Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

It’s finally getting warm outside and you’re probably unpacking your shorts and slides. Don’t you want to watch a movie outdoors? Well, this week, I’m looking at three drive-in type movies: a western, a slasher and an action movie. There’s a pair of super-spy-assassins… and their cute little son; a notorious outlaw… and his little grandson; and a small-town doctor whose rebellious daughter is being chased by a killer clown!

Shadow Force

Co-Wri/Dir: Joe Carnahan

It’s present day in the USA. Isaac (Omar Sy) is a defacto single Dad (his wife has disappeared)  taking care of his young son, Ky  (Jahleel Kamara). He likes driving around in  his car with his son and singing along to middle-of-the-road R&B classics He keeps a low profile and avoids all cameras. He’s also hearing impaired, his eardrums shattered in an explosion. But when a random gang of robbers attacks a bank he’s in and threaten his son’s life, his years of training kick into action. He manages to disarm or kill all his attackers in just a few seconds. The footage goes viral and his identity is blown. You see, Isaac was once a member of an elite international paramilitary troupe known as Shadow Force. Their job? To keep G7 nations safe by assassinating anybody their boss wants them to. And who is this boss?Jack Cinder (Mark Strong) a ruthless killer. But when Isaac and another Shadow Force agent Kyrah (Kerry Washington) started dating and fell in love they both  went AWOL. Fraternization is strictly verboten (except between Cinder and female members). And no one ever leaves the shadow force. The remaining members have orders to eliminate them both, and the one who kills them first gets a huge reward. But now Kyra and Isaac are back together and their son is in danger. With the help of their longtime CIA  agents Auntie and Unc (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man) maybe they can rescue him, But with the Shadow Force closing in, what are their chances of survival?

Shadow Force is an extremely light and vapid action/thriller with a bit of humour. The premise — a secret kill team run by the G7 — is totally ridiculous. What’s different about this one? It’s a husband-and-wife kill-team taking care of an innocent kid as they try to live a normal life. Also, they’re both Black, quite unusual in action movies. So there are lots of parenting jokes, and mundane husband/wife patter. The flight scenes are blurry or too close up, not great. The shooting scenes are only a bit better while some of the chases — like in a motorboat — are not that bad. I wanted to see this one because I like French star Omar Sy, and he was not disappointing. Nor was the rest of the cast; Washington, Strong, Randolph, and  Method Man are all good (though much better actors than the crap material they’re forced to work with.)

Shadow Force is a passable action film and instantly forgettable. 

Rust

Co-Wri/Dir: Joel Souza 

It’s the 1880s in the old west. Lucas Hollister (Patrick Scott McDermott) is an orphan who lives with his little brother Jacob in the family homestead. Their Ma died of the fever and their Pa shot himself afterwards. Now it’s Lucas who provides for and protect Jacob — cook his food, buy the supplies and protect him from any dangers. But when an errant shot aimed at a wolf, accidentally killed a townsman, Lucas is arrested, tried and, though still a young boy, os sentenced to death by hanging. A local matriarch, Evelyn Basset (Frances Fisher) a great aunt, pleads for his release, but to no avail. But that night, an outlaw breaks into the prison, and after a shootout escapes on horseback with Jacob. The man is a gruff, grizzled and mean old cuss. But Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin) is also Lucas’s grandpa. He promises to find his brother, and take Lucas somewhere the law can’t reach him. The boy doesn’t like him but doesn’t want to die. So they start on a long journey southbound from Montana. But what they don’t realize is they’re being pursued by a large number of people.  Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) is a rare, honest lawman, who wants to bring them both back alive so he can hang ‘em. He’s got a posse to back him up. Then there’s ‘Preacher’ Lang a notorious, black-hat bounty hunter (Travis Fimmel), who had his start murdering escaped slaves for cash. Rust and Lucas are way ahead, but their pursuers are catching up. Will Rust fulfil his promise? Will Lucas ever get to know his newfound grandpa? Or will they both be caught and killed by the bounty hunters?

Rust is a classic, bittersweet western about an outlaw and his grandson being tracked by bounty hunters. It has everything you expect — an outlaw and a sheriff, shootouts, showdowns… the usual. The acting is OK and there’s a credible narrative, but much of the movie is a muddled mess, with lots of people shouting and shooting but you’re never really sure why and at whom. In case you haven’t heard, Rust is that notorious western where the cinematographer was accidentally shot and killed on set by Alec Baldwin due to a firearms mixup… The director was wounded, too. Three years later, they managed to reshoot missing scenes, recast some roles and cobble it all together. This is the result, released as a tribute to Halyna Hutchins, the woman who Baldwin killed, including some of the many incredible scenes she shot — all on film —  against magnificent western skies. The lighting alone is exceptional.

Rust is not a great movie, but if you are curious like I was, now might be your only chance to see it on the big screen.

Clown in a Cornfield

Dir: Eli Craig

It’s Kettle Falls, a small town in corn country, middle-America.  Quinn (Katie Douglas) is a city girl from Philly, who has just arrived with her dad (Aaron Abrams), the town’s new MD.  He had a nervous breakdown when Quinn’s mom (his wife) died, so they’re relocating to somewhere less stressful. It may be more relaxing for him, but it sure isn’t for Quinn. Their house smells like dead bodies, and, most frightening of all,   they’re in a no-signal zone! Luckily, their gigantic neighbour Rust (Vincent Muller) who likes huntin’ and fishin’ offers to walk her to school. 

But things just get worse. She falls in a with the bad kids — who happen to throw the best parties — and is immediately given detention. Her new friends are Janet the snob, Ronnie the regular girl, Tucker the class clown, and Matt the dumb jock. And their undeclared leader, Cole (Carson MacCormac). He’s a self-described son of an oligarch; his family founded this one-horse town and own the only business — a corn syrup factory represented by the logo of a clown. But, Cole, like his friends, just want it tear it all down, and get out of this place. So Tucker and Matt have been creating short videos portraying Frendo as a evil serial killer, acting out gory scenes that go viral on the socials. But things take a drastic turn for the worse when the actual Frendo embarks on a murderous rampage… and the bad kids — including Quinn — are on his hit list. Is Frendo a ghost or is he a person? Why is he killing the teens? And who — if anyone — will survive?

Clown in a Cornfield is a classic slasher/horror pic about a killer in a small town. It’s bloody, scary and funny. The killer-clown — who appears after anyone uses a Frendo jack-in-the-box —  uses a butcher’s hook, a bow an arrows and a chainsaw to decapitate and disembowel his various victims. It follows many of the typical slasher plot turns but with enough new twists to make it very enjoyable. I especially liked the generation-gap gags, like where the teens are trapped in a house but don’t know how to use a dial phone. The entire movie was filmed in Winnipeg with an all-Canadian cast… which makes me wonder: is Frendo an evil-twin version of the Nutty Club’s Can-D-Man clown?

I pre-judged this movie by its title as something derivative and stupid, but you know what? Clown in a Cornfield is a whole bunch of fun.

Shadow Force, Rust, and Clown in a Cornfield all open this weekend; check your local listings.

This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website culturalmining.com.