Based on the novel MY ABANDONMENT by Peter Rock that in turn fictionalized a true account, LEAVE NO TRACE (2018) was a real gem for me. It’s the most reviewed film to have a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it earns it by telling a simple, powerful story.

HIGH LIFE (2018, streaming on Netflix) rolls out like an art-house, haunting, punk response to Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. It’s weird, slow, and difficult, but it achieves an incredible look and vibe I found hypnotic, and I quite liked it.

Based on the classic novel by Paul Theroux, MOSQUITO COAST (2021, streaming on Apple TV) is a new series starring Theroux’s nephew, Justin Theroux, one of my favorite actors after he shredded THE LEFTOVERS and did great work in films like MUTE. It’s technically excellent, and its take on the novel offers a subtle but powerful critique of capitalism, but in my view it’s missing something the novel had, which is a good story.

Based on the terrific autofictional novel by Nico Walker, CHERRY (2021) presents a story of a young man who goes to Iraq to serve his country only to come home with PTSD and develop a drug habit, leading to him robbing banks to support his addiction. It’s stylish and Tom Holland does a great job in the lead role, but the whole thing bogs on its well-trod formula.

MOSUL (2019, Netflix) is one of a string of fantastic war movies to hit the screen in recent years. In this film set in 2016, ISIS is losing control of Mosul, which they captured and laid waste in an orgy of looting, rape, and murder. As the ISIS forces flee, an Iraqi elite unit plunges deep into their territory. This is the Nineveh Province SWAT, bound on a mysterious mission.