The Ones Below is a polished creepy-neighbor thriller that ramps up its dark intensity a little too much, resulting in a somewhat tiresome, overwhelming experience.
Four emotionally unbalanced people with raging libidos and seamy secrets collide in Luca Guadagnino’s volcanic, sumptuous A Bigger Splash. The movie takes place on the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria, a picturesque setting that reeks of original sin: a nubile coquette nibbles on green fruit and frolics nude on wet, jagged rocks; snakes slither and eavesdrop on handsome vacationers as they sip on daiquiris in a feeble attempt calm their crumbling nerves.
Kill Zone 2, retitled from the slightly less badass sounding SPL 2: A Time For Consequences, is actually a follow-up to Wilson Yip’s 2005 film Kill Zone rather than a sequel, though the frenzied, bone-breaking action of the original is kept intact and even kicked up a few notches. Directed by Cheang Pou-soi, the film is a pan-Asian noir-thriller with a body-harvesting element, a twist that’s sure to capture genre fans’ attention.
There’s something subliminally wicked about the way director Garry Marshall is meticulously smashing our national holidays to pieces, one ensemble rom-com at a time. First, it was the supremely boring Valentine’s Day; then, the slapped-together, time-wasting New Year’s Eve.
