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‘Little Things’ a procedural throwback, plus a ‘Wandavision’ check-in

by TYLER WILSON/Coeur Voice contributor
| February 6, 2021 1:00 AM

After a long run of movies in the 90s inspired by the successes of “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Seven,” the “cops vs. serial killer” has more or less transitioned to television over the past two decades.

The new Denzel Washington procedural, “The Little Things” is a relic of “Seven” era, for better or worse. Set in the 90s and working with a script partially conceived at that time, the film takes every opportunity to remind audiences of that decade’s landmark psychological-thrillers.

Washington plays Joe Deacon, a former LAPD detective now working as a small town sheriff deputy after a case-related medical breakdown. A serial killer is on the loose in L.A. though, and hotshot detective Jim Baxter (Rami Malek) ropes Deacon into the investigation (Could the new murders be related to one of Deacon’s most haunting cold cases?).

“The Little Things,” written and directed by journeyman filmmaker John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “The Founder”), eventually introduces a creepy suspect in the form of Jared Leto, who once again decides to make big, distracting, capital-A-acting choices here. It’s not as over-the-top as his embarrassing take as The Joker in “Suicide Squad,” but it’s probably only a few misplaced tattoos away from being there.

Leto’s creep stands in contrast to Washington’s more stoic performance, and audiences will likely be divided on whatever the heck Rami Malek is trying to do as the stiff-jawed, haunted detective.

Many of the procedural elements deliver, and Washington is the kind of performer that can elevate everything. The climax, which attempts to connect Deacon and Baxter’s inner demons, doesn’t quite land as well as Hancock clearly intends. Their working relationship needs more time to unspool, and the film takes too much time bringing the characters together.

“The Little Things” is streaming for 31 days on HBO Max as well as playing in theaters (including the Hayden Cinema).

“Wandavision” slowly unspools into an essential Marvel story

As the first Marvel Cinematic Universe-set limited series on Disney Plus, “Wandavision” arrived with high expectations. The premise, however, seemed deliberately smaller and quirkier than the usual MCU offering.

The first three episodes depict Wanda a.k.a Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living an idyllic domestic life in a small town. Each episode takes on the visual style and tropes of a generational sitcom, with the first two episodes staged in black-and-white and all three featuring an overbearing laugh track as was common for sitcoms in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

There have been hints of the larger mystery, with Wanda noticing strange behavior, subterranean “beekeepers” and a friendly neighbor who suddenly mentions the Avengers supervillain Ultron.

The sitcom tropes allow for some delightful moments between Olsen and Bettany, and the teases to the larger mystery have been intriguing enough to maintain the show’s cliffhanger momentum. Episode four, set largely “outside” the sitcom style, unlocks the story in a way that will rehook anybody feeling like the series was taking too long to become a proper Marvel adventure. It even reintroduces some welcome MCU supporting players.

As the first Marvel property to continue the overall story after the “Endgame”-”Spider-Man: Far From Home” punch from 2019, the revelations of “Wandavision” also fill in some lingering questions from “The Snap” and its eventual resolution. As long as you’re not expecting sprawling superhero battles, “Wandavision” so far serves as a compelling palette cleanser before the mayhem inevitably returns.

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Tyler Wilson has been writing professionally about movies since 2000. He is the co-host of Old Millennials Remember Movies, available everywhere you find podcasts. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.