For my money Benicio del Toro is an instant draw and he’s handed a tasty role in the sleek new crime thriller “Reptile”. It marks the feature-film directorial debut from Grant Singer who co-wrote the screenplay with del Toro and Benjamin Brewer. Playing like a gritty whodunnit but with a dash of neo-noir flavoring, “Reptile” revolves around the brutal murder of a young real estate agent and a hard-boiled detective’s relentless search for answers.

In classic whodunnit fashion, the truth is elusive in “Reptile”. New characters enter the picture, each framed as potential suspects with their own potential motivations. Del Toro’s Detective Tom Nichols is the one tasked with sorting out facts from fiction. As he tries, “Reptile” takes on the feel of a slow-burning police procedural. One that uncoils at a methodical pace (perhaps too slow for some) yet maintains its simmer.

But what sets it apart is the strange and slightly offbeat vibe that permeates the entire movie. “Reptile” is very much a crime thriller. But Singer takes it in some peculiar and even darkly funny directions. It takes a few minutes to get in sync (bad joke intended) with what he’s doing. But once you do, its smattering of cliches and overtly obvious needle drops end up adding to the movie’s quirky appeal.

Set in the New England suburb of Scarborough and with Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” echoing in the background, we’re introduced to power couple Will (Justin Timberlake) and Summer (Matilda Lutz). They’re high-end realtors selling pricey homes in an affluent part of town. As for their relationship, there is some clear tension from the get-go. Enough that when Summer ends up savagely murdered, Will is immediately the prime suspect.

Switch to Detective Tom Nichols, a fascinating protagonist made so through del Toro’s wily performance. Throughout his career del Toro has excelled at playing intense and often eccentric characters. Here he’s a far cry from your prototypical movie cop. He sports a jet-black pompadour, loves Oklahoma square dancing, and has a deep appreciation for well-designed kitchens. He’s also fiercely dedicated to his work which now includes finding Summer’s killer. It’s a spellbinding lead performance.

While a big chunk of the movie follows Tom’s investigation, we also spend a lot of time with him away from the case. Much of it is with his wife, Judy (a deliciously cryptic Alicia Silverstone). They have an interesting chemistry that is a nice change of pace from the more conventional movie marriages. Then you have Tom’s close friends from the Scarborough Police Department that includes his Captain and Judy’s Uncle, Robert (Eric Bogosian), his partner, Dan (Ato Essandoh), and his mouthy fellow officer, Wally (Domenick Lombardozzi).

As often happens in movies like this, both of Tom’s worlds collide as the truths (yes, plural) finally make their ways to the surface. The story ventures down some unexpected paths and the mystery (unsurprisingly) proves to be more complicated than Tom ever imagined. There are a few too many red herrings and not all the suspects are given enough time to feel like consequential pieces of the puzzle. And that’s saying something considering the film clocks in at a lengthy 136 minutes.

Yet “Reptile” never feels long and remains enthralling throughout in large part thanks to the beguiling lead work from Benicio del Toro. Less effective is Timberlake who seems to be channeling Ben Affleck from “Gone Girl” but never as convincing. Other performances make up for it including Frances Fisher as Will’s domineering mother and Karl Glusman as Summer’s creepy ex-husband. They help fill out a mostly excellent ensemble that gels nicely with Singer’s fittingly dark and deliberately peculiar world. “Reptile” releases on Netflix this Friday, September 29th.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Liam Neeson is back with another one of his lean and easy to digest action-thrillers. This one is called “Retribution” and like most it features a very straightforward story with a few late movie twists thrown in to give it a kick. These modestly budgeted creations have become a Neeson staple. You could almost designate them as a genre all their own and they usually find themselves a pretty accepting audience.

“Retribution” won’t go down as one of the better ones but it does hold your attention for its brisk 90 minutes. It’s based on the 2015 Spanish film “El Desconocido” and is adapted by director Nimród Antal and screenwriter Christopher Salmanpour. Unlike the more physically demanding movies in Neeson’s action-thriller catalog, “Retribution” doesn’t ask much of its 71-year-old star. The vast majority of his time is spent behind the wheel of a car. But there’s actually some good tension. Just not not enough of it to cover the more noticeable issues.

Neeson plays Matt Turner, a financier living in Berlin with his wife Heather (Embeth Davidtz) and their two children, Zach (Jack Champion) and Emily (Lilly Aspell). Matt, along with his best friend and boss Anders (Matthew Modine) have made a lot of money managing hedge funds. But they’ve hit a bit of a skid lately and Anders has Matt working overtime to persuade investors to stay onboard.

Meanwhile at home, Matt’s preoccupation with work has made him a neglectful husband and father. He’s impervious to how it’s impacting his marriage and his lack of investment has hurt his relationship with his kids, especially the rebellious Zach. In an effort to help out (more out of obligation than conviction), Matt agrees to drive the kids to school. Boy did he pick a bad day to try to be a father!

While driving along in his classy black Mercedes SUV, Matt and the kids hear a strange ringtone from a phone they track to the vehicle’s console. The distorted voice on the other end warns him of a bomb under his seat that is pressure activated. If he attempts to get out of the car the bomb will detonate. Suddenly he finds himself at the mercy of a mad bomber who seems driven by his or her own mysterious motivations.

As expected the hazy picture quickly comes into focus, especially after revelations arise of slush funds, emergency collateral, and off-shore accounts. There also seems to be an attempt made to show Matt reconciling with his children and finally being the father he’s supposed to be as things unfold. Unfortunately the movie clumsily tips its hand and the ‘big twist’ turns out to be both predictable and silly.

As for the family stuff, it turns out to be woefully underserved and never feels organic. Even worse is the inclusion of an upright police detective admirably played by Noma Dumezweni. She tries to be as convincing as possible, but the material paints her (and the police in general) as strikingly inept and laughably slow at getting anything done. It’s a thankless task for Dumezweni.

Neeson has a knack for making even the most middling of these action-thrillers at least somewhat entertaining. He does it again with “Retribution”, a movie with too many unmissable flaws to qualify as good, but with just enough of that tried-and-true Neeson formula to keep you involved. At least for one viewing. “Retribution” opens in theaters tomorrow (August 24th).

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

A whitewater rafting getaway turns deadly in “River Wild”, the taut new thriller from director and co-writer Ben Ketai. Based on the 1994 film “The River Wild” (written by Denis O’Neill and directed by Curtis Hanson), this new reimagining makes several significant changes to the characters and their stories while maintaining the beautiful yet treacherous setting that plays such an integral part in the film’s success.

The movie opens by introducing us to Joey (Leighton Meester), a doctor from the city on her way to meet her brother Gray (Taran Killam). He gives rafting tours down Idaho’s Salmon River. Joey is looking forward to some time away due to some slightly alluded-to tension between her and her boyfriend. So she joins Gray as he’s preparing to take two young women, Karissa (Olivia Swann) and her free-spirited best friend Van (Eve Connolly) on an excursion down the river.

Joey’s hope for some quality brother-sister bonding time is squashed after she learns Gray has invited his longtime friend Trevor (played by Meester’s real-life husband Adam Brody). Fresh off a three-year prison stint, Trevor is uncomfortably nonchalant and clearly bad news. Joey is leery of his presence which offers the first of several hints at some history that may or may not find its way into the story.

Things start great as the five rafters set out down the mostly docile river which snakes through some truly gorgeous wilderness. Filmed in Eastern Europe, DP Gevorg Gev Juguryan captures scene after scene of stunning natural beauty with Hungary, Bosnia, and Slovakia filling in nicely for Idaho. It’s an exquisitely shot film.

But the trip takes a turn after the group set up camp for the night. Van falls and sustains a skull fracture. The circumstances surrounding her fall are vague but we’re fed some pretty clear suspicions. One thing is for sure – they must get Van medical attention and they can’t wait until morning to do it. Their only option is to get back on the river and head towards the nearest ranger station, navigating both the night and the challenging rapids that lie ahead of them.

Of course over time the rafters learn that their biggest threat isn’t from nature at all. It’s from within their group. Even more suspicions arise, relationships grow more complicated, and motivations shift from sketchy to sinister. The screenplay (penned by Ketai and Mike Nguyen Le) leaves out a few too many details, but it maintains a razor-sharp focus. And along with Ketai’s unflinching direction, it does a good job steadily ratcheting up the tension.

From the very start you can’t help but notice that “River Wild” is edgier and more grounded than its 1994 inspiration. It has its head-scratching moments when characters do (or don’t do) things that’ll have you yelling at the screen. But the film’s grittier tone, kinetic pacing, and terrific performances more than make up for it. Throw in the expected yet utterly thrilling river rapids sequences and you have a movie that grabs your attention and keeps you locked in, all while surprising you in a number of ways. Most importantly, it’s not some meaningless rehash. It comes with its own ideas and ambitions. And that’s something I can always appreciate. “River Wild” is out on Blu-ray and streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

“Revoir Paris”, which is translated “Paris Memories”, is a sensitive and quietly powerful adult drama written and directed by Alice Winocour. The film’s events are fictional, but they’re inspired by the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks where members of the Islamic State carried out a string of coordinated assaults on popular soft targets across the French capital, killing 130 and injuring over 400 people.

When putting together “Revoir Paris” Winocour pulled from her own family’s experiences (her brother survived the massacre at the Bataclan theater on that horrific November evening). Her film doesn’t exaggerate the tragedy or overdramatize the trauma it left behind. Instead Winocour takes an emotionally honest and grounded look at the pain of coping and the desperate need of human connection in such trying circumstances.

While “Revoir Paris” is well directed, exquisitely shot, and features a smart and thoughtful screenplay, the film is propelled by a tremendous leading turn from Virginie Efira. The 46-year-old César Award winner gives an illuminating performance that communicates the wide range of emotions associated with such destabilizing trauma. It’s such well calibrated work that sees Efira conveying so much feeling, not just through her dialogue but also her expressions and body language. She’s a key reason the movie works so well.

Efira plays Mia, a forty-something journalist and translator whose life trajectory dramatically changes following the horrifying events of one November evening. Mia is having a late-night dinner at an area restaurant with her partner Vincent (Grégoire Colin) when he’s called back to the hospital where he works. On her way home Mia ducks into a busy bistro to wait out a rainstorm.

What we get next are a few carefully crafted minutes where Winocour strategically scans the inside of the eatery, honing in on specific details and logging them into our minds. They may seem insignificant, but they’re details that will play a big part in how the story unfolds.

Suddenly shots ring out, screams fill the air, and the lifeless bodies of innocent patrons lay everywhere. The terrorist attack sequence is truly harrowing in large part due to Winocour’s approach to it. She shoots it from Mia’s perspective offering us a visceral first-person point-of-view. Through her eyes we catch glimpses of the horror, but the sound design is just as crucial. The echo of gunfire, the shattering glass, the cries of the frightened and wounded.

But Winocour (wisely) doesn’t linger on the attack itself nor is there any gratuitous bloodshed. Instead the majority of the story takes place three months later with Mia trying to put her life back together. While the well-intentioned Vincent tries to make things as back-to-normal as possible, Mia struggles to put together the pieces of that day. She’s haunted by fragments of suppressed memories but no clear picture.

Her search for answers leads her back to the scene of the crime which has reopened for business but that holds support group meetings for survivors and family members of those lost. There she meets and connects with Thomas (Benoît Magimel), a fellow survivor who was seriously wounded that night. Unlike Mia he vividly remembers everything about that night, even seeing her prior to attack. A relationship blossoms around their shared trauma and the two find unexpected comfort in each other.

There’s also a detective story element as Mia searches for a former waiter at the restaurant (Senegalese-born actor Amadou Mbow) who may or may not have helped her survive that fateful evening. But even then Winocour emphasizes and never loses sight of the emotional toll and the essentiality of human connection. It’s that laser focus, along with Efira’s tremendous restraint and Stéphane Fontaine’s striking cinematography that invigorates this powerful study on trauma, coping, and ultimately resilience.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

At the risk of sounding cliche, they just don’t make movies like this anymore, especially romantic comedies. The 1953 classic “Roman Holiday” from director William Wyler remains a blueprint for a genre that notoriously struggles with originality these days. The beloved film turns 70 this year and to celebrate its anniversary, “Roman Holiday” is having special screenings at select theaters all around the country. And on the eve of Valentines Day, what better time to see it.

“Roman Holiday” brought together the unlikely pair of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. It was a star-making role for a young Hepburn who at that point had mostly appeared in bit parts. But her performance in “Roman Holiday” caught the world’s eye. Her co-star Gregory Peck played a big part. He recognized Hepburn was going to be a star and was instrumental in getting her name out. Interestingly Peck wasn’t Wyler’s first choice. The director wanted Cary Grant, but Grant turned it down believing he was too old for the part (Peck once famously said that anytime he received a comedy script he knew Grant must have turned it down first).

The story for “Roman Holiday” was written by Dalton Trumbo but it was credited to Ian McClellan Hunter. At the time, Trumbo was one of the Hollywood Ten and had been blacklisted for his “communist ties” and failure to cooperate with Congress. To make things even more interesting, “Roman Holiday” won the Academy Award for Best Story (as the category was known at the time). Hunter would accept the award and it wasn’t until 2011 that Trumbo received full credit for his work.

Trumbo’s fairytale follows Ann (Hepburn), a princess of an unmentioned country who is on a European tour-stop in Rome. Ann is young and adventurous and has had enough of the strict itineraries and stuffy hobnobbing. She wants to experience life outside of her tightly controlled confines. One evening, after the royal family doctor gives her a sedative to calm her anxiety, she sneaks out before it kicks in, ready to take in the sites and sounds of Rome on her own.

Enter American reporter Joe Bradley (Peck). He stumbles across Ann who has fallen sound asleep next to a fountain. He doesn’t recognize her at first, but after a comical series of events he learns her identity and sees her as a big story and a potential career boost. One that could land him a coveted job back in New York.

Joe doesn’t reveal to Ann that he recognizes her, and Ann tries to keep her identity secret. He calls on a photographer friend of his, Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert), to secretly snap some photos of Ann for their big story as the three spend a playful day exploring Rome. But true to rom-com form, Joe begins to have feelings for Ann. So he’s faced with a decision: does he give in to his feelings or cash them in for a big payday?

The film was shot entirely in Rome by DPs Henri Alekan and Franz Planer. Shooting on location wasn’t quite as common as it is today, and the expense increased the budget so much that the original plans to shoot the film in color were scrapped. Regardless, it was the right choice. Rome, with all its history and beauty, plays a significant supporting role, and some of the movie’s more magical scenes feature Ann and Joe at some of the city’s famous locations. (A favorite is a playful moment at the famed Mouth of Truth where Peck pretends his arm is stuck in the monument and lets out a scream. It’s said Hepburn knew nothing of the gag and was genuinely startled, letting out a scream of her own. It was completely spontaneous and Wyler captured it in one take).

“Roman Holiday” would go on to earn 10 Academy Award nominations. Aside from Trumbo’s win, it was also awarded for Best Costume Design, and perhaps most notably for Best Actress. The win would catapult Audrey Hepburn, who was relatively unknown at the time, into the spotlight and open the door to what would be a stellar career. Peck was right with his appraisal of the young actress and she was always appreciative. The two remained close friends for the rest of their lives. The roots of their shared admiration is clearly seen in “Roman Holiday”, and is a big reason they’re such a memorable on-screen couple.

I still love “Roman Holiday” – the sparkling chemistry of its leads; its keen sense of humor; how it captures and incorporates the beauty and vibrancy of Rome. To this day it continues to be a movie easy to get lost in, which is what you want, especially from a romantic comedy. I want to be swept away with the characters. I want the story to be inviting, the humor to be smart, and the romance to be genuine. We get all of that and more in “Roman Holiday” which is a big reason why it’s still considered an all-time great, even after 70 years.

Riding on the wacky idea of Nicolas Cage playing the iconic Count Dracula, the blood-drenched vampire movie “Renfield” looked to have the markings of a potential sleeper hit. But after a grim opening weekend at the box office, it looks as if Universal Pictures has a major bomb on their hands. It’s hard to put much blame on the studio. They’ve had a nice run of successful surprises and they’ve certainly promoted this film. But I think it’s safe to say that something about “Renfield” hasn’t clicked with audiences.

What went wrong is anyone’s guess. Maybe there actually aren’t many folks out there smitten with the idea of Count Cage. Perhaps it was hard for some people to get a good read on this action-horror-comedy mashup. Whatever the reason, people haven’t turned out and its first-week numbers are dreadful. And it’s only amplified by the film’s hefty $65 million budget (before advertising).

I hate to kick a movie when it’s down. I really wish I could be a positive force and say it’s worth a trip to theater. Sadly “Renfield” is a unexpectedly limp and frustratingly hollow experience that squanders most of the potential it had. It starts with promise, setting up its goofy premise in a fun and imaginative way. But once it establishes itself it really has nothing else to offer. Instead it sputters along, milking its one good joke dry and leaving us to ponder what could have been. Even the unflappable Nic Cage can’t ham it up enough to save the movie from its many self-inflicted wounds.

It’s sad to say, but once you get past that initial setup it’s hard to find much to latch onto. There’s probably enough good material for a few SNL sketches, but the bulk of the rest is pretty tough to endure. The film is plagued with issues such as uninteresting side stories, revelations that come with poor buildups and (in some cases) no resolutions, humor that often lands with a deafening thud, and gory action that resembles what you would see in a cheap splatter film rather than a $65 million studio project.

For a while Cage is the film’s saving grace. His manic charm and giddy theatrics imbues his version on Dracula with the kind of preposterous spin we’re looking for. He completely goes for it which is a key reason he is so enjoyable. The bummer of it all is that he isn’t in the movie nearly as much as you might expect. And the movie certainly struggles whenever he’s away from the screen.

“Reinfield” comes from director Chris McKay (“The Lego Batman Movie”, “The Tomorrow War”). It’s written by Ryan Ridley who’s working from a story pitched by Robert “The Walking Dead” Kirkman. The script follows Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), the indebted and long-suffering servant of the Prince of Darkness himself. Renfield is tasked with supplying his master with human blood, the more innocent the tastier. But Dracula’s penchant for blood-sucking benders means the pair are constantly having to move from city to city. Their latest stop – New Orleans.

Dracula has blessed (or cursed) Renfield with immortality as a reward for his faithful service. Renfield also has been granted superpowers that are activated whenever he eats a bug (???). Yet despite the ‘benefits’, Dracula’s demanding personality and unbridled narcissism puts a strain on their relationship. So much so that Renfield wants out. He wants a normal life. He has joined a support group to help people with codependency, but so far it hasn’t helped him muster the courage leave his oppressive master.

The best material is found in the main storyline where Renfield tries to find the strength to stand up to Dracula. Unfortunately we have to endure all of the side stuff which really weighs the movie down. Awkwafina is woefully unconvincing playing a dutiful New Orleans cop named Rebecca Quincy. She has an axe to grind with a local crime family ran by matriarch Bellafrancesca Lobo (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and her obnoxious son Teddy (Ben Schwartz playing one of the most insufferable characters I’ve seen on screen all year). There’s nothing remotely fun or interesting about these characters, and their ill-conceived stories offer little more than dead weight.

I will say Hoult gives a good performance. His ingratiating timidity is both endearing and humorous, and the film is at its best when he and Cage are sharing the screen. But the movie’s misfires are aplenty – the half-baked storytelling; the flat and uninspired humor; the wildly inconsistent action sequences; the even more inconsistent visual effects. They take what should have been a goofy, over-the-top good time and turns it into a 90-minute slog. “Renfield” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS