Film: Road To Paloma

Jason Momoa (Conan The Barbarian) makes his directorial debut in this off-beat road movie.

Momoa is Wolf, a native American on the run from the law after exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his Mother.

Unfortunately we don’t see these events and the film concentrates on the relationship between Wolf and fellow traveller Cash as they embark on their journey. The casting of Momoa’s wife, eighties sex symbol Lisa Bonet, only seems to confirm this as somewhat self-indulgent as her character adds little to proceedings.

Watching this film I have learned that there may be nice scenery on The Road To Paloma but you’ll spend the entire journey waiting for something to happen.

Available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.

Film: Enemy

Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) is Adam, a mildly depressed college lecturer who happens to spot that a little known actor looks just like him.

When Adam decides to get in touch with his lookalike it sets of a series of events that don't look likely to have a positive outcome for anyone involved.

Even though Gyllenhaal delivers a compelling performance this film moves at an incredibly slow pace and the interaction between his 2 characters is all a bit lacklustre until the last 15 minutes.

Unfortunately if you stick around that long you'll witness an incredibly silly ending.

Enemy is available on DVD and pay per view tv services now.

Ric's Rating: Poor.

Film: Gone Girl

When a seemingly happily married woman (Rosamund Pike) vanishes without a trace suspicion quickly falls on her husband (Ben Affleck).

The couple’s happy façade is soon exposed as a sham as we learn their troubles through a series of flashbacks. When we return to present day proceedings events take a surprising turn as nothing is what it appears to be.

Saying any more would risk spoilers but rest assured that this is a compelling tale that makes it easy to see why the book of the same name was a bestseller. Affleck and Oscar nominated Pike are excellent and there is decent support from Neil Patrick Harris (Starship Troopers).

Seven director David Fincher delivers a series of twists and turns that should delight anyone who hasn't read the book although the finale did feel like a little over-stretching of the imagination.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.    

Film: American Sniper

The Hangover’s Bradley Cooper delivers a superb performance as Navy Seal Chris Kyle in this true story from director Clint Eastwood.

The patriotic Kyle decides to enlist and after intensive training is soon deployed to Iraq where he is used as a specialist sniper. His role is to protect ground forces but the highly trained Kyle decides that he must help his less experienced colleagues on the ground. A series of incidents follow, each very intense and harrowing.

These events coincide with Kyle attempting to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife and young family but during periods of time at home he is still consumed by the war.

Can he leave the fighting to others after putting in 4 tours of duty and can he adjust to life back in normal society?

I knew nothing of Chris Kyle prior to seeing this film and there is no doubt that increased my enjoyment of it. It is easy to find out details of this high profile soldier but if you don’t already know then steer clear until after seeing this.

Doubts have emerged regarding the authenticity of events as presented here but regardless of that this is a film that grips from the start and doesn't let go.

American Sniper is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Film: A Walk Among The Tombstones

Liam Neeson takes on the role of Private Detective Matt Scudder in this film adaptation of the novel by Lawrence Block.

A fellow addict asks Scudder to speak to his brother regarding a missing person. Turns out that the client isn’t exactly a law abiding citizen and even though he paid the ransom asked for by his wife’s kidnappers, they killed her anyway.

Despite his initial reluctance Scudder takes on the case and follows a trail that eventually leads to a pair of ruthless murderers.

If you aren’t a fan of Neeson then give this a miss as he is in practically every scene and only briefly disappears from view throughout the entire film. Thankfully I enjoy Neeson’s films (Taken and The Gray are recent stand-outs) and he easily carries the film along on it’s atmospheric journey.

I haven’t read the novel but can guess that this film incorporates elements from several books as we get the character’s history and we meet TJ, a local street kid who I’m guessing is a series regular. Maybe someone can confirm or correct my thinking.

Gritty, violent and completely absorbing, A Walk Among The Tombstones only suffers by not providing more of a story for the villains of the piece. Neeson gives a towering performance as Scudder and hopefully this is the beginning of a franchise as I’d be keen to see more of this character.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.  

Film: Big Bad Wolves

A meek schoolteacher emerges as the main suspect in a series of grisly child murders in this black comedy from Israel.

Following a run-in with local police the schoolteacher is freed and the cop on the case finds himself suspended. Convinced he has the right man the cop decides to kidnap the suspect but soon has to co-operate with the Father of a murdered girl who is out for revenge.

The duo take the suspect to a remote house for interrogation but things don’t go as planned when the grieving Father becomes the subject of his own elderly parents’ attention.

This film features the harrowing subject of child abduction and murder but amazingly manages to be hilarious at the same time, without detracting from the serious nature of the issue. The introduction of the Grandad adds much to the comedy element, bringing real-life family dynamics into a potentially lethal situation.

Funny and disturbing in equal measures, it’s easy to see why Big Bad Wolves was called the film of 2013 by none other than Quinten Tarantino and a US remake is no doubt inevitable.

Do yourself a favour and see the original before that happens.

Big Bad Wolves is available on DVD in the UK from 28^th April 2014.

Ric’s Rating: Essential.    

Film: The Seasoning House

During the Balkans war of the early-mid nineties a young deaf / mute girl is taken from her home and after witnessing the murder of her Mother she is moved on to a house used for prostitution.

Evil pimp Victor is attracted to her silence and decided to appoint her special duties which include administering drugs to the other girls, general housekeeping and of course being available for Victor whenever he wishes.

Things change when another of the girls begins to communicate through sign language and the soldiers who killed her Mother turn up.

A violent quest for revenge follows which features some particularly vicious scenes.

The Seasoning House adequately presents the feeling of hopelessness and defeat that the captured girls feel as well as the brutality of both their customers and their benefactor but despite the almost overwhelming gloom this remains compulsive viewing.

Fans of Hostel and Saw will enjoy.

Ric’s Rating: Good

Film: 12 Years A Slave

New York in 1841 and talented violinist Solomon Northup is approached by a duo offering well paid work with a travelling show. Northup decides to take the job, leaving his family behind.

Unfortunately the potential employers are really particularly devious slave traders who specialise in kidnapping free black people (men, women and children) and selling them into slavery.

So begins Solomon’s ordeal as he is quickly stripped of his identity and told by other captives that he will undoubtedly be killed if he reveals himself as an educated man.

The examples of human cruelty endured and witnessed are soul-destroying to watch. From the young boy made to run on the spot for a future master to a hard working girl’s life being made unbearable when she becomes the apple of her master’s eye. This and many more of the same are perpetrated in full view of all around who meekly get on with their business as they are fearful for their own lives.

Performances all round are fantastic with Chiwetel Ejiofor delivering a powerhouse display as the always dignified Solomon. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o are also fantastic.

12 Years A Slave is a bit of an endurance test for the audience, there is no let up in the despair, leaving the viewer emotionally drained when it ends. However, this true story is a moving account of one man’s journey through a very dark period in American history.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Sightseers

A socially awkward couple head off on a caravan tour of England in this offbeat British black comedy from 2012.

Still grieving the loss of her pet dog, Tina (Alice Lowe) agrees to let new boyfriend Chris (Steve Oram) take her on a meticulously planned caravan holiday. The plans soon change when the duo encounter a number of other travellers with murderous consequences.

There are some moments of humour in this otherwise dreary tale which only springs to life with the odd explosion of violence or totally inappropriate comment. Unfortunately it falls into the trap of not being funny enough to be a good comedy or serious enough to make a decent crime ridden road trip romp.

Lowe and Oram are good enough to hold the viewers attention but even their best efforts can’t elevate this above mediocrity.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy. 

Film: Disconnect

A tv reporter investigates the webcam sex industry. Two young boys play an on-line prank with tragic results and a grieving couple become victims of identity fraud.

These three interweaving stories all illustrate the influence that on-line activity can have on our lives today.

Released in 2012 Disconnect failed to find much of an audience (I hadn’t heard of it myself) which is a real pity because what we have here is the best connecting-stories drama since the brilliant Amores Perros.

Jason Bateman successfully emulates Robin Williams by growing a beard for a serious part and then managing to carry it off. His is one of the best performances (as a troubled Father) among many on show here.

Max Thieriot (Bates Motel) is also fantastic as the misguided youth who turns to webcam work and then sees a possible way out through Andrea Riseborough’s reporter.

Throw in a desperate man tracking down the person responsible for his financial ruin and you have a totally compelling drama.

There is more going on besides what I have mentioned but you can expect to see some of the characters 

overlap into each others stories at some point in proceedings.

Thoughtful, powerful, absorbing and brilliantly performed Disconnect deserves to be seen and is undoubtedly the best film I have seen so far this year.

Available on all the usual formats now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential.

Film: Filth

Irvine Welsh’s popular novel finally makes it to the big screen and James McAvoy (Wanted) takes the lead as corrupt Edinburgh cop Bruce Robertson.

Robertson has his sights set on promotion and sets about eliminating the competition while attempting to solve a tricky murder case.

Along the way he uses and abuses pretty much everyone he meets. There’s the hapless millionaire (Eddie Marsan), the colleague’s wife (Kate Dickie) and the rookie detective (Jamie Bell).

Each are treated harshly and the story often veers off in odd directions before we get to the unexpected finale.

Tragic, funny and repulsive in equal parts Filth is a film that won’t appeal to everyone but fans of the book, and Welsh’s previous hit Trainspotting, will love it.

Filth is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: Only God Forgives

A family of criminals come up against a cop with a brutal sense of justice in this thriller from the team behind Drive.

When Billy (Tom Burke) goes looking for cheap thrills it ends in murder and events escalate when the cop on the case gives the victim’s Father a chance for retribution.

Billy’s brother Julian (Ryan Gosling) goes looking for revenge but his own morals prevent him from taking the action his Mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) demands.

Director Nicholas Winding Refn has served up another visual delight that is punctuated by explosions of violence. The film looks fantastic (great use of colours) and feels very atmospheric but too often veers off on a self-indulgent direction that makes the viewer wonder what exactly is going on.

Only God Forgives would have been so much better as a straight-forward revenge thriller but remains enjoyable thanks largely to the screen presence of Vithaya Pansringarm as the sword-wielding  supercool cop Chang.

Catch it in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: Detachment

Substitute teacher Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) arrives at a High School full of rebellious teenagers and attempts to make a difference.

While coping with numerous issues at the school Henry also has to deal with the failing health of his elderly Grand-father and the welfare of young hooker Erica who he befriends during many late night bus rides.

This story has been done many times before (Dangerous Minds, The Principal) but Brody’s performance along with that of the rest of the cast, which includes James Caan, Christina Hendricks and Lucy Liu, elevate this from the pack.

Detachment is a powerful and emotional film but the constant down-at-heel feeling could have been helped by some lighter moments.  The overall mood created is one of despair and I can’t help thinking that it needn’t have been quite so vivid.

Detachment is available everywhere on DVD and is currently showing on Sky Movies in the UK.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Felon

Just as Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) is about to expand his building business, his life turns upside-down. In his attempts to stop a burglar he accidentally kills the thief and ends up serving time in a very violent prison.

Prison is always a very dramatic setting. It has given us many classics such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and tv series Prison Break. Surprisingly, you can count this among them.

Porter soon finds himself embroiled in the complicated world of gangs, violence and corruption within the prison walls while his fiancée (Mirisol Nichols) struggles to bring up their son and pay the bills on the outside.

Porter also finds himself subject to the attentions of Lt Jackson (Harold Perrineau, recently seen in Sons Of Anarchy), a corrupt and sadistic guard.

Perrineau steals the show as the vile Jackson but we also see his softer side as he struggles with a recent divorce while still looking after his son.

Val Kilmer (Top Gun, Tombstone) turns in his best performance in a long time as long-term prisoner John Smith, who at first seems a nasty piece of work. The reason for Smith’s conviction and behaviour is eventually revealed in one of the film’s most emotional scenes.

Can Porter overcome the odds and serve his time or will the violence he has become part of consume him and alienate his family?

Made in 2008, Felon is a tense, violent, exciting, emotional and very well acted little known gem of a movie. Catch it as soon as you can.

Ric’s Rating: Essential        

Film: Project X

With his parents out of town for the weekend high school nerd Thomas decides (with the help of his two friends) to have a birthday party. The trio see this as the perfect opportunity to boost their popularity but things soon spiral out of control.

When the party kicks off this black comedy has many scenes of drink and drug induced debauchery. The stunts involving the family’s pet dog are particularly distasteful but thankfully they stop short of being offensive.

This is short on laughs until the totally over the top finale but manages to remain entertaining throughout as the three losers strive to attain reverence and get the girls.

Ric’s Rating: Good  

Film: End Of Watch

This hand-held camera style thriller follows the misadventures of two brash young L.A. cops as they go about their daily routines.

Although some nasty and dangerous situations arise the pair handle it all with good humour until they unwittingly cross a powerful drug cartel and find themselves worth a lot of money to anyone willing to eliminate them.

At last Jake Gyllenhaal appears in a film as good as Donnie Darko, I really had convinced myself that he’d never recreate that moment and his career had already peaked. On this evidence he has plenty more to offer. Gyllenhaal is brilliant as marine-turned-cop Brian Taylor who films his daily activities for his own personal project but secretly longs for a meaningful relationship. Taylor’s partner is happily married Mike Zavala (Michael Pena), a soon-to-be Father who is still willing to take risks in the line of duty.

The film immediately absorbs the viewer. Taylor and Zavala are a cool pairing and they happily make fun of the other cops while facing calls that include “missing” babies, a dangerous house fire and a huge violent man who challenges them to take off their badges.

With some shocking moments and tense, brutal action this is undoubtedly the best cop drama since Training Day.

End Of Watch is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: Lovely Molly

Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis) decide to move into the long-time vacant house where Molly grew up, unaware that this would bring back forgotten memories of traumatic events.

Former drug user Molly begins to experience some strange feelings in the house and she is particularly vulnerable while Tim is away working. As her behaviour becomes more and more erratic she finds herself in trouble at work and begins to seek solace in the drugs she battled to quit.

Gretchen Lodge delivers a fantastic performance as the woman attempting to forget past demons but struggling to stay on an even keel. If only they hadn’t bothered with the “spooky” element this would have been so much better.

Lovely Molly is available on DVD in the UK from 22^nd October 2012.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: G.B.H.

A troubled London policeman attempts to sort out his complicated life in the weeks prior to all hell breaking loose in the London riots of 2011.

Nick Nevern (Terry, The Rise & Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan) is Damien, a cop who has more in common with the average criminal than he does with most of his colleagues. As tensions rise Damien must decide which side he is on while also looking out for his rookie partner Louise (Kellie Shirley).

Director Simon Phillips (who also appeared with Nevern in White Collar Hooligan) manages to effectively present a unique viewpoint of London in the latest example of excellent British filmmaking. Real life footage is used well and Damien’s perspective crosses the boundaries brilliantly while the characters actions present a man struggling with his attempts to do the right thing.

Nevern delivers another powerhouse performance and firmly cements his status as the UK’s brightest rising star of urban drama.

GBH is available on DVD in the UK from 1^st October 2012.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Click the Nick Nevern tab for reviews of the other films mentioned.

Film: The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner (The Town, Avengers) takes over from Matt Damon in this mediocre continuation of the franchise.

Renner is Aaron Cross, an agent trained in the same programme as Bourne but when the powers-that-be decide to shut down the programme Cross finds himself being hunted by the very agency that trained him.

The sporadic bursts of action save this film from being completely boring. The plot is made several layers more complex than necessary and the constant “incident room in state of emergency” scenes soon become tiresome.

Even Edward Norton (American History X, The 25^th Hour) as the shadowy authority figure adds little to this and if it wasn’t for a reasonably exciting final half hour this would be getting an even lower rating.

The Bourne Legacy is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.     

Film: Rampart

When cop Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is filmed beating up a suspect his tightly controlled world begins to crumble.

Brown soon finds himself under investigation and past events may re-surface bringing more trouble to his already fragile state of mind.

Desperate to keep his fragmented family together Brown then decides to rob a high stakes poker game but the way it pans out has him questioning who he can trust.   

I was really looking forward to this one but despite a great performance from Harrelson and a stellar cast which includes Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Ned Beatty and Ben Foster, this quickly goes from being an interesting drama to a dull plodding trudge through the life of a morally questionable individual.

The weird combination of great acting but boring story does not make for an entertaining experience.

Ric’s Rating: Poor