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At the Movies

 The highpoint of "The Accountant 2" occurs at a Country Western bar; a young woman wants to flirt with Ben Affleck's quirky protagonist, Christian.


"What's your favorite song?"

Christian quickly answers, "Appalachian Spring, by Copland."

Having recovered from her confusion, the woman asks, "How about a second choice?"

"Enter Sandman, by Metallica."

"They can't do that one."

"Perhaps you could tell me more about the band's limitations...."

Christian's brother Braxton later tries to offer post-game analysis. "You could always just say, I don't know.....why don't *you* pick?"

And Christian scratches his head. "She asked me for my favorite song.....Naming a song was the task I had to perform...."

Like many others, I tend to choose a film only if I know it features a psychopath. The Norman Bates in "Accountant 2" is Anais, who has a condition called "acquired savant syndrome." A traumatic brain injury gave her extraordinary defensive and tactical abilities. The problem is that she seems to have lost her conscience; she is now a killing machine.

Christian can appreciate this; he, too, has his eccentricities. During a speed-dating exercise, he is visibly puzzled when an interlocutor mentions a wish to have children. "What was your birthdate? Are you fifty? There is always room for hope."

This isn't "Citizen Kane," but there are surprising signs of intelligence--and I had a fine time.
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