April 4, 2021

Taking the Fall (2021) Movie Review

Taking the Fall – Brilliant

Director: Josh Marble

Writer: Steve Hellman (Screenplay)

Starring: Munro Chambers, Katie Gill, Roland Buck III, Avalon Penrose, Jonathan Dylan King, Chris Sturgeon

Plot: Tyler Richards returns from a six year prison sentence to a surprise reunion with his former college friends, only to discover that they’ve nearly all veered off course under the pressure of millennial culture.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Taking the Fall starts when Tyler (Chambers) gets released from his 6-year stint in prison, with his best friend Justin (Buck III) and ex-girlfriend Kate (Gill) setting up a welcome home party with the college friends Allison (Penrose), Peter (Sturgeon) and their new partners, Zachary (King) and Michelle (Zimber).

As the party is coming together, Tyler starts to see the differences in the world he has returned to, with his friends all starting their lives, with much of the resentment for lack of visits during his time away.

Thoughts on Taking the Fall

Characters & Performances – Tyler is the young man that took the fall for the group of college friends, he has spent the last 6-years in prison and now he is being thrown a party to celebrate his release. He finds that his friends haven’t lived up to what they had expected, seeing the relationship he once had feel awkward and distant, as he tries to figure out where he is in his own life now after taking the fall for them all. Munro Chambers is brilliant in this leading role, stepping up into the serious role and making his character feel as distant as he needs to. Kate is the ex-girlfriend of Tyler’s she has moved on with her life with a new fiancée despite still having the feelings for Tyler. Justin is the best friend that meets Tyler as he leaves prison, he has help arranged the party for his friend, being the one that remained closest to him during his prison time. Katie Gill and Roland Buck III are both great in these roles, getting their moment to shine in the one-on-one serious moments. The supporting characters do show us how lives haven’t always gone the way planned and tension will always be there between people, with the performances all being great to watch throughout.

Story – The story here follows a young man who is freshly out of prison after a 6-year sentence, where his friends look to throw him a welcome home party, where he gets to see how life might have been the same for him, but outside, things went in a very different direction. This is a story that is set over the one dinner party, which will give Tyler the reflection on how he sees the changes in his friend’s lives, showing how people can change and become chewed up in this world. It will show that people can have such big dreams in life, but could give up on them along the way without even realising it. This is such a wonderful drama that is one of the most interesting eye-opening dramas you will see this year.

Themes – Taking the Fall is a drama and uses the singular location to make the dinner party the big focal point of the film. It shows how the people will look to make the most of the problems in their lives with how they cover them up with the party theme.

Taking the Fall is one of the most interesting films of the year, with brilliant performances and eye-opening story.

Pre-Order Taking the Fall here on iTunes for the 9th April release

ABC Film Challenge – Action – D – Death Wish (2018) Movie Review

Director: Eli Roth

Writer: Joe Carnahan (Screenplay) Brian Garfield (Novel)

Starring: Bruce Willis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Camila Morrone, Dean Norris, Beau Knapp, Kimberly Elise, Len Cariou

Plot: Dr. Paul Kersey is an experienced trauma surgeon, a man who has spent his life saving lives. After an attack on his family, Paul embarks on his own mission for justice.

Tagline – They came for his family. Now he’s coming for them.

Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Action Flick

Story: Death Wish starts as we meet the good natured Dr Paul Kersey (Willis) who is dealing with the reality his teenage daughter Jordan (Morrone) is about to go off to college, whose family gets targeted by thieves who get caught in the act by Lucy (Shue) the wife and Jordan, both left brutally attack when the robbery goes wrong.

With his wife dead, Jordan in a coma, Paul starts to get tired of waiting for the crime to be solved, despite Detective Kevin Raines (Norris) doing everything in his power. Paul decides to prepare himself to defend himself from violence, turning into a vigilante looking to clean up the streets of Chicago.

Thoughts on Death Wish

Characters – Dr Paul Kersey is a mild-mannered family man, he doesn’t get involved in confrontations, save both police and criminal injuries without questioning motives. After his wife is killed, his daughter left in a coma, he is left wondering what he has done wrong, waiting for answers, with none coming. He decides to fight back looking to fight crime building up a reputation as he searches for answers. Frank is the brother of Paul, he has always turned to Paul for help needing his support in life, with him being his rock in life. Detective Kevin Raines is leading the investigation into the murder and burglary, he is often left helpless when it comes to anything going on, not finding any evidence. Jordan is the daughter that is about to head off college, before being left in a coma.

Performances – Bruce Willis in the leading role is strong enough, he does struggle to bring to life the everyday man though, which is what is important in this character. The rest of the cast don’t really get time to do anything, as the characters are drawn out that much.

Story – The story here follows a mild-mannered doctor whose family is attack in a robbery gone wrong, who decides to become a vigilante to clean up the streets of Chicago. This is a remake of a classic, which does bring into the story a few more modern elements, with the technology being used to target people, the story going viral, it all comes into the modern world. Where the story does fall short, is by giving us weak characters, the villain is almost non-existent, with the routine following of how Paul acts towards finding his victims. We also get a clear message about how gun control is well out of control in America, making a big political statement. This is an easy to watch action story though, it just ends up not offering much new.

Action/Crime – The action is very simple shooting scenes, showing the inexperience of Paul during the shot outs. While the crime side of the film is focused on trying to lower the crime rate.

Settings – We are set in Chicago which is known for the high crime rate, which shows how helpless the police could be with certain crimes.

Scene of the Movie – Are you the ice cream man.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of the villain character.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book action film that is entertaining enough, without being anything overly different from what we have seen before.

Overall: Simple Action Film.