Dragged Across Concrete - 4/5

This movie is not quite as brutal as S. Craig Zahler’s other films, but only because it’s an extremely high bar. There is more of a sense in this one of an unpredictable plot that takes many riveting twists and turns before reaching its surprising conclusion. It’s a taut thriller with palpable characters that pull on the audience’s heart strings and make for a tense, melancholy climax.

Content warning: female nudity, gore

Closest comparison: It’s like The Town by way of Brawl in Cell Block 99

Setting: Buddy Cop
Plot: Buddy Cop
Tone: Crime Thriller

Knives Out (2019) - 5/5

This is one of the most clever whodunnit films I’ve seen, and probably the most intricate. Nevertheless, Rian Johnson makes it straightforward and easy to follow, as all good murder mysteries should. The story somehow manages to escape the tired old formula while meticulously maintaining its trappings, keeping the dialogue snappy and the sordid family affairs more fun than sordid. There is a fair amount of partisan politics in this movie, but it’s pretty evenly split and is relegated to character quirks, refusing to make a definite statement. It’s old and new, clever and simple; it’s Rian Johnson at his best.

Closest comparison: It’s like an Agatha Christie story for a new generation.

Setting: Murder Mystery
Plot: Murder Mystery
Tone: Mystery Comedy

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - 4/5

This is one of those movies that is really good and I can’t recommend it. It’s too brutal, too heavy, and too real for most people to enjoy, but it’s so viscerally poignant that if you can stomach the content you owe it to yourself to watch. It’s another ‘crying for the state of the world’-type films, not the action-style prison break movies that make up the rest of this sub-genre, and it’s executed in a somber brutal realism that shows the deep respect the filmmakers have for the subject matter.

Content warning: abortion, brutal violence

Closest comparison: It’s like Wind River, but for abortion instead of sexual assault.

Setting: Crime / Prison
Plot: Hard Times / Action
Tone: Slow Burn / Brutal