‘Verity’ conquers as ‘Digger’ splits reaction

BY TYLER HENSON

It would normally be cause for surprise when a Tom Cruise movie opens as low as Digger, but Digger is no ordinary Tom Cruise movie. It’s been obvious for a while that this movie was going to be a tough sell. Now that this critic has seen the movie for himself, well, let’s just say it’s an even tougher sell than it first appeared. This movie seems to exist in a league of its own, as a kind of uncompromising, singular, foolhardy gesture. That’s said with great admiration. Look forward to the full review on Friday.

Meanwhile, Verity opened strong, as was expected. Author Colleen Hoover has a loyal following and an adaptation of her work not doing well would be far more surprising than a movie as bewildering as Digger finding its audience right away. Perhaps the only real surprise is that Primetime, a dark and disturbing indie, continues to hold strong in the top five. Nothing else appears to be doing great, other than Resident Evil. But then, most of the big releases of last week weren’t all that exciting. Other Mommy and The Social Reckoning are this weekend’s major titles, and it’s uncertain if they’ll land with a bang. Read more below:

Verity (114mins)

This latest Colleen Hoover adaptation stars Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired by best-selling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) to ghostwrite the remaining books in a popular series after an accident leaves her unable to write. Lowen heads out to Verity’s imposing home in Vermont, where she grows close with Verity’s seemingly devoted husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and uncovers some twisted and shocking secrets from Verity’s past.

Hoover adaptations have been coming like clockwork these past couple years – It Ends with Us (2024), Regretting You (2025), and Reminders of Him (2026) – and they show no signs of stopping. Like Hoover’s books, they’ve proven popular in spite of widespread criticism. Verity is darker, more violent, and sexier than her previous stories of romantic tragedy. The characters indulge in some very bad behavior and the story treats it with perverse enthusiasm. Nobody is likely to argue that Hoover is great literature, but there is always enjoyment to be had with good trash that delivers the dirt. The appetite for material like this goes all the way back to books and movies like Valley of the Dolls (1967), and beyond.

Verity, unfortunately, struggles to deliver the dirt. It has a few nicely nasty moments, mainly involving Hathaway and Hartnett, who have some heat together, but the movie seems to be holding most of the illicit excitement in check. Too few things happen in too long a runtime. Dakota Johnson, who has proven herself a fine actress in movies like Suspiria (2018) and A Bigger Splash (2015), seems to have reverted back to the mannequin-like state of inexpressive dullness she used for the Fifty Shades of Grey movies. Verity is finally so hare-brained and preposterous, with several third act twists that lack any coherent motivation or logic (let alone a satisfying payoff), that it collapses into complete inanity. This is the kind of movie best enjoyed with a few friends, a lot of drinks, and a running commentary.

Primetime (110mins)

Robert Pattinson continues an outstanding year of acting in Primetime. We’ve already seen him this year in The Drama and The Odyssey, we’ll be seeing him again in December in Dune: Part Three, and every performance has demanded interest because each has been so different from the last. Pattinson pulls off another chameleon-like transformation here playing Chris Hansen, in a film that dramatizes Hansen’s tumultuous rise to prominence in 2006 as creator and host of To Catch a Predator, the infamous show where Hansen lured sex offenders into incriminating hidden camera confrontations.

Pattinson plays the compulsive and neurotic Hansen almost as an alien working to mimic human behavior. There’s an element of subversive comedy. Many period pop culture signifiers, like Lost and Inside the Actor’s Studio, are deployed in ways that inspire laughter, almost asking “remember what a big deal this used to be?” But Primetime also pulls no punches. It is by turns horrifying and disquieting, not just because of the subject matter of Hansen’s show. The movie looks at the production of Predator as a dubious and exploitative enterprise. Hansen is seen, over the course of the story, falling into a kind of a delirium caused by personal demons and his driven, singleminded pursuit of ratings. Director Lance Oppenheim, a documentarian making his narrative debut, renders Hansen’s state of mind through the techniques of a horror movie. The world around him grows more frightening as his perspective becomes increasingly fractured, desperate, and fueled by self-delusion.

Primetime offers no easy summation or simple morality message. It is a film that leaves you feeling a little dirty. Its provocations are meant to inspire discussion. What does it mean to live in a world where it is more important that our media entertain instead of inform? How much does that shape, or distort, our reality? Pattinson’s crazed performance is bolstered by crucial supporting roles. Merrit Wever plays his ruthless producer and Skyler Gisondo plays a naive young actor who becomes the show’s star ‘decoy,’ his job essentially to pretend to be underage and seduce predators. Both these characters suffer pangs of conscience and shame, aware the show is corrupting them, but better instincts are not enough to override their hunger for fame and success. All three of these performances give the film its disturbing power.

Heart of the Beast (101mins)

Retired Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) becomes stranded in the Alaskan wilds following a plane crash, and attempts a hazardous trek back to civilization with his loyal combat dog Odin. James and Odin, both of them scarred physically and emotionally by their wartime experiences, share an intimate, unbreakable bond. Together, they will brave dangerous storms, deadly rapids, ferocious wolves, and more, each surviving to ensure the safety of the other.

There are few actors who could lead a film solo as effortlessly as Brad Pitt. There is not much here to challenge him, at least from an acting standpoint, but even when he’s coasting his star charisma lets him hold the screen with ease. However, it’s his canine co-star that’s the real hero of the film, and Pitt seems comfortable letting Odin be the center of attention. Their relationship is believable, and many of their scenes together are quite touching.

There is nothing fatally wrong with this film. It’s adequate. Some things are superfluous, like an oddly brief appearance by J.K. Simmons (in kooky old man autopilot), but nothing stands out as terrible. Its only real problem is that nothing is done particularly well. The major sequences are standard survivalist fare, handled without much imagination or panache. Only one or two moments, such as a scene where James must set a broken bone with Odin’s help, offer any kind of interesting variation on the formula. Great dog performance aside, there’s a much better wilderness survival film playing right now, called The Weight, and compared to that film, Heart of the Best presents no compelling reason to be seen.

Resident Evil (95mins)

This latest adaptation of the Resident Evil video game franchise stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier tasked with delivering a mysterious and important package to Raccoon City Hospital. On route through dark snowbound backwoods, he accidentally runs into a woman not altogether human. The obvious clues that something is wrong elude Bryan for a comically long time. Fans of the games will know where his night is heading; a virus has escaped the labs of the Umbrella Corporation and is turning the population into ravenous zombies.

Writer/director Zach Cregger, who scored big with last year’s Weapons (2025), has another hit on his hands. Resident Evil has a spotty record on film, but Cregger’s version has been made with a savvy understanding of both video game and horror movie convention. Bryan’s mission is video game-like in its simplicity, and his journey is filled with the expected roadblocks and detours, including stubborn padlocks and quick scavenger hunts for ammo. Cregger builds high anticipation for each scare by making his zombies unpredictably mutating creatures, always springing a nasty new surprise on Bryan in every major scene.

The only thing the movie needed was more sincerity. It’s funny and scary, but it doesn’t have an emotional core. Bryan’s only dimension as a person comes through occasional phone conversations with his pregnant girlfriend, and these scenes only ever feel like screenplay devices. The story is hollow, and the ending leaves one feeling slightly cheated. This might be a more fatal issue in a film with loftier ambitions, but Resident Evil only wants to provide scares, laughs, and a fun night at the movies. On that front, it is a success.

Forgotten Island (109mins)

DreamWorks Animation, and the directing team behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), dip into Philippine mythology for this hyperactive comedy adventure. Two trouble-making best friends, the rambunctious Jo (H.E.R.) and bookish, responsible Raissa (Liza Soberano), fall through a magical portal and become trapped on a mystical island populated by folk tale creatures. They make friends with a misfit dog-boy named Raww (Dave Franco), get chased by a menacing vampire called Manang (Lea Salonga), and discover the memory demon Batiba (Jenny Slate), who can return them home provided they’re willing to sacrifice their most precious memories together.

The impact of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) can be felt all over this movie. Spider-Verse borrowed the visual techniques of comic books and translated them into fast and colorful 3D motion. Forgotten Island does the same with Japanese sources. Most of its manic stylization comes from the pages of manga and the 2D world of anime. The lively visuals are combined with comedic cultural reference points that include 80’s action movies and 90’s hip hop. Since this is a DreamWorks film, aimed primarily at teens and twenty-somethings, it goes a little farther with its adult content. The humor is slightly more suggestive, and some of the action is scarier than would be allowed in an all-ages Disney production.

There is clearly a youthful target audience for this movie, and based on the reaction heard by this critic in the theater, it seems to play well to that audience. But you must know a shocking fact; you’re reading the opinion of someone who didn’t like Spider-Verse. The problems I had with that film are repeated in Forgotten Island. The characters have charm and personality, but the animation is too busy and the story is overwrought with action climaxes. After a certain point, it becomes exhausting and repetitive. Maybe it’s age. The visual overstimulation probably works better on younger eyes.

All of the above movies are currently playing at the Contra Costa Cinema. You can visit https://contracostacinema.com for both current and upcoming showtimes.