What to watch in theaters and at home this weekend October 6-8, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — I’ve been in over my head trying to put this year’s Halloween and Horror Gift Guide together. It’s close. For the uninitiated, my guides tend to be a window-shopping experience filled with links and opportunities to fall down a few rabbit holes.
Nevertheless, the world moves on without me. This week’s options are primarily of the streaming variety. Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life” stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as estranged lovers who cross paths for the first time in 25 years. It’s not nearly as outlandish as I would have liked it to be. The most over the top sequence is a flashback that is amusing but it feels unnecessary. There’s some dialogue that will raise some eyebrows. Still, Almodóvar and Art House fans will want to take in the 30-minute short.
The big release, at least in theory, is “The Exorcist: Believer.” They didn’t screen the film for local critics. That’s not unusual for a horror release but it feels like a confession.
This week saw the end of “Ahsoka,” which I liked quite a bit but have been told that I’m that it, like everything Star Wars, terrible. I beg to differ. This week also sees the beginning of the second season of “Loki.” I’ve seen the first three episodes and enjoyed them. Yes, I wish that Loki was less heroic and more self-obsessed and unpredictable. Those days appear to be in the past. Maybe they’ll be in the future as well.
I’ll likely find the time to at least give “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” a taste. You never know.
I’ll probably catch the latest “The Great British Bake Off” episode. It seems to happen.
Stay safe, enjoy your weekend.
Strange Way of Life (Theaters)
Studio Synopsis:A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship....
The Exorcist: Believer (Theaters)
Studio Synopsis: Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; "One Night in Miami," "Hamilton") has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, "Good Girls") on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia O’Neill), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.
Loki: Season 2 (Disney+)
Studio Synopsis: "Loki” Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius, Hunter B-15 and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie, Judge Renslayer, Miss Minutes and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.
Fair Play (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis: When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, once supportive exchanges between lovers Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) begin to sour into something more sinister. As the power dynamics irrevocably shift in their relationship, the couple must face the true price of success and the unnerving limits of ambition. In her feature debut, writer-director Chloe Domont weaves a taut relationship thriller, staring down the destructive gender dynamics that pit partners against each other in a world that is transforming faster than the rules can keep up. Also starring Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer, and Sebastian De Souza, "Fair Play" unravels the uncomfortable collision of empowerment and ego.
Haunted Mansion (Disney+)
Studio Synopsis: Film Inspired by Classic Theme Park Attraction Features an All-Star Ensemble Cast Including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, and Daniel Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto as the Hatbox Ghost
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines
Studio Synopsis: In 1969, a young Jud Crandall is set to leave his hometown of Ludlow, Maine in search of his life’s purpose. Before he makes it out, however, Jud and his childhood friends encounter an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding.
Monster High 2 (Paramount+)
Studio Synopsis: The ghouls are back and will stop at nothing to protect their pack.
V/H/S/85 (Shudder)
Studio Synopsis: The next installment in the infamous found footage anthology franchise, V/H/S/85 is an ominous mixtape blending never before seen snuff footage with nightmarish newscasts and disturbing home video to create a surreal, analog mashup of the forgotten 80s. Starring Freddy Rodriguez, Dani Deetté, Justen Jones and Rolando Davila-Beltran.
Our Flag Means Death: Season Two (Max)
Studio Synopsis:Loosely on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). After trading the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede’s fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas they found love. Now, they have to survive it.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Paramount+)
Studio Synopsis: Caine Mutiny Court-Martial follows a U.S. naval first officer who’s standing trial for orchestrating a mutiny after his captain shows signs of becoming unhinged and jeopardizes the lives of his crew. Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, Monica Raymund, Lewis Pullman, Jay Duplass, Tom Riley And Lance Reddick.
Ballerina (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis: An exquisite revenge action thriller about a merciless ex-bodyguard Okju (Jun Jong-seo) who hunts down Choi (Kim Ji-hun), a man responsible for the death of her dear friend Minhee (Park Yu-rim).