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      ‘Delia’s Gone’ Review: A False Conviction in a Hardscrabble Town

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      A man aims to find his sister’s real killer.Over the final credits of the movie “Delia’s Gone,” the traditional blues song “Delia” by Blind Willie McTell plays. Loosely speaking, the song is the tale of a gambling woman who meets a bad end. Johnny Cash’s variation on it, from which this movie takes its title, depicts Delia as the victim of a jealous suitor.Directed by Robert Budreau, this “Delia’s Gone” tells neither of those stories. The movie is about a pair of siblings, Louis and Delia, living in a hardscrabble rural town populated mostly by surly white people. They themselves are Black. Louis has an intellectual disability that affects his speech and judgment, while his sister, Delia, unemployed and more than a little desperate to get away, takes a cavalier approach to Louis’s care.When Delia winds up dead on their kitchen floor, Louis is tried for her killing — a crime he insists he did not commit — and is convicted. He serves a short sentence and then goes to a halfway house.There, a visitor from the past compels Louis to walk out and seek Delia’s real killers. As Louis, Stephan James conveys the character’s increasing emotion by way of much lip-trembling. Trying to rein Louis in are Marisa Tomei, as a former sheriff who is still resentful that she wasn’t taken seriously on account of being a woman, and Paul Walter Hauser, as the current sheriff who is mocked by Tomei’s character because he is overweight.One watches this movie with a persistent “this is just … wrong” feeling. It’s not just the superficial depiction of Louis’s condition, or the facile depiction of racial dynamics, although those factors don’t help. Maybe it’s the pervasive self-seriousness in pursuit of what turns out to be nothing much at all.Delia’s GoneRated R for violence, language, themes. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. In theaters. More

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      ‘The Legend of Molly Johnson’ Review: Reclaiming the Australian Frontier

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      A stoic frontier woman harbors an Aboriginal fugitive in this earnest and didactic western.In the western drama, “The Legend of Molly Johnson,” the actress Leah Purcell directs and stars as the title character, a pregnant mother in the developing Australian town of Everton. Molly is a stoic woman. She’s skilled with a gun, and content in the dangerous hills despite the absence of her husband. But Molly’s seclusion is disturbed when an Aboriginal man stumbles to her doorstep.The man, Yadaka (Rob Collins), takes refuge in her home. He’s a fugitive, wanted for murder. But despite Molly’s initial caution in his presence, she finds much to discuss with her houseguest, who is proud of his background and his skin color. Yadaka bonds with Molly’s oldest child, Danny (Malachi Dower-Roberts), teaching him to use a spear, and telling him circus tales from his past. A tenuous bond forms between the trio, and the connection grows when secrets from Molly’s past are uncovered, revealing that the taciturn host and her stowaway guest share surprising similarities.“The Legend of Molly Johnson” is a reframing of the frontier in Australia, and Purcell’s direction is not subtle. Here, the lawmen are the violent vandals, while Aboriginal people defend their lives, their families and their land to the death. The music swells for Molly and Yadaka as they slowly warm up to each other. The grounded performances by Purcell and Collins stand out in contrast to the actors cast as townspeople, who recite their lines in wooden British accents. It’s an earnest film, one that glows with pride at Aboriginal resilience. But the impression it leaves is didactic, a saints and demons fable that meanders to foregone conclusions.The Legend of Molly JohnsonNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 49 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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      ‘Spin Me Round’ Review: Eat Pray Lust

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      Alison Brie plays the manager of a restaurant chain whose trip to Italy for a training program does not go as expected.“Spin Me Round,” directed by Jeff Baena, is a kooky romp where unworldly travelers trip over their own fantasies of Europe. It follows the misadventures of Amber (Alison Brie), the manager of a chain spaghetti restaurant who has tasted so little of life that her dreams are an endless sea of factory-made Alfredo sauce. To Amber’s delight, she is selected for a work retreat where a small group of hand-selected employees (including Tim Heidecker, Zach Woods, Debby Ryan, Ayden Mayeri and Molly Shannon) will receive personal lessons in the identification of fresh herbs at the very Italian villa where the chain’s suave founder Nick Martucci (Alessandro Nivola) shoots commercials rhapsodizing about all-you-can-eat pasta.These rewards prove to be as inauthentic as the company’s food. Baena and Brie, the co-writers of the script, successfully merge their subversion of “Eat Pray Love” with an update on the sexual harassment screwball comedy that cycled out of favor shortly after Melanie Griffith stuck it to those Financial District suits. Brie, making full use of her doe eyes and innocent smile, plays her heroine as so glamour-starved that she’s willing to overlook clues that the local Lotharios — American expats, not Italians — view her as a cheap cut of meat. Amber is wooed and patronized in the same breath, most literally at an erotically charged soiree where the host (Fred Armisen) clocks her crimson gown and launches into a lip-synced rendition of “The Lady In Red.” His attention hits her like a corked Chianti, but she lacks the certainty to declare its bad taste.Baena calls upon Pino Donaggio, a composer whose credits stretch back to 1970s euro thrillers, and the cinematographer Sean McElwee to alert the audience not to take these shenanigans seriously. Amber’s arrival in Italy is hailed with the kind of sweeping symphony one might expect to hear in a World War I romance over a shot of a dumpster. Likewise, the film is ludicrous in its large strokes and pointed in its details, particularly Amber’s tense relationships with Deb (Molly Shannon), a clingy work colleague, and Kat (Aubrey Plaza), a jaded assistant who squires the American to dates with their boss. Although Plaza’s character makes it clear this is a story about complicity and manipulation, Baena keeps the tone silly, barely striving for scares even when creepy masks slink into view. He’s content to let the music take over — and so are we with its sly needle-drops that pull from heady italo disco and giallo horror scores.Spin Me RoundNot rated. Runing 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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      ‘The Immaculate Room’ Review: A Blank Slate

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      In this drama, a couple tries to live in a stark room with no distractions for 50 days.When the sweethearts Kate (Kate Bosworth) and Mikey (Emile Hisrch) first enter the Immaculate Room, they see possibility in all its emptiness. All they have to do is spend 50 days in this space — so titled by the mysterious scientist spearheading the challenge — and they’ll win $5 million.Rational viewers will automatically see the Immaculate Room’s nightmarish potential. Kate and Mikey haven’t signed up for a vacation, they’ve volunteered themselves as lab rats. “The Immaculate Room,” written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil, is similarly unwilling to embrace its darkest depths. As a result, it delivers a moralistic ending that is as simple and bland as the titular room.Kate and Mikey are giving their relationship another shot, and have apparently decided that imprisoning themselves together will reignite the spark. Unfortunately, these opposites don’t attract. Kate is a rule-following pragmatist from humble beginnings. Mikey is a well-heeled vegan artist whose plans for the prize money include smoking weed with Elon Musk.The room changes lighting to simulate morning, midday and night; delivers three daily “meals” of a flavorless liquid labeled FOOD; and holds Kate and Mikey to a number of arbitrary rules. Kate would rather just play along, but Mikey becomes suspicious early on, first noting that he thinks the clock counting down their time is being manipulated.That seems worth exploring — after all, time is paramount in this challenge. But that plot thread never goes anywhere, much like key aspects of Kate and Mikey’s back stories. The film focuses more on one character’s moral defects than the sketchy project overall, leading to a conclusion that feels unsatisfying at best and pompous at worst.The Immaculate RoomRated R for bare breasts and ecstasy. Running time: 1 hour 32 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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      ‘Orphan: First Kill’ Review: Still Slashing After All These Years

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      Isabelle Fuhrman, who in “Orphan” had to be convincing as a child of age 9, reprises her role 13 years later in this prequel set two years earlier.While no classic, “Orphan” (2009), starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard as parents to a homicidal adoptee, deserves a place in the pantheon of bad-seed thrillers, both for Farmiga’s commitment to the assignment and one jolt so outrageously fatuous it somehow plays as brilliant.Now there is “Orphan: First Kill,” a belated prequel with a different director (the flat-footed William Brent Bell instead of the first movie’s Jaume Collet-Serra). Looking like it was shot on a cheap video format, it lacks the original’s scares and suavity, apart from an early escape set piece designed to resemble a fluid take. But the sheer derangement of its plot and a bizarre casting gambit make it more interesting than standard straight-to-streaming schlock.Start with the casting: How could Isabelle Fuhrman, who 13 years ago had to be convincing as a child of age 9, reprise the role in her 20s, on the heels of her acclaimed turn as a monomaniacal college rower in “The Novice”? Through a combination of doubles, stagecraft and sly tricks with framing and optics — Fuhrman’s face and feet are almost never clearly seen in the same shot — the filmmakers have metamorphosed her within license.The actress’s resurrection of her murderous character — who here sometimes edges into camp, playing piano with bloody hands or swigging vodka in an airplane lavatory — may be the movie’s most grounded aspect. The plot, set in 2007, follows Leena (as her real name turned out to be) as she worms her way from Estonia to Connecticut, where she impersonates the missing child of an affluent couple (Julia Stiles and Rossif Sutherland).If “Orphan” was an unlikely showcase for Farmiga, “Orphan: First Kill” gives red meat to Stiles, who plays a protective mother with surprising gusto.Orphan: First KillRated R. Kills, none of them Leena’s first. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. Watch on Paramount+. More

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      ‘Learn to Swim’ Review: A Tooth Ache and All This Jazz

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      The feature directing debut of Thyrone Tommy is a fractured romance between a young saxophonist and a chanteuse.At the start of “Learn to Swim,” Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) trembles slightly as puts his saxophone to his lips. The Canadian director Thyrone Tommy cuts from that opening image to a quintet flowing in beautiful sync at a club. The scene grooves. The band’s trumpet-playing leader, Sid (Christef Desir), and Dezi ply their onstage chemistry. A guest vocalist, Selma (Emma Ferreira), takes the microphone promising “I see you. I see you” in a spoken-word riff. And isn’t that the spark of many a romance: Being seen?Selma and Dezi begin an affair. Although begin is a tricky matter. Because their relationship is recounted through Dezi’s memories, which are themselves refracted through a prism of pain caused by heartbreak and the most mundane of ailments: a tooth ache.Dezi’s abscess and his swollen jaw signal when he is in the sullen present or occupies the potent, volatile past. Some of this drama’s hurts go beyond the romantic, carrying the weight of the African diaspora. Others come from mourning: Dezi shares a disquieting anecdote with Selma about his deceased mother. And the living, no-nonsense Black women here — Selma’s friend Jesse (Khadijah Salawu); neighbor Sal (Andrea Davis) — hint at a protagonist in need of nurturing.In this feature directing debut, with a screenplay he co-wrote with Marnie Van Dyk, Tommy works well with his ensemble and is clearly intrigued by emotional states. Or at least the idea of them. “Learn to Swim” is lovely to behold, but the sullen artist at the center feels too often like he’s drowning in melancholia and might take us down with him.Learn to SwimNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Watch on Netflix. More

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      Why Do We Love TikTok Audio Memes? Call It Brainfeel.

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      Why Do We Love TikTok Audio Memes? Call It Brainfeel. On March 25, 2020, Chris Gleason was in bed at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, thinking up ideas for videos that might go viral. Just before graduating from college with a musical-theater degree in 2019, he took a job at a nautical-themed restaurant in the […] More

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      John Boyega Won’t Let Go of ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Coming to America’

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      The star of “Breaking” talks about Fela Kuti, Hans Zimmer, Cha Cha Chicken and other sources of inspiration.John Boyega was born in London to parents who grew up in Nigeria and raised their children in a house that felt like a piece of their home country inside the United Kingdom.“When we got into our house, that was Lagos to us, that was Nigeria,” Boyega said in a recent interview. “The way we were disciplined and the lessons that we learned were all in direct link to Nigeria.”That meant he was always told he was going to work hard, education was a priority, bible study was on Tuesday and church was on Sunday. At services, he played the drums, his sister played keyboard, and his father was the minister.“Other ministers would say the story of Noah’s Ark in a way that was kind of simple,” he said. “But my dad would give the animals characters and break the story down so you could relate and he would act out things.”Boyega inherited his father’s flair for storytelling and was drawn to acting. Hollywood, however, seemed remote. “Growing up in inner-city London, American movies felt worlds away,” he said. “We didn’t even have the same accents.”American films don’t get any bigger than the Star Wars franchise, which carried Boyega to international stardom when he was cast as Finn — the stormtrooper turned resistance fighter — in the most recent trilogy, culminating with 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” This month, Boyega stars in the movie “Breaking,” as a father and former Marine who robs a bank to avoid homelessness.Here, he talks about the films that inspired his career, the music that brings him closer to home and the chicken he takes extra-spicy. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.1. Burna Boy He’s one of the most prolific leaders in bringing Afro beats to the forefront. The lyrics, melody, soul and spirit of his music includes what we know as African and what we know as Nigerian. His song, “Time Flies,” is almost like an emotional letter for me. I just love his music.2. “MJ the Musical” I think Michael Jackson was one of the main factors that motivated me to act. It was the music videos for me, the imagination, the dance moves, the energy of the performance. Going to see “MJ the Musical” on Broadway recently was mind-blowing. The lead actor, Myles Frost, was an absolute standout.3. “Coming to America” This movie is a lifelong classic in my family. The first time we watched it, my dad walked in during the scene where the woman tells him: “The royal penis is clean, your highness.” That was real awkward. I watch it at least once a year just to get a little giggle on. There’s always something new I find.4. Young Vic Theater Especially for me growing up in the theater scene, the Young Vic in London has always been a place where you can see new writers and directors come in and do some really great plays. The last time I went there, I was actually working at the Old Vic, just a few yards away.5. New Afrika Shrine: I first visited Fela Kuti’s venue in 2017 to see a concert by his son, Seun Kuti. It was my first time being with my boys in Nigeria. We had a great night. Now I go back every time I go to Nigeria. For me, it’s one of the most prolific cultural hubs, especially if you are into Afro beats and if you want to hear music from the same lineage from the king of Afro beats, which is the great Fela Kuti.6. “Half of a Yellow Sun” I read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, which takes place against the backdrop of the Nigerian civil war, after I was offered to play a role in the movie. Knowing that I was going to star in the feature film while I was reading it brought me closer to a history that I didn’t know about my own culture.7. Hans Zimmer I’ll listen to any of Hans Zimmer’s movie scores. I don’t always listen to music that tells me what to think. I find that with movie scores, especially if you’re an avid listener, the songs can change up on you and mean something completely different. Also, I like to work out to a song of his called “I Don’t Think Now Is the Best Time” off the “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” score. It’s more than 10 minutes long and it gets me through a lot of my workouts.8. “Kidulthood” I never considered that I would exist in American movies. But when I watched “Kidulthood,” which had Black Brits in it, I thought: wow, you can be an actor. The accents that are in it, I’m sure that they were local, from places I knew in London. It kind of opened my eyes that there was British film and there were opportunities in British film for Black actors.9. Cha Cha Chicken This is one of my favorite places to go in Santa Monica. It’s a really grounded, Jamaican/Caribbean-inspired restaurant. I literally just took my mom and nephews down there. The food is delicious. I get the half Cha Cha chicken — extra spicy — plantains, rice and beans, and the salad on the side.10. “Star Wars: Battlefront” This is the video game that I play the most. I started playing it before Finn was an idea, long before I was cast in the films. Now, sometimes I play as Finn against people I don’t know. So, being a fan of it and now being on it, that’s something that I’ve always kept private. More