One is a directorial debut for music-video director Grant Singer, while the second is the latest from Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptations, both on Netflix.

Reptile (Netflix USA) - This is set up to be done on the lines of a neo-noir mystery thriller that true crime aficionados would take to like fish to water. You have Benicio del Toro playing your primary law enforcer, and he’s not mumbling for much of the film - plus, there’s Alicia Silverstone and Justin Timberlake. It's a cast you’d think would have the odds in their favor to keep this watchable. At two hours and 15 minutes, you set yourself up to provide an exciting screenplay to maintain investment and interest. Unfortunately, this is precisely what Reptile fails to do. The pre-title scenes are competent enough, establishing the Justin Timberlake character and his girlfriend - that there’s something off between the two, though that isn’t made very clear and more hinted at.

Post-title, we’re introduced to the characters portrayed by Benicio del Toro and Alicia Silverstone, where they’re gathering with friends at a bar. It’s made clear that as a detective in Scarborough Homicide, del Toro’s character is aching for something better. And when he’s called to a Crime scene, where Justin’s girlfriend has been brutally murdered, we know a cat-and-mouse scenario between Del Toro and Timberlake will ensue. A host of likely suspects are provided, and there’s a languid tone to the proceedings, as befits the Del Toro character. There’s nothing wrong with how the narrative flows, and you know Red herrings will be thrown our way to keep us on our toes. What I did find disappointing here was how we never entirely invested in any of the main protagonists. As a result, this goes on for much longer than necessary.

The Swan (Netflix USA) - Here is the second of four Roald Dahl adaptations created by Wes Anderson for the streaming platform. If the first, Henry Sugar, ran for a brief 40 minutes, don’t be surprised that this second one does not even reach the 20-minute mark. Given the snug fit between Anderson and Dahl’s work, it doesn’t matter if things are kept trim, and no stretching is noticeable. The idea here was evidently to match the storybook form of Anderson’s directing style to the natural but imbued with magical realism narratives of Dahl. Given that Dahl is so distinctly English, it’s also nice to note that during an American production, Anderson opts to use a core cast populated by the very best of British actors. 

Here, it’s relative newbie Rupert Friend who takes over the narration, and he does such an admirable job that I dare you to rewatch The Swan with your eyes closed and listen to how effective Friend is in providing the story. He even changes his voice to read out the lines said by the different boys in the story. It’s a timeless short story about bullying, respect for Nature and the animal kingdom, and transcendence - even at a tender age. It’s about a young boy learning an important but bitter lesson about life and why the misery experienced as a child can mark you for the rest of your days. It is worth noting that in less than 20 minutes, Anderson makes so much more of an impression and has something to say over the two hours it takes Singer to complete his ‘thriller.’