Fatale

While it's not a good movie, this moody psychological thriller is a good watch -- especially with friends. The storyline keeps you guessing ... partly because some of the characters' decisions don't make a whole lot of sense, but it's still fun. Swank plays her part with a poker face: You can't tell whether Det. Quinlan is messing with Derrick but truly trying to help him or undermining him and trying to hurt him. What is clear is that Quinlan is playing a game of cat and mouse with Derrick. Like many noir detectives before her, she's hard boiled -- and while it's tough to tell whether she's the villain, she's definitely the antagonist.

While aspirational Black characters are always welcome, the movie doesn't escape stereotypes. The movie signals Derrick's success in cliched, materialistic ways: His clients are pro athletes, he drives a Lamborghini, and his wife looks like a model (in real life, Damaris Lewis was a model before turning to acting). And his Mullholland Drive home is so beautiful that it's a distraction -- it's easy to get lost in the set design and lose the story. But that's probably more of a problem for adults. For teens, Fatale provides the same psychological reward as a horror film: It puts viewers in the role of the wiser friend, shouting at the screen, "No! Don't go there! What are you doing?" Yes, there are holes in the reasoning, but this isn't a dumb film.