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To Catch a Killer, Review: Mass murderer vs FBI veteran and rookie policewoman
To Catch a Killer, Review: Mass murderer vs FBI veteran and rookie policewoman
It’s a tame title, considering the killer puts down 29 individuals in the first round of his carnage. The other title, Misanthrope, is vague. It’s not nail-biting stuff, rather a thinking man’s whodunit, with occasional movements towards the edge of the seat. Mounted on a great scale, it is unable to escape the familiar tropes: Good officer being bullied, taking the rookie under his wing, a couple of false alarms that leave a trail of dead.
Alfred Hitchcock made a thriller way back in 1955, To Catch a Thief, whose premise was it takes a thief to catch a thief. And guess who do they find matching the psyche of the elusive eliminator? The least likely candidate. To Catch a Killer is slickly made, but becomes a captive of trope syndrome. See it, nevertheless.
On New Year’s Eve mass in Baltimore, among the booming festivities, somebody shoots down 29 innocent people, with perfect aim, and does not leave any traces. A policewoman, Eleanor, who was attending to a trivial call in a restaurant, is an eye-witness and asks everybody around to take as many pictures as possible. Who knows, the killer might be among them? Gradually, she gets into the good books of Lammark, the FBI officer-in-charge. Eleanor is a young and talented but troubled officer of the Baltimore Police Department, wrestling with the demons of her past, including drug addiction when she is recruited by Lammark, the FBI’s chief investigator, to help profile and track down the super sniper who is committing a series of seemingly-unrelated mass shootings. Given her tortured psyche, Eleanor may be the only person who can understand the mind of the assailant and bring him to justice.
On a gambit, Lammark puts the news on network TV, in the hope that the criminal will phone in. He does, but his call cannot be traced. Forces higher-up zero-in on another suspect, bypassing Lamarrk, one with possible ISIS connections. It runs out that he is not even armed, and, when cornered with gun-toting lawmen, he jumps out of a high-rise window. Lamarrk and Eleanor are back on the job. The search takes them far and wide, and on one occasion, she sifts through tons of garbage to find a shirt the suspect might have worn. Then, and on one occasion Lammark crosses the line. He interrogates somebody without having the authority to do so. He has to pay with his job, but he gets a lead. He rules out racists, ISIS and other terror groups, who are the prime target of the investigation conducted parallel. So, he is sacked. But Eleanor agrees to work with him secretly.
Describing himself as a screenwriter who writes about self-made heroes, fighting injustice with humour, heart and hope, Jonathan Wakeham shares writing credit with the director, Damián Szifron. Szifron is Argentinian, and has directed both the most successful Argentinian film ever and the most successful TV show ever. Impeccable credentials. And now comes the Hollywood. It would be demeaning to say that To Catch a Killer is not likely to be the best ever Hollywood film debut. Yet, the stylisation he brings to the narrative is impressive. Just when you thought it was all bang-bang, there is a scene in a mortuary, to bring you back to earth. Wakeham and Szifron try hard to break the shackles of the tropes of films about mass murders and FBI investigations, but succeed only partly. A nice little scene has Lamarrk asking Eleanor to come for dinner and wine, the complete nonchalance with which she dismisses its possible implications. On the other hand, the epilogue, beautifully penned, gets out of hand. It is over-written.
Whenever death comes, it is instantaneous, and the sense of panic at the scenes of the shootings is palpable. In fact, the two main protagonists hardly get to use their weapons, a rarity in crime/mass murder thrillers. Their pairing is carefully thought out as well: one in his late 50s and another in her mid-late 20s. Dialogue is rattled off at breakneck speed, and mumbled on occasion, and I have to thank the sub-titling for making the film more intelligible.
Co-Producer Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars, The Mauritanian, The Fallout, The Last Letter from Your Lover) as Eleanor talks a lot, and swims a lot. But she gets into her own at the climax. Ben Mendelsohn as Lammark could have sleepwalked in the role. Good casting. Excellent performances come from Ralph Ineson as Dean, and Rosemary Dunsmore as his mother, Mrs. Possey. Very good support comes from Jovan Adepo, Richard Zeman, Dusan Dukic, Jason Cavalier, Nick Walker and Michael Cram. Cinematography by Javier Juliá takes to some impossible angles, and then some more. Keeping the scissors with himself, Damián Szifron had edited the film himself. While it is largely well-edited, some of the establishing shots and the climax for sure should have been trimmed. Music by Carter Burwell is a plus
To Catch a Killer, does not break completely with killer movies, that would be like sawing off your hand. But the fact that it tries hard to find its idiom has to be commended.
The movie is brought to India by the PVR Group.
Rating: ** ½
Trailer: https://youtu.be/R5nTWZ8zYqQ
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Cary Elwes, Gates McFadden, Walter Koenig, Manny Jacinto Added to FAN EXPO Portland Celebrity Lineup
Elwes gained wide acclaim for his portrayal of “Wesley” in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and reached new audiences by headlining the Mel Brooks spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights and later Saw. He also recently appeared in the Tom Cruise features Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and portrays “Mayor Larry Kline” in Stranger Things 3.
McFadden had the key role of “Beverly Crusher” in TNG, reprising the role in Picard, Prodigy and other iterations of the franchise. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and was the host of more than 300 episodes of the podcast “Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”
Koenig is best known for his recurring television portrayals both of the hated, intensely driven “Alfred Bester” (Babylon 5) and the likable, perpetually cheerful “Pavel Chekov” (Star Trek). Koenig’s film work includes the first seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations. His many other films have been independent projects with challenging roles.
Jacinto played “Jason Mendoza” on the full four-season run of The Good Place (2016-20) and later appeared as “Lt. Fritz Avalone” in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Also among his more than 50 TV and film credits are runs on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and the animated series Hailey’s on It!
Peggy, earning the title of “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in a national competition there, has gone on to stardom as “Dogpool” in the Marvel Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine. A portion of proceeds from her appearance at FAN EXPO Portland will support a local charity in the Pacific Northwest.
The five bolster an already impressive FAN EXPO Portland celebrity roster that includes:
• The Lord of the Rings headliners Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan
• Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Men in Black³)
• Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone)
• Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
• Harry Potter duo of Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright
• Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Armageddon)
• Robbie Rist (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Brady Bunch)
• Ernie Reyes Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
• Brian Tochi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Revenge of the Nerds)
• Kenn Scott (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director/Adventures of Johnny Tao)
• François Chau (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lost)
• Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, American Dad)
• Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!, The Goldbergs)
• My Hero Academia standouts Eric Vale, David Matranga, J. Michael Tatum, Brandon McInnis and Clifford Chapin
• Hazbin Hotel regulars Christian Borle, Joel Perez and Krystina Alabado
More FAN EXPO Portland guest announcements will follow from the worlds of film, television, streaming, art, literature, gaming, cosplay, anime, animation and more in the coming weeks.
Adult, Youth and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now at www.fanexpoportland.com. Advance pricing is available until January 1.
Portland is the second event on the 2026 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events.
About FAN EXPO HQ
FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts over one million fans annually at FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Vancouver, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Toronto Comicon, CALGARY EXPO, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Boston, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada, FAN EXPO Dallas, VIDCON Anaheim, EDMONTON EXPO, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.
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Nashville Lavender Pioneer Gigi de Lugo Secures Majority Ownership of Permanent Farm in Joelton, Tennessee
Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm, the original breeder of these global-standard varieties, praises de Lugo’s early foresight and influence:
“Over a period of the last decade, Gigi has been highlighting our introductions that have become the Gold Standard for lavender worldwide, and she was an early proponent because she saw the extra value of these introductions… Once she knew the plants were different and far superior, she committed to making the right choice for her customers. She can now proudly say that she has started over 30 new farms on their journey across an area ranging from Virginia through to Iowa!”
From its original rented fields in Whites Creek—Gigi’s Lavender, was celebrated by “Garden & Gun” magazine as one of the South’s top lavender destinations—the licensed nursery has supplied thousands of Peace Tree-bred plants throughout Tennessee and beyond. In 2019, de Lugo founded “The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” an exclusive membership alliance offering ongoing technical support, resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and agritourism promotion to farms that source their plants exclusively from Gigi’s Nursery.
Traven also highlights the impact of this network: “Gigi also knows the great importance and value of marketing with expression of clear benefits and a clear message. She created the Lavender Exchange with this in mind—to provide an outlet for cooperative marketing and sharing of equipment and machinery and product ideas.”
This strengthened ownership ensures continuity for de Lugo’s research, educational outreach, and product innovation at the Joelton location, including her newest Patent Pending offering, “ZWave Mg”—a topical magnesium spray infused with pure Phenomenal lavender hydrosol steam-distilled exclusively from flowers grown by TLx member farms. Designed for relaxation, muscle relief, and better sleep, ZWave Mg showcases the wellness potential of Southern-grown lavender.
“This milestone gives us the stability and security to continue investing in our Southern lavender research, development, product distribution, and growing community of the farms we support through The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” said Gigi de Lugo. “From the beginning I set out to prove lavender could become a viable cash crop for Tennessee and Southern farms—not only a pretty agritourism field, but a real harvestable commodity built on Phenomenal®. It took courageous pioneers willing to bet on the unproven and stay the course with me. These years, alongside the extraordinary farmers of our TLx family, have been one of the greatest adventures of my life.”
Experience the pure essence of Southern lavender: Gigi’s premium products, including the breakthrough ZWave Mg, are available exclusively through her website, and retail partners across Tennessee. Gigi is in discussion with a Nashville based manufacturer to expand her ZWave Mg production capacity for 2026.
About Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm
Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm is a Tennessee-licensed grower and an exclusive Southeast source for Peace Tree Farm’s Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, Exceptional!®, Inspirational!® lavender cultivars. It serves as headquarters for The Lavender Exchange (TLx), a premier network advancing lavender agriculture and agritourism across the South and Midwest.
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