Reviews of movies showing in theaters or streaming online
鈥楥辞苍肠濒补惫别鈥
Adapted from the Robert Harris novel by Peter Straughan, the handsomely rendered and meticulously acted 鈥淐onclave鈥 encompasses universal electoral struggles within the tightly controlled and rigorously regimented ritual of electing a new pope. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Sergio Castellitto, Stanley Tucci, and Carlos Diehz. While the screenplay鈥檚 themes can be extrapolated to broader sociopolitical questions, distracted by its own flashy revelations, it fails to impart any new or surprising insights beyond the basic notion that cardinals, they鈥檙e just like us.
2:00. 2 陆 stars.
鈥楽mile 2鈥
The first 鈥淪mile,鈥 from writer-director Parker Finn, came out in 2022, and in a less promising directorial debut its premise would鈥檝e fallen apart around the third or fourth mirthless stare. Evil spirit, loose in the world, flits from human to human; unfortunate victim commits suicide in some heinous fashion in the presence of the next lucky customer; rinse, repeat. Simple, flexible idea, yes, but enough for a feature? It was. Expanding on the grin-and-share-it idea in his slick, 10-minute short 鈥淟aura Hasn鈥檛 Slept鈥 (2020), 鈥淪mile鈥 revealed Finn as a filmmaker of sure pacing instincts and enough compelling interest in his female protagonist鈥檚 traumatic past to deliver more than one smash-cut jump scare after another. 鈥淪mile 2鈥 goes in a newish direction, to frustrating mixed results 鈥 but it鈥檚 a mixed bag you can respect because it鈥檚 not hackwork and it鈥檚 trying new things. This time, the anguished center of the narrative is pop superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), about to launch a massive world tour after a difficult substance-abuse recovery. She鈥檚 also recovering from a terrifying car accident that took the life of her fellow cocaine-addict boyfriend. It鈥檚 up and down. But when it鈥檚 up, 鈥淪mile 2鈥 makes you look forward to Finn鈥檚 next project.
2:07. 2 陆 stars.
鈥榁enom: The Last Dance鈥
You鈥檙e either on Venom鈥檚 wavelength or you鈥檙e not. If you are, you鈥檙e not alone, because as it turns out, a lot of folks are. The wildly successful Marvel series from Sony comprises a triptych of strangely appealing comic-book movies featuring Tom Hardy鈥檚 take on journalist Eddie Brock and his sassy symbiote sidekick, Venom (whom Hardy also voices). The third installment, 鈥淰enom: The Last Dance,鈥 rounds out the trio of films, which are both straight-faced and irreverent, creating a campy tone all their own, distinct from the more self-serious superheroes or the sarcastically self-referential ones. Though the concept itself is running out of gas, and it would be nice to free Hardy to do other things, it鈥檚 a fitting send-off for the cheeky alien with the thousand-watt grin.
1:49. 2 陆 stars.
鈥 Tribune News Service
