With his new film “The Cut”, director Sean Ellis takes what could have been yet another prototypical boxing movie and turns it into a searing psychological drama. To be sure, this is no underdog story about a determined boxer returning to his former glory by winning the big fight in the end. Instead, Ellis is more interested in the underbelly of the boxing world and the disturbing lengths some go to get their shot in the ring.

While Ellis’ (mostly) crisp direction does wonders with screenwriter Justin Bull’s story, it’s Orlando Bloom’s intensely transformative lead turn that makes the movie hum. Actors undergoing dramatic physical changes for a unique role is nothing new. But Bloom’s performance goes beyond his mere appearance. He pours himself into depicting not only the physical, but the psychological torment his character endures. It’s some of the best work of his career.

On another wavelength but equally terrific is Caitríona Balfe, playing in her first big screen role since being criminally snubbed for “Belfast”. In many ways her character serves as the film’s conscience, and Balfe channels it through an emotionally textured performance that’s full of grit, compassion, and conflict. Then there is the always compelling John Turturro, delivering one of the year’s vilest villains. The trio take us on a merciless journey to some unexpected depths.

Bloom’s character goes unnamed and is referred to as “the Boxer”. He had a good professional career before a crushing loss drove him to retire. But that was 10 years ago. Now he runs a gym in Ireland with his long-time trainer and girlfriend Caitlin (Balfe). Neither fully reached their vastly different yet equally passionate individual boxing dreams. But together they’ve found their happy niche. At least so Caitlin believes.

Things take their first turn after the boxer is approached by a rather ruthless promoter named Donny (Gary Beadle). He has a high profile championship title fight set up in Las Vegas. But his challenger died after a celebrity match/publicity stunt with a popular YouTuber. Donny needs a replacement fast so he reaches out to the boxer who accepts despite no longer being a competitive fighter. The boxer’s one condition – Caitlin comes along as his trainer. She agrees against her better judgement.

All of that is setup for the story’s darker turn. The boxer and Caitlin are flown out to Vegas where he is told he has to lose 26 pounds in six days in order to make the official super welterweight weigh-in. It will require a grueling weight loss regimen. But when he fails to see the results he needs, Donny brings in Boz (Turturro), a cold and pitiless trainer who only cares about his reputation and the money he makes

The conflicts grow intense between Caitlin and Boz, with one looking after the man she loves and the other only seeing a piece of meat that will make him money. Soon the boxer is caught between Caitlin’s heartfelt support and Boz’s ruthless exploitation. But an even nastier conflict boils within the boxer himself, whose self-destructive obsession not only threatens his relationships with those he loves, but puts him on the brink of physical and emotional collapse.

Again, don’t go into “The Cut” anticipating that big celebratory moment of triumph where the winner is hoisted up in the center of the ring as the crowd roars and the music swells. Ellis avoids all of that, keeping his focus firmly on his characters and their interpersonal journeys. Not everything gels as intended. There are some well-meaning flashbacks that never quite click and dark visual touches in the final act that don’t have the desired impact. But the film’s gripping intensity and vicious psychological edge combined with its fierce pitting of humanity vs. inhumanity makes this dark and harrowing character study/cautionary tale stick with you.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

As its title so openly reveals, “Clown in a Cornfield” features two things that have held prominent spots in horror movies for decades – clowns and cornfields. The film comes from director Eli Craig who first made a splash with his hilarious 2010 horror-comedy “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil”. While it’s certainly absurd, his latest isn’t nearly as self-aware or as bonkers as his debut. And that’s a big reason “Clown in a Cornfield” frustratingly falls short.

“Clown in a Cornfield” is based on Adam Cesare’s 2020 young adult novel of the same name. After a rather meaningless prologue, the story (written for the screen by Craig and Carter Blanchard) introduces us to 17-year-old Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father, Glenn (Aaron Abrams). The two have just moved to the small country town of Kettle Springs, Missouri looking for a new start following a family tragedy.

Quinn’s relationship with her father follows a blueprint that we often see in modern movies. Of course there is a disconnect between them which Craig does a good job tempering. But she’s often portrayed as brighter, more sensitive, and the one most in touch with their reality. To no surprise all of that goes out the window once she falls in with a group of pampered upperclassmen from her high school. None of the five teens stand out with the slight exception of Cole (Carson MacCormac) who immediately catches Quinn’s eye.

Most of the adults around town see Quinn’s new friends as troublemakers. And Cole certainly doesn’t leave the best first impression with her father. But Quinn enjoys hanging out with them and learns a lot about the town’s history in the process. She learns that Kettle Springs was once prosperous thanks to the thriving Baypen corn syrup factory. But the factory was forced to shut down after a fire that many believe was started by the partying teens.

Adding to their friction with the townsfolk, the group runs around the county filming slasher vignettes for their YouTube channel, often using the old factory and its mascot, Friendo the clown. But as you can probably guess, their horror movie fiction turns to reality when an actual killer in a Friendo costume begins disposing of the young fodder in a variety of gruesomely violent ways. The kills are among the film’s strengths. They’re impressively creative and wonderfully realized through mostly practical effects.

Unfortunately the characters and some of the story choices aren’t as effective. While her friends and most of the people around town leave little impression, Quinn herself is a frustrating character. At times she seems noticeably smarter and more complex than most slasher movie protagonists. But she routinely undermines that notion with her boneheaded decisions and hare-brained actions. As a result, we go from rooting for her to not even caring.

The further you get into its story the more you pick up on the countless small town stereotypes. In fact, the film is almost snooty in its use of rural America cliches. It all feeds into a clunky final act where the movie tries to present something resembling a theme. It ends up being a messy mix of intentional and unintentional laughs, where neither the town’s small-minded adults or its (supposedly) more enlightened youth are believable enough for its message to hit home.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Director Martin Campbell has had a rocky go of it following his extraordinary 2006 James Bond gem “Casino Royale”. Since then he has helmed one notoriously bad superhero movie and five mostly forgettable action thrillers. His latest film is called “Cleaner” and unfortunately it’s yet another action thriller that doesn’t do much to change course.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to categorize “Cleaner” as another “Die Hard” knock-off. In fact it fits the description closer than many. It has a skyscraper, terrorists, hostages, and an out-of-place protagonist who is forced to take action. Of course we know as Oscar Wilde first uttered, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. But a movie needs to add some flavor of its own to make it stand out. And that’s something “Cleaner” struggles mightily to do.

In a somewhat strange bit of casting, Daisy Ridley plays Joey Locke, a dishonorably discharged former soldier who now works cleaning and servicing windows on a state-of-the-art London skyscraper. While on her way to work, Joey gets a call that her autistic brother Michael (Matthew Tuck) is being kicked out of his ninth care facility, this time for hacking into their computers.

With nowhere to leave Michael, Joey takes him with her to work at the ultramodern Agnian Tower, home of Agnian Energy which is ran by two egotistical and corrupt brothers, Geoffrey Milton (Rufus Jones) and Gerald Milton (Lee Boardman). Unfortunately for Joey and Michael, she picked a really bad day to take her brother to work.

As the Milton brothers host a swanky gala on one of the building’s top floors, the party is interrupted by armed radical ecoterrorists calling themselves Earth Revolution. The group’s leader, Marcus Blake (Clive Owen) is an idealist intent on exposing Agnian’s host of crimes including killing ecosystems with illegal dumping and permanently silencing opposing voices. Among Marcus’ squad is the unhinged Noah (Taz Skylar) who believes violence is a much better way of making their point. It doesn’t take long before the tension between the two reaches its boiling point.

To no surprise violence erupts, hostages are taken, threats are issued, and the police gather at the scene under the lead of Superintendent Claire Hume (Ruth Gemmell). Meanwhile trapped high above on a window cleaning cradle is Joey, desperately trying to make her way inside to save the wandering Michael. In true John McClane fashion, Joey becomes a thorn in the terrorists side although not an especially convincing one.

Written by the trio of Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton, the not-so-original story plays out to a chorus of clichés and rehashed plot points. It’s also riddled with hilariously hokey dialogue and some unintentionally outrageous scenes (my favorite may be Joey hanging by her fingertips onto the exterior of a skyscraper some 1,000 feet in the sky while casually carrying on a phone conversation about her past).

Ridley deserves credit for putting every ounce of herself into her role. And it’s great seeing Clive Owen back on the big screen for the first time in years. Sadly she can’t shake the sense of being miscast and he doesn’t get near enough screen time. But in reality the movie’s issues run deeper and they’re considerably harder to overlook. It’s silly, short on much-needed thrills, and a rehash of other movies that simply did it better. “Cleaner” releases in theaters February 21st.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Talk about conflicted! That’s how I found myself when forming expectations for “Captain America: Brave New World”. On one hand, Steve Rogers was my favorite Marvel superhero as a kid. And the three previous Captain America films have been among my very favorite movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On the other hand, Steve Rogers is now gone from the MCU. And while I like the Falcon character, his messy streaming series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” didn’t start Sam’s journey as the new Cap on the right foot.

“Captain America: Brave New World” is the 35th movie in the MCU and follows on the heels of the Disney+ streaming series. It’s helmed by Julius Onah (“The Cloverfield Paradox”) who co-wrote the screenplay with the team of Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, and Peter Glanz. While my hopes were it would fall somewhere closer to the three Cap films, in many ways “Brave New World” feels like an extension of the series which isn’t the biggest compliment.

But in fairness, “Brave New World” is considerably better than its streaming predecessor. It makes an effort to maintain the more grounded and realistic vibe of the other Cap films in both its storytelling and filmmaking. And it plays on a much bigger scope and scale than the series. Yet there’s something missing from the very start. And no matter how hard it tries, “Brave New World” can’t capture what made the earlier features special.

Anthony Mackie reprises his role as Sam Wilson, formerly known as Falcon and the best friend of the now retired Steve Rogers. After being passed the shield, he stands as the new Captain America. By his side is his pal Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who has essentially taken the mantle of Falcon for no bigger reason than to give Sam a sidekick similar to what he was to Steve in the previous MCU movies.

The story opens in Mexico where Sam and Joaquin stops an illegal black market sell of Adamantium (yep, the metal alloy that makeup Wolverine’s skeleton and claws). As a reward for his good work, Sam takes Joaquin to Baltimore to meet and train with the legendary Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a former super soldier and mentor to Sam.

Meanwhile President-elect Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford taking over for the late William Hurt) is working hard to convince the American people that he is a changed man following the events of 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”. Clearly enough people believed he had changed to vote for him. But some remain unconvinced, including his estranged daughter Betty (previously played by Liv Tyler) who hasn’t spoken to him in years.

Ross believes his success hinges on a proposed treaty between the United States and other countries over control of the recently discovered Adamantium. He invites Sam, Joaquin, and Isaiah to the White House as envoys while he addresses the leaders of the other nations about the importance of the treaty. But suddenly Isaiah and four other men pull weapons and attempt to kill President Ross. The assassination attempt is thwarted and a disoriented and confused Isaiah is arrested.

From there things escalate at a near comical rate. A determined Sam sets out to get to the bottom of what happened starting with exonerating Isaiah. His investigation immediately puts him at odds with Ross. But we quickly learn that someone else is pulling the strings. And both Sam and Ross are important parts of this secret puppet master’s grand plan. As it plays out, politics, espionage, grand conspiracies, and geopolitical tensions all play into the story but not always in a coherent or logical way.

As for the characters, Sam and Ross are the only ones who leave an impression. Joaquin is fine but is mostly a tag-along. Isaiah is easily the most emotionally involving but only has a small part. The always great Giancarlo Esposito is wasted as the villainous yet poorly developed Sidewinder who’s basically just a cog that the story needs on occasions. Shira Haas is unable to make the President’s Chief of Security Ruth Bat-Seraph anything more than a one-note Black Widow knock-off. And Tim Blake Nelson appears in one of the more compelling roles yet one restricted by some shaky material.

“Brave New World” has plenty of serviceable action though nothing that will get your blood pumping. And its set pieces are decent but hardly what you would call inspired. As far as Mackie, he certainly gives it his all. But despite having the physicality and commitment, he can’t quite carry the movie in the way it needs him to. It all leads to a glaringly average MCU installment that does nothing to bring back the big event feel that every MCU movie once had. “Captain America: “Brave New World” opens in theaters February 14th.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

This is not your ordinary Christmas movie. “Carry-On” is a surprise end-of-the-year action thriller from Netflix that’s sure to add some spice to your holiday season viewing. The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who is probably known best for his past collaborations with Liam Neeson and Dwayne Johnson. With “Carry-On” he and screenwriter T.J. Fixman put together a no-nonsense throwback genre movie with clear “Die-Hard” inspiration.

“Carry-On” kicks off on Christmas Eve as a shadowy man meets with two members of the Russian mafia at a Christmas tree lot. The man, whose name is never revealed, quickly offs the two mobsters and leaves with a mysterious suitcase. The man (who I’ll refer to as the Antagonist) is played by Jason Bateman who is marvelously working against his usual comic type. It’s a rock-solid performance.

Elsewhere we’re introduced to a young couple, Ethan (Taron Egerton) and Nora (Sofia Carson). Both work at Los Angeles International Airport – he as a TSA agent and she as an airlines operations manager. They’ve also found out Nora is pregnant with their first child which has Ethan a little antsy. He’s been frustrated since being rejected by the police academy. Since then he has spent three years in an entry level position with the TSA and showing no incentive to move up.

With reality setting in, Ethan convinces his supervisor (Dean Morris) to give him a chance to earn a promotion. He’s tasked with monitoring one of the baggage scanners where someone leaves an earbud in one of his trays. Through it he’s contacted by the Antagonist who orders Ethan to allow a certain piece of carry-on luggage to pass through the scanner otherwise Nora will be killed. Ethan tries to outsmart the Antagonist but quickly leans he is always one step behind.

Meanwhile, LAPD detective Elena Cole (the always welcomed Danielle Deadwyler) traces the murder of the two Russian mobsters to a potent nerve agent. Her investigation eventually leads her to LAX where she becomes yet another player in Collet-Serra’s high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. From there it’s all about moving his players from point to point while keeping the audience guessing about how things are going to play out. “Carry-On” certainly succeeds in doing that.

It’s hard to make the case that “Carry-On” breaks new ground in the action-thriller genre. But as I’ve preached before, not every movie needs to. There’s always room for well-written, well-directed, and well-acted features that know exactly what kind of movie they want to be. That’s precisely what “Carry-On” is. And cheers to Jaume Collet-Serra for knowing what he wanted to make and sticking by those convictions. His movie benefits from it and so do we. “Carry-On” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 4 STARS