Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop

First off, I must admit, I stumbled upon this documentary thinking it was a cooking show. Well, let me tell you, it's quite the unique recipe for a night of entertainment! Imagine Hannibal Lecter meets Law & Order, with a sprinkle of 50 shades of strange. It's a feast for the imagination, though not the one you'd expect.

The film's title might sound like a cooking competition gone horribly wrong, but it's actually about the legal intricacies of an ex-cop's online fantasies. The storytelling is as riveting as a suspenseful episode of MasterChef, just without the mouth-watering dishes. Bon appétit, my fellow cinephiles!

No on mentions at any point that this conviction should only be happening because he's a cop. They should be held to a higher standard than the general population. This documentary paints a victimized picture of this "man" who knew what he was doing and what he job was a made a bad decision. Stop equating fetishism to serial killers and rapists!

After being charged with conspiracy and having a judge overturn it... it sort of COMPLETLY undermines THREAT LAWS. Your not allowed to threaten Death to another person.. but is it only a threat if you tell the person you're threatening? What if you told everyone in SoCal media that you wanted to murder a politician... you'd be charged with uttering threats.. maybe not conspiracy unless you had an actual plan in play.. but the threat is real... had he not been exposed would he have gone through with it? Unknown.. just like the threat of death on another person.. it still was a threat.

This was a strange case and even stranger that this former New York City policeman and his parents would allow themselves to be filmed in such detail to complete this documentary. Not surprisingly there was no formal comments from his former employer, the FBI, the NYPD, nor from his ex-wife and/or her family.

On the other hand, Gilberto Valle, is under a no contact order from his ex-wife, and has been unable to see his daughter. I think the punishment fits his crime.

There should be a law whereby certain individuals are banned for life from accessing anything on the internet. We could call it Valle's Law.

I give this documentary a decent 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Erin Lee Carr is quickly becoming one of my favourite documentarians. Everything I've watched that has been directed by her is an incredibly ride.

This case in particular looks at the case of 'thought crimes' and when such a thing turns from a fantasy, into a reality.

I'm still caught up about how to feel about the 'Cannibal Cop'. While using police databases to collect information on potential victims is truly disturbing and clearly crossing a line; the perpetrator never physically did anything.

Despite which side of the fence you stand on, this documentary does an incredible job at telling both sides of the story, and never feels like it's dragging on.

I'll certainly be viewing more of Ms. Carr's library.