New Blood

So bland I barely managed to sit through it. A combination of the most dull cliches from every true-crime movie I've ever seen. Predictable plot goes nowhere verrrry slowly. Joe Pantogliano is excellent and barely recognizable. Unfortunately he barely appears in this movie. Carrie-Anne Moss is more feminine and interesting than she was in The Matrix, but she gets about 5 minutes of screen time and less than 10 lines. John Hurt is pretty good in basically the same role he always plays. His character was sort of interesting, for a while. Everything else about the film is breathtakingly average. Even the gunfights are absolutely basic, bare-bones and old hat. Don't waste your time, watch The Matrix or Blade again. And if you just want to see Carrie-Anne naked, go hunt for The Soft Kill, because you won't see that here (the one thing that could have given it SOME value).

Quite how this great little movie has slipped undetected is a mystery. A great cast bring real life to a wonderfully twisty narrative that whilst inevitably drawing comparisons to Tarantino and Guy Richie by the nature of the genre, appears fresh and exciting. Don't be put off by the straight to video title, Hurst's ability as a writer is more than matched by his skill behind the camera and he never loses his grip on a story that in other hands might have become a tedious and confusing mess. This is story telling at its best.

This was not a terrible film. It was merely a poor execution of current noir film styles. The pacing was slow. The script was melodramatic in places. It is unfortunate that the dramatic pause has become an overused device. The lighting was film school quality at best. Just because the subject matter is "dark" doesn't mean that I should be unable to see the actors. The editor seemed to be overly entertained by nifty but superfluous techniques. Much like a verbal pause, the film pause can become tiresome and overused. I cannot blame the actors for their flat delivery, I have seen them all in other films giving dynamic and believable performances. If the actors were doing what they were told, then we have to blame the director. The plot was very contrived. It took elements from a number of hit movies (Usual Suspects and City on Fire among them) and smothered them. A number of clichés were employed in an attempt to make us care about the characters. They all failed. In a three dimensional world, two dimensional plots get you nowhere.

This was a real stinker. Boring and predictable from beginning to end. And worst of all a complete waste of a great cast including John Hurt, Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss (Cypher and Trinity from The Matrix) and Nick Moran. The center plot revolves around a man (Hurt) whose daughter needs a new heart. They don't seem to be able to find one, until the man's son (Moran) pops up, offering his heart in exchange of his fathers services. The father has to play the part of a kidnapped millionaire who was accidentally killed by Moran's gang. But he can't tell that to his boss and his 'businesspartners' (Pantoliano and Moss). This goes on for a while until the movie wraps up nicely and predictably after a grotesque shootout. 3/10

This movie looks a lot like the great movie Lock stock & two smoking barrels. The brilliant script is it´s strength and it throws you from one conclusion to another several times. Also, the acting is superb. Nick Moran, just to mention one of all the stars this film features, has never been better. Those of you who liked "Lock Stock..." must run and see this as soon as it hits the screens! (I had the opportunity to see it in the International filmfestival of Stockholm)