Argylle: Cats and Spies

You would think an espionage novelist like Elly Conway would be a dog person, rather than a cat lady. She leads a shier, quieter life than Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone, even though she is so tuned into geopolitical realities, her novels have been described as prophetic, much like the techno-thrillers of Tom Clancy and David Hagberg. In fact, she her books have become a little too predictive for a shadowy SPECTRE-like organization in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, which opens Friday in theaters nationwide.

Conway does not get out much, but when she leaves home for a meeting (like this fateful day), she always brings her fat cat Alfie. She has a tailor-made argyle-print carrier for him, probably because Petco doesn’t have anything big enough for his plump rump. She will cling to his case for dear life while the mysterious Aidan rescues her from a train full of assassins. The shaggy stranger is nothing like suave fictional Agent Argylle, whom we see in action during fantasy segments and book-readings, as well as when he reassures the neurotic Conway, in her mind’s eye.

At least Aidan claims to be a fan—and a real spy. According to him, an international spy outfit (much like Citadel) just turned to the dark side, exactly like the plot twist of her latest novel. Unfortunately, she ended it with a cliffhanger, which nobody likes, especially not KAOS or THRUSH. He needs her to come up with a real ending to foil the bad guys, but it will not be that simple.

Weirdly, there are a lot of similarities between Argylle and Citadel, but it would be spoilery for both to explain how. Regardless, they are worlds apart in terms of tone. Argylle always goes for laughs and it is not afraid to lean in slapstick. To their credit, some of Aidan’s early fight scenes are impressively choreographed, but they grow increasingly outlandish and silly.

Screenwriter Jason Fuchs throws one crazy plot twist after another at the audience, but the head-spinning revelations are all part of the winking fun. This movie can be a lot, but it knows and appreciates the genre it is spoofing. Plus, it has Alfie, who gets a lot of laughs, even though Chip (the cat who plays him) gives the film’s most deadpan performance.

One of the film’s pleasant surprises is the facility for broad, physical comedy Sam Rockwell shows as Aidan. Fans know he can be sarcastic, but here he gets to act loopy and rubber-boned—and it largely suits him. Bryce Dallas Howard cannot really match his energy as Conway. However, the film as a wealth colorful supporting players, like Bryan Cranston and Catherine O’Hara, who chew the scenery like a Five Guys Burger, as the villainous Ritter and Conway’s overbearing mother.

Night Hunter: Superman & Gandhi vs. a Serial Killer

Michael Cooper is a lot like the retired judge in Hardcastle & McCormick, but without the red sports car. His methods for curing recidivism are also a lot more permanent. Unfortunately, he will be forced to work with the regular cops when the young woman he uses as bait is kidnapped by a serial killer in David Raymond’s Night Hunter, which opens this Friday in New York.

Much like Hardcastle, Cooper is a former judge, but personal tragedy drove him to wage vigilante tactics against online predators. His sarcastic ward Lara is only too willing to help him, but the latest creep they try to ensnare turns out to be even more prepared than they are. As a result, the panicked Cooper is forced to request help from local Minnesota police force. Fortunately, Det. Aaron Marshall quickly grasps the gravity of the situation and has the wherewithal to find and rescue Lara, along with another surviving victim.

However, the capture of Simon Stulls does not close the case. Frankly, the twitchy headcase does not seem to be functioning at a sufficiently high level to plan and execute his crimes. The out-of-town profiler (with whom Marshall has some awkward history) is convinced Stulls has more capable multiple personalities buried within him, but there are soon all too tragic reasons to suspect he had an outside accomplice.

Night Hunter features an impressive cast of name-actors, including Henry Cavill, Sir Ben Kingsley, Nathan Fillon, and Stanley Tucci, all playing cops or vigilantes. Obviously, the bad guy or bad guys must be pretty sinister, since they can elude the combined forces of Superman, Gandhi, Castle, and the host of the Hunger Games. In fact, Brendan Fletcher is extraordinarily creepy, even downright unsettling, as the psychotic Stulls. It is a terrific serial killer performance, especially in light of later plot twists.

Cavill is also quite good as Marshall, especially during scenes with Emma Tremblay, who is a real standout as the daughter who constantly tries to draw him out and keep him grounded. Tucci plays Commissioner Harper like a typical Stanley Tucci character, but that is always fun to watch. Kingsley humanizes Cooper, while developing some intriguing surrogate father-daughter chemistry with Eliana Jones, as Lara. On the other hand, neither Alexandra Daddario or her profiler character really bring anything interesting to the table.

In all honesty, Night Hunter is an over-achieving serial killer thriller that deserves more attention than its less-than-blockbuster release will probably garner. Raymond steadily builds the tension, while cinematographer Michael Barrett (who also lensed the uber-glossy Takers) gives it all a sinister sheen. It is a little over-stuffed with characters (don’t blink when Fillon is on-screen), but it succeeds quite nicely as a work of dark suspense. Recommended for fans of psycho-killer thrillers, Night Hunter opens this Friday (9/6) in New York, at the Cinema Village.