Matthew Liedke on Film

REVIEW: ‘Backrooms’ boasts good premise, but stumbles in execution

I’ve heard some horror stories about the retail space, but this one might take the cake.

In “Backrooms,” a film inspired by online horror stories, Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a furniture store owner whose career as an architect was completely derailed. Clark is also coming off a difficult divorce, which he discusses regularly with his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve).

His furniture business isn’t going well, either, as sales have dried up. His latest round of bad luck comes when the electricity at his store starts going haywire. While looking into the issue, though, he discovers a doorway to a sprawling, labyrinth-like alternate realm. He soon becomes obsessed with the space, to the concern of those around him.

REVIEW: Strong set pieces don’t resolve ‘He-Man’ adaptation issues

Was this supposed to be “Masters of the Marvel Universe?” No? Could have fooled me.

In this titular universe, the focus is primarily on the world of Eternia, where a great cosmic power has long been held in the form of a sword and safeguarded by a royal family. That world comes under attack by a warlock, Skeletor (Jared Leto), hellbent on taking the sword, and the associated power, for himself.

With defenses failing, the young prince of Eternia, Adam, is sent to Earth with the sword to keep it away from Skeletor. The film then picks up with Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) as an adult, who is seeking the sword after losing it in the wormhole to Earth. Once he does retrieve it, he has an opportunity to return to the world he left and stand against Skeletor’s evil.

REVIEW: ‘Tuner’ is a total bore

For a film about instruments being fine-tuned, it’s a shame this doesn’t manage to strike a chord. Sorry if that’s not the cleverest lede for this type of film. Alas, I played brass in high school.

Anyway, “Tuner” is a film that, unsurprisingly, centers on a piano tuner. More specifically, a tuner’s apprentice named Niki (Leo Woodall), who works for his boss Harry (Dustin Hoffman). Niki was once a promising pianist himself, but had to shift to being a tuner when he began to suffer from hyperacusis, an increased sensitivity to sound.

That sensitivity also means he can pick up subtle noises, such as the gears in a safe mechanism. Once he demonstrates that he can crack a safe thanks to this, he’s recruited by a trio of thieves. At first, his life starts to turn positive with the new gig, as he’s able to support his sick mentor and he gains more confidence to start a relationship. However, things later take a turn for the worse.

REVIEW: While not genre defining, ‘Pressure’ nicely dramatizes D-Day

We’ve seen the major D-Day invasion and its aftermath portrayed in cinema plenty of times. I guess it only makes sense to get a look at how the planning went before the English Channel was crossed.

Rather than determining what type of force is needed to storm the beaches of Normandy, though, “Pressure” centers on the meteorological efforts needed to know when to launch. The picture is largely from the vantage point of James Stagg (Andrew Scott), a meteorologist who was summoned by General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) to help the process.

However, Eisenhower’s decision was based on a recommendation from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and he already has a weather expert who he’s relied on before. That expert, Irving Krick (Chris Messina), forecasts calm weather, contrasting Stagg’s outlook of a storm. As D-Day gets closer, their disagreement puts the invasion at risk.

REVIEW: ‘I Love Boosters’ is bold, but ultimately breaks down

When it comes to “B” things I love, I can’t say boosters is on the list. Bourbon, basketball, burritos. I love those, but not boosters.

This movie didn’t really change that fact, either.

The film is writer/director Boots Riley’s sophomore effort after helming 2018’s “Sorry to Bother You.” His latest film is a surreal crime comedy starring Keke Palmer as Corvette. While she has a passion for designing clothes, challenges in life have forced her into shoplifting and reselling fashionable attire.

She conducts her boosting efforts in company with friends Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige). In addition to earning the nickname the Velvet Gang, their activities also catch the attention of a powerful designer who is furious about her clothes being stolen.

REVIEW: ‘Is God Is’ is pretty God damn good

What’s better than a roaring rampage of revenge? A roaring rampage of revenge with a two protagonists.

That’s what audiences can expect in “Is God Is.” The film is an adaptation of a play by the same name, penned by Aleshea Harris, who makes her feature film debut as the writer and director of the movie. The picture follows a pair of twins, Racine ( Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) who are on a mission.

As children, they were forced to witness their mother, Ruby, be burned in a murder attempt by their abusive father, known only as The Monster (Sterling K. Brown). They themselves were burned, too, and the Monster got off free in court. Because of her injuries, Ruby was unable to raise her kids, but now on her death bed, she asks her two daughters to get revenge.

REVIEW: Silly ‘Sheep Detectives’ will leave a smile on your face

Greg from “Succession” solving a murder with help from sheep wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card, but I’m not complaining.

Nicholas Braun, who earned Emmy nominations for his work in the HBO series, is part of an ensemble cast in this family feature. Braun stars as a police officer in a small town named Tim, who is suddenly tasked with looking into the mysterious death of a local shepherd, George Hardy (Hugh Jackman).

However, he’s not the only one investigating George’s demise. A murder mystery fan, George often read detective novels, and did so out loud to his flock of sheep. The group of animals, led primarily by Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), feel obligated to get justice for George as well, and try to help the case by relying on what they learned in stories.

REVIEW: High octane ‘In the Grey’ excites, but doesn’t fully engage

In terms of grey movies, this isn’t as good as 2011’s “The Grey,” about on par with 2020’s “Greyhound” and better than 2022’s “The Gray Man (I think that counts).” Take that for what you will.

When it comes to “In the Grey,” Eiza Gonzalez stars as high-powered attorney Rachel Wild. The title gives insight into Rachel’s profession, she works in-between the criminal underworld and major financial institutions, or as she calls it, the black and white of the fiscal world. The grey. Her latest effort involves trying to recover a loan from a crime lord for a major establishment.

In order to do so, she recruits her elite team, headlined by two black ops-level individuals, Sid Sensible (Henry Cavill) and Bronco Beauregard (Jake Gyllenhaal). The trio, along with others on the team, set up an elaborate scheme to not only hurt the crime lord’s wallet, but come prepared with firepower in case the situation gets out of hand.

REVIEW: ‘Obsession’ wastes interesting ‘Monkey’s Paw’ concept

I honestly wish I had just played “Yandere Simulator” for two hours instead.

For those unaware, yanderes are characters appearing in Japanese anime and manga who have a major obsession with their love interest, usually to a violent point. That sort of character is represented in Nikki over the course of “Obsession,” where she’s played by Inde Navarrette. However, the film centers on Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston).

Bear has long been wanting to ask Nikki, his coworker at a music store, out on a date, but hasn’t worked up the courage. He finds a solution, though, in a small trinket that says it can grant any wish. He wishes for Nikki to fall completely in love with him, and expects it to do nothing. However, it works better than Bear could have imagined.

REVIEW: ‘Mortal Kombat’ is mostly poor filler between a few fun fights

Karl Urban is back in a video game adaptation and it’s certainly better than his last outing 20 years ago. Although, 2005’s “Doom” isn’t exactly a high bar.

Regardless, in this sequel to the 2021 “MK” film, Urban stars as Johnny Cage, a former martial artist turned action movie hero whose Hollywood career has declined. Now just attending fan conventions for money, he’s somewhat directionless in life. That is until he’s recruited to represent the realm of Earth in a tournament.

That tournament is one that will determine whether the empire of Outworld, ruled by the warlord Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), can conquer Earth. However, while the emperor’s forces are powerful, there is a dissenter in his daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), whose own world was conquered by Outworld after her realm lost a similar tournament.