The Halloweekend is upon us, and the horror offerings are oddly minimal — I guess everyone expects people to be home binging Stranger Things 2. (If you’re finished with that, check out my NOW list of other horror titles to stream, or this list of horror suggestions I drew up for John Hodgman a few years back.)
But if you want to venture out to the movies, here’s what’s happening:
California Typewriter: I have no idea whether Doug Nichol’s nerdy little celebration of mechanical typewriters will resonate with anyone who doesn’t already love them. But I do, so it did.
Deliver Us: Federica Di Giacomo looks at exorcists as they are in the real world — a couple of middle-aged Franciscans who spend far too much of their time casting out demons in Palermo. Interesting, and eerily ambivalent as a documentary.
Faces Places: Agnes Varda remains one of the most delightful voices in cinema, and it’s wonderful to see her still bustling around doing her thing in the 21st century. Kevin loves her latest project, a collaboration with the artist JD.
Jigsaw: Can you believe it’s been seven years since the last Saw movie? Well, number eight is here and it’s exactly the same as all the other ones. If you’re still excited about this franchise, I cannot help you. Godspeed.
On Putin’s Blacklist: Russia’s post-Soviet return to an authoritarian, persecutorial state is explained in Boris Ivanov’s documentary, which puts us on the ground with the people being persecuted the hardest.
Suburbicon: George Clooney and his pals try to juice up an old Coen brothers script and wind up with … well, not much of anything, really. Which makes this feel more disappointing than it might actually be.
Thank You For Your Service: Rad really liked Jason Hall’s drama about American soldiers trying to readjust to civilian life, with a cast that somehow includes both Miles Teller and Amy Schumer. So I’m intrigued.
Wonderstruck: Todd Haynes goes back to his experimental roots in this drama about two kids travelling to New York City, half a century apart, and finds something really lovely. Also, Julianne Moore and Tom Noonan should make more movies together.
Oh, and if you’re in Toronto check out TIFF Cinematheque’s new Johnnie To series, which literally kicks all sorts of ass.