Some Other Woman
Some Other Woman doesn’t tell us much about its psychological thriller of suspicion and distrust, but the audience believes they’re witnessing a ritual.
Amanda Crew
Target Number One
Daniel Roby’s deftly directed thriller Target Number One fictionalizes the true story of a Quebecois drug addict who was imprisoned in Thailand as a result of a set-up by Canadian intelligence in the 1980s. Taking some of its procedural cues from Spotlight, Target Number One is a kinetic, uncompromising look at the impacts and importance of journalism on the overreach of power in counter-intelligence.
Freaks
You don’t so much watch Freaks as you do discover it. As the writers and directors of this terrific flick, Zach Lipovsky (co-producer of Afflicted) and Adam Stein do a good job building anticipation in their sci-fi/thriller. Each scene contains clues, and it’s up to the audience to piece the film’s premise together up until the somewhat typical finale.
Juggernaut
Juggernaut has an element it excels in – troubled characters gradually bringing their brooding funk to an explosive spill. I’d like to believe writer/director Daniel DiMarco is aware of how his film works, but the filmmaker consistently sidesteps around this area of strength. I don’t think DiMarco is clueless, but he’s making too much trouble for himself to seek out a challenge.
Race
Jesse Owens is a fascinating individual and he absolutely deserves a biopic, but Race is not it. Interestingly enough, the title gives away many of the film’s faults: it conflates racism and running to an uncomfortable degree. Stephen Hopkins’ movie is almost completely devoid of subtlety – it’s so naive, it hurts.