Targets (1968)

This was an unexpected surprise. I wasn't at all familiar with Peter Bogdanovich's masterpiece, and trust me, that's exactly what it is. The film is split between following horror film producer Byron Orlock as he ponders retirement from the industry, and troubled Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson; a man struggling with murderous thoughts, and beginning to act upon them. The film takes place over the space of just over twenty four hours (give or take) and culminates at a drive through movie theater, where Orlock is supposed to be making a personal appearance at a screening of one of his films. Some of the edits are stunning, most notably when the film flicks between the two story lines that it focuses on, and there are some beautiful yet harrowing panning shots during Thompsons' murderous rampage that he embarks upon early in the film. The performances are fantastic; Tim O'Kelly is terrifyingly calm and collected as he guns down innocents, addressing the task as if it's nothing more than a daily chore, and not a taxing one at that. The film is barely ninety minutes long, and some might feel that the backstory given to O'Kelly's Thompson isn't padded out enough to understand his issue; but that's not how I felt at all. The lack of understanding or reason makes the rampage even more shocking, and makes Targets one of the best films I've seen in a while. 8.1/10