What to Watch This Weekend: Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Martyrs Lane, Final Set, Malignant, Worth, 12 Mighty Orphans, Hood River, Killing of Two Lovers

For A Musical Journey Of Self Discovery: Everybody's Talking About Jamie (Theaters)

Everybody's Talking About Jamie and rightly so; the movie adaptation of the musical has entertaining and impactful songs, a vibrant cast, and an emotional story about finding yourself.   For more information, check out the review!

For A Subtle Unconventional Haunting: Martyrs Lane (Shudder) 
Martyrs Lane is a sumptuously subtle tale about grief, love, and religion that has a slow burning story and a softer, but no less horrifying, supernatural experience for the viewers.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Drama About Sports And Life: Final Set (Virtual Cinema)

Final Set is a masterful sports drama, that focuses as much on life as it does on the sport through its fantastic characters, dramatic music, and exciting and intense finale.  For more information, check out the review!

For An Inspirational Sports Drama: 12 Mighty Orphans (Amazon)

12 Mighty Orphans scores with its blend of comedy and drama, interesting characters, and truly inspirational story of sports and life.  For more information, check out the review!

For A James Wan Throwback Horror: Malignant (Theaters and HBO Max)

James Wan's new horror film has hints of 80s horror and a lot of big ideas.  It is mixed, but generally positive reviews.

For A Drama Worth Your Time: Worth (Netflix)

Michael Keaton has come back to films with a vengeance and Worth is his latest film, which is getting great praise for its gripping and thoughtful nature.

For A Simmering Family Drama: The Killing of Two Lovers (Hulu)

The Killing of Two Lovers is a powder keg of emotion that follows a stressful family situation with great dialogue, cinematography, acting, and a compact story.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Sports Drama That Looks At Race And Class: Hood River (Digital)
Hood River looks at race and class through the lens of small town soccer, with good lessons in hard work, empathy, perseverance, and leadership.  For more information, check out the review!

What to Watch: Dead Pigs, Finding You, The Man in the Hat, Killing of Two Lovers, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Mauritanian, Oxygen, Undergods

For A Masterful, Dramatic Satire: Dead Pigs (Virtual Cinema)
Dead Pigs is a brilliant, satirical look at wealth, business practices, and social perception versus reality in a changing China, fueled by a biting humor and wonderful style.  For more information, check out the review!

For An Irish Coming of Age Rom Com: Finding You (Theaters)

Finding You is as fun as an Irish jig with an entertaining dynamic between the leads, an enjoyable story, and some beautiful shots of the Irish countryside.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Quirky Change of Pace: The Man in the Hat (Digital)

The Man in the Hat is a quirky, bright, and beautiful celebration of life and love that proves that often the journey is more enjoyable than the destination.   For more information, check out the review! 

For A Simmering Family Drama: The Killing of Two Lovers (In Theaters)

The Killing of Two Lovers is a powder keg of emotion that follows a stressful family situation with great dialogue, cinematography, acting, and a compact story.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Dystopian Deep Dive: Undergods (Digital)

Undergods's dire setting and storytelling format make for a fascinating, varied, and horrifying deep dive into this dystopian world.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Star Studed Legal Drama: The Mauritanian (Redbox)
The Mauritarian tells an impressive and important story of justice delayed with an all star cast and plenty of legal and political drama!  For more information, check out the review!

For A Throwback Action Thriller: Those Who Wish Me Dead (Theaters and HBO Max)

Those Who Wish Me Dead is a 90s style action thriller with an all star cast and great direction.  It is streaming on HBO Max for 30 days so make sure to check it out!

For Those Afraid of Being Cooped Up: Oxygen (Netflix)

A claustrophobic scifi thriller, Oxygen makes the most of its limited setting and will have you holding your breath as you watch the protagonist try to conserve her own.

The Killing of Two Lovers Review: A Compact, Tense, and Unusual Family Drama

Release date: May 14, 2021
Running time: 84 minutes
Written and Directed by: Robert Machoain
Starring: Clayne Crawford, Sepideh Moafi, Chris Coy, Avery Pizzuto, Arri Graham, Ezra Graham

The Killing of Two Lovers follows David, who desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife, Nikki.  They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife's new relationship. 

The Killing of Two Lovers is elegant in its simplicity.  The story mostly follows David who is grappling with this new life of being separated from his wife.  He is trying to stay strong for the kids while struggling with the rage and jealousy that accompanies this sudden change in situation.  The film is compact, which can be seen by the 4:3 aspect ratio and the fact that the movie moves along nicely despite its slow pace.  The 4:3 aspect ratio is very interesting, and feels like it makes some of the shots feel cramped and also lets you focus on the characters on screen.  The film is set in a small town and although not a lot happens, the movie masterfully weaves in the emotion and David's conflicted feelings to every scene.  And these scenes are beautifully done, with a small town American vibe that seeps into much about this movie.  

But it is not the scenery that is the most striking thing about this film; it is the sound.  The movie has pointed, important dialogue that tells you plenty about what is going on without having to spell it out for the viewer.  And the film has unsettling sounds throughout that keep the tension on.  The film opens with a scene that will make you wonder when and how the killing occurs, and the film then uses industrial and gun sounds within the soundtrack.  This causes you to stay on edge throughout this film, despite it almost never having to overtly scare you.  I was surprised by how tense I felt at times during very normal circumstances.  You are constantly wondering where this film will go.  The film is a powder keg and at any moment you are worried that it will go off.  

And the dialogue is so well done.  You see David trying to stay strong and mature for his kids while struggling himself with these changes.  There are some really beautiful scenes where he is objectively taking a mature look at this situation for the sake of his family contrasted with some more raw, emotional scenes where he is questioning why he agreed to this.  And it is not just David that has this.  There are great scenes with the children and with his separated wife that really let you see how much unsaid emotion is brewing in this whole scenario.  It is a wonderful way to tell this story and lets you see the many facets of this confusing but modern family change. 

The Killing of Two Lovers is a powder keg of emotion that follows a stressful family situation with great dialogue, cinematography, acting, and a compact story.

Watch it.

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The Killing of Two Lovers is in theaters and on demand starting May 14, 2021. For tickets, click here.

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