stevencsmovies

When I heard that Darren Aronofsky had a new movie coming out, I'm ashamed to admit that I forgot who he was. How the hell could I forget the guy responsible for REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE WRESTLER, BLACK SWAN, and my personal favorite of his, THE WHALE? I mean, this is the guy who's known for dragging out only the best performances from his actors, such as Mickey Rourke, Natalie Portman, and Brendan Fraser. I believe he has done it again, with CAUGHT STEALING, a dark comedy crime thriller about an everyday guy who missed his shot in life, who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Struggling to find his footing in life (sometimes literally), Hank (Austin Butler) ends up taking care of a cute cat owned by his friend and neighbor, an unruly Brit named Russ (Matt Smith), who leaves town. Hank, along with his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), get embroiled in a cat-and-mouse chase. Their chemistry is palpable. The cat almost steals the show, which for certain people could be a good or bad thing. The title is clever, meaning a few different things. This is based on a book written by Charlie Huston, who actually wrote the screenplay for this. The same situation happened with the author of THE WHALE. It makes perfect sense. This film has the feeling of a more realistic Guy Ritchie movie. The entire cast is great, but I'm not telling you who else makes an appearance. I also highly recommend seeing this without watching the trailer, it shows basically everything. The script is sharp and tight, not letting the audience get bored or check their watch. It's erratic yet controlled. The film's score was recorded by British post-punk band Idles. The authenticity of late 90's New York draws you in. The tonal shifts in certain scenes might throw some people off, but it's more of a nitpick for me. This has one of the best messages for seatbelt safety in a movie since, like ever. The further I dove into this movie, the more unpredictable it got, which is a feat. This might not be a home run compared to Aronofsky's other work, but the bar is pretty damn high. CAUGHT STEALING sticks the landing, which can't be said for quite a few movies these days. This is a throwback movie that should not be overlooked.

Director David Mackenzie wasn't on my radar until 2016's HELL OR HIGH WATER, which I highly recommend. He has now made a paranoid thriller called RELAY. Originally called THE BROKER, it was featured on the 2019 "Black-List" of most-liked unproduced screenplays. It tells the story of whistleblower Sarah Grant (Lilly James) who changes her mind about going public with very sensitive and damning documents from a big bioengineering company. She is recommended to call an anonymous broker to help give back the documents while keeping herself safe. The broker, played by Riz Ahmed, keeps his anonymity by using a telecommunications device for the deaf, connected to the Tri-State Relay Service. It's a pretty cool concept that uses a totally real service in such a creative way. This movie feels bigger than it actually is. There was almost no marketing for it, so almost nobody is actually watching it. I'm a huge fan of Riz Ahmed. Ever since he broke out in the series THE NIGHT OF, he's been doing great things. This is the second movie with him that represents the deaf community, the other being the wonderful SOUND OF METAL. As I've been thinking more about this movie's ending though, without giving anything away, I think it could've been a little smoother, especially in today's society. I also think a little more mystery was needed in certain aspects. Riz's palpable quiet intensity and the nice tension-building are what ultimately drew me into this. I enjoyed my time with RELAY, and I wish it had a wider release.

Back in 2021, a sleeper hit got released called NOBODY. Nobody expected this to do as well as it did. It took a generally funny man Bob Odenkirk and turned him into an unexpecting badass action hero. It was a great take on the typical dynamic of "family man with a secret murderous job". Now, as with most things these days, there's a sequel called, you guessed it, NOBODY 2. After the events of the first one, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is forced to work for The Barber (Colin Salmon) to pay off his debt. Feeling physically and mentally drained, he goes on vacation with his family, desperately trying to make some new memories. They go to a small rundown theme park, where his father (Christopher Lloyd) took him and his brother (RZA) when they were kids. Think NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION meets JOHN WICK meets HOME ALONE. This being a sequel, the "newness" of the concept gets kind of stale in the latter half of the movie, but it makes up for it with very fun and violent action scenes. The music definitely adds to the fun also. There's nothing new that is learned about the protagonist, but Odenkirk is just SO great in this. The rest of the cast is good too. Christopher Lloyd is under-used, but Sharon Stone has the time of her life just hamming it up on screen. If you enjoyed the original (which I can't find for free anywhere at the moment), then you'll have fun with this one. Remember, if you discover an undercover crime ring while on vacation, you better call Saul.