The Movie Guru: Powerful duos in both ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ and ‘The People We Meet on Vacation’

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (in theaters)

In zombie movies, it’s often the humans who are the biggest monsters.

That’s definitely the case with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” The incredibly violent sequel to last year’s “28 Years Later,” it pushes aside much of the previous film’s dreaminess for a brutal, chilling look at man’s inhumanity to man. Though it does have some of the tenderness from its predecessor, here in the form of Dr. Kelson’s (Ralph Fiennes) relationship with an Alpha zombie, it’s positioned on one side of a battle. The other belongs to the horror that is Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), a human with his own cult who preys on survivors who wander into his gang’s path. It’s better to be found by one of the infected than these guys.

Unfortunately for him, young Spike (Alfie Williams) ran into Crystal at the end of the last movie. He’s been forced to join the gang, trying hard not to participate in their atrocities as he fights to hold on to his humanity. The entire movie is a pitched battle between kindness and violence, and the carnage isn’t coming from the guy surrounded by skulls.

Though Williams feels far too sidelined, Fiennes ably takes on the job of being the movie’s emotional heart. O’Connell is even more reprehensible than he was in last year’s “Sinners,” gleefully overseeing horrors that linger like nightmares.

In a movie series about monsters, he’s by far the worst.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

Grade: Three stars

The People We Meet on Vacation (Netflix)

Chemistry is an important part of the most satisfying romances.

“The People We Meet on Vacation” has that in spades. Leads Tom Blyth and Emily Bader are wonderful together, generating a sweet, emotional intimacy between them that makes you root for them no matter what. The script is interesting but flawed, generating some great moments but also leaving holes, but Blyth and Bader make you forgive every one. We might not know much about these characters’ lives when they’re not together, but it’s easy to see their connection and why they’ve become so important to each other.

The movie jumps back and forth across the timeline, showing the characters’ current estrangement and the development of their years-long friendship. As the audience finds out what caused them to start fighting in the first place, the two characters have to decide whether it’s worth it to fight for more than just a brief vacation every year.

The movie is based on the 2021 novel by Emily Henry, though there are naturally some changes. The shifts to their relationship timeline are good, tightening and strengthening it, but book fans will feel the loss of the backstory details even more keenly. The location changes feel like they must have been inspired by practical considerations, with all the location visuals feeling more like an afterthought.

The focus is mostly on Blythe and Bader, but the supporting cast does have a few great moments. Alan Ruck and Molly Shannon are hilarious as Bader’s parents, providing the funniest moment in the movie. Lukas Gage is another bright spot, charming and dry as a camper the duo run into.

In the end, though, the movie cares most about the romance. You probably will, too.

Grade: Three stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com