See ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ in theaters, rent ‘Christy,’ stream ‘Influencers’ on Shudder

Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and host of Roger & Me, a weekly Siskel & Ebert-style movie review show, and I’m back with another edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything.

In theaters this week are new films from two iconic filmmakers: Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire and James L. Brooks’s Ella McCay.

Newly available to watch on your couch are the Sydney Sweeney vehicle Christy and Keeper, the third film in 18 months from horror filmmaker Osgood Perkins.

And on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, an absolute feast of choices, including the killer sequel Influencers and must-watch documentary Predators.

Read on, because there are more, and there’s always something for everyone!

• What to watch in theaters

• Movies newly available to rent or buy

• Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have

🎥 What to watch in theaters

My recommendation: Dead Man’s Wire

Why you should see it: Legendary independent filmmaker Gus Van Sant returns with his first film since 2018, and it’s a ripped-from-the-headlines period-piece true story that is so clearly indebted to Dog Day Afternoon, Van Sant even cast Al Pacino in a supporting role. It’s a throwback to crime thrillers of the 1970s, and the filmmaker really captures that vibe perfectly.

On Feb. 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis entered the office of Richard Hall, president of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and took him hostage with a sawed-off shotgun wired with a “dead man’s wire” from the trigger to Tony’s own neck.

Bill Skarsgård stars as Kiritsis and delivers a very big performance, equal parts anxious and confident as he gets more and more out of his depth. Van Sant expertly captures the texture of the time period through his grainy camerawork and impeccable production design. Its craft elements are analog and retro in a way that make it feel genuine; it talks the talk and walks the walk. And it’s got a killer soundtrack to boot!

The details of why Kiritsis did this evoke modern anxieties of corporate greed. He kidnaps the son of the head of a mortgage firm that he claims railroaded him into bankruptcy so it could profit from his land. He held the man at gunpoint in his apartment for days as it became a media circus all over TV and radio. It feels like an early example of how the media can turn someone into a folk hero overnight, regardless of whether they’re committing a violent crime.

Fun fact: Dead Man’s Wire is the third film this year to use Gil Scott-Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Can you name the other two?

What other critics are saying: It’s getting great marks. The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney writes, “Scripted with fat-free economy by Austin Kolodney and made in the gritty, realistic style of Sidney Lumet’s ’70s thrillers, the film pays tribute to Dog Day Afternoon while carving its own identity.” Nick Schager at the Daily Beast writes, “In this age of Luigi Mangione, it’s a snapshot of violent anti-establishment resentment and fury that’s eerily timely — and smartly leaves its own perspective on its mayhem open for debate.”

How to watch: Dead Man’s Wire is in select theaters ahead of a wide release on Jan. 16.

Get tickets

Bonus not-quite-a-recommendation: Ella McCay

Why you should skip it: James L. Brooks has made so many classic films — Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good as It Gets — that it’s easy to forget his last one was the critical and commercial bomb How Do You Know from 15 years ago. He’s also well known for creating iconic sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi and, of course, The Simpsons!

All that to say, Ella McCay is such a special type of weird and bad, it’s a shock that it came from such a prolific and talented filmmaker who was once showered in Oscars.

At 34 years old, Ella McCay (Emma Mackey, if you can believe it) becomes the governor of her home state. However, navigating relationships with her husband, father and brother may just be her biggest challenge yet. The state remains unnamed throughout, and the film is pointedly set in 2008, a time in which — and I’m quoting the film’s narrator, Julie Kavner aka Marge Simpson — “when we were nice to each other.”

The biggest problem with the film is that it feels so incredibly truncated to the point of incoherence. We’re introduced to a flurry of distinct characters so haphazardly that it’s impossible to understand their significance to the story, which itself is unclear due to the totally unfocused nature of it all. It’s a movie that wants to be about politics but refuses to engage with politics.

The characters are underwritten and morph to fit what the narrative requires at any given moment. The lazy flashback structure doesn’t really help fill in the blanks on their relationships and just makes you wonder what the whole thing is about. McCay herself is a particularly unreal creation, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl molded into a politician who truly believes in the hope, change and idealism she preaches.

It’s billed as a comedy but isn’t particularly funny, unless you count all the unintentional laughs, like McCay’s bizarre scarf that she inexplicably wears during a sex scene.

The final product of Ella McCay is an absolute mess. It’s clear there’s a much longer version on the cutting room floor that would solve a lot of the problems that make the film feel like it’s both overstuffed and somehow not enough, but I’m not sure I’d care to watch that one, either.

What other critics are saying: Everybody is equally baffled. AP’s Jocelyn Novek writes, “It’s hard to understand how Ella McCay, the first original feature from writer-director Brooks in 15 years, goes so utterly haywire.” Tim Robey at the Telegraph writes, “Ella McCay pitches the title character as a heroine we’re going to adore. Right from the off, though — as if he can’t trust Ella to make a decent case for herself — Brooks resorts to desperate campaigning tactics.”

How to watch: Ella McCay is now in theaters nationwide.

Get tickets

But that’s not all …

• Silent Night, Deadly Night: This remake of the 1984 cult-classic horror film about a guy who kills people while dressed as Santa stars Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends’ Corey Cunningham) and does a lot to update the text for modern times. The end result of this new, bold reimagining is that it plays as if the original has been fused with something like Dexter or Venom. Your mileage may vary, but I found all the changes to be obnoxious and ruinous. Can’t a slasher just be a slasher anymore? I didn’t need the … let’s say “supernatural” element that comes into play, and the romance subplot didn’t add much for me either. Though Ruby Modine, daughter of Matthew, shines in a supporting role. Get tickets.

💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy

My recommendation: Christy

Why you should see it: Sydney Sweeney gives the best performance of her budding career in Christy.

Based on shocking true events, Christy Martin (Sweeney) never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia until she discovered a knack for punching people. Fueled by grit, raw determination and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager turned husband, Jim (Ben Foster). But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it — confronting family, identity and a relationship that just might become life and death.

What starts as a typical sports rags-to-riches drama transforms into a terrifying look at long-term domestic abuse. Foster is positively evil as Jim, who wants to control every aspect of his wife’s life, including who she spends time with, which has deeper implications, given that Christy is essentially forced back into the closet by her conservative family. It all builds to an unfortunate situation that feels as inevitable as it does avoidable, though Martin’s story is not without hope.

There are certainly cliché elements — Merritt Wever as the doting mother feels plucked out of an archetype catalog, and the training montage stuff is pretty routine. What it does differently from a typical boxing film is what makes it stand out, as does Sweeney’s ferocious lead performance, which sells both the badass side of the character and the vulnerable one.

What other critics are saying: The response is very mixed. Kristy Puchko at Mashable warns, “Don’t buy into the hype. This movie is a mess,” though IndieWire’s Kate Erbland was more on my side of things, writing that “Sweeney disappears into the role, not just changing her hair color, eye color, accent and way of moving, but her general air, her overall mien, the space she takes up in a room.”

How to watch: Christy is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.

Rent or buy

Bonus sort-of recommendation: Keeper

Why you should maybe see it: The mysterious new film from Osgood Perkins is here. In it, Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) head to a secluded cabin for their anniversary weekend. When Malcolm suddenly returns to the city and Liz is alone, she is approached by an evil entity that unveils the unfamiliar dwelling’s secrets.

In many ways, this is a quintessentially Perkins film. It has a basic, familiar horror setup — a couple going to a cabin in the woods — that ultimately gives way to a “here’s what’s actually going on, horror-wise” third-act reveal that some genre fans will love and others will leave asking, “That’s it?”

Perkins expertly mines your expectations to freak you out. Some of the craziest stuff in the movie is hiding in the margins, but there are some real jump-out-of-your-seat moments too. Still, the movie feels almost reticent about what kind of film it’s going to be. Is this a psychological thriller about a woman on the edge who’s seeing things, a head trip about a man gaslighting a woman, a spooky drama about a man and his mistress, or something else entirely? It does have answers in the end. And even if you’re not down with it on a story level, the imagery is undeniably creepy and memorable, if nothing else.

It reminded me a lot of Perkins’s early film I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, mixed with something like Alex Garland’s Men with some of the unpredictable “What the hell is going on?!” quality of 2024’s Cuckoo.

I reference all these movies because it feels like the easiest way to suss out your interest level — if you like any of those, you’ll dig this, and if you loathe them, it isn’t for you.

What other critics are saying: Very mixed reviews here. An even split! Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says, “The mood is low-key and naturalistic, yet a streak of trippy weirdness keeps intruding. And here’s the thing: The weird parts don’t add up. That’s likely by design, but that doesn’t make it good.” Jesse Hassenger at the Guardian, however, writes, “When Keeper finishes up, its tight confines feel satisfying, correct and unlikely to spawn a sequel.”

How to watch: Keeper is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.

Rent or buy

But that’s not all …

• Die My Love: Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson star in the latest film from Lynne Ramsay, who hasn’t made a feature since 2017’s You Were Never Really Here. The performances are great, but it’s far from something with mainstream appeal, so much so that it earned a rare “D+” CinemaScore. Rent or buy.

📺 Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have

My recommendation: Influencers

Why you should watch it: This sequel to 2022’s Influencer — in my mind the best Shudder original horror movie that the network has ever distributed — is just as good, if not better than, the under-seen original.

In the globe-trotting Influencer, social media influencer Madison meets CW, who travels with ease and shows her a more uninhibited way of living. But CW’s interest in her takes a darker turn. In the sequel, now in Southern France, a young woman’s chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos.

The less said about both films, the better; the first film, especially, thrives on the unpredictable nature of its storytelling and tricky characterization of who the real protagonist is here. Think The Talented Mr. Ripley for the social media generation, and you’re halfway there. Both films feature a sensational star-making lead performance in Cassandra Naud and deserve praise for their on-location shooting, making the most of their minuscule budget simply by filming in exotic locations.

The original was the first truly great social media horror movie: It declared that “online” is fake, a facade on both ends of the interaction. Nobody cares about your posts, and your followers aren’t your friends and wouldn’t notice if you disappeared. Empty posts into the void! The sequel takes all these ideas a step further and continues its streak of not being afraid to get mean-spirited and nasty.

Influencers is a genuinely great sequel that does all the things you’d hope a follow-up to a favorite would do, in that it thoughtfully expands its scope while staying true to what made it so fun and exciting. Bring on Influencer 3! This is my new favorite horror franchise.

What other critics are saying: It’s just as well-reviewed as its predecessor! TheWrap’s William Bibbiani calls it ‘a sadistic delight, just like its predecessor.” Nick Schager at the Daily Beast calls it a “taut, tense, of-the-moment thriller with real (reel?) bite.”

How to watch: Influencers is now streaming on Shudder.

Watch on Shudder

My bonus recommendation: Predators

Why you should watch it: You don’t need to be familiar with the wildly popular To Catch a Predator show for this documentary to be effective, as it’s a terrific look at society’s obsession with true crime writ large, and ultimately a very personal film for the man behind the camera.

The doc explores the controversial NBC series that caught potential child predators in sting operations, leading to arrests, and its eventual cancellation, and expands its scope to include the YouTubers who have taken it upon themselves to do vigilante justice in the name of the program.

It’s a provocative and chilling examination of our obsession with turning true crime into entertainment and the inherent moral gray area that exists in that space. It features an unbelievable interview with To Catch a Predator‘s iconic journalist Chris Hansen, who continues to cash in on the project, despite the series’ cancellation, through his own similar projects.

Predators is thought-provoking and occasionally bleakly hilarious in its depiction of our society’s unhealthy relationship with true crime.

What other critics are saying: It’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year. The Guardian’s Leslie Felperin writes, “This may end up being ranked as one of the best nonfiction films of the year.” Amy Nicholson at the L.A. Times says, “Tonally, this steady and powerful film is everything the original program wasn’t: hesitant, sorrowful and compassionate for every human being onscreen.”

How to watch: Predators is now streaming on Paramount+.

Watch on Paramount+

But that’s not all …

• Wake Up, Dead Man: The third Knives Out movie is here, following a brief theatrical run, and despite some critics calling it the best yet, I found it to be a slog. Read my full review. Now streaming on Netflix.

• The Mastermind: The latest work from filmmaker Kelly Reichardt is a brilliant deconstruction of a heist film and a quietly political film, starring man of the hour Josh O’Connor as an art thief who maybe didn’t think things through before pulling off his crime. Now streaming on Mubi.

• F1: The box-office smash hit starring Brad Pitt is finally streaming, and it’s worth a watch, especially if you’ve got a killer surround-sound set-up. Read my full review. Now streaming on Apple TV.

• Roofman: This unlikely dark-edged charmer features terrific performances from Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst. Read my full review. Now streaming on Paramount+ and MGM+.

• Spinal Tap II: The End Continues: This 41-year-later sequel is hard to spin as anything other than a disappointment. But it’s now “free” on streaming, which feels like the right price for fans to check it out. My full review can be found here. Now streaming on HBO Max.

That’s all for this week — we’ll see you next week at the movies!

Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.