Weekly Watches: February 18, 2026

The outlaw evolves—from Wyoming to L.A. to the near future.

Crime 101 (2026)

Directed by Directed by Bart Layton. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry.

By Zach Smith

Re-Heat is Still Tasty When it Looks This Good.

Let’s get this out of the way, right off the bat. You’re thinking it. I’m thinking it. Crime 101 is a terrible title for a film. You wouldn’t be remiss to think it was a collegiate seminar instead of a movie about thieves, cops, and the women that love them. The fact that the title is, in fact, intended to be a clever reference to a series of crimes happening along the California 101 highway doesn’t help matters — it’s a title thinking it’s much cleverer than it actually is.

Thankfully, the movie itself doesn’t hold such allusions. Crime 101 (I hope to only have to write this title a few more times, ugh) is a slick, straightforward, successful crime drama, made for the big screen during a time where we just don’t get movies like this on the big screen as much anymore. Like The Rip just a few weeks ago, it’s another film content with being merely good, merely solid — a double instead of a home run, as it were — which can sometimes be enough. It’s stylish, it’s got star power…but there’s also that sneaking feeling that something is missing.