Shane Meadows previously worked with Paddy Considine in the criminally underseen “A Room for Romeo Brass.” Considine is a man capable of playing many things, and someone without much of a mental balance is probably his best character yet. Paddy Considine is admittedly one of the most unorthodox choices for the lead in a very dramatic and powerful revenge thriller, but he’s a man who can lend a lot of menace and terror to someone who doesn’t quite look like someone who’d knock heads. When he first meets the men that tormented his younger brother, he lays the fear of God in to them by merely glaring at them when they attempt to crowd him. One scene even finds him rattle a power drunk thug in the middle of a crowded bar.
Tag Archives: Revenge
The Purge: Election Year (2016)
James DeMonaco’s second sequel to the exploitative and silly “The Purge” series reaches the masses in a very politically fueled year, and while DeMonaco and Blumhouse have the advantage of very much satirizing the current political climate, “Election Year” just continues the same routine we’ve seen with this movie series so far. It’s a lot of the same where there is an opportunity to offer a scary dark satire of America, but it backs off in favor of a lot of goofy plot twists and meandering sub-plots. Once again the annual the Purge is about to commence where every year for one night there is no such thing as law. So you can murder as you please, rape as you please, pillage, plunder, take a penny without leaving a penny, pick at a buffet without the sneeze guard, leave your trash with the recyclables included, walk on the grass, loiter like hell for hours on end, the sky is the limit.
Willard (1971) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
You have to give Shout Factory credit for at least trying to connect “Willard” to “Ben” for audiences. In the original 1971 movie, Willard Stiles is dysfunctional man whose rat of choice is white and named Socrates. For some reason he harbors an adversarial relationship with Ben, first scolding him like an embarrassed parent and then lashing out at him violently time and time again. Ben is always a mysterious element in the tale of Willard Stiles, an animal that has a lot more to him than simply being a rodent. He’s sometimes a sentient and very clever animal that feeds Willard’s own sense of need for family. “Willard” is kind of a demented thriller that’s always been considered a horror classic. And though it’s not scary at all, it does bear elements of horror with an EC Comic bent in rare moments.
Fist Fight (2017) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Richie Keen’s “Fist Fight” is pretty much just a remake of “Three O’Clock High,” this time around it’s amped up to a lighter tone and steeped in hazy intentions. “Fist Fight” could have an important message to tell, but the commentary about public education, class overcrowding, and the under appreciation of teachers is lost in a flurry of empty sub-plots, pointless gags, and under developed characters. “Fist Fight” could have worked since the film itself does garner some laughs every now and then, but it never can figure out if it wants to make a social statement, or if it merely just wants to show Charlie Day and Ice Cube engage in a huge fist fight by the climax. For all intents and purposes, “Fist Fight” works in some areas, setting itself up as a teacher’s nightmare fueled by anxiety of unemployment and poor work conditions.
Southern Comfort (1981): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
With the eighties came a lot of frustration about the Vietnam War and the hell that many people had to endure to fulfill the political goals of the US government. Walter Hill’s “Southern Comfort” isn’t precisely about the Vietnam war but it is a allegory for the Vietnam war right down to the very final scene. “Southern Comfort” is a startling and often surreal survival thriller, set amidst a seemingly serene Louisiana Outback during the Vietnam War. With the Louisiana National Guard stationed in the bayou, they’re set to take part in mandatory maneuvers.
The Twisted Doll (2017)
Ultimately I am a big fan of the revenge picture, but “The Twisted Doll” is the victim of too much story and not enough run time. “The Twisted Doll” by director Andrew de Burgh feels like he had an initially larger scope story in hand and kind of reduced it for a nine minute movie. I wouldn’t say “The Twisted Doll” is a bad movie, as it’s a solidly written picture with some good performances, I just wished I knew more about the characters to understand their motivations.
Star Wars: The Force and the Fury (2017)
Despite what Disney and Lucasfilm have been doing lately with the “Star Wars” cinematic universe and promising “Star Wars” films until the foreseeable future, that doesn’t stop fans from contributing their own stories. “The Force and the Fury” is a great and simple short fan film that is beautifully directed and works on the fundamentals of “Star Wars”: The narrative is simple, straight to the point, and about family and how the Sith and Jedi affect those within its realm.