two movies about property disputes...
Tread (2019) ****
Doc about a deranged man who built a tank and attacked his hometown of Granby, Colorado because of a land dispute. Most of it is a slow build to the dramatic event showing how the man unravels. At first you're on his side until you realize he's just nuts. It helps that he made a bunch of audio recordings of everything he was thinking and doing. And then the tank comes out and wow - the guy knew how to build a tank.
Leviathan (2014) ***
Starts out as a Russian legal drama, then turns into a bleak domestic drama, and everyone is drunk all the time. Apparently, the story was inspired by the events in Tread (2019), although the only thing they have in common is a land dispute.
and two movies about arms dealers...
Lord of War (2005) ***
A great example of why narration is bad. There are some good moments throughout the film, but the story starts and stops as it spends far too much time with Cage explaining how he conducts his arms deals instead of developing the characters and relationships so we'll care about what happens. You certainly don't feel sorry for the much-deserving Cage when things go south. Perhaps instead of explaining to the audience, he explained it to another character? Perhaps a more satirical approach would have helped? It leans that way but doesn't go far enough. Ethan Hawke is barely in the film, Ian Holm is wasted, but Jared Leto is pretty good.
The Night Manager (2016) ****
Mini-series based on a John Le Carre book about a spy gaining an arms dealer's trust and infiltrating his operation. As usual, Le Carre's realism offers an antidote to the James Bond fantasy of spycraft, and this stands in contrast to the Daniel Craig films. There's great work from Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, a forever pregnant Olivia Coleman, and the captivating Elizabeth Debicki. The mini-series treatment keeps the story from being a convoluted mess, although it still feels long and yet wraps up far too succinctly and easily.
The Night Manager