Hollywood has spent the last decade attacking Donald Trump from every possible angle.

Save one.

What if a dyed-in-the-wool liberal met a handsome MAGA man and, gasp, felt butterflies with every glance?

“The Elephant in the Room” dares to address that question, and it’s a minefield in more ways than one. Kudos to writer/director Erik Bork for not only navigating what could have been a calamitous premise but bringing balance to the story.

Not “The View’s” four Leftists versus one GOP RINO brand of balance, mind you.

And, yeah, it’s both charming and romantic. Now, will it change those unwilling to break bread with someone on the opposite side of the political fence?

Heck, it’s only a movie… but you never know.

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Leah (a sparky Alyssa Limperis) is nursing a broken heart and trying to connect with her dour gay roommate Martin (Dominic Burgess).

We’re already in uncharted territory, given Martin’s unusual mien. Hollywood’s de facto stereotyping would have Martin cracking wise and dropping hot takes.

“I’m not sassy and I won’t call you ‘girlfriend,'” he warns her in his Eeyore drawl.

Her malaise lifts, courtesy of a Grub Hub-style delivery man.

Vincent (Sean Kleier) got her order wrong, but she has a hard time getting mad at him. He’s easy on the eyes, gracious and funny, and there’s instant chemistry at play.

They flirt via text and finally meet, but the story is set in early 2021, so politics can’t help but invade the date:

  • Stolen election!
  • Rigged voting booths!
  • A planned Jan. 6 rally will install Trump as our forever president!

When Vincent admits he voted for Trump … twice, Leah is crestfallen. She’s a Rachel Maddow fan and can’t date a man who doesn’t click on every HuffPo update.

So why does she keep seeing him?

“Elephant” would feel heavy in almost any period save our current one. The issues in play are real, not imaginary, and Bork’s script treats them with the respect they deserve. 

If anything, Leah comes off as judgmental, but there’s a kindness to her that cuts through that pose. Credit a savvy script and Limperis’s winning performance. The character requires both to thrive.

Movies that tackle political debates routinely short-change conservatives. The liberal will uncork a smart, well-organized defense while the Republican spits out stale talking points.

It’s rarely, if ever, a fair fight.

“The Elephant in the Room” is different. Vincent defends his positions well. He’s neither a conspiracy monger nor ill-informed. And, in a reflection of many Left/Right debates, he’s more liberal in the traditional sense when dealing with people who don’t hold his views.

The screenplay softens Vincent’s MAGA bona fides, a sop to audiences who wouldn’t accept an “election denier” as a leading man. That’s fine.

And, to be fair, Leah isn’t the kind to post a screechy TikTok selfie that gains traction on the Right. She’s still too smug by half, but no one’s perfect.

“Elephant” could be funnier, but it never strains for a laugh or sets the characters up for a cheap fall. It’s respectful, but not dull, and even the final moments avoid bow-tying conveniences.

Vincent’s Trumpy grandma (Sandra Ellis Lafferty) comes close to the crude MAGA stereotype we expect from a feature film. She’s granted some humanity and texture, and Lafferty plays the part with a delicate touch. Her bond with Vincent is natural and sweet, even during a subplot that could alienate some viewers.

Rom-coms have suffered in recent years, partly due to extreme artifice. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” anyone?

“The Elephant in the Room” is real. Too real, to be honest, but sometimes that’s where the best love connections begin.

HiT or Miss: “The Elephant in the Room” is a minor miracle, a politically-charged rom-com with brains and balance.

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Samuel Van Grinsven’s “Went Up the Hill” is a ghost story and psychological drama that meditates on grief.

It works best as the latter and hardly at all as the former.

In a gorgeous, remote location, full of mountains and vast, empty spaces (the stunning setting is in New Zealand), a funeral is taking place. We meet the deceased’s wife, Jill (Vicky Krieps) and Jack (Dacre Montgomery), the son who was left behind and shows up unexpectedly.

After the service, Jack and Jill learn how much they have in common, their lives defined by the one who died. Their relationship becomes emotionally and physically intimate, though with a bizarre step beyond that – whenever they sleep, the soul of the departed possesses them and they’re able to have conversations with the dead.

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Van Grinsven gives us a brooding, quiet start that never lets up, giving us the kind of pin-drop chamber piece that feels like the works of Ingmar Bergman. Yet, Bergman pulled us in with character insights, shocking moments of physical/verbal violence and human connections, in addition to the dream-like atmosphere.

Here, the setting is the most compelling component.

Another likely inspiration is Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940), but minus Hitchcock’s visual wit and verisimilitude as a film artist. To put it another way – here is another movie about grieving and struggling to reconcile who you are, your identity, while trying to comprehend someone who seems just as present after death.

As a meditation on grief, “Went Up a Hill” is sincere but not insightful or novel. Taken as a supernatural drama, it’s slow and obvious.

The exquisite cinematography is by Tyson Perkins, who captures otherworldly vistas and creates striking, beautiful compositions. There is a painterly precision to the filmmaking. The visual beauty is the film’s greatest asset, particularly during all the exterior shots.

On the other hand, Hanan Tonwnsend’s ambient soundtrack is the kind of score that sounds like either a death wail or whale songs. Far more effective is the sound design, with crackling ice under the surface sounds of the chilly wilderness.

“Went Up the Hill” is intended as an exploration of what death does to the living and those who feel left behind when the departed leaves us with agonizing, unresolved questions.

This is basically a two-hander, with two excellent performances carrying this morose, slow-building drama. The result is interesting to think about afterwards, but it never pulled me in. It’s the kind of film where I’d prefer to hear why the director made it more than sitting through it again.

Van Grinsven’s film leaves such a frosty impression, I couldn’t even connect with its very-belated attempts at uplift. The ending works better as a metaphor than a proper climax, though the film as a whole functions the same way.

For a story with the tenacity to portray the invisible presence of ghosts and their ability to possess the living, what I’ll remember most are scenes of mental anguish and surviving a frozen lake over anything else.

There is poetry in the visuals and an admirable attempt to explore the pain left behind by someone who is somehow more present in death. I admire how the film is a chamber piece, but despite those strong qualities, I was all too aware of the methodical approach, and never lost myself in the film or felt anything beyond mild fascination while watching it.

The film’s classy look and presentation are impressive, though they are ultimately stronger than the film’s goals of facing mortality by accepting who we are.

Actually, if this is what catharsis looks like, the movie is enough to sway anyone from ever attending a funeral again.

Two Stars

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Spike Lee has seen too many movies.

How else to explain “Highest 2 Lowest,” a farcical thriller where nearly every twist feels like it was cribbed from a lesser film. Shouldn’t Lee know better?

Even worse, he doesn’t know what to do with one of our greatest living actors. Yes, Lee and Denzel Washington made magic in the past, but the actor’s role here never makes sense.

Not in the beginning, middle or end of the film. That’s movie magic in reverse.

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Washington stars as David King, a music mogul struggling through a professional crisis. Should he sell his company and cash out after some lean years? Or could he reinvest in Stackin’ Hits Records and prove he’s not a one-career wonder?

That decision gets shelved when his teenage son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) is kidnapped. The crooks want some of Daddy’s millions to set him free. A lot of his millions, to be precise.

David will do anything to save his son, but what happens when the kidnapping crisis changes, and it’s no longer his son who needs saving? The film’s moral compass starts to spin, and now the father in crisis is David’s chauffeur and longtime friend Paul (Jeffrey Wright). 

The screenplay, credited to Alan Fox but bearing all the hallmarks of Lee’s worldview, drops plenty of exposition in the first half hour. What it doesn’t offer is psychological depth, the kind a movie like this demands.

Washington makes David King both arrogant and conflicted, his mannerisms suggesting a rough and tumble past smoothed over by decades of extreme wealth. But who is this David King? The screenplay isn’t sure, leaving Washington to occasionally overact to sell the performance.

It’s one of his weaker efforts, full stop.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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“Highest 2 Lowest” is a Spike Lee Joint through and through. The film peddles black empowerment at a near-constant clip, from a fawning image of Kamala Harris prominently featured in one scene to lingering close-ups of black art decorating David’s home.

It doesn’t end there, and when Lee isn’t selling cultural cues, he’s admiring the Big Apple.

“Highest 2 Lowest” rivals peak Woody Allen in its adoration of all things New York City. Puerto Rican culture. Sparkling skyscrapers. Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. It plays out as endlessly self-indulgent, more signs of Lee signaling his interests rather than building an airtight story.

(Personal aside: This critic was born in The Bronx, adores the Yankees and grew up on Long Island, and I found it suffocating)

Lee’s film, a loose update on Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low,” attempts some crude social commentary in between kidnapping updates. Think fears of being “canceled” and brand protection in the digital age, along with a swipe at A.I. None of it is compelling or nuanced, nor does it raise the stakes of the key storylines.

The film’s third act is a mess, including a confrontation that’s as head-slapping dumb as any horror movie cliche. 

A true bright spot is an extended appearance by rapper A$AP Rocky, playing a musician who admires David King’s rise to fame. Lee channels the rapper’s energy to perfection, giving the film an undeniable pulse. The cinematography is also a plus, including an opening montage of Manhattan visuals that is both obvious and exhilarating.

Lee also stages a key kidnapping sequence with the skills he’s sharpened over the years. What a shame that it makes little sense and is repeatedly interrupted by Lee’s New York fetishizing.

Love New York all you want, but make it organic to the story. Please.

The rest? “Highest 2 Lowest” feels artificial from start to finish, a movie made by someone disconnected from the real world. Fame can do that to an artist, even an Oscar winner like Lee. The proof stains every frame of “Highest 2 Lowest.”

HiT or Miss: Spike Lee movies are never dull. Sadly, they’re often not very good, either. “Highest 2 Lowest” falls into the latter category.

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Nobody needed a vacation more than Hutch Mansell.

The unlikely hero of 2021’s “Nobody” is back, and this time he’s taking his family to an old-school water park.

Except he can’t help doing a little “work” on the side.

“Nobody 2” understands why the first film defied expectations, even if it lacks that movie’s element of surprise. What’s left? More bone-crunching action, a ripe sense of humor and the feeling that this franchise could overlap the “John Wick” saga without anyone batting an eye.

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Bob Odenkirk returns as Hutch, the assassin next door whose double life is an open secret on the home front. That means his frustrated wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) puts up with him being late for dinner – a lot – and his kids know that Daddy has a temper.

Hutch’s work-life balance is more brutal than most parents, so he shleps the family to the water park where he once spent some glorious days as a lad.

Let’s make memories, gang!

Too bad the town in question is under the thumb of a corrupt lawman (Colin Hanks, cast effectively against type) and a shadowy figure known as Lendina (Sharon Stone, gobbling scenery with elan). It doesn’t take long for Hutch to fall back on his pugilistic ways.

There will be blood, and much of it will be Hutch’s.

Can he save the town from Lendina’s clutches while making sure his family gets the vacation memories they deserve? Who knew Hutch had an inner Clark Griswold?

“Nobody 2” brings back Grandpa (the great Christopher Lloyd), though you’ll wish he appeared in more scenes than he does. We also reunite with Hutch’s adopted brother Harry (RZA), adding some context to the main character’s background.

Never mind the plot puzzle pieces. We’re here for tooth-loosening punches, delivered by an Everyman who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit,” let alone “stay down.” Odenkirk remains one of Hollywood’s most unlikely action heroes, but he once again pulls off those dual duties with aplomb.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The story packs plenty of plot holes, but it retains a cartoon-like quality that makes them mostly forgivable. Mostly.

We’re meant to look past the fact that our lovable hero is a paid killer who can’t stop putting his family in harm’s way. And when Becca warns he’s setting a bad example for his teen son Brady (Gage Monroe), Grandpa lets Hutch off the hook far too easily.

Director Timo Tjahjanto takes over for Ilya Naishuller, capturing the latter’s organized sense of mayhem. The visuals pop, and Hutch’s knack for making a weapon out of anything within reach remains a treat.

Tjahjanto can’t match the giddy nihilism of the first film’s bus brawl, but he makes Hutch battle a group of hoodlums in an elevator for good measure.

Take a step back from the carnage.

This is formula storytelling at its most professional. The action sequences pop. The wink-wink lines land. Odenkirk delivers the kind of performance that unites the two films, suggesting more stories are in play, depending on box office receipts.

And audiences get a 90-minute romp devoid of pretension and gravitas. That’s a vacation many moviegoers can’t resist. Nor should they.

HiT or Miss: “Nobody 2” is a perfectly good sequel. It can’t measure up to the original, but it knows exactly why we rallied behind the first film.

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Robert Longo’s “Johnny Mnemonic” (1995) was considered an outright disaster upon its summer of 1995 release.

Now, it’s something of a cult favorite, not only because its new black and white version is preferred among its fanbase but because it has yet another Keanu Reeves performance that has aged far better than expected.

That’s not to say the movie is good, only that the entertainment value and an appreciation of Reeves’ most infamous scene (I’ll get to that shortly), have increased over time.

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Reeves is so robotic as the title character, it comes as a surprise when we learn he isn’t playing a robot or android. Johnny is a high-tech courier in a futuristic world of 2021 where, rather than send something via e-mail on the internet (concepts the film seems aware of but doesn’t fully broach), he inserts information into his brain, which serves as a hard drive.

What happens to all the other memories he holds? Johnny helpfully explains to us, “I had to dump a large chunk of long-term memory … my childhood.”

When Johnny is given an especially valuable piece of information, hit men are sent to decapitate him. All of this is accompanied by a cool soundtrack by artists like Stabbing Westward, Bono and the Edge, Buckethead and Orbital, though the songs are better heard on the soundtrack than the barely-there way they float through the movie.

Longtime readers know how much I like Reeves, but his performance here isn’t great, to put it nicely. The film itself is a missed opportunity but a fascinating one. It’s a rare case of cyber-genius author William Gibson translating his vision to the big screen.

Despite Gibson authoring the screenplay (based on one of his stories), acclaimed artist Longo directing and sporting a most unusual cast, “Johnny Mnemonic” remains a fascinating, visually arresting and fatally goofy failure.

Reeves is often very funny as Johnny, occasionally on purpose, but mostly because his amusingly wooden acting and the silly dialog combine to make a perfect storm of an enjoyably bad performance.

The computer graphic imagery still looks cool, whether it’s Johnny conducting a hack with VR headgear and what looks like a Nintendo Power Glove, or the all-out, “TRON”-like finish. Even though this was made in the age of CD-ROMs, and “the net” was still in its infancy (but is referenced enough to suggest Gibson’s understanding of its potential), it’s fun to see the 1995 cyber punk idea of 2021 technology.

As if the camp value wasn’t already intact, there’s Dolph Lundgren’s performance as The Preacher, a long haired assassin who spouts religious-themed one-liners the way Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze is full of “ice” puns in “Batman & Robin” (1997).

This came out the same year as “The Net” and “Hackers,” all of which paint a distinctly ’90s vision of computer hacking and techno awareness as dated as a dusty old copy of Wired Magazine. Gibson’s prophetic warnings of “information overload” are intriguing but don’t fully come across.

Takeshi Kitano has a supporting role as a charismatic assassin; Kitano’s part was much bigger in the film’s longer overseas release and is partially restored in the newer, preferred version. Even with a cast that includes Dina Meyer (who exhibits real movie star presence), Udo Kier, Ice-T (looking as silly here as he was in “Tank Girl” the same year) and Henry Rollins, this is less playfully quirky than conceptually messy.

Take away the star power and flashy effects, and it’s as grungy and under-lit as those 1980s Golan/Globus sci-fi productions from Cannon Films.

Longo clearly gets the value of textured art direction but aiming for Terry Gilliam visuals doesn’t work if there isn’t a human center at the core. The computer graphics are every bit as hyper-stylized and cool-looking as those in “The Lawnmower Man” (1992) and “Disclosure” (1994) and provide a temporary distraction from how bad the film is.

Yet, it’s hard to resist a movie with a mystical, hardwired dolphin, a literal “ghost in the machine” and Reeves’ immortal “I Want Room Service” monolog. The latter was reportedly due to Reeves having had just played Hamlet (in an acclaimed performance on the Canadian stage) and wanting a beefy bit of dialog.

I’m glad the Bard inspired Reeves, as his late-in-the-movie bit about wanting a “$10,000.00 a night hooker” is funnier than most of his performances in actual comedies.

Bad movies can be fun, as this one most definitely is. Reeves had no luck with this instant box office flop, nor playing another John (Jonathan Harker) in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992), where he was the weak link in an otherwise brilliant film.

Reeves’ performance as John Constantine in 2005 was, likewise, not widely loved until the film developed a better reputation a decade or so later. The actor hit upon a winner with “John Wick” (2014).

I’d also argue that his all-time best performance playing a “Johny” can be found in “Point Break” (1991), where he plays Johnny Utah. If this seems like a silly thing to ponder, just try watching “Johnny Mnemonic,” with its talking dolphin and Lundgren-gone-wild.

I have to hand it to Reeves – his best movies are genuinely terrific, while his bad ones, in hindsight, are proving to be more fun than expected.

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Some kids crave the danger and excitement found in horror movies, but they’re too young for adult-level scares.

Even this 50-something critic wasn’t prepared for what the “Terrifier” series delivered.

Some movies offer a bridge to the genre, a chance for pre-teens to sample it with cinematic guardrails. The recent “Goosebumps” adaptations fall into that category. So did Jack Black’s “The House with a Clock in Its Walls.”

“Sketch” gets that quasi-horror blend mostly right.

It’s an engrossing tale of loss, grief and resilience. The scares are sharply defined, but there’s no gore or profanity to make parents squirm.

Best of all? Young and old will cheer the story’s beleaguered heroes. Be warned. Children under 10 may get some unwanted nightmares from this probing take on loss.

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Young Amber (Bianca Belle) uses art to process her mother’s death. She draws wild, violent images that suggest a disturbed mindset.

Her school is worried about her state of mind. So is her father, Taylor (Tony Hale, terrific), but he’s busy juggling work and suppressing his sense of loss.

Amber’s drawings depict beasts attacking the school bully, among other would-be victims. Her brother Jack (Kue Lawrence) tries to be supportive, but he’s understandably confused by her drawings.

He’s even more baffled by a local pond that appears to have magical powers. It heals his phone’s cracked screen in a blink, for example, along with a broken dish.

When Amber’s drawing pad gets an accidental dunk in the pond, it brings some of her ghastliest creatures to life.

And boy, are they angry.

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Writer/director Seth Worley gave himself an almost impossible task. Tell a harrowing adventure where children are in peril while showcasing a family processing profound grief.

Most directors might muddle up the tonal balance between those narratives, but Worley appears well suited to the challenging material. His young leads do their part, delivering nuanced turns that leave the cutesy theatrics behind.

So does Hale, best known as the man-child Buster from “Arrested Development.” He modulates his comic timing to be both grounded and, on occasion, paternal. He works well with his on-screen sibling, “The Good Place’s” D’Arcy Carden, a realtor trying to keep his brother’s life in order.

The film’s editing is sharp and inspired, giving Worley’s punchlines the chance to land as intended. The real marvels are the CGI beasts sprung from Amber’s imagination. They look like a children’s sketch come to life, complete with raggedy lines and an impish sense of danger.

The film offers even more comic relief in the form of Bowman (Kalon Cox), the aforementioned bully. Picture a scene-stealer from a ‘90s kid comedy and you get the gist.

Worley’s direction here less polished, but younger audiences may disagree. Strenuously.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The best children’s films work on dueling levels. They engage young minds while sharing something profound for adults. “Sketch” offers a meditation on grief and loss, using fantastical creatures to make its points.

And it can be quite scary.

A few lines of dialogue are on-the-nose, but they capture the real villain in play. It’s not a towering monster with one good eye but merely the cruelties of life.

“Sketch” leaves some unanswered questions, especially since the locals may have questions about the creatures rampaging across their neighborhood. Forget those distractions. This adventure has heart, hope and will keep audiences open to the healing power of family.

HiT or Miss: “Sketch” may be intense for younger viewers, but the rest of the family will marvel at the sweet performances and powerful life lessons.

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Maybe Sebastian Maniscalco should make a horror movie next.

We’ve already seen Jordan Peele pivot from Comedy Central to horror with “Get Out” and “Us.” Now, Zach Cregger follows his flawed but fascinating “Barbarian” with the year’s best shocker, “Weapons.”

Cregger got his start with The Whitest Kids U’ Know comedy troupe. Now, he’s part of the new wave of horror mavens, including Peele, Osgood Perkins and Mike Flanagan.

Yes, “Weapons” boasts laugh-out-loud moments, and not the kind that happen at the film’s expense. Don’t call it a horror-comedy. The laughs let us process the unbearable tension in this fresh, prickly original.

Buckle in.

It’s so good you’ll struggle to watch the next B-movie that flashes across your streaming menu. That’s the worst that can be said about Cregger’s instant classic. Other genre fare suddenly pales in comparison.

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The story opens with a child narrator setting the horrific scene. Her tone is sober and crisp, which makes her message all the more alarming.

The students in teacher Justine Gandy’s third-grade class go missing one day – save one child, young Alex (Cary Christopher).

Julia Garner, great as always, plays the distraught teacher. She becomes the target of grieving parents like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), who suspect she’s not telling all she knows about the mass disappearance.

Local officials are stumped. The town is in mourning. Justine fears for her safety. And “Weapons” is just warming up.

Cregger’s film deserves to be seen with as few spoilers as possible, so we’ll stop the plot description there. Just know the writer/director embraces a familiar storytelling tic to flesh out the narrative, but it’s done in ways that crank up the tension and flesh out the larger story.

What seems a distraction is suddenly a vital, necessary approach. And about that two-plus hours running time? Don’t give it a thought. This film moves.

At times, “Weapons” doesn’t resemble a horror film. It’s exquisitely crafted and raw, but extended scenes let us get to know the players without genre trappings. Some figures are obvious given their roles in the narrative. Others? Far less so.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Garner’s character is wildly imperfect, and her romantic entanglements spike the stakes. Brolin’s rage at his child’s disappearance finds him tilting at windmills, a nod to our conspiratorial age.

You can read plenty into “Weapons,” but Cregger isn’t foisting anything specific on us. Great films let us tease out themes where none may exist, a mark of crafty world-building.

An exception? One visual evokes AK-47 imagery, but the moment fades before it leaves any kind of mark.

This small town feels like one we’ve known all our lives. And let’s not dismiss Alden Ehrenreich. The “Solo” alum is quietly terrific as a cop juggling more than the mass disappearance.

Veteran actress Amy Madigan steals the movie, but the less said about her character, the better. Heck, we’ve said too much already.

“Barbarian” had its share of gonzo moments, but Cregger kept a firm hand on the material. His discipline is even better with “Weapons,” a sure sign of creative growth. Horror junkies will still see kills they’ll be praising for weeks.

Remember that “buckle in” warning?

Cregger packs plenty of style into “Weapons,” but it’s never flashy or distracting, nor is the haunting score (credited to Cregger and Ryan and Hays Holladay) anything but part of the excitement. The writer/director is fully in charge of his talent, creating a comfort of sorts for audiences.

You’re in good hands. Now, get to the edge of your seat … and stay there.

HiT or Miss: “Weapons” is a fiercely original shocker with strong performances, a sly structure and an ending that’s both creepy and cathartic.

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