Much Effort from Jake Gyllenhaal and Director Dan Gilroy. Gripping Throughout It's Runtime.

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2015)

"Nightcrawler" is an intense and riveting thriller, with a neo-noir style and and some dark social commentary of today's news media. Death and destruction becomes headlines, "each police siren wail equals a possible windfall, and victims" are merely "dollars and cents" in the film "Nightcrawler".
Lou Bloom is a hard-working man, a perfectionist, a fast-learner with a can-do attitude and an uncompromising work ethic. He's quite eloquent, articulate, and knowledgeable. He sounds like a nice guy, right? However, some people just don't know when to stop--when things have gone too far, out of hand, or crossed a line. Lou Bloom is one of those people. From tampering with crime scenes, to pressuring a co-worker for sex, to blackmailing and sabotaging others, to withholding information from authorities, to manipulating events to his advantage, Lou is an example of an opportunist who never stops pushing. He "blurs the line between observer and participant". Lou pursues the American Dream like countless other US citizens/residents--but he's simply willing to do anything to get his payday.
The movie shows just how screwed up media can be. It's competitive and ugly, with people fighting over the most gruesome footage. Nina primarily represents the ugly objectives of a cutthroat industry. %%%% MILD SPOILERS %%%% When Nina discovers that a home invasion massacre was a drug deal gone wrong, she decides not to release that info (as it doesn't go with the fear-instilling message she's trying to tell). Nina also tells Lou to focus primarily on getting footage from wealthy, white neighborhoods, because that's what the people want.
Jake Gyllenhaal does an excellent performance as Lou. He's convincing as the socially awkward, demanding, and unsettling man. Jake shows effort, and he even lost weight for the role (which is evident with his gaunt cheekbones). Renne Russo is also great as Nina, a woman who also has little moral qualms with the faults of her work. Riz Ahmed's supporting character (Rick) could've had more of a backstory. I also happened to like Bill Paxton in his small role (as Joe, rival cameraman to Jake's character Lou). Dan Gilroy does a great job as director, especially considering Nightcrawler is his first movie.
Despite this praise, because Lou is presented as such a sociopath from the beginning, the movie has slightly less suspense toward the end than it could've had (in hindsight). However, the tragedy at the end is still unexpected to me.
I have reviewed 38 other movies on Metacritic and IMDb, including the 2014 and 2015 films: Taken 3, The Interview, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Dracula Untold, The Maze Runner, The Equalizer, The Expendables 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Giver, Sharknado 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Edge of Tomorrow, X-Men Days of Future Past, Godzilla, Blended, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Divergent, Transcendence, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, The Lego Movie, and more.
I review TV shows, such as: Empire (2015), The Flash, Arrow (Season 3), Gotham, The Last Ship (Season 1), Sleepy Hollow (Season 1), Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (Season 1 and 2), The 100, I Wanna Marry Harry, Crisis, Gang Related, and more. I also have reviewed the mobile Android games: Minecraft Pocket Edition, Clash of Clans, and Five Night's at Freddy's.