Film Review: LONE STAR (1996)

Writer/Director: John Sayles
Running time: 135 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance
UK Release date: 11^th October 1996

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 28^th September 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I knew very little about this one on the way in and so it was a bit of a revelation to me. I’m not awfully big on Westerns but this modern take on the genre with a huge dose of noir was a nice surprise. Some great performances with the likes of Chris Cooper as Sam, Elizabeth Peña as Pilar and Kris Kristofferson as Charlie Wade all putting in some great work. The story revolves around the recently returned Sherriff, Sam who becomes embroiled in investigating the conduct of his father (the previous Sherriff) when a body is found in the desert outside the town. Set in southern Texas, there are many threads that are woven in this complex tale of corruption and intrigue. There are many flashbacks that help the audience to understand the characters and the various motivations of those being investigated.

If anything I found this one a little too complex; there were several threads that seemed totally unrelated to the main thrust of the story. It’s also, I felt, a little too long; the filmmakers are asking quite a lot for an audience to concentrate for two hours and fifteen minutes. It is slow paced, but I didn’t particularly mind that; I’m used to the noir style and it is usually quite a slow burner. Some great performances with Chris Cooper coping well with the leading role and Kris Kristofferson playing the villain of the peace with gusto. Also we have Elizabeth Peña, who did an excellent job as the female lead and a small part for Matthew McConaughey as Buddy Deeds. Although it does have its problems I still found it an excellent watch; definitely one to look out for for all you noir fans out there.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.5/10.

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 18,083 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116905/

MetaScore: 78/100: (Based on 22 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 93/100: (based on 41 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 44/100 “Want to see”: (based on 8,927 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1074022-lone_star/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: KILLER JOE (2011)

Director: William Friedkin
Writer: Tracy Letts (screenplay/play, “Killer Joe”)
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Thriller
UK Release date: 29^th June 2012

Watched on DVD Sunday 11^th August 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is another film I didn’t know all that much about before viewing. Aside from the fact that Matthew McConaughey’s performance was very well received, I have managed to stay pretty well free from spoilers on this one. Very violent in places with some very dark comedy, I found it a pretty good watch. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) finds he owes Digger Soames (Marc Macaulay) a large amount of money when Chris’s mother steals his drug stash. He seeks the help of his father, Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) and stepmother Sharla (Gina Gershon) when he hears his mother has a life insurance policy. The plan is to hire a cop, Killer Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), to murder his mom and make it look like an accident. The Insurance policy is due to pay out to Chris’s little sister, Dottie (Juno Temple). But there’s a stumbling block; they don’t have the money to pay Joe up front. Fortunately for them, Joe has taken a bit of a shine to Dottie and decides to take her as his retainer. Chris reluctantly agrees to this, but none of them feels comfortable breaking the news to Dottie on the night she is supposed to get together with Joe. Will she go along with it? Will Joe hold up his end of the bargain before Digger’s thugs get a hold of Chris? Will it all go according to plan or is there a further twist or two in the tale? These and many more questions to be answered.

Because it’s based on a play the action does all seem to occur in one place; predominantly the Smith family trailer. I didn’t find this too distracting but I did find it a little claustrophobic at times. All of the performances were truly excellent but I have to say the critics were right; Matthew McConaughey really does stand out in this one. There are some really violent scenes in this one so I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for younger viewers; the 18 Certificate is definitely more than a guideline here. I really liked the underlying dark humour throughout; it gave the narrative a little more interest. Over all, an interesting watch with some nice touches; it doesn’t have any particularly stunning effects but it’s a well crafted character-driven piece. Well worth a look if you get the chance.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.7/10.

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 33,600 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1726669/

MetaScore: 62/100: (Based on 38 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 77/100 (based on 155 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 61/100 (based on 76,768 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killer_joe/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KillerJoeTheMovie
Official Site: http://www.killerjoethemovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: A TIME TO KILL (1996)

Director: Joel Schumacher
Writers: John Grisham (novel), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)
Running time: 149 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
UK Release date: 13^th September 1996

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 20^th May 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit to being partial to a decent courtroom drama and, having spotted this one in the listings, decided to give it a look. It looked a decent cast and with it being based on a John Grisham novel, I thought it couldn’t be all that bad. You’ll be pleased to know I wasn’t far off the mark; it is pretty good, without being great. I will explain more after this very brief summary.

When Carl Lee Hailey is convicted of the murder of two white men who were on trial for the rape and attempted murder of his ten year old daughter, it falls upon young attorney, Jake Tyler Brigance to defend him. His opponent will be the more experienced and very confident D.A. Rufus Buckley. The events take place in a small town in Mississippi and, of course, with it being a race crime, there is a lot of opposition to the defence. Some of which comes in the form of one of the murdered men’s brother, Freddie Lee Cobb, who contacts the KKK for support. Brigance is aided by his friend, and fellow lawyer, Harry Rex Vonner, and law student, Ellen Roark. He also has the support of his disgraced mentor, Lucien Wilbanks. The defence enters a plea of temporary insanity, but can they make it stick? Well, you guessed it, I’m not going to tell you here or the Spoiler Police (Mississippi Division) will be making me eat grits (whatever that is)… (again).

Although well made I did find this film suffered from getting a little too involved in the things surrounding the trial. For a courtroom drama, it seemed to take an awfully long time to get to the courtroom. The performances were all pretty good; Matthew McConaughey is getting pretty good at playing the Grisham lawyer and this is no exception, he plays Jake Tyler Brigance with great panache. Sandra Bullock reminded us again of what a good actress she can be as Ellen Roark and Samuel L. Jackson played Carl Lee Hailey with all the skill and passion you’d expect. Kevin Spacey did a decent job as D.A. Rufus Buckley, as did Oliver Platt as Harry Rex Vonner. Also worthy of note were; Charles S. Dutton as Sheriff Ozzie Walls, Brenda Fricker as Ethel Twitty, Donald Sutherland as Lucien Wilbanks, Kiefer Sutherland as Freddie Lee Cobb (nice to see him playing a bad guy for a change), Patrick McGoohan as Judge Omar Noose and Ashley Judd as Carla Brigance.

Although I enjoyed it, I did find this film way too long. It gets lost in too much detail part way through and there is an awful lot of stuff in there that has very little baring on the case in hand. I did also find it a little predictable in places, but then I have seen a few Grisham adaptations and they do tend to follow a similar pattern. As a revenge thriller, it’s not all that good, but as a courtroom drama, I found it quite riveting. It’s still quite an enjoyable watch, films about justice generally are (I find) and so I can just about deem it RECOMMENDED (even if it’s a tad long).

My score: 6.5/10

IMDb Score: 7.1/10 (based on 51,195 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0117913/

MetaScore: 54/100: (Based on 21 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 67/100 (based on 51 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 59/100 ‘Want to See’ (based on 88,981 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1072381-time_to_kill/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Sheriff: [to rapists] If I get any trouble outta you guys, I'm gonna integrate this jail.

Judge Omar Noose: Good afternoon, citizens. Be seated. Counsel. And you, sir, are you Carl Lee Hailey?
Carl Lee Hailey: Yes sir.
Judge Omar Noose: Mr. Hailey, I am holding a copy of an indictment returned by the grand jury of Mississippi presenting that "Carl Lee Hailey did murder Billy Ray Cobb, a human being, and James Willis Willard, a human being, and did attempt to kill Dwayne Looney, a peace officer, against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi. Do you understand the charges against you?
Carl Lee Hailey: Yes sir.
Judge Omar Noose: How do you wish to plead?
Carl Lee Hailey: [pause] Not guilty, Your Honor.
Jake Tyler Brigance: The defence enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Your Honor.
Judge Omar Noose: Your trial is set for July 22. All pre-trial motions and matters are to be filed no later than July 8. Is there anything further?
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Yes, Your Honor. In the response to the insanity plea, the state requests the defendant be examined by its own doctors.
Judge Omar Noose: Granted
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Additionally, the state opposes any request for bail.
Jake Tyler Brigance: But Your Honor, we have not yet asked for bail. Now Governor Buckley cannot oppose a request until one is made. He should have learned that in law school.
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Your Honor, even Mr. Brigance's meagre legal experience should have taught him two things; number one, I have not been elected governor... yet. And number two, he is required to request bail; the state opposes any such request.
Judge Omar Noose: Well in the future why don't we just wait until he makes the request?
[DA Rufus Buckley nods lightly with a slight smile]
Jake Tyler Brigance: Thank you Your Honor. Your Honor we would like to request bail.
Judge Omar Noose: [Quickly] Denied. I have never allowed bail in a capital murder case and I don't feel that an exception is called for today.

Harry Rex Vonner: Lucien, I thought you were dead.
Lucien Wilbanks: I'm trying.

Ellen Roark: I keep thinking, what would Jake do? What would my father do? What would Lucien do?
Harry Rex Vonner: Well see, there's your problem. What you should be thinking is, what would Harry Rex do?
Ellen Roark: What would Harry Rex do?
Harry Rex Vonner: Cheat. Cheat like crazy.

D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think men who kidnap a child should be free in 10 years?
Carl Lee Hailey: No sir.
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think two men who rape a child should be free in 10 years?
Carl Lee Hailey: No, sir.
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think two men who hang a child should be free in 10 years?
Carl Lee Hailey: No.
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Well what do you think should happen? What would be a fair sentence?
Jake Tyler Brigance: Objection!
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think they should deserve to die?
Jake Tyler Brigance: Don't answer that Carl Lee!
D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think they should deserve to die?
Carl Lee Hailey: Yes, they deserved to die and I hope they burn in hell!

Carl Lee Hailey: You're white, and I'm black. See Jake, you think just like them. That's why I picked you. You're one of them, don't you see? Oh, you think you ain't 'cause you eat in Claude's and you out there trying to get me off on TV talking about black and white. But the fact is you're just like all the rest of them. When you look at me, you don't see a man, you see a black man.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011)

Director: Brad Furman
Writers: John Romano (Screenplay), Michael Connelly (Novel)
Running time: 112 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
UK Release date: 18^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 12^th February 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember when this film came out I was intrigued by it. I have always liked a decent courtroom drama and so this one had an extra appeal for me. Of course it was bypassed by my local cinema and so I waited patiently for a TV airing. Well my patience paid off and I was pleasantly surprised with this one; there were more elements to it than I first thought. I will tell you more after this brief summary.

When slick, street-wise defence attorney, Mick Haller picks up the case of rich-kid, Louis Roulet, he doesn’t quite know just what he’s getting into. Roulet is accused of attacking a prostitute, Reggie Campo, an accusation he vehemently denies. Haller’s ex-wife, Maggie McPherson, was initially to prosecute the case, but she gives it to her colleague, Ted Minton when she realises it’s Haller defending. As Haller and his investigator, Frank Levin, dig deeper into the case they find evidence that may change their estimation of Roulet. This evidence links to an old case of Haller’s, one he didn’t win. It’s also evidence that puts Haller and his family and friends in danger. I won’t say any more or the Spoiler Police (Crime Dramas Division) will have me banged up on trumped-up charges (again).

A well made crime drama is something I always enjoy, and that is what we have here. It may well only be up to ‘B’ movie standard in some people’s eyes but they can’t deny it’s very a well scripted and a well made ‘B’ movie. I thought all the performances were very good, particularly Matthew McConaughey as Mick Haller, he coped with the leading role very well (IMO). Marisa Tomei was also very good as Maggie McPherson, as were, Ryan Phillippe as Louis Roulet and William H. Macy as Frank Levin. Honourable mentions also go to; Josh Lucas as Ted Minton, John Leguizamo as Val Valenzuela, Michael Peña as Jesus Martinez, Bob Gunton as Cecil Dobbs, Frances Fisher as Mary Windsor and Bryan Cranston as Detective Lankford.

I enjoyed this film very much, it’s not quite up there with the best crime dramas, but it’s not that far off. I know that the writer of the novel on which it is based, Michael Connelly, is very popular and so I’m not surprised to find a well thought out plot with many twists and turns in it. The problem with many films of this type is that you can only really watch (and enjoy) them once but I feel I could enjoy this one if I watched it again even with knowing the eventual outcome. That’s testament to the writing, the acting and the whole production of it. You’ll not be surprised that I therefore deem it… Recommended.

My score: 6.7/10.

IMDb Score: 7.4/10 (based on 52,496 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1189340/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 84/100 (based on 159 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 82/100 (based on 56,525 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lincoln_lawyer/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Mick Haller: I checked the list of people I trust and your name ain't on it.

Earl: You know what? You would've done all right on the streets.
Mick Haller: Shit. Where do you think I am, Earl?

Mick Haller: Do you know the difference between a Maserati and a Range Rover?
Reggie Campo: One is small and one is big, I guess.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.thelincolnlawyermovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: FRAILTY (2001)

Director: Bill Paxton
Running time: 100 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
UK release date 6th September 2002

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 19th February 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I watched this on the recommendation of a friend and was pleasantly surprised (thanks for that Mr The Aus Man). Although not perfect, I found it a quite compelling tale of how a vision from God can split a family apart and how it can lead to murder. I will tell you more of my thoughts later, but here’s a brief summary first (summary haters and those who don’t wish to know anything about the plot please dig a big hole in the back yard while I write the next paragraph).

After a crop of murders perpetrated by the ‘God’s Hand Killer’ remain unsolved, the lead FBI agent, Wesley Doyle, is surprised when a young man walks into his office and claims to know who the killer is. The man in question, Fenton Meiks, tells of how, at a young age he and his young brother, Adam, were roused in the middle of the night by their father. He has had a vision from God and they are to go out into the world and destroy demons put there by the devil. The boys live alone with their father after their mother died in childbirth. Fenton, being the older brother and is sceptical, but he also fears his father and so keeps quiet. The father is shown which tools to use in another vision and he brings these home. Soon the day comes when their father brings their first ‘demon’ home… I will stop there as I don’t want to give too much away.

A lot of the story is told in flashback and I was impressed with the work of both Matt O'Leary as Young Fenton and Jeremy Sumpter as Young Adam. There were some nice touches in the cinematography and I was relieved that it didn’t become a gore-fest, which it could so easily have done. Of the grown up actors, very powerful performances from both Bill Paxton as the father, and Powers Boothe as FBI Agent Wesley Doyle. Although more subdued, Matthew McConaughey put in a decent performance as Fenton Meiks.

The film has a very slow and deliberate pace that slowly builds up the tension. I would have liked a little more background on the father, particularly about the strength of his faith before his visions. There is a bit of a double twist in the tale at the end which, at first I found a little disappointing, but then changed my mind when the second twist was revealed. Don’t worry, no clues here! Over all, quite a compelling and powerful film that deals with the question of faith and how it can be misconstrued. I guess if you have very strong religious beliefs then you may not find this to your liking, but then, you never know. For me, I found it very watchable and quite compelling. Certainly worth watching for the performance of Matt O’Leary, he was excellent (IMO)… Recommended.

My score: 7.4/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0264616/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frailty/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1319633177/