CREDIT: Colm Hogan/IFC Films and Shudder; Marvel Entertainment/Screenshot

Oddity

Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Caroline Menton, Tadhg Murphy, Steve Wall

Director: Damian Mc Carthy

Running Time: 98 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: July 19, 2024 (Theaters)

Deadpool & Wolverine

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams

Director: Shawn Levy

Running Time: 128 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: July 26, 2024 (Theaters)

I’m going to review the super-duper self-aware blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine and the indie horror Oddity together right now. Isn’t that odd?! Maybe I’ll uncover some unexpected connection between them.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Oddity, but then it gradually started to feel familiar. For one thing, I thought one of the stars was Gwendoline Christie. But then it turned out to be an Irish actress I’d never heard of before. (So a mix of familiar and unfamiliar there.) Then a creepy wooden mannequin man showed up and kind of just hung out, which I wouldn’t have predicted beforehand. But it’s that sort of unpredictable, instantly memorable icon that makes fresh horror flicks feel like home.

As for D&W, I didn’t know how much I would like it, seeing as I’ve long been a loyal fan of Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the hairy fellow, whereas the Merc with a Mouth has always made me scrunch up my face like Kermit the Frog. But then it turned out to be a sizzlingly earnest love letter to the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel superhero movies, and then I felt so… at home.

Grades:
Oddity: 8 Psychic Visions out of 2 Blind Eyes
Deadpool & Wolverine: Some of the Fourth Wall Breaking Actually Worked on Me