With a long hot holiday weekend ahead, many might be looking for something to watch.
Richard Roeper shares what to watch and what to skip.
“Onslaught” (in theaters)
Sitting through this action horror film is like visiting one of those theme restaurants where it’s loud and colorful, and the food isn’t bad—but after about an hour, you have a throbbing headache and you just want it to stop.
After a dizzying opening title sequence reminding us of the constant chaos of the last several decades, “Onslaught” starts in intriguing fashion. Adria Arjona has a bona fide anti-hero presence as Celeste, a divorced mother and Army veteran who lives in a remote desert trailer park community that’s like the Island of Misfit Toys. With Celeste’s daughter Daisy (Blake Kennedy) visiting for the weekend, a squad of genetically engineered super-soldiers descend upon the area, hell-bent on killing everything in their sights.
I hate when that happens.
Director Adam Wingard is a skilled technician who is clearly going for an elevated B-movie vibe, but “Onslaught” feels more like a ripoff of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” than anything fresh or provocative. It’s great to see Reginald VelJohnson playing a hero-of-circumstance nearly four decades after he was Sgt. Al Powell in “Die Hard” and Michael Biehn popping in 42 years after “The Terminator,” but the callback casting doesn’t save the movie. Other terrific actors, including Dan Stevens and Rebecca Hall, are saddled with cartoonish villain roles where you give them points for trying but think maybe they should have passed on this script. Even with a running time of just 92 minutes, “Onslaught” felt like a marathon.
1.5 stars
“Come with Me” (in theaters)
Exploring our troubled world in a very different way, “Come with Me” is an alarming and at times devastating portrait of one man on the verge of unraveling because he cannot cope with the realities of his life. Theo Rossi gives a performance reminiscent of Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” and Michael Douglas in “Falling Down” as Simon Ward, an ordinary working-class man whose life begins to unspool, one episode at a time. Problems at work, the loss of a close friend, difficulties with his girlfriend Rebecca (an excellent Kate French)…we have to remember to stop holding our breath as we witness Simon spiraling.
Ron Perlman (Rossi’s former “Sons of Anarchy” co-star) is the voice on Simon’s radio—an alarmist talk show host named Dalton Kirby who preys on the insecurities and paranoid beliefs of his listenership. With Kirby pounding home the message that everything that happens to you is someone else’s doing, Simon’s resentment could soon boil over into rage.
Director Aaron Harvey (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Croom) has the confidence in his filmmaking abilities—and in the audience’s patience and intelligence—to render the story as a slow burn. “Come with Me” reminded me of character studies from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s that had a docudrama vibe. This isn’t an overtly political movie, nor does it lay the blame on a particular kind of media, though it certainly makes the point that all of us who have a keyboard or a microphone need to consider the consequences of our words. It’s a portrait of a man who isn’t equipped to adjust to life’s setbacks, and is at a loss for how to express how much he needs help.
3.5 stars
“Turning Point: Generation 9/11” (Netflix)
With the 25th anniversary of 9/11 around the corner, this is a timely and provocative documentary about the generation that wasn’t yet born or was too young to remember the attacks on America. Although “Generation 9/11” does an admirable job of recounting events and also establishes a through-line from September 11, 2001 to the state of our world today, its primary value is in giving a voice to members of Generation Z who inherited the aftermath of that day.
Laurel Homer was just 10 months old when her father, United Airlines Flight 93 co-pilot Leroy Homer, was killed. An Nguyen was 4 when his dad, Khang Nguyen, died at the Pentagon. Hearing how their respective traumas have impacted their lives and continue to do so to this day—it’s heartbreaking, but also inspirational, because these two young people are strong and bright and resilient. They give us hope.
At times the documentary attempts to do too much. We touch on the war on terror, Afghanistan, Iraq, anti-Muslim backlash, Homeland Security, an erosion in trust of our government and 9/11 conspiracies. All very worthy subjects, and director Brian Knappenberg is a true journalist (and sometimes advocate) who gives these issues the gravitas they merit, but it’s an awful lot to cover in just 97 minutes. One is left with the feeling that even though this is one of the best documentaries about 9/11 in the last couple of years, it could have used a second episode.
3.5 stars
Richard Roeper has reviewed films and TV series for more than 25 years, most notably with the Chicago Sun-Times and on the nationally syndicated “Ebert & Roeper.” Roeper is an entertainment and culture contributor to NBC 5 Chicago. He is the host of the globally popular “The Movie of Your Life” podcast, and he writes reviews for RogerEbert.com.
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