“Heretic.” / “The Night Clerk.” / “Gold.” / “On the Count of Three.”

“Heretic” (2024, Max) horror film, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Two young Mormon missionaries attempt to convert a man who is more dangerous than he seems. The movie from “dark cinema indie” A24 received positive reviews from critics and grossed $57.4 million worldwide. For his performance, Hugh Grant (as the heretic) received Best Actor nominations at the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the BAFTA Awards.

       This is the best A24 offering so far, if you ask me. The subject matter of religion is wildly intriguing and surreally provocative. Writing by Mr Beck and Mr Woods are quite nerdy but altogether interesting. 

       Meanwhile, Mr Grant delivered allure, poise, and evil as camouflaged by that characteristic smile. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as the Mormon Sisters aren't so bad either. In case you usually shy away from horror, “Heretic” isn't a big turn off for the squeamish, I assure you. 🎥👍📽

“The Night Clerk” (2020, Amazon Prime), crime drama film, follows a hotel night clerk who becomes the center of a murder investigation. 

       Plot: Bart Bromley lives with his mom and has Asperger syndrome. He places hidden cameras in a room at the hotel where he works as a night desk clerk and uses the live feeds and recordings to overcome his social awkwardness by imitating the speech and mannerisms of the guests.

       This movie is adorned with a fine cast, I think. Tye Sheridan, Helen Hunt, Ana de Armas, John Leguizamo. But with an unimaginative plotline and uninspired directing, both by Michael Cristofer, there's nothing much to work with. Yet Mr Cristofer won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1977 for the play “The Shadow Box.” He also wrote the screenplays for “The Witches of Eastwick” (1987) and “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990), not Thad I am saying those movies are great.

       The redeeming factor in this movie: As Bart, Mr Sheridan delivered a focused performance. He kept the languid streetwalk from skidding into a manhole. 🎭👎🎬

“Gold” (2022, Hulu) Australian survival thriller.Plot: In a dystopian near-future, a lone traveller named Virgil arrives at an outpost and pays local man Keith to transport him to an area known as The Compound. And that's it, really. 

       Also, Virgil found a rock or gold, put it in a bag. Dingoes or wild dogs threatened, plus a stray snake. A sandstorm. Another drifter, a woman. Plus what remains of a small plane. Virgil is Zac Efron, with a grimy face or sun-blistered face. Nothing really happened here. Just a lot of sand and Zac's miserable face. 

       The movie had a budget of $6.5 million. Really?!? Most probably Zac was paid a lot more than the global gross of $176,000. Must be one of Mr Efron's little projects when he left Los Angeles in 2021 to move to Australia. Gotta work, you know. 🎥💻📽

“On the Count of Three” (2021, Hulu) dark comedy drama film directed by Jerrod Carmichael (in his feature directorial debut); he stars with Christopher Abbott. 

      Story: Two best friends, Val and Kevin, make a suicide pact and spend their final day taking care of unfinished business. Jerrod and Christopher are apparently fine actors. The plot is compelling but there’s not much to work with in/around the flimsy, haggard, and redundant script by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch. Henry Winkler and J. B. Smoove cameo’ed but that didn’t save the movie. 🎭👎🎬