“Scream VI”

(Horror/Mystery: 2 hours, 2 minutes)

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Courteney Cox

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Rated: R (fStrong bloody violence and strong language throughout, and brief drug use)

Movie Review: The “Scream” franchise’s greatest accomplishment as a slasher movie is the ability to reinvent narratives in creative manners.

Such is the case here. Plus, “Scream VI,” like its prequels, is good entertainment if nothing else.

Sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter (Barrera and Ortega) and some of their close friends start a new life in New York City. Their lives quickly change after Ghostface (voice of Roger Jackson) follows them from Woodsboro.

As the sisters and their friends try to solve the mystery of the new Ghostface, the sisters encounter several new friends and old acquaintances such as famous writer and journalist Gale Weathers (Cox).

Courteney Cox and Roger Jackson have been in all six “Scream” movies. They reprise their iconic roles again for this enjoyable horror movie. They and other actors come across as campy at times but they never fail to impress.

A good start happens that hooks the audience. This horror starts cleverly with its murders.

From there, it never stops with murders, gruesome and cleverly orchestrated for entertaining moviegoers.

“Scream VI” offers audiences a mystery. Simultaneously, it offers comedy by spoofing its prequels and other horror movies. The candor works as this slasher flick continues a uniquely creative aspect of its successful formula.

Grade: B (Go ahead and get your scream on.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“65”

(Science-Fiction/Action: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt and Chloe Coleman

Directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

Rated: PG-13 (Intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images)

Movie Review: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods do double duties as directors and writers of this nominal science-fiction adventure.

Both men worked with John Krasinski to write and produce “A Quiet Place” (2018).

They supply all the needed ingredients in “65” to make it an action thriller of interest, yet they fail to capitalize on them compellingly.

Pilot Mills (Driver) accepts a two-year space expedition. Mills and his wife, Alya (Nika King), need the funds from the mission for medical treatment for their daughter Nevine’s illness.

However, the return journey to his home planet Somaris places Mills’ life in danger when he crashes on Earth during the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago.

Mills contemplates his chances of survival until he encounters one lone survivor, Koa (Greenblatt).

Mills decides to take care of the young girl as she gives him a motive to return home to his dying daughter. Apparently, on some distant planet, advanced technological inhabitants still have no viable health care system. That is the gist of this movie, which eventually leads to dinosaurs and two characters running for a considerable amount of this movie’s runtime.

Think of “65” as a combination of three movies. “Jurassic Park” (1993) and any of its sequels come to mind first as this movie contains dinosaurs. The second movie is “Enemy Mine” (1985) with Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. because Mills and Koa are stuck on a foreign planet trying to learn each other’s languages. The third is “Alien” (1979) because of a similar ending to “65” and both are survival movies. However, “65” is a lesser movie compared to those previous photoplays.

It is entertaining but just because a movie holds your attention does not mean it is good. The narrative appears as a mush of better movies as noted before.

Driver can be a compelling actor when given the correct script. “65” is not the one.

This is a drab science-fiction thriller, where characters are thin conceptualizations. The movie tries to make their connections to family ties compelling but never does so in a convincing manner.

One easily forgets about a dying daughter and the fact a girl just lost her entire family during a spacecraft crash every time dinosaurs appear. The only thought that remains continuously is “run and do it quickly.”

Grade: C- (Another fossil in the making …)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Close”

(Drama: 1 hour, 44 minutes; French language with subtitles)

Starring: Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele and Émilie Dequenne

Director: Lukas Dhont

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic material involving suicide and brief strong language)

Movie Review: European movies often have a sense of realism missing in many American movies – that is refreshing. This engaging and well-done coming-of-age narrative stays with one long after watching it. A Belgium film, it captures the complexities of how close male friendships are perceived and scrutinized unfairly. Even more, the script is well-acted by actors who say much with few words.

Léo (Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (Gustav De Waele) are age 13. They are the closest of friends. Students at their school insinuate they are more than friends. A student asks if they are lovers. This view of their intense friendship changes Léo and Rémi’s relationship in a detrimental manner that leads to tragic consequences.

A very angry character or a very happy character — the extremes — are easy portrayals. Solid acting happens in the between. Good acting is where characters’ words merely add to what one observes. Such is what happens in “Close.”

A splendid cast delivers. The younger cast members led by Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele offer some of the best performances by young actors in moviedom. Dambrine and De Waele’s scenes together are inspiring, even when tragic. Their innocent relationship has a major impact.

Dambrine is especially moving. He expresses a range of emotions from awe to angst brilliantly. He carries the movie in a way that rivals that of adult actors many times his age.

The end scenes have some annoying camera jarring, but use of colors and the settings captured are engaging backdrops for the story. Director Lukas Dhont and Angelo Tijssens pen a good screenplay. In 2018, they wrote the drama “Girl,” which Dhont also directed. They form a solid pairing here with “Close,” a gripping story that stays with you long after the end credits roll.

Dhont and Tijssens use subtle moments to convey a certain understanding that only comes from deep, meaningful relationships. They use that to carry this story, often letting you find out events as characters do. This makes one easily empathize with characters. You care about them and their current predicament.

Additionally, the writers relay much information that happens in the background without showing it. This makes one feel like Léo, the main character. As he reconciles his circumstances, so must audiences, and the emotional rise is worth it. The screenplay does overplay dramaticism to create cliché tearful moments. Instead, a richly rewarding drama is the presentation that uses fine acting to propel a narrative.

This Belgium film received a nomination for a best foreign language film Oscar and the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix. It is a deserved accolade. “Close” neatly captures the complexity of friendship and the outside influences that shape them. Hats off to Dhont, actors Dambrine, Waele, writer Tijssens and others of the cast and crew for this fine drama.

Grade: A- (Close to a perfect movie.)

“Blueback” (Drama: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell and Eric Bana

Director: Robert Connolly

Rated: PG (Thematic elements, peril and brief mild language)

Movie Review: “Blueback” is an environmental movie with visuals that are more impressive than its story. The screenplay is an adaptation of Tim Winton’s book titled the same, where Robert Connolly (“Balibo,” 2009) is the director and writer.

Abby (Wasikowska) returns home to care for her ailing mother, Dora (Elizabeth Alexander). The return causes Abby to recall her life growing up near a coral reef with her mother (Mitchell playing the younger mother). As a girl, Abby (younger played by Ariel Donoghue) befriended a large wild blue grouper while diving. She names him Blueback. She and her mother fought to save the coral reef from developers and poachers.

The visuals captured inspire one to travel to a beach. The movie makes good use of its blue ocean landscapes. However, the narrative is a thin one, although a nice one about protecting the habits of the oceans.

Characters are lukewarm portrayals because this movie’s slow-paced execution tries to capture too many years. Abby’s time as a kid trying to save the coral reef and its inhabitants with her mother are the best scenes. The rest are mild dramatic moments.

Grade: C+ (The scenic ocean scenes are inviting, but the rest is middling dramaticism.)

“Southern Gospel” (Biography/Drama/Music: 1 hour, 49 minutes)

Starring: Max Ehrich, Katelyn Nacon and Gary Weeks

Director: Jeffrey A. Smith

Rated: PG-13 (Mature thematic elements, drug use, violent content, suicide and language)

Movie Review: Recording artist Jeffrey A. Smith makes his directorial debut with this easy-going drama with nice music. The cast does a good job with their roles, but the plot hits all the formulaic concepts seen in other religious movies.

Samuel Allen (Ehrich) is the son of Preacher Joe Allen (Weeks). Samuel goes from gospel music to rock & roll during the 1960s. Samuel’s life is one tragic moment after the next. He is very much like the Bible’s Job. Because of his fast life, he is reaping what he sows. It is not until Samuel’s life leads him back to his faith that he finds a blessed life.

“Southern Gospel” is a biographical slice of Samuel Allen’s life. It shows that even a sinner can receive redemption.

The cast is what saves the movie. Max Ehrich (“Under the Dome,” 2013) is a welcome treat. He, Nacon, Weeks and others give it their all. They provide characters you want to follow; this is especially true of Ehrich’s Samuel Allen.

Too bad their performances exist in a soap-operatic bubble. The cliché story hits all of the dramatic moments seen too often in other faith-based movies.

Sometimes just a slice of a person’s life is enough. Allen’s life appears interesting enough to warrant a movie, even if too much of life is presented for the time allotted. This movie, via Ehrich’s performance, makes him appear a very likable person who overcame many obstacles. His story is inspiring, even if this script does not match.

Grade: C+ (Sing the gospel anyway.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar has been reviewing movies for about 25 years for The Valdosta Daily Times.