The Hypnotist (Hypnotisören) (2012)

When the detective in charge of a brutal murder case enlists a hypnotist to help solve the crime, it looks like the solution to this icy Swedish mystery is going to hinge on matters of hypnotic suggestion, false memory, and patient-doctor control but no, in the end you realise that hypnotism has been injected into the story as a red herring, that it doesn't factor into the mystery in any meaningful way, and in fact just provides a means for one crime witness to be both comatose and communicative.

★★☆☆☆

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In A Better World (Hævnen) (2010)

When a father in the company of his young sons and their friend is assaulted by another father in a playground, a chain of events is sparked that for most of this Danish thriller's runtime is a compelling look at bullying and the vicious cycle of revenge, but a really bad decision made by two of the boys at the two-thirds mark rings untrue - especially after they have both heard parental confessions which should heal not exascerbate their delinquence - and from that moment on, the tension is replaced by a melodramatic soap opera that abandons two major plot points.

★★☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS