What to watch in theaters and at home this weekend Oct. 20-22, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Let's just get something out of the way. I apologize to anyone who might have tried to sit through Peacock's "John Carpenter's Suburban Scream" series. I wrongfully assumed that Carpenter wouldn't attach his name to something so obviously terrible. You live, you learn.
The big theatrical release this week is Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon."The film has been praised by many and criticized by few. I’m among the more negative opinion. It’s beautifully shot, the art design is top tier, and Lily Gladstone is great. However, the meandering script and the decision to tell the story through Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Ernest Burkhart, is a cinematic travesty. I may be alone on this hill. I’m willing to die on it.
I clearly should have spent my time watching “The Pigeon Tunnel,” Apple TV+’s documentary on British spy David Cornwell (aka John le Carré).
The Pigeon Tunnel (Theaters, Apple TV+)
Studio Synopsis:Academy Award-winning documentarian Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of former British spy David Cornwell — better known as John le Carré, author of such classic espionage novels as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Constant Gardener. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War leading into present day, the film spans six decades as le Carré delivers his final and most candid interview, punctuated with rare archival footage and dramatized vignettes. "The Pigeon Tunnel" is a deeply human and engaging exploration of le Carré's extraordinary journey and the paper-thin membrane between fact and fiction.
Killers of the Flower Moon (Theaters)
Studio Synopsis:At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Also starring Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is directed by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, based on David Grann’s best-selling book.
Butcher's Crossing (Theaters)
Studio Synopsis:Based on the seminal novel by John Edward Williams, Gabe Polsky’s epic frontier adventure, Butcher’s Crossing, is a riveting commentary on human nature, ambition, masculinity, and man’s relationship to his natural environment. Academy Award™ winner Nicolas Cage (1996, Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas) stars in a gritty story about buffalo hunters in the Old West. Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) has left Harvard to find adventure. He teams up with Miller (Cage), a mysterious frontiersman offering an unprecedented number of buffalo pelts in a secluded valley. Their crew must survive an arduous journey where the harsh elements will test everyone’s resolve, leaving their sanity on a knife’s edge.
Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling (Theaters/On Demand)
Studio Synopsis:The life and career of experimental artist Robert Irwin, whose installations have radically expanded the possibilities of what art can be. Irwin began as a painter in LA’s “Cool School” scene, before developing a new way of working that made perception itself the subject. Irwin’s notable works include the Central Garden at the Getty Center in LA and untitled (dawn to dusk) in Marfa, Texas. New interviews with the artist and his colleagues are supplemented by archival materials, including photographs and archival recordings, as well as new, immersive footage of Irwin’s artworks.
Hayride to Hell (Theaters)
Studio Synopsis:Set on the Coxe Family Farm in rural Willis County, Farmer Sam (Bill Moseley) exacts his bloody revenge on unscrupulous local town-folk, including Sheriff Jubel (Kane Hodder), who menace him and attempt to steal the farm that has been in his family for 200 years.
Bodies (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis: Four detectives. Four timelines. One body. Based on the mind-bending graphic novel by Si Spencer, Bodies is a police procedural with a twist. When a body – the same body – is found on Longharvest Lane in London's East End in 1890, 1941, 2023 and 2053, one detective from each period must investigate. As connections are drawn across the decades, the detectives soon discover their investigations are linked, and an enigmatic political leader – Elias Mannix (Stephen Graham) – becomes increasingly central. Did he have a part to play in the murder? Or is something far more sinister at play? To solve the mystery, our four detectives must somehow collaborate and uncover a conspiracy spanning over 150 years.
Creature (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis:Creature, an epic story that takes place in the final era of the Ottoman Empire dwells on one of the most fundamental questions of mankind, “death and afterlife”. Ziya, an adventurous, rebellious, thriving and smart, young medical student has the insatiable desire to become an excellent physician and to find cure to infectious diseases. Ziya’s path crosses with Ihsan, a fellow medical doctor, balancing the fine line between genius and insanity. He is the only person who truly understands Ziya’s ambitions. However these two estranged, wounded souls will pay the price for the forbidden experiment they were brave enough to conduct. The ancient encryption they have tried to decrypt could let all hell break loose.
Night of the Hunted (Shudder)
Studio Synopsis: When an unsuspecting woman (Camille Rowe, "No Limit") stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she’s made the plaything of a sociopathic sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Old Dads (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis:Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs and anything created after 1987.
Sick Girl (Theaters/On Demand)
Studio Synopsis:When Wren Pepper (Nina Dobrev) feels her closest friends slipping away, she lets loose a little white lie that snowballs into a colossal, life-altering event. Jennifer Cram’s feature film debut is a hilarious take on the price of insecurity and the rewards of true friendship. Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), Dan Bakkedahl (Veep), Brandon Mychal Smith (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Sherry Cola (Good Trouble) join Dobrev in a brilliant comedy you won’t want to miss
Surviving Paradise (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis:Twelve contestants think they are going to have the summer of their lives, living the life of luxury in a clifftop, oceanside villa. What they don’t know is that they’ll have to start with nothing, living in the woods without any lavish amenities. Through friendships and alliances, they’ll team up to fight their way into the villa for a chance at the $100,000 grand prize.
Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis:In his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.