Eclectic Pop

Right off the bat, “Black Island” (originally titled “Schwarze Insel”) does not mess around. Viewers know someone is wreaking havoc on a brooding island, and they know who that someone is. The question that embroils the “e” thriller is not a question of “who” but “why,” and that is what helps separ…

“Sweet Girl” rests on Jason Momoa’s steady shoulders but do not let his star-power distract you from the title. A massive twist towards the ending recontextualizes a somewhat frustrating action showcase for Momoa. It shifts the perception of the Netflix film so mightily that it is impossible to rev…

What happens when “Norman Bates” (“Bates Motel”) and “Ser Davos” (“Game of Thrones”) team up to pull off a heist on the level of a certain Netflix series? You get “The Vault,” a movie featuring a familiar premise that somehow manages to repackage it in a fresh, exciting way. New to Netflix, “The Va…

Romantic thrillers are few and far between, and when they emerge, they are not always the greatest. “Haseen Dillruba” runs in stark contrast to that expectation, delivering a soulful and compelling film with a huge twist. An explosive murder mystery and a fraught marriage drive the plot.Director Vi…

Revenge. It is a story as old as time, and the manner of how that story is executed is the way in which genre entries set themselves apart. “Xtreme” (“Xtremo”) is a Spanish-language thriller that dives head-first into convention with no apologies. The opening sequence offers an unflinching glimpse …

What does any of it mean? “Nocturnal Animals” has the kind of ending that leaves you wondering, thanks to its artistically rendered ambiguity. By the end, viewers are left to sort out the dizzying details of a sordid and intricately plotted drama. Most of what they are left to deal with comes down …

“Nocturnal Animals” is a movie that will have you scratching your head if you do not go into it expecting an art-house take on the suspense genre. Instead, the Amy Adams starrer wraps high emotion into a tale of foreboding. Do not get me wrong. There is a lot that Adams’ team-up with Jake Gyllenhaa…

When it comes to semi-erotic mystery, “Last Moment of Clarity” has the competition beat. The indie thriller makes the most of its story as it traverses international locales amid a gripping mystery. Is Georgia Outerbridge (Samara Weaving) alive? When Sam Pivnic goes to a movie to get his mind off t…

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shines in this commendable entry into a rising sub-genre. “The Silencing” is “Wind River” meets “The Captive”/“Prisoners” and “Yellowstone.” That is a big compliment, especially within regards to the first and lastly mentioned Taylor Sheridan entries. If you thought Coster-Wal…

The finale to the Baztan trilogy is here, but is it a satisfying one? Not too long ago, Netflix thrilled with the second installment (“The Legacy of the Bones”). Now comes the follow-up to that movie’s bone-chilling ending. “Offering to the Storm” (“Ofrenda a la Tormenta”) picks up with Amaia’s unh…

If you grew up watching the original “Unsolved Mysteries,” then you are probably familiar with the eerie feeling that would come as the show's iconic music played viewers in and out of an episode. Netflix's reboot keeps that tradition going with its shocking series premiere, which centers o…

To say I had measured expectations headings into “Knives Out” would be an understatement. I did not head into it with claws out or anything. However, the idea that this movie with an all-star cast could possibly rise to the occasion of being decent, let alone above average, seemed to be a pipe drea…