Review: ‘Beckett’ is a paranoid thriller that works despite itself

Beckett

An interesting thing that happens –or perhaps more accurately doesn’t happen– in Beckett is that when it comes time to be an action star, the title character simply isn’t one. Neither superhuman nor particularly competent, Beckett, played by John David Washington in a role that asks him to carry an entire movie, is just a guy on the run and doesn’t have any dark past, specialized training, or even a penchant for 80s action movies. That, in and of itself, is a little refreshing.

The film itself, though –a stylistic throwback to the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s– only works despite itself. Gorgeously shot, decently acted, but overlong and simple to a fault, this is one on which your mileage will definitely vary.

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Review: ‘Old’ highlights M. Night Shyamalan’s weaknesses, but also his strengths

Old

I think a lot about M. Night Shyamalan. I don’t like all of his movies, but all of his movies are unmistakably his movies, and I love him for that. So what makes an M. Night Shyamalan movie? Janky dialogue delivered weirdly and a very straightforward understanding of human emotion and behaviour, but also a keen eye for visuals and a newly unparalleled ability to use the camera to tell a story. He is, in a word, a dichotomy. His latest film Old is no different.

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