The Courier is a spy and espionage thriller (directed by Dominic Cooke) with structure and deceit. The approach of confidentiality in the film finds its violations (discreetly). The Courier is a true story where it feels the conflicts are setup chronologically. The events that begin to happen one-by-one drives the questions of trust and honesty between the two men who are involved in the espionage of trying to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, its more about being curious to whose side is Greville Wynne (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) is on.

The Courier gears on the true story of Greville Wynne in the early 1960s in London. Greville Wynne is a businessman and is recruited to be a spy for The Cold War and finds himself in a partnership with a Soviet Officer Oleg Penkovsky (played by Merab Ninidze). Their strategies they begin to implement is to find ways to prevent attacks of terrorism that are nuclear. They ultimately must find a solution to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This leaves Greville to go to Moscow consistently. The further they go with being secretive from the government they work for, there begins to be more dangerous and uncharted territory that both Greville and Oleg may not be able to avoid. The fact that The Courier is based on actual events is where the events become unnerving.

I found myself feeling spellbinding moments as the risks in The Courier continually grow and worsen. That is where the performances are just outstanding along with questioning if there is going to be light for the dangerous territory The Courier crosses. The job of being discreet becomes challenging for Greville and Oleg as many government officials question their behavior. There is also moments of dishonesty and misinterpretations of how risky the job of stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis is. The film leaves a trail of suspense, and I kept asking myself is any of these scenarios going to find resolution or only going to result in danger?

The Courier felt a lot like The Imitation Game (2014). Cumberbatch was also in that and in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Both films that previously deal with safety in terms of intelligence among the international governments. Cumberbatch’s performance in The Courier defines him as one that is the perfect fit for these real-life government suspense thrillers. He has the authoritative voice, the stature, and the mindset like a government official which he plays so well and portrays them in many realistic ways. His performance in The Courier is a knockout performance.

The Courier is brilliant and directed well. For a film based on real-life events, it holds the attention. The dramatic scenarios and the deceitful elements are engrossing. This is one of those films that many will not want to miss. Cumberbatch is what steals the film for his brilliant performance. Three and a half stars.

Wrath of Man starts with the approach like it is going to be a bank robbing thriller. The main character goes through training to work in a cash truck company of Los Angeles. He falls into some shady situations and handles them (those moments are predictable especially with Jason Statham). He is the character that many do not know what he is truly capable of. For Guy Ritchie, Wrath of Man has the premise like an Oliver stone or Michael Mann thriller, but the approach for the directing is out of focus a generous number of times. Some may expect humor with the action like his recent film The Gentlemen (2020). Do not expect much laughing humor from Wrath of Man.

Jason Statham is H. He is the most dangerous man from a group of former soldiers who had a mission that goes awry. H is someone trying to cover his tracks and work a normal job in the cash truck company, but when an unexpected heist gets out of hand, H’s son is killed. This makes H turn to returning to being the big dog of his crime representation and find the man that killed his son. The film starts off like he is just someone who is skilled to work in a cash truck company. However, the film (quickly) transitions to a different storyline midway through the film.

The movie is attention-grabbing with its violent moments, but it is unexplained. Many of the characters introduced in the beginning start to become part of the heists and evil plans that H starts to build for redemption of his son. The problem is Wrath of Man does not give the audience an understanding explanation of how some of the characters are part of the assassination of his son. The film becomes a free for all to add to its moments of trying to be a blockbuster. Sadly, it was not working for me as well I was anticipating. I am trying to remain positive with this review, but it is not coming easy. Not with the amount of redundancy in the film. The film has the same type of heists, same scenarios, and objectives that are repeated many times to heighten its story. I understand that some want to be a memorable thriller, but the redundancy is where what can be amazing becomes boring.

This one I had some fun moments with this Ritchie thriller, but it did not hold up for me as well as I would have liked it to. With that in mind, I am giving Wrath of Man two and a half stars. For those who are a fan of Statham, it may be worth the time. Do not expect a film like The Gentlemen with laughing moments. This is not the Guy Ritchiefilm many expect.

The Kid Detective (as I like to define) is Nancy Drew, but with a male detective. Adam Brody is Abe Applebaum, and he has got a brilliant mind, a quiet personality, and is a detective that can put puzzles together to help him solve many cases. The Kid Detective I found relatively entertaining. Spy and detective films appeal to me, but this one was different from many of the spy thrillers I love. Many spy and detective films make the main detective look like they live the lavish lifestyle. Not in The Kid Detective.

Abe Applebaum is a detective in a small town. He is one who has become a detective at a young age. That is because he has helped his community throughout the years to solve cases and conflicts. He becomes one who the town knows as the lead detective of the community. He starts with a treehouse for his investigation appointments, and then the town gives him his own office space for his business and his detective consulting. He is one that solves cases like small crimes, fraud, or suspicious activity. He has solved a few murders, but not many. Abe’s life starts to face a challenge for him as a detective when a girl Caroline (played by Sophie Nelisse) seeks Abe’s detective help to solve the murder of her boyfriend. Abe is up for the challenge, but with mainly doing trivial mysteries, this one overwhelms him.

When I mentioned that The Kid Detective is not one’s typical setup where most detectives or spy workers have a lavish lifestyle, Abe truly does not. He shares a house with a roommate, is not popular, does his work, but outside he has no social life. What appealed to me was how Brody’s performance is a detective who has never had serious cases. And has made his entertaining life solving small cases and making his income out of that for ages. Abe is just an introverted detective who likes to solve cases, get his pay, and call it a day. I found the film had me to be curious when Abe takes on the job to solve a murder. I wondered if his mellow mood could handle the tension of a murder case. The film has unexpected surprises that are both funny, dark, and clever, and they come around at the unexpected times.

The Kid Detective is a spy film that is done different in the right way. It uses its small-town setting to make the cases seem predictable (but is the opposite). I found myself wondering how much anxiety is there for Abe take on a small-town with a dangerous murder scenario, when he has only solved minor crimes and few murder cases. Brody’s performance is witty, and his reactions are just funny and ambiguous. The Kid Detective is a fun mystery with some dark elements. But it keeps the laughing moments. Three stars.