This was a film I’d hoped to see when I went up to New York for a little over a day in the fall but little did I know it was only doing a one-week engagement in theatres there, which ended the day before I went, so I did not get a legitimate chance to see it last year therefore it counts towards this year. What’s interesting about the film is that it’s not so much a whodunit as a cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement and known local unsavory elements. It’s a rather interestingly rendered tale that kept me engaged and doesn’t live down to critical bashing or up to my take on its trailer. It also has some pretty good performances by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain in perhaps her least seen and most differentiated performance from her breakout year and Chloë Grace Moretz who is building herself quite a résumé, one which by the time she comes of age will likely be incomparable. Her plotline is well-rendered albeit somewhat predictable. The film also has the first legitimate Best Song contender of the year (maybe more than one) in the end credits. 

6/10