D: Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak, Pacific Rim, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade II, The Devil’s Backbone, Mimic, Cronos).
S: Doug Jones, Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer.
Feels 1980s, e.g. STARMAN. Hawkins is the key to watchability. Needed another gear.
BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 ★★★★★
D: S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk).
S: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Tom Guiry, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas, Clark Johnson, Fed Melamed, Don Johnson.
F***ing hell. What a slice of gonzo cinema! Vince Vaughn is a revelation.
SMALL TOWN CRIME ★★★☆☆
Ds: Eshom Nelms, Ian Nelms.
S: John Hawkes, Octavia Spencer, Robert Forster, Anthony Anderson, Clifton Collins Jr., Michael Vartan.
Diverting neo-noir with some crunch. Hitmen and drunken P.I. cause pandemonium in pursuit of goals.