Exclusive: 'Rick and Morty: The Movie' Moves Forward at Warner Bros. as Studio Hires Series Veteran to Direct

Happy Monday, folks!

This weekend, I saw Curry Barker’s hit horror movie Obsession, binged the Duffer brothers’ new Netflix series The Boroughs, watched Marvel’s special presentation of The Punisher: One Last Kill, and this morning I saw Boots Riley’s new comedy I Love Boosters.

Obsession was a very promising feature from Barker, driven by two standout performances from Michael Johnston and Inde Navarette, the latter of whom is about to blow up, though I’m not buying the awards buzz around her performance, as the Academy has long had a bias against horror movies — this year’s Oscar winners notwithstanding.

I really liked Obsession, but I didn’t love it, as there were too many holes for me, and the tone was a little uneven, as Barker presents the story with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. At times, it plays like a fucked up dark comedy, which makes sense given Barker’s roots in sketch comedy… I just wish the movie were a little scarier.

To me, there’s nothing in Obsession that’s remotely as scary as Sterling K. Brown’s absolutely terrifying turn in Is God Is, which didn’t perform nearly as well as Obsession this weekend ($2.2 million vs. $17.2 million), though it’s arguably every bit as impressive. Naturally, media outlets are tripping over themselves to praise Barker, and while that praise is deserved, it’d be nice to see outlets give Is God Is director Aleshea Harris a similarly warm welcome, as she’s one to watch, too. There are enough column inches to go around, people!

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Blumhouse announce an Obsession sequel, given the way the film overperformed this weekend and how strong word-of-mouth is, but I think I’d prefer Barker’s idea for an Obsession anthology series that would explore a different wish-gone-wrong each episode. That’s a cool idea, and the possibilities are endless…

Elsewhere, The Boroughs remains under embargo for another day or two, while The Punisher special was especially violent, featuring Jon Bernthal as a one-man killing machine. There’s really not much more substance to it than that, though I loved Judith Light as Ma Gnucci.

As for I Love Boosters, I loved the opening scene, and there are a lot of clever, creative touches here, like a giant ball of anxiety that keeps chasing Keke Palmer’s character, the leader of a group of sophisticated shoplifters. However, once this movie introduces teleportation and characters who literally shed their skin, the whole endeavor quickly goes off the rails. It’s safe to say this movie wasn’t for me…

Tonight, I’ve got a hot scoop that would indicate forward movement on Rick and Morty: The Movie. I’ll be back tomorrow morning with another cool scoop, so come back soon!

Premium subscribers may now enter the Sneider-Verse to read more…

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.