Movie reviews: 'Equalizer 3' an entertainingly efficient finale to the franchise

'Wicked': 4 out of 5 stars Film critic Richard Crouse shares his take on newly-released movies including 'Wicked', 'Gladiator II' and more.

THE EQUALIZER 3: 3 ½ STARS

For an avenging angel, a righter of wrongs, it seems the work is never done. Take the world-weary Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), former government assassin turned protector of the exploited and oppressed in “Equalizer 3,” for instance. After taking a bullet on the job, he takes time out to recuperate in a southern Italian village. As he ponders his own salvation over a cup of tea in a local cafe, he tells people he’s retired from “government work,” and settles in to enjoy a quiet life in his new home.

Trouble is, violence seems to follow this guy around like a trained puppy.

The trouble comes in the form of Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio), a Mafia kingpin looking to take over the town and establish a base for his operations.

“What happens here,” says McCall’s new friend, Enzo (Remo Girone), “happens in many towns. The Mafia. They’re a cancer. No cure.”

Not one to accept threats and extortion as a way of life, McCall sends a warning.

“Whatever it is you and your friends do,” he says, “do it somewhere else.”

“You warning me?” says Vincent’s brother, Mafia tough guy Marco Quaranta (Andrea Dodero).

“I’m preparing you.”

Meanwhile, CIA agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) is hot on McCall’s trail, trying to figure out the answer to the question at the heart of the movie: is Robert McCall a good guy or a bad guy?

“The Equalizer 3” is a revenge story, plain and simple, tarted up with some talk of salvation, but let’s face it, this is “Death Wish” with nicer scenery. McCall slices and dices his way through the Mafia crime family, a vigilante on a mission.

When director Antoine Fuqua, working with a script by Richard Wenk, isn’t staging homages to “Spartacus” and “Godfather 3,” he’s setting the stage with stock characters. The Italian villagers are good, honest, salt-of-the-earth types. The baddies aren’t memorable, just extra evil with no redeeming features. You don’t need white hats and black hats to tell who is who in this movie.

Into this mix comes McCall, an unwieldy mix of ruthlessness and benevolence. He’s there to give the bad guys what they’ve got coming, and it is the promise of his handiwork—decapitations, impalement, broken bones etc.—that gives the movie its forward momentum.

But it’s Washington who delivers the satisfaction in the film’s scenes of gory revenge. There are lots of revenge movies out there, but they usually don’t have the special set of skills that Washington brings to the brutal character. From his soft-spoken threats and wisecracks to his carefully timed fights and search for solace, Washington and his trademarked movie star magnetism make the character far more complex than he actually is. McCall is essentially a serial killer, a violent fantasy of justice at any cost, but Washington’s charisma makes it feel cathartic rather than exploitative.

At a sleek one hour and 43 minutes, “The Equalizer 3” is an entertainingly efficient finale to the franchise that goes out with a bang. Literally.

BOTTOMS: 3 ½ STARS

A mix-and-match of “American Pie” and “Fight Club,” the new comedy “Bottoms,” starring “The Bear’s” Ayo Edebiri and “Shiva Baby’s” Rachel Sennot, and now playing in theatres, is a boisterous queer high school sex romp with an edge.

Edebiri and Sennot are Josie and PJ, best friends and high school outsiders desperate to catch the attention of cheerleaders Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) – who also happens to be the girlfriend of the school’s star quarterback, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine) – and Brittany (Kaia Gerber).

Ignored by the cool kids—there’s a rumour going around that they spent the summer in a juvenile-detention centre—Josie and PJ form a plan to get cozy with their crushes.

“We are literally at the bottom,” says PJ. “We have nowhere to go but up.”

When the news breaks that a female student was assaulted by a rival football team member, they form a fight club.

“So, we teach a bunch of girls how to defend themselves,” says PJ. “They’ll be grateful. Next thing you know, Isabel and Brittany are kissing us on the mouths!”

Of course, an outlandish plan like this has outlandish and unexpected repercussions when a show of solidarity goes one step too far.

Unapologetically rowdy and rambunctious, but also cheerfully sweet and sensitive, “Bottoms” is one of the funniest and bloodiest stories about the anarchy of adolescence to hit screens since “Heathers.” It follows high school movie tropes right out of the John Hughes handbook, but subverts each and every one of them to create something unexpected.

The idea of creating a fight club as a way to get girlfriends may be far out, but the premise is brought back to earth by Josie and PJ and their very understandable motivations. They want what every teenager wants; to be part of the crowd, to be popular and to have a special someone.

In that context, “Bottoms” emulates many other teen comedies. Add some broken noses and bloodied lips and you get an off-kilter but genuine look at life in the halls and classrooms of almost every high school.

At the heart of it all are Edebiri and Sennot. Three years ago, they starred in a Comedy Central digital series titled “Ayo and Rachel Are Single,” and their chemistry remains intact. Sennot (who co-wrote the script with director Emma Seligman) is brash and bold, mining the material for all its absurdity. Edebiri is more deadpan, a gentler presence who seems aware of the absurdity of the situation. .

For all its bravado, attitude and heightened humour, “Bottoms” is a remarkably insightful and introspective look at high school and female friendship. That it is also an unruly good time just adds to its quirky charm.

YOU ARE SO NOT INVITED TO MY BAT MITZVAH: 4 STARS

Cry nepotism all you like, but “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” now streaming on Netflix, transcends its Sandler-family-affair roots. What was clearly meant to be a showcase for comedian Adam Sandler’s youngest daughter, Sunny, is, in fact, strengthened by the alleged nepotism.

A funny and heartwarming look at growing pains and friendship, the movie is made more relatable by its family vibe and a breakout performance from the so-called “nepo-baby.”

Adapted from Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 young adult novel of the same name, “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” stars Sunny Sandler and Samantha Lorraine as Stacy Friedman and Lydia Rodriguez, 12-year-old best friends navigating school, first crushes and their impending Bat Mitzvahs.

Stacy spends her time practicing her Torah readings and prayers, planning her elaborate Bat Mitzvah (she wants a virgin mojito bar) and thinking about her secret, but all-consuming, crush on Hebrew school tween heartthrob Andy (Dylan Hoffman).

“Do you realize that one day he will be mine and you’ll have a cool boyfriend too,” Stacy says to Lydia, “and then we’ll have a joint wedding and move to adjoining lofts in Tribeca?”

“In Taylor Swift’s building!” adds Lydia excitedly.

Their girl-power bond is strained when Lydia’s reaction to Stacy’s failed attempt at impressing Andy only makes the humiliating situation worse. Their lifelong friendship is further tested when Lydia begins hanging out with the cool crowd and is cleaved into pieces when Stacy catches Lydia playing kissy-face with Andy at a party. The lip-lock changes everything, including their long-held plans for their Bat Mitzvahs.

“You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” is a charming coming-of-age story that breathes the same air as “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.”

Like Judy Blume and John Hughes, director Sammi Cohen avoids any hint of nostalgia. This is a timeless yet of-the-moment look at the all-or-nothing anxiety of adolescence, a time of heightened emotions, tight yet tenuous friendships and hard life lessons.

The film’s biggest strength is the leads, Sandler and Lorraine. Both hand in natural, effortless performances that capture the depth of their characters' friendship and fall-out.

It’s often very funny and sometimes over-the-top, but every eye-roll and heartfelt moment feels authentic.

It’s a breakout role for Sandler, who, after some small roles in her father’s films, proves she is capable of carrying a movie. Stacy changes over the course of the story, morphing from selfish preteen to selfless friend. It’s not a new arc in young adult film, but Sandler pulls it off with humour and relatability.

The movie doesn’t break much new ground -- the break-up-and-make-up story beats are somewhat predictable -- but the sweet and sassy performances (including great supporting work by Sarah Sherman as the rambunctious Rabbi Rebecca) and genuine family vibe make “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” a welcome addition to the Sandler Family catalogue.

ZOMBIE TOWN: 2 ½ STARS

Sometimes called the "Stephen King of children's literature," R.L. Stine has inspired bad dreams for decades. The author of hundreds of horror fiction novels for youngsters, including the classic “Goosebumps” series, returns to the big screen this week with “Zombie Town,” a teen horror comedy based on his 2012 novel of the same name.

The action takes place on one eventful night in Carverville, a small town named after legendary B-movie horror director Len Carver (Dan Aykroyd).

“This whole town is just a bunch of zombie-following idiots,” grumbles Mike (Marlon Kazadi), the only guy in town who doesn’t like zombie movies.

It’s the eve of the premiere of Carver’s latest “flesh-drenched extravaganza,” his first film in decades.

“You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll kiss your five bucks goodbye!” screams the film’s trailer. Everyone in town is excited except for Mike, who works at the theatre and will have to watch the film whether he likes it or not.

When Carver takes ill before the show, the screening is cancelled, but Mike’s friend Amy (Madi Monroe) convinces him to give her a private screening. As white light bounces off the blank screen, strange things begin happening. Mike and Amy protect themselves from the weird glow with film cannister lids embossed with an ancient symbol.

The symbol’s mystical power protects them from the film’s magical spell, but outside the theatre, all over town, the good folks of Carverville have been transformed into the living dead. “You have to get over your fear of zombies,” Amy says. “It is just us and them now.”

Mike and Amy realize that if they are to save themselves and their town, they must track down Carver and put an end to his film’s zombie curse.

The zombies in “Zombie Town” may amble around with George A. Romero-style menace, but this is no “Night of the Living Dead.” Thrills and chills are few and far between, pitched toward the younger end of the YA scares of “Goosebumps.”

Director Peter Lepeniotis aims for an Amblin PG-13 feel, that mix of plucky young people and the supernatural, but falls just short because the film has no real menace. Sure, the town has been zombified, but the peril and the frights are kept to a minimum.

Raising the stakes and ramping up the horror may have given the movie more edge, without risking the alienation of the core audience.

It's a bit of fun to see Aykroyd ham it up as the tormented filmmaker in “Zombie Town,” and cameos from Chevy Chase, Henry Czerny and “Kids in the Hall” alums Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch add some texture, but overall it doesn’t bring quite enough life to the undead.