Over the last few years, much of the best stunt work has been coming out of Asia. Preman: Silent Fury (2022) from Indonesia, Aliennoid (2022) from Korea, Baby Assassins (2021) and HYDRA (2020) from Japan, and Raging Fire (2021) from… Read More ›
crime thriller
When the mystery remains, Korean action drama “Spiritwalker” crackles with energy and intrigue.
There can be just as much enjoyment in going on a journey you do know as in venturing on one marked by unfamiliar terrain. The predictability of something brings comfort, while something peculiar offers its own enticements. Writer/director Yoon Jae-keun… Read More ›
A riveting thriller from start to finish comes down to “The Execution.” [Fantastic Fest]
Between 1978 – 1990, a series of brutal murders were committed by Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, totaling more than 50 women and children before he was captured, convicted, and executed via firing-squad. This absolute horror serves as the narrative… Read More ›
Looking for a spark of fun? Enter “The Vault.”
The “cinematic baggage,” as it is known, that we bring with us into each film-viewing experience always has an effect on our perception of movies, even if this sensation is unconscious. We may love a film with a greater zeal,… Read More ›
Be careful out there. If you “Flinch,” you’ll catch a bullet.
If you’re familiar with Cameron Van Hoy, it may be because of his work as Eddie Alvarez in STARZ’s Crash or as Deputy Duke in the hilarious slasher-comedy Tragedy Girls (2017). With luck, thanks to his feature-length directorial debut Flinch,… Read More ›
Quick Take Review: “Beasts Clawing at Straws.”
If you found a duffle bag filled with money, what would you do? That’s the question that drives the Korean film Beasts Clawing at Straws. The mystery crime-noir thriller is from first time director Kim Yong-hoon. On this Quick Take… Read More ›
16 years later, Michael Mann’s “Collateral” is as strong a neo-noir as ever. But does HDR improve or distract?
In the included commentary for Collateral, director Michael Mann comments that the film picks up in the third act of a standard film. He’s not wrong at all with this description as the audience is given a clue of location… Read More ›
RZA continues to up his directorial game with crime drama “Cut Throat City.”
There’s a brief line said by T.I.’s Lorenzo “Cousin” Bass that contains more than just a slight meaning to the context of the moment in which it’s said. Cousin is speaking to the four leads — Blink (Shameik Moore), Miracle… Read More ›
A quiet film with fantastic suspense, “Wildland (Kød & blod)” is a different flavor of mafia movie. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Although the Fantasia International Film Festival was held virtually this year, it still featured an incredible lineup of wild and visceral films that celebrated everything gory and horrific. Many of the featured titles were loud and boastful with their colorful… Read More ›
“Dreamland” is a super stylish and entertaining noir.
Bruce McDonald isn’t a director that a lot of people are going to be familiar with. Sure, he has credits to his name, but nothing that the average filmgoer will be able to recognize. However, the most famous movie in… Read More ›
Nothing marks “First Love” like drugs, gangs, and absolute mayhem.
There’s something about first love that can be hard to quantify, even when looking back on it. The simultaneous excitement of being attracted to someone else, the endless internal questions trying to figure out what it means, the unyielding terror… Read More ›
Now available on home video, Andrea Berloff’s adaptation of DC Vertigo limited series “The Kitchen.”
In November 2014, the first issue of DC Vertigo’s The Kitchen ran. Created by Ollie Masters and drawn by Ming Doyle, the story followed three women trying to survive in 1970’s mobland New York. With the desire for stories from… Read More ›
Writer/director Jason Cabell draws from personal experience to create crime thriller “Running with the Devil”.
The crime thriller genre has been explored thousands of times, with many different approaches, throughout the history of cinema. Some of the best directors in this category, such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, and Michael Mann,… Read More ›
“The Kitchen” lays bare all of the good, the bad, and the ugly that comes with mob life in this DC Vertigo adaptation.
Ask virtually anyone and they’ll tell you that the only thing in the theaters these days are reboots, remakes, and superhero films. To a degree, that’s pretty spot on. Studios make more of what audiences pay to see and nostalgia… Read More ›
Sony Classics crime thriller “The Fall of the American Empire” is an emotionally captivating experience.
Oscar-winning director Denys Arcand offers The Fall of the American Empire, an eclectic genre mash-up combining crime drama, a thrilling heist adventure, and a social commentary. This French-Canadian film spoken almost entirely in the beautiful language of French (and subtitled… Read More ›
Curiouser and Curiouser, Vaughn Stein’s feature debut ‘Terminal’ is a candy-coated neon nightmare into the bowels of Wonderland.
Appearances can be deceiving. Always be the smartest person in the room. There’s no such thing as coincidence. These may be rote clichés, yet the failure to adhere to them will get you killed in Vaughn Stein’s feature debut, Terminal…. Read More ›