Category: Crime

Look at the cast for Ida Red: Josh Hartnett, William Forsythe, Mark Boone Junior, Frank Grillo and Melissa Leo.  Read the synopsis, view the trailer and if you’re a crime movie fan, get in line for a ticket (right behind me).

Crime boss Ida “Red” Walker (Oscar® winner Melissa Leo*) turns to her son, Wyatt (Josh Hartnett), to pull off one last heist to get out of prison. But with the FBI closing in, Wyatt must choose between family and freedom in this high-octane thriller.

Featuring: Josh Hartnett, Sofia Hublitz, William Forsythe, Deborah Ann Woll, George Carroll, Mark Boone Junior, Beau Knapp, with Frank Grillo, Melissa Leo

Here we have the poster and trailer for The Cleaner.  The poster is okay, but the trailer works.  I also like the casting for The Trailer.  I don’t really know the star, King Orba, but look at his list of co-stars: Luke Wilson, Linda Carter, Shelley Long, Eden Brolin, M.C. Gainey, Punky Brewster herself, Soleil Moon Frye.

I’m in.

When a middle-aged house cleaner Buck Enderly takes on an eccentric new client, he gets roped into locating her estranged son. Buck tracks down the disturbed young man but in another twist of fate becomes an accomplice to a violent crime. Available October 12.

Directed By Erin Elders
STARRING: King Orba, Luke Wilson, Lynda Carter, Shelley Long, Eden Brolin, Shiloh Fernandez

Every Last One of Them has second feature at a drive-in movie written all over it.  I’m looking forward to seeing it!  Starring Paul Sloan with Michael Madsen and Richard Dreyfuss, Every Last One of Them is a throwback low budget action film.  Count me in.

Paul Sloan stars as a man looking for his missing daughter, but his search uncovers a larger conspiracy involving a Chinatown-Esque Big Capitalism deal over water rights. Things begin to spiral out of control, leading to high-stakes shootouts and other masculine antics that genre fans can’t help but eat right up!

The new poster and trailer for The Many Saints of Newark is fire.  Check out the amazing cast and equally amazing behind the camera talent they’ve lined up for this film.  October 1st can’t get her fast enough.

New Line Cinema’s “The Many Saints of Newark” is the much-anticipated feature film prequel to David Chase’s groundbreaking, award-winning HBO drama series “The Sopranos.”

Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark’s history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities—and whose influence over his nephew will help make the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we’ll later come to know: Tony Soprano.

“The Many Saints of Newark” stars Alessandro Nivola (“Disobedience,” “American Hustle”), Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway’s “Hamilton,” “Murder on the Orient Express”), Jon Bernthal (“Baby Driver,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”), Corey Stoll (“First Man,” “Ant-Man”), Michael Gandolfini (TV’s “The Deuce”), Billy Magnussen (“Game Night,” “The Big Short”), Michela De Rossi (“Boys Cry,” TV’s “The Rats”), John Magaro (“The Finest Hours,” “Not Fade Away”), with Emmy winner Ray Liotta (TV’s “Shades of Blue,” “Goodfellas”) and Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring” films).

Alan Taylor (“Thor: The Dark World”), who won an Emmy for his directing work on “The Sopranos,” is helming the film from a screenplay by series creator David Chase & Lawrence Konner, based on characters created by Chase. Chase, Konner and Nicole Lambert are producing the film, with Michael Disco, Marcus Viscidi, Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener serving as executive producers.

Taylor’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Kramer Morgenthau (“Creed II,” “Thor: The Dark World”), production designer Bob Shaw (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Sopranos”), Oscar-nominated editor Christopher Tellefsen (“Moneyball,” “A Quiet Place”) and costume designer Amy Westcott (“The Wrestler,” “Black Swan”).

“The Many Saints of Newark” was shot on location in New Jersey and New York, and several beloved characters from the original series that inspired the film are featured in the movie. During its six-season run, “The Sopranos”—widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential television drama series of all time—was honored with 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Peabody Awards, to name only a portion.

New Line Cinema Presents, In Association with Home Box Office, a Chase Films Production, “The Many Saints of Newark.” The film is slated for release in theaters nationwide on October 1, 2021 and will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. It is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and has been rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity.

South of Heaven got my hopes up with the clever poster.  I’ll admit I was surprised to see Jason Sudeikis as the lead of a straight up crime movie.  From what I’ve seen he’s going to be fine.  It’s great seeing Evangeline Lilly back on-screen.  I didn’t recognize her at first!  Shea Whigham looks to be perfectly suited to play the crooked parole officer.

In case you didn’t guess by now, I’m sold.  I’ll be heading to South of Heaven.

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Evangeline Lilly, Shea Whigham and Mike Colter
Directed by Arahon Keshales

Convicted felon Jimmy (Jason Sudeikis) gets early parole after serving twelve years for armed robbery. Upon his release he vows to give his girlfriend Annie (Evangeline Lilly), who is dying of cancer, the best last year of her life. But things are never that simple, and when he is given a “side job” from his parole officer (Shea Whigham), it sets off a series of events that leaves Jimmy in the crosshairs of a local crime boss (Mike Colter). Now, he must stop at nothing to save Annie and fight for whatever time they have left.

The Guilty poster isn’t bad but the trailer has ,me hooked.  Directed by Antoine Fuqua who helmed Training Day, and The Equalizer with a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto the writer behind True Detective — these guys are made for this genre. Jake Gyllenhaal and Ethan Hawke co-star.

Deal me in.  October 1st on Netflix!

The Guilty takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center. Call operator Joe Bayler (Gyllenhaal) tries to save a caller in grave danger—but he soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and facing the truth is the only way out.

Nick Bartlett at /Film came up with his list of The 20 Best Heist Movies Of All Time.  Using just his list, here are my top five (in alphabetical order) and my thoughts on each.

Asphalt Jungle, The:  John Huston directs a cast that includes: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe and even a young Marilyn Monroe.  Considered by many to be the best heist film of all-time!  A must see for any fan of the genre.

Heat: Michael Mann wrote and directed this modern heist masterpiece with an all star cast that included Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman, Tom Noonan and Hank Azaria.  Just the cast alone should make you want to watch it!

Killing, The:  Stanley Kubrick directs a screenplay that he co-wrote with Jim Thompson!  Stars include Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Elisha Cook Jr. and (the strange but great) Timothy Carey.

Reservoir Dogs:  Quentin Tarantino’s first film!  Again we get another all-star cast that included Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Edward Bunker and Tarantino!

Rififi:  This is probably the least known film on the list and that’s a shame because it is a classic!  Some won’t give it a shot because it is a foreign film with no big name American stars and that’s a shame.  If you haven’t seen Rififi, give it a shot!

Looking over my choices I was impressed by how many of the films were written or co-written by the director.  They obviously had a love for the genre, created a wonderful screenplay and were able to attract an all-star cast.

The Intrusion poster doesn’t do much for me, but I like the trailer.  Deal me in.

When a husband and wife move to a small town, a home invasion leaves the wife traumatized and suspicious that those around her might not be who they seem. Freida Pinto and Logan Marshall-Green star in INTRUSION, directed by Adam Salky. Only on Netflix September 22.