Suburbicon

You know how first-time parents act? Like they’re the only people on earth who ever had a baby? Director George Clooney is like that with his baby, “Suburbicon” (2017). Clooney has big ideas about the great suburban migration of the 1950s (don’t tell anyone, but it involves racism), and he collaborates with the Coen brothers to create a pretentious, pseudosatirical horror story that delivers these big ideas in the most unentertaining, derivative, downright disgusting way possible. Clooney’s like absolutely nobody has told that story before. (Actually, Georgey, many people have, and mostly all of them told it better than you.)

The Drop

“The Drop” (2014) is the story of a man and his dog. And Chechen mobsters. And Brooklyn. And Tony Soprano (except he’s not Tony Soprano). And murders. And money. And a communion that will never be shared. Tom Hardy offers one of the most authentically unplaceable New York accents I’ve ever heard. It’s a beautiful thing. The story is a classic mob double-cross with a twist that reminded me of “The Usual Suspects.” I was, literally, on the edge of my seat for the last 30 minutes. When the final scene faded to black, I smiled. That’s a good movie.