Howard Hughes, among others, understood the value of a good aerial dogfight 80 years ago or so. RED TAILS, inspired by the actual exploits of the first African-American flying squadron, is full of them and every one of them underscores why they are so appealing. They are well-choreographed, beautifully photographed, with excellent effects and the… Read More »
DEAD MAN DOWN
DEAD MAN DOWN begins and ends in a blaze of gunfire. In between if focuses on the smoldering anguish of two people longing for revenge, and fighting their better natures in order to achieve it. Though rife with elements that will get it categorized as an action flick, this film aspires to be a psychological… Read More »
SABOTAGE
I can’t fathom why when END OF WATCH was so dynamic, David Ayers directorial follow-up, SABOTAGE, is so inert. Where END OF WATCH had depth and energy, SABOTAGE is is rambling, and at times incongruous, as it unspools a set of stock characters dithering about in a cesspool of rubbery ethics and dogged determination. Perhaps… Read More »
GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’
I can see why this seemed like such a good idea. Jim Sheridan, a director who has made brilliant films about the strife and violence in Northern Ireland and has done so without becoming maudlin, put at the helm of a film that deals with the gangsta culture of violence in contemporary New York. The… Read More »