MOVIE REVIEW: 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

 

Dr. Kelson finds himself in a shocking new relationship with consequences that could change the world as he knows it, while Spike's encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can't escape.

Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry

Release Date: January 16, 2026

Genre: Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, graphic nudity, language throughout, and brief drug use

Runtime: 1h 50m

Review:

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the second film in the planned trilogy, takes the story and style in a different direction than its predecessor to effectively find its own voice thanks to a pair of contrasting but equally stellar performances from Jack O'Connell and Ralph Fiennes.  Nia DaCosta takes over the reins from Danny Boyle behind the camera and delivers a brutal sequel that’s hauntingly beautiful at the same time.  DaCosta takes a different approach than Boyle’s kinetic style with something more straight forward but just as visually impactful.  She delivers plenty of brutal gore throughout especially from the Jimmy’s story thread but she counterbalances it with thoughtful, pensive beauty and a healthy influx of music with Dr Kelson’s side.  Kelson’s storyline does offer more humor than expected thanks to Ralph Fiennes’s all in performance that plays as an incredibly nuanced character study.  Fiennes delivered excellent work in the first film even with his limited screentime but he’s just phenomenal here with the expanded screentime.  The character’s established empathy is further expounded on, but we get more insight into his mental state as he tries cope with loss of his former life and world.  His relationship with the infected Sampson offers him a sliver of hope as he attempts to treat him with plenty of real-world subtext simmering underneath that story thread.  On the other end of the spectrum is Jack O'Connell who fully embraces his deliciously garish villain that’s built a person army through violence and indoctrination.  His character is mentally twisted but manipulative enough to have created his own Satanic cult as a response to his childhood trauma from the start of the outbreak.  O'Connell give his Jimmy Crystal a sense of self-awareness especially when it comes to his belief structure especially when he comes face to face with Fiennes’s Kelson who is purported to be his father, Satan.  When he and Fiennes share the screen there’s a delicate dance between the two performers after initial trepidation before finding common ground to speak to each other with a sense of honesty.  It’s a fascinating sequence that leads into the film’s grand finale, which is a spectacle all on its own thanks to subverting expectations of where this would all go.  There’s set up for the final entry which clearly hands off the baton but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple proves to be the rare middle feature that stands on its own two feet with impressive confidence.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MARVELS

 

Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. However, unintended consequences see her shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with two other superheroes to form the Marvels.

Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Samuel L. Jackson

Release Date: November 10, 2023

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for action/violence and brief language

Runtime: 1h 45m

The Marvels manages to shake up the standard formula by leaning into its weirdness which ends up making it fun if rather light comic book fun similar to another franchise tangent, Thor: Ragnarok.  Nia DaCosta delivers an energic and efficient entry into the long running franchise that smartly keeps the focus on the tangible chemistry between the three leads.  Sure the overall story is fairly basic by comic book standards with a central villain that barely registers as one dimensional.  The stakes are what you would expect with these kind of films but in this film it almost seems besides the point and we are given a steady stream of kinetic, body swapping action sequences that are cleverly staged and always fun.  DaCosta moves her film at pleasantly breezy pace which is a welcome change of pace after a series of overly serious and bloated chapters that have populated the Marvel release schedule over the last few years.  As a result, Brie Larson comes off far more comfortable and relaxed here than she did in the original film.  Larson is given a bit more rope with the character and she embraces it especially in some of the film's wackier sequences such as a planet whose populace communicates through song.  These sort of left turns provide a steady bit of organic comedy that works better than last year's more ham fisted Thor: Love and Thunder.  Larson benefits from having Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani join her this go around with their interplay and relationships serving as the lifeblood of the film.  Parris and Vallani bring their small screen characters to the big screen with relative ease but Vallani's youthful charisma shines through the entire film.  The three of them together keep the film moving even as it moves to a fairly predictable end as they try and stop Zawe Ashton's villain.  Ashton fares the worst of the primary group as we are given the slightest sliver of information about her character's motivations which leave her with little to do outside of stare and scream maniacally and little else.  The story and characters are tied to a variety of separate, preestablished mythology, mostly from Marvel TV shows, but its surprisingly not weighed down by the script making the most of exposition dumps to catch the uninitiated up to speed.  The Marvels might not be the most impactful entry in the MCU but it is one of the easiest to enjoy in recent memory.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: CANDYMAN

 

In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, Anthony and his partner move into a loft in the now gentrified Cabrini. A chance encounter with an old-timer exposes Anthony to the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to use these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, he unknowingly opens a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence.

Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Colman Domingo. Vanessa Williams, Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen

Release Date: August 13, 2021

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references

Runtime: 1h 31min

Review:

Nia DaCosta’s spiritual sequel to the 90s cult favorite is visually impressive with a thematically timely message even if it’s overly didactic in its delivery.  The original film was the type of horror film that worked because its general premise was incredibly strong even if the actual execution was a lacking. This sequel has an art house feel to it which gives the overall story a stylish overhaul which makes for a beautiful film to look at.  The story itself suffers from its clunky social justice message and horror roots.  DaCosta is trying like crazy to make a stronger overall point by reworking the Candyman mythos but it doesn’t feel as organic as it should, instead there are multiple moments where the film feels the need to beat the message into your head.  At the same time she’s attempting to deliver a slasher film that leans on body horror a more than jump scares.  The cast is incredibly committed which makes the film an easy watch.   Yahya Abdul-Mateen II leads the film with relative ease even though his character commits every horror movie mistake you can think of.  He’s able to overcome the scripts deficiency and delivers a fascinating portrayal of a man decent into madness.   The supporting cast is just as strong with Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo all leaving a strong impression.  Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen both have roles in the film but your left thinking that the director and script could have made better use of Todd who is the embodiment of the character in the original films.  Even with its fault, Candyman delivers an entertaining refresh/reboot of the series that leaves the door open for future installments. 

B