Trashtacular

Tyler Perry’s Duplicity—now streaming on Amazon Prime Video—wants to be urgent, topical, and bracing. It arrives with all the signals of “serious intent”: brooding about justice, the jagged aftermath of police violence, and a pair of ambitious Black women set against a system that doesn’t budge for grief or outrage. There is the shape here of a vital film, but what actually transpires is a parade of perfunctory gestures and canned dramatics; it’s as if Perry had borrowed the scaffolding of a social thriller and was content to let it creak.

Dirty Angels, the cinematic masterpiece directed by Martin Campbell, featuring an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Eva Green, Ruby Rose, and Maria Bakalova. You would think with a lineup like that, we were about to experience a blockbuster renaissance. Instead, what we received is more akin to a late-night infomercial for a "bargain bin" action flick. As I settled in, I half-expected a free gift with my ticket purchase just for enduring this spectacular failure.