Set in the unfamiliar snow-covered mountains of Utah, United States, a mute gunslinger, known only as Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is hired by a young widow to extract revenge after the death of her husband. The killer is part of a ruthless gang of bounty hunters, led by the cold-blooded Loco (Klaus Kinski). Despite being released almost sixty years ago, The Great Silence remains an incredible watch that holds up well today.
When the experienced and equally as tough bounty hunter, Morgan Hickman (Henry Fonda), rides into a small frontier town with an outlaw’s body with him, tensions start to simmer. Initially, he only planned on collecting the reward for his bounty, but quickly crossed paths with Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins), a young and inexperienced sheriff, struggling to find his footing within the town. Together they navigate the threats and moral dilemmas around keeping the town safe. In my eyes, an iconic and somewhat underappreciated classic American western that is certainly worth a watch.
On the eve of the biggest project of his career, construction manager Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) gets news that changes everything. As he leaves the construction site and begins the long drive from Birmingham to London, he spends the journey making a series of emotional phone calls to his wife, his child, his colleagues, and others connected to his story. During these conversations he is forced to reveal a personal secret he has been carrying for some time, one that threatens not only his family, but also his professional future. A slightly polarising release with strong writing and a strong acting performance.
A man known as Papillon (Steve McQueen) is wrongly convicted of murder and sent to a French prison colony in South America, before forging an unlikely friendship with another inmate, Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman). The pair begin to plot their escape while simultaneously battling barbaric conditions, harsh punishments and plenty of betrayal along the way. Papillon is rightfully regarded as one of the finer releases of the 1970’s. It’s worth noting that the movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a small-time thief, desperate for work in the gritty, underbelly of Los Angeles, California, before barging his way into the fascinating world of crime journalism, consequently becoming the star of his own story, blurring the line between that of an observer and an active participant. Nightcrawler received heaps of praise upon its release and it most certainly worth of a watch.
When the United States justice system fails to properly punish those responsible for a brutal crime, Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) takes matters into his own hands. What begins as a straightforward quest for revenge quickly evolves into a carefully planned assault on the legal system itself, leaving prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) struggling to keep up. Law Abiding Citizen is a compelling and thought-provoking film that still holds up perfectly in 2025. It’s worth noting that the movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The DC Review Blog - EST. 2020 