Little Dixie

I'm not sure what some of the reviewers here are smoking, but this film is a typical example of why you can't always trust people to pass fair comment. Yes, there are some films that understandably create a palpable divide in opinion, but I don't think this is one of them.

Its a pretty solid thriller, action movie that I really enjoyed. True, the plot is not particularly original... more of a variation on a well worn theme, but the execution and production are pretty solid, and the performances are well delivered and worth some merit. Ok it's not going to be winning any Oscars, but as an entertainment action piece it holds its ground as well as any worth of the 7/10 I've awarded it.

Grillo is pretty gritty here, reminiscent of Mel Gibson's performance in "Parker" and does a great job with the material. Once again he's shown capability outside his more familiar casting type. Direction, pacing, screenplay... all round respectable and well... as I've said Solid. Not much to dissect here to be honest, so no point in giving a long winding review and labour the points I've already made.

Anyway, glad I watched it, and if this review helps you give it a fair shake and a watch, so be it. I just don't get reviewers with an axe to grind that help no one.

I'm not sure what writer, director and producer John Swab was thinking trying to knock-off a bunch of "already done and much better films". Although flawed, I still enjoyed two of Swab's previous films, Body Brokers and Candy Land, because they had what this film severely lacked, originality.

Filmmakers are supposed to get better at their craft, not worse, and this over-indulgent cliched nonsense is a slap to Frank Grillo, who deserves much better than this. Grillo was stellar at his lead role in Boss Level, and deserves lead roles in great films, not this nonsense.

Swab decided to add every cliche with lots of filler and very little substance within his cringeworthy sub-plots, that took away from the story instead of adding to it. I admired Swab's style in Candy Land, but in this one, his writing and directing was lazy and rushed.

The first two acts were suspenseful, intriguing, and had great flow and continuity, but as soon as the third act started - at the drag queen karaoke bar, it went off the rails. It was just all plot holes and nonsense, that lost all credibility with its lack of creativity and originality.

It's too bad, because the cinematography was excellent, as was the score, and all casting and performances were on point. But all that isn't enough to say the slowly paced 105 min runtime was an engaging and entertaining ride throughout the entire film, only the first two-thirds of it. So it's only a 5/10 from me, but could've easily been a 7 or 8 had that third act been better.

Now, I had actually not heard about this 2023 action thriller from writer and director John Swab prior to sitting down to watch it. But with it being an action thriller with Frank Grillo in the leading role, there was a certain expectation for it to hopefully be a fair enough movie.

The storyline in "Little Dixie" turned out to be watchable for what it was. However, it was a rather generic and somewhat predictable action thriller. So writer and director John Swab didn't exactly bring anything new to the genre, but instead opted to play it safe and utilize every single trobe of the how-to-make-an-action-thriller-guidebook. But hey, if you are a hardcore action thriller fan, then you will find some enjoyment here, of that I am sure.

The acting performances in "Little Dixie" were fair. You know what you get with Frank Grillo, and he did carry the movie adequately here, despite of not having much to work with really. It was also nice to see the likes of Peter Greene and Annabeth Gish on the cast list. I wonder what writer John Swab was thinking when he created the Raphael 'Cuco' Prado character, as it was the epitome and caricature of a Mexican gang member. And the way that actor Beau Knapp walked, talked and his entire body language was just an exaggerated caricature of something you would see in a gang related computer game. It was just difficult to take that character serious.

There was a fair amount of action in the movie, at least to keep the otherwise mediocre storyline afloat. And it was actually nicely enough executed action sequences.

All in all, then "Little Dixie" was suitable for a single viewing, though you're not in for anything grand. There simply isn't sufficient contents to the storyline to support more than a single viewing, however.

My rating of "Little Dixie" lands on a very bland five out of ten stars.

I would liken this film to a John Wick light movie. If you like that kind of plot, then it works. If you want character development, believability, incredible acting and some deep meaning then don't watch it.

If you like a well paced action movie with a high kill count and a decent plot that sticks to it then you will enjoy this movie.

It's made in a B movie vein where the score and kills and things like that are basic. It's entertaining and again if you like seeing bad guys get taken out at a high volume and some decent acting then you'll enjoy this movie.

Overall it's just a B action movie with a high kill count and some pretty good cinematography. So I enjoyed it as a light viewing experience. 6/10.

As a fan of both John Swab's work as a director so far and Frank Grillo I was looking forward to this. It didn't disappoint. Little Dixie is in the vein of things like Too Old To Die Young and Brawl In Cell Block 99 a slow paced methodical thriller that has you on the edge of your seat for the majority of the runtime.

As I said before I've been a fan of Frank Grillo for a while and if this was the 1980's I think he would be a huge star. He possesses all the qualities a movie star should have. Great looks, great actor and is charismatic and likable. Aside from having a leading role in two of The Purge movies Grillo has mostly been relegated to B movies where he's either criminally underused or completely wasted. With the exception being his collaborations with Joe Carnaghan in Boss Level and Copshop who knows Grillo is a skilled actor and charismatic and likable and puts him front and center and knows how to use him properly. Little Dixie proves that John Swab is the only other director Grillo has worked with so far that knows how to use him properly. He's front and center here and his name is the only one on the poster. Despite the cast containing some other recognizable names in Eric Dane and Annabeth Gish they don't overshadow Grillo or move him to the sidelines. Beau Knapp also gives a good performance here as the terrifying cartel member "Cuco".