Tomris Laffly

A thriller can be hard to define, but you know one when you see one – or rather, when you feel one. In your palms. Under your armpits. In your teeth as you grind down the enamel and your leg that won’t stop involuntarily shaking. Next to horror, it’s the most physical of all film genres, one that, when done right, prompts a visceral response unlike any other. You can be sure the greatest thriller movies do it right. How they initiate that response, however, varies widely. Under the thriller umbrella, you’ll find political conspiracies, murder mysteries, explosive and quietly tense psychological dramas – and, of course, lots and lots of crime. Clearly, the thriller contains multitudes. But the best of them will draw you in, steal your breath, leave your head spinning.     Written by Abbey Bender, Joshua Rothkopf, Phil de Semlyen, Tom Huddleston, Andy Kryza, Tomris Laffly & Matthew Singer RECOMMENDED: 🕯️ The 35 steamiest erotic thrillers ever made😬 The 20 best thriller movies on Netflix🧨 The 60 most nerve-racking heist movies ever💣 The 101 best action movies ever made🔪 The 35 steamiest erotic thrillers 🔥 The 100 best movies of all time

Lola Kirke is driving around her newly adopted home of Los Angeles and chatting with me on speakerphone when “two crazy jet planes” (her words) descend from above, creating a racket and eliciting an audible “Oh, my fucking God” from the actor. She pulls over for silence and a caffeine boost and tells me, apologetically, “I will be a better person once I have a coffee.” (Yes, this conversation could not have started out more L.A.) The spirited young actor, whose sister Jemima stars in Girls, has been making waves lately, with a significant role in Gone Girl followed by the one-two punches of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle and Noah Baumbach’s screwball comedy Mistress America. And now, with the lead in Deb Shoval’s Tribeca Film Festival debut, AWOL—playing a directionless army recruit who falls in love with a married woman (Breeda Wool) and abandons her post—Kirke continues her hot streak (and gets to return to her stomping grounds of NYC). Welcome back to the concrete jungle, kid. RECOMMENDED: Full coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival You grew up in NYC, right? I did. It’s actually really funny, when I was little I used to look at Time Out Kids for auditions to go on all the time. Pre-Internet life. Did anything come of those? No, nothing ever came of those, but they were my first taste of auditions. What is the thing that you love doing when you’re back in town? My mom and I have started going together to the Turkish baths on 10th Street fairly regularly. There’s also lots of

We’ll forgive you if you don’t know the name Joel Edgerton right off the bat. But you probably like him already. The commanding actor who upstaged Johnny Depp in gangster movie Black Mass? Him. The science teacher turned MMA fighter who made you cry buckets in Warrior? Him again. Yet despite these impressive credits—he’s also had meaty roles in The Great Gatsby and Zero Dark Thirty—the 41-year-old Aussie still holds the “that guy from that thing” status. But expect that to change this year after the releases of two films by ace director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter). First up is Midnight Special, a minimalist sci-fi film starring Michael Shannon that was immediately attractive for Edgerton’s character-over-showy-effects sensibilities. “Sometimes you pick up a screenplay and genuinely don’t know what’s going to happen next,” says Edgerton. “That was the feeling I got from Midnight Special. The special effects took a backseat. It reminded me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in a really good way.” After that he’ll star in Nichols’s much different Loving, which just wrapped shooting in Virginia and chronicles the real-life tale of an interracial couple sentenced to jail in the ’50s just for getting married. Before those billboards with Edgerton’s face are erected, though, here’s some cool stuff to know about him.

The spirit of old-fashioned coming-of-age fare roars in director Angel Manuel Soto’s sun-dappled Charm City Kings, as it speeds alongside Baltimore’s storied dirt-bike scene over one fast and furious summer. In a deft refashioning of Lotfy Nathan’s kinetic documentary 12 O’Clock Boys that recalls the likes of A Bronx Tale and Boyz n the Hood, the film circles a tight-knit trio of scrappy inner-city boys, prematurely forced into manhood by circumstances. Surrounding the youngsters are role models dwelling on the fringes of – and sometimes slipping through – unjust systemic cracks and a good-natured, slightly overlong tale of morality and sacrifice that earns its hefty, if formulaic lessons. Learning them the hard way is the vivacious, animal-loving Mouse (twinkle-eyed breakthrough Jahi Di’Allo Winston). He’s a passionate teenager with dreams of joining his local area’s coolest biker squad, en route to becoming a vet. For now, in this order. Among those who thicken the plot while Mouse weighs up his priorities are his disapproving mother, a sweet, underdeveloped romantic interest, and rapper Meek Mill’s ex-con mentor who helps Mouse build his own motorcycle under his protective wing. (An inspired Karate Kid gag likens him to Mr Miyagi.) It’s an overcrowded canvas, but Charm City Kings generously spins it into a big-hearted yarn, by both honouring Mouse’s disarming zeal and soberly addressing the community’s evolving struggles with crime and prejudiced law enforcement figures. S

Ben Affleck has some chops behind the camera: the four features under his directorial belt demonstrate as much. His screen presence can be another story, though, as evidenced in director Gavin O’Connor’s The Way Back, led by an oddly impassive performance from the former Batman as a trauma-soaked, alcoholic basketball coach. While in line with his acting career of late, Affleck’s monotony feels especially unfortunate here. He reportedly drew from his own struggles with alcoholism for the role’s visceral register, a detail he’s been bravely transparent about. But that deep pain seldom materialises, leaving us with a bland ragtag-team-of-underdogs flick that wishes it was Hoosiers. The template is too familiar: a star athlete of yore, Affleck’s careworn Jack Cunningham gets a second shot at glory when he is asked to coach his alma mater’s hopeless team out of their losing streak. He halfheartedly accepts, building up the squad with a growing enthusiasm (and an amusingly unwelcome foul mouth), like The Damned United's vigorous Brian Clough. Except his non-stop drinking persists, confirming the worst fears of the school’s well-meaning staff, Jack’s critical sister and gently concerned ex (Michaela Watkins and Janina Gavankar, both underused). ‘From the director of The Accountant’ is hardly a ringing endorsement – that mind-numbing action-thriller was also an Affleck-starrer – but Brad Ingelsby’s screenplay is the film’s guiltiest instrument, shortchanging even the most convention

Si profundizabas un poco en su místico paraíso tropical, su enigmático propietario vestido de blanco y su clientela en busca de sueños, era fácil encontrar algo fuera del corazón de esta serie setentera. Incluso si los fanáticos acérrimos no estuvieran pidiendo exactamente por un spin off cuatro décadas después, ¿seguramente no sería difícil explotar ese espeluznante potencial de horror? Aparentemente sí. Dirigida por Jeff Wadlow, el hombre detrás del igualmente apático Truth or Dare, esta adaptación de Blumhouse está sobrecargada y mal trazada, enredada en sus convoluciones y desprovista del atractivo retro del original. Aquellos que estén suficientemente familiarizados con la edición vintage pueden apreciar el espectáculo pero más allá de eso, los antiguos aficionados a las versiones de TV se aburrirán hasta las lágrimas —y no solo ellos—. Al recordar cualquier cosa, desde Saw hasta Black Mirror, el guión es superficial y sin miedo. Fiel al material, el misterioso Sr. Roarke (Michael Peña, que actualiza con éxito la suave personalidad en pantalla de Ricardo Montalbán) toma las decisiones. Al dar la bienvenida a un vuelo privado lleno de ganadores de lotería, les promete una fantasía inmersiva. Entre los invitados se encuentran: Lucy Hale, la entusiasta de las redes sociales que busca castigar a la chica mala de su escuela secundaria; un par de hermanos optimistas y chocantes que lo quieren todo; una solitaria nostálgica y hambrienta de romance (Maggie Q); y un policía que a

If you dug even a little into its mystical tropical paradise, its enigmatic, white-clad proprietor and his dream-seeking clientele, it was easy to find something a little ‘off’ at the heart of seemingly kitsch late-‘70s telly hit ‘Fantasy Island’. Even if die-hard fans weren’t exactly clamouring for a genre spin-off four decades on, surely it wouldn’t be hard to mine that creepiness for horror potential? Apparently so. Directed by Jeff Wadlow, the man behind the equally listless ‘Truth or Dare’, this Blumhouse adaptation is overwrought and poorly plotted, tangled up in its convolutions and shorn of the original’s retro appeal. Those who are sufficiently familiar with the vintage edition might appreciate nods to the show (someone shouts ‘The Plane! The Plane!’), but beyond that, old-timey TV-version aficionados will be bored to tears – and not just them. Bringing to mind anything from ‘Saw’ to ‘Black Mirror’, the shallow and scare-free script by Wadlow, Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach is an equal-opportunity offender across generations. True to the source material, the mysterious Mr Roarke (Michael Peña, successfully updating Ricardo Montalbán’s suave on-screen persona) calls the shots. Welcoming a private flight full of lottery winners to the resort, he promises them one immersive, fully realised fantasy each that comes at a price. Among the guests are: Lucy Hale’s social media-savvy go-getter looking to punish her high school’s mean girl; a pair of upbeat, high-fiving b

An unseen entertainment mogul haunts Kitty Green’s flawless thriller ‘The Assistant’, a hawkeyed probe into systemic abuses of power, set before the era of #MeToo. Harvey Weinstein is the obvious inspiration for the bigwig, and we get sufficient clues: a New York-based movie production house, a gruff, eerily familiar voice off-camera, the havoc he leaves in his wake. But Green never name-checks the now-ousted producer. Thanks to this approach – examining not a single offender but instead a suffocating culture of silence, peopled by enablers – the understated film builds into a gut punch that’s more painful than anything in the superficial, recent Roger Ailes exposé ‘Bombshell’. Before then, we watch a day in the work life of the selflessly committed office newbie Jane (Julia Garner of ‘Ozark’, finding astonishing emotional precision in the smallest details). Green, a director of provocative nonfiction films like ‘Casting JonBenet’, observes Jane’s routine with a documentarian’s clear-eyed compassion and delicate, rhythmic discipline: Jane makes copies, scrubs appalling stains out of the boss’s couch, recovers a piece of incriminating jewelry and drafts humiliating apologies when she is unfairly blamed for mistakes. A pair of seasoned male assistants guides her, adding to her intimidation with their arrogance. Garner’s breathtakingly controlled performance – all withheld tears and suppressed screams – brings to mind Chantal Akerman’s 1975 feminist masterpiece, ‘Jeanne Dielman’

Clint Eastwood has long been attracted to everyday heroes burdened by institutional power (you can see it as far back as ‘Dirty Harry’). Continuing this libertarian streak, the director’s latest honors Richard Jewell, the security guard who cleared most of a crowd when he discovered fatal explosives at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. For this act, he saw his life turned into a living hell when the FBI – which he idolised – mistakenly targeted him as the perpetrator. Resurrecting his sturdy cinematic prose after recent fiascos like ‘The 15:17 to Paris’, Eastwood competently dramatises the underdog’s true tale with a patient, straightforward style akin to ‘Sully’ and ‘Changeling’, but he falls short on nuance. Worlds removed from his thuggish but dim bodyguard in ‘I, Tonya’, the terrific Paul Walter Hauser disappears into the role of the affable, gun-hoarding ex-cop. Working a series of gigs until a crucial one places him at the pivotal Centennial Olympic Park, his amicably awkward Jewell flaunts an overkill sense of duty that annoys almost everyone except his proud, doting mother (a poignant Kathy Bates, delivering a lived-in performance that swells in the final act). Tipped off by an inept FBI agent (Jon Hamm), an opportunistic reporter (Olivia Wilde) kicks off a media circus after publishing negative speculation on Jewell, who then hires Sam Rockwell’s quixotic lawyer to clear his name. Gradually, Eastwood builds a heartwarming, familial camaraderie between client and attorne

Desde los tiempos de 'Harry el Sucio', a Clint Eastwood le atraen los héroes cotidianos reprimidos por el poder institucional, las fuerzas del orden, la ley. Aquí lleva al cine la historia real de Richard Jewell, el guardia de seguridad que descubrió una serie de explosivos en los Juegos Olímpicos de Atlanta de 1996. Su vida se convirtió en un infierno cuando el FBI lo confundió con el terrorista. Después de algunos fiascos estrepitosos como 'Mula', el director recupera cierta dignidad.

Des dels temps de 'Harry el Brut', a Clint Eastwood l'atrauen els herois quotidians reprimits pel poder institucional, les forces de l'ordre, la llei. Aquí porta al cinema la història real de Richard Jewell, el guàrdia de seguretat que va descobrir una sèrie d'explosius en els Jocs Olímpics d'Atlanta de 1996. La seva vida es va convertir en un infern quan l'FBI el va confondre amb el terrorista. Després d'alguns fiascos estrepitosos com 'Mula', el director recupera certa dignitat.

Escrita por el actor Shia LaBeouf como una tarea de rehabilitación, Un niño encantador es tanto una autoevaluación franca como una disculpa pública de alguien que busca comenzar de nuevo. Confiada a la directora correcta, Alma Har'el, la película es agotadora, pero sobre todo te desarma. Ella le da a este vulnerable ejercicio una forma rebelde y mapea el caos de la adicción con agallas y estilo. Comienza con recreaciones impresionantes de una cinta de Holywood a mediados de 2000 (presumiblemente una película de Transformers) junto con fechorías  erpetradas por LaBeouf, aquí renombrado Otis e interpretado por Lucas Hedges. Otis pronto está en terapia, revisando una infancia que está teñida de negligencia, y cosas peor. Esos recuerdos conducen a un hilo argumental diferente, ambientado en los noventa: LaBeouf interpreta a su propio cruel padre, un veterano alcohólico de Vietnam, delincuente sexual condenado y expayaso de rodeo llamado James. Trabajando en el set de una producción de televisión con su solitario hijo-actor (Noah Jupe, deslumbrante), pasa sus días sin mantenerse sobrio y sintiéndose inferior a Otis, que técnicamente mantiene su sustento. Har'el alterna inteligentemente entre las dos épocas. En numerosos enfrentamientos entre el manipulador James y el maduro, pero indefenso Otis, el escritor LaBeouf se gana la compasión de la audiencia por su yo más joven. Se ha enfrentado a este tema complicado y sin duda doloroso con gravedad y profundidad, y Un niño encantador n

Yönetmen: Alma Har’el Nedir? Oyuncu Shia LaBeouf’ın hayatı. Neden izlemeli? Zorlu bir hikayeyi etkileyici bir şekilde anlattığı için. Bir tür itiraf hikayesi olan ‘Honey Boy’da Shia LaBeouf oyuncu olarak adeta kabuklarını kırıyor. LaBeouf”ın 2017’de rehabilitasyon merkezinde kaldığı sıralarda kaleme aldığı hikaye, oyuncunun istismara uğradığı çocukluğu ve oldukça sorunlu geçen yetişkinlik dönemiyle bir tür barışma çabası. Bu kendiyle barışma ve iyileşme öyküsü, yeni bir başlangıç yapmak isteyen birinden gelen ‘kamusal bir özür’ gibi. Bu dikkate değer çaba, yönetmenlik anlamında emin ellere teslim edilmiş. İki ayrı zamanı paralel olarak kurgulayan Alma Har’el, LaBeouf’ın savunmasızca kelimeler döktüğü kaotik anlatıyı stilize bir şekilde toparlamış. ‘Honey Boy’, bir tür karmaşayla başlıyor, filmde Otis ismiyle izlediğimiz LaBeouf’ın bir aksiyon filminde dublörlük yaptığını görüyoruz. Karakterin gençliğini Lucas Hedges canlandırıyor. Bir araba kazasının ardından Otis danışmanlık almaya başlıyor ve ihmal edildiği gençlik yıllarına ait anılar içinde kayboluyor. Bu anılar bir başka anlatının başlamasına vesile oluyor. LaBeouf, filmin 90’larda geçen yarısı boyunca kendi babasını canlandırıyor. Alkolik bir Vietnam gazisi olan James, aynı zamanda hüküm giymiş bir tecavüz suçlusu ve eski bir rodeo sürücüsü. Oğluyla beraber küçük bir televizyon programında çalışan James ayık kalmaya çalışırken, aileyi geçindiren ise Otis oluyor. Zorlu bir konuyu derinlikli bir şekilde ele alan ‘Honey Bo

Awkwafina da un meditado paso adelante y protagoniza una comedia delicada que gira alrededor de una familia china que se enfrenta a una mala noticia. Agridulce y con un humor ingenioso, el drama de la directora Lulu Wang conquista mostrando el corazón roto de una joven inmigrante. Como es costumbre en China, la familia de Nai Nai (la abuela) decide ocultarle la diagnosis de un cáncer. El clan se reúne en Asia con el falso pretexto de una boda repentina, que prepara el terreno para un encuentro aparentemente celebratorio, pero en secreto devastador, perfectamente reflejado en la música de Alex Weston. Con destreza, Wang consigue hacer de las escenas un espacio cómico que es a la vez punzante. Vemos la historia a través de los ojos de Billi (Awkwafina), una nieta en conflicto que tiene conversaciones frustrantes con sus padres americanizados. Acogiendo deliciosamente el ritual oriental, 'The farewell' invoca un complejo sentimiento de amor familiar que desafía las barreras del idioma.

Awkwafina fa un meditat pas endavant i protagonitza una comèdia delicada que gira al voltant d’una família xinesa que s’enfronta a una mala notícia. Agredolç i amb un humor enginyós, el drama de la directora Lulu Wang conquereix per mitjà del cor trencat d’una jove immigrant. Com és costum a la Xina, la família de la Nai Nai (l’àvia) decideix amagar-li la diagnosi d’un càncer. El clan es reuneix a l’Àsia amb el fals pretext d’un casament sobtat, que prepara el terreny per a una trobada aparentment celebratòria, però en secret devastadora, perfectament reflectida per la música d’Alex Weston. Amb destresa, Wang aconsegueix fer de les escenes un espai còmic que és a la vegada punyent. Veiem la història a través dels ulls de la Billi (Awkwafina), una neta en conflicte que té converses frustrants amb els seus pares americanitzats. Acollint deliciosament el ritual oriental, 'The farewell' invoca un complex sentiment d’amor familiar que desafia les barreres de l’idioma. El reconeixereu i també el sentireu.