After the doldrums of winter, spring is finally (almost) here! And things are starting to brighten up at the box office as well, with several movies in recent weeks that I quite enjoyed.
How to Make a Killing
Glen Powell brings charm and chaos to a darkly funny inheritance scheme
Glen Powell seems to be everywhere these days, but it’s not a fact that I particularly mind. He knows how to turn on the charm, while also not taking himself too seriously (or appearing to, at least). His recent film How to Make a Killing is a dark comedy about a man named Becket whose mother was ostracized from the ridiculously wealthy Redfellow family. Becket is technically in line to inherit the Redfellow fortune, but quite a few family members stand in his way. He eventually hatches a plan to…well…“eliminate” some of the contenders ahead of him in that line.
The movie is loosely inspired by the British film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and has received pretty mixed reviews from critics. Personally, I enjoyed the movie and thought it was an interesting story. I won’t give away any spoilers, but Becket’s final fate is a thought-provoking one. If the trailer intrigued you, I’d say this film is worth catching on streaming!
Crime 101
A smart, slow-burn crime story
Crime thrillers aren’t usually my personal go-to genre, but when I saw the strong reviews for Crime 101, I decided to give it a shot. Although it doesn’t have comedic elements, like How to Make a Killing, I really enjoyed it (even if it was longer than necessary).
Chris Hemsworth gives a surprisingly understated performance as an introverted jewel thief who insists on committing crimes without violence. His story is woven with two other main characters: a detective played by Mark Ruffalo and an insurance broker played by Halle Berry.
Overall the performances are good, and there are some nice moments of character development to balance out the action. Again, I felt like this movie ran too long, but overall it was a good watch.
Hoppers
A cute, cozy Pixar outing for kids and grown-ups alike
Finally, although it spoils the crime theme we had going on here, I watched the new Pixar movie Hoppers. While this won’t dethrone Pixar classics like Toy Story or Monster’s Inc., it was still a cute, funny movie.
Animal-loving Mabel uncovers a university science project that allows her to turn into a beaver. She thinks she can use this ability to save a habitat from being destroyed to construct a by-way, but her plan goes awry and she has to enlist the help of some new animal friends.
I took my five-year-old to see this movie, and we had a great time. As a lover of the movie-going experience, it’s been really fun to see my daughter also develop fondness for the theater.
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