It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.




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It seems that more often than not, a big new property is such an unsure thing, such a hit-or-miss kind of deal. And then, turn your gaze from the spotlight for a moment, and it’s the little movie you didn’t even notice that’s making a name for itself.

Such is this weekend’s situation, with The Dark Tower and The Autopsy of Jane Doe. I’d go ahead and tell you which falls into which camp, but i’m pretty sure you can figure it out for yourself.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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The Dark Tower (2017, Nikolaj Arcel)
The last Gunslinger is locked in a fight with The Man in Black.

The Dark Tower is an epic sci-fi tale from someone who is likely better known for their work writing horror: Stephen King. But The Dark Tower series of eight, yes eight books totaling more than 4,000 pages, has become quite successful and well-known. It is only natural, then, that Hollywood would come knocking, looking to turn out a film version. Well, here is it, and…...it’s not very good. On paper, it’s intriguing, and is an excellent series of books, but translated to screen, at least in this iteration, it’s sorely lacking.

The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

The problem with this movie adaptation is that it’s hurried, incoherent, even cheesy at times. King’s wild imagination has been flattened to try and make a quick hit, and even Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey can’t buoy up the weak script. If you’re a lover of sci-fi, fantasy, or the books, best to let this one slide.

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The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2017, Andre Øvredal)
Father and son coroners are pulled into a complex mystery.

Moving over to The Autopsy of Jane Doe, we find a small, but quite excellent mystery thriller for our viewing pleasure. This is exactly what happens when a dedicated, but small team gets together to create a genre film with not only strong actors, but a strong script and strong direction.

It's just another night at the morgue for a father and son team of coroners, played by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch. Then, an unidentified, highly unusual corpse comes in. Discovered buried in the basement of the home of a brutally murdered family, the young Jane Doe - eerily well preserved and with no visible signs of trauma - is shrouded in mystery. As they work into the night to piece together the cause of her death, the two men begin to uncover the disturbing secrets of her life. Soon, a series of terrifying events make it clear: this Jane Doe may not be dead.

From director Andre Ovredal of trollhunter fame, The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a scarily unpredictable, supernatural shocker that never lets up.