Based On Actual Events And Terrible Decisions

We all make choices and decisions everyday, whether we want to or not. We try to make the right decisions but sometimes they just don’t turn out that way. If you have a family and kids you make decisions based on trying to give them the best life you can. Including giving them everything that they want that makes them happy. Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) made some bad choices and decisions about how to get his family the things they wanted but he couldn’t afford. He figured out how to break through the roof of a McDonald’s, hiding out in the bathroom until the morning crew and manager arrived, then escorting the group politely into the freezer walk-in and robbing the store of all it’s cash.

He became very successful at robbing McDonald’s ultimately robbing an estimated 45-60 stores and making his family happy in the process, buying them everything that they wanted. He was dubbed “The Roofman” by the police and evaded capture until he got greedy and attempted to rob two stores in the same area on the same day. He was sentenced to prison losing everything including his family, but cleverly escaped, ending up hiding out in a nearby Toys-R-Us in Charlotte, North Carolina. Leigh Moore (Kirsten Dunst), a divorcee with two daughters, works at the store and catches Jeffrey’s attention. Jeffrey bravely stalks her to the Church where she attends under the guise of donating to their annual Christmas toy drive, donating a bagful of toys stolen from the Toys-R-Us store.

They start to date and Jeffrey tries hard to conceal his real identity, going by the alias John Zorn. As their relationship grows stronger, Jeffrey tries to be the family man he couldn’t be with his real family. Making sure Leigh and her daughters have everything they want and need, trying to connect emotionally with them. Leigh isn’t just a love interest; she’s the mirror that reflects the man Jeffrey wants to be versus the one he’s become. Their growing relationship gives the film its heart, grounding the chase in something far more personal, redemption. Tatum and Dunst have a chemistry that feels honest and unforced, pulling you into moments that almost make you forget the man’s a wanted fugitive. There is a final scene between the two of them that is absolutely heartbreaking, capturing the real emotion between Jeffrey and Leigh.

Director Derek Cianfrance brilliantly contrasts Jeffrey’s calm domestic moments with the encroaching reality of his past catching up. Each scene in the bright, colorful toy aisles feels like a countdown, playful on the surface, tense underneath. You know it can’t last, but you still want it to. Jeffrey learns that freedom comes with a price, and the film dives deep into the psychological unraveling that follows. It’s fascinating watching a man so careful, so cunning, begin to lose control of the very plan that once defined him. You are instantly drawn into the psyche of Jeffrey Manchester, rooting for him even though you know he is a criminal. And that is thanks to Channing Tatum’s brilliant performance as Jeffrey, might be one of his best yet.

LaKeith Stanfield plays Steve, the loyal, resourceful, and compassionate best friend to Jeff Manchester, helping him with fake documents and support while risking his own freedom. Peter Dinklage plays Mitch, the observant and perhaps quirky store manager at the Toys-R-Us where Jeffrey hides out, developing a unique dynamic with Tatum’s character and Kirsten Dunst’s employee, offering a blend of comedy and drama in a role that highlights his versatility as an actor.

Roofman isn’t just a great true-crime story, it’s a moral puzzle wrapped in an unexpectedly emotional thriller. It reminds us that even when our intentions are good, our choices can define us in ways we never see coming.

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and

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Dog

Fly Me To The Moon

2023 Vertical Entertainment

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 59min

Action ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Thriller

Directed by: Damián Szifron

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo and Ralph Ineson.

“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than be loved for what I’m not”

Baltimore….New Year’s Eve…….a gunman kills 29 people sniper style. Eleanor Falco (Shailene Woodley) is a Baltimore Police Officer and responds to the scene. FBI Special Agent Lammark (Ben Mendelsohn) is chosen to lead the investigation into the mass murder. The next morning as he addresses the Police Department he happens to overhear Officer Falco and another officer talking about him and is surprised by what she said in response. He questions her about her comments and is surprised by her answers. Impressed with her he decides that he needs her on his special team and requests that she be allowed to be the liaison between him and the Police Department.

As they work together to track down the killer, Agent Lammark realizes that Officer Falco is a very bright and perceptive individual. Looking at her record he surmises that she is also very deeply disturbed and haunted by something in her past. And she might just be the only person that could get inside the head of the man they are searching for. Kind of like a modern day Clarice Starling from Silence Of The Lambs. They work together to hunt down the mass murderer with no clues and Officer Falco’s intuition, while they fight the bureaucratic need for a quick resolution to the city’s nightmarish scenario.

The Director Damián Szifron is a very successful Argentinian Film Director and he co-wrote this movie with Jonathon Wakeham. It is his first foray onto American Films with Vertical Entertainment picking up the movie in 2022 and changing the name from Misanthrope to To Catch A Killer. Shailene Woodley does an excellent job in this movie. I loved her character and the way she played the role. All the way through right up until the end, I was rooting for Shailene and Eleanor Falco. I am a Shailene Woodley fan, there is something different about her, the way she acts and approaches her roles.

Killer Heat was the most recent movie I saw and reviewed with her in it, liked her in that as well. HBO’s Big Little Lies was another good one she was in, as well as the Divergent series. Ben Mendelsohn also did a good job in this movie as The FBI lead man. I think they were both at the top of their game in this one. I loved the storyline as well. A mass murder with no clues, Officer Falco’s tortured psyche and intuition, the battle to find the murderer and the truth while trying to keep the bureaucrats at bay. The movie kind of flew under the radar before it landed on Netflix yesterday and is already Number one on The Netflix Top Ten Movies List.

I enjoyed it and I would watch it again……

And Yes….I recommend it.