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      ‘Titane’ Review: Auto Erotic

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      Julia Ducournau’s new film, a prizewinner at Cannes, is a grisly, philosophical thriller that puts the pedal to the metal.Alexia is a strip-club dancer in the South of France whose hobby — her compulsion, her kink, her vocation — is murder. As the bodies pile up and the law seems to be closing in, she leaves the house where she lives with her parents and takes on the identity of Adrien Legrand, a boy who went missing many years before.Having seen a computer-generated image of the teenager Adrien might have grown up to be, Alexia fashions herself into a plausible likeness, cutting her hair short, binding her breasts and smashing her nose against a bathroom sink. The disguise works well enough to convince the boy’s dad, Vincent, the ultra-manly commander of a fire-and-rescue squad. But there is a complication: Alexia is pregnant. The father, as far as we can tell, is a Cadillac with hydraulic suspension and a custom paint job. As the pregnancy progresses, Alexia starts to lactate petroleum.Maybe we should back up for a moment. “Titane” is Julia Ducournau’s second feature. The first, “Raw,” which also included a character named Alexia (and one named Adrien), was a gruesome, witty, insistently thoughtful quasi-horror movie about sex, cannibalism and the varieties of hunger. Awarded the top prize in Cannes this year, “Titane” consolidates a filmmaking style based on visceral shock, grisly absurdism and high thematic ambition. Violence is often played for comedy. Cruelty collides with tenderness. Eroticism keeps company with disgust. Through the stroboscopic aggression of Ducournau’s images you can glimpse ideas about gender, lust and the intimacy that connects people and machines.Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) may be a little of both. As a child, she survived — and caused — a car crash that left her with a titanium plate in her skull. That explains the title of the movie, though not the character’s fascination with motors, which predated the accident, or the bloodthirstiness that drives her adult self. Titanically alluring, she seduces men and women before attacking them with a metal shank that doubles as a hairpin. After driving it through one guy’s ear, she wipes it clean as if she had just checked the oil in a car’s engine.There is slapstick as well as dread in the way Ducournau stages Alexia’s crimes. “How many of you are there?” she asks as a quiet evening of one-on-one homicide threatens to turn into a mass casualty event. “I’m exhausted,” she complains to one of her victims, who actually seems to feel sorry for her.Rousselle, a model making her film debut, has a sullen magnetism. Her iciness is edged with melancholy. Once Alexia becomes Adrien, moving in with Vincent (Vincent Lindon) and joining his crew, she seems less like a predator than a vulnerable, isolated misfit. Lindon, an avatar of weary, blue-collar masculinity, seems at first to be too obvious a foil for Rousselle. But Vincent turns out to have kinks and complications of his own. He fights aging with heavy doses of steroids, and seems willfully to overlook signs of his supposed son’s real identity.His firehouse is a cauldron of unchecked virility and barely suppressed homoeroticism. He insists that Adrien/Alexia will be one of the boys, with some special privileges. “To you, I’m God,” he tells the men, adding that his son is therefore Jesus — but also, the audience knows, a kind of Madonna figure, carrying a miraculously conceived child. This is what I mean by high thematic ambition: “Titane” is a movie concerned with gender politics, metaphysics, the nature of love and a great deal more.It’s no wonder that those concerns don’t entirely cohere, given Ducournau’s furious sensationalism. The hectic, brutal intensity that drives the first part of the movie, before Alexia becomes Adrien, dissipates in the middle, as the narrative engine sputters. The pregnancy supplies some suspense, of course, but the situation becomes curiously static, and the provocations increasingly mechanical. For all its reckless style and velocity, “Titane” doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go.TitaneRated R for sex and violence, in and with cars. In French, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes. In theaters. More

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      ‘Coming Home in the Dark’ Review: No Picnic

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      A family outing attracts mysterious, menacing uninvited guests in this grinding New Zealand thriller.Not infrequently, films set and shot in the Antipodes make a convincing case that one ought to never leave one’s house. Think of the scenarios of “Wake In Fright” (kangaroos and lunatics running amok), “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (girls-school adventurers disappear), “A Cry in the Dark” (dingo, baby). Directed by James Ashcroft from a script he wrote with Eli Kent (based on a short story by Owen Marshall), “Coming Home in the Dark” doesn’t take long in demonstrating that sometimes a day trip to high New Zealand spaces is not worth the views.Beginning with an ominous shot of a Mercedes abandoned at roadside, “Coming Home” picks up with a family of four in a different vehicle. In the back seat, the sons of Jill (Miriama McDowell) and Hoaggie (Erik Thomson), bicker about music. Aside from that, all is friendly and well. Until the family lays out blankets at a picnic spot.Then along comes Mandrake (Daniel Gillies), a hirsute fellow whose long, earth-colored overcoat makes him look as if he’s stepped out of a spaghetti Western. Lagging a little behind him is a Maori man, Tubs (Matthias Luafutu). Tubs is exceptionally taciturn. Mandrake totes a rifle and has enough talk for the both of them.So begins an appalling feature-length ordeal connected to Haoggie’s past. Between excruciatingly suspenseful set pieces, the themes of sin, guilt and expiation get an oblique workout.While the whole thing is ruthlessly well done, it also sometimes seems to lean into a kind of moral relativism. Gillies’s performance as Mandrake, while remarkable in its way, radiates a kind of movie-killer cool that doesn’t quite square with the vengeful indignation that ostensibly motivates the character.Coming Home in the DarkNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

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      ‘Black as Night’ and ‘Bingo Hell’ Review: Marginalized Heroes

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      Two horror comedies that champion the downtrodden are part of the anthology series “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” streaming on Amazon.“The summer I got breasts, that was the same summer I fought vampires,” the feisty Shawna (Asjha Cooper) tells us at the beginning of Maritte Lee Go’s “Black as Night,” a hard-times-in-the-Big-Easy tale and one of a pair of horror-comedies that begin streaming this week on Amazon as part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse anthology. The other is Gigi Saul Guerrero’s “Bingo Hell”; and while the two are vastly different, they nevertheless share a sociopolitical sensibility that champions the downtrodden and makes heroes of the marginalized.In “Black as Night” (the cooler, fleeter option), the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina dust a screenplay (by Sherman Payne) that sees the city’s homeless being transformed into a vampire army by a formerly enslaved über-bloodsucker (Keith David). As Shawna and her sidekick, a gay Mexican immigrant (Fabrizio Guido), fight to stop the slaughter the old-school way — with sunlight, garlic and holy water — Payne uses their quest to directly address colorism, addiction and the tension between the French Quarter and the projects. The special effects are fine, if unremarkable, but the actors are into it and the script manages to be thoughtful without dampening the fun.Greed and gentrification are the twin curses that drive “Bingo Hell,” a warmhearted look at what happens when an evil entity co-opts a retirees’ bingo hall. People are going missing in the low-income community of Oak Springs, but Lupita (Adriana Barraza), the hipster-hating local busybody, is on the case. Inflamed by the changes to her beloved neighborhood, Lupita is further troubled by the sinister, toothy figure (Richard Brake) who has converted the bingo hall into a flashy, cash-spewing casino.From left, L. Scott Caldwell, Adriana Barraza and Bertila Damas in “Bingo Hell.”Amazon StudiosTaking a sly, metaphorical dig at homeowners abandoning their friends for fast buyouts, “Bingo Hell” sprinkles hardship and loss on a story of oldster gumption. When the action gets creaky, Byron Werner’s photography gooses things along: He’s especially effective with low-to-the-ground shots that add a creepy surreality to simple setups. The final third fizzles, but I enjoyed the droll musical choices and seriously gloopy special effects. (One scene in a motel bathroom should come with a warning to anyone suffering from even the mildest skin condition.)Despite the generally humorous vibe, “Bingo Hell” quietly accumulates an unignorable pathos. However brave and resourceful, Lupita and her friends are battling to save a neighborhood that poverty and progress have already claimed.Black as NightNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. Watch on Amazon.Bingo HellNot Rated. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. Watch on Amazon. More

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      ‘Falling for Figaro’ Review: When the Overtures Are Operatic

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      An American finance executive leaves behind her cushy life in favor of a musical career in this humdrum romance set in the Scottish Highlands.I must admit it’s refreshing to see a plus-size woman not only nab the promotion and the hunky guy, but throw it all away within the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately, my plaudits for “Falling for Figaro” mostly end there.Directed by Ben Lewis, this thoroughly generic and often monotonous romance about an aspiring opera singer who falls in love with the competition does, on another positive note, have the virtue of never succumbing to played-out body image commentary.Millie (Danielle Macdonald), a whip-smart but unfulfilled finance executive whose boyfriend worships the ground she walks on, runs off to the Scottish Highlands to study with a renowned vocal coach, the sharp-tongued Meghan (Joanna Lumley). Millie demonstrates potential, drawing the jealous irritation of Meghan’s longtime pupil, Max (Hugh Skinner), a working-class chap who bristles at his wealthy American rival’s sense of entitlement. Millie, after all, pays an abnormally high rate for to study with Meghan.Like too many movies about singers, “Falling for Figaro” builds toward a shot at fame and glory. Naturally, Millie and Max start to get cozy just as the big “Singer of Renown” contest approaches, complicating their plans to stay focused on their training. Good thing their (relatively muted) emotional turmoil actually spices up the quality of their performances, and kudos to Skinner for bolstering the film’s only convincing character arc when Max’s infatuation with Millie veers into fittingly operatic territory. As for Millie, well, she had it all in the beginning and she has it all in the end, not that you’d expect anything different.Falling for FigaroNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

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      ‘Enormous: The Gorge Story’ Review: A Musical Paradise

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      A loving documentary about a Pacific Northwest amphitheater, created by a long-ago natural catastrophe, that is a haven for concertgoers.What’s the ideal place to experience live music? For some, a midsize hall with immaculate acoustics; for others, an intimate nightclub with a well-stocked bar; for others still, a clamorous, sweaty dive. For those who are able to get there, and who have an affinity with its vibe, the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Wash., with its scenic beauty and open-air sonics, is heaven.Early in this friendly and entirely uncritical documentary about the venue, directed by Nic Davis, a geologist explains that while the Grand Canyon formed over five to six million years, it took mere minutes for a Columbia River flood to create this striking narrow valley whose geography practically demands an amphitheater.The land once belonged to a couple of adventurous vintners, who put out seating and began hosting modest musical events there. Promoters, sponsors, and others took notice, and after a Bob Dylan booking in 1988 that showed the commercial potential of the site, the place grew.It’s now home to several genre festivals, and a Labor Day weekend event hosted by the Dave Matthews Band. Matthews himself is a wittily self-effacing interviewee. Other famed players chime in, mostly with bromides. Footage from certain concerts does make the place look like a great, if rather exclusive, place to experience music.Threaded through “Enormous: The Gorge Story” are the reminiscences of Pat Coats, a devotee of Gorge shows who shares 30 years’ worth of sometimes exhilarating stories, capped by one of loss. The dimension this adds is welcome. It reminds us that death is unavoidable, even in an anodyne documentary about a music venue.Enormous: The Gorge StoryNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 5 minutes. Available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

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      ‘The Addams Family 2’ Review: Wednesday Goes West

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      America’s creepiest family takes a road trip in this animated sequel, though their antics are far more kooky than spooky.In 2019, the Addams family returned to the big screen for the first time since the 1990s, this time in animated form. The macabre clan, directly styled after Charles Addams’s original New Yorker cartoon characters and voiced by a star-studded cast, railed against normalcy and blew up a lot of stuff. Now, in a new sequel, they’re taking that show on the road. Like it’s predecessor, “The Addams Family 2” is more kooky than spooky, offering much more to young children than it may to the adults accompanying them.This newest iteration opens at a science fair; Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) has figured out how to implant her pet octopus’s intelligence into her dopey Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll). Though she captures the attention of the wealthy genius Cyrus Strange (Bill Hader), she merely earns a participation award, and her resulting melancholy makes her withdraw further from her parents.In an attempt to bond with their teenagers, Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) take the family on a road trip to Death Valley, but their cross-country antics are waylaid when a pushy stranger (Wallace Shawn) insists Wednesday may have been switched at birth.The filmmakers (the “Addams Family” and “Sausage Party” directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon) are smart to focus on Wednesday for most of this plot. She is the wittiest character, and it’s difficult to imagine an actor better suited to voice her than Moretz. But where it could lean into the typically bone-dry Addams family humor, this film more often relies on poop jokes, explosions and the musical talents of Snoop Dogg. It’s sure to entertain little ones, but parents may find themselves itching for something more impish.The Addams Family 2Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

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      ‘Mayday’ Review: Misandry Is the Most Dangerous Game

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      A group of female insurgents hunt down weary men in this halfhearted, half-feminist fantasy from Karen Cinorre.The dreamy but indistinct fantasy “Mayday” finds its Alice-before-Wonderland in Ana (Grace Van Patten), a server who is terrorized by her superiors and adored by her kitchen colleagues. Ana finds her proverbial rabbit hole when a voice calls from the oven. She crawls after it and lands in an unknown sea.In this alternate universe, Ana is washed ashore and taken in by a female insurgency run by the charismatic Marsha (Mia Goth). Men are absent from the island’s makeshift society, and Marsha explains that men have been consumed by a forever war beyond their shores. To hear Marsha tell it, men are prone to assault any girl who crosses their path, and Marsha’s vagabond crew picks off the fellows they can snare. They act as sirens over their radio system, drawing soldiers to their deaths at sea. On land, they prefer sniper fire, and a skeptical Ana is to be their latest sharpshooter.It should be a bold premise, but there is a curious contrast in this film between the richly defined images and the story’s ethical indeterminacy. Visually, the writer and director Karen Cinorre is sure-footed, impressing with steampunk production design and sun-dappled cinematography. But narratively, her movie waffles, refusing to generate plausible rationales for Marsha’s girlboss-ish militancy.Marsha insinuates, commandeers and oversimplifies from the moment she is introduced. Her peach-fuzzed targets are too immediately identifiable as lambs rather than wolves. The movie undermines its characters’ principles, and without sincere justification for their warped actions, all dramatic tension dissipates. For a film about misandrist revolutionaries, “Mayday” lacks the courage of its convictions — it sets up boogeymen as targets only to shoot them point blank, in broad daylight.MaydayNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More

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      ‘Stop and Go’ Review: Pandemic Aside, Girls Just Want to Have Fun

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      This trite Covid-19-era comedy follows a pair of kooky sisters on a cross-country mission to save their grandmother from a nursing home overrun with cases.Frankly, a “Covid-era comedy” reads like a threat to this critic, though maybe others will get more mileage out of social distancing gags circa March 2020, when the mere thought of public spaces sent shivers down the spine. The pandemic is hardly behind us, yet “Stop and Go,” starring and written by Whitney Call and Mallory Everton, formerly of the sketch comedy show Studio C, feels awfully outdated. Many of us may have doused our things in comical amounts of disinfectant and flown into frenzies by mere throat tickles, but the relatability factor is redundant at this point.The girls, at the very least, just want to have fun. Jamie (Call) and Blake (Everton) are motor-mouthed sisters whose lives are upended by lockdown, though the bleakness of that reality is never really apparent save for the occasional groaning mention of “people dying out there.”The girls’ grandmother, who lives in a nursing home overrun by Covid cases, is one such potential victim, prompting a cross-country rescue mission. It’s a race against time: the quicker they can get to Nana, the lower the chance of infection. Then there’s a third sister who doesn’t quite take the pandemic as seriously as she should — she’s on a cruise when Jamie and Blake first give her a ring, and she intends to take Nana in herself when she gets back, adding another layer of urgency.Directed by Everton and Stephen Meek, “Stop and Go” joins the ever-expanding genre of female buddy comedies that posits women can be weird, manic, and messy, too. (See: “Broad City,” “Booksmart” or “Never Goin’ Back”). Everton and Call are charming enough, and Everton is a particularly magnetic physical performer, but their high jinks — from a ridiculous saga involving one of Jamie’s students and a pair of mice to a pit stop at a dog breeder’s pad — are hit-and-miss. But mostly miss.Stop and GoNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More