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Upon the Pope’s (Bruno Novelli) death the cardinals are gathered for Conclave to vote and decide who will become the next leader of the Catholic Church. At the head of the Conclave proceedings is the respected and dutiful Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes). But, as powerplays are in order and politics begin to take hold within the church itself, several front runners find themselves shaded and discredited from acquiring the Papacy; with questioning of faith and the church at its core central to each Cardinal’s heart, it could take divine intervention to select the next Pope. Written by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris and Directed by Edward Berger this master’s class in cinema and acting shines with its lead and further ensemble including Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini; each and all delivering the goods in what could be a simple procedural but instead turns whodunit amidst the nuanced stickiness that faces the Catholic church in present day. Beautifully captured cinematography and further notes to the production design, costuming, and score all elevate this piece to the top of the class as we head into award season. And, while the film’s finish is telegraphed well in advance, it’s still a pleasure to watch all the pieces come together over the two hour runtime. Totally worth it, Conclave is rated PG.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiotic partner from space, collectively known as Venom, are on the lamb from the law, but, en route to New York the two are stopped by an interstellar bounty hunter that’s searching for a codec destined to free an evil and imprisoned king galaxies away. Now sought by officials on earth and threats from out of this world Eddie and his buddy will have to make difficult decisions that could end their partnership, lest the earth be turned to dust. Written by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy and Directed by Kelly Marcel, this jam packed conclusion to the Venom trilogy hits the ground running and delivers the semi-irreverent but simple enough humor and of course requisite gore to signify an alien with a taste for human flesh. Albeit, the plot line here isn’t exactly Tolstoy, but that’s not the point, fans of the graphic novel most likely aren’t looking for dramatic subtext or rich meaning, instead we’re offered a basic good guy/bad guy duopoly, and that’s it. Side plots are quickly abandoned with little explanation, end result, a rockin’ conclusion, yet even for it’s brief runtime, an hour and forty nine minutes including credits, the whole act seems a bit overstayed. But, if you’ve stayed with the franchise this long, chances are the Marvel Fatigue won’t hit now, enjoy Venom: Last Dance, which comes in with a strategic and guideline fitting PG-13 rating.

Following a tragic life event pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) finds herself on the precipice of of a world tour and stressed out, and, before long her reality and sanity begins slipping; faces of the people around her begin taking on a demonic smile dysmorphia that only she can see. But, what’s truly driving this evil, can it be explained, and can it be stopped?Written and Directed by Parker Finn, this surprisingly effective second installment in the Smile series brings plenty of jack in the box jump scares and shadow boxed punches of terror to keep horror fans happy for at least the first two thirds of the film. And, Scott is clearly a perfect foil for the character given her prowess as an actor and a singer, her talents far exceed the rather cobbled finish in the third act. Where new horror such as It Follows (2014) manages to keep audiences in suspense by specifically not showing the monster, Smile 2 devalues its scare potential dramatically by showing us the evil and it’s hard to go back once we know the monster. Still, strong production values keep this Halloween-y timed fright fest in good company and with subtle nods to Rami and Burton, fans of the genre will find the jumps and chuckles still enjoyable. Running two hours and seven minutes, a tad long, Smile 2 is rated R.