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

I was sold on seeing “Conclave” just by the sheer force of its cast. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini instantly put the film on my radar. But for me the biggest draw was Edward Berger, the director, co-writer, and producer of the 2022 Academy Award-winning masterpiece “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Whatever the acclaimed filmmaker delivered as his next feature would be an instant must-see.

“Conclave” is an absorbing thriller that’s fueled by powerhouse performances and driven by a filmmaker who maintains an assured grip until he loses it in the final ten minutes. The film is a mostly captivating experience, frustrated only by a curveball ending so out of left field that it derails the near perfection that came before it. It’s a wild final swing that is little more than an eleventh-hour plot device, desperately aiming to be provocative, but too underdeveloped to be anything other than outrageous.

“Conclave” is based on the 2016 international best-selling novel of the same name by Robert Harris. For the majority of its time, screenwriter Peter Straughan’s adaptation plays like a high-stakes political thriller. It’s cloaked in mystery with several big reveals, some unexpected twists, and a lingering sense of paranoia. You can’t help but be sucked in by this ecclesiastical potboiler set within the hallowed halls of the Vatican.

The movie opens with Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) arriving at the Vatican after getting word the pope has suddenly died. After carrying out the ceremonial rites, the throne is officially declared vacant. From there, Father Lawrence is tasked with overseeing the papal conclave – a gathering in Rome of Cardinals from around the world for the purpose of electing a new pope.

From the first moment we meet him it’s obvious that Cardinal Lawrence isn’t thrilled with his responsibility. We learn he has recently struggled with a crisis of faith leading to his desire to resign from his position and leave Rome. At the same time, he also proves himself to be the most qualified and capable person to handle such a significant task. Fiennes commands the screen yet works with a necessary restraint. His weary eyes and burdened gaze gives us a good look into his tired and troubled soul.

Soon after the cardinals are sequestered and the process begins, four frontrunners arise. There’s Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a staunch liberal pretending to be uninterested but with a clear desire for the papacy; Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a conservative caricature with hardline views that some feel would set the church back decades; Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), a Nigerian archbishop who quickly emerges as the favorite; and Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), a politically savvy American bishop whose every action is driven by his ambition to be the next pontiff.

After none receive the required two-thirds majority, a second vote is held followed by a third and a fourth. Tensions rise as the candidates posture for position, use internal politics to their advantage, and in some cases resort to underhanded tactics to compromise their competition. Caught in the middle is Cardinal Lawrence who must navigate the accusations and potential scandals to ensure the integrity of the process. And what’s with the arrival of Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), the archbishop of Kabul who was secretly appointed by the late pontiff?

Berger goes to great lengths to make his film look as authentic as possible, recreating with painstaking detail everything from the Vatican’s ornate interiors to the vibrant priestly regalia. Meanwhile Stéphane Fontaine’s cinematography and Volker Bertelmann’s score add think layers of tension as the story progresses. And it all builds our anticipation for what should be a rich and juicy finish. But instead “Conclave” ends with a whimper, throwing in a last-second twist that’s given no buildup and has no notable narrative or dramatic connection to anything that preceded it.

For 110 minutes “Conclave” is hands-down one of the year’s best movies. Unfortunately its final 10 minutes turns it into one of the year’s most frustrating misfires. The ensemble is top-notch, the production design is stellar, the behind the scenes wrangling is riveting, and Berger’s direction is methodical and propulsive. It makes the film’s unraveling all the more discouraging. Rather than ending with a bang, “Conclave” is given a lazy, patronizing finish built more on sanctimonious intentions than good moviemaking judgements.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS