Prime Time: Crime 101 (2026)

I doubt there will be any other movie this year that will have a more suitable descriptive title than Crime 101. It's not a terrible film, but it's very easy to figure out as you watch every piece being slowly moved into place. 

Chris Hemsworth plays Mike, a man who has become very adept at committing non-violent robberies within the general area of the 101 freeway. Nobody else really suspects all of his crimes are connected, apart from one determined cop (Mark Ruffalo). There's a big job looming on the horizon, one that could be classed as one last job, but Mike will need the help of a disgruntled insurance broker (Halle Berry), as well as a good bit of luck. His fence (Nick Nolte) is also working against Mike at this point, trying to make use of a young violent lad (Barry Keoghan) who has a very different approach to his work.

Written and directed by Bart Layton, based on a novella by Don Winslow, this is, as I am sure you have seen mentioned elsewhere, very much Heat-lite. You have the professional criminal, the flawed but dogged cop, the woman (Monica Barbaro) who comes into the life of the criminal and makes him consider what he might do with the next stage of his life, and the unhinged crook able to turn a good thing into a huge mess with one bad decision. There's a bit more to it, but nothing that is any further removed from the pages of a book entitled "Writing Crime 101". Of course.

I would say that everything here is fine, when it comes to the actual production, but that wouldn't be strictly true. Layton knows the tropes that he wants to make use of, but he doesn't put enough care into crafting them. When Hemsworth starts to become interested in Barbaro's character it quickly becomes harder to believe than any of the well-executed criminal plans. The same goes for the numerous moments that show our main character making far too obvious mistakes for someone who has maintained a successful streak for so many years.

Hemsworth is decent in the main role, often going through the motions with very little going on behind his eyes. He's focused on the jobs, or focused on not being caught after the jobs are done, and his behaviour conveys that, whether he's being flustered or managing to maintain his cool. Ruffalo plays the kind of Columbo-esque character that I feel he's already played quite a few times before this, whether as a part of the police or in the world of journalism, and he can do it effortlessly. Keoghan is great, despite how irritating and careless his character is, and Berry has a couple of scenes that really allow her to sink her teeth into things in a way that is missing from the rest of the film. Barbaro is pleasant enough, Nolte does what Nolte does, and there's just about enough time for scenes that include Tate Donovan, Corey Hawkins, Paul Adelstein, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the latter in the film for such a bewilderingly short amount of time that I admit I spent a good 5-10 minutes asking myself "WAS that Jennifer Jason Leigh?"

There are a few decent vehicle stunts and a satisfying resolution for most of the characters, but the 140-minute runtime is a bit of a slog, especially when you get to the point where you can see how all of the characters are going to interconnect and affect one another during the final act.

6/10

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A Complete Unknown (2024)

Here are the things I know about Bob Dylan. His video for Subterranean Homesick Blues is quite brilliant. A number of his songs have been covered by artists who have sometimes managed to eclipse the original. And his voice is somehow both pleasing to the ear and not unlike a musical vacuum cleaner. Those are the things I know about Bob Dylan. So I wasn't in a rush to watch A Complete Unknown, although the people involved ensured that I would get around to it eventually.

Timothée Chalamet plays Dylan, a young man we first see arriving in New York City as a talented 19-year-old on a pilgrimage to visit a hospitalised idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). Dylan meets Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) while visiting Guthrie, and this proves to be one of the first stepping stones on his path to great success. He also gets involved with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), finds a strong connection with the fantastic Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), and becomes more and more selfish as he commits himself to the lyrics and music that will transform him from a complete unknown to an enigmatic musical icon.

Based on a book by Elijah Wald, adapted into screenplay form by Jay Cocks and director James Mangold, A Complete Unknown manages a fine balance of showing the man behind the music while not actually showing you the man behind the music. It quickly becomes clear that Dylan wants his work to speak for him, and there's no denying that he has quite a sizeable discography from which to pull statements from. Mangold is a very capable director, able to turn his hand to a variety of genres, but this is one of his best works, although it come after a decade of him delivering one great film after another (albeit films not necessarily right in line with this one).

Everything is helped by Chalamet being so good in the lead role. Instead of delivering what could have been a clumsy impression, Chalamet really does seem to embody the spirit of the musician that he's portraying. He also convinces with the singing and guitar-playing, however that is performed onscreen. Norton is so good in the role of Seeger that it's a reminder of how good it is to watch Norton in the right role, and I feel as if we have missed some fine work from him for too long. Both Fanning and Barbaro are just as good as anyone else onscreen, and do very well to avoid being overshadowed by the man who ends up, to some degree, being the centre of the musical universe for many. McNairy doesn't get much to do, but does it well, Boyd Holbrook has fun as Johnny Cash, and many more secondary characters are played by a selection of pretty flawless supporting players.

There's not much more to say about this. It's quite standard biopic stuff, even if it is only looking at one key part of Dylan's life. The moments that are tweaked to make them more cinematic retain a core of authenticity, the many truths throughout the film are compelling and thought-provoking, and the decision to keep an air of mystery swirling around the figure being observed works for both the film and the enduring legend of Dylan.

Did I feel as if I knew a lot more about the man once the end credits rolled? Not really, and you could call that a failing. I wouldn't though. I decided that I appreciated the small amount of extra context that gave me even more appreciation for a body of work that I'm now keen to explore. Let's face it, I liked the film so much that I didn't spend this entire review trying to insert a load of Bob Dylan songs and puns. I guess the times they are a-changin'.

9/10

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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

As much about Tom Cruise as it is about fast planes, and as much about the joy of old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment as it is about either of those things, Top Gun: Maverick may well be the proof that everyone just needs a bit of escapist fun now, more than ever. The praise for it isn’t entirely undeserved, and the great impact it is making on the 2022 box office total is something that has surely allowed fans of the cinema experience to breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that blockbusters on the big screen still very much have a place in our world, but I keep wondering whether this film is gloriously lacking in self-awareness or, as I suspect, absolutely self-aware throughout while just trying to pretend otherwise.

Tom Cruise is Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, still one of the top pilots in the Naval Air Force, but never destined to climb the ranks higher because of his attitude. After one more anti-authoritarian escapade, Maverick is given a new assignment, and it may be his last assignment. He has to train some younger hotshots to ready them for a bombing mission that will require a lot of low-level flying, numerous tight manoeuvres, and a generally unsafe amount of time trying to fly through an extensive . . . danger zone. One of the pilots being trained for the mission is Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw aka the son of ‘Goose’, which allows for two men to tackle their histories, both separately and together.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed Cruise in the enjoyable sci-fi flick Oblivion, this makes clear from the very beginning just what it wants to be. You love Top Gun? You’re going to love this. Don’t love Top Gun? You’re still going to love this, but the person you are seeing it with (who probably loves Top Gun) is going to love it even more. Aside from anything else I am about to mention, the flight sequences are incredible, with thrilling action moments that seemingly place viewers right in the cockpit with the actors. It’s even better than anything done in the first movie, but that is me just talking about the action. Just now.

The script, written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, walks a fine line between groan-inducing cheese and fan-pleasing nods and winks. The fact that it succeeds throughout is astonishing, but the intertwining of the new main plot strand with the history attached to the first film is well-handled, even if it is overdone numerous times. The humour works, a lovely cameo hits the right buttons, and the pacing makes it easier to go along with the ridiculousness of it all. Taken individually, however, there are plenty of lines that are so cheesy that you might think the script was dropped in a fondue set.

The cast is a mixed bag. Cruise is great in his return to  what could easily be referred to as the iconic role of his career, and Miles Teller, despite rocking the silliest moustache since Michael Cera in Youth In Revolt, is very good as Rooster, helped by the fact that he looks as if he could be the offspring of Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan. Jennifer Connelly is a welcome addition, although her role is no more than the typical love interest/pep talk giver you’d expect in this type of film. Other standouts are Jon Hamm, playing the latest in a long line of military commanders having problems with Maverick, Monica Barbaro as ‘Phoenix’, Lewis Pullman as ‘Bob’ (yes, that is his callsign), and the super-charismatic Glen Powell as ‘Hangman’. There are also solid performances from Ed Harris, onscreen for only a couple of minutes, but his scenes are brilliant, Lyliana Wray, playing the daughter of Connelly’s character, and Bashir Salahuddin, an ally to our hero because he knows Maverick is, well, a maverick, but dammit he gets results.

There are no real risks taken here, even though simply making the film is a big risk in itself. You could write the plot beats out on a napkin before you start watching this and you would probably get everything spot on. Even when it looks like it’s going to make a bold move, the next moment will have you smiling in disbelief at your own cynicism.

I guess that is the biggest strength of the film, and something others may view as a weakness. It is completely uncynical, in terms of the surface-level onscreen content. Another time may have seen this as an object of ridicule, but the here and now positions it perfectly for people who perhaps want a break away from cynicism.

Oh, and you get “Danger Zone” on the soundtrack, great work from Harold Faltermeyer and Hans Zimmer, a belter of a song from Lady Gaga, AND another sequence showing off the characters as they play some beach games. What more do you want? Especially if you can’t help yourself from completing the phrase whenever anyone says “I feel the need . . .”

8/10

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