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Showing posts from December, 2018

Hold the Dark (2018)

"Hold the Dark" is a 2018 Netflix film starring Jeffrey Wright. I watched it because the Netflix summary sounded interesting and I like Jeffrey Wright: I remember him best as Bernard in the HBO series "Westworld". The setting is a remote part of Alaska where three children have apparently been taken by wolves. Wright, an expert on wolf behavior who has published a book on the subject, is called in by the mother of one of the children to track down the wolf responsible for her child's disappearance. Meanwhile, the child's father is off fighting in Iraq when this happens, but returns soon afterward after being wounded. But the search for the wolves part of the plot just gets the movie started. It quickly becomes apparent there is much more going on than wolves stealing children. This is not strictly speaking a traditional horror movie: there is nothing overtly supernatural. But it is a dark movie about human nature and the primal instincts that lay ben...

The Sinner (2017)

"The Sinner" is a 2017 seven episode crime drama starring Jessica Biel as Cora Tannetti and Bill Pullman as Detective Harry Ambrose. It is currently available on Netflix. Cora is a 28 year old wife and mother of a 3 year old son. In the first episode we see her at the beach with her family. Suddenly, after seeing a young couple flirting and hearing a song, she rushes over to stab the young man seven times to his death. The case seems clear cut, with ample evidence and plenty of eye-witnesses. Cora accepts her actions and pleads guilty to second degree murder which carries a 30 year sentence. Much of the series takes place between the time she enters her plea and before she awaits sentencing as it gradually reveals the reasons for her action through flashbacks, and recovered memories from visiting locations or hypnotism. Detective Ambrose is persistent as he keeps digging, refusing to give up Cora or the case, sensing there is more to it than there seems. And, of course,...