He Walked By Night (1948)
Never Here (2017)
The Ninth Configuration (1990)
The Decoy Bride (2011)
Windfall (2022)
Don't Look Up (2021)
1408 (2007)
24 Hours To Live (2017) ///
The Sting (1973) Deceptively glossed with 30s period design, twisting narrative is as slyly enjoyable as devious plans of Paul Newman and Robert Redford to scam crime boss Robert Shaw. Allied to Scott Joplin rags, populist storytelling with intelligence and richly defined characters.
He Walked By Night (1948) Blunt docudrama approach and expressively lit visuals make effective use of gritty Los Angeles locations as police hunt for callous, icy killer Richard Basehart. Narrative taut and lean, true story origin builds momentum with edgy grip and tense set pieces.
Never Here (2017) Rigorously designed visuals and obliquely impenetrable narrative conjures strangely enticing atmosphere that teases and provokes. Artist Mireille Enos questions identity and finds herself in the swirling confusion of chilly surveillance and assault with increasing paranoia.
The Ninth Configuration (1990) Equally effective and uneasy blend of comic madness and brutality, told with Gothic intensity and off-kilter imagery. Stacy Keach is the new psychologist at an army institution debating the existence of God and evil, as identity and memory blur. Funny and strange.
The Decoy Bride (2011) Vibrant, heartfelt Kelly Macdonald is the redeeming feature of otherwise curiously flat romcom, as movie star Alice Eve and creatively blocked writer David Tennant plan wedding on remote Scottish island. Never creates own internal logic let alone genuine situations.
Windfall (2022) Cleanly poised drama plays on themes on society alienation as stripped-down chamber piece has intruder Jason Segal hold wealthy tech CEO Jesse Plemons and prickly Lily Collins in desert home. Dark, Herrmannesque flavors hold interest with satisfying, violent twist.
Don't Look Up (2021) Wildly uneven and unwieldy satire, though never dull or lacking in feeling, with earthbound meteor a thinly veiled metaphor for ravages of ongoing climate change. Funny sequences, frustratingly unfocused, Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio lead estimable cast.
1408 (2007) Cynical writer John Cusack buries grief and creativity to chronicle phony paranormal claims, until Samuel L Jackson's New York hotel soon questions reality of vengeful spirits and own sanity. Effective Stephen King adaptation, made with convincing style, minor thrills lack emotional and conclusive heft.
24 Hours To Live (2017) Visually polished, slickly designed action sequences, empty-headed story mechanics as assassin is revived from the dead and seeks revenge. Ethan Hawke struggles to provide emotional core to redemptive arc in welter of explosive violence and whiplash chases.
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