Dear Watchers,This week, I've been thinking a lot about the genre hopping intrigue of Ryan Coogler's new movie, "Sinners," now in theaters. If you've seen it, and you want another jaunt through the Gothic South, our action expert, Robert Daniels, recommends a mash-up of different genres that comes steeped in similar themes and settings. This one is an offbeat musical about contract-killer brothers. For a more traditional action flick, Robert also selects a tension-filled thriller about a window cleaner (Daisy Ridley of the latest "Star Wars" films) with some acrobatic defense moves. Read his thoughts on each film below, then head here for three more of his picks. Happy viewing. 'The Devil and the Daylong Brothers'
Where to watch: Stream "The Devil and the Daylong Brothers" on Tubi. This Southern Gothic action-musical from the director Brandon McCormick is an exciting genre mishmash steeped in religion and gore. It follows the three contract killers Abe (Jordon Bolden), Enoch (Nican Robinson) and Ish (Brendan Bradley) — brothers with different mothers aiming for revenge against their father (Keith Carradine) for selling their souls to the devil. The film's big, stomping songs (by the film's co-writer, Nicholas Kirk) accompany the brothers' trek across dirt back roads, where the men fulfill contracts taken out against a nefarious preacher and an evil barfly. When they find their mark, they're a ruthless trio who often move together like a single organism. Not shying away from violence, the movie proudly devolves into vicious silliness. That mood seems intentional. McCormick shows with incredible clarity the damage that happens when men do not cleanse anger from their souls. 'Cleaner'
Where to stream: Rent or buy "Cleaner" on Apple TV, Fandango at Home or Amazon Prime Video. When eco-activists crash a party thrown by executives of a dirty energy company, Joanna (Daisy Ridley), a fearless window cleaner and former soldier, and her autistic brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck), are plunged into a hostage crisis. With Michael wandering the besieged building unattended, Joanna, suspended high above, leaps into action. As in his mountaineering thriller "Vertical Limit," the director Martin Campbell relies here on heights to sustain tension: Joanna spends the first half of "Cleaner" dangling from the skyscraper looking for a way inside; once she is in the building, acrobatic set pieces show off Ridley's physical ability. With each fluid kick or leap from Ridley, you come to hope she does more altitude-defying movies like this.
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