Adverse (2021)

Director-Writer Brian Metcalf brings with him a strong crime drama that he hands over to a wonderfully seasoned cast of character actors. While a movie like “Adverse” could have stumbled right out of the gate, it manages to only improve by the time the movie has closed and ends as a sharp crime thriller. It’s a bold mix of “Taxi Driver,” and “Drive,” with a nigh unrecognizable Thomas Ian Nicholas staring.

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Robert Kirkman’s “Invincible” is a Stellar, if Flawed, Superhero Epic

Full Disclosure: Amazon Studios gave us access to the first three episodes of “Invincible.” Please read with discretion.

I missed the boat when Invincible had its run in Image Comics, and I regret it, especially as a fan of “The Walking Dead.” Robert Kirkman is one of the group of Image comics heavyweights who manages to offer up his own superhero tale, but it’s given a massive twist that’s both bold and insanely violent. Taking the animated route this time out, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg help realize Kirkman’s epic “Invincible” for the small screen, sticking true to many of the comics original storylines, and unfolding what is a unique, exciting, albeit imperfect at times, saga.

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Vigilante (1982): Limited Edition [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]

Director William Lustig’s “Vigilante” is a lot like “Death Wish” on steroids. It’s a bonafide mix of a prison movie, it’s a drama about PTSD, a parable about political corruption, and a surefire revenge thriller to the very end. While the aforementioned ends on a twisted note, “Vigilante” is something of a contradiction. It seems to celebrate the idea of vigilante justice and revenge, but it ends on such a low, bleak note where our hero gets his vindication but literally has nothing left in his life.

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