Title: The Little Things
MPAA Rating: R
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins

What It Is: Joe Deacon (Washington) is a deputy with Kern County Sheriffs. He’s tasked with handing over evidence to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Office. While there Joe decides to work the case. The detective in charge, Jim Baxter (Malek), is apprehensive a first but when Joe shows that this old dog knows a few tricks. Perhaps they’ll find this serial killer, one responsible for the death of many women across California…or maybe the demons from Joe’s past will further his undoing.

What We Think: I mean where do I start with a mess like this. Have you ever seen a child finger painting and then your whole house is a total mess? The house in this scenario is the film itself and Hancock and crew are the preschoolers screwing it all up. Denzel and the cast Are doing good work but it’s all for naught at the script is a sluggish borefest. Jared Leto’s performance is a bit too overzealous. Like he’s in an entirely different film. For their parts, Malek and Washington are great together. They have chemistry together but it can’t save this lifeless piece.

Our Grade: D+, Warner Bros put this one out on HBO MAX, and honestly this was a premise that on paper sounded great. Three Oscar-winning actors working off of one and another. It deserved a better story with a far more satisfying ending. This is simply a case of a great idea with poor execution. The ending is almost an offensive pile of flaming garbage. Devoid of assertive action. Assertiveness I think was needed to make the whole script come together. I know for a fact that all involved can make something better than what we got here, sadly.