This week at the movies, we’ve got a kid possessed (Incarnate, starring Carice van Houten and Aaron Eckhart), a Christmas story (Believe, starring Ryan O’Quinn and Danielle Nicolet), and an assortment of new limited releases. What do the critics have to say?
The cineplex giveth, and the cineplex taketh away. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we had no fewer than four wide releases vying for your movie dollar; this weekend, our studio overlords have seen fit to bring us merely one. Incarnate tells the story of a young boy (David Mazouz) who shows signs of demonic possession, leading his understandably concerned mom (Carice van Houten) to reach out to the Vatican — who, in turn, enlists the aid of an exorcist (Aaron Eckhart) whose methods involve probing into the possessed’s subconscious. It has a fairly intriguing cast, and a cinematic battle with the devil sounds like it might be an entertaining break from holiday shopping, but unfortunately, we can’t tell you whether Incarnate is worth a trip to the theater, because it wasn’t screened for critics. Guess that Tomatometer!
At the opposite end of the good-and-evil spectrum, we have
Believe — the story of an auto plant owner (Ryan O’Quinn) whose business woes seem likely to end his tradition of bankrolling his small, depressed Virginia town’s annual Christmas pageant. After some ruffians work him over, he ends up on the doorstep of a single mom (Danielle Nicolet) who might just have the bookkeeping acumen he needs to save his company — and whose son (Isaac Ryan Brown) has his heart set on playing the Archangel Gabriel in the aforementioned pageant. You can pretty much bank on a heartwarming final act in which everyone’s dreams come true, but as of this writing,
Believe only has a couple of reviews to its name, so we’ll have to wait for the last critical word. Once again: guess that Tomatometer!
What’s New on TV
The Affair adds to its cast of strong characters and deepens the mood, tension, and intrigue, even if the plot sometimes struggles to move forward.
Incorporated‘s impressive production values, solid performances, and engaging vision of a bleak future outweigh its predictable, clichéd narrative.
Also Opening This Week In Limited Release
- Things to Come (2016) , starring Isabelle Huppert as a woman whose life is thrown into upheaval after her marriage falls apart, is Certified Fresh at 100 percent.
- Bobby Sands: 66 Days (2016) , a documentary look at the hunger strike led by the titular prisoner and activist, is at 95 percent.
- Old Stone (2016) , about a Chinese man who tries to do the right thing after being involved in a car accident and lives to regret it, is at 92 percent.
- Jackie (2016) , starring Natalie Portman as the grieving First Lady during the days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, is Certified Fresh at 89 percent.
- Best and Most Beautiful Things (2016) , a documentary about a blind autistic woman’s search for sexual empowerment and fulfillment, is at 89 percent.
- The Eyes of My Mother (2016) , about the immensely disturbing life led by a young woman after a shattering act of violence, is at 78 percent.
- SiREN (2016) , which depicts the gruesome fallout from a man’s decision to free a woman trapped in a sex club, is at 67 percent.
- The Duelist (2016) , about the stylish intersection of love and violence in 19th-century Russia, is at 50 percent.
- Man Down (2015) , a multi-pronged narrative about a soldier (Shia LaBeouf) profoundly altered by his experiences on the battlefield, is at 10 percent.
