The Night Agent is a 10-episode series streaming on Netflix about an American government conspiracy. The story follows an FBI agent who found himself at the right place at the right time, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) was on a train when he discovered a bomb. His ability to neutralize the threat and drastically reduce the number of casualties caused him to get a promotion. Because of his actions, he became the agent that picks up the phone of an emergency FBI line. A phone that normally never rings until Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan)  is on the other end. The both of them find themselves so deep in a conspiracy that it reaches up into the Oval Office. 

Peter is someone who religiously does everything by the book, with hopes of helping him escape the tainted past of his father. While Rose has no problem bending the rules in order for her to survive. They both have to find a way to compromise if they wish to stay alive. 

Interpretation 

The show had a great pace the whole way through as the audience slowly unravels the truth behind what is going on in the White House. The depth of the characters made it hard to assume what would happen next and who you could trust. The viewers had no choice but to become their own detectives throughout Night Agent. The series showed a multitude of thrilling scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. This is a series for those who love conspiracy theories. Also, a show made for the people who loved the Jason Bourne series.  I would definitely recommend The Night Agent as a great short show to watch, especially since it’s already been renewed for another season. 

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Taylor Sheridan is the director of the 2017 criminal thriller movie Wind River. The story of Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a game tracker who finds the death of Natalie (Kelsey Asbille), a young Native American woman, in the middle of the Wyoming wilderness, which is set in the Wind River Indian Reservation. Cory teams up with inexperienced FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to find the killer when she is assigned to look into the case.

The two become embroiled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the murderer as they investigate the case further and uncover a web of corruption and secrets within the reservation. They must also confront their internal demons and the trauma they have endured in the past as they travel. This story shines a light on the unquantifiable number of Native American women who don’t get the proper attention regarding missing person cases. Along with one heartbreaking example of what could happen. An example that is based on a true story. 

Interpretation

The movie Wind River tells a compelling tale about justice, retaliation, and the extent people will go to protect those they love. It is dramatic, emotional, and powerful. The film gives Cory a chance at redemption for what happened in his own life by helping find out who killed Natalie. This is where the emotional cord is and the writers do an amazing job of tugging at it. Much like Prisoners, the story shows what someone is willing to do for family. It was a real tearjerker, but still a movie I’d recommend to someone that wants to go through a world wind.  

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The beginning starts with an interesting concept. Batman (Robert Pattinson) is narrating what seems to be his journal of the journey of being Batman. It was interesting to get this perspective of Batman and how he viewed that he felt he wasn’t truly changing the city and insight into what the Bat signal meant to him and the city. The world-building in the movie was incredible and I found that most of the exposition was delivered properly and seemed organic to the flow of the story. Through his journal it was clear he has been batman for a while but he’s still just starting and is getting the hang of it. By the end of the first segment of the movie (which I would mark as the subway fight scene), I knew that we would have a good time with this story. The death of the mayor set the tone for the type of Batman movie that we are going to get. It’s gonna get gruesome and bloody and real. This was demonstrated from the get-go. 

I love the fact that it is a good ole fashion detective story. The riddler (Paul Dano) is proven to be a formidable antagonist from the beginning. I didn’t find him to be distant from Batman and be the type of behind-the-scenes antagonist. His presence was very much felt. The riddles of course were good, but I think they were all solved too easily. I was tryna figure them out too but Batman beat me every time. I’m just gonna chalk it up to him just being Batman.

The first interaction between Bruce and Alfred (Andy Serkis) was one I wasn’t particularly fond of. I found Bruce to be acting like an emo kid acting out toward Alfred. He seemed so immature it slightly turned me off from the character. After a while however, as more dimensions of him started to get exposed I began to be more empathetic. A great scene to expand this point would be when Batman was at the mayor’s crime scene and he’s on his way out. On his way out he saw the son of the mayor sitting down distraught because he was the one who found his father murdered. Bruce shined over Batman at that moment as Bruce stood there staring at the kid for longer than he was welcomed to. At that moment finding the killer became personal to him. The whole reason he became Batman is to stop people from doing the type of thing that happened to him when he was younger. Also, earlier in that scene Batman is walking through the crowd of officers on his way to the crime scene. Before he gets to the scene an officer stops him from entering. At this moment I saw Batman look almost vulnerable. It was weird, but I could see that side of him for a second. Something that we see later on in the film when Bruce is confronting Alfred about the news of his father. This is a new and necessary side of Batman and Bruce Wayne. As far as a logical plot goes it had good pacing and I found it to be a masterclass in an escalating plot. As more time went on the stakes were rising. The more we learned about the corruption of Gotham the more people were impacted by the new knowledge. The antagonist (Riddler) is similar to Joker from the Dark Knight in the sense that his actions, however bad, helped Batman clear up the streets of Gotham. The big difference would be the end plan of flooding Gotham this seemed a little incoherent in relation to his main goal of exposing all lies of Gotham. 

Now the relationship between the Bat and the Cat (Zoë Kravitz) was a big highlight of the movie for me. Anytime they shared the screen it was amazing. I love how the Cat was her own character that shared goals with the Bat at times but when she didn’t she would abandon him and go her own way without a second thought. The scene of the Cat explaining her entire background was a bit of a problem for me because there are other ways to do that but it was the only scene between them that wasn’t as good so I’ll give it a pass.  It seemed they gave the Cat a type of arc when she didn’t kill Falcone but it wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been. If there was a moment earlier in the film where the Cat killed someone without hesitation in the name of Justice and through the interactions with the Bat she then didn’t with Falcone then her arc would’ve been more felt by the audience. 

 Gordon’s (Jeffrey Wright) and Batman’s relationship was also greatly depicted in the movie. I like that it was like they only had each other to make it through the riddles. Gordon can’t trust anyone in the Police department and Batman only has a relationship with Gordan out of all of the cops. It was a kind of duo cop team that occasionally supplied some good comedy.

I wish that they introduced the court of owls into the conspiracy of Gotham. I think it would’ve been nice and a good way to set up conflict for the next Batman film. I like where the characters left off specifically Batman and Catwoman. We don’t know what Alfred’s status is but it’s 100% likely that he’ll make it out of the hospital fine. We also didn’t get a glimpse of the situation with Gordon, normally we would’ve gotten a small scene where he’s appointed as the commissioner but I guess it’s too early in their journeys. Even the Riddler had a somewhat final destination going to prison seemed like that’s it for him, for now. Then they did something interesting when they introduced what I think might be Joker. It’s impossible to be sure but it’s likely to be him. He said the word “clown” and began laughing hysterically with Riddler. The arc of Batman was well done. He now sees the value of his presence in Gotham and now knows that he can make a difference in the city.

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A married couple moves out of the city to start their new life together. This new beginning is halted after Simon (Jason Bateman) runs into an old friend from high school, Gordo (Joel Edgerton). After meeting with Gordo they begin to receive several gifts from him. He even comes by the house when Simon is not home and spends time with Robyn (Rebecca Hall). Robyn enjoys him but Simon still sees the same guy from high school, “Gordo the Weirdo.”After a while, Simon severs ties with Gordo. They later found out that many of the things that Gordo said was a lie and they would blame Gordo for their missing dog. Simon is set in his ways about how he feels toward Gordo while Robyn is far more leaning. 

This film follows one of the most sadistic revenge stories I have ever seen unravel in my life. The movie has a slow burn that has a big payoff at the end. 

Interpretation 

This movie brings up the issues we have with our past and how it’s not so easy to leave the past in the past. Joel Edgerton writes four separate cases of the past catching up with the characters. The first one is Robyn and her addiction to pills. A habit she was able to kick until the interactions with Gordo cause her to fall back into it. Simon thought that since they moved away all their old problems would be left there, but geography doesn’t change much.

Then there is Simon and the fact that he continues to be a bully. It started when he was younger towards kids like Gordo and now when he’s older it’s still whatever Simon says goes. Again, the past catches up with Simon when he tells fake stories about someone. He did it first when he was younger and lied about Gordo then did it again with a coworker in order to get a promotion. These two failing to face their past cost them both tremendously. I believe that is the writer trying to say that we need to confront our past before it comes back to haunt us. Robyn was right to get Simon to apologize to Gordo and make amends for the past.

Finally, there is Gordo himself and his inability to let go of what Simon did to him when he was younger. Gordo is relentless and sadistic in his opportunity for revenge. His actions are his way of making up for the past. 

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It all begins with a bad miracle. Money is falling from the sky, unfortunately, it’s falling at such a rate that it can kill someone. And that’s exactly what we see happen to Otis Haywood (Keith David). Otis is the owner of a ranch in California, where they breed horses for show business. After his death, the family business is left to Oj (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer). We faze forward 6 months after his death where we see Oj is struggling to keep the business afloat. His sister Em has a knack for show business but she tends to promote her things alongside the family business (something Oj dislikes). A job opportunity that they desperately need has fallen between their fingers. This causes Oj to go to someone he’s done business with in the past, Jupe (Steven Yeun). Jupe ends up describing the chaotic situation of a monkey going nuts and killing several people on the set of a show called Ricky. A show where Jupe was the star as a kid. Jupe describes the event to Oj and Em but he does it with a sparkle in his eye. He speaks about it not from a place of trauma but as if he were watching a spectacle, something to marvel at. 

When back at the ranch one of the horses, Ghost, breaks out. Oj follows him and thinks he sees some sort of flying saucer. As he viewed the saucer the power went out in the house where Em was. Not only were plugged-in things powered off but so were battery-using devices. Oj tells his sister what he believes he saw and they use this as an opportunity to save the ranch. If they can collect solid footage of proof that there’s alien life they would be able to make a fortune. 

This brings them to Fry’s, which is based on a true store that closed down. While there, they met a man named Angel who they need to set up the cameras they bought. Angel (Brandon Perea) suspects what they are doing and wants to be involved. After it’s set up they have a second encounter with the UFO. They, unfortunately, fail to capture the footage due to a praying mantis covering the camera. Oddly the mantis immediately leaves after the ship is no longer visible. Because of this, they decide they need help from someone else to capture “The Impossible Shot.” So, they go to Antlers (Michael Wincott), who was the director for the same job opportunity that they had early and failed on. Antlers turn it down by saying it’s impossible to get the impossible shot. 

Jupe puts on a show for the community where he shows them that he’s able to tame the flying saucer. This performance goes bad as we see a group of people get swallowed up by the UFO. The disappearance of all those people eventually gets news coverage and gets Antler’s attention. He decides to join them and capture the impossible shot. Oj, Em, Antlers, and Angel come up with a plan to draw out the saucer by using the fact that it’s drawn to eyes looking at it. They begin to execute their plan when a TMZ reporter gets in the middle of it. Forced to adjust Antler opts to sacrifice himself to get that impossible shot. Em can draw the creature to a well that takes photos and she gets the perfect shot. 

Interpretation 

This film demonstrates multiple examples of people doing everything they can to capture a spectacle. The prime example of this would be Oj and Em willing to risk their lives to capture solid proof of alien life on Earth. They follow this to a lesser degree than the other examples because Em eventually says that their life is not worth it and that they should give up. The only reason they continue is because Oj is unwilling to leave the horses to die. On top of Oj and Em, there is Jupe. Someone who ended up dying because he wanted to put on a show for the locals. However, he did not fully understand the animal that he was dealing with and that ignorance cost him his life. There was also Antlers and the TMZ reporter who died trying to get the perfect shot of the UFO. All these people had put capturing a moment ahead of their own lives. I believe this could be Jordan Peele’s way of highlighting our society’s need to capture a moment rather than live in it. In some of these cases, they lost their lives but in reality, you lose the opportunity to live in the moment by focusing on capturing it. 

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