In-your-face approach boosts Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves’ gritty starrers

DEPP. Thespic vanishing act in true-to-life crime drama.

Johnny Depp has been nominated for an Oscar thrice (“Finding Neverland,” “Pirates of the Carribean” and “Sweeney Todd”)—but, his chances have never been stronger than the thespic “vanishing act” he turns in as real-life gangster, James “Whitey” Bulger, in Scott Cooper’s “Black Mass.”

In his third role as a mobster (after John Dillinger and George Jung), he carefully navigates the fine line that separates his current screen baddie from the “likable” cinematic heels he has portrayed in the past, and delivers a well-delineated performance devoid of caricature and the “winking” quality that tells viewers that, well, he’s just “acting.”

In “Black Mass,” you’ll never catch the 53-year-old actor dropping character or breaking the fourth wall.

You can’t be grittier and more in-your-face than a film that uses the “F” word 254 times: The cautionary biopic shows what happens when you strike a pact with the Devil—and let him take the reins. If you hate spoilers, stop reading this—because the film is a work of nonfiction with a fixed ending:

After all, the criminal in focus was South Boston’s most violent crime lord in the ’90s who, to take down the Mafia family invading his criminal fiefdom, forged an “unholy alliance” with corrupt FBI agent, John Connolly (Joel Edgerton)—who couldn’t control Bulger’s criminal proclivities!

What makes Whitey’s story even more gripping is the fact that he is the brother of educator and then Sen. William Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose 18-year tenure as president of the Massachusetts Senate is the longest in history.

Billy was forced to resign as president of the University of Massachusetts after he refused to testify in a 2003 congressional hearing about communications he had had with his then-fugitive brother.

When the Bureau began making arrests in 1994, Whitey fled—and was only captured 17 years later. The $2-million reward offered for his arrest was larger than any other fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted list—except Osama bin Laden!

‘Knock Knock’

The tone of Keanu Reeves’ latest starrer, ‘Knock Knock,” is just as gritty—but, it owes its viewability and appeal to director Eli Roth’s satirical approach to the thriller genre.

Architect Evan Webber (Reeves) leads an ideal life in an idyllic (and remote) suburban neighborhood with his wife and two kids—but, when his family goes on a trip to the beach without him (he’s injured), the heretofore upstanding family man reveals a fatal flaw that could change the course of his life forever:

Evan succumbs to the feminine wiles of lovely strangers, Genesis and Bel (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas), who seek more than just a temporary refuge from a raging storm—they want to prove a point!

Reeves’ has never been known for his acting chops—but, even when his performance leaves a lot to be desired, his screen presence keeps viewers glued to the screen, leaving a moral dilemma for viewers to come to grips with:

Would you give in to a tantalizing temptation if you could get away with it? —Roth’s screen parable dares viewers to prove its troublesome twosome wrong!