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It was a loaded week for new releases with four films dropping on streaming in addition to the Exorcist sequel in theaters. Below are my thoughts on the new movies! If you want to keep up with all my reviews, follow me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

The Caine Mutiny: Court-Martial (Showtime/Paramount+)
Starring: Keifer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, and Lance Reddick
Synopsis: This film debuted on Showtime on Sunday night and started streaming Friday on Paramount+. It’s based on the stage play of the same name that has previously been adapted. This is about an alleged mutiny on a ship, but it’s a courtroom drama. It is also the final film from the late director William Friedkin, starring the late actor, Reddick. That’s a lot to consider when taking in this film, which plays out well in telling the story of a Captain (Sutherland) who was relieved by his First Officer (Lacy). The First Officer contended he was mentally unfit for duty. The trial, featuring a dogged defense council (Clarke) and a tenacious lead judge (Reddick) plays out over about 100 minutes. With this being strictly dialogue, the action and intrigue has to build through the back-and-forth. Here, it crackles. Sutherland and Clarke, in particular, are very good. I also enjoyed Reddick. The story plays out in a fascinating manor and the final act offers a bit of a twist that was also quite enjoyable. Overall, this is a strong production that will be a lot of fun for those who enjoy a good courtroom drama.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Three stars out of five

The Exorcist: Believer (Theaters)
Starring: Leslie Odom, Jr., Ellen Burstyn, and Lidya Jewett
Synopsis: It’s been 50 years since William Friedkin brought William Peter Blatty’s novel to life with The Exorcist. It’s a film that continues to capture and terrify audiences. Released in 1973, it’s a classic that continues to thrill and enthrall audiences. It also set the benchmark for the genre; a genre we’ve seen revisited time and again over the years. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride know something about revisiting classic franchises. The pair teams to tackle Halloween, spinning up a modern trilogy that concluded with mixed reviews last October. Now, they have a revival of The Exorcist, something of a direct sequel that returns the feature character played by Burstyn. But before we get to that, we head to Port au Prince, Haiti. Here, Victor Fielding (Odom) is taking photos and celebrating with his wife on what appears to be a baby moon. Soon, an earthquake strikes, and his wife is crushed in the collapsed hotel. He has a choice—his wife or his unborn child. Flash-forward 13 years and Victor is a single father to Angela (Jewett) living in Georgia. When Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) disappear in the woods, it throws Victor and Katherine’s parents (Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz) into a tizzy. When the girls return three days later with no memory, it’s clear something darker is going on. By now, we know what to expect from an exorcism film and we know what the climax is going to be. The engagement in the film comes from how you are drawn into the characters and the world that is built. That’s where The Exorcist: Believer falls apart. The first portion drags as it tries to build the story. The characters and world don’t really pop. By the time we get to Chris MacNeil (Burstyn) the film picks up a bit. Some scares are thrown in and then we get something of a twist before the expected exorcism climax. There are a couple types of exorcism films. One type is interested in using the rite of exorcism as a means of crafting a horror film. The second type is interested in exploring the religious implications. This film tries to ride the line between and mix the two and doesn’t do either well. It’s not really scary and despite the title, it has a muddled message at best about faith and belief. I am not sure we needed another Exorcist film but if we were going to get one, I’d have liked to see something more compelling. This one simply falls flat.
Rating: Rated R for some violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references.
Verdict: One and a half stars out of five

Fair Play (Netflix)
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Phoebe Dynevor, and Eddie Marsan
Synopsis: This new film from Netflix debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January and has been drawing strong buzz ever since. As we open, a young couple (Ehrenreich and Dynevor) are in love. They’ve just gotten engaged. The next morning, they wake up early and head to work, separating at the corner. Turns out they work together—at a financial firm where dating is forbidden. When a senior officer is fired, it looks like Luke (Ehrenreich) is seemingly in line for a promotion. Instead, it goes to Emily (Dynevor). She has caught the eye of the big boss (Marsan) and now Luke works for her. They continue their secret relationship as tensions grow at home and at work. Can their relationship survive? A better question might be should it survive? We follow these two under pressure cooker circumstances with some performances that crackle. Chloe Domont wrote and directed the film—her first feature length film—and creates a story full of dark twists and turns. I was particularly taken with Dynevor, who delivers some intense moments as Emily. Ehrenreich also does a nice job and is having a big year between this and his stellar work in Oppenheimer. Fair Play isn’t an easy or a fun watch but it’s compelling and draws you in thanks to the performances and the crisp story.
Rating: Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content, some nudity, and sexual violence.
Verdict: Three and a half stars out of five

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (Paramount+)
Starring: Henry Thomas, David Duchovny, Pam Grier, and Jackson White
Synopsis: The classic Stephen King novel has been turned into a film a number of times. Most recently it was re-booted in 2019, and the response to that led to this prequel. This film moves the action back to 1969, 50 years earlier, and focused on a young Jud Crandall (White) as he’s on the verge of getting out of the town. Instead, he gets pulled into an incident and learns of the history of the area and his family’s legacy as guardians. He learns the painful lesson that sometimes dead is better. If you’ve seen these films before, you know where this is heading. This is a sequel that doesn’t wear out its welcome. Still, it raised some questions for me. How do we get from the Jud depicted at the end of this film to the one that helps create a situation in the original? And what was this meant to add to the legacy of the story? It feels more like the kind of rote horror sequel we get this time of year. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll be interested. If not, this doesn’t have the kind of compelling story and character development that will hook you.
Rating: Rated R for horror violence, gore and language.
Verdict: One and a half stars out of five

Totally Killer (Prime Video)
Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Locklyn Munro, Julie Bowen, and Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson
Synopsis: The latest Blumhouse film to drop on Prime Video for October has a killer twist. The film sets the action in 2023, where it’s been 35 years since a string of murders leading to Halloween. When the killer strikes again, Jamie Hughes (Shipka) uses her friend’s time machine to go back to 1987 to get the killer before he can killer her mother (Bowen) in the present. To do it, she has to gain the trust of her mother (Holt) in the past, which opens her eyes to a whole new view of who her parents were. Can she get the killer in time? This is a fun twist on the genre, fusing the comedy and story of Back to the Future with a horror film like Scream. Shipka does a great job in the lead role and the story has enough fun twists and turns to keep you engaged. There are a lot of horror films that drop this time of year, but Totally Killer offers a unique premise that worked. This film is a fun, seasonal offering.
Rating: Rated R for bloody violence, language, sexual material, and teen drug/alcohol use.
Verdict: Three stars out of five