movie review
Felony-focused film reviews; fictional movies and true crime documentaries depicting real-life stories or inspired by them.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
'The Trial of the Chicago 7' Review—Absolutely Gripping
I have spent hours trying to come up with a good opening joke to begin my review, but I can't come up with anything funny. Therefore, I'm just going to leave you with this: "you can't handle the truth!" Did you laugh? Yeah, I know. I'll start the review.
By Jonathan Sim5 years ago in Criminal
A Filmmaker's Review: "American Murder: The Family Next Door" (2020)
“American Murder: The Family Next Door” (2020) is one of the most famous newest documentaries on Netflix. It’s about a man who murders his wife, two baby daughters and unborn son. I think many of us actually remember hearing about this story especially if you’re like me and likes to keep up-to-date with trials if they’re in the USA and UK. Honestly, I knew what was happening in this story beforehand because, obviously, I had already heard about it. But another reason that I already knew what was happening was because the film itself was so badly made. I didn’t feel like there was any production value to the show and well, it was just a bunch of social media posts and pictures, videos etc. from Facebook. I mean, there’s not a real quality of classic documentary to it and I hope this doesn’t become a new-age documentary theme. I would appreciate it if that didn’t happen and I don’t think it is very appropriate to depict the victim as a mom who puts everything about their kids on social media. I think they were trying not to go there, but obviously they knew it would always be in the minds of the audience. Let’s have a look at why it didn’t work.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
A Filmmaker's Review: "Dahmer" (2002)
“Dahmer” (2002) is a film starring Jeremy Renner as the serial killer and cannibal/rapist Jeffrey Dahmer. It happens as two separate timelines. One in which Jeffrey Dahmer is an already profuse serial killer and the other where he is still starting out and understanding that he may actually be a monster. The starting-off timeline happens backwards and therefore, requires you to pay a lot of attention to why there is a damned pandora’s box in the bedroom and why he won’t let his father open it. However, it also requires you to pay attention to how these flashbacks are placed, because they are never there for no apparent reason. For example: the reason why Dahmer can’t go into the bar when Rodney does is told to us through a flashback. Be that as it may, this film had many pros and cons and we’re going to investigate them in much more detail as we delve deeper and see exactly why this film got very good reviews critically, but seemed to leave audiences a bit spaced out.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
Movie Review: 'The Lie' is an Unintentionally Laugh Out Loud Comedy
The Lie is one of the dumber movies I have seen in a long while. This sleezy production from Blumhouse Productions, better known for cheap horror, than anything remotely like The Lie, wants to put you in the awkward position of being the parents of a child who has murdered a friend. The filmmakers want you to ask what you would do in order to protect your child from going to prison for murder. For a good person, this question is very easy. For the low brain-power characters of The Lie it’s a plot contrivance.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Criminal
A Film Addict Reviews! Molly’s Game
Films that are based on true stories could always be embellished due to how the studio wanting to dramatize it. Also, films like those are also missing some vital pieces are rush through things just for the sake of telling the story. Molly’s Game would probably benefit from one.
By Anakin Shaw6 years ago in Criminal
Latasha's Song Can Still Be Heard
The short original Netflix documentary “A Love Song For Latasha”. In its twenty minute running time, what you get is a powerful, heart breaking look at the young girl, who at fifteen years old, had her life cut tragically short. While it would have been easy to focus entirely on the circumstances surrounding her untimely death, what we got with this short film was an insight into the young girl herself.
By Chloe Medeiros6 years ago in Criminal
'Unhinged' Movie Review
In Unhinged, struggling single mom Rachel (Caren Pistorius) just can't catch a break. Her ex seems to have the better divorce lawyer, she's always running late, her career is slipping, and her day is only about to get worse. When she takes a detour to try to get her son (Gabriel Bateman) to school on time, she has a little road rage altercation with a disgruntled driver (Russell Crowe). Little does she know, this man has nothing left to lose, and he decides to stalk her, leaving a trail of destruction in his path.
By Will Lasley6 years ago in Criminal
Booze, Broads and Blackjack
Despite being sidelined by COVID-19, Booze, Broads, and Blackjack has raked in the awards from film events on both sides of the US. It's a mob thriller film that presents the skill and on-screen power of veteran actor Vincent Pastore of The Sopranos fame. The film also shows that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.
By Ethan H. Gaines6 years ago in Criminal
Russell Crowe is on a Murderous Rampage in the Highly Entertaining ‘Unhinged’
If you’re as obsessed with true crime stories as I am, you know the frightening concept of regular people suddenly turning homicidal. In some cases, we could have seen it coming. A past riddled with indications of sadism. Earlier indications of mental health issues. But occasionally, people just break bad. Their friends and families are baffled. They would tell the authorities that he seemed like such a gentle soul, he didn’t seem like the type of person who could have done something so terrible.
By MovieBabble6 years ago in Criminal
A Filmmaker's Guide to: 10 Courtroom Dramas
The courtroom drama has been a big piece of interesting cinema for so long purely because it has the ability to show us the loopholes and problems with the judicial system in a way a crime documentary about innocence would. The only difference is that we don't get these side notes teaching us about the legal system, instead we get a very clever storyline told through numerous different voices. We are not swayed to believe either way until someone is completely exonerated and so, it is very much like watching a crime and courtroom play out the long legal process. The reason why we find this interesting is because we are not only fascinated by the dark and criminal side of human nature but, somewhere deep down, we are the only ones who actually know how this case is going to turn out. Musical scores, especially character themes and scene setters can give us hints and clues and, with the want for closure, we can normally guess the ending before it happens. The reason we watch it therefore, is to see what we don't see in real life: the madness of the courtroom.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Criminal
