A Touch of Sin (2013)
This medley of vignettes highlights the underbelly of contemporary Chinese society.
A billion people live in China, but the news is so carefully controlled by the state most outsiders have no clue what is happening there. It’s both disturbing and reassuring they have as many psychopaths and murderers as the West.
In America, every salacious story is destined to become fodder for a film adaptation. Based on recent headline grabbing murderers in China, this movie indicates the fascination with evil and violent criminals is universal. For better or worse, it’s a natural part of humanity; everyone has a touch of sin.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)
Jack (Simon Pegg) is a former author of children’s books whose career change to crime novelist provokes an unhealthy obsession with murder.
Pegg is a talented actor with high profile roles in Spaced, the Mission: Impossible franchise, the Star Trek franchise, and a series of films with Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Unfortunately, extreme paranoia doesn’t suit him and this film is a blemish on his resumè.
Based on a minor novel by Bruce Robinson, who directed the fantastic Withnail and I (1987), this is more style than substance and plays like a shadow of The Shining (1980).