WHEELMAN (full review at The Reel Word)

Wheelman, written and directed by Jeremy Rush and starring Frank Grillo (Captain America), is a hard boiled crime drama, distributed by, and currently screening on Netflix.

Grillo plays a getaway driver, fresh out of prison and in debt to the mob. He juggles his responsibilities to work and his debts, with the more conventional problems of having a rebellious teen daughter and prickly ex-spouse. Uncomfortable sharing anything other than professional information with his gun carrying passengers, and particularly keen to withhold his name, we know him only as the Wheelman. While driving for a heist crew, things go predictably wrong and the Wheelman finds himself with a trunk full of money, and a situation spiralling rapidly out of control.

Read the full article at The Reel Word:

https://www.thereelword.net/wheelman-movie-review-netflix-frank-grillo/

IMDB: Wheelman

THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED) (full review at The Reel Word)

Writer/Director Noah Baumbach’s track record speaks for itself. From his collaborations with Wes Anderson through to the wonderful Squid and the Whale, and engaging indie dramas like Frances Ha and Mistress America, he set his stall out as an interesting and highly watchable filmmaker, with a focus on character, rather than plot driven stories. So the prospect of a Baumbach movie with a quality cast and Netflix’s distribution behind it ought to be a shoe-in shouldn’t it? Well, it ought to be, but sadly The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) misses its mark quite badly. It represents an excruciating low point for the usually excellent Baumbach.

Read the full article at The Reel Word:
https://www.thereelword.net/the-meyerowitz-stories-movie-review-netflix-sandler-stiller-hoffman/

IMDB: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

IN DEFENCE OF NATIONAL TREASURE... (full article at Junkee.com)

My first  time writing for Junkee. com, and I defend the National Treasure movies with terminal intensity!

Upon its release in 2004, National Treasure received a grossly underwhelming response from critics. Slammed by most reviewers, it was unfairly labelled as derivative. Empire called it a ‘rushed-out knock-off’ of The Da Vinci Code, judging it ‘simultaneously moronic and mildly educational’. Rolling Stone, rating it 1 out of 5 stars, said it possessed a ‘robotic cheerlessness’ and called it a ‘paycheck movie’ for Nicolas Cage. Not to be outdone, USA Today dismissed National Treasure as a ‘tepid Indiana Jones knock-off’ with a ‘flaccid execution and stupefying premise’.

Read the full article at Junkee.com:
http://junkee.com/national-treasure-defence-adventure/131531

IMDB: National Treasure

IMDB: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

BLADE RUNNER 2049 (full review at The Reel Word)

In the year 2049, blade runner’s operate as an arm of the police force, ‘retiring’ rogue and older model replicants. K (Ryan Gosling) is a newer model replicant blade runner. Sent to a protein farm to retire the replicant Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista), K happens on a discovery that will lead him to question everything he knows about replicants and humans, as well as his own existence. Played by all sides, he is ordered by his boss Lt Joshi (Robin Wright) to cover up his findings, while simultaneously pursued by the Wallace Corporation, and its enigmatic head Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), who have absorbed the Tyrell Corporation and lead the market in replicant manufacture. K’s investigation leads him inexorably to the doorstep of former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford).

Read the full article at The Reel Word:
https://www.thereelword.net/blade-runner-2049-movie-review/

IMDB: Blade Runner 2049

HELL HOUSE LLC (full review at The Reel Word)

Hell House LLC is a found footage / faux-documentary horror movie from writer / director Stephen Cognetti. This review is of the DVD-only extended cut.

On the opening night of a Halloween Haunted House attraction in upstate New York, something goes wrong resulting in the deaths of fifteen people. With the incident cloaked in silence by both the local community and first responders, what happened inside the walls of the former Abaddon Hotel remains a mystery until a documentary crew receives a delivery of video footage from a survivor. Presented as part found footage, part talking head documentary Hell House LLC shows us haunted house creators Alex, Sarah, Tony, Mac and Paul as they begin prep work on the attraction. Once the electricity is up and running they opt to stay in the house full time and gradually we start to notice some strange goings on.

Read the full article at The Reel Word:
https://www.thereelword.net/hell-house-llc-movie-review/

IMDB: Hell House LLC

BAD BLOOD (full review at The Reel Word)

Vincent (Xavier Samuel) is a respected author with a tortured past. As he begins the follow up to his successful novel, and embarks on a whirlwind romance with Carrie (Morgan Griffin), he is approache
d by a private detective intent on proving that Vincent was responsible for the murder of his first wife. Needing to get his thoughts together for the book, and keep away from the attentions of the investigator, Vincent suggests to Carrie that they take a short break to the country.  After arriving at the house where they are staying, Vincent’s mood changes and Carrie begins to suspect that he is not quite all that he seems. Events begin to take a more homicidal direction.

Read the full article at The Reel Word:
https://www.thereelword.net/bad-blood-movie-review-2017-aussie/

IMDB: Bad Blood