We run the Night

Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), out of work and with a criminal record, finds an outlet for his burning ambition by entering the world of crime journalism. Disturbingly real, and with cringe-worthy acts from Louis that make sure that he gets the most shocking story every night and drives up TRPs, and with a partnership with the morning news director of a deadbeat news channel – Nina (Rene Russo), Louis finds that crime – or its grisly aftermath – does pay, and how. Handling competition and crime victims with a ruthlessness that borders on psychopathy, this Nightcrawler is a must watch, perhaps not for casual family viewing

16/20

An American Nightmare

Fresh-off-boat from Pakistan, Changez (Riz Ahmed) finds a quality education, the girl of his dreams (Erica (Kate Hudson)) and a career of his dreams on Wall Street, in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It is post 9/11 that the dissonances between what he has left behind and what he has become tear apart Changez’ life. A humiliating strip-search at the airport. A buyout mandate that displaces – renders redundant – a Turkish publisher who is the keeper of the works of many poets, including Changez’ father. A girlfriend who turns around and makes a public exhibition of private vignettes of the relationship with Changez. Perhaps it is time to return to the country of birth and try and improve matters. But, is it also time to give in to the dark clouds of radicalism that hover around Changez. The question lingers in the air, even as the movie trails off with the inevitable real conflicts between the two worlds that Changez traverses

12.5/20