Tag: Crime

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Movie Review

The Dark Soul (2018)

Director: Bey Logan

Writer: Bey Logan (Screenplay)

Starring: Kevin Brewerton, Meng Lo, Bianca Stam, Ryan Logan, Wu Ging, Ma Jing-Kwan, Lang-Xing Ye

 

Plot: A mysterious American, Chandler, appears in an Asian city, searching for a missing person. A police commander assigns a local contact, Dickson Lee, to shadow this stranger. The mismatched couple must navigate the dangerous world of an international organ smuggling syndicate. Chandler and Lee have to rely on all their courage and strength to solve a deadly mystery, and finally deliver the criminals to justice.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Entertaining Mystery Thriller

 

Story: The Dark Soul starts when Chandler (Brewerton) arrives in an Asian city in search of somebody, his first connection sends him to a snooker hall, where he meets Dickson Lee (Ye) who helps him locate the missing person, giving him the lay of the land.

As the two men make an unlikely partnership, they start to turn the heads of the people in the city, as people do seem to know where the missing person is, but some heads being turned are the criminal type that want Chandler gone.

 

Thoughts on The Dark Soul

 

Characters – Chandler is an American that has travelled to Asia, he is searching for somebody, he has clues that he can’t explain and a new skill set for fighting, he never had before going on his mission of searching. He does have to learn quick about certain cultural mistakes he makes and does look out of place in many of the locations because of this. Dickson Lee is the local that teams up with Chandler to show him around, he does have an investment in what the two are looking for too, the character is also designed to get the odd one-liner in the film. Diana Zhou is one of the doctors that gets investigated by Chandler, one with her own clinic and operation going on.

Performances – Kevin Brewerton fills the physical presence role well through the film, he handles the action best, just like you would expect a lead in an action movie. Lang-Zing Ye does give the film a more relaxed tone at time which is needed. Bianca Stam brings one of the suspects to life with her controlling actions.

Story – The story here follows an American going in search for a missing person in Asia, he has clues which he can’t explain which leads him to find a local to help him uncover the truth. The story can be broken down to a investigation story, which is interesting to see where each clue does lead Chandler, seeing both sides of the law being the clues also adds to the story, we get certain character traits which feel fresher than we are used to seeing in this style of film. The story does however lack any real obstacles for Chandler to overcome, with any that are placed being simple enough fights to get through. Overall the story does feel like it could have been one that any of the genre action stars could have stepped into, without making anything overly complicated.

Thriller – The film does try to keep us on the edge, with each clue offering up a new mystery it keeps us wanting to know just where the answers are going to lay.

Settings – The film is set in a generic Asia city, we don’t get to know the name of the city, with none of the locations ending up feeling important to the overall story.


Scene of the Movie – Flower Shop.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – That explosion.

Final Thoughts – This is an action thriller you can stick on, enjoy and being entertained for 90 minutes.

 

Overall: Easy to watch action thriller.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Looking Glass (2019)

Director: Tim Hunter

Writer: Jerry Rapp (Screenplay)

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Robin Tunney, Marc Blucas, Ernie Lively, Jacque Gray, Kassia Conway

 

Plot: A couple buy a desert motel where they find that strange, mysterious events occur.


Tagline – Seeing is deceiving.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Anti-Climatic

 

Story: Looking Glass starts when Ray (Cage) and Maggie (Tunney) take over a small motel to help then get over their own loss. With Ray working on the renovations of the motel, they have a soft opening, which sees them attract their first guests.

When Ray discovers secret corridors with windows into each room, which he becomes interested in watching through, then the mysterious events start happening, starting with a pig dumped in the swimming pool.

 

Thoughts on Looking Glass

 

Characters – Ray has just purchased the motel to try and start over with his wife, he is a handy man by trade, using his time to fix up the motel. He learns about secret windows watching through them, he sees strange events happening and wants to get to the bottom of the events going on around his motel. Maggie is the wife of Ray, she is happy to move away from their past, but struggles to trust Ray after his own past. Howard is the local sheriff that keeps visiting searching for the former owner, he is overly friendly too often for the couple. Tommy is a regular that uses the motel for his liaisons while on the road.

Performances – Nicolas Cage is having one of his weaker performances here, he just doesn’t make his character feel like it is one of the own Cage like ones. Robin Tunney does a solid job in the supporting role, as does Marc Blucas and Ernie Lively.

Story – The story follows a couple that take over a motel only to start dealing with strange events surrounding something that happened before they got there. The story starts off feeling like a mystery about what once happened here which is interesting enough right, well it soon takes a turn down a path where seemingly nothing actually happens here, a woman goes missing, Ray becomes a peeping Tom and a nosey cop gets too involved with the motel, this story seems like a bad soap opera episode because it seems like we get a starting thread of a story only for it to go no where. We seem to just end the story without any real twists or investigations going on, it just felt like a bunch of random stuff happening.

Mystery – The mystery is presented, only we don’t spend any time watching what happens which only ends up leading us rather flat about what we have just watched.

Settings – The film is mostly set at the motel which shows how you will never know what could happen in a motel.


Scene of the Movie – The meeting in the desert.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Did you do it, did I do what? This scene lasts an awkward two minutes, it felt like a lifetime.

Final Thoughts – This is a movie that ended up going in no particular direction and ends up feeling like just a bunch of stuff happens, instead of a storyline.

 

Overall: Messy, directionless and empty.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Dragonflies Only Live for 24 Hours (2018)

Director: Richard Anthony Dunford

Writer: Richard Anthony Dunford (Screenplay)

Starring: Karl Kennedy-Williams, Judson Vaughan, Julie Rose Smith, Paul Coster, Faith Elizabeth, Cathy Conneff, Bhasker Patel

 

Plot: Two ambitious detectives stakeout a potential drug deal.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Gritty Police Drama

 

Story: Dragonflies Only Live for 24 Hours starts as we meet everyday police officers Frankie Mills (Kennedy-Williams) and Parker Lyle (Vaughan) who have their own personal problems and are stuck dealing with petty crimes.

After the two miss out on a detective promotion, which they both needed for financial reasons, they decide to team up to create their own business, using their connections from the force to make the money they believe they deserve.

 

Thoughts on Dragonflies Only Live for 24 Minutes

 

Characters – Frankie Mills is the rougher of the two police officers, he keeps himself to himself in his personal life, he has a shady past which would see him struggle to get on the force, but he always turns up for work, helps the victims. Once they miss out, he will turn to the more violent side of the crimes they are committing. Parker is the married father with a drinking problem, he has a clean past, he will do the sneakier of the job for the two officers, even if his drinking problem could become the downfall of their plan. Brooke is the wife of Parker that has seen the problems in his life, but someone he can’t talk to about them. Hyde is the captain that has overlooked the two officers in the first place, before needing to turn to them.

Performances – Karl Kennedy-Williams and Judson Vaughan both give strong performances of police officers that are pushed over the limit of the run of the mill system, they show us how they must reluctantly deal with crimes on the small scale, while showing their ambition to become more. The supporting cast do a strong job through the film.

Story – The story follows two run of the mill police officers that get tired of being over looked and turn to the life of crime to get what they believe they deserve. This does show the simple routine careers the police officers must follow dealing with petty crimes, trying to fill out the paperwork trying to get the promotion they believe they deserve and worked hard enough to receive, it shows the limits they have reached in this career. We get to see how they start using the laws to get what they want and need along with the path this will send them down, one they shouldn’t be able to recover from. We get to see how the friendship between the two is used to make this happen and how much it will be pushed to the limits. We could have seen more from their criminal activities, but otherwise this can show how turning to crime isn’t going to be a smart idea.

Crime – The crime side of the film comes from how the two police officers turn to the life of crime to get what they want, it sees how they will go through steps that become more serious as they get deeper.

Settings – The settings show us how the everyday life can have small crimes in and how the police can deal with small crimes in the right way.


Scene of the Movie – Kidnapping gnomes.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have seen more from the criminal side of their activities.

Final Thoughts – This is a strong crime drama that shows just how far police officers might get pushed to get what they deserve.

 

Overall: Crime drama worth experiencing.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Clyde Cooper (2018)

Director: Peter Daskaloff

Writer: Peter Daskaloff (Screenplay)

Starring: Jordi Vilasuso, Abigail Titmuss, Richard Neil, Aria Sirvaitis, Isabella Racco, Joanna Fyllidou, Alexander Aguila

 

Plot: A private investigator is hired to track down a missing girl on the run from a mysterious Silicon Valley corporation.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Fun, Easy to Watching Mystery

 

Story: Clyde Cooper starts as we meet private detective Clyde Cooper (Vilasuso) who gets hired by Vincent Donovan (Neil) to locate a girl he spent a couple of nights with and gave money too. The investigation leads Clyde down the path to meet to one of the girls which only sees him facing more obstacles.

Clyde finds himself dealing with Loretta Berman (Titmuss) who has her own agenda with the girls, but is will to work with Clyde to keep everything under wraps, can Clyde crack the case before it is too late.

 

Thoughts on Clyde Cooper

 

Characters – Clyde Cooper is a private investigator that has been searching for the missing woman, with his trusted vape in hand, he uses his knowledge from his time on the police force to get inside hooker ring that one of the girls is part off. He attracts the attention of many different people and is always able to talk his way out of the trouble he can find himself in. Loretta Berman is the lady running the hooker business in the town, she knows she can trust Clyde, it is the others being pulled into the trouble that she is afraid of. Vincent is the businessman who has lost the woman he has fallen for, he hires Clyde in hope of learning some answers. Nina is the girl that has gone missing, part of a bigger picture she the mystery about everything in this film.

Performances – Jordi Vilasuso in the leading role is strong, he shows the confidence required for his character even if the flair you feel could be around more doesn’t shine through. Abigail Titmuss in the supporting role is solid enough though she does add mystery to herself. The supporting cast in general is solid throughout with the hookers needing to sexy and the truth about them needing them to have a blank expression at times.

Story – The story here is a missing person case with private investigator starting an investigating into just where she has gone, with the mystery going down a path Clyde couldn’t even have imagined. Much like many detective shows or stories we are led down certain paths only to be sent down another one with a new clue, this does keep us guessing which is nice to guess along with. This isn’t going to be the most challenge of stories and does end up feeling like a pilot to a potential television series.

Mystery – Mystery is one of the most interesting genres, it gives the audience a chance guess along with the story which his film gives us a chance to.

Settings – The film is set in Santa Clara which has been used before and shows us how many stories could be happening in this city.


Scene of the Movie – The piano stairs.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – I would have liked a little bit more flair from Clyde’s character.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun mystery film, it might feel like a pilot episode of a television show which might turn people off, but you can have fun with it and guess along with it too.

 

Overall: Mystery film fans enjoy.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

The Bone Collector (1999)

Directed by Phillip Noyce
Starring Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah and Michael Rooker

After an accident in a tunnel, a forensics expert is left as a quadriplegic who is able only to move his head and one finger. Setting his finger to a computer, he is able to manipulate his environment with the help of a loving nurse. Even so, fearing seizures that could leave him a vegetable, he plans his “transition” with the help of a hesitational doctor friend. That all changes when he is confronted with clues from a serial killer that obviously are pointed to forensics investigation. The case clearly re-invokes his interest in life. A sharp, young cop’s quick thinking saves the first crime scene. Recognizing her talent for forensics, he brings her unwillingly into forensics detection. Through radio contact, she becomes his eyes and legs on the scene.

Violence 8 out of 10 some very gruesome murders and terror situations

Story 8 out of 10 good story of cop hunting serial killer with a twist

Special effects 7 out 10 well done effects when need

Acting 8 out of 10 pretty routine acting each role is believable without any standing out that much more than another

Stand out Perfromance Denzel Washington play a quadriplegic must have been difficult but he pulls it of very well

Overall Movie Rating 8 out of 10 good for all action and thriller fans very well constructed and well played out keeps you guessing all the way to the end.