Film Reviews: ‘Roma’ compels, ‘Escape Room’ bores

ROMA

In Theaters

Anderson Templeton

Seeing “Roma” feels more like people-watching than movie-watching.

Not once did it feel like I was watching a contrived plot enacted by actors, but more like experiencing a living and breathing national geographic photobook featuring captured moments in time. There were so many small sequences in “Roma” that I’m simply not used to seeing on screen, and that’s one of the things that makes this movie so compelling to me.

This includes everything from the single shot of Cleo, our housekeeping “protagonist,” going from bedroom to bedroom, waking up each child in the home, to the wide shot of Cleo waiting for her boyfriend on a curb while the hustle and bustle of the street carries on around her. The high level of realism is all is very poignant. It brings to light how much is truly happening under the surface of what appears to be mundane.

In “Roma,” each small moment, each kiss, each sibling argument, overheard phone call, a trip to the furniture store, each everyday moment has the potential to shape the characters.

That’s pretty much how real-life works.

So anyone who is compelled by day-to-day life, black-and-white photography, and has the patience to sit still and “people-watch” for a couple of hours, “Roma” is definitely worth the experience.

ESCAPE ROOM

In theaters

Alexa Chipman

In a botched attempt to profit from the popularity of escape rooms, this film suffers from cartoonish overacting and unimaginative writing. With self-conscious special effects and blaring sound design, each potentially surprising moment was telegraphed long before it occurred, rendering the horror elements entirely toothless.

Other than physical dangers in each room, the puzzles were mediocre at best.

A well-crafted game is intellectually challenging and forces players to rely on communication to survive, whereas this film tossed out a few easy - albeit sadistic - puzzles that individuals could solve on their own.

The erratic pacing of scenes gave me whiplash. Characters are screaming while climbing through flame-filled ducts one minute, then calmly discussing details from their past a few seconds later.

Save your ticket money and go enjoy an actual escape room.