TEXAS, USA —
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER
The last thing you want aboard your ship is Dracula as a stowaway!
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" is based on a chapter of Bram Stoker's original Dracula novel. A 19th century charter ship is sailing from Romania to London carrying some private crates - contents unknown. Big red flag there! In one of those crates is Dracula looking for fresh blood.
Yah, you could call it a doomed cruise!
Corey Hawkins stars as a doctor on board, and he gets plenty of work as he tries to care for crewmembers under attack, while also trying to slay the winged devil.
Norwegian director André Øvredal said his goal was to make the scariest 'Dracula' movie in a long time. His guy is creepy, I'll give him that. To be honest, I saw no real need for this movie, but I was entertained just enough not to drive a stake through its heart.
(Universal Pictures. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 58 mins. In Theaters Only)
JULES
Has Sir Ben Kingsley lost his marbles?
Some townfolk might think so, the way he rants about the same things over and over at town meetings. Then his character, Milton, gets a visitor ... the kind that arrives in the backyard aboard a flying saucer! And Milton does what any proper host would do, invites it into his home. Fort Worth's Harriet Sansom Harris plays Milton's confidential friend. His other lady friend, played by Jane Curtin, also agrees to keep the secret, as the trio tries to figure out how to guide 'Jules' back home before the local police find out.
Oscar winner Kingsley is endearing as a man who's beginning to fade into dementia and finds a kindred spirit in his visitor. Director Marc Turtletaub has a nice touch with small town eccentricities.
(Bleecker Street. Rated PG-13. Running Time 1 hr. 30 mins. In Theaters Only)
HEART OF STONE
She's been pretty convincing as "Wonder Woman," how about Gal Gadot as a super secret agent?
She stars as "Rachel Stone," an undercover intelligence operative in "Heart of Stone." There's plenty of action, and she thrives on it, as she tries to hang on to a valuable asset sought by others.
Jamie Dornan co-stars, and I was hoping this would turn into a version of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" but no such luck. In fact, his character is a disappointment. The movie shares an executive producer with "Mission: Impossible," and parts are clearly derivative of those and other spy films. The difference here, she leads with her heart. (Is that supposed to be a female thing?) There's some buzz this could turn into a franchise for Gadot, but it would need some fine tuning and more original notes.
(Netflix. Rated PG-13. Running Time 2 hrs. 2 mins. Streaming Only)
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE
"Red, White & Royal Blue" is a royal rom com with a twist.
A British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) falls for the son of the American President (Taylor Zakhar Perez). Of course, they can't stand each other at first. Who's the more pompous? Then it all starts to click. Now, how to make this work on a world stage that's not likely to be accepting. Uma Thurman plays the president with quite a Texas drawl, and there are plenty of references to her Lone Star home state. This feels a little like a woke Hallmark movie complete with spots of cringey dialogue, but you do root for these two handsome fellows.
(Amazon Studios. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 58 mins. Streaming Only)
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