Film: The Baytown Outlaws

The Oodie Brothers have a reputation for handing out some old fashioned justice, so when Celeste (Eva Longoria) asks them to rescue her Godson from her abusive ex (Billy Bob Thornton), they soon discover that she has 25,000 reasons for them to say yes.

The trio head off on a violent road trip that sees them encounter lethal hookers, a road gang straight out of Mad Max and very intriguing young man.

The Oodies are fantastic. There is Brick the leader, McQueen the brash youngster and Lincoln, the silent former professional wrestler. Throw in Andre Braugher (Last Resort, Homicide: Life On The Street) and you have a really cool cast that all seem to be enjoying themselves.

This kinda feels like a TV pilot and would’ve worked as such. I for one would tune in every week to see what the crazy brothers were up to. As it is we have to settle for this one off (so far) adventure.

The Baytown Outlaws is available on DVD now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

A - Z Challenge: O

O is for.....................................One False Move.

This character driven drama from 1991 stars an almost unrecognisable Billy Bob Thornton as a killer on the run with his two companions.

Awaiting their arrival in his sleepy little town is local cop Dale "Hurricane" Dixon, a fantastic Bill Paxton, but is he prepared for the mayhem they will bring?

This is a superior drama, it's a slow burner with terrific performances.

Highly recommended.

Film: Faster

Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock stars as an ex-con out to avenge the murder of his brother in this high octane action movie with the versatile Billy Bob Thornton as the washed-up cop trying to track him down as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Also trailing Johnson is an enigmatic hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) out to prove he is the best in the business.

This film takes me back to Arnie and Seagal at the peak of their powers as Johnson portrays a no-nonsense tough guy on a good old fashioned mission of revenge. It's reassuring to see that Johnson is actually a credible action star instead of a silly joke figure as he was in the terrible Tooth Fairy.

The edginess of the film dilutes somewhat as we get to the final third and the ending is very predictable but otherwise this is a fine action film and another contributor to the resurgence of the genre.

On this performance I'm now looking forward to seeing Johnson up against Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the upcoming Fast Five.

Ric's Rating: 79%