The Killer’s Game
Dave Bautista stars as Joe Flood, a professional assassin who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Unwilling to waste away, he decides to take out a contract on himself. But then his doctor informs him that his diagnosis was in error. Joe must now fight off his fellow assassins who he himself ordered. Also staring Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, and Ben Kinglsey.
Speak No Evil
Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scott McNairy) Dalton take their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) on an idyllic holiday in a rustic country house. The house’s owners Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) are welcoming at first. But then cracks appear in their friendly facade, as their son Ant (Dan Hough) exhibits strange behavior. Soon the Daltons are fearing for their lives, but Paddy won’t let them leave. This Blumhouse production is a remake of a 2022 Danish horror hit.
Blazing Saddles
Whenever someone says, “They couldn’t make a movie like that today,” they’re usually talking about Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles. The crux of the story is this: a frontier town in the Old West gets a new sheriff who happens to be Black, and that throws the racists among them into a tizzy. If that sounds heavy, it’s not. Brooks is a comedy genius who has tackled racism head on over and over again in his career. The film has a crackerjack cast led by Gene Wilder as a drunk gunfighter who helps the late, great Cleavon Little (who got halfway to an EGOT before dying at 53) get control of the town — after blazing up, of course. Blazing Saddles screens Sunday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 18 at the Paradiso.
Being There
Peter Sellers had a long and legendary career. But his real masterpiece didn’t come until Hal Ashby cast him in Being There. It was the film Craig Brewer (who is featured in this week’s Memphis Flyer cover story) chose when he appeared in my Never Seen It series. (Spoiler alert: he loved it.) The Crosstown Theater film series screens Being There on Thursday, Sept. 19.