Original Gangster

 

The U.S. has produced a plethora of crime-ridden drug lord films, i.e. "Traffic", The Godfather", "Goodfellas", "Casino", "Sicario", and the like. However the U.K. has also produced their fair share of them as well, i.e. "Legend", "Rock N' Rolla", "The Gentlemen" and the like. So, when "Original Gangster" came along, I felt it would be a film, being a U.K. film, worthy of its attention.

Castor (Alex Mills) is orphaned when gangsters murdered his parents, but sentimental assassin Milo Novak (Ian Reddington) spares his life. Ten years later, once Castor has reached adulthood, the two are reunited when Castor steals from one of Milo's men to survive. Milo sees a budding gangster in Castor, who has resorted to violence to sustain himself in his mostly homeless existence. Milo subsequently procures a job for Castor as an enforcer. Since Castor is happy to repay Milo for saving his life, he finds himself increasingly uncomfortable with the cold, emotionless existence of a criminal. After screwing up his job, Milo then sends Castor to his friend Jean-Baptiste Philippe (Steve Guttenberg) to help him out with giving him a job which Baptiste does only involving Castor to even more of the underworld. Castor must make a choice between living the violent, empty life of a gangster or to pursue his lifelong dream of having his own family. 

Others to round out the cast are Adam Deacon as Remo, right-hand man of Baptiste, Isabelle Hernandez as Maria Leon, Milo's wife, Mike Mousicos as Mario Leon, Maria's father, Jamie Crew as Damien Tarver, Vas Blackwood as Bobby Bravo and Daniel Caltagirone as Campbell.

This was directed with grit and soberness by Savvas D. Michael ("Smoking Guns" '16, "Red Devil" '19, "Righteous Villains" '20). Certainly this film doesn't stretch too far out of his comfort zone, however he does what he does best, I can definitely respect him for that. The film is gritty, bloody and violent--all attributes one would expect being the film it is, and he surely creates the tone in which the film involves. It was also written by Michael (same as resume above). This is where the story gets a bit bogged down. First of all, it moved a bit too slow whereas it could have been cut about ten minutes and still get the essence of the story. Secondly, there were a couple of inconsistencies, albeit not too obvious, however still there which created a bit of confusion. After about half way through the movie, it started to pick up and then became the film Michael was attempting to convey. The only American in this was Guttenberg, which portrayed a congenial, yet deadly adversary. It is definitely a Britain film, replete with the dialects, locales and culture. If you like the work of this filmmaker, his "The Bezonians" which he wrote and directed is in post-production.

If crime films, and more to the point, U.K. crime films are to your liking, you will enjoy this movie. It's not the best U.K. crime film produced, however it does have something for all who enjoy this genre: crime, violence, retaliation, revenge and redemption, with enough four-letter-words for any young 18-24 year-old single male to get into. Again, like the previous film, this was released on 12-1-20, whereas it didn't make it to theaters due to the pandemic, so I purchased it to view so as to critique it for you. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                        Rated: Not Rated                                         110mins.

A Christmas Hero

 

With the many Christmas themes that Hollywood shells out i.e. "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol", "Home Alone", "National Lampoon's Christmas" and the like, it's refreshing to see a film that actually is inspiring along with pulling the emotional strings. "A Christmas Hero" is just that film replete with a guardian angel and a poor soul in desperate need to heal his wounds from the Afghan War.

When a young war veteran returns home from Afghanistan, he, Nick Averie (Michael Welch) struggles to find joy in the life he once knew. As he comes close to giving up all hope, his guardian angel, Michelle (Lauren Rys Martin) pays a visit to show him there's more meaning to his life than he's ever known. As Nick finds a new job in an air museum through Troy (Patrick Floch) and attempts to rekindle his broken marriage with his wife, Lynn (Kayla Kelly), he believes he is the only one that can solve his problems, hence the visit from his guardian angel that has to cause Nick to see that he is worthy of being loved by those around him.

Others to round out the cast are Cat Grey as Kristen, a co-worker, Peter Carey as Brandon, Troy Thrash as Troy, Peter Gray as Zach, Derek Duzan as Ben, Greg Ward as George and Bob Nevins as Grandpa Pete. 

This was effectively directed by Phil Wurtzel ("The Chameleon" '01, "Showband" (documentary) '13, "The Barn Theatre: Tomorrow's Stars Today" (documentary) '17) plus a short. The frenetic presence of Nick's issues coupled with Michelle's coolness as his guardian angel was played out with effect and truly kept its audience riveted. He certainly has experience and will be interesting to see what he helms next. It is adequately written by Patti Wittenberg (""Shadow of Light" (short) '18) and Wurtzel ("The Chameleon" '01, "A Hunting in Cawdor" '15, "The Barn Theatre: Tomorrow's Stars Today" (documentary) '17) plus a short, based on a story by Wurtzel. While watching this, I couldn't help but think that this is a modern day combination of "It's a Wonderful Life' and "A Christmas Carol". It's interesting in that the attempt of combining the two classic stories was a refreshing idea, however the implementation of this script could've been a bit tighter and cohesive. The chemistry between Welch and Martin as Nick and Michelle was certainly effective and compelling, but the script simply needed more polish. 

Don't get me wrong, this film definitely pulled the heartstrings and was very inspiring, especially in a day where inspiration is a much needed and welcomed element. This film was originally released with a 11-28-20 release date, so after purchasing it, I viewed it so as to critique for you. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                       Rated: Not Rated                                         90mins.

The Outpost

 

As long as there are wars, Hollywood will continue to makes films about them, especially since audiences have an intense fascination of them. WWI, WWII, the Vietnam Conflict, and certainly the Middle East conflict have given a ton of fodder for writers to create scripts whether being based on reality or not. With "The Outpost" in our midst, this is certainly one of the most descript screenplays based on a true story that I've seen in years.

During the Afghanistan war, several outposts were placed to control the Taliban movement and their supply chain. Camp Keating, situated in a valley surrounded by three mountains, was one of them. While being shot at by the Taliban was business as usual, they attempted to gain respect from local village elders and have them help stop these skirmishes. One day, when 400 Taliban soldiers rallied for a surprise attack, it was up to this small team, including SSG Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood), SPC Ty Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), CPT Ben Keating (Orlando Bloom), SGT Vernon Martin (Cory Hardrict), SGT Josh Kirk (Jack Kesy), CPT Robert Yilescas (Milo Gibson) and others, to leverage the poor defenses and lack of ammo and manpower they had, to ultimately survive and go back to their loved ones. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conlict.

Others to round out the cast are Jacob Scipio as SGT Justin Gallegos, Taylor John Smith as ILT Andrew Bundermann, Jonathan Yunger as SFC Jonathan Hill, Alexander Arnold as SPC Chris Griffin, George Arvidson as CPT Chris Cordova, Will Attenborough as PVI Ed Faulkner, Chris Born as SPC Stephan Mace, Ernest Cavazos as SGT Armando Avalos, Scott Alda Coffey as SPC Michael Scusa, Jack DeVos as SGT Josh Hardt, Sharif Dorani as Mohammed, Kwame Patterson as CPT Sylvanius Broward and Alfie Stewart as PFC Yunger. 

This was amazingly delineated with incredible intensity by director Rod Laurie ("Deterrence" '99, "The Contender" 2000, "The Last Castle" '01, "Resurrecting the Champ" '07, "I'm Paige Wilson" (TV movie) '07, "Nothing But the Truth" '08, "Straw Dogs" '11, "The Surgeon General" (TV movie) '13, "Killing Reagan" (TV movie) '16, "Monsters of God" (TV movie) '17) plus TV and shorts. Certainly with this filmmaker's resume, one can see why he could helm this film with the expertise and grit it definitely supplies. The emotion within the comaraderie of these soldiers is amazing and the audience can obviously feel their pain. It was intensely written by Paul Tamasy ("Air Bud" '97, "Air Bud: Golden Receiver" '98, "Walking Across Egypt" '99, "The Fighter" '10, "Santa Paws 2: "The Santa Pups" '12, "The Finest Hours" '16, "Patriots Day" (story) '16) plus TV and videos and Eric Johnson ("The Fighter" '10, "The Finest Hours" '16, "Patriots Day" (story) '16), which is based on the book, "The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor" by Jake Tapper. These two writers were certainly able to capture what these soldiers were up against in this outpost against a merciless adversary. The story builds from what was a routine existence (with the occasional daily shooting) to these guys being totally under fire in a surprise attack. The film almost seems boring at the beginning which was apparently planned, but once the intensity started to rise, it simply moved right along. The fact that Johnson came in to start co-writing scripts with Tamasy only helped both of them be the writers they've become. I'm certainly looking forward to see what they write next. And besides  Eastwood, Jones and Bloom being the most notable actors in this, the supporting cast was riveting and were truly believable in their roles. Other than a couple of very small places of inconsistencies, such as what happened to one of their CPT's in that, all of a sudden, the audience sees yet another CPT was interesting, but not crucial. The stunts and special FX makeup was as much the stars as the stars. 

This film was originally slated for a 7-3-2020 release, but because of the pandemic, it was pushed back to a 11-11-2020 (Veteran's Day) release date. If it was released then, it wasn't playing in my neighborhood, so I purchased it so I could critique it for you. Mind you, this being a war film, it's very graphically violent--certainly understandable considering what these guys went through. So, due to violence and language the 'R' rating is justifiable. But if you are looking for a war film based on an incredible true story, this has it all!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                              Rated: R                                                 123mins.

The Tax Collector

 

As time goes by, crime dramas seem to become more gratuitously violent. I'm not sure why, except for the fact that we are living in a time where the only thing that seems to get the public's attention is how over-the-top our news and lives have become. It's like what came first? Are films more violent because of the times in which we live, or these kinds of films cause those to go out and become violent? "The Tax Collector" certainly addresses this replete with crime, greed and violence abound.

David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf) are 'tax collectors' for the crime lord, Wizard (Jimmy Smits), collecting cut from the profits of local gangs' illicit dealings. But when Wizard's old rival, Conejo (Conejo) returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family, including his wife, Alexis (Cinthya Carmona). Between David, Creeper and David's uncle, Louis (George Lopez), will they be able to hold Conejo and his henchmen back in order to maintain order and protect his family? 

Others to round out the cast are Cheyenne Rae Hernandez as Gata, Noel G as Snoopy, Cle Slogan as Bone, Elpidia Carrillo as Janet and Rene Moran as Victor. 

This was intensely and grittily directed by David Ayers ("Harsh Times" '05, "Street Kings" '08, "End of Watch" '12, "Sabotage" '14, "Fury" '14, "Suicide Squad" '16, "Bright" '17) plus video shorts and TV. As with his other films, Ayer certainly centers on crime and gangs with how these two elements are intertwined and shows us what's really going on out there in the seediest of hoods. He truly has an effective handle on how to showcase his characters in coming across as realistic as possible. In other words, he doesn't gloss any situations over, but rather hits us between the eyes which is tough to watch. He also wrote the script as well. Ayer's writing ("U-571" 2000, "The Fast and the Furious" '01, "Training Day" '01, "Dark Blue" '02, "S.W.A.T." '03, "Harsh Times" '05, "End of Watch" '12, "Sabotage" '14, "Fury" '14, "Suicide Squad" '16) plus TV, is always aggressive and over-the top mostly to stress a point, especially in his latter films, such as "End of Watch" and "Dark Blue". Even though Ayer's films make a tough sit, one can certainly appreciate the message behind them. As with a lot of his film, again specifically, one will not actually watch his films for the entertainment factor as much as to learn something societally. Certainly this had inconsistencies in it, but the message Ayer was attempting to unfold make it a little more palatable. If you like his brand of writing and directing, his "The Wild Bunch" is announced with a 2022 release and his "Bright 2" has also been announced. 

Mind you, this is not a rated film, which usually means there are elements of gratuitous sex, drugs or violence which this is certainly not without those aspects, however after watching this, it certainly wasn't any better or worse than its 'R' rating counterpart. This is not to say that this is for everyone, especially kids, but I was expecting something far more gratuitous. This film is obviously for those single guys out there that love violence and fast cars and explosions. This, like the last I reviewed was viewed on my DVD player since my theaters are closed due to covid. So, this was purchased it being a 2020 release earlier in the year. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                        Rated: Not Rated                                          95mins.

 

Irresistible

 

My favorite genre is comedy, and more to the point is that I especially admire satire. Then when it's coupled with political satire, it becomes even funnier, mostly because there is so much fodder when politics are involved. There have been political satires created in the past, but when I viewed "Irresistible", I suddenly realized that there ought to be more comedies like this.

This story is about what happens when a small town becomes the main attraction for two rival political consultants. Top Democratic consultant Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell) sees an opportunity to win back votes in America's heartland, namely Deerlaken, Wisconsin, when a video of a passionate farmer and retired Marine Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) goes viral. After a long, hard day's work as a farmhand, Gary persuades the farmer to run for mayor. However, when the Republican National Committee counters him by sending in his brilliant nemesis, Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), Gary is more than primed to up his game, turning this local race into a hilarious game of tug of war.

Others to round out the cast are Mackenzie Davis as Diana Hastings, Jack's daughter, Topher Grace as Kurt, Brent Sexton as Mayor Braun, Bruce Altman as Mr. Peeler, C.J. Wilson as Dave Vanelton, Will Sasso as Big Mike, Will McLaughlin as Little Mike, Alan Aisenberg as Evan, Christian Adam as Michael, Pat Fisher as Dot, Ian Covell as Daniel and Eve Gordon as Tonya Vanelton.

This was slickly directed by Jon Stewart ("Rosewater" '14). Considering this being only his second screenplay to his credit, I was awe-inspired. The way he played both Carell and Byrne off toward one another was amazingly effective due to their chemistry as being political enemies, however clearly still friends at the end of the day. They respect each other, at the same time one upping each other. This takes slick directing. It was also interestingly written by Stewart ("Rosewater" '14) plus a plethora of TV. This was an expose of what honestly goes on behind the scenes of a political battle replete with all the back-stabbing, brutal honesty without any compassion and what will win an election whether or not honesty is involved. I akin this film between "Our Brand Is Crisis" '15 with Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton and "Ides of March" '11 with Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Paul Giamatti. There were a few inconsistencies with this, such as before the starting credits, there were clips and audio of the 2016 presidential election, however as this story unfolded, it was difficult to ascertain whether it was 2016 or today. Plus there was a small amount of choppiness, otherwise it was an enjoyable film with a lot to say, especially in addressing the political machine. It was also encouraging to see how non-partisan the film was. So many political films today are incredibly partisan, considering the brunt of Hollywood being of the Democratic ticket. Stewart wasn't bias. He basically went for the jugular on both sides of the aisle, and that's refreshing.

If you're a political junkie who likes a good comedy, this will be the film for you. I personally love satires, but this being one that has a political bent certainly didn't hurt it. This film was actually released, via the internet back in June because of the pandemic, so I decided to purchase it to view, so I could review it for your pleasure. If you'd like, one can certainly Netflix or rent this.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                   Rated: R                                                  101mins.