Tag: Crime

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Brotherhood (2016) Movie Review

Brotherhood

 

Director: Noel Clarke

Writer: Noel Clarke (Screenplay)

Starring: Noel Clarke, Arnold Oceng, Red Madrell, Adjoa Andoh, Shanika Warren-Markland

Plot: Sam is facing up to the new world. He realizes it also comes with new problems and new challenges and which will require old friends to help him survive new dangers.


Tagline – “The only person more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose… is someone who stands to lose everything.”

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Brotherhood starts as Sam (Clarke) is trying to put his life back together with his partner and children, when his past starts to come back and haunt him, as he finds himself being targeted by a new menacing group of criminals who want him to join them, but he isn’t willing to give up his new honest life again.

Thoughts on Brotherhood

Thoughts – Brotherhood is the third chapter in Noel Clarke’s hood series, taking us to the more adult stage of his life, where he is trying to put a life together away from the criminal world, a world that is waiting for him to come back and will do anything to drag him back in. This does highlight the mentality of the gangs running riot in London, never putting people’s honest life in their minds. The performances in the film are strong without being on the levels of the previous films where everything will end up going too far for the greater good.

Final Thoughts – Brotherhood is an unneeded sequel in the franchise that reached its peak.

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Movie Review

The Many Saints of Newark (2021) Movie Review

The Many Saints of Newark – Movie Review

Many Saints of Newark

Director: Alan Taylor

Writer: Lawrence Konner (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle)
  • Leslie Odon Jr (One Night in Miami)
  • Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead)
  • Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring)
  • Corey Stoll (Ant-Man)

Plot: Witness the making of Tony Soprano. The story that reveals the humanity behind Tony’s struggles and the influence his family – especially his uncle, Dickie Moltisanti – had over him becoming the most iconic mob boss of all time.

Runtime: 2 Hours

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Many Saints of Newark starts when we meet a teenage Tony Soprano who witnesses his father Johnny (Bernthal) journey in Newark. Under the control of Dickie Moltisanti (Nivola), he gets to see who has the power within the gangs. This sees how things get out of control and how ruthless days are in the environment.

Verdict on The Many Saints of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel to the highly popular TV series The Sopranos. If you don’t know the show, certain things don’t make as much sense as they could. As well as the story relies on you knowing more before entering the world.

This does end up feeling like a planned prequel hoping to capture the magic of the original. It ends up falling flatter than most gangster movies and doesn’t do enough.

Final Thoughts – The Many Saints of Newark is a flat prequel.

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Movie Review

Bandit (2022) Movie Review

Bandit – Movie Review

Bandit

Director: Allan Ungar

Writer: Kraig Wenman (Screenplay)

Writer: Robert Knuckle (Book)

Cast

Plot: After escaping a Michigan prison, a charming career criminal assumes a new identity in Canada and goes on to rob a record 59 banks and jewellery stores while being hunted by a police task force. Based on the story of The Flying Bandit.

Runtime: 2 Hours 6 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Bandit starts as we see how Gilbert Galvan Jr (Duhamel) operates his bank robberies. He has committed 59 bank and jewellery stores. This takes us back to his early career as he escapes from prison and tries to find honest work.

When this doesn’t work, Gilbert sees his chance to start robbing banks. He creates disguises and operates in a calm manner, politely asking the tellers for the money. We follow how Gilbert climbed the ladder, while Snydes (Carbonell) chases him down.

Verdict on Bandit

Characters

Gilbert Galvan Jr has been robbing banks across Canada, he has been getting away with it for over a year. Using his calm approach to getting the robberies done. He has a plan to make enough to retire to a beach bar. Gilbert uses an alias of Robert and makes sure he never hurts a single person during his robbery.

Andrea is Gilbert’s wife who met him during his first escape from prison. She believes his story about trying to build his life and starts a family with him, never knowing his true identity.

Snydes is a detective that has been investigating Tommy and fast on the heels of Gilbert. He puts his own career on the line in his investigation, knowing he needs to stop him but can’t find the evidence to catch him.

Tommy is an organised criminal boss in the area. Gilbert turns to him for help making the robberies happen, with the two becoming friends along the way. He has been escaping capture with his legit business, as Snydes lurks around him.

Performances

Josh Duhamel brings plenty of charisma to the leading role, showing his characters charming side through life. He has the confidence to show easily he got away with things for so long.

Nestor Carbonell is great to watch as the detective desperate to bring down Gilbert. He shows how much this has taken out of his character and how much he puts into stopping him.

Elisha Cuthbert and Mel Gibson complete the main supporting cast, where they are both strong with their scenes. They both bring something different to the table for Gilbert’s character to interact with.

Story

The story follows a true story about a bank robber who completed 59 jobs across Canada before finally getting caught. This shows how he operated and tried to balance a personal life on the side.

The best way to describe this story is, a not-so-flashy ‘Catch Me If You Can’. This is because we see the hunt and how he kept getting away, while always knowing he would have got caught by the end.

Everything is told in a fun style, one that keeps everything relaxed and without showing any threatening material, which can be seen in many other bank robbery movies. The biggest weakness in the story comes from showing Gilbert as a good guy, while Snydes is seen as a bad guy for just trying to stop the robberies from happening.

Themes

Bandit is a crime thriller following the bank robberies of Gilbert Galvan Jr across Canada. In here we see how he operated, prepared, and calmly completed the jobs with disguises. It ticks all the boxes for a bank robber movie, without getting flashy like the modern ones do. The 1980s setting helps and looks complete for the most part, which showed a different time for dealing with robbers and not hurting anyone involved.

Final Thoughts – Bandit is a slick, fun true-life crime tale.

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Movie Review

Dreaming Hollywood (2021) Movie Review

Director: Frank Martinez

Writer: Frank Martinez (Screenplay)

Starring: Turk Matthews, Eliot, Madelyn Allen, Link Ruiz, Brian Hanford, Wilin Wang, I Elijah Baughman

Plot: A deranged ex-con seeks revenge when he discovers that his screenplay has been stolen.


Tagline – What’s Your Story

Runtime: 2 Hours 2 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Dreaming Hollywood starts as we meet the ex-con drug dealer Ray Balfi (Matthews) that has been working on his own screenplay for Hollywood, believing he will have the perfect script to sell to the studios.

When he finds his screenplay has been stolen, he goes in search of the person who stole it, leaving everyone wishing they hadn’t gott involved in the stealing.

Thoughts on Dreaming Hollywood

Thoughts – Dreaming Hollywood is a crime thriller follow an ex-con that goes on a rampage after his screenplay is stolen from him by other criminals, leading to him finding a way to clear up the streets, just to get his script back. Dreaming Hollywood is a very long movie for the simple idea of a story it is looking to tell, leaving us very little to work with, seemingly having a lot of random scenes thrown into the main story, introducing a lot of characters that don’t seem to have enough of the film. The story does feel bloated and because of this, it ends up feeling more forgettable in the end. The performances are fine without being great, nobody needs to do more than that is put up on the table.

Final Thoughts – Dreaming Hollywood is a overly bloated movie, wanting to cram too much in.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – Q – Queen & Slim (2019) Movie Review

Director: Melina Matsoukas

Writer: Lena Waithe (Screenplay) James Frey, Lena Waithe (Story)

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloe Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson

Plot: A couple’s first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over.

Runtime: 2 Hours 12 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict:

Story: Queen & Slim starts as Slim (Kaluuya) and Queen (Tuner-Smith) have their first date, which seems to be a non-eventful occasion, until the journey home. The journey home will see the pair pulled over, leading to an escalated event which will see Slim defend Queen, by accidently killing the police officer.

The pair are forced to go on the run from the law, where they will find themselves becoming celebrities within the black community, knowing their only chance of making it out alive is to escape.

Thoughts on Queen & Slim

Thoughts –Queen & Slim is a crime drama highlight the increased racial tension in the US, between the innocent black people who are getting targeted by police. Queen & Slim will use the Bonnie & Clyde romance while on the run from the law idea, seeing how the country will become divided with their support or condemnation against the action, with everyone having their own opinions of what is happening. The romance between the two shows how united the pair will become once they are on the run, despite the date not going as smoothly as either would have liked. The movie does have the big message of learning the story before judging, not letting racial opinions control your judgement towards people and learn to treat people equal, if we ever want peace in this world. The performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith are wonderful, showing the difference in their characters in a world where they will have to deal with the same problems.

Final Thoughts – Queen & Slim is a hard hitting crime thriller, with a big message.



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Movie Review

Blue Story (2019) Movie Thoughts

Director: Rapman

Writer: Rapman (Screenplay)

Starring: Stephen Odubola, Michael Ward, Khali best, Karla-Simone Spence, Eric Kofi-Abrefa

Plot: Feature adaptation of Rapman’s YouTube series about two young friends who become rivals in a street war.


Tagline – Their Bond Made Them Brothers. The Streets Made Them Enemies.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Blue Story starts as we meet Timmy (Odubola) and Marco (Ward) who through school became best friends, but the pressure of the Peckham neighbourhood sees them both being drawn apart from each other, before Marco gets caught up in a gang, one that is against Timmy, doing something unforgivable.

3 years later, both Timmy and Marco have risen up the ranks of the local gangs, looking to eliminate each other for the crimes they have inflicted on each other, escalating a gang war to dangerous levels.

Thoughts on Blue Story

Thoughts – Blue Story is adapted from the rapper director Rapman that tells us a story about two men who grew up together as best friends and ended up becoming heated enemies in a gang war in London, one built on pride, family and honour, one they will lose control of quickly. This is a story that does show easily young men can be drawn into a life of crime, one that will see them taking lives, not living lives. The performances are strong throughout the film and the appearance of the rapper himself filling in the blanks of change, helps with the transition of time.

Final Thoughts – Blue Story is a big warning to what is going wrong in the gangland of London, showing us just how easily someone with a future, can lose everything to them.



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Movie Review

Cold Comes the Night (2013) Movie Review

Director: Tze Chun

Writer: Tze Chun, Oz Perkins, Nick Simon (Screenplay)

Starring: Alice Eve, Logan Marshall-Green, Bryan Cranston, Ursula Parker, Sarah Sokolovic, Robin Lord Taylor

Plot: A struggling motel owner and her daughter are taken hostage by a nearly blind career criminal to be his eyes as he attempts to retrieve his cash package from a crooked cop.


Tagline – Sometimes the fight of your life comes in the dead of night.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Slow Moving Crime Story

Story: Cold Comes the Night starts as we see struggling to make ends meet motel owner Chloe (Eve) who has been trying to raise her daughter against the states wishes in this location, her motel attracts the usual lowlifes that include drug dealers and prostitutes. When a mysterious criminal Topo (Cranston) is passing through, an incident happens inside the motel.

Topo sees his driver killed, now he wants his car back and is using Chloe to get the information about his car, which will see him hold her hostage waiting for her connection Billy (Marshall-Green) to get the car back, using this as her chance to get out of the troubles she has been facing.

Thoughts on Cold Comes the Night

Characters – Chloe is the motel owner that has been doing everything he can to make guest welcome and keep her daughter with a roof over her head, this doesn’t always happen with certain guests making her life difficult, social service worker wants take her daughter away and after a double murder on the premises, she gets forced into helping a criminal get their money back, hoping it would help get her out of problems she is facing. Topo is the mule that is just passing through town, he stays in the motel only to see his package go missing, needing to use Chloe to get it for him, he is a perfect shot despite being nearly blind, he was once the best man for the job too before stepping away before this latest job. Billy is a local cop that has been watching over and using the motel for his own benefits, he takes the money making him one the pair are trying to track down, but his greed is what will force him to make the worst decisions. Sophia is the daughter that does see her mum protect her from the world as much as she can.

Performances – Alice Eve and Logan Marshall-Green are both strong enough in their roles through the film, they don’t get reach the full levels of other performers. Bryan Cranston is the true star of the show here, making his character as calmly calculated as you would imagine.

Story – The story here follows a woman that has been struggling to make ends meet, who runs a motel and finds herself in the middle of a criminal incident that could help her escape this life she has for her daughter. This is a story that does keep everything the simple with how it unfolds, which doesn’t take too long to get going, while it does just follow the routine you would expect. It does pose the question of why somebody who does keep a roof over their daughters head, with food on the table would be getting investigated by the social services.

Crime – The crime side of film starts with a murder, which soon sees people trying to keep money for themselves or getting a job complete.

Settings – The film is set in Greene County New York, which shows that outside the big city life can be a lot tougher for the people trying to survive there.


Scene of the Movie – Topo’s perfect shot.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too safe with how the story unfolds.

Final Thoughts – This is a simple crime film, it doesn’t reach any of the levels of intensity that it could, while just getting the basics done easily.

Overall: Simple all along.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – T – Thumper (2017) Movie Review

Director: Jordan Ross

Writer: Jordan Ross (Screenplay)

Starring: Eliza Taylor, Pablo Schreiber, Daniel Webber, Ben Feldman, Lena Headey, Grant Harvey, Jazzy De Lisser

Plot: Teens in a low income neighborhood are lured into working for a violent and dangerous drug dealer. When a new girl harboring a dark secret arrives in town, their relationship jeopardizes everything.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Typical Crime Film

Story: Thumper starts as we meet high school student Beaver (Webber) who moves into the drug dealing to make some extra cash, he starts to become close to one of the girls Kat (Taylor) in his class, as we get to see just how many people in the school will be selling and using the drugs.

Kat has her own secret though, she is undercover, trying to crack the drug ring in the area, with her walking into the dealers with ease, she wants to take down the supplier Wyatt (Schreiber) who has his own way to solve problems in his business.

Thoughts on Thumper

Characters – Kat is an undercover narc officer in a high school, she gets close to the dealers, while trying to get higher up the ladder in search for the people behind the supply, she is also trying to balance a personal life which sees her being a separate mother, finding herself losing that part of her life. Wyatt is the supplier, a former military man who has turned to the life of crime, he controls the students to do his work, always out to eliminate any of the problems in his life. Beaver is the student Kat gets close to, he has his reasons for being part of the gang, he fits in within the group being one of the few places he feels comfortable in, though it always feels like somebody is taking advantage of him.

Performances – Eliza Taylor in the leading role is fine, she does show the pain of the separation, but struggles with the high school behaviour. Pablo Schreiber as the aggressive dominating drug dealer is the strongest part of the film, with Daniel Webber giving us a solid sympatric performance.

Story – The story here follows a determined cop who is undercover with a high school drug ring trying to take down the problem which has been growing in the area, only she sees her own life start to fall apart. This story does follow every crime story of an undercover officer getting too close to one person just before the bust which will see the friendships shattered. The story will give us nothing new, we know how everything will unfold and by the end you will be left thinking we could find other films doing the same thing, only better.

Crime – The crime world we are thrown into shows us just how drugs will consume people with power.

Settings – The film shows us how the people who are involved in the drug world are more often than not from the poorer neighbourhoods and it is their only escape.

Scene of the Movie – The struggles Kat has away from the crime world.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is nothing original.

Final Thoughts – This is a bland crime film that we have seen before and offers us nothing new to the genre.

Overall: Been here Seen it.

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ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – S – Shot Caller (2017) Movie Review

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Writer: Ric Roman Waugh (Screenplay)

Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal (Walking Dead), Emory Cohen, Jeffrey Donovan, Evan Jones

Plot: A newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Crime 101

Story: Shot Caller starts when known gangster Money (Coster-Waldau) gets released from prison, returning to his gang with Frank (Bernthal) filling in the blanks of his time locked up, with Howie (Cohen) showing him around. Meanwhile Jacob a successful businessman gets involved in an accident which sees his best friend killed and him needing to take a plea to get a shorten prison sentence.

With Jacob being in prison, he builds up the reputation of a criminal, using his skills with money to gain the nickname becoming the big shot that everyone turns too, even though his parole officer Kutcher (Hardwick) is watching his every move once he is on the outside.

Thoughts on Shot Caller

Characters – Jacob was once a brilliant stockbroker until an accident leaves his best friend dead and him facing jail, he isn’t prepared for what he will be facing, until his skills become useful, he rising up the ranks of a gang becoming a man known as Money, who has respect and power, without the evil intentions behind the greed of the other gang members. Kutcher is the parole officer that has been dealing with the criminals, he knows how to get through the people, which unlike most sees him needing to take a stronger stand to get the best out of people. Kate is the wife that Jacob loses with his own mistake, she wants him to consider his options, knowing he is a good man inside, but doesn’t understand the man he has become. Frank is the man that takes Jacob into the criminal lifestyle, showing him the wrong path, which will only lead him to a world of darkness.

Performances – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau does give a strong performance in the leading role of the film, without being anything that we haven’t already seen in the crime world. Omari Hardwick does play an interesting character only we don’t get enough of his character. Lake Bell is the same, she doesn’t do anything wrong, only we could have seen more of her, this could well be the problem for most of the performance, not enough screen time for them.

Story – The story here follows a stockbroker who is involved in a fatefully accident which sees him put in jail, where he slowly starts to rise up the ranks of a gang, finding herself as part of the big war for power. This story is told in a strange order, which just doesn’t make it easy to enjoy, it follows every single typical idea of how somebody would rise up the ranks of a gang, even if they come from a life where they wouldn’t be anyway near beforehand. We don’t seem to get anything new to the ideas and by the end we know what to expect.

Crime – The crime side of this film focuses on how the world of crime and how somebody can climb the ranks by knowing how to play the system.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the prisons, showing how Jacob uses his imprisonment to get what he wants.


Scene of the Movie – Cage fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t seem to get the motivation that Jacob has.

Final Thoughts –This is a by the book crime drama that focus on one man’s rise into the gang world after an accident puts his own life into ruins, it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before though.

Overall: By the Book.

Short Caller dives head-first into the world of crime with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Money is forced to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang in Southern California.