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The Last Days of American Crime, The Night Clerk, The Vast of Night

Here’s a look at the new movies I saw this week.

The Last Days of American Crime (Netflix)
Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Anna Brewster, and Michael Pitt
Synopsis: Woof! This is a perfect combination of an ultra-violent, not great film released at the wrong time in our country. It features police corruption, government suppression, and abuse-of-power, in addition to some class warfare issues. But none of those things is handled with a deft hand in this film from director Olivier Megaton, based on the graphic novel from Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. The film exists, that’s about the nicest thing I have to say. Some of the performances are OK, but the plot is a little weird and the violence is pervasive, but not in a compelling way. It’s about a group that plans to pull off a heist just before a new program kicks in that will literally prevent people from committing criminal acts. Or will it? Who’s to say. Either way, this movie is nearly two and a half hours, but it feels longer, and as I said I wasn’t into the story. Also its themes and handling of said themes coupled with a June 5 release did it no favors with other critics. This one can be safely skipped.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: One star out of four.

The Night Clerk (Netflix)
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt, and John Leguizamo
Verdict: This is a strange watch. Essentially, the awkward hotel clerk who sets up secret cameras in guest rooms to spy on ladies staying at his hotels is the sympathetic character here. That tells you a lot of what you need to know about this thriller from writer/director Michael Cristofer. Sheridan is a young man with autism and a fascination with pretty ladies that works as the night clerk at a hotel. One night while watching a guest, he inadvertently sees a murder, then gets caught up in the investigation. At the same time he’s being pressed by a detective (Leguizamo), protected by his mother (Hunt), and feels drawn to a pretty new guest (Armas), who may be harboring secrets of her own. The cast is good here, but the plot feels a little weird, and creepy at times. And that’s before you consider the implications of a dude spying on female guests is never specifically addressed because that dude turns out to be the hero, I guess. Anyway, this one’s about 90 minutes, and it’s sort of interesting if you don’t think about the story too hard.
Rating: R for language, some sexual references, brief nudity and violent images
Verdict: Two stars out of four.

The Vast of Night (Amazon Prime)
Starring: Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz
Synopsis: This independent film was released on Amazon Prime a couple weeks ago and I caught it then. It’s set in the 1950s and follows a local DJ (Horowitz) and phone operator (McCormick), who happen to be teens, that are brought together by the strange things happening in their little town one night. It is framed like a fictional version of a “Twilight Zone” type series, and it plays well in that way. There is mystery, and a nice, simple look that really brings you into the story, which moves along at a pretty good clip. Director Andrew Patterson, who co-wrote the film with Craig Sanger, does a nice job putting together a compelling and interesting film that has a pretty fun ending as well. If you’re looking for a cool and different concept film during this time when we’re all missing theaters, “The Vast of Night” is worth checking out.
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Verdict: Three stars out of four.

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