Shailene Woodley plays a police officer with a tortured past in To Catch a Killer. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment
Shailene Woodley plays a police officer with a tortured past in To Catch a Killer. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment
Shailene Woodley plays a police officer with a tortured past in To Catch a Killer. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment
Shailene Woodley plays a police officer with a tortured past in To Catch a Killer. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment

To Catch A Killer review: A bloated and predictable waste of talent


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To Catch A Killer begins in a brutal but gripping fashion.

As the city of Baltimore celebrates the start of the New Year, an unseen sniper shoots and kills 29 of its residents, using the exploding fireworks as cover. Young police officer Eleanor Falco (Shailene Woodley) manages to track down where the bullets are coming from, only for the killer to leave and then blow up the apartment before she can catch him.

Falco’s efforts are enough to impress the FBI’s chief investigator Geoffrey Lammark (Ben Mendelsohn), who recruits her to help him and his team with the nationwide manhunt. But as the serial killer becomes more and more dangerous, the pair struggle to find him. Their efforts are further complicated by the FBI’s repeated efforts to keep the public and media happy. But Falco’s past trauma might just be the key to finding the killer and bringing him to justice.

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Argentinian director Damian Szifron — whose film Wild Tales and TV show Los Simuladores were both hugely popular in his home country — opens To Catch A Killer off with a style and excitement that suggest the crime thriller is in good hands. Set to a pounding score, each death from the sniper is shot in a way that leaves viewers guessing as to who is going to die next. Later scenes feel just as nerve-racking.

Alongside cinematographer Javier Julia, Szifron also creates a haunting and atmospheric look that feels similar to the likes of Zodiac and Collateral, while its use of snow adds a beauty the makes the film even more visually attractive.

Unfortunately, To Catch A Killer doesn’t have the script — and tries to include way too much thematic substance — to match Szifron and Julia’s impressive visuals.

After its captivating opening act, it quickly starts to lose steam as it alludes to Falco’s troubled past without giving viewers enough to relate to. Woodley tries her best with the flat character, but the material doesn’t allow her to really make an impression.

Instead, Szifron and Jonathan Wakeham’s script is too interested in attacking everything from the local police, the FBI, CNN and the rest of the media, to the NRA, prescription drugs and capitalism. While there’s the odd punch and line of dialogue that lands, most of its critiques feel like the sort of half-baked ramblings you’ll find on an internet forum.

To be fair to Szifron, To Catch A Killer does make a clear attempt to tell a modern serial killer story. Ralph Ineson’s Dean Possey, the trained marksman who goes on numerous murderous rampages, is a disenfranchised loner looking to leave his mark after a lifetime of alienation.

In fact, Szifron actually does too good a job of depicting such a character and recreating how the media would showcase his actions. Considering that the news is regularly filled with stories of such tragedies, To Catch A Killer quickly begins to feel joyless, depressing and even a challenge to watch. Especially because the script doesn’t have anything insightful or even thought-provoking to say on the matter.

Szifron, however, repeatedly saves the film from these issues. Every time it feels as though it’s about to succumb to tedium, he deploys a cinematic flourish or storytelling device to hook viewers back in again. Plus, each of its set pieces feel tense and compelling in places, and it also helps that it has actors of the calibre of Woodley and Mendelsohn to elevate the mediocre material.

But To Catch A Killer ultimately unravels with its woeful final act. Not only does it slow the pace of the film down completely, but it tries to over explain its characters’ motivations and plot. As a result, any minor goodwill that you have for To Catch A Killer dissipates as it trudges towards its predictable ending that’s more likely to leave you incensed than satisfied.

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

HIJRA

Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy

Director: Shahad Ameen

Rating: 3/5

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

Rating: 4/5

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The biog

DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 171 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP) 151
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP) 136
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) 107
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 83
6. Sergio Perez (Force India) 50
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 45
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India) 39
9. Carlos Sainz (Torro Rosso) 29
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) 22

Results:

First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15

Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24

Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO

Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)

Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)

Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What sanctions would be reimposed?

Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:

  • An arms embargo
  • A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
  • A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
  • A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
  • Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Ferrari
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Scorecard:

England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)

South Africa 361

England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining

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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

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Transmission: 10-speed automatic

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Updated: April 26, 2023, 4:03 PM`