The Amateur

We got movie sign!!

I'm back, new release new review. Pretty much what you see is what you get from the trailer of this movie, with a decryptor working for the CIA who's wife is killed in a hostage situation leading him to start developing new talents to hunt down her killers while evading every nation's governmental forces. I had no clue whatsoever this is in fact a remake of a 1981 film bearing the same name but I'm happy the direction this film goes probably does differentiate it from the original. 40 odd years of cinema upgrades notwithstanding the sheer crux of this being a revenge flick where the hero doesn't have the nerve to actually pull a trigger is fascinating and Rami Malek is very believable in the role, using his meticulous mind and scientific know-how to eliminate his targets is neat to watch even if it might lean a notch towards Jigsaw type deaths. But the motivation is strong, it does have drama to it when it comes to the relationship between this guy and his wife who was taken far too soon, and while it doesn't dwell on it long it dwells on it just long enough. In fact the entire pacing of the film is quick, clean, and direct like a bullet where we get the pertinent information and not much time is wasted on even side stories, this is a very streamlined film clocking in just at 2 hours with credits and does exactly what it sets out to do. I like the country hopping aspects which keeps it fresh and varied, the action is very limited but has weight to it and consequences, the score is quite nice, the acting is just right across the board, and it does make for an interesting sit. Even after the main conflict was over I was still a fair bit uneasy about the actual ending right before credits, cause well...I don't trust american government offices that much especially leaning towards the military/espionage branch. It's a good movie that's worth seeing either at the cinemas or at home, I give it 2.5 stars, 7.5/10! And if my calculations are correct, next week we reach one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Wrath Of Man

Kind of a bummer after the surprisingly light and highly entertaining Nobody.

It's good to see a Guy Ritchie film again, and he commits to telling a very grounded, very serious, very heavy film. Now I respect and admire films of this kind, there's action movie fluff but then there is stuff like Wrath Of Man that just goes full f***ing force off the edge into some heavy shit. The plot follows a security truck driver who has more to his past than he leads on as he thwarts robberies with an ulterior motive in the revenge department. There truly is a lot I can't talk about for the sake of not ruining the movie. Guy really brings his camera work to this picture, and the storytelling aspects jumps around a bit in time but each segment of the film, included with title cards and all, is just as important as the one preceding it and it only gets more dense and involved as it goes along. You can tell there is something there to this security guy named H but even I didn't fully anticipate or grasp who and what he was even after the film told me. It works well with it's reveals, not so much plot twists but how it goes about telling you the backstory of events, the best example of which is the inciting incident that kicks off the film both literally and in terms of H's story. You see it from H's perspective, the security guard's perspective, and the robber's perspective, not once feeling like padding or treading the same waters. The action parts have no stylized or entertaining factors to it, it's treated as seriously as it should, almost in the way war films depict gunfights. It's brutal, unforgiving, has the balls to kill anybody, and while the film has a traditional ending of revenge flicks it doesn't detract from how the rest of the film is presented. It's a different kind of entertainment value but one that should be looked at despite it's serious nature. 3 stars, 7.5/10. New movies incoming next time, so I will see you then.