Nightcrawler - a review by Camilo Arenivar

Nightcrawler is one of the most highly rated/reviewed films of 2014 (94% on Rotten Tomatoes.com's Tomato meter) and it deserves all the fanfare. Forget that it failed miserably at the Box Office - this is the movie with Oscar buzz for Jason Gyllenhaal and it is well deserved.

Nightcrawler is an enthralling drama that follows a down and out guy named Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) with a very unique character. By happenstance, he decides to put his all into being a "stringer" - a guy who videotapes breaking news and sells it to TV stations. The depth and flat out weirdness of his character and the way he pulls it off is wonderfully disturbing.

Deserving of credit is first time director Dan Gilroy, who also wrote the film. It's warped, dark, disturbing portrayal of local news media in the nation's media obsessed second largest city makes this movie stand out from the others released.

Also noteworthy is the performance by Rene Russo as Nina Romina, the news director of the local TV station who is the primary consumer of Bloom's video. Her portrayal is chilling and deep, and the connection on screen between her and Gyllenhaal is fantastic.

Not a boring movie and just under 2 hours, it is a dark and twisted drama with superior acting, great direction and storytelling. Definitely worth checking out.