Category Archives: Violent

2000, Violent

Memento (2000)

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From Netflix:

Suffering short-term memory loss after a head injury, Leonard
Shelby (Guy Pearce) embarks on a grim quest to find the lowlife
who murdered his wife. To carry out his plan, Shelby snaps
Polaroids of people and places, jotting down contextual notes
on the backs of the photos to aid in his search and jog his memory.
A gritty, complex thriller, Memento packs more knots than
a hangman’s noose.

When this violent movie came out, people would argue for
hours about what happened in the movie. It is not an easy
movie to understand, but if you like puzzles, this is a
(violent) movie for you.

Pay attention,

2007, DO NOT MISS, Violent, Western

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) agrees to transport the captured outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the nearest town with a rail station, where they’ll wait for a train to court in Yuma. Holed up in the hotel near the station, Wade wreaks psychological havoc on Evans, while Wade’s henchmen plan their next move. Director James Mangold’s suspense-filled Western is a remake of the 1957 classic starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin.

This western is quite possibly the best western, and perhaps one of the best films, I have ever seen.

Caution: This movie is violent, of course, because it is a WESTERN!

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale do wonderful jobs. But the real treat is Ben Foster playing a homicidal psychopath. The plot twists are clever. I had to suspend disbelief in the last section (in the final town) and would be interested if you felt the same. However, I laughed out loud at the last 5 seconds of the film, which consisted of one of the most surprising and perfect endings I have ever seen.

DON’T MISS THIS ONE!!!!!

2007, Not Feel Good, Violent

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

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From NetFlix:

When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in Dorchester, one of Boston’s toughest hoods, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves tougher, riskier and more complex than they could have imagined. Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel, also stars Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan (in her first Oscar-nominated role).

Gone Baby Gone is a “page-turner”. I found it a bit confusing to follow the details. But the real point of the movie is the final choice that Patrick Kenzie has to make. I would really like to hear what choice you would have made.

The real violence is not the shootings but the violence done to the little girl by her mother-from-hell (neglect, not beating) played to perfection by Amy Ryan.

2007, Detective, Not Feel Good, Suspense, Violent

We Own the Night (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) manages El Caribe, a hot New York City nightclub, while estranged brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) has followed in their policeman father’s (Robert Duvall) footsteps. The two are reunited by dealings with the Russian mafia, which has a foothold in Bobby’s business. As Joseph puts pressure on the mob, its members turn the screws on Bobby. Eva Mendes and Tony Musante co-star in writer-director James Gray’s action-drama.

More than the above I will not write, because the plot has some original developments. Joaquin Phoenix once again does not disappoint. Similarly Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall do a great job. The movie is violent but not especially so. More important are the personalities and how they change, some for better, some for sadder.

By the way, if you have not seen Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line” (a movie for everyone), don’t miss it!

“We Own the Night” tells a great story!

1984, DO NOT MISS, Violent

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

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From NetFlix:

Director Sergio Leone’s sprawling crime epic follows a group of Jewish mobsters (including Robert De Niro, James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern) who rise in the ranks of organized crime in 1920s New York. Their story unfolds in flashbacks as ringleader Noodles (De Niro) returns to Brooklyn 30 years later to reunite and reminisce with his cohorts. Nominated for two Golden Globes, this gritty drama was Leone’s last directorial effort.

“Once Upon a Time in America” was made in 1984 by Sergio Leone. It requires 2 disks. The subject is a New York Jewish mob in the time of the depression and later. Before going any farther:

o It is violent
o The treatment of sex is frank, crude, adolescent, and abundant.
There is one no-holds-barred rape scene. Considering the
personalities, it all makes sense.

However, this is an important film which I loved. Most notable for me was the incredibly leisurely pace, which I mean in a constructive way. Conversations are not hurried. Scenes are allowed to linger. Am I wrong or do many of today’s films hurry ? Robert Di Niro, James Woods, and Elizabeth McGovern do a great job.

I have no idea whether this pretends to be a true history, but it doesn’t matter. There are surprising plot twists. Despite the fact that the protagonists are murderous thugs, you can’t help but feel what Di Niro suffers.

Don’t miss this classic!

2007, Acceptable Trash, Explicit sex, Suspense, Violent

Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)

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From NetFlix:

When a mysterious loner named Mr. Smith (Clive Owen, Children of Men) delivers a woman’s baby during an intense shoot-out, he inadvertently lands himself at odds with the ruthless Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti). Aided by the enigmatic DQ (Monica Bellucci), Mr. Smith is tasked with protecting the newborn from Hertz and his henchmen. Written and directed by Michael Davis, this bullet-riddled action thriller also stars Ramona Pringle and Chris Jericho.

“Antonio, you can’t be serious !!!” I make no apologies for having enjoyed thoroughly the wonderful escape offered by this violent, funny, outrageous, vulgar movie. This is a movie made for Clive Owen. And Paul Giamatti makes a great villain. Jackie Chan is quite an athlete and all the things he does are real. In “Shoot ‘Em Up”, on the other hand, nothing that Clive Owen does could possibly be real. During the movie he never misses a shot and kills possibly a hundred men. But the shooting sequences are works of cinematic art. The dialog and moments of sex are down and dirty. I loved this movie. But then, I LOVE TRASH !

2004, Suspense, TV Series, Violent

Lost (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes 1,000 miles off-course, a group of castaways must learn to survive in their new home — as well as avoid the gigantic something crashing through the trees and determine whether they really are alone. Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn, Dominic Monaghan and Naveen Andrews head up a diverse cast in creator J.J. Abrams’s Emmy winner for Best Drama.

“Lost” concerns the adventures of the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island. It is very imaginative. There is much violence. Plot twists are inventive. The fun never stops. If this kind of story appeals to you, once you get into “Lost”, you will be trapped. The above NetFlix description is just for Season 1. At the time I am writing this, the series is still going strong on TV.

2007, DO NOT MISS, Redemption, Violent

Eastern Promises (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Viggo Mortensen (in an Oscar-nominated role) reteams with director David Cronenberg in this intense thriller, starring as Nikolai Luzhin, a notorious London gangster. When Luzhin learns that a midwife named Anna (Naomi Watts) has discovered incriminating evidence against his “family,” he finds his normally steely resolve compromised. Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Sinéad Cusack co-star.

Naomi Watts is the midwife trying to find relatives for an infant orphan whose mother was a white slave of the Russian mob. Viggo Mortensen is a Russion mobster. Wonderful plot twists, excellent character development. It is also a redemption movie (often the case with violent movies). If you can stand the violence, this is Viggo Mortensen in one of his many amazing movies.

1977, Italian, Not Feel Good, Violent

1900 (1977)

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From NetFlix:

Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic tale follows the lives of two Italian men — a peasant (Gerard Depardieu) and a landowner (Robert De Niro) — both born on Jan. 1, 1900. Friends as children, the two become estranged as their differing social status pulls them apart. Their personal conflicts mirror the political events in Italy, as both fascism and socialism gain footholds in the country. Sterling Hayden, Donald Sutherland and Burt Lancaster co-star.

“1900” is the name of this two-disk film which traces the rise and fall of the Black Shirt Fascists in Italy. It was made in 1977 and gives you an opportunity to see amazingly young Robert De Niro padrone), Gerard Depardieu (peasant farmer), Dominique Sanda (playgirl), and Donald Sutherland (local Black Shirt leader). Burt Lancaster appears as the old grandfather of Robert De Niro.

Italian films do what American films often fail to do: tell it like it was. In the case of a largely peasant population you will see and hear crudity that could never appear in an American film. Even I, as trash acclimated as I am, was shocked.

On the superficial side who knew that Gerard Depardieu was ever handsome instead of being the bloated pig that he currently is. Depardieu acts well but De Niro comes off as not acting very well. The really scary character is Donald Sutherland who plays to perfection a creepy scociopathic homocidal Black Shirt. His violence is truly ugly.

On another superficial topic, the sex scenes are uniquely uninhibited. You get to see Dominique Sanda dancing around practically naked. De Niro and Depardieu share a prostitute in which the actors move about the room in complete frontal nudity. Not that you would be interested.

1990, Could Be Hard To Watch, Horror, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Stephen King, Suspense, Violent

Misery (1990)

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From NetFlix:

In this creepy thriller based on Stephen King’s book, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) rescues her idol, romance novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), after a horrible car accident. But she morphs from nurturing caregiver to sadistic jailer upon discovering that Sheldon plans to kill off his literary heroine, Misery, in his next volume. Bates’s disturbing performance as the psychotic Annie netted her a Best Actress Oscar.

The book is quite good especially compared to the movie. The movie vaguely resembles the book but still offers the same roller coaster ride. It’s just fun at a B level. Kathy Bates as the crazy captor and James Caan as the captive are a hoot. Bring along your strong stomach for some of the violence.