The Little Things (2021)

Clashes between a Kern County deputy and a Los Angeles detective occur during the investigation of a serial killer.

IMDb

IMDb Director, Writer: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, Rami Malek

This ought to be good. 🍿
I can hardly wait.

Sounds pretty promising...

Not bad. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen a decent serial killer flick. Anyone got any solid recommendations before this one actually hits theaters?

John Lee Hancock's film cribs a lot from Se7en " and " Manhunter,

finally—after finally getting through The Gentlemen—I am absolutely hitting the theater tomorrow for this one!!

Noah Roberts46 said:Not bad. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen a decent serial killer flick. Anyone got any solid recommendations before this one actually hits theaters?

I just finished watching the Korean classic Memories of Murder, and man, I'm craving something newer with that same heavy atmosphere.

Richard Wilson4 said:I just finished watching the Korean classic Memories of Murder, and man, I'm craving something newer with that same heavy atmosphere.

Honestly, this one was totally alright for me lately.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7711170/?ref_=nm_knf_i3

Brenda Parker5 said:Honestly, this one was totally alright for me lately.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7711170/?ref_=nm_knf_i3

Thanks for the tip, but that’s basically just a horror movie to me.

I'm looking for a serial killer vibe set in some small town, where a big-city detective rolls in to help the locals.

Give me something totally cliché, honestly, as long as the atmosphere is spot on.

Richard Wilson4 said:Thanks for the tip, but that’s basically just a horror movie to me.

I'm looking for a serial killer vibe set in some small town, where a big-city detective rolls in to help the locals.

Give me something totally cliché, honestly, as long as the atmosphere is spot on.

It isn't exactly recent, but check this out: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0228786/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_55

Jack Murphy5 said:It isn't exactly recent, but check this out: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0228786/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_55

Yeah, something like that.

Honestly, I have no clue why I never actually sat down to watch it.

Though, I think I'd prefer something set down in the USA.

The movie isn't anything special, I guess. If it weren't for Jared Leto, I probably would have given it a 5.5/10, but since Leto is great and basically saves the whole thing during his rare appearances, maybe it's a 6.5/10.

I couldn't agree more.

I loved it. It checked every single box for me. Honestly, it’s the best thing I’ve seen in theaters all season. 🍿

Supposedly, they were working off some thirty-year-old script they were too cheap to actually update. Then, halfway through production, they realized they’d totally botched it, so the movie just ended up as a January release during the COVID crisis—absolute bottom-of-the-barrel timing for any film. Between a lackluster cast and some seriously muddled directing, you end up with this hollow, mindless cat-and-mouse game between the cops and a serial killer. It could have been a decent rip-off of Seven.

The production design is just a bunch of old cars and a few pagers in a pathetic attempt to make it feel like the nineties. The special effects? Total garbage. You can clearly see where they botched the green screen several times. But the absolute worst part is the random cutting in scenes that are supposed to be tense; it just leaves the viewer confused. Honestly, those cuts mostly just serve to hide the fact that a sixty-year-old Denzel Washington can't exactly be scaling rooftops or coordinating things without a smartphone.

The cast had potential, but they could've been better or at least better directed. Rami Malek—or whatever his name is—just doesn't sell me as a detective at all. To be honest, I think he and Leto should've just swapped roles. 🤷
The plot itself is just meh. There isn't a single thing here you haven't seen in a thousand other thrillers. And the characters? They aren't exactly acting like geniuses.

So, all in all, you can safely skip this one. You're much better off watching Insomnia, Crimson River, Seven, Manhunter, Nightcrawler, or the Mindhunter series instead.

The atmosphere in this flick is spot on. Leto is great, and Denzel holds his own, though I’ll admit I have some hang-ups with Rami Malek—he just looks like a cartoon character to me. The directing felt a bit messy in places. All things considered, it's worth a watch. 6.5/10.

Well, I'm not exactly a huge fan of Leto, but I think I'll give it a watch since it's already downloaded 👍

This movie was just fine for a boring afternoon. Honestly, Rami Malek is a total miscast; his performance felt completely unconvincing to me. Leto is great, though, and Denzel Washington just did his usual routine. The movie itself feels a bit messy, almost like the scenes were thrown together without any real sense of flow... I don't know. It’s not unwatchable, but I definitely expected more.

I honestly don't get why some critics are trying to draw these comparisons to Seven. Like, seriously? Sure, the movie is a complete mess—it's as if they had three different scripts floating around, threw them all into a blender, and hoped for the best. And that final act? It completely flies off the rails and makes zero sense.

There are some slight similarities in terms of theme and that final sequence... but this is a much weaker film compared to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

A total disaster 👎
Rating: 2/10