Amazon’s Alexa meets Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S in Upgrade, a viscous cybernetic revenge thriller from Insidious scribe Leigh Whannell. More stylish than anything in the director’s preceding oeuvre, the film offers a smart take of familiar conceits, with its grisly action bolstered by an abundance of charisma and exquisite choreography.
For much of its runtime, Spike Lee’s BlackKKlansman plays as a mid-tier, blackly comic drama ought to. It is undemanding, funny and worthy. But then comes the sting, a punishing final third sickens the soul before a closing bite breaks the heart.