M. Night Shyamalan sets the stage for a thriller that surprisingly is about as straight forward as you can imagine. He hooks audiences in mainly for the concept of “Trap” where a serial killer has been snagged in his most vulnerable spot and has to look for a way out. Any other time, a movie like “Trap” could not have worked too well, but Shyamalan pulls it off well thanks to the leading performance from Josh Hartnett. Star Hartnett as Cooper Adams is the primary reason to see “Trap” as he not only creates this conniving, clever, and vindictive villain, but he seems to have a lot of fun portraying him.
Tag Archives: Crime
Baby Assassins: Nice Days (aka Baby Walkure: Naisu Deizu) (2024) [Fantasia Film Festival 2024]
Chisato and Mahiro finally are on vacation, things relaxing (maybe), but not for long. Soon, colleagues show up and they learn that they now need to go back to work.
Eighteen Years in Prison (1967) (aka Choueki juhachi-nen) [Radiance Films]
Out on Blu-ray and 4K UHD July 30, 2024
Following getting caught and imprisoned for working on the black market, a former prisoner comes across his partner who got away following this stint his stint in prison when they both fall for the same woman.
Tchao Pantin (aka So Long, Stooge) (1983) [Radiance Films]
Out on Blu-ray and 4K UHD July 30, 2024
A gas station attendant meets a drug dealer when he hides in his station one night, the two of them strike an unexpected friendship, leading the both of them through unexpected life events.
MaXXXine (2024)
Now Exclusively in Theaters.
Director Ti West subverts so much of what his audience was waiting for with “MaXXXine” that he almost completely alienates the very people that were raring to go for the third installment in his “X” movie series. When we finally did get it, “MaXXXine” ends up being exactly what it wants to be. It’s not some gory horror movie like “Maniac” but a consciously dark and often over the top look at the terrifying battle that is fame. When we first saw Maxine Minx (the brilliant Mia Goth returns), she was a low budget porn star convinced she was going to be a star.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Now Streaming Exclusively on Netflix.
A lot of what counts for the success of “Axel F” is that it Keeps it all Simple. Axel Foley is no different the man he was when we first met him in 1984. That works for and against the character as while he’s still the huckster and con man that we love, it’s managed to make him someone who’s alienated a lot of the people in his life. But what makes Mark Molloy’s take on the character so very good is that it doesn’t aim for huge heights. It’s just another adventure with Axel Foley in Beverly Hills. Except this time he’s so much older and a wee bit slower.
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
Now Available to Stream and on Physical Home Media.
Remember in “Live Free or Die Hard” when it became apparent that the every man we knew we John McClane was gone? In the first movie he was frumpy and nearly bleeding to death being forced to walk on broken glass. In “Live Free” he’s leaping out of exploding cars, and taking huge dives. This is Axel Foley’s ultimate undoing from the every man cop to the action figure superhero. In the first movie he’s using his wits and clever use of improv to sneak in to corners of the underworld.