J. Saper are all exaggeratedly awful as the influencers, but Naud consistently steals the show. Naud opts for a grounded take on the role when she easily could have gone hammy.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the movie is that director Kurtis David Harder doesn’t succeed at building suspense. We’re not necessarily rooting for Naud’s character — but we aren’t rooting against her either. The result is a feeling that we are watching this situation voyeuristically, and it feels somewhat cold.

Influencer is a pretty intriguing film, and while it’s a struggle to get through a somewhat obnoxious setup, the back half is rewarding in a way that makes it worth watching. Hopefully Cassandra Naud gets more substantial roles after this, because she is pretty phenomenal here.

Influencer streams on Shudder beginning May 26.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Joseph Fayed

European cinema tends to be very upfront with their openness towards erotica. The same can be applied to Europe in general, and it's why the erotic thriller genre is so much more common overseas. The few American attempts worth acknowledging don't seem to leverage the balance between lust and control very well. The new film Sanctuary tries to bridge that gap with a focus on more than just promiscuity. 

The film follows Hal, a hotel heir who wants to end his longstanding relationship with his dominatrix, Rebecca. Hal breaks the news during one of their sessions. The two struggle to end things their own way for the first time since they met. Ulterior motives to their relationship are unearthed as the two realize neither of them will leave the other without being unscathed. 

Many viewers may be surprised to discover that the film has very few sex scenes, and none of them are very explicit. That may hinder one's arousal, but the leads still have more to do than just each other. As the only two characters, Hal and Rebecca have our full attention. Their dominance they each think they have gained over each other is established early on. It just isn't seen through an opening montage of steamy sex scenes. But that doesn't mean there is a delay in finding out what arouses Hal or Rebecca and how it's acted upon. 

Christopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley make their characters and their egos come to life. All around their performances is depicted what clients and sex workers usually experience: dread. That doesn't make the film anti-sex work, but it does mean that the tension that develops between the two of them quickly spirals out of control inside the penthouse suite. Ending a longstanding business relationship is never straightforward, even if it involves foreplay. Both Hal and Rebecca are uptight people despite their different class upbringings. Their characterization makes that very apparent, and it doesn't stem from any sexual desires. 

Sanctuary shows us how two adults may react when sex no longer becomes gratifying. The best part about the film is that it presents sex for what it ultimately is: a two-way street. We learn what the two gave up to reach this point, without diving too far into either of their pasts at the expense of the other protagonist. It becomes more of a thriller with less erotic elements, and manages to reach a satisfying conclusion for the back and forth nature of this cat and mouse game. What's sexier than that? Not Margaret Qualley's blonde wig, that's for sure. 

Sanctuary is now playing in theaters.

Rating: 4/5​

Review by Cole Groth

As distrust in the police rapidly grows, documentaries about the failures of the people we’re supposed to trust are becoming more critical than ever before. Victim/Suspect, Netflix’s latest documentary, shows how false reports of rape — which are so actively broadcast throughout the nation — are frequently the result of rampant abuse by police officers. It’s a film that will make your blood boil, and although it sometimes misses its own point, audiences of all kinds would do well to educate themselves by watching this.

Victim/Suspect is led by reporter Rae de Leon, who is seeking to uncover the truth of why many women who were raped and went to the police about it were instead arrested for making false accusations. Her journey starts with Emma Mannion, a woman berated by Investigator Jared Akridge into recanting her case.

Jared Akridge is one of the many despicable police officers responsible for ruining women’s lives. Throughout the documentary, we’re painted a picture of the rampant abuse police officers take and how they so frequently let the accused rapists off. We’re also shown many people who help these women when they have no other options.

One of the most significant issues with this documentary is that it dramatizes the investigative process too heavily. There are moments when de Leon makes the film more about her journey than the women’s. I can’t blame deLeon, for her story took years of her attention to uncover, but it sometimes distracts from the overall story. As a piece of investigative media, there are times when the documentary doesn’t go deep enough or force the audience to ask tough questions. It could be much more of an indictment than it chooses to be.

At one point, de Leon gets a very fortunate interview with Detective Walberto Cotto Jr. Like Akridge, his abuses of power are exposed throughout the documentary. Unlike Akridge, however, he’s foolish enough to give an interview. He’s grilled on his failures as a police officer, and his conversation with de Leon reveals that although he went after the woman who accused another man of assault, he overlooked that he was accused of another assault just a month prior. His mix of confusion and fluster is a fantastic moment of entertainment and shows top-notch reporting skills from de Leon.

Victim/Suspect shines when it reveals the uncomfortable truths of sexual assault survivors. The most tragic story is that of University of Alabama student Megan Rondini, who took her life after being charged with false reporting of sexual assault. The documentary powerfully showcases the combination of incompetence, aggression, and laziness that many police officers show to victims of assault and can hopefully shift the conversation in the right direction.

Make no mistake — this documentary is not easy viewing. It is, however, a powerful combination of important storytelling and gripping narrative focus. Change needs to be made in the accountability of police officers, and films like this must put a blazing focus on many of the specific people involved. Officers like Jared Akridge and Walbert Cotto Jr. are just two cogs in a machine of injustice. They will hopefully face consequences for their actions after the publication of their cases.

Victim/Suspect releases on Netflix on May 23.

Rating: 4/5