"Crime 101" - Review

A jewel thief is committing robberies along the 101 Highway in Los Angeles. Mike (Chris Hemsworth) doesn't use violence, is meticulous, and always hits high value targets. His story collides with the burnt out aging Lou (Mark Ruffalo), a detective unravelling and becoming obsessed with the robberies as his own life falls apart; and that of Sharon (Halle Berry): an insurance broker hitting a brick wall in her life. With another job on the horizon, and a new thief (Barry Keoghan) also on the loose, Mike's perfectly planned little world begins to come apart...

(Credit: Showcase Cinemas)
It's nothing you've not seen before, but the execution is astounding. Director Bart Layton (weirdly NOT adapting Don Westlake, as I thought from the trailer, as it feels very much like an adaptation of "Parker") throws "Thief" (a LOT of that movie), "The Driver", "Drive", "Heat" and any other number of cops and robbers movies into a blender and hits puree. The ingredients are familiar (Ruffalo's detective is a pile of cliches heaped into a suit, Nick Nolte unfortunately shows up to grumble-mumble his way through a scene, Barry Keoghan plays the psychotic young upstart who changes the game), with a brilliantly composed thief unable to make human connections and a cop on the edge whilst "one last job" brews and our thief meets a girl and yadda-yadda... But the result is actually fantastically well shot and put together: lots of parallel edits, Mike shot in boxes and lines to match his possible future in prison and his orderly life, little details to flesh out the characters and their worlds, touches and flourishes, great lighting and use of mood and atmosphere. Despite mentally ticking off a list of things I'd logged and registered, I felt my butthole puckered tight during the finale as it genuinely gripped me and threw a few curveballs in the last act. Keoghan steals the show with a fantastic brazen daylight robbery, a pink motorcycle jacket and a great chase; but Ruffalo and Berry really worked in the leads and elevated their characters, whilst Hemsworth suits this nicely. Jennifer Jason Leigh is utterly wasted in a thankless 2 scene role.
I enjoyed this more than I thought.

"Furiosa" - Review

In the not too distant future, the world has gone mad. Furiosa, a young girl in one of the last remaining green places, is kidnapped by raiders and brought to their leader Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Refusing to tell him where her lands lie, she is raised as a warrior by the warlord until, as a young woman (Anya Taylor-Joy), her path crosses with warlords, warriors and the madness of all that comes with the end of time...

This had a lot to live up to, after the genuine masterpiece of mayhem, violence and kinetic lunacy that was "Fury Road". Oh great, a creative movie finally allowed to exist by a visionary director and his team, it seemed inevitable that the ghouls of Hollywood would demand a prequel to its breakout character.
So imagine that it's good.
Imagine that it's actually a "swing for the fences" piece of episodic, poetic lunacy more akin to the underappreciated "3,000 Years of Longing", made solely to cry out in rage at nobody having seen that movie. If you enjoy "3,000 Years of Longing" you'll enjoy this, George Miller adds lots of Jodorowsky to boot. Split into 5 chapters, the movie becomes less a conventional by-the-numbers prequel rags to riches tale, and instead is more an ensemble story about the world around Furiosa, the people within it, how these "societies" (as much as they are) work. It's a bold choice, and I have nothing but respect for it. The story zig-zags like a Tory minister, hopping from set piece to set piece, and keeping its revenge tale on the back burner: if you don't like one piece, there'll be something cool around the corner! It's unconventional, strange, wild, explosive and violent in equal measure. It lacks the stronger throughline of the impecable "Fury Road", but explores more of the ideas of narrative and expectations in its ending, and how stories change and evolve over time, it feels like a piss-take of the whole idea. Hemsworth makes for an excellent villain, and I want more of this kind of Hemsworth (related note: "Bad Times at the El Royale" is excellent), and somewhat refreshingly Anya Taylor-Joy is not actually present for a large chunk of the movie, she comes into it a lot later. She's good. Tom Burke leaves zero impact as Praetorian Jack, but they can't all be winners.
The action is incredbile, but less white knuckle that "Fury Road" due to its vignette nature, however they all work as little 3-Act action movies on their own, which is unique and cool and simply great film making. The cinematography, as expected, rules, and the score is markedly, refreshingly different to "Fury Road".
It's unexpected and fun.
Oh, and Charlee Fraser from "Anyone But You" is Furiosa's mother! You go, girl!
Angus Simpson is back, hell yes.