A lawyer works to devise a system to compensate the families of 9/11 victims. Strong, sober moral quandary drama based on a true story, anchored by excellent performances and sensitive direction. No surprises, perhaps, but nevertheless a decent, robust drama of the old school. Recommended.
Here’s the trailer.
A woman who controls her extreme anger issues via a high-tech electrical device investigates a murder. Poor sub-Crank action-comedy: a decent cast helps (several in one-set cameos), but (some OK) quips, poor action, over-direction, the world’s most guessable villain, and stagey visuals don’t. Feels like a TV pilot: has that Nu Boyana aesthetic.
Here’s the trailer.
An orphan is raised by his grandmother, who warns him about witches who are all-too-real. This second version is less spiky than the 1990 Nic Roeg-directed attempt, but still balances child-centric adventure and a dark sensibility: the Americanisation works well, even if the story’s still a touch contrived.
Here’s the trailer. And here’s another review.
Percy and friends have to find the Golden Fleece so they can save their home. Cut-price sequel (no returning guest stars) with join-the-dots plotting as before, this time taking elements from the first two Indiana Jones movies as well as the Rick Riordan source books and wider Greek myth. Not very good; Part 3 (The Titan’s Curse) was never made.
A long-underground former radical has to go on the run when his new identity is revealed. Well-made, intelligent political thriller with a cast of character actors to die for. A little low-key for some, maybe, but this is a movie that delivers well on its own terms. Recommended.
An obsessed detective and a former judge work together to track an abductor of young women. Messy blend of a hundred different thrillers, bolstered by a great cast doing good work in wintry conditions. Watchable, but curious; the script on paper must have been greater than the end result.
After a swarm of ravenous creatures who hunt by sound is released, a family runs to stay alive. Patchy road movie/horror hybrid from the Tim Lebbon novel. Comes across – a touch unfairly – as an opportunistic grab-bag of bits from Pitch Black / The Birds / Straw Dogs and the more recent Bird Box / A Quiet Place.
When the earth’s core stops rotating, a mission is assembled to restart it. Enjoyably daft and self-aware big-budget B-movie, with an excellent cast of character actors playing the dopey material with an eye to stay on the right side of camp always.
After a bureaucratic foul-up leaves him stateless, a man is forced to live in an airport terminal. Well-directed comedy-drama which starts brilliantly and then gets bogged down in sub-plots and a shift from existential malaise to schmaltz.
A night and a day in a Wall Street company going under at the start of the financial crisis. Smart little boardroom thriller with a keen ensemble cast working well together. Makes you care about a bunch of suits and their shifty ways with numbers.
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![Night Hunter [AKA Nomis] (2018, dir. David Raymond)](https://255review.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/night-hunter.jpg?w=750)
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