I’m a sucker for films that dare to go over the limits of violence and grotesque situations. Titane is one of those films.

Director Julia Ducournau is known for bizarre films that have darkness or unexplained disturbing moments. Her previous film Raw (2016) went above and beyond with violence and even cannibalism. But in addition to the shock value, Ducournau’s films are realistic masterful presentations.

Titane is set in France and the main character is Alexia, played by Agatha Rousselle. Alexia was in a car accident at a young age, she has a titanium plate in her head, and she is short-fused, aggressive, violent, and a serial murderer. After committing a crime Alexia goes on the run, and to hide her identity she cuts off her hair and changes her appearance to make herself look like a man. She is mistaken as the son of a man named Vincent, played by Vincent Lindon. The son, Adrien, has been missing for a decade.

Vincent is a drug abuser with some strange obsessions, and the interplay between these two bizarre characters is brutal. Indeed, the shock value of Titane is so strong and the film so brilliant that it won the 2021 Palme d’Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Titane is certainly an intense film, and I loved it. It may be one of the top films of 2021 for me, and I was totally sold on it. I’m sure many others will be as well. I give Titane four stars.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a sequel superhero film made for laughs. The first Venom, from 2018, was also a comedy, but unlike the first version this Carnage sequel is out of focus and, frankly, somewhat forgettable.

In Venom: Let there Be Carnage, Eddie Brock is back, played by Tom Hardy. Brock still has his symbiotes powers, which were given to him for evil, but he instead uses the powers to protect others. The voices of the symbiote still go through his head, and the voices are dark, but they can also be hysterical. Brock tries to get back into his reporter career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, played by Woody Harrelson. He also tries to get back together with Anne Weying, played by Michelle Williams. When Kasady escapes from prison, Brock must convince the symbiote within him to help him regain his powers to save the city from more damage.

Despite its lack of focus, Venom: Let there Be Carnage is fun at times, especially given the performances of Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, and Michelle Williams. But I found myself wishing for more from Harrelson, with that sinister smile he always has in the strange roles he usually plays. I also felt that the humor in the film was often overdone, and that the film relied too much on CGI. The extensive GCI works for some superhero movies, but this one, not so much.

I did enjoy bits and pieces of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and it is fun if you just want a film to not take seriously. Marvel comic fans will also find a few hidden gems in the film. But overall, I give Venom: Let there Be Carnage just two stars.

The Guilty is a mesmerizing psychological thriller from director Antoine Fuqua, who also directed Southpaw (2015), another psychological thriller. Both films have Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead, and nobody plays the stressed out role better than Gyllenhaal.

In The Guilty, Gyllenhaal is Joe Baylor, a police officer who has been demoted from police officer to working at a 911 dispatch center, where the entire film takes place. Baylor’s demotion stemmed from an incident for which he has an upcoming court case.

While working at the call center Baylor takes a call from Emily Lighton, played by Riley Keough, who tells Baylor that she has been abducted but has to initially hang up before she can give any details. Others involved in the drama are Matthew Fonenot, played by Paul Dano, and Henry Fisher, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Another detective involved in the situation is Sgt. Bill Miller, played by Ethan Hawke. These characters are a big part of the film, but we only we see Baylor throughout the call.

Much of the suspense of The Guilty comes from the scared voice of Emily on the phone call. Baylor strives for Emily’s safety, but he may be overstepping boundaries of what he is allowed to do as a dispatcher. Fuqua’s technique of letting us see Gyllenhaal’s emotions but only hear the emotions of the others on the calls is excellent, and he really does understand how to build suspense. Three and a half stars for The Guilty.