Red Rock West - film review

I first watched Red Rock West not too long after its release in 1992,and was impressed. On a second viewing, twenty years later, the film stands up very well. It's a snappy neo-noir thriller, atmospherically filmed in Arizona, and with moments of dark comedy leavening the violence. The real surprise is that the movie did not do especially well at first, but its reputation has steadily increased, and with good reason.

Nicholas Cage is very good as Michael, a war veteran who is drifting around in his car, looking for work without much success. He's soon established as a genuinely decent guy, who does not readily give in to temptation. However, when he arrives in Red Rock, he makes his way to Wayne's Bar, and is mistaken by Wayne for Lyle, a hitman from Dallas whom he has hired to murder his wife.

Wayne is a superficially charming but in fact deeply odious character, very well played by J. T. Walsh, whose early death only six years after this film was made was a great loss.Michael reveals the plan to Wayne's wife, and does his best to escape from Red Rock, but Fate lends a hand. When he acts as a sort of Good Samaritan, he finishes up falling foul of the local cops. Then the Sheriff of Red Rock arrives -and this turns out to be Wayne.

The plot complications come thick and fast as Lyle finally arrives in town. He's played by the splendidly menacing Dennis Hopper, one of a number of very strong performances. Best of all is Cage, who shows what a good actor he is at his best. Red Rock West is a thoroughly enjoyable film, well worth a second viewing.

Justice/Seeking Justice - film review

Justice is a 2011 movie which is also known as Seeking Justice and was, it seems,originally known by the more memorable title of The Hungry Rabbit Jumps. The idiosyncratic, but often reliable, Rotten Tomatoes review website gives it a poor score, but I beg to differ. I really enjoyed it, and found it an unpredictable and twisty thriller of genuine quality.

So often, our views are influenced by our expectations. I must admit that I did not have high hopes for this film, but its plot came as a pleasant surprise. Essentially, it's a film about vigilantism, and as we all know, vigilantism in movies is generally a Bad Thing. Here, the wife of Will, a quiet English teacher (Nicholas Cage) is brutally attacked and raped. Will is approached by a mysterious stranger (the excellent Guy Pearce) and is made an offer: we'll kill your wife's attacker, if you give us a small bit of help in the future. Of course, we know it won't work out like that, but after some reservations, Will goes along with the idea.

Before long, his life is in chaos. He is set up to kill someone who is described as a sex pest (but is that true?) and his marriage starts to run into difficulty. January Jones, a very beautiful woman, plays Cage's wife, and she has a key role in the plot - not only as the initial victim. Half-way through the film, the story changes direction, as Will's "victim" proves to be, not a sex pest, but a man with an agenda of his own, whom the vigilantes wanted dead.

The pace falters a little in the final third of the story, but overall, I rated this film highly. A thriller of this kind needs to avoid predictability,and vigilante movies tend to be all too predictable, but I was kept engaged from start to finish. The cast is good, and the deeper significance of the issues at the heart of the story are touched on, if only (and sensibly) in a brief way. Never mind Rotten Tomatoes. This is a very enjoyable action thriller, which I gladly recommend.