“Dual“
Riley Stearns “The Art of Self Defense,” played like a surreal, Project Mayhem-tinged spin on “Cobra Kai,” and his latest genre exercise, “Dual,” sports an intriguing sci-fi premise. After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Sarah (Karen Gillan) has a clone of herself commissioned to ease the loss for her friends and family. However, after making a miraculous recovery, her attempt to have her clone decommissioned fails, leading “to a court-mandated duel to the death.” It’s a strong premise that could veer in many directions, sounding a tad like Sarah Gailey’s pointed 2021 novel, “The Echo Wife.”
“Emily the Criminal“
Having proven her performance chops in indies ranging from “Black Bear” to “Ingrid Goes West,” Aubrey Plaza has come a long way since making ‘drinking blood of her victim’ jokes as April Ludgate in “Parks and Recreation.” Case in point: “Emily the Criminal,” starring Plaza in the role of a down on her luck woman, riddled with debt, who becomes involved in a criminal enterprise/credit card scam. Director John Patton Ford’s film doesn’t sound like it’s trying to reinvent the wheel, but we’ve been consistently impressed with her post ‘Parks & Rec’ work, and ‘Emily’sounds like another strong showcase for her abilities.
“Emergency”
A Black and Latino-led spin on party film classics like “Superbad” or “Dazed & Confused,” Sundance alum Carey Williams makes his Dramatic Competition debut with “Emergency.” Ready and determined to be the first Black students to complete their school’s frat party tour, and have the most epic night of their lives, Kunle and Sean’s plans are thrown for a loop after finding a white girl passed out in their living room, debating the optics that will be assumed by calling the police. One of the festival’s opening night movies, “Emergency” is a “timely and biting satire in which racial dynamics unmask a world so absurd it could only be real.”
“FRESH”
These days, romance movies are always running to catch up with the throes of playing the dating game. Apps changed everything and society is still adjusting. Directed by Mimi Cave and produced by Adam McKay, “FRESH” follows Noa’s (Daisy Edgar-Jones) tedious scroll and swipe enterprises. Smitten after a drunken hookup with a cosmetic surgeon named Steve (Sebastian Stan), Noa wonders if she’s finally found “the one,” until she realizes he’s been hiding a secret appetite. In a world where the dude who played the Winkelvi brothers might share a hobby with Hannibal Lecter, “FRESH” explores the often paralyzing horrors of contemporary dating.
“God’s Country”
Following years of fruitlessly trying to please her newly deceased mother, college professor Sandra (Thandie Newton) is tired of navigating the various racist and sexist corridors she seems trapped wandering through. When a pair of hunters trespass on her property, her seething restraint is put to the test, with escalating consequences. One of the most infectiously unappreciated screen presences working in the industry, Newton embodies “God Country’s” thoroughly complex lead character with tragic composure, grief-saddled despair close to crumbling what remains of her spirit.