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richpurdon
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Bosch (2014)
Well-crafted hardboiled detective thriller
Bosch was something I started watching more out of curiosity than anything else, but it only took a couple of episodes to get me drawn in and wanting more.
Although there's nothing to separate it from the myriad detective thrillers featuring a driven, cynical cop in pursuit of a taunting serial killer playing cat-and-mouse, the quality of writing in the source material shines though and is more than done justice by quality performances from the cast.
Titus Welliver gets a long overdue opportunity to take centre stage and provides a superbly balanced portrayal of a man who has learned to keep his temper on a short leash - but only just.
Other familiar faces - 24's Sarah Clarke, Walking Dead's Scott Wilson and The Wire's Lance Reddick amongst others - bring plenty of quality to keep their characters moving in and out of focus during the investigation. Shawn Hatosy and Annie Wersching prove equally adept at straddling the shadow line.
All in all an enjoyable if unsurprising crime thriller elevated to great by the cast and script.
Barricade (2012)
Do you know what happened here?
Admittedly I created this account because watching this left me so confused I'm hoping for answers, this is my first review so please be gentle...
I didn't get into Will & Grace but enjoyed Perception and this seems like one of Dr Pierce's psychotic breaks but without the insight or resolution. I get the premise; recently widowed husband takes kids on the Christmas winter break they both remember from times past and never got to enjoy, but the variables are too many to make it coherent. At a certain point, the story reaches a crossroads and seemingly takes all directions simultaneously. Maybe he's mentally unstable and missing his medication, maybe the house in the middle of nowhere is haunted, maybe he's psychotic and wants to reunite the family. All are reasonable plot lines for a thriller/horror but a story needs to be more than just a beginning. Perhaps I've missed the point, Technically I thought the young actors were good and gave effective, understated performances that did them credit, Eric was (I think) good but I'd give a more informed opinion if I knew what the hell he was talking about. Cinematography was far too dark, far too early and the establishing shots left me as lost as the plot. If anyone can shed some light I'd be appreciative...