43 posts categorized "True Crime"

March 03, 2023

AMERICAN MURDERER

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

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ColeSmithey.comWriter/director Matthew Gentile announces his presence as a capable filmmaker with a gritty true crime thriller that takes no prisoners.

If casting is everything then Gentile proves the theorem.

Tom Pelphrey confirms his status as an actor of substance, behind his impressive turn in "Ozark," as Jason Brown, a con man with a taste for robbery and murder.

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"American Murderer" may not be the most inventive title for a movie that necessarily pulls up its stakes a denouement too soon, but it delivers the goods with efficiency and style.

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For her part, Jacki Weaver tears a phone book in half as our freaky con man's disillusioned mother Jeanne. This phenomenal scenes blows the doors off the movie.

Great writing.

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The ever stalwart Ryan Phillippe keeps the heat on high in his search for a culprit who's smarter than his actions tell.

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Here is a workmanlike thriller to break out the popcorn for all your entertainment needs.

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Hollywood should take notice, Matthew Gentile is a filmmaking force to be reckoned with.

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Solid supporting performances from Idina Menzel, Paul Schneider, Moises Arias, and Kevin Corrigan put the icing on the cake.

Ta da.

Rated R. 102 mins.

4 Stars“ColeSmithey.com”

Cozy Cole

Cole Smithey on Patreon

April 07, 2022

CITY OF ANGELS, CITY OF DEATH

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a lot pal! Your generosity keeps the reviews coming!

Cole Smithey on Patreon

Screen Shot 2022-04-07 at 12.07.05 PMHow lucky we were.

If you were footloose and anywhere near LA in the late '70s and early '80s, there was a chance your life could have been cut short by any number of serial killers claiming victims at an alarming rate.

One such killer had a team of accomplices.

Over 100 victims.
ColeSmithey.com

ABC News does a remarkable job of mapping out the killers' domain while keeping focus on the detectives doing the heavy lifting of police work without the aid of high-tech assistance.

Screen Shot 2022-04-07 at 12.20.14 PM

The real detectives tell the story from their point of view.

Screen Shot 2022-04-07 at 12.23.22 PM

This bingeable police procedural documentary series manages to be tasteful in the face of utter horror.

Still shocking.

Not Rated. Six 45 min. Episodes.

5 Stars

Cozy Cole

Cole Smithey on Patreon

February 12, 2022

LANSKY

ColeSmithey.comHarvey Keitel brings "the Mob's accountant" to impressive life in this engaging telling of Meyer Lansky's sordid career.

American and Israeli governments prove to be the dirtiest mob of the bunch.

Shocker.

The difference is that Israel got a lot of Lansky's cash — he was mistakenly generous to his home country.

ColeSmithey.com

America took a different, less successful tact, to rob Lansky. 

ColeSmithey.com

Locating Meyer's hidden cash stash of [ostensibly] 300 million dollars was beyond U.S. spooks' reach.

Ta da.

4 Stars

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a lot pal!

Cole Smithey on Patreon

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