Category Archives: Violent

2008, Biographical, Could Be Sad, Drama, Imperfect, Not Feel Good, Redemption, Violent

What Doesn’t Kill You (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Partners in crime Paulie (Ethan Hawke) and Brian (Mark Ruffalo) find themselves at odds after years of pulling dangerous jobs, surviving turf wars and evading a determined detective (Donnie Wahlberg) in this gritty crime drama set in South Boston. The childhood buddies have gone through the wringer together, but when Brian’s relationship with his wife (Amanda Peet) begins to fall apart, their loyal friendship is tested.

I almost did not finish this film. It just seemed like any other film about South Boston hoodlums. However, the last part of the film contains the film’s message. Indeed that half belongs to Mark Ruffalo who beautifully portrays a discouraged former alcholic who desperately wants to be a good father to his sons. This story is based on the life of Brian Goodman who plays Pat Kelly in the movie. The film ends, as do many “true” films, with lines of text that explain what happened in Goodman’s life beyond the end of the film. Note also that the minor role of Detective Moran is played by the brother of Mark Wahlberg. This is only a B-film, but Ruffalo does a wonderful job.

1998, Acceptable Trash, Car Chase, Suspense, Violent

Desperate Measures (1998)

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From Net

San Francisco police officer Frank Connor (Andy Garcia) desperately searches for a compatible bone-marrow donor for his cancer-stricken son. The only potential donor is convicted homicidal sociopath Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton), who seizes the opportunity of a hospital transfer to donate marrow and escapes custody. Connor must capture McCabe alive, so the hospital becomes the setting for a cat-and-mouse game between the two men.

Do not expect to philosophize, meditate, or even think during this film. Just sit back, relax, and watch the fun: super-smart villain, car chases, violence, and a really clever last few seconds. Still, it is a B film. The action sequences probably are downright impossible. In the real germ-filled world, the boy would have died at many places in the film. Never mind, just suspend disbelief and enjoy what should be termed acceptable trash.

2006, Car Chase, English Dubbing, French, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Suspense, Violent

Tell No One (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Eight years ago, pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. He’s put all that behind him, but now, two dead bodies have been found near his home — and once again, he’s the suspect. The case takes an unexpected turn when he receives an anonymous email showing his wife alive — and eight years older — instructing him to “tell no one.” Kristin Scott Thomas co-stars in Guillaume Canet’s powerhouse thriller.

To watch this French film I used the excellent English dubbing (and the subtitles). From the very beginning I was glued to my seat. All the acting is good, but François Cluzet is the center of attention throughout. Suprisingly the film turned out to contain alot of action sequences (running, car chases) and Cluzet is either in very good physical condition or there is some digital trickery involved. But this is French action, so no Hollywood fireworks (except for some car crashes). The plot was clever, involved, with many twists. Even if you get confused by the end of the film all will be made clear and easy to understand.

There is violence, nudity, and abused bodies. Not for children.

If you want a solid 2 hours and 5 minutes of suspensful escape, this film is a good choice.

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.

2002, Could Be Hard To Watch, Horror, Suspense, Violent

28 Days Later (2002)

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From NetFlix:

A killer virus (it turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs) is accidentally released from a British research facility. Carried by animals and humans, the virus is impossible to contain and spreads across the entire planet. Twenty-eight days later, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected.

Thanks to Brian St. Pierre (my personal trainer at Cressey Performance) for suggesting this film directed by Danny Boyle. Since this film got an R rating for violence, nudity, language, and gore , it sounds like a winner.

You’ve seen this theme before in several guises: Charlton Heston in “The Omega Man” and Will Smith in “I Am Legend”. The prototypical plot is that most of the world population has disappeared or is fatally inflicted with some dread malady except for one or several protagonists who must reach some safe refuge where there is still hope. And so far this describes “28 Days Later”. But wait … there’s more! Usually reaching that safe refuge is the end of movie. But in this case that safe refuge is only the half-way point. Plot is important and I will say no more.

On the down side there is an awful lot of running and fighting in dark passages with enraged mutants. These scuffles are part of the plot but could be tiresome.

So tell me, if your loved one suddenly becomes infected with this rage and will therefore bite you so that you too beome infected, would you immediately kill that loved one ? Now are you interested ?

1988, Horror, Imperfect, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

Apartment 0 (1988)

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From NetFlix:

Adrian LeDuc (Colin Firth) is a cash-strapped loner eking out a living running
a revival cinema in modern-day Buenos Aires. With interest in classic films waning,
he’s forced to rent out his insane mother’s room to a seemingly harmless stranger,
Jack Carney (Hart Bochner). They quickly become friends, but as Adrian displays
the same problems that plagued his mother, he also begins to suspect his roommate
is a killer. Is he right, or is he just plain mad?

NetFlix suggested “Apartment 0” to me. Since Colin Firth has been good in every one of his movies that I have seen, I gave it a try. Once again Colin Firth comes through well as a very disturbed person. I had not seen Hart Bochner before (or at least never noticed). He has an impressive resume in IMDB. However, I could not decide if his acting was acceptable. The setting is Argentina. Colin Firth speaks an impeccable British. But the American accent of Hart Bochner really grated on me and sounded cheap. Do we really sound that way ? Colin lives in an apartment building inhabited by a strange assortment: transvestites, etc. (If any one of you is a transvestite, my apology). This is one strange, possible flawed film. But its strangeness and the plot forced me to sit through to the really unexpected ending.

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.

1000NYTimes, 1001BeforeDie, 100Unknown, Classic, Could Be Hard To Watch, German, Unusual, Violent

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

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From NetFlix:

In the mid-16th century, after annihilating the Incan empire, Gonzalo Pizarro
leads his army of conquistadors over the Andes in search of the fabled City of
Gold, El Dorado. As Pizarro’s soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of
nature and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), ‘The Wrath of God,’
is consumed with visions of conquering all South America and leads his own army
on a doomed quest into oblivion.

All three film catalogs rave about this film. In fact it is one of a kind, slow, and mesmerizing.

First some history: Pizarro sends a “small” task force to continue down th Amazon to find the City of Gold. The commander Pedro de Ursua and his aide, Lope de Aguirre, take soldiers (always in metal battle gear), one priest, Inca slaves, cannon, horses, and two noble women carried in a covered transport box down the mountain and eventually on rafts in the Amazon. Aguirre murders Ursua in an act of mutiny and forces the others, by force of his homocidal mania, to continue on to find the City of Gold. Much of this we know from the priest’s diary. The end is conjecture.

The marvel is that these poor actors had to live and suffer just as the historical figures did. Werner Herzog, the megalomaniacal director, was a fanatic that insisted on realism. Aquirre, played by Klaus Kinski, is obviously “nuts” from the get-go. At one point Kinski tried to flee the jungle and Herzog brandished a pistol and promised to kill Kinski if he escaped.

Just sit and watch this “happening”. It is slow, beautiful, and unforgettable. Hearing Spaniards speaking in German is admittedly a bit unusual, but there are English subtitles.

Violent, not for children. But a genuine screen classic.

2008, Could Be Hard To Watch, Suspense, Underdogs win, Violent

Changeling (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie, in an Oscar-nominated role) is overjoyed when her young kidnapped son Walter is brought back home. But when Christine suspects that the Walter who was returned to her isn’t her actual child, the police captain (Jeffrey Donovan) has her committed to an asylum. John Malkovich co-stars as the crusading reverend who comes to Christine’s rescue in this gripping, 1920s-set drama helmed by ace director Clint Eastwood.

As soon as the movie began I stayed on the edge of my seat. It’s one of those films where the injustices are almost too much to believe. In fact only the script kept me glued because I was quickly disappointed in Angelina Jolie’s acting. Could it be that her forte is slithering almost naked out of the water with a long tail as she did in Beowulf ? Even John Malkovitch seemed to be reading his lines.

Read in Wikipedia about the true Wineville Chicken Coop Murders which the film follows carefully. At the end of the film there are follow-up lines saying what happened to the various characters in real life. Unfortunately, I was unable to read them. If any of you can read those lines, I would appreciate knowing what they said.

Not for children because of scenes of serial murdering and forced electric shocks used as torture by the psychiatrist in the pay of the LAPD. Tell me, has the LAPD ever cleaned up its act ?

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.