2018 SLEEPERS
                                                         Part 6


Ok, this is the last bunch of sleepers from 2018. And there are some really good ones!
The Guilty is a Danish thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The entire movie is shot in a 911-type call center and focuses on the policeman who receives the call and tries to act on it in time. And it suddenly dawns on him that at least one caller is not a stranger. I was never sure what would happen- the formula for a good thriller! 
Puzzle is one of those good little movies I love. Kelly MacDonald is just wonderful as the bored housewife who discovers a real talent, and tries to keep it a secret. She has a the ability to assemble jigsaw puzzles correctly and quickly. Lo and behold, there’s a contest for that sort of thing. (This is America, after all). Answering an ad, she pairs up with a man with a completely different background. They are really good  together and enter a national contest. She finally confesses her secret talent to her family and they are stunned by this changed woman. 
Private Life is about a middle-aged couple trying desperately to have a child. As they seem to try everything, we hope something will work. It seems that most things don’t. Paul Giametti and Kathryn Hahn are the hopeful parents-to-be. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? You won’t find out here.
Widows is the female version of all those heist movies, such as the Ocean’s group. Viola Davis leads an unlikely group of women whose husbands have either been killed or sent to prison. Their missing husbands owe the mob a truckload of money and the bad guys expect the women to pay it back. They stumble upon a heist plan hatched by one of the husbands and decide to go for it. Do they make it? Is this a Hollywood film? But there are some delicious twists and turns getting there. A fun movie!
From the Japanese anime tradition  comes the fanciful, engaging Mary And The Witches’ Flower. Not quite up to the splendid films of Hayao Miyazaki (Kiki’s Delivery Service,eg), it is still an enchanting journey with exquisite animation. Mary accidently becomes a witch and finds her red hair to be a plus instead of a detriment. Her adventures at the witches’ academy and beyond are just plain fun!
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Only the last one is suitable for children.