Catch and Release

I don't waste my time on American film productions anymore, but To Catch a Killer caught my eye, and was a fairly quick watch. It's a crime thriller involving a manhunt for a very effective sniper who is committing mass murders in Baltimore, with a troubled female patrol cop and an unusual FBI Special Agent who connect with each other and team up to find the killer.

The story was pretty well thought-out and only suffered from the fact that there wasn't enough time to do more with the characters. The politics and misogyny are annoying but probably realistic. There are plenty of bodies if you like seeing bunches of people killed. I thought the FBI agent was the most interesting character, and Ben Mendelsohn artfully managed an atypical portrayal that I enjoyed a lot. I was also surprised to find out he's Australian; the guy nailed the American accent perfectly.

Problems: Well, a few. I doubt someone as troubled as the lead female would really be hired as a police officer, especially considering her personal issues and past history. The killer's motives seemed implausible to me; they relied too heavily on the Charles Whitman stereotype. The female cop's past trauma is never really spelled out, so everything she had suffered remained gray and vague for me. Some characters like the killer's mother deserved a bigger role in the story, but again, time constraints probably factored in.

I'd recommend this film despite its flaws, so if you want to watch To Catch a Killer check it out on Netflix.

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Other Stashes

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Valerean

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