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Reviews
The Ritual Killer (2023)
Low budget time-waster
When an action/suspense movie only has foot chases instead of car chases, you know they didn't have much of a budget. This was my first clue that The Ritual Killer was going to be a disappointment. The early scenes in Rome added nothing to the plot. It felt like they shot them for another version, in another language, with other actors in the other roles for a release in the European market, and just worked the footage into this one to pad the running time. The American detective contacts the Italian cop, gets one name, and hangs up. The expectation was that they would team up to catch the killer, but that's the last we see of the Italian. The trope of the vigilante cop who doesn't get along with his captain is so tired that it borders on self-parody. The flashbacks about the detective's daughter's death, too, were overdone and unnecessary. Arguably, the climax of the story doesn't even occur onscreen, and the "surprise" ending feels abrupt and gratuitous.
Happiness for Beginners (2023)
Light, fluffy, not-too-filling diversion
A pretty, predictable, well-enough made-for-TV tale that mostly delivers the goods it promises. My biggest objections aren't even that big. Fewer 'music video' segues would have tightened it up a little; after the fourth one, it felt overstuffed. And the post-credits sequence with the trail guide saying, "Okay, people" several different ways was a wasted opportunity that added nothing. Here's how I'd have ended things:
We fade in to the end of a recognizable stage drama like The Glass Menagerie or To Kill A Mockingbird, and as the camera pans up, we see the lead character delivering the monologue is none other than Hugh. And, surprisingly, given his character's role as comic relief throughout the movie, he is MARVELOUS. So good, in fact, that the next shot is curtain call, and he's getting a standing ovation. And in the front row, are the rest of the hiking team, wiping their eyes and cheering between claps.