Steve Chasman

Occupation

Filmmaker

Parker Review

By Rich Cline

Very Good

Far better made than it has any right to be, this cheesy 70s-style thriller is given a thoroughly engaging kick by veteran filmmaker Hackford working outside his usual dramatic genre. It's predictable and far too long, but Hackford grounds everything in gritty reality, avoiding obnoxious effects work while indulging in entertaining innuendo and riotously nasty action sequences.

None of this is much of a stretch for the cast, and Statham's Parker is essentially the same character he always plays: a ruthlessly efficient, indestructible criminal with a conscience. After a gang of thugs (including Chiklis and Collins) betrays him following a fairgrounds heist, Parker miraculously recovers from his hideous injuries and heads to Florida to get revenge. He uses local estate agent Leslie (Lopez) to find the gang's lair, and she's instantly attracted to the way he fills out his designer suit. Living with her soap-addict mum (LuPone), Leslie is looking for a wealthy man to rescue her. And she's already too involved when she realises that Parker isn't who he seems to be.

There isn't much to the plot, which is packed with contrived twists and turns and never follows through the intriguing possibilities along the way. At least the film avoids the usual action cliches, as Hackford sharply orchestrates each fight sequence to make it both lucid and startlingly brutal. This earthy approach keeps things relatively believable, until Parker emerges with yet another serious injury that doesn't slow him down at all. Meanwhile, Hackford injects plenty of eyebrow-raising flirtation that keeps us smiling. Statham and Lopez may not be stretching themselves as actors, but they clearly have a lot of fun circling around each other like dogs on heat.

Continue reading: Parker Review

Blitz Review

By Rich Cline

Good

This British crime thriller is so unapologetic about recycling cliches that it's actually hilariously good fun to watch. Even with its glaring plot holes and camp performances, the cast and crew's chutzpah keeps it consistently entertaining.

Brant (Statham) is a bad-boy South East London detective always in trouble with the authorities. But he gets the job done, so his loyal chief (Rylance) protects him. His new challenge is to find a brazen psycho (Gillen) who's killing cops in cold blood. Working with new boss Nash (Considine), who's tormented for being gay, Brant starts bullishly breaking the rules to solve the case. Meanwhile, the killer is leaking information to a tabloid hack (Morrissey). And another of Brant's cop pals (Ashton) is struggling with returning to the job after her stint in rehab.

Continue reading: Blitz Review