Tag Archives: crime-thriller

Netflix Review “Intrusion” (2021) #NetflixReview #150WordReview

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the excitement wasn’t whodunnit, but howdunnit and whydunnit

A woman (Meera, Freida Pinto) starts a new life with her husband (Henry, Logan Marshall-Green: Tom Hardy’s American doppleganger) after overcoming a bleak cancer prognosis in the dream house that he designed and built. But when they fall victim to a home invasion and robbery, Meera’s newfound sense of security is left shattered.

Intrusion plays the old “vulnerable wife, is the husband too-good-to-be-true?” angle quite well, although I could see where the film was going quite early on. None-the-less, this felt like an episode of Columbo: the excitement wasn’t so much in whodunnit, as we could guess quite early on, but howdunnit and whydunnit — although it must be said that the film didn’t quite deliver on the why.

Somewhat trite, somewhat staid, Intrusion was none-the-less capably written, effectively directed, and well acted. An entertaining Friday night flick.

3/5

© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://www.wikirise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Intrusion-2021-%E2%80%93-Hollywood-Movie.jpg

Film Review: “The Woman in the Window” (2021) #150WordReview

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A really good movie, albeit…

Agoraphobic divorcee Anna Fox (Amy Adams) is increasingly losing touch with reality, most of her days are spent staring out of her window and spying on her neighbours. But one day she witnesses her next door neighbour, and sole friend, Jane Russell (Julianne Moore) murdered in her own house. However, when the police check it out, it turns out that her neighbour is well and alive, but is not the woman that Anna knows (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

Is Anna crazy, or is there a cover-up afoot? The Woman in the Window is a thrilling mystery crime drama. Off-kilter performances and direction with several twists.

There is a vaguely Scream-esque aspect to the final reveal, but done straight-faced. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Other aspects of the film are slightly derivative. None-the-less, the movie was well acted, logically scripted, and compellingly directed.

A really good movie, albeit one which underuses its wonderful cast.

3/5

© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/woman-window-poster01.jpg

Film Review “Retribution” a.k.a. ‘El Desconocido’ (2015) #100WordReview #NetflixReview

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a 102 minute long white knuckle ride

When Carlos (Luis Tosar) decides to take his kids to school one morning, he imagines that the breakfast time argument with his wife Marta (Goya Toledo) is the worst thing that would happen to him. Little does he know that his car is rigged to a bomb which will explode when they leave the car. But who is this mystery stranger responsible, and what does he want?

Retribution a.k.a. El Desconocido (‘The Stranger’) is a 102 minute long white knuckle ride, a crime-action-thriller so tense that I found myself agitatedly yelling at the screen. Believable, and with good performances from our leads including the stranger (Javier Gutiérrez).

Taut.

4/5

© 2020-2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://pics.filmaffinity.com/El_desconocido-444971289-large.jpg

Netflix Film Reviews “Eye for an Eye” a.k.a. “Quien a Hierro Mata” (2019) #NetflixReviews

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if you can suspend your disbelief … enjoy the ride

Mario (Luis Tosar), a nurse in an old folks’ home, and Antonio Padin (Xan Cejudo), a legendary drug lord now residing there, make an unlikely double act. But when they meet, they just seem to hit it off, almost as if they have a bond which runs deeper. Certainly, they’re bonded by suffering.

Mario looks forward to a bright new life with his heavily pregnant wife Julia (Maria Vazquez) whilst trying to push away demons from his past which just won’t lie. Meanwhile, our feared drug lord Antonio has interred himself in an old folks’ home and is just waiting the inevitable while his two sons, Kiko (Enric Auquer) and Tono (Ismael Martinez), busily ruin his empire.

Eye for an Eye a.k.a. Quien a Hierro Mata (‘Who Kills Iron’) is a story of pain and revenge, it has some truly shocking moments. For the most part, a believable film, but my only issue is that the entire second half hangs on a very James Bond Villain’s Speech which one character gives to another; without this speech, the film doesn’t crank up a gear, yet it was totally unbelievable that this particular character should launch into that monologue. But if you can suspend your disbelief, then you can enjoy the ride.

A great character study set against the background of a drugs deal gone awry.

4/5

© 2020-2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://pics.filmaffinity.com/quien_a_hierro_mata-621396350-large.jpg

Film Review: “I See You” (2019) #NetflixReviews

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Horror now has a new iconic image to add to its scripture

The Harpers are struggling to deal with a recent tragedy in their family when a mysterious and evil presence begins to torment them within the sanctum of their already fractured home. A recent spate of child kidnappings adds further pressure on pater familias and local detective Greg Harper (Jon Tenney). Can Greg and his wife Jackie (Helen Hunt) and teenage son Connor (Judah Lewis) hold it together? And what is the evil force which has begun to terrorise them?

I See You is a crime-horror-thriller that thoroughly involves you in its mythology from the start. It’s also an interestingly structured and plotted film without being overwrought in the least. Split quite neatly into two halves, the second offers us a completely different perspective on the story thus far and develops the plot in unforeseen ways. Yet despite the unexpected twists, I See You is never a shlocky twistomatron, throwing up mindbending twists for the Hell of it. Quite the opposite: everything moves and develops in a completely believable way. Indeed, at the half way point where we begin to see the story from a different angle, so to speak, I felt momentarily deflated that the “reveal” was so soon. Yet this half-way point reveal was only the beginning of what was a wonderful ride indeed.

The music and sound design was thoroughly disturbing from the very beginning. It combined with the cinematography to unsettle and rivet us simultaneous. Never a boring moment. I kept waiting for the film to careen off the tracks as so many of this kind do in the second or third act. But it never happened. The writing was first rate and all the actors convinced. But the cherry on the cake? Horror now has a new iconic image to add to its scripture (see the poster above). This movie has all the traits I associate with a franchise-spawning beast, and I foretell a slew of much worse sequels coming from this bad boy.

You may have noticed that I haven’t said too much about the plot details-wise. Well frankly, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Just watch this movie. Highly satisfying in every way.

4/5

© 2020-2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://cdn.traileraddict.com/content/saban-films/i-see-you-2019-poster.jpg

Netflix Film Review “Awake” (2019) #NetflixReviews #150WordReview #AwakeMovie #Awake2019

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Please ignore the 5.0 IMDb and 14% Rotten Tomatoes scores.

A man wakes up in a hospital bed, bandaged from head to toe, and with no memory or who he is. But when our nameless protagonist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) learns that he is a wanted serial killer, something just doesn’t sit right, and he won’t stop until he finds out who he really is and what happened to him.

Awake is a tense, fast-paced crime mystery with twists. Rookie writer Elana Zeltser makes a solid if not ground-breaking screenplay debut. The script, whilst not as clever as Memento (1999) or as taut as Taken (2008), is well-written with believable plotting and dialogue. Our leads, Meyers and Francesca Eastwood, also really sell the film, although the acting from Malik Yoba (detective Frank Ward) had a tendency to veer off into TV movie territory.

Please ignore the 5.0 IMDb and 14% Rotten Tomatoes scores. This film is much better than that. Riveting, fast-paced, not overly obvious albeit not earth-shakingly original, this is a lovely little movie to spend 92 minutes with.

3/5

© 2020 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://cloud.filmfed.com/movies/posters/l_d62cd997-23ab-406c-83f5-97abf951d63b.jpg