“Trap.” / “Devil's Peak.” / “Cash Out.”

“Trap” (2024, Max) psychological thriller film written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. A serial killer evades a police blockade while attending a concert with his daughter. Etc etcetera. I have seen quite a number of Shyamalan movies, but not all. Those that I saw are mostly divisive, polarizing, I don’t know. None comes close to his breakthrough 1999’s “The Sixth Sense.”

       “Trap” though qualifies as his worst. Nothing makes sense, and that’s including the presence of Mr Shya’s daughter Saleka Night Shyamalan. Known simply as Saleka as a singer songwriter, she can sing, true. But she can’t act. Done. 🎭👎🎬

“Devil's Peak” (2023, Hulu) crime thriller, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Robin Wright. Based on the novel “Where All Light Tends to Go” by David Joy. Set in North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains, 18-year-old Jacob McNeely is torn between appeasing his meth-dealing kingpin father and leaving the mountains forever with the girl he loves. 

       Hopper Penn as Jacob, by the way, is Sean Penn and Robin Wright's son. He has some promise but that's it for this “day on the job” flick. Billy Bob is being the bad old man Billy Bob, usual stuff. Robin is sad-faced Robin, that's all. Supporting character Jackie Earle Haley is, you know, Mr Haley. Next! 🎥💻📽

“Cash Out” (2024, Hulu) bank heist action, starring John Travolta, Kristin Davis, and Lukas Haas. Plot: Professional thief Mason Goddard (Mr Travola) attempts his biggest heist with his brother Shawn (Mr Haas), robbing a bank. When it goes wrong, they're trapped inside surrounded by law enforcement. Tension rises as Mason negotiates with his ex-lover, the lead negotiator, Amelia Decker (Ms Davis). 

       Add to the bank robbing gang, a smart-talkin’ rap artist Quavo (as Anton) and a nerd named Link (Natali Yura). Then we are set. An obligatory bored-day bother, that’d be it. Yet it'd be cool if the movie had Nicolas Cage or Liam Neeson. 🎥💻📽

MOVIE that I gave up: “Poolman.” (2023, Hulu) comedy mystery, follows an unwavering optimist and native Angeleno, who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block and fighting to make his hometown a better place to live. Kickass cast: Chris Pine, Annette Bening, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito. But I couldn’t make sense of it all. Some critics like it, but I don’t.