No Sudden Move (2021)

The elaborate costuming of the ensemble cast and period 1960s Detroit setting feel like an affectation until late in this Steven Soderbergh movie when a card is played that turns the riveting, finely-acted neo-noir crime flick into something sharper: a pointed social commentary.

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

China Moon (1994)

The only thing missing from this unchallenging 93-minute neo-noir escapism about a cop (Ed Harris) who falls for a dame with a cheating husband and a gun (Madeleine Stowe) is the steam - cicadas chirp, fans whirr, and icecubes clink in homemade lemonade, but there isn't a sweaty underarm or beaded brow to be seen, making this more The Big Air-conditioned Studio Cool than The Big Heat.

★★★☆☆