In the ever-growing history of the genre of LA noir films comes Gangster Squad. It's the 1948 and righteous police officer Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is on the trail of Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), the most powerful mobster in Los Angeles. Constantly frustrated by the lack of backbone shown by his superiors and the courts, O'Mara accepts a covert position at the behest of … [Read more...]
Down Terrace (2009) review by That Film Punk
Ben Wheatley's third feature film, Sightseers, hit UK cinemas November 2012 on the back of a wave of critical acclaim, including hugely positive reactions at that year's Cannes Film Festival. Trading on an effortless blend of brutal violence and razor-sharp wit, Sightseers demonstrates Wheatley's expert skill at juggling genres. His debut feature, Down Terrace, was crucial in … [Read more...]
Killing Them Softly (2012) review by That Film Dude
Having previously worked together on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, director Andrew Dominik and star Brad Pitt have teamed up again for Killing Them Softly, a gangster thriller based on the novel Cogan's Trade. It's almost really good, but makes a few unfortunate missteps which prevent it from being as good as it should have been. … [Read more...]
Lawless (2012) review That Film Dude
Adapted from the book The Wettest County in the World by Frank Bondurant, Lawless tells the story of the author's grandfather and granduncles, the Bondurant brothers. An 18 rated, gangster/western hybrid, it's something of a rarity these days, and the fact that a period piece aimed at the adult market was able to finally get made, a previous attempt to produce it having … [Read more...]