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We’re at the end of April with quite a few new films coming to theaters. Below is a look at the new movies I saw this week. You can keep up with everything I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

The Accountant 2 (Theaters)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, and J.K. Simmons
Synopsis: After a certain amount of time has passed, it’s fair to believe your time in a world is over. When The Accountant dropped in 2016, I quite enjoyed the story and the ride. But in the nearly nine years since, I figured it was a closed loop that was over. With the release of The Accountant 2, which opened on Friday, we get a welcome return to the world. It picks up eight years later, advancing the story in some fun ways. Most of the main cast returns as we see Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) dive into another case. As we begin, Ray King (J.K. Simmons) is retired but working as a private investigator. He only takes on personal cases. And he’s at a local dive to meet with a target, Anais (Daniella Pineda), when they are approached by professional attackers. Anais takes out a few and escapes. Ray isn’t so lucky. Upon his death, the Los Angeles police officers reach out to Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), his former protégé turned replacement. She arrives to identify the body and sees a final message he wrote on his arm—to find The Accountant. Medina reaches out in the only way she knows how and soon enough, Chris turns up. A fragile alliance forms. Medina isn’t crazy about the methods Chris employs to get information. But they need more help, so Chris turns to his brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal). Braxton arrives and they get to work. But Medina grows more uncomfortable with their methods, so she decides to try investigating on her own, legally. Chris and Braxton continue to do things their way. Soon, each side uncovers the truth of Ray’s last investigation, which puts them all in danger. Can they give Ray justice and finally put his last case to rest? In the original film, Bernthal and Affleck are on opposite sides until the end. In fact, the connection of their characters is a secret that is revealed in the final act. The reunion is one of the best parts of the original. This film picks up eight years later, and the brothers are still somewhat estranged. This film, however, lets us get to know them as a team as they get to know each other as adults. It’s a fun dance that is carried off brilliantly by Affleck and Bernthal, who create such unique characters that their interactions are fascinating. The film is at its best when it lets these two cook, and in the Third Act that’s particularly the case. Both are great in these roles and great playing off each other. The film is again directed by Gavin O’Connor off a script from Bill Dubuque, who scripted the original. The story is tight with some fun sequences that allow these characters to breathe. The action scenes are well constructed and the whole film is a blast. This is a fun sequel that surpasses the original. O’Connor has mentioned possibly doing more and I’d be down. I could watch Affleck and Bernthal as a team for years. This is worth checking out.
Rating: Rated R for strong violence, and language throughout.
Verdict: Four stars out of five

Havoc (Netflix)
Starring: Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker
Synopsis: Netflix puts out plenty of content, some of it with a higher profile. This latest action film comes from writer/director Gareth Evans, who previously gave us the action film The Raid: Redemption. This one is set at Christmas, and is a dark tale of murder, violence, and corrupt cops. Hardy takes the lead as a homicide detective who has a shady past. He’s roped into the case of a couple of drug thieves framed for a murderous rampage by another corrupt cop (Olyphant). Can he get to the bottom of what happened in time? This film has some over-the-top action sequences. That’s probably what you’re expecting given the writer/director. But this is an orgy of violence in service of an overly convoluted set of storylines and characters that somehow morph into a banal plot. If all you want is copious action in an R-rated setting, this will be your jam. If you’re looking for something compelling, this will fall short of expectations. I think the cast involved deserves better, but alas they won’t get it.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: Two stars out of five

The Legend of Ochi (Theaters)
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and Helena Zengel
Synopsis: When you think of A24, you probably don’t think of films aimed at younger audiences. The same might be true when you see Willem Dafoe leading the cast. And yet, that’s what we get with The Legend of Ochi, a new film opening on Friday. The film played festivals earlier in the year but now gets a wide release. It’s shot like something of a fairytale and an adventure, a PG-rated film that is for audiences of all ages. It’s new territory for the studio, but is it a success? Let’s dive in. The film is set on the island of Carpathia, where creatures call Ochi roam the land and haunt the people. They are reported to have caused distress, attacked livestock, and ruined lives. That leads an obsessed man, Maxim (Dafoe), to hunt them. He takes orphaned boys, or boys from families who have gone bankrupt, and trains them as warriors. All the while, Maxim mourns the loss of his own wife while trying to build his daughter, Yuri (Zengel) into a warrior. He’s also pouring his energy into Petro (Wolfhard), an orphan who has become like a son. We open with them on a hunt that isn’t successful. The following night, Yuri goes to check their traps. She finds a young Ochi. It’s trapped and injured. But she’s drawn to it. She doesn’t have a lust for killing like her father. She saves the Ochi and tends to its wounds. Yuri decides to take the Ochi deep into the forest and return it to its family. When Maxim discovers his daughter is gone, he grabs Petro and the rest of the boys to go on a hunt. Meanwhile, Yuri learns more about the Ochi, her past, and the mother that she hardly remembers. This film comes from writer/director Isaiah Saxon. It’s his first feature after delivering a number of short films and music videos. It’s a clever idea, and there is a lot to like in the beauty of the world that’s built. I was also drawn to the Ochi. Our baby Ochi, in particular, is the product of some great creature design. It’s so loveable and life-like you can’t help root for it to make its way back home with its family. The difficulty for me was in the story itself, which is awkward and quite strange. The characters are strange. The world is strange. And even some of the aims of the end of the narrative feel a bit muddled. I like the cast—which also includes Watson—but there isn’t a lot of good character work done here. Watson, in fact, might have the most engaging character as the long-lost mother and wife, Dasha. She has some clever scenes that work well in building out this story. Dafoe gives it his all, too, but his part is a bit too strange at times for my liking. I have enjoyed Wolfhard in films in the past, but he isn’t given much to do here. Zengel, who had a starring role in News of the World a few years ago, does a decent job in the lead role. Her spoken lines are sometimes muddled, which can make it more difficult to follow. In the end, I liked a lot of the creativity that went into this film. But the overall story is beyond quirky and likely won’t work for wide audiences.
Rating: Rated PG for violent content, a bloody image, smoking, thematic elements and some language.
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five

Until Dawn (Theaters)
Starring: Ella Rubin, Maia Mitchell, Odessa A’zion, and Michael Cimino
Synopsis: There is a long history of films using video games as inspiration. This often creates a built-in audience that wants to live out the story in a new way. That’s likely some of the appeal for Until Dawn, a new horror film that’s based on the popular game. Here, the filmmakers have to find a way to capture the experience. It’s clear from this film—and its tag—there is hope of turning this into something bigger. But will it work? That remains to be seen. This film focuses on Clover (Rubin), a struggling young woman who is in grief after her sister—Melanie (Mitchell)—disappeared a year earlier. Now, she’s on a road trip with her best friends, Megan (Ji-young Yoo), Max (Cimino), Nina (A’zion) and Nina’s boyfriend Abe (Belmont Cameli). Her friends hope this will provide some closure for Clover as they try to retrace Melanie’s steps. But Clover hopes to find her sister. At a roadside gas station, Clover comes across a clerk (Peter Stormare) who provides a clue. He suggests her sister might have disappeared in a nearby town. So, Clover and her friends set off. What they find is something unexpected. Trapped by a vicious storm, they come upon a creepy visitor’s center. It’s abandoned, and soon the five find themselves under threat of a killer. They’re dispatched quickly. But they don’t die. They wake, with the memory of their death, forced to relive the night. This cycle continues, each time unveiling a new, terrible threat. Can they find a way to survive the night and escape? This isn’t the first time a horror film has borrowed from the Groundhog Day formula. This one does it a little different, and certainly it has a darker tone. Its deaths are quite graphic, and the stakes of the world definitely feel dire. That probably owes something to the source material. The film is directed by David F. Sandberg. His credits are an interesting mix. Of late, he directed the two Shazam! films. I liked the first as one of the best of that iteration of the DCEU, offering a blend of action and humor. But prior to his superhero films, he worked on horror films. He directed Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. That is probably a better guide here, as this film feels darker and more serious in tone. I could have used some more humor. Instead, from nearly the beginning this is a grim slog. The creativity of some of the rounds of slaughter notwithstanding, this is a darker journey. That can be OK if you’re invested in the characters and the world, but there’s not enough here to ground either of those things. There’s also not a lot in the way of explanation of what’s happening, how, and why. Perhaps that’s a part of the lore of the game that is built-in knowledge for some, but having never played the game I was puzzled. The final act is a little ho-hum, too, then we get a teaser that indicates this process continuing in another spot. Maybe that’s meant to pique your curiosity, but it didn’t work for me. This felt like one of those Halloween haunted houses that takes things a little too far and doesn’t want to show you the exit. By the time you get there, you’re just relieved the whole thing is over.
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, gore and language throughout.
Verdict: Two stars out of five