“The Banshees of Inisherin”

(Comedy/Drama: 1 hour, 54 minutes)

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon

Director: Martin McDonagh

Rated: R (Language throughout, violent content and brief graphic nudity)

Movie Review: Director-writer Martin McDonagh only has a few movies on his resume, yet he provides audiences with entertaining, memorable movies.

Notables are “In Bruges” (2008) and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017). “The Banshees of Inisherin” is a comedy that stretches its story but remains interesting.

Set on an Irish island called Inisherin during the Irish Civil War, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Gleeson) were lifelong friends, until Colm unexpectedly in the spring of 1923. Padraic asks why but Colm refuses to tell him. After Padraic’s constant badgering, Colm threatens to cut off a finger every time Pádraic confronts him.

Matters escalate to aggressive consequences. As Pádraic attempts to determine the why, he must also dodge the shenanigans of local annoyance Dominic Kearney (an amusing Barry Keoghan).

A banshee in Gaelic folklore is a wailing female spirit whose wailing warns of impending death in a family. Seasoned actress Sheila Flitton as Mrs. McCormick plays that role here. She offers an eerie presence in this movie, showing up at interesting moments to offer insight into the actions of others.

McDonagh works with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, 14 years after the dark comedy “In Bruges.” The three men make an awesome trio. This remains so with “The Banshees of Inisherin.”

The movie offers drama and comedy. It takes about half of its runtime to get somewhere but it is worth the wait. It becomes weird at points but becomes more entertaining as it progresses.

This is mainly because of the talented portrayals by Farrell, Gleeson and an enjoyable supporting cast. The two men’s odd friendship is an uncanny one.

Gleeson’s Colm never reveals why he is ending their friendship. His character just keeps telling Farrell’s Pádraic he does not like him anymore. He gives no reason beyond those words. This fuels the plot and makes it all interesting as one wants a reason for why he no longer likes Pádraic.

Their weird friendship becomes a showdown of sorts that their entire town begins to follow. As this occurs, audiences get talented performers providing good turns as their onscreen personas and one receives nice visuals of a coastal town in Ireland. Some moments become weirdly perplexing and some are ghoulish actions by characters, but the entertaining townspeople, accents and all, are fascinating.

Grade: B (Banshees cry out with delight.)

“Spirited”

(Comedy/Musical: 2 hours, 7 minutes)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer

Director: Sean Anders

Rated: PG-13 (Language, thematic elements, some suggestive material)

Movie Review: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” receives an expanded story with this good comical musical. It follows the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell). He attempts to reform businessman Clint Briggs (Reynolds) after Ghost of Christmas Present’s boss Marley (Patrick Page) classifies Briggs as irredeemable.

The movie is a musical and it works with good comedy to inspire audiences during the holiday season. Ferrell revives his title as Christmas’ comedian with his role here, following the popular Christmas movie “Elf” (Director Jon Favreau, 2003). He and Reynolds are a charismatic comical pairing this outing.

Under the direction of Sean Anders (“Instant Family,” 2018), the movie is energetic from start to finish. Anders and co-writer John Morris present an enjoyable remake of Dicken’s classic tale. The movie works as a comedy. It presents some smart gems, such as Ferrell’s character telling someone in a Buddy the Elf costume, “You look stupid.” Also, Tracy Morgan as the voice of the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come is surprisingly very amusing.

The movie is a fun holiday treat. It is almost an overload with visual/special effects and some subplots, yet it never fails to live up to its name.

Grade: B (Spirited indeed.)

“The Menu”

(Thriller/Mystery: 1 hour, 47 minutes)

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult

Director: Mark Mylod

Rated: R (Strong disturbing violent content, strong language throughout and sexual references)

Movie Review: “The Menu” is seven courses of artful entertainment. It presents a mystery to solve served with food and interesting people. It appears like some mix of an Alfred Hitchcock movie and an episode of the “Twilight Zone.”

It is terrifyingly intense on multiple levels and each offers something tasty for cinema-goers.

Foodie fanboy Tyler Ledford (Hoult) and Margot Mills (Taylor-Joy) are a young couple on a date. They travel to a remote island. There, they and several others form a short guest list at an exclusive restaurant called Hawthorne, where celebrity Chef Slowik and his assistants have prepared a lavish seven-course menu.

The other guests include fading actor George Díaz (John Leguizamo) and his personal assistant and girlfriend Felicity (Aimee Carrero), noted food critic Lilian Bloom (Janet McTee) and her editor Ted (Paul Adelstein); wealthy couple Richard and Anne Liebbrandt (Reed Birney and Judith Light), young arrogant business partners Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang) and Dave (Mark St Cyr) and Slowik’s alcoholic mother (Rebecca Koon).

The guests arrive ready to eat, not knowing they have been selectively invited by the famous chef Slowik who has something major planned for them besides food.

Mark Mylod is known for directing television episodes of “Entourage” and “Game of Thrones.” He directs “The Menu” with a flair that should garner him more offers for big screen ventures in the future.

The cast is a marvelous group. Each dinner guest easily holds his or her own, yet Fiennes and some members of his Jim Jones-reminiscent staff like Elsa, the restaurant’s maitre d’, played by Hong Chau, are uncannily and effectively creepy. They help generate certain anxiety. That tension grows as the movie progresses.

This is a mystery on the verge of being a horror almost until the very last scene. Taking place primarily in a restaurant, food becomes secondary as story elements are revealed and a certain nerve-racking playout happens, even if all the character motives do make sense. “The Menu” is powerful as it is keenly disturbing, a tantalizing treat.

Grade: B+ (A delectable treat.)

“She Said”

(Drama/History: 2 hours, 09 minutes)

Starring: Carey Muligan, Zoe Kazan and Patricia Clarkson

Director: Maria Schrader

Rated: R (Language and descriptions of sexual assault.)

Movie Review: An interesting take on the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault and harassment cases. This intriguing narrative is based on real-life events and the reporting of New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, played by Carey Muligan and Zoe Kazan.

Their reporting was ridiculed at first until they got well-known actresses to reveal what happened to them when they were sexually accosted by Harvey Weinstein.

Director Maria Schrader, who directed the German movie “I’m Your Man” (2021), turns Twohey and Kantor’s book “She Said” into an investigative mystery. The writers piece together evidence under tough situations, including threats. They have a difficult time pursuing the case, especially considering the sexism they face.

The movie proves that the behavior of men — especially wealthy men — is dismissed originally, but the behavior of women is quickly vilified by the public. The movie shows people taking men at their word over that of women when nearly 90% of crime that takes place on this planet is committed by men.

The 1976 film “All the President’s Men,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford enters the mind when watching “She Said.” Instead of bringing down a president, this is the fall of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The movie is good when it stays on track.

“She Said” wanders for a moment when it tries to reexamine the events of the 2016 election and some well-known media pundits’ downfall. After those moments, the movie finds a firm footing and the onscreen reporters run with their gripping investigation.

Grade: B (Heed her words.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar has reviewed movies for more than 20 years for The Valdosta Daily Times.