What to Watch This Weekend: Candyman, Rushed, Wildland, Lost Leonardo, Vacation Friends, Peter Rabbit 2, First Love, A Taxi Driver

For A Stylish Horror Sequel: Candyman (Theaters)

Candyman is a fresh take on the classic horror film that is dripping with both style and blood, and a focus on social justice that uses horror to impart an important message.  Although you don't have to have seen the first one to enjoy this movie, you might be confused about some of the backstory if you don't!  For more information, check out the review!

For A Tense Family Drama: Rushed (Theaters and Digital)
Rushed mixes drama, grief, and thriller to create a compelling fraternity hazing story fueled by Siobhan Fallon Hogan's amazing performance and an intense opening and conclusion.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Scandinavian Tense Family Drama: Wildland (Virtual Cinema)

Wildland is a tense family drama with wonderful performances for this complicated, sinister family and a slow burning, intricate story.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Fascinating Art Documentary: The Lost Leonardo (Theaters)

The Lost Leonardo is a fascinating dive into the history of the Salvator Mundi and into the art world as a whole, with a look at the controversy and political influence surrounding the work.  For more information, check out the review! 

For A Hilarious Vacation Film: Vacation Friends (Hulu)

Vacation Friends will take you on a crazy trip with some a hilarious Cena and Hagner, plenty of laugh out loud moments, insane situations, and some genuine heart.  For more information, check out the review!

For The Kids: Peter Rabbit 2 (Redbox)
The well received follow up to Peter Rabbit is now available on Redbox, so beat the heat and give your kids an enjoyable movie night!

For A Stylish Japanese Film: First Love (Amazon Prime)

First Love is a tough film to follow, but those that do will be rewarded with some really interesting characters, fantastic music, and one of the most fulfilling final sequences I have seen in a film.  For more information, check out the review! 

For A Powerful Korean Drama: A Taxi Driver (Amazon Prime)

Kang-ho Song headlines this powerful drama about a down on his luck Taxi driver caught in the midst of the Gwanju Uprising!

Candyman Review: A Stylish Successor To The 90s Horror Film

Release date: August 27, 2021
Running time: 91 minutes
Director: Nia DaCosta
Screenplay by: Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and Nia DaCosta 
Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo

For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his partner, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.  But does the ghost still exist even though the neighborhood has changed?

Candyman is Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta's reimagining of the classic horror film and wow am I glad they got a hold of this.  The new version drips with style right from the start.  In fact, the film starts with a mirror world type feel with the splash screen shown backwards.  And the text in the sequence is the stylized Candyman text that evokes a papercraft feel that will make sense later in the film.  The opening has hints of a mirror world and the bee theme of Candyman by showing upside down buildings and things that look like hives.  Candyman also has some really great sequences showing paper cut out storytelling to both give it a classic feel and feels very fresh.  The movie also has some great music and moves the legend more towards a social justice message, both of which give the film a decidedly more modern feel.    

And the film has a nice slow buildup, like every good horror movie should.  It takes its time to set the stage and really lay the framework for the legend, giving the audience plenty of background.  But that's not to say that the film gives all the secrets away during the buildup, there are still revelations that occur throughout.  And the film is just a good horror movie through and through, from the slow buildup to the brutal effects.  There isn't a lot of gore, but when it's there, it is very well done with solid practical effects to ensure that everything looks as real as possible.  

However, although Candyman is a fresh reimagining of the story, it feels a little incomplete.  The rules for the killer seem simple at first, but don't necessarily conform as the movie progresses.  And I absolutely loved the social justice focus for Candyman; it seems like a great way to use horror, but it doesn't feel like it is fully realized.  It feels like an important message and one that should be explored, but melding it with this existing Candyman property didn't seem to mesh.  And finally, there were some weird reactions to the Candyman kills that just felt a little off.  I will say that apparently seeing the 1992 Candyman helps a lot with the comprehension, but as I hadn't seen it there was some story confusion for me. 

Candyman is a fresh take on the classic horror film that is dripping with both style and blood, and a focus on social justice that uses horror to impart an important message.

Watch it.

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Candyman is in theaters on August 27, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

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Screening: See Jordan Peele's Fresh Take On Candyman Early And Free

We have partnered with Universal for an early screening of the Candyman, Jordan Peele's fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend!  The film is coming to theaters on August 27, 2021, but you can check it out early and free!  Details and entry form are below!

Candyman

Director:
Nia DaCosta

Screenplay by:
Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta 

Starring:
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo

Synopsis:
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his partner, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.

Rating:
R

 Screening Info:

CANDYMAN
Tuesday, August 24

7:00pm

Regal Majestic

900 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring, MD

Screening Link!