Category: Suspense/Thriller

“How to Blow Up a Pipeline”

7.1

Maybe not the best laid plans, but a solid movie nonetheless.

Some of the film hit the notes I was worried about, some of it hit the high gear I was hoping it would. There are parts of the film that beat you over the head with the stereotypical college freshman taking on the world, blissfully unaware of the verbiage coming out of their mouth. Some of it hit the high gear of realizing that sometimes in the pursuit of a righteous goal, one becomes the very thing they seek to destroy. We then explore the irony of that for approximately 45 seconds. A brief glimmer of hope.

Technically, this film had me on the edge of my seat like I was re-watching “The Hurt Locker.” Something about watching someone handle explosives set to a score as tightly wound as the devices wiring was spell-binding. The story structure was also a nice creative choice that broke the tension and gave needed reprieve and backstory before diving back into a sweat session in the thick of the execution of the group’s plan. I can honestly say that the twist at the end caught me by pleasant surprise.

A solid, albeit odd film. I’m glad I finally got to see it on the big screen after months of it sitting in my Hulu watchlist.

“The Killer”

7.4

I may have over-hyped this one in my head a bit. It even got me to subscribe to Netflix for a month to watch it. (It’s one of the few streaming services I don’t have unless they suck me in with a release like this that I would have had to travel to CHICAGO to see)

It’s absolutely gorgeous, and Michael Fassbender is perfect in this role. But the the film itself was… surprisingly okay for me. It was solid, but not life-changing as some (including myself) had been expecting.

“A Haunting in Venice”

7.4

3 films in, Poirot’s still got it!

What starts off with the twist of a haunting/exorcism type story slowly works its way back into the familiar whodunnit formula we’ve come to know and love with this series.

The cast this time around really knocked it out of the park, especially Tina Fey. Beth Dutton gives her a run for her money, though. Overall, a well done murder mystery!

“To Catch a Killer”

6.8

I think they were going for “Seven” here… but ended up with a by the numbers cop drama. It never got that deep, despite it’s best efforts.

Ben Mendelsohn and Shailene Woodley carry a lot of water to get this one across the finish line. it has it’s moments where it goes full “shock and awe,” and some potentially intriguing threads, but they fail to fully pull those threads or veer off the beaten path enough to have piqued my interest above general intrigue. It was a solid movie, just not as good as I was hoping it would be.