What to watch in theaters and at home this weekend Sept. 8-10, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Having spent the better part of two hours wrestling with technology to capture 6 minutes of a court hearing (Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, you may have heard of them), it’s an absolute pleasure to sit down and write something with a little less weight that allows a touch more personality.
And then I remembered that Netflix’s "Scouts Honor"was released this week and I felt the blood drain out of my face. These documentaries are hard to watch. Growing up in the ‘80s in a predominantly Mormon community meant being a Boy Scout was almost guaranteed. To say that I wasn’t really interested would be an understatement. Still, like it or not, Boy Scouts was a part of my life because it was so intertwined with attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the secular side of the LDS coin. It’s a gut punch to watch. We can’t continue to simply look the other way.
On a lighter note, I’ve enjoyed the “Ahsoka” series up to this point. I might wait until after the series finishes before watching the behind-the-scenes feature "Master & Apprentice: A Special Look at Ahsoka." But I most certainly will watch it.
They didn’t screen “The Nun II,” I’ll see it at some point. It’s the only film in the Conjuring Universe that I haven’t watched.
Here are a few options for your weekend.
The Scrapper (In Theaters, Digital On-Demand Retailers)
Studio Synopsis: This vibrant and inventive father-daughter comedy follows Georgie (Lola Campbell), a resourceful 12-year-old girl who secretly lives alone in her flat in a working class suburb of London following the death of her mother. She makes money stealing bikes with her best friend Ali (Alin Uzun) and keeps the social workers off her back by pretending to live with an uncle. Out of nowhere, her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson; "Triangle of Sadness," "Beach Rats") arrives and forces her to confront reality. Uninterested in this sudden new parental figure, Georgie is stubbornly resistant to his efforts. As they adjust to their new circumstances, Georgie and Jason find that they both still have a lot of growing up to do. Winner of a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, "Scrapper" is full of spirit, humor, and formal inventiveness that sets it apart from much of British working-class cinema. Dickinson and remarkable newcomer Campbell imbue irresistible charm into this moving and frequently hilarious story of two emotionally tangled people: a grieving kid thrust into adulthood and a father in over his head.
The Nun II (In Theaters)
Studio Synopsis: 1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.
Rotting in the Sun (In Theaters)
Studio Synopsis: Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva and celebrity influencer Jordan Firstman turn the camera on themselves in the hilarious Sundance hit "Rotting in the Sun," a refreshingly audacious meta-comedy skewering the business of filmmaking and our self-obsessed culture.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (In Theaters)
Studio Synopsis: Based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s young adult novel, the film centres on the friendship between two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso who explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.
Scouts Honor (Netflix)
Studio Synopsis: Through exclusive interviews with whistleblowers, survivors, and former employees, this investigative documentary exposes how the Boy Scouts of America attempted to cover up one of history’s most horrific child sexual abuse scandals.
Master & Apprentice: A Special Look at Ahsoka (Disney+)
Studio Synopsis: Dive into the new Star Wars master-apprentice legacy with the cast and filmmakers of "Ahsoka."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (4K Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Retailers)
Studio Synopsis: Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga, (2018, Best Animated Feature Film), "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Birth/Rebirth (Digital On-Demand Retailers)
Studio Synopsis: Rose (Marin Ireland) is a pathologist who prefers working with corpses over social interaction. She also has an obsession — the reanimation of the dead. Celie (Judy Reyes) is a maternity nurse who has built her life around her bouncy, chatterbox six-year-old daughter, Lila (A.J. Lister). When one tragic night, Lila suddenly falls ill and dies, the two women's worlds crash into each other. They embark on a dark path of no return where they will be forced to confront how far they are willing to go to protect what they hold most dear.
Dreaming Whilst Black (Paramount+)
Studio Synopsis: "Dreaming Whilst Black" is loosely inspired by real-life events, following Kwabena (Adjani Salmon), an aspiring filmmaker stuck in a dead-end recruitment job who takes the first step to achieving his dream. However, he is quickly confronted with the tribulations of balancing finances, love and his own sense of reality.
The Changeling (Apple TV+)
Studio Synopsis: Based on the acclaimed bestselling book of the same name by Victor LaValle, “The Changeling” is a fairytale for grown-ups. A horror story, a parenthood fable and a perilous odyssey through a New York City you didn’t know existed. In addition to LaKeith Stanfield, the series stars Clark Backo, Adina Porter, Samuel T. Herring, Alexis Louder, Jared Abrahamson and special guest star Malcolm Barrett.
Domina: Season 2 (MGM+)
Studio Synopsis: "Domina" season two chronicles the struggle for control of the Roman Empire, and of Rome’s Imperial Family, from a rare female perspective. In its first season, Livia Drusilla, the golden girl of the prominent Claudii family, returned to Rome after 10 years in exile, determined to regain everything that was stolen from her. Now, atop a fractious empire and a dysfunctional dynasty, she must fight to preserve her marriage to Gaius and find a way to seat one of her sons on the throne, as new and old rivals jockey for position in a world where it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Saloum (Shudder)
Studio Synopsis: Shot down after fleeing a coup and extracting a drug lord from Guinea-Bissau, the legendary mercenaries known as the Bangui Hyenas – Chaka, Rafa and Midnight – must stash their stolen gold bounty, lay low long enough to repair and refuel their plane and escape back to Dakar, Senegal. When they take refuge at a holiday camp in the coastal region of Sine-Saloum, they do their best to blend in with their fellow guests; including a mute named Awa, with secrets of her own, and a policeman who may be on their tail, but it’s Chaka who happens to be hiding the darkest secret of them all. Unbeknownst to the other Hyenas, he's brought them there for a reason and once his past catches up to him, his decisions have devastating consequences, threatening to unleash hell on them all Studio Synopsis: Shot down after fleeing a coup and extracting a drug lord from Guinea-Bissau, the legendary mercenaries known as the Bangui Hyenas – Chaka, Rafa and Midnight – must stash their stolen gold bounty, lay low long enough to repair and refuel their plane and escape back to Dakar, Senegal. When they take refuge at a holiday camp in the coastal region of Sine-Saloum, they do their best to blend in with their fellow guests; including a mute named Awa, with secrets of her own, and a policeman who may be on their tail, but it’s Chaka who happens to be hiding the darkest secret of them all. Unbeknownst to the other Hyenas, he's brought them there for a reason and once his past catches up to him, his decisions have devastating consequences, threatening to unleash hell on them all