In the year 2000, after M. Night Shyamalan premiered his innate storytelling ability with the surprise supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense,” he pretty much dashed expectations with a follow-up film that no one was expecting. Initially considered a poor follow-up, M. Night Shyamalan really approached a film that could well within his storytelling parameters, and he did so with a subtlety and humility that’s finally being appreciated. “Unbreakable” is a rather underrated masterpiece, and one that really does pay homage to the comic book mythology that society generally looks down upon. By approaching the comic book mythos with a straight face and a somewhat surprising dramatic dignity, M. Night Shyamalan adds a realism to the superhero origin story that’s deliberately paced and absolutely compelling to witness.
Tag Archives: Crime
The Hidden Chapter (2012)
In truth I could kind of see where the short film from director Rodney Wess was headed, but “The Hidden Chapter” has enough potential to be a solid crime thriller, that I saw it to the end, either way. Though the film does have occasional sound problems, and some editing issues, Rodney Wess does compose a clever and sharp crime thriller short that goes beyond your normal tale of cat and mouse.
Arkham Rising (2012)
This is one of the few fan films I’ve seen that doesn’t take place prior or subsequent a film, but during the film. Unofficially considered a part of the Nolan Batman mythos, director Tito Guillen’s short is set during the time where Bane has defeated Batman and now sets every criminal in Arkham free to do whatever their hearts desire. With a thick sense of tension and dread, along with a wonderful score that channels Nolan’s films, “Arkham Rising” is a simple and short look at madness being unleashed.
Bad Boys (1983)
After “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” actor Sean Penn barely skidded the realm of being typecast and completely destroyed his break out role by taking on a new form as a dramatic actor. One of his more intense efforts is the 1983 “Bad Boys,” an underrated but excellent near masterpiece about boys on the verge of being men who don’t realize they’re about to become hardened criminals if they don’t break out of their cycles of violence soon. “Bad Boys” is a message at the core about when these young men will transform in to individuals capable of being tried as adults and when they will eventually make it in to an actual penitentiary. In the realm of “Bad Boys,” the penitentiary is the final stop for these young men, and counselor Ramon Herrerra makes a point of showing main character Mick O’Brien his environment, if he doesn’t find a way to change his fate soon.
Red Cloud: Deliverance (2012)
Sioux Cloud and Hezues R’s short “Red Cloud” is a film very much in the vein of “The Professional” and “Gone Baby Gone,” a short dramatic thriller that has potential to be a wider more full length story, in the end. “Red Cloud: Deliverance” is a very powerful and engrossing exploration of a man escaping his past and his demons, and in the process is confronted by a young girl facing her own demons on a daily basis.
Fireball (2009)
When I read the premise for this and discovered Ian Somerhalder was starring I was a little excited. I mean Ian Somerhalder as a bad ass fire throwing villain could be excellent, especially considering he has a knack for playing sharp villains. But then I learned that he’s merely the protagonist and we’re instead given a bulky bald muscle bound man who can throw fire, and I just settled on Somerhalder playing the hero. Fair enough. In spite of being derivative and feeling like a glorified television pilot, “Fireball” is a pretty solid action thriller that teams up genre actress Lexa Doig and television mainstay Ian Somerhalder as law officials who have to chase around a fire controlling maniac through the country and find a way to stop his madness.
Truth or Die (2012) (DVD)
Director Robert Heath creates a horror film that starts out like “Slaughter High” and ends like “Saw.” Basically, “Truth or Die” is a revenge film of the twisted kind where no one is truly just. In the end, it’s about despicable people hurting despicable people. As is the trend with most modern revenge tales, “Truth or Die” is about the destruction of revenge and how nothing is ever as it seems.