Welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything, a weekly guide to notable new movies opening or becoming available each Friday.
Leading theaters this week are the latest DC comic book movie Clayfaceand the sexy fable Wicker,which had a steamy trailer that went viral earlier this year.
If you’d prefer a movie night at home, you can rent or buy the killer low-budget thriller The Weightwith Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, or check out Mark Wahlberg’s By Any Means.
And over on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, The Cycle, a new horror movie worth your time, debuts on Shudder. Plus, one of the year’s best comedies, The Invite,finally makes it way to HBO Max.
Let’s dive in!
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Movies newly available to rent or buy
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Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have
🎥 What to watch in theaters
The buzziest release: Clayface
Why I liked it: The DC Universe now appears to be taking cues from those “Spider-Man villain origin stories that do not in any way feature Spider-Man for contractual reasons” like Venom,Morbiusand Madame Web.Clayface shows us the birth of an antihero who roams the streets of Gotham and will presumably encounter Batman in the future at some point, offscreen.
Thankfully for James Gunn and Peter Safran — the latest architects of Warner Bros.’ DCU, which is off to a rough-ish start after this summer’s Supergirl— Clayfaceis far more satisfying. It plays more like a Universal Monster movie or something akin to Sam Raimi’s cult classic Darkman.It’s also borrowing heavily from stuff like The Flyand The Thing, as well as from more obscure genre fare like Basket Caseand the works of Brian Yuzna.
Matt Hagen’s (Tom Rhys Harries) meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and left with nothing, Matt seeks out a cutting-edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, sending him spiraling down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
What the movie lacks in a compelling screenplay it more than makes up for with nasty gore that will make you wince, from the initial face-slashing to the wild ways in which Matt’s face contorts and distorts itself after he injects himself with nanocells. It also sports some very ugly fake digital background work — is it really that hard to just film in an area that has an actual train? — but that’s hardly movie-ruining.
The movie is at its most effective when it’s showcasing its extremely hard-R-rated body horror, which thankfully manifests itself in various incredibly effective ways throughout. At one point he’s forced to do some light facial surgery during extreme turbulence on an airplane, like a particularly evil Jackass segment.
Clayfacemay be little more than a pastiche of more successful fare, but it gets enough right to recommend for fans of squirm-inducing body horror. DC should be begging in-demand filmmaker of the moment Zach Cregger to come over to Warner Bros. and make his passion-project spec script Henchman, though I fear that unless Clayface is a big hit, it might be a tough sell.
What other critics are saying: Reviews are mixed but lean positive. The AP’s Mark Kennedy writes, “We may not have asked for it, but it’s a crowd-pleaser, mimicking its title character’s ability to be a little something for everyone.” David Fear at Rolling Stone, however, calls it “the equivalent of eating a handful of Play-Doh™, and twice as flavorless.”
How to watch:Clayfaceis now playing in theaters nationwide.
This review was written by my colleagueKelsey Weekman.
Another buzzy option: Wicker
Why it’s worth seeing: Since its ovation-earning premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, I have been unable to avoid advertising for the steamy basket movie, Wicker. I know that, as a millennial woman who loves yearning and wants filmmakers to stop toning down their sex scenes, I am the film’s exact target audience.
Part Bridgertonand part dark fairy tale, it’s about an enigmatic middle-aged fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who asks a basket weaver (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband out of wicker. She’s not too concerned with the pageantry of marriage in her small medieval farming town, where all men are known by their profession and women are known by their husbands, but she harbors a secret, worldly desire for something more. The basket weaver obliges, and she marries Alexander Skarsgård’s basket man, complete with woven muscles and real human eyes, whose work around the house and constant satiation of her carnal desires make all the townsfolk jealous.
The moan-filled trailer went viral in July, inspiring people (and brands) to unite in their thirst for a nice basket guy and muse about what women truly want from their relationships. It’s turned the movie into a cultural phenomenon. You can take photos with aWickercutout and see the movie in a multisensory 4DX screening.
It’s hard for anything to live up to so much hype, but I’m thrilled to say that the movie, in my opinion, accomplished exactly what it set out to do. There’s a lot of pleasure, both physical and emotional, as Skarsgård’s basket man repeatedly breaks the bed — and repeatedly fixes it — while saying things like, “I was made to be with you.”
The portrayal of this patriarchal society is a bit on the nose at times: Women gleefully lock their necks in a collar during their wedding ceremonies, and they’re all vengefully jealous of this wicker guy who actually does housework, and so on. Sometimes it feels like the movie is aggressively pointing out aspects of modern life that still feel antiquated and oppressive, but sometimes you really do just want a man to set societal expectations aside, fix a leaky roof and make you feel good, just for the love of the game.
The wicker man isn’t just a hunk who does chores. He absolutely adores the fisherwoman. In one scene, she confesses she doesn’t know how to dance as the couples around them do complicated but goofy routines in the town square. But he lovingly and gently holds her as they sway, making everyone else seethe with envy. I was genuinely struck by the sentimental bangers the wicker man whispers to the fisherwoman, like, “Without you … I would never have seen the sun on the ocean or the clouds in the sky.”
Make no mistake, there’s a lot of sex in this movie, which stands out in a time when so many movies and TV shows cut sex scenes to avoid spooking prudish audiences. But this film has very little nudity, which makes it feel less about the look of sex than the feeling of it. It’s about desire, not objectification. I loved that.
The initial clichés of the premise that reeled me in were all subverted by the end, thanks in part to clever writing, but also to the acting masterclass put on by Colman (an Oscar-winning acting heavyweight turned indie darling) and Skarsgård (one of the hottest weird little freak actors in human history). I’ll defend heartwarming straight-to-streaming slop any day — there just isn’t enough to keep up with demand! — but Wickerfeels so original and clever that it earns any of its mushiness, as well as your ticket money. And it’s hot.
What other critics are saying:They’re enamored! Richard Lawson at the Hollywood Reporter calls it “a warming, sometimes poignant pleasure, a film full of lively personality and possessed of a rather humane outlook on our petty foibles. It is not exactly forgiving, though; the movie has a harder, more merciless edge than one might expect.” Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times found it “funny and sexy” but found fault with the film’s second half: “The fisherwoman’s love story is Wicker‘s pulse, but the movie is really about the town, and it sidelines her character to skewer the place.”
How to watch:Wickeris now playing in theaters nationwide.
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Klara and the Sun: Taika Waititi may not have been the best person to adapt this acclaimed Kazuo Ishiguro book, as his signature quirky humor rarely works as intended here. Jenna Ortega stars as Klara, an “Artificial Friend” who finds a deep bond with a troubled young girl, bringing light and hope to a grieving family through her unwavering devotion and innocent wonder. It’s treading familiar ground — Steven Spielberg’s AI: Artificial Intelligencejust turned 25 — and despite Ortega’s best efforts and a very game physical performance, the movie becomes a saccharine grab bag of tearjerker clichés. The melancholy material deserved more earnest treatment than Waititi gives it, and every attempt at a joke repeatedly falls flat. But Ortega really is great as Klara, expressive and childlike and full of wonder at the most basic concepts. Get tickets.
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Wildwood: The beloved animation house Laika Studios returns with its most ambitious project yet, a stop-motion film that spent 16 years in development and was painstakingly handcrafted every step of the way. In the fantasy epic based on the book of the same name, headstrong teenager Prue McKeel launches a desperate rescue mission after her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, leading her into an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Ore. Joined by a hapless but loyal classmate, Prue risks it all as she navigates a world of bandits, talking animals and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition. I can’t wait to catch up with it; critics can’t stop raving about it. Get tickets.
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Ali G: Who Iz I?: The latest comedy from provocateur and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen follows in his tradition of character-based antics and pranks on unsuspecting strangers (see: Borat,Brunoand his previous Ali Gfilm). After 20 years of chilling, Ali G is shocked to learn that his girlfriend is eight months pregnant. Faced with an extra mouth to feed, he heads to America to reclaim his former glory, but soon encounters adversaries who threaten his very existence. Get tickets.
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy
The best option: The Weight
Why I liked it: The 1950 novel The Wages of Fearby Georges Arnaud,already made in France in 1953, was famously adapted by William Friedkin in 1977 as Sorcerer,which, just as famously, bombed miserably at the box office due to its opening on the heels of a little-known sci-fi flick called Star Wars.
Sorcereris an incredible movie that has, thankfully, become a cult classic. After decades of being hard to find, it’s recently been restored in 4K and regularly plays at repertory cinemas. Friedkin considered it to be his finest work.
All of which is to say that The Weightis a Depression-era survival thriller heist western that feels heavily inspired by Sorcerer,but made on a minuscule budget and under far less strenuous circumstances. It’s tense, well-acted and a worthy take on the doomed men-on-a-mission movie.
When Samuel (Ethan Hawke) is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal prison, Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe) offers him a high-stakes proposition: smuggle gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew of prisoners, and he’ll win his freedom.
It’s stripped-down as can be, but that doesn’t stop it from being incredibly tense, with a particularly memorable scene unfolding on a sketchy drawbridge in what appears to be a direct nod to Sorcerer, albeit under very different circumstances. The Weightmanages to convey its huge stakes despite its humble budget. It’s one of the best movies of the year that you likely haven’t heard of.
What other critics are saying:Reviews are very strong. The AP’s Lindsay Bahr writes, “It is very much a ‘dad movie,’ which isn’t, in this case, a bad or even limiting thing. More than a few people have compared it to something Clint Eastwood might have done at some point — just a solid, hearty, meat-and-potatoes kind of movie.” David Fear at Rolling Stone says it’s “not a perfect homage to 1970s tough-guy action flicks. But The Weight is close enough to give you that same thrill you get when, say, an old-timey James Coburn or Lee Marvin movie unexpectedly shows up on TCM.”
How to watch:The Weightis now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.
Another option: By Any Means
Why you should skip it: Mark Wahlberg gets top billing, but his prosthetic nose and toothpick do most of the heavy lifting inBy Any Means,a ’60s-set movie that can best be described as “Green Bookbut with mob violence.”
A young Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is sent to Mississippi to investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders. Forced to work alongside notorious mafia hitman Greg Scarpa (Wahlberg), he finds himself pulled into a deadly hunt where justice and vengeance begin to blur.
It’s based on a true story, but Wahlberg’s turn as Scarpa is more a caricature of a Brooklyn mobster than a thoughtful portrayal of an interesting character. It’s no Mississippi Burning.
What other critics are saying: The reviews are not kind. The AV Club’s Monica Castillo writes, “[Director Elegance] Bratton uses the film to prove he has the big-budget chops to handle movie stars, and Abdul-Mateen plays out each of his character’s conflicted feelings with nuance, but they’re both overshadowed by the antics of Wahlberg’s dead-eyed antihero.” Owen Myers at the Guardian, however, dug it well enough, writing, “The result is grimly effective while also being one of the most grisly and upsetting films in recent memory. As a provocation, By All Meansis hard to forget.”
How to watch:By Any Meansis now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.
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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom: Fans of Aardman Animations are in for a treat with this one, the third Shaun the Sheepmovie, which is a spinoff of Wallace and Gromit.On Halloween Eve at Mossy Bottom Farm, excitement turns to dismay when the clumsy Farmer ruins the pumpkin patch. Shaun tries fixing it with science experiments, but things go wrong when a wild beast appears in the woods. The joy here lies in discovering how the filmmakers craft a dialogue-free movie that entertains kids and adults alike, with plenty of sight gags and other clever bits.Rent or buy.
The best option: The Cycle
Why I liked it: I don’t know why I expected this to be one very specific type of horror movie, but I was particularly thrilled when it turned into a very different specific type of horror movie. The less said about it, the better, so I’ll keep things short.
Centered on a daughter who unravels her father’s dark past after his body, missing for 36 years, is found at a horrific crime scene, the film stars Deborah Ann Woll of True Bloodfame and Burn Notice’sJeffrey Donovan. It plays like a feature-length episode of The X-Files,a procedural that eventually leads to something particularly spooky.
Without spoiling the monstrous goods, I’ll just say that the practical effects in the back half are truly spectacular — some of the best I’ve seen in ages — from the design to the execution. The Cycle also finds a new way into a classic horror trope that I found clever and exciting.
The Cycleis hard to talk about because all I want to do is praise the exact reasons this take on this material works so well. Just watch it, because if “X-FilesCinema” is enough of a sell for you, it will deliver.
What other critics are saying: They mostly dig it! Amelia Emberwing at Fangoria writes,”The Cycle is one of the most competent creature features we’ve seen in a long time. It’s also scrappy, which is icing on the cake, but those accolades don’t come with the ‘for its budget’ asterisk.” The Guardian’s Leslie Felperin, however, says, “It’s a shame that the hardcore creature-feature stuff is a letdown because the drama leading up to it isn’t bad.”
How to watch:The Cycleis now streaming on Shudder and AMC+.
Another option: The Invite
Why I liked it: Oli-out-loud funny comedy about marriage, sex, complacency and rekindling that spark. The script from Rashida Jones and Will McCormack is smart, humorous and honest; they’re working from a template, though, as the movie is a remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs,which has proven fertile ground
This American version is one of several adaptations, with Russia, South Korea and Italy among the nations that took it for a spin. In the film, Joe and Angela’s (Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde) marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors (Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz) for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. It’s a perfectly cast film that features some of the best work from all parties involved, though it’s particularly nice to see Norton in a role like this, earning tons of laughs. Wilde is exceptional here too, both in front of and behind the camera.
The Inviteis a movie about intimacy in marriage and how we all want to be seen and desired, even when we struggle to communicate it. But more importantly than that, it’s very, very funny, and builds to an incredibly rewarding crescendo about midway through. It ends on a sweet note, making the whole experience feel more than worthwhile.
What other critics are saying:It’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year. IndieWire’s Kate Erbland dubs it “a truly adult comedy with plenty to say and even more laughs to share.” David Fear at Rolling Stone writes, “Whether this is the beginning of the hyphenate finding a distinctive voice as a director — a Wilde style — is TBD. What’s certain is that she turned a modern comedy of manners into a minor miracle.”
How to watch:The Inviteis now streaming on HBO Max.
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One Spoon of Chocolate:This revenge thriller directed by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA is ultimately too broad in its social commentary, but it does deliver some satisfying action by the end. In the film, an ex-convict (Shameik Moore) decides to fight back when he becomes the target of a local gang and the police. It’s so cartoonishly over-the-top with its racist archetype characters that it’s hard to buy into, but the catharsis of watching them meet their demise does hit. Now streaming onHulu.
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Moana:The 2016 Moanais the best Disney film of the modern era. The 2026 Moanais such an embarrassment that the best we can hope for is that it bombs miserably enough that Disney is forced to go back to the drawing board — literally — and maybe try doing something original by hand again rather than crudely tracing over something it has already done. Check out my full review.Now streaming onDisney+.
