Film and television recommendations

■ “MASTER MIND”
A robbery that got out of control
★★★ 1/2

Available in: Cinemas
Duration: 110 minutes
Genre: Drama/comedy

The film takes place in the 1970s and focuses on JB Mooney (played by Josh O’Connor), an unemployed man who settles with his family – wife and children – in a quiet town in Massachusetts. An art fanatic, he plans an elaborate theft of paintings by artist Arthur Dove, considered a pioneer of American abstract art.
Thinking that he has an infallible master plan for a theft of this dimension, the character will soon discover the serious mistake he made, with accomplices included.
“Mastermind” is the eighth film by Kelly Reichardt, an American director and screenwriter who stands out within independent cinema for her look and characteristic seal.
“I suppose that when writing the script for Mastermind I thought a little about the novels of the French writer Georges Simenon, which have that feeling of doom hovering over them. I always knew that it would not be a caper film, one of those films where a group of criminals plans a robbery down to the last detail, but a story where the protagonist loses control of everything around him, his life included,” said the filmmaker in an interview with Página 12.
Distributed by MUBI, the film premiered this week in local theaters and after spending several weeks on the big screen, it will go to streaming.

■ “FRANKIE AND THE MONSTERS”
Adventure with learning
★★★

Available in: Cinemas
Duration: 92 minutes
Genre: Animation-Adventure

Also known by its English title, “Stitch Head” and based on the book of the same name by British author, Guy Bass, the film tells the story of Frankie, the first and forgotten creation of a mad scientist at Groteskew Castle. Frankie takes care of the other monsters there, but his life takes a completely different turn when Fulbert Freakfinder, owner of a freak circus, comes to town looking for a new attraction to revive his show. Promising fame and fortune, the man tempts the protagonist to leave his world of hiding to venture abroad.

With the voices of Asa Butterfield (“Sex Education”), Joel Fry, Alison Steadman and Rob Brydon, the film takes up the concepts already seen in “Frankenstein” and other modern adaptations such as the one Tim Burton made with “Frankenweenie” in 2012, but with its own imprint.

“Frankie and the Monsters” raises the concept already worked on many times that the outside is not always what it seems and seeks to leave this teaching in the target audience: children. It is a production that talks about friendship, but also about internal conflicts and the decisions we must make in life.
Written and directed by Steve Hudson, the film was animated by Pete Williamson.

■ 27 NIGHTS
Between lucidity and madness
★★★★

Available in: Netflix
Duration: 1 hour 47 minutes
Genre: Comedy drama

Daniel Hendler returns to directing and also gets in front of the camera in “27 Nights”, a film that combines drama, mystery and social criticism in equal parts. Based on the novel of the same name by Natalia Zito and inspired by real events, the story delves into the limits between lucidity and madness, and into the family tensions that can be unleashed when money and control become protagonists.

The film, which had its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival – where it opened the 73rd edition as part of the Official Competition – is produced by Santiago Miter and Agustina Llambi Campbell, responsible for La Unión de los Ríos, the label behind notable local productions.

Marilú Marini masterfully plays Martha Hoffman, an eccentric and wealthy 83-year-old woman admitted to a psychiatric clinic by decision of her daughters, who claim that she suffers from dementia. But nothing is as clear as it seems: the judicial expert Casares, played by Hendler himself, must determine if Martha is really sick or if, in reality, she has chosen to live with absolute freedom.

With a cast that includes Humberto Tortonese, Julieta Zylberberg, Paula Grinszpan and Carla Peterson, the film is a new bet for local cinema.

■ “CRIME OF A DYNASTY: THE MURDAUGH CASE”
Rags in the sun
★★★ 1/2

Available on: Disney+
Duration: 51 minutes per episode
Genre: True crime

Disney+ adds to its catalog a new series based on one of the most talked about criminal cases in recent years in the United States: that of the Murdaugh family. “Crime of a Dynasty: The Murdaugh Affair” delves into the heart of a powerful family of South Carolina lawyers whose life of privilege and apparent perfection comes crashing down after a tragic accident.

Alex and Maggie Murdaugh (Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette, respectively) are the pillars of an influential clan, respected and feared in equal parts. But when his son Paul (Johnny Berchtold) is involved in an accident on a boat, secrets, lies and betrayals begin to come to light that will put the entire family in check.
The series, which premieres a new episode every Wednesday, combines judicial drama, family intrigue and the magnetism of “true crime.” With a careful setting and a solid cast, it manages to capture the collapse of a family trapped between power and corruption.

Inspired by the popular Murdaugh Murders podcast, this fiction offers a disturbing look at how ambition, money and appearances can become the worst enemies within a dynasty that believed it had everything.