The Shooting (1966)

Suspicious Willett and gullible Coley agree to guide a woman who's light on the details to a nearby town. When the woman insists on taking a detour to follow a barely discernible trail, the circumstances get dangerous as they're running out of water, food and horses. They're joined by another of her cohorts, the dangerous Billy Spear, who only ratchets up the tension.

The unease develops so naturally that I could feel my muscles tightening. It's a shame that the payoff is both too sudden and too small.

C

Lake Mungo (2010)

Mom, Dad and brother are devastated after 16-year-old Alice drowns during a family outing. While barely coping with the loss, they each begin experiencing unexplained occurrences in their home. They set up cameras and contact a medium to help them figure out what is going on and whether Alice is still with them.

This really worked for me for one reason: I had no idea it was fiction. My first hint that it might be was in the last 10-15 minutes and then, of course, when the credits rolled. But, for more than an hour, I was in my "Unexplained Mysteries" mode coming up with theories about what had happened and genuinely questioning what I really think about spirits. I'd feel silly if I hadn't had such a good time.

B-

Laura (1944)

When Laura is shot dead in her apartment, Detective Mark McPherson launches a no-nonsense investigation. Trouble is, her friend Waldo and fiancé Shelby feed him constant nonsense as he attempts to piece together what happened and why. We meet the lovely Laura in flashbacks from both of their perspectives and, along with Mark, can't help but fall a little bit in love.

I've seen this several times over the last 35 years or so and enjoy it every single time.

B+

Klute (1971)

Six months after a friend goes missing, private detective John Klute travels to New York to dig into the only clue: an obscene letter written to Bree, a prostitute who lives there. Though very good at her job, Bree is actively trying to quit what she considers a problematic compulsion, pursuing an acting career instead. Klute, despite an almost complete lack of charm, convinces her to help and they eventually begin an affair.

At the risk of sounding prudish, the "underbelly" vibe of this movie was offputting -- like, how do people live like this? What are they getting from it? There were also a few too many times that I was confused about what, exactly, was going on. But the acting is good and the story was interesting if a tad predictable.

B-

The Thursday Murder Club (2025)

A wonderful cast simply squandered in a surprisingly basic whodunnit. I was so disappointed. If this becomes a franchise, I sure hope the mysteries grow into cases at least as interesting as those solving them.

C

The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

Miss Marple (Angela Lansbury) has a murder to solve when a local woman is poisoned. There's no shortage of suspects and perhaps even an extra target.

It feels more like a TV movie or an episode of Masterpiece Mystery than a major motion picture. If it weren't packed to the gills with major stars in their waning years (Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Kim Novak), it would be skippable. It might be skippable anyway.

C+

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

The McKennas (Jimmy Stewart, Doris Day) and their son are vacationing in Morocco. She gets the feeling that people are behaving oddly around them, but he shrugs it off -- the fact that she's a well-known singer could account for some staring. Later they are witness to a murder and, with his dying breath, the victim tells Mr. McKenna about an upcoming assassination in London. Their son Hank is abducted to ensure their silence and they head off to England in hopes of recovering him.

It's very dull and there's no chemistry at all between Stewart and Day. If you want a mistaken-identity spy thriller from Hitch, definitely go for North by Northwest and skip this one.

C

The Lesson (2023)

Aspiring author Liam takes a live-in position as a tutor for the son of a revered novelist. The son is dismissive and difficult, the wife -- an artist and curator -- is aloof and melancholy, and the novelist is petty and demanding. Liam absorbs and adapts and makes himself useful to all of them.

Though I've seen this type of closed-system family with an outsider before (Saltburn comes to mind), I found this to be mesmerizing and unpredictable. Each of the players were three-dimensional with both personality and agenda. The eventual end was both surprising and satisfying.

B

Shutter Island (2010)

When a patient goes missing, a couple of marshals visit the island mental facility to figure out what happened. No one seems to be completely forthcoming and there's some suspicion about a secret facility in the lighthouse. To make matters even worse, a hurricane's brewing, which means no one can leave the island for a couple of days.

Within the first 15 minutes I said "here's what I think is happening..." and proceeded to get roughly 85% of the plot correct. So, though it looks great, it was pretty obvious what was going on from the moment the head doctor gave the marshal some aspirin.

C-

A Haunting in Venice (2023)

The author responsible for making Hercule Poirot a household name wants to lure him out of retirement to debunk a medium, the intended subject of her next book, if it can be done. Despite his reluctance and skepticism of the spirit world, he agrees to accompany her to a seance and is soon embroiled in the case.

The location is spooky, the mystery is fine, and the suspects are all broody and tortured. But Tina Fey as the author feels out of place and, though this is the Poirot adaptation from Branagh that I've enjoyed the most, I suspect that may be mostly down to it having the shortest run time.

C+

Zero Effect (1998)

This seems to be a take on Sherlock, where a man great at his job as an investigator has difficulty handling day-to-day interactions. He's got a Watson who acts as a personal secretary and go-between. But this Sherlock (Pullman) comes off more as a man suffering from arrested development and privilege while his Watson (Stiller) can barely mask his contempt for his boss.

The case itself is alright, but there's no punch or levity in the telling. It's all very muted and depressing and sleep-inducing.

C-

F/X (1986)

The feds have gangster DeFranco willing to testify but, in order to keep him alive 'til trial, they decide to fake his murder. Roland is well-known for handling movie special effects, so he's hired by the FBI to work his magic & soon finds out he wasn't told the entire plan.

Though it's a fun enough plot, there are a couple of major flaws. 1) Roland becomes a killing machine -- which is quite the lifestyle change -- in no time flat and 2) his assistant Andy might be the worst actor I've ever seen,  and I'm including the casts of my kids' elementary school Christmas plays in that assessment.

C+

Terminal (2018)

I am not a fan of dark, grimy, near-future nonsense movies in general and this one is no exception. It's got a lot of twists, turns, fake-outs, and convoluted backstory but it adds up to nothing but a waste of an hour and a half.

D-

Blood Simple (1985)

A bartender sleeps with his boss's wife and, because they apparently don't know how to work curtains, the private detective following them is able to deliver photos to the husband. There's a murder for hire, a cover-up, some double-crossing, and an amazing final scene that'll make you hold your breath. 

This is Joel Coen's first full-length directorial effort and Frances McDormand's first starring role and they really set the bar high for themselves with this tense noir. Its only real failure is in the casting of the extremely bland leading man.

A-

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

A couple and their daughter are vacationing when four strangers arrive and urgently try to convince them that the world is ending. The good news is that the family can stop this from coming to pass if they simply reduce their family unit to two through a sacrificial killing. Jonathan Groff is phenomenal. Dave Bautista is absolutely wonderful. And the rest of the cast -- with the huge exception of the child -- is also very very good.

The story? Well, it's a great idea which forces one to play "what would I do?" It's nutso but, because it's steeped in the kind of bombastic religious verbiage that is very familiar for many of us who grew up in churches, it's also somewhat believable. That said, Shyamalan's thing has kind of become "take a great idea and push it a couple of feet past the line to eyeroll-town" and that's what he does here.

C+

Gone in the Night (2022)

A somewhat mismatched couple -- adventurous young guy, more settled middle-aged woman -- find a young man and woman already in their cabin-in-the-woods rental. Because they're far from everything, the four collectively decide to go with it for the evening. In the morning, however, half of each couple is missing, having apparently run off together. The left-behind woman eventually reaches out to the owner of the cabin and he winds up working with her to track down her boyfriend.

I really enjoyed the mystery and the flashback reveals. Nothing about this story felt as unbelievable as it probably should have, and I believe that's down to Winona Ryder's perfect work here. She does a marvelous job of being our avatar: I understood what she was thinking and doing, especially in the last act. Really great stuff.

B+

Barbarian (2022)

A woman shows up to an Airbnb only to discover someone else is already there, having booked it through a different site. Because she can't get hold of the rental agency nor can she find another place on short notice, the two decide to share the rental for the night and sort things out in the morning.

I don't want to give anything away, but this was such a surprise. It's a classic "girl, get yourself out of there NOW" movie while also managing to be something completely fresh. If you're looking for something scary, this should do the trick.

B

Black Box (2020)

After physically recovering from the car accident that took his wife, Nolan is still struggling with amnesia. His young daughter is keeping the house together and constantly reminding him of his duties, but he doesn't seem to be getting better. When contacted about an experimental treatment, he agrees in hopes that it will help.

Very smart and kept me guessing, but not in a frustrated way.

B-

Solace (2016)

Tired detective reaches out to a psychic with whom he's worked in the past for help with a serial killer case, but his uptight partner doesn't think it's a great idea... and neither does the psychic. But, of course, he does come on board and help them solve the thing.

This is a mess. I think there could've been an OK story here (psychic realizes he's chasing someone with the same gift he has), but somehow everything came off as both dumb and sordid, which is one of the worst combinations.

D+

Shirley (2020)

A recently married couple relocate for his new faculty position and are invited to stay with a professor and his wife, Shirley Jackson. What was intended to be a short-term stay is extended when the young wife is asked to play housekeeper and nursemaid to Jackson, who is having trouble coping with day-to-day life.

While this was a pretty good story with interesting characters, I dislike the use of fame as a springboard for fiction. It feels like a cheat to get me to watch (or read) a story because I'm interested in the person it's based on only to find out there's very little truth to the tale. Moss is very good though.

C+