If the idea of a Stone Age survival horror thriller sounds up your alley you won’t want to miss “Out of Darkness”. This moody and tension-soaked feature from director Andrew Cumming had its world premiere two years ago at the BFI London Film Festival. This past year the film received five nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and this week it’s set for its North American release via Bleecker Street.

Written by Cumming and Ruth Greenberg, “Out of Darkness” tells a dark and gritty tale that fully immerses us in its prehistoric setting. Set 45,000 years ago, the story follows a group of six early people searching of the proverbial promised land but finding themselves fighting for their lives instead. On its surface there is a simplicity to the story, yet it remains gripping throughout thanks to the provocative themes at its core and Cumming’s brilliant visual storytelling. More on that in a moment.

The film opens with the six arriving in a new world. The group consists of their determined leader Adem (Chuka Modu), his sickly pregnant wife Ave (Iola Evans) and their young son Heron (Luna Mwezi). There’s Adem’s loyal little brother Geirr (Kit Young), the clan’s ever skeptical elder Odal (Arno Lüning), and a “stray” named Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green). Unable to survive on their homeland, Adem has led the group across the sea to a place he claims is marked by tall mountains, fertile valleys, warm caves for shelter, and an abundance of wildlife for food.

But what they find is considerably different. On top of the incessant chilling winds, they discover the earth to be barren. Even worse there are no animals to hunt. Cold, starving, and exposed, Adem leads the desperate group across the harsh, arid land towards the distant foothills in hopes of finding shelter. But on the journey they quickly learn they’re not alone. Something lurks in the night – its bloodcurdling screeches echoing through the pitch-black darkness. And then everything turns after Heron is snatched in the night, sending the unhinged Adem on a hunt that puts everyone in danger.

As the story takes its seemingly inevitable darker turn, Cumming digs deeper into the uglier sides of human nature. His message becomes pretty obvious, but it remains compelling right through to its fitting and impactful finish. Along the way he says a lot through his characters who mirror people-types in a number of subtle but thought-provoking ways. Their actions are often motivated by a number of factors which shrewdly speak to issues that (for better or for worse) remain a part of the human DNA.

And then there is the incredible detail from the fabulous costume design to the camerawork. The way Cumming and DP Ben Fordsman use various forms of light and eerie darkness; the way they shoot the stunning yet forbidding environments (the movie was filmed in the Scottish Highlands) – it’s all crucial to the storytelling. Cumming even used the guidance of a linguist and an archaeologist to develop an entirely new spoken language specifically for the film.

Though clocking in at under 90 minutes, “Out of Darkness” packs impressive vision and craft into its lean running time. Cumming makes a number of smart choices, none better than keeping the terrifying threat a secret until the final act. Amplified by haunting visuals, tension-soaked atmosphere, some gnarly makeup/effects, and a brooding score by Adam Janota Bzowski, “Out of Darkness” is an absorbing and well-executed horror thriller set within a grim, unwelcoming, yet fascinating hellscape. And it marks the scintillating feature length debut for an exciting new filmmaker. Opening in theaters February 9th.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Mixing blaxploitation, kung fu cinema, spaghetti westerns, and at least five other genres and sub-genres, the upcoming “Outlaw Johnny Black” is a genre lover’s dream. This crazy yet undeniably delightful concoction sees director, co-producer, co-writer, and star Michael Jai White giving an open-armed embrace to films and filmmaking from a bygone era. It’s chock-full of cool callbacks and it tips its cowboy hat to everything from “A Fistful of Dollars” to “My Name is Nobody” to “Blazing Saddles”. And that only scratches the surface of White’s many inspirations.

Sporting the tagline From the Brothers Who Brought You “Black Dynamite”, White’s latest has been called a “spiritual sequel” to that 2009 cult hit. “Outlaw Johnny Black” definitely exists in the same vein and is a movie that is almost certain to throw some people for a loop – specifically those unfamiliar with the genres and tropes it is spoofing or paying homage to. But what can I say? White has made a movie that is right up my alley.

The story kicks off in earnest after one of the best opening credits scenes of the year – a retro collage of music and imagery that could have been plucked straight out of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Johnny Black (White) is a sharpshooting gunslinger out to avenge the death of his father 25 years earlier at the hands of a cold-blooded ruffian named Brett Clayton (a deliciously vile Chris Browning).

Johnny is a notorious outlaw who is constantly dodging relentless marshals and bounty hunters all across the territory (there’s a hilarious running gag involving a wanted poster that had me laughing every time). One particularly close call sends Johnny fleeing across the dry arid plains. On the verge of dying, he’s saved by Reverend Percy Fairman, Jr. (played by co-writer Byron Keith Minns) who’s on his way to Hope Springs, Oklahoma to pastor a small church and propose to a lovely young parishioner named Bessie Lee (Erica Ash).

From there let’s just say things go a little sideways. Percy is believed to be killed and Johnny finds himself in Hope Springs awkwardly posing as their new preacher. Once there, we’re introduced to an eclectic collection of entertaining characters who Johnny must schmooze in order to keep up his ruse. He also learns the town has its share of troubles, namely an oppressive land baron named Tom Shealy (Barry Bostwick) who’s after the church’s property.

You can probably guess where the movie ends up, but it’s getting to that point that is so much fun. White has a blast picking at and playing around with age-old and well-defined genre tropes. And aside from one misguided sequence that doesn’t land at all, he delivers some really funny bits in the process. Yet White doesn’t just poke fun at everything. He has a genuine affection for genre filmmaking that finds its way on screen from the opening shot to the final scene.

And again, the crazy batch of characters play a big part. They’re played by a terrific ensemble who are all in on what White is going for. Among them is the plucky and straight-shooting Jessie Lee (Anika Noni Rose), her crackpot brother Elmer (Eme Ikwuakor), the spineles Mayor Williams (Gary Anthony Williams) and the equally spineless Sheriff Yarbrough (Tony Baker), the vivacious Sister Betty (Kym Whitley), the skittish Clancy (Tommy Davidson), the dogged Bill Bassett (Randy Couture), and the ever suspicious Marshall Cove (Kevin Chapman).

Again, not every joke lands as intended and there are a couple of instances of White simply trying too hard. You could also make the case that the movie didn’t need to be over two hours long. But what can I say? I soaked up every minute – admiring the throwback craftsmanship, trying to spot the many callbacks, chuckling at the subtle and not-so-subtle humor, and enjoying the handful of cameos, especially two at the very end that had me smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. Like I said at the beginning, this movie is right up my alley. “Outlaw Johnny Black” releases in theaters on September 15th.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

In a year that is showering us with cinematic treats such as the latest Mission: Impossible movie, a new Martin Scorsese epic, and the second chapter in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” (just to name a few), no movie has had me more excited than Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”. This historical thriller is based on the 2005 biography “American Prometheus: The triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” which in normal hands could have been your prototypical biopic. But this is Christopher Nolan and there’s nothing prototypical about his work.

“Oppenheimer” is Nolan’s twelfth feature film and I can honestly say I’ve been a big fan of all eleven movies that preceded it. Even more (and at the risk of coming across as an acolyte), his last SIX movies each ended up being my favorite film of their individual years. I know how suspect that sounds. But simply put, Nolan makes movies that wow me, captivate me, and in their own ways enhance my appreciate for the art form. To no surprise Nolan has done it again with “Oppenheimer”.

Sporting an incredible vision and one of the most fascinating casts in recent history, Nolan delivers what is a staggering cinematic achievement. With extraordinary craft, masterful pacing, and a truly exquisite management of tone, Nolan tells the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of most consequential figures in world history. A theoretical physicist credited as the “father of the atomic bomb”, Oppenheimer was a brilliant but flawed man. Nolan captures all of his complexity and contradictions in this dense and layered study that plays on a massive scale.

Riveting from start to finish, “Oppenheimer” examines its titular personality by placing us inside the head of a man looking beyond the world he lives in until that very world consumes him. We watch as he is lured in by scientific innovation and the prospect of saving the world. And later we see him crumbling under the enormous weight of what he has created; torn by ethical conundrums that are only matched by the guilt of his own personal moral failings.

“Oppenheimer” is anchored by what might be the best screenplay of Nolan’s career and easily the best screenplay of the year so far. The movie is three hours long and dialogue heavy yet there’s never a dull moment. You won’t find a wasted scene or a throwaway line. Nolan is always going somewhere and strategically moving his story and the characters who inhabit it forward. It’s a textbook case of a movie earning every second of its running time.

Cillian Murphy has never been better and gives a stunning three-dimensional performance, portraying Oppenheimer at various stages in his life with spellbinding commitment. We first meet him in his early days studying at the University of Cambridge and then later at the University of Göttingen. We watch as he goes home to America determined to bring quantum physics to the States. He begins teaching at Berkeley where he meets nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence (a terrific Josh Hartnett).

Outside of science and academics, Oppenheimer has an on-and-off romance with Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh – more on her in a bit), a psychiatrist and member of the Communist Party USA. Their relationship comes back to haunt him in more ways than one. Later he weds biologist Katherine “Kitty” Puening (Emily Blunt) and they have two children together. But we see their marriage has its own share of self-inflicted challenges.

And of course Nolan takes us through Oppenheimer’s involvement with the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb in the remote makeshift town of Los Alamos, New Mexico. There, under the direction of General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), Oppenheimer assembles a crack team of scientists to build the government a weapon that can end World War II. Oppenheimer hides from the inevitable consequences of such a weapon by dwelling on the alternative. He doesn’t know if America can be trusted with a bomb. But he does know that the Nazis can’t. So he pushes forward, intent on beating Germany to the bomb while slowly coming to realize what it is they’re unleashing.

As Nolan’s intricate story unfolds we’re given flash-forwards that shine a light on Oppenheimer’s tense relationship with Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss (a sublime and awards-worthy Robert Downey Jr.). These absorbing sequences follow Strauss as he’s set to be confirmed for United States Secretary of Commerce. But they’re shrewdly interlaced with scenes showing Oppenheimer’s 1954 security hearing where he faced trumped up charges that he was a Soviet agent. Watching these two threads tie together is nothing short of captivating.

Nolan’s lone miscalculation comes with his handling of Florence Pugh’s Jean Tatlock. She’s certainly a meaningful character, especially in how the filmmaker envisions her impact on Oppenheimer’s life. But Nolan’s needlessly explicit portrayal does little more than ensure an R rating. You can count Jean’s scenes on one hand, but Nolan’s unfortunate emphasis leaves Jean (and Pugh) feeling terribly shortchanged.

Aside from that, it’s hard to do anything but praise this monumental cinematic work. The phenomenal performances top to bottom. The incredible visuals from DP Hoyte van Hoytema. Ludwig Göransson’s beguiling score. Nolan’s impeccable precision and control. It’s all seamlessly bound together in a movie of both historical importance and present day urgency. Yes, “Oppenheimer” is a compelling look at a fascinating historical figure. It also holds a mirror to our world, warning of humanity’s propensity to focus so much on the now that we rarely consider the future. That truth is captured most in the film’s sobering gut-punch final scene – a movie moment that will stay etched in my mind for a long time. “Oppenheimer” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 5 DAYS

Back in 2020 Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions came together with director Tyler Spindel and conceived “The Wrong Missy”, an atrocious David Spade led comedy in-name-only for Netflix. The two give it another whirl with “The Out-Laws”, the new action-heist comedy that manages to be an improvement over their last effort. But let’s be honest, that’s hardly a ringing endorsement.

“The Out-Laws” sees Adam DeVine playing Owen Browning, an oblivious young bank manager, as nerdy as he is naive, who’s all set to marry the girl of his dreams, Parker McDermott (Nina Dobrev). With their special day fast approaching, the couple are surprised by an email from Parker’s parents, Billy (Pierce Brosnan) and Lilly (Ellen Barkin) saying they are coming to the wedding. Parker hasn’t seen her folks in years and Owen has never met them.

Well wouldn’t you know it, shortly after Billy, Lilly, and their mammoth-sized personalities arrive Owen’s bank is robbed. All signs point to his soon-to-be in-laws being the culprits but Owen needs proof before accusing them, especially to Parker. Hijinks and numerous vain attempts at humor ensue.

It’s hard to know how much else to share because it’s not like the story offers anything fresh or even interesting. Spindel, with screenwriters Evan Turner and Ben Zazove, run with the ‘are they or aren’t they outlaws’ bit for a while before cranking up the action in the final 30 minutes. That’s when things really get silly. Through it all the jokes steadily become less and less funny while DeVine’s act quickly grows stale and irritating. Needless to say it doesn’t take long for his character to wear out his welcome.

Along the way we’re treated to a number of other characters, many played by some great faces. The always fun Michael Rooker squeezes out a few laughs playing an FBI agent investigating the bank robbery. I can’t say the same for Lil Rel Howery who is essentially playing yet another Lil Rel Howery character. Laci Mosley and Daniel Andrew Jablons have some good moments as Owen’s bank employees but they’re barely around. The only semi-reliable source of giggles is Richard Kind and Julie Hagerty as Owen’s odd-duck parents. They’re able to generate some genuine laughs and somehow make the cringiest material digestible.

“The Out-Laws” is the kind of throwaway movie that many people use to give streaming comedies a bad name. It’s generic, formulaic, and not nearly as funny as it wants to be. The writing is all over the map – funny on occasions but mostly bad. Meanwhile the performances range from decent to dreadful. All together it makes for the kind of processed time-muncher custom-made for people sitting on their couches to click on once and then never watch again. It’s not much to strive for, but if that was the goal I guess it succeeded. “The Out-Laws” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

Touting itself as “a witty homage to Tarantino and the Coen brothers”, the new crime comedy “One Day as a Lion” definitely tries to fit that image. Unfortunately it tries a little too hard – from its dialogue, to its characters, to its attempts at fusing action and comedy. Yet there’s something endearing about its efforts, even if they don’t lead to the kind of results the movie is clearly hoping for.

At a breezy 87 minutes, “One Day as a Lion” (a title that’s pulled from an old African proverb) doesn’t waste much time getting to where its going. Directed by John Schwab, the story follows an ex-boxer turned hitman named Jackie Powers (played by Scott Caan who also wrote the screenplay). Jackie is a bit of a boob and hardly the kind of guy you would entrust with an important job (can you see where this is going?).

But Jackie is also desperate. His 15-year-old son Billy (Dash Melrose) has been locked up in a juvenile detention center on a kidnapping charge and Jackie needs money for a good lawyer. His deadbeat ex-wife and Billy’s mother (Taryn Manning) is no help. So Jackie takes a debt collecting job from an old associate named Dom (George Carroll). It turns out a crusty old cowboy named Walter Boggs (a great J.K. Simmons) has ran up a $100,000 gambling debt with Dom’s boss, a gangster named Pauly Russo (Frank Grillo).

Jackie tracks Walter to a small town Oklahoma diner, but he botches the job leading him to swapping gunfire with Walter and accidentally killing the cook in the exchange. Jackie escapes, grabbing the lone witness as his hostage – a down-on-her-luck waitress Lola Brisky (Marianne Rendón). Lola is an aspiring actress who ventured off to Costa Rica to open up an acting school that’s on the verge of going belly-up. She came back to the States to secure some money, but her wealthy and ailing mother (Virginia Madsen) isn’t all that supportive.

Jackie and Lola seize the opportunity to help each other out, all while on the run from the cops and Dom who has been sent by a ticked-off Pauly to clean up the mess Jackie left behind. It’s a fairly entertaining setup and the colorful blend of characters are constantly elevating the material. Simmons is especially good and gets a lot of mileage out of what amounts to a smaller supporting role. Grillo is his usual rock-solid self. Unfortunately he’s handcuffed to some of the film’s worst dialogue which makes him sound more like a manufactured movie tough guy than a real person.

One of the biggest treats is the dryly funny Rendón who does some fun and interesting things with the cynical and disillusioned Lola. It’s a really good performance and the movie is often at its best when she’s on screen. As for her chemistry with Caan, it’s fine yet missing a spark. It all comes down to the relationship between their characters which, much like the movie itself, never quite comes to boil. It’s a little too undercooked, and it’s really hard to understand their mutual attraction which inevitably surfaces.

The film’s tonal gymnastics can be a little challenging as well. The comedy doesn’t always gel with the crime thriller elements. And the occasional bursts of pulpy violence can clash with the more heartfelt family drama. But the fleet-footed story bounces from place to place fast enough that it’s hard to think too much on its shortcomings. That makes it easy to digest. At the same time you can’t help but think how better it could have been with a little more detail and focus. “One Day as a Lion” opens tomorrow in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

You never know what to expect from a Guy Ritchie movie. He’s had a career full of ups and downs yet he’s always managed to find work, often helming major big-budget projects with varying degrees of success (2017’s “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is said to have lost Warner Bros. over $150 million while 2019’s live-action “Aladdin” grossed over $1 billion worldwide for Disney). And Ritchie seems to have no trouble drawing familiar names to his big star-studded ensembles.

Such is the case with his latest, “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre”, a Guy Ritchie movie through and through. It’s a film that features what fans like about his movies as well as what frustrates his detractors. How much mileage you get out it will probably depend on which side you fall on. I tend to be a fence-straddler when it comes to Ritchie so it’s no surprise I landed smack in the middle of this lightweight yet entertaining enough action comedy.

Co-written by the trio of Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, and Marn Davies, the story revolves around a stolen device called “The Handle”. It’s believed that a billionaire arms dealer named Greg Simmonds (a delightfully droll Hugh Grant) is set to broker a deal between the Ukrainian mobsters who stole the device and a mystery buyer. The British government tasks Nathan Jasmine (Carl Elwes) with identifying the buyer and keeping “The Handle” from getting to the open market.

Nathan calls on elite secret agent Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) who reluctantly agrees to head a covert team. Joining him is an unproven yet supremely confident tech whiz, Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza) and a super-serious sharpshooter, J.J. Davies (rapper Bugzy Malone). After learning that Simmonds is hosting a huge charity event in Cannes, the team blackmails his favorite Hollywood movie star Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) into helping them infiltrate the gala.

But of course not everything goes as smoothly as planned and in movies like this there always seems to be a fly in the ointment. For Orson and his team it’s a former agent named Mike (Peter Ferdinando) who has been hired by a rival intelligence agency to retrieve “The Handle”. He’s like a pimple that won’t go away, and he always seems one step ahead of them.

As with any good spy movie, there are some twists, turns, and revelations along the way, although not nearly as many as you might expect. In fact, much of “Operation Fortune” is pretty straightforward and it packs very few surprises. There is plenty of globe-trotting though, with stops being made in Madrid, Cannes, Antalya, Doha, and more. Some seem to be thrown in just for show. But Ritchie gets a lot out of other locations.

As far as the cast goes, they all help make this fairly tame cocktail a little tastier. As always, Statham makes for a charismatic antihero while constantly reminding us that he can genuinely act. Plaza brings her signature weirdness (and I say that as a compliment), giving the movie an offbeat kick. Hartnett is a really good tag-along goof. And a waggish Grant steals as many scenes as he chews up.

“Operation Fortune” sticks to a pretty conventional formula, and it’s obvious that Ritchie is mainly interested in making easy to consume, soft-serve entertainment. There’s nothing here you haven’t seen variations of before, and there’s even less that will stick with you after the credits roll. Ritchie seems perfectly fine with that. To his credit, he doesn’t pretend to be making something innovative or original. He’s completely honest about what he’s going for and content with how it turns out.

Still, while Ritchie’s well-worn bag of tricks keeps him (and his film) firmly planted in his comfort zone, there is fun to be had with this by-the-books spy romp. Everyone on screen seems to be having a good time which turns out to be contagious. This is essentially Guy Ritchie doing his own Bond movie. It may be light on thrills, but there’s no shortage of the filmmaker’s energy and style. We get a couple of good action scenes and a few lighthearted chuckles here and there. And while it’s not very filling, it’s well-paced, meaning we spend more time enjoying ourselves than scrutinizing the silliness of it all. “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” opens in theaters today (March 3rd).

VERDICT – 3 STARS