Friday Flicks: ‘Skyscraper’, ‘Eighth Grade’, ‘Siberia’
Happy Friday the 13th, folks! Don’t go walking under any ladders or smashing those mirrors, or else you’ll be in for double the bad luck. Maybe just enjoy a Friday the 13th movie marathon instead? Far more enjoyable and no bad consequences (aside from the serious cringe you’ll most definitely experience when you watch some of the later instalments in the franchise).
Elsewhere in the industry, as you’ll be well aware, yesterday the Emmy nominations were announced with some unsurprisingly predictable outcomes, including Westworld, Game of Thrones, and The Handmaid’s Tale dominating many of the categories. That said, there are some cheeky nods worth celebrating, including Issa Rae bagging her first nomination for her role in Insecure, Donald Glover in the running for Outstanding Comedy Series and Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Atlanta, and Netflix toppling HBO in the ranks for the first time ever. Long live the streamers!
But enough about the TV landscape for now. It’s time to turn your attention to better things as we look at all the great indie cinema hitting the big screen this weekend. FD’s got you covered with our picks of the best movies to catch at the theater. Revisit your youth with Eighth Grade; join Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on another ridiculous adventure in Skyscraper; and get caught up in a bizarre romance / dodgy diamond deal in Siberia.
Eighth Grade (A24)
0n limited theatrical release now
Bo Burnham’s coming-of-age dramedy follows an eighth-grader – played by Elsie Fisher (McFarland) – who endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence and thus struggles to finish her last week of classes before heading to high school. The film premiered to solid reviews at this year’s London Sundance Film Festival, with Rolling Stone calling the tender take on teen angst a “flat-out triumph”.
Skyscraper (Universal)
on wide theatrical release now
If Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Rampage) is a bit of you and you can’t get enough of his ludicrously bombastic blockbusters that he just seems to keep pumping out, then Skyscraper is right up your alley. Rawson Marshall Thurber’s action drama sees the former pro-wrestler star as (no joke) a father who will stop at nothing to save his family from a burning skyscraper. Because that’s the kind of badass storyline we expect from The Rock.
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (Amazon Studios)
on limited theatrical release now
Gus Van Sant’s long-awaited Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot is finally hitting the theaters this weekend, with Joaquin Phoenix (Her) starring as the alcoholic quadriplegic cartoonist John Callaghan alongside Jonah Hill (Superbad). The actors’ on-screen chemistry is outstanding, both complementing each other with a sweet-and-sour concoction that’ll make you laugh and cry all at the same time.
Siberia (Saban Films)
on limited theatrical release now
Keanu Reeves (John Wick) returns to the big screen in Matthew Ross’s latest romance thriller about an American diamond merchant named Lucas who travels to St. Petersburg to sell rare blue diamonds of questionable origin. As the deal starts to fall through, he travels to Siberia where he (predictably) falls in love with Katya, the owner of a small cafe. As Lucas and Katya’s passion progresses, so does the unforgiving world of the diamond trade from which he is unable to escape. As the two worlds collide, Lucas desperately searches for an escape route in a world with no exit.
The Devil’s Doorway (IFC Midnight)
on limited theatrical release now
For all you horror junkies out there, Aislinn Clarke’s got just the fix. The Devil’s Doorway sounds as creepy as it does harrowing, centered around two priests who are dispatched to Ireland by the Vatican in the fall of 1960 to investigate a mysterious event that occurred at a home for “fallen women”. What they encounter far exceeds their expectations. Stars Lalor Roddy, Ciaran Flynn, Helena Bereen, and Lauren Coe.
