#AWalkAmongTheTombstones,Hollywood English Film movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * *

#AWalkAmongTheTombstones,Hollywood English Film movie Review, Johnson Thomas,
Rating: *  *  *

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#AWalkAmongTheTombstones(English) Rating: ***

Brooding, melancholic, dark thriller takes a little too long to unwind. And just a little too enigmatic. Not enough consistency in tension to keep you glued, though. Sharp-shooting action and bloodied thrills do make up for some of the slack. The atmospheric advantage is lost in narrative indulgence but the bloodied action does provide fitful recompense #LiamNeeson #ScottFrank #DanStevens #BoydHolbrook #DavidHarbour #TOPEntertainment 

English Film review

Johnson Thomas

Brutally yours!

Film: A Walk Among the Tombstones

Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Ruth Wilson, Boyd Holbrook,David Harbour

Director: Scott Frank

Rating: * * *

Running Time: 114 min.

 

Synopsis:A heroin trafficker whose wife was abducted and murdered  hires a haunted private investigator to track down the men who killed her in this brooding crime drama starring Liam Neeson. Matt Scudder (Neeson) was an NYPD cop having a quiet drink in a Washington Heights bar when a pair of armed robbers came in guns blazing. Giving chase, Scudder guns down the robbers in the street, though a stray bullet turns a heroic moment tragic. Devastated, Scudder subsequently goes to work as an unlicensed private detective, working just outside of the law and surviving on generous gifts offered in exchange for his services. Now, tasked with rooting out the sadistic thugs who brutally butchered the wife of a wealthy drug dealer (Dan Stevens), Scudder scours the bars and back alleys of New York City in search of his elusive targets - and the closer he gets, the more apparent it becomes that they are something much more sinister than your typical kidnappers.

 

Review:

The lines between right and wrong are severely blurred in this actioner peopled with so many gray and darker characters that it’s hard to pick one with whom you can empathise. The script of course makes the choice for you , dovetailing a defanged NYPD cop turned unlicensed private investigator, Matt Scudder(Neeson) who is trying to come to terms with his own fallibility – in inadvertently killing a passerby while involved in a shoot-out with armed robbers who never hesitate to kill for their loot.

In opposition to his brooding, disturbed character are the drug dealers who fall prey to extortion demands from possibly rogue DEA agents. Allowing them both their pound of flesh would have been the easy way out but Scudder has to get involved in the investigation of a kidnapping and murder of the wife of one of the city’s leading drug peddlers and in ‘Taken’ mode ferrets out the kingpins and ends up decimating them. Of course one can well expect a sequel from this as the PI continues to be alive and standing , if a little worse for wear and his demons are still there to haunt him- making him a hero cinematically worth pursuing for the long term.

Director & scriptwriter Scott Frank (who wrote ‘Get Shorty’ & ‘Minority Report’ ) adapts Lawrence Block’s 1992 novel featuring his continuing character Mathew Scudder in an atmospheric projection of good versus evil where the men are tough and hardened while the women are merely pieces of flesh- take that literally!

The atmosphere in which Scudder exists is grim with foreboding and  Scudder is the one imposing  Colossus who could be the light (wavering constantly) in the enveloping darkness filled with dysfunctional criminal minded misfits. For some interim relief there’s  TJ (Brian Bradley/ Astro), a teenager with a taste for detective fiction whom Scudder befriends while researching Kristo’s case. He is Scudder’s link to humanity here and though incidental, makes the film more involving. Overall, there’s a certain brutality to the narration that would most probably take a toll on the faint-hearted. The line of reasoning here is sadistic and depraved and that will in fact  provide enough thrills for those thriller junkies!

Johnsont307@gmail.com

#LifeOfCrime, Hollywood English Film Movie Review, #JohnsonThomas Rating: * * 1/2

#LifeOfCrime, Hollywood English Film Movie Review, #JohnsonThomas Rating: * * 1/2

                                      

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 #LifeOfCrime(English)Rating: * * ½ Ripping Tarantino but without the accompanying excitement. This movie version of Elmore Leonard's "The Switch"- story of a semi-botched kidnapping of a rich land developer's wife by ragtag shysters lacks style. It’s also a little too light-weight to be taken seriously.  Period sharp but flimsy on bite. #PVRPictures #JenniferAniston #Isla Fisher #TimRobbins #DanielSchechter #John Hawkes #YasiinBey #AshokAmritrajProductions #GothamGroup

English film review

Johnson Thomas

Period heavy Rip-off

Film: Life of crime       

Cast: John Hawkes, Yasiin Bey, Jennifer Aniston, Isla Fisher,Will Forte, Tim Robbins

Director: Daniel Schechter

Rating: * * 1/2

Running Time: 94 min.

Synopsis:Two criminals (John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey) help a woman (Jennifer Aniston) take revenge on her husband after he refuses to pay a ransom fee when they kidnap her in this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book, Switch. Dan Schechter directs from his own adapted script. The story features two of the same characters from the book that  Tarantino’s ‘Jackie Brown’ was based on

Review

Paying homage to popular films and writers is never easy- especially when you have nothing new to show for it. Daniel Schechter nevertheless, attempts to fashion a befitting memorial to Elmore Leonard’s 1978 novel ‘The Switch’ with script adaptation by Schechter himself.  Though eye-pleasing , this one doesn’t have the wherewithal to stir your senses. Frankly, you won’t be much disappointed if you don’t expect the smart humor of Leonard driven successes like  ‘Get Shorty’ or ‘Jackie Brown.’

It’s depression in Motor City of the 70’s  and Ordell Robbie (Bey) has just discovered a new vein of hope in successful suburban businessman Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins)’s less-than-legal additional assets secreted away in the Bahamas, along with much younger mistress Melanie (Isla Fisher). His trophy wife Mickey (Aniston), who Ordell and team mates,Louis (John Hawkes), Richard(Mark Boone Jr) kidnap for the booty, has absolutely no knowledge of her boorish husband’s illicit activities. Ponce she discovers the truth, comes the Switch.

The narrative plays on economically but without much energy or action. Schechter blends in a gritty, realistic feel that appears a little absurdist and a trifle jokey keeping the atmosphere slow to boil and never really achieving it’s potential punch. The period design is bang on while the original background score by the Newton Brothers’ manages to rekindle memories from yore. The understated treatment makes the involvement difficult to attain while the performances, though exacting, lack the power to hold your attention. Though the trademark Tarantino fetishes are visible, it does nothing to up the enjoyment or the thrills. Even the action is severely botched-up by the killjoy editing.  The lesson to be learnt here- too much restraint is not always a good thing!

Johnsont307@gmail.com