Greta:

This psychological thriller premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, and for me, it was spoiled by the movie's marketing department.  The trailer for the film, which I had seen several times, unfortunately gives away key plot points that don't come into play until almost 40 minutes into the movie.  What that means is that most of the dialogue, situations, and exposition, are all for nothing, as we know where the story will go, who is responsible for the bad things that happen, and what the possible outcomes might be.  For those who have not seen the trailers, I will not spoil things for you, but as an aside, I'm not sure this is a have-to-see-it-in-the-theatre film.  It will play very well on DVD, on demand, and download about three months from now, and a little later on Netflix or another of the streaming services.  Chloe Grace Moretz, now in her early 20s, but best known for her teen roles in such films as Kick Ass, the Carrie remake, and Muppets Most Wanted, is the star here, a young woman named Frances who has just moved to New York City, and who rooms with her girlfriend Erica (Maika Monroe of Independence Day: Resurgence, and The Fifth Wave).  Frances lost her mother recently and is struggling to move forward, and is also struggling with the relationship with her father (Colm Feore) who seems to have been able to move on.  She finds a purse on a subway, tries to return it to lost and found, but the place is locked up, so the next day, she follows the driver's license info found inside, and returns it to a woman named Greta (Isabelle Huppert) an older woman, widowed, and looking for companionship.  When Frances accepts Greta's invitation to step inside for coffee, the die is cast.  Some of the characters here are not what they appear to be, and soon Frances finds herself the victim of a stalker.  The crowded court system can't even hold a hearing on the matter for several months, and that's when the tension ramps up for the audience.  Is the stalker dangerous, or just deranged?  Or both?  There are some good moments that follow as the pieces fall into place, and the ending is satisfying and worth the trip ... I only wish I had never seen the trailers.  Although set in New York, the movie was shot in Dublin, Ireland and in Toronto.  Rated 14A.

Climax:

If you like your drama laced with horror, or your horror laced with drama, this unusual French film, produced with the Cannes Film Festival in mind, might just work for you.  It is a highly unusual movie with a large cast, but just one actress of professional stature. All the other performers are dancers, some pros, others amateurs. Set in the 1990s, a group of dancers meet to rehearse in an empty school building.  The building is remote, in the middle of a forest, all the better to concentrate without outside influences. When they get started with rehearsal, all goes well, and then they all partake of the sangria bowl. That’s when things become strange. It doesn’t occur to them that the drink may be spiked or poisoned, and soon some are feeling that they are light as air, doing the dances of their lives, while others feel they are in a ride straight into hell.  Sofia Boutella, a French actress of note, is the one professional actor in this odd film. Built for tastes that many may not acquire, it is rated 18A.

Lords of Chaos:

Another acquired taste, this time for heavy metal music … but not just ANY heavy metal, but rather Norwegian Black Metal which had its birth in the late 1980s in Oslo.  A biographical drama focusing on Euronymous (played by Rory Culkin, younger brother of Home Alone’s McCauley), we see the lengths to which the young man went to gain attention for his music, which sometimes took second place to the outrageous stunts he created.  Soon it appears that the lines between what is publicity stunting and what is actual arson, violence, and a vicious murder begin to blur. Based on the exploits of the band Mayhem, most of what is depicted here actually happened, in one way or another. Rated 18A.

When They See Us (2019 mini-series):

This Netflix original takes a long, hard look at an event in American law, the criminal justice system, and the way things work out when people don't care.  Based on the events in 1989 when a young woman who came to be known in the media as the Central Park Jogger was raped and murdered, director Ava DuVernay (Selma) forces a long, hard look at the trials - there were two - and the sentences received by five males from Harlem - all juveniles, four Black, one Hispanic.  The young men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison, and 12 years later had the verdict vacated, and saw themselves released.  They spent a dozen years in prison for a crime committed by someone else.  Rated 14A. 

Always Be My Maybe (2019):

This Netflix original film has an exceptional cast and uses the premise that a pair of close friends who were childhood sweethearts, had a falling out, moved off in their own directions, and then bumped into one another 15 years later.  The sparks are still there, but they live in two very different worlds.  Cast includes Keanu Reeves, Daniel Dae Kim (Lost, Hawaii Five-O), and Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), and Ali Wong (American Housewife).  Set in San Francisco, but filmed in the Vancouver area, it's a romantic comedy with just a little bit of a bite.  Rated 14A.