When I can’t think of anything else to talk about, I’ll lean on what I’ve been seeing at movie theaters lately.  I’m grateful that I can, and that there are still movies that I want to leave the house and see. There may not be as many as there used to be, or it’s all about the same, and I’m just stoned to the nines on nostalgia, but either way I haven’t been disappointed with the releases I’ve caught.

I’m very ritualistic and routine-driven in my day-to-day life and going to the movies surprisingly gels with that. Some think it’s weird to go to the movies alone, but I recommend it highly if you’re a quiet control freak who likes setting your own terms. You can show up whenever the hell you want. Getting snacks takes a lot less time. And you don’t have to worry about someone like me making weird noises and mutterings from start to fucking finish.

Everyone wins. It’s great.

I’ve been enjoying most of what I’ve seen. Air and Paint were both worth watching in their own ways. Air is directed by Ben Affleck, whose movies are fun to see on a larger screen. Maybe I’ll review them for the column someday, but not this month, because I can’t be bothered to do some sort of themed edition about movies I’ve seen in theaters. I’m writing this introduction in early April, because that’s the only time I have. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll have also seen Renfield, Evil Dead Rise, The Pope’s Exorcist, Sisu, and *probably* the Ari Aster release Beau Is Afraid. I wish there were some genres to throw in with horror, but that’s fine.

Maybe we can do a whole movie theater to-do then.

The Unheard (2023): C-

If nothing else, The Unheard proves Lachlan Watson has enough charisma and talent to carry an entire movie. That’s a little harsh, but when a film frustrates me as much as The Unheard did, it’s tempting to just emphasize the best things about the film and call it a day. There are in fact several things in this exasperating experience that I enjoyed. There’s so much more The Unheard could have done with the premise of a young woman named Chloe (Watson has been rightfully praised for their performance here) taking part in some fun experimental surgery to restore her hearing. It works, but apparently it also deepens her relationship to what’s either the spirit world or just a thrilling series of brisk auditory hallucinations. 

My problem with The Unheard, which is beautifully shot by cinematographer Owen Levelle, is that it’s just not very dammed interesting most of the time. At a little over two hours, the movie spends its time either torturing Chloe, or setting up relationships or possible threads that don’t really seem to go anywhere or tell us anything. It’s impossible for me to see anything but a well-made film with an interesting premise just spinning its wheels with a lengthy (for horror anyway) running time it just doesn’t need. The Unheard’s frequent lack of focus undermines any momentum created by talented individuals like director Jeffrey A. Brown or screenwriters Michael and Shawn Rasmussen.

The Unheard is okay, but there’s a lot here that in my mind could have been better.

The Sacred Spirit (2021): B+

Writer/director Chema García Ibarra is someone to watch. The Sacred Spirit doesn’t seem like it had a lot in the way of budget and resources, and yet the film manages to be frightening, humorous, and incredibly absorbing. There’s a slow rhythm to the proceedings of the story of a UFO cult trying to put itself back together after the death of their leader. This goes up against a second narrative involving a missing little girl. 

What do these things have to do with each other? The movie dances between these subjects and makes it abundantly clear early on that the gradual pace and casual atmosphere of situations that become increasingly despairing as we go on is going to pay off in a big way. The movie is well-acted and tightly built around its clustered locations. A mild sense of claustrophobia follows as you watch characters played so well by non-actors like Nacho Fernández and Llum Arqués. A persistent moodiness and dread that something unspeakable is going on.

Good news there definitely is. Even better, if you’re into The Sacred Spirit, the ending is guaranteed to stay with you for a long time. One of the best movies I’ve seen in 2023, with a handful of scenes that are still nagging at my ability to get a good night’s sleep in an ever-uncertain world.

The Americanization of Emily (1964): B+

It doesn’t get much better for black comedy in this time period than The Americanization of Emily. Written by the legendary Paddy Chayefsky, directed by the equally-great Arthur Hiller, and with a cast that includes James Garner, James Coburn, and Julie Andrews, you’re almost certain to enjoy yourself. 

Turning Emily into a lunatic who screeches about vaccines and shoots beer cans, the film is certainly prescient of these modern times. Of course, I’m just kidding, as this movie came out in 1964 and is set during the Second World War. The film is actually about a lieutenant commander in the Navy (Garner), who cynically views the war as a cosmic dumpster fire that isn’t worth his time. Instead, he hangs back, gets special items for special people, and falls in love with a motor pool driver (Andrews in one of her best). He soon finds himself for the distinct honor of being the first person to die on Normandy during D-Day.

Why? Because some lunatic in the Navy believes a naval officer should be the first to sacrifice their life for the war effort. This concept of glory is where The Americanization of Emily stops being a slightly dark romantic comedy and becomes a brutal and generally subtle commentary on war itself. Releasing this film period at the start of Vietnam took balls, and it’s nice to know both Julie Andrews and James Garner each considered this film to be the favorite of their respective careers.

Brain Dead (1990): C-

Brain Dead at least seems like something I should enjoy. I had been meaning to watch this cult psychological horror film with Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman for years. While I’m not sorry that I finally did check it out a couple of months ago, it’s possible that I built up its entertainment potential too much in my own head.

It sounds odd to have expectations of any kind for a movie like this, in which a neurosurgeon (Pullman) is offered the chance by a corporation (with Paxton as an old friend who brings him the opportunity) to do groundbreaking work involving a brilliant scientist (Bud Cort, so again, this movie has a lot going for it) who went a little wacky and murdered his whole family. Turns out this scientist also has a secret that the corporation wants to get to. There’s way too much going on in this movie, as you may have guessed by now, leaving us with a messy rollercoaster experience.

But goddamn, if that messy experience still isn’t pretty enjoyable. Pullman, Paxton, and Cort are all fun to watch in their roles. The script by director Adam Simon and Charles Beaumont has several really cool ideas running around. There are even a few moments of low-budget wizardry that make for some frightening and surreal visuals. It doesn’t quite make for a full movie though, with bland characters, a pretty terrible ending, and the movie’s low budget occasionally taking you out of the fun. There’s still quite a bit to enjoy here though, so I’d suggest still seeing what Brain Dead has to offer. Hopefully you’ll get a little more out of it than I did.

The Devil is a Woman (1935): A+

The last of six astonishing collaborations between Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg, The Devil is a Woman almost gives you whiplash from how fast it moves and eventually crashes you into the final moments of its thrilling romantic drama narrative. An older soldier (Lionel Atwill) runs into a friend and younger soldier (Cesar Romero, decades away from playing Joker on the Adam West Batman series). The younger solider tells his friend of a woman who has caught his eye. Obsessed with her, he soon learns that his friend knows the woman (an electric Marlene Dietrich) quite well.

The Devil is a Woman sets up a shocking amount of intrigue in a love story that begins and ends in just 79 blistering minutes. The chemistry between the cast is perfect, with an excellent script that builds perfectly to an ending that emphasizes Sternberg’s theatrical flourishes and penchant for actually wrapping up the various threads the movie introduced.

Gabriel Ricard writes, edits, and occasionally acts. His books Love and Quarters and Bondage Night are available through Moran Press, in addition to A Ludicrous Split (Alien Buddha Press) and Clouds of Hungry Dogs (Kleft Jaw Press). He is also a writer, performer, and producer with Belligerent Prom Queen Productions. He lives on a horrible place called Long Island.