Author Archives: Bradley Crain

Brad reviews THE LAST TYCOON (2012), starring Chow Yun-Fat!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

When fans of Hong Kong cinema think of high-quality film craftsmanship, the name Wong Jing doesn’t immediately come to mind. Sure, he directed one of my all-time favorite films, GOD OF GAMBLERS (1989), and he’s had his share of box office success over the years, but he’s also churned out a lot of crap. His name is not often the stamp of quality on a film production, but there’s something about working with Chow Yun-Fat that will sometimes bring out his best.

THE LAST TYCOON tells the story of Shanghai crime boss Cheng Daqi, portrayed here in two separate timelines by actor Huang Xiaoming in his younger years, and by the legendary Chow Yun-Fat in his older years. When we meet young Cheng, he seems like an awfully nice guy and then fate places him in a jail cell with the shady Mao Zai (Francis Ng). To escape and save his own life, and with a little help from Mao, Cheng commits his first murder. Forced to flee, Cheng aligns himself with a gang led by Hong Shouting (Sammo Hung). A natural leader, and as badass as it gets, Cheng rises rapidly in the ranks. The narrative isn’t as straight forward as this sounds so far, because it leaps frequently back and forth between younger Cheng and older Cheng. When the film finally settles in with Chow Yun-Fat for its latter half, we have seen how Cheng rose to become one of the most powerful men in Shanghai. We also understand how he has found himself in an extremely difficult wartime position with the Japanese that will test his loyalty to his country, as well as to the people he loves.

Right out of the gate, I want to give kudos to Wong Jing for putting together a highly entertaining film, set against an incredible 30-year backdrop of historical Shanghai! I don’t mention it in the summary above, but THE LAST TYCOON finds time to feature an abundance of romance between Cheng and the two loves of his life. We’re talking about grand melodrama done right, offset periodically with awesome action sequences, whether they be hand-to-blade street brawls, heroic bloodshed shoot-outs, or explosive wartime bombing raids. The emotions and the blood flow very strongly in this one!

The role of Cheng Daqi fits Chow Yun-Fat like a glove. He emotes early and often, and when he takes a break from that, it’s usually to pick up a pistol that he’s able to wield with maximum precision and efficiency. For a long-time fan like me, it’s high-quality fan service that fits seamlessly into the pulpiness of the story. As the younger version of Cheng, Huang Xiaoming does a fine job with the romance and the action. It seems perfectly natural that he’d eventually turn into the legend. Huang gets a lot of screentime, and without his solid portrayal, I don’t think the film would have worked nearly as well.

I did want to mention some of the notable supporting performances in THE LAST TYCOON. Veteran Francis Ng is as reliable as ever as we see his character go from a mystery lifesaver at the beginning to an evil villain by the end. The role may be underdeveloped, but Ng makes it work. I’m going to be looking for more from actor Gao Hu, who’s a total badass in his role as Cheng’s loyal soldier Lin Huai. Present over the entire 30-year timeline of the film, the man’s expert switchblade skills and gun-handling abilities are crucial to Cheng’s safety! Yolanda Yuan and Monica Mok are very good as the two women in Cheng’s life. They are very different, but it’s easy to see why he loves them both, and I think the movie ultimately gets the ending right where the romance is concerned. Finally, I did want to mention that I was somewhat disappointed in the character of Hong Shouting, played by the legendary Sammo Hung. Even though he was a powerful boss, I don’t think he comes across very strongly in the film. For someone of his stature, I see this as one of the few missteps from writer / director Wong Jing.

Small quibbles aside, I recommend THE LAST TYCOON without any reservations. Fans of Chow Yun-Fat and Hong Kong cinema can’t go wrong!

THE LAST TYCOON is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Tubi, PlutoTV, and Plex.

Brad reviews PEACE HOTEL (1995), starring Chow Yun-Fat!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Just like November is Charles Bronson month in my house, May is Chow Yun-Fat month. My favorite living actor, Chow made so many good movies during his Hong Kong heyday, he made a few good movies here in America, and he’s still working to this day! This year I plan on revisiting some of his lesser known films and sharing my thoughts on them with you. I don’t know how many reviews I’ll have time to write, but I’m certainly looking forward to the movies! To kick off the month, I decided to revisit PEACE HOTEL, which was the last Hong Kong film that Chow starred in prior to making his English language debut with THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS in 1998.

PEACE HOTEL is a Chinese “western,” which is certainly different for Chow Yun-Fat who made his name by playing heroic gangsters and badass cops. Even though it’s not a movie I revisit often, its uniqueness in his filmography is something I enjoy when the right mood hits. The story setup, which is credited to Chow, is classic. Chow plays the notorious “killer,” a reformed man who has set up a remote “hotel” where violence is never allowed, no matter who you are or who’s after you. When a desperate woman shows up at the hotel, with a horde of outlaws right behind her, the rules are tested. The outlaws set up shop just outside the gates of the hotel and give the residents a few days to get out, or they’re all going to die. Considering they’ll have to go through the killer, things are certainly going to get interesting. 

Fans of westerns and samurai films will recognize many of the story elements, but I’d have to say that this movie is less about originality and more about establishing a mythic mood. Director Wai Ka-Fai plays up the legend of the killer, so there’s a lot of setup to get through. This does require some patience for those used to the star’s wall to wall action-fests with director John Woo. Let’s just say the action is used sparingly, but when it comes, it’s good stuff. 

Chow Yun-Fat carries the film effortlessly. His charisma, toughness and charm is fully on display whether he’s horsing around with a small child, romancing the beautiful Cecilia Yip, or dispatching throngs of bad guys with his blade. The role certainly isn’t flashy, but he’s just so cool. Nobody can portray a noble killer as well as Chow Yun-Fat.

PEACE HOTEL is currently playing on Tubi. When I first saw the film back in the 90’s, I remember a sequence where Chow Yun-Fat slides down a ladder while mowing down bad guys with a machine gun. That sequence is not included in the cut playing on Tubi, which is a little disappointing for me. Still, the film has so much going in its favor, that I still give it an easy recommendation. It may not be balls-to-the-wall action like THE KILLER, FULL CONTACT or HARD BOILED, but I’ll definitely be reaching for PEACE HOTEL again someday when I’m in the mood for something different than your typical action film. 

Brad reviews CRISIS NEGOTIATORS (2024), starring Lau Ching-Wan & Francis Ng!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

My wife loves Hallmark movies and a handful of other movies that she tends to want to watch over and over again. That list of movies includes DIE HARD, VOLCANO, STRIKING DISTANCE and THE NEGOTIATOR. Every time we go to the family cabin for a weekend getaway, she insists that I pack our DVD of THE NEGOTIATOR to watch at some point over the weekend. It’s fair to say I’ve watched the film at least 10 times over the last 10 years or so, and I really do enjoy it. Did you know that filmmakers in Hong Kong remade THE NEGOTIATOR back in 2024 under the title of CRISIS NEGOTIATORS? It’s produced by superstar Andy Lau, who does a cameo. It’s directed by Herman Yau, who’s directed such successful and diverse films as THE UNTOLD STORY and the SHOCK WAVE franchise. It stars two of the best Hong Kong actors of the last 3 decades in Lau Ching-Wan & Francis Ng. Of course I had to see it!

If you’ve seen the original film, there aren’t a lot of surprises in CRISIS NEGOTIATORS. Lau Ching-Wan plays Man Wai, an expert police negotiator. After celebrating his latest birthday, he gets a message to meet a friend and co-worker whose investigation into thefts from the “Police Welfare Fund” seems to implicate fellow members of the police force. When he shows up at the meeting, his friend has been murdered and the cops are soon on the scene. Arrested and determined to prove his innocence, Man Wai escapes custody and makes his way to the Internal Investigations Unit. He takes his own set of hostages, one of which may be involved in taking money from the Police Welfare Funds. He has an interesting request… I’ll only talk to Tse Ka Chun (Francis Ng). Chun, a former police negotiator who left the force to become a social worker, is soon on the scene. As Man interrogates the hostages and talks to Chun, it becomes apparent that he’s been set up. But will he live long enough to expose the real killers?! 

As a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema, and after having seen THE NEGOTIATOR so many times, I thought it would be fun to compare the two films and look for things that stand out in the Hong Kong version. CRISIS NEGOTIATORS opens with a particularly interesting sequence where an unstable couple armed with knives takes the workers of a family services center hostage. It seems that their young son has been forcibly removed from their home and they want him back. Man Wai (Lau Ching-Wan) and Chun (Francis Ng) work together to try to resolve the situation. What makes this opening unique is that the actor playing the unstable man is Andy Lau, a true superstar of Hong Cinema and entertainment in general (he’s one of the 4 “Heavenly Kings of Cantopop). Lau is one of the producers of the film, so it makes sense he threw a little of his star power in front of the camera, even if the cameo is the exact opposite of many of his roles. In English language terms, it would be like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio being in the opening scene of THE NEGOTIATOR. 

Another difference in the two films that I really appreciate is the character of Tse Ka Chun, played so well by veteran Hong Kong star Francis Ng. As good as Kevin Spacey is in THE NEGOTIATOR, I really appreciate the tweaks made for the Hong Kong version to Chun. In this version, Chun reluctantly comes back to help the police in this specific situation. He has dedicated his life to helping the poor and unfortunate souls who have found themselves on the lowest rungs of Hong Kong society. In other words, he’s just a really good guy. There are a couple of sequences where he interacts with this poor beggar of an old granny that makes my heart swell as he treats her with kindness and dignity while others do not. It also provides a hilarious payoff at the film’s conclusion. 

Lau Ching-Wan is great in the central role of Cheuk Man Wai. A 4-time winner (and 18 time nominee) of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, Lau is simply one of the best actors working in Chinese language cinema. While I don’t give him an edge over Samuel Jackson’s intense performance in the original film, Lau brings his talent to bear in the role and doesn’t miss a beat. Other performances that stand out to me are provided by veterans like Michael Miu as a corrupt superior officer and Kent Cheng as the older cop in charge of everything. Cheng’s character and performance isn’t anything special, but I just enjoy seeing him on screen. One character who can’t be replaced in the original movie is the smarmy Internal Affairs officer played by the late, great J.T. Walsh. Walsh was truly a one-of-a-kind talent, and I don’t think anyone else can do what he did so well. Veteran Hong Kong actor Michael Chow gives a solid turn as the corrupt II agent here, but it’s just too much of an uphill climb. Man Wai’s hostages are pretty good as well, but can’t really compete with the memorable work by Siobhan Fallon Hogan and Paul Giamatti in the original. 

CRISIS NEGOTIATORS would have no chance to work if it didn’t capture some of the intensity of the original film, and I think it was largely successful in that endeavor. Director Herman Yau does a fine job, and I did find myself really getting into the film as the pressure ratcheted up on the main characters. With that being said, outside of a couple of changes, the film sticks pretty close to the original so fans will definitely be in very familiar territory. 

The primary purpose for making CRISIS NEGOTIATORS was to take the excellent story of THE NEGOTIATOR into the lucrative Chinese language market. It had a respectable box office return in the summer of 2024, bringing in around $22 million in mainland China and around $11 million HK dollars in Hong Kong. With good, but not great numbers, the film mostly fulfills its purpose. At the end of the day, CRISIS NEGOTIATORS won’t replace THE NEGOTIATOR on my watch list, but I still enjoyed it very much. I appreciate the cinema and stars of other parts of the world, and this remake was time well spent!

CRISIS NEGOTIATORS is currently streaming on Tubi. 

Did y’all know that Charles Bronson once duked it out with Roy Rogers?!!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

How many of y’all can say that you’ve met Dale Evans, the wife of Roy Rogers?! I can. She was in Perryville, Arkansas to watch one of my fellow high school students play basketball. I don’t remember if he was her grandson, nephew or what exactly the relationship was, but she was there, and I went and introduced myself to her. This would have been in the early 90’s and she was around 80 years old or so. She was so sweet to me, and I’ve always appreciated that I got to meet her. 

Today I decided to watch the episode of “The Roy Rogers Show, Season 2, Episode 8, THE KNOCKOUT,” where Charles Bronson is the special guest star. In the episode, Roy notices strangers digging on an isolated section of his land. When he investigates, he discovers that the handlers for prizefighter Willie “Killer” Conley (Bronson) have set up a training camp for the champ. However, Roy begins to suspect that quite a bit more than training is going on there. Before long the fists and bullets are flying as Roy and Dale take down the bad guys. Bronson’s character may be called Killer Conley, but he is a decent guy who’s gotten himself in too deep with the bad guys, and he ends up joining the good guys when the rubber meets the road at the end. That made me happy. With that said, Bronson and Rogers punched it out multiple times before everything worked out well in the end! 

This was my first ever viewing of The Roy Rogers Show. From what I understand, it’s a pretty standard entry in a series that consistently displays a simple story with clear morals and a dependable resolution. However, when you consider that this episode was one of the early TV appearances of Charles Bronson, billed as Charles Buchinsky at the time, it emerges as a piece of cinematic history. A couple of decades later Bronson would be the biggest male movie star in the world. At this point for me, it’s nostalgia at its finest! 

The Roy Rogers Show is currently streaming on Tubi.

Happy 63rd Birthday to Jet Li!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Back in the late 90’s, I remember seeing the trailer for LETHAL WEAPON 4 that shouted out Jet Li. As a person who was just starting to get into Hong Kong cinema, I thought he was absolutely incredible and the best thing about the movie. I was soon watching all of his Hong Kong films and having a ball! The American market loved Jet Li, and used him often in movies like ROMEO MUST DIE and THE EXPENDABLES franchise, but he never reached the quality of his best Hong Kong films like ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA and FONG SAI-YUK. 

Happy Birthday, Jet! You’re one of the all time greats!

Brad revisits the Hong Kong classic POLICE STORY (1985), starring Jackie Chan!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I knew who Jackie Chan was well before I discovered Hong Kong cinema in the early 90’s through the works of John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat. I had seen him in the CANNONBALL RUN movies, including part 2 in the movie theater, and I recognized the VHS for THE PROTECTOR (1985) at my local video store, but I had no idea just how amazing he was as a filmmaker and performer until I became obsessed with Hong Kong’s local film industry in the mid-90’s. As I read about the incredible work that Chan had done or was doing in books like “Hong Kong Babylon,” I made notes on all of his movies that I wanted to see. Of course, the original POLICE STORY was at the top of the list. 

In POLICE STORY, Chan plays Hong Kong cop Chan Ka-Kui. In the film’s opening scene, he takes part in a sting operation to bring down Chu (Yuen Chor), one of Hong’s major drug kingpins. After the plan goes awry, we get an incredible action sequence where cars crash through a shantytown, bullets fly, cops piss themselves, Chan hangs off of a bus with the handle of an umbrella, runs down a mountain, arrests the drug lord, and we’re just getting started! 

From that amazing opening, Chan is assigned to protect the key witness, Salina (the gorgeous Brigitte Lin), whose testimony is key to bringing Chu down. This doesn’t go well. Between corruption in the police force, false accusations, and Chan’s tenuous relationship with his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung), the ensuing chaos seems to indicate that Chu is going to get off on the drug charges and Chan just may end up dead.

But let’s be honest, the plot is just a reason to get to the action. And once you’ve seen a few of Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong movies, you just settle in for a loose story, lots of goofy humor (that doesn’t always work), and some of the most insane stunt work you’ll ever see. POLICE STORY is a perfect example of that formula, and quite honestly, it’s one of the great action films. The stunts feel and look dangerous. The final sequence, set in a shopping mall, is some of the best action I’ve ever seen in a movie. I sat there with my mouth open and shaking my head as great stunt after grunt stunt takes place. I can’t help but wonder how many people got injured doing those scenes as glass shatters, bodies fly, and Chan puts himself through hell for the sake of the scene. It can’t be described… it needs to be experienced.

And yet, for all the amazing action, I can relate to Jackie Chan. He messes up. He gets hurt. He argues with his girlfriend. I’ve done all of these things, and I love it when he gets his stuff together and uses his unique set of skills to save the day!

As awesome as POLICE STORY is, viewers need to be aware of the serious tonal shifts that take place in the Hong Kong cinema of the 80’s. It can be a little jarring if you’re not used to it, as the movie goes from slapstick comedy to brutal action to melodrama, sometimes within the same scene. In some ways, that’s part of the charm, but these films can feel very strange for the uninitiated.

At the end of the day POLICE STORY isn’t perfect, but it is Jackie Chan at his best… fearless, inventive, and committed to giving the audience their money’s worth. If you’re interested in the unique and dangerous films that Chan made at this physical peak, this is as good as it gets.

POLICE STORY is currently streaming on HBOMAX.

Brad takes on THE MOB (1951), starring Broderick Crawford!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

In my quest to see every movie and TV show that Charles Bronson ever appeared in, I finally decided to take on THE MOB this morning. I’ve held off for years because this early, uncredited role as a dockworker only gives Bronson a couple of lines. He looks like a natural fixture on the docks, but his screen time only adds up to a minute or two in total.

With Bronson being little more than some temporary dockside scenery, I settled in for a story about Johnny Damico (Broderick Crawford), a tough, no-nonsense cop who’s doing some rainy night ring-shopping for his girlfriend when a man is killed just outside the store. He bungles up the whole situation, and the killer gets away. It turns out the killing was a mob hit and soon Damico is going undercover as Tim Flynn from New Orleans so he can infiltrate and bust the organized crime ring operating on the waterfront. 

Broderick Crawford is so good in this role. His Damico / Flynn has a cynical sense of humor that I enjoyed. He thinks fast, he’s rough around the edges, and he even gets to slap some bad guys around a time or two. He’s one of those characters whose mouth should probably get him in more trouble. Well, now that I think about it, his mouth does almost get him killed a couple of times. Crawford and Bronson would work again together a few years later in the prison film BIG HOUSE USA (1955). 

With Crawford’s performance anchoring the movie, Director Robert Parrish delivers a tight, efficient and entertaining crime story that clocks in at just under an hour and a half. One of the things that made the film enjoyable for me is the interesting and recognizable supporting cast of actors who pop up throughout the film. I’ve already mentioned Bronson, but actors like Ernest Borgnine, Neville Brand and Frank DeKova all show up to torment our undercover cop at various points throughout the film. It’s always fun for me to see a cast full of familiar faces! 

At the end of the day, I enjoyed THE MOB. It doesn’t try to be anything more than a good crime film, and with Broderick Crawford’s excellent performance, it does its job well. 

Brad revisits CHINO (1973), starring Charles Bronson, on Jill Ireland’s 90th Birthday!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I remember the first time I ever saw the Charles Bronson western, CHINO.  I was probably around 13 or 14 years old and already well known in my school for being obsessed with the actor Charles Bronson, who would have been roughly 65 years old at the time. There was this girl who I guess had a crush on me, so she invited my best friend Chad and I, along with her best friend, over to her house to watch a movie one Saturday. And the movie she chose… CHINO, AKA THE VALDEZ HORSES! I don’t think I watched the movie very close that day. CHINO was treated poorly on VHS in the 80’s, and I was more interested in the DEATH WISH 3s and MURPHY’S LAWs of the world at that time. I was also more interested in trying to make the girls laugh, which was always my main move because I was never good looking enough to smolder.

So, for many years, CHINO was nowhere near the top of my list of favorite Charles Bronson films.  I watched it a few times, but I always found it hard to take seriously due to the cheap quality of the video presentation.  Well in 2021, Kino Lorber released the film under THE VALDEZ HORSES title in a glorious Blu-ray. CHINO is a revelation with this new release, and I finally saw what I had been missing all these years. For the first time, I felt like I was able to watch it, and judge it, based on its own merits as a film.

CHINO opens on Jamie (15-year-old Vincent Van Patten) riding across the range as the title tune “Freedom Rainbow” plays over the credits. When he comes upon a ranch just as it’s getting dark, a tough-as-nails-looking Chino Valdez (Charles Bronson), emerges from the cabin and offers him a warm fire and a meal. Initially a little scared of Chino, Jamie is looking for work and Chino needs help, so the boy hangs around for a while. Things seem to be going well as the eager Jamie and Chino work the horses at his ranch, but soon issues start popping up. First, it’s the barbed wire that cattle baron Maral (Marcel Bozzuffi) puts up on the range that results in serious injuries for some of Chino’s wild horses.  Then, it’s the fact that every time Chino goes to town for supplies, he ends up drinking, brawling, and spending a little time in jail. But those things pale in comparison to the biggest issue… Chino falls in love with the beautiful Catherine (Jill Ireland), Maral’s sister, and Maral will have no part of her falling back in love with the half breed Chino! Maral threatens to kill Chino if he doesn’t quit seeing his sister, and he means it.

Based on the award-winning 1967 novel THE VALDEZ HORSES by female author Lee Hoffman, director John Sturges crafted a movie around a role that seems tailor made for Bronson. Chino Valdez is a loner who reluctantly takes on a fatherly role towards Jamie, and then even more reluctantly falls in love with Catherine. He seemed like the kind of man who would be perfectly fine working the ranch by himself forever until Jamie rides up. A loner in real life who valued his family over anything else, who also purchased his own horse ranch in Vermont the same year of CHINO’s release, it’s hard to know where the character of Chino begins and Charles Bronson ends. This is a particularly strong performance from Bronson, one of his very best.

And you really do need to savor the film for Bronson’s incredible presence, because the film doesn’t have as much action, nor does it lead to the typical showdown that we’ve come to expect in Bronson’s movies.  Chino gets into a scuffle when he goes into town, and he shoots some bad guys at the end, but this is first and foremost a character study.  As a matter of fact, the film that John Sturges delivered had even less action than what we see in the final product.  Disappointed in the surprising lack of action, producer Dino De Laurentiis hired director Duilio Coletti to shoot some additional action scenes for the film after Sturges had left the project. These scenes are incorporated very well into the final product, and I agree that they add value.

Without the typical Bronson action, we’re left with a perfectly cast Bronson interacting with the supporting characters in ways that are atypical for his filmography. Bronson and Vincent Van Patten work well off each other, and Van Patten is phenomenal as the teenage Jamie. I love that their relationship evolves into something meaningful as the movie progresses.  Chino learns that he can trust the boy who seems to emerge as a young man right before our eyes. And then there’s the relationship between Chino and Catherine, played by Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland. Not quite as effective as the Chino / Jamie relationship, it’s still character driven and unique. Chino shows a tenderness towards her in a couple of scenes that we’re not used to seeing presented onscreen, even if one of the moments is brought on by the admittedly odd inclusion of the two watching his stud mount a beautiful wild mare. Ireland is extremely beautiful, so it’s not completely surprising that the self-sufficient Chino would fall for her.  Unfortunately, while the Chino / Jamie relationship strengthens throughout the film, the Chino / Catherine relationship eventually goes the other way leading to the somewhat surprising, some might say disappointing, finale.      

After watching the restored Blu-ray presentation by Kino Lorber, I can confidently say that CHINO is a good Charles Bronson film that features one of his best performances. It’s still not in my personal Bronson top ten, but if you’re a fan of Charles Bronson the actor, then this a must-watch. It’s my opinion, after having read the book and watched the movie, that no other actor could have brought the character of Chino Valdez alive in a stronger way than Charles Bronson. It was the perfect combination of actor and character, and I’ll stand by that opinion to the end.  

Brad recommends SPEAK NO EVIL (2024)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

My wife and I were browsing around our 10 different movie apps a couple of nights ago when we came across the psychological thriller SPEAK NO EVIL on NBC’s Peacock app. I’ve always kinda liked the actor James McAvoy, at least I did in WANTED (2008), so we decided to give it a spin. 

In SPEAK NO EVIL, the vacationing Dalton family, Ben (Scoot McNairy), Louise (Mackenzie Davis), and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) meet Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their son Ant (Dan Hough). The families hit it off instantly and have a great time together, but they soon say goodbye and go their separate ways back to their homes. A couple of months later, the Daltons receive a letter in the mail asking them to take a week to come visit their fast friends at their family farm. Needing a break from their normal routines, they decide to take Paddy & Ciara up on their offer. At first, everyone seems to be having a great time together. But it soon becomes apparent that Paddy & Ciara see the world radically different than Ben and Louise, whether it be their views on the environment, or much more powerfully and personally, their views on raising children. As the fun turns sour, the Dalton’s try to leave, but getting away from Paddy & Ciara isn’t as easy as it seems. Soon we’re learning why Ant can’t speak properly, and we’re seeing disturbing evidence that the Dalton’s aren’t the first family invited out to the farm. The question now is whether or not they’ll be the last?!! 

SPEAK NO EVIL, which is based on a 2022 Danish film of the same name, opens up in a beautiful countryside paradise. I was blown away by the gorgeous Eastern European locations where the families were enjoying their vacations. The Dalton’s, more vulnerable than they might first appear, are taken in by the outgoing and free-spirited Paddy and Ciara. Even after they’ve gone back to their normal lives, they seem to miss the excitement that their vacation friends brought to their lives. Their vulnerability leads to a terribly shortsighted decision to spend a week at the secluded farm of a couple they barely know. While we might question their decision-making skills, I think that most of us would agree that many of our very worst decisions come from positions of weakness and vulnerability. The Daltons will most certainly soon come to regret their decision. 

I was interested in watching SPEAK NO EVIL because I like psycho thrillers and James McAvoy. As far as I’m concerned, neither disappointed. This film spends the first 90% of its run-time slowly tightening its grip on us viewers prior to unleashing hell over the last 10%. McAvoy is both creepy, powerful and evil as Paddy. When we finally see him snap, we’re not terribly surprised based on his gradually more depraved behavior witnessed earlier in the film. Scoot McNairy is good in the film, even though his Ben Dalton comes across as a relatively weak husband and dad most of the time. The truth is, he’s like most normal people would be if we found ourselves in this situation. And Mackenzie Davis is good as Louise Dalton, although there are a few times when she behaves in ways that undermines her character’s perceived intelligence in order to keep the plot moving along. The children characters end up having meaningful roles in the resolution of the film, and the child actors do a fine job, which is not always the case. At the end of the day, SPEAK NO EVIL doesn’t feel like the most original of films, but I think the director and actors tell a familiar, thrilling story quite well. 

The last thing I’m going to say is that I’ve never seen the original 2022 Danish film that SPEAK NO EVIL (2024) is based on. I understand that its resolution is much, much different than this version. I do plan on watching it soon, as it’s currently playing on Tubi. Regardless of how I end up feeling about the original, my wife and I watched this 2024 version and enjoyed it. No later viewing of the source material can take that away. 

Brad recommends STRANGER ON HORSEBACK (1955)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’m a big fan of westerns made in the 1940’s and 1950’s. I’m also a big fan of the writings of author Louis L’Amour. STRANGER ON HORSEBACK, a 1955 western based on a story by L’Amour, is a good example of why I love both, and it’s currently playing on Amazon Prime, HBOMAX, and Tubi. 

STRANGER ON HORSEBACK opens on the traveling Circuit Judge Rick Thorne (Joel McCrea) as he rides his horse into a small western town that seems to be run by the Bannerman family. We hear his thoughts on western justice, and it goes something like this… “a judge needs three things to bring justice to this country; a law book, a horse and a gun. The further west he gets, the less he needs the book.” That’s a L’Amour line if I’ve ever heard one. As soon he gets into town, he finds out from Colonel Buck Streeter (John Carradine) that young Tom Bannerman (Kevin McCarthy) has gunned a local man down and Thorne is determined that the young man face trial for the killing. That doesn’t set too well with Tom’s dad Josiah Bannerman (John McIntire), who bluntly tells the judge that his son will not face trial for murder. After Thorne and the local Sheriff Nat Bell (Emile Meyer) arrest young Tom, it’s just a matter of time before Thorne has to take on the Bannerman clan and their hired guns. Meanwhile, Amy Lee Bannerman (Miroslava), Tom’s cousin, starts making some love moves on the judge. Is she truly falling for the righteous judge, or is she trying to save her cousin’s ass? 

Director Jacques Tourneur (CAT PEOPLE, OUT OF THE PAST, WICHITA) has crafted an extremely economical, classic western. Clocking in at just 65 minutes, the story can’t afford to waste any time and gets right to the action. Joel McCrea is perfect as the morally impeccable judge who will face off against impossible odds to make sure young Tom Bannerman goes to trial for murder. Kevin McCarthy is the exact opposite as the arrogant, amoral killer whose family name has protected him all of his life. John McIntire, as the patriarch of the Bannerman family, is as tough as they come and nobody is going to tell him what to do, or hang his son. He’s not necessarily against his son hanging, but as he implies at one point, if anyone’s going to hang my son, it’s going to be me! And Miroslava is awfully cute as the Bannerman who ends up putting her feelings for the judge over the family name. Sadly, the actress would take her own life just after filming this movie. 

STRANGER ON HORSEBACK was filmed in Sedona, AZ, which makes for a beautiful backdrop to this combination of western and legal thriller. The fact that McCrea is playing a judge rather than a sheriff is an interesting twist on the classic western story. His primary focus is to make sure Tom Bannerman gets his due process, but still faces a jury for his crimes, and he’ll do anything to make sure that happens. And it doesn’t take him very long to do it, because it felt like there should have been more movie when the words THE END flashed across the screen. I guess I was enjoying myself, because this 65 minute movie felt even shorter than you might expect!