Evil Dead
Fede Alvarez’s remake of the 1981 classic lacks the black humor of the original, yet it’s never boring. Alvarez knows how to stage a scary (and gory) scene, but his film is undermined by the usual bane of young-people-in-peril movies: a script that has our heroes constantly doing and saying unbelievably stupid things. Release: 2013 Grade: B-
*****
Session 9
At a creepy, abandoned mental hospital in Massachusetts, the asbestos-laden walls are slowly being peeled away — but so is the sanity of one of five workmen hired to do the job. Session 9 is a rarity, an intelligent chiller for viewers who believe that the real horrors in life aren’t found in cabins in the woods, but in the human brain. Release: 2001 Grade: B+
*****
Thor
It’s a bit empty-headed and relies on glitzy special effects, but Thor is also armed with good old-fashioned storytelling and plenty of charm. And yet … by thunder, am I the only one wondering why the esteemed Kenneth Branagh is now directing comic-book movies? Release: 2011 Grade: B
*****
Starlet
A young porn actress befriends a grumpy old lady (85-year-old Besedka Johnson, in her first and only film before her death earlier this year), and a sweet and funny relationship ensues. I must be getting old, because at the midpoint of this surprisingly good twist on Harold and Maude, there is a brief but explicit sex scene — and I thought it destroyed the mood. You heard that right: I am complaining about a sex scene. But not enough to turn me off to this unpredictable, touching little drama. Release: 2012 Grade: B+
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