Jodie Comer struggled to find her place in the world until she finds work in a care home, a calling she is surprisingly well suited for. When Covid hits and the government’s priorities lie elsewhere, she is forced to undertake increasingly desperate measures to save her residents, especially Stephen Graham, a young man with dementia whom she has bonded with. I don’t think another film could possibly illustrate the devastation Covid has raged in some communities, particularly those which depend on the kindness of others, and the naivety so many of us experienced during the early days of the disease. The acting is top notch with writing and direction that really lends a sense of urgency and desperation to events. The ending unfortunately takes a bit of a turn from its very realistic earlier scenes, but still manages to hammer home its message.

During a heavy rain storm, a group of travelers takes refuge at a mysterious old house whose strange residents include a couple of dangerous individuals. After watching Universal Horror I’ve been wanting to check out more of James Whale’s work. While this one has some great atmosphere and effective performances by the like of Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton, the flow of the narrative is rather uneven. Locking people inside rooms while there’s a pyromaniac loose makes the climax ridiculous but also engaging. 

When one of the customers at the dry cleaning business he works for leaves a bag of cocaine in a pocket, it drags Wood Harris into the Harlem drug world where he must keep a close eye on his enemies and friends. Based on the true story of a trio of 1980s Harlem drug dealers, the friendship between Harris, Mekhi Pfifer, and Cam’ron is central to the story and carried off well. While there are period details tossed about, the city is too clean and the style of the leads isn’t changed enough which unfortunately loses the sense of place for the tale.