Tag: action thriller

REVIEW: Strong emotional core, vampiric thrills power ‘Sinners’

What if “From Dusk Till Dawn” took place in the Great Depression?

That’s sort of what we have here in this new vampire thriller from writer and director Ryan Coogler. A period piece, “Sinners” is set in 1932 and takes place in the Mississippi Delta region. The movie stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, playing twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore.

After making money as part of Al Capone’s Chicago mafia, they’ve returned to their roots to open a Juke Joint. The duo bring in family and friends to help run the venue and it turns out to be a success. In fact it’s such a success that it attracts a group of vampires.

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REVIEW: ‘The Killer’ is a brisk, finely crafted thriller

Director David Fincher has made another solid film on Netflix. Now here’s hoping he makes a third season of “Mindhunter” for the streaming service.

Let’s stick with his latest film, though. With “The Killer,” Fincher returns to the thriller genre, and gives audiences insight into the mind of an expert assassin. Playing the main character, who is only referred to as the Killer, is Michael Fassbender.

The film follows the character returning home from a job only to find someone close to him has been attacked. Knowing the perpetrators are still out there and could potentially strike again, the Killer sets out to eliminate the threats.

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REVIEW: ‘Plane’ has plenty of suspense and action on board

Since 2017’s bomb “Geostorm,” Gerard Butler has rebounded with solid action pictures such as “Angel Has Fallen” in 2019 and “Greenland” in 2020. He’s added another enjoyable one to the list with “Plane.”

Butler plays Brodie Torrance, the pilot of the titular plane, who’s tasked with flying over the Pacific Ocean on New Year’s Eve. Two factors make it more than just a routine flight, though. One is some nasty weather and the other is a convicted criminal (Mike Colter) who’s on board to be extradited.

As the plane goes through bad weather, a lightning bolt hits the aircraft, knocking out its electronics and forcing Brodie to make a rough landing on a remote island. It turns out the island is controlled by a militant group and they take many people from the plane hostage. The only two left to rescue them are Brodie and the criminal, Louis, both of whom have military training.

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REVIEW: Quiet thriller ‘God’s Country’ features a captivating character journey

The loneliness and isolation that comes with living in the country is certainly well represented in this picture.

Thandiwe Newton stars as Sandra in the feature directed and written by Julian Higgins. A college professor, Sandra is a woman who has just lost her mother and now lives alone in rural Montana.

The movie picks up with her one day noticing a red truck on her property, owned by two hunters. She asks them to stop coming onto her property, but they refuse. Their willingness to continue begins an escalation between the characters that pushes Sandra to her limits.

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REVIEW: Elba and B-movie excitement salvage ‘Beast’

Some of Idris Elba’s characters in his career would probably stand a good chance beating a lion, such as the sword-wielder Heimdall from the “Thor” series or the sharpshooter Bloodsport from “Suicide Squad.”

Unfortunately for his character in “Beast,” Elba plays just a regular guy who has to protect his family from a big cat in Africa. He portrays Dr. Nate Samuels in the film, father of Norah (Leah Jeffries) and Meredith (Iyana Halley).

Nate is trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughters in “Beast,” after the two girls lost their mother and felt their dad wasn’t around enough. Nate’s plan is to bring the family on a tour of a wildlife reserve where his friend Martin (Sharlto Copley) works. Things are going well enough until they are attacked by a vicious lion and are placed in a battle for survival.

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REVIEW: Studio-driven ‘Doctor Strange 2’ short on substance

Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been pretty poor so far.

Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) starts off this latest Marvel adventure on a down note, having to attend a wedding where the woman he loved is getting married to someone else. Any negative feelings about that have to wait, though, when a giant monster attacks a young woman nearby.

The woman is America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who has the power to travel to different universes, but can’t quite control it yet. After rescuing her, Strange seeks counsel from Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), as she might be able to help with her knowledge of magic. However, Wanda sees an opportunity to use America’s powers for herself so that she can find a different universe where she can be happier.

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REVIEW: ‘The Batman’ is a brilliant caped crusader story

Some of the best elements of the “Batman” interpretations by directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan are melded into the new crime epic featuring the Dark Knight.

In director Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” Robert Pattinson stars as Bruce Wayne, who spends his nights out in Gotham City as the caped crusader. The film picks up with him meeting with Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) after a night of fighting criminals to consult on a murder case.

The victim is the city’s mayor, and the suspect is the Riddler (Paul Dano), who leaves behind haunting clues. The killing sets Batman on an investigation, where he partners with Gordon and a cat burglar, Selina (Zoe Kravitz). The investigation brings him in conflict with the city’s underbelly, with the likes of the Penguin (Colin Farrell) in his way.

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REVIEW: Star cast unable to salvage below average ‘355’

If you like McGuffin hunts, then “The 355” might be the perfect movie for you.

Jessica Chastain stars as Mace in “The 355,” a CIA agent tracking the location of a device that can practically hack any computer system in the world, from transportation programs to weapon launches. After the death of her field partner, Mace doubles down on her efforts to recover the device.

Those efforts bring her in contact with other agents from several intelligence organizations. The agents include Graciela (Penelope Cruz) from Columbia, Lin (Fan Bingbing) from China, Marie (Diane Kruger) from Germany and Khadijah from England (Lupita Nyong’o). While they are at odds to begin, the agents eventually decide to work together.

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REVIEW: Movie about cons has plenty of cons, but still entertains

A bottle film with plenty of bullets is usually good for entertaining audiences, but the quality can really vary.

“Copshop” is a situation where the film does entertain, but the quality is a bit on the lower end.

Alexis Louder stars as Valerie Young in “Copshop,” a rookie officer who works at a rural police station. One night on patrol, Young arrests a man named Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo), who is placed in a holding cell. Not long after, other officers from the station arrest a drunk driver known as Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler).

It turns out, Teddy and Bob know each other. After working for the mob, Teddy was looking for a way out and went to the authorities. Bob, meanwhile, is a hitman. Now, the two are both at the same station and Young is forced to do some quick thinking as another gunman comes to the station, also looking for the hit on Teddy.

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REVIEW: ‘The Protégé’ provides thrills despite plot issues

More action movies with Maggie Q please.

Anna (Q) is the protagonist in “The Protégé,” an elite assassin who works alongside her friend and mentor Moody (Samuel L. Jackson). The two are exceptionally efficient in their work and the film picks up with them successfully completing another mission.

As the film gets underway, Anna begins researching a new job, but soon after finds Moody murdered. With revenge in mind, Anna travels back to her homeland of Vietnam, where there may be some clues as to who killed her mentor. During her journey, she comes across Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), an assassin who works for another involved party.

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