Masticating Movies

Low-fi British serial killer flick Tony was a bit of a disappointment. Eschewing a narrative structure it follows the titular homicidal loon as he shuffles about dreary London visiting sex shops, meeting odd bods & then later chopping them up in his bathtub and that's it - it just finishes with him ambling off. Given the quality of the acting and the care they took in making the film I just wish they'd stretched it out beyond it's 75 mins and added some sort of story arc to the proceedings. Does make me wonder about some of the "unusuals" I get in the shop here wanting Seagal/Van Damme VHS'

I rather enjoyed McGuigan's The Reckoning. A straight-forward medieval murder mystery, it follows a troupe of actors who pick up a wayward priest and end up in a town embroiled in a seedy child murder investigation. The players set about using these recent events as the basis of a new play much to the displeasure of the authorities. An excellent cast, a decent script and some reasonable historical detail lifted this above the average. It's a little hammy in bits but overall pretty entertaining.

Kevin Smith seems to be a spent force these days and Cop Out is further evidence that he's lost his movie mojo. A homage to 80's/90's cop/buddy movies this was neither funny nor entertaining and, in fact, I felt a little embarrassed for those involved during parts. I know Tracy Morgan is a big star from SNL and he's good on 30 Rock but he really should avoid acting as much as possible.