Quick Takes by Des

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Rise of the Footsoldier 3 ★★★★
Watched Nov 10, 2017

In the good tradition of British crime movies,
this movie is based on the real life of bad boy Pat Tate, as he rises through the ranks of the Essex criminal underworld.
Brutal and unflinching, it portrays a fearless man bent on achieving his ends, without any regard for consequences, culminating in the infamous Rattendon*murders.








Nameless Gangster 2012 ★★★★
Watched Nov 11, 2017

When a nobody becomes a somebody, it's usually a case of exceptional ability combined with the right circumstances. Such is the case of a customs inspector, who uses his family connection to woo a fearless gangster.
It is hard to survive in that ruthless word, much more to become one of the leaders.
Using cunning as his primary tool, the once nobody, suddenly turns his life around, and starts liking the power that his new position gets him .
Formerly kissing ass, he just wallows in the respect now given him.
He gets carried away with it and is reminded brutally that he is no gangster but his innate ability to survive and adapt still carries the day.
A very interesting film and character*development.









The Killer 2017 ★★★★★
Watched Nov 12, 2017

Pernambuco State in Brazil. in the first half of the 20th Century was known as The Badlands.
It was a western state of lawlessness governed by a few wealthy landowners, who pretty much were the lords of life and death.
It was also a place of refuge for some of Brazil's greatest outlaws and killers.
This atmospheric movie is based on the life of one such killer known as Cabeleira.
Reminiscent of Sergio Leone's westerns, this movie is more of an era and place portrait and definitely more graphic.
Made in 2017, when good westerns have become rare, it is a welcome and noteworthy addition to the*genre.








24 Hours to Live 2017 ★★★★
Watched Nov 13, 2017

What would you do to make up for all the bad things you have done, if you had only 24 hours to live?
After a miraculous operation, an assassin finds out he has only 24 hours to live and decides to spend them protecting a former target and her son.
Ethan Hawke brings compassion to the role of a hardened killer, as he confronts almost unbeatable odds and faces off against his employer and his army of special ops killers, in this non stop action*thriller.








I didn't know Rise of the Footsoldier had any sequels. I liked the first one, up there with the most violent movies I've ever seen.
The second one was not that good but the third was the most violent and the best made.
If you like violence, this is your huckleberry.



Mudbound 2017 ★★★★★
Watched Nov 19, 2017

A moving portrait of an awful post war era in the Mississippi Delta.
The lives of two sharecropper families intermingle during and immediately after WWII.
The white family owns the land which their black neighbors work. They both have family members that have gone to war and have come back forging a forbidden friendship.
It is still a time of segregation in the south, in spite of the fact that many blacks served in the US military.
The white robes are still around and very much in control.
The old father and nominal head of the white household is with the KKK and his oldest son, the owner of the land is the silent one, caught between the old man and his wife, who feels a kinship with her female neighbor, who showed kindness and help with her sick daughters.
The old man's youngest son is the war hero, a former pilot, who comes back still reeling from the war and drowns his feeling of guilt in alcohol.
The black neighbor's oldest son was a sergeant in the tank core that spearheaded the invasion of Germany.
While over there he falls in love with a German woman and father's a boy.
It was the black Red Tails that saved the pilot, who now sees the blacks as fellow human beings and the sergeant as a war compatriot.
This friendship stirs a hornet's nest in the deeply segregated south, leading to tragic consequences.
This movie is a very nuanced character study and the acting is very convincing and deeply moving.
Not only does it accurately reflect the segregated times but it also conveys the sense of loss of those who came back from the war alive.
It's a very powerful movie and worthy of an Oscar*nomination.









The second one was not that good but the third was the most violent and the best made.
If you like violence, this is your huckleberry.
I'll skip the second and watch the 3rd then. The Business and Essex Boys are good if you haven't seen them.



I'll skip the second and watch the 3rd then. The Business and Essex Boys are good if you haven't seen them.
Thanks. I've seen Essex Boys but now will have to check out The Business.
If you have not seen, I recommend these:





After watching the Krays, I really got into British crime.



Those look good too, and I have heard of The Krays. I also like Down Terrace, This is England, and Johnny Was. I assume you've seen Layer Cake.



yu rate almost everything 5 stars?
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Oh my god. They're trying to claim another young victim with the foreign films.



yu rate almost everything 5 stars?
No, just the movies I really like.
I rarely post a movie here that I don't like, but I seldom watch a whole movie, if I don't like the beginning.
If you search the thread, you'll find a movie I rated 3.5.



Those look good too, and I have heard of The Krays. I also like Down Terrace, This is England, and Johnny Was. I assume you've seen Layer Cake.
I've seen Layer Cake and This is England but have yet to see Down Terrace and Johnny Was.



The Outlaws 2017 ★★★★★
Watched Nov 21, 2017

Very hard core Korean gang movie.
A Chinese enforcer comes to Korea and starts taking over
the local turfs by chopping up indigenous gangsters.
They call him the Black Dragon and he is so ruthless, the other criminals soon start to all fear him.
He is completely fearless and takes what he wants, leaving behind butchered corpses.
Starting out with only two Chinese underlings, with short axes, he takes over a complete city and soon becomes the most wanted criminal.
The Korean cops, who are usually complied to, find out the hard way, that this criminal will not hesitate to kill cops, as well.
One, especially tough and feared cop makes it his mission to get the Black Dragon.
All this sets the stage for an epic*confrontation.









Nothing wrong with posting reviews about movies you like.
I'm curious though, what movies have you seen that you might rate lower than 4 stars?
On this particular thread, 68 Kill.
Ratings are over rated to begin with, as they are highly subjective.
I probably have a tendency to rate my movies higher than some other people would, but I find that those people
that like my kind of movies have no problem with my rating.