Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1971)

On the last day in his position as the head of homicide, a man kills his mistress and makes no effort to hide his involvement. He actually leaves deliberate clues like bloody footprints and a thread from his tie under her fingernail. It's both a power play -- he is the law, so he is above it and will never be suspected of breaking it -- and a condemnation of the police who won't actually do their jobs.

Yes, it's very smart and meta, but it's also repetitive. I just got tired of the same point be hammered "he's obviously guilty, but no one even considers him a suspect." I saw a dubbed version, which I was originally blaming for the vibe... but maybe that was just the actual, intended vibe: desperate and histrionic.

C

Small Town Crime (2018)

Mike is hoping to be reinstated as a cop after being caught drunk on duty the night his partner was shot, but that's just not gonna happen. When he finds an almost-dead young woman on the roadside, he can't help but try to investigate. Soon he's facing the ire of the cops on the case as well as real danger from the perpetrators.

It's quick-moving and smart with an antihero I couldn't help but root for. The very last scene even left the door open for a sequel... which I'm all for, even though it'd be bittersweet without Robert Forster reprising his role.

B+

The Crimes That Bind (2020)

There's a lot of time-shifting here and it was hard to keep track of where scenes fit in the timeline -- especially early on. While I do think the telling was more effective out-of-order, there should've been some marker to help us keep track -- maybe hair length or even just "present day" & "3 years ago" chyrons.

That said, it's a pretty compelling story. Affluent couple has a screw-up adult son who's estranged from his wife. Their simple live-in maid and her young son are basically part of the family, but the maid winds up handcuffed to a hospital bed. The son's legal troubles basically force his parents to downsize in order to keep him out of jail, while they're also juggling the maid's son as well as her trial. There's just a ton going on with the specifics often deliberately obscured.

With a bit more clarity, this could've been an A.

B

How I Live Now (2013)

American teen is sent to stay with her British cousins after her father remarries. She's not happy to be there and keeps the family at arm's length, even though they clearly want to bring her into the fold. The story was shaping up to be a quiet "coming of age" story with romance and healing and the whole nine yards. But then the story suddenly takes a shocking hard turn. The family is torn apart: girls to a foster situation where they work in fields all day and the boys somewhere else. But they're all determined to find their way back to the family home as soon as possible. 

I was totally invested. Even the whiff of incest didn't really bother me because it truly made sense in the context of their story. But things fell a little bit apart in the denouement, unfortunately. It was a strong movie with a dissatisfactory ending.

B

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

After his partner is killed investigating a counterfeiter, a secret service agent becomes obsessed with cracking the case by any means necessary despite the fact that his new partner wants to go by the book. Even though this isn't a comedy, we laughed a lot, especially early on, at the sheer '80sness of it all and the faux tough-guy vibe of William Petersen in the starring role.

Though I would've bet on this being a "D" grade at the 30-minute mark, we just couldn't deny that we were enjoying ourselves. And whoa: the car chase scene was probably the best one I've ever seen. They're being chased by literally dozens of people, all armed to the teeth, eventually even going the wrong way on the highway. That's entertainment, baby.

B

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Right before an upscale dinner party begins, the household staff -- excepting the head butler -- all leave the premises, much to the irritation of the hostess. The evening goes well enough, but once the group moves from the dining room to a sitting room to chat and enjoy some music, a kind of lethargy sets in. People talk about it being time to leave but never really muster up the momentum to actually do so. Days pass in this way, with the "stuck" group of people growing more irritable and frightened. Eventually a crowd gathers outside the house, as unable to enter the premises as those inside are unable to leave them.

It's one of those high-brow concepts with no explanation; aka not really my thing. If the group trapped inside weren't so unlikable, I might've been able to identify with them, which might have made me care a little bit. But I was actually kind of rooting for the mansion to simply become a tomb because it didn't seem like it'd be that big of a loss.

C-

The Wolf's Call (2019)

Chanteraide is part of a French submarine crew and he has a "golden ear." He can decipher underwater acoustics better than anyone: even distinguishing identical submarines from each other. After he makes an error during a mission, he cannot stop himself from further researching what he heard. His findings play right into the hands of jihadists.

This was a thrilling film. Extremely well-done to the point that everything felt inevitable. Beautifully, tragically inevitable.

B+

Point Break (1991)

Keanu is "Johnny Utah," former college football star, turned FBI agent. Swayze is Bodhi, surfer dude chasing the perfect wave. When Johnny's partner theorizes that a team of bankrobbers are surfers, Johnny hits the water in hopes of pinpointing the gang. Soon he's part of Bodhi's group and banging the one surfer chick we meet.

This movie has been around long enough that I pretty much knew what was going on from the beginning. Surprisingly, this knowledge didn't ruin the film for me. What did that was a terrible script and fairly poor acting all around.

C-

Miss Americana (2020)

I'm a casual fan of Taylor Swift -- I've heard her hits, but I've never seen her in concert nor even listened to one of her albums straight through. But I really enjoy "how the sausage is made" peeks into the entertainment industry and this is no exception; it might even be one of the best of the genre. It's basically a female "May It Last" and that, for me, makes it even more important since we all know that women are under more pressure and scrutiny than men in every industry, but none more than showbiz.

This isn't what I'd call an "unvarnished" documentary, but we do get glimpses. She's honest about her insecurities and the way that public backlash contributed to, for example, an eating disorder. I actually got goosebumps as she and Jack Antonoff wrote "Getaway Car" right in front of us. She's undoubtedly a huge talent.

B+

Parker (2013)

Parker is a thief who hooks up with an unfamiliar crew for a heist. After a doublecross where he's left for dead, Parker is determined to get his fair share. Doing so puts him on their trail to Miami and hooks him up with realtor J-Lo.

Everything about this movie feels like the '90s -- the pacing, the clothes, the girl v girl office politics, Lopez's acting -- I can barely believe it was made in 2013. It's watchable, but extremely forgettable.

C+

Let Him Go (2020)

In the '60s, Margaret and George lose their adult son in an accident. When their daughter-in-law remarries and suddenly moves away without warning, they set off to find her and their grandson.

Although there were a couple of "no way -- really??" moments, I was generally on-board with everything in this movie. What resonated the most for me was Margaret's refusal to stop, even when she was hurting rather than helping. Her passion for family just trumped everything in her path: her husband's objections, real danger and a lack of help from law enforcement. It felt honest and, consequently, powerful.

B+

Mi Obra Maestra (2018)

Renzo is a cantankerous painter way past his prime earning years. He has just one friend left: art dealer Arturo, and he's pushing that relationship to its limit. After a devastating accident, Renzo realizes he does not want to continue living this way, so Arturo does what he can to help.

My complaint about this film is also, improbably, its strength: I was so put off by Renzo in the first two-thirds of the movie that I was also ready for him to die. His antics were not "fun," but neither were they so over-the-top that it veered into parody -- it was an in-between "why is this a movie," feeling. The final portion of the film pretty much redeemed the whole.

B

Kajillionaire (2020)

"Old Dolio" (named for a dying bum in hopes he'd write her into his will) only knows the life of a small-time grifter. Her parents have raised her as a partner, never bothering with actual parenting or affection. Instead, they focused on teaching her the basics, such as line of sight for surveillance cameras. When her parents befriend a personable young woman on a plane, Old Dolio is immediately wary. But the newbie is eager to get in on the fun, and actually has a couple of good ideas. 

I was unsurprised to see, as the credits rolled, that Miranda July is the writer/director. It had her "incredibly weird but also somehow very relatable" stamp all over it. The one thing I wish had been different was the odd voice that Evan Rachel Wood was using. 

B+

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

This picks up immediately after the end of the series: Jesse's in the car speeding away and toward what? Well, we finally find out. It's a nice denouement -- I was never bored -- but neither was I truly captivated. The story just felt so much smaller than I hoped it would. Just like in the series, small moments are spun into deep stories -- and I think that was the problem, ultimately. In a movie I want things to happen. Movies shouldn't be paced like shows.

Another thing: as with Better Call Saul, the obvious aging of the characters who are supposed to younger almost took me out of it, but I was just so glad to be back in the story that I worked to suspend disbelief. It was especially nice to see Robert Forster again.

B-

Freaky (2020)

A serial killer terrorizes a town annually, right around the time of the high school's Homecoming. He's made a decent start this year, but stabbing a victim with an ancient dagger causes them to switch bodies Freaky-Friday style.

It's ridiculous but it's also a lot of fun -- kind of in the same wheelhouse as Happy Death Day.

B-

Pet Sematary (2019)

City doctor moves his family to a small town and a home with land so that they can slow down a bit. But that's not really in the cards for them.

The book is terrifying -- it literally scared me to tears when I was in college. This movie is just a collection of jump scares and nonsensical supernatural elements. I don't want their house to be haunted and for a random kid who died in the doctor's clinic to refuse to leave him alone. I want the cemetery to be the only thing that's scary here. Isn't that enough?

D

Honey Boy (2019)

Troubled young actor is sent to rehab and, while there, digs into the source of his behavior. Much of the story is told in flashback, when he was a child actor and his father served as his chaperone. I was left wondering how in the hell a felon and addict was ever entrusted with the care of his young son. 

While I felt for the kid in the story, I could not translate that into any kind of sympathy for Shia LaBeouf -- who wrote this autobiographical script. He's still a piece of shit.

B-

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Incarcerated supervillains are drafted to destroy a dangerous weapon in a small country after a political change has made the country hostile to America. It doesn't matter that the weapon is about as ridiculous as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man because the movie's about the team, not the mission.

It's really just a ton of fun. I'm not much into superhero universes, but I can appreciate a good popcorn flick when I see it. 

B

Moxie (2021)

Wallflower high school student gets inspired by the new girl in her class and starts an anonymous 'zine to fight the status quo keeping the girls down and the boys at the top. She's got a good head on her shoulders and a great example in her mother (Amy Poehler) who was definitely a rebel girl in her youth. 

While it's a necessary story, especially for its target audience, I found the lead to be a little milquetoasty... but maybe that's the point? That anyone can start a revolution -- they just have to see the need and take the leap.

C+