I’m compelled to call the Romanian drama One Floor Below a “one man show” since it features a solitary character (Sandu played by Teodor Corban) dealing with a possible murder he heard from outside an apartment, and how he handles confrontation with the alleged suspect. The camera is focused on him, and Corban does follow through with his end of the deal – he’s very believable.
By: Shannon Page For anyone who isn’t up on their poker terms, a “cold deck” refers to a deck of cards that has been prearranged in an order that is meant to result in a specific outcome when dealt. In other words, a cold deck has been fixed for the benefit of the player that switches it with the original deck. Unlike a deck that is used for a full game, a fixed deck is…
By: Addison Wylie Director Gabriel Carrer’s screenplay of The Demolisher is practically speechless until 18-minutes into the film. However, the audience is so acquainted with the heart-aching leads by then, that Carrer’s film could’ve gotten away with completely being a silent film. If film critic-turned-filmmaker Chris Alexander is carrying out a similar yet more minimalist approach with the horror genre, Carrer could’ve done the same with this crime thriller. Nonetheless, The Demolisher is really good. And…
By: Addison Wylie A hard day is right. Nothing appears to be going well for Detective Gun-soo (played by Seon-gyun Lee). On the eve of his mother’s burial, he hits a drifter with his car while a corrupt operation to which Gun-soo was deeply involved with crumbles away. The sudden hit-and-run has the unconventional homicide detective thinking on his toes. He stows the body in the trunk of his car and brainstorms a connecting idea…
By: Addison Wylie Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s film is a foreign drama that isn’t subtitled, translated, or dubbed. Every character communicates in sign language as movie goers are given the broad strokes of a crime-laden story. However, Slaboshpitsky’s screenplay is unrelenting, and leaves little to the imagination when it comes to displaying desperate and heartless activity. For the first ten minutes, The Tribe is an unforgettable, sensory depraved experience. One of the first scenes features a celebration…
By: Addison Wylie The vaguely titled Assassin has the ability to be cool, but instead settles on being “cool”. There are cool shots of hitman Jamie (played by Danny Dyer) on his motorcycle as he zips to a hired job and zooms off to collect his earnings, and I quite like what filmmaker J.K. Amalou can do with the correct lighting. Then, there are those “cool” moments where popular songs ineffectively crash into a scene while…
By: Shannon Page Hunting Elephants certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. There are a few laughs sprinkled throughout, but don’t go into this film expecting a passive movie going experience. The film boasts an impressive international cast that includes Iraqi-born actor Sasson Gabai (who audiences may recognize, or not, from his role in 1988’s Rambo III), Moni Moshonov of Israel, as well as the incomparable Patrick Stewart as a struggling English actor looking for…
By: Addison Wylie I truly believe that everyone starring in The Forger knows they’re capable of more. John Travolta, Tye Sheridan, Christopher Plummer, everyone. There are moments in Philip Martin’s crime thriller where you can catch an actor glimpse at a chance to open up their performance, but these fleeting breaths are revoked by Martin’s generic filmmaking and Richard D’Ovidio’s routine screenplay. First of all, Travolta doesn’t fit the build of art theif Ray Cutter….
By: Addison Wylie While I watched The Resurrection of a Bastard, I often wondered where Guido van Driel’s movie was headed. It’s so aimless and without a thought in its busy little head until the existential epiphany its despicable lead character has. However, as soon as I questioned the film, I followed up with another query: Do I even care where this story ends up? Unless the movie is a slapstick send-up, the crime genre…
By: Addison Wylie Tell me if you’ve heard this before. A group of hotheaded blokes are in search for quick cash. In order to collect, they kidnap a wealthy figure. Some of the kidnappers have a personal connection to the victim, and one of the ragtag crooks has “a lot on the line” after having found out his wife is expecting another child. He’s also a thief who has private chats with the hostage. Kidnapping…