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An anonymous kid (Dev Patel) working in the underground fight club scene of India discovers his own inner power to exact retribution and vengeance against the corrupt political and religious leaders who murdered his mother when he was a young boy. Now, cheered on by the weak and powerless, Kid in fact re-enacts the Hindu tale of Hanuman a devoted companion to the deity Rama…fear his wrath. Written by Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela, John Collee, and Directed by Patel this polished action sits as an interesting amalgam of its predecessors, Fight Club, John Wick, Slumdog Millionaire, Snatch, and Unbreakable; drawing on the known characteristics of each to create this rock and roll assault of the senses. It would seem Patel is paying homage to his cinematic gods as he takes the reins in this directorial debut whilst also palatably weaving eastern philosophy into a tapestry for western audiences. Are molds, stereotypes, and caste systems broken by this film, absolutely not, but that’s not the point, the end result is a romping, stomping good time that has enough whimsy and blood spurting to keep ardent phlebotomists and spatter experts intrigued. It’ll be fun to see where Patel jumps to next as a director, he’s clearly been taking good notes so far. Running a little long at two hours and one minute, this adventure is rated R, for obvious reasons!

Raised in a Catholic orphanage and now slated to become a nun, Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), an American, is transferred to Rome Italy before she takes the cloth. But, when dark events and encounters cause her to question her faith, a conspiracy within the church is exposed shining light on birth of the antichrist.Written by Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, and Keith Thomas and Directed by Stevenson, this return to the evil incarnate and the Catholic Church serves as prequel to 1976’s (now cult classic) The Omen and employs many of the same scare tactics and visuals as its shelf-mate, which while somewhat of a retread, still work effectively 48 years after the fact. Nothing says creepy quite like panicked nuns praying by candle light while something lurks in the darkness, and, given the proximity to old architecture and ritual, extra creepy in the old country, so to speak. Additionally, despite its known and predictable outcome, it’s still fun to watch our antihero’s capitulate; although, by act three a sharper editor’s razor could have made for a more divisive and implied plot as opposed to the existing spoon fed narrative that spells things out in block letters, lowering the overall IQ of the film, ho hum. Still, reprisals of the original score bring back that nostalgic sense of dread, the dark one returns, and, as we know, true evil never really dies. Running two hours and rated R, The First Omen gets a wink and a nod for this weekend.

Titans Godzilla and Kong are called back to the mysterious lost land of Hollow Earth by a psychic beacon. Meanwhile, sole survivor of the people of Skull Island, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), is called to the same source, end result, the origin of the titans is revealed; it might also unite the most unlikely foes to thwart a new common enemy.Written by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater and Directed by Adam Wingard this latest installation arrives almost squarely on the 91st anniversary of King Kong’s debut to the world in 1933. Building on the narratives of Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019) this heaping pile of a convoluted mess already assumes buy-in to the overall premise and then ante’s up with even more stale story telling empty of humor and big on CGI set pieces that crash, smash, and bash their way to the one hour and fifty five minute finish line. Which is also to say that the film pretty much lands exactly as one would expect, big monsters doing their thing, narrated by humans with the richness of Saturday morning cartoons, if anything the formula is consistent. On the positive, the overall look of the largely digital spectacle appears polished, so there’s that. Regardless, it’s hard to move the needle to “recommend” on this creature feature, it might make good laundry folding material though. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is rated PG-13.