Category Archives: Revenge

2007, Could Be Sad, Drama, Explicit sex, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Crossing Over (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Boasting an all-star cast that includes Harrison Ford, director Wayne Kramer’s thoughtful drama weaves several stories together to create an emotionally charged examination of immigration in Los Angeles. Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta co-star in the powerful ensemble film, which provides a harrowing look at border crossing, document fraud, asylum seekers, naturalization, counterterrorism and the clash of cultures in America.

“Crossing Over” is one powerful, compelling tapestry of immigrant stories. Very few of the subplots end happily. Therein lies my only complaint: the film is very heavily slanted toward the viewpoint that the INS is unfair, uncaring, and in one case corrupt. Having said that, my heart was with the sad lives of the illegals. Most of the immigrants in the film are, in fact, illegals seeking desperately to become legal. I have met illegals in my neighborhood doing things like painting, mowing, etc. Their stories can be heart-rending as are the stories in this film.

As far as the craft of filmmaking is concerned, this is a very well made film. There are too many fine actors doing an excellent job to be able to credit any one in particular.

2006, Conspiracy, Detective, Drama, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Inside Man (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Dispatched to a crime scene where a bank robbery is in progress, police detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) hopes to apprehend the cunning thief (Clive Owen) so he can make his case for a promotion. But when a savvy negotiator (Jodie Foster) with questionable motives arrives on the scene, an already unstable situation threatens to implode. Spike Lee directs this tense action-drama co-starring Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer.

“Inside Man” is probably for me the most unusual and original bank robbery movie I have ever seen. Clive Owen does not disappoint. Pay close attention the the very final scene that involves a subtle slight of hand.

2008, Biographical, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Suspense, Violent, War

Defiance (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski, one of four Jewish brothers who escape from Poland into the forests of Belarus during World War II to lead a band of resistance fighters and create a safe haven for Jewish refugees. The real-life sanctuary established by the Bielski brothers saved more than 1,000 Jews from persecution and death. Edward Zwick directs this moving historical drama that also stars Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell and George MacKay.

Go the Wikipedia article for the history of the Bielski Partisans.

“Defiance” tells a story, an exciting, suspenseful and meaningful story to be sure. Yes, there is some nuance of personalities, but the story is first and foremost (as it was in “Shindler’s List”). However there is also quite a bit of philosophical questioning: what happens to moral principles under the pressure of persecution ? Also there is the ever present anti-semitism, for example among the Russian partisans.

Sometimes the staging seems a bit suspect (a beautiful snowy wedding under a silk canopy in the forest ?). But hopefully for the most part the forest encampments looked as filmed.

Daniel Craig (Tuvia Bielski) is well-known as the current James Bond. Liev Schreiber (Zus Bielski) is the bad guy in the current “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and has played in 4 CSI TV episodes. It is a pleasure watching these two actors escape their unfortunate Hollywood pigeon holes and do an excellent job. Even their voices take on that low rumble associated with rough Slavic speakers.

Finally if you want to see a wonderful historical dramatization, DON’T MISS THIS FILM !

2001, Could Be Sad, Feel Good Not For Children, Revenge, Stephen King, Suspense

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

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From NetFlix:

This coming-of-age drama set in the 1960s is another one of Stephen King’s short stories adapted for the big screen. Anthony Hopkins plays an elderly man with bad eyesight and a second sight who’s a boarder in a widower’s home. He befriends the woman’s young son, who reads to him and learns of his mysterious power and the danger he’s trying to escape. On the heels of the success of King’s The Green Mile, this film’s tepid reviews surprised many.

Anthony Hopkins has not been a consistently good actor. In fact, as I see it, he has been in some really second-rate movies and his acting at times has been horrible (examples: Dracula or The Mask of Zorro). In “Hearts in Atlantis” he is acceptable. It is the story that held my attention. You do have to suspend some disbelief because the supposedly 11 year old boy has some lines that are just too mature and observant for a kid that age. And did J. Edgar Hoover, for all his cross-dressing faults, really employ psychics to fight communism ? Maybe I should read the original Stephen King short story. I would still call this a feel-good, but not for children (who might not understand the mother’s rape scene). There is one bashing scene, but this is not a violent film.

2008, Biographical, Gay theme, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Milk (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about
Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was
murdered along with mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city
employee Dan White (Josh Brolin, in an Oscar-nominated role) in 1978. Director
Gus Van Sant’s compelling biopic (nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award)
co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna.

Where to begin! That’s easy: First you could watch The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) which is an excellent documentary. More than that, ‘Milk’ often intersperses parts of the documentary into the film. Secondly, there is an excellent Wikipedia article on Harvey Milk which is long and very detailed.

I worry about a film which is an historical interpretation lest it become an historical distortion. For example, at one point Sean Penn says he thinks Dan White is really a closeted gay. Did the real Milk ever say such a thing? If not, I object to inserting such a gratuitous comment. However, the Wikipedia article together with the documentary lend much credibility to the Hollywood version. The article more than the film shows Harvey Milk as a complicated man who in fact did have many sexual affairs, who had a bit of an an attitude and could be very difficult to get along with, had several lovers involved with suicides (threatened and real), and who in his 40s was pushed into reacting and becoming involved politically by external forces. Granted any film has to focus on some aspect of the subject and there is too much to tell about Milk and his colorful era to put into one film.

Sean Penn captured Harvey Milk surprisingly close in looks but especially in manner as the documentary shows the ever smiling Milk. Josh Brolin looked like and captured Dan White to a remarkable degree. In fact, the very end of the film pairs photos of actors with their real-life counterparts, and the similarities are often striking.

The documentary (and, in all fairness, the film) made it clear that the double murder was meticulously planned. I wish the film had explained more what a joke the murder trial was (e.g. gays were excluded from the jury). The Wikipedia article explains how the “twinkie defense” motivated subsequent California laws which abolished “diminished capacity” as a defense to a charge.

2002, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

The Salton Sea (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Punk-rocking speed freak Danny Parker (Val Kilmer) freelances as an informant for brutal narcotics cops Al Garcetti (Anthony LaPaglia) and Gus Morgan (Doug Hutchison). But when he’s not assisting the cops on drug busts, Danny gets high and leads a double life as a talented, mild-mannered trumpeter named Tom Van Allen. One personality is in search of his wife’s killer, but reality is evasive in director D.J. Caruso’s neo-noir crime thriller.

Welcome to the first of a two-film festival featuring Vincent D’Onofrio who has been called an “actor’s actor”. In this violentissimo!!!!! film, D’Onofrio steals the show as the incredibly psychotic Pooh-Bear. Tell me, did this character lose his nose due to sniffing entertaining substances ?

In theory this is Val Kilmer’s film and he broods well throughout. But low and behold there are small parts for the young Anthony LaPaglia and even younger B.D. Wong. For me, however, the best and most moving supporting actor was Peter Saarsgard as a slow-witted but faithful friend.

We cannot fail to note that “Law and Order” counts D’Onofrio, B.D. Wong, and Saarsgard among its cast. LaPaglia instead appears in “CSI” and of course “Without a Trace”.

Warning: This is an especially brutal film with some disturbing sequences.

1997, British Mystery Series, Detective, Explicit sex, Gritty, Revenge, Suspense

Painted Lady (1997)

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From NetFlix:

Just when everyone thought she was down for the count, lost to drugs and unable to afford anything, Irish folk singer Maggie Sheridan (Helen Mirren) avenges the death of her landlord, who was killed for her vast art collection. Unable to let the criminals literally get away with murder, Sheridan pretends she’s an art dealer and hunts them down. Along the way, she pulls her wrecked life together and even falls in love with a dashing count.

Masterpiece Theater offered this Helen Mirren drama in two parts. Kathy and I needed at least 3 sittings to get through the more than three hours. But it was worth the effort. All the actors, including Helen Mirren, do a wonderful job. At one critical point you think the story is over, but it continues on in a significant way. There are a few murders but the gore (including blood) is minimal. As usual Kathy hid her eyes in the really suspensful parts. See if you can recognize which actor plays the dashing count.

1989, Detective, Not Feel Good, Redemption, Revenge, Violent

Johnny Handsome (1989)

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From NetFlix:

When a heist goes wrong, gangster John Sedley’s (Mickey Rourke) best friend is killed, leaving him alone to take the blame for the crime. But the disfigured crook gets a second chance at life after receiving a brand-new face from a prison surgeon. Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman co-star in this gritty action drama about one man’s hunger for revenge against those who wronged him.

“The Wrestler” has generated so much noise that I wanted to see a film with Mickey Rourke. First I tried “Rumble Fish (1983)” but did not even want to finish watching it. Rourke seemed to be one of those actors who act by not acting (i.e. he keeps his face still and you credit him, rightly or wrongly, with feeling certain emotions). But I tried again with “Johnny Handsome (1989)” and this 20-year old movie shows the actor in a better light. It’s one of those movies that you want to end in a certain way but you just have to ride it out to see what really happens. No more hints. So far for me Rourke is not a great actor.

Violent, not for children.

1996, Musical, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Unusual, Violent

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

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From NetFlix:

The Montagues and Capulets have moved to the sweltering suburb of
Verona Beach in this contemporary take on William Shakespeare’s
classic play. Though the film is visually modern, the bard’s dialogue
is intact as the feuding families’ children fall desperately in love.
The families nix the union, so Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet
(Claire Danes) wed secretly. But just as it seems there’s hope of
uniting the warring clans, events turn tragic.

You would have no clue from the NetFlix description that this is a musical as well as a contemporary setting of “Romeo and Juliet”. Note the plus sign in the title. Yes, believe it or not, Leonard DiCaprio sings, which just adds to his list of accomplishments. John Leguizamo plays a great villain. And yes the film is faithful to Shakespeare, using the original text. But be warned: this is an unusual film that will NOT be to everyone’s liking.

2003, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Revenge, Violent

Mystic River (2003)

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From NetFlix:

Three childhood friends, Sean (Kevin Bacon), Dave (Tim Robbins)
and Jimmy (Sean Penn) are reunited in Boston 25 years later when
they are linked together in the murder investigation of Jimmy’s
daughter. This taut thriller from director Clint Eastwood won
two acting Oscars (for Robbins and Penn) and was nominated for
several more in its exploration of human behavior when faced
with pain just beneath the surface, justified rage and scars
that never heal.

Set and filmed in Boston, this recreation of Dennis Lehane’s novel (which is a really good read) met with great success. It is a dark plot complete with child abuse, murder, and revenge. Sean Penn becomes the character completely. I think it was this film that first made me appreciate Marcia Gay Harden. Do not expect this “don’t miss it” film to end happily.