Tag: Crime

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Movie Review

A Simple Favour (2018) Movie Review

Director: Paul Feig

Writer: Jessica Sharzer (Screenplay) Darcey Bell (Novel)

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Jean Smart, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend

Plot: Stephanie is a single mother with a parenting vlog who befriends Emily, a secretive upper-class woman who has a child at the same elementary school. When Emily goes missing, Stephanie takes it upon herself to investigate.


Tagline – We all have secrets to hide.

Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Slick & Stylish

Story: A Simple Favour starts when parental blogger Stephanie (Kendrick) present her latest show, calling for help to locate her new best friend Emily (Lively), leading to flashback to how they met, through their kids at school and a play date between the two friends.

Stephanie decides to investigate the disappearance of Emily and becoming friends with her husband Sean (Golding) and the case is only waiting for the mystery to be solved.

Thoughts on A Simple Favour

Characters – Stephanie is a single mother who runs a vlog for other parents, mostly on cook, but other life issues parents could face, she has a quirky little life always keeping busy helping around the school. She becomes unlikely friends with Emily and her caring nature sees her offer to look after the children, before her wanting to investigate the disappearance. Emily is the businesswoman who is known as being quite cold in personality with her high class status, she enjoys a drink to get through the day and doesn’t look like the sort of person that would be friends with anybody. Sean is the husband of Emily that is an author that has been struggling to find the motivation on his latest book.

Performances – Anna Kendrick is wonderful in the leading role bringing her innocence to the role always looking like she is the girl next door. Blake Lively easily gives the performance of her career her being a controlling woman. Henry Golding had a wonderful year in 2018, with this top supporting performance too.

Story – The story follows a single mother with a safe normal life that befriends the high-class woman and becomes best friends only for her to disappear and Stephanie goes in search for answers, only to find a truth she isn’t prepared for. This is a story that starts with the mystery of what happened to Emily, it offers up plenty of what if, with the mystery about what happened coming through strongly, it does go in a direction that you shouldn’t be able to solve which is nice and is filled with style because Stephanie is a woman that you would never see in this position and thrives from the new excitement in life. The story is filled with plenty of twists along the way which will always keep you on your toes which is fun too.

Comedy/Crime – The comedy from the film comes mostly from how Stephanie enters this new lifestyle and how the other single parents act towards everything. The crime side of the film focuses on the crime and mystery behind the disappearance.

Settings – The film uses the settings to help evolve the story and shows just how out of her comfort zone Stephanie finds herself in.


Scene of the Movie – The single parents gossip time.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It could have one too many twists for its own good.

Final Thoughts – This is a slick and stylish thriller that has plenty of twists and turns along the way, it puts people outside of their comfort zones just to show what people could be.

Overall: Enjoyable and Stylish.

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Movie Review

Running with the Devil (2019) Movie Review

Director: Jason Cabell

Writer: Jason Cabell (Screenplay)

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Cole Hauser, Leslie Bibb, Peter Facinelli, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Clifton Curtis Jr

Plot: The CEO of an International conglomerate sends two of his most regarded executives to investigate why shipments of cocaine are being hijacked and over cut somewhere on the supply chain.


Tagline – Tastes Like Heaven, Burns Like Hell.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Crime 101

Story: Running with the Devil starts when the Boss (Pepper) isn’t happy with his shipment in Canada, he turns to his Cook (Cage) to follow the latest shipment from the Farmer (Collins Jr) in Columbia to its destination, The Cook follows the shipment, while in America the Man (Fishburne) finds his addiction to cocaine ruining his relationship with his daughter and putting the Agent in Charge (Bibb) on his case.

Can the Cook get the shipment to the location before the Agent gets to close the case that has take a personal turn for her.

Thoughts on Running with the Devil

Characters – None of the characters in this film are known by their real names, just how they are part of the journey of the drugs, with have the Cook who is being sent to track the shipment to see where they are losing it and putting an end to the problem. The Agent in Charge is trying to stop the movement of the drug, which see her tracking down the people involved after it got personal. The Man is one of the cogs in the wheel, only he has gotten himself involved with the product he is trying to sell. The Boss wants answers for what is going on within the product and why he isn’t getting everything he paid for.

Performances – Nicolas Cage brings a calmer performance which isn’t what we are used to seeing recently, it is a basic role for him, one that nearly anyone could have played, Laurence Fishburne brings us a performance you wouldn’t expect from him, though it does seem very strange. By having such a big cast, we do seem to waste the full talents of Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg and Cole Hauser, while Leslie Bibb being the shining light of the performances.

Story – The story here follows the development of a drug shipment as it gets taken to from Columbia to its destination with one of the higher ups watching over it to learn where the product is getting taken from. The highlight of the story is seeing how the value of the product increases the nearer it gets to America, showing us how each person passing on the product is happy with what they get for the sell of their part of the movement. When we look at other parts of the story, we get left wondering about how well this does usually work, just what the Cook really does with his role in the system, as we don’t see him making any drugs and for some crazy scenes with The Man which feels slightly out of the story. We just don’t get sucked into the levels we could be in a crime thriller.

Crime – The crime side of the film does take us into the world that these characters operate in when it comes to getting the drugs around the country.

Settings – The film shows us the different locations that involves the transfer of the drugs, it starts small before getting into the business worlds.


Scene of the Movie – The Farmer’s journey.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Fishburne is hard to watch in certain scenes.

Final Thoughts – This is a crime thriller that is showing how the drug shipment happens and how the people involved will do anything to stop losing money.

Overall: Simple Crime Thriller.

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Movie Review

Joker (2019) Movie Review

Director: Todd Phillips

Writer: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver (Screenplay)

Starring:

Plot: A gritty character study of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society.


Tagline – Put on a happy face.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Dark Twist on the Origin Story

Story: Joker starts as we meet want to be entertainer Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), he works as a clown through a range a roles, though he does have a reputation for being difficult, he lives in a rundown apartment with his mother Penny (Conroy), with dreams of making it as a stand up comedian, with his idol being Murray Franklin (De Niro) the host of a daily show.

As Arthur starts to see certain parts of his life fall apart, he sees a blossom relationship with his neighbour Sophie (Beetz) until he learns the truth about his past and learns to put on his happy face to become Joker.

Thoughts on Joker

Characters – Arthur Fleck is a loner that has been struggling for work, he wants to be an entertainer and is working on his own material to try his luck at stand-up comedy. He starts a new relationship and thinks his life is going in a new direction, until he learns the truth, becoming the icon we know. Murray Franklin is the host of his own talk show, he handles the comedy of the real events and is the man Arthur sees as an idol, he sees one of the clips of the stand up and puts it on his own show. Sophie is the neighbour and single mother that starts a relationship with Arthur, showing him in a better life. Penny is the mother of Arthur, she sees only the good in the richest man in the town and writes to him often waiting for a reply from her former employer. While most of the characters do have more about them, though most details will contain full spoilers.

Performances – Joaquin Phoenix gives us a wonderful performance, showing his commitment to the role, which will be one people will talk about when award season hits. Robert De Niro is joy to watch as the charismatic talk show host. Zazie Beetz is good to watch, though she just doesn’t get enough screen time. Frances Conroy is strong to through the film.

Story – The story here follows a man that has been failed by the society and the mental health system, which sees him struggle to deal with reality and begin his path to become one of the most iconic comic villains. This is much like Venom, a strange choice for a character to bring to the centre stage because we shouldn’t be backing a villainous character, but this time we do get everything connecting to why Joker became who he is. By stepping into how mental health can be brushed aside at times forcing people to fall through the cracks, not being treated the correct way to help them. If you are expecting any sort of comic book movie, you will be lost in this one because nothing we see has anything that couldn’t become a reality, which is what could make the film feel unsettling in places. This is also a story that could have been told without needing to throw a big character name like the Joker in around it and it might have been even better if it didn’t rely on the familiar name.

Crime – The crime side of the film shows how Arthur starts by being a victim, before he starts to try and show just how far he will go to stand up for himself.

Settings – The film does use the settings brilliantly, showing how Arthur has come from the bottom, never been given a thing in life, which does reflect just how we would see a Batman figure born with wealth.


Scene of the Movie – Talk show time.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – I didn’t like the laughing stuff, it would include spoilers to why though.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting a dark spin on the world for one of the biggest names in comic book history, without making it feel like a comic book in anyway.

Overall: Dark and as Twisted as You Would Imagine.

 

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Movie Review

She’s Just a Shadow (2019) Movie Review

Director: Adam Sherman

Writer: Adam Sherman (Screenplay)

Starring: Tao Okamoto, Haruka Ade, Kihiro, Kentez Asaka, Mercedes Maxwell, Marcus Johnson, Haruna Ayane

Plot: A beautiful Japanese madam and her ladies. A deranged, drug-addled Tokyo gangster and his crew. A sadistic serial killer on the loose. The intersection of these stories, and the interior world of the characters, plays out against a dreamlike backdrop of ultraviolence and orgiastic sex, as everyone tries futilely to rewrite their futures and cheat death.

Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Sex, Drugs, Repeat

Story: She’s Just a Shadow starts with Irene (Okamoto) a pimp in Tokyo that supplies the girls for the like gangsters drug addict Gaven (Kihiro) and his partner the ultra-aggressive Red Hot (Asaka), all in the back drop of a serial killer that pleasures himself to his victims while waiting for them to be run over by trains.

When the serial killer starts to target Irene next, he puts together his plan to get her alone, while Gaven fights for control of the whole city against his rival from the other side of town.

Thoughts on She’s Just a Shadow

Characters – Irene is the pimp for the gangsters, she supplies the girls as part of a family traditions, nobody dare touch her because of the connections she has, she does what she can to protect her girls, when the serial killer is picking off the local prostitutes. Gaven is the drug addict gangster, he is spiralling out of control with his actions. Red Hot is the aggressive gangster, if anybody starts a fight, he will finish it no matter how many people get killed in the situation.

Performances – This is a movie where it is hard for the main cast to perform, because of the excess pointless orgy scenes. When we get solo scenes, we do some strength, but not enough, Tao Okamoto is one of the few parts of the film you want to see more from, Kihiro becomes hard to watch as his drug addict side of things. Kentez Asaka does the loose cannon stuff well, but is basic for the most part of the film.

Story – The story here follows pimps and gangsters who are in a battle for power, who are being picked off by a deranged serial killer and set out to stop him. When we break this story down, the side that involves the serial killer, is interesting and risky because of just how twisted the killer is. Whenever we get into the gangster and pimp side of the film, we are going through the same drug filled orgies that just don’t seem have have any point to them. We get more scenes that feel like music videos that don’t push the story forward in any way, than actual progression in taking on the serial killer.

Crime – The crime side of the film puts us in the world most of these characters would operate in, filled with drugs and prostitution, it is the extremes of this world too.

Settings – The film is set in Tokyo which takes us to the main locations the seedy underworld the criminals would operate in.


Scene of the Movie – The serial killer side of the film.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The pointless filler scenes of orgies and drugs, most serve no purpose for the story.

Final Thoughts – This is a film that seems to forget how to tell a story and spends nearly all of the film just make music videos, while letting the interesting side of the film slip away from the audience.

Overall: Painfully experience.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Crime – # – 22 Chaser (2018)

Director: Rafal Sokolowski

Writer: Jeremy Boxen (Screenplay)

Starring: Brian J Smith, Kaniehtiio Horn, Raoul Max Trujillo, Aaron Ashmore

 

Plot: One of the city’s last decent tow truck drivers risks everything on a desperate quest to become king of the road and provide for his struggling family.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Slow Burner

 

Story: 22 Chaser starts as we meet Ben (Smith) a tow truck driver who has been struggling to keep everything together with his family and with friendly rivalries in the field with the like of Wayne (Trujillo) and Sean (Ashmore) who offer him the advice he needs.

When his company gets a big break he must make the decision to continue to work for the company even if it means he must pay upfront it should bring more money back at the end, while his wife Avery (Horn) trying to get into cookery school. We are left to see just how far he will go.

 

Thoughts on 22 Chaser

 

Characters – Ben is an honest hard-working tow truck driver, he does the right thing for the injured people on accident sites which often loses him the tows. He is struggling with money back home which is putting a strain on his marriage and on this one night he will go for broke to make his son’s birthday special. Avery is Ben’s wife who is being strong around their son, trying to push Ben into a better life for them both. The rest of the characters we meet a different people in the tow truck business, we see how they operate both sides of the law.

Performances – Brian J Smith in the leading role shows how desperate side to his character, we feel how much he needs his break from this world and life. When we dive into the rest of the cast each performer is good without taking the spotlight off Brian.

Story – The story here focuses on a tow truck driver that needs to learn the reality of the game he is in, while trying to support his family, it is strange that we can compare this to ‘Nightcrawler’ when talking about the story because it shows us one man that gets deeper into a field that has darker sides about it becoming everything he doesn’t want to be to make sure his wife and child are supported. It does show how hard working people are often over looked until they show a meaner side. This isn’t the deepest and stories and does have a slow pace about it for the most part which can bring it down at times.

Crime – The crime side of the film shows us how Ben can fall into the wrong side of the law when it comes to making the right decisions about what is happening with accidents, he doesn’t cause them and the competition can become fierce.

Settings – The film keeps us in a big city, this gives us enough reason for traffic accidents to happen and shows us who the people cleaning them up are.


Scene of the Movie – The race to the accident.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The pacing is very slow early on.

Final Thoughts – This is a solid enough movie that does get to put us in the world of tow trucks, showing the competition between drivers for jobs and how good guys might not always be first on call.

 

Overall: Slow but interesting crime drama.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

An Acceptable Loss (2018)

Director: Joe Chappelle

Writer: Joe Chappelle (Screenplay)

Starring: Tika Sumpter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Tavassoli, Jeff Hephner, Deanne Dunagan, Alex Weisman

 

Plot: Libby teaches at a university but 4 years ago she was top aide to VP Rachel and was part of a total victory action. Rachel is now US president and worried about Libby keeping quiet. Libby also has a student spying on her.


Tagline – The Truth is a Moving Target

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: An Acceptable Thriller

 

Story: An Acceptable Loss starts as Libby (Sumpter) takes a new job in education, her former career saw her working under the Vice President Rachel (Curtis) being part of a campaign known as ‘Total Victory’ which saw her career change. Libby’s new job shows how she doesn’t have any forms of communication and one of the students Martin (Tavassoli) has taken an extra interest in her life, following her around, spying her on her.

Rachel now being President sends her Chief of Staff Adrian (Hephner) and former lover of Libby to make sure she isn’t going to spill the beans on what happened in this case, all while Libby is trying to make sure she can just get on with her life.

 

Thoughts on An Acceptable Loss

 

Characters – Libby once worked for the Vice President on one of the most controversial projects in defence and dealing with potential terrorist against America, she has left this job because of what happened trying to find a new career in education, she wants to stay off the radar with how she lives, which sees her avoid her former colleagues and fellow members of the faculty. Rachel is the former Vice-President, now President who is trying to tie up the loose ends of operation Total Victory, this will see her challenge Libby on whether she will expose the truth of her actions. Martin is a student that has taken an interest in Libby following her around spying on her looking for some kind of answer. Adrian is the Chief of Staff and former lover of Libby’s, he has been assigned to keep Libby quiet.

Performances – Tika Sumpter does give us a strong performance, we do see how her guilt is controlling her life, while showing how she will do what she can to fix her mistake. Jamie Lee Curtis is the star of the film because every time she is on camera we seeing everything upped to the next level. Ben Tavassoli and Jeff Hepnher both complete the main cast and both do a solid enough role.

Story – The story follows a former staff worker for the Vice President and one of the major parts of a project which saw many people killed, she has moved on with her life away from politics, hoping to one day tell the truth against the now current President. This story is a heavy political set up which shows us just how they will do anything to cover up any secrets, the story does jump around between the two times and careers that Libby has which does just come and go way to often. The problem with this story comes from the fact this could have been a lot more intense because of the subject matter we are going into.

Thriller – The could be a thriller that is truly one of the most intense movies of the year, because the subject could have been showing bigger consequences instead of a couple of friendly conversations.

Settings – The film is set in the everyday location, it shows how easy it could be to get people coming after somebody who might hold a secret.


Scene of the Movie – Jamie Lee Curtis scenes.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does become very predictable.

Final Thoughts – This is a predictable thriller that does tackle a bigger subject matter that goes through cover ups, we are saved by Jamie Lee Curtis scene stealing performance.

 

Overall: Predictable, through entertaining.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Crown and Anchor (2019)

Crown and Anchor: How Childhood Trauma Affects the Future

Crown and Anchor: How Childhood Trauma Affects the Future

Director: Andrew Rowe

Writer: Andrew Rowe, Michael Rowe, Matt Wells (Screenplay)

Starring: Michael Rowe, Matt Wells, Natalie Brown, Robert Joy, Stephen McHattie, Ben Cotton, Jonathan Watton

 

Plot: A raw look at the effects of childhood trauma through the eyes of two estranged cousins.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Tension Filled

 

Story: Crown and Anchor starts when police officer James (Rowe) returns home for his mother’s funeral, with his estranged drug abusing criminal cousin Danny (Wells) having already dealt with the formalities. James isn’t happy and stays away from most of the family apart from Doug (Joy) who informs him of a drug problem in the town.

James decides that he wants to look to end the problem in the town, getting Danny out of the problem he has found himself in and finally facing the childhood trauma they both went through.

 

Thoughts on Crown and Anchor

 

Characters – James is a police officer with a violent side, he keeps his isolated working out listening to aggressive metal music when off duty, he did suffer a trauma as a child and with his mother’s passing things have only gotten worse for him, returning home he wants to fix the drug problem in his hometown which will see him clashing with his cousin. Danny is the druggie criminal who has just lost his job, he has turned to crime for money to support his family, only to learn this has started to cause more problems with the security of money coming into the family, along with James he suffered a childhood trauma which is why he has reacted the way his has too. The rest of the characters we met are family who have their own stories about the cousins and the crime boss who wants to stay in power, with plenty of threats through the film.

Performances – Michael Rowe and Matt Wells are both our main performers, they are both intense with their roles from either side of the law, we get to see the emotional impact that both have with what has happened to them in the past. The supporting cast all work for this film without getting tested to the levels of the leads.

Story – The story here follows two relatives that suffered a childhood trauma and have gone in completely different directions in their lives, while still battling the demons that they are suffering through from their past. This story does try to show how reluctant men are to talk about their emotional traumas they have suffered in life, turning to different vices to help them, be it drink, drugs or violence, we get to see how they can become distant because of their action. One of the weaker sides of the story comes from the pacing, which does make the opening part of the film feel like it is dragging along and it is getting into the truth which is what we want to learn the most about in the film.

Crime – The crime side of the film follows the two cousins that have gone either side of the law, using their positions to commit crimes, with the police officer going across the line, while the criminal falling deeper into the criminal world he has been drawn towards.

Settings – The film is set in one city which has seen a drug problem start to take over, one man wants to stop this to save his family, it shows us just how different worlds can be created for these people to be living in.


Scene of the Movie – Lucky shot.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Slow starting.

Final Thoughts – This is a slow paced film that does want to tackle a couple of serious issues going on in the world, we have strong leading performance to keep everything going strong through the film.

 

Overall: Nice drama even if it has a slow start.

 

 

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Movie Review

A Murder of Innocence (2019)

Director: Shawn Justice

Writer: Shawn Justice, Aimee Anderson (Screenplay)

Starring: Rachel MacMillan, Frank Chiesurin, Xander Steel, Katie O’Grady, Marc Steele, Scott Galbraith, Jeremy McLaughlin, Lily Haug

 

Plot: Based on a true story, a community is rocked by the double-homicide of a prominent couple and the local police struggle to find the killer. As a darkness settles over the town, Albert, the new resident pastor must help his church and family overcome the aftershocks by providing stability, healing and hope while his wife Aimee must come to grips with her own fear through her faith.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Simple Real-Life Crime Drama

 

Story: A Murder of Innocence starts when new pastor Albert Anderson (Chiesurin), his wife Aimee (MacMillan) and six kids move to a new town to take over the local church, the community is very tight and the people are welcoming to new residents.

When a couple of the most-respected members of the neighbourhood are murdered, this puts panic in the community, with Aimee becoming paranoid for her own family’s safety, with Sheriff Kirk Tomlin (Steel) trying to solve the murders before everyone getting out of control pointing fingers at each other, Albert will face his toughest task, to bring the community back together in their time of need.

 

Thoughts on A Murder of Innocence

 

Characters – Albert is the new pastor in town, he does everything to make his town see he has come to do good for the religious neighbourhood, he will face a difficult couple of weeks after the murder of two members of his community, which will see the locals getting upset, scared and even with his wife dealing with these problems too. Aimee is the pastor’s wife, she is just as welcoming as he is, trying to make everybody feel comfortable with the new Pastor, after the murders, she does become paranoid, needing reassurance that they are safe. Sheriff Kirk Tomlin is left to try and solve the crime, he doesn’t have much to go on and doesn’t know if anyone in his neighbourhood could have done this. We do meet plenty of members of the community, each one that will have their own reason for suspecting somebody for the crime.

Performances – Rachel MacMillan and Frank Chiesurin both give us the strongest lead performances in the film, they bring real emotions that the real people would have gone through during the events of the film. the rest of the cast don’t hit the levels of the lead two, though Xander Steel does make big improvement through the film.

Story – The story here follows a religious community that are welcoming a new pastor, only to be left in shock after the murders of the respected member of the community. This causes panic with in the community until the murderer is captured, with on the Pastor to try and keep the people calm. This story does feel like it could be a made for television drama, because it does keep the themes on the softer side, without hitting the level of violence involved in the crime. We do have a religious undertone which will see a lot of praying going on, which is fine for the neighbourhood, but we don’t need to see this happening this often. The crime investigation never feels as intense as it should be though.

Crime – The crime is a horrible double homicide, seeing how people react to this is the important part of the story.

Settings – The small community created here shows us how close everybody is and will be when it comes to getting to make sure they are safe within their own homes.


Scene of the Movie – Welcoming the Pastor to the church.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sheriff Kirk reading a statement, which comes off like a draft reading, over any acting.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting real-crime drama, based on a real events and the effect it had on the neighbourhood. It doesn’t ever hit any levels of intensity, but is more about showing the people coming together.

 

Overall: Real-Life Crime Drama.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

The Captor (2019)

Uncovering The Captor: Robert Budreau’s Thrilling Bank Heist Film

Uncovering The Captor: Robert Budreau's Thrilling Bank Heist Film

Director: Robert Budreau

Writer: Robert Budreau (Screenplay)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, Mark Strong, Christopher Heyerdahl, Bea Santos, Mark Rendall, Ian Matthews

 

Plot: Based on the absurd but true 1973 bank heist and hostage crisis in Stockholm that was documented in the New Yorker as the origins of the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.


Tagline – Based on an Absurd but True Story

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Hawke is a Blast

 

Story: The Captor starts when American Kaj Hansson (Hawke) walks into a bank taking hostages in bank clerks Bianca Lind (Rapace) and Klara Mardh (Santos), he wants Gunnar Sorensson (Strong) released from prison along with his outlandish demands that Chief Mattsson (Heyerdahl) must try to put together.

As the hostage situation continue we start to see the truth unravel and see how Bianca starts to respect Kaj even feeling like she is part of the heist herself, can they make it out of the heist as the origin of the term ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ is born here.

 

Thoughts on The Captor

Characters – Kaj Hansson is the American that has walked into the bank, he doesn’t really have a plan, he knows what he wants though, he wants to be fair to his hostages, never actually wanting to hurt anybody, just to make sure the police see him as a threat. He starts to make friends with the hostages too. Bianca Lind is the bank clerk that has her own family and finds herself being held hostage, she becomes the stronger of the two women, she starts to become attracted to Kaj believing he isn’t a bad guy, this is her story. Gunnar Sorensson is the man that Kaj wants released from prison, he is one of the most famous bank robbers in the country and he sees the mistakes that Kaj is making, while having a deal with the Chief. Chief Mattsson is the man trying to end the situation, he is trying to stay one step ahead of Kaj to get everyone out alive.

Performances – Ethan Hawke is a delight to watch in this film, he plays the over the top which sums up what the character needs to be through this film. Noomi Rapace plays her role well giving us a character which is both interested and scared through the film. Mark Strong is the supporting acting for a generation, he brings his complex character to life with ease once again. Christopher Heyerdahl is strong through the film showing a determined, though calm man through the film.

Story – The story here follows a bank heist which led to the first case of Stockholm Syndrome, where the hostage falls in love with the hostage taker, we see how this hostage situation unfolds with the outlandish demands as the woman starts to fall for him. When it comes to bank heist movies, we have seen plenty, they usually revolve around the criminals and the police trying to stay ahead of each other, with this one we do have that, but we have the added dynamic of seeing how the hostages and takers start to bond when they see that everything can be kept under control, remember this is set in 1973 so the technology isn’t going to be a game changer in how everything is solved. Seeing both sides get to the talking can go through moments of slow story telling, but it isn’t long until Kaj goes a little bit crazy demanding our attention once again. With a subplot involving Gunnar’s position in the situation, we get to see how Kaj really doesn’t know what he is doing making it easier to help the hostages take sympathy with him. It was nice to have just normal police that aren’t looking to solve a personal problem with this case, which is so often the case in these stories.

Comedy/Crime – The comedy in the film comes from everything Kaj seems to do, from his outfit with wig, cowboy hat and American swagger, to how he overreacts to everything that is going on, the crime is loosely based on a real incident, with the names changed, it is a hostage situation, but you never feel like there is a threat.

Settings – Most of the film is set within the walls of the bank, it is a simple and well craft set that shows us just how the people have been thrown together in this situation.


Scene of the Movie – Kaj shares a pear.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t feel like there is a threat in the film.

Final Thoughts – This is a different way to tell a heist movie, it does show us how hostages can fall in love with their captors and overtime even support them, we get the routine hostage talks and end up right where we need to for the story to flow with ease.

 

Overall: Nice spin on the heist genre.