Dragged Across Concrete is an excellent contemporary crime thriller that feels painstakingly real. From its characterizations of bitter people blaming PC culture and 24/7 surveillance for their own faults to the drawn-out investigations that suggest other criminal activities are afoot, this is a divisive film that is identifiable and purposely tough on the viewer.
The Con Is On is a screwball crime comedy starring actors who have no problems playing up the absurd angles of an unconventional heist. The intention of the film is to bust the audience into fits of laughter but, instead, the only thing that’s busted is the film itself.
Through Black Spruce, most of the time, is on the right track. Unfortunately, its disappointing streaks are during the final stretch of the film.
While Let the Corpses Tan tells a thin tale about thieves on the run, it’s nothing short of complex in terms of visual storytelling. Using – quite possibly – the best edits I’ve seen in a movie this year, Belgian directors/screenwriters Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (The ABC’s of Death) offer audiences pure entertainment that works as both a western and a crime-thriller.
By: Trevor Chartrand Part romance, part crime-drama, The Old Man & the Gun is the gripping, yet low-key, story of notorious bank robber Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford). Based on the true story of a life-long criminal and prison escape artist, the film examines Tucker as a unique breed of villain. Always calm and in control – but not in the suave, Ocean’s 11 type of way. When Tucker robs a bank, he’s simply courteous, polite,…
By: Jessica Goddard A movie unafraid to leave your head spinning from the farfetched quantity of twists, A Simple Favor is fun, well-paced, and stylish. Directed by Paul Feig, it balances elements of a mystery/thriller/dramedy, borrowing from too-many-to-count eerie pop culture phenomena before it. And yet, successfully, it pulls off homage (as opposed to shameless rip-off) time and time again, in a way that feels fresh and full of energy.
Playing like a more intellectual and more comprehensible Pain & Gain, Bart Layton’s American Animals is a clever adaptation of a true crime involving young unconventional thieves who fear their lives are aimless. They decide to be proactive by organizing a score that would later be known as one of the most audacious heists in U.S history.
Gail Harvey’s latest movie Never Saw It Coming has a title so unintentionally fitting, it makes my head spin.
By: Trevor Chartrand It’s refreshing to see original scripts can still make their way to the big screen! Between the endless tirade of superhero movies, novel adaptations, sequels, remakes, and reboots, it’s rare to see something that’s actually fresh. Films aren’t often greenlit without a built-in fanbase – and even when they are, they rarely rise above mediocrity. Thankfully, this isn’t the case with Drew Pearce’s Hotel Artemis. The film isn’t going to revolutionize cinema…
