Capsule Reviews: 'Nun II,' 'Haunting in Venice,' 'Greek Wedding 3' & 'Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah'9/25/2023 by Philip Price The Nun II  Photo: Warner Bros. James Wan’s right-hand man, Michael Chaves (“The Curse of La Llorona”), again offers some cool visuals, effective jump scares and mountains of potential with “The Nun II,” but the script is so stilted and scattershot with the main ideas being so contradictory to the film’s mentality that ultimately … none of it works. One star, though, for the boiling/evaporating Holy Water in the opening sequence. Another star for how distraught Taissa Farmiga's character got over not having a hotel reservation. “The Nun II” is currently in theaters. A Haunting in Venice  Photo: 20th Century Studios “A Haunting in Venice” is the best of director/star Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot mysteries. This horror-tinged entry exercises a great sense of calm and luscious detail. The camera placement, extreme angles and multiple lens types shows an assuredness not felt in the previous two entries. It is such a relief to see the utilization of real locations here considering “Death on the Nile” looked like a PC video game from 1997. It also doesn't hurt that the core mystery not only suffices but props up some interesting if not fully fleshed out themes that (thankfully) are not only present to serve as tired concepts for Branagh to hang his ornamental aesthetic on. “A Haunting in Venice” is currently in theaters. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3  Photo: Focus Features “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” written and directed by its star Nia Vardalos, is maybe the most awkwardly directed movie of the year? Despite the film featuring sitcom-level comedy and a complete lack of craftsmanship, Vardalos and crew still manage to deliver a wholesome and touching enough time that, while wholly artificial, somehow delivers genuine moments where it counts. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” is currently in theaters. You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah  Photo: Netflix I’m not sure what, if anything, Adam Sandler and co. are trying to say, but it feels very intentional that older sister Sandler essentially watches movies on her phone for the entirety of “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” while Daddy Sandman makes it a point to go to the theater at least twice; attempting to drag his younger daughter along with him. Always a man with a keen sense of balance, this bipartisan support of multiple forms with which to consume media is not lost on me even if I don’t fully understand this type of motivation from a guy who’s made untold amounts of money via a streamer. “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” is streaming on Netflix.
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