Terrifying ‘Discuss to Me’ will get to you, we promise – Hartford Courant

Should you desire your leisure darkish and twisted, will we ever have simply the correct movie and sequence suggestions for you this week.

Learn on, should you dare.

“Discuss To Me”: With their first function, Aussie twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou repurpose a well-recognized trope, pinning the blame for dreadful, horrible goings-on on a moderately obscure object, on this case a creepy, graffitied ceramic hand that has the facility to summon up the useless and possess the soul of any idiot who decides to repeat key phrases. However even when the setup appears uninspired there’s nothing routine about “Discuss to Me.” That is one freaky, talk-back-at-screen horror present. It’s worthy of all of the hype it’s getting.

You develop into effectively conscious you’re coming into brutal territory from the beginning with a shocker of a prologue that units us up for extra carnage. Central to the movie’s success, although, is Sophie Wilde’s totally dedicated efficiency as Mia, a weak Australian teen who’s recovering from her mother’s terrifying loss of life. Mia avoids her dad and hangs out principally on the house of her bestie Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and together with her impressionable, kinda-nerdy youthful brother Riley (performed with distress by Joe Chook, who in all probability wanted remedy after filming this one).

As an alternative of a seance unleashing some mayhem, we get a youngsters’ social gathering whereby getting excessive or toasty leads bored members to repeat what they’ve seen — and shared — in fashionable viral movies, that includes that hand taking possession of a human host. Yup, it’s not a lot of challenger to determine the place “Discuss to Me” is heading. Doesn’t matter. There are oh-no-they-didn’t slaps to the brow over silly conduct, out-of-nowhere violent scenes and shocks that’ll have your head spinning, even swiveling away from the display at what’s occurring. This one is for certain to get to you. Particulars: 3 stars; in theaters July 28.

“Sympathy for the Satan”: If a screenplay requires Nicolas Cage to return outrageously unhinged, a director ought to simply step apart and let the Oscar winner go for it — tearing all the things up in sight and spitting out each line of dialogue. To my delight, that’s what we get  in director Yuval Adler’s two hander, a quick and livid exercise that finds Cage over-emoting, over-gesticulating and hamming it as much as scrumptious excessive. As a mysterious kidnapper with a snazzy lounge lizard jacket and a imply streak of Joker-like flaming hair, Cage devours all the things in his path and spits within the fairly face of Joel Kinnaman’s character, a determined dad attempting to get to a Las Vegas hospital the place his spouse is delivering baby No. 2. Written effectively by Luke Paradise and directed with neo-noir moxie by Adler, the plot does collapse upon itself within the remaining act. However that’s incidental to what’s come earlier than — notably an unforgettable roadhouse diner scene that might even make Quentin Tarantino a bit envious. Each actors play off one another effectively on this insane little indie that’s higher and extra outlandish than you’d ever count on. Particulars: 3 stars; in theaters July 28.

“Black Sands”: A problematic relationship forces cop Anita (a mercurial Aldis Amah Hamilton, who can be co author of this sequence) to exit Reykjavik and return to the spiderweb of her hometown, a vacationer vacation spot the place over time the vacationers are turning up as corpses. That’s what Anita, now on the drive, offers with simply as she pulls into city and searches for clues on and round a useless physique, maybe the most recent sufferer of a serial killer.

The story sounds moderately run of the mill, and actually, the opening shot — an overhead view of against the law scene — suggests we’re heading towards rote materials. Guess once more. This eight-part sequence uncoils slowly, but it strikes like a toxic viper and isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. The case dredges up familial and village secrets and techniques and divulges sexual fetishes and quite a lot of suspects. This superior Nordic noir is intense, horny, well-acted and unnerving. It’s acquired quite a few nominations, and is out there on Viaplay, a brand new streaming platform that showcases Scandinavian sequence and movies. Count on to binge all of it weekend. When you’re there, try the gorgeously shot and tender homosexual coming of age sequence “One of many Boys.” Particulars: 3½ stars for “Black Sands,” 3 stars for “One of many Boys,” each obtainable now on Viaplay.

“Darkish Winds Season 2”: What hyperlinks a rampage by an unstoppable killer (Nicholas Logan) and the actions of a weirdo desert cult for wealthy, hippie folks? That’s the tangled query vexing reasoned Navajo tribal detective Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and suave FBI man Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) as they attempt to tie issues collectively whereas the our bodies pile up round them. Based mostly on the fourth novel — 1980’s “Individuals of Darkness” — in creator Tony Hillerman’s revered sequence, the setup creates one thing chewy for incoming showrunner John Wirth to tackle.

The sequence’ sophomore season is best than the primary, and presents us with a head-scratcher of a thriller together with welcome appearances from TV veterans similar to Jeri Ryan (“Star Trek: Voyager”) as a wealthy potential suspect and A. Martinez (the cleaning soap “Santa Barbara”) as a sheriff lending some assist.

Season 2 additional addresses a tragic loss in Leaphorn’s life and raises consciousness in regards to the horrifying injustices perpetrated on indigenous girls. Tautly directed (usually by Chris Eyre), “Darkish Winds Season 2” is satisfying and twisty, and encompasses a trio of memorable performances from McClarnon, Gordon and Jessica Matten, whose character Sgt. Manuelito confronts  a tricky profession resolution.  Whereas it may appear awfully bleak, there’s humor too, together with a four-legged troublemaker locked up on the jail. It’s a sequence that’s arduous to withstand. Particulars: 3 stars; season begins July 30 on AMC.

“They Cloned Tyrone”: Think about if Jordan Peele and Boots Riley partnered as much as make a film. The outcome would in all probability wind up being one thing alongside the traces of this outrageously humorous, irresistibly surreal Netflix authentic — one of many streamer’s greatest latest comedies.  In it, drug vendor Fontaine (John Boyega), pimp Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and prostitute Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) uncover a freaky conspiracy that’s taking place within the Glen, a tricky, sketchy neighborhood the place everybody’s destiny will get round. When Fontaine will get rubbed out one evening in a deal gone dangerous after which wakes up the following morning in mattress, this crew is aware of that one thing’s up and don their Nancy Drew (she earns props right here) caps to determine what lies beneath a sequence of circumspect discoveries. Extra satisfying in its story arc than Peele’s “Nope,” director and co-writer Juel Taylor’s function debut is crammed with power and social commentary relevance. His is a richly imagined and visually spectacular (cinematographer Ken Seng deserves awards consideration) world, and the laugh-out-loud screenplay he and Tony Rettenmaier wrote fires off joke after joke whereas paying homage to blaxploitation movies of yore. And the trio of actors are lit all through, every important in pulling this one off, and making us chuckle all through. And there’s nice cameo too from Kiefer Sutherland. Particulars: 3 stars; obtainable on Netflix.

Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].