STATUS MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
NEWS
STORIES
SOCIAL MEDIA FEED
February 4, 2017 English
American Violence (2017)
Story:
Jackson Shea’s life of violence, lies, and murder eventually lands him a place on death row. Eager to find out the reasons behind his violent life, the authorities bring in a well-known psychologist to take a closer look at his life and see what happened to him. As Dr. Amanda Tyler observes and interacts with him, she realizes that there is more to his violent nature than meets the eye. When Tyler is given the task of determining whether Shea should receive a stay of execution, she is forced to put aside her personal feelings toward the death penalty and make an objective decision based on Shea’s past.
Review:
A first-rate cast was assembled to tell this story, a story that is very relevant to present times. The viewer is made to think deeply about why Jackson Shea (Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau) deserves a second chance, despite all the evil things he has done.
Lyman-Mersereau was the perfect choice for Shea, as he brings out the two sides of this complex character well. One minute the audience is despising him, the next they are feeling pity for him. Scenes from his earlier life show the pain he has gone through, and one is tempted to ask if he deserves the death sentence.
Denise Richards, playing Dr. Amanda Tyler, comes in as a no-nonsense professional determined to prove her theories right. Halfway through the film, her viewpoint appears to change as she delves deeper into Shea’s life. Richard’s facial expressions are very revealing of her inner conflict all through the movie.
Bruce Dern is Richard Morton, a prison warder whose greatest wish is to see Jackson Shea dead. This sadistic character is Dern’s best and nastiest performance to date. Other notable actors include Columbus Short, Johnny Messner, Patrick Kilpatrick and Michael Pare.
The movie gets a little uncomfortable at times, showing troubling scenes from Shea’s past. The plot moves along steadily, though at times it gets lost in the winding dialogue. This film, however, gets its uniqueness from its approach to the subject matter at hand.
American Violence is one of those movies created to make people think. In this case, the audience needs to think carefully about what the correct consequences for violent crimes should be. Is there any room for pardon? What causes a person to follow such a path in life?
This film will work best for the individual who wants to be driven to think through the underlying message.
Review by: Aamli Browne
Stars: Bruce Dern, Denise Richards, Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau
Director: Timothy Woodward Jr.
Genres: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Movie Timing: 107 min
Release Date: 3 February 2017
Motion Picture Rating Ratings: Not Rated.
Review-If my father was alive today. When I was a kid, I hated the western. I even hated “ Silverado” and “ Dances with Wolves”. I was just not a fan of the western. That all changed though, when I was working for a theater and was bored one day and watched “ Pale Rider”. Ever since that film, I just fell in love with the western. In the last few years, the western genre has really made a comeback. “ 3:10 to Yuma”, “ Appaloosa” and most recently with Kurt Russell doing double duty in “ The Hateful Eight” and “ Bone Tomahawk”. Add, Traded to that list and more than likely in my top 20 of 2016. This film is very exciting and executes a new era for the western while making no apologies for being modern. “
“ Traded” is flat out stunning and the story is just perfect. The story involves a loner named Clay Travis. Clay has retired, settled down and raised a family. His son is bitten by a rattlesnake, his daughter is kidnapped by some bandits and his life has shifted from bliss to problematic in seconds. Clay is off to go save his daughter and thus starts this very dark and desperate journey we go on. This film, you really never quite know where the story is going, but you are so intoxicated in it, that you cannot stop watching.
While the story does have some pacing issues towards the middle, does finish off very efficiently. This film has such a depth to it and style, that at times you feel they were are trying to reinvent the western instead of working in the perimeters of one. The acting in this film was very good, the script had a pop to it, that when people spoke it really meant something. Though, with my phobia of snakes, that scene gave me many heebies and had me up all night searching my place. The film I felt had a great opening set up and a great finish, it just had problems in the middle.
Now, the middle was not so bad, it was just at times a little problematic, but nothing that made me want to turn it off or stop watching. This film (along with Bone Tomahawk) have really made the western for the new century. They have thrown the rules out the window and basically want to give us future inspirations. This film if you are a fan of the western or not, will convert you. I will be honest, this film should get a lot of attention and people watching, it offers you something that you do not get everyday. This film is that kind of special.
8.5 out of 10
Posted Mon Jan 18, 2016 at 08:00 AM PST by Tom Landy
The sci-fi action flick starring Tom Sizemore, Mickey Rourke, and Johnny Messner is headed for Blu-ray in March.
In an early announcement to retailers, Cinedigm will be releasing 'Weaponized' on Blu-ray on March 1.
After a blatant terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and the resulting new war on terror, private military contractor Kyle Norris (Sizemore) facilitates the development of a bio-mechanical weapons program by Professor Clarence Peterson (Rourke). The next-gen program allows soldiers to swap consciousness with a target, giving them temporary, yet complete, control. While the program was intended to combat terrorists and safe guard American soldiers, abuse has been rampant. Enter down-and-out Detective Walker (Messner), who unwittingly stumbles upon the failing bio-weapons program, and he's forced to fight to both shut it down and protect his young family from those who'll stop at nothing to keep things moving forward.
Timothy Woodward Jr., the producer/director
behind the recent action films Checkmate, starring
Danny Glover, Sean Astin and Vinne Jones and
4Got10 starring Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Vivica
Fox and Johnny Messner, delivers a non-stop genre
film that delivers both thrills and a shocking twist of an
ending that'll keep audiences guessing until the credits
roll. Taylor Cole ("CSI: Miami" and "The Glades") and
Michael Paré also co-star; bonus features include
deleted scenes.
"WEAPONIZED gave us the unique opportunity to combine fast-paced action with an intellectual scientific element that really makes you think. With the plot being set in the future, we were able to really use our imagination and create our own world, making the storytelling more exciting and challenging," said Woodward Jr.
You can find the latest specs for 'Weaponized' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under March 1.
