By George & Josh Bate
Margaret Qualley. Sydney Sweeney. Ana de Armas. Aubrey Plaza. Vanessa Kirby. Lily James. Hollywood’s most in-demand leading actresses all have movies coming out this weekend. Keep reading for an overview of the movies, what we thought of them, and see if they’re worth watching or skipping.
Honey Don’t
What is it about? From director Ethan Coen (Fargo, No Country for Old Men), Honey Don’t! stars Margaret Qualley as Honey O’Donahue, a private detective in Bakersfield, California who investigates the suspicious death of a woman. As she investigates, Honey finds herself tangling with an erratic and morally compromised church leader (Chris Evans), a police officer she begins a sexual relationship with (Aubrey Plaza), and a family conflict involving her sister (Kristen Connolly) and niece (Talia Ryder).
What did we think of the movie? Half of the Coen Brothers duo creates what feels like half a movie with Honey Don’t! The neo-noir dark comedy from Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke squanders its strong cast and promising premise with aimless plotting, dull attempts at humor, and tonal disjointedness, ultimately resulting in a strangely empty viewing experience. Margaret Qualley’s on-screen magnetism and Chris Evans chewing up the scenery as a distinctly immoral preacher do very little to salvage a film marred by a woefully underdeveloped story and a conclusion with a jarring twist that renders much of the preceding film quite purposeless. Coen and Cooke imbue the film with a certain sexual swagger, which has the potential to be a more novel and noteworthy element, although this proves similarly misguided. By the end of its brief 89 minute runtime, one can’t help but question how a script so messily cobbled together made its way to the big screen, one masterminded by a filmmaker of Ethan Coen’s standing no less.
Should you watch it or skip it? Skip it
Eden
What is it about? Based on a true story and helming from director Ron Howard, Eden takes place on the isle of Floreana (part of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador) in the late 1920s. After Germany’s economy was decimated in the wake of World War I, Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his wife Dora Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) flee their homeland to start a new, isolated life on Floreana. Unfortunately for them, their isolation is short-lived as they are soon joined by Margaret (Sydney Sweeney) and Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Brühl), another German couple wishing to make a peaceful living on the island. Soon after, Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas) makes her way to the island alongside her two lovers and a servant as she plans to build a luxury hotel on the island. Now, for the three groups of settlers, although the challenges of living on an island prove arduous, they are surpassed by the psychological torment and deception fostered by one another.
What did we think of the movie? Eden sees director Ron Howard masterfully juggle an A-list cast in crafting a winding, intriguing, and compelling psychological survival thriller. After a sluggish start, the film kicks into gear upon the introduction of Ana de Armas, who showcases her range as a delightfully duplicitous antagonist, and the transition of the film from survival thriller more so to psychological thriller. The mind games and psychological warfare that dominate the proceeding movie serve as a gripping examination of the self-destructive and selfish nature of human beings, our unfounded capacity to create problems out of nothing, and how we are one another’s worst enemy far more than the environment around us. The narrative is always twisting and turning, with new sources of tension regularly thrown in the mix until an effective resolution to the conflict. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t quite know when to end, losing steam after its big emotional climax before petering out with a muddled conclusion. The five lead performances throughout this journey are phenomenal, despite Law, Kirby, Sweeney, and de Armas being hindered by questionable and distracting accents. In addition to the impressive de Armas, Law stands out amongst the cast, playing a toothless, ecocentric, and slightly mad doctor to unsettling effect. Hopefully, Eden gets the attention it deserves, despite its quiet roll out. A film from such an esteemed director bolstering such an impressive cast could have easily disappointed, but, instead, it excels with its psychological mind games and damning examination of humanity’s twisted, self-destructive nature.
Should you watch it or skip it? Watch it
Relay
What is it about? From Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, Relay sees Ahmed star as Tom, a world-class fixer who serves as an intermediary between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations harboring dark secrets. When hired by his latest client Sarah Grant (Lily James) to broker a payoff with a large corporation, Tom takes on a greater challenge than he initially expected as he faces off against an intelligent adversary (Sam Worthington) and blurs the lines of professional boundaries when he grows to care for Sarah.
What did we think of the movie? Relay pulls from the Jason Bourne franchise and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation in telling a gripping story about privacy, surveillance, and corporate espionage. A risky decision to have most of the film’s dialogue come through a telecommunications relay system, which sees an intermediary impart information from a caller to a recipient, pays off immensely in playing perfectly into the film’s themes and adding a layer of intrigue to an already suspenseful film. Despite being a more dialogue-heavy thriller, star Riz Ahmed stays silent for much of the film, instead commanding the screen with a nuanced performance reliant on his quiet intensity and intricate attention to body language. Carefully scattered between the dialogue are some exhilirating chase / espionage sequences that would fit seamlessly in with the best of the Bourne movies. The nearly two hours of overt and much subtle tension culminates with a big twist that is as unpredictable as it is narratively effective, even if it raises some questions about a certain character’s behavior throughout the film. Relay is just the latest evidence that Riz Ahmed is an actor that demands more attention and praise than he receives. Alongside Hell or High Water director David Mackenize, the Academy Award-winning actor crafts a modern day cross-breed of Jason Bourne and The Conversation with dialogue as gripping and intense as its action.
Should you watch it or skip it? Watch it