All the King's Men (2006)

In the 50's, in Louisiana, a smart populist, manipulative and wolf hick is elected governor with the support of the lower social classes and erects his own corrupt regime.

Great direction, visuals and performances add up to a good movie that still can't surpass Robert Rossen's 1949 classic adaptation of the same novel.

On rewatching: still a good movie - that could have been better, but Penn's excessive performance seems true, now that we have a similar person as US president.

Maltin**: "Penn's histrionics never ring true, and his talented costars are wasted in this disappointing production...Zaillian wrote the ineffectual screenplay."

In the Cut (2003)

A New York City writing professor has an affair with a police detective, who is investigating the murder of a beautiful young woman in her neighborhood.

Unusual serial killer mystery which gives more focus to the romance than the crime has a good cast, atmosphere and excellent moody photography, but a very uneven plot.

Halliwell*: "An often pedantic take on the serial killer genre, where even the women who don't end up dead are seen as victims of predatory men; Beebe's cinematography captures the seedy anxiety of its setting."

Maltin**1/2: "A daring look at a sexual relationship between two emotionally fragile people...Provocative and doggedly antiromantic, the storytelling is faulty and drawn out, but the atmosphere and performances are first-rate."

Zodiac (2007)

In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.

Unusually long, but suspenseful investigation not just of a mysterious killer, but also the obsessions it caused to three men involved with the case.

On rewatching: remarkable how subtle and intense the 70s settings are created; and the performances all around are excellent.

Maltin***1/2: "Riveting drama...Focus more on the manhunt than the crimes and shows how this frustrating case consumed the lives of reporters and detectives alike...Superbly made on every level,with meticulous re-creations of the 70s..."

Spotlight (2015)

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

Wonderfully unspectacular, almost old-fashioned rendition of the journalistic investigation of a scandal, this way giving the actual story impact and the great ensemble to deliver their talent.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.

Complex and intriguing love drama playing with our sense of time and memory; well worth watching, but at times a strain putting the parts together. 

Halliwell*: "Another film with a beginning, middle and end, though not necessarily in that order; indeed, the beginning is the end. It is too fussy in its writing and direction to maintain interest in its shifting narrative."

Maltin***: "Ingenious, Oscar-winning screenplay by Charlie Kaufman...is extremely well executed by director Gondry (and cinematographer Ellen Kuras), though the film tends to cleverly dance around the roots of emotional and romantic pain rather than fully engage them. Carrey has never been better; Winslet is (as always) exceptional."