Understanding Serial Killers..."Mindhunter"

Mindhunter (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross,

Created by Joe Penhall

The Story:

FBI Agents Holden Ford (Groff) and Bill Tench (McCallany) have trained law enforcement officials from coast to coast. However, they are about to embark on something off the beaten path as they decide what better way to figure out the mind of a killer, than to actually sit down and interview them.

Should I mention this is based on a true story?

It's the 70s, and while serial killers existed, they had yet to have that term attached to them.

In fact, there's a lot of things that these first two pioneers of profiling would create as they bounced from coast to coast discussing WHY with some of the worst of the worst to ever stand before a court.

It's a slow burn...

But man, is it intense and fascinating!

At 10 episodes in length, it doesn't suffer from many of the pacing issues that plague the shows that extend into the teens.

Be warned though, it is driven by a very dialogue-intensive narrative.  So if you aren't a fan of talking heads in your police dramas, this may not be the show for you.

That being said, the slow burn effect keeps building throw the series and at the last episode, you want nothing more than to start the next episode to find out what the heck happens next!

This Netflix original is available to stream whenever you're ready to venture down the seedy side of town.

Final Grade: A-

Guilty As Charged..."American Vandal"

American Vandal (2017)

Starring Tyler Alvarez, Griffin Gluck, Jimmy Tatro, Camille Hyde, Eduardo Franco, Calum Worthy, Camille Ramsey, Karly Rothenberg

Created by Dan Perrault & Tony Yacenda

The Story:

Dylan Maxwell (Tatro) stands accused of a heinous act of vandalism: drawing dicks on 27 teacher's cars at the local high school. Now the school's morning show is out to discover whether Dylan is indeed guilty, or being framed.

This Netflix Original premiered this morning.

I posted the trailer the other day, and now halfway into the 3rd episode, it's every bit as compelling as the true crime documentaries that it's poking fun of.

Satire. Loving homage. Mockumentary.

However you want to classify it, they're taking the components of "Making a Murderer" or any other true crime series and making their storyline just as compelling.

But also, hilariously funny.

Each episode is a half hour, so it flies by much quicker than an hour-long drama.

But the cast is believable and again, the storyline works perfectly as a crime whodunit that keeps you captivated.

And at the end of each episode, they toss the next curve ball at the audience to make you go "no way!" and then you're hooked for the next episode.

Not sure how it's going to end, but with nearly half the series over...

A-

"The Infiltrator" Has A Very Dangerous Job

The Infiltrator (2016)

Rated R

Starring Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Juliet Aubrey, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt,

Directed by Brad Furman

The Story:

Robert Mazur (Cranston) is a Customs agent who goes deep undercover to find the bigger fish that are bringing drugs into America. The more he meets with Roberto Alcaino (Bratt) the closer they become as friends. Is Mazur going to be able to make the arrests when the time comes, or is he going to go too deep undercover?

There's a lot of story to cram into a 2 hour drama, but for the most part, the entire cast and crew manage to pull it off without too many loose end/plot holes that make you forget you're watching a movie.

Cranston continues to be the best part of any movie that he's in.

Maybe one of these years I'll get around to watching Breaking Bad, but for now I'll just keep enjoying his roles in films.

The movie does a nice job of trying to show how Mazur had to balance his work life and his home life, and how one small slip of the tongue (I'm engaged...) or taking his real wife out on the town, he would have to think fast to get himself out of these jams.

The rest of the cast matches Cranston's energy in scene for scene, especially Leguizamo as his partner where they both sometimes fear that the other may have gone over to the other side during their investigation.

The biggest complaint I've seen about this movie is that Narcos did it better.

Well, I would hope a continuing series would do a better job of telling a richer story than a 2 hour movie.

Since I haven't had a chance to watch Narcos yet, at least they've set the bar high for it.

I'll try that one in the future, either before or after Breaking Bad.

:)

Final Grade: Solid B

Gangsters Aren't Just American Made.."Legend"

Legend (2015)

Rated R

Starring Tom Hardy

Written and Directed by Brian Helgeland

The Story:

The rise and fall of Reggie (Hardy) and Ronnie (Hardy) Kray, possibly the most notorious gangsters ever to rule the streets of London in the 1960s.

Based on the true story of twin brothers Reggie and Ronnie Kray who ruled the London underworld with an iron fist through the 60s.

While there are indeed other actors in the film, the film basically is an acting tour de force for Tom Hardy to play both roles.

Each has mannerisms and behaviors that are unique to the character, and Hardy effortlessly portrays both with ease.

You can easily forget the stunt casting of it all, even during the fight scene when he beats himself up. :)

The story might be more riveting for those that grew up hearing about the Krays, I would think they might be similar to our Old West robbers or the Mafia.

Otherwise, a bit slow as the story tries to balance their life together as well as their life apart from one another.

However, at the end of the day, it's hard to walk away from family and the good life.

There are several stellar moments in the movie where you realize that Hardy could indeed be a contender to be the next James Bond as well.

Time will tell...

Final Grade: C

Skip "Black Mass" and See "Whitey: The United States v. James J. Bulger" Instead

Whitey: The United States of America vs James J. Bulger (2014)

Rated R

Directed by Joe Berlinger

The Story:

Go behind the headlines as the United States tries to take down James "Whitey" Bulger once and for all.

The meandering mess that was Black Mass sort of steamrolls over this documentary which is better fleshed out and more compelling than the fictional accounts.

Berlinger approaches the story from the angles of the victims, friends and families of the victims, and the officials who tried to prove once and for all whether Bulger was a mobster or an informant or both.

Seeing this shortly after the Depp version, a lot of the wind was taken out of the sales on this one.

It's still a good documentary, don't get me wrong.

It simply won't rank on my best of the year finale, and I can't pinpoint if it was due to watching the two so close together, so I hate faulting a film for coming second on my depth chart even though it was released years earlier and I simply missed it.

That said, like Making A Murderer, it's amazing to see how much law enforcement, in this case the FBI will indeed cover up their own tracks to hide something.

In this case, they take a look at Top Informant files of other notorious gangsters and compare those thousands of pages files, often with multiple volumes, to the meager few hundred pages on Bulger.

Things definitely don't add up.

To Whitey's defense, he adamantly insists that while he may be many things, and could be guilty of just about everything...

He's not a rat.

It's all about semantics with that man, and in a bizarre way, you can almost respect him for that.

So if you want a nice crime documentary in the near future, give this one a whirl.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-