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The first week in December gave us quite a few new releases both in theaters and on streaming. Below is my take on this week’s new movies. If you want to keep up with everything I’m watching, follow me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

Gunner (VOD)
Starring: Luke Hemsworth and Morgan Freeman
Synopsis: This new action film stars Hemsworth and Freeman. But don’t get your hopes up too high. The plot centers on former Special Forces super soldier Lee Gunner, played by Hemsworth, who returns home and wants to re-connect with his sons. He takes them on a camping trip with an old buddy when they stumble on a drug lab in the woods. A firefight ensues and his kids are taken. The cops want to blame Lee, but he breaks free and connects with the kingpin, Ryker, played by Freeman, whose son had been running things on the outside and now has Lee’s kids. He goes on a one-man mission to get them back and end the operations of this gang for good. This is the kind of plot we’ve seen play out before. We have an operator with a special set of skills whose family is in danger. Hemsworth, the brother of Chris and Liam, plays it well. Freeman is also not the kind of actor you typically see in films like this or roles like the one he plays. The film is at its best when those two spend time in a car together. But most of the film is cliche villains and over-the-top action sequences. If you want to see some shooting and explosions, this will be for you.
Rating: NA
Verdict: One and a half stars out of five

Lake George (VOD)
Starring: Carrie Coon and Shea Whigham
Synopsis: This new crime caper comes from writer/director Jeffrey Reiner, who is probably best known for working on small screen series like Awake, The Affair, and High Fidelity. Here, he creates the story of a crime gone wrong that feels a bit like something out of a Coen Brothers film or a Fargo season. We meet Don, played by Whigham, who is a failed criminal just out of prison with no money and no prospects. He goes to a former employer Armen, played by Glenn Fleshler, who owes him money. Instead of getting money, he’s tasked with killing Armen’s former mistress, Phyllis played by Coon. But Don is no killer, and when he comes face-to-face with Phyllis, he quite literally can’t pull the trigger. So, Phyllis convinces him to go on a spree to snag all of Armen’s loot instead. I like a good crime story and I really like a project that features Coon. This has both, so it was right in my wheelhouse. She and Whigham make for a fun pairing on screen and their journey through this film has its moments. It follows a fairly typical pattern for caper gone wrong films, but it works in its own way. Reiner does a nice job putting it together and gets a good pairing with Coon and Whigham. I had fun with this one.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five

Nightbitch (Theaters)
Starring: Amy Adams and Scoot McNairy
Synopsis: The latest from writer/director Marielle Heller is Nightbitch, starring Adams, which opens wide Friday. The film centers on a stay-at-home mom, played by Adams, who struggles with regret for the art career and adult connections she left behind. Her husband, played by McNairy, doesn’t really understand his wife’s struggles, or just how much she does taking care of their son. Soon enough, our heroine also begins to note some changes, causing her to fear she might be turning into a dog. This is an interesting film that has a lot to say about motherhood and the isolation women can feel when they’re pigeonholed into certain roles. Adams gives a courageous and fearless performance, and Heller has some nice visual sequences and some nice speech moments here. But this is decidedly a somewhat strange story and it’s not going to work for everyone. I’m certainly not the target demographic, either. There were moments I thought the overall narrative was a little awkward despite a good performance and the craft of the film. Still, it’s an interesting swing.
Rating: Rated R for language and some sexuality
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five

Oh, Canada (Limited Release)
Starring: Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, and Jacob Elordi
Synopsis: This new drama is the latest from writer/director Paul Schraeder. This one finds Gere as a famous documentary filmmaker who is struggling with terminal cancer. Despite protests from his wife, played by Thurman, he has decided to give a candid interview to a documentarian, played by Michael Imperioli, who wants to share his life story. The problem is, Leonard Fife has trouble keeping the facts straight, especially after living with lies most of his life. We see his early life play out in flashbacks, with Elordi as a young Leonard, while the contemporary version struggles to get out the “truth” before it’s too late. This film has a strong cast and an interesting concept. Schrader is a solid writer and director who has made some interesting films. Here, despite a decent performance from Gere, this just doesn’t quite work. I struggled to connect to Leonard and the story, and the bouncing around through time with an unreliable narrator made the plot hard to follow at times. This is a solid swing but ultimately it was a miss for me.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Two stars out of five

The Order (Theaters)
Starring: Jude Law, Tye Sheridan, and Nicholas Hoult
Synopsis: This new thriller is based on true events and the non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood. The film comes from writer/director Justin Kurzel and focuses on a white supremacist group called The Order that uses a string of high-profile heists in the Pacific Northwest to fund their operations. Law stars as Terry Husk, a veteran FBI Agent who has taken a new post in Idaho that’s supposed to be a bit quieter. But he notices a pattern in a series of events that draws his attention. He teams with a green local deputy played by Sheridan and begins tracking a local group led by the charismatic Bob Matthews, played by Hoult. It all leads to an eventual showdown. This is a well-crafted crime drama. I liked the period setting, with the events taking place in the early 1980s. This feels like a timely story even though it covers a group that conducted its operations 40 years ago. Sheridan and Hoult give strong performances, but I particularly liked Law in the lead role. Kurzel does a nice job bringing the story to life and adding tension to the events. I also quite liked the look of the film. It’s worth seeking out in theaters.
Rating: Rated R for some strong violence, and language throughout.
Verdict: Three and a half stars out of five

Werewolves (Theaters)
Starring: Frank Grillo and Lou Diamond Phillips
Synopsis: Imagine The Purge, but with people turning into werewolves. That is basically what we have with this new film starring Grillo. In the film, a Supermoon a year prior led to people all over the globe transforming into werewolves. More than a billion people died. In the year since, scientists–led by Diamond Phillips–have worked to curb the danger. With the next supermoon upon us, people are preparing for another onslaught. Grillo stars as a former soldier assigned to protect the frontline scientists while trying to keep his sister-in-law and niece safe. Once the sun drops, chaos ensues. This is a potentially clever idea that certainly reminded me in the set up a little of the idea of the purge–right down to the announcement that all emergency services would be suspended overnight. The action sequences are fine, but the creature design is a little rough. Ultimately the story drags at times too and this feels very much like a B monster movie. Some of the stiff performances don’t help, either. This will likely appeal mostly to those who are die-hard fans of the genre.
Rating: Rated R for violence, some gore, and language.
Verdict: One and a half stars out of five