In Americana, Dillon (Eric Dane), a thief who works for Roy (Simon Rex), steals a Ghost Shirt, a valuable Native American item, after burglarizing the home of a private collector and killing him. Penny (Sydney Sweeney), a waitress at a diner, concocts a plan to steal the Ghost Shirt from the thieves with the help of Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser), a restaurant patron who hits on her. Meanwhile, Dillon's wife, Mandy (Halsey), tries to steal it for herself, but her young son, Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman), rats out on her to Native Americans who want to get it back. The screenplay by writer/director Tony Tost unfolds non-linearly as it switches perspectives between many subplots that are all connected to the MacGuffin: a Ghost Shirt. Tost should be commended for keeping the plot easy-to-follow without confusing, frustrating or exhausting the audience. He gives each character a personality, flaws and at least somewhat of a backstory that humanizes them. Mandy wants to escape her abusive husband. Penny, who has a stutter, wants to escape the small South Dakotan town and move to Nashville to be a country singer. Lefty suffers from a brain injury after an accident and desperately tries to find himself a wife--he proposes to his girlfriend after 4 dates and, of course, she gets startled and doesn't want to see him again. Those characters and their motivations and innate struggles are more interesting than the main plot involving the MacGuffin.

      To be fair, Americana does ultimately bite off more than it could chew. Fortunately, there aren't that many action sequences, so Trost allows the film to be grounded in humanity, a truly special effect, while allowing the audience to care about some of the characters. Thanks to the solid cinematography, he makes the most out of the setting in small town South Dakota. The soundtrack is lively and well-chosen without being intrusive, and the pace moves at just the right speed without being too slow or too fast. Oh, and, as always, Paul Walter Hauser steals the show with his moving performance. He's this generation's Philip Seymour Hoffman. At 1 hour and 47 minutes, Americana opens in theaters nationwide via Lionsgate. It would be an interesting double feature with the much bolder, cerebral and bonkers slice of small town American life, Eddington or Strange Darling.

      Checkpoint Zoo is an emotionally devastating, suspenseful and powerful documentary about the rescue of animals at Feldman Ecopark, an animal refuge caught in the crossfires of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Its location right near the Russian border put its animals in great danger of being killed by gunfire, explosives or starvation. Director Joshua Zeman follows zookeepers and others who volunteered to feed and to rescue the animals while putting their own lives at risk. One of the zookeepers describes how a volunteer died from a lion attack at the zoo. He also explains how traumatic it was for him to witness animals in pain and dying from their injuries. The race against time to find animal sanctuaries and zoos to accept the displaced animals from Feldman Ecopark makes Checkpoint Zoo feel like a suspense thriller and will keep you at the edge of your seat. Some of the footage isn't for the faint of heart because they show the animals suffering. However, those images are concurrently essential because they show the harsh realities of the Russo-Ukrainian War that deserve more attention. At 1 hour and 47 minutes, Checkpoint Zoo opens at Quad Cinema via Abramorama. If you're not moved by it, you must be made out of stone.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

       In Dead to Rights, Ah Chang (Liu Haoran), a postal worker in Nanjing, pretends to be a technician at a photo lab and develops photographs for the Japanese Imperial Army during the Nanjing Massacre. He secretly shelters a group of Chinese civilians in the basement and devises a plan to help them escape. The photographs he develops show clear evidence of the Japanese army's atrocities against the Chinese people.

      Writer/director Ao Shen and his co-writers, Luyang Xu and Ke Zhang, have made a powerful, gripping and spellbinding emotional journey based on a true story. Set during 1937, the screenplay focuses on Ah Chang's desperate struggle to survive without the Japanese army discovering his lie or that he's sheltering Chinese civilians. He's not only smart because he quickly learns the meticulous process of developing photographs, but also kind and compassionate. Kudos to the filmmakers for incorporating just enough exposition about the Nanjing Massacre without depicting its horrors. Yes, there's some violence and blood, but nothing excessive. In other words, the filmmakers trust the power of the audience's imagination. They provide enough of a window into the heart, mind and soul of Ah  so that you're with him every step of the way. You'll feel joy when he's joyous, sad when he's sad, scared when he's scared and hopeful when he's hopeful. So, the beats land from start to finish, especially during the riveting third act that's filled with surprises and twists.

      Everything from the costume design to the cinematography, lighting and production design helps to further ground the film in authenticity while adding visual style. Liu Haoran gives a genuinely heartfelt performance and finds the emotional truth of his role.  Dead to Rights ultimately manages to be both an exhilarating Spectacle and profoundly moving Truth while finding just the right balance between Truth and Spectacle. According to François Truffaut, that's the hallmark of a truly great film. At 2 hours and 17 minutes, Dead to Rights is now playing in theaters nationwide via Niu Vision Media and Echelon Studios. It's a triumph, and one of the best films ever made about the Nanjing Massacre.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

         Tabatha (Tabatha Zimiga) lives with her daughter, Porshia (Porschia Zimiga), on a ranch in the Badlands of North Dakota where she works as a horse trainer in East of Wall. She struggles to make ends meet after her husband dies, and considers whether or not to sell the ranch to Roy (Scoot McNairy). Writer/director Kate Beecroft has made a slow-burning, understated and gently moving slice-of-life that often tests the audience's patience with its sluggish pacing. The wafer-thin plot takes a while to get to the meat of the story. There's little to no exposition, no flashbacks or on-the-nose dialogue. Beecroft manages to capture a sense of naturalism that doesn't hook the audience right away as she focuses on the mundane life of Tabatha and her family including her mother, Tracey, played by Jennifer Ehle who disappears into her role. The cinematography is exquisite while capturing the majestic beauty of nature that often looks breathtaking while adding visual poetry. Moreover, all of the performances all feel lived-in which grounds the film further in authenticity. At 1 hour and 37 minutes, East of Wall opens in select theaters nationwide via Sony Pictures Classics. It would be a great double feature with The Rider and War Pony.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

        David King (Denzel Washington), a wealthy music producer, must decide whether or not to pay the ransom after Kyle (Elijah Wright), the son of his chauffeur, Paul (Jeffrey Wright), gets kidnapped in Highest 2 Lowest. Director Spike Lee and screenwriter Alan Fox have made a rousing and captivating, but tonally uneven crime thriller. The screenplay, based on the film High and Low by Akira Kurosawa and the novel King's Ransom by Evan Hunter, does suffer from on-the-nose dialogue, contrived, implausible twists, and a tone that occasionally veers into satire. Case in point: a clunky musical dream sequence in the third act. However, Denzel Washington is in top form here and anchors the film with his palpable charisma and moving performance. The pace moves briskly enough, and the soundtrack blazes with well-chosen music, especially during the opening credits sequence. The production design along with the cinematography and editing adds some visual style while making the film feel more cinematic. Spike Lee also makes the most out of the different settings around NYC. Blink and you'll miss Radio Man laying on the seats of a subway train. At 2 hours and 13 minutes, Highest 2 Lowest opens in select theaters nationwide via A24 and Apple Original Films.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

        Jimmy (Joe Begos), a filmmaker stuck in a rut, calls his friend, Stiggs (Matt Mercer), to help him gets abducted by aliens while high and drunk in Jimmy and Stiggs. Writer/director Joe Bigos has made a wildly entertaining, wickedly funny and bonkers slice of sci-fi horror. The plot remains wafer-thin, but this is a B-movie so that's forgivable. What matters is that Bigos demonstrates that he's unafraid to push the envelope and to go over-the-top. Imagine if the batshit crazy, gory and very bloody ending of The Substance were stretched into an 80 minute TROMA movie. That's what it feels like to watch Jimmy & Stiggs. If it were any longer, it would've become tedious and exhausting. Everything from the lighting, use of color and camera work makes for a trippy, surreal, intense and visually stylish experience. The practical effects are quite impressive. Perhaps it's best if you watch this film while you're drunk, high or both. At 1 hour and 20 minutes, Jimmy and Stiggs opens in select theaters nationwide.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       In  Nobody 2,  Hutch (Bob Odenkirk), an assassin, takes his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), two kids, Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), and father, David (Christopher Lloyd), on vacation at a small tourist town where can encounters a corrupt sheriff, Abel (Colin Hanks), theme park operator, Wyatt (John Ortiz), and the ruthless head of a mob, Lendine (Sharon Stone).Director Timo Tjahjanto and his screenwriters, Derek Kolstad and Aaron Rabin, have made an action-packed, gory and wickedly funny dark comedy that's nothing more than a mindless entertaining B-movie and a guilty pleasure. The plot doesn't score any points for originality nor does it offer any surprises. That's fine because it never takes itself too seriously. Sharon Stone steals the scene as a sadistic villain and has a lot of fun in her over-the-top role. Sure, her character is cartoonish, but so what? Every character on screen can be considered cartoonish. Some of the kills are outrageously funny, and the same can be said about the use of music like the Celine Dion song "The Power of Love" during an action scene. Kudos to the filmmakers for not adding too much padding or exposition and for keeping the pace moving briskly without exhausting the audience.  At a lean, efficient 1 hour and 29 minutes, Nobody 2 opens in theaters nationwide via Universal Pictures.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

          At 1 hour and 37 minutes, A Spartan Dream, co-directed by Michael A. Nickles and M. Achilles, and co-written by George Demas and Leonidas G. Demas, opens at Village East by Angelika via Freestyle Digital Media.

Number of times I checked my watch: 5




 

          At 1 hour and 46 minutes, Suspended Time., written and directed by Oliver Assayas, opens at Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center via Music Box Films.

Number of times I checked my watch: 5




 

       Jack (Dacre Montgomery) returns to his New Zealand hometown to attend the funeral of his estranged mother and meets her grieving widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps), in Went Up the Hill. Soon enough, the spirit of his mother inhabits both of them and communicates. Writer/director Samuel Van Grinsven and co-writer Jory Anast have made a poetic, atmospheric and beautifully shot meditation on grief, but it's often tedious, undercooked and underwhelming. The filmmakers don't quite know how to take their ideas to places that are interesting or profound enough despite the intriguing concept. A systemic issue is that it's hard to get a sense of what Jack's life has been like after his mother abandoned him as a child, so more exposition about his past would have enriched the film and his character. The same goes for Jill and what her relationship had been like with Jack's mother.  Dacre Montgomery and Vicky Krieps try their best to breathe life into their roles. They manage to generate some poignancy that that the screenplay lacks, but not enough to invigorate the film which doesn't pack enough of an emotional punch.  At 1 hour and 40 minutes, Went Up the Hill opens at IFC Center via Greenwich Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3