There’s a throwback quality to writer-director Bart Layton’s “Crime 101” that you start to notice in its earliest moments. It’s hard to avoid comparisons to Michael Mann classics like “Thief” and “Heat” or Willian Friedkin’s “To Live and Die in L.A”. You can even see the DNA of some the great paranoia thrillers of the 1970s. Layton’s movie may not reach those lofty heights, but you can feel the pulse of those crime genre gems racing all through his latest.

“Crime 101” is based on a 2020 novella by crime novelist Don Winslow. It follows a Los Angeles jewel thief named Mike (Chris Hemsworth) who has successfully executed a string of high-end heists along the busy 101 freeway. After every completed robbery, Mike turns over the haul to his fence (Nick Nolte) who finds a buyer before helping Mike organize his next job.

Much like De Niro’s Neil McCauley from “Heat”, Mike keeps a low profile and intentionally has no personal attachments. And when working, he operates by a very strict set of rules. It’s what has made him a seasoned professional. But also like Neil, Mike breaks his own rules when he becomes involved with a charming young woman (wonderfully played here by Monica Barbaro) who has him second-guessing the life he lives.

Staying with the “Heat” similarities, Mark is furiously pursued by a police detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) who instantly calls back to Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna. Like Vincent, Lou’s fixation with his job has wrecked his home life. But he’s a good cop, and he’s hellbent on learning Mike’s identity and stopping his crime spree, no matter how much his lone-wolf obsession puts him at odds with his department.

But Layton tosses in several key characters of his own who add some interesting layers to his story. Tops among them is Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), a broker for a prominent insurance company who finds herself stuck in a VP position while her colleagues are being made partners. Then there’s Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a violently unhinged dirt bike-riding ruffian who begins stepping in on Mike’s action. Both end up playing significant roles in Layton crime movie web.

As its name so clearly implies, “Crime 101” is a straightforward crime thriller – the kind we don’t get as often as we used to. And much like those past crime thrillers, it’s stringently character-driven. Yet despite their similarities, “Crime 101” is no copy-and-paste of “Heat”. It takes its characters in its own distinct directions. It also dabbles in a range of themes involving class, corruption, greed, wealth gaps, childhood trauma, workplace inequality, etc. Not every character thread or thematic interest gets the time it needs, but it does open up some compelling paths for Layton to explore.

Layton’s script finds a healthy balance between action, drama, and suspense. He confidently crafts a compelling story that sustains tension on its way to an inevitable big finish. It has a few too many moving parts, but (for the most part) Layton keeps them corralled and working in unison. And it doesn’t hurt to have such a talent-rich cast that includes six Academy Award nominees. A grounded and restrained Hemsworth gives one his best performances while Berry, Ruffalo, Barbaro, and Keoghan are perfect fits for their roles.

“Crime 101” is a sleek, impeccably crafted, and thoroughly entertaining heist thriller that proudly embraces its ancestors while feeling surprisingly fresh at the same time. The action is exhilarating, characters are given plenty of room to bloom, and Los Angeles is brilliantly rendered through DP Erik Wilson’s evocative lensing. But it’s the script that anchors it all, with its high stakes, gripping suspense, and moral quandaries that push the story into some unexpected territory.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

When a highly contagious, mutating microorganism with world-ending capabilities threatens to escape a decommissioned military facility, the unlikely trio of Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Liam Neeson are the only thing standing between our planet and total annihilation. If that sounds crazy to you, then you get the vibe of “Cold Storage”, a comedy horror film that is utterly bonkers in the best ways imaginable.

You would never know it, but “Cold Storage” is only the second feature film from director Jonny Campbell and his first since 2006’s “Alien Autopsy”. Here he gets some terrific material to work with from screenwriter David Koepp, who is adapting his own 2019 novel of the same name. Just as good is the all-in cast who fully embraces the film’s horror and comedy elements. Keery, Campbell, and Neeson take center stage. But they’re surrounded by great pieces including Leslie Manville, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sosie Bacon.

Some opening script tells us the government once stored top-secret scientific experiments on the Skylab space station. When it fell out of orbit in 1979, some of its debris crashed to earth. Most fell in the Indian Ocean, but other parts hit land, including an oxygen tank near the small village of Kiwirrkurra in Western Australia. When all contact with the village is lost, bioterror agent Major Robert Quinn (Neeson) and his partner Trini (Manville) accompany Dr. Hero Martins (Bacon) to investigate. The trio discovers a rapidly mutating parasitic fungus that is highly contagious and lethal to its carrier.

Jump ahead eighteen years to the remote Atchison Mines in Missouri River Bluffs, Kansas. It was once the home to a high security top-secret facility ran by the U. S. Department of Defense. But years passed and the DOD decommissioned the facility. After remaining abandoned for years, it was finally purchased and turned into a 24-hour self-storage business.

Enter the chatty and slightly neurotic Teacake (Keery) and his new co-worker Naomi (Campbell). They work the night shift at the storage company which usually consists of long boring evenings where nothing happens. But that quickly changes after the overly curious pair track a mysterious beep to an old console behind the walls. It leads to the duo discovering the once sealed military base and more specifically its lower sublevel where the parasitic fungus had been isolated for decades.

As you can probably guess, the deadly fungus spreads and wrecks havoc throughout the complex. Meanwhile, alarms secretly go out to the Department of Defense who immediately contact the retired Major Quinn. He’s sent to the Kansas location to contain the fungus before it escapes the facility. But he’ll need some specialized equipment, and maybe a little help from some old and new friends if he’s going to head off a potential apocalypse.

“Cold Storage” manages to surprise in so many different ways. First is the effortlessly playful chemistry between Keery and Campbell. Together they mine as many laughs as scares from Koepp’s gleefully outrageous script. Then there’s the lights-out supporting characters. In addition to Neeson and Manville’s special agents, we get Teacake and Naomi’s slimeball boss (Gavin Spokes), Naomi’s obsessive ex (Aaron Heffernan), a stubborn DOD Colonel (Robert Brake), Quinn’s inside ally (Ellora Torchia), and the elderly Mrs. Rooney (Redgrave) who comes to check her storage unit at the worst possible time.

Just as fun are the film’s visuals which feature a healthy helping of practical effects with some well incorporated digital enhancement. I don’t know if decaying flesh or bursting bodies ever looked so good. So as you can tell, “Cold Storage” has a little something for everyone. It doesn’t lean too far one way or another – striking that pitch-perfect balance between straight comedy and gory horror. And as a proud genre film lover, it delivered on its potential in ways that I ever expected.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

If you’re familiar with director Josephine Decker’s past work, you might have a hard time believing she’s at the helm of the Sundance comedy “Chasing Summer”. It’s such a dramatic turn from what she’s done previously. And while it’s always commendable to see a filmmaker extending themselves in new directions, the messy misfire that is “Chasing Summer” proves that good results are never guaranteed.

While Decker’s struggles are noticeable, just as much (if not more) of the blame goes to the script, written by the film’s charismatic star, Iliza Shlesinger. Decker never seems to have a firm grasp on the material which starts off strong, but quickly begins to lose its way. It eventually craters thanks to a ludicrous late twist that leaves a plot hole the size of the Grand Canyon. It completely cuts the already wobbly legs out from under the story and its premise.

As mentioned, the film starts out strong by introducing us to Jamie (Shlesinger), a forty-something relief worker who is providing aide to tornado victims in Mississippi. While there, she’s informed by her boyfriend and co-worker that he’s breaking up with her after five years together. Forced to move out and with nowhere else to go, Jamie returns to her small hometown in Texas to stay with her parents over the summer.

The problem is Jamie doesn’t have the fondest memories of her hometown. She hasn’t been back in twenty years, which is when she left after an ugly breakup with her old boyfriend Chase (Tom Welling) led to vicious rumors that ruined her reputation all across their town. But now she’s back and forced to reconnect with her former life which includes old family, old friends, and her old fling.

The movie’s central theme of confronting your former life and re-evaluating your current one plays out in Jamie’s awkward reunions with the people from her past. The best of the lot are her parents, Layanne (Megan Mullally) and Randall (Jeff Perry) who perfectly fit the small town mold while delivering some great laughs. There’s also Jamie’s crass older sister Marissa (Cassidy Freeman) who owns a local roller skating rink. And her three gossipy classmates (Aimee Garcia, Lauren Aboulafia, Lindsey Moore), all married with children. And of course the hunky Chase who is still beloved around town.

But what begins as a screwball comedy throwback turns into something messy, generic, and in some cases utterly baffling. The kink in the storytelling comes when Jamie starts a steamy romance with a local named Colby (Garrett Wareing). He’s some twenty years younger and fresh out of high school, but that doesn’t stop them hooking up and making no real effort to hide it. Age-gap romances are nothing new. But here it’s handled like a clunky teen comedy. Even worse is the preposterous plot twist it leads to which gashes any chance of taking things seriously.

“Chasing Summer” is a head-scratching misfire that consistently seems at odds with itself. It’s a movie marked by early highs, late lows, and a flop of a finish that ends up being its death knell. Decker and Shlesinger’s collaboration begins as the kind of zany comedy anchored enough in the real world to resonate. It ends up being an indistinct and forgettable letdown that seems custom made for streaming. And it’s not the kind of reinvention you hope to see from a filmmaker like Decker.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Horror and comedy collide with somewhat mixed results in director Colin Minihan’s “Coyotes”. This often silly and rarely scary feature kicks off with a lot of promise. But it’s not long until the whole endeavor turns into one big missed opportunity. It’s a movie that has its moments, mostly from its cheeky swings at humor. But it’s hampered by a lack of thrills and a reheated family story that we’ve seen time and time again.

The film stars real-life couple Justin Long and Kate Bosworth. They play Scott and Liv, a well-to-do couple living comfortably in their affluent Hollywood Hills neighborhood with their moody teenage daughter Chloe (Mila Harris). Local newscasts report that surrounding wildfires have pushed ravenous coyotes deeper into Los Angeles resulting in several attacks. But that barely registers with this privileged family who feel perfectly safe in their swanky house on a hill.

But that changes when an overnight Santa Ana windstorm blows down a tree that crushes their car and cuts a power line, leaving them without electricity or phone service. It’s obviously very inconvenient for the family but it’s very convenient for the story which needs them trapped and isolated for the coyote carnage that’s to come. And that carnage comes in a hurry.

Before long the snarling menaces are terrorizing Scott, Liv and Chloe. But not in a way that feels remotely harrowing (as intended). Instead, their encounters with the beasts routinely come across as cartoonish rather than actually frightening. Contributing to that is the often obvious CGI which not only makes the coyotes look digitally rendered but act like it too. In many ways they’re smarter than the humans, which is humorous in itself. But it’s hard to be too scared when they look this computer generated.

As for the family drama, it’s nothing especially new. A workaholic father reconnecting with his neglected family and reprioritizing his life in the face of imminent danger – we’ve seen it before. Meanwhile we get a colorful assortment of side characters including a spacey call girl, Julie (Brittany Allen), their weirdo next-door neighbor, Trip (Norbert Leo Butz), Scott’s beer-swigging buddy, Tony (Kevin Glynn), and the overly dramatic pest control guy, Devon (Keir O’Donnell). They’re mainly around for comic relief and most exist solely to be coyote fodder.

There may not be much tension and its story may not be the most original, but “Coyotes” does land several good laughs. Minihan knows his premise is preposterous, and he (smartly) never takes things too seriously. He also lets loose with a handful of gleefully gory death scenes that will entertain those who appreciate a good on-screen kill. But the gags and guts can only carry the movie so far. And latching onto anything beyond that is a lot harder than it should be. “Coyotes” is in select theaters now.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

In terms of style and substance, Darren Aronofsky movies tend to have many similarities. Most offer dark examinations of the human experience, often focusing on such themes as self-destructive obsessions, psychological trauma and the like. But his latest is something quite different. “Caught Stealing” is a loud and messy attempt at mixing black comedy with a crime thriller. It has its moments of pop appeal, but not enough of them.

Aronofsky directs from a screenplay written by Charlie Huston. It’s a screenplay based on Huston’s own 2004 novel of the same name. For me, the film’s biggest draw is rising star Austin Butler. With an Academy Award nomination already under his belt, the 34-year-old Butler has certainly made a name for himself, having worked with such names as Tarantino, Villeneuve, Nichols, Aster, and now Aronofsky.

Set in 1998, Butler plays Hank Thompson, an alcoholic in denial who works as a bartender in New York City’s Lower East Side. Hank was a high school baseball phenom who was expected to be the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft. But his future was derailed after a drunk driving accident kills his friend and severely injures his knee. Now he’s left regretting his past and wondering what might have been. To get by he relies on a lot of booze and his overly patient girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz).

One afternoon Hank and Yvonne arrive at his apartment where they’re greeted by his neighbor, an obnoxious punk rock hellion named Russ (Matt Smith). Russ informs Hank that he’s returning to London to see his dying father and he needs someone to look after his cat. Hank reluctantly agrees. But things get crazy when Hank is visited by two Russian mobsters, Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin) who are looking for Russ. Hank gets beaten to pulp and threatened with more if he doesn’t find Russ and the money he stole before skipping the country.

From there Aronofsky’s loud, brash, and violent crime romp moves at breakneck speed. As it does, more characters enter the chaos, most notably Regina King as a dogged police detective, Elise Roman. And I can’t forget Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio as Hasidic brothers Lipa and Shmully Drucker, two notorious gangsters with connections to Russ and the missing money. Like every other character, they’re each given standout moments. And like every other character, they’re sometimes lost in the mayhem.

For most of its running time, “Caught Stealing” bops along as a comically violent, gleefully profane, and inherently silly mishmash. Yet there are a handful of what should be emotionally crucial moments that are impossible to take seriously amid the zany genre hopscotch. At the same time, the glimpses we get of Aronofsky’s usual deep-thinking interests remain hazy due to the film’s frustrating identity crisis. And even a terrific ensemble led by the effortlessly charismatic Butler can’t make this uneven exercise crackle the way it should.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

With 2013’s “The Conjuring”, director James Wan kicked off what would unexpectedly become one of my personal favorite horror film franchises. While the spin-off films have been somewhat hit-or-miss, the three proper Conjuring films have succeeded in creating an authentically creepy world built around two compelling and surprisingly endearing lead characters, both wonderfully played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

Based on the case files of real-life paranormal investigators and demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Conjuring films tell of their efforts to help tormented families from supernatural forces of evil. That brings us to “Last Rites”, the fourth installment that has been advertised as “the case that ended it all”, It certainly feels like a conclusion and if so, the series ends with yet another solid entry.

Following a prologue highlighting the birth and childhood of their daughter Judy, “Last Rites” settles in 1986 as Ed and Lorraine (Wilson and Farmiga) have stopped taking cases, in large part due to his worsening heart condition. Instead, they spend their spare time giving lectures to small groups on college campuses. At home, a grown-up Judy (Mia Tomlinson) struggles with similar premonitions as her mother. On a lighter note, she’s head-over-heels for her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) who is secretly preparing to propose to her.

Meanwhile in the industrial suburb of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, the Smurl family have found themselves the target of something sinister and supernatural. Husband and wife Jack and Janet Smurl (Elliot Cowan and Rebecca Calder) live in a bustling two-story townhouse with their four daughters and Jack’s parents. The strange occurrences begin after one of the daughters is gifted an antique mirror for her confirmation. But the encounters quickly and violently intensify, leaving the terrified family desperate for help.

Of course the Warrens eventually get involved but not without hesitation. I won’t spoil what leads to their involvement, but director Michael Chaves, working with the screenwriting trio of Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, is patient in building up the Warrens’ story, right up to where it intersects with the Smurls. Interestingly, that patience has always been strength of the Conjuring movies. It’s the willingness to spend time on the characters and their relationships. It’s a trait that can make the films feel like slow burns. But I’ve always found it impactful, and it’s no different here.

As it has since the very beginning, it all revolves around Ed and Lorraine. Over the years, watching Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga flesh out these two fabulous characters has created an emotional attachment for the audience that makes their journey together the real centerpiece of the series. Their loving and devoted union has always played a crucial part in these stories and it’s no difference in “Last Rites”. And it’s Wilson and Farmiga’s remarkable chemistry that makes this central relationship resonate so strongly.

But of course this is a horror movie, and as with its predecessors, “Last Rites” sticks to its almost old-fashioned approach to scaring its audience. It’s at times simple and almost always effective. Chaves keeps jump scares at a minimum, instead relying on deliberate camera movements, clever lighting, and eerie sound design. While there are some genuinely squirm-inducing uses of blood, the movie’s chills are found most in the moody atmosphere and supernatural tension-building.

It must be said that not everything in the story comes together as it should, specifically in the final 30 minutes or so. That’s where the details of the hauntings are mostly explained, but not all of them get the on-screen attention they need. Aside from that, “Last Rites” delivers a fitting and immensely satisfying conclusion (if indeed this is the conclusion) to a series of movies that have managed to stand out within the crowded horror genre. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 4 STARS