Brothers In Arms. Albert and Allen Hughes direct, produce and co-write (with Michael Henry Brown) this tale about Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), a South Bronx boy who goes off to fight in Vietnam, to then return after his tours of duty to find things just aren't the same anymore. The follow up to their incendiary debut, Menace II Society, the Hughes brothers deliver another in your face picture that is quite frankly on a perpetual downer. This is no bad thing, though, as long as you are not looking to be cheered up. That's Uncle Sam for you! Mean Green. The pic very much harks back to the glory days of film noir in the 40s and 50s, where some talented film makers began to tell stories of returning war veterans finding what they left behind is now alien to them - with some characters, as is the case here - deeply scarred by their experiences. Add in some gangster elements and the coup de grâce that is the scintillating heist, and clearly the brothers have seen many an old classic film. That the narrative is tried and tested stops the piece hitting greater heights, this in spite of some super acting (especially Tate and the always value for money Keith David) and the hard hitting violence that pierces the senses. Predictable yet potent, and certainly memorable, it's well worth a look for the tough of mind and the classic era film of heart. 7/10
The fairly charismatic Larenz Tate tries quite hard here as "Curtis", a lad with potential who falls in with petty criminal "Kirby" (Keith David) before enlisting in the US Marines to go and fight in Vietnam. After the war, he returns to his girlfriend "Juanita" (Rose Jackson) and his four year old daughter - but acclimatising to his new situation proves too difficult leading him to reunite with his wartime colleagues to carry out a daring armoured car heist. The story is pretty formulaic and the actors are rarely challenged by the lacklustre script - that does little to develop any characterisations - and the largely unimaginative direction. There is a missed opportunity to look at the post war trauma and loneliness; the sense of abandonment felt by many soldiers returning home after the intensity of conflict - but nope, nothing really doing here on that front. The photography has it's moments and the ending is lively, but sadly this film is just all a bit too entrenched in stereotype and a well trammelled plot that is far too long and misses way more than it hits.
Bank robbery movie. The planning they do is next to none. Awesome action but also pretty sad.
Five post grads figure the best way to get back at the unfair economy and live the life they've always wanted is to steal from the rich and give to themselves.
Movie Star Rating : 5.7 Read More
A Vietnam veteran, Charles Rane, returns home after years in a POW camp and is treated as a hero. When thugs invade his home to steal the silver coins he received for his service, they mangle his hand and leave him and his family for dead. Rane survives and becomes obsessed with getting revenge. Aided by his loyal friend Johnny Vohden, Rane, now wielding a hook for a hand, sets out on his mission of vengeance.
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An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.
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Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the newly paroled man seeks redemption. Instead, redemption—in the form of a mysterious minister and two needy women— finds him.
Movie Star Rating : 6.2 Read More
Dreaming of ascending the underworld ladder and gaining revenge on his sadistic boss, Sal, a Mafia flunky, Frankie, tries to take a step in the right direction by "saving" an exploited, drug-addicted porn actress, Margaret.
Movie Star Rating : 5.8 Read More
An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.
Movie Star Rating : 7.1 Read More
Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growing attraction - forbidden in his neighborhood - for a beautiful black girl.
Movie Star Rating : 7.9 Read More
Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother of a powerful and shady man.
Movie Star Rating : 6.3 Read More
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