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This Week's Reviews: Are 'Abigail,' 'Sting' And 'Conan O'Brien Must Go' Any Good?
Unlike last week's bombardment of new television to watch on streaming, this week is much more movie-focused. The theaters are jam-packed with new titles, but are any of them worth going out to see?
Here's what in store this week.
'Conan O'Brien Must Go' (out April 18, on Max)
"Conan O'Brien Must Go" is brilliant and the show we need right now. Full of wit, absurdity, self-deprecation, clever, irreverent humor, and plenty of heart. โ
[M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation]
Boy is it good to see Conan out there throwing his full, feral self (not just his voice) into the act again.
[Meredith Hobbs Coons, AV Club]
"Conan O'Brien Must Go" offers an abundance of heart and humor while rendering the comedian's latest chapter irresistibly captivating and uproariously funny.
There's such a warm, inviting nature to Conan's put-upon crotchetiness; he's more than happy to play the American idiot, eking laughs out of an awkward interaction because he's the one making it uncomfortable.
[Clint Worthington, The Spool]
"Conan O'Brien Must Go" asks a lot. It is a travel show based on a podcast, and the resulting comedy is crazily uneven and profoundly unrehearsed. When it hits the mark, though, it is wildly funny.
[John Anderson, Wall Street Journal]
Consensus: if Conan O'Brien is in something, you watch that thing. These are the rules. He's the GOAT for a reason.
'Abigail' (out April 19, in theaters)
It's not badly made, just uninspired and played out.
A blood-soaked bonkers good time. A clever spin on the vampire genre filled with loads of wild set pieces and gore, further fueled by a perfectly cast electric ensemble.
A "Ready or Not" redux running on half the steam, this one-location misfire has plenty of parts that work but its namesake isn't among them.
"Abigail" is a fun, twisty, bloody good time. It finds the perfect balance between humor and horror. And the ensemble of characters balances each other nicely.
I don't mind that someone made an amusement park ride out of the undead. I just wish it wasn't also brain dead.
"Abigail" sets the bar as the most fun you can have with a horror movie of the year. In other words, "Abigail" is horror on point.
Consensus: seems oddly divisive, right? Probably only for fans of the genre. Unless you find child vampire ballerinas hilarious.
'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' (out April 19, in theaters)
"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" has its moments, harkening back to the winsome rogues and madcap mayhem of Ritchie's early gems, like "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch."
"Ungentlemanly Warfare" is Ritchie playing to his strengths, but he's alert here, bringing a spaghetti western atmosphere to a WWII endeavor, making for an energetic, enthralling ride.
"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" feels like a fun, yet forgettable step in the wrong direction.
Though not Guy Ritchie's best film, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" has enough slick style and exhilarating action to be a helluva fun ride.
It's hard not to get swept up in this film's simple pleasures.
[[William Bibbiani, The Wrap](https://www.thewrap.com/ministry-of- ungentlemanly-warfare-review-henry-cavill/)]]
Consensus: another It's almost as if Ritchie has a type. It's a Guy Ritchie and Henry Cavill team-up that's destined to disappoint at the box office, but delight your dad when it hits cable
'Sting' (out April 19, in theaters)
"Sting" is sweet, silly and savage in sectioned bursts, but fails to pull everything into an intricately woven web of creepy-crawly terrors.
"Sting" might be the worst title you could ever call a horror film about a giant spider. Thankfully, that's the worst part of this otherwise great little flick.
As with many of these kinds of low-budget horror flicks, the humans are so uninspired, unintelligent, and unlikeable that audiences will surely just be rooting for the monster.
[Mike Massie, Gone with the Twins]
I truly hope fans embrace Kiah Roache-Turner's "Sting" as it's a fun straight forward classic monster movie.
[Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed]
Whether you're looking for a spider movie to make your skin crawl or a self-aware one for the laughs, "Sting" isn't it.
[Jeff Nelson, Guy at the Movies]
Consensus: who asked for a horror film about a giant spider in the middle of spring break, and not during October?