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It was a slower week for new releases as we hit the ides of August, but what of the films out there is worth your time to check out? Check out my take on the week’s new films below. You can keep up with everything I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

East of Wall (Theaters)
Starring: Tabatha Zimiga, Porshia Zimiga, Jennifer Ehle, and Scoot McNairy
Synopsis: Grief is a difficult and often strange process. The journey is different for every individual, and certainly for every family. But it comes at you in strange ways, even when time has passed. That’s at the heart of East of Wall, the story of a mother and daughter trying to find a way forward while protecting their way of life. The film played the festival circuit earlier this year and now opens in limited release today. It starts Tabatha as a version of herself, telling her story of work and struggle on a ranch in the Dakotas. The film picks up with Tabatha trying to keep the ranch afloat. She’s also trying to keep her daughter, Porshia, going. It isn’t easy after Porshia’s father passed about a year earlier. That has put a financial strain on to this grieving mother-and-daughter. It’s also made it more difficult to keep the ranch going successfully. When Tabatha’s work—and her large spread—catch the eye of a local investor, Roy (McNairy), it presents an option. It could be the answer to her financial woes. But it would cost her ownership of the ranch, and possibly end her outreach to wayward teens in the area. As she works with Roy, she learns to better market and sell the horses she trains. All the while, Tabatha and Porshia are struggling through their own grief, and the distance in their relationship. Can they find a way forward without having to sacrifice their home? This film comes from writer/director Kate Beecroft, who works hard to make this an authentic and lived-in world. To that end, most of the performers in the film are real people who are playing versions of themselves. The only recognizable actors are McNairy and Ehle, who plays Tabatha’s mom. The film does a great job of capturing the natural beauty of the region. There is great care taken to showcase the area and this way of life. It’s often peaceful and beautiful, even as the characters that populate it seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. It also works in large part thanks to Tabatha, who does a beautiful job in the lead role. You sense her passion, her frustration and, at times, her desperation. She’s a great anchor for a story that feels authentic and engaging as you’re following these people through their struggles.
Rating: Rated R for language throughout.
Verdict: Three stars out of five

Night Always Comes (Netflix)
Starring: Vanessa Kirby, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephan James, and Zack Gottsagan
Synopsis: It’s going to be a big back half of the year for Netflix with a number of high-profile streaming releases. This probably won’t be remembered as one of them. We focus on Lynette (Kirby) who has had a hard life and is struggling to make enough to hold on to her family home. She’s trying to create a safe space for her brother (Gottsagan), while struggling to improve herself. But she’s not getting much help from her mother (Leigh). After the down payment to secure a loan for the house disappears, she is left with one night to come up with the money. Pressed for time and down on her luck, Lynette chooses the only path she sees available to her. This is a weird and difficult film to watch. It’s a dark journey that gets progressively darker and seemingly more hopeless as the film wears on. All that only to get to an ending that left me deeply unsatisfied. It’s not clear how we’re supposed to view Lynette. The film goes to great lengths to try and show her struggle. But toward the end, it’s unclear if we’re supposed to be rooting for her at all. Kirby is a good actress who does a decent job in the lead role, but it’s just not a great story or a great part. In the end, the film is something of a slog.
Rating: Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, drug content and violence.
Verdict: Two stars out of five

Nobody 2 (Theaters)
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, RZA, and Sharon Stone
Synopsis: Back in 2021, Odenkirk stepped into a new role. Hutch Mansell seemed like a mild-mannered dad. But really, he had some hidden depths. Hidden and violent depths. And that journey was a surprisingly fun time from the writer of John Wick. So, it makes sense that we’d get a return to Hutch, his family, and his world.  Now, four years later, Hutch is back. He’s still a mild-mannered father, but he’s no longer hiding his special skills from anyone. In fact, he’s working so much he’s become the empty chair at the dinner table for his family. That is something that Becca (Nielsen) is struggling with as they approach summer. Determined to be more of a presence for his family, Hutch decides he needs a vacation. He does some thinking, but it’s a bumper sticker on a particularly violent job that gets him going. It’s for a water park and fun stop in the mid-west—a place Hutch went with his own father (Lloyd) and brother (RZA) when he was a kid. Hutch pitches the idea for his family. While his son, Brady (Gage Munroe), isn’t thrilled, the family agrees to go. Hutch picks up his dad and they head out. But the park isn’t exactly the sparkling good time he remembers. And it turns out, the town isn’t the warm, friendly place he’s expecting, either. Hutch clashes with the locals, particularly the prickly sheriff (Colin Hanks). But it turns out a ruthless criminal (Stone) is pulling the strings, and now she’s set her sights on Hutch for ruining her plans. Can he get out of it, dispatch those in his way, and keep his family safe? This film feels a bit like a cross between John Wick and Vacation. It’s a road movie. It’s about childhood nostalgia. But there are plenty of violent action sequences. All of it is pretty fun, at times. But it also feels a bit drawn out, even though it’s only about 90 minutes. Odenkirk is quite good in this role. I enjoyed his performance and his everyman killer. I like his back-and-forth with Nielsen, too. There is plenty to like in the set up, and the action sequences are enjoyable as well. But the plot here feels a little thin. Most of the supporting characters are a little thin, too. That’s especially true of the villains. Stone seems to be having fun. In fact, her little dance sequence made me chuckle, but her character is sort of one-note. That makes the concluding section a little bland, too. Overall, Nobody 2 feels like a fitting follow up to the original. But it lacks some of the pop and originality of that first film. It’s a fine summer action film, but it didn’t feel as interesting or compelling as the original.
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout.
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five.