Blu-ray thumbs

[Johann]

MUD (2012)



Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, this was a great coming-of-age tale.
Matthew McConnaughey is Mud, a fugitive hiding out on an island on the Mississippi river.
He's discovered by two 14-year-old boys sleeping in a boat in a tree that they found.
Mud spins yarns about how he's on the run because he had to kill a man to protect his girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). He's eventually got the boys running errands for him, buying food and getting items to help eventually launch his boat. A lot happens in this movie, and it's all interesting.
The family of the killed man want revenge, the boys are warned to stay away from Mud (they don't), and it all leads to a surprise ending. Highly recommended.

[Chris Knipp]

I saw it and reviewed it and here is my review:
MUD (Mike Nichols )

Among other things I point out it's a great role for Matthew McConaughey, and I quote a great description by Mike D'Angelo at Cannes of the character he plays. Tye Sheridan has "emerged as one of Hollywood's most sougth after young talents."

[Johann]

Your review nails the movie. You're right- the movie isn't even about McConnaughey.

[Johann]

END OF WATCH (2012)



David Ayers' ultra-real buddy cop movie is amazing.
Michael Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal underwent 5 months of actual police training to prepare for their roles as LAPD partners on the beat. The results are awesome. Nothing but praise for this movie and those 2 guys.
From the get-go they encounter all sorts of craziness. They physically fight gang members, uncover drug rings and human trafficking operations, deal with being shot at and even heat from within their own police department.
Riveting movie from start to finish. The ending was awesome.
Be warned tho: gruesome images are here, and F-bombs are dropped all the time.

[Johann]

HUMMINGBIRD (2013)




This film was released in the U.S. under the title "Redemption".
It stars Jason Statham as a fugitive ex-special forces soldier who's escaped his court martial for revenge killings he did in Afghanistan. He's currently homeless, looking for his girl Isabel.
He gets involved in organized crime and several other unsavoury actions.
In Afghanistan he saw buddies slaughtered in front of him, and lost it. He conducted revenge kills to compensate for the loss, committing war crimes.
It's hard to be sympathetic to his plight, despite Statham being very committed to the role.

[Johann]

47 METERS DOWN (2017)



This was a good horror film by Johannes Roberts.
Lisa and Kate are on vacation in Mexico, and they decide to go on a scuba trip where you watch sharks in a cage. The boat owner is Matthew Modine, lending some weight to this B-movie.
They are lowered into the water, and you can guess what happens. The cage winch and pully system breaks, plunging the girls to the bottom.
Precious time gets frittered away, at the surface and in the cage. The girls don't have enough air in their tanks to survive down there for long- they keep leaving the cage, trying to get a comms signal with the boat, and looking for divers who said they'd winch them up. Huge sharks are ever present too, ready to snack. A couple devastating twists will keep you on your toes. There are tons of cheapo shark films out there; this one is better than most.

[Johann]

THE ASSIGNMENT (2017)



Bizarre B-movie from Walter Hill.
Avatar alumni Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver really went left-field here, with Michelle playing a hired killer who has gender re-assignment surgery performed on him by Weaver.
They are both involved in some heavy duty against-the-grain behavior, and Weaver tells her side of the story in custody in a straightjacket.
I recognized the lower East side of Vancouver, where the whole film was shot.
The film draws you in, but it's scuzzy all the way.
With violence, nudity and very mature themes.