The Ritual Review

Directed by: David Bruckner (V/H/S, The Signal, Southbound)

Starring: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier

Written by: Joe Barton (Humans, Our World War, iBoy) Based on the book by Adam Nevill

Released: On Netflix

Review: Going into the woods never works out well in these kinds of movies.
The story of this British movie follows a group of men who go hiking in Sweden. They decide to take a shortcut, and are stalked by some mysterious force along the way.
This is a tense and effective horror thriller. It starts out as a slow burn thriller, but gradually amps up the intensity until the end. The first hour or so is reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, but the third act delves into a more Lovecraft aspect. However, this final act, despite having some great monster design, is not as subtle or scary as everything before it, and the ending leaves something to be desired.
But this is still a decent horror movie.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A Quiet Place Review

Directed by: John Krasinski (The Hollars, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, 3 episodes of The Office)

Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds

Written by: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski

Released: In theaters

Review: Sometimes, a movie doesn't even need sound to be good.
A Quiet Place takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, overrun with monsters. The monsters are blind, and rely on hearing to track their human prey. So, the main characters have to be sure to make as little sound as possible to avoid attracting them.
Therefore, most of the movie takes place in almost complete silence. On the rare occasion where the characters talk, it is in sign language (with subtitles), with only a couple exceptions. But every time a sound is made, it is intense because you know that it could attract the monsters. In other words, the tone and atmosphere are perfect.
The last forty-five minutes or so of this movie is constant suspense, that never falters. It's very well put together, and the characters feel real enough for you to hope they get out alive.
A few complaints I have with the movie is that there are a few character decisions that don't make a lot of sense, a common issue with a lot of horror movies. Also, ironically, it relies a little too heavily on jump scares.
But this is still an excellent and original horror movie. However, a major issue a lot of people are going to have is that since it is so quiet, you will be able to hear every little sound from within the theater. I know I was able to hear the sounds of people eating popcorn and shifting in their seats. But just know that throughout the second half, the entire theater was as quiet as the screen.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Isle of Dogs Review

Directed by: Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums)

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johannsen, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton, Liev Schrieber

Written by: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura

Released: In theaters

Review: Wes Anderson delivers another great stop-motion animated film with Isle of Dogs.
It takes place in a near-future Japan, where all dogs have become the carriers of a disease called canine flu, and are quarantined to a island. The mayor's nephew runs away to the island to look for his own dog, with the help of a band of dogs.
The story is told mostly from the perspective of the dogs. Most of the human characters, including the boy, only speak in Japanese, translated by a completely different character, if at all. But, as we are informed at the beginning, "all of the dogs' barks will be heard in English." But it also very closely follows a related story on the mainland, about a government conspiracy behind the quarantine.
Even though it is an animated comedy about talking dogs, this film has a lot of dark material, mostly about the poor living conditions on the island, and certain parts of the conspiracy. This is probably the main reason for its PG-13 rating.
But despite all that, there is plenty of humor and much of it has a light tone. It has all of the trademarks of a Wes Anderson movie. It's kind of funny and kind of sad, and has a fast paced and consistently interesting story.
It may possibly be more for adults than it is for children (although I think that older children can watch it if they want to), it is still a great animated film with a lot of Wes Anderson's style.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars