The concept of an assassin film as metaphorical existentialism is not new but the idea of concept is in the eye of the beholder. With "American Star", Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego places Ian McShane as an aging assassin on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The setting is masterful especially since it takes the audience a bit to figure out where it actually as McShane's hitman settles into his target.

The idea of art trying to imitate life comes down to motivation of the characters. Director Todd Haynes is known for being able to take difficult subject material and either progress it back and forth over the line. This aspect of human nature or sexuality is his forte. "May/December" exists in a different realm than say "Carol" or "Far From Heaven" since the motivations figure in peripherally

Jealousy can bite in a context of misery but the way "Fair Play" moves the game is undeniable, truthful and murky at the same time. It takes an older story of love in the workplace compounded by competitiveness and ups it for the new era.

"The Northman" revolves in a texture of revenge but also of perception. Alexander Skarsgard stars as Amleth, the son of a Nordic king that is dealt a trauma as a child that informs his entire life even as he struggles to deal with the notion of his existence.

The essence of Shakespeare reflects in seeing an essence of truth beneath the structure but also finding something in brevity. With "The Tragedy Of Macbeth", the players are fantastic, the production stylized but the approach is finite simply because of its essence.

Here Jonathan Larson gets the biopic treatment in a specific way in that Lin Manuel Miranda directs his story and semi adaption of the play "Tic Tic Boom" in an interesting meld of vignettes that sometimes hit hard but are, at the same times, jarring. What is utterly apparent is the magnificent and transformative performance of Andrew Garfield as Larson.

"The Last Duel" is, in many way, fairly straightforward in its structure but in seeing the inherent structure post viewing it builds an interesting viewpoint in its dynamic but it is not as powerful as it might have been.

"Those Who Wish Me Dead" is an intriguing spin on a movie we have seen before and yet is effectively done and entertaining. It is a fun romp with dark and dramatic overtones that doesn't hit the viewer over the head to learn something (or watch a bunch of CGI). It is old school while still being refreshingly of its time.

The essence of choice in survival situations comes down to individuality and how one reflects in that moment in time. Although on a grander scale with a different interaction of actors, Joe Penna's "Stowaway" starring Toni Collette, Anna Kendrick and Daniel Dae Kim follows the same ideal of what path would one choose.