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The Long Walk is probably the best recent example that I've seen of a film seamlessly blending horror and beauty. Because I consistently felt some sort of dread from the minute this movie started but there's a ray of hope throughout the entire story and every shocking moment or character beat was all the better for it. It's one of the best movies I've seen this year, it's one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time and despite how gruelling it can be I would watch it again in a heartbeat to see these actors in these roles again.

This is another example of a theory I've long held that you truly do not need to know that much about a character in order to be invested in them. We have a core group of 4 that purposely get more backstory as the film goes on but most of these other contestants we learn precious little about and it didn't matter in the slightest. It so effectively puts you into this situation that your natural empathy will kick in but more than that it's the expert casting. Even the smaller roles feel perfectly cast and the performances fundamentally made me care more than non-stop pages of exposition could ever do. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are at the centre of everything and I can honestly say I was blown away by them, Jonsson in particular who I think actively makes this movie better than it already is.

They do such a good job at feeding out details of their backstory's to the point where I was actively excited to find out more about them and can't remember the last time I felt that way watching a film. For a film that is essentially a group of characters walking in a straight line for the entire runtime I was in awe at how gripped I was by it. Francis Lawrence knows exactly what not to show you to achieve maximum impact and I love the use of long takes to get out the maximum levels of immersion. It just made me feel aggressively uncomfortable from beginning to end and I mean that as a huge compliment. Even something as simple as a slight incline up a hill raised my anxiety levels and for as much shooting as there is in this movie the gun shots never stopped being impactful.

If I had a criticism about the film technically though it's that the editing started to become a little jumpy as it got into the 3rd act. It feels like we're skipping ahead in time more and more as the film goes on and I really did feel like I wanted to see as much of the decline in the characters on screen as possible, as twisted as that might sound. I also think the film has a bit of a villain problem in Mark Hamill's The Major. I loved his performance in how unapologetically evil it was and I loved all of his time on screen I just don't think there's enough. I thought his appearances were a bit flatly inserted and I never felt like I was feeling his prescience when he wasn't on screen. There's also a reveal about him towards the end that didn't really work for me when that's a character I think works best when you know as little about him as possible.

The Long Walk was just about everything I wanted it to be and for as brutal of a viewing experience as it was I still got a real sense of fulfilment out of it. It's just such a human movie through and through and it's an acting showcase for even the smallest of roles. It's easy to see why this book has inspired so much and it's amazing it's taken this long to be adapted. I thought I was going to like this movie but I never expected to love it as much as I did and surprises like that are worth going to the movies for.

I won't lie, the first half of this movie was hard work to get through. The whole movie ends up feeling like a bit of an assembly cut and there's a serious lack of momentum in that first hour to the point where I was bored relentlessly. The kidnapping plot comes about in the flattest way imaginable and the key reveal that changes things isn't really explored to its fullest potential. The whole thing just feels like a massive drag and a lot of that comes down to the editing and Spike Lee's directing choices that robs the whole film of any sense of urgency.

Thankfully though the second half brings the whole thing back and all the things I didn't like was improved upon in every way. There's finally some real direction in the story and it's not only thrilling it's actually very tense. I initially didn't like Denzel Washington's character but they finally give you reasons to understand him and the way his arc concludes was actually quite wholesome. His scenes with ASAP Rocky are so well done to the point where I think they're the best in the whole movie and I like the fact that it never devolved into a full on action movie. It's got a great sense of place and identity and I can't remember the last time a movie made me want to visit somewhere like this film does in how showcases New York.

Highest 2 Lowest isn't a great movie in my opinion and that's a shame because I think every issue I have could be solved through editing. I wish it was more disciplined in its cutting and just wish it was more thrilling from the outset because that first half very nearly lost me. I must admit that I've not seen the original but this version makes me want to check it out. It's not Spike Lee's best movie but it's something that showcases all of his signature traits for better and for worse.

Caught Stealing is definitely a departure for Darren Aronofsky but in the least exciting ways. It's full of familiar tropes and story beats we've seen before but Aronofsky just doesn't do much of anything to differentiate it or raise the script above feeling so generic. It's entertaining here and there but overall there wasn't much of a personality on display.

Because I kept waiting for the film to come into its own and give me a hint as to why Aronofsky was drawn to this story and it honestly just never came. Every new character feels increasingly more one-noted and the whole plot that the Austin Butler character gets dragged into is disappointingly straight forward. Austin Butler is great and I liked the fact that the movie never lost sight of this being a truly normal character totally out of his depth and they never took a convoluted jump with his skill set which I appreciated. He has a self destructive nature that I never really felt came to ahead and where they leave him off didn't really feel that set up to be a satisfying conclusion Honestly it felt like it was trying to set up a sequel that I doubt is ever going to happen.

It's a really stacked cast over all but the colourful characters the trailers teased never really come about on screen and ended up feeling like a massive waste of some amazing talent. Zoe Kravitz has great chemistry with Butler but her character just fizzles out of the narrative after a while and she just ends up feeling like the standard girlfriend archetype. Matt Smith doesn't get much to do after an intriguing set up and Regina King is let down by the writing of a character who feels like she belongs in a different movie. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D'Onofrio end up feeling like the only ones who get real characters to play and the script actually capitalises on their potential. The energy of the whole film just shoots up every time they're on screen and a development surrounding those two characters raised the third act up quite a bit higher for me.

While not perfect the first half is where the movie most captivated me. It really does effectively put you in this period and it's where the chemistry between Butler and Kravitz is on full display and the film is all the better for it. It's got a lot of that signature Aronofsky griminess and the violence is a lot more effective than I expected it to be. But as soon as it's revealed what all these characters are fighting over it just never truly regained my interest. The pacing slows down as the few characters I like have their appearances cut down and there's very few surprises. It's well directed but the visuals are surprisingly flat and the pacing just lagged on more and more as the runtime went on.

Caught Stealing isn't a bad movie but it's middling in the most disappointing ways and sometimes that's so much worse. I kept waiting for the movie to do anything to set its self apart and not only did it never come but the more it went on the more surprised I was to see this many people of this calibre attached to something so without its own identity. I don't mind familiar beats but this film doesn't do anything interesting with them and nothing about the craft on display improves the final product. A departure for Aronofsky without a doubt but not a satisfying one.