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Assistant bank manager, Nate (Jack Quaid), in his early 30’s has already outlived many with his medical condition, that is, Nate can’t feel pain; but now, after living a life of caution, the woman of his dreams, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), stands to turn all that upside down when she’s kidnapped by bank robbers. Now, using his disability as a super power, Nate will slog ahead from one brutal experience to the next in order to save Sherry, can he make it before his body gives out completely? Written by Lars Jacobson and Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, this action adventure turned on its ear delivers the fun in heaping helpings of bone chilling thrills, chills, and spills, boldly crossing the lines of taste, horror, and action in ways that seem all too plausible given the human body and its fallibility. All too often we see the hero escape from peril with but a scratch, Hollywood stunt performers to thank for the heavy lifting and suspension of disbelief, but what if we took that suspension away? Black eyes, and broken bones, Novocaine delivers the laughs and winces with comedic flair and a joke/gag that’s just long enough, teetering on too long, but still packs the punch necessary to cross the finish line with a thumbs up and a smile. Quaid’s charisma carries the load and plays nicely into archetypal design of the common man turned hero. Running one hour and fifty minutes, Novocaine is rated R.

Some time after Steve Rogers, the first Captain America, passed his shield, suit, and duties to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to take the reins as Captain America, Wilson finds himself taking orders from a president (Harrison Ford) he doesn’t fully agree with politically. Conflicted on his principles and the strains of nation states wrestling for power, keeping America in good grace on the international stage may prove to be too much, especially considering the fact that the string pullers appear to have stacked the deck against all odds. Written by Rob Edwards, Malcom Spellman, and Dalan Musson and Directed by Julius Onah, this post snap and Endgame continuation makes its best efforts to impress but instead comes up short with tired writing tropes, lack of originality in its antagonist development, and clunky choreography action set pieces. Further, less than impressive CGI lacks the luster and polish fans have come to expect in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is to say, the film’s failures aren’t in the hands of its actors, rather, it’s everything else around them that falls apart as Marvel fights its own uphill battle of viewer fatigue and set up for another sub-franchise without really advancing the overall MCU narrative much at all. On the positive, the film’s scoring brings a roaring orchestra back to the front providing a rich soundtrack to bounce viewers from start to finish, props to Composer Laura Karpman for creating a bold and rich soundscape. Running one hour and fifty eight minutes, this can wait for the small screen, Captain America: Brave New World is rated PG-13.

Years running the Heart Eyes killer has been wreaking havoc on Valentine’s Day, stalking and killing unsuspecting loving couples. Now, the reign of terror has come to Seattle, but, that streak may end if two unsuspecting (and not romantically intertwined) targets (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding) are wise to the game. Written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy and Directed by Josh Ruben this horror romp embraces the slasher sub-genre with love, affection, meta jokes and easter eggs making for a bloody good time, if that’s your thing. But wait, isn’t this a Romantic Comedy too? Well yes, as a matter of fact it is, but, following the rules of slasher engagement, creative methods of disembodiment are met with strong practical effects, sound design, and clever scoring. Meanwhile, written with tongue in cheek the laughs come along with winces and blood, so much blood. And, speaking of winces, a keen eye to the film might notice multiple palm trees in this version of “Seattle.” Apparently finding evergreen trees in New Zealand, where this film was actually shot, was too tall an order, pretty sure Peter Jackson didn’t burn them all up in the Lord of The Rings films, but whatever, the film boldly wears its B grade camp factor badge loud and proud, so be it. Looking for your unconventional Valentine’s counter programming, this might just be it, Running a brisk ninety seven minutes, Heart Eyes is rated R, for obvious reasons.