Bong-Joon Ho's MOTHER (2009)

A bit Twin Peaks and Hitchcock, but instead

Of hard-boiled gumshoes or the FBI,

Our sleuth is someone's mama. A girl's dead;

And all assume it's this poor, simple guy

Who's duped into confessing. But in fact

Did he commit the deed? His mom says no

And sets herself to keeping full, intact

Her baby's honor. No Miss Marple, though

Is she. Her sordid course through what occurred

A girl's last night is full of error and

Of churning images that soon are stirred

Into a muddy moral mess (on-brand

For Ho) shows off how Hye-Ja Kim can dance

Through any scene or mood, given the chance. 

Vince Gilligan's EL CAMINO (2019)

I'm broken really bad, so glad to see

These characters again, to see the rich

Imagined Albuquerque world, to be

Escaping with the man who just says "bitch!"

Yes, Cap'n Cook has come a long, weird way.

Each shot says something, often more than one

Idea comes through, and ev'ry flashback pays

Us off, like Bill and Ted placed Chekov's gun.

It's cinematic as the TV show

(And that's a lot); motifs of cars and bars

Remind us of the stakes and then, you know

Just look at all of Jesse Pinkman's scars!

It leaves us in a good place, yes, but then

I think I have to watch the show again. 

Elaine May's MIKEY AND NICKY (1976)

The squalor and the glamor of the day
In Philly of the '70s, behind
These faces! Watch as two such old friends play
Each other. Falk and Cassavetes wind
The viewer in their story, scene by scene
(And not one wasted, nor is one detail!)
Is captivating. Both are at their keen
And subtle best, as they chat, laugh and flail
In bitter combat. But it's Carol Grace,
A side piece, treated badly, whom I'll keep
In memory the most, I think. Her space
And how she's treated -- no, I will not weep
But cheer. Elaine May grab me any night
And show me what she likes. I'll never fight.

Sidney Lumet's DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)

Prince Humperdinck near steals the whole freak show,
A feat, that, for the ages, next to Al
Pacino and his sweat-hair and, you know,
The hostage thing. And then let's talk of Sal,
Few words but each one counts. Amazingly,
This film feels timeless, from its true crime plot,
To how its crowd scenes scarce contain the glee
The extras felt, to how the cops get hot.
A cell phone wouldn't change much, the conceit
That one could turn to crime to bring about
The changes one most needs... Today would greet
This tale with bullets sooner, though. The shout
For Sonny still feels timely, anyway.
But Hollywood, please don't remake this Day.

George Clooney's SUBURBICON (2017)

The ticky-tacky's thick, the satire's dark,
Production values through the roof. It's all
So on the nose, unsubtle; ev'ry mark
Of '50s archetypes is made. I'd call
Director Clooney out for too much try,
But it all kind of works. Against a real
And ugly integration fable, why,
A standard Cohen Brothers caper reel
Is just the thing, I guess? Not all the crime
Is collared white, but all the bad guys are,
While lily-perfect neighbors spend their time
Harassing black newcomers who have marred
Their fantasy. A movie for our age
Pretends to history, our dumbest stage.